Pet feeding dish and system

A pet feeding system that includes a dish configured to regulate intake of food by a pet, such as a cat. The dish has a housing in cooperation with a food-dispensing receptacle that dispense food into a food-receiving chamber within the housing permitting a pet to access food in the chamber through at least one food access port that only permits part of the pet to reach within the housing to get some food. The food-dispensing receptacle can be a bowl that can be integrally formed as part of the housing and can also be a food-holding container that seats in the bowl. A cap is provided that can cover food in the bowl or container preventing a pet from accessing the food.

FIELD

The present invention relates to a food dish and more particularly to an animal food dish that is capable of regulating or metering food delivered for actual animal consumption.

BACKGROUND

Pets, particularly cats, have a tendency of overeating when presented with a dish full of food. Obesity related problems, including thyroid related problems, can occur, which obviously are extremely undesirable. In addition, many animals, including cats in particular, are instinctively programmed to hunt or otherwise work to obtain their food.

What is needed is a food dish that discourages pet overeating. What is also needed is a food dish that takes advantage of an animal's instinctive predatory tendencies to seek and obtain food.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to a pet feeding dish and feeding system that is configured to help regulate food intake of a pet, such as a cat or dog. Where the pet is of a type possessing hunting instincts, the dish can be configured to present food in a manner that challenges the pet and correspondingly reduces the pet's food consumption rate by making the pet work for its food.

Such a dish is configured so the pet is unable to eat directly from it but rather in a manner where the pet must manually move food it wishes to eat, typically with a paw or the like, to a location where it can be eaten. Such a dish can be configured or is configurable in a manner that prevents the pet to access all of the food held by the dish thereby also helping regulate food intake.

In one embodiment, a pet feeding system is provided that includes a feeding dish with a bottom, e.g., floor, and a housing that extends upwardly from the floor, defining a food-receiving chamber between the floor and the housing. Such a feeding dish can be constructed as a dish assembly where the floor removably attaches to a portion of the housing. The housing includes a food discharge outlet that can be a chute with an opening that faces and is vertically spaced from the floor. Food is dispensed in a manner so that the pet does not have access to the entire contents of the food at a given time. While in use, the total volume of food held can be located in different parts of the dish. For example, there can be (i) a dispensed volume of food that sits upon the floor, (ii) a supporting volume of food that extends upwardly between the dispensed volume of food and the chute opening, and (iii) a stored volume of food that is supported from below by the supporting volume of food and is held within the chute.

In another embodiment, the dish housing includes multiple feeding ports that extend into the chamber and are spaced from each other about a perimeter of the housing. The housing can also have multiple windows that extend into the chamber that allow a pet to look therethrough and see dispensed food within the chamber, including food sitting on the floor. Where equipped with such viewing windows, the windows are also spaced from each other about the perimeter of the housing and can be positioned alternatingly between the feeding ports.

In yet another embodiment, the dish assembly opening of a bowl is spaced from the floor by a first distance that is less than a second distance that is defined by a width across the opening of the bowl. In other words, the opening of the bowl can be placed a distance to the floor that is smaller that a distance across the opening, itself.

In another embodiment, the housing has a hemispherical shape and the bowl is in communication with an upper portion of the housing. The housing and bowl can be integrally connected so that an upper edge of the housing curves downwardly toward the chamber and transitions into a sidewall of the bowl. The sidewall of the bowl can be connected to a chute such that the opening of the bowl assembly is defined at the bottom of the chute. The chute is funnel-like or conical so as to direct food that falls through the opening to a relatively small location on the underlying floor where it can accumulate in the chamber.

In yet other embodiments, the bowl is part of an assembly that includes a container that extends upwardly from at least one of the bowl and the chute. The container can be supported by an annular land that extends inwardly from the bowl and/or chute. The container can be removable from the bowl and can be configured to receive a cap that prevents a pet from accessing food in the container. In another embodiment, there is a cap that overlies the bowl that prevents direct pet access to food in the bowl. Such a cap can be configured to be adaptable to fit on such a container or seat in the annular land.

