Fully automatic multistage insect larvae breeding system

Abstract

An insect larvae breeding system comprises: a breeding chamber (container 11); a plurality of multistage-type larvae breeding shelves 14 that are arranged in the breeding chamber with each having a plurality of storage racks; a larvae breeding tray T that can be stored in each of the plurality of storage racks and includes a larvae escape prevention member; a movement unit 12 that has a raising / lowering platform and can move along a passage 112 to the side of the plurality of multistage-type larvae breeding shelves 14 and multistage-type loading / unloading shelves 13; and a transfer mechanism that is provided on the raising / lowering platform and transfers the larvae breeding tray T between the raising / lowering platform and storage racks.

Description

Fully automated multi-stage insect larvae rearing system

[0001] The present invention relates to a system for efficiently raising insect larvae to be used as a protein source for human and animal consumption.

[0002] Due to recent global warming, the development of emerging and developing countries, and dietary changes resulting from population growth, there is a tendency for fish, one of the protein sources necessary for humans, to be in short supply.In addition, there has been a general trend toward a shortage of protein supply, with prices of sardines, which are the main ingredient in feed used for farming broilers, layers, and other poultry, and for farming fish such as yellowtail and red sea bream, soaring.

[0003] To address this protein shortage, soybeans are a representative source of protein produced in fields. Soybeans are widely used as food for humans and are also mixed into the feed of many animals. However, due to abnormal weather caused by global warming and war, the supply of soybeans is becoming unstable, causing prices to rise.

[0004] To address these protein shortages, countries around the world are promoting protein production through insect farming, such as crickets and black soldier flies, and black soldier fly farming in particular has already been fully commercialized in the Netherlands, the United States, and other countries (see Non-Patent Documents 1 to 4 for an overview).

[0005] "High-tech factories produce protein from insects... as environmentally friendly animal feed," [online], January 13, 2022, BUSINESS INSIDER JAPAN, [Retrieved October 12, 2023], Internet<https: / / www.businessinsider.jp / post-249047> "The world's largest insect protein factory heralds the future of food supply," [online], February 3, 2021, Forbes JAPAN, [Retrieved October 12, 2023], Internet<https: / / forbesjapan.com / articles / detail / 39610> "Insect farms in focus: Could they save the world from the protein crisis?" [online], April 20, 2018, REUTERS, [Retrieved October 12, 2023], Internet<https: / / jp.reuters.com / article / usa-protein-bugs-idJPKBN1HR07Q / > "Recycling food waste with livestock insects: 'black soldier flies': Hidden deodorizing function discovered," [online], April 24, 2023, NEWS Tsukuba, [Retrieved October 12, 2023], Internet<https: / / newstsukuba.jp / 44483 / 24 / 04 / >

[0006] In these existing insect farming businesses, as shown in Non-Patent Document 1, insects are raised in large plastic containers, and these containers are stacked multiple times and lined up in large numbers on the premises, thereby increasing farming efficiency and area efficiency. In the factory in Non-Patent Document 1, containers are stacked 12 high to increase area efficiency, but if each container is 300 mm high, the total height of 12 stacked containers becomes 3.6 m, and the machinery used for transfers and other purposes also becomes large, resulting in a lack of space efficiency.

[0007] To improve space efficiency, the height of the container needs to be lowered, but this cannot be done easily because the larvae can climb up the walls to escape.

[0008] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide an apparatus for efficiently raising larvae of insects such as black soldier flies.

[0009] The insect larvae rearing system of the present invention, which has been developed to solve the above-mentioned problems, is characterized by comprising: a) a rearing chamber; b) a plurality of rearing shelves arranged within the rearing chamber, each having a plurality of storage rack tiers; c) a larva rearing tray equipped with a larvae escape prevention member that can be stored in each of the plurality of storage rack tiers; d) a moving unit having a lifting platform that can move along the aisles on the side of the plurality of rearing shelves; and e) a transfer mechanism provided on the lifting platform that transfers larva rearing trays between the lifting platform and the storage racks.

