A pet toy that automatically launches a ball

Abstract

The application relates to a pet toy capable of automatically launching a ball, which comprises a ball storage and feeding assembly, a ball storage cabin is arranged in the ball storage and feeding assembly, a spiral conveyor for conveying the ball is arranged in the ball storage cabin, a ball inlet and a ball outlet are arranged at the top of the spiral conveyor, a ball blocking protrusion is arranged at the end of the ball inlet away from the ball outlet, and a ball feeding pipeline extending upwards is connected to the ball outlet; a ball launching assembly is arranged on the top of the ball storage cabin, the ball feeding pipeline extends upwards to the upper cover and is connected to the upper cover, and a ball launching mechanism communicating with the ball feeding pipeline is pivotally arranged on the top of the upper cover. Before the ball launching mechanism rotates upwards, the spiral conveyor first reversely rotates, the ball blocking protrusion discharges a set number of balls in the spiral conveyor from the ball inlet, the number of balls in the ball feeding pipeline and the spiral conveyor is reduced, and the ball launching mechanism can solve the problem of early ball launching when rotating upwards, and the user experience is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of pet toy technology, and in particular to a pet toy that automatically launches balls. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of society and economy and the acceleration of urbanization, more and more people live in their own small circles, and their interpersonal interactions are becoming less and less. Pets such as cats and dogs can serve as friendly life companions for people. These pets can not only help people relieve loneliness in life, but also regulate people's mental health.

[0003] As the pet market continues to expand, the application of automatic pet ball throwers is becoming more and more widespread. Automatic pet ball throwers can throw toy balls far away and attract pet dogs to chase after the thrown toy balls, thus achieving the functions of walking dogs and playing with cats.

[0004] In existing technologies, as the pitch angle of the ball-launching mechanism is constantly adjusted during use, the overall length of the ball-feeding pipe shrinks. The toy balls waiting to be launched inside the ball-feeding pipe are squeezed together and enter the ball-launching mechanism prematurely, resulting in premature ball launching and reducing the user experience. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides an automatic ball-launching pet toy to solve the problem in related technologies where, as the pitch angle of the launching mechanism is constantly adjusted, the toy balls to be launched in the ball delivery pipe are squeezed together and enter the launching mechanism prematurely, resulting in premature ball launching and reducing the user experience.

[0006] The first aspect of this application provides a pet toy that automatically launches balls, comprising:

[0007] A sphere storage and transport assembly includes a sphere storage compartment, which is equipped with a spiral conveyor for transporting spheres. The top of the spiral conveyor is provided with an inlet and an outlet. The inlet is provided with a ball-blocking protrusion at the end away from the outlet. The outlet is connected to an upwardly extending ball-transporting pipe.

[0008] A ball launching assembly, the ball launching assembly including a top cover located on top of the ball storage compartment, a ball delivery pipe extending upward to and connected to the top cover, and a ball launching mechanism communicating with the ball delivery pipe on the top of the top cover that can be tilted and rotated.

[0009] In some embodiments: the screw conveyor is fixed at the bottom of the ball storage chamber in a horizontal or inclined direction. The screw conveyor includes a conveying guide groove with the ball inlet and ball outlet opened at the top, a rotating shaft rotatably connected in the conveying guide groove, a screw blade located on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft, and a first motor connected to one end of the rotating shaft to drive it to rotate forward and backward.

[0010] In some embodiments: the sphere storage compartment is further provided with a lower partition plate, which divides the sphere storage compartment into an upper partition cavity for storing spheres and a lower partition cavity for installing the screw conveyor;

[0011] The lower partition plate has an opening that exposes the ball inlet, and the height of the top surface of the lower partition plate gradually decreases towards the opening. The side wall of the ball storage compartment is provided with a ball loading port and a cover plate that closes the ball loading port.

[0012] In some embodiments: the ball delivery pipe is located vertically at the top of the lower partition plate, the lower partition cavity is also provided with a battery and a charging module connected to the battery, the charging module is connected with a charging head that protrudes outside the lower partition cavity, and the side wall of the ball delivery pipe is provided with a wiring pipe.

[0013] In some embodiments: the top of the upper cover is connected to a turntable that drives the ball-serving mechanism to rotate around the ball-feeding pipe, the end of the ball-feeding pipe away from the ball outlet passes through the turntable, the bottom of the turntable is provided with an annular gear ring, and the top of the upper cover is fixedly connected to a second motor that is driven by the annular gear ring through gears.

