Automatic feeder

Abstract

The invention discloses an automatic feeder which comprises a shell, a wet grain barrel, a driving device, a driver, an extrusion bin, a food strip processing mechanism, a cutting mechanism, a garbage bin and a wet grain disc. The wet grain barrel is arranged in the shell, the driving device is used for driving the wet grain barrel to rotate, a plurality of storage holes used for storing food strips are formed in the top of the wet grain barrel, the shell comprises a supporting plate arranged below the wet grain barrel, and a through discharging hole is formed in the supporting plate; the extrusion bin is used for receiving food strips falling from the discharging hole and used for clamping or extruding the food strips, the driver is used for driving the extrusion bin to rotate relative to the shell, the posture of the extrusion bin during rotation at least comprises a vertical posture and a horizontal posture, and the cutting mechanism is used for cutting the food strips in the extrusion bin in the horizontal posture; the food strip processing mechanism is used for supporting the food strips located in the extrusion bin and pulling the extruded food strips to be thoroughly separated from the extrusion bin, and the garbage bin is detachably connected with the shell and arranged below the food strip processing mechanism.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the technical field of feeders, and more particularly to an automatic feeder. Background Technology

[0002] With the fast pace of modern life, pet ownership is undergoing a transformation. Traditional methods requiring owners to feed their pets manually are no longer sufficient to meet the needs of modern pet owners, thus giving rise to automatic pet feeders. These automatic pet feeder products reflect the deep integration of technology and pet care, especially as cats have now transformed into emotional companions. This role shift has driven the evolution of automatic feeders from mechanical devices to intelligent solutions. Currently, automatic cat feeders can be divided into dry food feeders and wet food feeders. Most wet food is currently pre-packaged and sealed in packaging to form food sticks. Taking cat food sticks as an example, the following is the feeding process for existing wet food feeders: Multiple cat treats are pre-placed in the feeder by a person. When it's time to feed the cat, one of the treats is lowered into the squeezing chamber, which holds the treat and rotates it from a vertical to a horizontal position. The squeezing chamber then moves the treat to a cutting position, where a cutter cuts the treat to create an opening. The squeezing chamber continues to extend the treat outwards, squeezing it to expel the wet food inside, thus automatically feeding the cat. After feeding, the squeezing chamber resets, returning the treat to a vertical position. Finally, the squeezing chamber releases the treat, which falls under its own weight into a waste bin below the squeezing chamber, collecting the outer packaging.

[0003] The following three problems mainly exist in the entire feeding process described above: Firstly, as the cat treats fall into the squeezing chamber, it is difficult to control the squeezing chamber's gripping position on the cat treats. In some cases, the cat treats may even pass directly over the squeezing chamber and fall into the waste bin, making it impossible to reliably achieve automatic feeding of wet food later. Secondly, when the cat treat is finished being fed and rotates back to a vertical position with the squeezing chamber, the cat treat may stick to the wall of the squeezing chamber. Without external force, the cat treat will not be able to fall smoothly into the waste bin below, which will make it impossible to reliably feed the next cat treat automatically. Thirdly, the current garbage bins are designed to be quite high so that the finished cat treats can fall vertically and completely into the bin, preventing the top of the treat from getting stuck in the squeeze compartment. However, because the garbage bins are high, the overall height of the automatic feeder is inevitably high. This not only increases the production cost of the feeder but also the transportation cost. Moreover, the larger feeder occupies too much indoor space for the user, resulting in a poor user experience.

[0004] Therefore, existing automatic feeders need to be improved.

[0005] The above information is provided as background information only to aid in understanding this disclosure and does not constitute an assertion or admission that any of the above content can be used as prior art relative to this disclosure. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This invention provides an automatic feeder, which mainly solves the technical problem of how to optimize the processing of food strips before and after extrusion in order to improve the reliability of automatic feeding of wet food.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: An automatic feeder includes a housing, a wet food bin, a drive unit, a driver, a squeezing chamber, a food strip processing mechanism, a cutting mechanism, a waste bin, and a wet food tray; The wet grain bin is housed within the casing. The drive device is connected to both the casing and the wet grain bin and drives the wet grain bin to rotate about a vertical axis. The top of the wet grain bin has multiple circumferentially spaced, downward-penetrating storage holes for storing food strips. The casing includes a support plate located below the wet grain bin, and the support plate has a through-hole for discharging. When the wet grain bin rotates, any one of the storage holes can communicate with the discharging hole. The drive device, the extrusion chamber, the food strip processing mechanism, and the cutting mechanism are all equipped with… Below the support plate, the extrusion chamber is used to receive the food strips falling from the discharge hole and to clamp or extrude the food strips. The driver is connected to the housing and the extrusion chamber respectively. The driver is used to drive the extrusion chamber to rotate relative to the housing. The posture of the extrusion chamber when rotating includes at least a vertical posture that can receive the food strips falling from the discharge hole and a horizontal posture for extruding the food strips horizontally outward. The cutting mechanism is connected to the housing and located on one side of the extrusion chamber and is used to cut one end of the food strips inside the extrusion chamber in the horizontal posture. The food strip processing mechanism is located on the side of the extrusion chamber opposite to the cutting mechanism and is used at least to support the food strips located in the extrusion chamber and to pull the extruded food strips completely out of the extrusion chamber. The waste bin is detachably connected to the shell and is located below the food strip processing mechanism and is used to collect the extruded food strips. The wet grain tray is connected to the outer wall of the shell and is used to receive the wet grains extruded by the extrusion chamber.

