Collapsible Livestock Oiler Support Structure for Easier Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing livestock oiling systems have bulky supporting apparatuses that are difficult to transport, increasing shipping costs and logistical challenges from the manufacturer to the field where livestock graze.
Innovation Solution
A compact support apparatus with movable legs that can collapse for transport and expand for deployment, allowing the system to be more easily shipped while maintaining strength and durability for use with livestock.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the supporting apparatus is designed with a bulky configuration to ensure strength and durability for livestock use, then the structural reliability is improved, but the ease of transport deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The support apparatus incorporates movable legs that can transition between extended and retracted positions. When extended, the legs provide stable support for livestock; when retracted, the apparatus becomes compact for transport. This dynamic configuration allows the same structure to fulfill both reliability and ease of transport requirements at different operational stages.
Solution Approach 2:
The supporting apparatus is divided into separable components, particularly the legs that can be independently positioned. This segmentation allows the legs to be extended when needed for structural stability and retracted when transport is required, resolving the contradiction between maintaining reliability and improving ease of transport.
2Ease of operation
If the supporting apparatus is designed with a compact configuration to reduce transportation costs, then the ease of transport is improved, but the strength and durability for livestock use may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus uses dynamically adjustable leg positions that can be extended to provide full structural strength and durability when livestock are present, while allowing compact configuration during transport. This ensures that strength requirements are met only when necessary, reducing unnecessary material usage during transport phases.
Solution Approach 2:
The legs are designed to nest within or alongside the central base structure when retracted, creating a compact configuration for transport. This nesting arrangement minimizes the apparatus's footprint during transport while allowing full extension when strength and durability are required for livestock support.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the legs are made fixed and extended to ensure stability for livestock, then the stability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than using fixed extended legs, the apparatus employs legs that can dynamically adjust their position. This dynamic system provides stability when extended for livestock use while allowing retraction to simplify the overall device configuration during transport, effectively managing the trade-off between stability and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The leg structure is segmented to allow independent movement and positioning. This segmentation enables the legs to be extended only when stability is required, rather than maintaining a permanently complex extended configuration. The segmented design simplifies the apparatus during transport while providing stability on-demand.
Data Source
AI summary
A support apparatus for supporting a substance receptive element may have a central axis extending between a top and a bottom of the apparatus, and may include a central base, an upstanding stanchion mounted on the central base and extending toward the top; and a plurality of legs mounted on the base. Each leg is movable between a collapsed position and an expanded position with respect to the base. The collapsed position may correspond to a transport condition of the apparatus and the expanded position may correspond to a deployed condition of the apparatus. The base may include a plurality of mounting structures with each mounting structure being associated with a leg for mounting the leg to the base. The mounting structures may secure the legs to the base in the collapsed position of the transport condition and the expanded position of the deployed condition.