Multi-tier Collapsible Bird Feeder with Baffle Plates

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing collapsible wild game feeders are not suitable for squirrels and large, aggressive feeding wildlife as they can easily damage the mesh or walls, leading to food spillage and attracting pests, while rigid steel wire mesh feeders are not collapsible and prone to damage during storage and transport.

Innovation Solution

A multi-tiered collapsible bird feeder with metal mesh walls and even feed baffle plates that maintain a feed level above, allowing for large capacity and easy storage, featuring a stacked design with ring-shaped supports and optional perch rings for increased perching area.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If collapsible feeders are made from mesh or netting material, then they are convenient to install and attractive to wild game, but they are easily damaged by squirrels and large aggressive wildlife

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconvenience to installVSAvoidresistance to damage

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The feeder is divided into multiple tiers, each tier being a separate collapsible unit that can function independently. This segmentation allows the feeder to maintain structural integrity even when one tier is damaged, and enables flexible installation configurations while preserving both ease of setup and damage resistance through the modular design

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The feeder combines different materials strategically: wire mesh for the main structural walls providing durability against wildlife damage, and plastic polymer components for protective elements and connections. This composite approach merges the ease of installation of flexible materials with the damage resistance of rigid materials

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

2Reliability

If rigid steel wire mesh feeders are used, then they are resistant to chewing by squirrels and pecking by aggressive birds, but they cannot be collapsed for storage and shipment

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresistance to chewing and peckingVSAvoidcollapsibility for storage

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The feeder transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic collapsible structure through the use of flexible connections between tiers. Each tier can be collapsed independently by compressing the bellows-like structure, enabling compact storage and shipment while maintaining the wire mesh material's resistance to wildlife damage during use

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The feeder employs flexible bellows-like structures and collapsible walls made of wire mesh that can bend and compress. These flexible elements allow the rigid wire mesh to maintain its protective function while gaining the adaptability to collapse into a compact form for storage and transportation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

3Device complexity

If single-tier feeders are used, then they are simple in structure, but they have limited capacity and require constant refilling

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestructural simplicityVSAvoidfeed capacity

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The feeder extends vertically by stacking multiple tiers one above another, utilizing the vertical dimension to increase capacity. This multi-tiered configuration provides significantly larger feed storage capacity compared to a single-tier feeder of similar footprint, reducing refilling frequency while maintaining manageable structural complexity through modular assembly

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

4Ease of operation

If feeders are made with large openings for access, then they are easy for wildlife to access, but squirrels and large birds can easily enlarge openings or create new openings

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccessibility to wildlifeVSAvoidintegrity of feeding openings

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The feeder incorporates perch rings at specific locations that provide targeted access points for wildlife. These localized perching areas allow birds to access feed safely while the surrounding wire mesh structure maintains its integrity. The local enhancement of accessibility through perches does not compromise the overall structural resistance to wildlife damage

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS7185605B1Multi-tier collapsible feeder

Publication Date: 2007.03.06 WOODSTREAM CORP

AI summary

A multi-tier feeder which is comprised of a plurality of mesh feeder bodies stacked one upon the other in a collapsible fashion and which include even feed baffle plates positioned therein in a vertically spaced-apart relationship.