Bird Feeder Tray with Leak-Proof Ports and Rotation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bird feeders are inefficient in preventing birdseed from falling and are often stolen by squirrels or large birds due to inadequate feeding ports and increased structural complexity, leading to high manufacturing costs and poor expelling effects.
Innovation Solution
A bird feeder design featuring leak-proof portions at the feeding ports and rotationally connected trays that prevent birdseed from falling and effectively deter squirrels, with a food equalizing portion, water leakage holes, and a buzzer for enhanced user experience and market competitiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional feeding ports are used in bird feeders, then the structure remains simple and manufacturing cost is low, but birdseed falls from the feeding ports and cannot effectively prevent squirrels or large birds from stealing food
Solution Approach 1:
The tray is designed to rotate dynamically in response to applied force. When a squirrel or large bird lands on the tray, the tray rotates away from the feeding ports, preventing them from accessing the birdseed. When birds land, they trigger a different response that allows feeding. This dynamic behavior provides effective theft prevention without requiring complex mechanical structures like motors or sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the state of the tray from horizontal (allowing access) to rotated (blocking access) based on the weight and position of the animal. By changing the parameter of tray orientation in response to different animals, the system achieves selective prevention of birdseed theft while maintaining structural simplicity.
2Reliability
If sound devices or rotating motors with sensors are added to expel squirrels, then the expelling effect may be improved, but the structural complexity increases and manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bird feeder system serves itself by using the weight of the intruder (squirrel or large bird) on the tray as the triggering mechanism. The tray's rotation is automatically initiated by the animal's own weight, eliminating the need for external sensors, motors, or power sources. This self-service approach achieves effective expelling while maintaining structural simplicity and low manufacturing cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the complex electronic components (sensors, motors, power supplies) from the system and replaces them with a purely mechanical solution. By taking out these complex elements and using only the tray's rotational mechanism, the system achieves the expelling function with minimal structural complexity.
3Ease of operation
If feeding ports are made larger to allow birds easy access, then ease of operation improves, but birdseed falls outside the food storage cavity
Solution Approach 1:
The tray is designed with different functional zones: a feeding area with ports that allow birdseed access for birds, and a peripheral area that extends outward to block squirrels and large birds. This local differentiation of the tray's geometry allows easy bird access while preventing birdseed loss to intruders.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray rotates dynamically to control access to the feeding ports. When birds are present, the tray remains in a position that allows access. When squirrels or large birds land, the tray rotates to block access and prevent birdseed from falling outside the storage cavity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design effectively prevents birdseed from falling and squirrels from stealing food, while improving user experience and market competitiveness through stable tray rotation and sound-based animal expulsion.
Implementation Method 1
torsional springs are sleeved on the rotating shafts
Implementation Method 2
when a downward force applied to the trays is greater than 0.6 N, the trays rotate downwards around the rotating centers of the trays
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a bird feeder preventing food from being stolen, the bird feeder includes an upper cover, a food storage pipe and a bottom cover, where the food storage pipe is provided with a food storage cavity, and the upper cover is connected to a pendant; feeding ports communicating with the food storage cavity are provided around a circumferential side of the bottom cover; and the bottom cover, at the feeding ports, may be rotationally connected to trays. Correspondingly to the feeding ports, the bottom cover is inwards and concavely provided with leak-proof portions, each leak-proof portion is provided with a first backstop surface extending vertically, an upper edge of the first backstop surface is externally extended with a second backstop surface, and one end, away from each first backstop surface, of each second backstop surface, is connected to each feeding port. A gap is kept between a lower part of each first backstop surface and each feeding port. Thus, by designing the bird feeder and disposing the leak-proof portions at the feeding ports of the bird feeder, birdseed may be prevented from falling outside the food storage cavity of the bird feeder from the feeding ports. Then the trays may be rotationally connected so that birds can stand stably for eating food while effectively preventing squirrels from stealing the food.