Pet feeder

Abstract

The utility model discloses a pet feeder belongs to pet supplies field. This pet feeder includes the remaining amount detection subassembly, and the remaining amount detection subassembly includes control mainboard, light emitter, light receiver, light guide piece and light reflection piece, and control mainboard is used for with user terminal carries out information interaction, light emitter and light receiver all are connected with control mainboard, and light emitter and light receiver interval setting are on feeder base, light guide piece is equipped with two and all sets up on grain bucket, and two light guide pieces are correspondingly set up just above light emitter and just above light receiver respectively, and the incident light that light emitter sends can spread in light guide piece, light reflection piece is equipped with two and sets up on two light guide pieces respectively, and light reflection piece can form the incident light that light emitter sends to light receiver to the emergent light with the reflection. Through setting remaining amount detection subassembly can accurately detect the food grain remaining amount in grain bucket and timely early warning to improve the use experience of user.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of pet supplies technology, and in particular to a pet feeder. Background Technology

[0002] Many families now keep pets such as cats or dogs, providing them with a comfortable living environment and nutritious food. With the development of technology, feeding pets is no longer limited to manual feeding. To reduce the workload of feeding or to avoid not being able to feed them in time when the owner is not at home, many owners choose automatic feeders to feed their pets and prevent them from going hungry.

[0003] Automatic pet feeders are devices that automatically feed pets. While they can dispense food at set times and in measured quantities, they lack a warning system to monitor the remaining food in the food container. This means they cannot detect when the food is low and promptly remind the user to replenish it, potentially leaving pets without food and impacting user satisfaction. To address this, existing technology proposes a pet feeder that uses infrared technology to detect remaining food. In this design, the infrared transmitter and receiver are positioned side-by-side inside the feeder's base, with a reflector on the food container lid. However, the infrared light has a long propagation path and is easily blocked by objects outside the food, affecting the accuracy and timeliness of the detection.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need to design a pet feeder to solve the above-mentioned technical problems. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a pet feeder that can accurately detect the amount of food remaining in the food container and provide timely warnings, thereby improving user satisfaction.

[0006] To achieve this objective, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0007] A pet feeder includes a feeder base, a food container, and a food bowl. The food container and the food bowl are respectively mounted on the feeder base. The bottom of the food container has a dispensing port. The pet feeder also includes an remaining food level detection component, which includes:

[0008] A control motherboard, which is used to interact with the user terminal;

[0009] A light emitter and a light receiver are provided, both of which are connected to the control motherboard, and are spaced apart on the feeder base.

[0010] A light guide is provided on the grain bin. Two light guides are provided, one directly above the light emitter and the other directly above the light receiver, respectively. Incident light emitted from the light emitter can propagate through the light guides.

[0011] The reflector is provided in two parts and is respectively disposed on the two light guides. The reflector can reflect the incident light emitted by the light emitter to form outgoing light to the light receiver.

[0012] As an optional technical solution for the above-mentioned pet feeder, the light guide is a cylindrical structure and the two light guides are arranged in parallel, and the angle between the reflector and the central axis of the light guide is 45°.

[0013] As an optional technical solution for the above-mentioned pet feeder, the light emitter, the light receiver, and the light guide are all arranged along the height direction of the pet feeder, so that the incident light emitted by the light emitter changes from an upward direction to a downward direction after being reflected by the two reflectors and is received by the light receiver.

[0014] As an optional technical solution for the aforementioned pet feeder, the reflector is disposed at the end of the light guide away from the feeder base and located inside the light guide.

[0015] As an optional technical solution for the aforementioned pet feeder, the reflective surface of the reflective element has a mirror effect.

[0016] As an optional technical solution for the aforementioned pet feeder, both the injection surface and the emission surface of the light guide are mirror-finished, while the surfaces of the light guide other than the injection surface and the emission surface are frosted.

[0017] As an optional technical solution for the aforementioned pet feeder, the light emitter is an infrared emitting tube, and the light receiver is an infrared receiving tube.

