A layered linkage type pet puzzle toy and control method

Abstract

The present application relates to pet product technical field, especially to a layered linkage type pet intelligence toy, the layered linkage type pet intelligence toy of the present application adopts a plurality of food trays arranged in layers from top to bottom, and a rotatable lever is arranged between two adjacent food trays, the pet can drive the lever to rotate, so that the food falls from the upper food tray to the lower food tray gradually and finally falls into the food groove, so that the pet understands the logic of hierarchical progression and realizes multi-dimensional cognitive training; and the present application integrates a first sensing unit to determine the position of the food and the position of the stirring piece, a second sensing unit senses the position of the pet and determines whether the pet is close, a response unit outputs light or sound to attract the pet to play and train, and different light or sound can be emitted by the response unit according to the distance between each lever and the pet and the distance between the stirring piece and the food, to guide and train the animal to perceive sound and light, and to establish a visual path for the pet to obtain food by stirring the lever.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of pet supplies technology, and in particular to a layered, interconnected pet educational toy and its control method. Background Technology

[0002] With the upgrading of pet-raising concepts, educational toys are gradually becoming a core demand in the pet supplies market. Existing pet educational toys mostly guide pets to obtain food through mazes, sliding tracks, or hidden compartments, but these designs still have significant shortcomings in terms of interactivity, difficulty level, and behavioral guidance effectiveness. In particular, single-layer or flat structures limit multi-dimensional cognitive training for pets and lack sufficient intelligence, making it difficult to attract pets to actively play and train. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this invention provides a layered, interconnected pet educational toy, comprising: The base has a food tray on it; Several food trays are arranged in layers on the base, and each food tray has a food leakage hole. Several levers are rotatably arranged between two adjacent food trays, with one end of each lever extending into the food tray and forming a food-dispensing plate; A first sensing unit is disposed at the bottom of the food tray. The first sensing unit is used to sense the position of the food and the position of the food scraper within the area. The second sensing unit is used to sense the location of the pet; A response unit is disposed on one end of the lever that extends from the food tray, and the response unit is used to output light or sound. The control unit is configured to generate a control signal based on the first sensing unit and the second sensing unit, and send a control signal to the response unit, wherein the control signal is used to control the response unit to open or close.

[0004] In some possible embodiments, there are several first sensing units, and their sensing ends are all arranged downwards. The several first sensing units divide the food dish into several collection areas. The first sensing units are used to sense the distribution of food in the collection areas and the position of the feed paddles in the collection areas. The second sensing units are arranged on the periphery of the base and / or the food dish. The second sensing units are used to collect images of the pet.

[0005] In some possible embodiments, the control unit is also used to analyze the amount of food in each area of ​​the food plate and determine the feeder closest to the area with the largest amount of food, and control the response unit on the feeder to generate a response.

[0006] In some possible embodiments, the base is provided with a vertically detachable fixing post, the middle of the food tray is provided with a first bushing, one end of the lever is provided with a second bushing, the food tray is sleeved on the fixing post through the first bushing, and the lever is sleeved on the fixing post through the second bushing.

[0007] In some possible embodiments, the first bushing is detachably connected to the food tray, all the food trays are gradually reduced in size from bottom to top, and the food trays of the upper layer can be placed inside the food trays of the lower layer when packaged.

[0008] In some possible embodiments, a top cover is also included, the control unit is disposed on the top cover or the base, the top cover is mounted on the upper end of the fixing column and covers the uppermost food tray, and the top cover has a feeding hole.

[0009] In some possible embodiments, one end of the lever extends into a playful board shaped like a pet's paw, and the response unit is disposed on opposite sides of the playful board.

[0010] This method also provides a control method for pet educational toys, applied to the layered, interconnected pet educational toys of the above embodiments, the control method comprising: Obtain information on the food distribution within the food tray and the position of the food picks; Obtain the target pet's willingness to play; Based on the distribution, location information, and play intention, determine whether to generate a response to attract the pet.

