Patent ID: 8683951

Claim:
An animal food bowl for preventing access by crawling insects to the food contained therein by means of a liquid barrier, and furthermore limiting access by crawling insects to the food displaced outside of the internal food dish area by means of an overlying catchment shroud, characterized by: a. an internal food dish having a bottom and generally vertically extending sidewalls; and b. surrounded by a reservoir having a base and generally vertically extending inner and outer sidewalls, adapted to hold a liquid therein and as such acting as a barrier that inhibits crossing by crawling insects; and c. an overlying shroud extending substantially horizontally outward from the upper perimeter of the internal dish sidewalls to beyond the outer wall of the reservoir, so as to function as both a cover to conceal the reservoir and a substantially wide catchment surface for food displaced beyond the internal dish sidewalls; and d. the outward edge of the said catchment surface extends downwards as an outermost skirt, spaced outside of the outer reservoir wall, and extending substantially below and thus fully concealing the opening of the reservoir, so as to inhibit debris from entering or bridging the reservoir barrier from a horizontal approach and to inhibit evaporation of the liquid in the reservoir; and e. the top face of the said shroud catchment surface also slopes downwards towards the top of the internal dish sidewalls, so as to encourage any displaced food that accumulates on the shroud catchment surface, back into the dish, and furthermore encourages condensation formed on the underside of the said shroud catchment surface, to return to the reservoir.