Automated insect breeding system and operating method thereof

Abstract

The present invention relates to an automated insect breeding system. The system comprises: a feed tank for storing feed of insects; an insect breeding farm in which box stacks, formed from a plurality of vertically stacked boxes containing insects, are arranged in m rows and n columns; an automatic feeder for supplying, to the boxes, the feed in the feed tank; an insect sorting device which is disposed at one side of the insect breeding farm and which includes a sorter capable of sorting insects; a guide rail which is provided in front of the insect breeding farm and which extends in the width direction of the insect breeding farm; a box transfer robot capable of loading and unloading the box stack while moving forward and backward on the guide rail; and a control unit for controlling driving of the box transfer robot, wherein the insect breeding farm includes: a rear movement row in which the box stacks are pushed and moved backward one by one every set number of days; and a front movement row in which the box stacks are pushed and returned forward one by one every set number of days, and the control unit moves the box transfer robot forward and backward on the guide rail and can transfer the box stack between the insect sorting device, the rear movement row and the front movement row.

Description

Insect unmanned breeding system and its operation method

[0001] The present invention relates to an unmanned insect breeding system having a multi-layered structure and an operating method thereof, which is a system for breeding insects in an automated manner, and which enables efficient use of space and high productivity.

[0002] Organic waste such as food waste and other agricultural byproducts discharged from households, restaurants, etc., organic waste generated from industrial sites, and livestock and human waste generated from livestock farms can cause serious environmental problems in soil and rivers if discharged without treatment.

[0003] Conventional methods primarily involved recycling organic waste into livestock feed or compost through specific treatment processes, landfilling in designated areas, or dumping it in the ocean. These methods, however, suffer from low economic feasibility due to the installation and maintenance costs of the treatment equipment. Furthermore, using the waste directly as feed can lead to significant side effects, such as the development of toxic substances. Composting also presents problems, such as reheating and ineffectiveness imbalances.

[0004] Furthermore, to address the aforementioned issues, an organic waste treatment system utilizing living organisms such as earthworms and housefly larvae has been developed. The resulting manure is highly effective and can be utilized in agricultural fields, horticulture, and orchards, and is known to play a role in increasing plant growth and yield.

[0005] Among these, the growth period from egg to adult for black soldier fly is 37 to 41 days, and the larvae that act as decomposers last about 14 days. Black soldier fly larvae have a habit of crawling out to find a dry place to pupate after the period in which they can decompose organic waste (about 14 days). If 5,000 black soldier fly larvae are added to 10 kg of food waste, more than 80% of the food waste will be decomposed in 5 days, and the decomposed food waste will be reduced by about 42% in volume and about 70% in weight compared to before the larvae were added. Since black soldier fly larvae can decompose organic waste resources longer than earthworms or houseflies, it is much more effective to breed and utilize black soldier flies.

[0006] However, organic waste treatment devices using earthworms or flies have problems such as being applicable only to small amounts of organic waste generated in households, a foul odor generated when organic waste decomposes, and difficulty in separating feces and larvae.

[0007] Therefore, the development of an automatic collection device for mature larvae is necessary, as they can be utilized not only for processing organic waste but also for animal feed and oil extraction. Therefore, an automated processing device capable of continuously rearing mature larvae and automatically collecting them is needed, thereby reducing labor costs.

[0008] [Prior Art Literature]

[0009] [Patent Document]

[0010] (Patent Document 1) Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-1256389 (Published on April 25, 2013)

[0011] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an unmanned insect breeding system and an operating method thereof, which breeds insects in a box stack form in which a plurality of boxes are vertically stacked, and enables unmanned operation through a transport robot, while simultaneously integrating an insect breeding device and a sorting device.

