WO2024251360A1

WO2024251360A1 - Food container for an animal feeding system and animal feeding system

Info

Publication number: WO2024251360A1
Application number: PCT/EP2023/065280
Authority: WO
Inventors: Felix Peter SCHMIDHEINY; Thomas Müller; Cedric SANTANA-SIEGENTAHLER; Vivian SANTANA SIEGENTHALER; Werner Balkau; Markus DACHS; Oliver Lünenbürger
Original assignee: Smartpetcare AG
Current assignee: Smartpetcare AG
Priority date: 2023-06-07
Filing date: 2023-06-07
Publication date: 2024-12-12
Anticipated expiration: 2025-12-07
Also published as: WO2024251994A1

Abstract

A food container (1) for an animal feeding system, comprising a bowled shaped basic body (10) comprising an edge (11), and a removable cover (20) attachable on and/or hermetically sealable with the edge (11) of said bowled shaped basic body (10). At least one portion (17) of the edge (11) of the bowled shaped basic body (10) is formed with a deepening (18) providing an access for removing the cover (20).

Description

FOOD CONTAINER FOR AN ANIMAL FEEDING SYSTEM AND ANIMAL FEEDING SYSTEM

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to a food container, especially for a system for feeding an animal, in particular a pet. The food container is hermetically closable by a cover provided on top of a bowled shaped basic body and covering at least an inner volume thereof fillable with a defined quantity of food, especially of animal food, preferably for pet feeding, in particular for cat feeding. The food container is suitable for an autonomous system, especially an animal feeding system comprising a stock of food containers, transportation means and an automatically opening mechanism to open in determinable order and time schedule one food container to present it especially to a cat or other domestic animal and/or to dispose the food container in a hygienically manner.

The present invention is not limited to a food container for animal food, especially for cats. The food container of the present invention could as well be used for any kind of food such as dairy products, salads, etc. for humans.

Background of the invention

There exists an increasing demand for automatic and intelligent feeding systems for animals, in particular for pets. These automatic feeding systems allow the pet, e.g. a cat, to be cared for, at least for a certain period of time, even when the carrying person is absent. Pet food is generally available in sealable containers containing one or more portions of animal food, which can be as well described as capsules. The capsules can contain both dry food and wet food or another forms of animal food or the like. The food container can be hermetically sealed by means of a removable cover and can be stored for example in a storage compartment of an automatic animal feeding system. The cover can comprise a lid, a layer, a film, or a combination thereof, wherein in this case the layer or film can be at least partially removed from the container together with the lid. Since each known automatic animal feeding system has an individual structure, the containers are designed to match to this specified animal feeding system such that the animal food containers can be stored, automatically transported, opened by an opening mechanism and/or disposed in a provided waste section thereof.

Sealable containers are also known as food packages for dairy products, salads, etc. comprising a base and a lid with a separate seal, e.g. foil, placed underneath the lid. The foil can be made of any flexible material such as thin plastic or metal membranes in form of sheets or films capable to cover and to seal the container to a desired degree of sealing. For opening this film can be peeled, torn, or slid off the base.

WO 2015/198222 A2 discloses an animal feeding system and a food container adapted thereto. The food container comprises a sterilizable rimmed base with an at least partially removable cover and/or a seal applied on an edge of the food container. For a hermetical seal the cover comprises a lid and/or a foil seal or a combination of both welded or glued to the edge of the container. The lid or the foil seal is at least partially removable from the base by means of an opening mechanism or in other cases can be torn or slit to open. The opening mechanism is designed to grasp a rigid opening element or the like protruding beyond the edge of the base, lift it and at least partially remove it via a sliding relative movement between the base and the cover. After presenting the content of the container to the pet the more or less empty container can be disposed whereby the cover is placed back on the edge of the base such that the container is closed, preferably hermetically sealed due to application of an adhesive. This food container is designed in relation to the specific animal feeding system and in particular as such that the opening mechanism can grasp an opening element protruding from the food container which can be a weak spot.