[0010] In terms of cost, it is advantageous to use a cargo container commonly used for land and sea transport as the rearing chamber used in the present invention, but this is not limited to this, and a warehouse with similar functions may also be used. In the case of a cargo container, it is advantageous to use a cargo refrigerated container, which has particularly excellent insulation properties. In either case, it is desirable to provide the rearing chamber with an environmental control mechanism for controlling environmental factors such as daytime and nighttime temperature, lighting hours, and humidity. However, if the rearing chamber is installed in a larger building and the environmental factors are controlled in the building, an environmental control mechanism is not required for the rearing chamber. Naturally, the control of environmental factors is carried out according to the type of insect (larvae) being reared.

[0011] The insect larvae rearing system according to the present invention may further include a feeding shelf having a feeding mechanism for supplying larval food to the larvae rearing trays, in which case the transfer unit transfers the larvae rearing trays between the rearing shelf (storage rack) and the feeding shelf.

[0012] The insect larvae rearing system according to the present invention may be provided with a loading / unloading shelf in addition to the rearing shelf and feeding shelf. The loading / unloading shelf, like the rearing shelf, may be a multi-tiered type having multiple storage racks. The loading / unloading shelf is a shelf that is placed in a predetermined location within the rearing room and has two functions.

[0013] One is for transporting larvae rearing trays into the rearing room, where trays containing a large number of newly hatched larvae (and their food) are loaded onto this loading / unloading shelf by a human or an automated machine outside the rearing room, and then either carried in by a human or driven by itself to the location inside the rearing room. The second is for transporting from the rearing room to the outside, where larvae rearing trays in which larvae have grown to the shipping stage are transferred onto this loading / unloading shelf by a mobile unit inside the rearing room, and then transported to an external larvae separation device by hand or driven by itself. By automatically transferring the larvae rearing trays to be shipped from the rearing shelf to the loading / unloading shelf by a mobile unit at night, the shipping work can be done during the day.

[0014] The larvae rearing trays are manually or automatically transported onto the loading / unloading shelves, and are then automatically transferred to each rack on the rearing shelves or to the feeding shelves by a moving unit and a transfer mechanism, and all operations up to finally transferring the trays onto the loading / unloading shelves for shipping can be performed unmanned.

[0015] The loading / unloading shelf is preferably located closer to the door of the rearing room than the rearing shelf, which makes it easier to bring larval rearing trays containing hatched larvae into the rearing room and to remove larval rearing trays that have reached the shipping age.

[0016] Even if the insect larvae being reared in the larvae rearing tray are legless and maggot-like, there is a possibility that the larvae may crawl up the side walls of the larva rearing tray and escape due to surface tension caused by humidity or wetting. For this reason, existing insect farming factories, such as those described in Non-Patent Document 1, are forced to use plastic containers (rearing trays) with a height of approximately 300 mm. Therefore, the larva rearing tray of the present invention has a larva escape prevention member, which is a mechanism for preventing larvae from escaping from the larva rearing tray. By providing the larva escape prevention member, the height of the larva rearing tray can be reduced to approximately 60 mm.

[0017] This larvae escape prevention member can be a member provided around the entire inner periphery of the upper edge of the larvae rearing tray and protruding horizontally or diagonally downward toward the inside of the larvae rearing tray. For example, it can be constructed by arranging a brush-like barrier made of numerous flexible thin wires made of plastic or metal, or a comb-like barrier made of numerous wires arranged horizontally, surrounding the inside of the upper edge of the side wall of the larvae rearing tray. The length of the wires and the density of the vegetation can be determined appropriately depending on the size and behavioral characteristics of the larvae to be reared, but the length can be approximately several millimeters to 2 cm regardless of the type of larvae. Furthermore, the barrier can be a solid plate-like barrier, but a brush-like or comb-like barrier is preferable to a plate-like barrier in terms of preventing larvae from using the surface tension of water to crawl up, ease of cleaning the larvae rearing tray, and the possibility of damage to the larvae escape prevention member.

[0018] When a freight container is used as the cultivation chamber, the passage may be located on one side of the container, but in order to reduce the depth of the cultivation shelves, etc. and increase the ease of removing trays from the cultivation shelves, etc., it is preferable to locate the passage in the center and place the cultivation shelves, etc. on both sides of it.

