Patent Application
20200359597
The present invention relates to animal feeding systems. More particularly, the present invention provides for a multiple outlet animal feeder that can be utilized to provide animal feed to multiple animals and/or feed dishes quickly and easily.
Many people work on farms, animal shelters, and the like. The animals in these locations are typically fed multiple times a day, and all at the same time. Feeding these animals requires large amounts of feed being distributed at the same time. Feeding multiple animals in a shelter or on a farm several times a day can be immensely difficult due to the sheer number of animals involved. Traditionally, feed comes in large containers such as bags. Some bags can weigh upwards of 40 or 50 pounds, while others can weigh far more. Some shelters may have dozens of animals, while some farms may have hundreds, all that that need to be fed at once. In some cases, the animals require individual attention and serving sizes tailored to their needs. Typically, an employee must manually gather the feed and distribute it, placing a large amount of physical stress on the employee's body. Therefore, it can take a considerable amount of time and effort to feed multiple animals at the same time.
Devices have been disclosed in the known art that relate to animal feeding systems. These include devices that have been patented and disclosed in patent application publications. However, the devices in the known art have several drawbacks. Some devices are not portable and require the animal to come to the device in order to be fed. Some devices work on timers and must be positioned before the scheduled time to distribute the feed. Other devices rely on complex communications between computer chips and software and must be preprogrammed.
The present invention substantially diverges in design elements from the known art and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing animal feeding systems. In this regard the present invention substantially fulfills these needs.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of animal feeding systems now present in the art, the present invention provides a multiple outlet animal feeder, wherein the multiple outlet animal feeder can be utilized to provide animal feed to multiple animals and/or feed dishes quickly and easily. The present multiple outlet animal feeder comprises a hollow housing which defines an interior volume that can store animal feed. At least one handle is located on a rear portion of the housing and at least one wheel is located on a bottom portion of the housing. A plurality of apertures is located through an upper surface of the housing and individual retractable tubular arms are connected to corresponding apertures of the plurality of apertures. A conveyor system is located within the interior volume and can transport a portion of the animal feed through the plurality of apertures and the plurality of tubular arms. A filling aperture is located on the housing in communication with the interior volume and can be used to fill the interior volume with animal feed.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and manner in which it may be made and used may be better understood after a review of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout.
Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the multiple outlet animal feeder. For the purposes of presenting a brief and clear description of the present invention, a preferred embodiment will be discussed as used for the multiple outlet animal feeder. The figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect.
Referring now to
At least one wheel 150 is disposed on a bottom portion 151 of the housing 110. In the shown embodiment, three wheels 150 are disposed in a triangular pattern around the circumference of the housing 110. Further, in the shown embodiment, the forward wheel 152 is of a smaller diameter than the two back wheels 153. In such a configuration, the three wheels 150 provide added stability and maneuverability to the device when being moved from one place to another. In another embodiment, a single forward wheel 152 is disposed on the bottom portion 151 of the housing 110, and the housing 110 comprises at least one leg support (as shown in
At least one handle 140 is disposed on a rear portion 141 of the hollow housing 110. In the shown embodiment, a pair of handles 140 are disposed outwardly from the rear portion 141 of the hollow housing 110, roughly shoulder-width apart, and parallel to each other. In such an embodiment, the handles 140 are configured to enable a user to grasp one handle 140 with each of their hands and push the device, utilizing the wheels 150 to facilitate easy transport. The handles 140 also provide the user with the ability to alter the direction that the device travels by applying more pressure to one handle 140 than the other. In the shown embodiment, the handles 140 include hand grips 145 which provide added surface area for which the user's hands to grasp the handles 140. In a further embodiment, the hand grips 145 are ergonomic to provide additional comfort to the user when grasping the handles 140.
A plurality of apertures 160 are disposed through an upper surface 161 of the housing 110. The plurality of apertures 160 provide access to the interior volume 120 of the housing 110 and the animal feed 130 stored therein. A filling aperture 162 is disposed on the housing 110 in communication with the interior volume 120. An individual can add animal feed 130 to the interior volume 120 by pouring the animal feed 130 through the filling aperture 162. In one embodiment, a cap 163 is removably securable to the filling aperture 162. In a further embodiment, the cap 163 is threadably secured to the filling aperture 162, thereby forming an airtight seal. In another embodiment, the cap 163 is frictionally secured to the filling aperture 162. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand how an airtight seal can be formed through interaction between the cap 163 and the filling aperture 162, including through use of sealing materials, washers, gaskets, and the like.
Referring now to
In the embodiment shown in
In use, the plurality of retractable tubular arms 200 can be extended and positioned as the user desires. For example, in the shown embodiment the retractable tubular arms 200 are positioned such that the distal ends thereof are in communication with food bowls 220. In this manner, animal feed can be delivered to various food bowls 220 of differing heights and locations at the same time. The user is also able to select which of the plurality of retractable tubular arms 200 to use at the same time. For example, where there are only three food bowls 220 that are to be filled, the user can extend and utilize three retractable tubular arms 200 and can keep the remaining three retractable tubular arms 200 in a stored position.
Referring now to
In a further embodiment, a plurality of buttons 330 are disposed on at least one handle. In some embodiments, the plurality of buttons 330 include a power button 335 and a series of retractable tubular arm buttons. In one such embodiment, the power button 335 is configured to actuate and de-actuate at least one motor 310. In various further embodiments, the power button 335 can be utilized to control a single motor 310, a subset of a plurality of motors 310, and all of the plurality of motors 310 at one time, according to the needs of the user. In one embodiment, the plurality of buttons 330 includes a plurality of retractable tubular arm buttons, wherein each of the plurality of retractable tubular arm buttons is configured to actuate at least one motor 310 and a portion of the conveyor system 300 to direct a flow of animal feed 130 from the interior volume through a corresponding aperture 160 and through a corresponding retractable tubular arm 200. For example, if a number two retractable tubular arm button (as shown on
It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown and described in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/848,679 filed on May 16, 2019. The above identified patent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62848679 | May 2019 | US |
