Feeding device having means to release food from within at pre-arranged intervals

Abstract: A casing (10) includes a rotary plate (4) which divides the casing into an upper (2) and a lower portion (1) and a driving unit (5) to rotate the rotary plate (4). The rotary plate (4) has a first opening (11) formed through it. The lower portion (1) has a top plate with a second opening (42) formed therethrough and is disposed adjacent to the rotary plate (4). The upper portion (2) has a container (21) holding a feed therein and a bottom with an outlet (23) which is aligned with the first opening (11) of the rotary plate (4) when the latter is rotated to a first position and is aligned with the second opening (42) of the top plate at a second position.

Description: This invention relates to a feeding device as disclosed in the prior art of CH-A-593605 and described in the first part of claim 1, it relates particularly to a feeding device which does not need a person to attend to it daily yet which can automatically release food stored therein at pre-set intervals. Raising pets, such as birds in a cage or fishes in an aquarium, for recreation and as a hobby is increasingly popular among city dwellers. Some pets need careful attention, such as punctual and accurately proportioned feedings and regular change and circulation of the water in an aquarium. However, pet owners often forget to perform do these duties for a variety of reasons such as travel or mere forgetfulness. As a result, the pets can become ill or die of hunger. It is a main object of the present invention to provide a feeding device to be used for pets which device does not need a person to attend to it personally but which can automatically release food stored within at pre-set intervals. Accordingly, the feeding device of the present invention includes a casing which has an upper portion with a container to receive food therein and a lower portion with a top plate which has a first opening extending through the lower portion. The container has an outlet formed at the bottom of the same adjacent to the top plate of the lower portion. The lower portion includes a mounting shaft extending vertically therein and a rotary plate is rotatably mounted to the mounting shaft above the top plate, sealing the first opening of the top plate of the lower portion in a normal condition. The rotary plate includes a second opening formed therethrough, set off from the axis of rotation and substantially equal to the first opening of the top plate in size. The casing also includes a driving unit to rotate the rotary plate and a device to actuate the driving unit in a timely fashion so as to rotate the rotary plate an angular distance between a first position where the second opening of the rotary plate is in communication with the outlet of the container and a second position where the second opening of the rotary plate is in communication with the first opening of the top plate of the lower portion. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description, including drawings, all of which show a non-limiting form of the invention, and of which: Figure 1 shows a fragmentary cross sectional view of a feeding device of the present invention; Figure 2 shows a top view of the feeding device of the present invention taken along the line II-II; Figure 3 shows a cross sectional view of Figure 2 taken along the line III-III; Figure 4 shows a side view of a section of another preferred embodiment of the feeding device of the present invention; Figure 5 shows a partially exploded view of a container of a preferred embodiment of the feeding device of the present invention; Figure 6 shows a partially enlarged view of the rotary plate which divides a preferred embodiment of the feeding device of the present invention into two portions; and Figure 7 shows a partially enlarged view of the rotary plate which divides another preferred embodiment of the feeding device of the present invention into two parts. Referring to Figure 1, a fragmentary view of a feeding device of the present invention is shown to include a casing (10) composed of an upper portion (2) and a lower portion (1). The upper portion (2) includes a container (21) having a receiving space to receive food therein and a lid (22) pivotally provided and covering the container (21). The container (21) has a bottom with an outlet (23) adjacent to the lower portion (1). The container (21) also includes a means for detecting a predetermined amount of food in the container, formed adjacent to the outlet (23) of the same which includes a restricted space (31) in which a resilient plate (33) and a micro switch (32) in association with the resilient plate (33) are provided. When the food has filled in the receiving space of the container (21), the weight of the food will compress the resilient plate (33) downward so that the micro switch (32) to which an alarm system is installed to detect the weight of the food in the container will not give out a warning signal. The arrangement to give out a warning signal upon detection of a certain weight is a known art, a detailed description of which is not necessary here. Upon detecting that the food in the container (21) needs refilling, that is, the food is less than it normally should be, the resilient plate (33) will pop up, as shown by perforated lines in Figure 1, connecting a circuit so that the warning signal is given out. The warning signal can either be a sound or a light, notifying the owner that it is time to refill the food in the container (21). Referring to Figure 5, the means for detecting a predetermined amount of food in the container is an optoelectronic device (3') which can generate a warning signal upon detecting that the level or volume of the food in the container (21) has reached upon a predetermined low level, notifying the pet owner that it is time to refill the container (21). The lower portion (1) has a top plate (not numbered) adjacent to and shielding the outlet (23) of the upper portion (2) from the lower portion (1). The top plate has a first opening (11) extending through the lower portion (1). A mounting shaft (41) extends vertically in the lower portion (1) and a rotary plate (4) is mounted securely to the mounting shaft (41) above the top plate such that the rotary plate (4) shields the first opening (11) of the top plate in a normal condition. The rotary plate (4) has a curved portion (45) on an upper side of the same with recessed bottom where a second opening (42) is formed through the recessed bottom. It