Abstract:
A pet feeding station is provided that generally includes a top panel with apertures for receiving feeding bowls and a central aperture that receives no feeding bowl and feeding bowls received by the apertures Attached to the top panel are a front panel, a rear panel and two side panels. Because the central aperture does not receive a feeding bowl, a household animal with long ears can feed at the pet feeding station without having its ears come into contact with the contents of a feeding bowl, the ears passing through the central aperture or along a side of the feeding station.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present disclosure relates to a pet feeding station, and more particularly to a pet feeding station that facilitates feeding of pets with long ears. 
         [0003]    Related Art 
         [0004]    Pet feeding stations are devices that allow owners of pets to provide food and water to the pets at a height that is preferable to both the owners and to the pets. Some pet feeding stations consist of a platform that supports at least one food bowl and legs that can be adjustable in height. This is beneficial to owners, particularly for those with back problems, in that it decreases the degree to which owners need to bend down to place food bowls on the floor. Placing the food bowls at an elevated height is also beneficial to the pet as this facilitates more comfortable feeding for the pet. Often, more than one food bowl is housed in the feeding station, allowing the owner to provide more than one type of food, or to feed multiple pets simultaneously. 
         [0005]    Although current pet feeding stations are effective and perform their function adequately, they are not without drawbacks. For example, a pet feeding station of a fixed height cannot accommodate pets of various sizes or accommodate pets as they grow. Another drawback of current pet feeding stations is that they do not accommodate pets with ears that are long enough to come into contact with the contents of the food bowls that such pets are feeding from. This can be particularly frustrating for some pet owners as this increases the time that the owner needs to spend cleaning the pet and increases the frequency at which the owner may need to pay for grooming and other pet care services. 
         [0006]    Therefore, there remains a need to provide a pet feeding station that is adjustable in height and that allows a pet having long ears to feed at the station while preventing contact of the pet&#39;s ears with water and/or food. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present disclosure relates to a pet feeding station. The feeding station comprises a feeding stand and a plurality of feeding bowls. The feeding stand includes a top panel with apertures for receiving the feeding bowls and a central aperture positioned between the apertures that receive the feeding bowls. Attached to the top panel are a front panel, a rear panel and two side panels. Legs can be integrally formed with front panel, rear panel and side panels, or the legs can be formed separately and later attached to the panels. The feeding bowls are received by the apertures in the top panel, and each includes a lip that extends outwardly from the top of the feeding bowl to support the feeding bowl in a respective aperture by resting on the top panel. Because the central aperture does not receive a feeding bowl, a pet with long ears can feed at the pet feeding station without having its ears come into contact with the contents of a feeding bowl. 
         [0008]    To further prevent a pet&#39;s ears from coming into contact with the contents of a feeding bowl, the apertures for receiving the feeding bowls, and the feeding bowls themselves, can include tapered walls/edges. Still further, tapered side walls matching the curvature of the apertures and the feeding bowls can be provided on the top panel of the feeding station, thus increasing the likelihood that the pet&#39;s ears will pass on either side of the feeding bowl. 
         [0009]    The pet feeding station could also include adjustable legs. The adjustable legs could each include a lower leg member, an adjustment hinge hingedly attached to the lower leg member, and a torsion spring disposed between the lower leg member and the adjustment hinge. The adjustable legs are slidably received by channels formed in upper leas of the feeding station. The adjustable legs can be slidably adjusted by depressing the adjustment hinges, extending or retracting the legs to desired positions, aligning the adjustment hinge tips with apertures provided along sides of the station, and releasing the adjustment hinges to engage the tips of the adjustment hinges with the apertures and fixing the positions of the lower leg member. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    The foregoing features of the disclosure will be apparent from the following Detailed Description of the Invention, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing the pet feeding station of the present disclosure; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the pet feeding station of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a partial cross-sectional view (taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 2 ) showing placement of the feeding bowls of the pet feeding station of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a top view showing another embodiment of the pet feeding station; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing a feeding bowl of the pet feeding station of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a partial front cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the pet feeding station; 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is a partial side view showing the pet feeding station of  FIG. 6 ; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is a partial cross-sectional view (taken along line  8 - 8  of  FIG. 6 ) showing an extending configuration for the legs of the pet feeding station of  FIGS. 6-7 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0019]    The present disclosure relates to a pet feeding station, as discussed in detail below in connection with  FIGS. 1-8 . 
         [0020]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing the pet feeding station of the present disclosure, indicated generally at  10 . The pet feeding station  10  comprises a feeding stand indicated generally at  20  and feeding bowls  40 . The feeding stand  20  includes top panel  22 , front panel  26 , rear panel  28 , and side panels  30   a,    30   b.    
