Conveyor Feeding Device with Parallel Path Sections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional feeding devices for working animals face limitations in accessibility and delivery speed, leading to inefficient feed distribution and increased risk of injury, particularly in complex residence areas.
Innovation Solution
A feeding device with a conveyor system guided in two horizontally adjacent path sections, allowing for flexible configuration and efficient feed distribution, where the conveyor can be deflected between sections to enable better accessibility and simultaneous feed supply in both directions, reducing the time and distance for feed distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the conveyor is guided in a rectangular path course in a spaced-apart position, then the feeding device can cover a large distance for feed distribution, but the device complexity and space occupation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges two path sections (first and second) into a single continuous conveyor path that runs parallel and adjacent to each other. This combining approach allows the conveyor to cover more feeding distance without requiring complex rectangular configurations or multiple separate conveyor systems, thereby reducing overall device complexity while maintaining extended feed distribution capability
2Speed
If the conveyor moves rapidly to increase delivery speed, then the feed can be distributed faster, but the working animals have difficulty removing feed and injury risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the conveyor path into two distinct parallel sections with opposite conveying directions. This segmentation allows different zones of the same conveyor system to serve different functions: one section can move faster for efficient feed distribution while the other moves slower or in reverse to facilitate easier feed removal by animals, thereby resolving the contradiction between speed and accessibility
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies reverse conveying direction in the second path section compared to the first section. This inversion allows the conveyor to deliver feed efficiently in one direction while providing a slower or reverse flow in the adjacent section that makes feed more accessible and easier for animals to remove, reducing injury risk while maintaining distribution speed
3Productivity
If the conveyor is designed for high conveying speed, then the productivity increases, but the risk of injury to working animals increases
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the conveyor system into two parallel path sections, the patent creates distinct functional zones where high-speed conveying occurs in one section for productivity while the adjacent section provides low-speed or reverse conveying for animal safety and feed accessibility, thus resolving the contradiction between productivity and injury risk
Solution Approach 2:
The second path section acts as an intermediary zone between the high-speed first section and the animals. This intermediate section with opposite conveying direction buffers the high-speed feed flow, allowing feed to be gradually presented to animals at safer speeds while maintaining the overall productivity of the high-speed section
Data Source
AI summary
A feeding device for working animals comprises a conveyor with a plurality of receiving regions for a feed, where the receiving regions are arranged along the conveyor chain and are accessible from above for the working animals, a feed supply device for supplying feed to the receiving regions, and a guide device for guiding the conveyor along a predetermined path. The guide device guides the conveyor in a first path section of the predetermined path parallel and in a horizontal direction adjacent to a second path section of the predetermined path. The conveyor is guided in the first path section in a first conveying direction which is opposed to a second conveying direction in which the conveyor is guided in the second path section.