Adjustable Pet Food Scoop for Precise Portioning and Bag Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for dispensing pet food, such as pouring from sacks, often result in incorrect portion sizes, spillage, and exposure to vermin, leading to pet obesity and spoilage, as well as inefficiencies in feeding and storage.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable scoop made from a flexible sheet that can be bent into various configurations to form a receptacle with adjustable volumetric capacity, featuring interengageable lugs and slots for secure assembly and easy engagement with pet food bags, allowing for precise portion control and convenient storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If pet food is poured from a sack, then dispensing is simple, but portion size control is poor and spillage occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The scoop is divided into multiple segments including a handle, a curved body, a base, and a cross member that can be independently positioned. The cross member can be secured at multiple locations along the body to create different receptacle capacities, allowing precise portion control while maintaining ease of use.
Solution Approach 2:
The scoop transitions from a static structure to a dynamic, adjustable configuration. The cross member can be moved between multiple locations on the body to change the receptacle volume, and the scoop can be bent from a flat storage configuration to various assembled configurations for different portion sizes.
2Quantity of substance
If a large sack is used, then storage capacity is improved, but manipulation difficulty and spillage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The scoop extracts only the necessary portion of food at a time from the large sack, allowing the bulk of the food to remain sealed and undisturbed in the sack. This minimizes manipulation of the large sack while enabling precise portion dispensing.
Solution Approach 2:
The scoop acts as an intermediary tool between the user and the food sack. It provides a controlled interface for dispensing food without requiring direct manipulation of the large sack, reducing spillage and improving ease of operation.
3Ease of operation
If the sack remains open after dispensing, then access to food is easy, but vermin ingress and staleness occur
Solution Approach 1:
The scoop is designed to engage with the sack opening before dispensing occurs, creating a sealed interface that prevents vermin ingress. The cross member can be positioned to create a tight seal with the sack edge, maintaining food freshness while allowing easy access during dispensing.
4Manufacturing precision
If manual dispensing methods are used, then portion control is possible, but underfeeding or overfeeding occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces imprecise manual mechanical dispensing with a structured mechanical scoop system. The cross member secured at specific locations on the body creates standardized receptacle capacities, ensuring consistent and reliable portion sizes that prevent underfeeding or overfeeding.
Data Source
AI summary
An adjustable scoop comprising a sheet of flexible material having a periphery configured so that the sheet may be bent from a flat configuration to form a scoop having a curved body, two handles, a base and a cross member, wherein the cross member may be secured to the body at one of a plurality of locations so that the body, base and cross member form a receptacle having one of a plurality of volumetric capacities for particulate material.