GB2451804A - Pet dish with animal detection means - Google Patents

Abstract

A device 2 for providing food and/or drink for an animal, comprising a body 4 having one or more cavities 12 therein to contain the food and/or drink, a lid 6 connected to the body arranged to cover the cavities when in a closed position, a sensor 8 which can detect the presence of an animal and a drive mechanism associated with the lid. The lid is caused to move from a closed position to an open position when the sensor detects the presence of the animal and then from the open position to the closed position when the sensor no longer detects the presence of the animal. The sensor is preferably an infra red sensor. The device can be powered by a battery or by solar panels 10. The cavities can contain removable food containers having biogradable disposable linings.

Description

Animal Feeder Device The present invention relates to a device for providing food andlor drink for an animal which protects the food andlor drink from the surroundings, such as keeping it free from flies or other insects, which helps to keep the food from drying out as rapidly as it would if left exposed and to keep the food andlor drink fresher for longer, and which still allows an animal easy access to the food and/or drink.

There are many types of device available to buy which can contain food or drink for a household pet or other non-domesticated animals. The simplest devices are just bowls of varying shapes and sizes in which the food or drink is placed for an animal to gain easy access thereto whenever it wants. However, these bowls are not ideal for the purpose, as the exposed food or drink readily attracts insects, thus contaminating it. Additionally, the food or drink does not remain in a fresh condition for a long period of time and needs to be regularly replaced, even if substantial amounts remain unconsumed. This is an undesirable and costly waste of any non-consumed food or drink.

Food and/or drink bowls which comprise a base and a lid have been developed (US 2006236947 and US 2005139162), but were not developed with the aim of protecting the food and/or drink from deteriorating, but rather with the aim of providing a compact device which can store food or drink and be closed to be taken on a journey. The lid is used as a storage reservoir for the food or drink which can supply the bowl with it when an animal is to be fed. The lid is manually operated, and as such an animal would be reliant on its owner to lift the lid to allow it access to the food or drink contained therein.

Another bowl is described in US45761 18 which involves the use of flaps which are hinged to the side of the bowl and which cover the contents of the bowl. When an animal wishes to feed, it is supposed to push its nose through the flaps to gain access to the food.

This however has the disadvantage that the animal would not be able to access all of the food in the bowl, such as that located in the corners or to the sides of the bowl, as it will be hidden behind the hinged flaps when in their downward open position. Additionally, the flaps themselves will come into contact with the nose and mouth of the animal and will accumulate saliva thereon, and could also come into contact with the food and become soiled and thus require cleaning.

Devices with the aim of protecting the food or drink from its surroundings have also been developed, but such devices have generally been of crude design, such as by incorporating an umbrella-type feature to shield food from the sun to prevent it drying out too quickly. Such devices are not particularly effective in achieving their aim, and additionally are not able to protect the food or drink from insects or the like.

Further devices have also been developed which have lids which cover the food or drink also comprise timers to control the length of time the lid remains open, and hence how long an animal is able to feed, but such devices do not allow the animal to feed itself when it is hungry or thirsty.

It was therefore an object of the present invention to develop a device for containing food and/or drink for an animal which provides protection for the food and/or drink from its surroundings, including protection from insect pests, and which allows an animal easy access to the food and/or drink. The present invention overcomes one or more of the problems detailed above with existing devices.

Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a device for providing food and/or drink for an animal, comprising: a body; one or more cavities in the body to contain the food and/or drink; a lid connected to the body, the lid being arranged to cover the cavity or cavities when in a closed position; a sensor which can detect the presence of the animal; a drive mechanism associated with the lid; wherein the drive mechanism causes the lid to move from the closed position to an open position when the sensor detects the presence of the animal and then from the open position to the closed position when the sensor no longer detects the presence of the animal.

Preferably, the sensor is located in the body of the device and is an infra-red sensor. It is preferably located on the front of the device, i.e. the side of the device farthest from where the lid is connected to the body. The range of the sensor is preferably up to about 300 mm, more preferably about 200 mm.

The lid is preferably pivotably connected to the body by means of one or more hinges, preferably two. The drive mechanism preferably stands at least partially proud of the body in a plane perpendicular to that of the body and is preferably provided with a plurality of protruding members which are able to engage with reciprocal members on the underside of the lid in such a manner as to open the lid and move it upwards towards the vertical. The drive mechanism preferably includes a cog.

The body of the device preferably incorporates a hollow compartment which can house any power source and electronics required to operate the device. Preferably, the hollow compartment is located around the cavity or cavities within the body. It is this power source which provides the energy needed to operate the sensor.

Any suitable power source may be used to power the device. A low voltage power source may be all that is required, such as one or more batteries, a transformer, or solar panels. Batteries or transformer are preferably located within the hollow compartment as mentioned above, but any solar panels would need to be affixed to the exterior of the device.

The drive mechanism is preferably driven by a motor which is powered by the power source.

When the animal approaches within a defined distance of the sensor, such as within about 300, more preferably about 200 millimetres, the sensor will detect the presence of the animal. The sensor is preferably arranged so that it does not only detect the presence of an animal when it is approaching from immediately in front of it, but also is able to detect it when it approaches from an angle. Once the sensor detects the animal, it sends an electronic signal to the motor, activating it. The motor then causes movement of the drive mechanism, causing the lid to move from its closed position to its open position to allow the animal access to the food and/or drink. For proximity reasons, the motor is preferably situated within the hollow compartment of the body under or near to the drive mechanism.

