Abstract:
A puzzle pet toy and treat dispenser that includes a housing, a lid, an inner chamber with a plurality of vertical radial walls, a drum aperture, a motor assembly, and an external chamber. The plurality of containers hold non-liquid pet treats, and an opening on the drum aperture aligned vertically with the tangential walls allows the pet treat on a given container to be released into the external chamber and dispensed via timer or controlled wirelessly through a wireless remote or controlled by a mobile device like a smart phone or tablet through a wirelessly connected app interface.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This Application is a continuing-in-part Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/229,895, titled “Puzzle Pet Toy and Treat Dispenser,” filed on Mar. 29, 2014, which claims priority date to a U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/903,273 titled “Pet Toy and Treat Dispenser”, filed on Nov. 12, 2013. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
     None. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to puzzle pet toys that dispense food or treats, and particularly, to a puzzle pet toy having a plurality of separate chambers that enables the dispensing of treats/food in a controlled way to thereby selectively dispense treats/food at an interval, such as scheduled, timed, and random. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Interactive pet toys are becoming increasingly popular. It is well known in the field that there are many benefits attributed to a pet toy that may stimulate an animal. As an example, the physical and mental health of a pet may be improved with interactive toys that cause a pet to be productively engaged with the toy. 
     Pet toys that dispense treats are commercially available in a myriad of configurations. By regulating the intensity and length of time an animal is occupied, the animal may be less prone to engage in negative behaviors. For example, a pet toy that dispenses treats while the owner is away is likely to pacify the pet from foraging food and engage in a destructive behavior in its living space. 
     While treat dispensing pet toys are generally known, many shortcomings of the prior art are not yet addressed in the field. One issue is the inability to sanitize the inner parts of the toy because of the construction of the toy. Other disadvantages with the prior art exist, for example the toy cannot regulate the rate of the treat being dispensed relative to the pet&#39;s attention. For an example, a hungry pet may be aggressively seeking every piece of the treat contained within the toy, while a disinterested pet may not even touch the toy without other motivations to do so. Because of these issues, pet toys from the prior art require a large degree of human supervision in order to be optimal and safe to use with pets. 
     Another issue that has not been addressed in the prior art is providing a motorized toy and treat dispenser present in the same device. In addition, pet toys involving motorized parts are notoriously difficult to clean unless the motor can be easily removed from the toy for cleaning. Therefore, most automatic feeders are stationary designs where the feeder dispenses food from a chamber to a pet bowl, and are not designed for the pets to interact with the feeder. 
     For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a pet toy and treat dispenser that can entertain a pet for a period of time with minimal human supervision, and is relatively easy to clean and maintain. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a motorized puzzle pet toy and treat dispenser that enable a pet owner to automatically regulate the rate of dispensing of various types of treat/food from the device. The word “treat” used hereinafter is intended to include all animal foodstuffs that can be consumed by an animal to include traditional treats and food of widely varying types. Treats may take a number of different forms such as uniformly sized nuggets, or the treats can be irregularly sized and shaped. 
     The puzzle element of the preferred embodiment requires the pet to interact with the puzzle toy and treat dispenser in order for the toy to dispense the treat to the pet, unlike other pet food dispensers that dispense the treat without the need of the pet&#39;s interaction with the dispenser. 
     According to a preferred embodiment of a device of the present invention, the puzzle pet toy and treat dispenser has a housing, a lid, an internal chamber, an external chamber, removable drum aperture, and a removable motor assembly located at the base of the toy. 
     The internal chamber has a base, a perimeter wall perpendicular to the base having a cylindrical shape, and a plurality of divider walls that create a plurality of container spaces within the inner chamber. Each container&#39;s section of the perimeter wall has an opening that allows treat to be dispensed from said chamber. These containers can be loaded with treats by opening the lid and pouring treats into the separate chambers. 
     The drum aperture is shaped substantially like a cylinder, and envelops the perimeter walls and the base of the inner chamber. A receiver for a driveshaft is provided at the base of the drum aperture, removably connected to a motor assembly. 
