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US 4,235,200 AGranted
Automatic animal feeder
OwnerMichael A. Shayinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An automatic animal feeder comprising a housing wherein is contained a hopper for storing large amounts of dry food and a food delivery chamber positioned below said hopper for holding a fixed portion of dry feed received from said hopper. The food delivery chamber pivots at regular intervals from a loading position to a delivery position whereby the fixed portion of dry feed is discharged into an area accessible to an animal.
Claims16
An automatic animal feeder comprising;
- (a) a housing having a opening at its top for letting dry feed pass through, and having an arcuate front face at its bottom portion;
- (b) a hopper contained within the upper portion of said housing for storing large amounts of said dry feed, said hopper having an opening at its top for receiving said dry feed, an outlet at its lowest extremity for allowing said dry feed to descend therefrom, bottom walls set at an incline toward said outlet for promoting the flow of said dry feed toward and through said outlet;
- (c) a food delivery chamber contained within said bottom portion of said housing and positioned below said hopper, said food delivery chamber comprising a back panel, a top panel, a bottom panel, the top and bottom ends of said back panel being coupled to the adjacent ends of said top panel and said bottom panel respectively, thereby forming an enclosure along with said front face and the sides of said bottom portion of said housing, said enclosure receiving dry food from said hopper when said food delivery chamber is in the loading mode with the end of said bottom panel opposite said back panel contacting the lowest edge of said front face thus preventing the loss of any of said dry feed from said enclosure, said top panel having a dividing means extending from said end of said top panel opposite said back panel partially into said enclosure for removing any of said dry feed which may be trapped between said outlet and said front face when said food delivery chamber pivots from said loading mode to the delivery mode, said top panel further having sealing means extending upwards and backwards from said end of said top panel opposite said back panel for closing off said outlet so that said dry feed does not escape from said hopper while said food delivery chamber is in said delivery mode;
- (d) mounting means connected to said food delivery chamber for mounting said food delivery chamber on a pivot pin about which said food delivery chamber pivots from said loading mode to said delivery mode and back, said pivot pin extending transversely across said bottom portion of said housing;
- (e) retention means for retaining said food delivery chamber in and for returning it to one of said delivery and loading modes;
- and
- (f) means for causing said food delivery chamber to pivot into the other of said modes for a period of time, whereby said food delivery chamber alternately pivots from said loading mode, during which time said portion of said dry feed enters into said food delivery chamber from said hopper, to the delivery mode, during which time said portion of dry feed is discharged from said enclosure of said food delivery chamber into an area accessible to an animal.
4 more elements
An automatic animal feeder comprising:
- (a) a housing having an opening at its top for letting dry feed pass through, and having an arcuate front face at its bottom portion;
- (b) a hopper contained within the upper portion of said housing for storing large amounts of said dry feed, said hopper having an opening at its top for receiving said dry feed and an outlet at its lowest extremity for allowing said dry feed to descend therefrom;
- (c) a food delivery chamber contained within said bottom portion of said housing and positioned below said hopper, said food delivery chamber comprising a back panel, a top panel, a bottom panel, the top and bottom ends of said back panel being coupled to the adjacent ends of said top panel and said bottom panel respectively, thereby forming an enclosure along with said front face and the sides of said bottom portion of said housing, said enclosure receiving dry food from said hopper when said food delivery chamber is in the loading mode with the end of said bottom panel opposite said back panel contacting the lowest edge of said front face thus preventing the loss of any of said dry feed from said enclosure, said top panel having a dividing means extending from said end of said top panel opposite said back panel partially into said enclosure for removing any of said dry feed which may be trapped between said outlet and said front face when said food delivery chamber pivots from said loading mode to the delivery mode, said top panel further having sealing means extending upwards and backwards from said end of said top panel opposite said back panel for closing off said outlet so that said dry feed does not escape from said hopper while said food delivery chamber is in said delivery mode;
- (d) mounting means connected to said food delivery chamber for mounting said food delivery chamber on a pivot pin about which said food delivery chamber pivots from said loading mode to said delivery mode and back, said pivot pin extending transversely across said bottom portion of said housing;
- (e) retention means for retaining said food delivery chamber in and for returning it to one of said delivery and loading modes;
- and
- (f) means for causing said food delivery chamber to pivot into the other of said modes for a period of time, whereby said food delivery chamber alternately pivots from said loading mode, during which time said portion of said dry feed enters into said food delivery chamber from said hopper, to the delivery mode, during which time said portion of dry feed is discharged from said enclosure of said food delivery chamber into an area accessible to an animal.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.