CN107072170B

CN107072170B - Frusto-conical distributor of helical shape

Info

Publication number: CN107072170B
Application number: CN201580057677.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 利奥·特罗蒂尔; 丹尼尔·努森; 贾洛德·巴克; 罗德尼·布朗; 亚伦·诺特
Original assignee: Cleverpet LLC
Current assignee: Cleverpet LLC
Priority date: 2014-08-29
Filing date: 2015-08-28
Publication date: 2021-08-31
Anticipated expiration: 2035-08-28
Also published as: CN107072170A; WO2016033462A1

Abstract

An apparatus for sequentially dispensing individual objects includes a housing having a first housing portion that is conically shaped. The first housing portion has a first end proximate to an object supply and a second end proximate to a location at which the object is to be dispensed. There is a helical raceway disposed on an inner surface of the first housing portion and extending from the first end to the second end of the first housing portion along which the object to be dispensed travels.

Description

Frusto-conical distributor of helical shape

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority date of united states provisional application No. 62/044,104, filed on date 29/8/2014, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. This application is related to U.S. provisional application No. 62/045,262, filed on 9/3/2014, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present apparatus relates to the distribution of items from a plurality of available items, and more particularly to an apparatus for distributing individual food pieces in an interactive animal training system.

Background

Dispensing apparatus for objects in many configurations have been developed in recent years. In situations where smaller sized foods are dispensed (e.g., chewing gum dispensed in a candy dispenser, and kibbles and animal treats dispensed from such a dispenser as shown herein), most such dispensing devices are not well adapted to dispense a single item when the supply of such items (e.g., dry kibbles for dogs and cats as mentioned) appears in a larger stack or reservoir held supply. Using the example of kibbles (because of their light weight, dry, and often within a small tolerance in size), dispensers such as scooping devices or lowering filling devices are often unable to repeatedly dispense a single kibble. Herein, the process of sequentially distributing individual items from a larger supply of such items is referred to as "singulation" and the system that performs this process is referred to as "singulation".

In addition, when the contained supplies are of unequal or multiple sizes, dispensing devices, particularly in the field of the mentioned pet food dispensers, are not capable of sorting the contained supplies to deliver individual kibbles or items of smaller or larger sizes from a mix of sizes. Additionally, the ability to repeat this classification (where a single maximum or minimum sized object is from a stored supply of such objects of varying sizes) while doing so repeatedly at once a single unit is allocated, has not been found in the prior art.

As such, there is an unmet need for a dispensing device that can be employed to dispense individual units from a communicable supply of product or material that is stored for such dispensing. Such devices should be reusable and reliable to dispense a single unit from a food supplier or other material that is dispensed whether its supplier is heterogeneous or homogeneous in nature. In addition to the singular repeated sequential delivery, such devices should desirably be mechanically and operatively configurable to sort available supplies of such material by size, and then dispense individual units of substantially the same size from the available supplies, discarding units of material larger or smaller than the size desired for dispensing. Still further, such devices should be capable of simultaneously sorting the dispensed materials for size individually and sequentially as needed and delivering their individual units simultaneously, and doing so reliably.

The foregoing examples of related art and limitations related thereto are intended to be illustrative rather than exclusive, and are not intended to imply any limitations on the invention described and claimed herein. Various limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading and understanding the following specification and drawings. Additionally, while the devices and methods herein are directed to the dispensing of food for animals from their supplies, which is available for easy understanding of the principle of operation of the device, this should in no way be considered limiting and other modes of employing the dispensing apparatus will be determined immediately after reading the present disclosure by those skilled in the art. All such uses and deployments as would occur to one of ordinary skill in the art are considered to be within the scope of the present application.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide dispensing components that are adaptable for use with any dispensing apparatus or can be employed alone for sequential singular dispensing of individual objects from their suppliers.

It is an object of the present invention to provide devices and methods that will reliably and sequentially deliver or distribute a single individual item from its supply, whether the supply is formed from a heterogeneous or homogeneous mix of delivered items.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide such dispensing assemblies which can also be mechanically or operatively configured to sort and sequentially deliver their individual units of dispensed material and generally of determined size.