The lid will remain open as long as the sensor can still detect the presence of the animal, i.e. as long as the animal is using the device to feed andlor drink. After the animal moves away from the device and the sensor is no longer be able to detect its presence, the lid will close automatically, usually after a short delay (such as about 5-10 seconds), to protect the contents once more.

According to another aspect of the invention, the device may be so designed that the body extends out rearwards beyond the point where the lid is connected to it (as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4). It is on this extended portion of the body where solar panels to power the device may be located. The extended portion may also be hollow. In this embodiment, the motor can be located near or within this extended portion to be near the solar panels.

The one or more cavities in the body which contain the food and/or drink contain one or more containers which can each individually contain food or drink. The container(s) is/are preferably removable from the body, enabling it/them to be cleaned independently from the body, or for putting the food and/or drink therein remote from the body. The container(s) may be any container(s) having a complementary shape with the one or more cavities. The container(s) is/are preferably one or more bowls, which may made from any material which does not easily corrode or will contaminate the food and/or drink, preferably aluminium, stainless steel or moulded plastic.

Also in accordance with the invention the device can be provided with one or more disposable linings which can fit within the one or more containers and which can be easily inserted and removed and on which the food is to be placed. One such lining would typically be placed in each container comprising food. This would remove the necessity of cleaning the one or more containers when removing any food which may be uneaten as the lining and food can simply be disposed of together. The lining is preferably made of a biodegradable material.

Preferably, the device has sides which slope outwards from the top of the body nearest the lid to its base to make it more difficult for an animal to tip it over. If the animal does try to push it with its head or paw, the device will simply slide along the floor unless there is some separate biasing force acting in the opposite direction which could contribute to it being overturned.

The body of the device is preferably configured so that when the lid is in the closed position, it is flush with the top of the body and does not protrude above it. This may be achieved by the body having a recessed rim around its upper edge.

Any disposable batteries must be accessible so that they can be replaced when required.

For this purpose the body preferably has a base section which is detachable.

An on/off switch can be incorporated into the device to switch off the device when not in use. Additionally, if desired, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) can be situated on the motor to give an indication of the power status of the power source.

The present invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying Figures, which are intended to be purely illustrative and in no way limiting upon the scope of the invention.

Figure 1. This shows a front view of the device with the lid in the closed position.

Figure 2. This shows a side view of the device with the lid in the closed position.

Figure 3. This shows a front view of the device with the lid in the open position.

Figure 4. This shows a side view of the device with the lid in the open position.

Figure 5. This is a view of the body partially cut away showing a hollow compartment containing the motor, electronics and power source.

Figures 1 and 2 show the device 2 with the lid 6 resting in its closed position on the body 4. A sensor 8 is located at the front of the device 2 from which an animal would normally approach to feed. This embodiment also includes an extended portion 10 on which solar panels, for example, could be placed. It can be seen in Figure 1 that the sides of the body 4 are sloped outwards towards the base to reduce the likelihood of the device being overturned by an animal when feeding or playing.

Figures 3 and 4 show the device 2 with the lid 6 in its open position after the sensor 8 has detected the presence of an animal and has sent an electronic signal to the motor to cause it to rotate a cog 14 which engages with reciprocating teeth on the underside surface of the lid 6 to open the lid 6. Hinges 16 which pivotably connect the lid 6 to the body 4 and aid in the opening and closing of the lid 6 are shown. A bowl 12 is where the food or drink is placed; although only one bowl is shown in Figures 3 and 4, more than one bowl may be incorporated within the body 4 so both food and drink can be provide for the animal, or different kinds of either food or drink.

A recessed rim 18 located on the upper edge of the body can be seen, together with a indentation 20 inside the rim 18 and around the bowl. It is this indentation 20 in which the lid 6 rests when it is in the closed position, thus providing a flush surface with the rim 18. This prevents an animal from being able to open the lid 6 in the event that the sensor has been switched off.

A cross-section view of the body 4 of the device 2 is shown in Figure 5. This shows the location of an electronic circuit board 22 associated with the sensor 8 which is connected to batteries 24 and a motor 26. The circuit board 22, the batteries 24 and the motor 26 are all located under the section of the body 4 to which the lid 6 is connected for proximity to the cog 14, and the motor 26 is, in this embodiment, located in the extended portion 10 ofthebody4.

Claims (11)

1. Claims 1. A device for providing food andlor drink for an animal, comprising: a body; one or more cavities in the body to Contain the food andlor drink; a lid connected to the body, the lid being arranged to cover the cavity or cavities when in a closed position; a sensor which can detect the presence of the animal; a drive mechanism associated with the lid; wherein the lid is caused to move from the closed position to an open position when the sensor detects the presence of the animal and then from the open position to the closed position when the sensor no longer detects the presence of the animal.
2. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is an infra-red sensor.
3. 3. The device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the device comprises a power source.
4. 4. The device according to any preceding claim, wherein the device comprises a motor.
5. 5. The device according to claim 3, wherein the power source is a battery.
6. 6. The device according to claim 3, wherein the power source comprises solar panels.
7. 7. The device according to claim I or claim 2, wherein the range of the sensor is up to about 300mm.
8. 8. The device according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more cavities in the body comprise one or more containers containing the food andlor drink, said containers being removable from the body.
9. 9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the one or more containers further comprise one or more disposable linings which can be inserted therein.
10. 10. The device according to claim 9, wherein the one or more disposable linings is/are biodegradable.
11. 11. A device substantially as herein described and illustrated in the drawings.