[0014] In some embodiments: the top of the upper cover is connected to a plurality of support columns that vertically support the turntable, and the top of each support column is rotatably connected to a roller that is slidably connected to the turntable. The top of the upper cover is also provided with an upper cover cover that presses the turntable against the top of the roller.

[0015] In some embodiments: the turntable is provided with a hinge seat rotatably connected to the serving mechanism, the serving mechanism pitches up and down around the hinge seat, the serving mechanism includes a serving shell, the serving shell is provided with a launching channel for launching the ball, and the launching channel is connected to the ball delivery pipe;

[0016] The launching channel is equipped with a ball-blocking rubber ring and two spaced launching wheels that drive the ball to launch out of the launching channel. Each launching wheel is connected to a third motor that drives its rotation.

[0017] The ball-blocking rubber ring is located near the inlet of the launching channel, the launching wheel is located near the outlet of the launching channel, the third motor is fixed inside the launching shell, and an elastic rubber ring connects the third motor and the launching shell.

[0018] In some embodiments: the turntable is connected to an arc-shaped bend located between the launching channel and the ball delivery pipe, the center of the arc-shaped bend is located on the rotation axis of the ball launching mechanism, and a guide groove is provided on the side of the arc-shaped bend away from its center;

[0019] The ball-serving shell has an arc-shaped guide arm that extends into or slides out of the guide groove at one end near the arc-shaped bend, and an arc-shaped groove that is slidably connected to the arc-shaped bend. The arc-shaped groove is close to the rotation axis of the ball-serving mechanism, and the arc-shaped guide arm is away from the rotation axis of the ball-serving mechanism.

[0020] In some embodiments: the serving shell includes a left half shell and a right half shell that are symmetrically interlocked, and the left half shell and the right half shell together form the launching channel; the arc-shaped guide arm includes a left arc-shaped guide arm and a right arc-shaped guide arm; the arc-shaped groove includes a left arc-shaped groove and a right arc-shaped groove.

[0021] The left arc-shaped guide arm, the left arc-shaped groove and the left half shell are integrally injection molded, and the right arc-shaped guide arm, the right arc-shaped groove and the right half shell are integrally injection molded. The outer sides of the left half shell and the right half shell are provided with clamps, and the clamps are connected by fasteners.

[0022] In some embodiments: the ball-serving mechanism is equipped with an infrared detection sensor, a laser emitter, and a monitoring camera. The infrared detection sensor, laser emitter, and monitoring camera are connected to a control circuit board, which is fixed on the upper cover.

[0023] The beneficial effects of the technical solution provided in this application include:

[0024] This application provides an automatic ball-launching pet toy. The automatic ball-launching pet toy includes a ball storage and delivery assembly. This assembly includes a ball storage compartment containing a spiral conveyor for transporting balls. The top of the spiral conveyor has an inlet and an outlet. A ball-blocking protrusion is located at the end of the inlet away from the outlet. The outlet is connected to an upwardly extending ball-feeding pipe. The ball-launching assembly includes a top cover located on top of the ball storage compartment. The ball-feeding pipe extends upward to and connects to the top cover. The top of the top cover has a ball-launching mechanism that rotates in a tilting motion and communicates with the ball-feeding pipe.

[0025] Therefore, the pet toy with automatic ball launching in this application has a spiral conveyor for transporting balls within the ball storage compartment. This spiral conveyor transports the balls stored in the ball storage compartment sequentially through a ball delivery pipe to the launching mechanism. To prevent the launching mechanism from launching balls prematurely when rotating upwards, this application has a ball-blocking protrusion at the end of the ball inlet away from the ball outlet. Before the launching mechanism rotates upwards, the spiral conveyor first rotates in the opposite direction, and the ball-blocking protrusion discharges a predetermined number of balls located in the spiral conveyor from the ball inlet, reducing the number of balls in the ball delivery pipe and the spiral conveyor. This prevents premature launching when the launching mechanism rotates upwards, improving the user experience. Attached Figure Description

[0026] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, 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 this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an embodiment of this application;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a structural cross-sectional view of an embodiment of this application;

[0029] Figure 3 This is an exploded view of the structure of an embodiment of this application;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the sphere transport component according to an embodiment of this application;

[0031] Figure 5 This is an exploded view of the sphere transport component according to an embodiment of this application;

