Pet feeder

Abstract

To provide a pet feeding apparatus with a simple structure that supplies a small amount of liquid pet food at a time.SOLUTION: A pet feeding apparatus includes: a ball, a container rotatably supporting the ball and storing liquid pet food, and a cover covering the container and having an opening that exposes the ball to the outside of the container. As the ball rolls, the pet food attached to the surface of the ball is exposed through the opening.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a pet feeder, and particularly to a pet feeder that can be suitably used for liquid pet food.

Background Art

[0002] Various proposals have been made to promote healthy slow eating (eating slowly) of pets. For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent No. 7094596) discloses a pet healthcare dish including a bowl, a bowl receiver, and a stand. In such a dish, the bowl includes three or four partitioning members that equally divide the area for containing food and water into three or four areas. The partitioning members are arranged radially so that the central portion of the bowl becomes an empty area. The bowl includes slow feeders having different shapes in each of the three or four areas. The bowl receiver has a receiving portion with an inclination angle of 10 to 20 degrees so that the bowl is inclined at 10 to 20 degrees. The stand supports the bowl receiver so that the bowl is at a position 0 to 15 cm lower than the body height of the pet. Then, the portion where the bowl is inclined and lowered is the front portion, and after a predetermined use period has elapsed, the pet ingests the food and water contained in the bowl from the front portion, and the orientation of the bowl is rotated by 120 degrees for each of the three areas and 90 degrees for each of the four areas to change the route formed by the slow feeder and used. However, such a pet healthcare dish has a complex structure. Further, it is mainly assumed to be used for solid pet food and is not suitable for liquid pet food.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a pet feeder with a simple structure that can dispense small amounts of liquid pet food at a time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides: A sphere and, A container that supports the aforementioned sphere so as to be rotatable and contains liquid pet food, A cover that covers the container and has an opening that exposes the sphere inside the container to the outside, It is equipped with, As the sphere rotates, the pet food adhering to the surface of the sphere is exposed through the opening. We provide a pet feeder featuring the following characteristics.

[0006] In the pet feeder of the present invention, it is preferable that the cover has a slope that inclines upward toward the outside from the opening.

[0007] Furthermore, in the pet feeder of the present invention, it is preferable that the inner diameter of the opening is smaller than the outer diameter of the sphere.

[0008] Furthermore, in the pet feeder of the present invention, it is preferable that the container includes a bottom portion that serves as a support surface for the sphere, and an extension portion that extends diagonally upward from the outer edge of the bottom portion.

[0009] Furthermore, in the pet feeder of the present invention, it is preferable that the slope has multiple protrusions. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] In the pet feeder according to the present invention, the pet can only eat the pet food after it rotates the sphere and exposes the pet food through the openings. Therefore, the pet naturally eats slowly, which contributes to promoting the pet's health. In other words, the present invention provides a pet feeder with a simple structure that can supply small amounts of liquid pet food at a time. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of a pet feeder 1 according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 2] These are perspective and longitudinal cross-sectional views of pet feeder 1. [Figure 3] This is a disassembled perspective view of pet feeder 1. [Figure 4] This diagram illustrates how the sphere 11 rotates inside the container 13 and adheres to the pet food F. [Figure 5] These are a perspective view and a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the pet feeder 2 according to Embodiment 2. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Hereinafter, a typical embodiment of the pet feeder according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these drawings. The drawings are for conceptual explanation of the present invention, and for ease of understanding, dimensions, ratios, or numbers may be exaggerated or simplified as necessary.

[0013] 1. Embodiment 1 Referring to Figures 1-4, the pet feeder 1 according to Embodiment 1 will be described. In this embodiment, a dog is assumed as the suitable pet P (see Figure 1), but the present invention is not limited to dogs. The pet feeder 1 can also be called a pet dish, and includes, for example, a sphere 11, a container 13, and a cover 15, as shown in Figure 1. This pet feeder 1 is made of resin material, but is not limited to that.

[0014] The sphere 11 rotates within the container 13 when licked by the pet P (see Fig. 4). The sphere 11 is preferably hollow, but is not limited thereto. For example, unevenness or grooves may be formed on the surface of the sphere 11 so that the pet food F can easily adhere thereto. The sphere 11 is preferably made of a resin such as ABS resin, but may be made of other materials such as wood. For example, a table tennis ball can be substituted for the sphere 11.

[0015] The container 13 rotatably supports the sphere 11 and accommodates the fluid pet food F in a state of contacting the sphere 11 (see Fig. 4). Here, the pet food F only needs to have a viscosity such that it adheres to the sphere 11. In addition, the pet food F preferably has a fluidity such that it flows from the inclined portion 133 toward the bottom portion 131 when introduced into the container 13. Therefore, the pet food F only needs to have such viscosity and fluidity and be usable in the pet feeder 1 according to the present embodiment, and may be, for example, in a fluid state such as a liquid state, a dispersion state, a solution state, or a paste state.

[0016] Also, as shown in Fig. 2(B), the container 13 includes a bottom portion 131 that is a support surface of the sphere 11, and an extension portion 133 that extends obliquely upward from the outer edge of the bottom portion 131. That is, the bottom portion 131 has an ovoid shape formed by a streamline-shaped concave portion, and serves to rotatably hold the sphere 11 between the bottom portion 131 and the opening 151 of the cover 15. The extension portion 133 serves to flow the pet food F toward the bottom portion 131 by utilizing its inclination.

[0017] The bottom portion 131 and the extension portion 133 are preferably integrally molded. Also, the bottom portion 131 and the inclined portion 133 are preferably smoothly (i.e., without a step) connected. Thereby, the pet food F on the extension portion 133 can flow toward the bottom portion 131 without staying in the boundary region between the bottom portion 131 and the extension portion 133 (see Fig. 4). From the perspective that the pet food F smoothly flows from the extension part 133 to the bottom part 131 side, the angle of the inclined part 133 is preferably 30° to 60°.

