Power operated animal feeding and watering device

Claim 1

A power operated device for automatically making available to a pet predetermined quantities of food as well as constantly maintaining a supply of drinking water, said device including: a. a housing that includes a central portion that has first and second portions extending upwardly therefrom, said first and second portions defining first and second confined spaces within the interior thereof, said housing including first and second door means to permit access to said first and second confiNed spaces, said first portion having a first opening therein and said second portion a second opening therein that faces said first opening, said central portion defining a longitudinally extending receptacle along one side thereof in which drinking water is maintained, and said central portion having a longitudinal opening in the upper portion thereof that extends parallel to said receptacle, b. a first set of rails supported from said cental portion below said longitudinal opening therein and extending through said first opening in said first portion into said first confined space; c. a second set of rails longitudinally aligned with said first set and extending upwardly therefrom at an angle to pass through said second opening into the upper part of said second confined space; d. two laterally spaced endless belts disposed outwardly from said first and second sets of rails, said belts including upper reaches that are disposed above said first and second set of rails, and said upper reaches extending through said opening in said central portion and through said first and second openings into said first and second confined spaces; e. sprocket means for rotatably supporting said two belts from said housing; f. a plurality of pairs of transversely aligned engaging means supported from said belts in longitudinally spaced relationship thereon, said engaging means on said upper reaches extending over said first and second sets of rails; g. a plurality of trays of less width than the spacing between said rails that are stacked one above the other in said first confined space, with the lowermost tray resting on said first set of rails, and each of said trays containing a predetermined quantity of said food; h. a first electric motor for driving said belts; i. an electric circuit for supplying electric energy to said first motor; j. timing means for completing said circuit to said first motor at periodic intervals for said first motor to drive said belts for one of said pairs of engaging means to engage the lowermost one of said trays in said first confined space and move said tray to a first position on said central portion where said food therein may be consumed by said pet, with each of said trays, after being emptied of food by said pet, being sequentially moved upwardly on said second set of rails by said engaging means as additional of said trays full of food are advanced to said first position, and each of said emptied trays upon reaching the upper end of said second set of rails falling therefrom by gravity into said second confined space for storage; k. first normally closed switching means forming a part of said circuit that are opened by contact with one of said engaging means to break the circuit to said first motor when said belts and engaging means have moved one of said trays to said first position; l. second normally open switching means forming a part of said circuit that is temporarily closed by said timer to complete said circuit about said first switching means when the latter is open to permit said circuit to be completed to said first motor to again advance another of said trays from said first confined space to said first postion; and m. third means for permitting but one of said trays to be removed from said first confined space by one of said pair of engaging means when said first motor is energized by said circuit being completed by said timer.