Aquatic Animal Passage Openings for Voluntary In-Tank Size Sorting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sorting methods for live aquatic animals, particularly crustaceans, are invasive, cause stress, and result in high mortality and injury due to their sensitivity to physical disturbances, often requiring labor-intensive manual handling and expensive equipment.
Innovation Solution
A device that divides a water tank into passage-facilitating and passage-obstructing regions with adjustable passage openings, using guide elements as climbing aids and retaining elements as circular walls to allow voluntary self-sorting of aquatic animals, minimizing physical contact and stress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional sorting methods (boxes with slots or roller systems) are used to sort aquatic animals, then sorting efficiency and size separation are improved, but animal stress and injury increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables aquatic animals to sort themselves voluntarily through passage devices with size-adapted openings. Animals swim through passages matching their size without human intervention or mechanical forcing, eliminating stress from manual handling while achieving efficient size-based separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces invasive mechanical sorting systems (rollers, forced passage) with a passive hydraulic system where water flow naturally guides animals through appropriate passages. The sorting mechanism relies on animal swimming behavior and water current rather than mechanical forcing, reducing injury risk.
2Measurement precision
If aquatic animals are taken out of water for sorting, then sorting precision is improved, but animal mortality and stress increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses water flow (hydraulics) as the primary sorting medium. Animals remain in water throughout the sorting process, swimming through passage devices submerged in the tank. Water current assists in guiding animals through appropriate passages while maintaining their natural aquatic environment, ensuring both precision and survival.
3Device complexity
If manual sorting methods are used, then equipment investment costs are reduced, but labor intensity and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system requires minimal human intervention after initial setup. Animals autonomously navigate passage devices and sort themselves by size, eliminating the need for continuous manual sorting labor. The passive hydraulic system maintains operation without energy input, reducing both equipment complexity and operational labor costs.
4Measurement precision
If passage openings are made smaller to improve size separation precision, then sorting precision is improved, but passage obstruction and animal blocking increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the sorting system into multiple parallel passage devices, each with size-adapted openings. Instead of one large passage that would block animals, multiple smaller passages work simultaneously, increasing total flow capacity while maintaining precise size separation. Each passage handles a specific size range, preventing congestion.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extends sorting from a single-dimensional passage to a multi-dimensional array of passages arranged in parallel. This spatial arrangement allows simultaneous processing of multiple animals through different passages, maintaining high precision size separation while preventing blocking through distributed flow paths.
Data Source
AI summary
A device for voluntary self-sorting of live aquatic animals, including at least one passage device, by which a water tank is divided into a passage-facilitating region and a passage-obstructing region. The at least one passage device has a plurality of passage openings that can be adapted in size to the aquatic animals to be sorted. Guides are arranged towards the passage-facilitating region and retainers are arranged towards the passage-obstructing region on the passage device. The guides are configured as climbing aids and the retainers are configured as circular walls, which are adapted to a contour of the passage openings. The passage openings are flat and arranged in a carrier plate, and have a height that is larger than a height of the aquatic animals to be sorted.