Patent Publication Number: US-2003226513-A1

Title: Bird feeder with modular bird seed reservoirs

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0002] This invention relates to bird feeders and relates more particularly to the type of bird feeder which comprises a housing with a hopper carried by the housing for receipt of bird food, and support for the bird feeder such as a post or a hanger for attaching the housing to a support for the bird feeder, such as a hook, a tree limb, or the like. Commonly, the hopper for bird feeders of this type comprise a cylindrical transparent plastic tube with a multiplicity of feed ports or openings intermediate the top and bottom portions of the tube. In some such bird feeders, the housing includes a wire cage surrounding the hopper to minimize access to the feed port by squirrels and other small animals.  
       [0003] Another common form of bird feeders commercially available are “gazebo-style” bird feeders which, like an ordinary gazebo, have a floor, a plurality of vertical supports and, ordinarily, a peaked, overhanging roof with the bird seed reservoir carried by the floor beneath the roof. Usually, the roof includes an opening with a removable cap enabling the reservoir to be refilled from above. A wire loop or the like may be attached to the housing for supporting the bird feeder in use, or the floor may be simply mounted on a post secured in the ground.  
       [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art  
       [0005] Commercially available gazebo-style and other bird feeders currently on the market have several disadvantages. First, access to the bird seed hopper or reservoir through the opening in the roof is often difficult, particularly if the bird feeder is mounted at a level above the user&#39;s sight. Often, a funnel or other such implement is necessary to facilitate filling the reservoir without spilling large amounts of seed during the filling process.  
       [0006] Additionally, providing sources of different types of bird seed to attract a variety of birds usually requires the use of multiple bird feeders. Compartmented reservoirs or hoppers are available in some bird feeder products, but filling the individual compartments with different types of bird seed is particularly tedious.  
       [0007] Another problem associated with bird feeders currently available is associated with cleaning of the reservoirs. Over time, the bird food in the hopper may tend to cake or spoil from environmental moisture and heat, fouling the hopper, precluding free flow of bird seed through the access or feed apertures and necessitating removal of the reservoir from the housing. This process is especially difficult in gazebo-style bird feeders since the roof may be fixedly attached to the floor or base via the vertical posts by glue or screws. In such circumstances, removing the reservoir or hopper from the housing for cleaning and replacing the same may be impossible or, at best, is difficult and time consuming and, in some instances, requires extraneous tools such as screw drivers or the like.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008] With the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a gazebo-style bird feeder which overcomes the aforementioned and other such disadvantages in a simple and inexpensive manner. More specifically, the instant invention is directed to a gazebo-style bird feeder wherein the housing includes a floor underlying and supporting a plurality of modular hopper elements, with a roof overlying the hopper elements which is movable relative to the floor to enable the hopper elements to be selectively removed from the housing to be refilled or cleaned, or to be entirely replaced by other modular hopper elements which may contain the same or different forms of bird food.  
       [0009] A further object of this invention is the provision of a bird feeder of the type described wherein the roof extends beyond the upper portions of the hopper elements and overhangs the floor to protect the hopper elements and the floor from the elements, with, in the preferred embodiment, the roof merely resting on the supporting posts and otherwise effectively detached from the posts so that the roof can be readily moved or removed for accessing the modular hopper elements.  
       [0010] Consistent with the foregoing, the housing may be supported by a post underlying the floor or, alternatively, a rope or other such element may have its opposed ends connected to the floor, with an intermediate portion passing through apertures in the roof and forming a loop for attachment to a supporting element such as a hook, a tree limb, or the like.  
       [0011] Yet another object of this invention is to provide a gazebo-style bird feeder with a plurality of modular hopper elements which may be readily separated from all of the housing components for ease in cleaning, refilling and/or replacement.  
       [0012] A further object of this invention is incorporation of a plurality of modular bird food reservoirs or hopper elements in a common gazebo-style housing wherein each of the hopper elements is generally rectangular in transverse cross-section, and comprises a pair of parallel sides interconnected by a pair of sides angled from the upper portion to the lower portion of the hopper element, with the parallel sides of adjacent hopper elements being juxtaposed in the housing, and with a plurality of apertures defined in each of the angled sides adjacent the bottom portion of each hopper element through which birds may access bird food within the reservoir.  
       [0013] Yet another object of this invention is the inclusion of a seed catcher underlying the lower portion of each modular hopper element and extending outwardly from each of the angled sides below the apertures to catch bird seed that escapes from the apertures in use. Additionally, the floor of the housing may include a depression dimensioned to receive the seed catchers of the hopper elements to position the hopper elements relative to each other and relative to the housing. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0014] These and other objects, features and many of the attendant advantages of the invention will be better understood upon a reading of the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:  
     [0015]FIG. 1 is an exploded view of one embodiment of a gazebo-style bird feeder according to this invention, showing a pair of modular bird seed hoppers removably carried thereby;  
     [0016]FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view showing the manner in which the bird seed catcher portion of a modular hopper element seats in a depression in the floor of the housing, an optional supporting post for the bird feeder being shown in dotted lines;  
     [0017]FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the bird feeder of FIG. 1;  
     [0018]FIG. 4 is a side elevational view thereof showing the roof lifted in dotted lines for removal of one or more of the hopper elements; and  
     [0019]FIG. 5 is an end view of the bird feeder of this invention similar to FIG. 4. 
    
