Patent Publication Number: US-2017367306-A1

Title: Animal feeder with magnetic components

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to animal feeders. More particularly, the invention relates to bird feeders. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention provides, in one aspect, an animal feeder. The animal feeder includes a base and a sidewall extending upward from the base. The sidewall and base at least partially define an inner cavity operable to hold an animal feed. A roof, operable to transition between an open position and a closed position, is located above the sidewall. In the open position, the roof is magnetically attached to a first magnetic feature such that a user can access the inner cavity. In the closed position, the roof is magnetically attached to a second magnetic feature such that the user cannot access the inner cavity. 
     The invention provides, in another aspect, an animal feeder. The animal feeder includes a base including a magnetic feature and a sidewall extending upward from the base and including a magnetic feature. The sidewall and base at least partially define an inner cavity operable to hold an animal feed. The magnetic feature is selectively, magnetically attached to the second magnetic feature. 
     The invention provides, in yet another aspect, an animal feeder. The animal feeder includes a base, a first sidewall including a first magnetic feature and extending upward from the base, and a second sidewall including a second magnetic feature and extending upward from the base. The sidewall and base at least partially define an inner cavity operable to hold animal feed. The first magnetic feature is magnetically attached to the second magnetic feature. 
     Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view of an animal feeder. 
         FIG. 2  is a partial cross-sectional view of a corner of the assembled animal feeder of  FIG. 1  from above. 
         FIG. 3  is a partial cross-sectional view of the assembled animal feeder of  FIG. 1  from a side. 
         FIG. 4  is a partial cross-sectional view of an animal feeder in a second embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a partial cross sectional view of a roof assembly of an animal feeder. 
         FIG. 6A  is a side view of the roof assembly of  FIG. 5  in an open position relative to the animal feeder. 
         FIG. 6B  is a side view of the roof assembly of  FIG. 5  in a closed position relative to the animal feeder. 
         FIG. 7  is a cutaway perspective exploded view of an animal feeder with a rotatable roof panel. 
         FIG. 8  is a partial front view of the animal feeder of  FIG. 7  with the roof panel in an open position. 
         FIG. 9  is a partial front view of the animal feeder of  FIG. 7  with the roof panel in a closed position. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Before any embodiments of the invention are explained 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 components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded view of an animal feeder  10  according to some embodiments of the invention. As shown, the feeder  10  includes a plurality of side panels  14  and a base  18 . The feeder  10  may further include a roof and a hanging cord such as a cable, string, rope, or wire, though these are not shown with respect to  FIG. 1 . When assembled, the side panels  14  have an exterior surface  22  which faces outward, and an interior surface  26  which faces inward. The side panels  14  include an opening which functions as a feed port  30  by which feed within the feeder  10  can be accessed by small animals, such as birds. As shown, each panel  14  includes an opening  30 , however, in other embodiments, not every panel  14  may include an opening (e.g., only one opening per feeder, one opening on every other panel, etc.). As shown in more detail in  FIG. 3 , the base  18  includes a perch  20  for the animal to rest upon which may be continuous about the perimeter of the feeder  10 , or may correspond to the individual feed ports  30 . 
     When assembled, the side panels  14  have a square cross-section, with the side panels  14  extending upward vertically from the base  18  when the feeder  10  is hanging in a position of use. It should be appreciated, however, that in other embodiments, the side panels  14  may have circular, triangular, pentagonal, hexagonal and other cross-sections with corresponding numbers of vertical faces. Collectively, the assembled side panels  14  form a sidewall. The sidewall extends upward from the base  18 , and in combination with the base  18 , defines an inner cavity operable to hold the animal feed. 
     The panels  14  include various alignment features  34 ,  38  where one panel  14  interacts with another panel  14 . This interaction is shown in  FIG. 2 . As shown, the alignment features  34 ,  38  include alignment of a tongue  34  and groove  38  to position one panel  14  with another. As shown, opposing panels  14  include two each of either tongues  34  or grooves  38 . Alternatively, each panel can include one each of a tongue  34  and a groove  38 . 
     In addition to the alignment features  34 ,  38 , the panels  14  include a plurality of flanges  42 ,  46  extending from the panels  14  in various locations. First flanges  42 , as shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3 , extend outward from the base of each panel  14  (i.e., the end in contact with the base  18  when assembled) and contain a magnet or magnetic surface  50  in facing relation to the base  18  when assembled. The magnets  50  interact with a corresponding magnet or magnetic surface  54  of the base  18  to secure the panels  14  to the base  18 . 