[0012] A first aspect of the present invention for solving the above-described problem relates to an unmanned insect breeding system. The system comprises: a feed tank for storing insect food; an insect farm having a plurality of boxes containing insects, each box stacked vertically in m rows and n columns; an automatic feeding device for supplying food in the feed tank to the boxes; an insect sorting device disposed at one side of the insect farm and including a sorter capable of sorting insects; a guide rail installed at the front of the insect farm and extending in the width direction of the insect farm; a box transfer robot capable of moving forward and backward along the guide rail and loading and unloading the box stack; and a control unit for controlling the operation of the box transfer robot, wherein the insect farm includes a backward moving row along which the box stacks are moved backward by one space every set number of days, and a forward moving row along which the box stacks are moved forward by one space every set number of days, and the control unit controls the box transfer robot to move forward and backward along the guide rail and to transfer the box stack between the insect sorting device, the backward moving row, and the forward moving row.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the insect sorting device further includes a stack temporary storage unit in which a box stack transported by the box transport robot from the insect breeding ground is temporarily placed; and an axis transport robot capable of receiving boxes from both the stack temporary storage unit and the sorter and transporting them in the xz-axis, and the control unit can control the operation of the axis transport robot.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the axis transfer robot may further include an x-axis transfer rail for supporting the axis transfer robot and moving back and forth along the x-axis, and the axis transfer robot may include a gripper for receiving the topmost box of the box stack in the stack temporary storage unit; and a box rotation unit for rotating the received box to throw insects in the box into the sorter.

[0015] According to an embodiment of the present invention, each box in the box stack is formed with a coupling groove into which the gripper can be coupled, and the gripper includes two gripper bodies, a fitting protrusion that can be fitted into the coupling groove of the box, and a gripper motor that adjusts a distance between the two gripper bodies, and the axis transfer robot lowers the gripper to lower the fitting protrusion to the height of the coupling groove, and then narrows the gap between the two gripper bodies through the gripper motor to receive the box.

[0016] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the sorter may include a sorting plate formed in a mesh shape to sort and separate insects from foreign substances; a vibration motor for vibrating the sorting plate; an insect receiving container disposed on a lower side of the sorting plate and containing the sorted insects; and an inclination adjusting unit that adjusts the inclination of the sorting plate by adjusting the shear height of the sorting plate, so that insects that have been sorted on the sorting plate are fed into the insect receiving container.

[0017] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the stack temporary storage unit has a first space into which a box stack that has been reared in the insect farm is placed, and a second space into which a box stack that has been refilled with insects after a sorting operation and is to be re-introduced to the insect farm is placed, and the axis transfer robot can transfer the box stack in the first space to the sorter to perform a sorting operation, and can transfer the box stack that has been refilled with insects after the sorting operation to the second space.

[0018] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the box transport robot may include a housing that is engaged with the guide rail and moves forward and backward along the guide rail; and a box loading unit that can support and load the box stack by moving relative to the housing.

[0019] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the box stack is loaded onto a tray equipped with a plurality of wheels, and when the box transfer robot pushes the tray to the rearward movement row or the forward movement row, the box stacks can be pushed and moved one space at a time.

[0020] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the guide rail and the box transfer robot include a first rail and a first box transfer robot disposed in front of the insect breeding facility, and a second rail and a second box transfer robot disposed in the rear of the insect breeding facility, and the control unit can control the first box transfer robot to receive a box stack from the stack temporary storage unit and transfer it to the rear movement row and push it in, and to receive a box stack from the forward movement row and transfer it to the stack temporary storage unit and push it in.

[0021] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit can control the second box transport robot to receive the box stack at the end of the rearward movement row and transport it to the forward movement row and push it in.

[0022] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the axis transfer robot receives the topmost box of the box stack of the stack temporary storage unit and transfers it to the sorter, the control unit can input insects in the box to the sorter through the box rotation unit, and after the sorting operation, can lower the box stack to the stack temporary storage unit.

[0023] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the insect sorting device further includes an air blower that blows air to wash the empty box after the sorting operation, and the air blower includes a housing that can accommodate the empty box and an air pump that blows air into the housing, and the control unit can cause the axis transfer robot to transfer the empty box into the air blower to perform the washing and then transfer it to the stack temporary storage unit.

