GB2218315A

GB2218315A - Pet food dispenser

Info

Publication number: GB2218315A
Application number: GB8910231A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Charles Colin Reid
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1988-05-12
Filing date: 1989-05-04
Publication date: 1989-11-15
Also published as: NZ224590A; AU3322989A; AU634155B2; GB8910231D0

Abstract

An animal food dispenser (10) particularly suitable for use with pellitised or other dry pet foods (28), comprises a food reservoir (26) with an outlet which is partially obstructed, whereby an animal is required in normal use to reach through an aperture (36) in the dispenser, to clear the obstruction and draw food from the outlet. <IMAGE>

Description

Title : PET FOOD DISPENSER DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to food dispensers, and has particular application to dispensers for granular or pelletised food for animals such as cats or other household pets.

Various forms of animal food dispenser have been proposed in the past, to allow regulated or unregulated feeding of animals with little or no human supervision over a period of time. Such apparatus has however suffered from a number of problems and disadvantages which can render them impractical for the purpose.

Apparatus such as that shown in US Patent No. 4,039,118 (1977) Kawaoka, or US Patent No. 3,951,107 (1976) Doty comprise simple 'hopper" mechanisms by which a feed area is kept constantly supplied from a storage bin. Agitator means is provided to help avoid clogging of the passage from the storage area to the feed area. A problem found with this type of mechanism is that the amount of food available to the animal at any one feeding is substantially uncontrolled, except by the total capacity of the storage area, and consequently it is found that animals are driven by natural greed and gluttony to consume much more than they actually should.

Furthermore, because the feed area is constantly replenished, food is often wasted and scattered about by the animal, spoiled by moisture or long exposure to the open air in the feed area, and consumed by rodents or insects attracted to it.

Other apparatus provide mechanisms which are intended to overcome such problems, as shown in US Patent No. 4,421,059 (1983) Cousino or US Patent No. 4,733,634 (1988) Hooser. Such apparatus is however relatively complicated and therefore expensive, including electronic timing or metering means and the like, and may be prone to jamming or damage by the infortuitous scattering of food by the animal.

Furthermore there is a possibility of injury to the animal by the opening and closing mechanism, a problem specifically referred to in a further specification of the type, GB 2,l83,984A (1986) Kirk. The volume of food dispensed is predetermined, and may be unsuitable for the animal concerned either because of ignorance on the part of the animal' s owner, or because of inflexibility in the dispensing mechanism. Because a timer is used to make food available only at specific times, an animal may miss out on meals by not being in attendance at the appropriate time, or the food may have become stale or soggy by the time the animal gets there. An attempt to overcome this problem is shown in the Hooser apparatus, which provides a pre-recorded summons and playback apparatus, but this clearly further increases the complexity and expense of the apparatus.A further problem with such apparatus is that if a fast or large animal reaches the device at the appropriate time before the intended consumer and consumes the meal provided, the intended consumer will get nothing and go hungry.

It is an object of the present invention to go at least partway towards providing solutions to the above problems, or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.

In one aspect the present invention provides animal food dispensing apparatus including an enclosure having therein a food reservoir, a substantially horizontal surface and an obstruction between said reservoir and said surface by which the passage of food from said reservoir to said surface can be restricted, and having an aperture in said enclosure through which in normal use an animal must reach or move to clear said obstruction or reach food on said surface, wherein in normal use an animal can induce the dispensing of said food onto said surface by clearing said obstruction.

Preferably said obstruction is distanced from said aperture in said enclosure.

Preferably said food is granular or pelletised, and said surface is sloped downwardly towards said aperture from the vicinity of said obstruction, at an angle to the horizontal of less than the normal angle of repose of said food, so that said food will not in normal use gravitate to said aperture without assistance, but will when moved be biased towards said aperture by the slope of said surface.

Preferably said reservoir is provided with a floor, comprising a surface adjoining said substantially horizontal surface, and said obstruction includes a constricted outlet from said reservoir, formed by a pivotable flap which provides a wall of said reservoir, a lower edge of said pivotable flap being disposed on or near said floor in normal use, whereby in normal use movement of said flap can open an outlet gap between said lower edge and said floor, and also agitate the contents of said reservoir.

Preferably the minimum size of the gap is adjustable.

Preferably the pivotable flap is biased towards a closed position, so that in normal use it will return to said position after being moved.

Preferably the amount of food allowed passage onto said surface by an animal clearing said obstruction is limited in normal use to a small portion of the amount normally required by the animal at a meal, and passage of further food onto said surface is obstructed by any food already on said surface.

In another aspect the invention provides a method for feeding an animal including the steps of providing said animal with access to a reservoir of food, and limiting said access with a recurring obstruction, arranged so that the quantity of food available to said animal through said access is proportional to the perseverance of said animal in clearing said obstruction.

These and other aspects of the present invention, which should be considered in all its novel aspects, will be made apparent in the following description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, which are given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1: gives a sectional side view of a preferred dispenser of the present invention Figure 2: gives a perspective view of the dispenser of Figure 1.

Figure 3: gives a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 the apparatus in its preferred form comprises a food dispenser for cats, for use with pelletised solid cat foods.

The apparatus as shown is arranged to require operation of an outlet mechanism by the animal to release a small quantity of food, which must in normal use then be eaten or removed before more food can be released. Operation of the apparatus is not normally difficult for the animal, but requires sufficient effort and perseverance from the animal that it will not generally persist with the operation when it is not hungry. In this way, the amount of food provided for an animal to eat is governed by its own appetite and perseverance, rather than by mechanical means, or human intervention. Furthermore, the food remains protected in the storage reservoir until the animal wants it.