In another embodiment, during use, the system dispenses food in a manner that can be discontinuous and at a rate that corresponds to a rate at which a pet removes food from a dish or dish assembly of the system. A bowl is filled with a volume of food, some of which passes through an opening and accumulates on a floor and within a chamber defined below the bowl. Access to the dispensed food is only permitted through a housing of the dish assembly; for example, by way of a feeding port that extends into the chamber. When a pet removes some of the dispensed food from the chamber, some supporting food is dispensed, such as by gravity, from above to replace food on the floor removed by the pet. Furthermore, some stored food falls, such as by gravity, through the opening and onto the (replaced) dispensed food, piling and accumulating thereupon until it reaches the opening and itself, whereby it supports the stored food waiting in line at or adjacent the opening so that the stored food is held in the bowl, until more of dispensed food received in the chamber is removed and such dispensing and replenishing cycle repeats.

Before explaining one or more embodiments of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments, which can be practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1-3illustrate an exemplary but preferred embodiment of a pet feeding system5that is designed for providing pet food10to a pet, such as a cat or dog (not illustrated), in a manner that regulates and thereby is capable of reducing the pet's food consumption rate. The pet feeding system5includes a feeding dish or dish assembly20that holds and meters food delivery. The dish assembly20shown inFIGS. 1-3includes (i) a floor30, (ii) a housing50that extends upwardly from the floor30, (iii) a food-receiving chamber60which is a void space defined between the floor30and housing50, and can include (iv) a bowl assembly70that can serve as a food-dispensing receptacle.

Still referring toFIGS. 1-2, floor30is removably attached to a bottom portion of the housing50thereby enabling it to be easily removed for cleaning, such as in a dishwasher. If desired, floor30can instead be integrally formed as part of the housing. Floor30supports food10that has been delivered within the housing50in the food-receiving chamber60, and can also support the housing50itself.

If desired, floor30can be configured in a manner that helps contain food10received in the chamber60in a desired area and/or that provides obstacles to make it more challenging for a pet to reach and obtain food10in the chamber60. For example, as is shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, floor30includes a food supporting platform32from which a plurality of upraised portions34extend upwardly therefrom. In a preferred embodiment, there is a plurality of pairs, i.e., at least three, upraised portions34spaced about an area of the platform32where food10dispensed through outlet82is received, e.g., lands, opposing food dispensed into the chamber60from flowing toward any one of the feeder ports55helping meter food intake by the pet. In a currently preferred embodiment, there are at least three upraised portions34which are generally circular in shape that are spaced about and outwardly of a center of the platform32where food10drops through the opening82in the housing50downwardly onto the platform32.

If desired, platform32can also be upraised. Additionally, the platform32and upraised portions34can be integrally formed of or as part of the floor30in a manner that produces a floor30, platform32and upraised portions34as a single component that is of one-piece, unitary and substantially homogenous construction. If desired they can be constructed separately, such as in disc or pad form, and attached to the floor30.

Referring specifically now toFIG. 2, for embodiments in which the floor30is removably attached to the housing50, the floor30and housing50have cooperating interlocking structures that are configured to engage each other as a snap fit, twist locking, or other suitable engagement mechanism(s). Twist locking versions include cooperating grooves or ramps38and tabs40that engage each other to couple the floor30with the housing50. Ramps38are provided on an outer circumferential surface at the perimeter edge of the floor30. The tabs40extend inwardly from the housing50and are spaced from each other by the same distances as those between the ramps38, whereby the floor30and housing50mechanically engage each other at multiple locations about the perimeter of the dish assembly20. This is done by aligning the corresponding ramps38and tabs40with each other and then rotating the housing50upon the floor30so that it circumferentially advances until the ramps38and tabs40are fully engaged with each other.

