JP2016516444A - Smart pet care system for companion animals - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a pet care system including a case in which a ball insertion port, a ball discharge port, and a bait discharge port are formed, and one end portion thereof communicates with the ball insertion port, A ball inflow path for guiding a ball thrown into the ball insertion opening into the case and a side surface of the other end of the ball inflow path 51 are formed adjacent to each other, and guides the ball to the ball discharge opening. A pair of rollers disposed at an end of the ball discharge path and the ball discharge path for discharging the ball to the outside of the case, wherein the first roller is rotated by a first drive motor The second roller is fixed to the other end of the ball inflow by a sliding operation with a pair of rollers arranged at a distance of a diameter distance between the first roller and the ball. Is A sliding member that pushes the ball into the ball discharge path; a second drive motor that drives the sliding member; and a food storage box for a companion animal that is disposed inside the case and has a through-hole on the bottom surface. One end portion of the sliding member opens and closes the bait storage box through-hole by a sliding operation of the member.

Description

  The present invention relates to a smart pet care system for a companion animal, and more specifically, when a ball is inserted into the apparatus, food is automatically supplied while the ball is discharged to the outside, and the companion animal is provided. It is related with a smart pet care system for companion animals that allows you to enjoy playing and exercising.

  Recently, an increasing number of families raise companion animals. When you grow a companion animal, you have to feed, wash and play with your companion animal like a baby. However, since the companion animal master also has to perform external activities for his own duties, housework, company work, etc., there may be a shortage of time for companion animals.

  When a companion animal stays alone for a long time, it causes various psychosomatic illnesses such as depression, emotional anxiety, lack of exercise, obesity, and diabetes, just like humans. When you get sick like this, it may cause a social problem of being thrown away by your husband and becoming a dog. Therefore, there is a demand for a device that allows a companion animal to play, exercise and eat while reducing the time of the master who spends time on the companion animal.

  According to one embodiment of the present invention, a pet care system for a companion animal that allows play and exercise by automatically ejecting a ball is provided.

  According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a companion animal pet care system capable of automatically supplying a constant amount of food and supplying the food without an administrator.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, the pet care system includes a case in which a ball insertion port, a ball discharge port, and a bait discharge port are formed, and one end portion thereof communicates with the ball insertion port. A ball inflow path for guiding a ball thrown into the ball insertion opening into the case and adjacent to one side surface of the other end of the ball inflow path to guide the ball to the ball discharge opening A pair of rollers disposed at an end of the ball discharge path and the ball discharge path for discharging the ball to the outside of the case, wherein the first roller is rotated by a first drive motor The second roller is seated on the other end portion of the ball inflow path by a sliding operation with a pair of rollers disposed at a distance of a diameter distance between the first roller and the ball. Tabo A sliding member that pushes the slide into the ball discharge path, a second drive motor that drives the sliding member, and a food storage box for a companion animal that is disposed inside the case and has a through-hole in the bottom surface, A pet care system is provided in which one end of the sliding member opens and closes a through-hole of the bait storage box by a sliding operation of the member.

  The pet care system for a companion animal according to the present invention allows the companion animal to play and exercise by automatically ejecting the ball.

  Moreover, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the bait can be automatically supplied by a certain amount, and the bait can be supplied without an administrator.

  Since the pet care system for a companion animal according to the present invention can operate in various operation modes, play with a companion animal by discharging a ball, feeding food, and training of a companion animal by combining ball discharging and food supply Enable.

1 is a perspective view of a pet care system for a companion animal according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of the pet care system for companion animals of one embodiment. It is a right view of the pet care system for companion animals of one embodiment. It is a left view of the pet care system for companion animals of one embodiment. It is a rear view of the pet care system for companion animals of one embodiment. It is a perspective view of the state where the upper case of the pet care system for companion animals of one embodiment was removed. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the pet care system for companion animals of one embodiment from each different angle. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the pet care system for companion animals of one embodiment from each different angle. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the pet care system for companion animals of one embodiment from each different angle. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the pet care system for companion animals of one embodiment from each different angle. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the sliding member 71 in the pet care system for companion animals of one embodiment.