[0008] In one of the technical solutions, the housing includes a mounting base arranged below the support plate, and the food strip processing mechanism includes a drive module and a support frame; The drive module is fixed to the mounting base and connected to the support frame. The drive module is used to drive the support frame to move in a straight line in a first direction. The support frame includes a support rod for supporting the food strip falling from above. The support frame is provided with a hollow hole that runs through the vertical direction and is used to avoid the food strip falling downwards at a position adjacent to the support rod. When the food strip falls into the hollow hole, the support rod is also used to pull the food strip completely away from the extrusion chamber and make the food strip fall downwards from the hollow hole under the drive of the drive module.

[0009] In one technical solution, the mounting base is provided with a through hole connected to the hollow hole below the support frame. The through hole is also used to prevent the food strip from falling downwards. The support rod is located below the through hole. The length of the through hole in the first direction is greater than the length of the hollow hole in the first direction, so that the through hole can prevent the support rod from moving in the first direction.

[0010] In one of the technical solutions, the food strip processing mechanism further includes a push rod fixed to the top of the support frame. The push rod is driven by the drive module to push the food strip along the first direction to change the position of the food strip in the extrusion chamber.

[0011] In one of the technical solutions, the extrusion chamber includes a base, a chamber body, a drive assembly, and at least one air bladder; an air supply device communicating with the air bladder is fixed inside the housing; The chamber has a through cavity for receiving food strips. At least one air bladder is fixed inside the cavity. The air bladder is used to clamp or squeeze the food strips together with the cavity wall. The drive assembly is connected to the base and the chamber. The drive assembly is used to drive the chamber to move linearly relative to the base. The movement path of the chamber includes at least the cutting position for the cutting mechanism to cut the food strips and the discharge position for the food strips to extend outward to the top of the wet grain tray.

[0012] In one of the technical solutions, two airbags are fixed inside the cavity. The two airbags are arranged sequentially along the length of the chamber. The airbag farther away from the discharge position is designated as the first airbag, and the airbag closer to the discharge position is designated as the second airbag. The length of the first airbag is greater than the length of the second airbag. When the food strip is cut by the cutting mechanism, the first airbag and the second airbag squeeze the food strip in an alternating expansion sequence.

[0013] In one of the technical solutions, the automatic feeder employs the following automatic feeding method: The drive device drives the wet grain bin to rotate, causing one of the grain strips inside the bin to fall downwards from the discharge hole and be supported by the support rod. The airbag in the vertically positioned compression chamber holds the grain strip supported by the support rod. Then, the driver drives the compression chamber to rotate from a vertical to a horizontal position. Next, the drive assembly drives the chamber and the grain strip to move together along the positive direction of the first direction to the cutting position. Then, the cutting mechanism cuts one end of the grain strip. Immediately afterwards, driven by the drive assembly, the chamber and the grain strip continue to extend outwards along the positive direction of the first direction to above the wet grain tray. Finally, the grain strip is held in place by the airbag... The wet food inside is squeezed out to feed the pet. After feeding, the drive component drives the chamber and the food strip to reset in the opposite direction of the first direction. The driver drives the squeezing chamber to switch from a horizontal posture back to a vertical posture. At this time, the support rod has moved away in the positive direction of the first direction under the drive module so that the hollow hole is directly below the food strip. Then the airbag contracts to release the food strip. Finally, the support rod moves in the opposite direction of the first direction under the drive module. The support rod pulls the food strip completely away from the squeezing chamber in the opposite direction of the first direction and causes the food strip to fall down from the hollow hole into the waste bin.

[0014] In one of the technical solutions, the automatic feeder also includes a dry food bucket, a feeding device, and a dry food tray; The wet food container has a clearance hole in the middle to avoid insertion of the dry food container. Multiple storage holes are arranged around the periphery of the dry food container. The feeding device is fixed to the support plate and located at the bottom of the dry food container. The bottom of the support plate has an upward-through discharge port. The feeding device is used to receive dry food from the dry food container and feed the dry food to the discharge port. The shell has a dry food slide. The first end of the dry food slide is located below the discharge port, and the second end of the dry food slide penetrates the outer wall of the shell. The dry food tray is connected to the outer wall of the shell and located below the second end of the dry food slide.

[0015] In one of the technical solutions, a recessed annular groove is provided on the top of the wet grain bin and on the periphery of the dry grain bin, and a plurality of storage holes are provided at the bottom of the annular groove. The automatic feeder also includes a dry food cover and a wet food cover. The dry food cover is used to cover the opening at the top of the dry food container. The wet food cover is an annular structure with a central hole. The central hole is used to avoid the dry food cover. The wet food cover is used to cover the annular groove. The automatic feeder also includes a first camera and a second camera respectively fixed to the outside of the housing. The first camera is located above the wet food tray, and the second camera is located above the dry food tray.

