Patent Abstract:
A feeder for a cage, designed to reduce the scattering of food and to provide a cleaner and healthier caged environment, wherein the cage has a wall and an interior space for housing an animal such as a bird, including a cage door. The feeder comprises a feeder mechanism which includes a feeder receptacle attached to an extension structure, wherein the extension structure extends between the receptacle and the wall of said cage. The extension structure is manually engageable and adjustable for positioning the feeder receptacle at a selected location in the interior space of the cage and at a selected location at a cage door for access to the feeder receptacle.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     The present application is a divisional of co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/205,789 filed Jul. 26, 2002, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention is directed at an animal feeder in general and more particularly to a cage-mounted feeder which positions one or more feeding dishes away from the cage&#39;s perimeter and toward the center of the cage so that the scattering of feed is contained substantially within the cage. The feeder allows the dish to be mechanically moved and positionally exchanged between the perimeter of the cage and a location within the cage for ease of access in filling, emptying or cleaning of the dish.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Small animals, particularly birds, are often housed for long periods of time within some sort of cage. In order to feed these animals, it is necessary to gain access to the interior of the cage. It is also advantageous if the feeding station or one or more dishes are located away from the perimeter and towards the center of the cage so that any scatter of food or water does not fall outside the cage, and so that the animals (preferably birds) have room to access the dish without being encumbered by the walls of the cage.  
         [0004]     Most cages have feeding dishes attached to the perimeter of the cage for ease of access by the caretaker and sometimes include a small door located in a sidewall of the cage, and separate from the main access door, to refresh/replace or clean the food and water dishes. Thus, when the food/water dish is placed at the perimeter of the cage, it makes it easy to service, but also makes it more likely that food will fall outside the cage. When the dish is located in the center of the cage, it is much more difficult to access and service, because one needs to open the main door to get to the dish, thereby engaging with the occupant of the cage who may want to escape, or play, or run and hide.  
         [0005]     Various patents have been identified which seek to address the above referenced problem of scatter. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,305 to Oveta and Robert Hollaway discloses a feeder which is clamped to the wall of the bird cage and comprises a rigid extension bar which is not capable of maneuvering for access, but rather is stationary, permanently locating the feeding dish at the center of the cage. U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,796 discloses a bird feeder to be hung from a tree with a height adjustment to allow the entirety of the feeder to be lowered for gaining access thereto.  
         [0006]     Attention is also directed to U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,430 entitled “Reduced Mess Bird Feeder” which discloses a bird feeder which is designed so that a feeding bird leaves a reduced amount of bird food in an area outside the bird cage when compared to a conventional bird feeder. Such feeder relies upon the use of a plurality of feeder dishes and a pedestal, the pedestal including a base permanently positioned within the cage center. In addition, attention is directed to U.S. Pat. No. 1,575,101 which appears to again disclose the permanent positioning of a bird feeder at the cage center. Other patents of general interest include U.S. Pat. No. 3,119,372 entitled “Bird Cage Feeder Device”, U.S. Pat. No. 3,415,226, entitled “Bird Feeder”.  
         [0007]     In spite of all the above disclosures, there still remains a need for a consumer friendly feeding device that facilitates the ability to easily replenish the bird feeder, yet which also positions the feeder at a location within the cage to minimize scatter. The present invention, therefore, has as its principal object the development of such a bird or small animal feeding device that can be conveniently positioned at different locations within the cage so that the feeder can be readily accessed at a perimeter/door location, yet repositioned and relocated within the cage environment to reduce the amount of feed, seeds and husks that are naturally scattered by the bird or other animal, and to reduce the amount of attention necessary by the bird/animal owner to maintain a clean and healthy environment.  
         [0008]     It is thus, also an object of this invention to provide an apparatus for feeding small animals or birds contained in a cage by providing a centralized feeder which can be maneuvered to the cage wall for access through the door by the caretaker.  