  The above objects, other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention should be easily understood by the following preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein, and may be embodied in other forms. Rather, the embodiments presented herein are provided so that the disclosed content will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the spirit of the invention to those skilled in the art.

  In this specification, when a component is referred to as being “above (or“ below ”,“ right ”or“ left ”) of another component, it is referred to as“ above ( Or “down”, “right side”, or “left side”), or a third component may be interposed therebetween. In the drawings, the thicknesses of the constituent elements are exaggerated for effective explanation of technical contents.

  In addition, “upper (upper)”, “lower (lower)”, “left”, “right”, “front”, “rear”, etc. used to describe the positional relationship between components in this specification. The expression does not mean the direction or position as an absolute reference, and is a relative expression used for convenience of description with reference to the corresponding drawings when the present invention is described with reference to the drawings.

  Where the terms first, second, etc. are used herein to describe a component, the component should not be limited by such terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another. The embodiments described and illustrated herein also include complementary embodiments thereof.

  In this specification, the singular includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise. As used herein, a component referred to as “comprises” and / or “comprising” does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In describing the specific embodiments below, various specific details have been created to further explain and aid the understanding of the invention. However, a reader with knowledge in this field that can understand the present invention can recognize that it can be used without such various specific contents. In some cases, it should be noted in advance that parts which are well known and not significantly related to the invention when describing the invention are not described in order to prevent confusion when describing the invention.

  1 is a perspective view of a companion animal pet care system according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are a right side view and a left side view, respectively. FIG. 5 is a rear view.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the pet care system according to one embodiment includes an upper case 10 and a lower case 20. A ball slot 11 into which the ball 80 can be thrown is formed on the upper surface of the upper case 10. Preferably, by forming the ball insertion slot 11 so as to have the lowest height on the upper surface of the upper case 10, the ball rolls to the ball insertion slot 11 even if the ball 80 is placed in any other region of the upper surface. Configure as follows.

  A ball discharge port 12 through which a thrown-in ball is discharged is formed on the front surface of the pet care system in which the upper case 10 and the lower case 20 are combined. A side cover 21 that opens and closes the box entrance is detachably attached.

  A bait discharge port 22 for discharging companion animal feed supplied from the bait storage box is formed at the lower portion of the front surface portion of the lower case 20, and a feeder 30 is detachably attached to the front surface of the bait discharge port 22. Can.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the pet care system may further include one or more LED lamps 13. In one embodiment, the LED lamp 13 can function to inform the user of the power status, operating mode status, etc. of the pet care system.

  The pet care system further includes a control unit 40 on one side. The control unit 40 in the illustrated embodiment can include a power switch 41 and a mode change switch 42. The power switch 41 is a switch for selecting ON / OFF of the power supply of the pet care system, and the mode change switch 42 is a switch for changing the operation mode of the pet care system, and functions as an input unit that receives user input. To do. Of course, other switches can be added in alternative embodiments.

  The control unit 40 controls the operation of discharging the ball 80 inserted by the pet care system to the ball discharge port 12 and the operation of discharging the food to the bait discharge port 22. The control unit 40 according to the embodiment controls the ball and bait discharging operation based on at least one of a user input signal via the mode change switch 42 and / or a detection signal of a throwing ball detection sensor described later. it can.

  The upper case 10 and the lower case 20 that define the appearance of the pet care system can be transformed into various forms according to the specific arrangement structure of the components arranged inside. In other words, as shown in the drawing, it can be formed to have various shapes such as a rectangular housing shape, a polygonal housing shape, and a specific character shape as well as a circular or elliptical shape.

  Further, in the appearance of the pet care system, the positions of the ball insertion port 11, the ball discharge port 12, the LED cover 13, the side cover 21, the bait discharge port 22, and the control unit 400 are also accommodated in the case. Of course, it can be changed according to the arrangement structure of the elements.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a pet animal care system for a companion animal according to an embodiment with a top case removed.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the pet care system includes a ball inflow path 51, a ball discharge path 52, a ball discharge pipe 53, a bait storage box 61, and a bait path 63 therein.