According to the invention, there are devices that employ a frustoconical raceway in a spiral shape to convey individual items from a reservoir of such items at the lower end of the device to a dispensing end. Furthermore, the dispensing apparatus may be configured to provide a classification of the available supplies of items sized to feed into the race depending on the actual configuration and speed of rotation of the device in operation. While available for numerous purposes to sort or dispense individual items from their supplies, the devices herein are currently suitable for dispensing kibbles or dry pet or dog treats, but one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize a number of other applications contemplated within the scope of the present application.

In accordance with the purposes of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the present invention provides devices and methods for reliable sequential dispensing of respective individual items or items from a communicable supply of such items or items. The device may be employed alone once in communication with the supply of objects to be distributed, or in operative engagement with any components or machinery required to singulate or sequentially distribute individual items or objects to be distributed from its available delivery supply.

In the modes disclosed herein for dispensing pet treats or foods, the device may be employed to dispense individual dry pet treats or kibbles from its available supply for ease of understanding the invention and its operation. Generally, in operation, individual objects from available supplies are repeatedly dispensed, and as shown herein for dispensing individual dog treats or kibbles, individual dry kibbles or treat pieces can be operatively dispensed by the device after operation is initiated by transferring power to the motor, which operates the device to dispense.

As shown in the figures, the device, whether employed as a unitary dispensing component or in combination with a machine adapted to dispense, is formed as a frustoconical housing adapted for rotation when operatively engaged to a dispensing apparatus. The housing features a novel helical raceway defined by a sidewall extending from a first side edge that engages an inner surface of a sidewall of an internal cavity of the housing. The raceway extends to a distal edge a distance away from engagement with the side wall of the housing. With such engagement, the raceway follows a helical path from the widest part of the frustoconical housing to the internal cavity of the bore at the opposite, narrower end of the housing.

The engagement housing is rotated along a central axis at an oblique angle such that the narrower end of the raised housing is positioned over the wider end of the housing. During rotational movement of the housing about its axis imparted by the energized operatively engaged motor, the raceway on the internal cavity communicating with the supply of individual objects to be dispensed within the wider end of the internal cavity will convey the respective individual object or block upwardly along the helical raceway within the internal cavity via frictional engagement with the individual block or object.

After reaching the aperture at the raised narrow end of the housing, the individual objects, or in this case, kibble pieces, are ejected from the housing through the aperture. Once ejected from the internal cavity by the motion of the race, the falling object may be dispensed using the force with which it is operatively dispensed.

As shown herein, in use in operable engagement with the dispensing apparatus, the chute is positioned in operable engagement with the aperture of the device to guide squirt objects (e.g., kibbles) from a supply within the housing during fall into the bowl. In the mode used herein to dispense pet food or treats, the bowl receiving the falling kibbles may be initially positioned out of reach of the animal and thereafter positioned for consumption of kibbles in the bowl by translating the bowl from a concealed position to an exposed position where the animal, e.g., a dog, can eat and enjoy the dispensed food or treats.

While the device may be employed to dispense individual units from any such heterogeneous or homogeneous supply as mentioned, the device may also be used to sort and dispense objects from the supply having a range of such ever-changing sizes contained within the wider end of the internal cavity. The amount of lift and blow out by the helical raceway can be limited by the distance the raceway extends from the interior side wall of the housing. This size can be adjusted so that different sizes are transmitted up the raceway, while other sizes are discarded due to falling from a raised position on the raceway that is sized to cause such a fall. Furthermore, the rotational speed of the housing and thus the speed of the race may be adjusted to enhance this classification due to gravity pull and sliding of individual objects on the race that are too large to support during rotation of the housing.

In one aspect, the invention features an apparatus for sequentially dispensing individual objects including a housing having a first housing portion with a conical shape. The first housing portion has a first end proximate to an object supply and a second end proximate to a location at which the object is to be dispensed. There is a helical raceway disposed on an inner surface of the first housing portion and extending from the first end to the second end of the first housing portion along which the object to be dispensed travels.