DE 10 2006 005700 A1 describes a container which is closed by a covering film. To remove the covering film, a predetermined breaking point is created on the container and a gripping device grips a tab-like gripping portion of the covering film delimited by the predetermined breaking point in order to remove the covering film. The container is not easy to open, and the breaking point can be a flaw in regard of stability.

US 2007205206 A1 describes a closable and re-openable container comprising a removable lid. The removable lid is arranged on top of the container in a sealing and lockable engagement. The removable lid has a peripheral outwardly extending tab which can be grasped and lifted to open the container. The peripheral outwardly extending tab can be torn of compulsory.

Summary of the invention

Therefore, objects of the invention are to provide a food container especially for an animal feeding system suitable for different types of animal food which comprises a cover hermetically sealable therewith. The cover should be partially removable easily and preferably automatically, whereby the orientation of the food container during an opening procedure is not limited to one predetermined position. Further, the food container and the cover should be sterilizable, robust, and compact in design to provide storage and insensitive handling. Furthermore, the food container is designed without any protruding tab or latch, which minimizes the risk of damage of delicate protruding parts and therefore the impossibility of opening in the case of broken protruding taps. Additionally, the risk of injury of the animal by fragments is not existing anymore. Another advantage of a container without protruding tab or latch is that the orientation of the container in an opening position relative to an opening mechanism is not limited to one defined orientation.

The objects of the invention are achieved by a food container according to the features of claim 1 and an animal feeding system according to claim 13. Further preferable embodiments are disclosed in the dependent claims.

Even if the invention relates to a food container for animal or pet feeding, preferably a cat, it is not limited to that. The container may be as well filled with human food of any kind, which for example can be stored in a preferably coolable vending machine. According to one aspect of the present invention a food container comprises a bowled shaped basic body comprising an edge limited by an outer circumference and a removable cover attachable on and sealable with the edge. The food container has no part of the cover protruding beyond the outer circumference of the edge and at least one portion of the edge of the bowled shaped basic body forms a deepening providing an access for removing the cover.

The food container may be of any kind of shape like rectangular or even circular and/or of any dimension, such as configured as one portion container, a multiple portion container, a multiple compartment container, etc. The removable cover may comprise a lid, a seal, e.g. foil, lid with seal or lid with coating or other means.

The bowled-shaped basic body provides an inner volume to be filled with a defined quantity of animal food via a main opening providing a filling hole and access to the filled-in food for the pet. Surrounding the main opening of the bowled shaped basic body the edge extends largely horizontally and a rim can be formed at the outer circumference of the edge. The edge provides a contact surface on which the removable cover can be arranged and/or hermetically sealed with. The removable cover is preferably sized to be arranged on the edge of the bowled shaped basic body covering the main opening but without extending with no parts over the outer circumference of the edge of the bowled shaped basic body.

The bowled shaped basic body has a lower surface and an upper surface, wherein the edge extends horizontally from the upper surface. The outer circumference of the edge forms the rim, preferably a thickly rim. This thickly rim stabilizes the shape to the food container and can function as positioning means by applying the removable cover on the edge.

At least one portion of the edge of the bowled shaped basic body of the food container is formed with a deepening or depression. The deepening can be designed as a recess or a groove in the at least one portion of the edge extending below the upper surface and limited by side walls. Limiting side walls can be tapered to create three sides of a trapezoidal enclosure.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the food container, in particular the edge of the bowled shaped basic body as well as the removable cover have angular shape seen in top view. Therefore, the food container can be of triangular, rectangular, preferably square, or polygon shape with a plurality of corner portions, preferably smoothly rounded corners. A square shape of the food container has the advantage to be easy to handle, automatically transportable in a guided manner, stackable in a storage compartment of an animal feeding system and due to symmetry easy to orientate. According to one embodiment of the invention, the at least one deepening formed within the edge of the bowled shaped basic body is formed in at least one corner portion of the angular shaped bowled shaped basic body.

