What is claimed:
1. A pet kennel comprising:
a body having an interior space configured for a pet, the body including at least one aperture sized and shaped for the pet; and
a door assembly attached to the body at the aperture, the door assembly including a latching part pivotally attached to a hinge part, the latching part including or attached to a latching mechanism configured to lock and unlock the door assembly, the hinge part fixedly attached to the body so as to substantially surround a perimeter of the aperture,
the latching mechanism including a latch slide including a gear having first teeth, a rack lock having a lateral aperture and second teeth, and a biasing mechanism,
the door assembly including a latch receiving portion having a recess configured to receive the latch slide and a lateral protrusion extending from the recess into the lateral aperture, and
the first teeth of the gear interacting with the second teeth of the rack lock to cause the rack lock to translate linearly to unlock the door assembly from the body when the latch slide is pulled from the recess against a biasing force of the biasing mechanism and rotated with respect to the recess.
2. The pet kennel of claim 1 , wherein
the hinge part includes metal, and
the latching part includes plastic.
3. The pet kennel of claim 1 , wherein
the door assembly includes an inner body part fixedly attached to the hinge part and the body such that the body is located between the hinge part and the inner body part.
4. The pet kennel of claim 1 , wherein
the door assembly includes a grated part and a grate receiving part, and
the latching part is fixedly attached to the grated part and the grate receiving part such that the latching part, the grated part and the grate receiving part pivot as one piece with respect to the hinge part.
5. The pet kennel of claim 1 , wherein
the latch slide is rotatable to cause the rack lock to lock and unlock the door assembly.
6. The pet kennel of claim 1 , wherein
the biasing mechanism is configured to bias the latch slide against the rack lock.
7. The pet kennel of claim 1 , wherein
the latching mechanism includes a rivet which extends through the latch slide, and the biasing mechanism encircles the rivet and biases the latch slide against the latch receiving portion.
8. The pet kennel of claim 1 , wherein
the body includes a first body portion and a second body portion,
the first body portion includes a first lip, and
the second body portion includes a second lip sized and shaped to align with the first lip for attachment of the first body portion to the second body portion.
9. A method of constructing a pet kennel, the method comprising:
providing a body having an interior space configured for a pet such that the body includes an aperture sized and shaped for the pet;
providing a door assembly including a latching part and a hinge part, the latching part including or attached to a latching mechanism, the latching mechanism including a latch slide including a gear having first teeth, a rack lock having a lateral aperture and second teeth, and a biasing mechanism; and
attaching the door assembly to the body such that the hinge part substantially surrounds a perimeter of the aperture and the latching part pivots with respect to the hinge part when the latching mechanism is unlocked, such that the first teeth of the gear interact with the second teeth of the rack lock to cause the rack lock to translate linearly to unlock the door assembly from the body when the latch slide is pulled from a recess against a biasing force of the biasing mechanism and rotated with respect to the recess, and such that the lateral protrusion extends from the recess into the lateral aperture.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein
providing the door assembly includes
fixedly attaching the latching part to a grated part, and
pivotally attaching the latching part and the grated part to the hinge part.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein
attaching the door assembly to the aperture of the body includes
attaching the hinge part of the door assembly outside of the body at the aperture, and
attaching an inner body part of the door assembly inside of the body at the aperture.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein
providing the door assembly includes forming the latching mechanism to include the latch slide and the rack lock.
13. The method of claim 9 , wherein
providing the body includes attaching a first body portion to a second body portion to create the interior space.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein
attaching the first body portion to the second body portion includes aligning a first lip of the first body portion with a second lip of the second body portion.
15. A pet kennel comprising:
a first body portion including a front aperture and a first lip having first apertures; and
a second body portion including a second lip having second apertures, the second lip sized and shaped to fit against the first lip with the second apertures aligning with the first apertures;
a door assembly pivotally attached to the first body portion at the front aperture, the door assembly including a latching part, a grated part and a grate receiving part fixedly attached to each other so as to pivot as a single unit, the grated part located between the latching part and the grate receiving part, the latching part including a latching mechanism configured to enable locking and unlocking of the door assembly from the front aperture by sliding through lock receiving apertures in at least two of the latching part, the grated part, and the grate receiving part; and
at least one attachment mechanism configured to protrude through at least one first aperture and at least one corresponding second aperture to attach the first lip to the second lip such that the first body portion and the second body portion form a body with an interior space sized and shaped for a pet between the first body portion and the second body portion,
at least one of the first body portion and the second body portion including a plurality of third apertures configured to allow air to flow through the body and into the interior space.
16. The pet kennel of claim 15 , wherein
the body formed by attaching the first body portion and the second body portion has a top surface, a bottom surface, a front surface and a rear surface, and the first lip and the second lip are angled downwardly from the rear surface to the front surface.
17. The pet kennel of claim 15 , comprising
a sleeve including fourth apertures, the sleeve configured to cover the first lip and the second lip with the fourth apertures aligning with the first apertures and the second apertures to enable attachment of the first body portion to the second body portion via the attachment mechanism.
18. The pet kennel of claim 17 , wherein
the sleeve includes fifth apertures enabling attachment of an accessory attachment, and the fifth apertures are longer than the fourth apertures in a longitudinal direction of the sleeve.
19. The pet kennel of claim 15 , wherein
the latching mechanism is configured to enable locking and unlocking of the door assembly from the front aperture by sliding through lock receiving apertures in each of the latching part, the grated part, and the grate receiving part.
20. The pet kennel of claim 15 , wherein
the front aperture slides through lock receiving apertures in at least the latching part and the grate receiving part.