A screening device and an automatic cat litter box

Abstract

The application relates to a screening device and an automatic cat litter box, and belongs to the technical field of pet products. The screening device comprises a roller, a separation sand plate, a defecation collection port, a first driving element, a second driving element and a controller; the roller is used for containing cat litter and is provided with an inlet and outlet for pets to enter and exit; the separation sand plate is rotatably arranged in the roller; the defecation collection port is located at the front end of the inlet and outlet; the first driving element is configured to drive the roller to rotate, the second driving element is configured to drive the separation sand plate to rotate, the separation sand plate is coaxially arranged with the roller, and the first driving element and the second driving element are electrically connected through the controller. According to the scheme, independent control and concentric motion design of the roller and the separation sand plate are achieved, low-resistance screening is realized, the separation efficiency is improved, and the risk of trapping a cat is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of pet supplies technology, and in particular to a screening device and an automatic litter box. Background Technology

[0002] Existing automatic litter boxes mainly use either a roller scoop or a scraper scoop for sorting. The roller scoop method uses the rotation of the roller to separate the litter by inertia, but its main compartment has a large rolling angle and a limited opening, and the bottom gravity-feeding structure poses a risk of pets falling into the litter compartment. The scraper method uses a motor to drive the comb teeth, but the pure scraping method has high resistance when flipping or pushing the litter, resulting in high motor torque requirements and a shortened lifespan. In addition, traditional scraper methods are prone to trapping cats or feces at the beginning of the litter compartment. Utility Model Content

[0003] To overcome the problems existing in the related technologies, this application provides a screening device that can achieve low-resistance screening through independent control and concentric motion design of the drum and the separating sand plate, thereby improving separation efficiency and reducing the risk of getting caught in the sand.

[0004] The first aspect of this application provides a screening device, including a drum, a separating sand plate, a feces and urine collection port, a first driving member, a second driving member, and a controller; The roller is used to hold cat litter and has an inlet / outlet for pets to enter and exit. The plane of the inlet / outlet is at an angle of 40°-55° to the horizontal plane. The separating litter plate is rotatably disposed inside the roller and has a screening surface. The feces collection port is located at the front end of the inlet / outlet. The first driving member is configured to drive the roller to rotate, and the second driving member is configured to drive the separating litter plate to rotate. The separating litter plate is coaxially disposed with the roller. Both the first and second driving components are electrically connected to the controller, which is configured as follows: The second driving component is controlled to drive the separating sand plate to rotate clockwise so that the screening surface is perpendicular to the horizontal plane; The first and second driving components are controlled to synchronously drive the drum and the separating sand plate to rotate clockwise by 60°-80°. The first driving component is controlled to drive the roller to reset, and the second driving component is controlled to drive the separating sand plate to rotate clockwise so that the screening surface coincides with the plane of the inlet and outlet. Control the second driving component to drive the separation sand plate to reset.

[0005] In some embodiments, the separating sand plate includes a plate body having a first side and a second side. The first side is provided with a plurality of comb teeth, and the second side is provided with two rotating arms that bend in the same direction. One of the rotating arms is rotatably connected to the roller via a bearing, and the other rotating arm is connected to the output shaft of the second drive component.

[0006] In some embodiments, the included angle between the plate and the rotating arm is 105°-115°, and the plate and the two rotating arms enclose a U-shaped opening adapted to the inner wall of the roller.

[0007] In some embodiments, the comb teeth include a linear body, the two ends of which are bent in the same direction and fixedly connected to the plate; the surface of the comb teeth is coated with a polytetrafluoroethylene coating.

[0008] In some embodiments, the first driving member includes a first motor, a driving wheel, and a driven wheel; the driving wheel is connected to the output shaft of the first motor, and the driving wheel meshes with the driven wheel for transmission; the driven wheel is fixedly disposed at the end of the drum; the driven wheel has a mounting hole at its center for accommodating the second driving member.

[0009] In some embodiments, the second drive component includes a second motor, the output shaft of which is connected to the separating sand plate via a coupling, and the housing of the second motor is fixedly connected to the roller.

[0010] In some implementations, infrared sensors and excrement sensors are also included; The infrared sensor is located at the inlet / outlet and is used to detect whether a pet is inside the drum. The excrement sensor is located at the bottom of the roller and has a parallel linear electrode structure, used to detect whether there is excrement inside the roller; Both the infrared sensor and the excrement sensor are electrically connected to the controller. The controller is configured to control the first and second drive members to rotate when the infrared sensor detects that there is no pet in the roller and the excrement sensor detects the presence of excrement, so as to push the feces and sand mixture to the excrement collection port.

