Automatic bird feeder

Abstract

To provide an automatic bird feeder capable of reliably feeding a set amount of food at a set time for small birds. [Solution] The automatic bird feeder comprises a feed box 1 with a hole in the bottom through which the food passes, opened outward from the center, and three inner walls of the box are inclined towards the hole position to prevent food from remaining behind; a feed amount adjustment box 5 with a disk 6 which can rotate with a small gap from the bottom of the feed box and has a hole in the same position as the hole in the feed box, so that as the disk rotates, food that drops through the hole in the feed box is sent to a feed box 16 via a flexible plastic tube 13; a feed box with chutes 17 attached to opposing opening ends with different inclination angles, a slit at the tip of the chute and an approximately semicircular rotor 22 attached to the chute; and a control box which sets the amount of food that drops through the hole in the disk of the feed amount adjustment box by changing the rotation speed of the disk, and performs timer control so that the approximately semicircular rotor rotates and drops food shells into a receiving tray 31 before the next feeding time.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This invention relates to an automatic bird feeder that can automatically feed small birds at a set time by adjusting the amount of food for the birds. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, the general method of feeding small birds has been to put the daily amount of food in a bird feeder and give it to them every day. When the bird is away from home, more food is given to the bird, or a feeder that automatically supplies food in a hanging style is used.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic bird feeder in which the bottom plate of a food storage box is inclined, a food tray is provided at the front end of the inclination and is connected through an opening, a lever is attached below the inclined bottom plate of the food storage box, and a protrusion and a spring are attached to the lever.

[0004] Patent Document 2 discloses a small bird feeder which has an ejection section formed integrally with the container body and equipped with a notch for suspending a perch, an adjustment plate which rises and falls via a stopper bar, a food loading section formed by the bottom of a food supply tank equipped with a sloped section, a food reservoir connected to this through a feeding port, and an upper hollowed-out section with a stopper section in between, and a stopper section formed by a protruding arc-shaped notch at one end, and a food residue tank which is connected to an introduction plate which is separately connected to the ejection section and inscribed within the main body. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] Utility Model Document 1: Utility Model Application No. 49-055477 Utility Model Document 2: Utility Model Application No. 44-31645 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Since the appropriate amount of food intake for each individual bird is determined, the keeper must feed the bird at the appropriate time and manage the bird daily. However, when the keeper is away for an extended period of time and it is difficult to feed the bird at the appropriate time, the keeper must feed the bird in a large amount of food at once or use an automatic feeder. When a feeder contains a large amount of food, the bird often eats it all at once, and when an automatic feeder is used, the bird overeats and its health is adversely affected because the amount of food eaten is replenished and continuously supplied, which creates the problem of the keeper feeding the bird at the appropriate time.

[0007] The invention in Patent Document 1 has a configuration in which the bottom plate of a food storage box is inclined and a food tray is provided at the front of the inclined end, which is connected through an opening. A lever is attached below the inclined bottom plate of the food storage box and a protrusion and a spring are attached to the lever.When a small bird lands on the foot rest of the lever, the movement of the protrusion guides the stopped food into the food tray. However, since food is replenished whenever a small bird lands on the foot rest, there is the problem of overeating.

[0008] The invention in Utility Model Document 2 shows a structure in which an ejection section with a notch for suspending a perch is formed integrally with the lower end of the container body, an adjustment plate which rises and falls via a stopper bar, and the bottom of the food supply tank which is provided with a sloped section form a food loading section, which is connected to and has a feed reservoir via a feeding opening and an upper hollowed section with a stopper section in between, and further a stopper section is formed at one end with a protruding arc-shaped notch, and a food residue tank which is connected to an introduction plate which is separately connected to the ejection section and is inscribed within the main body; however, because the adjustment plate is activated to supply food when a small bird lands on the perch, there is the problem, as in Patent Document 1, of resulting in more food than necessary being given.