         [0009]     It is a further object of this invention to provide a centralized feeder for a cage that can be positioned within the cage without the main cage door being open,  
         [0010]     It is further object of this invention to provide a centralized feeder for a cage that does not require a secondary access door at the perimeter of the cage.  
         [0011]     It is still further object of the present invention to provide a feeder apparatus for a cage that provides adjustability and maneuverability of the feeder apparatus to various locations within the cage for cleaning, rearrangement, etc.  
         [0012]     It is a further object of this invention to provide a feeder apparatus that is easy to access and which substantially contains scattering of food and/or liquid inside the cage due to its position.  
         [0013]     It is still further object of the present invention to provide a feeder apparatus containing the above mentioned attributes which can also simultaneously serve as a perch while the occupant feeds.  
         [0014]     It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a maneuverable feeder apparatus for a cage which provides a means for supporting containers for water, food, etc  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]     A feeder for a cage, designed to reduce the scattering of food and to provide a cleaner and healthier caged environment, wherein the cage has a wall and an interior space for housing an animal such as a bird, including a cage door. The feeder comprises a feeder mechanism which includes a feeder receptacle attached to an extension structure, wherein the extension structure extends between the receptacle and the wall of said cage. The extension structure is manually engageable and adjustable for positioning the feeder receptacle at a selected location in the interior space of the cage and at a selected location at a cage door for access to the feeder receptacle.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]     To better understand and appreciate the invention, refer to the following detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawings:  
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cage feeder apparatus constructed according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional side view of the cage feeder apparatus of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the cage of  FIG. 4  with the top bars removed for clarity according to a second embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional side view of the second embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a cage feeder apparatus constructed according to a third embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional side view of the feeder apparatus in a retracted position for servicing according to the third embodiment.  
         [0024]      FIG. 8  is a partial perspective view of the pivoting mechanism of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 9  is another perspective view of another preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0026]      FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of the feeder apparatus of  FIG. 9 .  
         [0027]      FIG. 11  is another perspective view of another preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
       [0028]     In the appended drawings common elements use the same numeric character but are distinguished by the addition of a letter to identify a common element between embodiments (for instance  10 ,  10 A,  10 B, etc.).  
       DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0029]     The present invention comprises a feeder preferably having one or more dishes or feed receptacles which are connected to a push/pull or pivoting rod which extends outside the cage and is maneuverable in a variety of planes (in/out—xy-plane along the x axis, up/down—zx or zy-plane along the z axis) or axially in the xy-plane around a pivot point at the edge of the cage such that the dish can be easily placed at the center of the cage for feeding and moved close to the door of the cage for filling and cleaning. In addition, the positioning mechanism may also comprise a retractable/foldable arm, an arm pivoted off another location inside the cage other than the cage wall, or a combination of rods or arms that allow for positional adjustment in multiple planes. In the case of the feeder being suspended from the ceiling of the cage, the attachment mechanism may be flexible such as a cord.  
         [0030]     The feeder of the present invention is attached to the exterior of the cage through a rod or series of rods which can be maneuvered to allow access by the animal/bird at the center of the cage and by the caretaker through a cage door.  
         [0031]     While the cages shown in the drawings and described herein are drawn as rectangular in shape, the cages could be of nearly any shape (round, hexagonal, dome-shaped, etc.) to contain a small animal or bird as its temporary or permanent home. In addition, all of the various features illustrated and discussed below within each preferred embodiment are understood to be applicable within all of the preferred embodiments discussed herein.  
         [0032]      FIG. 1  shows a preferred cage  10  which has a feeder mechanism installed therein. In the interest of clarifying the invention, only some of the bars of the cage are shown, while others have been removed. The feeder mechanism  20  as shown contains a receptacle  12  having two removable dishes or fixed cavities for containment of food  14  and water  16 . The receptacle  12  of the invention could contain more or less cavities depending on what may be desirably fed to the occupant of the cage.  
