JP4528568B2 - Automatic feeder - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic feeder that can automatically feed a pet without human intervention.

In recent years, various automatic feeders have been developed that can feed a pet even while the owner is away. Such an automatic feeder has a timer function, for example, and can supply food when the feeding time is reached (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-272295 A

  However, some of the above-described automatic feeders have a complicated structure in order to supply appropriate food at the feeding timing. Moreover, since the main body of the automatic feeder is placed on the ground, the pet can easily touch it. Pets may be able to recognize that food is contained inside the automatic feeder while food is supplied many times, so they can bite or fall over while trying to remove the food in the body. May break the automatic feeder. Further, when the main body is placed on the ground, it is easily affected by the weather such as rainwater. Furthermore, traffic may be hindered depending on the installation location.

  The present invention has been made to solve the conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide an automatic feeder that has a simple structure and can be installed at an appropriate place to supply food.

  The automatic feeder of the present invention includes a bag containing food, a support portion that supports the opening portion and the bottom portion of the bag so that the opening portion of the bag faces upward, and a predetermined timing from the support portion. And a release control unit that performs control to release the opening.

  With this configuration, the bag containing the bait is supported at the opening and the bottom so that the opening faces upward, and when the predetermined timing (feed supply timing) is reached, the opening is unsupported and the bag The bag falls over due to the weight of the food inside, the opening faces downward, and the food falls and is supplied. Therefore, it is only necessary to open the opening of the bag when feeding food, and feeding can be performed with a simple structure. In addition, since the food is supplied by dropping, it cannot be easily touched by the pet, is not easily affected by the weather, and even if it is installed in a high place where it does not hinder traffic, It is possible and can be installed in an appropriate place.

  Further, in the automatic feeding device of the present invention, the bag has a first string-like member attached to the opening and a second string-like member attached to the bottom, and the support portion is substantially The release control includes a spiral member that hangs the first string-like member that extends horizontally and suspends the bag, and a rod-like member that hangs the second string-like member and suspends the bag. The portion includes a rotation control unit that rotates the helical member to advance the first string-like member to an end portion of the helical member and separate the first string-like member from the end portion.

  With this configuration, the bag containing the bait is supported by the opening by the first string-like member being hung and hung on the spiral member, and further with the rotation of the spiral member, Gradually moving to the end, the first string member is detached from the spiral member, the opening is released and turned downward, and the bait falls and is supplied. Therefore, it is only necessary to have a structure for rotating the spiral member, and a simple structure can be obtained. Moreover, when there are many feeding frequency, it can respond easily by using a spiral member with many winding frequency.

  Moreover, the automatic feeder of this invention becomes a structure in which the said release control part makes the rotation speed of the said helical member proportional to time.

  With this configuration, the number of turns from the end of the spiral member to the position where the first string member is hung is proportional to the time until the food in the bag having the first string member is supplied. become. For this reason, the hanging position of the first string-like member in the helical member according to the feed supply timing can be easily specified, and not only when the feed supply timing is every predetermined time but also when it is irregular Applicable.

  In the automatic feeder of the present invention, the rotation control unit includes a motor to which the spiral member is attached so that the extending direction of the spiral member coincides with the rotation axis direction, and the motor at the predetermined timing. It has the structure which has a power supply control part which performs control which supplies electric power with respect to.

  With this configuration, the spiral member can be rotated as the motor is driven.

  In the automatic feeding device of the present invention, the power supply control unit includes a first opening / closing switch configured in a circuit to which the motor is connected, and a first opening / closing switch that can contact the first opening / closing switch at an outer edge portion. And a first rotating part that rotates as time elapses, and the first opening / closing switch is closed when the first protrusion contacts the first opening / closing switch. The electric power is supplied to the motor.

  With this configuration, the first opening / closing switch can be closed at a predetermined timing to supply power to the motor for driving, that is, the spiral member can be rotated.

  Further, the automatic feeder of the present invention has a configuration in which the rotation control unit includes a power supply stop control unit that performs control to stop power supply to the motor when the spiral member rotates a predetermined amount. .

  With this configuration, the rotational speed of the spiral member can be kept constant.

