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US-20260123599-A1 - Low Tracking Clumping Litter

US20260123599A1US 20260123599 A1US20260123599 A1US 20260123599A1US-20260123599-A1

Abstract

A low tracking clumping litter is provided that has larger non-clumping litter particles with particle sizes sufficiently large enough relative to smaller clumping litter particles thereby disposing substantially all the smaller particles of litter in a litter box below the surface of the litter packing them into in voids between adjacent non-clumping particles. This reduces tracking because the surface is made up of the larger particles, which are not readily picked up by a cat, minimizing the number of smaller more readily tracked particles on top because they are packed in the voids. This causes urine to rapidly wet and swell the clumping particles trapping the urine forming the clump on top. The litter has a tracking effectiveness of less than 100 particles/in 2 and clumping particles preferably composed of extrusion modified starch-based water-soluble binder produce shed-resistant clumps having clump retention rates preferably greater than 97%.

Inventors

  • John M. Lipscomb
  • Omar I. Rodriguez

Assignees

  • John M. Lipscomb
  • Omar I. Rodriguez

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251112

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A low tracking clumping litter comprising: (a) a plurality of absorbent clumping litter particles comprised of a clumping material and having a plurality of pairs of differently sized clumping litter particles defining a clumping litter particle size range; and (b) a plurality of non-clumping litter particles comprised of a non-clumping material and having a plurality of pairs of differently sized non-clumping litter particles defining a non-clumping litter particle size range that is larger than the clumping litter particle size range; wherein when the low tracking clumping litter is poured into a litterbox, a difference between the clumping litter particle size range and the non-clumping litter particle size range structurally causes the clumping litter particles to occupy voids between adjacent non-clumping litter particles such that a top surface of the litter is predominantly composed of the non-clumping litter particles; and wherein the low tracking clumping litter has a tracking effectiveness value of no greater than 100 particles per square inch when measured using a litter particle tracking effectiveness test procedure described in the specification.
  2. 2 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 1 , wherein at least a plurality of the particle sizes of the non-clumping litter particles in the non-clumping litter particle size range are larger than at least a plurality of the particle sizes of the clumping litter particles in the clumping litter particle size range.
  3. 3 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 1 , wherein a ratio of the particle sizes of the non-clumping particles relative to the particle sizes of the clumping particles ranges from 2:1 to 14:1.
  4. 4 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 1 , wherein the particle sizes of the non-clumping litter particles and the clumping litter particles structurally causes low tracking clumping litter poured into a litterbox to have a packing arrangement comprised of a plurality of layers of the non-clumping litter particles having voids between adjacent non-clumping litter particles occupied by clumping particles.
  5. 5 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 4 , wherein the particle sizes of all of the non-clumping litter particles in the low tracking clumping litter are larger than the particle sizes of all of the clumping litter particles in the low tracking clumping litter.
  6. 6 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 1 , wherein a ratio of the smallest sized non-clumping litter particles to the largest sized clumping litter particles is between 1 and 2.5.
  7. 7 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 1 , wherein a smallest particle size of the non-clumping particles is approximately 3350 microns and a smallest particle size of the clumping particles is between 200 microns and 500 microns.
  8. 8 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 1 , wherein a ratio of the smallest sized particles of the non-clumping particles relative to the smallest sized particles of the clumping particles ranges from 3.4:1 and about 8.5:1.
  9. 9 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 8 , wherein a smallest particle size of the non-clumping particles is approximately 3350 microns and a smallest particle size of the clumping particles is between 200 microns and 500 microns.
  10. 10 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 1 , wherein a largest particle size of the non-clumping particles is approximately 4750 microns and a largest particle size of the clumping particles is between 1500 microns and 2000 microns.
  11. 11 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 1 , wherein a ratio of the largest sized particles of the non-clumping particles relative to the largest sized particles of the clumping particles ranges between 19:6 to 19:8.
  12. 12 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 11 , wherein a largest particle size of the non-clumping particles is approximately 4750 microns and a largest particle size of the clumping particles is between 1500 microns and 2000 microns.
  13. 13 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 1 , wherein (a) a smallest particle size of the non-clumping particles is approximately 3350 microns and a smallest particle size of the clumping particles is between 200 microns and 500 microns, and (b) a largest particle size of the non-clumping particles is approximately 4750 microns and a largest particle size of the clumping particles is between 1500 microns and 2000 microns.
  14. 14 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 1 , wherein (a) a ratio of the smallest sized particles of the non-clumping particles relative to the smallest sized particles of the clumping particles ranges between 7:1 to 67:4, and (b) a ratio of the largest sized particles of the non-clumping particles relative to the largest sized particles of the clumping particles ranges between 19:6 to 19:8.