[0024] A first aspect of the present invention relates to a method for operating an unmanned insect breeding system. The method comprises: an insect breeding system comprising an insect breeding station in which a plurality of boxes containing insects are vertically stacked in m rows and n columns; an insect sorting device having a stack temporary storage section and an axis transfer robot; and a box transfer robot, wherein the insect breeding station comprises a backward moving row in which the box stacks are moved backward by one space every set number of days; and a forward moving row in which the box stacks are moved forward by one space every set number of days; and the box transfer robot comprises a first box transfer robot arranged in front of the insect breeding station and a second box transfer robot arranged in the rear of the insect breeding station, wherein the method comprises: a) a step in which the first box transfer robot receives a box stack from the stack temporary storage section and transfers and pushes it into the backward moving row; b) a step in which the second box transfer robot receives a box stack at the end of the backward moving row and transfers and pushes it into the forward moving row; And c) in the insect sorting device, the axis transport robot may include a step of receiving the topmost box of the box stack of the stack temporary storage unit and transporting it to the sorter, feeding the insects in the box to the sorter, and putting the box after the sorting operation into the stack temporary storage unit.

[0025] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the insect sorting device further includes an air blower that blows air to wash the empty box, and the step (c) may include a step in which the axis transfer robot transfers the empty box into the air blower to perform washing, and then transfers the empty box to the stack temporary storage unit.

[0026] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the stack temporary storage unit has a first space into which a box stack that has been reared in the insect farm is put, and a second space into which a box stack that is to be refilled with insects after a sorting operation and re-introduced to the insect farm is placed, and the step (c) may include: (c-1) a step in which the axis transfer robot transfers boxes of the box stack in the first space to the sorter to perform a sorting operation; and (c-2) a step in which the axis transfer robot transfers the box stack that has been refilled with insects after a sorting operation to the second space.

[0027] The effects of the present invention are as follows.

[0028] 1. Automated Insect Breeding: Previously, manual insect breeding was a cumbersome and time-consuming process. However, the present invention allows for automated insect breeding in stacks, saving both labor and time.

[0029] 2. Unmanned operation: Unmanned operation is possible, as stacks of boxes containing insects can be managed and moved using transport robots. This allows for the breeding and management of insects without the involvement of human workers.

[0030] 3. Efficient insect sorting: Integrated with a sorting device, sorting of reared insects is possible. This allows insects to be separated from foreign matter, and the sorted insects can be used as feed and other products.

[0031] 4. Increased Productivity: Unmanned breeding systems save manpower and time, and enable efficient management, thereby increasing productivity. For example, mass breeding of organic waste-processing larvae, such as the common snail, can facilitate efficient waste disposal.

[0032] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of an unmanned insect breeding system according to the present invention.

[0033] Figure 2 is a plan view of the insect unmanned breeding system of Figure 1.

[0034] Figure 3 is a side view of the insect unmanned breeding system of Figure 1.

[0035] Fig. 4 is a front view of the insect unmanned breeding system of Fig. 1.

[0036] Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating an insect sorting device among the insect unmanned breeding systems of Fig. 1.

[0037] Fig. 6 is a drawing showing a sorting device portion of the insect sorting device of Fig. 5.

[0038] Figure 7 is a perspective view illustrating the process of a box stack being transferred from an insect farm to a temporary stack storage unit of the insect sorting device of Figure 5 and then fed into the stack.

[0039] Figure 8 is a perspective view showing the process of placing a stack of boxes refilled with insects after the sorting operation in Figure 7.

[0040] Fig. 9 is a drawing showing the axis movement robot part of the insect sorting device of Fig. 5.

[0041] Hereinafter, specific details for implementing the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. In describing the present invention, detailed descriptions of related known functions that are obvious to those skilled in the art and that may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention will be omitted.

[0042] Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the overall configuration of the unmanned insect breeding system according to the present invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the unmanned insect breeding system of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side view of the unmanned insect breeding system of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a front view of the unmanned insect breeding system of Fig. 1.

