Animal husbandry – Feeding device – Having a perch
Reexamination Certificate
1997-04-11
2001-04-10
Poon, Peter M. (Department: 3644)
Animal husbandry
Feeding device
Having a perch
Reexamination Certificate
active
06213054
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of bird feeders and, more specifically, to a bird feeder having a container with feeding openings and a generally helical member surrounding the container and spaced from it at each of the ports by a distance convenient for birds to use as a helical perch while retrieving feed, which is typically some form of seed, from the feeding openings.
2. The Prior Art
A number of bird feeders of different configurations are available on the market, most of which comprise a hollow cylindrical container, usually of circular cross section, that has feeding access openings or ports spaced apart both longitudinally and angularly to allow several birds at a time to use the same feeder. U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,947 to Petrides; U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,908 to Burleigh; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,268 to Leithen show some of the forms of such feeders. In each, a short rod attached to the container in the proximity of each port extends out perpendicularly from the wall of the container to form a perch on which a bird can sit while retrieving seed just inside that port. In most such feeders, including those represented by Burleigh and Leithen, the rods are below the level of the feeding port with which they are associated, but, for certain species, such as goldfinches, the perch rods can be located above the ports, as shown by Petrides.
One of the disadvantages of all such feeders is that the birds sit on or hang from the perches in a direction perpendicular to the perch and are forced to twist approximately 90° to reach into the adjacent access port for seed. In addition to these perpendicular-perch feeders, there is at least one type of commercially available bird feeder that includes a cylindrical container with a T-shaped perch in front of each of its access ports to allow the birds to sit on the cross bar of the T facing the respective port. The cross bars of these T-shaped perches are in radial planes perpendicular to the axis of the cylindrical body.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved bird feeder having a generally helical perch that extends both around and along a ported seed container and facilitates access through the ports to the seed.
Another object is to provide a bird feeder suitable for use by birds of different sizes and feeding characteristics.
Another object is to provide a bird feeder that includes a generally helical perch surrounding a seed container and attached to it at a minimal number of points to simplify construction of the feeder.
Still another object is to provide a feeder that has a plurality of ports spaced both longitudinally and angularly apart and a single, generally helical member attached to the container and having a configuration that allows the helical member to serve as a perch adjacent a majority of the ports.
It is yet another object to provide a feeder having exchangeable feeding ports of different sizes.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a feeder that utilizes a generally helical perch to support the feeder.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description, drawings and claims.
A bird feeder in accordance with this invention includes a feed container that has a wall surrounding a central region, with a plurality of feeding openings, or ports, in the wall through which birds can have access to bird seed inside the container. The ports are spaced apart along the length of the container between the ends thereof, and are so located that a generally helical member extending around and along the body passes near each of the ports. The helical member is spaced from the container by a distance that allows birds perched on it to reach into each port and withdraw bird seed. The distance from the part of the perch closest to an access port is suitable for small birds, while larger birds can accommodate themselves by perching somewhat uphill or downhill from the access ports.
The helical perch can be attached to the feeder by means of separate support pegs fixedly attached to the container and to the helix to maintain the perch at a predetermined distance from the container. Alternatively, by forming the helical perch of sufficiently rigid, yet resilient, wire, one end of the perch can be attached at or near the top of the container, and the other end of the perch can be attached at or near the bottom of the container. With such a arrangement, it is no longer necessary to provide a separate perch for each port.
The invention will be described in greater detail in connection with the drawings, in which like serial numbers in different figures indicate the same item.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 407173 (1999-03-01), Marshall
patent: 2779311 (1957-01-01), Hamilton
patent: 2808807 (1957-10-01), Winton et al.
patent: 5156112 (1992-10-01), Brown
patent: 5195459 (1993-03-01), Ancketill
patent: 5406908 (1995-04-01), Burleigh
patent: 5435268 (1995-07-01), Liethen
patent: 5479878 (1996-01-01), Coulter
patent: 5479879 (1996-01-01), Bick
patent: 5887542 (1999-03-01), Sladowski
Abbott Yvonne R.
Gillette Donald P.
Poon Peter M.
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