  One end of the ball inflow passage 51 communicates with the ball insertion port 11 of the upper case 10, and the ball discharge passage 52 is formed adjacent to the side surface of the other end of the ball inflow passage 51. The ball inflow path 51 and the ball discharge path 52 are formed to be depressed to a certain depth in consideration of the diameter of the ball used.

  The ball thrown into the ball slot 11 is guided into the case. Therefore, the ball inflow path 51 is inclined so that one end (that is, the end adjacent to the ball insertion slot 11) is higher than the other end (that is, the end in contact with the ball discharge path 52). Can roll from the one end to the other end by its own weight.

  The ball discharge path 52 guides the ball transmitted from the ball inflow path 51 to the ball discharge port 12. Therefore, one end of the ball discharge path (that is, the end adjacent to the other end of the ball inflow path 51) is inclined so as to be higher than the other end (that is, the end close to the ball discharge port 12). Thus, the ball can roll from the one end to the other end by its own weight.

  The ball discharge pipe 53 is a cylindrical member disposed between one end of the ball discharge path 52 and the ball discharge port 12 of the case. Preferably, the ball discharge pipe 52 extends from the ball discharge path 52 as shown in the figure. It has a shape in which the internal diameter increases toward the 53 direction.

  The food storage box 61 is a container for storing food for companion animals, and includes a through-hole (62 in FIG. 10) that is a passage through which food falls. The bait passage 63 is a passage that accommodates bait that falls through the through-hole 62 and guides it to the bait discharge port 22 of the lower case 20 when the through-hole 62 of the bait storage box is opened.

  Hereinafter, the internal structure of the pet care system will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  7 to 9 are perspective views showing the internal configuration of the companion animal pet care system according to the embodiment from different angles.

  As described with reference to FIG. 6, the pet care system includes a ball inflow path 51, a ball discharge path 52, a ball discharge pipe 53, a bait storage box 61, and a bait path 63, with reference to FIG. 7. For example, the pet care system includes a pair of rollers 54 and 55 supported by a support frame 59, a sliding member 71 supported by a cradle 50, and a detection sensor 57 disposed adjacent to the ball insertion path 51. Further prepare.

  The pair of rollers 54 and 55 are arranged at one end of the ball discharge path 52, that is, at the end closer to the ball discharge port 12. That is, the rulers 54 and 55 are disposed between the ball discharge path 52 and the ball discharge port 12. Of the pair of rollers 54, 55, the first roller 55 is a driving roller that is rotated by a first driving motor 56, and is freely driven without being driven by a separate driving means of the second roller 54. The ball 80 used in the embodiment of the present invention is a stretchable ball such as a sponge ball or a rubber ball. Accordingly, the separation distance between the pair of rollers 54 and 55 may be the same as the diameter of the ball, and may be slightly smaller or larger than that. With such a roller configuration, the ball that has rolled to the end of the ball discharge path 52 is discharged through the ball discharge port 12 by the rotational force of the first roller 55.

  The first drive motor 56 can be controlled to be turned on / off and driven by the control unit 40.

  In an alternative embodiment, the second roller 54 can also be embodied to be driven by the first drive motor 56 or a separate drive means. In this case, the ball that has rolled to the end of the ball discharge path 52 is The balls are discharged to the ball discharge port 12 by the rotational force of the first roller 55 and the second roller 54.

  The detection sensor 57 is disposed adjacent to the ball insertion slot 11 and senses a ball thrown into the ball insertion slot 11. A sensing signal corresponding to the sensing of the sensing sensor 57 is transmitted to the control unit 40.

  The sliding member 71 can perform a sliding operation to the left and right, and by this operation, the ball seated on the other end of the ball inflow path 51 can be pushed out to the ball discharge path 52. In one embodiment shown in FIG. 8, a pinion 66 is formed on the drive shaft of the second drive motor 65, and a rack 72 is formed along one surface in the length direction of the sliding member 71. The pinion 66 and the rack 72 are meshed with each other, and the second drive motor 65 can slide the sliding member 71 by such a pinion-rack system. The second drive motor 65 is controlled by the control unit 40.

