Abstract:
A self attaching, rugged animal feeding bowl for use in cages, kennels, compounds, and/or animal transportation containers. The bowl is constructed of a rigid hard surfaced polymer. The material used is molded with a heavy wall thickness which greatly reduces the possibility that an animal will be able to penetrate the surface with teeth, claws, bills or beaks thus reducing the risk of destruction of the bowl and harm to the animal. The bowl has an attachment apparatus including a slot for receiving a wire of an animal enclosure. The attachment member includes a male/female coupling which sandwiches the wires of the enclosure between the male/female members when the coupling is engaged. Ribs including a center rib support and reinforce the attachment apparatus as it is secured to the bowl. The attachment apparatus may be formed in two sections that interlockingly engage each other. A guard may be incorporated for preventing the spillover of food from the enclosure to the surrounding area. The bowl may have multiple compartments having barriers for preventing the spillover of food from one compartment to the other or to the surrounding area.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application is related to a design patent application, application Ser. No. 29/056,629, filed Jul. 3, 1996 entitled Animal Feeding Bowl. The present application is a continuation in part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/862,851 filed on May 23, 1997 and now U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,872. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an animal feeding/watering bowl and to a self attaching mounting apparatus for securing the bowl to the wires of an enclosure housing an animal or bird. 
     Feeding bowls are standard equipment for bird cages and other animal enclosures and are constructed of numerous materials and in a wide variety of configurations. In recent years, plastic has become very popular as the material of choice for feeding bowls bird cages and other animal cages because it is an easily moldable material that can be designed to provide a rugged construction with tailored surfaces for enabling the animals to comfortably perch on the rim or elsewhere. 
     A problem with conventional feeding bowls is the issue of satisfactorily attaching the bowl to the interior of the enclosure, e.g., a cage. Currently, feeding bowls utilize a number of different designs and mechanisms for attaching bowls to the side of a cage. Such mechanisms are usually designed so as to engage two or more of the vertical wires of the cage. These attachments comprise a number of individual components for attaching the bowl to the cage. These multiple components add to the inconvenience and clumsiness of the mounting and securing the bowl in position as well as to the dismounting of the bowl for cleaning and filling with food. Thus, while plastic bowls are extremely popular for use as animal feeding receptacles, they have significant draw-backs in their utilization. 
     Another problem with bowls that attach to a cage is spillover of the food from the bowl to the surrounding floor during feeding. Consequently, cleaning of the surrounding floor is required. 
     It is common to use of multiple bowls or a bowls with multiple compartments for feeding animals or birds. For example, one bowl (or compartment) may be used for food while the other may be used for water. If separate bowls are used, these bowls are typically placed next to each other. During feeding, the food or water from one bowl is often spilled into the food or water in the other bowl. As result, the contents of each bowl or bowl section are contaminated. 
     It is highly desirable to provide an animal feeding bowl that can be easily mounted and dismounted from a cage using a minimum number of parts. The animal feeding bowl in the present invention satisfies these requirements. 
     It is also highly desirable to provide an accessory for preventing the spill over of food from the bowl to the surrounding floor. The present invention includes such an accessory. 
     Moreover, it is highly desirable to provide a bowl system consisting of at least two bowl compartments that would prevent the spill over of food from one bowl compartment to the other during feeding. The present invention also provides such a bowl system. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a rigid, self attaching feeding bowl for animals in a caged or restricted environment. The bowl is easily attached to the cage via a two section attachment device. The first section is connected or is integral to the bowl. The second section includes a male threaded member having a slot through the center thereof. The two sections interlockingly engage each other. 
     The second section is placed in the interior of the cage with the male member facing toward the exterior of the cage. The male member can either be inserted through the space between two adjacent bars or wires of a cage or is inserted with the slot straddling a single wire such that the threaded portion extends exteriorly of the cage. When inserted between two wires the second section is caused to seat or bear against the two adjacent cage wires. The male member and the second section to which it is attached is secured in place by utilizing a female member that is screw threaded onto the threaded male member and tightened so as to secure at least a wire against the with a flange formed on the female member facing the male member. Once the second section is attached to the cage, the first section extending from the bowl is slid into the second section, interlockingly engaging the second section. 
     A guard may also be incorporated for preventing the spillover of food from the bowl to the surrounding area. The guard is preferably a transparent planar surface. A hole is formed preferably at the center of the guard. The guard is preferably sandwiched between the cage and female member with the male member penetrating the hole. 
