Mobile cleaning device and its control system

Abstract

To provide a mobile cleaning device suitable for a livestock rearing farm.SOLUTION: A mobile cleaning device includes a mobile body and a plurality of guide scrapers. The mobile body is configured to be movable in a livestock rearing farm. The mobile body includes a storage space and an opening part which communicate with each other. The storage space receives excrement of livestock from the livestock rearing farm through the opening part. The guide scrapers are disposed on the movable body and support the movable body. An interval between the plurality of guide scrapers gradually decreases along a direction toward the opening part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a mobile cleaning device and its control system, and more particularly, to a mobile cleaning device suitable for a livestock farm and its control system.

Background Art

[0002] In livestock production, the cleaning work of the breeding farm is usually carried out manually. The environment to be cleaned is often dirty and smelly, and the burden of the cleaning work is heavy. Therefore, some livestock farmers are importing cleaning robots from European and American countries in order to reduce the burden of cleaning work.

[0003] However, since livestock farms in Europe and America are large, the construction methods of livestock houses are standardized. Imported cleaning robots designed for standardized livestock houses may not be suitable for various domestic livestock farms.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The present disclosure provides a mobile cleaning device and its control system, which are suitable for various livestock farms and can effectively perform cleaning work.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a mobile cleaning device suitable for a livestock farm includes a movable body and a plurality of guide scrapers. The movable body is configured to be movable within the livestock farm. The movable body has an accommodation space and an opening that communicate with each other, and the accommodation space is configured to accommodate livestock excrement from the livestock farm through the opening. The plurality of guide scrapers are disposed on the movable body to support the movable body, and the distance between the plurality of guide scrapers gradually decreases along the direction toward the opening.

[0006] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a control system for a mobile cleaning device includes the mobile cleaning device and a control device. The mobile cleaning device includes a movable body, at least one moving module, and a plurality of guide scrapers. The movable body has an accommodation space and an opening that communicate with each other. At least one moving module is disposed on the movable body to enable the mobility of the movable body. The plurality of guide scrapers are disposed on the movable body to support the movable body, and the distance between the plurality of guide scrapers gradually decreases along the direction toward the opening. The control device is in signal communication connection with at least one moving module and controls the movement of the mobile cleaning device in a livestock farm via at least one moving module. The mobile cleaning device collects livestock excrement from the livestock farm via the plurality of guide scrapers and moves the livestock excrement to the accommodation space via the opening.

[0007] According to the mobile cleaning device and its control system of the present invention, the mobile cleaning device can travel on uneven ground due to the design of the guide scraper, so it is suitable for various livestock farms. Also, since the mobile cleaning device can collect livestock excrement toward the opening while traveling due to the design of the guide scraper, the cleaning work can be effectively performed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008] The present disclosure will be better understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, which are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the present disclosure, and are as follows.

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 6

[0009] Aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. For the sake of convenience of explanation, one or more specific embodiments are provided in order to provide a complete understanding of the present invention, and these are described in sufficient detail so that those skilled in the art can implement the described embodiments. It should be understood that the following description is not intended to limit the embodiments to one specific embodiment. On the contrary, it is directed to alternatives, modifications, and equivalents that can be included within the spirit and scope of the described embodiments as defined by the appended claims.

[0010] Please refer to FIGS. 1 to 6, where FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control system of a mobile cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one mobile cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the mobile cleaning device in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a part of the mobile cleaning device in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a part of the mobile cleaning device in FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the guide scraper of the mobile cleaning device of FIG. 2.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a mobile cleaning device control system 1 suitable for a livestock farm (for example, a dairy cattle barn not shown) is provided. The mobile cleaning device control system 1 includes a mobile cleaning device 10 and a control device 20.

[0012] The mobile cleaning device 10 can include a movable body 100, a plurality of moving modules 200, a suction module 300, a plurality of guide scrapers 400, a plurality of brush modules 500, a plurality of side blockers 600, a plurality of guide blockers 700, an auxiliary blocker 800, and a liquid supply module 900.

[0013] The movable body 100 has an accommodation space 110 and an opening 120 that communicate with each other.

[0014] Each moving module 200 includes a wheel 210 and a drive motor 230. The wheel 210 is rotatably arranged on the movable body 100 via the drive motor 230 so as to enable the movement of the movable body 100 in the livestock farm. The drive motor 230 is connected to the control device 20 in a signal communication manner. It should be noted that the movement mode of the wheel 210 is not intended to limit the preset disclosure content. The drive motor 230 may be connected to the wheel 210 via a reduction gearbox (not shown), and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the moving module may include other suitable moving media such as a sled for sliding and a mechanical foot for walking.