[0011] In some embodiments, the inner top wall of the roller is detachably provided with an activated carbon filter bag.

[0012] In some embodiments, the drum is further provided with an ultraviolet lamp for disinfecting the inside of the drum.

[0013] A second aspect of this application provides an automatic litter box, including a mounting base and the aforementioned screening device.

[0014] This invention, by configuring the drum and the separating sand plate as an independently driven coaxial rotating structure, has the following advantages compared to existing screening devices that rely on a single drive or large-angle rotation: (1) By using the bidirectional coordinated movement of the roller and the separating sand plate, the hard agitation of cat litter caused by the traditional pure scraper or flat push structure is avoided, which significantly reduces the mechanical resistance, thereby reducing the torque demand of the drive motor, reducing energy consumption and extending the service life of the motor.

[0015] (2) The total rotation angle of the roller is controlled within ±70°, which greatly reduces the movement stroke of the roller that needs to be rotated more than 180° in the prior art. This means that the roller’s inlet and outlet do not need to be reduced in size to avoid the rotation space, and can be adapted to larger openings, especially making it easier for larger pets to enter and exit, thus improving the convenience of use.

[0016] (3) The coaxial independent drive design of the separation sand plate and the drum ensures that the movement trajectory of the two is accurate and controllable during the screening process, avoiding cat litter accumulation or excrement residue caused by mechanical interference; at the same time, the separation steps of static, synchronous rotation and reset pushing provided by this utility model make the separation and pushing process of fecal sand mixture more coherent, reducing the residence time of excrement in the drum. Attached Figure Description

[0017] The above and other objects, features and advantages of this application will become more apparent from the more detailed description of exemplary embodiments thereof in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein the same reference numerals generally represent the same components in the exemplary embodiments thereof.

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the screening device shown in the embodiments of this application; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the separation steps of the screening device shown in the embodiments of this application; Figure 3 This is another structural schematic diagram of the screening device shown in the embodiments of this application; Figure 4 This is another schematic diagram of the screening device shown in the embodiments of this application; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the cooperation between the roller and the separating sand plate in an embodiment of this application.

[0019] Figure label: 1. Drum; 10. Inlet and outlet; 2. Separating sand plate; 21. Plate body; 22. Rotating arm; 23. Comb teeth; 3. Urine and feces collection port; 4. First driving component; 40. First motor; 41. Driving wheel; 42. Driven wheel; 5. Second driving component. Detailed Implementation

[0020] Preferred embodiments of the present application will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While preferred embodiments of the present application are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present application may be implemented in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to make the present application more thorough and complete, and to fully convey the scope of the present application to those skilled in the art.

[0021] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] like Figures 1 to 4 As shown, this utility model proposes a screening device, including a drum 1, a separating sand plate 2, a feces and urine collection port 3, a first driving component 4, a second driving component 5, and a controller; The roller 1 is used to hold cat litter and has an inlet / outlet 10 for pets to enter and exit. The plane of the inlet / outlet 10 is at an angle of 40°-55° to the horizontal plane. The separating litter plate 2 is rotatably disposed inside the roller 1 and has a screening surface. The excrement collection port 3 is located at the front end of the inlet / outlet 10. The first driving member 4 is configured to drive the roller 1 to rotate, and the second driving member 5 is configured to drive the separating litter plate 2 to rotate. The separating litter plate 2 is coaxially disposed with the roller 1. The first drive unit 4 and the second drive unit 5 are both electrically connected to the controller, which is configured as follows: The second driving component 5 is controlled to drive the separating sand plate 2 to rotate clockwise so that the screening surface is perpendicular to the horizontal plane; The first driving component 4 and the second driving component 5 are controlled to synchronously drive the roller 1 and the separating sand plate 2 to rotate clockwise by 60°-80°. The first driving component 4 drives the roller 1 to reset, and at the same time controls the second driving component 5 to drive the separating sand plate 2 to rotate clockwise so that the screening surface coincides with the plane of the inlet and outlet 10; The second driving component 5 is controlled to drive the separation sand plate 2 to reset.