[0019] The insect larvae rearing system of the present invention comprises a moving unit that moves along a passageway, a lifting platform provided on the moving unit, and a transfer mechanism that transfers larvae rearing trays between the lifting platform and racks on each level of the rearing shelf.

[0020] The moving unit has a power source (such as a motor) for movement and may be driven by tires, but a type that moves on pre-laid rails is preferable in terms of increasing positioning accuracy. The lifting platform is controlled to move up and down using a motor or the like, and is controlled so that it is at the same height as the target rack when a larvae rearing tray is removed from or stored in a target rack on the rearing shelf. After the target rack and the lifting platform are thus brought to the same height, a transfer mechanism provided on the lifting platform removes the rearing tray from the target rack on the rearing shelf and transfers it to the lifting platform, or stores the rearing tray on the lifting platform in the target rack.

[0021] The insect larvae rearing system according to the present invention can efficiently mass-produce insect larvae that serve as a protein source.

[0022] 1 is a perspective view showing the inside of a container that is one embodiment of a rearing chamber of the insect larvae rearing system according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the door of the container; FIG. 3 is a front view of a moving unit, a multi-tiered larvae rearing shelf, and a multi-tiered loading / unloading shelf inside the container; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a larvae rearing tray; FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a larvae rearing tray (a), a perspective view of an example of a larvae escape prevention member (b), a cross-sectional view of the edge of a larvae rearing tray (c), and a cross-sectional view of the edge of a larvae rearing tray (d), showing yet another example; FIG. 6 is an explanatory view illustrating the operation of transferring larvae rearing trays by a moving unit; FIG. 7 is an explanatory view illustrating the operation of transferring larvae rearing trays by a transfer mechanism; FIG. 8 is a diagram showing various modified examples of the transfer mechanism; FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the door of the container with larvae rearing trays transferred to a feeding shelf; FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing the state in which food is supplied to the larvae rearing trays on the feeding shelf; FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an insect larvae rearing system according to the present invention installed as a large-scale insect farming factory in a large warehouse-like space.

[0023] An embodiment of an insect larvae rearing system according to the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 10. Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views showing the interior of a cargo transport container (hereinafter referred to as "container 11") which serves as a rearing chamber for the larvae rearing system 10 of this embodiment.

[0024] There are several standardized types of cargo transport containers, with 20-foot and 40-foot containers being the most commonly used. In this embodiment, however, a 40-foot container called a high cube is used, which allows for the placement of more cultivation shelves.

[0025] A double door 111 is provided on one of the end faces (the faces at both ends in the longitudinal direction) of the container 11. A passage 112 extending in the longitudinal direction is provided in the center of the width of the container 11, and a moving unit 12 is disposed in the passage 112. As will be described later, the moving unit 12 is provided with a lifting platform 124 for placing larvae rearing trays thereon, and a transfer mechanism for transferring the larvae rearing trays between the lifting platform and racks of the rearing shelves, which will be described later.

[0026] There is one multi-tiered carry-in / out shelf 13 on the front right side of the aisle 112, one feeding shelf 15 on the opposite side of the aisle 112, and multiple multi-tiered larvae rearing shelves 14 are arranged on both sides of the back side of the aisle 112. Of these shelves, the multi-tiered carry-in / out shelf 13 is arranged in a position closer to the door 111 than the multi-tiered larvae rearing shelves 14. This makes it easy to carry larvae rearing trays T into the multi-tiered larvae rearing shelves 14 and to carry larvae rearing trays T to be shipped out of the multi-tiered larvae rearing shelves 14.

[0027] For fully automated rearing, elements such as a feeding device, air conditioning equipment, a control device, and lighting devices are required. Therefore, the larva rearing system 10 of this embodiment is provided with each of these devices (environmental control mechanisms). However, for the sake of simplicity, the devices other than the feeding device are not shown in FIG. 1.

