Baffled treatball

Abstract

A treatball for storing and dispensing pet treats has an elastic body which is restorably compressible in response to an external force applied to the body. The body is provided with a peripheral wall having spaced two or more openings one of which is configured to receive treats and the other to dispense the treats upon applying the external force to the body. The interior of the body is formed by removing the core thereof so that a plurality of baffles extend from the inner surface of the peripheral wall and have respective free portions define an elongated nonlinear path along which the treats advance through the body to the dispensing opening.

1 . A treatball for storing and dispensing treats for pets, comprising an elastic body restorably compressible in response to an external force applied to the body and having at least one opening for selectively receiving and dispensing the treats, the body having a core thereof removed through the one opening so as to provide an interior of body with a unitary guide unit configured to define an elongated nonlinear path through the body along which the treats are advanced before being retrieved from the interior of the body.  
   
   
       2 . The treatball of  claim 1 , wherein the body has another opening spaced from the one opening, one of the openings being a treat dispensing opening configured smaller than an individual treat in a normal state of the body and traversable by the treat in response to applying the external force, the other opening being a treat receiving opening, the guide unit being formed with one or more spaced baffles extending inwards from an inner surface of the body and defining the nonlinear path between the treat receiving and treat dispensing openings.  
   
   
       3 . The treatball of  claim 2 , wherein the treat receiving openings is configured to prevent the treats from being voluntarily discharged from an interior of the body, the treat receiving opening being configured to be distorted or not distorted upon applying the external force.  
   
   
       4 . The treatball of  claim 2 , further comprising one or more flaps covering the treat receiving opening so that the flaps move to one position in which the treat receiving opening is open in response to applying the external force and, upon seizing the external force, to another position in which the receiving opening is closed to prevent a voluntary discharge of the treats from the interior of the body.  
   
   
       5 . The treatball of  claim 2 , wherein the treat dispensing opening is configured to be distorted in response to the applied external force so as to allow the treats to be sequentially retrieved from the interior.  
   
   
       6 . The treatball of  claim 2 , wherein the treat dispensing opening is configured to remain undistorted in response to the external force applied to the body but shaped and dimensioned to prevent a voluntary discharge of the treats regardless of whether the external force is applied or not.  
   
   
       7 . The treatball of  claim 2 , further comprising a plurality of lips extending outwards from an exterior surface of the body and surrounding the respective treat dispensing and receiving openings to prevent the surrounded openings from wear.  
   
   
       8 . The treatball of  claim 2 , wherein the treat dispensing and receiving openings are uniformly or nonuniformly shaped and dimensioned.  
   
   
       9 . The treatball of  claim 1 , wherein the body has an opening configured with a receiving closable sector and a dispensing sector each smaller than each individual treat in a normal, undistorted state of the body but traversable by the individual treat in response to applying the external force, the receiving and dispensing sectors defining respective upstream and downstream portions of the nonlinear path.  
   
   
       10 . The treatball of  claim 2 , wherein the body has a shape selected from a spheroid shape or a round shape.  
   
   
       11 . The treatball of  claim 10 , wherein, the body and guide unit are made from moldable material selected from the group consisting of butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, nitrile rubber, ethylene-propylene-diene, natural rubber, synthetic rubber, and a blend of natural and synthetic rubber and a combination of these allowing the body to roll and bounce.  
   
   
       12 . The treatball of  claim 2 , wherein at least some of the spaced baffles extend in opposite directions and are configured with respective free end portions terminating in a common plane or overlapping one another to define the nonlinear path, the treat receiving and dispensing openings being spaced diametrically opposite to one another or spaced from one another at an angle differing from a 180° angle.  
   
   
       13 . The treatball of  claim 12 , wherein the baffles are uniformly shaped and dimensioned or nonuniformly shaped and dimensioned and spaced so as to define a plurality of adjacent chambers therebetween, the chambers each being configured to temporarily retain the treats advancing along the nonlinear path, the nonlinear path being a spiral path.  
   
   
       14 . The treatball of  claim 13 , wherein the baffles each have a semicircular shape  
   
   
       15 . The treatball of  claim 1 , wherein the body has an exterior surface textured to allow for better gripping of the body, the textured surface being configured to imbalance the body by irregularly distributing weight about the exterior surface, to cause the body to roll and bounce erratically and/or unpredictably, and to cause a desired distortion pattern when the external force is applied to the body so as to advance the treats within the body along the nonlinear path.  
   
   
       16 . The treatball of  claim 15 , wherein the textured exterior surface has a plurality of bumpy, spiky, and smooth regions, at least one of the regions including words or trademarks in relief.  
   
   
       17 . A method of making a treatball, comprising: 
 introducing an elastomeric material onto an internal mold;    molding the elastomeric material into an elastic body having a peripheral wall and at least one opening in the peripheral wall, the opening being configured to selectively receive and dispense treats passing through the body;    extracting the internal mold from the body, thereby removing a core of the body through the opening so as to have an inner surface of the peripheral wall formed unitarily with one or more spaced baffles extending inwards from the inner surface and configured to define an elongated nonlinear path along which the treats are advanced through the body before being dispensed therefrom.    
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the molding of the elastomeric material includes configuring the one opening to be smaller than an individual treat to prevent voluntary displacement of the treats from body.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the molding of the elastomeric material includes forming a second opening spaced diametrically opposite from or at an angle differing from a 180 angle from the one opening, the second opening being configured to receive the treats if the one opening dispenses the treats, and to dispense the treats if the one opening receives the treats.  
   
   
       20 . A kit comprising a plurality of identically shaped, but differently dimensioned treatballs packaged individually to meet the individual needs of pets classified in accordance with respective size of thereof, the treatballs each being configured with: 
 an elastic body restorably compressible in response to an external force applied to the body;    a receiving opening formed in a peripheral wall of the body and configured to so as to allow treats to be inserted inside the body and a dispensing opening spaced from the receiving opening and configured so that the treats are retrievable from the body in response to applying the external force; and    a plurality of spaced baffles provided inside the body upon removing a core of the body through one of the receiving and dispensing openings, the baffles inwardly extending from an inner surface of the peripheral wall and being configured to define an elongated nonlinear path for the treats through the body between the receiving and dispensing openings.