[0023] Specifically, roller 1 is mounted on the mounting base, and roller 1 and the mounting base together form an automatic litter box. Roller 1 can be made of ABS engineering plastic through one-piece injection molding. The appearance of roller 1 can be freely selected according to actual needs, such as hemispherical or cylindrical. Inlet and outlet 10 are opened on the side wall of roller 1, and the angle between inlet and outlet 10 and the horizontal plane is 40°-55°. Separating sand plate 2 can be made of stainless steel plate. Separating sand plate 2 is coaxially connected to roller 1 through bearings. The length of separating sand plate 2 is adapted to the inner diameter of roller 1. The movement trajectory of separating sand plate 2 covers the pet's excretion area, ensuring effective scraping off of sticky excrement and avoiding residue and incomplete cleaning. The waste collection port 3 is a funnel-shaped box structure located below the front end of inlet and outlet 10. Waste collection port 3 can be fixed to the mounting base by adhesive. The bottom of waste collection port 3 is connected to an external waste collection box (not shown in the figure).

[0024] See Figure 2 The first drive unit 4 and the second drive unit 5 perform the following steps: (1) In the initial state, the roller 1 is stationary, and the second driving component 5 drives the separating sand plate 2 to rotate clockwise, so that the screening surface of the separating sand plate 2 is perpendicular to the horizontal plane. At this time, the comb teeth 23 of the separating sand plate 2 face downward and are inserted into the cat litter.

[0025] (2) The first drive component 4 and the second drive component 5 start synchronously, driving the roller 1 and the separating sand plate 2 to rotate clockwise at a speed of 5r / min for 60°-80°. Under the action of centrifugal force, the cat litter is turned over with the roller 1, and the excrement and cat litter are mixed to form a fecal-sand mixture. At the same time, the fecal-sand mixture comes into contact with the comb teeth 23 of the separating sand plate 2 and is pushed to the inner wall of the roller 1 or the edge of the cat litter area.

[0026] (3) The first driving component 4 drives the drum 1 to reset counterclockwise at a speed of 8r / min. At the same time, the second driving component 5 drives the separating sand plate 2 to continue rotating clockwise until the screening surface coincides with the plane of the inlet and outlet. The feces and sand mixture rolls to the excrement collection port 3 by gravity under the inclined surface of 40°-55°. The separating sand plate 2 and the drum 1 move synchronously and coordinately. After the inertia is used to separate the cat litter and excrement in advance, the separating sand plate is reset and pushed to complete the screening.

[0027] Through the above technical solution, the bidirectional coordinated movement of the roller 1 and the separating sand plate 2 avoids the rigid agitation of cat litter caused by traditional pure scraping or flat pushing structures, significantly reducing mechanical resistance, thereby reducing the torque requirement of the drive motor, reducing energy consumption and extending the service life of the motor. In addition, by controlling the total rotation angle of the roller 1 within the range of 60°-80°, the travel distance of the roller 1, which needs to be rotated more than 180° in the prior art, is greatly reduced. This means that the inlet and outlet 10 of the roller 1 does not need to be reduced in size to avoid the rotation space, and can be adapted to larger openings, especially facilitating the entry and exit of larger pets, thus improving ease of use. Finally, the coaxial independent drive design of the separating sand plate 2 and the roller 1 ensures that the movement trajectory of both is precise and controllable during the screening process, avoiding cat litter accumulation or excrement residue caused by mechanical interference. At the same time, the separation steps provided by this utility model can ensure that the separation and pushing process of the feces and sand mixture becomes more continuous, thereby reducing the time that excrement is agitated in the roller 1.

[0028] The present invention further proposes that the separating sand plate 2 includes a plate body 21, the plate body 21 having a first side and a second side, the first side being provided with a plurality of comb teeth 23, and the second side being provided with two rotating arms 22 bending in the same direction, one of the rotating arms 22 being rotatably connected to the roller 1 through a bearing, and the other rotating arm 22 being connected to the output shaft of the second driving member 5.

[0029] Furthermore, the included angle between the plate 21 and the rotating arm 22 is 105°-115°, and the plate 21 and the two rotating arms 22 enclose a U-shaped opening that fits the inner wall of the roller 1.

[0030] Furthermore, the comb teeth 23 include a linear body, the two ends of which are bent in the same direction and fixedly connected to the plate 21; the surface of the comb teeth 23 is coated with a polytetrafluoroethylene coating.

