Patent ID: 6571733
Filing Date: 2003-06-03
Classification: A01K

Abstract:
In an outdoor bird feeder having rectangular upstanding side and end walls defining a trough for containing bird seed between inner vertical surfaces of said walls, a relatively rectangular rigid, thin flat metallic perforate bottom screen having a plurality of spaced openings of dimensions less than the seed to be contained therein but enabling liquid drainage through said openings, narrow screen-supporting ledges spaced apart a distance less than one dimension of said screen and being located adjacent the bottom of at least said side wall inner surfaces for providing sole support for said screen when positioned on the ledges to form the bottom of said trough, said metallic screen having opposed lower underside edges thereof being directly supported atop and in surface contact with said ledges, said screen further being removable solely in its plane relative to said trough by sliding on said ledges for enabling cleaning of seed residue and bird droppings therefrom,said ledges consisting of water-impervious polymeric plastic material having a self-lubricating characteristic tending to cause water droplets to bead rather than sheet thereon when wet, said self-lubricating characteristic resisting the tendency of ice to adhere to said ledges and soil to cake thereon whereby the screen may be readily and relatively easily removed in its plane from the trough when ice and/or soil exists between the underside edges of said screen and upper surfaces of said ledges at temperatures below that at which water freezes, and, wherein at least one end wall that extends across said side walls at a right angle thereto has an open area from its bottom inner edge to a level above said ledges slightly exceeding the thickness of said screen, whereby said screen may extend into and be removed horizontally from said open area along the upper surfaces of said ledges.