         [0021]    The top panel  22  is rectangular in shape. Bowl apertures  24  are provided in top panel  22  and a central aperture  34  is provided in top panel  22  at a location between bowl apertures  24 . Bowl apertures  24  are sized to receive feeding bowls  40 . Central aperture  34  does not receive a feeding bowl. This a pet with long ears to feed at the pet feeding station  10  while preventing its ears from contacting the contents of either feeding bowl  40 , such that the ears pass through central aperture  34  and along a side  30   a  or  30   b . Central aperture  34  can be sized to optimize this advantage. Top panel  22  could be formed from any suitably strong and lightweight material, such as aluminum, plastic, etc. 
         [0022]    Front panel  26  and rear panel  28  are disposed along each of the longer sides of top panel  22  as shown in  FIG. 1 . Side panels  30   a,    30   b  are disposed along the shorter sides of top panel  22 . As can be seen in the figures, front panel  26 , rear panel  28 , and side panels  30   a,    30   b  can include elongated rectangular leg portions  36 , such that adjacent leg portions  36  form legs  32   a - 32   d  integrally formed with front panel  26 , rear panel  28 , and side panels  30   a,    30   b  when assembled in the configuration of  FIG. 1 . Front panel  26 , rear panel  28 , and side panels  30   a ,  30   b  could be formed from any suitably strong and lightweight material, such as aluminum, and can be secured to top panel  22  by way of welding, riveting, bolting, or any other suitable process known to the art. Adjacent leg portions  36  of front panel  26 , rear panel  28 , and side panels  30   a ,  30   b  can also be secured to each other by way of a similar process to provide structural strength. Feeding stand  20  could also be formed from plastic, as a unitary construction, by injection molding, compression molding, or any other suitable plastic molding process known to the art. 
         [0023]    Of course, it is noted that legs  32   a - 32   d  need not be formed integrally with front panel  26 , rear panel  28 , and side panels  30   a ,  30   b  and could be formed separately and subsequently attached thereto (e.g., by forming the legs  32   a - 32   d  as separate components and then joining the legs  32   a - 32   d  together with the feeding stand  20  via welding, riveting, bolting, or any other suitable process known to the art). 
         [0024]    Feeding bowls  40  are received through bowl apertures  24  in top panel  22 , each feeding bowl  40  including lip  42  that extends outward from the top of the feeding bowl  40 . The feeding bowls  40  could be formed from any material that provides the suitable strength and anti-corrosive properties necessary for a food container, such as stainless steel, plastic, etc. It is noted that feeding bowls  40  and bowl apertures  24  need not be formed in a rectangular shape as depicted in  FIG. 1 , above. In other embodiments, feeding bowls  40  and bowl apertures  24  could be formed in other shapes such as those shown in  FIGS. 4-5  (discussed below). 
         [0025]      FIGS. 2-3  show the placement of the feeding bowls  40  in the feeding stand  20  of the pet feeding station of the present disclosure. As seen in  FIG. 3 , a partial cross-sectional view (taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 2 ), feeding bowls  40  are received through bowl apertures  24  and are each supported by way of a lip  42  that rests on the top surface of top panel  22  as depicted in  FIGS. 1  and  FIG. 3 . 
         [0026]      FIGS. 4-5  show another embodiment of the pet feeding station of the present disclosure.  FIG. 4  is a top view showing pet feeding station  110  of the present disclosure. The pet feeding station  110  includes a top panel  122 , and feeding bowls  140 . Top panel  122  is provided in a generally rectangular shape with bowl apertures  124  through top panel  122  and central aperture  134  through top panel  122  at a location between bowl apertures  124 . Bowl apertures  124  have a slight inward curvature (taper) that gives the bowl apertures  124  a “dog bone” shaped appearance. Additionally, bowl apertures  124  are sized to receive feeding bowls  140 . Central aperture  134  has a slight outward (convex) curvature that can be complimentary to the inward (concave) curvature of bowl apertures  124 . Central aperture  134  does not receive a feeding bowl  140 . Further, tapered side walls  138  that compliment the inward taper of apertures  124  can be provided on top panel  122 . This provides the advantage of allowing a pet with long ears to feed at the pet feeding station  110  while preventing contact of the pet&#39;s ears with the contents of either feeding bowl  140 , given that one ear passes through central aperture  134  and the other along a side of the feeding station  110 . Top panel  122  could be formed from any suitably strong and lightweight material, such as aluminum, plastic, etc. 
         [0027]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a feeding bowl  140  of the pet feeding station of the present disclosure. Feeding bowls  140  are received through bowl apertures  124  in top panel  122 , and have a slight inward curvature that give the feeding bowls  140  a “dog bone” shaped appearance. Each feeding bowl  140  includes a lip  142  that extends outward from the top of the feeding bowl  140 , The lips  142  provide support for the feeding bowls  140  when they are received through the feeding bowl apertures  124 , such that the lips  142  rest on the top surface of top panel  122 . The feeding bowls  140  can be formed from any material that provides the suitable strength and anti-corrosive properties necessary for a food container, such as stainless steel, plastic, etc. 