Furthermore, one or more corner portions of the bowled shaped basic body can be configured as a cut corner and/or as a smoothed rounded corner without sharp edges to avoid any risk of injury for the pet and provide easy handling. The removable cover at least partially arranged on and sealed with the edge of the bowled shaped basic body can be adapted to the shape of the edge of the bowled shaped basic body. Preferably, the removable cover have cut corners. These shapes of the food container including the cover ensure that the risk of damages due of falling on the floor or being grabbed harshly is minimized.

For easy handling, the food container is designed symmetrical with equal designed corner portions such that the orientation of the food container during an opening procedure is irrelevant.

The dimensions of the at least one deepening, in particular its depth and its width, can be selected such that an opening mechanism, e.g. means of the opening mechanism of an associated animal feeding system, may be at least partially inserted, or introduced in the deepening. But the food container can as well be opened by hand by grasping and lifting the corner portion of the cover lying above the deepening of the edge. The food container may be opened by the opening mechanism of the animal feeding system by engagement of at least a part of the opening mechanism, preferably by introducing means of the opening mechanism into at least one of the deepening underneath the removable cover such that the cover can be lifted for being removed. The manner of removing the cover from the bowled shaped basic body is advantageous since no tab or latch is necessary which may be teared off and which may be hard to grasp by a pincer. For example, the opening mechanism of an associated automatic feeding system may comprise means such as a pin or other suitable element introducible into the at least one deepening underneath the cover. Alternatively, the opening mechanism can be configured to clamp the cover between movable elements. Preferably, to reduce the opening force more than one deepening is provided such that partially removing of the cover may occur by lifting the cover at different points, preferably simultaneously.

According to one embodiment, the removable cover attachable to the edge of the bowled shaped basic body is designed as such that the main opening thereof is hermetically sealed by the cover lying on and sealed with at least an inner circular part of the edge.

In one embodiment at least one part of the cover does not extend up to the outer circumference of the edge. In particular, the cover may have at least one shortened corner portion and/or at least one rounded corner section lying at least partially over the at least one deepening provided on the edge of the bowled shaped basic body. In particular, the food container does not have protruding grasping tabs or latches which in certain cases have to be of more rigid material than the material of the foil seal or the like. The shortened corner portion and/or the rounded corner section of the cover may be reinforced by form reinforcing elements providing at least one reinforced portion.

The food container may be hermetically sealed by the cover against ingress and egress of germs, bacteria, oxygen and/or other materials and odor as well as to keep the pet food fresh. Therefore, the removable cover may comprise a lid and/or a foil seal for covering and sealing the food container to a predetermined degree of sealing. The cover can be removed by lifting, peeling, torn off or otherwise removed. The removable cover may be attached on the top surface of the edge of the bowled shaped basic body so as to seal, preferably hermetically, the food container by an adhesive applied on a preferably circular line on the top surface of the edge. Alternatively, the cover may be joined to the top surface of the edge of the bowled shaped basic body by thermal or sonic welding or bonding along a line which forms the hermetically sealing. Furthermore, the edge and/or the cover can be coated at least partially with a layer of an activable material providing a hermetically sealed connection between edge and cover. For example, the coating can be made of polypropylene, which can be thermally activated. Preferably, the coating applied on the side of the cover contacting the edge forms a thin layer of several pm and may provide a sealing material. Another coating layer can be applied to the opposite side of the cover.

According to one aspect of the invention, the geometry of the applied sealing material provides easy and robust removal of the lid from the food container. The sealing material applied in a ring shape around the main opening can form a tip at least on one corner portion, in particular at that corner portion where the opening procedure starts, in particular where the opening mechanism is initially positioned. The specific form of the applied sealing material provides a gradual increasing sealing surface such that an automatic removal can be performed with a minimized initial force and with constant or quasi constant force. To enhance the hermetical sealing on further portions of the contact surface between the edge and the cover sealing material can be applied. For example, portions of sealing material can be provided in the proximity of the one or more deepening.