[0015] The suction module 300 may be, for example, a vacuum pump. The suction module 300 may be arranged on the movable body 100 and may be connected to the control device 20 in a signal communication manner. The suction module 300 may suck air from the accommodation space 110 so that the inside of the accommodation space 110 becomes a negative pressure. When the mobile cleaning device 10 moves inside the livestock farm, the negative pressure in the accommodation space 110 is used to suck livestock excrement (for example, cow excrement not shown) from the livestock farm and temporarily store the livestock excrement in the accommodation space 110 through the opening 120. It should be noted that the suction module does not limit the present disclosure. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the livestock excrement may be transferred to the accommodation space by a method involving physical contact such as pushing.

[0016] Each guide scraper 400 may be rotatably connected to the movable body 100 via a cushion CS (shown in FIG. 4). The guide scraper 400 and the wheel 210 are respectively arranged on two opposite side surfaces of the opening 120 and support the movable body 100 together. Each guide scraper 400 may include a slide portion 410, a front raised portion 420, a rear raised portion 430, and a scraping portion 440. Among each guide scraper 400, the slide portion 410 may be close to the ground of the livestock farm. The front raised portion 420 and the rear raised portion 430 are respectively connected to two opposite side surfaces of the slide portion 410. The slide portion 410, the front raised portion 420, and the rear raised portion 430 can all have an appearance like a skid. The front raised portion 420 can swing up and down by the swing of the guide scraper 400, and the guide scraper 400 can smoothly slide on the uneven ground (such as a concave portion) of the livestock farm. Further, the guide scraper 400 and the wheel 210 may be aligned with each other along the traveling direction D1 of the mobile cleaning device 10, thereby improving the mobility of the mobile cleaning device 10 on any flat or uneven ground of the livestock farm. Among each guide scraper 400, a scraping portion 440 is connected to the side surface of the slide portion 410, the side surface of the front raised portion 420, and the side surface of the rear raised portion 430. The scraping portion 440 can stand independently on the ground of the livestock farm, for example. The distance between the scraping portions 440 of the guide scraper 400 gradually decreases along the direction toward the opening 120, so that the excrement of the livestock in the livestock farm can be collected toward the opening 120.

[0017] The brush module 500 includes a plurality of brushes 510 and a plurality of rotary motors 520. The brushes 510 are rotatably arranged on the movable body 100 and are arranged between the guide scrapers 400. The rotation directions of the brushes 510 may be opposite to each other as shown by directions R1 and R2 in FIG. 3 so that the livestock excrement in the livestock farm can be further collected toward the opening 120. The rotary motors 520 are connected to the control device 20 in signal communication and are respectively connected to the brushes 510.

[0018] The side blocker 600 is arranged on the movable body 100. Each side blocker 600 includes a front block portion 610, a connecting portion 620, and a rear block portion 630 that are sequentially connected. The front block portion 610 is arranged on the front side of the guide scraper 400 along the traveling direction D1 of the mobile cleaning device 10. Each front block portion 610 may be angled with respect to the traveling direction D1 of the mobile cleaning device 10, so that during the movement of the mobile cleaning device 10, the livestock excrement can be pre-collected toward the opening 120 by the front block portion 610. The connecting portion 620 is arranged on two opposite sides of the guide scraper 400 that are spaced apart from each other to prevent the livestock excrement from leaking from the side surface of the mobile cleaning device 10 during the movement of the mobile cleaning device 10. The rear block portion 630 is arranged on the rear side of the guide scraper 400 along the traveling direction D1 of the mobile cleaning device 10 to prevent the overflow of the livestock excrement that has not yet been scraped off by the guide scraper 400.

[0019] The guide blocker 700 is arranged on the movable body 100 and is arranged between the guide scraper 400 and the opening 120 to move the livestock excrement scraped off by the guide scraper 400 toward the opening 120.

[0020] The auxiliary blocker 800 is disposed on the movable body 100 and is disposed on the rear side of the guide scraper 400 and the rear side of the opening 120 along the traveling direction D1 of the mobile cleaning device 10, preventing livestock excrement that has not been sucked into the accommodation space 110 through the opening 120 from reaching the rear portion of the mobile cleaning device 10 and affecting the rotation of the wheels 210.