  In the automatic feeder according to the present invention, the power supply stop control unit can contact the second open / close switch configured in a circuit to which the motor is connected and the second open / close switch on the outer edge. And a second rotating part that rotates in conjunction with driving of the motor, and the second opening and closing when the second protrusion contacts the second opening / closing switch. The switch is opened, and the power supply to the motor is stopped.

  With this configuration, it is possible to appropriately control the rotational speed of the spiral member.

  In the automatic feeding device of the present invention, the rotation control unit starts power supply control to the motor by the power supply control unit after the power supply to the motor is stopped by the power supply stop control unit. In this case, the power resupply control unit performs control to supply power to the motor without using the second opening / closing switch.

  With this configuration, even when the second rotating unit is stopped with the second opening / closing switch opened, it is possible to supply power to the motor, and further, the second rotating unit is rotated to rotate the second rotating unit. The open / close switch can be closed again.

  The automatic feeder of the present invention is configured such that the first string-like member is attached so as to penetrate the opening, and the opening and the bottom are supported by the support. When the opening is released from the support portion, the opening is opened.

  With this configuration, when the opening is supported, the first string-like member is attached so as to penetrate the opening, so that the opening is naturally closed by the weight of the food in the bag. It becomes easy to maintain food safety and hygiene. Further, when the opening is released, the opening is opened, so that it is possible to easily drop the bait.

  The automatic feeder according to the present invention only needs to release the opening portion of the bag that is supported when the food is supplied, and can supply the food with a simple structure. In addition, since the bait falls and is supplied, the bait can be supplied even if it is installed at a high place, and can be installed in an appropriate place.

  Hereinafter, the automatic feeder of embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using drawing.

  An external view of the automatic feeder of the present invention is shown in FIG. The automatic feeder 100 shown in the figure has a protective cover 102, a drop duct 104, a throttle pipe 106, a bait drop pipe 108, and a string 110. The automatic feeder 100 is arranged in a suspended state by the string 110 attached to the upper protective cover 102 being hung on the support bar 150. In addition, as long as the automatic feeder 110 is arrange | positioned in the suspended state, means other than the string 110 may be used.

  A main body (not shown) of the automatic feeder 100 is disposed in the protective cover 102. This main body performs a feed supply operation at a predetermined timing, and suspends a feed bag (not shown) containing the feed. The food in the feeding bag goes out of the feeding bag by the feeding operation of the main body, further passes through the dropping duct 104, the throttle tube 106, and the food dropping tube 108, and falls on the feeding plate 112.

  Next, the configuration of the main body will be described. A first configuration example of the main body is shown in FIG. A main body 200-1 shown in the figure has a control circuit 201 and a feeding coil 210. The control circuit 201 includes a battery 202, a timer 204, an open / close switch 206, and a DC motor 208.

  The timer 204 is disposed in the vicinity of the open / close switch 206, and rotates with time, for example, rotates once in 12 hours. A protrusion 205 is provided on the outer periphery of the timer 204.

  The timer 204 turns the open / close switch 206 on and off as time elapses. Specifically, when the timer 204 rotates, the protrusion 205 eventually comes into contact with the open / close switch 206 and presses the open / close switch 206. The open / close switch 206 is closed by being pressed by the protrusion 205 and is turned on. As a result, the control circuit 201 becomes conductive, power from the battery 202 as a DC power source is supplied to the DC motor 208, and the DC motor 208 rotates.

  Further, when the timer 204 continues to rotate, the protrusion 205 does not press the open / close switch 206. The open / close switch 206 is opened when it is not pressed by the protrusion 205 and is turned off. As a result, the control circuit 201 becomes non-conductive, power from the battery 202 is not supplied to the DC motor 208, and the DC motor 208 stops.

  In this manner, the DC motor 208 repeats rotation and stop by repeating the operation accompanying the contact and separation of the open / close switch 206 by the protrusion 205 in the timer 204. The rotating shaft of the DC motor 208 extends substantially horizontally. A feeding coil 210 extending substantially horizontally along the rotating shaft is attached to the rotating shaft of the DC motor 208.