     Second flanges  46 , located away from the base of the panel  14 , as shown, are located on the panels  14  which include alignment tongues  34 . Each second flange  46  includes a magnet or magnetic surface  58  which aligns with a magnet or magnetic surface  62  on the interior surface  26  of the panels  14  which include alignment grooves  38 . The alignment grooves  38  prevent the panels  14  with alignment tongues  34  from falling outward when the feeder  10  is assembled. The magnets  58  associated with the second flanges  46  prevent the panels  14  with alignment grooves  38  from falling outward when the feeder  10  is assembled. Collectively, the tongues  34 , grooves  38 , and magnetic surfaces  58 ,  62  hold and fix each panel  14  relative to each adjacent panel  14 . Alternatively, if each panel included one tongue  34  to mate with a groove  38  of an adjacent panel  14  and one groove to mate with a tongue of an adjacent panel  14 , the second flanges  46  may be omitted. 
     The flanges  42 ,  46  may be integral with the sidewalls, or may be attached by a known attachment means (e.g., adhesive, rivets, fastener, etc.). Further, the various magnets  50 ,  54 ,  58 ,  62  may be attached (e.g., adhesively bonded, etc.) to the corresponding surfaces, or may be integral with the surfaces (i.e., the corresponding surfaces may be magnetic themselves). 
     With respect to  FIG. 4 , like features are identified with like reference numerals incremented by one-hundred and will not be discussed in further detail. The animal feeder  110  of  FIG. 4  includes a tubular or cylindrical sidewall  116 , as opposed to the four flat panels  14  of  FIG. 1 . Two feed ports  130  are integral with the sidewall  116  and permit a small animal, such as a bird, to access the feed within. The base  118  of the birdfeeder  110  includes two components: a central panel  118 A and a perch  118 B. 
     The central panel  118 A is the base of the inner cavity which is operable to hold the animal feed. As shown, extending around the periphery of the central panel  118 A is an L-shaped flange  170 . The L-shaped flange  170  supports a magnet  166  (or multiple magnets). The central plate  118 A may be made of a magnetic material (e.g., steel, iron, nickel, etc.) or may include magnets to align with the magnet  166 . The magnet  166  may be fixed (i.e., adhered) to the central panel  118 A, may be fixed (i.e., adhered) to the perch  118 B, or if both the central panel  118 A and the perch  118 B are made of magnetic materials, the magnet  166  may not be fixed to either of the base components  118 A,  118 B. The central panel  118 A includes a pull handle  174  which allows a user to magnetically remove the central panel  118 A from the animal feeder  110  and easily clean the inside of the animal feeder  110 . 
     The perch  118 B may be made out of a magnetic material or a non-magnetic material. It includes a tubular lip  178  which supports the cylindrical sidewall  116  and fixes the sidewall  116  to the base  118 . A second lip  180  acts a stopper to prevent the sidewall  116  from contacting the central panel  118 A. This prohibits the assembly of the sidewall  116  and the perch  118 B from magnetically disconnecting the central panel  118 A from the perch  118 B. The perch  118 B further includes an L-shaped flange  182  which mates with the magnet  166  in a similar manner to the L-shaped flange  166 . The portion of the perch  118 B upon which a small animal rests extends outward from the animal feeder sidewall  116 . This portion may be continuous and wrap about the entirety of the sidewall, or a plurality of individual perches may be located at each of the feed ports  130 . 
     Although shown with reference to a second embodiment of an animal feeder  110 , the magnetic base assembly  118 ,  166  may be used in combination with the magnetically mated side panels  14  of  FIGS. 1-3 . 
     With respect to  FIGS. 5-6B , like features are identified with like reference numerals incremented by two-hundred and will not be discussed in further detail.  FIG. 5  focuses on a roof assembly  311  of an animal feeder  310 . The roof assembly  311  includes a cross bar  301  which is fixed to the sidewall  316  at two locations opposite one another. The cross bar  301  features a centrally located orifice which is partially filled with a magnetic rivet  305  (e.g., a steel tube rivet). The rivet  305  contains a central hole through which a hanging cord  335  (e.g., cable, string, rope, or wire) extends. 
     The roof assembly  311  further includes a roof panel  315  which, when in a closed position ( FIG. 6B ) covers an opening atop the sidewall  316  and covers the cross bar  305 . The roof panel  315  includes a centrally located grommet  319  (e.g., plastic grommet) which is fixed to the roof panel  315  via a first groove  323 . A magnet  327  extends into a second groove  331  in the grommet  319  and is thereby fixed to the roof panel  315  via the grommet  319 . The magnet  327  includes a central orifice through which the hanging cord  335  extends. 
     The hanging cord  335  includes a proximal end that, when assembled, is below the roof panel  315  and a distal end which extends above and outward from the roof panel  315 . At the distal end (not shown) of the hanging cord  335  is an attachment feature (e.g., hook, loop, etc.) for hanging the bird feeder from an outside feature (e.g., tree branch, post, etc.). When the animal feeder  310  is hung from an outside feature, the hanging cord  335  is taut, and the bird feeder is supported by the hanging cord  335 . The hanging cord  335  includes a stopper  339  located at the distal end of the cord  335 . The stopper  339  has a diameter which is greater than a diameter of the hole of the rivet  305  such that, when the hanging cord  335  extends through the rivet  305 , the stopper  339  does not. Therefore, when the cord  335  is taut, the stopper abuts the rivet  305 , thereby supporting the entirety of the animal feeder  310 . 
