Automatic pet feeder for pets, especially cats

Abstract

Automatic feeder (1) for pets, in particular for cats, for automatically dispensing animal feed (4), wherein the automatic feeder (1) is designed to dispense at least one portion of animal feed (4) at at least one discrete point in time, characterized in that the dispensing of a portion of animal feed (4) takes place via the dispensing of a hollow body (2) filled with animal feed (4), wherein the hollow body (2) is rollable and has openings (3) for the release of feed, wherein the hollow body (2) is automatically released at the discrete point in time.

Description

The present invention relates to a feeding machine for domestic animals, in particular for cats, for automatically dispensing animal feed, wherein the feeding machine is configured for dispensing at least one portion of animal feed at at least one discrete point in time.Automatic feeding machines for domestic animals, in particular for cats, are known in the prior art, which feed machines provide the animal feed in a cup or in a fixed container at predetermined times or after a predetermined time has elapsed. This can serve, for example, in the absence of the animal holder for the regular supply of domestic animals, in particular cats, with food.DE 20 2012 009 997 U1 discloses a feed dispenser for controllably dispensing small-volume portions of dog feed. The feed dispenser has a tubular storage body for the small-volume portions of the dog feed. A dispensing opening can be closed by a closing means for the passage of dog food portions, wherein the closing means is designed to be switchable by means of a radio remote control.DE 699 20 617 T2 discloses a food dispensing toy for animals having an inner housing for containing the pet food, the inner housing having one or more openings for dispensing the food, and an outer housing. The outer housing includes the inner housing, wherein the inner housing moves within the outer housing, and wherein the outer housing also includes one or more openings for dispensing the liner.A disadvantage of these automatic feeding machines is that the domestic animals experience less physical activity and irritation during the times of absence of the animal holder.The object of the invention is therefore to specify a feeding machine for domestic animals, in particular for cats, which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages.The invention achieves this object with the features of the independent claims. Further preferred embodiments of the invention can be taken from the dependent claims and the associated descriptions and drawings.According to the basic idea of the invention, a feeding machine for domestic animals, in particular for cats, for automatically dispensing animal feed is proposed, wherein the feeding machine is configured for dispensing at least one portion of animal feed at at least one discrete point in time. It is proposed that the dispensing of a portion of animal feed takes place via the dispensing of a hollow body filled with animal feed, wherein the hollow body is rollable and has openings for the feed release, wherein the hollow body is automatically released at the discrete point in time.A rollable hollow body can roll on a planar plane at least along it in a circumferential direction. The rolling movement can take place uniformly when rolling over a circular circumference or non-uniformly, for example when rolling over an elliptical circumference. The pet must preferably move the hollow body in order to reach the food located in the interior of the hollow body. The animal feed is preferably dry feed.A discrete point in time corresponds to the point in time at which the hollow body is released. Accordingly, no continuous delivery of animal feed is provided.Furthermore, a plurality of hollow bodies with openings for the feed release for the release can be stored in the automatic feeding device. The release of a hollow body takes place individually at a discrete point in time.A corresponding automatic feeding device enables automated feeding of domestic animals, in particular cats, and is accordingly suitable for the absence times of the animal holder, wherein, in addition to feeding, simultaneously a movement incentive is to be triggered by the delivery of animal feed via a releasing and rollable hollow body. This is because the pet must preferably move the hollow body in order to reach the animal feed located in its interior. In this way, a certain amount of movement and damage to the animal is ensured. The proposed feeding machine thus promotes the well-being of the supplied domestic animals by promoting movement and play and preventing movement arm based diseases.It is further proposed that the automatic feeding device comprises a timer with which at least one time period until the release of a hollow body filled with animal feed can be set at the discrete time. This function, also known as a timer, enables the presetting, after which time a hollow body with a portion of animal feed is delivered to the pet, in particular to a cat. In this way, for example, a discrete time can be set in eight hours.In an advantageous embodiment, the automatic feeding device comprises a clock, with which a discrete time for releasing a hollow body filled with animal feed can be set. This enables the feed to be dispensed easily at a specific time of day, whereby the daily rhythm of the pet can be maintained even in the absence of the animal holder.In a preferred embodiment, the hollow body is spherical or cylindrical. A corresponding hollow body is particularly well rollable and thus particularly well suited to gradually deliver filled animal feed during a rolling movement of the hollow body on a surface, in particular on a floor. A spherical hollow body can be deflected very easily in its direction of movement. Whereas a cylindrical hollow body has a higher directional stability during rolling and enables simple filling on the planar side surfaces.In alternative embodiments, the rollable hollow body provided with openings for the chuck release can have a shape which deviates from geometric basic bodies.The automatic feeding machine preferably has an acoustic signal transmitter which emits an acoustic notification signal and / or provision signal in temporal proximity to the discrete point in time. The acoustic announcement signal announces the release of the hollow body, so that the pet, in particular a cat, is excited to move to the automatic feeding device. The provision signal can be output by the automatic feeding device in parallel with the release of the hollow body.In an advantageous embodiment, the feeding machine has an acoustic recording element with which the announcement and / or provision signal can be recorded. Accordingly, individual languages, sounds, or music can be recorded via the acoustic recording element to play these records as an announcement signal and / or provision signal, respectively.In an advantageous embodiment, the automatic feeding device has a storage container for animal feed and is configured for automatic filling of at least one hollow body with a portion of animal feed from the storage container. The animal feed is preferably filled into the hollow body before the storage container by means of an electrically operated transport device. The transport device of the automatic feeding device is preferably operated by an electric motor integrated in the automatic feeding device.It is further proposed that the portion of animal feed can be variably adjusted for a plurality of hollow bodies. This makes it possible to discharge different hollow bodies with portions of different sizes from the feeding machine at different discrete times. This can make possible, for example, for the different distribution of portion sizes over one day or over several days.In an advantageous embodiment, the feeding machine has a holding mechanism which holds the hollow body mechanically and / or magnetically until it is released. A corresponding holding mechanism makes it possible to hold the hollow body, which is optionally already filled with animal feed, in a manner secured against premature removal of animal feed in the automatic feeding device and to release it only for a delivery of the hollow body from the automatic feeding device at the corresponding discrete time.The invention is explained below with reference to preferred embodiments with reference to the attached figures. This shows FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a feeding machine; FIG. 2 is a further schematic illustration of a feeding machine; FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of a feeding machine with a storage container.In FIG. 1 an advantageous embodiment of a feeding machine 1 is shown in which a spherical hollow body 2 with openings 3 for the delivery of animal feed 4 is mounted. The hollow body 2 is already filled with a portion of animal feed 4 and is held in the automatic feeding device 1 by a holding mechanism 5. The spherical hollow body 2, which is made of plastic, can be placed in the automatic feeding device 1 from above, pre-filled with animal feed 4. The animal feed 4 is preferably dry feed.The automatic feeding machine 1 further comprises a timer 6 with which a time period up to a discrete point in time can be preset. At this discrete point in time, the holding mechanism 5 releases the hollow body 2, which is correspondingly conveyed out of the automatic feeding device 1 under the influence of gravity, for example, or is made accessible to the pet, in particular a cat. After the hollow body 2 has been released, the pet can receive animal feed 4 discharged from the openings 3 from the ground by moving it over the ground.The discrete time at which the hollow body is released can alternatively be set via a corresponding time. For this purpose, the automatic feeding device has a clock 7 and releases the spherical hollow body 2 filled with animal feed 4 by means of the holding mechanism 5 when the corresponding time, which corresponds to the discrete time, is reached.In this exemplary embodiment, the automatic feeding device 1 emits an announcement signal prior to the release of the hollow body, for example 1 min in advance, in order to lock the pet, in particular a cat, accordingly to the location of the automatic feeding device 1. Furthermore, the automatic feeding machine can additionally or alternatively output an acoustic provision signal. Both acoustic signals are output by the automatic feeding device 1 by means of an acoustic signal generator 8. The acoustic signal transmitter 8 can be a loudspeaker, for example. The acoustic signal can be selected via a switch.In this advantageous exemplary embodiment, the acoustic signals can be recorded by an operator, for example the animal holder, by means of an acoustic recording element 9 and used for reproduction as an announcement and / or provision signal.The feeding machine 1 further comprises a power supply 11, which may comprise a power supply or a battery. In this advantageous exemplary embodiment, the automatic feeding device 1 is controlled via a control device 12 which is connected to the timer 6, the clock 7, the acoustic signal transmitter 8 and the acoustic recording element 9. The control device 12 furthermore controls the holding mechanism 5 and thus the release of the hollow body 2 filled with animal feed 4.FIG. 2 shows a feeding machine 1 in which, in contrast to the exemplary embodiment from FIG. 1, three hollow bodies 2 filled with animal feed 4 can be stored. The automatic feeding device 1 has a holding mechanism 5 for each filled hollow body 2, so that the three hollow bodies 2 can be released at a different discrete time.Furthermore, FIG. 3 shows an exemplary embodiment of an automatic feeding device 1 in which the hollow bodies 2 can be filled with animal feed 4. For this purpose, the automatic feeding device 1 has a storage container 10 for animal feed 4. The storage container 10 is manufactured from a transparent plastic in this advantageous embodiment. The animal feed 4 can be introduced into the hollow bodies 2 in corresponding portions prior to release at the specific point in time. An operator can therefore insert unfilled hollow bodies 2 into the automatic feeding device 1, which are filled with animal feed 4 from the storage container 10 before being released to a pet, in particular a cat.In an alternative embodiment, the filling can be individually adjusted for the individual hollow bodies 2 so that the feed quantity and feed time can be adjusted.