According to one aspect of the invention, the food container, in particular the bowled shaped basic body and/or the removable cover, may be made of a rigid material suitable for filling therein a defined quantity of food, especially of animal food and withstanding the temperature and the pressure associated with sterilization. For example the bowled shaped basic body and/or the cover may be made of metal, preferably aluminum, plastic including multilayered material, or any suitable material for packing therein food, especially animal food. In particular, the food container may be made of a material withstanding the temperature and the pressure associated with sterilization at temperatures above 130°C and pressure of 2 to 3 bar during approximately 60 minutes. An appropriate material of the food container can be selected in regard of the food to be encapsulated as well as the sterilization conditions.

According to another aspect of the invention, the food container may be filled with any kind of pet food, such as not limited to wet food (semi-soup, flakes, chunks, or any other food type known), moist food, dry food, and treats. Furthermore, different kinds of food can be mixed together to present a healthy and rich nutrition for the pet. The food container may have further features to provide an individual feeding of a pet, preferably a cat, such as a readable code for recognition the type of food and/or food container or any code for distinguishing between different foods and/or food containers and/or for authorizing the food container to be used with the animal feeding system.

In another embodiment of the present invention the food container may be filled with any kind of food for humans, such as not limited to wet food (semi-soup, flakes, chunks, or any other food type known), moist food, dry food, and treats. Furthermore, different kinds of food can be mixed together to present a healthy and rich nutrition for the human.

The food container according to the invention, may be configured to be associated to an automatic system, especially an animal feeding system, in particular to be opened by an opening mechanism thereof, preferably an automatic opening mechanism. The removable cover may be lifted from the edge of the bowled shaped basic body by engagement of means of the automatic system, especially of the animal feeding system which are introducible partly into at least one of the deepening covered by the removable cover. The removable cover may be removed by a relative movement between the partly introducible means of the opening mechanism. To reduce the opening force more than one means can be introduced in more than one deepening, in particular from different directions, preferably diagonal directions, to lift the cover from the bowled shaped basic body. Another aspect of the invention is related to an animal feeding system comprising at least a food container as disclosed and an automatic opening mechanism. Furthermore, the animal feeding system may comprise further features providing storage, transportation, and disposal of wasted food containers.

Brief description of the drawings

For a more complete understanding of the invention and the advantages thereof, exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail in the following description with reference to the accompanying figures, in which like reference characters designate like parts and in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a food container according to a first embodiment;

Figure 1a is a schematic detail view of an applied sealing material to provide sealing of the cover with the bowled shaped basic body;

Figure 2 is a schematic side view of the food container according the first embodiment;

Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of a bowled shaped basic body of the food container according to the first embodiment;

Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of a removable cover of the food container according to the first embodiment;

Figure 5 is a schematic bottom view of a removable cover according to an embodiment;

Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view of a food container in engagement with an opening mechanism. Detailed description of a preferred embodiment

The accompanying figures are included to provide a further understanding of the present invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The figures illustrate particular embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. Other embodiments of the invention and attendant advantages of the invention will be readily appreciated, as they become better understood with reference to the following detailed description. The figures are now in detail described with reference to an animal feeding system. The invention is, however, not limited to animal feeding systems, but also encompasses systems to provide food for humans. Furthermore, the invention is illustrated for a preferred embodiment, where the food container has a square shape, but the invention is not limited thereto.

Referring to figure 1 , a preferred food container 1 for an animal feeding system comprises a bowled shaped basic body 10 and a removable cover 20. The bowled shaped basic body 10 is configured in a square shape with an edge 11 surrounding an inner volume which may be filled with a defined quantity of food via a main opening 12 (as seen in fig. 3). The food container 10 has an upper surface 13 and a lower surface 14 or bottom as shown in fig. 2. The edge 11 extends horizontally at the upper surface 13 of the bowled shaped basic body 10 and provides a contact surface on which the removable cover 20 can be attached, preferably in a sealed manner. The edge 11 has an outer circumference 15 configured as a thickly rim 16 for a more stable form. As can been seen from the fig. 1 from a top view the square shape of the food container 1 , in particular of the bowled shaped basic body 10 has smoothed rounded corner portions 17.