  An example of the arrangement of the feeding coil 210 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, one end of the feeding coil 210 is attached to the rotating shaft 209 of the DC motor 208, and the other end is an open end. A support bar 212 is inserted inside the feeding coil 210. The support rod 212 is for preventing the other end (open end) of the feeding coil 210 from being lowered by its own weight and maintaining the horizontal in the extending direction of the feeding coil 210. The support rod 212 is supported by a support portion 214 on the side opposite to the DC motor 208. Further, the support rod 212 can be inserted and removed from the support portion 214 side, and the feeding coil 210 can be detached from the rotating shaft of the DC motor 208. For this reason, it is possible to remove the feeding coil 210 from the rotating shaft of the DC motor 208 and suspend the feeding bag 300 on the feeding coil 210 after extracting the support rod 214, and to easily perform the work. It is possible.

  Again, referring back to FIG. As the DC motor 208 rotates, the feeding coil 210 rotates along the winding direction at the same rotational speed as the DC motor 208. A feeding bag 300 containing food is suspended from the feeding coil 210. The feeding bag 300 suspended from the feeding coil 210 moves toward the open end of the feeding coil 210 by one turn each time the feeding coil 210 makes one turn, and then comes out of the feeding coil 210.

  The structure of the feeding bag 300 is shown in FIG. A feeding bag 300 shown in FIG. 4 includes a bag main body 302, a support string 304, a tensioned opening 306, and a recovery string 310.

  One end of the support string 304 is hooked on the feeding coil 210, and the other end passes through the tensioned opening 306 and is tied to the tensioned opening 306. The collection string 310 has one end tied to the collection string holding metal fitting 216 provided in the automatic feeder 100 and the other end tied to the bottom of the bag main body 302.

  The tensioned opening 306 has an opening stress and maintains the opening state of the feeding bag 300 in a state where an external force is not applied. However, as shown in FIG. 4, when the bait is accommodated in the bag body 302 and the one end of the support string 304 is hung on the feeding coil 210, the downward force applied to the bag body 302 due to the weight of the bait The feeding bag 300 is almost closed. When the feeding bag 300 is in a closed state, it is easy to maintain food safety and hygiene.

  When the feeding bag 300 is suspended from the feeding coil 210, as shown in FIG. 4, the tensioned opening 306 is maintained in the upward direction. As the feeding coil 210 rotates, the support string 304 gradually moves toward the open end of the feeding coil 210. When the support string 304 is detached from the feeding coil 210, the feeding bag 300 is supported only by the recovery string holding metal fitting 216. For this reason, the feeding bag 300 falls due to the weight of the food, the bottom portion faces upward, and the tensioned opening 306 faces downward. Further, the feeding bag 300 is opened by the opening stress of the tensioned opening 306, and the stored food falls. Further, as described above, the bait passes through the drop duct 104, the throttle tube 106, and the bait drop tube 108 and falls onto the bait plate 112.

  When the above-described main body 200-1 is used, the rotation speed of the timer 204, the arrangement of the protrusions 205 in the timer 204, and the rotation amount of the DC motor 208 while the on / off switch 206 is kept on, that is, the feeding coil By appropriately setting the position where the feeding bag 300 is suspended in the feeding coil 210 according to the amount of rotation of 210, it is possible to supply food at a desired timing. Specifically, the main body 200-1 depends on the rotation speed of the timer 204, the arrangement of the protrusions 205 in the timer 204, and the rotation speed of the feeding coil 210 while the open / close switch 206 is kept on. When feeding coil 210 is configured to rotate once in N hours, if feeding after M hours is necessary, feeding is performed at a position where the number of turns from the open end is M / N in feeding coil 210. The bag 300 may be hung.

  For example, in the main body 200-1, the timer 204 is rotated once in 12 hours, the two protrusions 205 are arranged at positions facing the outer periphery of the timer 204, and the DC motor 208 is maintained in the ON state of the open / close switch 206. Let us consider a case in which the structure rotates once during the period.

  In this case, if the supply of food every 6 hours is required, the feeding bag 300 may be hung in the main body 200-1 at each position that makes one round in order from the open end of the feeding coil 210. As a result, the open / close switch 206 is turned on every 6 hours, and each time the DC motor 208 rotates once and the feeding coil 210 also rotates one time, the feeding bag 300 comes off from the feeding coil 210 and feed is supplied. become.