  15. 15 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 14 , wherein (a) a smallest particle size of the non-clumping particles is approximately 3350 microns and a smallest particle size of the clumping particles is between 200 microns and 500 microns, and (b) a largest particle size of the non-clumping particles is approximately 4750 microns and a largest particle size of the clumping particles is between 1500 microns and 2000 microns.
  16. 16 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 1 , wherein the non-clumping litter particles have a particle size no greater than 5000 microns and the clumping litter particles have a particle size of at least 200 microns.
  17. 17 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 16 , wherein the clumping litter particles have a particle size of no greater than 2000 microns.
  18. 18 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 16 , wherein the non-clumping litter particles have a particle size of at least 3000 microns.
  19. 19 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 16 , wherein the non-clumping litter particles have a particle size of at least 3000 microns and the clumping litter particles have a particle size of no greater than 2000 microns.
  20. 20 . The low tracking clumping litter of claim 1 , wherein the non-clumping litter particles have particle sizes ranging between 3350 microns and 4750 microns and the clumping litter particles have particle sizes ranging between 250 microns and 1850 microns.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE This application is a continuation of U.S. application No. 18/741,466 filed Jun. 12, 2024, which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/465,916 filed May 12, 2023, the entire disclosures of each of which are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. This application also is a continuation-in-part of International Application No. PCT/US2024/029178, filed May 13, 2024, which designated the United States, and which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/465,916 filed May 12, 2023, the entire disclosures of each of which are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. Finally, this application also is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application No. 18/372,677, filed Sep. 25, 2023, which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/409,755 filed Sep. 24, 2022, the entire disclosures of each of which are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. FIELD The present invention is directed to granular absorbents, preferably litter, for use by animals, and more particularly to clumping litter that is a blend of at least one type of clumping particle and at least one type of non-clumping particle having particles sized sufficiently larger than particles of the at least one type of clumping particle to reduce tracking of particles by an animal using the litter in a litterbox. BACKGROUND When a cat uses a litterbox containing litter composed of litter particles that include absorbent granules, it is common for a cat to undesirably track some of the litter particles out of the box when it leaves the box. The process of litter being tracked out of the box by a cat typically occurs in a number of ways: Entry and digging: As the cat enters the litter box, it may pick up litter particles that cling to its fur, especially if it has long hair. Because cats instinctively dig to bury their waste, this action can cause litter particles to stick to their paws. During digging, cats might stir up the litter, causing some of it to scatter on the floor near the edge of the box or stick to their bodies.Use of the litter box: After the cat has finished its business and buried its waste, it will often cover up the feces or urine by scraping more litter over it. This action is another opportunity for particles of litter to adhere to the cat's paws. Clumping litter, which is designed to absorb moisture and form clumps, tends to stick more readily to the paws than non-clumping varieties.Exiting the litter box: As the cat exits the litter box, it may carry out litter particles that are stuck between its toes or which cling to its fur. The texture and length of the cat's fur, as well as the moisture on its paws, can influence how much litter is carried out. Longer, denser fur can trap more litter.Post litter box cleaning: Cats often engage in post-elimination grooming, licking their paws and fur. During this grooming, it is common for the cat to dislodge litter particles from their paws, which then fall onto the floor outside the litter box.Movement around the house: As the cat moves around the house, any remaining litter particles on its paws or fur may be dislodged due to the cat's movements. This leads to a trail of litter particles being spread around the area near the litter box, and potentially further, depending on the cat's activities post-litter box use. To mitigate this, many cat owners use a mat placed around the litterbox to catch some of the litter granules tracked by the cat that falls off the cat as it exits the box. Regular cleaning and maintenance of the litter box and surrounding area also help minimize the spread of litter outside the box. Despite the use of a mat to catch tracked litter and performing regular litter box cleaning and maintenance, it nonetheless is still very common for litter to be tracked by a cat beyond the mat, which later fall the cat necessitating frequent cleanup of the floor by the cat owner. In response, manufacturers of litter have tried to develop low tracking litter, albeit with limited success. One type of low track or low tracking litter that manufacturers have introduced is made of crystals of silica gel litter because the silica gel crystals are less likely to adhere to a cat's fur and paws. Other types of low track litter are non-clumping litter that use granules or pellets that are larger and heavier than used in standard cat litter because they are less likely to get stuck in a cat's paws or adhere to the cat's fur. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US20050160997 discloses a non-clumping cat and small animal litter composed of yellow pine wood fiber and a nonionic surfactant formed into pellets using a pellet mill which have a relatively large pellet diameters of between 4762 and 6350 microns (0.1875 inches to 0.250 inches). While the '997 publication discloses pellets having these large pellet diameters “can be retained whole to limit tracking by t