  Hereinafter, the process from ball insertion to ball discharge will be described with reference to FIG. When the user throws the ball 80 into the pet care system through the ball slot 11, the sensing sensor 57 senses this, and at the same time, the ball is at one end of the ball inflow path 51, that is, at the point indicated by A in FIG. Fall. Since the ball inflow path 51 is inclined, the ball at the point A rolls to the point B due to its own weight. As shown in the drawing, since the cross section of the ball inflow passage 51 is recessed and formed in a concave shape, the ball does not flow into the ball discharge passage 52 by the left and right protrusions of the ball inflow passage 51 unless a force is applied from the outside. It should be directly at the point.

  At this time, when the sensing sensor 57 senses the insertion of the ball, the sensing signal is transmitted to the control unit 40, and the control unit 40 controls the second drive motor 65 in accordance with the sensing signal. For example, taking into account the time it takes for the ball to roll from point A to point B, the controller 40 drives the second drive motor 65 after a lapse of about 1 second or 2 seconds after receiving the sensing signal.

  When the sliding member 71 slides in the direction of the ball discharge path 52 by driving the second drive motor 65, the end part of the sliding member 71 pushes the ball placed at the point B toward the point C of the ball discharge path 52. The ball that has fallen to the point C rolls down the ball discharge path 52 due to its own weight, and then receives the rotational force of the pair of rollers 54 and 55, passes through the ball discharge port 11, and is discharged to the outside of the case. The

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG.10 and FIG.11, the structure for bait supply operation | movement is demonstrated.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the internal configuration of the companion animal pet care system as seen from below, and FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of the sliding member 71.

  Referring to the drawing, the bait storage box 61 includes a through hole 62 on the bottom surface, and the through hole 62 has a sliding member 71 positioned immediately below. Therefore, the through-hole 62 is closed by the sliding member 71 in the basic default state.

  In this configuration, if the sliding member 71 slides in the first direction (“R” direction) in FIG. 11, the sliding member 71 is seated at the point B of the ball inflow path 51 as described in FIG. 9. Is pushed out to the ball discharge path 52. At this time, the sliding member 71 still closes the through-hole 62 of the bait storage box. That is, the pet care system discharges the ball to the ball discharge port 12 by sliding the sliding member in the first direction.

  Should the sliding member 71 slide in the second direction (“L” direction) in FIG. 11, the opening 73 formed at one end of the sliding member 71 moves to the same position as the through-hole 62 of the bait containing box 61. Thus, the through-hole 62 is opened, and the bait that falls through the through-hole 62 is guided to the bait discharge port 22 of the lower case through the bait passage 63. That is, the pet care system discharges the food to the food discharge port 22 by sliding the sliding member in the second direction.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, the controller 40 can have a plurality of operation modes by combining the sliding operation of the sliding member in the first direction and the second direction. The first drive motor 56 and the second drive motor 65 are controlled according to an arbitrary operation mode selected by the user among the operation modes.

  In one embodiment, the plurality of operation modes may include at least one of the following three modes.

  (I) First operation mode in which only the sliding member 71 is moved in the first direction (R direction): This mode is a mode in which the ball 80 is discharged. The number of operations is not particularly limited.

  In this mode, for example, each time a user throws one ball at a time, the ball can be discharged one by one. If the user throws a plurality of balls in order with different settings, the ball is placed at regular intervals. Can be discharged one by one. In this case, for example, every time the user throws three balls in order, the sensing sensor 57 senses the ball, and the control unit 40 receiving the sensing signal recognizes that a total of three balls have been thrown. Thereafter, the control unit 40 can control the sliding operation to be repeated three times at intervals of a certain time (for example, the first 10).

  (Ii) Second operation mode in which only the movement of the sliding member 71 in the second direction (L direction) is performed: This mode is a mode in which only the bait is supplied without discharging the ball 80. The number of operations is not particularly limited.

  For example, if the user further sets the food supply time in this mode, food can be automatically supplied to the companion animal even if the user goes out for a long time.