Referring again toFIGS. 1-2, housing50includes a sidewall52that extends around a periphery of the chamber60, and multiple openings such as feeder ports55and windows57that extend through the sidewall52and permit access to the chamber60. A bottom portion of the sidewall52fits over and just outside of the outer perimeter of floor30, whereby the floor30is housed concentrically within such overlapping bottom portion of the sidewall52. It is at this overlapping portion of the floor30and sidewall52where (i) the tabs40that extend from an inwardly facing surface of the sidewall52, and (ii) the ramps38of the outwardly facing surface of floor30, engage with each other. For embodiments in which the floor30has a round perimeter shape, the sidewall52extends upwardly from the floor30in a generally annular fashion, and a diameter of the sidewall52decreases as a height of the sidewall52increases. This gives the sidewall52a generally hemispherical shape that covers the chamber60.

At least one, and preferably multiple circumferentially spaced apart, feeder ports55extend through the sidewall52. The feeder ports55are configured to allow a pet, for example, a cat, to access food10by extending its paw through the sidewall in a first direction and dragging some of the food10out of the dish assembly20in a second, opposite direction. Each feeder port55is a passageway defined between two parallel and upwardly extending side edges that are connected to each other by an arcuate top edge. An overall height of the feeder port55is about 1.5 inches or about 2 inches, and extends about ⅔ of the way up the height of or along the outer surface of the sidewall52. An overall width of the feeder port55is about 1.25 inches or about 1.75 inches and the port width being about ¼ of the outer diameter of the sidewall52. These exemplary dimensions are most suitable for implementations of dish assembly20that are configured for use with cats as the pets, in light of typical sizes of domesticated cats.

At least one, and preferably multiple circumferentially spaced apart, windows57extend through the sidewall52at locations that are higher up on the sidewall as compared to the feeder ports55. The windows57are round, oval, or otherwise shaped apertures that are configured to allow a pet to see into the chamber60, that is, through the sidewall52to see the food10sitting upon the floor30. Each window57is somewhat shorter and narrower than the feeder port55, dissuading pets from reaching through the windows57instead of the feeder ports55.

Regardless of the particular shape and dimensions of the feeder ports55and windows57, together, they give the sidewall52a generally perforated configuration in which the material of the sidewall52continuously meanders between the feeder ports55and windows57. The feeder ports55and windows57can be sized so that the overall surface area of the sidewall52is at least about 25% void space, optionally, at least about 50% void space, at least about 75% void space, so long as there is enough material in sidewall52to suitably support the bowl assembly70.

Referring now toFIGS. 1-3, bowl assembly70includes a bowl72that can also serve as a food-dispensing receptacle, a chute80, a container90, and a cap100that, together, define an enclosure which holds food10prior to its dispensation upon the floor30. An upper edge of bowl72is connected to the upper edge of the sidewall52of housing50. From the ring-like connection between the bowl72and housing50, a sidewall74of the bowl72extends downwardly into the chamber60, whereby the bowl72defines a concavity or depression that is recessed into the housing50.

A chute80, which is configured to direct and guide food10that drops from the bowl72into the chamber60, extends downwardly from the bottom of bowl72, further into the chamber60. Chute80preferably has a funnel-like contour and its upper edge is connected to the lower edge of bowl72so that the bowl sidewall74and chute80define a unitary, continuous structure. At the bottom of chute80, an opening82extends therethrough which faces downwardly toward the floor30. Opening82is sized and configured based on the particular type of food10that is used in the dish assembly20.

For example, when food10is a dry, kibble-type cat food made of multiple particles or granules of food10, the opening82can have a diameter of about 1.5 inches or a bit less, for example, about 1⅜ inch, and is spaced about 1 inch, or a bit less, for example, about ⅞ inch, from the upper surface of floor30, whereby the opening82in such embodiments is spaced from the floor30by a distance that is less than a width or diameter dimension of the opening82. The opening diameter, spacing from the bottom wall, and tapering angle of the chute80, are selected to provide a desired amount of food10on the floor30while maintaining a remainder of the food in the bowl72and chute80in a manner that is described in greater detail elsewhere herein. Where the food10is dog food having larger particles or chunks, such dimensions can be increased in accordance with that discussed herein to produce a dish or dish assembly adapted for dog food use.