[0011] In some possible embodiments, the control method further includes: Collect the position information of several food scraps in the food tray; Divide the food plate into several collection areas, and collect the area and shade of shadow covered by the food in these collection areas. Determine the location of concentrated food within the collection area; The food concentration location generates a response from the nearest response unit.

[0012] In some possible embodiments, the control method further includes: Acquire n consecutive frames of images within a preset detection range; Based on the n frames of images, determine whether each frame contains a pet image. If it does, determine the pet's direction of travel based on the pet images in the n frames. If the direction of travel is toward the educational toy, a response is generated to attract the pet.

[0013] Compared to existing technologies, the advantages of this invention are as follows: The layered, interconnected pet educational toy of this invention uses several food trays arranged in upper and lower layers, with a rotatable lever between adjacent food trays. The pet can drive the lever to rotate, causing food to fall from the upper food trays one by one and finally into the food trough, enabling the pet to understand the hierarchical logic and achieve multi-dimensional cognitive training. Furthermore, this invention integrates a first sensing unit to determine the position of the food and the position of the food piece, a second sensing unit to sense the position of the pet and determine whether the pet is approaching, and a response unit to output light or sound to attract the pet to play and train. It can also control the response unit to emit different lights or sounds according to the distance between each lever and the pet, and the distance between the food piece and the food, to guide and train the animal's perception of sound and light, establish a visual path for the pet to obtain food by moving the lever, and obtain a positive feedback mechanism of "action-result". Attached Figure Description

[0014] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0015] Figure 1 A three-dimensional structural diagram of a layered, interconnected pet educational toy provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 An exploded view of the structure of the layered, interconnected pet educational toy provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 A cross-sectional structural diagram of a layered, interconnected pet educational toy provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating the control method provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Reference numerals: base 10, food trough 11, fixing column 12, top cover 13, feeding hole 14, food tray 20, food leakage hole 21, first bushing 22, anti-slip rib 23, anti-wear rib 24, lever 30, feeding piece 31, second bushing 32, slot 33, play board 34. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0018] Hereinafter, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of embodiments of this disclosure, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0019] Reference Figures 1 to 3 The illustrated layered, interconnected pet puzzle toy includes a base 10, several food trays 20, and levers 30. At least one food trough 11 is provided on the upper surface of the base 10. This embodiment describes a design with three food troughs 11 evenly distributed circumferentially. Each food tray 20 has a food-leaking hole 21. The food trays 20 are arranged vertically on the base 10, allowing food in the upper food tray 20 to fall through the food-leaking hole 21 into the lower food tray 20. The food falls layer by layer and eventually into the food trough 11 of the base 10 for the pet to eat. Levers 30 are rotatably disposed between adjacent food trays 20. This embodiment describes a design with three levers 30 evenly distributed circumferentially between adjacent food trays 20. One end of each lever 30 extends into the food tray and protrudes downwards to form a feeding paddle 31. Rotating the lever 30 causes the feeding paddle 31 to agitate the food in the food tray 20, causing the food in the food tray 20 to fall through the food-leaking hole 21. The layered linkage pet educational toy of the present invention further includes a first sensing unit, a second sensing unit, a response unit, and a control unit. The first sensing unit is located at the bottom of the food tray 20 and is used to sense the position of the lever 30 / feeding piece 31 below the food tray 20 and the position of the food. The second sensing unit is located on the outer periphery of the base 10 and / or the food tray 20 and is used to sense the position of the pet. The response unit is located on the end of the lever 30 that extends from the food tray 20 and is used to output light or sound to attract the pet. The first sensing unit, the second sensing unit, and the response unit are all connected to the control unit. The control unit is used to receive the sensing signals emitted by the first sensing unit and the second sensing unit and to issue control signals according to the received sensing signals to control the opening and closing of the response unit.