[0043] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the unmanned insect breeding system according to the present invention includes a feed tank (100), an insect breeding area (200), an automatic feeding device (300), an insect sorting device (400), a guide rail (500), a box transport robot (600), and a control unit. The target insects for breeding may be any insect, such as a cricket or a dragonfly.

[0044] In the feed tank (100), food for insects is stored. For example, if the insect to be raised is a cricket, the food for the crickets can be food, and if the insect to be raised is a black fly, the food for the insects can be food waste, etc.

[0045] In the insect farm (200), a plurality of box stacks (210) are arranged in m rows and n columns. The box stack (210) is configured such that a plurality of boxes (201) containing insects are vertically stacked. The box stack (210) is loaded onto a tray (220) equipped with a plurality of wheels (221). In the insect farm (200), the box stacks (210) are fed one by one into the rearward moving row (200a) and transported in a T-shape so that they come out into the forward moving row (200b).

[0046] In the backward movement row (200a), the box stacks (210) are pushed backward one space every set number of days. In the forward movement row (200b), the box stacks (210) are pushed forward one space every set number of days and then returned. The set number of days is set to, for example, one day. That is, one or two box stacks (210) are newly introduced into the backward movement row (200a) every day. Of the total breeding days, breeding is carried out in the backward movement row (200a) for half of the days, and in the forward movement row (200b) for the other half.

[0047] An automatic feeding device (300) supplies food in a feed tank (100) to boxes (201). One end of the automatic feeding device (300) is connected to the feed tank (100), and the other end is extended to box stacks (210) that have been sorted in an insect sorting device (400) and placed in a stack temporary storage unit (430). The automatic feeding device (300) is composed of a pipe and a spray nozzle, and food in the feed tank (100) is supplied to the box stacks (210) that have been sorted through the pipe and the spray nozzle.

[0048] Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating an insect sorting device among the insect unmanned breeding system of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a drawing illustrating a sorter portion among the insect sorting device of Fig. 5.

[0049] Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the insect sorting device (400) includes a frame (410), a sorter (420), a stack temporary storage unit (430), an axis transfer robot (440), and an air blower (450). The insect sorting device (400) is placed on one side of the insect farm (200). The frame (410) is composed of a horizontal frame (410a) and a vertical frame (410b). Among these, an x-axis transfer rail (411) is installed on the horizontal frame (410a) and is horizontally extended and is placed above the sorter (420). An axis transfer robot (440) is supported on the x-axis transfer rail (411) and moves back and forth along the x-axis.

[0050] The sorter (420) includes a sorting plate (421), a vibration motor (422), an insect receiving box (423), a tilt adjustment part (424), and a collection box (425). After breeding, insects and foreign substances are mixed inside the box (201), and the sorter (420) serves to sort insects larger than a certain size from the foreign substances. The sorting plate (421) is formed in a mesh shape to sort and separate insects from the foreign substances. The vibration motor (422) vibrates the sorting plate (421), so that insects remain on the sorting plate (421) and foreign substances pass through the sorting plate (421) and fall into the collection box (425).

[0051] The insect receiving box (423) is a space for containing insects that have been sorted, and is placed on the lower side of the sorting plate (421). The tilt adjustment unit (424) adjusts the tilt of the sorting plate (421) by adjusting the height of the front end of the sorting plate (421). Accordingly, the insects that have been sorted on the sorting plate (421) are fed into the insect receiving box (423). The tilt adjustment unit (424) includes two tilt adjustment guide rails (424a) provided on both sides in front of the sorter (420), and a tilt adjustment guide unit (424b) that moves along the tilt adjustment guide rails (424a) and is coupled to the front end of the sorting plate (421).

[0052] A box stack (210) transported from an insect farm (200) by a box transport robot (600) is temporarily placed in a stack temporary storage unit (430). The stack temporary storage unit (430) has a first space (431) into which a box stack (210a) that has been reared in an insect farm (200) is placed, and a second space (432) into which a box stack (210b) that is to be refilled with insects after sorting and re-introduced to an insect farm is placed.