[0016] In one technical solution, the feeding device includes a feeding motor, a rotating block, and a feeding block. The rotating block is fixedly connected to the feeding block. The feeding motor is fixed to the bottom of the support plate and is used to drive the rotating block and the feeding block to rotate synchronously. The rotating block is located inside the support plate, and the feeding block is located inside the dry food bin. The outer edge of the rotating block is provided with a plurality of circumferentially arranged and longitudinally penetrating receiving grooves. When the feeding block rotates, it is used to agitate the dry food at the bottom of the dry food bin and cause the dry food to fall into the receiving grooves. During the rotation of the rotating block, any one of the receiving grooves can be connected to the discharge port.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the automatic feeder provided by the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects: This solution optimizes both the pre- and post-extrusion stages of the food strips by adding a food strip processing mechanism. In fact, this mechanism serves two main functions. First, it supports the vertically falling food strips, allowing the extrusion chamber to precisely hold them in a vertical position. This improves the stability and reliability of the automatic feeder. Second, it applies tension to the finished food strips, preventing them from falling downwards even if they stick to the extrusion chamber. Alternatively, even if the top of the food strip remains inside the extrusion chamber after falling due to the need to reduce the height of the waste bin to lower the overall height of the automatic feeder, the pulling force from the food strip processing mechanism ensures that the strips eventually detach completely from the extrusion chamber and fall more reliably into the waste bin. In short, this solution not only significantly improves the stability and reliability of the automatic feeder but also greatly reduces the design height of the waste bin, thereby significantly reducing the overall height of the automatic feeder. Attached Figure Description

[0018] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the 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.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an automatic feeder provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an automatic feeder provided in an embodiment of this application after the dry food cover and wet food cover are hidden; Figure 3 for Figure 2 A magnified view of a section at point A in the middle; Figure 4 This application provides an embodiment of an automatic feeder with its internal structure behind the housing in the hidden part. Figure 5 Based on Figure 4 A structural diagram further concealing the food strip processing mechanism and waste bin; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the material feeding device provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 7 Based on Figure 4 A structural diagram further concealing the dry and wet food containers; Figure 8 for Figure 7 Enlarged view of a section at point B in the middle; Figure 9 for Figure 7 The diagram shows the structure switching from a vertical to a horizontal orientation in the extrusion chamber. Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the extrusion chamber in a horizontal position, as provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 11 This is a bottom view of the extrusion chamber behind the concealed outer shell, as provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 12 A schematic diagram of the extrusion chamber provided in this application embodiment when the food strip is driven to extend outward along the first direction X; Figure 13 A schematic diagram of the food strip processing mechanism provided in this application embodiment when supporting a vertically falling food strip; Figure 14 A schematic diagram of the structure of the food strip processing mechanism provided in this application embodiment after the support frame moves in the first direction X and the food strip is in a horizontal extrusion state; Figure 15This is a schematic diagram of the structure in this application embodiment where the food strips, after the internal wet grains have been squeezed out, fall vertically into the hollow hole of the food strip processing mechanism; Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the food strip processing mechanism provided in the embodiment of this application, which pulls the food strip that has been squeezed dry of its internal wet grains backward so that the food strip tilts backward and downward.

[0020] Figure label: 1. Shell; 11. Dry food chute; 12. Support plate; 121. Discharge hole; 122. Discharge outlet; 13. Mounting base; 131. Through hole; 14. Fixing base; 2. Dry food container; 31. Wet food container; 311. Storage hole; 3111. Receiving part; 3112. Narrowing part; 313. Clearance hole; 314. Annular groove; 5. Drive device; 62. Driver; 63. Crushing chamber; 631. Base; 632. Chamber body; 6321. Cavity; 633. Airbag; 6331. First airbag; 6332. Second airbag; 634. Drive assembly; 6341. Motor; 6342. Second gear; 6343. Second rack; 64. Bearing seat; 65. Bearing; 66. Coupling; 7. Food strip processing mechanism; 72. Drive module; 721. Electric motor; 722. First gear; 723. First rack; 73. Support frame; 731. Support rod; 7311. Elastic element; 732. Hole; 74. Push rod; 8. Cutting mechanism; 9. Waste bin; 10. Wet grain tray; 20. Air supply device; 30. Dry grain cover; 40. Wet grain cover; 50. First camera; 60. Second camera; 70. Dry grain tray; 80. Feeding device; 801. Feeding motor; 802. Rotating block; 8021. Receiving trough; 803. Feeding block; 100. Food strip; 1001. Side sealing edge. Detailed Implementation

[0021] To make the technical problems, technical solutions, and beneficial effects to be solved by this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0022] It should be noted that when a component is referred to as being "fixed to" or "set on" another component, it can be directly on or indirectly on that other component. When a component is referred to as being "connected to" another component, it can be directly connected to or indirectly connected to that other component.

[0023] It should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this application.

