Animal waterer
OwnerJere R. Tracyinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An animal watering apparatus (10) includes a dish (12) covered with a lid (20). The lid (20) includes an opening (22). A wheel (24) is rotatably mounted to the lid (20) in an upright orientation and extends above the lid (20) through the opening (22) and into the dish (12) to a position near the bottom surface (18) of the dish (12). The outer circumferential surface (40) of the wheel (24) is covered with projections or ridges (42) which efficiently bring water out of the dish (12) as the wheel (24) rotates as a result of being licked by the animal. A ridge opening (48) down a central region (50) of the outer circumferential surface (40) of the wheel (24) guides water back into the opening (22) where the water (21) falls into the dish (12).
Claims13
An animal watering apparatus which reduces spillage and mess while providing adequate water availability, said apparatus comprising:
- a dish for holding a quantity of water;
- a lid covering said dish and having an opening therein;
- a wheel rotatably mounted to at least one of said dish and said lid in an upright orientation so that a portion of said wheel extends through said opening in said lid, said wheel having first and second opposing edges which extend in generally upright planes;
- and
- means, applied to an outer circumferential surface of said wheel and projecting outward from said wheel, for lifting a portion of said water from said dish as said wheel rotates, said lifting means comprising a multiplicity of spaced apart ridges formed in said outer circumferential surface of said wheel and projecting radially outward from said wheel, said ridges extending substantially across said outer circumferential surface of said wheel between said first and second edges, a ridge opening is provided in a central region between said first and second edges, said ridge opening permitting a small quantity of water to fall as said wheel rotates to draw water away from said first and second edges toward said central region.
An animal watering apparatus which reduces spillage and mess while providing adequate water availability, said apparatus comprising:
- a dish having a bottom surface and upright walls and being configured to hold a quantity of water;
- a lid releasably attached to said upright walls to cover said dish, said lid having first and second openings therein, and said lid having a low area on a top surface thereof, said first opening residing in said low area so that said low area and said first opening operate to allow water falling upon said top surface to drain into said dish;
- and
- a wheel rotatably mounted to at least one of said dish and said lid in an upright orientation so that a portion of said wheel extends through said second opening in said lid and into said dish to a position proximate said bottom surface, said wheel having a multiplicity of spaced apart ridges formed in an outer circumferential surface of said wheel and projecting radially outward from said wheel, said ridges serving to lift a portion of said water from said dish as said wheel rotates.
An animal watering apparatus which reduces spillage and mess while providing adequate water availability, said apparatus comprising:
- a dish for holding a quantity of water;
- a lid covering said dish and having a first opening therein, a top surface in which a first area thereof is lower than other areas, and a second opening therein located in said first area to permit water falling upon said top surface to drain into said dish;
- a wheel rotatably mounted to at least one of said dish and said lid in an upright orientation so that a portion of said wheel extends through said first opening in said lid;
- and
- means, applied to an outer circumferential surface of said wheel and projecting outward from said wheel, for lifting a portion of said water from said dish as said wheel rotates.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.