[0053] Fig. 7 is a perspective view illustrating the process of transporting a box stack from an insect farm and placing it into the temporary stack storage section of the insect sorting device of Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is a perspective view illustrating the process of placing a box stack refilled with insects after the sorting operation of Fig. 7.

[0054] Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the box transfer robot (600) places the box stack (210a) that has been reared in the insect breeding facility (200) into the first space (431) of the stack temporary storage unit (430). The axis transfer robot (440) transfers the box stack (210a) in the first space (431) to the sorter (420) to perform the sorting operation. After the sorting operation, the axis transfer robot (440) transfers the box stack (210b) that has been refilled with insects to the second space (432).

[0055] The stack temporary storage unit (430) is equipped with a rail device (433) for moving a box stack (210b) placed in a second space (432) to a first space (431). The rail device (433) is equipped with an electric motor for the movement. The box stack (210b) moved to the first space (431) is received by a box transfer robot (600) and sent to an insect breeding facility (200).

[0056] The axis transfer robot (440) can receive boxes from both the stack temporary storage unit (430) and the sorter (420) and transport them in the xz-axis. The axis transfer robot (440) moves back and forth along the x-axis along the x-axis transfer rail (411). The axis transfer robot (440) is composed of a gripper (441), a box rotation unit (442), and a z-axis lift (443). The gripper (441) receives the top box (201) of the box stack (210a) in the first space (431) of the stack temporary storage unit (430). The axis transfer robot (440) moves toward the sorter (420) along the x-axis transfer rail (411). The gripper (441) rotates the received box (201) to feed the mixture of insects and foreign substances in the box (201) into the sorter (420).

[0057] Fig. 9 is a drawing showing the axis movement robot part of the insect sorting device of Fig. 5.

[0058] Referring to Fig. 9, each box (201) in the box stack (210) is formed with a coupling hole (201a) into which a gripper (441) can be coupled. The gripper (441) includes two gripper bodies (441a), a fitting protrusion (441b) that can be fitted into the coupling groove (201a) of the box (201), and a gripper motor (441c) that adjusts the distance between the two gripper bodies (441a). The gripper bodies (441a) are coupled to both sides of the body of the axis transfer robot (440) and extend downward, respectively. The fitting protrusion (441b) is formed on the inner surface of the gripper body (441a) to be sized to be fitted into the coupling groove (201a).

[0059] The axis transfer robot (440) lowers the gripper (441) so that the fitting protrusion (441b) is at the height of the engaging groove (201a) of the uppermost box (201) in the box stack (210). Then, the gripper motor (441c) operates to narrow the gap between the two gripper bodies (441a) so that the fitting protrusion (441b) is engaged with the engaging groove (201a), thereby receiving the box (201).

[0060] The box rotation part (442) is configured to be linked with the fitting protrusion (441b) within the gripper body (441a). When the box rotation part (442) rotates by the rotation motor, the box received by the gripper (441) is turned over. Through this, all insects and foreign substances within the box (201) can be emptied. The z-axis lift (443) controls the elevation of the gripper (441) within the axis transfer robot (440).

[0061] The control unit, when the axis transfer robot (440) receives the top box of the box stack (210) of the stack temporary storage unit (430) and transfers it to the sorter (420), then the insects in the box (201) are thrown into the sorter (420) through the box rotation unit (442). After the sorting operation, the axis transfer robot (440) puts the box stack (210) down on the stack temporary storage unit (430).

[0062] An air blower (450) blows air to clean empty boxes after sorting. The air blower (450) includes a housing (451) capable of accommodating the empty boxes, and an air pump (452) that blows air into the housing (451). The control unit causes the axis transfer robot (440) to transfer the empty boxes into the air blower (450), perform cleaning, and then transfer them to the stack temporary storage unit (430). This makes it possible to return the empty boxes to their initial state after cleaning the insects, and to re-introduce insects and food into the empty boxes.