Claims

Automatic feeding device (1) for domestic animals, in particular for cats, for automatically dispensing animal feed (4), wherein the automatic feeding device (1) is configured to dispense at least one portion of animal feed (4) at at least one discrete point in time, characterised in that the dispensing of a portion of animal feed (4) takes place via the dispensing of a hollow body (2) filled with animal feed (4), wherein the hollow body (2) is rollable and has openings (3) for the feed release, wherein the hollow body (2) is automatically released at the discrete point in time.Automatic feeding device (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the automatic feeding device (1) comprises a timer (6) with which at least one time period until the release of a hollow body (2) filled with animal feed (4) can be set at the discrete time.Automatic feeding device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the automatic feeding device (1) comprises a clock (7) with which a discrete time for releasing a hollow body (2) filled with animal feed (4) can be adjusted.Feeding machine (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the hollow body (2) is spherical or cylindrical.Automatic feeding machine (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the automatic feeding machine (1) has an acoustic signal transmitter (8) which emits an acoustic notification signal and / or provision signal in temporal proximity to the discrete point in time.Feeding machine (1) according to claim 5, characterised in that the feeding machine (1) has an acoustic recording element (9) with which the announcement and / or provision signal can be recorded.Feeding machine (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the feeding machine (1) has a storage container (10) for animal feed (4) and is configured for automatic filling of at least one hollow body (2) with a portion of animal feed (4) from the storage container (10).Feeding machine according to claim 7, characterised in that the portion of animal feed (4) is variably adjustable for a plurality of hollow bodies (2).Feeding machine (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the feeding machine (1) has a holding mechanism (5) which holds the hollow body (2) mechanically and / or magnetically until it is released.

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