[0021] It should be noted that the brush module 500, the side blocker 600, the guide blocker 700, and the auxiliary blocker 800 are optional. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the brush module, the side blocker, the guide blocker, and the auxiliary blocker can be omitted if all livestock excrement can be appropriately sucked during the movement of the mobile cleaning device.

[0022] The liquid supply module 900 is disposed on the movable body 100. The liquid supply module 900 includes a container 910, a plurality of nozzles 920, and a liquid pump 930. The container 910 may be a water tank or a water bag that can carry liquids such as transparent water or disinfectant solution. The nozzles 920 can be disposed on the front side and the rear side of the movable body 100. The liquid pump 930 is in fluid communication with the container 910 and the nozzles 920 and is signal communication connected to the control device 20.

[0023] The drive motor 230 can be started through the command of the control device 20 so that the mobile cleaning device 10 moves within the livestock farm. Further, the drive motors 230 of different moving modules 200 can be operated at different rotational speeds according to the command of the control device 20. As a result, the wheels 210 of different moving modules 200 have different traveling speeds to realize the turning of the mobile cleaning device 10. The suction module 300, the rotary motor 520, and the liquid pump 930 can also be started through the command of the control device 20. Thereby, the inside of the accommodation space 110 becomes a negative pressure in the suction module 300, the rotary motor 520 can rotate the brush 510 along the directions R1 and R2 as shown in FIG. 3, and the liquid pump 930 can eject the liquid in the container 910 toward the front side and the rear side of the mobile cleaning device 10 through the nozzle 920.

[0024] During the movement of the mobile cleaning device 10, livestock excrement can be preliminarily collected towards the opening 120 by the front blocking part 610. In some cases, the livestock excrement may directly contact the guide scraper 400. For example, some livestock excrement that has not been preliminarily collected by the front blocking part 610 overflows onto the guide scraper 400, or some livestock excrement that has not been preliminarily collected by the front blocking part 610 overflows onto the guide scraper 400 due to the turning of the mobile cleaning device 10, or in some embodiments, the side blocking part may be omitted, and as a result, the livestock excrement may directly contact the guide scraper 400. The livestock excrement that contacts the guide scraper 400 can be further collected towards the opening 120 by the scraping part 440 of the guide scraper 400. The rotating brush 510 can assist in collecting the livestock excrement by brushing the scraped livestock excrement towards the opening 120. Further, some livestock excrement can be moved towards the opening 120 by the guide blocker 700. Due to the negative pressure in the accommodation space 110 formed by the suction module 300, the livestock excrement that reaches the opening 120 is sucked into the accommodation space 110, and the cleaning of the livestock excrement is completed. Also, in some cases, even if the mobile cleaning device 10 is operated at too high a traveling speed, a part of the livestock excrement that has not yet been sucked into the accommodation space 110 is blocked in various directions by the connecting part 620, the rear blocking part 630, and the auxiliary blocker 800, preventing the overflow of the livestock excrement. Further, the livestock breeding farm can be washed or disinfected by the liquid sprayed from the nozzle 920 towards the front and rear sides of the mobile cleaning device 10.

[0025] According to the mobile cleaning device and its control system of the present invention, the mobile cleaning device can travel on uneven ground due to the design of the sliding part, the front raised part, and the rear raised part of each guide scraper. Also, due to the design of the scraping part of each guide scraper, the mobile cleaning device can collect livestock excrement towards the opening while traveling. Therefore, the mobile cleaning device can effectively perform the cleaning operation and is suitable for various livestock breeding farms.

[0026] Note that the signal communication connection referred to in the present disclosure refers to a connection method capable of transmitting signals between two components, for example, by wire or wirelessly.

[0027] Embodiments are selected and described to best illustrate the principles of the present disclosure and its practical applications, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to best utilize the present disclosure and various embodiments with various modifications suitable for the specific uses contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the present disclosure be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A movable body configured to be movable within a livestock farm, and a plurality of guide scrapers disposed on the movable body and supporting the movable body, wherein the movable body has an accommodation space and an opening communicating with each other, and the accommodation space is configured to accommodate livestock excrement from the livestock farm through the opening, each of the plurality of guide scrapers includes a slide portion, a front raised portion, a rear raised portion, and a scraping portion, the front raised portion and the rear raised portion are respectively connected to two opposing side surfaces of the slide portion, and the scraping portion is connected to the side surface of the slide portion, the side surface of the front raised portion, and the side surface of the rear raised portion, the distance between the scraping portions of the plurality of guide scrapers gradually decreases along the direction toward the opening, A mobile cleaning device suitable for a livestock farm.