In other aspects of the invention, one or more of the following features may be included. The housing may include a second housing portion having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the first housing portion is interconnected with the first end of the second housing portion. The second housing portion may be frusto-conical in shape. The first housing portion and the second housing portion may be mechanically detachable. The second housing portion may have a hopper in its interior for holding a supply of objects and wherein a surface of the hopper may be angled to urge the objects toward the first housing portion. The second housing portion may comprise an opening with a mechanically detachable cover through which the object supply may be introduced into the hopper. The second housing portion may include a helical raceway disposed on an inner surface thereof that aligns with a helical raceway disposed on an inner surface of the first housing portion; the second housing portion holds an object supply. The housing may have a longitudinal axis and the helical raceway on the inner surface of the first housing portion is disposed about the longitudinal axis. The second housing portion may include a plurality of polymeric ribs on an inner surface of the second housing portion, the polymeric ribs having a length generally in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis and a width generally in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The housing may have a longitudinal axis and the helical raceways on the inner surfaces of the first and second housing portions are disposed about the longitudinal axis. The first and second housing portions may be frusto-conical in shape. The first end of the first housing portion may be wider than the second end of the first housing portion. The housing may be disposed on a bracket to enable rotation of the housing about the longitudinal axis; wherein upon rotation of the housing, the objects to be dispensed travel along the helical raceway from the hopper due to frictional engagement between the helical raceway and the objects. The housing may be angled upward from the second end of the second housing portion to the second end of the first housing portion relative to the surface on which the device is disposed. The second end of the first housing portion may include an opening for the exit of the object. The object to be dispensed may be a food particle and the particle may be in the range of 0.4cm to 4.0 cm. A drive system configured to cause rotation of the housing may further be included. A controller in communication with the drive system may also be included to control rotation of the housing to dispense objects from the opening in the second end of the first housing portion one object at a time. The helical raceway may include a helical wall extending from an inner surface of the first housing portion. A spiral wall is formed extendable from the inner surface of the first housing portion by indenting the outer surface of the first housing portion.

In another aspect of the invention, there is a system for training an animal that includes a food container and an interactive device for providing stimuli to the animal in order to elicit a response from the animal. There is a dispensing device for sequentially dispensing individual food particles to the food container in response to input from the interactive device. The dispensing device includes a housing having a first housing portion interconnected to a second housing portion. The first housing portion is conically shaped and has a first end interconnected to the second housing portion and a second end proximate the food container. The first housing portion has a helical raceway extending from the first end to the second end of the first housing portion disposed on an inner surface thereof, and the second housing portion has a hopper in an interior thereof for holding a supply of food particles. There is a bracket on which the housing is rotatably mounted to effect rotation of the housing about a longitudinal axis of the housing. As the housing is rotated, food particles travel along the helical raceway from the hopper due to frictional engagement between the helical raceway and the food particles until the particles are individually dispensed to the food container through the opening in the second housing portion.

In other aspects of the invention, one or more of the following features may be included. The housing of the dispensing device may be detachable from the stand. The housing may be inclined at an upward angle from the second housing portion to the first housing portion. One or more of the following parameters may be adjusted to control the travel of the food particles along the helical raceway: the angle of inclination of the housing, the speed of rotation of the housing and the height, pitch and frictional properties of the helical raceways.

As mentioned, while the frustoconical housing and the narrowing helical raceway are shown in a mode for dispensing pet food or treats and are used in combination with a dispensing mechanism, the device can be employed alone to dispense a single unit from any supply thereof and can also be employed for any number of other dispensing and/or sorting tasks. Thus, with respect to the above description, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the frustoconical dispensing and sorting device and method disclosed herein in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The frustoconical housing with the increasingly narrowing helical raceway may be adapted for use in various other modes and in combinations and also have other embodiments and can be practiced and carried out in different ways as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Any such alternative configuration as would occur to one of ordinary skill in the art is considered to be within the scope of this patent. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form part of the specification, illustrate some, but not the only and non-exclusive examples of embodiments and/or features of the disclosed frustoconical dispensing apparatus and method. It is intended that the embodiments and figures disclosed herein are to be considered illustrative of the invention and not restrictive in any way.

