Stackable Food Metering Container for Precise Kibble Portioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for portioning pet food, particularly kibble for dogs and cats, are cumbersome, prone to errors, and lack precision, leading to potential health issues due to overfeeding, which contributes to obesity and reduced life expectancy in domestic carnivores.
Innovation Solution
A dosing set comprising a base and annular bodies that can be stacked to form a container for precise food measurement, allowing easy adjustment of the container's capacity by adding or removing bodies, ensuring accurate and repeatable dosing without the need for additional tools or complex equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a measuring cup with multiple markings for different brands is used, then versatility is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates due to numerous lines and difficulty in finding the correct marking
Solution Approach 1:
The measuring cup is divided into multiple removable rings that can be stacked. Each ring corresponds to a specific kibble brand and contains the precise marking for that brand. This segmentation allows the user to select only the relevant ring for the current kibble type, eliminating the confusion of having all markings visible simultaneously and restoring measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The measuring cup transitions from a static structure with all markings permanently visible to a dynamic system where rings can be added or removed based on the kibble brand being used. This dynamic reconfiguration allows the cup to adapt to different brands while maintaining precision by showing only the relevant markings for the selected brand.
2Measurement precision
If programmable automatic dispensers are used, then dosing precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows the user to program the dosing parameters themselves by simply stacking the appropriate number and type of rings on the cup. The rings themselves contain the dosing information through their physical characteristics (height, markings). This eliminates the need for complex electronic programming interfaces, microcontrollers, and software, achieving programmability through a simple mechanical system.
3Ease of operation
If a single measuring cup design is used for all kibble types, then ease of operation is improved, but adaptability to different brands deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The base measuring cup is designed as a universal platform that can work with any kibble brand when equipped with the appropriate ring. The cup itself has a standardized structure that accommodates different ring types. This universal base combined with brand-specific rings achieves both ease of operation (the cup never changes) and adaptability (different rings for different brands).
Data Source
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AI summary
Dosing set (1) for dosing food comprising N bodies (10, 20, 30) including a base (10), the base (10) including a bottom, and a plurality of annular bodies (20), the N bodies (10, 20, 30) being able to be assembled separably by cooperation of form between said bodies (10, 20, 30) by being stacked along an axis (x), so as to allow the formation of a container (100) for dosing food delimiting a cavity (50) intended to receive food, the container (100) being made up of C stacked bodies, taken from among the N bodies, stacked along the x axis and assembled separably by cooperation of form between the C stacked bodies, C being any one of the integers between 2 and N, the C stacked bodies including the base whose bottom forms a bottom of the cavity and at least one of the annular bodies (20).