| 摘要 |
A super-tough moulded elastomeric chewable polyurethane toy for an animal, and a method of making same. It is moulded from an elastomeric polyurethane material containing a surface-migrating flavouring extract dispersed within the molecular structure of the material. The toy may be shaped to simulate a dog bone and to make swallowing difficult when being chewed. The toy has a specific form, and when shaped as a bone has an elongated body (10) and enlarged opposite end portions (11, 12) related to each other by opposite lateral surfaces, and upper and lower surfaces (16, 17) interconnecting the end portions which may be bifurcated (11a, 11b, 12a, and 12b). The upper surface of the bone has a groove or channel (13) extending therealong, whilst the lower surface has a ridge (15) affording a heart-shaped section to the bone. It is also chemically inert in the animal's digestive system and conveniently has moderate hardness, resilient deformability, large tensile strength and resistance to shearing. It is generally slightly heavier than water, but may be foamed or impregnated with air to float. The toy makes use of a unique property of polyurethane whereby a surface-migrating flavouring pleasing to the animal is mixed with the polyurethane composition while the latter is in a liquid phase prior to being moulded to the desired shape. Thus as the flavouring is chewed off or otherwise dissipated from the exterior surface of the toy, the flavouring is continuously replenished. In addition to the bone per se, the invention discloses a method of making same, consisting of the steps of formulating a liquid composition for a selected polyurethane, adding a measured quality of surface-migrating flavouring extract, and subsequently moulding the flavoured composition to form the chewable toy, for instance in the form of a dog bone. |
