APPARATUS AND SYSTEM FOR MONITORING THE INTAKE OF FOOD BY ANIMALS
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An animal feeder comprising:
- a hopper for storing pieces of food having an opening;
a gate movable with respect to the hopper between an open position rendering the opening of the hopper at least partially accessible to an animal and a closed position at least partially preventing access to the opening of the hopper by an animal; and
a switch coupled to the gate.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An animal feeder comprising a hopper for storing pieces of food is provided. The hopper includes an opening and a gate movable with respect to the hopper between an open position rendering the opening at least partially accessible to an animal and a closed position at least partially preventing access to the opening by an animal. A switch is coupled for activation by movement of the gate.
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Citations
123 Claims
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1. An animal feeder comprising:
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a hopper for storing pieces of food having an opening; a gate movable with respect to the hopper between an open position rendering the opening of the hopper at least partially accessible to an animal and a closed position at least partially preventing access to the opening of the hopper by an animal; and a switch coupled to the gate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An animal feeder comprising:
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a hopper; and a screen coupled to the hopper to retain food within the hopper and provide access by an animal to the food. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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24. The animal feeder of claim 23, further comprising means for transmitting the weight of liquid contained within the hopper.
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25. The animal feeder of claim 23, wherein a top end of the reservoir is either open to the atmosphere or covered.
- 26. The animal feeder of claim 23, wherein the reservoir is defined by a body portion of the hopper.
- 28. The animal feeder of claim 23, wherein the valve comprises a valve housing and a nipple mounted for movement with respect to the valve housing to permit selective flow of liquid from the reservoir.
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34. An animal feeder comprising:
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a hopper having an opening and an interior for storing pieces of food; a gate movable with respect to the hopper between an open position rendering the opening of the hopper at least partially accessible to an animal and a closed position at least partially preventing access to the opening by an animal, the gate being pivotable to rotate between the open and closed positions. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 59)
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43. A method of communicating feeding activity of an animal, the method comprising the steps of:
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storing data corresponding to individual feeding bouts; and displaying the individual feeding bouts. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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56. A method of monitoring feeding activity of an animal, the method comprising the steps of:
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communicating data corresponding to individual feeding bouts to a remote location; and displaying the individual feeding bouts at the remote location. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58)
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60. A method of monitoring the health of an animal, the method comprising the steps of:
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collecting data corresponding to the feeding activity of the animal; and receiving the data at a remote location. - View Dependent Claims (61, 62)
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123. An animal feeder comprising:
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a hopper; a reservoir defined by the hopper for storing a liquid; and a valve configured to permit selective flow of liquid from the reservoir.
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Specification