[0018] The container 13 has legs 135 that extend outward along the installation surface of the container 13. The legs 135 suppress the tipping and movement of the pet feeder 1. [[IDID=6]]An anti-slip device (not shown) may be attached to the back surface of the legs 135 to prevent movement. Rubber is preferably used as the anti-slip device, but it is not limited to this.

[0019] The cover 15 is, for example, a dome-shaped member that covers the container 13 (see FIG. 3). The cover 15 has an opening 151 that exposes the sphere 11 inside the container 13. The inner diameter R2 of the opening 151 is preferably smaller than the outer diameter R1 of the sphere 11 (see FIG. 2(B)). Thereby, the sphere 11 can be held between the container 13 and the cover 15, and thus the sphere 11 can be prevented from falling off. Furthermore, considering the perspective of sufficient exposure of the sphere 11, it is preferable that the outer diameter of the sphere 11 is about 1 mm to 10 mm smaller than the inner diameter of the opening 151 (that is, the gap between the sphere 11 and the opening 151 is about 1 mm to 10 mm).

[0020] The cover 15 preferably has a slope 153 that slopes upward from the opening 151 to the outside. The presence of the slope 153 makes it easier for the pet P to lick the sphere 11. In the present embodiment, the slope 153 is configured as a separate part from the main body of the cover 15. Thereby, the part that the pet P licks can be made softer than the main body of the cover 15, and the pet P can be protected. However, the slope 153 may be integrally formed with the main body of the cover 15.

[0021] Particularly when the pet P is a dog, it is preferable that the slope 153 has a plurality of protrusions or brushes 155. When the pet P licks the sphere 11, the tongue of the pet P contacts the protrusions 155, and the tongue of the pet P can be kept clean. The outer diameter, height, and spacing of the protrusions 155 can be appropriately set according to the type and size of PET P, etc.

[0022] Next, we will explain how to use pet feeder 1. The user removes the cover 15 from the pet feeder 1 and pours the pet food F into the container 13. Then, the user attaches the cover 15 to the container 13. When the user refills the pet feeder 1 with pet food F, they clean the pet feeder 1 as needed and repeat the above procedure. Because the pet feeder 1 has a simple structure, the above procedure is easy and dirt does not easily accumulate in the pet feeder 1.

[0023] As illustrated in Figure 1, when a pet P (for example, a dog) licks the sphere 11, the sphere 11 rotates inside the container 13, as shown in Figure 4. Due to the rotation of the sphere 11, the pet food F adheres to the surface of the sphere 11. Then, the pet food F on the sphere 11 moves upward in response to the rotation of the sphere 11 and is exposed through the opening 151, and the pet P eats the exposed pet food F. In other words, pet P can only lick the pet food F after rotating the sphere 11. Therefore, the user can have pet P lick the pet food F in small amounts, thereby preventing pet P from overeating the pet food F and ultimately maintaining pet P's health.

[0024] Furthermore, in the container 13, the bottom 131 and the extension 133 may be smoothly connected without any steps, or a scale consisting of steps may be provided. The scale may consist of a roughly horizontal annular protrusion and can be used as a guide for the amount of pet food F to put into the container 13. As a result, the pet food F flows smoothly from the extension 133 to the bottom 131 and is always likely to adhere to the sphere 11. Therefore, almost all of the pet food F put into the container 13 will adhere to the sphere 11. Consequently, the pet P can lick up almost all of the pet food F in the container 13, and a reduction in leftover food can be expected.

[0025] 2. Embodiment 2 Referring to Figure 5, the pet feeder 2 according to Embodiment 2 will be described. In this embodiment, a cat is particularly assumed as the suitable pet P, but it is not limited to this.

[0026] Pet feeder 2 includes a sphere 11, a container 13, and a cover 25, similar to pet feeder 1 of Embodiment 1. Since the same sphere 11 and container 13 as in Embodiment 1 can be used, a detailed description is omitted.

[0027] The cover 25 is, for example, a dome-shaped member that covers the container 13 and has an opening 251 that exposes the sphere 11 inside the container 13. The cover 25 has a slope 253 that inclines upward outward from the opening 251. However, no protrusions or brushes are formed on the slope 253, and the surface of the slope 253 is smooth. Since a cat's tongue has small projections called filiform papillae, making the surface of the slope 253 smooth ensures that it does not interfere with the cat's licking motion.

[0028] The above describes specific embodiments of a pet feeder according to one embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various design modifications are possible, and these design modifications are also included within the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 1,2 Pet feeders 11 Spheres 13 Container 15,25 cover 151,251 aperture 153,253 slopes F Pet Food

Claims

1. A sphere and, A container that supports the aforementioned sphere so as to be rotatable and contains liquid pet food, A cover that covers the container and has an opening that exposes the sphere inside the container to the outside, It is equipped with, As the sphere rotates, the pet food adhering to the surface of the sphere is exposed through the opening. The cover has a slope that inclines upward toward the outside from the opening, The container includes a bottom portion and an extension portion that serve as a support surface for the sphere, and the extension portion extends diagonally upward from the outer edge of the bottom portion. A pet feeder featuring the following characteristics.

2. The inner diameter of the opening is smaller than the outer diameter of the sphere. A pet feeder according to claim 1, characterized by the following:

3. The aforementioned slope has multiple protrusions, A pet feeder according to claim 1, characterized by the following:

4. The bottom portion and the extension portion are integrally and smoothly connected, and the bowl shape is such that the sphere is rotatably held between the bottom portion and the opening of the cover. A pet feeder according to claim 1, characterized by the following:

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