    
     [0020] Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.  
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0021] In describing a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.  
     [0022] Referring now to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of a gazebo-style bird feeder according to the instant inventive concepts is designated generally by the reference numeral  20 , and comprises basically a housing  30  and a plurality of modular hopper elements  50 . Although only two such hopper elements are illustrated, the number and size of the hopper elements may obviously be increased or decreased without departing from the instant inventive concepts.  
     [0023] The housing  30  includes a floor  32  underlying and supporting each of the hopper elements  50  in a manner to be described in more detailed hereinafter, a plurality of upstanding posts  34 , preferably fixedly secured to the corners of the floor  32  in any conventional manner, and a roof  36  overlying each of the hopper elements  50  to protect the same and the floor  32  from the elements in a well-known manner. The roof  36  may include an opening  38  covered by a removable cap  38   a , if desired, to enable access to the hopper elements  50  from above, although, for many applications, such a construction will not be necessary in view of the removable nature of the hopper elements.  
     [0024] The foregoing housing components are preferably formed of wood for appearance sake, but can be formed of plastic or other materials, simulating a wooden gazebo. In contrast, the hopper elements are generally formed from any well known plastics material by injection molding or any other conventional manner, and may be transparent to enable the level of bird food within the individual hopper elements to be visually observed.  
     [0025] Preferably, the roof  36  simply rests on the upper ends  34 ′ of the posts  34  and is otherwise unattached to the posts. If desired, the upper ends  34 ′ of the posts  34  may be angled to better accommodate the angled undersurface of the roof  36  (not shown).  
     [0026] Although in the preferred embodiment of this invention the roof  36  is not fixedly secured to the posts  34 , if desired, screws or the like (not shown) may be provided to better secure the roof to the posts, while permitting the roof to be removed when necessary for access to the modular hopper elements  50 .  
     [0027] As shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and  5 , a rope or cable  40  may have its opposed ends  40 ′ connected to the edges of the floor  32  in any conventional manner, with intermediate portions passing through apertures  42  in the roof  36  to form a loop  44  for attachment to a supporting element such as a hook, a branch of a tree or the like (not shown). In this manner, the roof  36  may be slid upwardly along the rope  40  as shown in dotted lines at  36 ′ in FIGS. 4 and 5 to readily access the hopper elements  50  to enable removal of the same for cleaning, refilling or replacement.  
     [0028] Alternatively, or additionally, a supporting post  46  may be threadably secured to the bottom of the floor  32  as seen in dotted lines in FIG. 2.  
     [0029] In the preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings, each of the hopper elements  50  is rectangular in transverse cross-section, and comprises a plurality of spaced, generally triangular, parallel sides  52  interconnected by a pair of spaced, generally rectangular, sides  54  angled from the upper portion of each hopper element  50  to the lower portion thereof to provide an enlarged internal cavity or reservoir  56  for reception of a quantity of bird seed or other bird food (not shown). At the bottom of each of the angled sides  54 , a plurality of apertures  58  are defined through which birds may access bird food within the reservoirs  56  in a well known manner.  
     [0030] A seed catcher  60  preferably underlies the lower portion of each hopper  50  and extends outwardly from each of the angled sides  54  below the apertures  58 . The seed catchers  60  may have upturned edges  62  to facilitate retaining excess bird seed escaping through the apertures  58 .  
     [0031] A depression  32   a  is preferably defined in the floor  32  of the housing  30 , with the seed catchers  60  fitting within the depression  32   a  to position the hopper elements  50  relative to each other, with the parallel sides  52  of adjacent hopper elements  50  being juxtaposed within the housing  30 .  
     [0032] A peripheral lip  32   b  may be provided about the floor  32  to retain bird seed or the like overflowing the seed catchers  60 .  
     [0033] Drainage holes  60 ′ may be formed in the seed catchers  60  and drainage holes  32 ′ may be formed in the floor  32  to permit rain or water from nearby sprinklers to flow out of the bird feeder  20 .  
     [0034] Although the bird feeder  20  is generally shown as rectangular, it is obvious that other shapes of gazebo-style bird feeders can incorporate the same inventive concepts as the embodiment shown in the drawings herein without departing from the instant inventive concepts.  
     [0035] The use and operation of the gazebo-style bird feeder  20  of this invention will now be readily understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. One or more modular hopper elements  50  may be pre-filled with bird food. The individual hopper elements  50  can contain the same bird food or different types of bird food to attract different birds. The size and positioning of the apertures  58  can be varied to accommodate different types of bird food.  
     [0036] The roof  36  of the bird feeder  20  may be moved relative to the floor  32  to enable the hopper elements  50  to be selectively positioned within the housing  30 , with the seed catcher portions  60  thereof seated in the depression  32   a  in the floor  32  to position the hopper elements  50  relative to each other and relative to the housing  30 . The bird feeder  20  can then be either supported via a post such as  46  fixed in the ground, or a rope or cable loop  44  engaged over a hook, a tree limb or the like.  
     [0037] When an individual hopper element is empty or needs cleaning, the roof  36  may be lifted, the modular hopper element  50  removed, cleaned, refilled, or simply replaced by a different modular element precharged with bird food. The roof  36  is then repositioned over the posts  34  of the housing  30  and ready for further use.  
     [0038] The foregoing descriptions and drawings should be considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Numerous applications of the present invention will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is not desired to limit the invention to the preferred embodiments or the exact construction and operation shown and described. Rather, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.