Elastic Floor Top Layer with Through-Holes for Urine Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing animal shed floors with slatted designs struggle to effectively separate urine and faeces, leading to ammonia evaporation and environmental harm, while also being prone to perforation blockages and animal safety issues.
Innovation Solution
An animal shed floor comprising a slatted floor with a resilient top layer, featuring slot-shaped openings and a slot element with through-holes that allow urine to flow into a manure reservoir while keeping faeces on the surface, thereby facilitating separate removal and reducing ammonia emissions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional slatted floors with slot-shaped grid openings are used, then urine and faeces can pass through to the manure cellar, but the separation of urine and faeces is ineffective and ammonia evaporation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The floor is divided into multiple functional layers: a top layer with through-holes for urine passage, a middle layer with slot-shaped openings, and a bottom slatted floor with grid openings. This segmentation allows urine to pass through multiple controlled openings while faeces are retained on the surface, achieving effective separation and reducing ammonia evaporation by preventing urine-faeces mixing.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the floor structure have different properties: the top layer has small circular through-holes (5-10mm) that allow urine passage but retain faeces, the middle layer has slot-shaped openings for additional urine drainage, and the bottom layer has grid openings for final discharge. Each layer is optimized for its specific function to achieve both separation and ammonia reduction.
2Productivity
If perforations are enlarged to prevent blockages, then urine flow is improved, but the risk of injury to animals increases due to sprains or fractures
Solution Approach 1:
The through-holes in the top layer are designed with optimal diameter (5-10mm) that balances urine flow efficiency with animal safety. This parameter optimization ensures sufficient urine passage while maintaining a smooth surface that prevents animal injuries from missteps. The circular shape and controlled size prevent the holes from becoming blockages while minimizing injury risk.
3Ease of operation
If slot elements are provided in each grid opening to reduce opening size, then urine flow control is improved, but the device complexity and labor intensity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple floor layers are merged into a single integrated assembly that can be installed as one unit. The top layer with through-holes, middle layer with slot openings, and bottom slatted floor are combined such that they function together as a complete floor system, reducing installation complexity compared to adding individual slot elements to each grid opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The top layer with through-holes serves multiple functions: it controls urine flow, retains faeces on the surface, provides a smooth walking surface for animals, and structures the overall floor assembly. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional components and simplifies the overall system.
4Ease of operation
If a slatted floor with elastic floor top layer is used, then animal comfort is improved, but both urine and faeces drop through the openings into the manure cellar
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic floor top layer incorporates through-holes with specific dimensions (5-10mm diameter) that create a size-based filtration effect. These locally optimized openings allow liquid urine to pass through while retaining solid faeces on the elastic surface, achieving separation while maintaining animal comfort through the flexible material.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic floor top layer functions as a porous structure with through-holes that selectively pass liquids while retaining solids. The porosity is controlled through the hole diameter and distribution, allowing urine to drain through while keeping faeces on the surface for separate removal, thus solving the separation problem while maintaining animal comfort.
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 effectively separates urine and faeces, reducing ammonia emissions and environmental impact, while maintaining animal safety and preventing perforation blockages, thus addressing the limitations of traditional slatted floors.
Implementation Method 1
through-holes which are relatively small compared to the grid openings and the slot-shaped openings of the elastic floor top layer, so that urine flows through the through-holes to the manure reservoir
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
The invention relates to an animal-shed floor comprising an assembly of a slatted floor with a first floor surface and an opposite second floor surface, wherein the second floor surface faces a manure reservoir situated underneath, and with a plurality of slot-shaped grid openings which open towards the manure reservoir situated underneath; and an elastic floor top layer with a first surface and an opposite second surface arranged at a distance, wherein the first surface is a walking surface for animals and the second surface faces the first floor surface, wherein the elastic floor top layer furthermore comprises a plurality of slot-shaped openings which extend from the first to the second surface, and open towards the slot-shaped grid openings, wherein a slot element is provided in the slot-shaped openings, wherein a top surface of the slot element is provided with through-holes which are relatively narrow compared to the grid openings and the slot-shaped openings of the elastic floor top layer, so that urine flows through the through-holes to the manure reservoir and faeces remain behind on the first surface when the animal-shed floor is in use.