  Moreover, if supply of the food for every 12 hours is requested | required, what is necessary is just to make it the food supply bag 300 hang for every position which makes 2 rounds in order from the open end of the feeding coil 210. As a result, the open / close switch 206 is turned on every 6 hours, and each time the DC motor 208 rotates once and the feeding coil 210 also rotates once, every 12 hours, that is, every time the motor rotates twice. In addition, the feeding coil 210 also rotates twice, and the feeding bag 300 is detached from the feeding coil 210 and fed.

  Moreover, it can respond also when the supply timing of a bait is irregular. For example, if feeding of food after 12 hours, 18 hours, and 24 hours is required, the feeding bag 300 is placed at a position that makes two rounds from the open end of the feeding coil 210, a position that makes three turns, and a position that makes four turns. Should be hung. As a result, the open / close switch 206 is turned on every 6 hours, and each time the DC motor 208 rotates once and the feeding coil 210 also rotates once, when the feeding coil 210 rotates twice after 12 hours, When three turns after 18 hours and four turns after 24 hours, the feeding bag 300 is detached from the feeding coil 210 and fed.

  A second configuration example of the main body is shown in FIG. The main body 200-2 shown in the figure has a control circuit 251 and a feeding coil 210. The control circuit 201 includes an AC power supply 252, a timer 254, an open / close switch 256, a coil 258, a transformer 262, a rectifier 264, a photoelectric tube 268, a resistor 270, a capacitor 272, a resistor 274, transistors 276 and 278, a diode 280, a resistor 282, DC A motor 284, a limiter unit 286, and an open / close switch 288 are provided.

  As with the timer 204 in the first configuration example, the timer 254 is provided with a protrusion 255 on the outer peripheral portion, and rotates as time passes. The protrusion 255 eventually contacts the open / close switch 206 by the rotation of the timer 254 and presses the open / close switch 256. The open / close switch 256 is closed by being pressed by the protrusion 255 and is turned on. Thereby, the control circuit 251 becomes conductive.

  At the time of conduction, the power supplied from the AC power supply 252 is converted into a voltage by the transformer 262 and further converted into direct current by the rectifier 264 and then supplied to the photoelectric tube 268 and the DC motor 284. When the AC power supply 252 is a household power supply (AC 100 V), the power supplied by the AC power supply 252 is converted into DC power (for example, 10.5 V) by the transformer 262 and the rectifier 264 and then the DC motor 284. Etc.

  The phototube 268 is lit by the supplied power. Thereby, the user can recognize the operation of the automatic feeder 100.

  The DC motor 284 is rotated by the supplied electric power. The rotating shaft of the DC motor 284 extends substantially horizontally, like the DC motor 208 in the first configuration example, and a feeding coil 210 extending substantially horizontally along the rotating shaft is attached. The feeding coil 210 is arranged as shown in FIG. The feeding coil 210 rotates along the winding direction at the same rotational speed as the DC motor 284 as the DC motor 284 rotates. A feeding bag 300 containing food is suspended from the feeding coil 210. The feeding bag 300 is directed to the open end of the feeding coil 210 by one turn each time the feeding coil 210 makes one turn. And then move away from the feeding coil 210. The feeding bag 300 has the configuration shown in FIG. When the support string 304 is detached from the feeding coil 210, the food stored in the feeding bag 300 falls. As described above, the bait passes through the drop duct 104, the throttle tube 106, and the bait drop tube 108 and falls onto the bait plate 112.

  The limiter unit 286 is disposed near the open / close switch 288 and rotates coaxially with the DC motor 284. A protrusion 287 is attached to the outer peripheral portion of the limiter portion 286. When the DC motor 284 makes one rotation and the limiter unit 286 makes one rotation along with this, the protrusion 287 contacts the opening / closing switch 288 and presses the opening / closing switch 288. The open / close switch 288 is opened by being pressed by the protrusion 287 and is turned off. As a result, even if the open / close switch 256 is pressed by the protrusion 255 in the timer 254 and continues to be on, the control circuit 251 does not conduct, power is not supplied to the DC motor 284, and the DC motor 284 Stop.