In the drawings:

fig. 1 depicts an isometric view of a dispensing device for pet food having a frustoconical dispensing device herein in operative engagement therewith.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 along line 2-2.

Fig. 3 depicts a view of the frustoconical housing means herein showing the side wall forming the outer surface and the inclined operating axis.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 along line 4-4.

Fig. 5 depicts a cross-sectional view of fig. 3 along line 5-5.

FIG. 6 depicts one mode of the device herein engaged with the components of FIG. 1, shown with the housing removed.

Fig. 7 shows another view of the device as engaged in fig. 6 showing gravity delivery of ejected material or objects from the interior cavity of the housing to the dispensing bowl via the chute.

Fig. 8 depicts an alternative embodiment of a frusto-conical housing means.

FIG. 9 shows the cross-sectional view of FIG. 8 along line 40-40.

Fig. 10 shows an isometric view of a frustoconical first housing portion.

FIG. 11 shows the cross-sectional view of FIG. 10 along line 44-44.

Figure 12 is an isometric view of the wider second housing portion.

Fig. 13 is a different isometric view of the second housing portion shown in fig. 12.

Fig. 14 a-c show another embodiment of a frustoconical first housing portion manufactured from two injection molded halves that are combined to form the final assembly.

Detailed Description

Referring now to the drawings in fig. 1-13, wherein like components are identified by like reference numerals, there is shown an exemplary dispensing device 10 that may be used, for example, in the interactive animal training system 1 of fig. 1. As shown in fig. 2, the device 10 may be operatively engaged for dispensing using the inclined orientation of the first narrower section 12 of the frustoconical housing 14 elevated above the wider second section 15. With the tilt form so positioned, a power means for rotation, such as a gear 16, operatively connected to a motor (not visible in fig. 2) is used to rotate the device 10 to dispense and/or sort individual items, such as pieces of animal food. The items leave the first portion 12 close to the narrow end and travel down the chute 17 and into the dispensing bowl 18. The animals may be enabled to obtain food in the dispensing bowl 18 according to the desired feed and/or training algorithm implemented by the training system 1. Such training systems and algorithms are described in united states provisional application No. 62/045,262, filed on 3/9/2014 and PCT application No. PCT/US2015/047896, filed on 1/9/2015.

As seen in fig. 3, the frustoconical housing 14 of the device 10 is defined by an exterior sidewall 19 forming the exterior surface of the housing 14, and as mentioned, the frustoconical housing 14 of the device 10 may be used alone or in combination with other mechanical dispensing components as shown herein for sequentially dispensing individual units individually from any heterogeneous or homogeneous mixture of materials or objects. The tilt shown in fig. 2, when used alone or in combination with another component, is also depicted in fig. 3, which shows an axis 20 running through the center of the housing 14 at a tilt, thereby raising the first narrower section 12 of the housing 14 above the wider section 15. In all modes of operation, some such tilt is employed, however, the tilt angle may be adjusted to help sort the dispensed material or better deliver individual objects or pieces during operation.

Depicted in fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of fig. 3 along line 4-4 thereof, showing the interior cavity 22 of the housing 14. The first section 12 is removably engaged with the second section 15 and each

section

12 and 15 may be frustoconical in shape. The second frusto-conical section 15 has a hopper portion 21 configured to hold a supply of material dispensed from the raised aperture 24 after travelling up the helical raceway 26. A lower section 15 is depicted with a mechanically detachable door 23 via which new objects can be introduced into the hopper portion 21 of the housing 14.