     The external surface of the drum aperture and the internal surface of the housing form a cavity within the toy, here defined as the external chamber. The drum aperture has an opening in the size and shape of the opening of a perimeter wall of the container section of the internal chamber, such that it allows the treat to dispense from the container to the external chamber when the opening on the drum aperture and the opening of a container are aligned together. In this manner, only a portion of the treat in the inner chamber is dispensed to the external chamber at any given moment. As the drum aperture rotates to the next container, it opens the next container while enclosing the remainder of the containers. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the housing comprises of two separable pieces forming a substantially spherical toy, with each hemisphere having at least one opening to allow dispensing treats from the external chamber. The lower housing also has a receptacle that conforms to the shape of the removable motor assembly. The separable pieces of the housings allow the toy to be easily serviced by the pet owner, and in the preferred embodiment, all the parts of the toy are to be made of materials that are dishwasher safe. 
     The motor assembly has at least a motor connected to a drivetrain, which in turn is connected to a clutch that leads to a drive shaft. The drive shaft is then inserted into the receiver on the bottom of the drum aperture, which allows the motor to freely rotate the drum aperture. The motor assembly also contains a removable battery to power the motor, a switch to operate the motor, and a noisemaker that generates sound when the drum aperture moves to attract the animal to play with the toy. 
     During use, the pet must interact with the puzzle toy and treat dispenser in order for the toy to dispense the treats present in the external chamber. The low center of gravity due to having the motor assembly located at the bottom of the puzzle toy allows it to have a roly-poly toy effect, such that if a pet pushes over the toy with its paw or its face, it wobbles for a few moments while seeking the upright orientation of its natural equilibrium state. The puzzle toy will then dispense the treats through the openings on the external surface of the toy until it depletes all the in the external chamber. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the motor is located at the base of the toy, to act as a lower center of gravity for the toy. This results in a wobbling factor that allows the toy to move around and dispense treats during play, but also ensuring that the positions of the openings are perpendicular to the ground when the toy is standing still. Without this feature, it is very likely that the toy might be inverted or in a position where the chamber opening is not oriented in a way that allows treats to dispense from the inner chamber to the outer chamber. 
     The toy can also be equipped with wireless features that allow it to be controlled through a wireless remote, or through a smartphone or tablet. The toy can connect directly to the smartphone or tablet through a wireless connection such as the Bluetooth standard, or any other wireless connection protocol that is known in the art. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following descriptions, appended claims and accompanying drawings where: 
         FIG. 01  shows a perspective view of the toy; 
         FIG. 02  shows an exploded view of the toy with all the removable parts; 
         FIGS. 03A and 03B  show a semi-exploded view of the toy assembled with the lid and motor assembly removed; 
         FIGS. 04A and 04B  show the toy assembled and the inner surface of the lid; 
         FIG. 05  shows a cross section view of the toy, showing the lid aligned with the dividing walls forming a container within the inner chamber, as well as the external chamber formed by the external surface of the drum aperture and the internal surface of the housing; 
         FIG. 06  shows a top perspective view of the toy with a section of the drum aperture enveloping the inner chamber, with the opening of the drum aperture aligned with one of the openings of the container in the inner chamber; 
         FIG. 07  shows an alternate view of the upper housing attached to the internal chamber; 
         FIGS. 08A and 08B  show the inner chamber as a separate piece from the upper housing; 
         FIG. 09  shows the bottom view of the inner chamber showing the inner chamber base opening to receive the driveshaft socket from the drum aperture; 
         FIG. 10  shows the lower housing assembly with a receptacle to hold the motor assembly within the housing assembly; 
         FIG. 11A  shows a top perspective view of the drum aperture; 
         FIG. 11B  shows a bottom perspective view of the drum aperture; 
         FIGS. 12A and 12B  show a close up view of the drum aperture showing the scooping fins; 
         FIGS. 13A, 13B, and 13C  show a stop animation view of the drum aperture rotating its opening from one container to the next; 
         FIGS. 14A, 14B, and 14C  show an alternate stop animation view of the drum aperture rotating its opening from one container to the next; 
         FIG. 15A  shows a perspective view of the inner side of the motor assembly; 
         FIG. 15B  shows a perspective view of the outer side of the motor assembly without the battery cover; 
         FIG. 15C  shows a perspective view of the outer side of the motor assembly with the battery cover; 
         FIG. 16  shows an exploded view of the motor assembly; 
         FIGS. 17A, 17B, and 17C  show the internal views of the motor assembly; 
         FIGS. 18A, 18B, and 18C  show a step diagram of a dog interacting with the toy; 
         FIG. 19  shows a diagram flowchart of the software logic used in the toy; 
         FIG. 20  shows a step-by-step use of the toy by the owner; 
         FIG. 21  shows a diagram flowchart of a training mode feature in the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 22  shows a block diagram of a training mode feature in the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 23  shows a diagram flowchart for the APP flow in the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 24  shows a diagram flowchart for the device flow in the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 25  shows a diagram flowchart in the UNPAIRED mode feature in the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 26  shows a diagram flowchart in the PAIRED mode feature in the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 27  shows an in-APP view of the INTERVAL mode setting screen within the APP illustrating a feature in the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 28  shows an in-APP view of the SCHEDULE mode settings screen within the APP illustrating a feature in the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 29  shows an in-APP view of the RANDOM mode settings screen within the APP illustrating a feature in the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 30  shows an in-APP view of part of the SETTINGS screen within the APP illustrating the settings panel in the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 31  shows an in-APP view of part of the SETTINGS screen with within the APP illustrating the settings panel in the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 32  shows a diagram flowchart of a training mode feature in the preferred embodiment. 
