Autonomous Cleaning Vehicle for Dairy Cubicle Floor Hygiene
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for cleaning cubicle floors in dairy cattle stables require operator involvement and can result in physical contact with animals, as they often clean parallel to the cubicle front sides, necessitating unoccupied cubicles and failing to detect animal body parts under partitions.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous unmanned vehicle equipped with animal presence sensors and a control system that adjusts cleaning operations to maintain a safety distance from occupied cubicles, allowing for efficient cleaning of cubicle floors while avoiding contact with animals, using a combination of manure displacement devices and disinfecting means.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If cleaning is performed parallel to the front sides of cubicles, then cleaning efficiency is improved, but the risk of physical contact with animals increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of cleaning parallel to the front sides of cubicles, the invention cleans perpendicular to the cubicle rows, starting from the rear partitions and moving forward. This inversion of the cleaning direction allows the cleaning device to work from the rear of occupied cubicles without contacting animals, while still effectively cleaning the floor surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning device performs preliminary detection of animal presence using sensors (infrared, laser, ultrasonic, or cameras) before initiating cleaning operations. This preliminary action allows the system to identify occupied cubicles and adjust its cleaning path accordingly, avoiding physical contact with animals while maintaining cleaning efficiency.
2Reliability
If automated cleaning systems are used, then operator safety is improved, but the ability to detect animals and adjust cleaning operations deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces manual operator detection with automated sensor systems including infrared sensors, laser sensors, ultrasonic sensors, and cameras. These electronic detection systems continuously monitor for animal presence and automatically adjust cleaning operations, providing both operator safety and reliable animal detection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning system incorporates continuous feedback loops where sensors detect animal presence and immediately communicate with the control system, which then adjusts the cleaning device's path and operations in real-time. This feedback mechanism ensures automated systems can detect and respond to animals as effectively as human operators would.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If cleaning operations are interrupted to avoid animals, then animal safety is improved, but cleaning productivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of interrupting cleaning operations when animals are present, the invention inverts the approach by cleaning perpendicular to the cubicle rows and working from rear to front. This allows continuous cleaning operations in occupied cubicles since the cleaning path naturally avoids areas where animals are likely to be, eliminating the need for interruptions while maintaining animal safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning system dynamically adjusts its operational parameters including path selection, speed, and cleaning intensity based on real-time animal detection data. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to maintain high productivity by optimizing cleaning routes around animals rather than stopping operations, thereby improving both animal safety and overall cleaning efficiency.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method of cleaning at least a part of a cubicle from a row of individual cubicles in a stable, each cubicle having lateral partitions extending in the longitudinal direction on each side of the cubicle, the method comprising the steps of providing an animal presence sensor for detecting the presence of an animal in a cubicle, and providing an autonomous unmanned vehicle, the vehicle comprising a control system for controlling the operation of the vehicle and cubicle floor cleaning means, and the method further comprising the steps of detecting by an animal presence sensor a first of the cubicles free of an animal, detecting whether an animal is present in a second of the cubicles neighboring next to the first cubicle, and controlling the autonomous vehicle to clean the first cubicle in a first cleaning mode that is dependent on the presence of an animal in said second neighboring cubicle. The invention also relates to an autonomous unmanned vehicle for cleaning cubicles.