[0018] As an optional technical solution for the above-mentioned pet feeder, the food bucket includes a bucket body and a bucket lid. The bucket lid is detachably connected to the opening at the top of the bucket body. The bucket body is disposed above the feeder base and is detachably connected to the feeder base. The light emitter, the light receiver, and the light guide are all located inside the bucket body, and the light guide is installed on the inner wall of the bucket body.

[0019] As an optional technical solution for the aforementioned pet feeder, the light guide is snapped, bonded, or threaded to the inner wall of the barrel.

[0020] As an optional technical solution for the aforementioned pet feeder, the remaining amount detection component further includes:

[0021] Mounting base, the mounting base is set on the feeder base, there are two mounting bases, the light emitter and the light receiver are respectively set in the two mounting bases, the top surface of the mounting base has through holes corresponding to the positions of the light emitter and the light receiver, and the through holes are covered with light-transmitting sheets.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0023] The pet feeder disclosed in this utility model includes a feeder base, a food container, and a food bowl. The food container and food bowl are respectively mounted on the feeder base. The bottom of the food container has a discharge port. The pet feeder also includes an inventory level detection component, which includes a control motherboard, a light emitter, a light receiver, a light guide, and a reflector. The control motherboard is used for information interaction with a user terminal. The light emitter and light receiver are both connected to the control motherboard and are spaced apart on the feeder base. Two light guides are mounted on the food container. The two light guides are respectively positioned directly above the light emitter and the light receiver, allowing incident light emitted by the light emitter to propagate through the light guides. Two reflectors are provided and are respectively mounted on the two light guides. The reflectors reflect the incident light emitted by the light emitter to form outgoing light to the light receiver.

[0024] By placing light guides directly above the light emitter and the light receiver, and placing reflectors on the light guides, interference from objects other than food can be effectively prevented from affecting the propagation of the light, thus ensuring the accuracy of the remaining food detection component. The remaining food detection component accurately detects the amount of food left in the food container and provides timely warnings. The incident light emitted by the light emitter propagates through the light guides and is reflected by the two reflectors, changing its propagation direction so that it can be received by the light receiver and trigger the detection circuit to provide a warning. If the light receiver does not receive the emitted light, it means there is enough food left in the food container and no additional food is needed. If the light receiver does receive the emitted light, it means there is insufficient food left in the food container, and the control board sends feedback to the user terminal, reminding the user to add food to the food container in time. This automatic warning function prevents pets from running out of food due to insufficient remaining food, thereby improving the user experience. Attached Figure Description

[0025] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments of this utility model will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on the content of the embodiments of this utility model and these drawings without creative effort.

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the pet feeder provided in a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a first-view structural schematic diagram of a portion of the pet feeder provided in a specific embodiment of this utility model;

[0028] Figure 3 This is a second-view structural schematic diagram of the pet feeder part of the specific embodiment of this utility model;

[0029] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the detection principle of the pet feeder's remaining feed detection component provided in a specific embodiment of this utility model;

[0030] Figure 5 This is a structural schematic diagram of a pair of light guides provided in a specific embodiment of this utility model.

[0031] In the picture:

[0032] 100. Feeder base; 200. Food container; 201. Container body; 202. Container lid; 203. Divider; 300. Food bowl;

[0033] 1. Light emitter; 2. Light receiver; 3. Light guide; 4. Reflector; 5. Mounting base; 6. Light-transmitting sheet. Detailed Implementation

[0034] To make the above-mentioned objectives, features, and advantages of this utility model more apparent and understandable, the specific embodiments of this utility model will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Many specific details are set forth in the following description to provide a full understanding of this utility model. However, this utility model can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar modifications without departing from the spirit of this utility model. Therefore, this utility model is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0035] In the description of this utility model, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", 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 utility model 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 utility model.

[0036] 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 indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. In the description of this utility model, "a plurality of" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0037] In this utility model, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "joining," and "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components, unless otherwise explicitly limited. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model according to the specific circumstances.

[0038] In this utility model, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, "above" or "below" the second feature can mean that the first feature is in direct contact with the second feature, or that the first feature is in indirect contact with the second feature through an intermediate medium. Furthermore, "above," "on top of," and "over" the second feature can mean that the first feature is directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Below," "below," and "under" the second feature can mean that the first feature is directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.

