Abstract:
A bird feeder includes a hopper having a transparent shell with a spiral internal divider which forms segregated spiral compartments to feed a plurality of different types of bird food. A coupler having segregated vertical chambers, each aligned with an exit end of each segregated spiral compartment, directs the bird food from the hopper to separate feed openings. A seed catcher is attached underneath the coupler and a domed cap covers the top of the hopper.

Description:
[0001]     This is a complete application claiming benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/462,297, filed Apr. 14, 2003. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Technical Field  
         [0003]     This invention relates to bird feeders and relates more particularly to the type of bird feeder which comprises a tubular housing or hopper for receipt of a quantity of bird food, and 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 adjacent the bottom or intermediate the top and bottom portions of the tube.  
         [0004]     2. Discussion of the Prior Art  
         [0005]     Commercially available bird feeders commonly comprise a cylindrical hopper or tube to receive and dispense a single type of bird food. For example, the hopper may hold a quantity of black oil sunflower seeds or a quantity of thistle, with the feed openings being sized and shaped accordingly. Oftentimes, such bird feeders will be provided with a seed catcher fed from apertures in the bottom of the hopper and/or adapted to receive bird seed escaping from feed openings in the body of the hopper scattered by birds sitting on perches or the like juxtaposed to the feed openings.  
         [0006]     Bird feeders are available with multiple food hoppers or reservoirs, but commercially available products of this nature are often difficult and expensive to manufacture, assemble or use and unattractive in appearance.  
       OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     With the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a bird feeder designed to receive and dispense several different types of bird food from a single hopper.  
         [0008]     Another object of this invention is the provision of a bird feeder hopper comprising a cylindrical shell, preferably of transparent polymeric material, with a spiral internal divider wherein the hopper can be a one-piece extrusion which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.  
         [0009]     Yet another object of this invention is the provision of a multi-seed bird feeder which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble, and which includes a unique hopper which is unusual and attractive in appearance, particularly if the individual compartments are filled with different types of bird seed.  
         [0010]     A further object of this invention is the provision of a bird feeder comprising a transparent tubular hopper which includes an internal spiral or helical divider to separate the feed tube into three or more segregated compartments extending from the top to the bottom of the tube so that different types of bird food can be dispensed by gravity from each compartment to attract a variety of birds to a single feeder.  
         [0011]     Another object of this invention is to provide a bird feeder of the type described wherein the hopper is removably secured to a base and to a cover to enable the hopper to be totally separated from the remaining components for cleaning and/or replacement in the event of damage.  
         [0012]     A still further object of this invention is the provision of a unique coupler to connect a seed catcher to the hopper, the coupler preferably including a baffle spaced from the seed catcher to divert water and protect feeding birds, and to discourage squirrels from accessing the bird food.  
         [0013]     Upon further study of the specification and accompanying drawings, additional objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     These and other objects, features and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be better understood by those with ordinary skill in the art in connection with the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings wherein like parts in each of the several figures are identified by the same reference characters, and wherein:  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a front elevational view of a preferred embodiment of a bird feeder according to the instant inventive concepts;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along lines  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged elevational view of the bird feeder hopper, illustrating the spiral divider as seen through the transparent shell in dotted lines;  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is a transverse cross-sectional view taken along lines  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is a transverse cross-sectional view taken along lines  5 - 5  of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0020]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged elevational view of the coupler device for connecting the hopper to the seed catcher;  
         [0021]      FIG. 7  is a top plan view of the coupler seen in  FIG. 6 ;  
         [0022]      FIG. 8  is a vertical cross-sectional view of the coupler taken along lines  8 - 8  of  FIG. 7 ;  
         [0023]      FIG. 8A  is an enlarged detail of the portion of  FIG. 8  within the dotted circle;  
         [0024]      FIG. 9  is a transverse cross-sectional view taken along lines  9 - 9  of  FIG. 6 ;  
         [0025]      FIG. 10  is a top plan view of the seed catcher or tray;  
         [0026]      FIG. 11  is a side elevational view of the seed catcher or tray;  
         [0027]      FIG. 12  is a transverse cross-sectional view of the seed catcher taken along lines  12 - 12  of  FIG. 10 ;  
         [0028]      FIG. 13  is a detailed cross-sectional view showing the assembled portions of the seed catcher, coupler element and hopper within the dotted circle in  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0029]      FIG. 14  is a top plan view of a cap or cover for the hopper;  
         [0030]      FIG. 15  is a transverse cross-sectional view through the cap taken along lines  15 - 15  of  FIG. 14 ; and  
         [0031]      FIG. 16  is an enlarged detailed view of the hanging wire assembly for the bird feeder of this invention, partially broken away for illustrative convenience. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0032]     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 of the preferred apparatus shown and described. Rather, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. Further, although the drawings serve to illustrate the present invention, they are not intended to be drawn to scale.  
