Animal carriers are widely used to transport small animals such as cats, dogs, etc. These animal carriers typically include an entry gate that enables an animal to easily be placed within the carrier, removed from the carrier, and secured within the carrier. In some types of animal carriers, the gate may rattle during transportation. This rattling can become problematic during, for example, automotive transportation due to the confined nature of the automobile with respect to accentuating the rattling that is heard by the driver, human passengers, and the transported animal. This rattling can also become problematic with respect to training the animal to enter the carrier (i.e., during “crate training”) as the rattling can scare the animal during transportation, causing the animal to associate the carrier with a scary noise (i.e., rattling) and significantly reduce the intended results of crate training efforts.
As a specific example, plastic-based animal carriers typically include a metal entry gate that is mounted within a cowling-like opening that extends slightly from one of the integral vertical surfaces (e.g., front, side, back) of the carrier. The gate is typically constructed of a “mesh” of horizontal and vertical stiff metal rods (e.g., very stiff wire), which is set within a frame of heavier-gauge stiff metal rods of a shape that mimics the shape of the cowling-like opening.
The gate includes a hinge mechanism that provides a pivot point, so that the gate can be swung open and closed. For example, the hinge mechanism may consist of a stiff metal rod (or a pair of short rods) protruding from the top and bottom of one side of the gate. These protruding lengths of metal rods are set into corresponding holes located within the top and bottom sides of the carrier cowling-like opening, creating a pivot point (i.e., a hinge), so that the gate can be swung open and closed.
The other side of the gate typically includes some type of locking mechanism. For example, a locking mechanism may comprise a pair of stiff metal rods protruding from the top and bottom of the other side of the gate that are vertically connected to a spring-loaded mechanism mounted along the same side of the gate. This mechanism allows the rods to be retracted from, and extended into, corresponding holes located within the top and bottom sides of the carrier cowling-like opening so that the gate can be opened (rods retracted) or secured shut (rods extended). Such confinement of an animal within a carrier using the typical gate described above is generally considered to be secure in both stationary and transportation modes, when the gate is in the closed position.
In practice (e.g., due to the production techniques associated with manufacturing the plastic-based carrier and the metal gate), the holes within the carrier cowling-like opening are typically larger than the hinge/lock gate metal rods. In addition, the gate is typically undersized with respect to the carrier cowling-like opening. As a result, the gate may move both horizontally and vertically within the carrier cowling-like opening even when the gate is in the closed and locked position. Consequently, the gate may rattle within the carrier cowling-like opening while the carrier or its transporter (e.g., automobile, trailer, hand-drawn wagon, train, plane, etc.) is moving.