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US4079699A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Automatic, timed, adjustable quantity feeding device

Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1976-05-21
•
Granted: 1978-03-21
•
Expires: 1996-05-21
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Abstract

Abstract The invention is made up of a container made of plastic or metal. The upper part of the container is a storage unit for feed. At the bottom of the storage unit is a small opening in which rollers are located close together and are energized to let the food pass between them. The rollers are counter rotated to slowly turn and dispense the food onto a tray which will at a given weight, adjusted by a control level located in the back, dump the dry feed into a dish outside of the container. This process is triggerred by a timer that by electricity will actuate the motor driven rollers to allow them to pass the food into the tray. As the tray is being measured, water is also being released, and if desired may mixed with the food. The water is at the same time also going into a separate water container for the purpose of drinking. The invention is unique in solving the problem of leaving an unattended animal for periods of time where the animal would otherwise need human attention or would go without nourishment of food and water. Through his method the animal may be fed either dry or moistened food either once or twice a day, at the owner's discretion. This invention has particular applicability for home owners who keep pets and for commercial enterprises with watch dogs on the premises during the occupant's absence especially for weekends, vacations, business trips, etc., and the invention has particular utility in regulating the quantity of an animal's daily food consumption. Itobviates the imposition and expense of having to relocate an anmial to either a friend's home or to a kennel. Frequently the expense of such relocation costs a lot of money and is an inconvenience. The invention also solves the problem for persons who are not able to care for animals but wish to have the companionship of an animal without the ability to be mobile to maintain the care of their pet.

Inventors

  • 👤 Edward Glen Longmore
  • 👤 Betty Marie Longmore
  • 👤 Leonard Bohacik
  • 👤 Dona Elena Bohacik

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-27 21:42
CPC Classifications
A; A01; A01K; A01K7/00; A01K7/02; A01K39/00; A01K39/04; A01K5/00; A01K5/02; A01K5/0275; A01K5/0283; A01K5/0291

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim 169 words
Apparatus for automatically supplying food for unattended consumption by animals comprising: a feeding container accessible to animals to be fed; a housing enclosing in a manner inaccessible to animals to be fed: means for storing animal food, a pair of parallel, horizontal, soft, non-crushing, counter rotatable, food dispensing rollers located below said food storage means for passing food downward when enabled, a serving tray located beneath said rollers for receiving food passed thereto by said roller, a sloping chute located beneath said serving tray, the lower extremity of which emptys into said feeding container, means for automatically enabling said rollers to rotate to pass animal food from said food storing means to said serving tray at preselected starting times; and means responsive to a predetermined weight of animal food on said tray after each preselected starting time, for automatically disabling said enabling means and for dumping the predetermined amount of animal food into said chute, whereby said predetermined amount of food passes from said housing into said feeding container.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 169 words
Apparatus for automatically supplying food for unattended consumption by animals comprising: a feeding container accessible to animals to be fed; a housing enclosing in a manner inaccessible to animals to be fed: means for storing animal food, a pair of parallel, horizontal, soft, non-crushing, counter rotatable, food dispensing rollers located below said food storage means for passing food downward when enabled, a serving tray located beneath said rollers for receiving food passed thereto by said roller, a sloping chute located beneath said serving tray, the lower extremity of which emptys into said feeding container, means for automatically enabling said rollers to rotate to pass animal food from said food storing means to said serving tray at preselected starting times; and means responsive to a predetermined weight of animal food on said tray after each preselected starting time, for automatically disabling said enabling means and for dumping the predetermined amount of animal food into said chute, whereby said predetermined amount of food passes from said housing into said feeding container.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 70 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising: water solenoid valve means coupled to said enabling means and said disabling means; a water reservoir located within said housing; a water line connected from said reservoir through said water solenoid valve means to communicate with said serving tray to allow water to flow directly into said feeding container during each period of time that animal food is passed to said serving tray.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 60 words
Apparatus according to claim 2 further including a water container accessible to animals to be fed, and wherein said water line has a plurality of branches, one of which is arranged in direct communication with said water container for allowing water to flow into said water container during the period of time that water is flowing into said feeding container.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 111 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 further characterized in that said serving tray includes opposing lateral retaining walls closed at one end by a transverse end panel and terminating in an open discharge space at the other end, and further including a counterbalance mounted in cantilever fashion from said transverse end wall and adjustably movable relative thereto, and including a horizontal axis rotatably mounting said serving tray relative to said housing and extending perpendicular to said lateral retaining walls and proximate to said transverse end panel, whereby passage of said predetermined amount of food tilts and serving tray against the moment of said counterbalance to discharge food passed thereto by said rollers.
Claim 6
Independent Claim 134 words
An apparatus for automatically supplying food comprising: a food container; means for storing food; a pair of horizontal, parallel, soft, non-crushing counter rotatable food dispensing rollers located below said storage means for passing food downward when enabled; a serving tray located beneath said rollers for receiving food passed thereto by said rollers, a sloping chute located beneath said serving tray, the lower extremity of which slopes to said food container; means for automatically enabling said rollers to rotate to pass food from said food storage means to said tray; and means responsive to a predetermined amount of food on said tray after each preselected starting time for automatically disabling said enabling means and for dumping the predetermined amount of food into said chute whereby said predetermined amount of food passes to said food container.
Claim 7
Independent Claim 134 words
An apparatus for automatically supplying food comprising: a food container; means for storing food; a pair of horizontal, parallel, soft, non-crushing counter rotatable food dispensing rollers located below said storage means for passing food downward when enabled; a serving tray located beneath said rollers for receiving food passed thereto by said rollers, a sloping chute located beneath said serving tray, the lower extremity of which slopes to said food container; means for automatically enabling said rollers to rotate to pass food from said food storage means to said tray; and means responsive to a predetermined amount of food on said tray after each preselected starting time for automatically disabling said enabling means and for dumping the predetermined amount of food into said chute whereby said predetermined amount of food passes to said food container.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 35 words
Apparatus according to claim 5 further characterized in that said rollers, when enabled, engage food particles which depress equally into the surfaces thereof until said food particles are released to pass to said serving tray.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 58 words
Apparatus according to claim 6 further characterized in that one of said rollers is a drive roller and the other of said rollers is an idler roller, and further comprising a motor actuable to engage said drive roller which in turn frictionally engages said idler roller to pass food from said food storing means to said serving tray.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US1967022A Cited
US3256861A Cited
US3648660A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1981-03-20 1981-09-19 1982-03-21 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1985-03-20 1985-09-19 1986-03-21 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1989-03-20 1989-09-19 1990-03-21 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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