  That is, the limiter unit 286 can keep the rotation speed of the DC motor 284, that is, the rotation speed of the feeding coil 210, while the open / close switch 256 is kept in the on state. When it is difficult to adjust the time for which the open / close switch 256 is kept on, in other words, when it is difficult to adjust the rotation speed of the DC motor 284 while the open / close switch 256 is kept on. Thus, by providing the limiter unit 286 as described above, the rotational speed of the DC motor 284 can be appropriately set.

  When the open / close switch 288 is turned off and the DC motor 284 stops, the rotation of the limiter unit 286 that rotates coaxially with the DC motor 284 also stops. For this reason, the open / close switch 288 remains pressed by the protrusion 287 and maintains the OFF state.

  Further, when the timer 254 continues to rotate, the protrusion 255 does not press the open / close switch 256 again. The opening / closing switch 256 is opened by being not pressed by the protrusion 255 and is turned off.

  Thereafter, when the timer 254 continues to rotate and the protrusion 255 comes into contact with and presses the open / close switch 256 again, and the open / close switch 256 is turned on, the CR delay constituted by the resistor 270 and the capacitor 272 is bypassed. The circuit bypasses the open / close switch 288 and supplies power to the DC motor 284. For this reason, the DC motor 284 can rotate even when the open / close switch 288 is in an OFF state. Then, the limiter unit 286 rotates with the rotation of the DC motor 284, and the open / close switch 288 is closed again and turned on. Further, when the DC motor 284 makes one rotation and the limiter unit 286 makes one rotation along with this, the protrusion 287 comes into contact with and presses the open / close switch 288 again, and the open / close switch 288 is opened and turned off. The DC motor 284 stops.

  With such an operation, the DC motor 284 repeats the operation of rotating once every time the open / close switch 256 is turned on.

  When the main body 200-2 described above is used, the position where the feeding bag 300 is suspended in the feeding coil 210 is appropriately set according to the rotational speed of the timer 254 and the arrangement of the protrusions 255 in the timer 254. The feed can be supplied at the timing. Specifically, when the main body 200-2 is configured such that the feeding coil 210 rotates once in N hours according to the rotation speed of the timer 204 and the arrangement of the protrusions 205 in the timer 204, the M time If subsequent feeding is necessary, the feeding bag 300 may be suspended at a position where the number of turns from the open end is M / N in the feeding coil 210.

  In the main body 200-2, when an AC motor is used instead of the DC motor 284, the power from the AC power source 252 may be directly supplied to the AC motor. Further, in the main body 200-2, the limiter unit 286 can be omitted when the time for which the open / close switch 256 is kept on can be adjusted.

  Thus, the automatic feeder 100 according to the present embodiment hangs the support string 304 on the feeding coil 210 and holds the recovery string 310 while holding the recovery string 310 so that the tensioned opening 306 faces upward. It is connected to the metal fitting 216 and supported. When the feed supply timing is reached, the support string 304 is detached from the feed coil 210 with the rotation of the feed coil 210 according to the passage of time, and the feed bag 300 falls down due to the weight of the feed, and the tensioned opening Part 306 faces down. Further, the feeding bag 300 is opened by the opening stress of the tensioned opening 306, and the stored food falls, passes through the falling duct 104, the throttle tube 106, and the food dropping tube 108, and the food tray 112. Fall on top.

  Accordingly, it is possible to supply food appropriately according to the supply timing with a simple structure in which the feeding coil 210 is rotated as time passes. Further, since the automatic feeder 100 is arranged in a suspended state and the food is dropped and supplied, the pet cannot easily touch it, is not easily affected by the weather, and does not hinder traffic. It becomes possible to install in such a high place. Moreover, when there are many feeding frequency, it can respond easily by using the feeding coil 210 with many windings.

  Moreover, the automatic feeder 100 in this embodiment makes the rotation speed of the feeding coil 210 proportional to time. For this reason, the number of turns from the open end of the feeding coil 210 to the position where the support string 304 is hung is proportional to the time until the food in the feeding bag 300 having the support string 304 is supplied. Can easily recognize at which position of the feeding coil 210 the feeding bag 300 should be suspended according to the desired feed supply timing, not only when the feed supply timing is every predetermined time, Applicable even in irregular cases.

