Granted Patent B2

US 12,635,665 · App. 18/865,448 · Granted May 26, 2026

Inventors: Jacob Zuppke (Bloomfield Hills, MI); Brad Baxter (Bloomfield Hills, MI); Daniel Ronge (Munich, DE); Mark Zeh (Munich, DE); Jason Weihman (Troy, MI); Garrison Hefter (Clawson, MI); Jason Smith (West Bloomfield, MI)

Assignee: AUTOMATED PET CARE PRODUCTS, LLC

A01K5/0114A01K5/0291

Abstract

Claims (50)

1 . A feeding assembly configured to automatically present a food to an animal for consumption, the feeding assembly including:

a) a container storage subassembly configured to store a plurality of containers of the food therein;

b) a container handling subassembly configured to retrieve and/or receive a container from the container storage subassembly;

c) a container transport subassembly configured to move the container handling subassembly in one or more linear directions from a loading position at the container storage subassembly to a feeding position at a feeding area;

d) a container opening subassembly configured to open the container while being transferred to the feeding area from the container storage subassembly, wherein the container opening subassembly is configured to engage with a lid and apply a peeling force to remove the lid from the container, wherein the container opening subassembly includes a pair of jaws configured to grasp and pinch a portion of the lid at a leading edge;

e) a waste collection subassembly configured to receive the one or more containers after being presented at the feeding area;

wherein the container opening subassembly is located above the container handling subassembly and above the waste collection subassembly; and

wherein the container opening subassembly together with the container handling subassembly and/or the container transport subassembly are configured to apply the peeling force to the lid of the container to remove the lid and open the container by moving the container handling subassembly relative to the container opening subassembly, moving the container opening subassembly relative to the container handling subassembly, or moving both relative to one another.

2 . The feeding assembly of claim 1 , wherein the container opening subassembly together with the container handling subassembly and/or the container transport subassembly, are configured to apply the peeling force to the lid of the container to remove the lid and open the container by moving the container handling subassembly relative to the container opening subassembly.

3 . The feeding assembly of claim 1 , wherein the container storage subassembly includes:

i) a hopper configured to store the plurality of containers of the food therein; and

ii) a restraint mechanism configured to retain the plurality of containers in the hopper and selectively release the container from the plurality of containers.

4 . The feeding assembly of claim 1 , wherein the container handling subassembly is configured to present a container base of the container at the feeding area, such that the food is presented to the animal for consumption in the same container in which the food is stored.

5 . The feeding assembly of claim 1 , wherein the container opening subassembly is located between the container storage subassembly and the feeding area, near an opening position of the container handling subassembly, between the loading position and the feeding position of the container handling subassembly, or any combination thereof.

6 . The feeding assembly of claim 1 , wherein the pair of jaws includes one or more moveable jaws, static jaws, or both.

7 . The feeding assembly of claim 6 , wherein one jaw or both jaws of the pair of jaws are moveable via one or more drive units.

8 . The feeding assembly of claim 1 , wherein the container storage subassembly is configured to retain the plurality of containers and the container handling subassembly is configured to selectively retrieve the container.

9 . The feeding assembly of claim 1 , wherein the container storage subassembly includes a hopper configured to directly receive one or more stacks of the plurality of containers therein or removably receive one or more container magazines having the plurality of containers stored therein.

10 . The feeding assembly of claim 9 , wherein the hopper includes an inlet and an outlet; and

wherein the hopper is configured to dispose of the plurality of containers via the outlet.

11 . The feeding assembly of claim 1 , wherein the container storage subassembly is located adjacent to, in proximity to, below, and/or above the container handling subassembly, the container opening subassembly, and/or the waste collection subassembly.

12 . The feeding assembly of claim 11 , wherein the container storage subassembly is located above the container handling subassembly.

13 . The feeding assembly of claim 1 , wherein the container handling subassembly is configured to releasably engage one or more containers.

14 . The feeding assembly of claim 1 , wherein the container handling subassembly is configured to be moved between a plurality of positions within the feeding assembly by the container transport subassembly; and

wherein the plurality of positions include the loading position, an opening position, the feeding position, a disposing position, a resting position, or a combination thereof.

15 . The feeding assembly of claim 14 , wherein in the loading position, the container handling subassembly is located below an outlet of the container storage subassembly.

16 . The feeding assembly of claim 14 , wherein in the opening position, the container handling subassembly is configured to be positioned such as to allow opening of the container via the container opening subassembly.

17 . The feeding assembly of claim 16 , wherein in the opening position, the container handling subassembly is located below the container opening subassembly.

18 . The feeding assembly of claim 14 , wherein in the feeding position, the container handling subassembly is configured to be positioned such as to present and/or dispose the container into the feeding area; and

wherein in the feeding position, the container handling subassembly is located below the feeding area, toward a front of the feeding assembly, or both.

19 . The feeding assembly of claim 14 , wherein in the disposing position, the container handling subassembly is configured to be positioned such as to dispose or release a container into the waste collection subassembly; and

wherein in the disposing position, the container handling subassembly is above the waste collection subassembly.

20 . The feeding assembly of claim 1 , wherein the container handling subassembly includes a shuttle assembly, a gripper assembly, or both configured to receive and/or retrieve a container, retain the container while being moved within the feeding assembly, release the container, or combination thereof.

21 . The feeding assembly of claim 20 , wherein the shuttle assembly includes a cradle, holding support, bearings, through holes, biasing devices, or a combination thereof.

22 . The feeding assembly of claim 1 , wherein the container transport subassembly is configured to translate the container handling subassembly along only a single axis.

23 . The feeding assembly of claim 1 , wherein the container transport subassembly includes one or more drive shafts and one or more support shafts;

wherein the one or more drive shafts are rotationally engaged with one or more bearings of the container handling subassembly; and

wherein the one or more drive shafts and the one or more bearings are configured to convert rotation into linear movement to cause linear translation of the container handling subassembly.

24 . The feeding assembly of claim 23 , wherein the one or more support shafts are engaged with one or more bearings of the container handling subassembly to provide a support surface for the one or more bearings to slide along when being driven via the one or more drive shafts.

25 . The feeding assembly of claim 1 , wherein the feeding assembly includes one or more container disposal subassemblies which are configured to cooperate with the container handling subassembly to urge the container into the waste collection subassembly; and

wherein the one or more container disposal subassemblies are mounted along a path of the container handling subassembly from the feeding position to a disposal position, a resting position, and/or the loading position.

26 . The feeding assembly of claim 1 , wherein the waste collection subassembly includes one or more waste receptacles; and

wherein the one or more waste receptacles are located in a base of a housing of the feeding assembly.

27 . The feeding assembly of claim 1 , wherein the feeding assembly includes one or more sensing devices; and

wherein the one or more sensing devices include one or more identification sensors, one or more presence sensors, one or more position sensors, one or more weight sensors, or any combination thereof.

28 . The feeding assembly of claim 27 , wherein the one or more identification sensors are configured to receive information from one or more identifiers of the container, the plurality of containers, or both; and

wherein the one or more identification sensors are located proximate to the container storage subassembly, the container handling subassembly, or both such as to have a view of, form a connection with, or both one or more identifiers of one or more containers.

29 . The feeding assembly of claim 27 , wherein the one or more position sensors are configured to detect a position of the container handling subassembly, the container transport subassembly, or both within the feeding assembly.

30 . The feeding assembly of claim 27 , wherein the one or more weight sensors are configured to measure a weight of the container before placement in the feeding area and after removal from the feeding area; and

wherein the one or more weight sensors are affixed to or part of a housing, the container handling subassembly, the container transport subassembly, or a combination thereof.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (53)