[0031] Specifically, the separating sand plate 2 has an overall L-shaped structure. One side of the separating sand plate 2 is equipped with comb teeth 23, the surface of which is a screening surface. The other side has a U-shaped notch design. This U-shaped notch does not obstruct the pet's toileting process and maximizes space utilization. The separating sand plate 2 consists of a plate body 21, comb teeth 23, and a rotating arm 22. The plate body 21 and the rotating arm 22 are at an angle of 105°-115°. This non-linear design ensures that the comb teeth 23 coincide with the inlet and outlet, facilitating the separation of the feces and sand mixture using gravity. Please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 5In a preferred embodiment, the edges of the inlet and outlet 10 are rounded to reduce the contact pressure between the feces and sand mixture and the inlet / outlet edges during the rolling process, thereby preventing excrement adhesion. One rotating arm 22 is rotatably connected to the end cover of the roller 1 via a deep groove ball bearing, while the other rotating arm 22 has a keyway that engages with a coupling. The comb teeth 23 are located on the side of the plate 21 away from the inlet. Specifically, they can be integrally bent from 3mm diameter stainless steel wire and evenly distributed along the length of the plate 21. The number can be freely selected according to the size of the roller 1 and the spacing between the comb teeth 23. One end of each comb tooth 23 is welded to the plate 21. The spacing between each comb tooth 23 can be set to 5~10mm to support the feces and sand mixture and prevent excessive litter carry-out. The surface of the comb teeth 23 is coated with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coating and then sintered and cured at 380℃. The surface roughness Ra of the PTFE coating is ≤0.8μm, which reduces the probability of excrement clumping and adhesion, thus reducing the frequency of cleaning.

[0032] The present invention further proposes that the first driving component 4 includes a first motor 40, a driving wheel 41 and a driven wheel 42; the driving wheel 41 is connected to the output shaft of the first motor 40, the driving wheel 41 meshes with the driven wheel 42 for transmission, and the driven wheel 42 is fixedly disposed at the end of the roller 1; the driven wheel 42 is provided with a mounting hole at its center for the second driving component 5 to be accommodated.

[0033] Furthermore, the second driving component 5 includes a second motor, the output shaft of which is connected to the separating sand plate 2 via a coupling, and the housing of the second motor is fixedly connected to the roller 1. Both the first motor 40 and the second motor are stepper motors, which are electric motors that convert electrical pulse signals into corresponding angular or linear displacements. For each input pulse signal, the rotor rotates by an angle or moves forward one step; the output angular or linear displacement is proportional to the number of input pulses, and the rotational speed is proportional to the pulse frequency. Therefore, the stepper motor can precisely control the rotation amplitude of the roller 1 and the separating sand plate 2.

[0034] This invention further proposes that the screening device also includes an infrared sensor, an excrement sensor, and a controller; The infrared sensor is located at the inlet / outlet 10 and is used to detect whether there is a pet inside the roller 1. The excrement sensor is located at the bottom of the roller 1. The excrement sensor has a parallel linear electrode structure and is used to detect whether there is excrement inside the roller 1. Both the infrared sensor and the excrement sensor are electrically connected to the controller. The controller is configured to: when the infrared sensor detects that there is no pet in the roller 1 and the excrement sensor detects the presence of excrement, control the first drive member 4 and the second drive member 5 to rotate, so as to push the feces and sand mixture to the excrement collection port 3.

[0035] Specifically, the infrared sensor can be a diffuse reflection photoelectric sensor, installed on the top inside of the inlet / outlet 10, with a detection distance of 5-80cm. When the pet enters the roller 1, it outputs a low-level signal to the controller.

[0036] The excrement sensor features a parallel linear electrode structure, fabricated using an FPC flexible circuit board. The electrodes are 2mm wide and 5mm apart, and are placed beneath the litter support mesh at the bottom of roller 1. When excrement clumps and contacts the electrodes, the resistance change between the electrodes exceeds 500kΩ, triggering the sensor to output a trigger signal. The controller can receive signals from both the infrared sensor and the excrement sensor in real time. When the infrared sensor outputs a high level for 30 consecutive seconds (i.e., no pet) and the excrement sensor detects a change in resistance, the separation process can be started after a 2-minute delay. During the separation process, if the infrared sensor detects a pet entering, the drive mechanism will be immediately paused and the separation sand plate 2 will be reset.

[0037] The above technical solution utilizes infrared sensors to detect the presence of pets, thus avoiding the risk of cats getting caught in the screening process. Simultaneously, the excrement sensor with parallel linear electrode structures accurately identifies excrement, and combined with the controller, automatically triggers screening, increasing the automation level of the device and reducing manual intervention.

[0038] This invention further proposes that the inner top wall of the roller 1 is detachably equipped with an activated carbon filter bag, and the roller 1 is also equipped with an ultraviolet lamp, which is used to disinfect the inside of the roller 1. Specifically, the activated carbon filter bag can be detachably fixed to the inner top wall of the roller 1 via Velcro. The filter bag contains 80g of columnar activated carbon and needs to be replaced every 30 days, improving maintenance convenience. The ultraviolet lamp uses UV-C LED beads with a wavelength of 254nm, installed on the inner side wall of the roller 1, and is controlled by a controller to turn on for 10 minutes after the separation process, disinfecting the surface of the cat litter. The irradiation dose is ≥1000μW·s / cm², which can reduce bacterial growth, improve the hygiene of the cat litter box, and protect the health of pets.