2. the plurality of guide scrapers are rotatably connected to the movable body, and the front raised portion swings up and down by the rotation of the plurality of guide scrapers, The mobile cleaning device according to claim 1.

3. further including a plurality of wheels rotatably disposed on the movable body and enabling the movement of the movable body, the plurality of wheels and the plurality of guide scrapers are respectively disposed on two opposing side surfaces of the opening, supporting the movable body together, and the plurality of wheels and the plurality of guide scrapers are arranged side by side along the traveling direction of the mobile cleaning device, The mobile cleaning device according to claim 1.

4. further including a plurality of brushes rotatably disposed on the movable body and located between the plurality of guide scrapers, the rotation directions of the plurality of brushes are opposite to each other, The mobile cleaning device according to claim 1.

5. further including a plurality of side blockers disposed on the movable body, each of the plurality of side blockers includes a front block portion, a connecting portion, and a rear block portion that are sequentially connected, the connecting portion is respectively disposed on two opposing side surfaces of the plurality of guide scrapers that are spaced apart from each other, and the front block portion and the rear block portion are respectively disposed on the front side and the rear side of the plurality of guide scrapers along the traveling direction of the mobile cleaning device, The mobile cleaning device according to claim 1.

6. further including a plurality of guide blockers disposed on the movable body and located between the plurality of guide scrapers and the opening, The mobile cleaning device of claim 1 .

7. an auxiliary blocker disposed on the movable body, positioned rearward of the plurality of guide scrapers, and positioned rearward of the opening along the traveling direction of the mobile cleaning device; The mobile cleaning device of claim 1 .

8. a liquid supply module disposed on the movable body, the liquid supply module comprises a container, at least one nozzle, and a liquid pump, the container being configured to contain a liquid, the at least one nozzle being disposed on a side surface of the movable body, the liquid pump being in fluid communication with the container and the at least one nozzle and configured to eject the liquid in the container through the at least one nozzle; The mobile cleaning device of claim 1 .

9. a suction module disposed on the movable body and configured to suction air from the accommodating space, The mobile cleaning device of claim 1 .

10. a mobile cleaning device; a controller in signal communication with at least one mobile module for controlling movement of the mobile cleaning device in a livestock farm via the at least one mobile module; The mobile cleaning device is a movable body having a storage space and an opening communicating with each other; at least one movement module disposed on the movable body and enabling movement of the movable body; a plurality of guide scrapers disposed on the movable body and supporting the movable body; Including, each of the plurality of guide scrapers includes a sliding portion, a front protuberance, a rear protuberance, and a scraping portion, the front protuberance and the rear protuberance being connected to two opposing side surfaces of the sliding portion, respectively, the scraping portions being connected to the side surfaces of the sliding portion, the side surfaces of the front protuberance, and the side surfaces of the rear protuberance, and the distance between the scraping portions of the plurality of guide scrapers gradually decreases along a direction toward the opening; The mobile cleaning device collects livestock waste from the livestock farm through the plurality of guide scrapers and moves the livestock waste to the storage space through the opening. Control system for mobile cleaning equipment.

11. The at least one moving module includes a wheel and a drive motor, the wheel is rotatably disposed on the movable body via the drive motor, and the drive motor is connected to the control device in signal communication.

11. The control system for a mobile cleaning device of claim 10.

12. The mobile cleaning device further includes a plurality of brush modules, each of the brush modules including a plurality of brushes and a plurality of rotary motors, the plurality of brushes being rotatably disposed on the movable body, the plurality of rotary motors being connected in signal communication with the control device and being connected to the plurality of brushes, respectively.

11. The control system for a mobile cleaning device of claim 10.

13. the mobile cleaning device further includes a liquid supply module disposed on the movable body, the liquid supply module including a container, at least one nozzle, and a liquid pump in fluid communication with each other, the liquid pump being connected in signal communication with the controller; 11. The control system for a mobile cleaning device of claim 10.

14. the mobile cleaning device further includes a suction module disposed on the movable body, the suction module being connected in signal communication with the control device; 11. The control system for a mobile cleaning device of claim 10.

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