[0032] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the sphere launching assembly according to an embodiment of this application;

[0033] Figure 7 This is a cross-sectional view of the sphere launching assembly according to an embodiment of this application;

[0034] Figure 8 This is an exploded view of the sphere launching assembly according to an embodiment of this application;

[0035] Figure 9 This is a structural assembly diagram of the turntable and the arc-shaped bend in an embodiment of this application;

[0036] Figure 10 This is an exploded view of the turntable and curved bend in an embodiment of this application;

[0037] Figure 11 This is a first-view structural diagram of the serving mechanism according to an embodiment of this application;

[0038] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the serving mechanism from a second perspective according to an embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 13 This is an exploded view of the serving mechanism according to an embodiment of this application.

[0040] Figure label:

[0041] 100. Ball storage and transport assembly; 110. Ball storage compartment; 111. Upper partition cavity; 112. Lower partition cavity; 113. Cylinder; 114. Base; 115. Cover plate; 120. Screw conveyor; 121. Ball inlet; 122. Ball outlet; 123. Ball-blocking protrusion; 124. Conveying guide trough; 125. Rotating shaft; 126. Spiral blade; 127. First motor; 130. Ball delivery pipe; 131. Wiring pipe; 140. Lower partition plate; 141. Opening; 150. Charging module; 151. Charging head;

[0042] 200. Ball launching assembly; 210. Top cover; 211. Second motor; 212. Gear; 213. Support column; 214. Roller; 220. Launching mechanism; 221. Launching shell; 221a. Launching channel; 222. Launching wheel; 223. Third motor; 224. Ball-blocking rubber ring; 225. Elastic rubber ring; 226. Arc-shaped guide arm; 227. Arc-shaped groove; 228. Clamping plate; 229. Fastener;

[0043] 230. Turntable; 231. Ring gear; 232. Hinge; 233. Fourth motor; 234. Motor mounting plate; 235. Bearing; 236. Bearing pressure plate; 237. Ring retainer; 240. Top cover; 250. Control circuit board; 251. Infrared detection sensor; 252. Laser emitter; 253. Monitoring camera; 260. Curved bend; 261. Guide slot. Detailed Implementation

[0044] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this application clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0045] This application provides an automatic ball-launching pet toy that solves the problem in related technologies where, as the pitch angle of the launching mechanism is constantly adjusted, the toy balls waiting to be launched in the ball delivery pipe are squeezed together and enter the launching mechanism prematurely, resulting in premature ball launching and reducing the user experience.

[0046] See Figures 1 to 5 As shown, the first aspect of this application provides a pet toy that automatically launches balls, comprising:

[0047] A sphere storage and transport assembly 100 includes a sphere storage compartment 110, which comprises a cylindrical body 113 with open top and bottom, and a base 114 that closes the bottom opening of the cylindrical body 113. A screw conveyor 120 for transporting spheres is provided inside the sphere storage compartment 110. The top of the screw conveyor 120 has an inlet 121 and an outlet 122. A ball-blocking protrusion 123 is provided at the end of the inlet 121 away from the outlet 122. The outlet 122 is connected to an upwardly extending ball-transporting pipe 130.

[0048] The ball launching assembly 200 is located on top of the ball storage and delivery assembly 100. The ball launching assembly 200 includes a top cover 210 located on top of the ball storage chamber 110. The top of the ball delivery pipe 130 extends upward to and connects with the top cover 210. The top of the top cover 210 has a ball launching mechanism 220 that communicates with the ball delivery pipe 130 and can be tilted and rotated. Balls located in the ball storage chamber 110 enter the ball inlet 121 under gravity. Driven by the screw conveyor 120, the balls entering the ball inlet 121 one by one enter the ball delivery pipe 130 through the ball outlet 122. The balls discharged from the ball delivery pipe 130 one by one enter the ball launching mechanism 220 and are launched.

[0049] The pet toy with automatic ball launching mechanism of this application embodiment has a spiral conveyor 120 for transporting balls within the ball storage compartment 110. The spiral conveyor 120 transports the balls stored in the ball storage compartment 110 sequentially through the ball delivery pipe 130 to the launching mechanism 220. The launching mechanism 220 can launch the balls at set yaw and pitch angles by rotating its own pitch and horizontal directions.

