106 results about "Hummingbird" patented technology

A hummingbird feeder having a cover portion and a bottom portion of a base, as well as a nectar reservoir, is disclosed. The cover portion includes a reservoir coupling region, a feeding region, and a first mating region. The reservoir coupling region is configured to be coupled to the nectar reservoir. The feeding region is configured to accommodate a beak of a hummingbird to access nectar. The a bottom portion includes a second mating region, which is configured to mate with the first mating region of the cover portion. Preferably, the bottom portion further includes a retaining wall located within an outer ridge of the bottom portion. The retaining wall retains liquid within an inner region of the bottom portion and restricts liquid from flowing to an outer region of the bottom portion, providing easier maintenance and less mechanical force on the cover portion during feeder use. The reservoir optionally contains a wide opening for easy maintenance.

A liquid birdfeeder includes a generally upstanding container having a large opening at its top end and a bottleneck opening at its lower end. A quarter-turn removable cap is screw-threaded onto the top end to seal the top end opening. The lower bottleneck opening is screw-threaded into a central collar of a feeding basin having a plurality of feeding ports. An actuator rod extends longitudinally through the container and is operatively connected to a biased sealing mechanism which selectively seals or opens the bottleneck opening. When the removable cap is screw-threaded onto the top end opening, the cap depresses the actuator rod causing the biased sealing mechanism to move to an open position which allows liquid to flow out from the container into the feeding basin. When the removable cap is removed, the actuator rod can move upwardly under the force of the biased sealing mechanism, which moves the sealing mechanism to a closed position and prevents liquid in the container from flowing into the feeding basin. The container can then be filled through the top opening without flooding the feeding basin. In one preferred embodiment, the bird feeder includes a common functional feeding module connected within an outer decorative cladding by an interference fit.

A top-fill hummingbird feeder is provided having a liquid container with a liquid flow opening at a lower end and a removable cap at an upper end, a feeding basin positioned below the liquid container, and a valve or sealing mechanism associated with the liquid flow opening and the feeding basin. The feeding basin includes an upwardly extending cylindrical well that receives the lower end of the liquid container, and the valve or sealing mechanism includes a float valve associated with the well. The feeding basin is filled by gravity feed of the liquid in the container through the liquid flow opening when the sealing mechanism is open. When the feeding basin reaches a full position, the liquid nectar raises the float valve which, in turn, acts to close the liquid flow opening.

A hummingbird feeder includes a solar panel power source for illuminating a reservoir of liquid hummingbird food so that the hummingbird can find it at night. The solar panel itself preferably hangs below the feeder in a flexible manner so that it can collect the maximum amount of sunlight and swing in the breeze. An LED attached to the solar power source is positioned to illuminate the liquid reservoir from within the reservoir. The parts that comprise the feeder are easily disassembled for washing and cleaning.

A top-fill hummingbird feeder is provided having a liquid container with a liquid flow opening at a lower end and a removable cap at an upper end, a feeding basin positioned below the liquid container, and a sealing mechanism associated with the liquid flow opening and the feeding basin. The sealing mechanism includes a bottle seal assembly configured for removable coupling with a base of the feeding basin, and a float valve captured by said bottle seal assembly to prevent rotation thereof while allowing the float valve to move upwardly and downwardly with changing nectar levels in the feeding basin. The feeding basin is filled by gravity feed of the liquid in the container through the liquid flow opening when the sealing mechanism is open. When the feeding basin reaches a full position, the liquid nectar raises the float valve which, in turn, acts to close the liquid flow opening.

A liquid birdfeeder includes a generally upstanding container having a large opening at its top end and a bottleneck opening at its lower end. A quarter-turn removable cap is screw-threaded onto the top end to seal the top end opening. The lower bottleneck opening is screw-threaded into a central collar of a feeding basin having a plurality of feeding ports. An actuator rod extends longitudinally through the container and is operatively connected to a biased sealing mechanism which selectively seals or opens the bottleneck opening. When the removable cap is screw-threaded onto the top end opening, the cap depresses the actuator rod causing the biased sealing mechanism to move to an open position which allows liquid to flow out from the container into the feeding basin. When the removable cap is removed, the actuator rod can move upwardly under the force of the biased sealing mechanism, which moves the sealing mechanism to a closed position and prevents liquid in the container from flowing into the feeding basin. The container can then be filled through the top opening without flooding the feeding basin. In one preferred embodiment, the bird feeder includes a common functional feeding module connected within an outer decorative cladding by an interference fit.