  Moreover, since the bait is accommodated in the feeding bag 300, it can also be applied to the supply of baits other than solids. Furthermore, since different baits can be accommodated and supplied to each of the plurality of feeding bags 300, the degree of freedom of the kind and amount of the baits at each supply can be increased. In addition, since the feeding bag 300 that has become empty after the food has fallen is continuously supported by the recovery string holding metal fitting 216, the feeding bag 300 is prevented from being clogged or scattered inside the automatic feeder 100.

  As described above, the automatic feeder according to the present invention has a simple structure and has an effect that it can be installed at an appropriate place to supply food, and is useful as an automatic feeder.

It is an external view of an automatic feeder. It is a figure which shows the 1st structural example of a main body. It is a figure which shows an example of arrangement | positioning of a feeding coil. It is a figure which shows the structure of a feeding bag. It is a figure which shows the 2nd structural example of a main body.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Automatic feeder 102 Protective cover 104 Falling duct 106 Throttle pipe 108 Feeding fall pipe 110 String 112 Feeding plate 200-1, 200-2 Main body 201, 251 Control circuit 202 Battery 204, 254 Timer 205, 255, 287 Projection 206, 256 288 Open / close switch 208, 284 DC motor 209 Rotating shaft 210 Feeding coil 216 Recovery string holding bracket 252 AC power supply 258 Coil 262 Transformer 264 Rectifier 268 Phototube 270, 274, 282 Resistance 272 Capacitor 276, 278 Transistor 280 Diode 286 Limiter section 300 Feeding bag 302 Bag body 304 Support string 306 Tensioned opening 310 Collection string

Claims (8)

A bag containing food,
A support portion that supports the opening and the bottom of the bag so that the opening of the bag faces upward;
Possess a release controller for performing control to release the opening portion from the supporting portion at a predetermined timing,
The bag
A first string member attached to the opening;
A second string member attached to the bottom,
The support part is
A spiral member that extends substantially horizontally and is suspended by the first string member to suspend the bag;
A rod-like member that hangs the second string-like member and suspends the bag;
The release controller is
By rotating the helical member, the automatic feeder, characterized in that said first cord-like member is allowed to proceed to the end of the helical member, which have a rotation control unit to disengage from said end. The automatic feeder according to claim 1 , wherein the release control unit makes the rotational speed of the spiral member proportional to time. The rotation control unit
A motor to which the spiral member is attached so that the extending direction of the spiral member coincides with the rotation axis direction;
Automatic feeder according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it has a power supply control unit which controls supplying power to the motor at the predetermined timing. The power supply control unit
A first open / close switch configured in a circuit to which the motor is connected;
A first protrusion that has contact with the first open / close switch on the outer edge, and a first rotating part that rotates over time;
The automatic feeder according to claim 3 , wherein when the first protrusion comes into contact with the first opening / closing switch, the first opening / closing switch is closed and power is supplied to the motor. . The said rotation control part has a power supply stop control part which performs control which stops the power supply to the said motor, when the said helical member rotates predetermined amount, The Claim 3 or 4 characterized by the above-mentioned. Automatic feeder. The power supply stop controller is
A second open / close switch configured in a circuit to which the motor is connected;
Having a second protrusion that can contact the second opening / closing switch on the outer edge, and a second rotating part that rotates in conjunction with the driving of the motor;
6. The automatic operation according to claim 5 , wherein when the second protrusion comes into contact with the second opening / closing switch, the second opening / closing switch is opened and power supply to the motor is stopped. Feeder. When the power supply control unit starts power supply control to the motor after the power supply stop control unit stops power supply to the motor, the rotation control unit performs the second opening / closing operation. The automatic feeder according to claim 6 , further comprising a power resupply control unit that performs control to supply power to the motor without using a switch. The first string-like member is attached so as to penetrate the opening. When the opening and the bottom are supported by the support, the opening is substantially closed, and the opening is opened from the support. The automatic feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the opening is opened when the portion is released.

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