         [0033]     The receptacle  12  travels on two rails  22 ,  24  which are slidably engaged with hollow tubes  26 ,  28  on the bottom of the receptacle  12 . The rails  22 ,  24  are attached at opposite sides of the cage to act as a height locating device for the feeder receptacle between the door  40  of the cage and the cage floor. The rails  22 ,  24  may also act as a perch for the cage occupant to use while feeding. A central rod  30  with a handle  32  is attached to the receptacle  12  and can be used to push or pull the receptacle  12  to a position near the center of the cage for feeding or to the door  40  at the edge of the cage for servicing (filling, emptying or cleaning the dishes or cavities in the receptacle  12 ).  
         [0034]     The receptacle  12  may contain similarly shaped dishes which fit into the cavities of the receptacle  12  which may then be interchanged with other dishes for ease of cleaning, filling, etc.  
         [0035]      FIG. 2  show the cage  10 A and feeder mechanism  20 A in cross-sectional side view, again with most of the cage bars removed for clarity of presentation. Here, the rod  30 A is extended nearly its full length to position the feeder mechanism  20 A near the center of the cage  10 A. As the arrow A indicates, by pulling on the handle  32 A, the feeder mechanism  20 A can be maneuvered to close proximity of the door  40 A of the cage  10 A. This eliminates the need to reach into the center of the cage to access the receptacle  12 A. Again, with the feeder near the center of the cage  10 A, spillage from the receptacle  12 A will be contained within the cage.  
         [0036]     Turning to  FIGS. 3-5 , a second preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown, where in  FIG. 3 , the feeder mechanism  20 C can be easily maneuvered near the center of the cage or to the access door  40 B as shown by the arrow B. In this embodiment, a pivoting (see  FIG. 3  for a top view with bars removed for clarity) mechanism  50  is located at the corner of the cage  10 D which can pivot the receptacle  12 C from near the center of the cage to the access door  40 B.  FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the present invention illustrating additional details of the pivot mechanism  50 B. The pivot mechanism comprises a hollow tube  56  which slips over the corner bar  52  of the cage  10 E and which sits on a fixed collar  54  which is firmly attached to the corner bar  52 , locating the height of the pivot mechanism  50 B and, thereby, the feed receptacle  12 D. As shown in  FIG. 8  the fixed collar  54 B and tube  56 B may each include intermeshing teeth  59  which may act as a detent for positioning the feeder mechanism  20 D of  FIG. 4  near the center of the cage  10 E. Thus, the feeder mechanism can be lifted slightly and rotated to a specific angle and on different planes inside the cage and the intermeshing teeth will guarantee it remains in that position. As shown in  FIGS. 4, 5  and  8  a thumb screw  58 ,  58 A and  58 B or wing nut may be engaged with a threaded hole in the tube  56 ,  56 A to prevent unwanted horizontal movement of the feeder mechanism  20 D. It should be noted that as shown in  FIG. 4  it may be advantageous to angle the sides of the feeder receptacle  12 C and  12 D to match the angle that the receptacle makes when it engages the wall of the cage. Receptacle  12 C and  12 D may have a removable dish inside.  
         [0037]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional side view of  FIG. 4  showing how the receptacle  12 E is supported by rod  60  and rod  62  which is angled down to a lower point on tube  56 A to provide vertical stability for receptacle  12 E. It should be noted that rods  60  and  62  may be firmly attached to the tube  56 A. Furthermore the rod attached to thumbscrews  58 A can be releasably engaged to hollow tube  56 A, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . Furthermore, this concept of fixed rods  60  and  62  and releasable thumbscrew  58 A apply to all other preferred embodiments herein.  
