GB2451897A

GB2451897A - Device for placing pet feeding dishes on the floor

Info

Publication number: GB2451897A
Application number: GB0716101A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Charles Christopher Brooke Wightwick
Original assignee: WIGHTWICK CHARLES CHRISTOPHER
Current assignee: WIGHTWICK CHARLES CHRISTOPHER
Priority date: 2007-08-17
Filing date: 2007-08-17
Publication date: 2009-02-18
Anticipated expiration: 2027-08-17
Also published as: GB2451897B; GB0716101D0

Abstract

The device comprises an upper part, lower part and connecting wires or struts A, B. The upper part comprises a slotted cylinder with a fixed handle at the top and a lower handle attached to wire A at the bottom which can slid up the slot. The lower part comprises a base plate which is attached to the wires A, B at three of the corners. Wire B connects opposite corners of the lower base plate via the lower end of the upper part. The base plate can be tilted by raising the lower handle in the slot, thereby raising wire A. A pet food dish placed on the base plate can therefore be placed on the floor without the pet owner having to bend.

Description

DescrlDtion 1.

"No-bend" pet-feeding aid This invention is a simple device designed to solve a wide-spread problem, namely, that people suffering from arthritis or post-operative inflexibility are often unable to bend down sufficiently to put their petS' food dish on the floor. Some owners attempt to deal with this by feeding the animal on a work-surface but, quite apart from the risks of cross-contamination, experience shows that cats especially do not like their routine being changed. They also like to return at intervals to their food, which means that the dish must be left on the work surface. No other product on the market seems to address this problem, but this device allows the owner to place the food dish on the floor in its usual place and to retrieve it when empty.

The device is in two parts approx 500mm apart, connected by support wires A and B: -the upper part consists of a slotted cylinder with, at the top, a fixed handle and, at the lower end, a handle (A) attached to wire A which can be slid up the slot (Figure 9); -the lower part consists of a base plate attached by swivel joints to the other end of wire A (at the back) and the two ends of wire B (at the sides).

When handle A is drawn up the slot, the base plate tilts forward, unloading the dish or, taken further up, folding the device flat for storage. The empty dish is retrieved by pushing it onto the base plate and lifting the device.

The main beneficial features of the device are: It is lightweight (approx 210 g) yet strong. It has no electrical or motorised parts; the only moving part is the lower handle (A), which slides easily up the slot. It is thus very easy to use, even by those with severe arthritis of the hands.

It has been designed to make maximum use of the materials, to minimise the cost. The stainless steel base plate is approx 203mm square, so that 1 2x6 plates can be stamped out of a standard 8'x4' sheet (Figure 2). The other materials are stout wire, aluminium tubing and plastic for the handles.

The production process is straightforward, further minimising the cost: -for the upper part, a slot (approx I 5Ox4mm) is cut out of a 200mm section of light aluminium tubing; a handle is fixed to the top, and the lower handle (A) is attached to wire A and inserted into the slot; a hole is drilled in the tube below the slot, and wire B is passed through it and bent down (Figure 6), -for the lower part, 72 base plates are stamped out of a sheet of stainless steel; flanges are stamped out of the rear corner and two side corners of each plate and a hole is drilled in each; the front corner is cut off to form a lip for the tilted base plate; the remaining corners are then bent down while the flanges are bent up (Figure 2); -the lower ends of wires A and B are bent 90° and passed through the holes in the flanges to form swivel joints (Figure 5), allowing the base plate to tilt. a 2.

KEY to DRAWINGS Figure y Interpretation 1. Main drawing, showing all major keywords.

SC Slotted cylinder: upper part of device, open at lower end, connected to handles TH and HA (see below).

S Slot in cylinder, closed at both ends.

TH Top Handle: fixed to top of slotted cylinder Sc.

HA Handle A: moves up in slot S, tilting base plate BP up to unload food dish and, further up slot, to fold device flat for storage (Figs 6, 8 & 9).

(Both handles face forward, but shown in Fig I side-on for clarity.) BP Stainless steel Base Plate: receives food dish (Fig 2).

SWa Support Wire A: links handle HA to attachment point APa on base plate BP. (Approx 54cm long; not drawn to scale in any Figure) SWb Support Wire B: passes through hole in base of cylinder SC, with ends attached to base plate at APb. 1 and APb.2 (Fig 6). (Approx 110cm total length; not drawn to scale in any Figure) APa Swivel Attachment Point A: attaches support wire SWa to base plate BP.

APb Swivel Attachment Points BI & 62: attach the two ends of support wire SWb to base plate BP (Fig 5).

FD Flanges bent Down on rear and two side corners of base plate BP.

support device (Fig 5).

FU Flanges bent Up out of flanges FD: support attachment points AP (Fig 5).

2. Base Plate BP, plan view. Plate approx 203mm square, to fit 12x6 plates into standard 8'x4' sheet.

EX Edge opposite to APa cut off: provides lip for tilting base plate (to unload food dish).

3. Frontal view, with base plate starting to tilt.

4. Side view.

Detail of attachment points AP: a Side view, showing flange FU and swivel attachment AP b End-on-view, showing where flange FU is taken out of flange FD APx Attachment points securing ends of SWa/b.

6. Detail of assembly at handle HA.

7. Dish of food loaded onto base plate BP on work surface.

DF Dish of Food.

8. Base plate BP lowered onto floor and handle HA raised, thus unloading dish onto floor.

9. Handle HA raised to maximum, folding base plate BP flat.

10. Whole device folded flat for storage.

Claims

Claims 3.

"No-bend" pet-feeding aid 1. A pet-feeding aid enabling pets to be fed at floor level without the owner's having to bend and comprising an upper controlling part joined by stiff wires or struts (A and B) to a lower part which receives the food dish and can be tilted forward to unload it onto the floor.
2. A pet-feeding aid as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper controlling part consists of a slotted cylinder with, at the top, a handle fixed to it and, at the lower end, a handle (A) inserted into the slot and attached to wire A, and a hole drilled in the cylinder below the slot to take wire B.
3. A pet-feeding aid as claimed in claim 2, wherein the lower part consists Of a base plate which has up-turned flanges supporting three swivel joints, to which the lower end of wire A and the two ends of wire B are attached.
4. A pet-feeding aid as claimed in claim 3, wherein the base plate is supported by the two ends of wire B and can be tilted forward by sliding handle A up the slot in the upper part's cylinder, thus raising the back of the base plate and unloading the food dish.
5. A pet-feeding aid as claimed in claim 4, wherein the base plate and wires can be folded flat, for storage, by sliding handle A further up the slot.