[0009] The objective of this invention is to provide an automatic bird feeder that can reliably feed a set amount of food at a set time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The automatic bird feeder according to claim 1 is an automatic bird feeder mainly composed of a feed box, a feed amount adjustment box, a feed box, and a control box, and includes a feed box with a hole in the bottom for the feed to pass through, which is opened outward from the center, and a chute with three inner walls of the box inclined toward the hole position to prevent the feed from stagnating, and a disk with an opening on the top that fits into the bottom of the feed box and can rotate with a small gap from the bottom of the fitted feed box, the disk has a hole in the disk that is in the same position as the hole in the feed box when it rotates, and a motor shaft is fixed to the center via a motor connecting metal fitting, and a feed delivery nozzle is provided on the bottom at the same position as the hole in the feed box, and a conical cup and a pipe are attached integrally to this with almost no gap from the bottom of the disk, so that the nozzle guides the food to the feed box. The feed box is characterized in that it is composed of a feed amount adjustment box as described above, a box body with an open top, chutes with different inclination angles attached to the opposing open end faces, a feed receiving section with slits at the tips of the chutes, a feed supply nozzle attached to one end of the top face of the opening parallel to the chute, a perch attached to the upper part of the opposing open face, a roughly semicircular rotor fixed through a shaft, a gear and bearing attached to one end and a bearing attached to the other end, the roughly semicircular rotor abutting against the slits of the chute and being positioned so that it can rotate, the bearings fixed to both side faces of the box body, and a motor with a gear attached thereto is arranged to mesh with the gear attached to the roughly semicircular rotor, and a control box having built-in timer control, feed amount adjustment control, etc.

[0011] The automatic bird feeder described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the feed amount adjustment box, the amount of food that falls when a disk rotates and a hole in the disk passes through a hole in the feed box is set by changing the rotation speed of the disk, and when the rotation is stopped, it is controlled to a position that avoids the hole in the feed box, and in the feed box, the circular part of the approximately semicircular rotating body is controlled to stop at the slit position of the chute, and the food supplied at the feeding time set by the timer is cleaned by rotating the approximately semicircular rotating body and dropping food shells into a receiving tray before the next feeding time, so that new food can be supplied. Effect of the Invention

[0012] The invention described in claim 1 is a structure in which a hole through which the food passes is opened at a position outside the center at the bottom of a feed insertion box, and three sides of the inner wall of the box are inclined toward the hole position to prevent food from stagnating, so that when the disk of the feed amount adjustment box rotates, food is supplied to the feed box through a flexible plastic tube attached to the feed supply nozzle through a conical cup at a position that matches the hole in the disk, making it possible to reliably supply a constant amount of food without it staying behind, and because the food shells eaten by the birds in the feed box are dropped into a tray as the approximately semicircular rotating body rotates, the feed box can be cleaned and has the effect of being hygienic.

[0013] The invention described in claim 2 is a feed amount adjustment box in which the amount of feed that falls when a disk rotates and the hole in the disk passes through the hole in the feed box can be set by changing the rotation speed of the disk, and when the rotation is stopped, it is set to a position that avoids the hole in the feed box, and in the feed box, the circular part of the approximately semicircular rotating body stops at the slit position of the chute.Food is fed at the feeding time set by the timer function, and before the next feeding time, the approximately semicircular rotating body rotates and drops the eaten food shells into a tray so that new food can be supplied.By a series of controls from the control box, even when the keeper is absent, it is possible to prevent the birds from overeating, and optimal health management can be achieved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a side view of the entire device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, and a top view of a control box; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a top view of the bait dropping box of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a top view of the food amount adjusting box of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a side view showing the feeding box of the present invention with food placed inside. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a side view showing the state in which food falls from the food box into the tray of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a control sequence of the present invention. [Figure 8]FIG. 4 is an overall side view showing another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] The automatic bird feeder of the present invention is constructed as shown in FIG. 1, and is a device that allows the amount of food for small birds to be adjusted appropriately and automatically fed at a set time. The general method of feeding small birds is to put the daily amount of food in a feeder and give it to them every day, and when you are away from home, you either give them more food or use a feeder that automatically supplies food from a hanging position. However, both methods have been problematic in that small birds can eat too much, which can be harmful to their health.