is important to note that the second opening (42) is substantially equal to the first opening (11) of the top plate in size. The curved portion (45) confines an angular distance within which the second opening (42) travels, a detailed explanation of which will follow later. It is important to observe that the rotary plate (4) has a predetermined thickness such that the second opening (42) has a substantial depth thereof only then it can accommodate a substantial amount of food therein when the second opening (42) is aligned with the outlet (23) of the container (21). A resilient means (411), such as a clamping spring, is provided around and at the top of the vertical shaft (41) above the rotary plate (4) in such a manner that the clamping means urges the rotary plate (4) to abut against the top plate of the lower portion (1) so that the rotary plate (4) can rotate on the top plate in a balanced manner, as seen in Figure 2. Referring to Figure 4, in one preferred embodiment of the invention, a compression spring (62) is mounted at the top of the vertical shaft (61) so as to urge the rotary plate (6) to abut against the top plate of the lower portion in a balanced manner. The feature and the objects are the same as those of the preceding embodiment. Referring to Figure 6, the second opening (42) of the rotary plate (4) can be provided with a gradually inclined surface (421) so that the food that overfills the second opening (42) of the rotary plate (4) is pushed slidably over the inclined surface (421) and back into the container (21). It is important to note that the inclined surface (421) of the rotary plate (2) should be disposed as shown, only then can the food be pushed back into the container (21) during the clockwise rotation of the rotary plate (4). Some food includes particles of irregular shapes. When the second opening (42) of the rotary plate (4) is provided with an inclined surface (421), jamming of the food at the outlet (23) is greatly reduced. Referring to Figure 7, a feed such as a sugar cane for feeding an elephant and the like may have an oblong shape which will often jam the second opening (42) of the rotary plate (4) relative to the outlet (23). In order to avoid such a problem, a cutter can be disposed adjacent to the outlet (23) at a place (231) in the container or at (422) in an inner wall of the second opening (42) so that if the food (F) is jammed thereat, the cutter can cut it into small pieces during the rotary plate (4) rotates and accommodating them in the second opening (42) of the rotary plate (4). Referring again to Figures 1 and 2, on a lower side of the rotary plate (4), there is a seal retaining grooved recess (46) concentrically disposed around the second opening (42) which has an angular distance substantially equal to the angular distance within which the second opening (42) travels between the first and second positions, a detailed description of which is given in the following paragraphs. An O-shaped rubber ring (47) is provided in the seal retaining grooved recess (46) such that the first opening (11) of the top plate is sealed in a water tight relationship when the second opening (42) of the rotary plate (4) is not aligned with the first opening (11) of the top plate of the lower portion (1). This is necessary because some feed may soften when placed in the vicinity of water, such as when the casing is hung on the top of an aquarium, where humidity is bound to be plentiful. The rotary plate (4) further has two spaced projections (431,432), each extending radially and outwardly from the periphery of the same and a toothed section (44) is also formed on the periphery, the reasons for which will be described hereinafter. The casing (10) further has a driving means (5) such as motor (51) including a shaft (511) and rotation speed reducing gears (53,52), one of which is meshed with the toothed section (44) of the rotary plate (4) while the other one is in association with the shaft (511) of the driving means. The motor (51) is prearranged to be actuated at different intervals, such as at 12 hour intervals, by a known art. A sensing unit (54) which has a clearance (541) between first and second prongs (542,543) is provided on the topmost section of the lower portion (1). The first prong (542) is a light giving element and the second prong (543) is a light receiving element. When the motor (51) is actuated at the pre-set time, the rotary plate (4) rotates an angular distance in a clockwise direction to a first position where the second opening (42) of the rotary plate (4) is aligned with the outlet (23) of the container (21) to receive the food, shown by perforated lines in Figure 2. During that time, the projection (431) of the rotary plate (4) is in the clearance (541) of the sensing unit (54), shielding the light emitting prong (542) from the light receiving prong (543). At this time, the sensing unit (54) will give out a signal ordering the motor (51) to rotate the rotary plate (4) in a counter-clockwise direction so as to rotate the rotary plate (4) to a second position where the second opening (42) of the rotary plate (4) is aligned with the first opening (11) of the top plate of the lower portion (1) to let out the food therefrom. The movement is repeated so that the feeding device of the present invention does not need individual attention but can still feed a pet automatically and punctually. In place of the sensing unit (54), a limit switch can also be employed in the present invention which can generate a first signal when in contact with the first projection (431), ordering the driving means (511) to rotate the rotary plate (4) in a clockwise direction, and a second signal, ordering the driving means to rotate rotary plate (4) in a counter-clockwise direction when in contact with the second projection (432). The feature and object are the same as in the previous embodiment. A counter can also be attached to the limit switch so that whenever the projection of the rotary plate (4) contacts with the limit switch, the limit switch can generate a signal which is recorded in the counter, and the counter can be pre-arranged to generate a signal by a known art to stop the driving means upon reaching a predetermined number. In addition, the limit switch can be pre-arranged by a known related art to connect electrically to a speech synthesizer system which can generate a sound when the driving means (511) stops rotating the rotary plate (4). The sound can imitated the voice of the pet owner coaxing the pet to eat and the like.