[0050] The ball launching assembly 200 of this application embodiment has a pitch rotation angle of 0 to 90 degrees and a horizontal yaw angle of 0 to 350 degrees. Driven by the screw conveyor 120, multiple balls entering the ball delivery pipe 130 are pushed one by one into the launching mechanism 220. When the launching direction of the screw conveyor 120 changes from horizontal launch pitch to tilted upward or vertically upward launch, if the screw conveyor 120 does not drive the balls backward, the launching mechanism 220 rotates upward, causing the balls to enter the launching position of the launching mechanism 220 in advance and be launched earlier.

[0051] To prevent the serving mechanism 220 from prematurely launching the ball during upward rotation, this application provides a ball-blocking protrusion 123 at the end of the ball inlet 121 away from the ball outlet 122. The ball-blocking protrusion 123 has a guide slope, which guides the ball out of the ball inlet 121. Before the serving mechanism 220 rotates upward, the screw conveyor 120 first rotates in the opposite direction. The ball-blocking protrusion 123 discharges a set number of balls located in the screw conveyor 120 from the ball inlet 121. By reducing the number of balls in the ball delivery pipe 130 and the screw conveyor 120, premature launching is resolved when the serving mechanism 220 rotates upward, improving the user experience.

[0052] In some alternative embodiments: see Figures 1 to 5 As shown, this application embodiment provides a pet toy that automatically launches balls. The spiral conveyor 120 of the pet toy is fixed to the bottom of the ball storage compartment 110 in a horizontal or inclined direction. The spiral conveyor 120 includes a conveying guide 124 with a ball inlet 121 and a ball outlet 122 at the top, a rotating shaft 125 rotatably connected in the conveying guide 124, and spiral blades 126 located on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 125. A first motor 127 that drives the rotating shaft 125 to rotate forward and backward is connected to one end of the rotating shaft 125.

[0053] In this embodiment, the screw conveyor 120 is located at the bottom of the ball storage chamber 110, which facilitates the entry of the balls loaded in the ball storage chamber 110 one by one into the ball inlet 121 of the screw conveyor 120 under their own gravity. The balls entering the screw conveyor 120 through the ball inlet 121 move from the ball inlet 121 towards the ball outlet 122 under the action of the first motor 127 driving the rotating shaft 125 and the screw blade 126 to rotate in the forward direction, and then enter the ball delivery pipe 130 one by one.

[0054] When it is necessary to discharge the balls in the ball delivery pipe 130 and the screw conveyor 120 into the ball storage chamber 110, the first motor 127 drives the rotating shaft 125 and the screw blade 126 to rotate in opposite directions, moving the balls from the ball outlet 122 towards the ball inlet 121. When the balls reach the ball blocking protrusion 123, the ball blocking protrusion 123 discharges the balls located in the conveying guide trough 124 from the ball inlet 121 into the ball storage chamber 110.

[0055] In some alternative embodiments: see Figures 1 to 5 As shown, this application embodiment provides a pet toy that automatically launches balls. The ball storage compartment 110 of the pet toy is further provided with a lower partition plate 140. The lower partition plate 140 divides the ball storage compartment 110 into an upper partition cavity 111 for storing balls and a lower partition cavity 112 for installing a screw conveyor 120.

[0056] The lower partition plate 140 has an opening 141 that exposes the ball inlet 121. The height of the top surface of the lower partition plate 140 gradually decreases towards the opening 141. The side wall of the ball storage compartment 110 has a ball loading port and a cover plate 115 that closes the ball loading port. The ball located in the upper partition cavity 111 automatically falls into the ball inlet 121 from the opening 141 of the lower partition plate 140 under its own weight.

[0057] The ball delivery pipe 130 is vertically positioned at the top of the lower partition plate 140. The lower partition cavity 112 also houses a battery and a charging module 150 connected to the battery. A charging head 151 protruding from the lower partition cavity 112 is connected to the charging module 150. The charging module 150 and the battery supply power to the screw conveyor 120 and the ball delivery mechanism 220.

[0058] In some alternative embodiments: see Figure 2 , Figures 6 to 10 As shown, this application embodiment provides a pet toy that automatically launches balls. The top of the pet toy's cover 210 is connected to a turntable 230 that drives the ball launching mechanism 220 to rotate around the ball delivery pipe 130. One end of the ball delivery pipe 130 away from the ball outlet 122 passes through the turntable 230. The bottom of the turntable 230 is provided with an annular gear ring 231. The top of the cover 210 is fixedly connected to a second motor 211 that is driven by the annular gear ring 231 through a gear 212.