[0016] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the feed box 1 of the automatic bird feeder of this invention has a hole 2 with a diameter of approximately 12 mm drilled in the bottom at a position outside the center through which the food passes, and a chute 3 with three inner walls of the box inclined toward the hole position to prevent the food from remaining stuck, and a transparent lid 4 is provided on the top of the opening.

[0017] As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the feed amount adjustment box 5 of the automatic bird feeder of this invention has an opening on the top of a box body so that a feed box can be fitted into it, and a disk 6 is arranged so that it can rotate with a small gap from the bottom of the fitted feed box 1. The disk 6 has a hole 7 with a diameter of about 13 mm that is in the same position as the hole in the feed box when it rotates, and a motor shaft 9 is fixed to the center via a motor connecting bracket 8. A feed delivery nozzle 10 is provided on the bottom at the same position as the hole in the feed box, and a conical cup 11 and a pipe 12 are attached integrally to this with the underside of the disk with almost no gap. When the disk 6 rotates and its position matches the hole 2 in the feed box 1, a certain amount of food falls and is guided from the nozzle 10 through a flexible plastic pipe 13 to the feed box 16. A hook 14 for hanging on a birdcage 29 is attached to the back, and it functions in combination with the feed box 1 as an integral part. A connector 15 is provided on the bottom surface to collect the wires from the control box 33 and the wires to the food box 16. The rotation speed of the disk 6 can be adjusted to a large amount of food when it is slow, and to a small amount when it is fast, with the range being about 1g to 10g. The rotation speed is adjusted by a speed controller (not shown), and the means for stopping the disk 6 at a set position can be controlled by a stepping motor, or a general-purpose motor with a limit switch.

[0018] As shown in Figures 1, 4 and 5, the feeder 16 of the automatic bird feeder of the present invention is a box with an open top, with chutes 17 attached to the opposing open end faces, each with a different inclination angle, and a food receiving section 19 formed by providing a slit 18 of approximately 6 mm at the tip of the chute. A food supply nozzle 20 is attached to one end of the upper face of the opening parallel to the chute 17, and a perch 21 is attached to the upper part of the opposing open face. A gear 23 and bearing 24 are attached to one end of an approximately semicircular rotor 22 fixed through a shaft, and a bearing 25 is attached to the other end. The bearings 24 and 25 are fixed to both side faces of the box in a position where the approximately semicircular rotor 22 can abut against the slit 18 of the chute 17 and rotate. A motor 27 with a gear 26 attached is arranged so that it meshes with the gear 23 attached to the approximately semicircular rotor 22. A hook 28 is provided on the side of the box, and the box is attached inside a birdcage 29. As shown in Figure 5, when the roughly semicircular rotor 22 is in contact with the slit 18 of the chute 17, the feed 30 is held in the feed receiving section 19, but when the rotor rotates about 90° as shown in Figure 6, a gap appears in the slit 18, so that the feed 30 falls into the receiving tray 31, leaving the feed 30 clean. The means for stopping the operation of the rotor 22 at a specified position may be control by a stepping motor, or a general-purpose motor with a limit switch.

[0019] The bird feeder of the present invention operates according to the flow chart shown in Figure 6, and when the set timer reaches its time, an alarm sounds for a few seconds to inform the bird that it is time to feed and to alert the bird to clean the feed box, and then the rotor of the feed box 16 rotates several times to drop the food and clean it, after which the disk 6 of the feed amount adjustment box 5 rotates to send a fixed amount of food to the feed box 16. The control box 33 is placed separately, and the wiring between the feed amount adjustment box 5 and the feed box 16 is connected via a connector 34, for example by a flat cable (not shown) or the like.

[0020] As shown in another embodiment of the automatic bird feeder of the present invention in Figure 7, a post 34 can be erected from a control box 33, and the feed box 1 and feed amount adjustment box 5 can be arranged integrally on the post, thereby expanding the options available to the owner to suit their own breeding circumstances.

