This application is being filed contemporaneously with application for U.S. Design patent Ser. No. 29/243,713, entitled PET WATER OR FOOD STORAGE UNIT WITH STOWABLE BOWL, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with portable devices for providing sustenance to pets while traveling. More particularly, the invention is directed to such devices for the feeding and watering of small household pets wherein the devices comprise an upper container for storing feed or water, with a lower stowable dish which can be moved from a retracted position beneath the container to an access position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
People traveling with pets must assure that the pet can be properly fed and watered during the trip. Traditionally, travelers have simply carried along food and water dishes along with supplies of food and water for the pet. From time to time, the dishes are filled and put out for the pet.
Such improvisations present a number of practical problems. First of all, the dishes must be stored in an auto or luggage, and can create a space problem. Moreover, carrying sacks of pet feed and containers of water exacerbates these difficulties, and spillage of the feed and water is a common occurrence.
A number of patents have attempted to address these issues. U.S. Pat. No. 2,659,344 discloses a circular enclosure device for pets including a primary body with a swinging door. A pet may rest within the body and is enclosed by the door. The door also carries a shelf supporting a pair of bowls for feeding/watering of the pet. A separate slide-out drawer is also provided for storage purposes. This device does little to overcome the problems of traveling with pets, inasmuch as the food and water must be carried and placed within the door-mounted bowls as needed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,719 discloses an automatic pet food dispenser with an automated storage drum and associated tray. The storage drum has multiple bins defined by respective panels filled with pet food. The bins open a feed shoot as the drum rotates about a central hub. Food from an open bin thus drops into the tray, which slides between an open position and a stowed position. While this device allows timed feeding of a pet from the individual bins, it is not at all adapted for easy carrying and use while traveling. It also requires a power source which may be inconvenient or unavailable to a traveler.
Other patents of background interest include: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,534,444, 3,188,157, D233,895, 4,947,796, D335,939, 5,404,838, 6,055,932, and 6,845,735.
Despite the variety of pet-feeding/watering devices of the prior art, the problem of providing a truly convenient, space-efficient, and traveler-friendly device for feeding and watering of pets has not been met.
The present invention overcomes the problems outlined above and provides improved devices for feeding and watering of pets, particularly when traveling.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a device for providing sustenance for pets comprises an upright sustenance container presenting a sustenance storage chamber and a lower outlet opening communicating with the chamber. The device further includes a pet dish moveably coupled with the container. In particular, the dish is moveable relative to the container between a retracted position where the dish is below the container and communication between the container outlet opening and the dish is prevented, and a pet-access position where the dish is moved outwardly relative to the container to establish communication between the container and dish and permit gravity-induced flow of sustenance from the container outlet opening and into the dish.
Another aspect of the present invention concerns a pet sustenance device comprising an upright sustenance container presenting a sustenance storage chamber and a lower outlet opening communicating with the chamber. The device further includes a pet dish moveably coupled with the container and having a base. The dish is moveable relative to the container between a retracted position where the dish is beneath the container and a pet-access position where the dish is moved outwardly relative to the container to permit a pet to consume the sustenance within the dish. The dish supports the container in both the retracted and pet-feeding positions, with the dish base serving as a bottom of the device.
Yet another aspect of the present invention concerns a pet sustenance device comprising an upright sustenance container presenting a sustenance storage chamber and a lower outlet opening communicating with the chamber. The container includes a circumscribing external sidewall. The device further includes a pet dish swingably coupled with the container and including an external sidewall. The dish is swingable relative to the container between a retracted position where the dish is beneath the container and a pet-access position where the dish is swung outwardly relative to the container to permit a pet to consume the sustenance within the dish. The container sidewall mates with the dish sidewall and cooperatively presents a generally flush outer side surface when the dish is in the retracted position thereof.
In this way, the device is space-efficient and presents a desirable aesthetic appearance. Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawing figures.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:
The drawing figures do not limit the present invention to the specific embodiments disclosed and described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the invention.
The Pet-Feeding Device of
Turning now to the drawings, a pet-feeding device 30 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in
In more detail, the container 32 (see
The container 32 is also provided with an interior, sloped bottom wall 56 (see
The container 32 is also equipped with a removable cover 68 having a central handle 70 and a pair of end-mounted latches 72. The bottom margin 74 of the cover 68 is designed to mate with container upper lip 40 to allow seating of the cover in place on the container. The latches 72 are designed to snap into place beneath the clips 44, thereby affording a secure, releasable connection between the cover and container.
As perhaps best shown in
The connection structure 36 is made up of the boss 62 of container 32 and socket 82 of dish 34. As best seen in
Attention is next directed to FIGS. 2 and 8-9 which illustrate the device 30 in its retracted position. In this orientation, the dish 34 is swung generally beneath the container 32 such that stop 78 comes into abutting engagement with scalloped section 48 of the container bottom edge 42. Moreover, the fill section 80 mates with the relieved section 50 of the container bottom edge, as shown in
It will also be observed that when the device 30 is in its retracted position, the outlet opening 58 of container 32 is closed, thereby preventing flow of feed from the container into dish 34. This is best illustrated in
When it is desired to use device 30 for feeding of a pet, it is only necessary to relatively move the container 32 and dish 34 until the device assumes the pet-feeding position of
The Pet-Watering Device of
A pet-watering device 96 in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a container 98 having an intermediate sealing device 100, watering dish 102, and connection structure 104 serving to couple the foregoing components. As in the case of the first embodiment, the device 96 is designed for travel with pets, and permits selective watering of the pet simply by moving (preferably swinging) the dish 102 to its pet-watering position. The device 96 has a number of similarities with the first embodiment, and the following description will focus primarily on the distinctions for the sake of brevity.
In more detail, the container 98 includes a unitary body presenting a generally oval upstanding sidewall 106 having decorative striations 108 thereon, with an integrated top 110 equipped with a carrying handle 112. The container 98 also has a bottom wall 114 presenting a tubular outlet 116 and a central detent 118. The outlet 116 includes a tubular wall 120 having a one-turn exterior thread 122. The unitary body of the container 98 essentially presents a compartment portion to which the sealing device 100 is secured.
The sealing device 100 is in the form of an intermediate component located between the underside of the bottom wall 114 and dish 102. Referring to
The sealing device 100 is secured to the bottom wall 114 by threading together the threads 122 and 141 on the outlet-defining tubular wall 120 and the inner face of wall 140, respectively. When appropriately threaded in this way, the slot 126 receives complemental detent 118, as illustrated in
The preferred dish 102 is integrally formed and includes a generally oval upstanding sidewall 156 forming the base of the dish, with a circumscribing top wall 158 interrupted by a finger pull 160. The finger pull 160 also serves as a spout for purposes which will be described. The upper wall 158 supports a resilient, up-and-down shiftable latching element 159 (see
The dish 102 further includes a water-holding cavity 174 formed by inwardly extending wall 176. A central passageway 178 is provided which establishes communication cavity 174 and the region above wall 162.
The dish 102 is secured to the sealing device 100 (and thereby the container 98 by threading together the exterior thread 170 on segment 168 and interior threading 152 provided on extension 150. Thus, the extension 154 is complementally received within the section 150. Moreover, the latching element 159 is received within cutout 134 of sealing device 100 to releasably lock the dish 102 relative to the container 98. It will thus be appreciated that the connection structure 104 for the device 96 comprises the interconnected extensions 150 and 164.
In order to fill the container 98 with water, it is necessary to remove the sealing device 100 and dish 102 from the compartment portion of the container 98. This is preferably done by inverting the device 96 and then removing the dish 102 from the sealing device 100 by depressing the latching element 159 and rotating the components relative to one another to unthread the segments 150 and 168. The detent 118 is then depressed out of the slot 126 so that the sealing device 100 can be unscrewed from the compartment portion of the container 98. Alternatively, filling of the container 98 can be accomplished by inverting the device 96 and simultaneously unthreading the device 100 and dish 102 as a unit from the container 98. During unthreading of these components, the detent 118 is forced out of slot 126 of plate 124, and the threading 122 of container 98 and 141 of device 100 are separated. This exposes the outlet 116 and allows easy filling of the container 98. Preferably, the threaded connections are oppositely inclined so that unthreading of the dish 34 from the sealing device 100 does not also cause the sealing device 100 to be unthreaded from the compartment portion of the container 100. Once the container 98 has been filed, the components are reconnected (e.g., the separated device 100 and dish 102 are rethreaded onto the tubular wall 120 until the detent 118 seats within slot 126). The now-complete device 96 can then be turned upright with the lower dish providing support for the entire device. In this orientation (see
When it is desired to use the device 96 for watering a pet, the friction latch 159 is manually depressed, and the dish 102 is swung relative to container 98 until the dish assumes the pet-watering position shown in
The structural components of the devices 30 and 96 are preferably fabricated from synthetic resin material, for reasons of cost, weight, and easy ability to be cleaned. A variety of synthetic resins may be used in this context, for example polyethylene. Conventional fabrication techniques such as injection molding can be used to manufacture these components. However, other suitable materials (e.g, metal, composites, etc.) and manufacturing techniques (other molding process, welding, etc.) are entirely within the ambit of the present invention.
The preferred forms of the invention described above are to be used as illustration only, and should not be utilized in a limiting sense in interpreting the scope of the present invention. Obvious modifications to the exemplary embodiments, as hereinabove set forth, could be readily made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
The inventor hereby state his intent to rely on the Doctrine of Equivalents to determine and assess the reasonably fair scope of the present invention as pertains to any apparatus not materially departing from but outside the literal scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
468870 | Griswold | Feb 1892 | A |
1832999 | Rummell | Nov 1931 | A |
2321856 | Read | Jun 1943 | A |
2534444 | Hedwall et al. | Dec 1950 | A |
2659344 | Herbert | Nov 1953 | A |
2943600 | Rosoff | Jul 1960 | A |
3164302 | Indjian | Jan 1965 | A |
3188157 | Rand | Jun 1965 | A |
3191818 | Farquhar et al. | Jun 1965 | A |
D233895 | Mineo | Dec 1974 | S |
3985104 | Klemer | Oct 1976 | A |
4000719 | Richards | Jan 1977 | A |
4841913 | Forrer | Jun 1989 | A |
4947796 | Robinette | Aug 1990 | A |
D335242 | Saunders | May 1993 | S |
D335939 | Cooper | May 1993 | S |
5404838 | Khan | Apr 1995 | A |
5467735 | Chrisco | Nov 1995 | A |
5564362 | Fiveash | Oct 1996 | A |
5636592 | Wechsler | Jun 1997 | A |
6055932 | Weber | May 2000 | A |
6135056 | Kuo | Oct 2000 | A |
6158623 | Benavides et al. | Dec 2000 | A |
6390341 | Ohmi et al. | May 2002 | B1 |
6487987 | Choi | Dec 2002 | B1 |
6718911 | Greenberg | Apr 2004 | B2 |
6843205 | Segreto | Jan 2005 | B1 |
6845735 | Northrop et al. | Jan 2005 | B1 |
6863025 | Ness | Mar 2005 | B2 |
6920991 | Holley, Jr. | Jul 2005 | B2 |
6976611 | Lee | Dec 2005 | B2 |
7284499 | Kuster et al. | Oct 2007 | B1 |
20040182326 | Polimeni, Jr. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
20040188456 | Arai et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20070119378 A1 | May 2007 | US |