[0020] The layered, interconnected pet educational toy of this invention employs several food trays 20 arranged in upper and lower layers, with a rotatable lever 30 positioned between adjacent food trays 20. A first sensing unit senses the position of food within each food tray 20, or the amount of food in each area, and also senses the position of each lever 30 / paddle piece 31 within the food tray 20, sending the sensing signals to a control unit. The control unit, based on the received first sensing signals, controls a corresponding response unit to generate a first response signal. A second sensing unit senses the position of the pet; when the distance between the pet and the toy meets a certain threshold, the distance between the pet and the toy is adjusted. The nearest or most oriented response unit of the object generates a response to attract the pet to approach for play training. The pet can drive the lever 30 to rotate, causing food to fall from the upper food dish 20 in stages and finally into the food trough 11, enabling the pet to understand the hierarchical logic and achieve multi-dimensional cognitive training. Each response unit can emit different lights or sounds depending on its distance from the pet and the distance between the food piece 31 and the food, guiding and training the animal's perception of sound and light, establishing a visual path for the pet to obtain food by turning the lever, and obtaining a positive feedback mechanism of "action-result".

[0021] In some possible embodiments, there are several first sensing units, all with their sensing ends facing downwards. The several first sensing units divide the food dish 20 into several collection areas. The first sensing units are used to sense the distribution of food within the collection area and the position of the feeding paddles 31 within the collection area. Furthermore, the control unit analyzes and determines the concentrated food area and the feeding paddle 31 closest to the concentrated food area based on the received first sensing signals, thereby sending a control signal to the corresponding unit on the feeding paddle 31 to cause the response unit to respond to attract and prompt the pet.

[0022] In some possible embodiments, the second sensing unit may also acquire n consecutive frames of images within a preset detection range and send the second sensing signal to the control unit. The control unit analyzes whether there is a pet image in the n frames to determine whether there is a target pet within the acquisition detection range. Furthermore, it analyzes the pet's direction of travel based on the n consecutive frames to determine whether the pet is approaching the toy and the distance between the pet and the toy. When the distance between the pet and the toy reaches a certain threshold, the control unit sends a control signal to the response unit located in the direction of the pet / the response unit closest to the pet to control the response unit to generate a response.

[0023] It should be noted that the control unit of all the above embodiments includes a domestic Loongson LS2K1000 chip, which has good data processing performance. The first sensing unit and the second sensing unit can both use camera modules of model RER-USB500W05G-V180 or JSK-81M30S-V1.0 (K02). The light-emitting function and the sound-emitting function of the response unit can be designed separately. The light-emitting function component is mounted on the end of the lever 30 that extends from the food plate 20. It can use model 0603 SMD LED or 2835 SMD LED, etc. The sound-emitting function component can be set on the base 10. It can use model FS1515MS0810-H4.0 or SMT-2045 8R 1W speaker.

[0024] In some possible embodiments, a vertically aligned fixing post 12 is also provided at the center of the base 10. The fixing post 12 can be detachably connected to the base 10 via a threaded connection. The fixing post 12 adopts a multi-segment connection design, allowing for the assembly of fixing posts 12 of different heights to accommodate different numbers of food trays 20 according to user needs. This enables DIY design of the pet educational toy, while reducing packaging volume and saving packaging, storage, and transportation costs. Several food trays 20 are vertically spaced and fitted onto the fixing post 12. Normally, the food trays 20 do not rotate relative to the fixing post 12. When subjected to a large external force, such as a human hand, the food trays 20 can rotate to adjust the relative position between the feeding holes 21 of adjacent food trays 20. A first bushing 22 is provided at the center. The food tray 20 is sleeved on the fixed post 12 through the first bushing 22. The first bushing 22 is detachably connected and fixed to the food tray 20. The height of the first bushing 22 is greater than the height of the food tray 20 so that the upper food tray 20 overlaps the upper end of the first bushing 22, thereby ensuring that there is a certain gap between two adjacent food trays 20 so that the lever 30 can extend out from the gap. A second bushing 32 is provided at the other end of the lever 30. The second bushing 32 is detachably connected and fixed to the lever 30. The lever 30 is rotatably sleeved on the first bushing 22 through the second bushing 32. The pet can drive the lever 30 and the food pick 31 to rotate around the axis of the second bushing 32 through the extended end of the lever 30.