     The hanging cord  335  further includes a magnetic feature or upper stopper  343  fixed (e.g., crimped) to the hanging cord  335 . The upper stopper  343  is made of a magnetic material, or at least includes a magnetic surface in facing relation to the magnet  327 . The upper stopper  343  is fixed to the hanging cord  335  a distance  347  away from the stopper  339 . When the stopper  339  abuts the rivet  305  and the magnet  327  abuts the upper stopper  343 , the distance  347  is great enough to allow a user to access feed inside of the animal feeder  310  and provide feed to the animal feeder  310  via the opening atop the sidewall  316 . 
     The roof assembly  311  is operable to transition between an open position ( FIG. 6A ) and a closed position ( FIG. 6B ). In the open position, the magnet  327 , which is fixed to the grommet  319  and the roof panel  315 , is magnetically attached to the upper stopper  343 . This provides user access to the inside of the animal feeder  310  without necessitating the user to hold up the roof panel  315 . In the closed position, the magnet  327 , which is fixed to the grommet  319  and the roof panel  315 , is magnetically attached to the rivet  305 . This fixes the roof panel  315  over the opening atop the sidewall  316  and prevents access to the feed via the opening. This may additionally prevent an animal, such as a squirrel from accessing the feed via the opening. In order to transition from the open position to the closed position, the user must overcome the magnetic attraction between the magnet  327  and the upper stopper  343 . In order to transition from the closed position to the open position, the user must overcome the magnetic attraction between the magnet  327  and the rivet  305 . 
     With respect to  FIGS. 7-9 , like features are identified with like reference numerals incremented by one-hundred and will not be discussed in further detail.  FIG. 7  shows an exploded partial perspective view of an animal feeder  410 . The animal feeder  410  is pentagon-shaped when viewed from the front (i.e., the side removed for the cutaway), with an inverted “V”-shaped roof  415 ,  451 . The animal feeder includes a plurality of side panels  414 , which may be separate panels  414  (e.g., employing the magnetic features of  FIGS. 1-3 ) or may be formed as a single panel  414 . As shown, the base  418 , the side panels  414  and a fixed roof panel  451  are integrally formed with one another. Roof panel  415 , unlike fixed roof panel  451 , is not integrally formed with or fixed to the side panels  414  and the base  418 . 
     A bracket  455  is fixed to one of the sidewalls  414  (as shown in  FIG. 7 , the bracket is fixed to a rear wall, opposite the front wall) via a fastener (not shown) or an alternative fixing means (e.g., adhesive, etc.). The bracket  455  includes a post  459 , a first flange  461 A, and a second flange  461 B, all of which extend outward from and perpendicular to the sidewall  414  upon which the bracket  455  is affixed. The flanges  461 A,  461 B are magnetic, or at least include a magnetic surface. The flanges  461 A,  461 B will be described in more detail with respect to  FIGS. 8-9  below. 
     The post  459  is cylindrical and marks a center of rotation for an arm  463  which includes an orifice operable (i.e., appropriately sized) to mate with the post  459 . The arm  463  is fixed to the roof panel  415  via a fastener (not shown) or an alternative fixing means (e.g., adhesive, set screw, etc.). Opposite the end of the arm  463  fixed to the roof panel  415  is a housing  467  with an orifice which supports a magnet  427 . As shown, the magnet  427  extends through the housing  467  of the arm  463  such that the magnet  427  protrudes from both sides of the housing  467 . Alternative to the single magnet  427  extending through the housing  467 , the housing  467  may include two recesses opposite one another and two magnets may be fitted into and protrude outward from the recesses. 
     The roof panel  415  is operable to transition between an open position ( FIG. 8 ) and a closed position ( FIG. 9 ). In the open position, the roof panel  415  is in a position in which a user can access the inside of the animal feeder  410 . As the arm  463  is fixed to the roof panel  415 , the roof panel  415  and the arm  463  rotate about the post  459  which is fixed to a sidewall  414 . When in the open position, the magnet  427  in the housing  467  of the arm  463  is magnetically attached to a magnetic surface of the first flange  461 A. In this position, the roof is parallel to the second flange  461 B. The magnetic attraction between the first flange  461 A and the magnet  427  holds the roof in the open position such that a user can access the inside of the animal feeder  410  to add feed or clean the inside. 
     In the closed position, the roof panel  415  is in a position in which a user cannot access the inside of the animal feeder  410 . When in the closed position, the magnet  427  in the housing  467  of the arm  463  is magnetically attached to a magnetic surface of the second flange  461 B. In this position, the roof is parallel to the first flange  461 B. The magnetic attraction between the second flange  461 B and the magnet  427  holds the roof in the closed position such that an animal, such as a squirrel cannot access the inside of the animal feeder  410 . 
     It should be appreciated that the various features associated with the embodiments of  FIGS. 1-9  may be variously combined within the scope of the invention.