APPARATUS AND SYSTEM FOR MONITORING THE INTAKE OF FOOD BY ANIMALS

• US 20090126640A1
• Filed: 03/03/2006
• Published: 05/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Research Diets, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Research Diets, Inc.
• Inventors: Williams, Matthew R., Kockanek, Jaroslaw, Ulman, Edward A., Compton, Douglas S.
• Application Number:
  US11/817,775
• Publication Number:
  US 20090126640A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 119/54
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 1/031 Cages for laboratory animals; Cages for measuring metabolism of animals
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 5/02 Automatic devices automatic identification devices for stock A01K11/006
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 5/025 with doors or lids activated by the animals to access feeding place or trough
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 5/0275 with mechanisms for delivery of measured doses A01K5/0233 takes precedence

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.

Claims

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.

2. The animal feeder of claim 1, wherein activation of the switch by an animal signals a motivation of the animal to eat food stored in the hopper.

3. The animal feeder of claim 1, wherein the switch is activated by pushing or pulling of the gate by the animal.

4. The animal feeder of claim 1, the feeder being configured to open the gate after an animal activates the switch by contacting the gate.

5. The animal feeder of claim 4, the feeder being configured to open the gate after an animal contacts the gate a pre-determined number of times.

6. The animal feeder of claim 1, further comprising a cam coupled to the gate and an arm coupled to the switch, wherein the cam moves with respect to the arm.

7. The animal feeder of claim 1, the switch being selected from the group consisting of a vibration sensor an accelerometer, a displacement switch, a light beam switch or other mechanical sensor.

8. An animal feeder comprising:

a hopper; and

a screen coupled to the hopper to retain food within the hopper and provide access by an animal to the food.

9. The animal feeder of claim 8, wherein the screen is positioned at least partially within the hopper in such a way as to contain food within the hopper while permitting access to the food by an animal.

10. The animal feeder of claim 8, further comprising a mesh engaged by a surface of the screen.

11. The animal feeder of claim 10, wherein the mesh is releasably engaged with respect to the screen so that it can be removed and replaced.

12. The animal feeder of claim 10, wherein the mesh is formed from at least one wire.

13. The animal feeder of claim 12, wherein elongated runs of the wire run in a substantially horizontal direction.

14. The animal feeder of claim 12, wherein elongated runs of the wire run in a substantially vertical direction.

15. The animal feeder of claim 12, wherein the wire is rounded or has a circular cross-sectional shape.

16. The animal feeder of claim 8, wherein the screen is metallic.

17. The animal feeder of claim 8, wherein the screen is a one-piece component.

18. The animal feeder of claim 8, wherein the screen includes at least one flange to facilitate interconnection of the screen and a surface of the hopper.

19. The animal feeder of claim 8, wherein the screen comprises a plurality of formed wires coupled to opposing headers.

20. The animal feeder of claim 19, wherein the opposing headers are configured to engage or snap onto the hopper.

21. The animal feeder of claim 8, wherein the screen is shaped to allow an animal access to contained food from at least one of the top, side or bottom of the hopper.

22. The animal feeder of claim 8, wherein the screen defines openings that are larger than an animal muzzle but smaller than pellets of the food.

24. The animal feeder of claim 23, further comprising means for transmitting the weight of liquid contained within the hopper.

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.

27. The animal feeder of claim 26, wherein the valve is coupled to the body portion of the hopper.

32. The animal feeder of claim 26, wherein a recess is defined in the body portion of the hopper to provide at least partial clearance for the head of the laboratory animal.

33. The animal feeder of claim 32, the recess comprising a sloped wall disposed to capture unconsumed liquid released from the reservoir.

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.

29. The animal feeder of claim 28, wherein the nipple is spring loaded.

30. The animal feeder of claim 28, further comprising a seal positioned to provide a selective seal between the nipple and the valve housing.

31. The animal feeder of claim 30, wherein the seal closes an interface between the nipple and the valve housing in a closed position of the valve.

34. An animal feeder comprising:

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.

35. The animal feeder of claim 34, further comprising a cam coupled to the gate.

36. The animal feeder of claim 35, further comprising an arm connected to a servo, wherein the cam moves with respect to the arm.

37. The animal feeder of claim 36, wherein the cam is mechanically grounded against the arm in the closed position of the gate.

38. The animal feeder of claim 36, wherein the servo is configured to be deactivated in one or more positions of the gate.

39. The animal feeder of claim 34, wherein the gate is configured to be captured in a pre-selected position.

40. The animal feeder of claim 39, further comprising a surface associated with the cam or the gate to capture the gate in a pre-selected position.

41. The animal feeder of claim 34, wherein the gate is biased toward a desired position under the force of gravity.

42. The animal feeder of claim 34, wherein the gate is pivotable about a shaft to rotate between the open and closed positions.

59. The animal feeder of claim 38, wherein the servo and gate are configured to be maintained in one or more positions of the gate when the servo is deactivated.

43. A method of communicating feeding activity of an animal, the method comprising the steps of:

storing data corresponding to individual feeding bouts; and

displaying the individual feeding bouts.

44. The method of claim 43, the displaying step comprising displaying the individual feeding bouts in a graphical user interface (GUI).

45. The method of claim 43 further comprising the step of storing data corresponding to a cumulative feeding bout.

46. The method of claim 45 further comprising the step of storing cumulative feeding bout data of at least one group of animals, wherein at least one animal is a member of a group of animals.

47. The method of claim 46 further comprising the step of calculating an average cumulative feeding bout of a group of animals.

48. The method of claim 47 further comprising the step of displaying the average cumulative feeding bout of a group of animals.

49. The method of claim 45 further comprising the step of resetting the cumulative feeding bout measurement to a pre-determined value in the event of a change in an environmental condition.

50. The method of claim 45 further comprising the step of resetting the cumulative feeding bout measurement to a pre-determined value after a pre-determined time interval.

51. The method of claim 45 further comprising the step of displaying the cumulative feeding bout.

52. The method of claim 43 further comprising the steps of displaying the individual feeding bouts and displaying an environmental condition with respect to time.

53. The method of claim 43 further comprising the step of filtering individual feeding bout data in a specified data range.

54. The method of claim 53 further comprising the step of displaying the individual feeding bout within the specified data range.

55. The method of claim 53 further comprising the step of displaying the individual feeding bout outside of the specified data range.

56. A method of monitoring feeding activity of an animal, the method comprising the steps of:

communicating data corresponding to individual feeding bouts to a remote location; and

displaying the individual feeding bouts at the remote location.

57. The method of claim 56 further comprising the step of communicating data corresponding to individual feeding bouts of multiple animals to a remote location.

58. The method of claim 56 further comprising the step of communicating the data over a network.

60. A method of monitoring the health of an animal, the method comprising the steps of:

collecting data corresponding to the feeding activity of the animal; and

receiving the data at a remote location.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein the recording step does not involve human interaction with or direct observation of the animals.

62. The method of claim 60, said receiving step comprising receiving a signal via an audible, visual, e-mail, pager, or other signaling mechanism that an animal is unhealthy.

123. An animal feeder comprising:

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.