WO2019122466A1

WO2019122466A1 - Adjustable feeder for dogs

Info

Publication number: WO2019122466A1
Application number: PCT/ES2017/070844
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pedro M. ZUNZUNEGUI GÓMEZ-GIL; Pietro CHIERA
Original assignee: Zeedog S.A.
Priority date: 2017-12-22
Filing date: 2017-12-22
Publication date: 2019-06-27

Abstract

The invention relates to a feeder for dogs, which is aimed at overcoming all the problems related to feeding dogs. The feeder is the most beneficial to health on the market, offering three basic functions: it is height-adjustable; it has a deep dish or bowl for slow feeding; and it can be used in a microwave to heat frozen food.

Description

Title

Adjustable dog feeder

OBJECT

[0001] The object of the invention is a dog feeder that seeks to overcome all the feeding drawbacks of dogs. It is the healthiest feeder in the market because it provides three basic functionalities: it is adjustable in height, has a bowl or slow type feeding bowl, and can be used in a microwave to heat frozen food.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Dog feeders in the market are endowed with variable characteristics, depending on the disadvantages that their inventors seek to reduce or solve. Obviously, the main characteristic must always be to facilitate the dog a comfortable position while it is feeding; however, other characteristics are very important for the comfort of their owners, such as those related to hygiene in the feeder area or, very importantly, the storage capacity of the feeder that allows its owners to be absent for several days without doubting that the animal is correctly fed.

[0003] In practice it is observed, however, that commercial feeders usually offer only a limited extended storage capacity for food and drink for the convenience of the owners of the dogs, and do not present features that provide comfort for dogs or their dogs. owners. It can be concluded that, in spite of the enormous quantity of products on sale, the market of dog feeders is very little developed.

[0004] Among the existing devices of interest, mention may be made of the one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Document JP20151 19662, the purpose of which is to provide a dog feeder in which no stress is given to a dog during the meal and Allows eating in a comfortable and hygienic posture. Said dog feeder includes: a base 12 at a predetermined height and a feeding container installed in an upper opening of the base 12 and which stores the feeding of a dog that contains at least one of feeding, water and medicine .; the feed container comprises a storage portion 32 for storing the feed, a cutout portion 34 that is cut in a predetermined amount toward the storage portion 32, a projection 36 formed between the storage portion 32 and the cutout portion 34; and a flange portion formed in an upper outer circumferential portion 46, and engaged with the upper opening 20.

[0005] The above device, like many others, does not have sufficient characteristics to be considered totally acceptable in its operation, both from the point of view of the comfort of the animal and its owner, although it solves its feeding in a simple way in a posture comfortable. [0006] It is, therefore, necessary to have on the market some devices, particularly feeders, in which the characteristics to be presented are properly selected, in such a way that the offered device does not focus on extended storage capacities, nor ignore the hygiene of the animal, or stop offering a set of characteristics that are healthy for the animal's daily life.

[0007] A feeder of these characteristics is claimed in claim 1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The feeding trough of the invention is a dog feeder whose characteristics intend to solve all the important feeding problems of dogs. Essentially, it aims to: offer the simple possibility of varying and adjusting the height of the feeding bowl continuously;

present a bowl or bowl of the slow feeding type to avoid stress to the animal while eating and make it eat healthy;

be able to heat frozen food.

[0009] Obtaining this set of characteristics makes it possible to ensure that the feeder of the invention is the healthiest in the market.

[0010] The feeding trough of the invention is formed by 4 unique parts. Three threaded cylindrical pieces that form the base of the feeder and a removable top bowl. The three pieces of the base will be named Base Piece 2, Base Piece 3 and Base Piece 4 as seen from top to bottom once they are mounted together as explained now.

[0011] When the feeder of the invention is threaded in its lowest position, the Base Pieces 3 and 4 (completely screwed together) are hidden under the Base Piece 2. By threading counter-clockwise the base of the base is made to grow. Telescopic shape and begin to appear the Base Piece 3, or the Base Piece 4, or both Base Pieces 3 and 4. Each complete turn of thread is a 1 cm high, but since we are talking about a threaded system it is actually possible adjust exactly the height that our dog needs between 10 cm (minimum height of the feeder) and 30cm (maximum height of the feeder).

[0012] By means of a screw system the bowl can be adjusted from a typical height of 10 cm to a total of 30 cm from the edge of the bowl with the ground. This is ideal for feeding the dog since it promotes correct posture, facilitates and improves digestion, eliminates neck and back effort (especially in older dogs or with posture problems) and reduces the amount of air swallowed during feeding . [0013] The four pieces are made of PP (polypropylene) as the base material, given their manufacturing properties as food. In addition, the upper bowl where the food will be deposited is made with food grade PP and have neither BPA nor DHEP (phthalates). The upper bowl and the Base Piece 4 are co-injected with TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) to achieve greater grip when placing the base or bowl on a surface.

[0014] On the other hand, the removable upper bowl has a bulge in the center that causes the food to spread around the perimeter of the bowl. This physically makes the dog have more work to get food (either feed or natural), since it can not gobble up large quantities and will require the tongue to remove all the food from the corners created by the package. This is tremendously beneficial because dogs tend to feed with some anxiety and very quickly, which leads to problems with digestion, vomiting, gas, discomfort and, above all, the feared "bloat" (bloating, bloating) that can lead to the death of the dog.

[0015] Finally, there is a great variety of dogs that need a more specific feeding due to digestion problems of the breed or dog in particular. This forces the owners to prepare dog food naturally (remains of chicken, meat, vegetables) and store them in the fridge or freezer, instead of feeding them with industrial feed. Since this is a matter of tendency, the removable bowl can be placed directly in the microwave, facilitating the preparation of the dog's food. Promoting, through a simple use, the dog's healthy diet.

