Abstract:
A pet feeding device comprising a container for pet food from which food is controllably provided through action by the pet itself in moving the container.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to a device for the self-feeding of pet animals, particularly, but not exclusively, cats. 
   As to those who are familiar with house pets, and particularly cats, will readily recognize, pet feeding is not an inconsequential matter from the points of view of both the owner and the pet. From the owner&#39;s point of view the feeding of the pet is a chore which, if the desire of the pet to be fed is to be taken into account (and the pet usually sees to it that it is a matter of immediate concern), not only occurs frequently but often at inconvenient hours, so that sometimes it is a matter of debate as to who is really in charge. From the pet&#39;s point of view the problems of obesity and lack of exercise afflict pets today, just as those matters often concern their owners. In addition, just as with humans, if a pet does not have to work for its dinner or get sufficient exercise it tends to become apathetic, and hence less healthy and less pleasing to its owner. 
   It is very easy for pets to over-eat because owners, with the best of intentions, tend to load the feeding dish with an excess of food and the pet, like some owners, tend to eat all that is put in front of it even after the need for additional sustenance actually has been satisfied. 
   It is therefore highly desirable to provide means by which the feeding of a pet is controlled without requiring the supervision of the owner and which is under the control of, and actually powered by, the pet itself. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention accomplishes those ends by providing a supply of food, usually in the form of pellets or other particles, and dispensing that food to the pet only when the pet wants the food, requiring physical effort on the part of the pet to get the food, and with the amount of food to be provided entirely under the control of the pet. Consequently, the pet, after a brief period of training, will be able to control its own feeding without having to seek any assistance on the part of its owner, with physical effort being required on the part of the pet in order to gain access to the food. Optionally structure to inhibit ready access to the dispensed food may also be provided, providing an additional challenge and requiring additional physical activity on the part of the pet before the food particles may be obtained and eaten. 
   In accordance with the present invention the food particles are contained within a container capable of moving, preferably in full or limited rotation, and provided with one or more protrusions which the pet may engage with its paw to cause the container to move. The movement agitates the food pellets or other particles in the container and causes them to tend to escape from the containers through an opening at the rear of the container, from which the pellets drop to the area below the container to which the pet has access. The size of the exit opening or openings may be adjustable, thereby to vary the amount of food which will escape from the container opening or openings, for a particular movement thereof. In a preferred embodiment the container is so mounted and arranged that it has a preferred standby position from which it can be moved in either direction to only a limited extent, so that the feeding movement of the container is more readily controlled by the pet. As an added feature the device of the present invention may have a floor onto which the pellets fall from the container which may be corrugated and/or provided with spaced obstructions extending thereacross, thus presenting physical challenges to the pet to gain access to the food. In its preferred form the container is of drum-shape loaded from the top through a relatively wide opening which, when the cover provided is not in place, gives the pet access to the food in the container through that top opening, a feature helpful in training the pet to use the device. The drum is preferably mounted to rotate or oscillate about an axis which is slightly forwardly and upwardly inclined. This facilitates the escape of the food particles through the exit passage or passages in the back of the drum. The drum may be mounted on its axis so as to tend to come to a normal stationary position, as by being counterweighted or mounted on an axis offset from the center of the cross-section of the drum. 

   
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The preferred embodiments of the present invention as described in the appended detailed description are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a three-quarter front perspective view of a preferred embodiment; 
       FIG. 2  is a three-quarter rear exploded perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a fragmentary perspective view of the rear of a food container; 
       FIG. 4  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  partially broken away; 
       FIG. 5  is a view similar to  FIG. 3  but showing the position of the parts when the feeder is to be deactivated; 
       FIG. 6  is a three-quarter perspective view showing one way in which a pet may manipulate the device to obtain food; 
       FIG. 7  is a view similar to  FIG. 1  but showing an alternate embodiment of the invention; and 
       FIG. 8  is a three-quarter rear perspective exploded view of the embodiment of  FIG. 7 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   In its preferred form, shown in  FIGS. 1–6 , the feeder comprises a food container generally designated  2  mounted on a supporting structure generally designated  4  so as to pivot about an axis generally designated  6 . The supporting structure  4  which is here specifically disclosed comprises a floor  8  connected to an upstanding wall  10 . Extending out from the wall  10  and slightly inclined upwardly is a shaft  12 . The container  2  comprises a front wall  14 , a generally cylindrical side wall  16  and a rear wall  18 . The shaft  12  extends through the rear wall  18  into the interior of the container  2 , the rear wall being provided with a sleeve  20  through which the shaft  12  extends. Thus the container  2  is mounted on the upstanding wall  10  so as to be rotatable about the shaft  12 , which defines the axis  6 . The rear wall is provided with a food exit opening  34  at what will be its lower portion. 