Claims: A feeding device comprising a casing (10) including an upper portion (2) with a container (21) to receive a feed therein, said container (21) having a bottom with an outlet (23) and a lower portion (1) with a top plate adjacent to and shielding the outlet (23) of said upper portion (2) from said lower portion (1), said top plate having a first opening (11) extending through said lower portion (1); a mounting shaft (41) extending vertically in said lower portion (1) and a rotary plate (4) being rotatably mounted to said mounting shaft (41) above said top plate of said lower portion (1) and normally covering the first opening (11) of said top plate, said rotary plate (4) having a second opening (42) formed therethrough set off from the axis of the mounting shaft (41) and substantially equal to the first opening (11) of said top plate in size and a driving unit (5) for driving said rotary plate (4) an angular distance between a first position where the second opening (42) of said rotary plate (4) is in communication with said outlet (23) of said container (21) of said upper portion (2) and a second position where the second opening (42) of said rotary plate (4) is in communication with the opening of said top plate of said lower portion (1); characterized in that a device controls said driving unit at a predetermined time interval to rotate said rotary plate (4); said rotary plate (4) further includes a first protrusion (431) and a second protrusion (432) spaced from the first protrusion, each of which extends radially and outwardly from the periphery of said rotary plate (4) and a toothed section formed along the periphery of said rotary plate (4) and spaced from the first and second protrusions (431,432), said driving unit (5) further including two rotation speed reducing gears (52,53) meshed with said toothed section of said rotary plate (4) and in association with said driving unit (5), said control device further including a sensing unit (54) provided on a topmost section of said lower portion (1), and said sensing unit (54) having a clearance (541) therein through which the first and second protrusions (431,432) of said rotary plate (4) pass and there are means for detecting a predetermined amount of food provided in said container (21), said detecting means (3) having a micro switch (32) which upon sensing a weight of said food less than a predetermined weight amount gives out a warning signal. A feeding device as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that said rotary plate (4) further includes a seal retaining grooved recess (46) formed on a lower side of said rotary plate (46), said seal retaining grooved recess being concentrically disposed around said second opening (42) of said rotary plate (4) and into which an O-shaped ring (47) is inserted which seals said first opening (11) of said top plate of said lower portion (1) in a water tight relationship when said rotary plate (4) is at said first position. A feeding device as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that said feeding device further has a resilient unit (411) provided at a topmost section of said mounting shaft (41) which resilient unit urges said rotary plate (4) to abut against said top plate of said lower portion (1). A feeding device as claimed in Claim 3, characterized in that said resilient device is a compression spring (62). A feeding device as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that said detecting means (3) is a micro switch. A feeding device as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that said detecting means (3) is a limit switch. A feeding device as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that said detecting means (3) further includes an optoelectronic device which detects a volume of said food in said container and converts said volume into weight. A feeding device as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that said container (21) further includes a cutter disposed at a bottom adjacent to said outlet (23) thereof. A feeding device as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that said second opening (42) includes a top section adjacent to said outlet (23) of said container, a bottom section adjacent to said top plate and a diameter gradually decreasing from said top section to said bottom section.

Inventors: JENG JIEH-CHIN, JENG, JIEH-CHIN
Applicants: JENG JIEH CHIN, JENG, JIEH-CHIN
Application year: 1992
Main classification: A01K61
IPC codes: A01K5