[0039] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "set on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or there may be an intervening element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or there may be an intervening element. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only possible implementation.

[0040] This embodiment discloses a pet feeder that can detect the amount of food remaining and provide feedback to the user to remind and warn them, so as to avoid the pet going hungry as much as possible.

[0041] like Figure 1 As shown, the pet feeder includes a feeder base 100, a food container 200, and a food bowl 300. The food container 200 and the food bowl 300 are respectively mounted on the feeder base 100. The feeder base 100 has a groove, and the food bowl 300 is placed in the groove. The bottom of the food container 200 has a discharge port, which is connected to the food bowl 300 via a ramp. When feeding is needed, the discharge port of the food container 200 opens, and the food slides down the ramp into the food bowl 300.

[0042] like Figures 2 to 4 As shown, the pet feeder also includes an inventory level detection component, which comprises a control motherboard, a light emitter 1, a light receiver 2, a light guide 3, and a reflector 4. The control motherboard is located inside the feeder base 100 and is communicatively connected to a user terminal. The control motherboard interacts with the user terminal, allowing the user to send commands to it, and the control motherboard can also provide real-time feedback to the user terminal. The user terminal can be a computer, tablet, mobile phone, or other portable electronic communication device.

[0043] The light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 are connected to the control main board via cables. The light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 are spaced apart on the feeder base 100. The light guide 3 is set on the food hopper 200. There are two light guides 3, which are spaced apart and positioned directly above the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2, respectively. The incident light emitted by the light emitter 1 can propagate in the light guide 3. There are two reflectors 4, which are respectively set on the two light guides 3. The reflectors 4 are configured to change the path of the light emitted by the light emitter 1. That is, the incident light emitted by the light emitter 1 can be reflected by the reflectors 4 to form the outgoing light and be received by the light receiver 2. Figure 4 In the diagram, the solid lines with arrows represent the propagation path of light in a pair of light guides 3 when the light is not blocked.

[0044] By setting light guides 3 directly above the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 respectively, and placing reflectors 4 on the light guides 3, the propagation of light can be effectively prevented from being interfered with by objects other than the food, thus ensuring the accuracy of the remaining food quantity detection component in detecting the remaining food quantity. By setting the remaining food quantity detection component to accurately detect the remaining food quantity in the food bin 200 and provide timely warnings, the incident light emitted by the light emitter 1 propagates in the light guide 3 and can change its propagation direction under the reflection of the two reflectors 4 so that it can be received by the light receiver 2 and trigger the detection circuit to provide a prompt. If the light receiver 2 cannot receive the emitted light, it means that the incident light emitted by the light emitter 1 is blocked by the food, and the light receiver 2 and the light emitter 1 cannot conduct, indicating that there is enough food left in the food container 200 and no need to add food. If the light receiver 2 can receive the emitted light, it means that there is enough food left in the food container 200 to block the light, and the incident light emitted by the light emitter 1 is reflected by the reflector 4 to form the emitted light, which is received by the light receiver 2, and the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 conduct, indicating that there is not enough food left in the food container 200. The control board sends feedback to the user terminal to remind the user to add food to the food container 200 in time. It has an automatic warning function to avoid the situation where the pet has no food to eat due to insufficient food, thereby improving the user experience.

[0045] Specifically, the light guide 3 is a cylindrical structure with two light guides 3 arranged in parallel, and the angle between the reflector 4 and the central axis of the light guide 3 is 45°. In this structure, the angle between the reflector 4 and the incident light is 45°. The incident light emitted by the light emitter 1 first propagates in a straight line along the light guide 3 corresponding to the light emitter 1, and after two 45° reflections by the two light guides 3, it forms the outgoing light. The outgoing light propagates in a straight line along the light guide 3 corresponding to the light receiver 2 and is received by the light receiver 2. The structure is ingeniously designed.

[0046] In this embodiment, the light emitter 1, light receiver 2, and light guide 3 are all arranged along the height of the pet feeder, so that the incident light emitted by the light emitter 1 is reflected by the two reflectors 4, changing its direction from upward to downward, and is received by the light receiver 2. In this structure, the incident light is emitted from bottom to top, and after being reflected twice at 45° by the two light guides 3, it forms the outgoing light, which enters the light receiver 2 from top to bottom.

