An apparatus for dispensing viscous animal food includes a container and a dispensing sheet. The container includes a cavity formed by a sidewall, a concave bottom, and an open top. The sheet includes a perforated transverse wall or web with a downwardly curving profile that conforms to the concave
An apparatus for dispensing viscous animal food includes a container and a dispensing sheet. The container includes a cavity formed by a sidewall, a concave bottom, and an open top. The sheet includes a perforated transverse wall or web with a downwardly curving profile that conforms to the concave bottom and a flange extending downwardly from the perimeter of the web. Rails are disposed along the sidewall to, along with conforming recesses in the perimeter of the sheet, guide movement of the sheet in the cavity. The flange interacts with the sidewall to resist pivotal movement of the sheet. A channel is provided about the perimeter of the concave bottom to receive the flange and enable receipt of the web on the concave bottom. Food disposed on the concave bottom is extruded through the sheet by downward forces applied by an animal during eating.
대표청구항▼
1. An apparatus for dispensing viscous food to an animal using its tongue, the apparatus comprising: a container for holding the viscous food, the container having a cavity formed by a bottom wall, a sidewall, and an open top;a dispensing sheet having a web with a concave profile that curves downwar
1. An apparatus for dispensing viscous food to an animal using its tongue, the apparatus comprising: a container for holding the viscous food, the container having a cavity formed by a bottom wall, a sidewall, and an open top;a dispensing sheet having a web with a concave profile that curves downwardly toward a center of the web and toward the bottom wall of the container, the web having a plurality of apertures formed therethrough; anda flange extending from the perimeter of the web downwardly in the direction of the concave profile, the flange being slideable along the sidewall to enable movement of the sheet axially relative to the cavity in a direction substantially parallel to the flange, the flange resisting pivotal movement of the web. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: an annular channel disposed about the perimeter of the bottom wall of the cavity and configured to receive the flange of the dispensing sheet. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the annular channel has a depth that is equal to or greater than the length of the flange, and wherein receipt of the flange by the annular channel enables the web of the sheet to contact the bottom wall of the cavity. 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bottom wall has a concave profile that curves away from the open top and conforms to the concave profile of the web of the dispensing sheet. 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one or more of the plurality of apertures in the web are located proximate the center of the web. 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the concave profile of the web enables the tongue of an animal to advance toward and across the center of the dispensing sheet in a downward arcuate path, and wherein forces applied by the animal's tongue move the sheet toward and against a portion of the viscous food disposed between the web and the bottom wall of the cavity to extrude at least a portion of the food through at least one of the plurality of apertures. 7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: guide rails disposed along the sidewall; andconforming recesses formed in the perimeter of the dispensing sheet, the recesses receiving the guide rails to guide vertical sliding movement of the sheet within the cavity of the container. 8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a lid that sealably covers the open top. 9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a collar that threadably engages the container proximate the open top, the collar being configured to retain the sheet within the cavity. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein an exterior sidewall of the container is tapered to provide a diameter of a base of the container that is greater than an exterior top diameter in order to inhibit the container from toppling. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the base of the container is disproportionately weighted in order to further inhibit the container from toppling. 12. The apparatus of claim 1 in combination with a quantity of the viscous animal food positioned in the container between the bottom wall and the web of the dispensing sheet, at least a portion of the food being extruded through one or more of the apertures in the sheet by pressing of the tongue of the animal against the sheet toward the bottom wall of the container. 13. An apparatus for dispensing viscous food to an animal using its tongue, the apparatus comprising: a container having a hollow interior formed by a closed first end, a sidewall, and an open second end, the first end being concave and extending in a direction away from the open second end;a dispensing sheet having a web and a flange, the web including a plurality of apertures extending through the thickness of the web and having a concave trough profile that curves downwardly away from a periphery of the web towards the closed first end, the web being configured to conform to the first end of the container, the flange extending from the periphery of the web downwardly toward the first closed end and being slideable along the sidewall; anda channel disposed about the perimeter of the closed second end and configured to receive the flange therein. 14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising: a plurality of guide rails disposed along an interior surface of the sidewall and extending along at least a portion of the length of the sidewall between the first and second ends; anda plurality of conforming recesses in the perimeter of the sheet, the recesses receiving the guide rails for sliding movement of the sheet along the length of the sidewall and within the interior of the container. 15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the flange resists pivotal movement of sheet out of a plane that is substantially transverse to the length of the sidewall between the first and second ends. 16. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising: a portion of viscous food disposed in the container between the first end and the web of the sheet, the portion being extruded through one or more of the apertures in the sheet by movement of the sheet toward the first end in response to the tongue of the animal pressing against the sheet. 17. An apparatus for dispensing a viscous material, the apparatus comprising: a container having a hollow interior formed by a closed first end, a sidewall, and an open second end, the first end having a depressed central portion that slopes in a direction away from the open second end and a channel extending about the perimeter of the central portion and between the central portion and the sidewall; anda dispensing sheet having a web and a flange, the web including a plurality of apertures extending through the thickness thereof, the web having a depressed profile that slopes away from the perimeter of the web and toward the first end of the container, the web being configured to conform to the central portion of the first end of the container and being moveable toward and into contact with the first end of the container, the flange extending from the perimeter of the web toward the channel and being configured for receipt by the channel. 18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising: a plurality of guide rails disposed along an interior surface of the sidewall and extending along at least a portion of the length of the sidewall between the first and second ends; anda plurality of conforming recesses in the perimeter of the sheet, the recesses receiving the guide rails and stabilizing movement of the sheet within the container. 19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the flange is slideable along the sidewall and resists pivotal movement of the sheet out of a plane that is substantially transverse to the length of the sidewall between the first and second ends. 20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the concave profile of the web enables the tongue of an animal to advance toward and across the center of the dispensing sheet in a downward arcuate path, and wherein forces applied by the animal's tongue move the sheet toward and against a portion of the viscous food disposed between the web and the bottom wall of the cavity to extrude at least a portion of the food through at least one of the plurality of apertures.
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이 특허에 인용된 특허 (13)
Halterman, C. Todd, Actuated strainer for bottles.
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