Abstract:
An outdoor feeder for game birds and the like in which the feeder pan extends below and beyond the body of the feeder. A shield which is fastened to the body by a unique and relatively rain-proof joint extends beyond the pan to protect it, and an adjustable ring on the bottom of the body of the feeder controls both the amount of feed in the pan and the space between the ring and the bottom of the pan. The pan is adjustably fastened to the body of the feeder to adapt the feeder to differing varieties of game birds.

Description:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention pertains to bird feeders and more particularly to a feeder for outside use for feeding game birds. The feeder is constructed so as to be relatively tight, keeping its contents free from precipitation damage. It is also adapted, by the use of adjustable parts, to provide flexibility for feeding certain types of birds. 
     Many hunting clubs and some other organizations and individuals are greatly interested in preserving a substantial supply of game birds. In some instances such as in the case of the organization called “Pheasants Forever”, the organizations emphasize only a certain type of birds. In other cases, such as a hunt club, the organization may emphasize certain types of birds such as upland game birds on one hand or water fowl on another. In all cases, it is common to provide artificial feeders to supplement the natural feed supplies available to these birds. 
     This invention is of an improved feeder adapted to provide an outdoor installation which is well protected from precipitation whether snow or rain and which includes an adjustment adapted to provide discouragement to animals and even to certain types of birds. Thus the feeder can be made somewhat selective as to its attractiveness to a certain type of bird. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES 
     FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the feeder, 
     FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the feeder shown in FIG. 1 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view to an enlarged scale of the joint in the feeder at the rain shield, 
     FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view from line  3 — 3  of FIG. 2 to an enlarged scale, and 
     FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view from line  4 — 4  of FIG. 2 to a enlarged scale. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     Briefly this invention comprises an enclosed feeder particularly adapted for outdoor use in the feeding of game birds, such as the ring-necked pheasant, which may be raised on game farms or may simply be stressed in the wild by lack of food or cover. The feeder is completely enclosed so as to be protected from precipitation and includes adjustments so that the feeder can be made more available to certain types of birds. 
     More specifically and referring to the drawings, the feeder comprises essentially, a feed pan  10 , a lower body portion  11 , an upper body portion  12  and a cover  13 . The lower body  11  is generally of cylindrical shape although it is preferred that the bottom edge  15  be somewhat expanded beyond the upper edge  16 . In the illustrated embodiment, the bottom edge although slightly tapered, approaches the shape of a right cylinder for a purpose to appear later in this description. 
     At the upper edge, a shoulder  17  is shaped and is inset towards the central axis of the feeder. This shoulder  17  forms part of an assembly joint designed to protect the inner part of the feeder. 
     A rain shield  19  is formed with an up-turned inner flange that fits over the shoulder  17  of the lower body. This shield  19  is of truncated conical form and extends radially outwardly from the body  11  far enough to shed any water originating above the shield  19  to a circle beyond the outer edges of the feed pan  10 . 
     The upper body part  12  is also of generally cylindrical shape. In the illustrated example, it is also slightly conical. The shape functions to assure that the feed stored inside of the body actually flows downward. This is particularly true because the feed will then fall away from the sloping walls and into the remaining feed at the lower levels in the feeder. It also, as an added incident, allows the nesting of the upper body portion and the lower body portion when the feeder is disassembled for shipping. At the lower edge of this upper body piece  12 , an outward extending shoulder  21  is formed and fits over the inward rim of the shoulder  17  and the flange  20 , thus providing that moisture will drain over the joint and not inside the feeder. This type of joint is particularly important for an outdoor feeder. The moisture draining from the upper body part  12  will run over the shoulder  21  and onto the rain shield  19 . From that shield the water will run off the feeder. By using a shoulder extending both downward over the shoulder  17  and flange  20 , moisture is also inhibited from seeping into the feeder through the joint. 
     At its upper end, the upper body  12  receives a cover  13  having a lower flange  22  fitting over the upper edge of the upper body  12  and being cone shaped above that. A chain  23  attached between the upper body  12  and the cone  13  may be used to hold the cover close to the feeder when the cover is removed. A channel  18  formed as a tube extending through the tip of the cone-shaped cover  13  provide a convenient device for opening the feeders. Normally the cover can be easily removed, but if there is stickiness between the conical cover  13  and the upper body  12 , a rod or dowel or even a stick of wood may be inserted into this tube to provide added convenience and rotational leverage to ease the process of opening the feeder. The channel may also be used to lift the feeder provided screws are used at the joints to hold the cover  13  and upper body part  12  and the lower body parts together. 
     Many of the novel features of the feeder are concerned with the lower part of the feeder. The feed pan  10  is attached to the lower body part  11  by straps  25 . These straps are permanently attached to the pan, but extend upwardly from that. At their upper end, each strap includes a plurality of spaced holes  26  adapted to fit over a bolt  27  attached to the lower body. By judicious choice of which hole to use, the distance by which the pan  10  is spaced from the lower body  11  can be adjusted. The pan  10  is formed as an ordinary flat pan but has a conical upraised bottom  30 . 
     By allowing the adjustment of the pan, the distance between the pan and the rain shield  19  can be varied. Such variations may be desired dependent on the type of bird to be fed. For example a taller bird such as a pheasant could be discouraged if the rain shield was too close to the pan  19  as it stood on the ground. But a smaller bird such as a quail or partridge would like the lower shield. Thus, the opening can be varied depending on the type of bird desired to be fed. 
     The pan  10  is formed as an ordinary flat pan shape having a bottom  30  and a rim  31 . The bottom  30  is formed as an upraised conical shape so as to distribute the feed as equally as possible around the perimeter of the pan and to direct the feed to that perimeter where it will be available to the birds. 
     An additional adjustment to control the flow of feed into the pan  10  may be desirable. In the illustrated embodiment this adjustment is provided by use of a ring  35  formed of a plurality of segments  36  (FIG.  4 ). Preferably each segment has a flange  37  turned outwardly at one end of the segment. By bolting the segments together with the flanges to the outside, a ring is produced which fits on the lower body as a belt. Applicant&#39;s preference is for three segments in the belt because of the adjustment device described later. However other numbers of segments may be used. 
     The adjustment of the ring  35  is accomplished by the interaction between sloped slots  39  (FIG. 2) cut into each segment  36 . The slots  39  have notches  40  and the body part  11  has a peg  41  extending from that part  11  near its lower edge. The peg  41  may simply be the body of a bolt or the like, but it is fixed to the body part  11  and extends through the slot  39 . It will now be apparent that when the peg  41  extends through the slot  39  and is disengaged from the notches  40 , the ring  35  can be turned and will be moved vertically because of the spiral arrangement of the slot. The turning of the ring  35  is accomplished readily by using the flanges  37  on each segment  36  of the ring as a grip to be manipulated by hand. By use of three pegs  41 , the ring  35  can always be in contact with the pegs so that the notches  40  can be most effective in holding the ring when the notches  40  are engaged with the pegs  41 . 
     The ring  38  is of a width such that it extends below the bottom edge of the lower body part  11 . Thus, the ring tends to reduce the area between its lower edge and the bottom  30  of the pan  10 . The variation of this constriction by rotating the ring  35  thus adjusts the area through which the feed flows from within the body of the feeder to the pan. It also allows adjustment for the different kinds of feed which may be used. Smaller pellets will not require the amount of space that a more fibrous feed might need for a similar amount of feed. 
     Thus, applicant has provided a feeder readily disassembled for cleaning, easily fillable, and completely weather proof for use in the outdoor feeding of game birds or the like.