[0047] Optionally, the reflector 4 is disposed at the end of the light guide 3 away from the feeder base 100 and located inside the light guide 3. By placing the reflector 4 inside the light guide 3, the influence of external light can be avoided.

[0048] In this embodiment, such as Figure 5As shown, the reflective surface of reflector 4 has a mirror-like effect. It should be noted that in this embodiment, "mirror-like effect" refers to a smooth surface with extremely low surface roughness, similar to glass, formed through mirror processing. Reflector 4 can be, but is not limited to, a reflector.

[0049] The light guide 3 has a mirror finish on both its injection and emission surfaces, while all other surfaces are frosted. Made of transparent materials such as acrylic, the light guide 3's injection and emission surfaces are machined to have a very low roughness, facilitating light entry and exit. The remaining surfaces are frosted to effectively prevent light leakage. The light guide 3 and reflector 4 can be integrally molded, simplifying manufacturing and eliminating assembly steps. It should be noted that... Figure 5 The surfaces shown by the mid-section line all have a mirror effect.

[0050] In this embodiment, the light emitter 1 is an infrared emitting tube, and the light receiver 2 is an infrared receiving tube. The infrared light emitted by the infrared emitting tube is reflected by the reflector 4 and then received by the infrared receiving tube. The infrared emitting tube and the infrared receiving tube have simple structures and are inexpensive.

[0051] like Figure 1 As shown, the food container 200 in this embodiment includes a container body 201 and a container lid 202. The container lid 202 is detachably connected to the opening at the top of the container body 201. The container body 201 is positioned above and detachably connected to the feeder base 100. The light emitter 1, the light receiver 2, and the light guide 3 are all located inside the container body 201, and the light guide 3 is installed on the inner wall of the container body 201. The detachable connection between the container lid 202 and the container body 201 can be, but is not limited to, a snap-fit ​​connection, which facilitates cleaning of the inside of the container body 201. Since the light emitter 1, the light receiver 2, and the light guide 3 are all located inside the container body 201, after the food container 200 is assembled with the feeder base 100, no external light enters the container body 201, and the light emitted by the light emitter 1 is also prevented from leaking out. The light guide 3 is installed on the inner wall of the barrel 201. After the barrel 201 is assembled with the feeder base 100, the two light guides 3 are respectively positioned facing the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2.

[0052] The installation method of the light guide 3 and the barrel body 201 can be, but is not limited to, snap-fit, adhesive, or threaded connection between the light guide 3 and the inner wall of the barrel body 201. For example, a groove can be provided on the inner wall of the barrel body 201, and the light guide 3 can be interference-fitted into the groove; or the light guide 3 and / or the inner wall of the barrel body 201 can be provided with adhesive layers such as glue or double-sided tape, and the two can be bonded together; or the light guide 3 can be threaded to the inner wall of the barrel body 201 with screws. The specific connection method can be selected according to the actual situation.

[0053] To achieve the installation of the light transmitter 1 and the light receiver 2, such as Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the remaining quantity detection component also includes a mounting base 5, which is disposed on the feeder base 100, for example, by screws onto the upper surface of the feeder base 100. Two mounting bases 5 are provided, with the light emitter 1 and light receiver 2 respectively disposed in the two mounting bases 5. Through holes are formed on the top surface of the mounting base 5 corresponding to the positions of the light emitter 1 and light receiver 2, and the through holes are covered with a light-transmitting sheet 6. By setting the mounting base 5, both stable installation of the light emitter 1 and light receiver 2 are achieved, as well as protection for the light emitter 1 and light receiver 2, extending their service life. The light-transmitting sheet 6 at the through holes does not affect the emission and reception of infrared rays and also prevents dust from entering the mounting base 5 and affecting the emission effect.