Referring now toFIGS. 2-3, at an upper end of the chute80, an annular land84extends radially inwardly from the chute, optionally from the bowl sidewall74, providing a ledge or shoulder-like structure. A diameter of the annular land84preferably corresponds to a diameter of the container90and cap100, so that the annular land84can support the cap100directly or support the container90which in turn supports the cap.

Referring again toFIGS. 1-3, container90is a cylindrical tube that sits upon the annular land84and extends upwardly from the chute80and/or bowl72, over the opening82of the chute80. The volume of container90is selected so that the dish assembly20can hold a desired amount of food, whereby shorter containers90are used when less food is to be held in the dish assembly20and longer (taller) containers90are used when more food is to be held in the dish assembly20. An upper edge of the container90includes an annular land94that is largely analogous to the annular land84of the chute80, whereby it is configured as a supporting shoulder for holding the cap100on the top of the container90.

Referring now again toFIGS. 1-2, cap100, as discussed before, can be placed directly on the annular land84of the chute80if the container90is not being used, or can be placed on the annular land94of the container90if the container is being used. Cap100has multiple handgrips105formed in its outer surface and a downturned lip110about its outer periphery that seats upon the annular land84,94of the chute80or container90. The cap100prevents a cat from eating directly from the bowl72thereby enabling the top height of the bowl72to be made low enough where a cat can access it (thus necessitating use of cap100).

Preferably, the various components of the dish assembly20are made from any of a variety of suitable polymeric materials that are well known within the art. Furthermore, such polymeric components such as, for example, various ones of the floor30, housing50, and bowl assembly70, can be impregnated, coated with, and/or otherwise treated with various antibacterial and/or moisture absorbent materials. In some embodiments, various components of the dish assembly20can also be scented, such as to attract a cat or other pet to the chamber60. In yet other embodiments, one ore more components of the dish assembly20is made from non-polymeric materials, for example, being made from ones of ceramic, glass, metallic, and/or other materials depending on the intended end use configuration of the dish assembly20.

In at least one preferred embodiment, at least the dish housing50is made of plastic, such as a polyethylene or polyurethane, which is clear enough where a pet can view food10disposed in the chamber between the housing50and floor30. This not only helps a pet to locate the food10, but also adds to the challenge presented to the pet by enticing the pet yet making it difficult to reach. In one preferred embodiment, the dish housing50, including the bowl72, chute80, opening82, ports55and windows57are formed as a single component that is of one-piece, unitary and substantially homogenous construction.

In light of the above, during use of the pet feeding system5, food10is presented to a pet in a manner that challenges the pet, and reduces the pet's food consumption rate such that it can and preferably does help regulate pet food intake. That is done by way of dish assembly20that simulates certain hunting-like scenarios in a manner that takes advantage and encourages the natural instinct of a cat to want to seek out, hunt as well as “play” with its food10. As a result of the cat having to work to get its food in this manner, it reduces the likelihood of cat overeating preferably preventing it.

Referring again toFIGS. 2-3, to use the pet feeding system5, a user connects the floor30to the housing50and places food10in either, directly in the bowl72or into the container90and thus also into the bowl72. Upon so doing, some food10is gravity dispensed through the opening82of chute80and it begins piling on the floor30. It is noted that only some of the food10that enters the bowl72passes through the chute80, opening82, and piles onto the floor30, with the remainder of the food10being held upstream of the floor30in such dispensation series. At this point, the entire contents of food10can be defined as three distinct portions or volumes.

