Floating Cover Drinking Trough with Anti-Freeze Rim
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing water troughs for livestock face issues with water freezing and contamination due to lack of automatic closure mechanism, especially when water levels drop, leading to access difficulties and risk of freezing in extreme cold.
Innovation Solution
A water trough design featuring a retractable cover that floats on water and adjusts with water levels, equipped with a peripheral rim and anti-tilting means, ensuring the cover remains submerged and prevents cold air infiltration, while allowing animals to access water without relying on automatic water supply.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the retractable closure means is designed as a float that rests on the water surface, then the cover can be automatically pushed back by animal pressure to access water, but when water level drops the cover may become blocked at the periphery by freezing water
Solution Approach 1:
The peripheral rim with its lower face extending horizontally above the waterline creates a preliminary protective barrier that prevents water from freezing at the critical periphery where the cover meets the tank wall. This preliminary anti-freezing measure prevents the blocking problem before it occurs, ensuring the cover remains movable and accessible throughout winter conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adds a vertical dimension to the peripheral rim structure, positioning its lower face at a specific height above the waterline. This dimensional adjustment creates an air gap that interrupts the thermal bridge between the cold exterior and the water at the periphery, preventing freezing without interfering with the horizontal floating motion of the cover.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the peripheral gap between cover and tank is present, then the cover can move freely, but cold air can penetrate through this gap and freeze the water at the periphery
Solution Approach 1:
The horizontal lower face of the peripheral rim acts as an intermediary barrier between the cold external environment and the water in the tank. This structural element intercepts cold air currents and prevents them from directly contacting the water at the periphery, thereby eliminating the freezing problem while preserving the necessary peripheral gap for cover mobility.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the tank remains closed to prevent freezing and contamination, then water quality is maintained, but animals cannot access water when the cover is closed
Solution Approach 1:
The cover is designed to be self-actuating through the animal's own pushing action. When an animal pushes the cover, it automatically opens to allow water access, and when the animal removes pressure, the float mechanism automatically returns the cover to its closed position. This self-service mechanism maintains water quality while enabling easy animal access without requiring external control systems.
4Reliability
If automatic water supply is implemented to maintain water level, then the float mechanism can function reliably, but the system becomes more complex and requires additional infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the automatic water supply system from the design, relying instead on the animals' natural drinking behavior to maintain adequate water levels. By removing this complex infrastructure, the float mechanism continues to function reliably through simple buoyancy physics, and the system becomes self-regulating based on actual water consumption rather than predetermined thresholds.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution ensures continuous access to water for animals, prevents freezing, and reduces contamination risks without requiring automatic water supply, maintaining the trough closed and functional under varying conditions.
Implementation Method 1
this cover being designed, in the manner of a float, in a material capable of floating above the water level in the tank
Implementation Method 2
the peripheral rim 11 comprising a lower face 12, oriented towards the bottom 3 of the tank, extending in a horizontal plane situated above the waterline 13 of this cover 7
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The invention relates to a drinking trough for animals, particularly livestock, comprising a basin (2) adapted to hold water and having in its upper part an opening (5) closed by retractable closure means (6) adapted to be pushed back by an animal to access the water contained in the basin (2), characterized in that the retractable closure means (6) comprise a cover (7) defined by a cross-section (8) fitted to the opening (5) in the basin (2) so as to be inserted movably into the latter, this cover (7) being designed, like a float, of a material adapted to float above the water level (9) in the basin (2), this cover (7) further comprising a waterline (13) defining the interface between the submerged part (14) of this cover (7) and its emerged part (15) when it rests on the water contained in the basin (2), characterized by the fact that the lid (7) has a peripheral rim (11) comprising a lower face (12),oriented towards the bottom (3) of the container (2), extending in a horizontal plane located above the waterline (13) of this cover (7).