     Moreover, a bowl having multiple feeding compartments may be used. Such a bowl has a front wall which is shorter than rear wall and a partition or partitions for dividing the bowl into multiple compartments. The bowl has side walls having the same height as the front wall. The partitions have the same height as the rear wall. As such, each compartment has three walls that are taller than the front wall over which an animal or bird would feed. The taller three walls provide a barrier to the spillover of food from one compartment to another. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and other aspects of the invention will be further illustrated by reference to the drawings wherein. 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the animal feeding bowl with attachment mechanism according to the present invention as it is about to be attached to a wire lattice used in a cage or animal enclosure with a slot in a male mounting member for receiving a vertical wire of the cage and a female member about to be attached to the male member; 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the bowl according to the present invention showing the vertical wire in the slot and the bowl firmly secured to the wire; 
     FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the feeding bowl of FIG. 2 showing the vertical wire in the slot; 
     FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the feeding bowl and attachment mechanism; 
     FIG. 5 is front elevation view of the feeding bowl with attachment mechanism; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the feeding bowl according to the present invention showing an alternative mounting arrangement with the male member extending between adjacent wires of the animal enclosure. 
     FIG. 7A is enlarged front elevation view of the attachment mechanism according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 7B is a bottom view of the attachment mechanism taken along lines  7 B— 7 B of FIG.  7 A. 
     FIG. 8 is an exploded view of an animal feeding bowl of the present invention having a bracket for attaching to a cage and having a male connection member extending from the bowl for releasably attaching to the bracket. 
     FIG. 9A is a perspective view of an animal feeding bowl of the present invention having two separate compartments, as well as a base flange extending from the rear surface of the bowl rear wall from which extends a male member. 
     FIG. 9B is a perspective view of the feeding bowl shown in FIG. 9A depicting a cut-away view of the base flange showing the stiffening ribs used to reinforce the base flange. 
     FIG. 10 is an exploded view showing the assembly of a feeding bowl and guard to a cage. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to FIG. 1 as shown therein, an animal feeding bowl  10  according to the present invention is attached to a vertical element  12  of a cage  14 . The cage as shown in FIG. 1 consists of vertical elements or wires  12  and horizontal elements or wires  16 . Bowl  10  has an open top  3 , a closed bottom for  4  and is round in configuration having a cylindrical side wall  5 . “Bowl” as used herein, refers to all types of feeding dishes and is not limited to “bowl” shaped dishes. In one embodiment, an indented ring  9  is molded into the base of bowl  10  to facilitate stacking one bowl into another for shipping purposes and the like. 
     Attached to the side wall  5  is an attachment mechanism  7  comprising a male member  17  and female member  18 . As shown in FIG. 1 the bowl is attached to vertical wire  12 . As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, wire  12  extends through a slot  20  in the male member. The mounting mechanism shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is shown in its secured position. The female member has a flange  13  circumscribing a threaded aperture  15  and is screw threaded and tightened onto the male member so that the wire is secured against the base of slot  20  in the male member and against the face of the flange of the abutting female member. The base  22  of slot  20  is V-shaped in cross-section to provide a secure seating position for wire  12 . The male member is integrally molded into a base flange  24  which has a lateral dimension which is wider than the diameter of the male member to form a flange or shoulder and is secured to the side wall  5  of the dish. When the female member is screw threaded onto the male member and brought to bear against the wire  12 , the facing flanges of the male member and the female member grasp and grip the wire holding the dish securely in place in cooperation with the slot in the male member. 
     An example of the bowl or dish according to the present invention before it is attached to the wires of an enclosure is shown in FIG.  5 . As shown therein, FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the dish taken from the side on which the attaching mechanism is mounted. As shown therein, the bowl has a rounded upper lip  26  formed integrally at the top of sidewall  5  of bowl to provide a secure perch for animals such as birds and the like to stand on while feeding or taking water from the contents within the bowl. 
     An alternate embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 6 in perspective view with a male member  35  extending between two adjacent vertical wires  39  of an enclosure. The vertical wires of the enclosure are shown at  30 . The base flange  32  of the male member  35  has a pair of v-shaped slots  34  formed at each side of member  35  to receive the vertical wires of the enclosure. As in embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a female member  36  is screw threaded onto male member  35  and tightened down against the wires to securely hold the bowl in position. 
     The diameter of the male member and the female member as well as the size of the bowl are a matter of choice depending upon the size of the animal for which the bowl is intended. The size of the bowl is scaled down for use in bird cages and with small animals and is proportionately increased in scale for use in feeding larger birds or animals. Likewise, the diameter of the male member can be increased or decreased depending on the spacing between the vertical or horizontal wires forming the enclosure. 