[0024] Furthermore, 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 technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this application, "multiple" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0025] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0026] Please refer to the following: Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 7 and Figure 9The automatic feeder of this embodiment mainly includes a housing 1, a wet food bin 31, a drive device 5, a driver 62, a squeezing chamber 63, a food strip processing mechanism 7, a cutting mechanism 8, a waste bin 9, and a wet food tray 10. The wet food bin 31 is disposed inside the housing 1. The drive device 5 is connected to both the housing 1 and the wet food bin 31. The drive device 5 drives the wet food bin 31 to rotate relative to the housing 1 about a vertical axis. The drive device 5 is preferably a gear-type drive structure with low cost and minimal height space occupation. The top of the wet food bin 31 has multiple circumferentially spaced and downwardly penetrating storage holes 311 for storing food strips 100. The housing 1 includes a wet food bin... The support plate 12 below the wet grain bin 31 has a through discharge hole 121. When the wet grain bin 31 rotates, any storage hole 311 can connect with the discharge hole 121. Due to the support of the support plate 12, only the food strips 100 aligned with the discharge hole 121 can fall into the wet grain bin 31. Other food strips 100 in the wet grain bin 31 will be blocked by the support plate 12 and cannot fall. Preferably, the top surface of the support plate 12 is fixed with multiple casters (not shown in the figure). The multiple casters directly or indirectly support the wet grain bin 31, which helps to improve the stability of the rotation of the wet grain bin 31 and avoids the occurrence of abnormal noise caused by direct friction between the wet grain bin 31 and the support plate 12. The aforementioned driver 62, extrusion chamber 63, food strip processing mechanism 7, and cutting mechanism 8 are all located below the support plate 12. The extrusion chamber 63 is used to receive the food strips 100 falling from the discharge hole 121 and to clamp or extrude the food strips 100. The housing 1 includes a fixed base 14. The driver 62 is connected to the fixed base 14 and the extrusion chamber 63 respectively. The driver 62 can be a motor or a rotary cylinder. The driver 62 is used to drive the extrusion chamber 63 to rotate relative to the housing 1. The posture of the extrusion chamber 63 during rotation includes at least a vertical posture that can receive the food strips falling from the discharge hole 121 and a horizontal posture that allows the food strips to be extruded horizontally outward. The aforementioned cutting mechanism 8 is connected to the housing 1 and located on one side of the extrusion chamber 63. The cutting mechanism 8 can be understood as including a component fixed to the housing 1. A fixed blade and a moving blade driven by a motor rotate together, enabling the cutting mechanism 8 to cut one end of the food strip 100 inside the horizontally positioned extrusion chamber 63. The food strip processing mechanism 7 is located on the side of the extrusion chamber 63 opposite to the cutting mechanism 8. The food strip processing mechanism 7 is used at least to support the food strip 100 located inside the extrusion chamber 63 and to pull the extruded food strip 100 completely out of the extrusion chamber 63. The waste bin 9 is located below the food strip processing mechanism 7. The waste bin 9 is used to collect the extruded food strip 100. The waste bin 9 is detachably connected to the housing 1 so that the waste bin 9 can be removed and waste is disposed of. The wet grain tray 10 is connected to the outer wall of the housing 1 and is used to receive the wet grain extruded from the extrusion chamber 63 by the food strip 100.

[0027] Please refer to the following: Figure 7 and Figure 13 The housing 1 also includes a mounting base 13 arranged below the support plate 12. The food strip processing mechanism 7 specifically includes a drive module 72 and a support frame 73. The drive module 72 is fixed on the mounting base 13 and connected to the support frame 73. The drive module 72 is used to drive the support frame 73 to move in a straight line in the first direction X. The support frame 73 includes a support rod 731 for supporting the food strip 100 falling from above. The support frame 73 has a hollow hole 732 that runs through the vertical direction at a position adjacent to the support rod 731. This hollow hole 732 is used to prevent the finished food strip 100 from falling downward. When the food strip 100 falls into the hollow hole 732, the support rod 731 is also used to pull the food strip 100 completely away from the squeezing chamber 63 under the drive of the drive module 72 and make the food strip 100 fall downward from the hollow hole 732.

[0028] Please refer to the following: Figure 10 and Figure 11The compression chamber 63 mainly includes a base 631, a chamber body 632, a drive assembly 634, and at least one airbag 633. The chamber body 632 has a through cavity 6321 for receiving food strips 100 containing wet grain. At least one airbag 633 is fixed inside the cavity 6321, and the airbag 633, together with the cavity wall of the cavity 6321, clamps or compresses the food strips 100. The drive assembly 634 is connected to both the base 631 and the chamber body 632, and specifically drives the chamber body 632 to move relative to the base 631 in a straight line in the first direction X. Specifically, the drive assembly 634 is used to drive the chamber 632 to move along the first direction X to the cutting position of the cutting mechanism 8 to cut the food strips 100. The drive assembly 634 is also used to drive the chamber 632 to continue moving along the first direction X towards the discharge position, so that the food strips 100 can extend outward relative to the discharge position under the clamping of the airbag 633. By integrating this drive assembly 634, it is not necessary to arrange an additional independent drive assembly on the outside of the chamber 632, which helps to optimize the internal space of the automatic feeder and make the structure of the automatic feeder more compact and reasonable. In particular, it can free up space in the position of the squeezing chamber 63 facing away from the cutting mechanism 8 to set up the aforementioned food strip processing mechanism 7. More specifically, the airbag 633 has two functions. The first function of the airbag 633 is to clamp the food strips 100 so that the food strips 100 can move with the chamber 632 to the cutting position or the discharge position. The second function of the airbag 633 is to squeeze the wet grain in the food strips 100 outward by repeatedly contracting and expanding. Compared to the traditional method of squeezing the food strips 100 with a rigid pressure plate, the pneumatic squeezing method allows for a gentler dispensing of wet food, which is more in line with pets' habit of chewing wet food slowly. Furthermore, the gentle pneumatic squeezing method prevents the food strips 100 from spraying outwards, improving the cleanliness of the automatic feeder surface and its surrounding environment, thus optimizing the user experience. Based on this squeezing chamber 63's structural design, an air supply device 20 connected to the air bladder 633 is also fixed inside the housing 1. This air supply device 20 enables the air bladder 633 to contract, allowing it to clamp or squeeze the food strips 100 for dispensing.