[0028] The walls, ceiling, and underfloor of the container are covered with 40mm thick insulation to insulate the interior. If the container is a 40-foot high cube container, the space inside the insulation will be approximately 12,000mm long, 2,300mm wide, and 2,500mm high.

[0029] Assuming that a single rearing tray measures approximately 600mm x 1200mm (internal dimensions), allowing for clearance in the front and rear, eight rearing shelves can be installed lengthwise, and two shelves can be installed widthwise with an 800mm-wide aisle between them. In terms of height, if a space of approximately the same height as the larval rearing tray T plus a space of α is secured above the 60mm-high larval rearing tray T to allow for the transfer mechanism's operational range, the tray spacing on a single rearing shelf will be 150mm. Leaving adequate space above and below the 2500mm internal height allows for 14 trays on the rearing shelf. In other words, this means that more than twice as many trays can be installed in the same space, even in terms of height alone. Thus, a total of 14 multi-tiered larval rearing shelves (14 shelves) capable of holding multiple tiers (e.g., 14 tiers) of trays (larval rearing trays) with internal dimensions of approximately 600mm x 1200mm can be installed on both sides of the aisle, along with one multi-tiered loading / unloading shelf and one feeding shelf. Calculating only the larvae rearing trays, the total is 0.6m x 1.2m x 14 trays (14 levels) x 14 shelves = 141.12m 2 This allows for the securing of sufficient cultivation area.

[0030] FIG. 3 is a front view of the transport unit 12 and multi-tiered larvae rearing shelves 14 inside the container. For ease of explanation, the multi-tiered loading / unloading shelf 13 is depicted on the right side. Loading and unloading large trays weighing approximately 10 to 15 kg and measuring 600 mm x 1200 mm is laborious even in a relatively wide space. Furthermore, loading and unloading trays placed at a height of nearly 2.5 m through a narrow passageway of only 800 mm is even more difficult. Therefore, the larvae rearing system 10 according to this embodiment uses a transport unit 12 that travels along a passageway 112. The transport unit 12 travels autonomously along the passageway 112 between the multi-tiered larvae rearing shelves 14 on both sides, stopping in front of the multi-tiered loading / unloading shelf 13, each multi-tiered larvae rearing shelf 14, and the feeding shelf 15. The lifting platform 124 then rises and falls to the desired larvae rearing tray T, where a transfer mechanism retrieves and stores the larvae rearing tray T.

[0031] To this end, the moving unit 12 includes a carriage 122 with wheels 121 attached to its bottom for moving along the passage 112, two support posts 123 arranged front to back (in the longitudinal direction of the passage 112) and erected on the carriage 122, a lifting platform 124 that is held between the two support posts 123 and moves up and down, and a transfer mechanism mounted on the lifting platform 124. The transfer mechanism includes a slide table 125 that can move left and right (in the width direction of the passage 112) by approximately 150 mm each (300 mm in total), and pinion gears 126 attached to the tip of each side of the slide table 125. Two rails 113 are laid along the passage 112, and the moving unit 12 moves on the rails 113. This allows the moving unit 12 to move with almost no deviation in its position in the width direction of the passage 112, thereby improving positional accuracy during the operation of transferring the larvae rearing trays T, as described below.

[0032] As shown in Figures 4 and 5(a), the larvae rearing tray T has a bottom with irregularities roughly matching the tooth profile of the pinion gear 126. As will be described later, the irregularities of the larvae rearing tray T (i) facilitate transfer by the transfer mechanism of the moving unit 12, and (ii) function as reinforcing ribs that increase the rigidity of the bottom surface of the thin resin tray T.

[0033] Furthermore, a larvae escape prevention member T1 is disposed on the upper inner wall of the rearing tray T to prevent larvae from escaping. If the inner wall of the larva rearing tray is free of dirt and is not wet, legless larvae such as American soldier flies cannot climb even a slight wall, but if the wall is dirty or wet, they can cling to it due to surface tension and climb up. Therefore, unless the height of the container is increased as in the case of the existing factory mentioned above, the larvae will escape from the larva rearing tray.