[0059] The top of the upper cover 210 is connected to multiple support columns 213 that vertically support the turntable 230. The top of each support column 213 is rotatably connected to a roller 214 that is slidably connected to the turntable 230. The top of the upper cover 210 is also provided with an upper cover cover 240 that presses the turntable 230 against the top of the roller 214. The top of the turntable 230 extends beyond the top of the upper cover cover 240, and the top of the turntable 230 is provided with an annular retainer 237 that axially fixes the upper cover cover 240 onto the turntable 230.

[0060] In this embodiment, an annular gear ring 231 is provided at the bottom of the turntable 230, and a second motor 211 is fixedly connected to the top of the upper cover 210 through a gear 212 and a gear ring 231. The second motor 211 drives the gear 212 to rotate in both directions, thereby driving the turntable 230 and the ball-serving mechanism 220 mounted on the top of the turntable 230 to rotate horizontally in both directions, thereby adjusting the yaw angle of the ball-serving mechanism 220.

[0061] In some alternative embodiments: see Figures 6 to 13 As shown in the figure, this application embodiment provides a pet toy that automatically launches balls. The pet toy's turntable 230 is provided with a hinge seat 232 that is rotatably connected to a ball-launching mechanism 220. The ball-launching mechanism 220 tilts up and down around the hinge seat 232. The ball-launching mechanism 220 includes a ball-launching shell 221, and a ball-launching channel 221a is provided inside the ball-launching shell 221. The ball-launching channel 221a is connected to a ball-feeding pipe 130.

[0062] The launch channel 221a is equipped with a ball-blocking rubber ring 224 and two spaced-apart launch wheels 222 that drive the ball out of the launch channel 221a. Each launch wheel 222 is connected to a third motor 223 that drives its rotation. The ball-blocking rubber ring 224 is located inside the launch channel 221a and its inner diameter is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the ball, thereby increasing the frictional resistance between the ball and the ball-blocking rubber ring 224 and preventing the ball from accidentally sliding out of the launch channel 221a.

[0063] The ball-blocking rubber ring 224 is close to the inlet of the launch channel 221a, and the launch wheel 222 is close to the outlet of the launch channel 221a. After the ball enters the launch channel 221a, it first overcomes the friction between itself and the ball-blocking rubber ring 224 and then enters between the two launch wheels 222. Both launch wheels 222 are driven to rotate by the third motor 223. The rotation directions of the two launch wheels 222 are opposite. After the two launch wheels 222 clamp the ball together, they drive the ball to be launched out of the launch channel 221a.

[0064] The third motor 223 is fixed inside the serving shell 221, and an elastic rubber ring 225 connects the third motor 223 and the serving shell 221. The elastic rubber ring 225, due to its good elastic deformation capability, facilitates the fixing of the third motor 223 inside the serving shell 221 and can buffer the vibration generated by the rotation of the third motor 223, improving its operational stability.

[0065] A fourth motor 233 is installed inside the hinge 232 to drive the ball-serving mechanism 220 to pitch and rotate around the hinge 232. The fourth motor 233 is fixed to the hinge 232 by a motor mounting plate 234. A bearing 235 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the turntable 230, which is sleeved on the outer periphery of the ball delivery pipe 130. The bearing 235 is fixed to the bottom of the turntable 230 by a bearing pressure plate 236.

[0066] In some alternative embodiments: see Figures 6 to 10 As shown, this application embodiment provides a pet toy that automatically launches balls. The pet toy's turntable 230 is connected to an arc-shaped bend 260 located between the launching channel 221a and the ball delivery pipe 130. The center of the arc-shaped bend 260 is located on the rotation axis of the launching mechanism 220, and a guide slot 261 is provided on the side of the arc-shaped bend 260 away from its center.

[0067] The ball-serving shell 221 has an arc-shaped guide arm 226 that extends into or slides out of the guide slot 261 at one end near the arc-shaped bend 260, and an arc-shaped groove 227 that is slidably connected to the arc-shaped bend 260. The arc-shaped groove 227 is close to the rotation axis of the ball-serving mechanism 220, and the arc-shaped guide arm 226 is away from the rotation axis of the ball-serving mechanism 220.