A liquid bird feeder provides a liquid container having a sealable top opening and a bottleneck extension at its other end, and a liquid tray having a well adapted to receive the bottleneck extension and at least one feeding port. The sidewall of the well is provided with at least one drain hole and the sidewall of the bottleneck extension with at least one port. The container and bottleneck extension are rotatable within the well to selectively align and misalign the port with the well drain hole to respectively open and close the drain hole upon rotation of the container. In an alternate embodiment, the bottleneck extension is fitted with a collar rotatable with the container. The collar is received in the liquid tray well and includes the at least one port. A liquid flow path is formed in the liquid tray for each feeding port to reduce the volume of nectar in the tray at any given time.

A top-fill hummingbird feeder has a generally upstanding reservoir bottle or liquid container with a large opening at its top end that is closed and sealed by a removable top or cap. The bottom of the bottle or container has a lower bottom opening which can be screw-threaded into a central collar of a feeding basin that has a plurality of feeding ports. A tubular insert is received within the central collar and is configured to be vertically movable between a first position in which fluid is allowed to flow from the liquid container to the basin, and a second position in which fluid flow from the container to the basin is prevented. Movement of the insert between the two positions is effected by pushing the liquid container toward the basin (the closed position) and by pulling the liquid container away from the basin (the open position). Each movement of the insert has an associated “snap” or gives positive physical feedback which the user can feel that assures the user that the desired fluid flow or fluid sealed position has been achieved.

An illuminated bird feeder, such as a hummingbird feeder, includes a housing portion for holding a quantity of liquid, a hanger portion associated with the housing portion for suspending the hummingbird feeder from a support, and a feeder portion with at least one artificial feeding flower fluidly connected to the housing portion. At least one light emitting member in the form of a fluorescent-doped optical fiber is associated with the at least one artificial feeding flower for sighting the hummingbird feeder in low light conditions.

A hummingbird feeder includes a solar panel power source for illuminating a reservoir of liquid hummingbird food so that the hummingbird can find it at night. The solar panel itself preferably hangs below the feeder in a flexible manner so that it can collect the maximum amount of sunlight and swing in the breeze. An LED attached to the solar power source is positioned to illuminate the liquid reservoir from within the reservoir. The parts that comprise the feeder are easily disassembled for washing and cleaning.

This invention entails the re-design of existing hummingbird feeders that have an upper nectar reservoir with mating base holding the lower nectar reservoir. Please refer to Drawing SKETCH 12006 This is a re-designed hummingbird feeder that lowers the base nectar level approximately one fourth inch (¼″) and out of reach of flying insects, thus eliminating their presence and removing the nuisance and the possibility of painful stings to people. This is a re-designed hummingbird feeder that eliminates the presence of flying insects and their robbing of nectar, thus reducing the expense of nectar.

A top-fill hummingbird feeder has a generally upstanding reservoir bottle or liquid container with a large opening at its top end that is closed and sealed by a removable top or cap. The bottom of the bottle or container has a lower bottom opening which can be screw-threaded into a central collar of a feeding basin that has a plurality of feeding ports. A tubular insert is received within the central collar and is configured to be vertically movable between a first position in which fluid is allowed to flow from the liquid container to the basin, and a second position in which fluid flow from the container to the basin is prevented. Movement of the insert between the two positions is effected by pushing the liquid container toward the basin (the closed position) and by pulling the liquid container away from the basin (the open position). Each movement of the insert has an associated “snap” or gives positive physical feedback which the user can feel that assures the user that the desired fluid flow or fluid sealed position has been achieved.

An illuminated bird feeder, such as a hummingbird feeder, includes a housing portion for holding a quantity of liquid, a hanger portion associated with the housing portion for suspending the hummingbird feeder from a support, and a feeder portion with at least one artificial feeding flower fluidly connected to the housing portion. At least one light emitting member in the form of a fluorescent-doped optical fiber is associated with the at least one artificial feeding flower for sighting the hummingbird feeder in low light conditions.

A hummingbird feeder having a cover portion and a bottom portion of a base, as well as a nectar reservoir, is disclosed. The cover portion includes a reservoir coupling region, a feeding region, and a first mating region. The reservoir coupling region is configured to be coupled to the nectar reservoir. The feeding region is configured to accommodate a beak of a hummingbird to access nectar. The a bottom portion includes a second mating region, which is configured to mate with the first mating region of the cover portion. Preferably, the bottom portion further includes a retaining wall located within an outer ridge of the bottom portion. The retaining wall retains liquid within an inner region of the bottom portion and restricts liquid from flowing to an outer region of the bottom portion, providing easier maintenance and less mechanical force on the cover portion during feeder use. The reservoir optionally contains a wide opening for easy maintenance.

