Gravity Animal Drink Dispenser with Venting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional gravity-fed animal drink dispensers often require moving parts, such as valves, which can clog and require disassembly for refilling, leading to inefficiencies and sanitation issues.
Innovation Solution
A gravity-induced automatic animal drink dispenser with no moving parts, featuring a housing with a bottom tray and passageways for fluid communication, and a vent apparatus to equalize pressure and facilitate refilling without disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional gravity-fed drink dispensers use valves to control water flow, then water flow can be regulated, but the valves clog with debris and calcification requiring disassembly for maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the valve component entirely from the system. Instead of using a valve to control water flow, the design relies on gravity and the natural flow of water through the dispenser. The water reservoir can be easily removed and detached from the base, allowing for simple refilling and cleaning without dealing with clogged valves or complex internal mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The dispenser is divided into separate modular components: a removable water reservoir and a base with an integrated trough. This segmentation allows the reservoir to be easily detached for refilling and cleaning, and the base can be separately cleaned without disassembling internal valve mechanisms. Each component can be maintained independently.
2Ease of operation
If the water bottle is separated from the bowl for refilling, then the bottle can be refilled, but the separation requirement hinders the refilling process
Solution Approach 1:
The dispenser is divided into a removable water reservoir and a base with an integrated trough. The reservoir can be easily detached and reattached without complex assembly steps. This modular design allows for quick refilling by simply removing the reservoir, filling it, and reattaching it to the base.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is designed to be easily serviced by the user without requiring technical expertise. The reservoir can be removed and refilled by the animal owner as needed, and the base can be easily cleaned. The design eliminates the need for professional maintenance or complex disassembly procedures.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the external breather tube is used to communicate the bowl with the top of the water bottle, then air pressure can be equalized, but the external tube increases the likelihood of the device being knocked over
Solution Approach 1:
The breather hole is integrated directly into the base of the water reservoir, nesting the air equalization function within the reservoir structure itself. This eliminates the need for an external breather tube that could be knocked or damaged. The breather hole remains protected within the reservoir while still allowing air pressure equalization between the reservoir and the surrounding environment.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If the bowl is cleaned regularly to maintain sanitation, then contamination is prevented, but the cleaning process requires time and effort
Solution Approach 1:
The base with the integrated trough can be easily removed from the water reservoir for separate cleaning. The trough is designed to be accessible and easy to clean, and can be detached if needed for thorough cleaning. This segmentation allows for efficient maintenance of sanitation without requiring complete disassembly of the entire dispenser.
Solution Approach 2:
The design enables easy user maintenance through simple cleaning procedures. The base and trough can be quickly rinsed or washed by the animal owner without requiring technical expertise or special tools. The removable reservoir also allows for easy cleaning of its interior surfaces.
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 solution provides a self-regulated, efficient, and sanitary dispensing system that minimizes stagnation and contamination risks, while being easy to assemble, disassemble, and maintain, with no moving parts to clog.
Implementation Method 1
A vent apparatus disposed within the interior volume fluidly communicates a volume of air above the liquids in the housing, which is reduced when said liquids are dispensed, with the ambient air to equalize pressure therebetween
Implementation Method 2
The water bottle stores water above the bowl and includes an opening. The bowl receives and supports the vessel such that the stored water or food passes through the opening, under the force of gravity, and into the bowl
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 1C
AI summary
A gravity-induced automatic animal drink dispenser apparatus 10 with no moving parts that promotes increased sanitation and minimizes the amount of work required to maintain a supply of liquids to the animals. The animal drink dispenser apparatus comprises a housing 12 defining an interior volume adapted to store a supply of liquids, a bottom tray 14 releasably attachable to a bottom of the housing defining a trough 32, at least one passageway 40, defined by the bottom tray, fluidly communicating the interior volume of the housing with the trough by force of gravity, and a vent apparatus 20 adapted to equalize a pressure in a volume of air above the liquids in the housing, which is reduced when said liquids are dispensed to the trough, with the ambient air.