Referring specifically now toFIG. 3and to the multiple portions of the entire volume of food10, dispensed food12sits directly upon the upper surface of floor30. The dispensed food12occupies an area on the floor30that extends generally across the upraised platform32or between the upraised buttons34. Typically, after first filling the dish assembly20with food, the dispensed food12spills across and sits upon a central portion of the floor so that it is spaced from the outer perimeter of the floor30. The upraised buttons34can mechanically restrain the dispensed food12from expanding or spilling radially or outwardly beyond their position upon the floor. Accordingly, a perimeter shape and width of a footprint of the dispensed food12upon the floor30corresponds to the spacing between the adjacent upraised buttons34, as well as the radial distance between the upraised buttons34and the opening82of chute80or the middle of the floor30.

For example, when the upraised buttons34are spaced from the middle of the floor30by a distance of about 1¼ inch, as defined between a central axis of the floor30and the surface of upraised buttons34that is closest thereto, the dispensed food12typically will spill across and settle in a manner that forms a generally circular perimeter shape having a similar radius, that is about 1¼ inch to about 2 inches, depending on the particular characteristics of the individual kibbles of the food10, that is, their size, density, greasiness or dryness, and/or other factors. Stated another way, in some embodiments, the positions of the upraised buttons34upon the floor30influences a perimeter size and shape of the dispensed food12.

Furthermore, the positions of upraised buttons34upon the floor30are selected to provide a challenge to the pet when trying to withdraw food10from the chamber60, but without being unduly difficult to surmount so as to not overly frustrate the pet. This can be accomplished by positioning the upraised buttons34on the floor30so that they are spaced about 1½ inch or more from an outer perimeter of the floor30and providing the upraised buttons34with diameters of about 1 inch. Furthermore, the upraised buttons34are preferably located off-center or at least somewhat misaligned with the feeder ports55which allows the pet to withdraw food from the chamber60by dragging pieces of the dispensed food12straight from the feeder ports55or generally radially across the floor30.

When some of the dispensed food12is dragged from the chamber60, a similar amount of supporting food14falls onto the floor30, taking the place of the removed dispensed food12. Doing so generally maintains the volume and perimeter shape of the dispensed food12, by way of gravity replacing the dispensed food12with some of the supporting food14. Stated another way, supporting food14extends upwardly from the dispensed food12, typically, in a pile that decreases in width as it increases in height so that it resembles a cone or pyramid.

The uppermost pieces of the supporting food14are positioned within the opening82of the chute80, such that the supporting food14serves as a plug that maintains position of the stored food16that is held in the chute80and bowl72, preventing the stored food16from falling through the opening82. In this regard, the pet controls the rate of dispensation of the food10because food passes through the chute80and out of the opening82at approximately the same rate as the pieces of the dispensed food12is removed from the remainder of the dispensed food12pile and, for example, removed from the chamber60.

It is noted that for such intermittent dispensation of food10to work suitably well, in preferred embodiments, the plugging action of supporting food14is directly primarily upwardly into the opening82. In other words, since there is a negligible amount of horizontally directed jamming that occurs within the chute80, if there is no supporting food14that directly holds the stored food16from below, then at least some of the stored food16will freely slide through the chute80and fall out of the opening82. This continues to occur, whereby a pile is formed below the opening82and upon the dispensed food12, until such pile reaches such a height that the upper part of the pile abuts the stored food16, whereby the pile (FIG. 3) once again defines a supporting food14volume. Accordingly, the particular diameter of opening82of the chute80and the distance from opening82from the underlying floor30are selected based on, for example, typical kibble size and shape of food10so as to impart such a vertically directed jamming or plugging characteristic of the supporting food14at opening82, for supporting the stored food16.

Various alternatives are contemplated as being within the scope of the subject matter regarded as the invention. For example, in some embodiments, floor30is not a component of the dish assembly20, but instead is defined as a portion of a floor of a building in which the feeding system5is used and which underlies the housing50. It is also to be understood that, although the foregoing description and drawings describe and illustrate in detail one or more preferred embodiments of the present invention, to those skilled in the art to which the present invention relates, the present disclosure will suggest many modifications and constructions, as well as widely differing embodiments and applications without thereby departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.