Patent Publication Number: US-2022210999-A1

Title: Feeding system for an animal

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a feeding system for an animal. More particularly, the present feeding system comprises a singe-vessel having at least two segmented and separate compartments, for example, one to hold food and one to hold water. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a system for feeding an animal, more particularly, a domesticated animal like a dog or cat. Using a dog as an example of one domesticated animal, most feeding systems comprise either a single compartment bowl, or a two bowl system resting within a housing. In this latter environment, typically one bowl is used for food, and one is used for hydration, such as water. Some dogs eat dry food, and some eat wet food, yet others are fed a combination of wet and dry food. Some dogs eat all of their food very quickly upon being served, while others nibble at it throughout the day. The water bowl is generally filled at least once a day, or multiple times a day depending upon how thirsty the dog is or how dirty the water gets throughout the day. 
     There are a number of problems with either setup described above. For example, when feeding a dog, as stated above, some devour their serving in seconds. It is said that this is not good for the animal because it can cause choking problems as well as digestion problems. To overcome this, some prior art feeders use a flatter serving dish or platter, or otherwise include some obstacles or impediments so that the dog will have to “work” at getting to all of the food. Another problem with the present feeding systems is for dogs with longer ears, such as spaniels, hounds and setters. For these breeds, oftentimes when the dogs drink from their water bowl, their ears flop into the water getting them wet, and drippy, which inevitably ends up on the floor of the owner where the bowl is situated. The owner is then compelled to dry the floor for, among other reasons, safety. Given the number of times a dog drinks water in a day, the mopping up an owner has to due is quite burdensome. To address this problem, certain bowls are known which claim to limit the problem by reducing the bowl opening and/or sloping the sides of the bowl. The problem with these types of bowls is that the dog still can approach very nearly the edge of the bowl, drop its head straight down to get the water, and the animal&#39;s ears still end up in the bowl—and wet. 
     Still yet another problem with the prior art for feeding domesticated animals is when more than one bowl is housed within system for a two-bowl set. While this type of system does separate food and water, or wet food and dry food, it does not address the wet-ear problem for long-eared dog breeds, or the devouring food problem, and the footprint for this type of system is approximately double what a one bowl system would use. Thus, there needs to be a means for feeding an animal that comprises a vessel, bowl or the like, that can hold both food and water in separate compartments, while impeding quick consumption of food, keeping ears dry for long-eared dogs breeds, all while reducing the footprint of the feeding system resulting in a more compact and design inspired feeder. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The current invention presents a feeding system for a domesticated animal such as a dog or cat. The system comprises a vessel, such as a bowl, where the vessel has an open top end, a closed bottom end, an outer wall upstanding from the bottom end defining substantially the periphery of the vessel, and an inner wall upstanding from the said bottom end forming an inner walled compartment or area, wherein the space between the outer and inner walls define a channel. The inner walled area and channel form two segmented and separate compartments for feeding and/or hydrating a dog or cat. However, as it may be understood, it is possible to create more than two segmented compartments if additional walled in areas are incorporated into the feeding system. 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a feeding system for an animal comprising a single vessel that is compartmentalized to form more than one eating or drinking area or station. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a feeding system that displaces the drinking station away from the periphery of a vessel, and optimally substantially in the center of the vessel, containing liquid hydration such as water, and creating a dry channel adjacent to the vessel&#39;s periphery into which the ears of dog breeds having long ears will flop into keeping them away from the hydrating liquid resulting in the animal&#39;s ears remaining dry or substantially dry. 
     It is still yet another object of the present invention to impede an animal from quickly devouring food in a vessel comprised of more than one eating or drinking station by preventing the animal from having unobstructed access to the food compartment by means of the drinking compartment. 
     It is further an object of the present invention to provide an optional insert into the drinking station of an at least two compartment feeding system vessel to permit a user to replenish or provide clean hydration to an animal without having to remove the vessel itself from its feeding position on the ground, floor or other surface. 
     It is yet still another object of the present invention to provide an optional restrictive blocking insert into the feeding compartment of a vessel to direct food placed within that compartment to a forward position for access to an animal when, for example, the vessel is situated against or near a wall or other access-impeding location where the animal has limited ability to access to the back or sides of the vessel. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide an impediment to a feeding compartment of a vessel by adding an yet another compartment within the vessel to make food less easily accessible to an animal thus slowing the eating process, resulting in the animal&#39;s better health and digestion. 
     It is also yet another object of the present invention to provide a feeding system for an animal that houses a single vessel which provides sustenance in the form of food, or different kinds of food, and/or water. 
     It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a feeding system for an animal that prevents the animal from splashing water or other liquid from a feeding and/or watering vessel onto the floor or other area, and keeps the splashed water within the vessel by means of a substantially centrally located watering compartment. 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious to the reader and it is intended that these objects and advantages are within the scope of the present invention. 
     To accomplish the above and related objects, this invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described within the scope of the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the present feeding system for an animal invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross section view of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the present feeding system for an animal invention showing a insert for holding liquid hydration; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross section view of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the present feeding system for an animal invention showing a channel blocking insert; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross section view of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the present feeding system for an animal invention shown within a housing; and. 
