Animal husbandry – Confining or housing – Animal display or open work enclosure
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-09
2001-02-20
Swiatek, Robert P. (Department: 3643)
Animal husbandry
Confining or housing
Animal display or open work enclosure
C119S051500, C119S454000, C248S222140
Reexamination Certificate
active
06189489
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an animal feeding/watering bowl and to a self attaching mounting apparatus for securing the bowl to the wires of an enclosure housing an animal or bird.
Feeding bowls are standard equipment for bird cages and other animal enclosures and are constructed of numerous materials and in a wide variety of configurations. In recent years, plastic has become very popular as the material of choice for feeding bowls bird cages and other animal cages because it is an easily moldable material that can be designed to provide a rugged construction with tailored surfaces for enabling the animals to comfortably perch on the rim or elsewhere.
A problem with conventional feeding bowls is the issue of satisfactorily attaching the bowl to the interior of the enclosure, e.g., a cage. Currently, feeding bowls utilize a number of different designs and mechanisms for attaching bowls to the side of a cage. Such mechanisms are usually designed so as to engage two or more of the vertical wires of the cage. These attachments comprise a number of individual components for attaching the bowl to the cage. These multiple components add to the inconvenience and clumsiness of the mounting and securing the bowl in position as well as to the dismounting of the bowl for cleaning and filling with food. Thus, while plastic bowls are extremely popular for use as animal feeding receptacles, they have significant draw-backs in their utilization.
Another problem with bowls that attach to a cage is spillover of the food from the bowl to the surrounding floor during feeding. Consequently, cleaning of the surrounding floor is required.
It is common to use of multiple bowls or a bowls with multiple compartments for feeding animals or birds. For example, one bowl (or compartment) may be used for food while the other may be used for water. If separate bowls are used, these bowls are typically placed next to each other. During feeding, the food or water from one bowl is often spilled into the food or water in the other bowl. As result, the contents of each bowl or bowl section are contaminated.
It is highly desirable to provide an animal feeding bowl that can be easily mounted and dismounted from a cage using a minimum number of parts. The animal feeding bowl in the present invention satisfies these requirements.
It is also highly desirable to provide an accessory for preventing the spill over of food from the bowl to the surrounding floor. The present invention includes such an accessory.
Moreover, it is highly desirable to provide a bowl system consisting of at least two bowl compartments that would prevent the spill over of food from one bowl compartment to the other during feeding. The present invention also provides such a bowl system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a rigid, self attaching feeding bowl for animals in a caged or restricted environment. The bowl is easily attached to the cage via a two section attachment device. The first section is connected or is integral to the bowl. The second section includes a male threaded member having a slot through the center thereof. The two sections interlockingly engage each other.
The second section is placed in the interior of the cage with the male member facing toward the exterior of the cage. The male member can either be inserted through the space between two adjacent bars or wires of a cage or is inserted with the slot straddling a single wire such that the threaded portion extends exteriorly of the cage. When inserted between two wires the second section is caused to seat or bear against the two adjacent cage wires. The male member and the second section to which it is attached is secured in place by utilizing a female member that is screw threaded onto the threaded male member and tightened so as to secure at least a wire against the with a flange formed on the female member facing the male member. Once the second section is attached to the cage, the first section extending from the bowl is slid into the second section, interlockingly engaging the second section.
A guard may also be incorporated for preventing the spillover of food from the bowl to the surrounding area. The guard is preferably a transparent planar surface. A hole is formed preferably at the center of the guard. The guard is preferably sandwiched between the cage and female member with the male member penetrating the hole.
Moreover, a bowl having multiple feeding compartments may be used. Such a bowl has a front wall which is shorter than rear wall and a partition or partitions for dividing the bowl into multiple compartments. The bowl has side walls having the same height as the front wall. The partitions have the same height as the rear wall. As such, each compartment has three walls that are taller than the front wall over which an animal or bird would feed. The taller three walls provide a barrier to the spillover of food from one compartment to another.
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“Jungle Ware Locking Feed System” brochure, 1997, 1p., Jungle Talk International, Lafayette, Colorado.
Christie Parker & Hale LLP
Swiatek Robert P.
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