[0016] In the market there are different solutions that offer each of the mentioned functionalities, but none in the market offers them all together in a single product and in a more elegant way. Height adjustable products are usually composed of complex leg systems, which take up a lot of space, have limited height adjustment capacity and complex mechanisms. Slow feeding systems are also common in the market, but have never been part of an adjustable height bowl; in addition the bowl of the feeder of the invention is removable from the base and suitable for microwaves, which is also not common. The substantial difference of what exists with the invention is the set of functionalities that are also complementary among them to offer the healthiest bowl in the market.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Next, a preferred embodiment of the feeding trough of the invention will be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic view showing the growth of the feeder from its compacted form to its developed form;

Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the trough in the different positions, as in Figure 1; Figures 3 and 8 show a front and perspective view, respectively of the 3 telescopic parts of the feeder, which is in its extended form. The upper bowl is hidden inside piece 2;

Figures 4 and 6 show the shape of the upper bowl. In figure 4 the central protuberance of this piece is appreciated;

Figure 5 is a cross-section of the feeding trough of the invention, in which the removable top bowl and the three telescopic parts of the base are seen in the retracted position;

Figure 7 shows the animal eating from the feeding trough of the invention;

Figures 9 and 10 show exploded the feeder of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0018] Figures 1 and 2 show in detail the positioning of the different parts of the feeder of the invention (upper bowl 1, base part 2, base part 3 and base part 4) fully assembled, from its 10 cm to 30 cm height maximums. It is appreciated how the pieces 1, 3 and 4 are compacted, so that only part 2 is visible.

[0019] The base pieces 2-3 can be screwed onto the immediately adjacent base pieces 3-4.

The parts 2-3 have internally one or two thread threads that can be threaded on complementary thread threads arranged externally on the base pieces 3-4. By means of the threading operation in the anti-clockwise direction using these threads, the base assembly is made to grow telescopically and pieces 3 and 4 begin to appear. In the image only 3 states are shown, but in reality the set is infinitely adjustable within the range of 10 to 30 cm. Furthermore, for aesthetic reasons in the height adjustment, it is possible to show more of the piece 4 or of the piece 3, if it is of interest because said two pieces have different aspects. That is, with the unscrewed one can even adjust the appearance of the feeder at any height less than 30cm.

[0020] The advantage of this product is that compacted (see Fig. 1, A), it occupies very little space (like a normal feeder) allowing it to be used in transfer and travel situations.

[0021] Figs. 3 and 8 are a front and perspective view of the feeding trough of the invention where it can be seen how the piece 1 is hidden inside the piece 2 when the trough of the invention is extended.

[0022] The image corresponding to fig. 4 shows how, by the shape of the bowl with the central protrusion, 1 b, it is achieved that the animal feed or food moves to the edges of the bowl. This makes the feeding of the dog slower since access to food requires more work, preventing the animal from swallowing a large amount at once, therefore avoiding causing problems to the animal, as well as allowing this food to last longer. weather.

[0023] FIG. 6 shows the removable top bowl suitable for microwave. The upper and lower edge are of TPE co-injected into the PP. The TPE allows a good grip on the bottom when placed in the microwave or on the table so that the bowl does not tip over with its contents. The upper TPE helps to hold when the removable bowl is placed in the base, to avoid turns during feeding the dog. In addition, in the lower part there is an opening that allows inserting the hand as a grip point to unscrew the bowl more easily and adjust it to the desired height. In addition, it works as an air leak so that no vacuum is created between the parts and the adjustment is without any air pressure resistance.

[0024] The upper part of piece 1, 1 a, as shown in fig.6, will allow the bowl, piece 1, to be smoothly coupled to piece 2.

[0025] FIG. 7 shows the position of the dog eating in the feeding trough of the invention. As you can see in the image, the back and neck are practically stretched, without forced curvatures. It is this position that is tremendously beneficial to the dog.

[0026] In an explosion of the feeder of the invention, as shown in figures 9 and 10 we can see all the parts thereof, (from bottom to top: Base Piece 4, Base Piece 3, Base Piece 2 and removable bowl 1, which corresponds to the detachable slow feeding bowl). From below you can see how piece 4 has 4 support points to look for complete stability in the ground. In addition, each of these legs is TPR, a plastic of a high level of friction, giving the feeder grip so that it does not slide while the dog eats, and stability so that it does not tip over.

[0027] Having explained the essence of the feeder of the invention, as well as a preferred embodiment thereof, it only remains to add that dimensional and structural modifications can be made to it without altering the scope of the invention, which is defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. Feeder for pets, characterized because it is composed of 4 pieces: a Cylindrical Base Piece 4;

a cylindrical base part 3, which can be coupled by threaded coupling with said cylindrical base part 4;

a cylindrical base part 2, which can be coupled by threaded coupling with said cylindrical part 3, and

a bowl 1, which is a removable piece that can be placed on said cylindrical base part 2

2. The animal feeder of claim 1, characterized in that said cylindrical base pieces 2, 3 and 4 have a system of threading that allows to adjust exactly the height of said pieces once coupled to each other to the animal, which can vary between 10 and 30cm, promoting a correct posture of the animal and improving its digestion and reducing air intake.

3. The pet feeder of claim 1, wherein said removable bowl 1 is of a type that is called "slow feed", characterized in that it has a raised central part that decreases and hinders the amount of food to be ingested, decreasing thus the animal's anxiety and improving its digestion.

4. The animal feeder of claim 1, wherein said removable bowl 1 is made of a material suitable for microwaves.