  (Iii) Third operation mode in which the sliding member 71 performs one or more movements in the first direction (R direction) and then one movement in the second direction (L direction). This is a mode in which food is supplied after the discharge of the animal is discharged once or more, and is a training mode that can be used for training companion animals. The number of operations in each of the first direction and the second direction is not particularly limited.

  In one embodiment, the above-described operation mode can be changed by the user by pressing the mode change switch 42, and the position or color of the LED lamp 13 changes depending on each mode. The current mode can be notified.

  As described above, a person having ordinary knowledge in the field to which the present invention belongs can make various modifications and variations from the description in the above specification. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the claims described below, but also by the equivalents of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Upper case 11 Ball inlet 12 Ball outlet 20 Lower case 22 Bait outlet 40 Control part 51 Ball inflow path 52 Ball discharge path 61 Bait storage box 63 Bait path 71 Sliding member

Further, in the appearance of the pet care system, the positions of the ball insertion port 11, the ball discharge port 12, the LED lamp 13, the side cover 21, the bait discharge port 22, and the control unit 400 are also accommodated inside the case. Of course, it can be changed according to the arrangement structure of the elements.

When the sliding member 71 slides in the direction of the ball discharge path 52 by driving the second drive motor 65, the end part of the sliding member 71 pushes the ball placed at the point B toward the point C of the ball discharge path 52. The ball that has fallen to the point C rolls down the ball discharge path 52 due to its own weight, and then receives the rotational force of the pair of rollers 54 and 55, passes through the ball discharge port 12, and is discharged to the outside of the case. The

Claims (9)

A pet care system comprising a case with a ball inlet, a ball outlet, and a bait outlet,
One end portion communicates with the ball insertion port, and a ball inflow path 51 that guides the ball introduced into the ball insertion port into the case;
A ball discharge path 52 formed adjacent to one side surface of the other end of the ball inflow path 51 and guiding the ball to the ball discharge port;
A pair of rollers disposed at an end of the ball discharge path 52 for discharging the balls to the outside of the case, wherein the first roller is a drive roller that is rotated by a first drive motor. The second roller is a pair of rollers disposed apart from the first roller by a diameter distance of the ball;
A sliding member 71 for pushing the ball seated on the other end of the ball inflow path 51 to the ball discharge path 52 by a sliding operation;
A second drive motor 65 for driving the sliding member 71;
A pet care system comprising: a companion animal food storage box 61 disposed inside the case and having a through hole 62 on a bottom surface. The sliding member 71 includes:
When sliding in the first direction, the ball seated on the other end of the ball inflow passage 51 is pushed out to the ball discharge passage 52, and at the same time, the through-hole 62 of the bait containing box 61 is closed,
The pet care system according to claim 1, wherein when the sliding is performed in a second direction opposite to the first direction, the through-hole 62 of the bait containing box 61 is opened.   A pinion is formed on the drive shaft of the second drive motor 65, and a rack is formed along one surface in the length direction of the sliding member 71, so that the second drive motor is mounted on the sliding member by a rack-pinion method. The pet care system according to claim 1, wherein a sliding operation is performed.   The pet care system further includes a bait passage 63 that accommodates food that falls through the through-hole 62 and guides it to the bait discharge port of the case when the through-hole 62 of the bait storage box is opened. The pet care system according to claim 1.   The pet care system according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that controls operations of the first drive motor and the second drive motor.   The control unit includes the first and second drive motors according to one operation mode among a plurality of operation modes each of which is a combination of an operation in the first direction and an operation in the second direction of the sliding member. The pet care system according to claim 5, wherein the pet care system is controlled.   The plurality of operation modes include (i) a first operation mode in which only the sliding member is moved in the first direction, (ii) a second operation mode in which only the sliding member is moved in the second direction, and (iii) 7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising at least one operation mode among a third operation mode in which the sliding member performs one or more operations in the first direction and then performs one operation in the second direction thereafter. The pet care system described in.   The pet care system according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of operation modes include all of the first to third operation modes. The control unit includes an input unit that receives a user input,
The control unit controls the first drive motor and the second drive motor based on at least one of a user input signal through the input unit or a detection signal of the detection sensor. Item 7. The pet care system according to item 6.

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