Pet Protective Collar With Stays And Ventilation

Abstract

A flexible pet protective collar having stays formed of a more rigid material than flexible sheets of the collar, the stays being disposed inside channels located at seams of the collar. The collar may have a plurality of vent holes.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A protective collar effective as a veterinary restraint when fitted on an animal, the protective collar comprising:
 a layered assembly comprising:
 a first sheet comprising a flexible substantially non-resilient material having inner and outer arcuate edges extending between a first end and a second end of the first sheet, the inner and outer arcuate edges comprising single circular arcs, wherein the outer arcuate edge has a substantially greater radius than the inner edge; 
 a second sheet comprising a flexible substantially non-resilient material and having a substantially similar shape to that of the first sheet; 
 a flexible resilient padding layer, forming a generally similar shape to the first and second sheets located between said first and second sheets, such that when assembled the first and second sheets and the padding layer form the layered assembly having an outer arcuate edge and an inner arcuate edge and a first end and a second end; 
 a vent hole disposed on an outside surface of the collar; 
 at least one stay connected to one of the sheets, for preventing the sheet from folding, the stay being effective to stiffen the overall shape of the collar; 
 the first sheet and the second sheet and the padding layer between them being formed into the assembly by securing together the outer arcuate edges and the inner arcuate edges and the first and second ends of the first and second sheets; 
 a closure, effective to secure the first and second ends of the protective collar, such that when the first and second ends of the protective collar are secured, a closed configuration is formed having an inner opening and an outer opening, the inner opening being substantially smaller than the outer opening, wherein the outer opening is configured to encompass the wearer's head and the inner opening is configured to encompass a wearer's neck but not the head; 
   wherein the protective collar is sized and shaped to encompass both the wearer's head and neck on different parts of the restraint.   
     
     
         2 . The protective collar of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a plurality of radial stitching lines at least partially extending between the inner arcuate edge and the outer arcuate edge of the layered assembly, operative to effectively segment the collar into panels, and such that the stitches are further effective as fold lines in order to easily fold the collar for packaging or storage; 
 at least one channel disposed along a radial stitching line, the channel being configured to receive the stay. 
 
     
     
         3 . The protective collar of  claim 1 , wherein the vent holes traverse an entire cross section of the collar. 
     
     
         4 . The protective collar of  claim 1 , wherein the channels further comprise an opening disposed along the smaller circumference side of the collar. 
     
     
         5 . The protective collar of  claim 4 , wherein the channel openings to the channels having a closure mechanism. 
     
     
         6 . The protective collar of  claim 4 , wherein the channel openings to the channels having a closure mechanism disposed inside the channel near the opening and completely across the opening. 
     
     
         7 . The protective collar of  claim 4 , wherein disposed in front of the opening is a piece of loop material for partially occluding the opening to assist in preventing unwanted escape of the stay during use of the collar. 
     
     
         8 . The protective collar of  claim 6 , wherein the channels are formed on an outside surface of a sheet. 
     
     
         9 . The protective collar of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of channels each containing a stay, the channels at least partially extending between the inner arcuate edge and the outer arcuate edge of the layered assembly. 
     
     
         10 . The protective collar of  claim 1 , wherein the vent hole penetrates through the collar only to the padding layer. 
     
     
         11 . A protective collar effective as a veterinary restraint when fitted on an animal, the protective collar comprising:
 a flexible assembly having an outer arcuate edge and an inner arcuate edge and a first end and a second end;   at least one stay connected to the assembly and extending in a direction between the inner and outer arcuate edges, the stay formed of a material stiffer than that of the flexible assembly;   at least one vent hole disposed on a surface of the collar;   a plurality of channels each containing a stay, the channels at least partially extending between the inner arcuate edge and the outer arcuate edge of the assembly.   
     
     
         12 . The protective collar of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 a plurality of radial stitching lines at least partially extending between the inner arcuate edge and the outer arcuate edge of the assembly, operative to effectively segment the collar into panels, and such that the stitches are further effective as fold lines in order to easily fold the collar for packaging or storage;   at least one channel disposed along a radial stitching line, the channel being configured to house the stay.   
     
     
         13 . The protective collar of  claim 11 , wherein the channels further comprise an opening. 
     
     
         14 . The protective collar of  claim 13 , wherein the channel openings to the channels have a closure mechanism. 
     
     
         15 . The protective collar of  claim 13 , wherein the channel openings to the channels have a closure mechanism disposed inside the channel near the opening and completely across the opening. 
     
     
         16 . The protective collar of  claim 13 , wherein disposed in front of the opening is a optional piece of loop material for partially occluding the opening to assist in preventing unwanted escape of the stay during use of the collar. 
     
     
         17 . The protective collar of  claim 11 , wherein the channels are formed on an outside surface of a sheet. 
     
     
         18 . A protective collar effective as a veterinary restraint when fitted on an animal, the protective collar comprising:
 a layered assembly comprising:
 a first sheet comprising a flexible substantially non-resilient material having inner and outer arcuate edges extending between a first and second end of the first sheet, the inner and outer arcuate edges comprising circular arcs, wherein the outer arcuate edge has a substantially greater radius than the inner edge; 
 a second sheet comprising a flexible substantially non-resilient material and having a substantially similar shape to that of the first sheet; 
 wherein when assembled, the first and second sheets form the layered assembly having an outer arcuate edge and an inner arcuate edge and a first end and a second end; 
 at least one stay connected to the assembly and extending in a direction between the inner and outer arcuate edges, the stay formed of a material stiffer than that of the flexible assembly; 
 the first sheet and the second sheet formed into the assembly by securing together the outer arcuate edges and the inner arcuate edges and the first and second ends of the first and second sheets; 
   a closure, effective to secure the first and second ends of the protective collar, such that when the first and second ends of the protective collar are secured a closed configuration is formed having an inner opening and an outer opening, the inner opening being smaller than the outer opening to provide a truncated cone shape.   
     
     
         19 . The protective collar of  claim 18 , further comprising a plurality of channels each containing a stay, the channels at least partially extending between the inner arcuate edge and the outer arcuate edge of the assembly. 
     
     
         20 . The protective collar of  claim 18 , further comprising a vent hole disposed in an outside surface of the collar.