         [0038]     A third preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7  illustrating a cage design where the access door  40 C is located in the top of the cage  10 F. Again, some of the cage bars have been removed in the FIGS. to provide clarity to the understanding of the present invention. In this preferred embodiment, gravity is used to assist in lowering the feed receptacle  12 F to its desired height in the cage. The mechanism for lowering the receptacle  12 F comprises a handle or ring  32 B, a rod  30 B which is slidably engaged with a hollow tube  56 C, which is attached to a central flat bar  76  spanning a portion of the top of the cage  10 F.  
         [0039]     In  FIG. 6  the feeder receptacle  12  F is shown as being in two portions with the rod  30 B centered between them for balance. The receptacle may comprise one, two or more removable dishes or fixed cavities surrounding the rod which may then be rotated under the cage door  40 C for access.  
         [0040]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional side view of  FIG. 6  showing the rod  30 C withdrawn from the cage such that the feeder receptacle  12 G is at the top of the cage and in close proximity to the cage door  40 D.  FIG. 7  shows a spring clip  78 A mounted to the rod  30 C which secures the feeder receptacle  12 G in the up position while it is being accessed. The spring clip  78 A remains in an expanded position when the rod is extended into the cage (reference numeral  78  in  FIG. 6 ) and is compressed when the rod  30 C is drawn through the tube  74 A until the spring clip  78 A clears the tube  74 A and expands back out to hold the receptacle  12 G in the up position (see  FIG. 7 ). Compressing the spring clip  78 A, allows the clip and the rod  30 C to slide down through the tube  56 D and bring the receptacle  12 G into a lowered position for access by the occupant of the cage (see  FIG. 6 ). In addition, thumbscrew  58 C conveniently holds tube  56 D in the up position and/or at any position in the vertical z-plane.  
         [0041]      FIG. 9  illustrates yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the feeder mechanism generally identified at  80  is shown in the form of a house configuration, wherein the feeder receptacles  82  for food and/or water are contained within the feeder, and are removable for ease of replenishing and cleaning. At or near the apex  84  of the house configuration an opening is provided to allow for connection to the rail  86 . As can be seen, rail  86  is preferably of square or rectangular shape, or other equivalent geometric shape to restrict rotation of the feeder  80 . Extension structure  88  is shown extending between said feeder  80  and the wall of the cage  90 . Preferably, in  FIG. 10 , a side cross-sectional view of  FIG. 9 , the extension structure  88  extends beyond the cage and includes a handle  92  to facilitate manual engagement by the user so that the feeder mechanism can be selectively positioned at the door  94 , which is illustrated in  FIG. 10  is open position.  
         [0042]      FIG. 11  illustrates yet another preferred embodiment of a feeder mechanism  96 . In this configuration the feeder mechanism is attached at its bottom location  98  via extension structure  100 , which, as shown, preferably comprises two elongated bar sections forming a general right angle configuration. However, in the broad context of the present invention, the extension structure may simply comprise a single bar section attached to the side of feeder mechanism  96 . In addition, it can be appreciated that extension structure  100  extends from the roof  102  the cage so that it can be manually engaged and positioned at a selected location in the interior space of the cage and at a selected location at the door opening  104 .  
         [0043]     The present invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments described herein and could include any of a variety of mechanisms such as folding arm, extendable rod, pivoting, rotating or hanging mechanisms located on or near the perimeter of the cage that allow a feeder receptacle to be maneuvered from near the center of the cage to the perimeter of the cage in proximity to an access door.  
         [0044]     In addition, the feeder mechanism described herein may be combined with a mechanical engagement means where upon opening of the cage door, the feeder mechanism is triggered to move the feeder receptacle automatically towards the cage wall and upon closing the cage door, the receptacle is positioned near the cage center.  
         [0045]     The description and drawings illustratively set forth the presently preferred invention embodiment. We intend the description and drawings to describe this embodiment and not to limit the scope of the invention. Obviously, it is possible to modify these embodiments while remaining within the scope of the following claims. Therefore, within the scope of the claims, one may practice the invention otherwise than as the description and drawings specifically show and describe.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0