[0029] Specifically, the automatic feeder in this embodiment employs the following automatic feeding method: When it is time to feed the pet, the drive unit 5 drives the wet food bin 31 to rotate, causing one of the food strips 100 inside the wet food bin 31 to fall downwards from the discharge hole 121 on the support plate 12 and be handled by the support rod 731 of the food strip processing mechanism 7. Figure 8 or Figure 13 As shown, the food strip 100, which is supported by the support rod 731, is then held by the airbag 633 inside the vertically positioned compression chamber 63. The driver 62 then drives the compression chamber 63 to rotate from a vertical position to a position similar to... Figure 9 The food strip 100 is moved from the horizontal position shown by the drive assembly 634 to the cutting position along the positive direction of the first direction X. Then, the cutting mechanism 8 cuts one end of the food strip 100. Immediately afterwards, the food strip 100 and the food strip 100 continue to extend outward along the positive direction of the first direction X under the drive assembly 634 to the top of the wet food tray 10. Then, the food strip 100 is squeezed by the airbag 633 to expel the wet food inside for feeding the pet. After feeding, the drive assembly 634 drives the food strip 100 to reset along the opposite direction of the first direction X. The driver 62 drives the squeezing chamber 63 to switch from the horizontal position back to the vertical position. At this time, the support rod 731 of the food strip processing mechanism 7 has moved away in the positive direction of the first direction X under the drive module 72 so that the hollow hole 732 is located directly below the food strip 100. Then, the airbag 633 contracts to release the food strip 100. Figure 15 As shown, at this time, the food strip 100 will fall downwards and insert into the hollow hole 732. Finally, the support rod 731 of the food strip processing mechanism 7 moves in the opposite direction of the first direction X under the drive of the drive module 72, as shown. Figure 16 As shown, the support rod 731 pulls the food strip 100 in the opposite direction of the first direction X to completely detach it from the compression chamber 63 and cause the food strip 100 to fall down through the hollow hole 732 into the waste chamber 9.

[0030] In summary, this solution optimizes the extrusion and post-extrusion processes of the food strip 100 by adding a food strip processing mechanism 7. In fact, the food strip processing mechanism 7 has two main functions. First, it supports the vertically falling food strip 100, allowing the extrusion chamber 63 to precisely hold the vertically positioned food strip 100, thus improving the stability and reliability of the automatic feeder. Second, it applies tension to the fed food strip 100, preventing it from sticking to the extrusion chamber 63. The food strip 100 cannot fall downwards from the squeezing chamber 63, or even if the top of the food strip 100 falls downwards from the squeezing chamber 63 in order to reduce the height of the waste bin 9 and thus reduce the overall height of the automatic feeder, the pulling of the food strip processing mechanism 7 can ensure that the food strip 100 can eventually completely detach from the squeezing chamber 63 and fall more reliably into the waste bin 9. That is, this solution not only helps to greatly improve the stability and reliability of the automatic feeder operation, but also helps to greatly reduce the design height of the waste bin 9, thereby helping to greatly reduce the overall height of the automatic feeder.

[0031] Please refer to the following: Figures 13 to 16The drive module 72 is specifically designed to include a motor 721, a first gear 722, and a first rack 723. The motor 721 is fixed to the mounting base 13. The first gear 722 is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the motor 721. The first rack 723 is fixedly connected to the support frame 73, with its length direction facing the first direction X. The first gear 722 and the first rack 723 mesh. When the motor 721 rotates, it drives the support frame 73 to move linearly in the positive or negative direction of the first direction X. The gear and rack transmission method has the advantages of simple structure, low cost, and small space occupation, making it very suitable for use in automatic feeders.

[0032] Please refer to the following: Figure 10 and Figure 12 The drive assembly 634 specifically includes a motor 6341, a second gear 6342, and a second rack 6343. The motor 6341 is fixed to the base 631. The second gear 6342 is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the motor 6341. The second rack 6343 is fixed to the outer wall of the chamber 632 and meshes with each other. When the motor 6341 rotates, it drives the chamber 632, the airbag 633, and the feed strip 100 to move together in a straight line in the first direction X. The gear and rack transmission method used in the drive assembly 634 has the advantage of occupying less space, which helps to make the structural layout of the automatic feeder more compact and reasonable.

[0033] Please see Figure 13 In this embodiment, the support rod 731 is provided with an elastic element 7311 at least at its top. This elastic element 7311 is used to directly support the food strip 100 falling from top to bottom into the extrusion chamber 63. This design helps to cushion the falling food strip 100 and prevents the food strip 100 from folding when it lands on the support rod 731 at a high position. This ensures that the food strip 100 lands in the extrusion chamber 63 with high positional accuracy each time, which in turn helps to further improve the stability and reliability of the subsequent cutting and extrusion of the food strip 100. More preferably, the support rod 731 in this embodiment is preferably designed to include a rod body and an elastic element 7311 sleeved on the rod body. Since the rod body is located inside the elastic element 7311, the rod body is not shown in the figure. The elastic element 7311 is preferably a silicone part with good elasticity and low cost.

[0034] Please refer to it again. Figure 13The mounting base 13 is preferably designed to be large so that, in addition to fixing the drive module 72, it can also be used to fix other components (such as the air supply device 20 or PCB circuit board). Based on this, the mounting base 13 in this embodiment is provided with a through hole 131 below the corresponding support frame 73. This through hole 131 is connected to the hollow hole 732 mentioned above. In fact, this through hole 131 is also used to prevent the finished food strips 100 from falling down into the garbage bin 9. More preferably, the support rod 731 is designed below the through hole 131. This design helps to further reduce the overall height of the automatic feeder. Based on this, the length of the through hole 131 in at least the first direction X is greater than the length of the perforated hole 732 in the first direction X, so that when the support rod 731 moves in the positive direction of the first direction X to avoid the finished food strip 100 falling downwards, the wall of the through hole 131 will not interfere with the support rod 731, ensuring that the support rod 731 can move in the positive direction of the first direction X to a position to avoid the food strip 100 falling downwards (i.e., ensuring that the support rod 731 can move to such a position as...). Figure 15 (At the location shown).