[0068] In this embodiment of the application, an arc-shaped bend 260 is provided between the launch channel 221a and the ball delivery pipe 130. The center of the arc-shaped bend 260 is located on the rotation axis of the ball launching mechanism 220, and a guide slot 261 is provided on the side away from its center. An arc-shaped guide arm 226 is provided at one end of the ball launching shell 221 near the arc-shaped bend 260, which extends into or slides out of the guide slot 261.

[0069] When the ball-launching mechanism 220 pitches up and down around its axis of rotation, the curved tube 260 can extend into or slide out of the axis of rotation of the curved tube 260. This ensures that the ball can pass through the curved tube 260 and enter the launching channel 221a, while also providing a larger rotation angle for the ball-launching shell 221 to pitch up and down.

[0070] In some alternative embodiments: see Figures 11 to 13As shown, this application embodiment provides a pet toy that automatically launches balls. The launching shell 221 of the pet toy includes a left half shell and a right half shell that are symmetrically interlocked with each other. The left half shell and the right half shell together form a launching channel 221a. The arc-shaped guide arm 226 includes a left arc-shaped guide arm and a right arc-shaped guide arm. The arc-shaped groove 227 includes a left arc-shaped groove and a right arc-shaped groove.

[0071] The left arc-shaped guide arm and the left arc-shaped groove are integrally injection molded with the left half shell, and the right arc-shaped guide arm and the right arc-shaped groove are integrally injection molded with the right half shell. The outer sides of the left half shell and the right half shell are provided with clamping plates 228, and the two clamping plates 228 are connected by fasteners 229, so that the left half shell and the right half shell are interlocked and fixedly connected.

[0072] An infrared detection sensor 251, a laser emitter 252, and a monitoring camera 253 are provided on the launcher housing 221. These components are connected to a control circuit board 250, which is fixed to the top cover 210. The infrared detection sensor 251 detects the distance between the pet toy and the pet. The laser emitter 252 emits a laser beam to indicate the launcher's direction. The monitoring camera 253 acquires video or image information of the pet. The control circuit board 250 is connected to a wireless transceiver module, enabling the application to connect to the user's electronic device.

[0073] See Figure 4 , Figure 8 , Figures 10 to 13 As shown, in order to connect the control circuit board 250 to the first motor 127 and the charging module 150 respectively via cables, this embodiment of the application also provides a wiring conduit 131 on the side wall of the ball delivery conduit 130. The wiring conduit 131 connects the lower partition cavity 112 and the top of the upper cover 210, thereby facilitating the arrangement of cables. The charging module 150, the first motor 127, the second motor 221, the third motor 223, the infrared detection sensor 251, the laser emitter 252, and the monitoring camera 253 are all connected to the control circuit board 250 via circuits. The control circuit board 250 integrates a Bluetooth module and a wireless communication module.

[0074] In the description of this application, it should be noted that the terms "upper," "lower," 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 do not 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. Unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "installed," "connected," and "linked" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; 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 between two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in this application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0075] It should be noted that in this application, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0076] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, enabling those skilled in the art to understand or implement this application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this application. Therefore, this application is not to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features claimed herein.

Claims

1. A pet toy that automatically launches balls, characterized in that, include: A ball storage and transport assembly (100) includes a ball storage compartment (110), which is equipped with a spiral conveyor (120) for transporting balls. The top of the spiral conveyor (120) is provided with an inlet (121) and an outlet (122). The end of the inlet (121) away from the outlet (122) is provided with a ball-blocking protrusion (123). The outlet (122) is connected to an upwardly extending ball-transporting pipe (130). The ball launching assembly (200) includes a top cover (210) located on top of the ball storage compartment (110), a ball delivery pipe (130) extending upward to and connected to the top cover (210), and a ball launching mechanism (220) communicating with the ball delivery pipe (130) on the top of the top cover (210) for pitching and rotation.

2. The pet toy that automatically launches balls as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The screw conveyor (120) is fixed at the bottom of the ball storage chamber (110) in a horizontal or inclined direction. The screw conveyor (120) includes a conveying guide groove (124) with the ball inlet (121) and ball outlet (122) opened at the top, and a rotating shaft (125) rotatably connected in the conveying guide groove (124). The screw blades (126) are located on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft (125). One end of the rotating shaft (125) is connected to a first motor (127) that drives it to rotate forward and backward.