As shown in greater detail in the cross-sectional view of fig. 5 taken along line 5-5 of fig. 3, a helical raceway 26 extends from a first side edge of the raceway 26 that engages the interior sidewall 19' of the interior cavity 22 of the housing 14. The raceway 26 extends to a distal edge a distance "L" away from engagement with the sidewall 19'. With this engagement, the raceway 26 follows a helical path within the internal cavity 22 from the second frustoconical section 15 of the housing to the first frustoconical section 12 and out of the aperture 24 at the elevated end housing 14.

When operatively engaged to rotate along the central axis 20 positioned at the noted inclination angle θ, the raceway 26 in communication with the supply of individual objects to be dispensed from the hopper 21 within the second frustoconical section 15 conveys the respective individual objects or pieces upwardly within the internal cavity 22 along the helical raceway 26 via frictional engagement with the individual pieces or objects, which are individually ejected from the apertures 24 for dispensing.

The frictional properties of the side wall 19' and/or the helical raceway 26 can be modified to provide different levels of singulation for objects having different textures to be dispensed. For example, if the supplier of the object to be singulated has a smoother texture, a textured surface or a pattern of depressions or bumps may be added to the surface. Singulation of objects of different sizes can be achieved by varying the height "L" (see fig. 5) of the raceway, the cross-sectional length and width, or the pitch (number of spirals) of the raceway along the housing wall. In combination with the frictional properties of the sidewalls and raceways, these parameters can be altered to service the singulation of different sets of objects. For example, a larger object will be less likely to climb to the top of the helix before falling backwards due to its mass. Likewise, the raceway height "L" may be made higher or lower depending on the object to be dispensed, or the height may have different values along the extent of the raceway. If the raceway height "L" is small enough, a certain percentage of the objects will roll back down the housing because their center of gravity exists above the "L" and they are no longer supported by the raceway. This is a key feature of the mechanism that supports singulation; as the object advances along the raceway in the direction of the longitudinal axis, it lifts along the sidewall and eventually rests on the top of the particle directly below it along the raceway. Since the object now rests atop the second object, it is more likely to be above the raceway height "L" and often falls back, causing only the underlying mass to continue up the raceway. In this way, groups of objects that would otherwise be allocated together can be separated and singulated.

The pitch angle θ of the device and the rotation speed of the device have a large influence on the characteristics of singulation. In certain embodiments, parameters that may be such that device angle, device speed, raceway height and pitch, and the frictional properties of the raceways and sidewalls not only result in singulation of objects, but also in classification of objects based on their parameters, e.g., a smaller value of "L" average will result in smaller pieces being assigned faster than larger pieces.

The above parameters may be adjusted based on the particular application and/or object to be assigned.

The device 10 is shown in one mode of use in fig. 6 and 7, wherein the device 10 is incorporated in the animal interactive training system 1 of fig. 1. At the end of the second frusto-conical section 15, the shell 14 is adhered to a support (not shown), and at the end of the first section 12, the shell 14 is adhered to a support 30, which collectively support the housing 14 and allow it to rotate about the axis 20. This is accomplished by the motor 31, drive gear 32 and gear 16 being adhered to the housing 14. Rotation of gear 16 causes housing 14 to rotate about axis 20. As the housing 14 rotates, the object in the hopper 21 is pushed along the raceway 26 until it is ejected from the aperture 24 of the housing 14. Once ejected, the objects travel down the chute 17 to the dispensing bowl 18. As indicated above, the device 10 can be used to reliably deliver individual food units to the dispensing bowl 18, regardless of differences in the size or mass of the servant.

In certain embodiments, a controller in communication with the drive system controls the rotation of the housing 14 to dispense objects from the opening in the second end of the first housing portion one object at a time. The controller causes the housing 14 to rotate until one full rotation, during which time the objects may or may not be dispensed based on the arrangement of the objects within the housing and particularly at the end of the raceway 26 (which ends with the opening 24). After rotation, a controller in communication with infrared optical emitter 50 and infrared optical sensor 51 senses the reflectivity of bowl 18. Where the reflectivity of an empty bowl and a bowl having an object therein were previously characterized, the controller generates a determination of whether an object has been dispensed in the bowl 18. If the object has been dispensed in the bowl 18, the device 10 is not rotated further until the object in the bowl 18 is no longer present (after, for example, being presented to and consumed by the animal). If no object is detected in the bowl 18, the device 10 is rotated again and the sensing process continues until it is detected that an object has been dispensed.