[0025] In some possible embodiments, the first bushing 22 is detachably connected to the food tray 20, and the size of all the food trays 20 gradually decreases from bottom to top. When packing, the food trays 20 of the upper layer can be placed inside the food trays 20 of the lower layer. This design can nest all the food trays 20, thereby reducing the packaging volume and saving packaging, storage and transportation costs.

[0026] In some possible embodiments, the layered linkage pet puzzle toy of the present invention also includes a top cover 13, which is installed on the upper end of the fixing post 12 to cover the uppermost food dish 20 and prevent the pet from taking food from the uppermost food dish 20. The top cover 13 is also provided with a feeding hole 14, through which food can be put into the food dish 20.

[0027] In some possible embodiments, one end of the lever 30 extends to form a play board 34 shaped like a pet's paw. The play board 34 is integrally formed with the lever 30. The design of the play board 34 can increase the attractiveness of the educational toy to the pet and stimulate the pet's enjoyment of playing with the educational toy. Furthermore, response units are disposed on opposite sides of the play board 34.

[0028] In some possible embodiments, the inner side of the first bushing 22 is evenly distributed with several anti-slip ribs 23. The protruding surface of the anti-slip ribs 23 is flat, which is intended to prevent the pet from rotating the food tray 20 relative to the fixed post 12 when the pet moves the lever 30, thereby changing the relative position between the feeding holes 21 of two adjacent food trays 20. The outer side of the first bushing 22 is evenly distributed with several anti-wear ribs 24. The protruding surface of the anti-wear ribs 24 is arc-shaped, which is intended to reduce the friction between the first bushing 22 and the second bushing 32, making it easier for the pet to drive the lever 30 to rotate.

[0029] In some possible embodiments, the lever 30 and the second bushing 32 are detachably connected. The outer side of the second bushing 32 is evenly distributed with several slots 33 for mounting the lever 30. That is, the user can freely adjust the number of food trays 20 / layers and the number of levers 30 in each layer of food tray 11 to gradually train the pet or adapt to pets of different sizes and intelligence levels.

[0030] The present invention also provides a control method for a pet educational toy. This control method is applied to a layered, interconnected pet educational toy as described in the above embodiments. The control method includes: Obtain information on the food distribution within the food tray and the position of the food dispenser 31; Obtain the target pet's play intentions, which include at least changes in the distance between the target pet and the pet puzzle toy; Based on the distribution of food in the food dish 20, the position information of the feed paddle 31, and the play intention of the target pet, the response unit on the lever 30 facing the target pet and close to the food responds to attract the target pet and guide the target pet to drive the lever 30 to rotate, so that the food in the food dish 20 falls out.

[0031] This control method obtains the food distribution in the food dish 20, the position of the food paddle 31, and the play intention of the target pet, and causes the response unit on the paddle 30 facing the target pet and close to the food to respond, so as to attract the target pet to play and train, establish a visual path for the pet to obtain food by paddle 30, and obtain a positive feedback mechanism of "action-result".

[0032] In some possible embodiments, this control method can determine whether to generate a response and determine a specific response unit to generate a response based on the concentrated position of the food, the position of the feed piece 31, and the play intention of the target pet. Specifically, this includes: Collect the position information of several food-dispensing pieces 31 in the food tray; The food dish 20 is divided into several collection areas, and the area and shade of the shadow covered by the food in each collection area are collected. Based on the area and shade of the shadow covered by the food, the location where the food is most concentrated in all collection areas is determined. The response unit / lever 30 that is closest to the location where the food is most concentrated generates a response to guide the target pet to drive the lever 30 to rotate.