The present invention provides a feeding system for dispensing liquid food to a bird. The system includes a container of concentrated sugar solution that is dilutable with water at a selected dilution ratio of concentrate to water and a feeder to be supported by a support structure. The feeder includes a reservoir having a selected volume and an index marking correlating to a selected partial volume whereby the ratio of the partial volume to the difference between the selected volume and the partial volume is equal to the dilution ratio for the concentrate. The base of the feeder mounts to the reservoir and has at least one feed outlet to make the liquid in the reservoir available to the bird. The present invention is also directed to a method of providing nectar solution to hummingbirds.

An insect barring hummingbird feeder attachment is easily installed between an existing hummingbird feeder and its support. The attachment includes a bowl for receiving an insect barring liquid and a roof for preventing rain from entering the bowl. The roof is removable to facilitate cleaning the bowl of trapped ants and other insects and to facilitate refilling the bowl with an insect barring liquid.

A liquid bird feeder provides a liquid container having a sealable top opening and a bottleneck extension at its other end, and a liquid tray having a well adapted to receive the bottleneck extension and at least one feeding port. The sidewall of the well is provided with at least one drain hole and the sidewall of the bottleneck extension with at least one port. The container and bottleneck extension are rotatable within the well to selectively align and misalign the port with the well drain hole to respectively open and close the drain hole upon rotation of the container. In an alternate embodiment, the bottleneck extension is fitted with a collar rotatable with the container. The collar is received in the liquid tray well and includes the at least one port. A liquid flow path is formed in the liquid tray for each feeding port to reduce the volume of nectar in the tray at any given time.

A micro aerial vehicle includes: a fuselage; a flapping transmission mechanism mounted on a front portion of the fuselage; a flexible wing frame secured to and driven by the flapping transmission mechanism for producing a figure-eight flapping trajectory for mimicking the flight of a tiny natural flier, such as hummingbird; and a tail wing secured to a tail portion of the fuselage; wherein the flexible wing frame is formed by respectively pivotally or rotatably mounting a wing skin made of parylene foil to a pair of leading-edge arm members made of carbon fiber, and linked to the flapping transmission mechanism to thereby make a miniaturized micro aerial vehicle.

A hummingbird feeder and kit including a solution reservoir, a feeding assembly, and a coupler for unreleasably coupling said feeding assembly to said solution reservoir. The reservoir includes either a dissolvable solid or a premixed feed solution. The unreleasable coupling between the reservoir and the feeding assembly prevents the subsequent re-use of the hummingbird feeders, minimizing the user's contact with bacteria-infested feeding solution and the spread of disease among birds.

A liquid nectar hummingbird feeder has a reusable base with a feeding basin that receives a disposable cartridge containing a pre-filled volume of liquid nectar. The cartridge has a single bottleneck opening at a lower end which is initially sealed by a breakable seal in the form of a film layer of foil, coated paper stock, plastic or the like. The base includes a cartridge mounting and opening structure adapted to secure and open the cartridge bottleneck opening by rupturing the film layer seal to allow liquid nectar to flow from the cartridge into the feeding basin.

A hummingbird feeder having one or more soft petal feeding ports, each port having a three-dimensional simulated flower made of a soft, flexible plastic or rubber-type material having a durometer reading not to exceed 50A based on ASTM standard D2240 is provided. The petals are pliable so as to be easily manipulated by a hummingbird coming into contact with them, and provide a texture and resistance comparable to that of natural flower petals.

A hummingbird feeder comprised of a reservoir, a hollow feeding tube, and a detachable stopper. The reservoir has an opening disposed on a top end thereof. The hollow feeding tube has a head portion and a shaft portion extending from the head portion. The head portion has a plurality of holes disposed thereon. The diameter of the head portion is larger than that of the shaft portion. The detachable stopper is separately disposed on the opening and has a first aperture. The first aperture cooperates with the shaft portion for holding the shaft portion and receiving the reservoir within.

The hummingbird feeder of this invention has an initial storage and shipping configuration and a final feeding configuration. In a first embodiment, a transparent fluid reservoir contains a feeding solution that is dispensed through a punctured thin diaphragm into a cap cavity of a bottom cap threaded on the reservoir. In a second embodiment a removable sealer cap initially keeps the feeding solution in the reservoir. In a third embodiment, the feeding solution is dispensed by removing a “peel-away” diaphragm from the reservoir. Each feeding assembly has a red feeding guide and a feeding tube with an aperture for the hummingbird to access the feeding solution. Perches supported by the bottom cap are provided for the hummingbirds to rest. The feeding solution is made aseptic and bacteria free to help keep it from spoiling. The top of the fluid reservoir has a moat filled with an insect inhibiting material to protect against insects and ants reaching the feeding solution. A label can be placed on the reservoir to provide logo, legal information, directions for use, essential safety warnings and red coloring to attract hummingbirds.