Fig. 8-13 depict another embodiment of the present invention, device 10 a. As shown, it can be seen that in fig. 8 the housing 14a may be equipped with a removable door 23a through which new objects may be introduced into the hopper 21a of the interior 22a of the housing 14 a. Fig. 8 also depicts a longitudinal axis 20a formed by mounting the device 10a using a gear 16a affixed to one end of the housing 14a and a fixed rotational pivot 42 at the other end of the housing 14 a. Fig. 9 shows the cross-section of fig. 8 and depicts the helical raceway 26a only in the first frustoconical portion 12a of the housing 14a, while the second frustoconical portion 15a of the housing 14a is equipped with polymeric ribs 41 along the side walls. The polymeric ribs 41 collect and funnel the objects to be dispensed toward the helical raceway 26 a. The polymeric ribs 41 have a length generally in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 20a and a width generally in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 20 a. The surface of the hopper 21a is angled downwards towards the start of the helical raceway 26a of the first frusto-conical section 12a to ensure that items in the hopper 21a are urged towards the raceway 26a, thereby ensuring constant feeding of items.

Fig. 10 and 11 show more detailed views of the first frustoconical portion 12a, including a view of the aperture 24a through which the object is dispensed. Fig. 12 and 13 depict the interior of the second frustoconical portion 15a of the housing 14a, as well as various views of the polymeric rib 41. In fig. 12 and 13, removable door 23a is shown removed, providing access to housing interior 22a via aperture 43 when door 23a is removed.

An alternative embodiment, in which the device 10 can be modified for production via injection molding techniques by creating a first narrower section 12b, is formed from two separate molded parts, longitudinally divided 52b and 52b' (fig. 14a and b, respectively) permanently attached to each other after molding. A similar procedure may be used for the second wider section 15b as shown in fig. 14 c. In this embodiment, the

raceways

26b and 26b 'are defined by projections, such as

projections

54b and 54b', formed on the

inner surfaces

19b and 19b ', which are recesses in the outer wall, such as 56b' as shown in fig. 14 c. Thus, as the

raceways

26b and 26b' progress from the lower, wider end of the housing 14b to the upper, narrower end of the housing 14b, the housing 14b has a cross-section that becomes more triangular in shape.

As mentioned, any of the different configurations and components may be employed with any other configuration or component shown and described herein. Moreover, while the present distribution invention has been described herein with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosures.

Additionally, it should be understood that in some embodiments, some features or configurations or steps in forming the invention may be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. All such changes, modifications, and alterations as would occur to one skilled in the art are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention as generally defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus for sequentially assigning individual objects, the apparatus comprising:

a housing having a first housing portion with a conical shape, the first housing portion having a first end proximate to an object supply and a second end proximate to a dispensing location of an object to be dispensed; and

a helical raceway disposed on an inner surface of the first housing portion and extending from the first end to the second end of the first housing portion along which the object to be dispensed travels,

wherein the height of the helical raceway is configured such that as an object to be dispensed advances along the helical raceway as the housing rotates, the object to be dispensed lifts along the inner surface and eventually rests atop an object directly below it along the helical raceway, with the result that the object to be dispensed is above the height of the helical raceway and drops rearwardly, causing only the directly below object to continue up the helical raceway, thus sequentially dispensing individual objects,

wherein the housing comprises a second housing portion having a first end and a second end; wherein the first end of the first housing portion is interconnected with the first end of the second housing portion,

the housing has a longitudinal axis and the helical raceway on the inner surface of the first housing portion is disposed about the longitudinal axis,

wherein the second housing portion comprises a plurality of polymeric ribs on an inner surface of the second housing portion, the polymeric ribs having a length generally in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis and a width generally in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis,

wherein the housing is disposed on a bracket to effect rotation of the housing about the longitudinal axis; wherein upon rotation of the housing the object to be dispensed travels along the helical raceway from a hopper of the second housing part due to frictional engagement between the helical raceway and the object, and

wherein the housing is angled upward relative to a seating surface of the device from the second end of the second housing portion to the second end of the first housing portion.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the width gradually increases in a direction from the first end of the second housing portion to the second end of the second housing portion.

