Pet trailer

Claim 1

A trailer intended to be towed behind vehicles, such as automobiles and the like, and adapted for the transportation of pets in safety and convenience from point to point, comprising in combination: a body member in the general shape and configuration of a house including a substantially flat rectangular horizontally extending bottom surface, a pair of opposed transversely spaced apart vertically extending side wall members, a vertically extending front end wall member, a vertically extending back end wall member spaced longitudinally from the front end wall member and extending parallel thereto, and a peaked roof member mounted to the top edges of said wall members; a compartment defined interiorly of the wall members and bottom surface and roof member; a smooth non-porous waterproof lining member disposed interiorly of the surfaces defining the compartment in juxtaposition with said surfaces; an opening in the back end wall member of a size and configuration to permit ease of ingress and egress of a pet to the compartment; a door pivotally mounted on the back end wall along the bottom edge thereof and movable between a first position closing the back end wall opening and a second position defining an inclined ramp extending outwardly and downwardly from the back end wall forming a runway for the pet to gain access to the compartment; latch means associated with the door for detachably securing the door in the closed position; a ventilating opening extending through the roof member communicating the compartment with the surrounding atmosphere; a hollow chimney shaped rectangular member having one end mounted to the roof member about the ventilating opening formed therein with the opposite end projecting upwardly therefrom and defining a passageway therebetween in communication with said ventilating opening to permit air flow into and out of the compartment; a rectangularly shaped elongated window like opening disposed in one of the side wall members and extending horizontally therethrough between the opposite end edges thereof; a rectangularly shaped screen forming mesh overlying the side wall opening with the perimeters of the mesh fixedly mounted to the perimeters of the opening to prevent a pet from passing therethrough while permitting free ventilation of the compartment; a pair of vertically spaced apart horizontally extending track members disposed on opposite top and bottom edges of the side wall opening and extending therealong; a cover member associated with the side wall opening and selectively movable between the limits of a first position fully closing and covering the side wall opening and a second position fully opening the side wall opening; the cover member being of an elongated rectangular shape of a size greater than the size of the rectangular opening and having opposed horizontally extending side edges and opposed vertically extending end edges, the side edges adapted to be slidingly eNgaged in the respective track members for axial sliding movement therealong, the cover member selectively adjustable to overlap various areas of the opening to provide a selectable degree of ventilation to the compartment; a transparent window like member disposed in the front end wall providing visibility of the compartment from exterior of the body member; a pair of receptacles adapted for containing food and water for a pet with each consisting of an open topped box-like container having a bottom surface and depending surrounding side wall surfaces with each disposed in the compartment, each of the bottom surfaces having at least one aperture extending therethrough; a plurality of fastening means each extending through an associated aperture and engaging the body member bottom surface to secure the associated receptacle in a fixed position on the bottom surface of the compartment; a substantially flat divider member adapted to be vertically removably inserted into the compartment extending between the side wall members thereof to separate the compartment into two tandemly disposed chambers, each of the chambers having disposed therein one of the receptacles adapted for containing food and water therein; a pair of brackets transversely spaced apart and extending downwardly from the body member bottom surface; an axle assembly mounted to said brackets with the ends of the axle assembly extending transversely outwardly of the planes defined by the respective side wall members; a pair of wheels with each wheel mounted on opposite ends of the axle assembly to provide a rolling support for the body member; a first rectangularly shaped member extending transversely of the front end wall adjacent the bottom surface thereof and mounted thereto; a triangularly shaped member having one leg thereof extending transversely of the first member centrally thereof and fastened thereto, the apex of the triangular member projecting outwardly furthest from the front end wall; and a socket affixed to the apex adapted to be detachably hitched to a towing bracket secured to a towing vehicle, such as an automobile and the like.