[0054] Some families keep more than one type of pet, such as cats and dogs, so the pet feeder needs to be able to provide different types of food (cat food and dog food). Therefore, according to the different feeding needs of different pets, the interior of the pet feeder's body 201 in this embodiment can be configured with one or more cavities to hold different types of food. Correspondingly, the number of light emitters 1 and light receivers 2 in the remaining quantity detection component also corresponds to the number of cavities inside the body 201. For example, if the interior of the body 201 is divided into two cavities by a partition 203 for holding different types of food, then two sets of light emitters 1 and light receivers 2 are provided, and two sets of light guides 3, reflectors 4, and mounting bases 5 are also provided accordingly.

[0055] Specifically, the partition 203 is inserted into the barrel body 201. The inner wall of the barrel body 201 is provided with a protruding slot, and the partition 203 can be inserted into the barrel body 201 from top to bottom to separate the inner cavity of the barrel body 201. The detachable connection between the barrel body 201 and the partition 203 facilitates the cleaning of the barrel body 201.

[0056] Obviously, the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the technical principles employed. Those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein, and various obvious changes, readjustments, and substitutions can be made without departing from the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, although the present invention has been described in detail through the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Many other equivalent embodiments may be included without departing from the concept of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is determined by the scope of the appended claims.

[0057] Note that in the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "some embodiments," "other embodiments," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this utility model. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

Claims

1. A pet feeder, comprising a feeder base (100), a food container (200), and a food bowl (300), wherein the food container (200) and the food bowl (300) are respectively disposed on the feeder base (100), and the bottom of the food container (200) is provided with a dispensing port, characterized in that, The pet feeder also includes an empty feeder detection component, which includes: A control motherboard, which is used to interact with the user terminal; A light emitter (1) and a light receiver (2) are provided, both of which are connected to the control motherboard. The light emitter (1) and the light receiver (2) are spaced apart on the feeder base (100). A light guide (3) is provided on the grain bin (200). Two light guides (3) are provided, one directly above the light emitter (1) and the other directly above the light receiver (2). The incident light emitted by the light emitter (1) can propagate in the light guide (3). Reflector (4), two reflectors (4) are provided and respectively disposed on the two light guides (3), the reflector (4) can reflect the incident light emitted by the light emitter (1) to form outgoing light to the light receiver (2).

2. The pet feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that, The light guide (3) is a cylindrical structure and the two light guides (3) are arranged in parallel. The angle between the reflector (4) and the central axis of the light guide (3) is 45°.

3. The pet feeder according to claim 2, characterized in that, The light emitter (1), the light receiver (2), and the light guide (3) are all arranged along the height direction of the pet feeder so that the incident light emitted by the light emitter (1) changes from an upward direction to a downward direction after being reflected by the two reflectors (4) and is received by the light receiver (2).

4. The pet feeder according to claim 3, characterized in that, The reflector (4) is disposed at one end of the light guide (3) away from the feeder base (100) and located inside the light guide (3).

5. The pet feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that, The reflective surface of the reflective element (4) has a mirror effect.

6. The pet feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that, The light guide (3) has a mirror finish on both the injection surface and the emission surface, and all surfaces of the light guide (3) except for the injection surface and the emission surface are frosted.

7. The pet feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that, The light emitter (1) is an infrared emitting tube, and the light receiver (2) is an infrared receiving tube.

8. The pet feeder according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The food container (200) includes a container body (201) and a container lid (202). The container lid (202) is detachably connected to the opening at the top of the container body (201). The container body (201) is located above the feeder base (100) and is detachably connected to the feeder base (100). The light emitter (1), the light receiver (2), and the light guide (3) are all located inside the container body (201), and the light guide (3) is installed on the inner wall of the container body (201).

9. The pet feeder according to claim 8, characterized in that, The light guide (3) is snapped, bonded or threaded to the inner wall of the barrel body (201).

10. The pet feeder according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The remaining quantity detection component also includes: Mounting base (5), the mounting base (5) is set on the feeder base (100), there are two mounting bases (5), the light emitter (1) and the light receiver (2) are respectively set in the two mounting bases (5), the top surface of the mounting base (5) is provided with through holes corresponding to the positions of the light emitter (1) and the light receiver (2), and the through holes are covered with light-transmitting sheet (6).

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