Animal husbandry – Feeding device – Timer-controlled
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-17
2001-05-08
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)
Animal husbandry
Feeding device
Timer-controlled
C119S051120, C222S650000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06227143
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention addresses a common problem of pet owners—leaving the animals at home unattended for a period from a couple of days to 1-2 weeks. Leaving a large amount of food is not a solution, since in most of the cases such food is consumed immediately. Arrangements with someone to look after the animals are not always possible. Boarding the pets is often an unjustified expensive alternative, bearing also the risk of the animal trying to escape from a foreign place.
Animal feeding apparatuses trying to solve the above-mentioned problem are described in a number of patents. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,790 an endless belt conveys the food from a hopper to a container accessible to the animal.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,909 a vibrator is mounted within a sleeve, suspended in a hopper. The vibrator has an extended portion through the sleeve's lower end, to which a food dispensing plate is attached.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,277 three downwardly sloping platforms are located one over another in a zigzag manner. A vibration means is attached to the middle platform, ensuring the food transfer form the middle to the bottom platform. A vertical trap door is operated by a latching device, actuated synchronously with the vibration means.
Other teachings in the prior art are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,542,251, 4,077,699, 4,182,273, 4,315,483, 4,497,280, 4,513,688, 4,688,520.
The apparatuses for automatic food dispensing, known so far, have the common disadvantage of incorporating many parts in complex mechanisms, thus reducing the reliability and making the commercial realization of such devices extremely difficult due to high production costs and specific conditions of use—from people of all levels of technical knowledge in private home environment.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention refers to an Automatic Dry Pet Food Dispenser which, through vibratory action, excited by a controlled drive mechanism, feeds individual portions of dry pet food into an external container at specific timed intervals over a several day period. It offers a reliable and inexpensive alternative to other automatic food feeders.
The housing encloses a hopper, containing the food and covered with a lockable lid. The food is being discharged under gravity through an opening in the hopper's bottom onto a trough, pivotally mounted to the housing at the rear end of the trough. The distance between the hopper's bottom and the trough is adjustable in order to allow operation with different grain size food and at a different feed rate. A front support of the trough is provided by a camshaft with several equally spaced cams, rotated by a controlled drive mechanism. The slope of the trough combined with the oscillating movement about the horizontal axis, caused by the rotating camshaft ensure the discharge of the material through the open front end of the trough into an external container. The food quantity released at a single cycle of operation is controlled by a timer and is proportional to the duration and speed of running of the motor.
Additionally, the invention provides the necessary adjustment in order to use different kinds of dry food with different grain size, as well as to allow different quantities according to the pet needs to be supplied at a time.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3648660 (1972-03-01), Esquival
patent: 3741162 (1973-06-01), Lopez
patent: 3800746 (1974-04-01), Stidham
patent: 3900007 (1975-08-01), Smith
patent: 4279221 (1981-07-01), Arvizu
patent: 4722300 (1988-02-01), Walker et al.
patent: 4779569 (1988-10-01), Lopez
patent: 5003920 (1991-04-01), Miksitz
Abbott Yvonne R.
Jordan Charles T.
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