[0034] As shown in Fig. 5(b), the larvae escape prevention member T1 of the larvae rearing tray T according to this embodiment has comb-shaped protrusions T1 arranged on the top of the tray, with bristles extending toward the inside of the tray. The comb-shaped protrusions T1 prevent larvae growing inside from climbing over the walls when the inside of the tray becomes wet due to feeding or when the walls become dirty and sticky, preventing larvae from escaping. This allows the height of the larvae rearing tray T to be minimized.

[0035] The larvae escape-preventing member may be a brush-like member T2 as shown in Fig. 5(c), or a stain-resistant rubber plate T3 as shown in Fig. 5(d).However, in order to prevent the larvae from crawling up using the surface tension of water, and in consideration of the ease of cleaning the larvae rearing tray and the possibility of damage to the larvae escape-preventing member, the brush-like member T2 or comb-like member T1 are preferable to the plate-like member.

[0036] The operation of transferring the larvae rearing trays T by the moving unit 12 will be described using Figure 6. First, the moving unit 12 moves freely along the aisle 112 and stops at a fixed position on the aisle 112 with the target shelf (here, the multi-tiered larvae rearing shelf 14) to the side (a). Next, the lifting platform 124 is adjusted to a height that allows the pinion gear 126 to fit between the larvae rearing tray T to be moved and the larvae rearing tray T below it, both of which are placed on the multi-tiered larvae rearing shelf 14, and the slide table 125 is then moved leftward until the pinion gear 126 matches one or more teeth of the unevenness on the bottom of the larvae rearing tray T (b). Next, the lifting platform 124 is raised to a position where the pinion gear 126 slightly lifts the larvae rearing tray T (c).

[0037] The pinion gear 126 is then rotated, and the larvae rearing tray T is pulled onto the slide table 125 by the rack-and-pinion mechanism (d). When the larvae rearing tray T is pulled to near the center of the slide table 125, the rotation of the pinion gear 126 is stopped (e). When the larvae rearing tray T reaches this position, the pinion gears 126 provided at the left and right ends of the slide table 125 both match the unevenness of the bottom of the larvae rearing tray T. After the slide table 125 is returned to its original standby position (f), the moving unit 12 is moved sideways to a fixed position on the aisle 112 where the destination shelf (here, the multi-tiered loading / unloading shelf 13) is located. Then, by performing the operations in reverse, the larvae rearing tray T can be placed on the multi-tiered loading / unloading shelf 13.

[0038] The transfer operation using another example of the transfer means is shown in Figures 7(a) to 7(e). This example includes a pinion gear 126 and a hook arm 129, which serves as an auxiliary moving means. The tip of the hook arm 129 is provided with a concave / convex shape that engages with the concave / convex shape of the bottom surface of the pad P. First, the hook arm 129 is adjusted to a height that fits between the bottom end of the larvae rearing tray T and the upper frame 143 of the lower rack using the same lift platform 124 as in the previous example. Next, the hook arm 129 moves leftward in Figure 7 (a) and is inserted between the larvae rearing tray T and the upper frame 143 of the lower rack. After inserting the hook arm 129 until the concave / convex shape engages with the concave / convex shape of the bottom surface of the larvae rearing tray T, the hook arm 129 is raised (b), thereby engaging the concave / convex shape of the bottom surface of the larvae rearing tray T with the concave / convex shape of the hook arm 129. Moving the hook arm rightward at this point pulls out the larvae rearing tray T (c). After the larvae rearing tray T is moved to a position where the unevenness on the bottom surface of the larvae rearing tray T engages with the pinion gear 126, the hooking arm 129 is lowered (d), thereby engaging the unevenness on the bottom surface of the larvae rearing tray T with the teeth of the pinion gear 126 (e). After that, the larvae rearing tray T is transported out by rotating the pinion gear 126, as in the previous example.