         [0028]      FIGS. 6-8  show another embodiment of the pet feeding station of the present disclosure. Pet feeding station  210  includes feeding stand  220 , telescoping leg portions  250 , and feeding bowls  240 . The feeding stand  210  includes top panel  222 , front panel  226 , rear panel  228 , and side panels  230   a,    230   b.  Top panel  222  is provided in a rectangular shape. Bowl apertures  224  are provided in top panel  222 , and central aperture  234  is provided in top panel  222  at a location between bowl apertures  224 . Bowl apertures  224  are sized to receive feeding bowls  240 . Central aperture  234  does not receive a feeding bowl. Top panel  222  could be formed from any suitably strong and lightweight material, such as aluminum, plastic, etc. 
         [0029]    Front panel  226  and rear panel  228  are disposed along each of the longer sides of top panel  222 . Side panels  230   a,    230   b  are disposed along the shorter sides of top panel  222 . As can be seen in the figures, the feeding station  220  includes upper leg portions  236 , which could be formed integrally with the panels  226 ,  228 , and  230   a,    23   b . Adjacent upper leg portions  236  form upper legs  232   a - 232   d  integrally with front panel  226 , rear panel  228 , and side panels  230   a ,  230   b . The side panels  230   a ,  230   b  include a plurality of spaced apertures  258  arranged adjacent to extending leg portions  250  as shown in  FIG. 7 . Front panel  226 , rear panel  228 , and side panels  230   a,    230   b  could be formed from any suitably strong and lightweight material, such as metal, plastic, etc., and can be secured to top panel  222  by way of welding, riveting, bolting, or any other suitable process known to the art. Adjacent upper leg portions  236  of front panel  226  and rear panel  228  can also be secured to adjacent upper leg portions  236  of side panels  230   a ,  230   b  by way of a similar process to provide greater structural strength. 
         [0030]    Feeding bowls  240  are shaped to extend through bowl apertures  224  in top panel  222 . Each feeding bowl  240  includes a lip  242  that extends outward from the top of the feeding bowl  240 . The lips  242  provide support for the feeding bowls  240  when they are received through the feeding bowl apertures  224 , such that the lips  242  rest on the top surface of top panel  222 . The feeding bowls  240  could be formed from any material that provides the suitable strength and anti-corrosive properties necessary for a food container, such as stainless steel. 
         [0031]    Extendable telescoping leg portions  250  are adjustable in the direction of arrow A, as shown in  FIG. 7 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , the leg portions  250  each include a lower leg member  254  and a bumper  262 . Additionally, a suitable locking mechanism for locking each of the lower leg members  254  could be provided, such as adjustment hinge  256  and torsion spring  260 . Adjustment hinge  256  can be hingedly affixed to lower leg member  254  by way of welding, riveting, bolting, or another suitable process. Torsion spring  260  is disposed between lower leg member  254  and adjustment hinge  256 , providing resistance against adjustment hinge  256  when it is depressed and returning adjustment hinge  256  to its home position when released. Bumpers  262  are disposed on the bottom of lower leg members  254 , providing the pet feeding station  210  with additional stability and protecting the surface on which the pet feeding station  210  rests. 
         [0032]      FIG. 8  is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line  8 - 8  of  FIG. 6 . As can be seen in the figure, the upper legs  232  can be shaped to provide channels  252  for slidably receiving lower leg members  254 . When aligned with an aperture  258 , a tip  264  of adjustment hinge  256  can be received by the aperture  258 . When adjustment hinge  256  is depressed, the tip  264  does not engage apertures  258 , and lower leg member  254  can slidably move relative to upper leg  232 . When the adjustment hinge  256  is released, torsion spring  262  biases adjustment hinge  256  to its home position, causing tip  264  to extend through an aperture  258 , and fixing the position of lower leg member  254 . Thus, by depressing adjustment hinge  256 , raising or lowering the leg  254  to a desired height, aligning tip  264  with an aperture  258 , and releasing adjustment hinge  256 , a user may easily adjust the height of each leg of the pet feeding station  210 . 
         [0033]    Of course, it is noted that the pet feeding stand of the present disclosure is not limited to lower leg member  254 , adjustment hinge  256 , apertures  258 , and torsion spring  260 , and could instead include any other suitable locking mechanism, For example, in place of adjustment hinge  256  and torsion spring  260 , described above, the pet feeding stand could include a spring-biased button/detent, a flexible tab, a twist-lock mechanism, another slot and pin system, or another suitable means for fixing the position of the legs  254 . Additionally, the pet feeding stand could include telescopic legs having rectangular cross-sections, or any other configuration of suitably strong collapsible leg members. 
         [0034]    Having thus described the disclosure in detail, it is to be understood that the foregoing description is not intended to limit the spirit or scope thereof. What is desired to be protected is set forth in the following claims.