         FIG. 8  is a cross section view of  FIG. 7 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference numerals denote similar elements throughout the several views,  FIGS. 1 through 8  illustrate a feeding system for an animal  10  and pertains principally to domesticated dogs and cats, and more particularly, to dogs. As may be understood from this disclosure however, the feeding system  10  can be adopted and used for all dog and cat breeds. 
     The feeding system  10  in  FIG. 1  comprises a vessel  20 . The vessel  20  has an open top end  22 , a closed bottom end  24 , an outer wall upstanding  26  from the said bottom end  24  defining substantially the periphery of the vessel  20 , and an inner wall  28  upstanding from the said bottom end  24  forming an inner walled compartment  30 , wherein the space between the outer and inner walls defines a channel  32 . The inner walled compartment  30  is preferably substantially centered within the vessel  20 . The height of the outer wall  26  and the inner wall  28  can be taller or shorter with respect to one another, depending on the size of the animal to be fed and watered, so long the animal has relatively easy access to the contents of each area. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the inner walled compartment  30  forms a separate first feeding station from the channel  32  second feeding station and can be used as a hydration reservoir for the animal, such as a water station. Preferably, the channel  32  serves two purposes: to provide an area to hold solid food for the animal, whether wet food, dry food or a combination of the two, and to provide for a distance between the periphery of the vessel  20  and the inner wall  28 . The channel  32 , intended to hold food and no water, is substantially a dry area such that when an animal, especially one with long droopy ears like a spaniel or hound dog, goes to drink from the inner walled compartment  30 , the ears fall into the dry channel and are prevented or impeded from going into the inner walled compartment  30  by the inner wall  28 . Thus, the ears remain substantially dry. 
     Furthermore, the channel  32  formed by the outer wall  26  and inner wall  28  confines the eating area to one that is less than the area of the entire vessel  20 . What this does in practice is causes the animal to have to “work” at getting to the food within the channel  32 , and thus slows down the eating process as the food is less accessible than it is for a vessel having no inner walled compartment. It has been theorized that slower eating improves the digestion process for the animal and thus, its overall health. 
     The vessel  20  of  FIG. 1  can be made of metal, such as stainless steel, or can be made of plastic. It is, of course, preferable for the vessel  20  to be made of a food grade material. Further, while the dimensions of the vessel  20  are subject to the height of the animal and thus very flexible, the vessel  20  can be manufactured, for example for a medium-sized dog, with approximately a radius of six inches, with the inner walled compartment having an approximate radius of two and a half inches, and the height of both the vessel  20  and inner walled compartment  30  being approximately four inches. It is to be noted that in  FIG. 2 , the bottom end  24  is continuous throughout the vessel  20 . 
     In  FIG. 3 , the feeding system  10  shows the vessel  20  optionally having a substantially annular shape, with the bottom end  24  forming a component of the channel  32 , yet the vessel has no bottom end  24  within the inner walled compartment  30 . Rather, a liquid container insert  34  having an open top end, and walls extending upward from a closed bottom end is matably insertable within the inner walled compartment  30 . When, for example, the insert  34  which can be filled with water, needs to be refilled or refreshed, it can be removed and filled while leaving the vessel  20  in place. The insert  34  terminates at its open top end in a rim  36  that extends over the inner wall  28  to secure it onto the inner wall  28  and for ease in grasping it to remove and replace it once the insert  34  has been refilled or refreshed.  FIG. 4  depicts a cross section of the view of  FIG. 3 , to show clearly the annular shape of the vessel  20 , and that the bottom of the insert  34  is discontinuous with the bottom  24  of the vessel  20 . However, as may be understood, there is no reason that the insert  34  cannot rest on a vessel  20  having a continuous bottom  24  has shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The container insert  34  can, like the vessel  20 , be made of metal or plastic, and preferably of a food grade material. 
       FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6  illustrate an optional channel block insert  38  which fits or mates within the channel  32  of vessel  20 . The purpose of the channel block  38  is to direct food (not shown) within the channel  32  to a particular location. This is advantageous when the feeding system  10  is placed on the floor or ground, and abuts a rear wall, a side wall or walls, or both. The block  38 , being insertable into the channel  32 , is slidable within the channel  32  to provide flexibility to the user to direct the location of the food. While it is preferred that the block  38  conforms to the shape of the channel  32 , it need not so long as it blocks food from going into an area of the channel  32  to be blocked. The channel block  38  can, like the vessel  20 , be made of metal or plastic, and preferably of a food grade material. 
     In  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the vessel  20  of feeding system  10  rests in a housing  40 . More particularly, the housing  40  comprises an upper member  42  having a concavity into which the vessel  20  rests. The housing  40  also may comprise a lower member or legs  44 . The legs  44  are optional, matably engageable with the upper member  42 , and removable therefrom to provide for alternate height to the housing  40 , which will be dictated by the height of the animal to feed and water from the feeding system  10 . It is contemplated that the housing  40  is manufactured of a plastic or metal. 
     What has been described and illustrated herein is a preferred embodiment of the invention along with some of its variations. The terms, descriptions and figures used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many variations are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention, which is intended to be defined by the following claims (and their equivalents) in which all terms are meant in their broadest reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated. Any headings utilized within the description are for convenience only and have no legal or limiting effect.