Adjustable Sieve Surface for Insect Pupae Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for separating insect pupae, such as using mesh screens or parallel glass plates, face challenges including low throughput, high cost, and lack of portability, which result in inefficient separation and yield.
Innovation Solution
A sieving device with an adjustable sieve surface featuring elongate openings, where the length dimension is greater than the width dimension, and the width dimension is tailored to match the cephalothorax width of specific insect pupae, allowing for effective separation based on size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional mesh screens are used to separate pupae, then separation can be performed, but throughput is low and the process is inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The sieve surface is segmented into multiple separate sieve elements (bars or wires) arranged in parallel, creating multiple simultaneous separation pathways. This segmentation allows pupae to be separated through many channels at once, dramatically increasing throughput compared to conventional mesh screens that rely on a continuous grid pattern.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a two-dimensional mesh pattern to a three-dimensional arrangement where sieve elements are spaced apart, allowing pupae to pass through from the top surface to the bottom surface simultaneously across multiple discrete pathways. This dimensional change enables higher throughput by eliminating the bottleneck of mesh intersections.
2Manufacturing precision
If parallel glass plates are used for separation, then separation can be achieved, but the device is difficult to operate, expensive, and lacks portability
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces expensive, fragile glass plates with inexpensive, durable sieve elements made from common materials like wire or plastic. These simpler components are easier to manufacture, handle, and replace, significantly improving ease of operation while maintaining separation effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the separation medium from solid glass plates to spaced sieve elements with specific gap dimensions. By optimizing the spacing and dimensions of the sieve elements to match pupae size, the device achieves comparable separation accuracy to glass plates while being much easier to operate and portably deployable.
3Productivity
If conventional mesh screens are used, then separation can be performed, but cost is high and portability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential separation function from complex mesh structures and implements it using simple, spaced sieve elements. By removing the unnecessary mesh continuity and retaining only the critical gap-based separation mechanism, the device achieves high productivity with a simpler, more portable structure that is easier and cheaper to manufacture.
Data Source
AI summary
A sieving device is described. The sieving device includes an adjustable sieve surface that includes a first sieve surface and a second sieve surface. Openings are formed in each of the first sieve surface and the second sieve surface so as to define a shared pathways extending through the adjustable sieve surface. The shared pathways are defined by a length dimension that is greater than a width dimension. The width dimension can correspond to a cephalothorax width of an insect.