     As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the slot in the male member is shaped so as to define a V at the bottom of the slot. This provides a guide for seating the wire of an enclosure in the base of the slot to further secure and hold the feeding bowl in position. This V-shaped configuration of the slots applies to the various embodiments of the feeding bowl including the variation which the wire is located in a center slot of the male member as well as the embodiment where the slots are located in the base flange of the male member on either side of the threaded male member. 
     A further detailed illustration of the mounting mechanism of the present invention is shown is FIGS. 7A and 7B. In particular, shown in these figures is a presently preferred embodiment of a male mounting member according to the present invention as is shown in FIG. 7A, the male member comprises base flange  44  with a male member  46  projecting therefrom. The male member has a vertical slot  48  extending through the center of the male member  46 . In other embodiments, a horizontal slot or slots are also suitable. The base of the slot is V-shaped as shown in FIG.  7 B and as indicated by the center line  50  bisecting the slot. Base flange  44  is supported by two vertical side ribs  52  located at each side of flange  44  and extending between the underside of flange  44  and the side wall of the feeding bowl. A center rib  54  extends vertically beneath the center of flange  44  between the center flange and the sidewall of the bowl to a length which is slightly greater than the length of side ribs  52 . Center rib  54  provides a base of support for the mounting mechanism and structurally reinforces the mounting slot  48  so that when the female member is tightened upon the male member and the wire of an enclosure is caused to bear against the bottom  50  of slot  48 , rib  52  supports and reinforces the structure so as to obtain a secure mounting and prevent cracking or crazing of flange  44  under pressure from the closure and tightening of the female member upon the wire. 
     In an alternate embodiment, shown in FIG. 8, the attachment mechanism  7  including the male  17  and female  18  members is detachable from the bowl. With this embodiment, the bowl can be removed from the cage without unscrewing the female member. As can be seen from FIG. 8, the male member is formed on a bracket  100 . The bracket forms an inner channel like opening  102 . In a preferred embodiment, opening  102  has a dove tail shape in cross-section such that the opening is narrower at its mouth  104  than at its base  106 . The opening is defined by a base surface  106  and two edge surfaces  108 . Each edge surface extends from a side edge  110  of the base surface. The opening is tapered along its length. Thus, the width of the opening base decreases from an upper end of the bracket toward a lower end of the bracket. A beveled groove  122  is formed longitudinally along the outer surface  110  of the bracket  100 . The slotted male member  17  extends from about the center of the outer surface  110  of the bracket such the that groove  122  forms the base of the male member slot  20 . The rear surface  110  in essence defines a flange. 
     Preferably, a linear longitudinal protrusion  112  is formed on the inner surface of the channel opposite the groove. Preferably the linear protrusion is V-shaped in cross-section. 
     A male connection member  150  is attached or is integral to the side wall of the dish  10 . Preferably, the male connection member has outer surfaces which register with to the inner surfaces of the bracket defining the bracket opening. As such, in the preferred embodiment, the male connection member forms a dove tail in cross-section and tapers from a wider to a narrower cross-section in a direction toward the bottom of the bowl. The male connection member has primary surface  154  that is complementary to the bracket opening base surface  106 . The male connection member also has an edge surface  156  extending from each side edge of the primary surface. The edge surfaces  156  of the male connection member correspond to and are complementary to the opening edge surfaces  108 . A groove  158  complementary to the protrusion  112  is formed on the primary surface of the male member. In a preferred embodiment, the groove  158  has a “V” shape in cross-section. 
     The bracket is connected to a cage wire or lattice using its attachment mechanism male  17  and female  18  member as earlier described. A cage wire is directed through the slot  20  formed on the attachment mechanism male member until it is seated in the groove  122  at the base of the slot  20  formed on the outer surface of the attachment bracket. The female member is then threaded onto the male member until its flange  13  circumscribing its threaded aperture  15  engages the wire and compresses it against the surfaces of the groove  122 . Alternatively the bracket may be attached to a cage by sandwiching cage lattice members between the female member flange  13  and the outer surface  110  of the bracket. 
     Once the attachment bracket is secured in place, the bowl is coupled to the bracket by sliding the bowl&#39;s male connection member into the bracket opening. This is accomplished by introducing and sliding the lowest narrow end of the male connection member into the upper wide end of the bracket opening  102 . When the male connection member is introduced to the bracket opening, the protrusion  112  formed on the inner surface of the bracket opening base is aligned with the groove  158  formed on the primary surface of the male connection member. The groove guides the male connection member downward into the bracket opening. The male connection member slides downward into the tapered opening to a level where the width of the opening is less than the width  160  of the lower end  162  male connection member. When that occurs, preferably the primary  154  and edge surfaces  156  of the male connection member are mated against their corresponding surfaces on the bracket opening. As the bowl and connection member are slid further downward, the male connection member further sits into the bracket opening securing the bowl to the bracket. To remove the bowl, the bowl with the male connection member is slid upward. As can be seen, the longitudinal protrusion  112  serves to guide the male connection member  150  as well as stiffen the bracket  100 . 