     
    
    
     REFERENCE NUMBER INDEX 
       100  Puzzle Pet Toy and Treat Dispenser 
       101  Upper Housing 
       102  Lower Housing 
       103  Housing Opening 
       104  External Chamber 
       105  Motor Assembly Receiver 
       200  Lid 
       201  Recessed Finger Grips 
       202  Lid dividers 
       300  Inner Chamber 
       301  Inner Chamber Base 
       302  Inner Chamber Perimeter Wall 
       303  Inner Chamber Perimeter Wall Opening 
       304  Inner Chamber Divider Walls 
       305  Inner Chamber Containers 
       306  Inner Chamber Base Opening 
       400  Drum Aperture 
       401  Drum Aperture Base 
       402  Drum Aperture Perimeter Wall 
       403  Drum Aperture Opening 
       404  Driveshaft Socket 
       405  Scooping Fins 
       406  Trigger Actuators 
       500  Motor Assembly 
       501  Battery 
       502  Battery Cover 
       503  Motor 
       504  Gears 
       505  Clutch 
       506  Striker 
       507  Noisemaker 
       508  Driveshaft 
       509  Stop Switch 
       510  Interval Selector 
       511  Power Button 
       512  LED 
       513  Recessed Finger Grips 
       514  Speaker Grill 
       515  PCB Circuit 
       600  Pet 
       700  PCB Logic Flowchart 
       701  Set time interval step 
       702  Power up step 
       703  Chamber Rotation step 
       704  Conditional check step 
       705  Reset time interval step 
       706  Shut down motor and power step 
       800  User Process Flowchart 
       801  Open lid step 
       802  Load container with treats step 
       803  Close lid step 
       804  Remove motor assembly step 
       805  Set timer step 
       806  Replace motor assembly step 
       807  Power on step 
       808  Rotate drum aperture step 
       809  Repeat process step 
       810  Wait for interval step 
       811  Shut down power step 
       900  Training Process Mode 
       2001  nrf51822 Circuit Board/Chip 
       2010  internal flash 
       2011  BlueTooth 4.0 Stack 
       2012  Application Code 
       2020  Internal Ram 
       2021  2.4 GHz Radio 
       2022  SPI 
       2023   12 C 
       2024  GPIO 
       2030  Antenna 
       2040  External Flash 
       2041  usage data 
       2042  settings 
       2043  audio data 
       2050  accelerometer 
       2060  Motor 
       2070  LEDs and Buttons 
       2080  Amplifier 
       2081  Speaker 
       2300  Mode 
       2300  Application start/Flow of App 
       2301  Launch Background Process 
       2302  State/us indicator 
       2303  Activity: Change Settings 
       2304  Activity Indicator (paring) 
       2305  PAIRED indicator 
       2306  Prior Pairing Status 
       2307  Prior Devices present? 
       2308  PAIRED indicator 
       2309  UnPaired indicator 
       2310  PAIRED status, of PAIRED 
       2311  Firmware check 
       2312  Update firmware if necessary 
       2313  Status indicator: PAIRED 
       2314  Activity: Change Settings 
       2315  Activity: View Usage 
       2316  Activity: Change Schedule 
       2317  Activity: Unpair 
       2318  Status: Unpaired indicator 
       2350  Flow of App 
       2351  REPEAT Process A 
       2352  Status: Paired? 
       2353  Activity: Update Device Time 
       2354  System Check: Schedule Change 
       2355  Activity: Update Schedule for Device 
       2356  Status: Data, Update 
       2357  Activity: Collect &amp; Update Usage Data 
       2358  Status: Sleep Mode 
       2359  REPEAT Process A 
       2400  APP FLOW 
       2401  Device Start up 
       2402  Initialize 
       2403  REPEAT Process A 
       2404  System Check: Firmware? 
       2405  Activity: Update firmware 
       2406  System Check: Time? 
       2407  Activity: Update Time? 
       2408  System Check: New Schedule? 
       2409  Activity: Update Schedule 
       2410  System Check: New Tune/sound 
       2411  Activity: Update new tune/sound 
       2412  System Check: Time to dispense? 
       2413  Activity: Dispense 
       2414  REPEAT Process A 
       2500  APP interface 
       2501  Status: Connectivity (Connected/Disconnected) 
       2502  Device Name 
       2503  Pairing Status 
       2504  Start radio button 
       2505  Radio button—for setting duration of activity 
       2506  Radio Button—For ring tone or sound 
       2507  Radio Button—HOME 
       2508  Radio Button—Settings 
       2509  Radio Button—Usage 
       2510  Settings—specified time interval 
       2511  Settings—scheduled time 
       2512  Settings—random time(s) 
       2600  APP interface 
       2601  Status of Connected or nearby/far from Device(s) 
       2602  Status of Connected or nearby/far from Device(s) 
       2700  APP interface 
       2702  Named Device 
       2800  APP interface 
       2811  Time of Day—10:00.00 AM 
       2812  Time of Day—11:00.00 AM 
       2813  Time of Day—11:45.00 AM 
       2814  Time of Day—2:00.00 PM 
       2900  APP Interface 
       2917  Interval Time (Minimum) 
       2918  Interval Time (Maximum) 
       3000  APP interface 
       3010  Settings 
       3011  THIS DEVICE (Device Name) 
       3012  Radio Button—For renaming device 
       3013  Radio Button—identify this device 
       3020  Settings—Background Image 
       3021  Background images choices radio button 
       3022  Settings BackGround 
       3023  Settings—Radio Button on and off 
       3024  Settings—Select Background 
       3025  Settings—Take a picture 
       3026  Settings—Use Default Background 
       3100  Settings (Continued) 
       3110  Settings—Sounds 
       3111  Settings—Bell 
       3112  Settings—Select Sound 
       3113  Settings—Radio Button on/off 
       3120  Settings—Copyright and Acknowledgements (and other legal information) 
       3121  Settings—Multiple languages of Copyright and Acknowledgements 
       3122  Settings—Feedback/Report an issue or problem 
       3200  APP Interface 
       3210  Toggle: THIS DEVICE 
       3220  Toggle: ALL DEVICES 
       3211  Clear (devices) 
       3230  Email (regarding devices/interaction of devices) 
       3240  Activity of Device 
       3250  Radio Button/Toggle on/off/activity 
       3250  Radio Button/Toggle On/off/Dispense 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       FIG. 1  shows the look and feel of the preferred embodiment of the invention. The preferred embodiment comprises a housing  100 , a lid  200 , an inner chamber  300 , a drum aperture  400 , and a motor assembly  500 . 
     The housing  100  has a substantially spherical shape to allow the toy to roll around freely during play. Also in the preferred embodiment, the housing  100  can be formed from two pieces combined into one housing, with the pieces here described as an upper housing  101  and a lower housing  102 . The housing should have a plurality of openings  103  to allow treats to dispense from the external chamber  104  within the housing, the external chamber formed by the internal surface of the housing  100  and the external surface of the drum aperture  400 . The lower housing  102  has a receptacle that can retain and hold the motor assembly  500  by using a twist-lock method of securing the motor assembly within the lower housing body. 
     The inner chamber  300  comprises of a base  301 , a perimeter wall  302  perpendicular to the base, and a plurality of divider walls  304  that divide the inner chamber into a plurality of containers  305 . The divider walls  304  divide the perimeter wall  302  into equal sections, with each section creating an individual treat container  305 . On each of the perimeter wall section  302  of a given container has an opening  303  that allows treats to travel from an open container  305  to the external chamber  104 . Located on the external surface of the base of the inner chamber  301  is an opening  306  to receive the driveshaft socket  404  of the drum aperture  400 . It should be noted that the internal surface of the opening on inner chamber base  306  does not come to contact with the external surface of the driveshaft socket  404  at any point, only to provide space for the socket during assembly. 
     The lid  200  is located at the top of the housing, and in the preferred embodiment is secured using a twist-lock method. A plurality of recessed finger grips  201  are present to assist users in tightening or opening the lid. The inner surface of the lid has a plurality of dividers  203  that aligns with the top portion of the plurality of the divider walls in the inner chamber, creating a complete enclosure of the individual containers  305  from the base  301  to the inner surface of the lid  200 . The plurality of containers  305  are completely enclosed from one another such that the treats are separately contained within each container space; the only possible means of access to the individual container would be by opening the lid  200  or when the drum aperture opening  403  aligns completely with the inner chamber perimeter wall opening  303  of a given container.  FIGS. 15 a , 15 b , and 15 c    along with  FIGS. 16 a , 16 b , and 16 c    show the step by step operation of a container being opened and closed during the rotation of the drum aperture  400 . 
     The drum aperture  400  has a preferably circular base  401 , and a perimeter wall  402  perpendicular to the base forming a substantially a cylindrical shape. Located at the center of the external surface base is a socket  404  for the driveshaft  507  that connects the motor assembly  500  to the drum aperture  400 . The base  401  is slightly recessed inside the perimeter wall  402  to accommodate the depth of the motor assembly  500  being inserted into the lower housing  102  and the drum aperture  400 . In the preferred embodiment, the socket  404  is shaped in a way that conforms with the driveshaft  507  such that the driveshaft firmly holds to the socket and does not slip when rotating the drum aperture  400 . A symmetrical shape such as a hexagon or an octagon is preferred because it allows multiple ways of the drive fitting into the socket when the motor assembly is replaced into the toy. An opening in the perimeter wall of the aperture  403  is provided to allow treats to travel from the separate containers  305  to the external chamber  104 . The size and shape of the opening  403  should conform substantially to the inner chamber perimeter wall openings  303  of the individual containers to maximize the number of treats dispensed when a container  305  is opened by the drum aperture  400 . 
     A plurality of scooping fins  405  can be provided in the upper and lower edges of the perimeter wall  402  that conforms to the shape of the internal surface of the housing  100  as an alternate embodiment of the present invention. The scooping fins  405  prevent any treats that may inadvertently jam on the corners and prevent the drum aperture  400  moving freely during operation. At the perimeter of the external surface of the drum aperture base  401 , a plurality of correspondingly spaced trigger actuators  406  around the perimeter of the base are provided to interact with the stop switch  508  on the motor assembly  500  and regulate the operation of the motor  502 . 
     The motor assembly  500  comprises a housing for the battery  501  powering the motor, a battery cover  502 , a motor  503  connected to a plurality of gears  504 , said plurality of gears having connected to a clutch  505  and a striker  506  capable of striking a mechanical bell  507 . The clutch is then connected to driveshaft  508  that can be inserted into a driveshaft socket  404  located on the base of the drum aperture  401 . It should be clear to a person having ordinary skill in the art that the striker and mechanical bell portion can be substituted as any noise-making device that is synchronized to the rotating motion of the drive shaft. Present within the motor assembly is a stop switch  509  that is activated by a plurality of actuators located at the perimeter of the external surface of the drum aperture base. Whenever the stop switch  509  is pressed by the actuator, it stops the motor from moving the drum aperture around the internal chamber. The stop switch  509  is located on the inner side of the motor assembly facing the external surface of the drum aperture base. An interval selector  510  is provided on the inner side of the motor assembly that can be toggled by the user to set the time interval for the aperture opening moving to the next chamber. Having the stop switch  509  and the interval selector  510  located on the inner side of the motor assembly minimizes the possibility of a pet accidentally accessing these control functions. A power button  511  is provided on the outer side of the motor assembly. The power button  511  is recessed slightly so a pet cannot reach the button, but a human using his/her finger can. In the preferred embodiment, an LED indicator  512  is provided along with the power button to inform the user about the mode and the status of the motor. The power button  511  and LED indicator  512  sit on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) assembly  515  that stores the software logic for the motor operation. 
     A speaker grill  514  is provided to allow sound to travel out from the noisemaker  507 . A plurality of recessed finger grips  513  are provided on the outer side of the motor assembly to assist a person to comfortably grip the motor assembly during removal and replacement of the assembly. In the preferred embodiment, the motor assembly is located at the base of the toy and drum aperture and acts as a lower center of gravity for the toy. The contents of the motor assembly acts as a weight, and eliminates the need for a separate weight to achieve a lower center of gravity in an alternate version of the toy. 
     The noisemaker  507  creates a sound to attract the pet to interact with the puzzle toy. In the preferred embodiment, the sound produced by the noisemaker is timed to coincide with the rotation of the drum aperture  400  to signal the pet that there are treats ready to be dispensed from the toy. The noisemaker can be in the form of a traditional mechanical bell, as chosen in the preferred embodiment. However, it should be noted that the noisemaker can be in the form of a digital sound chip playing a prerecorded sound, music, or speech that indicates the action of a mechanical bell. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the housing, the lid, and the rotating aperture is made out of food grade plastics, such as HDPE, PE, LDPE, ABS, PET, and other suitable food grade plastic commonly used in the field for food containers. The food grade plastic is chosen for its inert, durable characteristics such that it is safe for the pet to consume treats dispensed from the puzzle toy, or any other materials that would have been available to a person skilled in the art. Finally, the pet owner can safely disassemble and wash the puzzle pet toy after use, and the parts made out of the food grade plastic is ideally made to be dishwasher safe. 
       FIGS. 21 a , 21 b  and 21 c    show the method of play of the preferred embodiment. A pet owner leaves the pet  600  with the toy fully loaded with the treats, sets the time interval, and leaves the pet alone with the toy. As the motor rotates the drum aperture, a noisemaker in the assembly emits an audible sound to attract the pet&#39;s attention. As the pet approaches the toy and interacts with the toy, the toy wobbles around and dispenses treats from the external chamber. The pet then eats the treats dispensed from the toy, and usually will attempt to retrieve more treats by playing with the toy. In the usual scenario, the pet will usually lose interest as soon as it perceives all the treats that have been dispensed by the toy, and would leave the toy alone. The toy then counts down to the next scheduled time interval. Once the countdown is reached, the timer activates the motor, with the drum aperture moving to the next chamber and while doing so, activates the noisemaker that lasts for a few seconds as the drum aperture moves to the next container. The pet will gradually associate the noise with the toy dispensing treats, and will have enough motivation to play with the toy even when the owner is not around. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the toy can have several modes of use. One such mode is the general use, where the user opens the lid  801 , loads the treat into the containers  802 , close the lid  803 , remove the motor assembly from the toy  804 , set a time interval  805 , replace the motor assembly  806 , activate the toy by turning the power on  807 , and as the toy is powered on the drum aperture rotates to the next container  809 , and finally leaving the toy for the pet to play with.  FIG. 22  shows a flowchart of the software logic used in the preferred embodiment to regulate the interval between opening the next container. The time interval can be set in increments of 15 minutes between the rotation to the next chamber (15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, and 1 hour), or other time intervals desirable for the toy. Another mode available to the user is the training or demo function, where the drum aperture rotates only once to dispense the treats on the next available chamber.  FIGS. 19, 20, and 21  show a flowchart of this mode. The purpose of this function is to train a pet to associate the sound and movements made by the toy with the dispensing of the treat, so the pet understands what the sound means when left alone with the toy. The second mode is desirable in scenarios where the pet has an aversion to the toy, or does not comprehend the function of the toy such that the owner needs to train the pet to understand the purpose of the toy. 
     In the training mode, a user simply presses and holds the power button  900  for at least one second or longer. When this is done, the chamber rotates until the trigger actuates switch, and this action shuts down the motor and power. The user can repeat this action indefinitely with the pet, so the pet can associate the noise generated by the toy to signal play and feeding time. It should be noted that the mechanical action of activating the training mode is for illustration purposes, and a person having skilled in the art can create an analogous function with a variation of the process, and these variations are meant to be covered under this disclosure. 
       FIG. 22  shows a block diagram of a possible embodiment of a chipset that allows the toy to wirelessly connect and be controlled through a smartphone or wireless remote. It should be noted that all the components displayed in the diagram are for illustrational purposes only, and not meant to be a limitation to the claims. The chipset  2200  comprises of an internal flash memory  2211 , which stores the Bluetooth Stack  2212  and Application Code  2213 . The chipset also has an internal RAM  2220 , and a wireless radio  2221  to receive and broadcast signals to and from the chipset, and said radio is connected to an antenna  2230 . The board may also use an SPI Bus interface  2222 , I2C protocol  2223 , or GPIO  2224 , or all of them to control the various functions of the chipset. The chipset can write usage data  2241 , toy settings,  2242 , and audio data  2243  to an external flash memory  2040 , receive input and output from a plurality of accelerometers  2250 , regulate motor control  2260 , LED and buttons  2270 , and play audio files through a speaker  2281  connected through an amplifier  2280 . 
       FIG. 23A  shows a logical process flow diagram of the toy or device programmed behavior through a software app control system. The term toy and device are interchangeably used for the purposes of  FIGS. 23A and 23B . The app launches a background process  2301 , which can be seen in  FIG. 23B  in a greater detail, and checks whether the toy has been paired before or not  2306 . If the toy has been previously paired  2311 , the toy then checks for any new firmware updates  2312 , and updates the firmware if a new version is available. In the paired state  2313  the toy allows the user to run the following activities: change settings  2314 , view usage  2315 , change schedule  2316 , or unpair the device  2317 . Unpairing the device at this stage will move the process logic to the unpaired stage  2318 , the process of which is detailed in the Unpaired State diagram  2302 . 
     In the unpaired state  2302 , the user can change the settings  2303 , or attempt to pair  2304  to a smartphone or tablet, which leads to the paired state logic  2305 . 
       FIG. 23B  shows the process flow diagram for the background process  2301  in a greater detail. The background process primarily runs basic tasks including updating the correct time in the chipset  2353 , checking for changes in the schedule  2354 , which then updates the device schedule  2355  if it detects a change in the schedule. The device then checks for any changes in usage data, at which point it will collect and update usage data  2357  if any changes are present. Once all the background process is completed, the background process goes to sleep mode  2358  the application process moves to the main process in  FIG. 23A . 
       FIG. 24A  and  FIG. 24B  represents an alternate embodiment of the logic process of the chipset within the puzzle pet toy. In  FIG. 24A , the device powers up  2401 , and goes through an initialization process that is detailed in  FIG. 24B . The initialization process checks for memory  2451 , storage  2453 , and reports any error to the chipset  2452 . The initialization process also checks for the door sensor  2454 , motor  2455 , and speaker  2456 , and completes the check  2457  if all components are functioning as it should. If there is an error, then the device reports back the error to the user either through an error sound, or an error light, or both. 
     Once the device has successfully run through its initialization process, the device receives input from the software application  2403  and goes through the input in a serial manner. The device first checks for any firmware update,  2404 , and updates the firmware  2505  if there is a new firmware available for the device. The device then checks for current time and date  2406 , and synchronizes to the appropriate time and date  2407  if necessary. After the time is set, the device then checks for any changes in the dispensing schedule  2408 , and updates the schedule  2409  if there is any new changes in the dispensing schedule. 
       FIGS. 25-32  show a possible embodiment of a mobile device app interface to control the features of the puzzle pet toy.  FIG. 25  shows a possible main menu for the control interface on a smart phone. The interface may comprise of an action bar including a disconnect  2501  and pair  2503  buttons, and the action bar showing which device is being connected to the smart phone device  2502 . It should be noted that  FIGS. 25-32  are illustrations of a possible embodiment of the software app interface and not meant to be a limitation of the claims. 
       FIG. 25  shows a screenshot of a possible embodiment of the app interface  2500 , showing the Status: Connectivity (Connected/Disconnected)  2501 , the Device Name  2502 , the Pairing Status  2503  (pair/unpair), a Start radio button  2504  to start the activity of the toy, a Radio button for setting duration of activity  2505 , a Radio Button for ring tone or sound  2506 , a Radio Button indicating the app&#39;s Home screen  2507 , a Radio Button to change the settings  2508 , a Radio Button to indicate the usage of the toy  2509  at the bottom, Settings for setting a specified time interval  2510  with the selected region  2510  selected with a drop down menu of  2511  through  2514  displayed, Settings for setting a scheduled time  2511 , Settings for setting a random time(s)  2512 . 
       FIG. 26  shows a screenshot of the app interface displaying the available puzzle pet toys within the vicinity of the smart mobile device that can connect to the smart mobile device  2600 . The list may include the name of the puzzle pet toy, and also an estimate of the distance of a nearly detected example puzzle pet toy called “Rusty&#39;s food hole”  2601 , or another puzzle pet toy that is further away that in this example is identified as “Fred&#39;s thingy.”  2602 . 
