Patent ID: 8347817

Claim:
A method of dispensing animal food to an animal, comprising: providing an apparatus comprising: an animal sensor for detecting a triggering action of an animal other than a human; a food hopper for containing animal food; a food handler operatively connected to the food hopper; a food portioner arranged to receive animal food from the food hopper and automatically separate and transfer portions of the food to the food handler; and a control unit operatively connected to at least the animal sensor and the food handler, wherein the control unit provides a signal to the food handler that causes the food handler to launch a portion of the animal food away from the apparatus in at least a horizontal direction in response to a signal from the animal sensor that indicates detection of a triggering action; and detecting with the animal sensor a triggering action of an animal; containing in the food hopper a supply of animal food; automatically separating portions of animal food from the supply with the food portioner; detecting when portions of animal food are separated from the supply; and automatically launching with the food handler a portion of the animal food substantially horizontally away from the apparatus in response to detection of a triggering action of the animal.