Pet feeding apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11744226-B2
Application number	US-202117352813-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 21, 2021
Priority date	Sep 11, 2020
Publication date	Sep 5, 2023
Grant date	Sep 5, 2023

Abstract

A pet feeding apparatus includes a feed tank, a discharge tank, and an ejection assembly. The feed tank includes an accommodation chamber and a discharge outlet communicating with the accommodation chamber. The discharge tank includes an ejection outlet, an inlet, and an ejection chamber located between the ejection outlet and the inlet. The inlet communicates with the discharge outlet of the feed tank. The ejection assembly includes a rotation blade and a driving member. The rotation blade is received in the ejection chamber, and the rotation blade includes a rotation shaft and a blade extending from the rotation shaft. The driving member is connected to the rotation shaft and is capable of driving the rotation shaft to rotate with respect to the ejection chamber, so that the driving member drives the blade to swing from the inlet toward the ejection outlet.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A pet feeding apparatus comprising:
a feed tank comprising an accommodating chamber and a discharge outlet communicating with the accommodating chamber;
a discharge tank comprising an ejection outlet, an inlet, and an ejection chamber located between the ejection outlet and the inlet, wherein the inlet communicates with the discharge outlet of the feed tank; and
an ejection assembly comprising a rotation blade and a driving member, wherein the rotation blade is received in the ejection chamber, the rotation blade comprises a rotation shaft and a blade extending from the rotation shaft, and the driving member is connected to the rotation shaft and is capable of driving the rotation shaft to rotate with respect to the ejection chamber, so that the driving member drives the blade to swing from the inlet toward the ejection outlet;
wherein the ejection assembly comprises a torsion spring and a transmission assembly, the torsion spring is connected between the rotation blade and the discharge tank, and the transmission assembly is connected between the driving member and the rotation blade, and wherein, with the transmission assembly, the driving member selectively drives the rotation shaft to rotate so as to twist the torsion spring or releases the rotation shaft so as to release the torsion spring.

2. The pet feeding apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the driving member comprises a motor and a gear assembly, the gear assembly is connected between the motor and the rotation blade, and the motor drives the rotation shaft to rotate with the gear assembly.

3. The pet feeding apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the gear assembly comprises a first gear and a second gear engaged with each other, and a size of the first gear is the same as a size of the second gear.

4. The pet feeding apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission assembly comprises a first gear and a second gear, the first gear is an intermittent gear and has a first tooth portion and a first non-tooth portion, the second gear is an intermittent gear and has a second tooth portion and a second non-tooth portion, and the first tooth portion is engaged with the second tooth portion.

5. The pet feeding apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a feed guiding assembly, wherein the feed guiding assembly comprises a guiding member and an actuation member, the guiding member is disposed in the accommodation chamber of the feed tank, and the guiding member comprises a shaft member and a spiral blade extending from the shaft member, and wherein a spiral guiding channel is formed between the spiral blade and the shaft member, and the actuation member is connected to the shaft member, so that the actuation member drives the shaft member to rotate with respect to the accommodation chamber.

6. The pet feeding apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the spiral blade comprises a first end and a second end, and the second end is adjacent to the discharge outlet with respect to the first end, and wherein when the actuation member drives the shaft member to rotate, the second end is driven to move toward the discharge outlet.

7. The pet feeding apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the actuation member comprises a driving motor and a transmission gear assembly, the transmission gear assembly is connected between the driving motor and the guiding member, and the driving motor drives the shaft member to rotate with the transmission gear assembly.

8. The pet feeding apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the transmission gear assembly comprises a driving gear and a driven gear, and a size of the driving gear is different from a size of the driven gear.

9. The pet feeding apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the feed tank has a bottom wall, and the discharge outlet is on the bottom wall, and wherein the bottom wall further comprises a blocking portion, and the blocking portion is adjacent to the discharge outlet.

10. The pet feeding apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the driving member is connected to a control unit, and the control unit controls the driving member to drive the rotation shaft to rotate according to an input signal.

11. The pet feeding apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a feed sensor disposed in the ejection chamber and adjacent to the inlet, wherein the driving member drives the rotation shaft to rotate according to a feeding signal generated by the feed sensor.

12. The pet feeding apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a discharge sensor disposed in the ejection chamber and adjacent to the ejection outlet, wherein the driving member stops a rotation of the rotation shaft according to a discharging signal generated by the discharge sensor.

13. The pet feeding apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a rotatable base, wherein the feed tank and the discharge tank are disposed on the rotatable base.

Assignees

• Chicony Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Tsai Pei-Sheng
• Chen Wen-Lung

Classifications

• A01K5/0258 Primary

  with endless screws · CPC title

• A01K5/0114 Primary

  Pet food dispensers; Pet food trays (time-controlled A01K5/0291) · CPC title

• A01K5/0291

  with timing mechanisms, e.g. pet feeders · CPC title

• A01K5/02 Primary

  Automatic devices {(automatic identification devices for stock A01K11/006)} · CPC title

• A01K5/004

  with mixing or shredding element rotating on vertical axis · CPC title