3. The pet toy that automatically launches balls as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The ball storage compartment (110) is also provided with a lower partition plate (140), which divides the ball storage compartment (110) into an upper partition cavity (111) for storing balls and a lower partition cavity (112) for installing the screw conveyor (120). The lower partition plate (140) has an opening (141) that exposes the ball inlet (121). The height of the top surface of the lower partition plate (140) gradually decreases towards the opening (141). The side wall of the ball storage compartment (110) is provided with a ball loading port and a cover plate (115) that closes the ball loading port.

4. The pet toy that automatically launches balls as described in claim 3, characterized in that: The ball delivery pipe (130) is located vertically at the top of the lower partition plate (140). The lower partition cavity (112) is also equipped with a battery and a charging module (150) connected to the battery. The charging module (150) is connected to a charging head (151) that protrudes from the outside of the lower partition cavity (112). The side wall of the ball delivery pipe (130) is equipped with a wiring pipe (131).

5. The pet toy that automatically launches balls as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The top of the cover (210) is connected to a turntable (230) that drives the ball-serving mechanism (220) to rotate around the ball-feeding pipe (130). The end of the ball-feeding pipe (130) away from the ball outlet (122) passes through the turntable (230). The bottom of the turntable (230) is provided with an annular gear ring (231). The top of the cover (210) is fixedly connected to a second motor (211) that is driven by the annular gear ring (231) through a gear (212).

6. A pet toy that automatically launches balls as described in claim 5, characterized in that: The top of the cover (210) is connected to a plurality of support columns (213) that vertically support the turntable (230). The top of each support column (213) is rotatably connected to a roller (214) that is slidably connected to the turntable (230). The top of the cover (210) is also provided with a cover cover (240) that presses the turntable (230) on the top of the roller (214).

7. A pet toy that automatically launches balls as described in claim 5, characterized in that: The turntable (230) is provided with a hinge (232) rotatably connected to the ball-serving mechanism (220). The ball-serving mechanism (220) rotates up and down around the hinge (232). The ball-serving mechanism (220) includes a ball-serving shell (221). The ball-serving shell (221) is provided with a ball-launching channel (221a) inside. The ball-launching channel (221a) is connected to the ball-feeding pipe (130). The launching channel (221a) is provided with a ball-blocking rubber ring (224) and two spaced launching wheels (222) that drive the ball to launch out of the launching channel (221a). Each launching wheel (222) is connected to a third motor (223) that drives its rotation. The ball-blocking rubber ring (224) is close to the inlet of the launching channel (221a), the launching wheel (222) is close to the outlet of the launching channel (221a), the third motor (223) is fixed inside the launching shell (221), and an elastic rubber ring (225) is connected between the third motor (223) and the launching shell (221).

8. A pet toy that automatically launches balls as described in claim 7, characterized in that: The turntable (230) is connected to an arc-shaped bend (260) located between the launching channel (221a) and the ball delivery pipe (130). The center of the arc-shaped bend (260) is located on the rotation axis of the ball launching mechanism (220). A guide slot (261) is provided on the side of the arc-shaped bend (260) away from its center. The ball-serving shell (221) has an arc-shaped guide arm (226) that extends into or slides out of the guide slot (261) at one end near the arc-shaped bend (260), and an arc-shaped groove (227) that is slidably connected to the arc-shaped bend (260). The arc-shaped groove (227) is close to the rotation axis of the ball-serving mechanism (220), and the arc-shaped guide arm (226) is away from the rotation axis of the ball-serving mechanism (220).

9. A pet toy that automatically launches balls as described in claim 8, characterized in that: The launching shell (221) includes a left half shell and a right half shell that are symmetrically interlocked, and the left half shell and the right half shell together form the launching channel (221a). The arc-shaped guide arm (226) includes a left arc-shaped guide arm and a right arc-shaped guide arm. The arc-shaped groove (227) includes a left arc-shaped groove and a right arc-shaped groove. The left arc-shaped guide arm, the left arc-shaped groove and the left half shell are integrally injection molded, the right arc-shaped guide arm, the right arc-shaped groove and the right half shell are integrally injection molded, and the outer sides of the left half shell and the right half shell are provided with clamping plates (228), and the clamping plates (228) are connected to each other by fasteners (229).

10. A pet toy that automatically launches balls as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The ball-serving mechanism (220) is equipped with an infrared detection sensor (251), a laser emitter (252) and a monitoring camera (253). The infrared detection sensor (251), the laser emitter (252) and the monitoring camera (253) are connected to a control circuit board (250), which is fixed on the upper cover (210).

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