[0063] A guide rail (500) is installed in front of the insect farm (200) and extends in the width direction of the insect farm (200). The guide rail (500) serves to guide the movement of the transport robot (600). The guide rail (500) includes a first rail (500a) arranged in front of the insect farm (200) and a second rail (500b) arranged in the rear of the insect farm (200). A motor (510) that controls the movement of the transport robot (600) within the rail is installed in the guide rail (500).

[0064] A box transport robot (600) moves forward and backward along a guide rail (500) and is capable of loading and unloading a box stack (210). The box transport robot (600) includes a housing (610) and a box loading unit (620). The housing (610) engages with the guide rail (500) and moves forward and backward along the guide rail (500). The box loading unit (620) moves relative to the housing (610) to support and load the box stack (210). The box loading unit (620) extends from the housing (610) and supports a tray (220) loaded with the box stack (210), and then pulls the tray (220) to receive the box stack (210).

[0065] When the box transfer robot (600) pushes the tray (220) to the rearward movement row (200a) or the forward movement row (200b), the stacks (210) are pushed and moved one space at a time. The box transfer robot (600) includes a first box transfer robot (600a) that is arranged in front of the insect farm (200) and moves along a first rail (500a), and a second box transfer robot (600b) that is arranged in the rear of the insect farm (200) and moves along a second rail (500b).

[0066] The control unit controls the operation of the axis transfer robot (440) and the box transfer robot (600). The control unit moves the box transfer robot (600) back and forth on the guide rail (500), and transfers the box stack (210) between the insect sorting device (400), the rearward moving row (200a), and the forward moving row (200b). The control unit causes the first box transfer robot (600a) to receive the box stack (210) of the stack temporary storage unit (430) and push it into the rearward moving row (200a), and to receive the box stack (210) of the forward moving row (200b) and transfer it into the stack temporary storage unit (430) and push it.

[0067] The control unit causes the second box transfer robot (600b) to receive the box stack (210) from the rearward moving row (200a) and transfer it to the forward moving row (200b) and push it in. Through this, the box stacks (210) that have completed half of the entire breeding schedule in the rearward moving row (200a) can be transferred to the forward moving row (200b) to proceed with the remaining half of the breeding.

[0068] The method of operating the insect unmanned breeding system using the above insect unmanned breeding system is explained as follows.

[0069] First, the first box transfer robot (600a) receives the box stack (210) from the stack temporary storage unit (430) and transfers it to the rear moving row (200a) of the insect farm (200) and pushes it in. Accordingly, the box stacks (210) in the rear moving row (200a) are pushed backward one by one. Then, the second box transfer robot (600b) receives the box stack (210) at the end of the rear moving row (200a) and transfers it to the forward moving row (200b) and pushes it in.

[0070] In the insect sorting device (400), the axis transfer robot (440) receives the topmost box (201) of the box stack (210) in the first space (431) of the stack temporary storage unit (430) and transfers it to the sorter (420) and places the insects in the box into the sorter (420). The axis transfer robot (440) refills the boxes after the sorting operation with insects and transfers them to the second space (432) of the stack temporary storage unit (430) and places them down.

[0071] At this time, the axis transfer robot (440) transfers the empty boxes after the sorting process into the air blower (450) to perform washing, and then transfers them to the temporary stack storage unit (430). The washed boxes are refilled with insects and supplied with food from the automatic feeding device (300) to be stacked in the form of a box stack (210) in the second space (432). The box stack (210) is received by the box transfer robot (600) and fed into the rear moving row (200a) of the insect breeding farm (200).

[0072] The scope of protection in this field is not limited to the description and expression of the embodiments explicitly described above. Furthermore, it should be noted that obvious modifications or substitutions within the technical field to which the present invention pertains may not limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0073] [Explanation of symbols]

