Abstract:
A deer-actuated feeder is provided. The feeder has a storage compartment for the animal feed and an activation means which, when displaced, releases the feed through an opening in the storage compartment bottom. The activation means consist of a releasable plate which is held against the opening by either compression or tension forces.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application is a divisional application under 35 U.S.C. § 121 of pending U.S. non-provisional application Ser. No. 11/123,367, filed May 6, 2005. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates generally to a demand-type animal feeding device. In particular, the present invention relates to a demand-type deer feeder. More particularly, the invention relates to a deer-actuated feeder.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Animal feeders are often used to provide an alternative source of food for animals. Such feeders can attract deer and other wild animals to the area where the feeders are installed to allow for viewing by landowners, photographers, and hunters. Most animal feeds, however, are subject to spoilage if exposed to the elements. Therefore, it is normally preferable to keep such feed in an enclosed container until such time as the animal desires to eat. Furthermore, it is often desirable to prevent smaller animals such as squirrels and raccoons from gaining access to the feed and diminishing the supply. The present invention provides a deer feeder which protects the feed from the elements, releases the feed at the direction of the deer, and prevents smaller animals from causing the release of the feed.  
         [0004]     Many mechanical and electrical prior art animal feeders provide feed intermittently according to a pre-programmed time schedule. Such feeders, however, are expensive, are often battery operated, can be unreliable, and may require frequent maintenance. Furthermore, any animal is able to scavenge the feed from the vicinity of the feeder. Still other feeders must be hung from trees, which can make installation and refilling difficult to accomplish.  
         [0005]     Therefore, it is the object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive, sturdy, reliable feeder which releases feed on demand by the intended recipient.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present disclosure is directed to a deer actuated feeder. This may be accomplished by providing a storage compartment for the feed, as well as an activation means whereby a deer or other large animal uses its hoof or nose to release a small amount of feed. The storage compartment can be any size or shape, has an opening in its bottom, and can store dry domestic animal feed such as corn, peanuts, grain, and other commercially available feed pellets.  
         [0007]     The feed is released when a deer or other large animal of sufficient strength activates an activation means consisting of a releasable plate which covers the opening in the storage compartment bottom, extends beyond the outer periphery of the storage compartment, and is held against the opening by a tension of compression means such as a spring, a pneumatic closer, spring loaded hinge, bungee cord, rubber band, rubber block, or other similar device. Activating the activation means allows the dry feed to empty from the opening in the storage compartment bottom into a collection area of the plate or onto the ground for consumption by the deer. To limit the amount of food released, the activation means can consist of two plates, one to cover the opening and another that extends beyond the outer periphery of the storage compartment.  
         [0008]     The feeder can be made of any material of appropriate strength and durability such as metal, high-density plastics, and other suitable materials, so long as such materials are able to withstand the elements (rain, ice, snow, heat, etc.) and agitation by the deer. The feeder should be suspended above the ground to allow the activation means to open sufficiently, and also to allow access by a deer&#39;s hoof. Such suspension can be achieved by a support means such as by attaching legs to the feeder or by attaching the mounting brackets of the feeder to a tree or other fixed, stable object.  
         [0009]     As mentioned above, the activation means may be designed to allow only a small portion of feed to be released each time it is activated by a deer. This is also accomplished by limiting the size of the opening in the storage compartment bottom, and by using the appropriate tension to keep the releasable plate shut. Such tension may be maintained using any of the above listed tensions means in any one of several different locations, or on multiple locations, connected to the release plate. For example, one embodiment may have springs mounted on either side of the opening end of the release plate such that a downward force pulls the springs in tension and generates an upward force to cover the opening with the plate after the downward force has been removed. In an alternative embodiment, springs can be placed under the release plate against a fixed L-shaped ledge whereby the compressed spring maintains a constant upward force on the bottom of the release plate. In yet a third embodiment, a spring or multiple springs may be placed between two generally vertical flanges, one connected to the bottom of the storage compartment and the other connected to the bottom of the release plate whereupon activation by a deer compresses the spring(s) and generates an outward force against the flange causing the plate to cover the opening in the storage compartment.  
         [0010]     The feeder can also include several storage compartments which are coupled together and have activation means attached to each storage compartment. This will allow different types of feed to be maintained and dispensed separately.  
         [0011]     For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.  
         [0012]     These and other embodiments of the present invention will also become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the embodiments having reference to the attached figures, the invention not being limited to any particular embodiment(s) disclosed. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]     The present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears.  