[0035] Regarding the issue of longer food strips (100) being difficult to completely expel wet food, please refer to [link / reference needed]. Figure 13 and Figure 14 The food strip processing mechanism 7 in this embodiment also includes a push rod 74 fixed to the top of the support frame 73. Driven by the drive module 72, the push rod 74 is used to push the food strip 100 in the positive direction of the first direction X to change the position of the food strip 100 in the extrusion chamber 63. This allows the longer food strip 100 to extend further in the positive direction of the first direction X under the push of the push rod 74. This ensures that even if the food strip 100 is long, the extrusion chamber 63 can still squeeze the wet grain at the bottom of the food strip 100 outward. In other words, by setting the push rod 74, it is beneficial to be compatible with the automatic feeding operation of longer food strips 100, thereby solving the technical problem that the current automatic feeder can only automatically feed food strips 100 with a narrow length range.

[0036] Please see Figure 11In this embodiment, two airbags 633 are preferably fixed inside the cavity 6321. The two airbags 633 are arranged sequentially along the length of the chamber 632. The two airbags 633 squeeze the food strip 100 to expel the food in an alternating expansion sequence. This method of squeezing the food strip 100 makes it easier to completely squeeze out the wet food inside the food strip 100, avoiding food waste. This helps to reduce the cost of feeding pets and further improves the user experience. To illustrate this clearly, let's designate one of the air bladders furthest from the dispensing position as the first air bladder 6331, and the other air bladder closest to the dispensing position as the second air bladder 6332. The first air bladder 6331 is longer than the second air bladder 6332. With this design, the second air bladder 6332, being smaller, can expel the food strip 100 more gently. Meanwhile, the longer first air bladder 6331 can quickly supply the wet food at the bottom of the food strip 100 to the opening of the food strip 100, allowing the second air bladder 6332 to continuously and gently expel the wet food. This method of using two air bladders of different sizes is more in line with the pet's habit of chewing wet food slowly.

[0037] Please see Figure 10 The aforementioned driver 62 is preferably an electric motor. Based on this, in this embodiment, a bearing seat 64 is fixed on the fixed base 14, and a bearing 65 is fixed on the bearing seat 64. A coupling 66 is connected between the base 631 of the extrusion chamber 63 and the output shaft of the driver 62. The coupling 66 is fixedly connected to the inner ring of the bearing 65. With this design, the weight of the extrusion chamber 63 is mainly borne by the bearing 65 rather than by the output bearing of the driver 62. This allows the extrusion chamber 63 to stably switch between vertical and horizontal orientations under the drive of the driver 62, even if the weight of the extrusion chamber 63 is relatively large due to the integration of a drive component 634. In other words, it helps to improve the stability of the extrusion chamber 63's rotational movement.

[0038] Current automatic feeders have a vulnerability where multiple cat treats are accidentally placed into the same storage hole 311 of the wet food container 31. This causes multiple cat treats to fall into the squeezing chamber 63 simultaneously, leading to the subsequent cutting mechanism 8 cutting them all at once. This results in the pet being fed too much wet food. Furthermore, due to the significant thickness of the stacked cat treats, they may become stuck inside the dispensing area and fail to extend properly, preventing the cat treats from being fed to the pet. Secondly, as the number of cat treats clamped in the squeezing chamber 63 increases, there is also a possibility that the cat treats may not be properly cut by the cutting mechanism 8. If the cat food stick breaks, it may burst from the squeezing chamber 63, causing wet food inside the feeder to splash. This not only leads to unhygienic feeding but also makes the feeder prone to jamming when driving the various components, resulting in easy damage to the feeder. In addition, currently, users may insert the cat food stick into the storage hole 311 of the wet food container 31 in the wrong direction. This increases the risk that the cutting mechanism 8's blades may not be able to reliably cut the cat food stick, which can also easily cause the cat food stick to burst from the squeezing chamber 63. To address this, this embodiment has optimized the design of the storage hole 311 as follows: Please see Figure 2 and Figure 3 The storage hole 311 specifically includes a receiving portion 3111 and a narrowing portion 3112 that are connected to each other. The narrowing portion 3112 is located at one end of the receiving portion 3111 in the length direction, and the width of the narrowing portion 3112 is narrower than the width of the receiving portion 3111. The narrowing portion 3112 is specifically used for inserting the side sealing edge 1001 of the food strip 100. By designing the storage hole 311 in this way, when the food strip 100 is inserted into the storage hole 311, only the side sealing edge 1001 can be aligned with the narrowing portion 3112. The insertion method ensures that the food strips 100 can only be placed in one direction. Moreover, due to the width limitation of the narrowed part 3112, it also makes it difficult to put more than two food strips 100 into each storage hole 311 at the same time. That is, it avoids the situation where the user puts at least two food strips 100 into the same storage hole 311 at the same time. This design helps to improve the reliability of one end of the food strip 100 being cut off by the blade, and thus helps to greatly improve the stability and reliability of the automatic feeder in realizing the automatic feeding process.

