Animal feeder
A method of making an animal feeder includes: cutting a plurality of blanks from sheet material, forming at least one flange in at least one of the blanks and forming at least one opening in at least one of the blanks, so as to define a plurality of components, the plurality of components configured to define the animal feeder when assembled, wherein the animal feeder includes: a tray assembly defining at least one sloped feed dish; a reservoir communicating with the tray assembly, the reservoir having a fill opening; and dispensing openings formed in a wall of the reservoir configured to permit granular animal feed to flow by gravity from the reservoir into the at least one sloped feed dish.
1 . A method of making an animal feeder, comprising:
cutting a plurality of blanks from sheet material,
forming at least one flange in at least one of the blanks and forming at least one opening in at least one of the blanks, so as to define a plurality of components, the plurality of components configured to define the animal feeder when assembled, wherein the animal feeder includes:
a tray assembly defining at least one sloped feed dish;
a reservoir communicating with the tray assembly, the reservoir having a fill opening; and
dispensing openings formed in a wall of the reservoir configured to permit granular animal feed to flow by gravity from the reservoir into the at least one sloped feed dish, wherein each of the dispensing openings is formed by a T-shaped slot in wall of the reservoir, the T-shaped slot also forming a pair of opposed fingers.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reservoir is assembled by affixing a pair of spaced-apart end plates to a pair of spaced-apart side panels.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the pair of spaced-apart end plates are received in slots of the pair of spaced-apart side panels and the pair of spaced-apart side panels are received in slots of the tray assembly.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a cladding panel is attached to an exterior of the reservoir, the cladding panel comprising a tree bark surface configuration.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the dispensing openings is partially blocked by at least one finger formed in the wall of the reservoir.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sloped feed dish is bounded by a raised lip.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of components includes:
first and second trays defining sloped first and second feed dishes;
first and second end plates; and
first and second side panels, wherein the side panels include the dispensing openings.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the first and second trays are joined to each other, defining a gable roof shape.
9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the first and second trays are joined at mutually overlapping top flanges.
10 . The method of claim 7 , wherein each of the side panels is a segment of a cylinder, and includes a top flange.
11 . The method of claim 7 , wherein each of the trays includes a top flange and a bottom flange.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of components includes a lid formed from a flat material.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the lid is configured to be joined to the fill opening by sliding the lid in a longitudinal direction over the fill opening.
14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the lid and the fill opening are joined by complementary dovetail shapes.
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the sheet material is metal.
16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the animal feeder is configured to be stacked in an array of components prior to assembly for shipping.
17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the feed dishes include drain openings, the drain openings perforated through the side panels.
18 . A method of making an animal feeder, comprising:
cutting a plurality of blanks from sheet material,
forming at least one flange in at least one of the blanks and forming at least one opening in at least one of the blanks, so as to define a plurality of components, the plurality of components configured to define the animal feeder when assembled, wherein the animal feeder includes:
a tray assembly defining at least one sloped feed dish;
a reservoir communicating with the tray assembly, the reservoir having a fill opening; and
dispensing openings formed in a wall of the reservoir configured to permit granular animal feed to flow by gravity from the reservoir into the at least one sloped feed dish, wherein at least one of the components includes a connector tab, and a mating component includes a slot complementary to the connector tab; and
further comprising joining the components by inserting the connector tab into the respective slot, and bending the connector tab over.