At least at one of the corner portions 17 the edge 11 of the bowled shaped basic body 10 has a deepening 18 extending below the upper surface 13 and forming a recess or a groove, shown in fig. 2 and 3. Each deepening 18 is limited by walls determining at least partly the dimension of the deepening 18. Preferably, the bowled shaped basic body 10 is provided with deepening 18 at each corner portion 17 such that the cover 20 can be removed from different directions and independently of its orientation.

The food container 1 further comprises the cover 20 or lid removable attached to the edge 11 , preferably in a hermetically sealed manner. In particular, the cover 20 is placeable on and sealable with the bowled shaped basic body 10, in particular the edge 11 , within the outer circumference 15 limited by the thickly rim 16.

According to an embodiment, the cover 20 is designed as a thin sheet or foil hermetically sealed on a circular rim of the edge 11 adjacent to the main opening 12. For example, the cover 20 can be connected to the bowled shaped basic body 10 by means of an adhesive or by an applied sealing material 19 (shown in fig. 1a). As can been seen in top view, corner sections 22 of the cover 20 are configured as cut corner sections not extending completely up to the corner portions 17 of the bowled shaped basic body 10 or up to the thicky rim 16 but to a certain amount. An enclosure is formed in the corner portions 17 limited by the deepening 18 and the at least partially overlying cover 20 providing an access for opening the food container 1 by an opening mechanism configured to lift or differently removing the cover 20 at these corner portions 17.

Figure 1a shows a detail of an applied sealing material 19, in particular of the sealing material 19 applied to connect the bowled shaped basic body 10 with the cover 20. The sealing material 19 can be applied as a layer or coating on the edge 11 and/or a contact surface of the cover 20 with the edge 11. The applied sealing material 19 can be applied in a ring form about the main opening 12 with a tip 19a at least in one corner portion 17, preferably in all corner portions 17. Starting the opening procedure at one of the corner portions 17 the tip 19a is removed first. This has the advantage that the initial opening force can be small.

According to fig. 1a, sealing material 19 can be applied additionally on portions of the contact surface between the edge 11 and the cover 20, in particular in the proximity of the corner portions 17. Figure 2 shows the food container 1 in a schematic side view. The deepening 18 formed at least at one corner portion 17 of the edge 11 is shown. Furthermore, the enclosure between the deepening 18 and the cover 20 is shown, in which means for opening may be partly inserted during an opening procedure for removing the cover 20 from the bowled shaped basic body 10.

As illustrated in figure 3, the bowled shaped basic body 10 comprises the surrounding edge 11 extending from the main opening 12 to the outer circumference 15, e.g., to the thickly rim 16, in a horizontal plane. At each corner portion 17 the deepening 18 is formed such that a circular surface of the edge 11 adjacent to the main opening 12 remains providing part of the contact surface for the cover 20 lying on and sealed with the edge 11.

Figure 4 shows a schematic perspective view of the cover 20 with cut corner sections 22. Each cut corner section 22 overlays at least partially the deepening 18 formed in at least one corner portion 17 of the edge 11 of the bowled shaped basic body 10. Alternatively, the cover 20 can be provides with rounded corner sections 23.

As illustrated in figure 5 showing a bottom view of the cover 20, the cover 20 may have smoothed rounded corner sections 23 additional or alternative to the cut corner sections 22. Preferably, the cover 20 is configured symmetrically either with rounded corner sections 23 or cut, in particular shortened corner sections 22. In one preferred embodiment the shortened corner sections 22 and/or the rounded corner sections 23 comprises reinforcing elements 24 in a suitable form. For example, the reinforcing elements 24 can be configured in U-shape, in a double U-shape and/or as bars. These reinforcing elements give the cover 20 more stability in the corner sections 22, 23, in particular during an opening procedure when means of an opening mechanism is/are introduced into the deepening 18 and is moved upward to lift the removable cover 20.