     Use of an attachment bracket that forms a dove tail in cross-section and a male connection member that is complementary to the bracket opening, allows each edge portion  164  of the male connection member to be sandwiched between the base  106  of the opening and a corresponding opening edge surface  108  of the bracket. Consequently, when the male connection member is seated into the opening, it is also restrained from moving in any direction other than upward. 
     In an alternate embodiment not shown, the bracket does not have a protrusion  112  and the male connection member does not have a corresponding groove  158 . Moreover, the bracket opening may have cross-sectional shape other than a dove tail. Similarly, the male connection member may have a cross-sectional shape other than a dove tail. 
     With any of the above embodiments a two or multiple sectioned feeding bowl, i.e., a feeding bowl with two or more compartments may be used. A preferred multiple sectioned feeding bowl  168  consists of a base  170 , a rear wall  172 , side walls  174  and a front wall  176 . (FIG. 9A) The front wall is shorter in elevation than the rear wall. Partitions  178  divide the bowl in different sections. Each partition has the same elevation as the rear wall. The side walls also have the same elevation as the rear wall. The bowl is typically made of a hardened plastic material. 
     An attachment assembly  107  extends from the rear surface  173  of the rear wall  172 . As described above, the attachment assembly consists of a base flange  144  extending from the surface  173  of the rear wall  172  from which extends of a slotted male member  17 . The base  182  of the slot  20  in the male member  17  is beveled forming a groove  183 . The attachment assembly also includes a female member  18  as described above that threads to the male member. The female member  18  also has a flange  13  which circumscribes the female member&#39;s threaded aperture  15 . The base flange  144  is supported by two vertical side ribs  145  located at each side of the flange  144  and extending between the underside of the flange  144  and the rear surface  173  of the rear wall  172 . (FIG. 9B) A center rib  146  extends vertically beneath the center of the flange  144  and the rear surface  173  of the rear wall  172 . The center rib  146  provides support for the base flange  144  and reinforces the beveled base  182  of the slot  20  so that when the female member  20  is tightened on the male member and the wire of the cage is caused to bear against the bottom of the groove  183  of slot  20 , the center rib  146  supports and reinforces the structure  50  so as to obtain a secure mounting while preventing cracking or crazing of the flange  144  under the pressure from the closure and tightening of the female member upon the wire. A further transverse rib  142  spanning across the upper ends of the center and side ribs providing support and reinforcement to the base flange  144 . 
     When the bowl is mounted on a cage, the animals or birds feed from the front of the bowl over the upper end of the front wall  136 . The edge  190  of the front wall is curved outward forming a rounded, and preferably a cylindrical surface  192 . In this regard, the upper edge of the front wall which may be relatively sharp is hidden from the feeding side of the dish so as to prevent injuring the birds or animals during feeding. The rounded or cylindrical surface also forms a perch for birds to sit on while feeding. 
     Different types of food or water may be used to fill each section of the bowl. For example, seeds may be placed in a first section while water may be placed in the second section. The food or water level is limited by the height of the front wall. As the bird or animal feeds over the front wall the taller partition, side, and rear walls prevent the food from spilling from one section of the bowl to the next, or from spilling from the rear or sides of the bowl. 
     To prevent, food or liquid spillage from a rear end of or bowl, a guard  200  may be used. (FIG. 10) The guard is typically a flat piece of a plastic material and has an opening  202  that is larger in diameter than the diameter of the attachment male member  17  but smaller in diameter than the female member flange  13 . After the cage wire  204  is fitted through the slot of the male member  17  (or after the male member penetrates the cage wire lattice between vertical and/or horizontal wire members), the guard is fitted over the male member sandwiching the wire (or wires) between the slot base  50  (or the base flange  44 ) and the guard. The female member  18  is then threaded to the male member sandwiching the guard between the wire (or wires) and the female member flange  13 . Preferably, the guard also extends below the base  214  of the bowl. 
     The guard can have any geometrical shape and should preferably be clear so as to not obstruct the view through the cage. The guard should also be large enough so as to extend beyond the upper  210  and side  212  surfaces of the dish or bowl. Preferably, the guard also extends below base  214  of the bowl.