초록 ▼

A pet litter tray, box and system. The litter box comprises multiple trays. The trays are nestable within one another. Each tray comprises a base defining one or more openings. The opening allows litter to pass therethrough. When stacked in a first orientation, the openings of each upper tray are bl

A pet litter tray, box and system. The litter box comprises multiple trays. The trays are nestable within one another. Each tray comprises a base defining one or more openings. The opening allows litter to pass therethrough. When stacked in a first orientation, the openings of each upper tray are blocked by portions of the base of the adjacent lower tray thus retaining the litter. The top-most tray is lifted to sift the unused litter into the two nested lower trays. The top-most tray is added to the bottom of the two nested trays in a selected orientation. The trays may comprise flanges extending from the openings to contact the base of the lower tray when stacked to retain litter. The trays may comprise protrusions extending from the rim to contact an adjacent lower tray to indicate improper orientation of the trays.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A litter tray, comprising: a base defining an opening to allow a siftable material to pass therethrough;a flange extending from a lower surface of the base, the flange surrounding the entire periphery of the opening, the flange contacting a second base of a second litter tray and providing separa

1. A litter tray, comprising: a base defining an opening to allow a siftable material to pass therethrough;a flange extending from a lower surface of the base, the flange surrounding the entire periphery of the opening, the flange contacting a second base of a second litter tray and providing separation between the base and the second base when the litter tray is nested within the second litter tray in a selected orientation to inhibit the siftable material from passing through the opening; anda sidewall extending from the base to retain the siftable material. 2. The litter tray of claim 1, wherein the second litter tray is the same as the litter tray. 3. The litter tray of claim 1, further comprising a protrusion extending from a rim to contact the second litter tray to inhibit the litter tray from nesting when in a second selected orientation within the second litter tray. 4. The litter tray of claim 1, comprising a second flange and a bridge extending from the flange to the second flange. 5. A litter box, comprising: a plurality of trays, each tray configured to be nested in a first orientation within any of the other trays, each tray comprising:a base defining an opening to allow a siftable material to pass therethrough;a flange extending from a lower surface of the base and surrounding the entire periphery of the opening, the flange contacting the base of a lower tray of the plurality of trays to inhibit the siftable material from passing through the opening of the tray and separating the bases when the tray is nested in the lower tray in the first orientation; anda sidewall extending from the base of the tray to retain the siftable material. 6. The litter box of claim 5, wherein the thickness of the base is no greater than 125 percent of the thickness of the sidewall. 7. The litter box of claim 5, wherein each of the trays further comprises a protrusion extending from the tray, the protrusion to contact a lower tray to inhibit the tray from nesting when in a second orientation within the lower tray. 8. A litter box, comprising: a plurality of trays, each tray configured to be nested within any of the other trays, each tray comprising: a base defining an opening to allow a siftable material to pass therethrough;a sidewall extending from the base to retain the siftable material a flange extending from a lower surface of the base, the flange surrounding the entire periphery of the opening, the flange contacting a second base of a second litter tray and providing separation between the base and the second base when the litter tray Is nested within the second litter tray in a selected orientation to inhibit the siftable material from passing through the opening;a rim extending from the sidewall;a protrusion extending from the tray, wherein the protrusion of an upper tray of the plurality of trays contacts an immediately lower tray of the plurality of trays to inhibit the upper tray from nesting in a second orientation within the lower tray. 9. The litter box of claim 8, wherein each of the trays is identical, to one another. 10. The litter box of claim 8, wherein the rim defines a second opening, the second opening for permitting the protrusion of the rim of the upper tray to pass therethrough when the trays are in a first orientation. 11. The litter box of claim 10, wherein the second opening is a smaller width rim. 12. The litter box of claim 10, wherein the second opening is an aperture. 13. The litter box of claim 10, wherein the second opening is a notch. 14. The litter box of claim 8, wherein the protrusion forms a pivot point at its end to cause the upper tray to rest at an angle relative to the lower tray when stacked in the second orientation. 15. The litter box of claim 8, wherein each of the trays comprises a flange extending from around the opening to a position such that when the upper tray is nested in a first orientation within the immediately lower tray, the flange of the upper tray contacts the base of the lower tray to retain a the siftable material in the opening. 16. A litter box, comprising: three trays, each tray configured to be nested within any of the other trays, each tray comprising: a base defining a plurality of openings to allow a siftable material to pass therethrough;a plurality of flanges, each flange extending from a lower surface of the base around the entire periphery of one of the openings, the flanges contacting the base of a lower tray of the three trays to inhibit the siftable material from passing through the openings of the tray and providing separation between the bases when the tray is nested in the lower tray in a first orientation, each flange having a height equal to or greater than twice the thickness of the base; anda sidewall extending from the base of the tray to retain the siftable material within the tray, the base having a thickness no greater than 1.25 times the thickness of the sidewall. 17. The litter box of claim 16, comprising a second flange and a rib connecting the first flange and the second flange. 18. The litter box of claim 17, wherein the rib helps inhibit warping of the base of each tray during cooling after injection molding. 19. The litter box of claim 16, wherein each tray is configured to provide a gap between the sidewalls of each tray and the lower tray when nested.