         [0014]      FIG. 1A  is perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a demand-type animal feeder, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 1B  is an expanded view of the activation means of the exemplary embodiment of the demand-type animal feeder;  
         [0016]      FIG. 1C  is a side view of the exemplary demand-type animal feeder depicted in  FIGS. 1A and 1B  with the activation means in its closed position;  
         [0017]      FIG. 1D  is a side view of the exemplary demand-type animal feeder depicted in  FIGS. 1A and 1B  with the activation means in its open position;  
         [0018]      FIG. 2A  is perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a demand-type animal feeder in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 2B  a side view of the demand-type animal feeder depicted in  FIG. 2A  with the activation means in its closed position;  
         [0020]      FIG. 2C  is a side view of the demand-type animal feeder depicted in  FIGS. 2A and 2B  with the activation means in its open position;  
         [0021]      FIG. 3A  is a perspective view of a third alternative embodiment of a demand-type animal feeder in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 3B  is a side view of the demand-type animal feeder depicted in  FIG. 3A  with the activation means in its closed position;  
         [0023]      FIG. 3C  is a side view of the demand-type animal feeder depicted in  FIGS. 3A and 3B  with the activation means in its open position.  
         [0024]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a fourth alternative embodiment of a demand-type animal feeder in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0025]      FIG. 5A  is a perspective view of a fifth alternative embodiment of a demand-type animal feeder in accordance with the present invention when the activation means is in its close position.  
         [0026]      FIG. 5B  is a perspective view of a sixth alternative embodiment of a demand-type animal feeder in accordance with the present invention with the activation means in its open position. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0027]     The various embodiments of the present invention and their advantages are best understood by referring to  FIGS. 1-5  of the drawings. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the invention. Throughout the drawings, like numerals are used for like and corresponding parts of the various drawings.  
         [0028]     Referring now to  FIG. 1A , a storage compartment  105  holds the animal feed and is covered by a top  110  in order to keep the feed dry. The storage compartment bottom  115  is angled so that gravity will ensure all feed is eventually released. The storage compartment has mounting brackets  107  to allow for attachment to a tree or other fixed object. The activation means  125  ( FIG. 1B ) contains a top plate  135  and a bottom plate  140  and is movably attached to the storage compartment bottom  115  by a hinge  130 . The activation means  125  is held in an upright position, thus preventing the release of feed, by a spring  155  which is compressed between a generally vertical flange  120  that extends from the storage compartment bottom  115  and a second generally vertical flange  150  that extends from the bottom plate  140 . The bottom plate  140  has a lip  145  that catches feed once it is released from the storage compartment  105 . Feed is released when an animal of sufficient strength agitates the activation means by placing a downward force on the bottom plate  140  compressing the spring  155 . As shown in  FIG. 1D , this provides a small opening  160  from which the feed can exit the storage compartment  105 .  
         [0029]     Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 2A , the activation means can be maintained in the closed position by tension means  205  affixed at a first end  215  to the storage compartment  105  and at a second end  210  to the bottom plate  140 .  FIG. 2B  shows this alternative embodiment of the activation means in the closed position, and  FIG. 2C  shows the activation means in the open position.  
         [0030]     As best seen in  FIG. 3A , in another alternative embodiment the activation means can be maintained in the closed position by a spring  310  compressed between the bottom plate  140  and a fixed L-shaped ledge  305  which is anchored to the storage compartment bottom  115 . The activation means is activated and feed is allowed to exit the storage compartment when an animal of sufficient strength places a downward force on the bottom plate  140  which compresses the spring  310 . The compressive force of the spring  310  causes the top plate  135  to cover the opening once the downward force has been removed, thereby blocking the further release of animal feed.  FIG. 3B  shows this alternative embodiment of the activation means in the closed position, and  FIG. 3C  shows the activation means in the open position.  
         [0031]      FIG. 4  shows the storage compartment  405  may be of any size or shape. Furthermore, the feed opening  410  which allows feed to exit when the release door  435  is in the open position can also be of any size or shape depending on the amount of feed desired to be released upon activation by an animal. In this particular embodiment, the tension means  425  comprise a pair of pneumatic closers attached on a first end  415  to the storage compartment  405  and at a second end  430  to the bottom plate  420 .  
         [0032]     Finally, as shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , the activation means can be pivotally attached by a hinge  530  at any point along the storage compartment bottom so long as sufficient forces can be maintained to cover the opening  510  in the storage compartment bottom  515  until activation by the animal. The activation means is activated when an animal of sufficient strength places a downward force on the bottom plate  540  thereby compressing the spring  555  between a flange  550  extending from the bottom plate  540  and a flange  520  extending from the storage compartment  505 . The upper plate  535  which blocks the opening  510  (as best seen in  FIG. 5A ) is removed from the opening  510  by this downward force allowing feed to escape from the storage compartment  505 .  
         [0033]     This invention may be provided in other specific forms and embodiments without departing from the essential characteristics as described herein. The embodiments described above are to be considered in all aspects as illustrative only and not restrictive in any manner. The following claims rather than the foregoing description indicate the scope of the invention.  
         [0034]     As described above and shown in the associated drawings, the present invention comprises an actuated deer feeder. While particular embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be understood, however, that the invention is not limited thereto, since modifications may be made by those skilled in the art, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings. It is, therefore, contemplated by the following claims to cover any such modifications that incorporate those features or those improvements that embody the spirit and scope of the present invention.