       FIG. 27  shows a screenshot of the app interface  2700 , and within status Named Device Status bar  2502 . For illustration purposes, a device called “Rusty&#39;s food hole”  2702  is available within the app for changing any of the settings previously mentioned in  FIGS. 25 and 26  with the selected region  2510  selected with a drop down menu of  2511  through  2514  displayed. 
       FIG. 28  shows a screenshot of the app interface  2800 , where the selected region  2515  is selected, indicating a drop down menu for Time of Day settings for the user to choose, for example—10:00.00 AM  2811 , Time of Day—11:00.00 AM  2812 , Time of Day—11:45.00 AM  2813 , and Time of Day—2:00.00 PM  2814 . 
       FIG. 29  shows a screenshot of the app Interface  2900 , where selected region  2515  is selected, indicating a drop down menu for Interval Time Settings  2516 , with drop down menu for Minimum interval time  2917  and Maximum Interval Time  2918 . 
       FIG. 30  shows a screenshot of the app interface  3000 , the Settings Menu  3010  (selected), for THIS DEVICE (Device Name)  3011 , currently selected is  2502  “Rusty&#39;s Food hole”, and Radio Button—For renaming device  3012 , Radio Button—identify this device (pet toy”  3013 , Settings—Background Image  3020 , Background images choices radio button  3021 , Settings Background  3022 , Settings—Radio Button on and off  3023 , Settings—Select Background  3024 , Settings—Take a picture  3025 , Settings—Use Default Background  3026   
       FIG. 31  shows a screenshot of the app&#39;s settings screen (continued down/scroll down within the app interface)  3100 , settings for sounds  3110 , settings for the Bell  3111 , Settings—for selecting a sound “Select Sound”  3112 , Settings for Radio Button on/off  3113 , Settings menu for Copyright and Acknowledgements (and other legal information)  3120 , Settings menu for viewing Multiple languages of Copyright and Acknowledgements  3121 , Settings—for menu to give Feedback/Report an issue or problem  3122  for the device or app. 
       FIG. 32  shows a screenshot of the app Interface showing a history of activity and dispensing tracked over time  3200 . Users can see the history for the connected device  3210 , or alternatively the user can see an aggregated data for all the devices that have been paired with the smart mobile device  3220 . The user can clear and reset the data by pressing the clear button  3211 . The user can also send the data displayed through e-mail or other similar communicative means  3230 . The data is displayed as a bar graph showing the volume of activity and dispensation over time  3240 . Users can also filter the bar graph to show either activity only  3240 , dispense only  3250 , or both. 
     In the Summary of the Invention above and in the Detailed Description of the Invention, and the claims below, and in the accompanying drawings, reference is made to particular features (including method steps) of the invention. It is to be understood that the disclosure of the invention in this specification includes all possible combinations of such particular features. For example, where a particular feature is disclosed in the context of a particular aspect or embodiment of the invention, or a particular claim, that feature can also be used, to the extent possible, in combination with and/or in the context of other particular aspects and embodiments of the invention, and in the invention generally. 
     The term “comprises” and grammatical equivalents thereof are used herein to mean that other components, ingredients, steps, etc. are optionally present. For example, an article “comprising” (or “which comprises”) components A, B, and C can consist of (i.e., contain only) components A, B, and C, or can contain not only components A, B, and C but also one or more other components. 
     Where reference is made herein to a method comprising two or more defined steps, the defined steps can be carried out in any order or simultaneously (except where the context excludes that possibility), and the method can include one or more other steps which are carried out before any of the defined steps, between two of the defined steps, or after all the defined steps (except where the context excludes that possibility). 
     The term “at least” followed by a number is used herein to denote the start of a range beginning with that number (which may be a range having an upper limit or no upper limit, depending on the variable being defined). For example “at least 1” means 1 or more than 1. The term “at most” followed by a number is used herein to denote the end of a range ending with that number (which may be a range having 1 or 0 as its lower limit, or a range having no lower limit, depending upon the variable being defined). For example, “at most 4” means 4 or less than 4, and “at most 40%” means 40% or less than 40%. When, in this specification, a range is given as “(a first number) to (a second number)” or “(a first number)−(a second number),” this means a range whose lower limit is the first number and whose upper limit is the second number. For example, 25 to 100 mm means a range whose lower limit is 25 mm, and whose upper limit is 100 mm. 
     Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred version contained herein.