[0039] Please refer to the following: Figures 2 to 4The wet food container 31 has a longitudinally penetrating clearance hole 313 in the middle. This clearance hole 313 is used to allow the dry food container 2 to be inserted, so that the automatic feeder can integrate the automatic feeding functions of dry food and wet food at the same time. Based on this, multiple storage holes 311 are actually arranged around the clearance hole 313. Furthermore, a recessed annular groove 314 is provided on the top of the wet food container 31 and on the periphery of the dry food container 2. The bottom of the annular groove 314 is provided with multiple storage holes 311 as described above. By providing this annular groove 314, on the one hand, it is beneficial to form more wall surface in the wet food container 31 to improve the structural strength of the wet food container 31 and also to reduce the weight of the wet food container 31. On the other hand, it also allows the top of the food strips 100 of different lengths to be exposed in the annular groove 314 after being inserted into the storage holes 311. This makes it easier for users to take out food strips 100 of various lengths, so that users can easily change the type of food strips 100, thereby optimizing the user experience.

[0040] The following explains the specific structure of how dry food is automatically fed.

[0041] Please refer to the following: Figure 2 , Figures 4 to 6 The automatic feeder also includes a dry food bin 2, a feeding device 80, and a dry food tray 70. The dry food bin 2 is located in the middle of the wet food bin 31. The feeding device 80 is fixed on the support plate 12 and is located at the bottom of the dry food bin 2. The bottom of the support plate 12 is provided with an upward-through discharge port 122. The feeding device 80 is used to receive dry food from the dry food bin 2 and feed the dry food to the discharge port 122. The housing 1 has a dry food slide 11. The first end of the dry food slide 11 can be understood as being located below the discharge port 122. The second end of the dry food slide 11, away from the first end, penetrates the outer wall of the housing 1, so that the dry food falling from the discharge port 122 can slide outward along the dry food slide 11. The dry food tray 70 is connected to the outer wall of the housing 1 and is located below the second end of the dry food slide 11 to receive the dry food that slides outward from the dry food slide 11. The pet can eat the dry food from the dry food tray 70.

[0042] Please see Figure 6The feeding device 80 specifically includes a feeding motor 801, a rotating block 802, and a feeding block 803. The rotating block 802 and the feeding block 803 are fixedly connected. The feeding motor 801 is fixed to the bottom of the support plate 12 and is used to drive the rotating block 802 and the feeding block 803 to rotate synchronously. The rotating block 802 is located inside the support plate 12, and the feeding block 803 is located inside the dry food bin 2. The outer edge of the rotating block 802 is provided with a plurality of circumferentially arranged and longitudinally penetrating receiving grooves 8021. During the rotation of the rotating block 802, any one of the receiving grooves 8021 can be connected to the discharge port 122. When it is time to feed dry food, the drive motor 801 rotates, and the feed block 803 rotates. When the feed block 803 rotates, it pushes the dry food at the bottom of the dry food bucket 2 and causes the dry food to fall into the receiving trough 8021. When one of the receiving troughs 8021 is connected to the discharge port 122, the dry food in this receiving trough 8021 will fall down from the discharge port 122 and slide out along the dry food slide 11 to the dry food tray 70, thus realizing the function of automatic feeding of dry food.

[0043] Please see Figure 1 The automatic feeder in this embodiment also includes a dry food cover 30 and a wet food cover 40. The dry food cover 30 is used to cover the opening at the top of the dry food container 2. The wet food cover 40 is an annular structure with a central hole to avoid the dry food cover 30. The wet food cover 40 is used to cover the aforementioned annular groove 314. Preferably, the wet food cover 40 is detachably connected to the housing 1 by magnetic attraction. In addition, the automatic feeder in this embodiment also includes a first camera 50 and a second camera 60 respectively fixed to the outside of the housing 1. The first camera 50 is located above the wet food tray 10, and the second camera 60 is located above the dry food tray 70. By setting the first camera 50 and the second camera 60, the owner can remotely determine whether the pet needs dry food or wet food, and it is also convenient for the owner to observe the pet eating, thereby improving the user experience.

[0044] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, and only specifically describe the technical principles of the present invention. These descriptions are only for explaining the principles of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention in any way. Based on this explanation, any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention, as well as other specific embodiments of the present invention that can be conceived by those skilled in the art without creative effort, should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic feeder, characterized in that, It includes a shell, a wet grain bin, a drive unit, a driver, a compression chamber, a food strip processing mechanism, a cutting mechanism, a waste bin, and a wet grain tray; The wet grain bin is housed within the casing. The drive device is connected to both the casing and the wet grain bin and drives the wet grain bin to rotate about a vertical axis. The top of the wet grain bin has multiple circumferentially spaced, downward-penetrating storage holes for storing food strips. The casing includes a support plate located below the wet grain bin, and the support plate has a through-hole for discharging. When the wet grain bin rotates, any one of the storage holes can communicate with the discharging hole. The drive device, the extrusion chamber, the food strip processing mechanism, and the cutting mechanism are all equipped with… Below the support plate, the extrusion chamber is used to receive the food strips falling from the discharge hole and to clamp or extrude the food strips. The driver is connected to the housing and the extrusion chamber respectively. The driver is used to drive the extrusion chamber to rotate relative to the housing. The posture of the extrusion chamber when rotating includes at least a vertical posture that can receive the food strips falling from the discharge hole and a horizontal posture for extruding the food strips horizontally outward. The cutting mechanism is connected to the housing and located on one side of the extrusion chamber and is used to cut one end of the food strips inside the extrusion chamber in the horizontal posture. The food strip processing mechanism is located on the side of the extrusion chamber opposite to the cutting mechanism and is used at least to support the food strips located in the extrusion chamber and to pull the extruded food strips completely out of the extrusion chamber. The waste bin is detachably connected to the shell and is located below the food strip processing mechanism and is used to collect the extruded food strips. The wet grain tray is connected to the outer wall of the shell and is used to receive the wet grains extruded by the extrusion chamber.

2. The automatic feeder as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The housing includes a mounting base arranged below the support plate, and the food strip processing mechanism includes a drive module and a support frame; The drive module is fixed to the mounting base and connected to the support frame. The drive module is used to drive the support frame to move in a straight line in a first direction. The support frame includes a support rod for supporting the food strip falling from above. The support frame is provided with a hollow hole that runs through the vertical direction and is used to avoid the food strip falling downwards at a position adjacent to the support rod. When the food strip falls into the hollow hole, the support rod is also used to pull the food strip completely away from the extrusion chamber and make the food strip fall downwards from the hollow hole under the drive of the drive module.

3. The automatic feeder as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The mounting base has a through hole connected to the hollow hole below the support frame. The through hole is also used to prevent the food strip from falling downwards. The support rod is located below the through hole. The length of the through hole in the first direction is greater than the length of the hollow hole in the first direction, so that the through hole can prevent the support rod from moving in the first direction.

4. The automatic feeder as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The food strip processing mechanism also includes a push rod fixed to the top of the support frame. The push rod is driven by the drive module to push the food strip along the first direction to change the position of the food strip in the extrusion chamber.

5. The automatic feeder as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The extrusion chamber includes a base, a chamber body, a drive assembly, and at least one air bladder; an air supply device communicating with the air bladder is fixed inside the housing; The chamber has a through cavity for receiving food strips. At least one air bladder is fixed inside the cavity. The air bladder is used to clamp or squeeze the food strips together with the cavity wall. The drive assembly is connected to the base and the chamber. The drive assembly is used to drive the chamber to move linearly relative to the base. The movement path of the chamber includes at least the cutting position for the cutting mechanism to cut the food strips and the discharge position for the food strips to extend outward to the top of the wet grain tray.

6. The automatic feeder as described in claim 5, characterized in that, Two airbags are fixed inside the cavity. The two airbags are arranged sequentially along the length of the chamber. The airbag farther away from the discharge position is designated as the first airbag, and the airbag closer to the discharge position is designated as the second airbag. The length of the first airbag is greater than the length of the second airbag. When the food strip is cut by the cutting mechanism, the first airbag and the second airbag squeeze the food strip in an alternating expansion sequence.

7. The automatic feeder as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The automatic feeder employs the following automatic feeding method: The drive device drives the wet grain bin to rotate, causing one of the grain strips inside the bin to fall downwards from the discharge hole and be supported by the support rod. The airbag in the vertically positioned compression chamber holds the grain strip supported by the support rod. Then, the driver drives the compression chamber to rotate from a vertical to a horizontal position. Next, the drive assembly drives the chamber and the grain strip to move together along the positive direction of the first direction to the cutting position. Then, the cutting mechanism cuts one end of the grain strip. Immediately afterwards, driven by the drive assembly, the chamber and the grain strip continue to extend outwards along the positive direction of the first direction to above the wet grain tray. Finally, the grain strip is held in place by the airbag... The wet food inside is squeezed out to feed the pet. After feeding, the drive component drives the chamber and the food strip to reset in the opposite direction of the first direction. The driver drives the squeezing chamber to switch from a horizontal posture back to a vertical posture. At this time, the support rod has moved away in the positive direction of the first direction under the drive module so that the hollow hole is directly below the food strip. Then the airbag contracts to release the food strip. Finally, the support rod moves in the opposite direction of the first direction under the drive module. The support rod pulls the food strip completely away from the squeezing chamber in the opposite direction of the first direction and causes the food strip to fall down from the hollow hole into the waste bin.

8. The automatic feeder as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The automatic feeder also includes a dry food bucket, a feeding device, and a dry food tray; The wet food container has a clearance hole in the middle to avoid insertion of the dry food container. Multiple storage holes are arranged around the periphery of the dry food container. The feeding device is fixed to the support plate and located at the bottom of the dry food container. The bottom of the support plate has an upward-through discharge port. The feeding device is used to receive dry food from the dry food container and feed the dry food to the discharge port. The shell has a dry food slide. The first end of the dry food slide is located below the discharge port, and the second end of the dry food slide penetrates the outer wall of the shell. The dry food tray is connected to the outer wall of the shell and located below the second end of the dry food slide.

9. The automatic feeder as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The top of the wet grain bin and the periphery of the dry grain bin are provided with a recessed annular groove, and the bottom of the annular groove is provided with a plurality of storage holes. The automatic feeder also includes a dry food cover and a wet food cover. The dry food cover is used to cover the opening at the top of the dry food container. The wet food cover is an annular structure with a central hole. The central hole is used to avoid the dry food cover. The wet food cover is used to cover the annular groove. The automatic feeder also includes a first camera and a second camera, which are respectively fixed to the outside of the housing. The first camera is located above the wet food tray, and the second camera is located above the dry food tray.

10. The automatic feeder as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The feeding device includes a feeding motor, a rotating block, and a feeding block. The rotating block is fixedly connected to the feeding block. The feeding motor is fixed to the bottom of the support plate and is used to drive the rotating block and the feeding block to rotate synchronously. The rotating block is located inside the support plate, and the feeding block is located inside the dry food bin. The outer edge of the rotating block is provided with a plurality of circumferentially arranged and longitudinally penetrating receiving grooves. When the feeding block rotates, it is used to agitate the dry food at the bottom of the dry food bin and cause the dry food to fall into the receiving grooves. During the rotation of the rotating block, any one of the receiving grooves can be connected to the discharge port.

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