In Figure 1 there is shown a preferred dispenser 10 comprising a box-like container 12 which may be formed of metal, plastics, card or other suitable material. The container 12 comprises a pair of spaced parallel narrow vertical walls 14a and 14b, and a pair of spaced parallel wide vertical walls 16a and 16b, the walls 14 being substantially perpendicular to the walls 16, a flat horizontal floor 18 and removable lid 19 which closes the upper end of the container in normal use. The floor 18 is provided with a sloped ramp 32.

Inside the container 12, a movable flap 20 is provided, extendlng down from a pivot point 22 near the top of wall 14a at a steep angle, and extending across substantially the whole width of the container 12 to form a partition. At its lower edge 24 the flap 2O is spaced a short distance above the ramp 32 in normal use, and is also spaced apart from the wall 14b.

The flap 20, the walls 16 and the wall 14b define a hopper 26 within the container 12, in which food pellets 28 can be held, which will gravitate onto the ramp 32 through the gap 30.

The slope of the ramp 32 is preferably less than the angle of repose of the food pellets 28, so that pellets 28 on the ramp 32 at the base of the hopper 26 will not generally gravitate along the ramp 32 or through the gap 34 under the lower edge 24 of the flap 20.

An outlet aperture 36 is provided at the base of the ramp 32, in the wall 14a. This aperture may be of a range of sizes, but in the model illustrated in Figure 1 and Figure 2, intended for dispensing food for cats, the aperture should be of a size sufficient to allow a cat to reach the flap 20 with its paw, but insufficient for a cat to enter the container 12 with its head or body. By reaching the lower edge 24 of the flap 20 with its paw, a cat can agitate the pellets 28 in the hopper and cause them to spill out through the gap 34 onto the lower part of the ramp 32. The pellets can then be flicked or dragged down the ramp 32 and out the outlet aperture 36, where they can be consumed.Because the slope of the ramp 32 is too slight to allow pellets to slide down it without assistance, the presence of pellets in or around the gap 34 will in normal use prevent further pellets from spilling out by effectively blocking the gap 34.

To facilitate use with food pellets of different sizes, the minimum size of the gap 34 is preferably adjustable, so that the degree of obstruction is not too great or too little for proper functioning of the apparatus. This is preferably achieved by raising or lowering the flap 20 and supporting it with a pin 38 inserted through a selected one of several vertically spaced pairs of holes or detents 40 in the walls 16.

It will be appreciated that a variety of modifications may be made in the above examples within the general scope of the present invention. In particular, a version intended for dogs rather than cats, as shown in Figure 3, will have a larger outlet aperture 36', and the base of the flap 20' may be positioned relatively closer to the aperture 36' than in apparatus as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. Such alterations are found desirable, because dogs tend to fossick with their muzzles, rather than with their paws as cats do, and consequently the arrangement of parts of the apparatus must be altered to permit access of the type required. Other changes might also be made to take into account the physiological differences between cats and dogs or other animals - for example, the apparatus 10' might be made in a heavier or more stable form, or be adapted for fixture to a substrate, to prevent large dogs from knocking it over.

Further modifications might also be made. A tray 38 is preferably provided at the mouth of the aperture 36, and this could take any of a variety of forms. Apparatus for providing water might be associated with the dispenser 10, and the overall shape of the dispenser could be altered considerably without interference with the functioning of the apparatus.

Other changes and modifications might be made within the general scope of the present invention, as characterised by the following claims:

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Animal food dispensing apparatus including an enclosure having therein a food reservoir, a substantially horizontal surface, and an obstruction between said reservoir and said surface by which the passage of food from said reservoir to said surface can be restricted, and having an aperture in said enclosure through which in normal use an animal must reach or move to clear said obstruction or reach food on said surface, wherein in normal use an animal can induce the dispensing of said food on to said surface by clearing said obstruction.
2. Dispensing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said obstruction is distanced from said aperture in said enclosure.
3. Dispensing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said food is in normal use granular or pelletised, and said surface is sloped downwardly towards said aperture from the vicinity of said obstruction, at an angle to the horizontal of less than the normal angle of repose of said food.
4. Dispensing apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said reservoir is provided with a floor, comprising a surface adjoining said substantially horizontal surface, and said obstruction includes a constricted outlet from said reservoir formed by a pivotable flap disposed in a closed position on or near said floor in normal use, whereby in normal use movement of said flap can open an outlet gap between said flap and said floor.
5. Dispensing apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said flap provides a wall of said reservoir, and movement of said flap can agitate the contents of said reservoir
6. Dispensing apparatus as claimed in claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the closed position of said flap is adjustable.
7. Dispensing apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 6 wherein said flap is biased towards said closed position, so that in normal use it will return to said position after being moved.
8. Dispensing apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein in normal use the dispensing of food onto said surface can be obstructed by any food already on said surface.
9. A method for dispensing food for animals including the -steps of providing said animal with access to a reservoir of food, and limiting said access with a recurring obstruction, arranged so that the quantity of food available to said animal through said access is substantially proportional to the perseverance of said animal in clearing said obstruction.
10. Dispensing apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in any one of the accompanying drawings.
11. A method for dispensing food for animals substantially as described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings.