Automatic animal feeder

Claim 2

Pet feeding apparatus including: a base plate; a housing rotatably mounted in said base plate; drive means arranged to rotate said housing; a tray assembly; said tray assembly including a plurality of compartments; means to attach said tray assembly to said housing; a cover having at least one aperture; said cover resting on said base plate; a timer; means responsive to said timer to cause said drive means to rotate said housing and said tray assembly; and means responsive to the rotation of said tray assembly to stop said drive means when one of said compartments in said tray assembly is adjacent to said at least one aperture in said cover.

Claim 3

Pet feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which said tray assembly includes a flange member having a plurality of apertures and in which said means to attach said tray assembly to said housing includes a plurality of upwardly extending pins mounted on said housing, said pins being arranged to extend into said apertures in said flange member.

Claim 4

Pet feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which said drive means includes an electric motor; and said means responsive to the rotation of said tray assembly to stop said drive means includes a switch connected in series with said electric motor, and a source of electric current, said switch being mounted adjacent to said base plate so that a portion of said switch extends above the level of said base plate, a plurality of projections on said tray assembly, said projections being arranged so that they engage said portion of said switch which extends above said base plate causing said switch to disconnect said motor from said source of electric current.

Claim 5

Pet feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which said means responsive to said timer activates said motor briefly to cause said tray assembly to rotate and said projection to move out of engagement with said portion of said switch.

Claim 6

Pet feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including indexing means arranged on said base plate to insure that said cover rests on said base plate so that said cover aperture opens into only one of said plurality of compartments.

Claim 7

Pet feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 5, in which said cover includes a plurality of additional small apertures asymmetrically arranged about the edge of said cover which rests on said base plate, and said indexing means includes a plurality of tabs on said base plate arranged to extend into said additional apertures.

Claim 8

Pet feeding apparatus including: a stationary base plate; a rotatable housing mounted on said base plate; a timer; drive means arranged to rotate said housing; said timer and said drive means being mounted within said housing; a tray assembly; said tray assembly including a cavity which is shaped to slidably fit over said housing causing said tray assembly to rotate with said housing; a plurality of compartments arranged about the periphery of said tray assembly; a stationary cover having at least one aperture resting on said base plate so that said cover substantially surrounds said tray assembly and said housing, said at least one aperture being adjacent to the periphery of said tray assembly; means responsive to said timer to activate said drive means causing the rotation of said housing And said tray assembly; and means responsive to said rotation to stop said rotation when one of said compartments of said tray assembly is adjacent to said at least one aperture in said cover.

Claim 9

Pet feeding apparatus including: a stationary base plate; a rotatable housing mounted on said base plate; a timer; drive means arranged to rotate said housing; said timer and said drive means being mounted within said housing; a tray assembly; said tray assembly including a cavity which is shaped to slidably fit over said housing causing said tray assembly to rotate with said housing; a plurality of compartments arranged about the periphery of said tray assembly; a stationary cover having at least one aperture resting on said base plate so that said cover substantially surrounds said tray assembly and said housing, said at least one aperture being adjacent to the periphery of said tray assembly; means responsive to said timer to activate said drive means causing the rotation of said housing And said tray assembly; and means responsive to said rotation to stop said rotation when one of said compartments of said tray assembly is adjacent to said at least one aperture in said cover.

Claim 10

Pet feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 7, in which said means responsive to said rotation includes a switch mounted adjacent to said base plate, said switch including a moveable portion; and a plurality of projections on said tray assembly, said projections being arranged so that they engage said moveable portion of said switch.

Claim 11

Pet feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 8, in which one of said plurality of projections is located adjacent to each one of said compartments on said tray assembly so that said one projection engages said moveable portion of said switch when the adjacent compartment has rotated to a position adjacent to said at least one aperture in said cover.

Claim 12

Pet feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 9, in which said means responsive to said timer briefly activates said drive means causing said tray assembly to rotate slightly and said projection to move out of engagement with said moveable portion of said switch.