[0021] When using the automatic bird feeder of this invention, the amount of food is adjusted once at first. Feed is put into the feeder box 1, the feeder amount adjustment knob 35 of the control box 33 is turned, and the test button switch 36 is pressed, and the food is dispensed from the nozzle 10. The amount is measured with a scale and the knob 35 is adjusted to the optimum amount. This is repeated several times to take the average and determine the position of the knob 35. Next, the flexible resin tube 13 is connected from the feeder amount adjustment box 5 to the feeder box 16, and the time to feed is set with the timer 32 of the control box 33. When the current time is set, the timer 32 starts to operate and the food is dispensed at the set time. The set time can be set multiple times in a day at the minimum unit of 15 minutes, and it will operate at the same time the next day. Generally, the amount of food given per day is often divided into about four times, which allows health management to prevent the birds from overeating, is hygienic, and allows the birds to be raised safely even when they are away for a long time. [Explanation of symbols]

[0022] 1 Bait box 2. Hole in the feed box 3. Feed box chute 4. Transparent lid 5 Bait amount adjustment box 6 Disc 7 Hole in the disk 8 Motor connection bracket 9 Motor shaft 10 Feed delivery nozzle 11 Conical Cup 12 Conduit 13 Flexible resin pipe 14 Hook 15 Connector 16 Feeder 17 Shots with different inclination angles 18 Slit 19 Food receiving part 20 Feeding nozzle 21 Perch 22 Approximately semicircular rotating body 23 Gah! 24 Bearings 25 Bearings 26 Gear 27 Motor 28 Hook 29 Birdcage 30 Food 31 Saucer 32 Timer 33 Control Box 34 Connector 35 Food amount adjustment knob 36 Test button switch

Claims

1. This automatic bird feeder is mainly composed of a feed box, a feed amount adjustment box, a feed box, and a control box. The feed box has a hole in the bottom for the feed to pass through, which is opened outward from the center, and a chute with three inner walls of the box inclined toward the hole position to prevent the feed from stagnating. The top of the box is open, and a disk is arranged so that the bottom of the feed box fits into the opening of the box, and the disk can rotate with a small gap from the bottom of the fitted feed box. The disk has a hole that is in the same position as the hole in the feed box when it rotates, and a motor shaft is fixed to the center via a motor connecting metal fitting. The bottom has a feed delivery hole and a nozzle in the same position as the hole in the feed box, and a conical cup and a pipe are attached integrally to the bottom of the disk with almost no gap between them, and the nozzle guides the food to the feed box. The top of the feed amount adjustment box is open, and the bottom of the disk is open, and the nozzle is connected to the conical cup and pipe with almost no gap between them and the bottom of the disk. an automatic bird feeder comprising a feed box having an open side, chutes with different inclination angles attached to opposing open end faces, a feed receiving section with slits at the tips of the chutes, a feed supply nozzle attached to one end of the upper surface of the opening parallel to the chutes, a perch attached to the upper part of the opposing open face, a roughly semicircular rotor fixed through a shaft, a gear and bearing attached to one end and a bearing attached to the other end, the roughly semicircular rotor abutting against the slits of the chute, the bearings fixed to both side faces of the box in a position where it can rotate by being rotated, a feed box arranged so that a motor with a gear attached to it engages with the gear attached to the roughly semicircular rotor, and a control box having built-in timer control, feed amount adjustment control, etc.

2. The automatic bird feeder of claim 1, characterized in that in the feed amount adjustment box, the amount of feed that falls when the disk rotates and the hole in the disk passes through the hole in the feed box is set by changing the rotation speed of the disk, and when the rotation is stopped, it is controlled to a position that avoids the hole in the feed box, and in the feed box, the circular part of the approximately semicircular rotating body is controlled to stop at the slit position of the chute, and the feed supplied at the feeding time set by the timer is rotated by the approximately semicircular rotating body to drop food shells into a receiving tray before the next feeding time so that new food can be supplied.

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