pet cat auto feeder

[Hobonschoice]

Imagine the drawer of a cd drive, I have extended the tray to stretch out of the back so when the drawer is closed, there is a flap sticking out of the back. when the drawer opens it pulls the rear flap into the cddrive.

So that means when the cd tray is closed, the rear flap is sitting out covering a secured feeding pot.
Hope you get the idea? not very clever i know but with my limited elctronics all i could come up with.

 

[ericgibbs]

Imagine the drawer of a cd drive, I have extended the tray to stretch out of the back so when the drawer is closed, there is a flap sticking out of the back. when the drawer opens it pulls the rear flap into the cddrive.

So that means when the cd tray is closed, the rear flap is sitting out covering a secured feeding pot.
Hope you get the idea? not very clever i know but with my limited elctronics all i could come up with.

I can visualise that.

So you are using the complete CD unit to do all the work... IIRC they require +5V and +12V. The 5V can be a simple reg from the 12V.

On the front of most CD's is a manual push to open then push to close. somehow you will have to simulate the man push action. It shouldnt be too difficult.

Dont make the cat magnet too strong, you dont want your cat to come home dragging your neighbours car.!

 

[Hobonschoice]

Well yes, that's really the point of my post, I have two wires extended from the push button from the front of the unit so i can put any sort of switch i like on it, i have been trying to find out, which kind of switch to use. Advice so far is 555 timer but still need to get some answers on my above worries.

 

[ericgibbs]

Well yes, that's really the point of my post, I have two wires extended from the push button from the front of the unit so i can put any sort of switch i like on it, i have been trying to find out, which kind of switch to use. Advice so far is 555 timer but still need to get some answers on my above worries.

Like to help, but what worries are you referring too.?

EDIT:
This would get the job done.
Needs component values.

 

[crutschow]

One of the concerns is that, if the push button sequence gets out of order, it will cover the dish when the cat comes near and open it when its away. You'd have one frustrated (and hungry) cat. Seems like you will need to add a sensor to determine the position of the door so that can't happen. Perhaps just a magnetic reed switch would work. (Adds complexity, I know).

And you need the circuit to generate one pulse when the cat approaches the food and then one delayed pulse to cover the food. Also you probably want to lock out the signal from the cat after the first pulse so possible momentary interuptions when the cat moves doesn't trigger the door. (The door position sensor could also perform that function). This will require some simple logic circuitry along with the 555 timer. (More complexity). It's interesting how an apparently simple requirement can end up requiring a somewhat complex solution.

 

[duffy]

Uhhh, I don't know if the magnetic reed switch is really the way to go with this. Have you tried one? The detection range is pretty small. Get one and goof around with it and see if it looks like it might work.

I'm also worried that if you put a super-powerful magnet on the collar to try and increase the range, the cat might get stuck to a truck or something.

 

[crutschow]

Since this design seems to be getting somewhat complicated perhaps you should consider an automatic door such as sold at **broken link removed**. They have RFID, magnetic, and infrared models. If you didn't want to put the door into the house, perhaps you could just mount it in some kind of box with the food inside.