Patent Application
20080308044
I. Field of the Invention
The invention disclosed herein relates to a portable domestic animal feed dish.
II. A State of the Art
Pet owners are frequently faced with the dilemma of caring for their pet when they are away from their home. One solution was to fill common pet dishes before leaving the home for a prolonged absence. The problem with this approach is it risks having the home invaded by pests and bad odors. Moreover, this solution does not consider the pet's dietary needs. Additionally, the typical house pet does not have the discipline to ration out its food and water over the duration of its master's absence. Therefore, the pet will often times eat and drink all of its food and water in one sitting leaving it without fresh food and water for the remainder of its owner's absence. Practically, the typical pet dish is not sufficiently large enough to guarantee sufficient food and water until the return of the pet owner. This approach also assumes that the pet is sufficiently well trained and can be left alone in the home for an extended absence (i.e. over the weekend).
Still another solution is to place the pet in a kennel for the weekend. However, kennel stays can frequently be expensive and economically prohibitive for the owner. Furthermore, many pet owners feel that it is cruel to abandon their pet, for even a weekend, and wish to be able to travel with their pet. Several attempts at addressing these needs have been made. For example, it is well known in the art to have a dish with a timed opening for feeding dogs and cats. Dishes with a timed opening typically have a number of compartments which vary according to the number of days the pet owner will be absent. Each compartment has a lid which is regulated by a timer and the timer is programmed before the owner leaves. The timer ensures that the meal remains exposed only during a pre-set time, thus maintaining fresh food and preventing the animal from overeating. This approach, assumes that the dog has the discipline to be left alone or that the owner does not wish to bring the animal with her. For the foregoing reasons it would be advantageous to have a portable pet dish assembly equipped with a lid that can easily be carried wherever a pet owner wishes to bring her pet.
A portable dish assembly for feeding a domesticated animal having a plurality of dishes and a frame for holding the dishes is provided. The dishes comprise an annular base member, an exterior bowl member mounted to said annular base member, and a substantially concaved interior bowl member resting inside said exterior bowl member. Food articles may be placed inside said interior bowl member. The dishes further include a lid which may be used to selectively cover the interior bowl such that when the lid covers the interior bowl said lid denies access to food articles placed in the interior bowl. The frame includes a plurality of dish holding members wherein each dish holding member holds one of the plurality of dishes. A hinge member couples two of the dish holding members together in such a manner that both the first and second dish holding members are foldable with respect to each other by the hinge member. A handle member is coupled to one of the frame places the bowls in a vertical position.
Additional features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of illustrated embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.
The detailed descriptions particularly refer to the following figures in which:
A portable dish assembly 10 includes a plurality of dishes 12 and a frame assembly 14. The frame assembly 14 holds the dishes 12 so that when a pet is eating out of one said dishes the dish will not tip over. In the preferred embodiment shown in
The dish holding members 16, 18 of the portable dish assembly 10 each include a first generally circular loop 24 made of a metal wire. The dish holding members 16, 18 also include a second generally circular loop 26 also made of metal wire. The first loop 24 and the second loop 26 are coupled together by a plurality of leg members 28. Each leg member 28 is made of a metal wire. Each leg member 28 has a first and 30 and a second end 32. Each leg 28 is coupled at its first end 30 to the first loop 24 and the leg extends downwardly to a rounded foot 34. The foot 34 is formed when the leg 28 is bent at a u-shape as best seen in
Each dish holder member 16, 18 further includes stabilizing tabs 36, 38 wherein said stabilizing tabs 36, 38 also include a formed wire member 40 joined as by welding at opposed ends 42, 44 to two opposing leg members 28. Each wire member 40 is bent at opposed right angles so that a crossbar 46 is integrally formed by the wire member 40. As shown in
Each dish 12 includes a generally cylindrical base member 45, and exterior bowl 46 and an interior bowl 48. The exterior bowl 46 is mounted on the cylindrical base member 45. The underside 45a of the cylindrical base member 45 may be covered in a rubber layer 44b to prevent scuffing of the floor and to inhibit the dish from skidding when pushed by the snout of an animal feeding from the dish. The interior bowl 48 is substantially concaved so that the interior bowl 48 may hold food and water. The interior bowl 48 is surrounded by the exterior bowl 46. A lid 50 is provided to cover the interior bowl and its content.
As shown in
When the frame 14 is placed in an open, horizontal position (as in
The frame assembly 14 also includes a handle that comprises a first handle wire 62 coupled to the first loop 24 of the first holder 16. The wire handle 62 has a first end 62A and a second end 62B each welded or otherwise coupled to the loop 24. The wire 62 is bent so as to exhibit a first side 64 and a second side 66 opposed to one another and a bent central section 68 running between the first end 64 and the second end 66. A second handle wire 70 runs from the first side 64 to the second side 66 parallel to the bent central member 68.
The second dish holding member 18 has a second wire 72 bent in a u-shape and welded at its ends to the first loop 24. The second bent wire 72 is bent to have two right angles forming side members 74 and 76. The first end 72A of the bent wire 72 is welded or otherwise attached to the loop 24 as is the second end 72B. A latch 78 is affixed to the wire 72 between sides 74 and 76.
As shown in
The invention has been described here in considerable detail in order to comply with the patent statutes and to provide those skilled in the art with the information needed to apply the novel principles and to construct and use such specialized components as are required. However, it is to be understood that the invention can be carried out by specifically different equipment and devices, and that various modifications, both as to the equipment details and operating procedures can be accomplished without departing from the scope of the invention itself.