[0039] This utility model also proposes an automatic cat litter box, including a mounting base (not shown in the figure) and a screening device as described above; wherein, the mounting base includes a base and a housing, the housing and the screening device are mounted on the base, the housing is made of cold-rolled steel plate with powder coating, one side of the mounting base is provided with a cavity for accommodating the roller 1, the first drive component 4 and the second drive component 5 are located inside the housing, and the bottom of the base is also equipped with casters to push the automatic cat litter box to move.

[0040] The various embodiments of this application have been described above. These descriptions are exemplary and not exhaustive, nor are they limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein is chosen to best explain the principles, practical application, or improvement of the technology in the market, or to enable others skilled in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A screening device, characterized in that, It includes a roller (1), a separating sand plate (2), a urine collection port (3), a first drive unit (4), a second drive unit (5), and a controller; The roller (1) is used to hold cat litter and has an inlet / outlet (10) for pets to enter and exit. The plane of the inlet / outlet (10) is at an angle of 40°-55° to the horizontal plane. The separating sand plate (2) is rotatably disposed inside the roller (1) and has a screening surface. The excrement collection port (3) is located at the front end of the inlet / outlet (10). The first driving member (4) is configured to drive the roller (1) to rotate, and the second driving member (5) is configured to drive the separating sand plate (2) to rotate. The separating sand plate (2) is coaxially disposed with the roller (1). The first drive unit (4) and the second drive unit (5) are both electrically connected to the controller, which is configured as follows: Control the second driving component (5) to drive the separating sand plate (2) to rotate clockwise so that the screening surface is perpendicular to the horizontal plane; The first driving component (4) and the second driving component (5) are controlled to synchronously drive the roller (1) and the separating sand plate (2) to rotate clockwise by 60°-80°; Control the first driving component (4) to drive the drum (1) to reset, and at the same time control the second driving component (5) to drive the separating sand plate (2) to rotate clockwise so that the screening surface coincides with the plane of the inlet and outlet (10); Control the second driving element (5) to drive the separation sand plate (2) to reset.

2. The screening device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The separating sand plate (2) includes a plate body (21), which has a first side and a second side. The first side is provided with a plurality of comb teeth (23), and the second side is provided with two rotating arms (22) that are bent in the same direction. One of the rotating arms (22) is rotatably connected to the roller (1) through a bearing, and the other rotating arm (22) is connected to the output shaft of the second drive (5).

3. The screening device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The included angle between the plate (21) and the rotating arm (22) is 105°-115°, and the plate (21) and the two rotating arms (22) enclose a U-shaped opening that fits the inner wall of the roller (1).

4. The screening device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The comb teeth (23) include a linear body, the two ends of which are bent in the same direction and fixedly connected to the plate (21); the surface of the comb teeth (23) is coated with a polytetrafluoroethylene coating.

5. The screening device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first driving component (4) includes a first motor (40), a driving wheel (41), and a driven wheel (42); the driving wheel (41) is connected to the output shaft of the first motor (40), the driving wheel (41) meshes with the driven wheel (42) for transmission, and the driven wheel (42) is fixedly disposed at the end of the roller (1); the driven wheel (42) has a mounting hole at its center for the second driving component (5) to be accommodated.

6. The screening device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The second driving component (5) includes a second motor, the output shaft of which is connected to the separating sand plate (2) via a coupling, and the housing of the second motor is fixedly connected to the roller (1).

7. The screening device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes infrared sensors and excrement sensors; The infrared sensor is located at the inlet / outlet (10) and is used to detect whether there is a pet inside the drum (1); The excrement sensor is located at the bottom of the roller (1). The excrement sensor has a parallel line-shaped electrode structure and is used to detect whether there is excrement inside the roller (1). Both the infrared sensor and the excrement sensor are electrically connected to the controller. The controller is configured to control the first drive (4) and the second drive (5) to rotate when the infrared sensor detects that there is no pet in the roller (1) and the excrement sensor detects the presence of excrement, so as to push the feces and sand mixture to the excrement collection port (3).

8. The screening device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner top wall of the roller (1) is detachably equipped with an activated carbon filter bag.

9. The screening device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drum (1) is also equipped with an ultraviolet lamp, which is used to disinfect the inside of the drum (1).

10. An automatic litter box, characterized in that, It includes a mounting base and a screening device as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the screening device is disposed on the mounting base.

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