Fig. 6 shows the food container 1 during an opening procedure comprising an opening mechanism 30 with opening means 32 configured to be at least partly introducible into the at least one deepening 18 underneath the cover 20 lying on and sealed with the bowl-shaped basic body 10. In one embodiment the opening means 32 can be provided as a clamping mechanism to be partly introducible into the deepening 18 and to clamp between parts of this clamping mechanism the cover 20.

Claims

1. A food container (1) for an animal feeding system, comprising:

- a bowled shaped basic body (10) comprising an edge (11) limited by an outer circumference (15), and

- an automatically removable cover (20) attachable on and sealable with the edge (11) of said bowled shaped basic body (10), wherein no part of the cover (20) protrudes beyond the outer circumference (15) of the edge (11) and wherein at least one portion (17) of the edge (11) of the bowled shaped basic body (10) forms a deepening (18) providing an access for removing the cover (20).

2. The food container (1) according to claim 1 , wherein the bowled shaped basic body (10) has a lower surface (14) and an upper surface (13), wherein the edge (11) extends largely horizontally from the upper surface (13) and a rim (16) is formed at an outer circumference (15) of the edge (11).

3. The food container (1) according to claim 1 and/or 2, wherein the edge (11) of the bowled shaped basic body (10) and correspondingly the cover (20) are formed in angular shape.

4. The food container (1) according to claim 3, wherein the cover (20) and/or the bowled shaped basic body (10) are designed in a rectangular form, preferably in a square form, with the deepening (18) in one or more corner portions (17) of the bowled shaped basic body (10).

5. The food container (1) according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the cover (20) comprises at least a shortened corner portion (22) and/or at least a rounded corner section (23) lying over the at least one deepening (18) of the bowled shaped basic body (10).

6. The food container (1) according to claim 5, wherein the cut corner sections (22) and/or the rounded corner sections (23) are reinforceable by reinforcing elements (24).

7. The food container (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the cover (20) is hermetically sealed with the edge (11) of the bowled shaped basic body (10) by means of a sealing material (19) applied at least partially on a contact surface between the edge (11) and the cover (20).

8. The food container (1) according to claim 7, wherein the sealing material (19) is applied on the contact surface such that at least one tip (19a) is formed at a position at which an opening procedure is initiated

9. The food container (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the bowled shaped basic body (10) and/or the cover (20) are made of a rigid material suitable for filling therein a defined quantity of food, withstanding the temperature and pressure associated with sterilization.

10. The food container (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the defined quantity of food is of a dry and/or wet and/or liquid state and preferably the defined quantity is one food portion for an animal, especially for feeding at least a cat.

11. The food container (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the cover (20) is at least partially removable from the bowled shaped basic body (10) by engagement of opening means (32) of an opening mechanism (30) of the animal feeding system, preferably an automatic opening mechanism (30), introducible at least partly in one of the deepening (18).

12. The food container (1) according to claim 11 , wherein the cover (20) is at least partially removable from the bowled shaped basic body (10) by a relative movement between the opening means (32) and the bowled shaped basic body (10).

13. An animal feeding system (100) comprising at least a food container (1) according to any one or more of claims 1 to 12 and an automatic opening mechanism (30).

14. The animal feeding system (100) according to claim 13, further comprising a storage compartment for storage of food containers (1) according to any one or more of claims 1 to 12, transportation means for transporting one of the food containers (1) along a transportation direction to an opening mechanism (30) comprising opening means (32) configured to be at least partly introduced into a deepening (18) and to grab the cover (20) such that by a relative movement between the opening means (30) and the bowled shaped basic body (10) the cover (20) is at least partly removed