         [0033]     Referring now to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of a bird feeder according to the instant inventive concepts is designated generally by the reference numeral  20  and is comprised basically of five components, a main component being an elongated tubular hopper  25  seen in detail in  FIGS. 3 and 4  and in cross-section in  FIG. 2 , having an integrally extruded spiral or helical divider  26  internally of a cylindrical shell  28 , preferably formed of a transparent plastic material so that the divider  26  and the bird food contained within the hopper  25  are visible therethrough. The illustrated divider  26  forms preferably three separate compartments  30 ,  32  and  34  which are defined by ramps  36 ,  38  and  40  extending the full length of the shell  28 , although the spiral divider can be formed to provide only two compartments or more than three compartments, as many as ten or more, in an obvious manner.  
         [0034]     A second component of the bird feeder  20  is a seed catcher  40  seen particularly in  FIGS. 10 and 11 , and in cross-section in  FIG. 12 . The seed catcher  40  comprises an upstanding central hub  42  with an outwardly extending peripheral portion  44  having slots  46  for a purpose to be described below, and a dished area  48  for catching bird food, such as seeds or the like, in a well known manner. A multiplicity of through openings  50  may be provided to permit rainwater or the like to escape from the dished area  48 .  
         [0035]     A third component of the bird feeder  20  is a coupler element  60  seen particularly in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , and in cross-section in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . The coupler  60  is designed to interconnect the hopper  25  with the seed catcher  40  by press-fit engagement and to direct bird food from the individual compartments  36 ,  38  and  40  of the hopper  25  to a series of apertures or feed openings  62  defined at the lower portion of a central hub  64 . An outstanding baffle  66  may be provided at the top of the hub  64  as illustrated.  
         [0036]     A series of downwardly depending elements  68  are formed about the lower periphery of the hub  64 , with inwardly extending flanges  70  as seen in detail in  FIG. 8A  to lockingly engage the coupler  60  in the slots  46  of the seed catcher  40 .  
         [0037]     The upper portion  64   a  of the hub  64  of the coupler element  60  is adapted to frictionally receive and hold the lower portion  28   a  of the hopper  25  in the manner seen particularly in  FIG. 13 , and the dividers  72  within the middle portion  64   b  of the hub  64  divide the coupler element  60  into three vertically segregated, pie-shaped chambers  73 . The chambers  73  direct the bird food, which is fed by gravity from the individual compartments  36 ,  38  and  40  of the hopper  25 , to the respective feed openings  62  and, ultimately, to the dished portion  48  of the seed catcher  40 .  
         [0038]     A partial assembly view of the seed catcher  40 , coupler element  60  and hopper  25  is seen in  FIG. 13  and the fully assembled view is seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , wherein it will be recognized that the baffle  66  of the coupler element  60  functions to divert rain or the like from birds feeding at the aperture  62  or from the seed catcher dished portion  48  and, additionally, makes it somewhat more difficult for squirrels to access the bird food.  
         [0039]     A fourth component of the bird feeder  20  is a domed cap or cover  80  seen particularly in  FIGS. 14 and 15 , which includes a downwardly depending circular flange  82  adapted to removably fit about the upper portion  28   b  of the shell  28  of the hopper  25 , with a series of inwardly extending flanges  84  which sit on the upper edge  28   c  of the shell  28 .  
         [0040]     Finally, a hanger or carrier  90  may be provided as seen in  FIG. 16 , the end of which is crimped back on itself at  92  to form a loop  94  for hanging the bird feeder  20  from any desired support. The lower end of the hanger  90  may pass through the hopper  25  and have a crimped element  96  to secure the same below portions of the coupler element  60  or the like.  
         [0041]     The particularly unique aspects of the spiral or helical hopper  25  enables the cost-effective production of this element as a single twisted extrusion. Moreover, the spiral ramps  36 ,  38  and  40  provide a smooth gravity flow of different forms of bird food from the top to the bottom of the hopper  25  and, ultimately, through the feed opening  62  in the coupler element  60 . Obviously, although the three compartments can be filled with the same bird food, the ability to provide independent compartments  36 ,  38 ,  40  for different forms of bird food not only enables the attraction of different types of bird to a single feeder, but also provides a unique appearance as the different bird foods are viewed through the shell  28  of the hopper  25 .  
         [0042]     Although the particular design disclosed and described herein wherein the spiral hopper  25  is adapted to provide feed at its lower extremity  28   a  through the unique coupler element  60 , the spiral hopper concept could be adapted for use in bird feeders of a different design. For example, a multiplicity of vertically-spaced feed openings (not shown) can be provided in a well known manner intermediate the top and the bottom of the shell of the hopper, communicating with the individual compartments and, if desired, juxtaposed to perches carried by the hopper. In this manner, different types of bird can feed along the length of the hopper from the bird food in the different compartments.  
         [0043]     It is believed that those with ordinary skill in the art can readily produce the hopper, coupler, seed catcher and cap elements of the bird feeder of this invention from any suitable plastics material using well known manufacturing techniques. Moreover, the shape and dimensions of the individual elements are not critical to the instant inventive concepts and can be varied to suit particular applications.  
         [0044]     Thus, 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 of the preferred device shown and described. Rather, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.