[0039] The above has described the operation of transferring larvae rearing trays T from the multi-tiered loading / unloading shelves 13 to the multi-tiered larvae rearing shelves 14, but the operation of transferring larvae rearing trays T from the multi-tiered larvae rearing shelves 14 to the feeding shelves 15 is also similar. In practice, the larvae rearing trays T are first transferred from the multi-tiered larvae rearing shelves 14 to the multi-tiered loading / unloading shelves 13, and then the larvae rearing trays T containing newly-hatched larvae are transferred from the multi-tiered loading / unloading shelves 13 onto the vacant multi-tiered larvae rearing shelves 14. Furthermore, since the above operations generally need to be performed on a shelf-by-shelf basis, they need to be repeated for the number of shelves of the multi-tiered larvae rearing shelves 14 and the multi-tiered loading / unloading shelves 13. However, these operations can be performed at times when there is no human activity, such as at night, and do not need to be completed in a short time.

[0040] Figure 8 shows various examples of transfer means in the larva rearing system of this embodiment in perspective views ((a-1) to (c-1)) and cross-sectional views ((a-2) to (c-2)). The examples shown in (a-1) and (a-2) use the pinion gear 126 described above. The examples shown in (b-1) and (b-2) have a protrusion 127 attached to a timing belt or chain, and the protrusion 127 is hooked onto a part of the larva rearing tray T (for example, part of the unevenness on the bottom) to remove the larva rearing tray T from a shelf or push it into a shelf. The examples shown in (c-1) and (c-2) use a double timing belt 128 with profiles on both sides, which is used to mesh with the unevenness on the bottom of the larva rearing tray T in the same way as the pinion gear 126.

[0041] While larvae are being raised in the larvae rearing trays, the larvae need to be fed at predetermined intervals. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9 , in the larvae rearing system 10 of this embodiment, larvae rearing trays T are brought from a multi-tiered larvae rearing shelf 14 to a feeding shelf 15 by a moving unit 12 and a transfer mechanism according to a predetermined schedule. The feeding shelf 15 is provided with a feeding tank 151 and multiple feeding pipes 152 extending from the feeding tank 151 to the feeding table directly below. As shown in FIG. 10 , when a larvae rearing tray T is placed on the feeding table, the valve of the feeding pipe 152 is opened and a predetermined amount of food is poured into the larvae rearing tray T. If necessary, water or mist may be supplied to the larvae rearing tray T in addition to food using a similar mechanism.

[0042] The above explanation was given as an example of using refrigerated containers for cargo transport, but it is also possible to build a large-scale insect larvae rearing factory by arranging multiple rows in a large warehouse-like space and combining them with self-propelled loading and unloading shelves, as shown in Figure 11.

[0043] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Larva rearing system 11... Container 111... Door 112... Passageway 113... Rail 12... Mobile unit 121... Wheel 122... Cart 123... Support 124... Lifting platform 125... Slide table 126... Pinion gear 127... Timing belt or chain protrusion 128... Double timing belt 129... Hook arm 13... Multi-tiered loading / unloading shelf 14... Multi-tiered larva rearing shelf 15... Feeding shelf T... Larva rearing tray T1, T2, T3... Larva escape prevention member

Claims

1. An insect larvae rearing system comprising: a) a rearing chamber; b) a plurality of rearing shelves arranged within the rearing chamber, each having a plurality of storage racks; c) a larvae rearing tray equipped with a larvae escape prevention member that can be stored in each of the plurality of storage racks; d) a mobile unit having a lifting platform that can move along a side passage of the plurality of rearing shelves; and e) a transfer mechanism provided on the lifting platform for transferring larvae rearing trays between the lifting platform and the storage racks.

2. An insect larvae rearing system as described in claim 1, wherein the larvae escape prevention member is provided around the entire inner periphery of the upper edge of the larvae rearing tray and protrudes horizontally or diagonally downward toward the inside of the larvae rearing tray.

3. The insect larvae rearing system according to claim 2, wherein the larvae escape prevention member is a brush-like or comb-like barrier.

4. The insect larvae rearing system according to claim 1, wherein the rearing chamber is a cargo container.

5. An insect larvae rearing system as described in claim 1, wherein the rearing chamber is further provided with a loading / unloading shelf for transporting the larvae rearing trays in and out of the rearing chamber.

6. The insect larvae rearing system according to claim 1, wherein the rearing chamber is further provided with a feeding shelf for feeding larvae food into the larva rearing tray.

Images