3. The device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the second housing portion is frusto-conical in shape.

4. The device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first housing portion and the second housing portion are both mechanically detachable.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the hopper is located inside the second housing portion and is for holding a supply of objects.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein a surface of the hopper is angled to urge the object toward the first housing portion.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the second housing portion includes an opening having a mechanically detachable cover through which the supply of objects can be introduced to the hopper.

8. The device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the second housing portion includes a helical raceway disposed on an inner surface thereof, the helical raceway aligned with the helical raceway disposed on the inner surface of the first housing portion; the second housing portion holds an object supply.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the housing has a longitudinal axis and the helical raceways on the inner surfaces of the first and second housing portions are disposed about the longitudinal axis.

10. The device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first and second housing portions are frusto-conical in shape.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the first end of the first housing portion is wider than the second end of the first housing portion.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second end of the first housing portion comprises an opening for the subject to exit.

13. The device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the objects to be dispensed are food particles.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the particles are in the range of 0.4cm to 4.0 cm.

15. The device of claim 12, further comprising a drive system configured to cause rotation of the housing.

16. The device of claim 15, further comprising a controller in communication with the drive system to control rotation of the housing to dispense objects from the opening in the second end of the first housing portion one object at a time.

17. The device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the helical raceway includes a helical wall extending from the inner surface of the first housing portion.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the spiral wall extending from the inner surface of the first housing portion is formed by indenting an outer surface of the first housing portion.

19. A system for training an animal, the system comprising:

a food container;

an interactive device for providing a stimulus to an animal in order to elicit a response from the animal; and

a dispensing device for sequentially dispensing individual food particles to the food container in response to input from the interactive device, the dispensing device comprising:

a housing having a first housing portion interconnected to a second housing portion, the first housing portion being conically shaped and having a first end interconnected to the second housing portion and a second end proximate to the food container;

wherein the first housing portion has a helical raceway extending from the first end to the second end of the first housing portion disposed on an inner surface thereof, and wherein the second housing portion has a hopper in an interior thereof for holding a supply of food particles;

a bracket on which the housing is rotatably mounted to effect rotation of the housing about a longitudinal axis of the housing; wherein upon rotating the housing, the food particles travel along the helical raceway from the hopper due to frictional engagement between the helical raceway and the food particles until the food particles are individually dispensed to the food container via an opening in the first housing portion,

wherein the height of the helical raceway is configured such that as food particles to be dispensed advance along the helical raceway as the housing rotates, the food particles to be dispensed lift along the inner surface and eventually settle on top of food particles directly below it along the helical raceway, with the result that the food particles to be dispensed are above the height of the helical raceway and fall rearwardly, causing only the directly below food particles to continue upwardly along the helical raceway, thus sequentially dispensing individual food particles,

wherein the second housing portion has a first end and a second end; wherein the first end of the first housing portion is interconnected with the first end of the second housing portion,

wherein the helical raceway on the inner surface of the first housing portion is disposed about the longitudinal axis,

wherein the second housing portion includes a plurality of polymeric ribs on an inner surface of the second housing portion, the polymeric ribs having a length generally in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis and a width generally in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, an

Wherein the housing is angled upwardly from the second end of the second housing portion to the second end of the first housing portion relative to a seating surface of the dispensing device.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the housing of the dispensing device is detachable from the bracket.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein one or more of the following parameters can be adjusted to control the travel of food particles along the helical raceway: the angle of inclination of the housing, the rotational speed of the housing, and the height, pitch and frictional properties of the helical raceway.