[0074] 100: Feeding tank

[0075] 200: Insect farm

[0076] 200a: Rearward movement row

[0077] 200b: Forward movement row

[0078] 201: Box

[0079] 201a: Combination Home

[0080] 210: Box Stack

[0081] 210a: Stack of finished boxes

[0082] 210b: Stack of boxes to be reloaded after charging

[0083] 220: Tray

[0084] 221: Wheel

[0085] 300: Automatic Feeder

[0086] 400: Insect sorting device

[0087] 410: Frame

[0088] 410a: Horizontal frame

[0089] 410b: Vertical frame

[0090] 411: X-axis transfer rail

[0091] 420: Selector

[0092] 421: Selection Board

[0093] 422: Vibration motor

[0094] 423: Insect container

[0095] 424: Tilt control unit

[0096] 424a: Tilt-adjustable guide rail

[0097] 424b: Tilt adjustment guide

[0098] 425: Trash can

[0099] 430: Stack temporary storage

[0100] 431: Space 1

[0101] 432: Second Space

[0102] 433: Rail device

[0103] 440: Axis transfer robot

[0104] 441: Gripper

[0105] 441a: Gripper body

[0106] 441b: Fitting projection

[0107] 441c: Gripper Motor

[0108] 442: Box Rotator

[0109] 443: Z-axis lift

[0110] 450: Air blower

[0111] 451: Housing

[0112] 452: Air pump

[0113] 430: Stack temporary storage

[0114] 500: Guide rail

[0115] 500a: First rail

[0116] 500b: Second rail

[0117] 510: Motor

[0118] 600: Box transport robot

[0119] 600a: 1st box transport robot

[0120] 600b: Second box transport robot

[0121] 610: Robot Housing

[0122] 620: Box loading area

Claims

1. Feed tank for storing insect food; An insectarium consisting of a stack of boxes containing insects arranged vertically in m rows and n columns; An automatic feeding device for supplying food within the above feeding tank to the above boxes; An insect sorting device, which is placed on one side of the insect farm and includes a sorter capable of sorting insects; A guide rail installed in front of the insect breeding facility and extending in the width direction of the insect breeding facility; A box transfer robot capable of moving forward and backward along the above guide rail and loading and unloading the box stack; and It includes a control unit that controls the operation of the above box transport robot, The insect farm includes a backward movement row in which the box stacks are moved backward by one space every set number of days, and a forward movement row in which the box stacks are moved forward by one space every set number of days, An insect unmanned breeding system, characterized in that the control unit moves the box transport robot forward and backward along the guide rail, and transports a box stack between the insect sorting device, the rearward movement row, and the forward movement row.

2. In paragraph 1, The above insect sorting device, A temporary stack storage unit where a box stack transported by the box transport robot from the insect farm is temporarily placed; and An unmanned insect breeding system, further comprising an axis transfer robot capable of receiving boxes from both the stack temporary storage unit and the sorter and transferring them in the xz-axis, wherein the control unit controls the operation of the axis transfer robot.

3. In paragraph 2, It further includes an X-axis transport rail for supporting the above-mentioned axis transport robot and moving back and forth along the X-axis, The above axis transfer robot, A gripper for receiving the topmost box of the box stack within the above stack temporary storage unit; An unmanned insect breeding system characterized by including a box rotation unit that rotates the received box and throws insects inside the box into the sorting machine.

4. In paragraph 3, Each box in the above box stack is formed with a joining groove to which the gripper can be joined, The gripper includes two gripper bodies, a fitting protrusion that can be fitted into the fitting groove of the box, and a gripper motor that adjusts the distance between the two gripper bodies. An insect unmanned breeding system characterized in that the axis transfer robot lowers the gripper to lower the fitting protrusion to the height of the coupling groove, and then receives the box by narrowing the gap between the two gripper bodies through the gripper motor.

5. In paragraph 1, The above selector, A screening plate formed in the shape of a net to separate insects from foreign substances; A vibration motor for vibrating the above selection plate; An insect storage container placed on the lower side of the above selection plate and containing the selected insects; and An unmanned insect breeding system characterized by including a slope adjustment unit that adjusts the slope of the sorting plate by adjusting the shear height of the sorting plate, so that insects that have been sorted on the sorting plate are fed into the insect receiving container.

