Elevated Pet Feeder with Adjustable Height and Slow Feed Bowl
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pet food bowls lack adjustability in height and a mechanism to slow down food or water intake, leading to potential health issues such as acid reflux, neck pain, and gastric problems in pets that eat or drink too quickly.
Innovation Solution
A pet feeder with an adjustable height and a bowl featuring a propeller mechanism that restricts access to food or water, allowing for controlled consumption by rotating blades to slow down intake, combined with volume markings for measurement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional fixed-height pet food bowl is used, then the structure is simple, but the pet cannot adjust the bowl height at multiple stages of growth and may develop neck pain or arthritis
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements an adjustable height mechanism that allows the bowl to be repositioned at multiple stages of growth. The dynamic adjustment capability enables the pet to use the bowl throughout different growth phases without developing neck pain or arthritis, while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure through modular design elements.
2Reliability
If a conventional bowl without intake control is used, then the device is simple, but the pet consumes food or water too quickly leading to health problems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a propeller mechanism as an intermediary element between the pet and the food/water. The propeller blades create physical resistance that slows down intake, preventing health problems associated with rapid consumption. This intermediary mechanism adds controlled complexity only where needed for health protection.
3Speed
If a bowl with propeller mechanism is used, then intake is slowed down, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the propeller mechanism into separate, modular components including individual blades and an impedance structure. This segmentation allows the complex propeller system to be manufactured, assembled, and maintained more easily, reducing the practical complexity despite the sophisticated intake control function.
4Measurement precision
If volume measurement markings are added to the bowl, then measurement precision is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs visual markings on the bowl to indicate volume levels. These markings provide precise volume measurement capability through color or pattern changes at specific heights, allowing pets and owners to monitor intake accurately without requiring extremely tight manufacturing tolerances on the bowl structure itself.
Data Source
AI summary
A pet feeder for slowing food consumption with a height adjustable stand. The elevated pet feeder includes a bowl having an inner surface, an outer surface, a sidewall extending from a base of the bowl, and a cavity with an open upper end for receiving contents. The sidewall includes spaced markings each designating a different volume within the cavity. Further, an impediment extends from the center of the base of the bowl with a propeller removably secured to the impediment, such that the impediment and propeller in combination can slow food consumption. The elevated pet feeder includes a receptacle that receives the bowl. A stand extends from the receptacle and can adjust the height of the receptacle.