[0033] It should be noted that this control method can obtain the position of the most concentrated food and the positional relationship of the feeding plate 31 in real time, and determine / change the response unit / lever 30 that is closest to the position of the most concentrated food to generate a response.

[0034] In some possible embodiments, this control method first determines that the moving object within the prediction detection range is the target pet, and that the target pet is approaching the educational toy, i.e., determines the target pet's play intention, and then generates a response to attract the pet, specifically including: Acquire n consecutive frames of images within a preset detection range in front of the second sensing unit; Based on n frames of images, determine whether all of them contain pet images. If so, determine that a target pet exists within the preset detection range. Based on the n frames of pet images, determine the pet's direction of travel and speed. Preferably, determine the pet's direction of travel based on the direction of its front paws. If the pet is moving towards the educational toy, the response unit / lever 30 closest to the location where the food is most concentrated will respond to attract and guide the pet to flick the lever 30 for play training.

[0035] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A layered, interconnected pet educational toy, characterized in that, include: The base has a food tray on it; Several food trays are arranged in layers on the base, and each food tray has a food leakage hole. Several levers are rotatably arranged between two adjacent food trays, with one end of each lever extending into the food tray and forming a food-dispensing plate; A first sensing unit is disposed at the bottom of the food tray. The first sensing unit is used to sense the position of the food and the position of the food scraper within the area. The second sensing unit is used to sense the location of the pet; A response unit is disposed on one end of the lever that extends from the food tray, and the response unit is used to output light or sound. The control unit is configured to generate a control signal based on the first sensing unit and the second sensing unit, and send a control signal to the response unit, wherein the control signal is used to control the response unit to open or close. The first sensing unit comprises several units, all with their sensing ends facing downwards. The several first sensing units divide the food dish into several collection areas. The first sensing units are used to sense the food distribution within the collection areas and the position of the food paddles within the collection areas. The second sensing unit is disposed on the base and / or the periphery of the food dish. The second sensing unit is used to capture images of the pet. The base is provided with a vertically detachable fixing post, the middle of the food tray is provided with a first bushing, one end of the lever is provided with a second bushing, the food tray is sleeved on the fixing post through the first bushing, and the lever is sleeved on the fixing post through the second bushing. The first sensing unit is used to sense the position of food and the position of the food scraps within the area, including: collecting the position information of several food scraps in the food plate, dividing the food plate into several collection areas, collecting the shadow area and shadow color depth of the food covered in the several collection areas, and determining the concentrated position of the food in the collection areas. The response unit that is closest to the food concentration location is used to generate a response.

2. The layered, interconnected pet educational toy according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control unit is also used to analyze the amount of food in each area of ​​the food plate and determine the feeding plate that is closest to the area with the most food, and control the response unit on the feeding plate to generate a response.

3. The layered, interconnected pet educational toy according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first bushing is detachably connected to the food tray, and the size of all the food trays gradually decreases from bottom to top. When storing and packaging, the food trays of the upper layer can be placed inside the food trays of the lower layer.

4. The layered, interconnected pet educational toy according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a top cover, the control unit is disposed on the top cover or the base, the top cover is installed on the upper end of the fixed column and covers the uppermost food tray, and the top cover has a feeding hole.

5. A layered, interconnected pet educational toy according to claim 1, characterized in that, One end of the lever extends outward to form a playful board shaped like a pet's paw, and the response unit is disposed on opposite sides of the playful board.

6. A method for controlling a pet educational toy, applied to a layered, interconnected pet educational toy as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The control method includes: Obtain information on the food distribution within the food tray and the position of the food picks; Obtain the target pet's willingness to play; Based on the distribution, location information, and play intention, determine whether to generate a response to attract the pet.

7. The method for controlling a pet educational toy according to claim 6, characterized in that, include: Acquire n consecutive frames of images within a preset detection range; Based on the n frames of images, determine whether each frame contains a pet image. If it does, determine the pet's direction of travel based on the pet images in the n frames. If the direction of travel is toward the educational toy, a response is generated to attract the pet.

Images