6. In paragraph 2, The above stack temporary storage unit has a first space into which box stacks that have been reared in the insect breeding ground are placed, and a second space into which box stacks that have been refilled with insects after sorting and are to be re-introduced to the insect breeding ground are placed. An insect unmanned breeding system characterized in that the above-mentioned axis transport robot transports the box stack of the first space to the sorter to perform a sorting operation, and after the sorting operation, transports the box stack refilled with insects to the second space.

7. In paragraph 1, The above box transport robot, A housing that is engaged with the above guide rail and moves forward and backward along the above guide rail; and An unmanned insect breeding system characterized by including a box loading unit capable of supporting and loading the box stack by moving relative to the housing.

8. In paragraph 2, The above box stack is loaded onto a tray equipped with multiple wheels, An insect unmanned breeding system, characterized in that when the box transport robot pushes the tray into the rearward movement row or the forward movement row, the box stacks are pushed and moved one space at a time.

9. In paragraph 2, The above guide rail and the box transport robot include a first rail and a first box transport robot arranged in front of the insect farm, and a second rail and a second box transport robot arranged in the rear of the insect farm. An insect unmanned breeding system, characterized in that the control unit controls the first box transfer robot to receive a box stack from the stack temporary storage unit, transfer it to the rearward movement row, and push it in, and to receive a box stack from the forward movement row, transfer it to the stack temporary storage unit, and push it in.

10. In paragraph 9, An insect unmanned breeding system, characterized in that the control unit controls the second box transport robot to receive the box stack at the end of the rear movement row and transport and push it into the forward movement row.

11. In paragraph 3, An insect unmanned breeding system, characterized in that the control unit, when the axis transfer robot receives the top box of the box stack of the stack temporary storage unit and transfers it to the sorter, feeds the insects in the box to the sorter through the box rotation unit, and after the sorting operation, puts the box stack down to the stack temporary storage unit.

12. In paragraph 11, The above insect sorting device further includes an air blower that blows air to clean the empty box after the sorting operation. The air blower includes a housing capable of accommodating the empty box, and an air pump that blows air into the housing. An insect unmanned breeding system, characterized in that the control unit transports the empty box into the air blower, performs washing, and then transports it to the stack temporary storage unit.

13. An unmanned insect breeding method using an insect unmanned breeding system including an insect breeding facility in which a plurality of boxes containing insects are vertically stacked in m rows and n columns, an insect sorting device having a stack temporary storage unit and an axis transport robot, and a box transport robot, The insect farm includes a backward movement row in which the box stacks are moved backward by one space every set number of days, and a forward movement row in which the box stacks are moved forward by one space every set number of days, The above box transport robot includes a first box transport robot positioned in front of the insect farm and a second box transport robot positioned in the rear of the insect farm. The above method, a) A step in which the first box transfer robot receives a box stack from the stack temporary storage unit and transfers it to the rear movement row and pushes it in; b) a step in which the second box transport robot receives the box stack at the end of the rear movement row and transports it to the front movement row and pushes it; and c) A method for operating an unmanned insect breeding system, characterized in that the method comprises a step of the axis transfer robot receiving the topmost box of the box stack of the stack temporary storage unit in the insect sorting device and transferring it to the sorter, feeding the insects in the box to the sorter, and placing the box after the sorting process into the stack temporary storage unit.

14. In paragraph 13, The above insect sorting device further includes an air blower that blows air to clean the empty box, Step (c) above, A method for operating an unmanned insect breeding system, characterized in that the axis transport robot transports the empty box into the air blower to perform washing, and then transports it to the stack temporary storage unit.

15. In paragraph 13, The above stack temporary storage unit has a first space into which box stacks that have been reared in the insect breeding ground are placed, and a second space into which box stacks that have been refilled with insects after sorting and are to be re-introduced to the insect breeding ground are placed. Step (c) above, (c-1) a step in which the axis transfer robot transfers boxes from the box stack of the first space to the sorter to perform sorting work; and (c-2) A method for operating an unmanned insect breeding system, characterized in that the axis transport robot includes a step of transporting a box stack refilled with insects after a sorting operation to the second space.

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