A top-fill hummingbird feeder is provided having a liquid container with a liquid flow opening at a lower end and a removable cap at an upper end, a feeding basin positioned below the liquid container, and a valve or sealing mechanism associated with the liquid flow opening and the feeding basin. The feeding basin includes an upwardly extending cylindrical well that receives the lower end of the liquid container, and the valve or sealing mechanism includes a float valve associated with the well. The feeding basin is filled by gravity feed of the liquid in the container through the liquid flow opening when the sealing mechanism is open. When the feeding basin reaches a full position, the liquid nectar raises the float valve which, in turn, acts to close the liquid flow opening.

A liquid nectar hummingbird feeder has a reusable base with a feeding basin that receives a disposable cartridge containing a pre-filled volume of liquid nectar. The cartridge has a single bottleneck opening at a lower end which is initially sealed by a breakable seal in the form of a film layer of foil, coated paper stock, plastic or the like. The base includes a cartridge mounting and opening structure adapted to secure and open the cartridge bottleneck opening by rupturing the film layer seal to allow liquid nectar to flow from the cartridge into the feeding basin.

A hummingbird feeder and kit including a solution reservoir, a feeding assembly, and a coupler for unreleasably coupling the feeding assembly to the solution reservoir. In one embodiment, the coupler is a frusto-conical member with a channel running along its longitudinal axis connected to a feeding tube. In yet another embodiment, the couple is a set of fins disposed on a distal end of a feeding tube that engages with an orifice on the solution reservoir. In yet another embodiment, the frusto-conical coupler includes at least one tapered flange disposed on its ramped side wall. The reservoir includes either a dissolvable solid or a premixed feed solution. The unreleasable coupling between the reservoir and the feeding assembly prevents the subsequent re-use of the hummingbird feeders, minimizing the user's contact with bacteria-infested feeding solution and the spread of disease among birds.

The invention discloses a bionic hummingbird aircraft; a high bionic design is adopted, the unsteady aerodynamics theory of hummingbird micro flapping-wing flight is explored, and a simplified model for realizing the movement law of a vertical take-off and landing and hovering flapping wing aircraft is established. An ultra-light flapping-wing structure based on a five-link crank rocker and an ultra-light flapping wing attack angle adjusting structure with a principle similar to a helicopter variable pitch principle are designed. In accordance with a modular and integrated design concept, bionic hummingbird aircraft subsystems such as a power transmission system and a flight control electronic system are researched and developed, and a hummingbird flapping wing prototype vehicle capable ofrealizing switching of vertical takeoff and landing and hovering flat flight is completed. Based on the design idea of '' flying early and flying more'', an experimental method is used to optimize aniterative principled sample machine to realize flight maneuvers such as hovering and forward flying of the bionic hummingbird aircraft to achieve the performance requirements of flexible detection. In the future, the bionic hummingbird aircraft can realize multi-bird cluster detection, and complete the low-altitude domain reconnaissance missions in a whole combat area through collaborative control and a bird-flock-like intelligent algorithm.

A liquid nectar concentrate composition for preparing a liquid bird food or nectar is disclosed. The liquid food concentrate compositions comprises a solution of sucrose, potassium sorbate and optionally FDA Red Dye #40 to provide a convenient means for preparing a safe and palatable nectar that attracts hummingbirds. Also provided is a liquid nectar food composition to provide a convenient, safe and palatable liquid food composition that attracts hummingbirds which contains a solution of sucrose, potassium sorbate and optionally FDA Red Dye #40.

A liquid bird feeder provides a liquid container having a sealable top opening and a bottleneck extension at its other end, and a liquid tray having a well adapted to receive the bottleneck extension and at least one feeding port. The sidewall of the well is provided with at least one drain hole and the sidewall of the bottleneck extension with at least one port. The container and bottleneck extension are rotatable within the well to selectively align and misalign the port with the well drain hole to respectively open and close the drain hole upon rotation of the container. In an alternate embodiment, the bottleneck extension is fitted with a collar rotatable with the container. The collar is received in the liquid tray well and includes at least one port. A liquid flow path is formed in the liquid tray for each feeding port to reduce the volume of nectar in the tray at any given time.

A hummingbird feeding station includes a first hollow body having a closed end and an openable end, the first hollow body for receiving and for containing a liquid for consumption, one or more openings extending through at least one wall of the first hollow body for enabling consumption of the liquid contained therein, and a second hollow body having a closed or a sealed end and an open end, the second hollow body for receiving and containing a liquid. The second hollow body is disposed between the first hollow body a point of origin of insects attempting to access the liquid in the first hollow body, the liquid contained in the second hollow body functioning as a barrier preventing the insects from accessing the liquid contained in the first hollow body.