   The rear wall  18  is provided on its exterior with a pair of cleats  22 , and the control piece  24  is designed to be slideable beneath the cleat  22  between upper and lower positions, as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , respectively, and as indicated by the arrows  26  to  FIGS. 3 and 5 . The piece  24  is provided with an elongated slot  28  through which the shaft  12  passes, thus permitting and limiting the up and down movement of the piece  24 . The upper portion of the piece  24  is provided with a manually accessible part  30  for moving the piece  24  up and down. In its lower position, shown in  FIG. 5 , the food exit opening  32  at the bottom of the piece and the food exit opening  34  in the rear wall  18  of the container  2  are out of alignment so that no food can escape through the opening  34 . However, when the piece  24  is in its upper position, as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 6 , the openings  32  and  34  will register and food can then escape from the container  2 . Movement of the piece  24  need not be rectilinear to bring the two feed openings into and out of registration, and the piece  24  may have a plurality of different size openings  32  which, when selectively brought into registration with the feed opening  34  in the container, will produce different rates of food dispensing. 
   The cleats  22  are shown as provided with outstanding lugs  36  and  38 , and the upper portion  10  of the rear wall  10  is provided with ledges  40 , one on each side, in line with lugs  36  and  38  respectively. The container  2  is provided with outward protrusions  42  which, as shown in  FIG. 6 , may be engaged by the pet&#39;s paw in order to turn the container  2  in one direction or the other, and in the embodiment of  FIGS. 1–6  that movement will continue until one or the other of the lugs  36  or  38  engages a stop, here shown in the form of a ledge  40 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . Since that limits rotation of the container  2  (180° of rotation is appropriate, but not required), the pet will release the protrusions  42  and the container  2  will then rotate back to its normal standby position, either because of the weight of the mass of food particles  42  in the container  2  or because the container may be counter-weighted or because the axis of shaft  12  is somewhat above the center of gravity of the container itself or because of some other arrangement. Thus for each manipulation of a protrusion  42  by the pet a small amount of food will escape from the container and fall onto the floor  8  as indicated by the food mass  44  in  FIG. 4 . 
   As illustrated, the front wall  14  of the container  2  may be ornamental to represent the face of a cat, the protrusion  42  may simulate the cat&#39;s ears and the upstanding handle portion  30  of the piece  24  may simulate a cat&#39;s tail. Other forms of ornamentation will suggest themselves, preferably in the form of interchangeable panels or sheets. 
   As may best be seen in  FIG. 2 , the container  2  is provided at its top with a large filling opening  46  with a slideable cover  48 . The opening  46  preferably extends substantially the full length of the container  2  not only to facilitate filling the container  2  with the desired amount of food particles, but also to assist in training the pet to use the device. At the outset the food particles will be placed in the container  2  and the cover  48  will be removed. This provides an opening through which the pet can see the food in the container  2  and through which the pet can insert its paw to get the food. In so doing it will usually cause the container  2  to rotate. This will cause some food to fall from the container  2  when the exit opening  34  is exposed, and the pet will thus learn that by turning the container  2  food is made available on the floor, where it is more readily available than in the container  2 . After a brief learning period the cover  48  will be put in place, and then the pet will use what it has learned to get food when the container  2  is moved. 
   While the device as thus far described will, particularly when the container cover  48  is in place, force the pet to “work for its dinner”, certain additional work-requiring features may be present. Thus, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the floor  8  may be provided with a corrugated upper surface  50 , and optional rods  52  may be mounted to extend over the floor  8 , with or without the corrugated surface  50 , as by passing through apertures  54  in side walls  56  upstanding from the floor  8 , thus making access to the food particles  44  on the floor more difficult to the pet. The periphery of the upstanding wall  4  on which the shaft  12  is mounted preferably tapers upwardly so that the pet has ready access to the protrusions  42 . 
     FIGS. 7 and 8  show an alternate embodiment of the present invention in which the container  2   1  is fully rotatable about the axis defined by the shaft  12 , in this instance the shaft  12  extends through the front wall  14   1  of the container  2   1 , the container  2   1  being retained on the shaft  12  by any appropriate structure, here shown as a nut  52  screwed onto the tip  54  of that shaft  12 . Because the container  2   1  is rotatable on the shaft  12  without restriction it is provided with protrusion  42   1  throughout its periphery. Its rear wall  18   1  is provided with one or more exit openings  34   1 , which may be of different sizes, and which are selectively provided with closing plugs  24   1 , selection of which of the plugs  24   1  to remove from the rear wall  18   1  determining the rate at which food will fall from the container  2   1  when it is rotated. 
   It will be understood that, particularly but not exclusively with the embodiment of  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the supporting structure  4  as specifically disclosed may be completely eliminated, the supporting shaft  2  extending from any desired generally vertical supporting structure. 
   From the above it can be seen that the problems resulting from the tendency of pet owners to make food too easily available to their pets, and the problems involved in pets nagging their owners to feed them at inconvenient times are eliminated through use of the device disclosed. The pets must work for their food, but they do so on their own timetable and without inconveniencing their owners. Since they have to work for their food they will tend not to overeat, and hence the obesity problem is minimized. Moreover, because the pet must exercise its intellect in order to get fed the pet will tend to be more interested and therefore more interesting. 
   While but a limited number of embodiments have been here specifically disclosed, it will be apparent that many variations can be made therein, and that many of the disclosed features are optional and may be used in various combinations, all within the scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims.