The present invention relates to pet or animal food packaging and more particularly to device for storing and dispensing pet foods.
Heretofore, a wide variety of methods have been proposed for packaging and/or dispensing pet or animal foods. Typically, foods such as those for cats, dogs and other small pets are packaged by the producer in boxes or bags. A pet owner will dispense the food into a dish or bowl each time the pet is fed. Feeding the pet, therefore, becomes a daily chore.
Attempts have been made to provide pet food feeders which store an extended supply of food and dispense the food into a tray upon demand. Such feeders eliminate the daily feeding chore. Such devices typically include a food container and a tray. If the container is made separable from the tray to facilitate filling, provision must be made to interconnect the container and tray to avoid inadvertent spilling. The attachment method must be sufficiently secure to prevent the pet from separating the container and tray while still permitting easy separation by the pet owner.
An example of one such pet food dispenser may be found in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,715 entitled Convertible Pet Feeder and Method and issued on July 12, 1977 to Arner. The feeder disclosed therein includes a separable feeding tray and a container. The container is adaptable to hold and deliver dry pet foods or liquids. An example of another such device may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,143 entitled Pet Food Dispenser and issued on June 20, 1989 to Simon.
The dispensing devices or feeders heretofore provided have been sold separately from the pet or animal food. The pet owner is required to fill the food supply container each time the device is used. A need exists for a pet food dispenser and packaging system which may be filled by the food producer and purchased by the pet owner. A need exists for a pet food dispenser which is easily useable, relatively inexpensively manufactured and which is reliable in use.