Aggregated Feed Dosing for Dairy Cows
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current automatic feeding systems often fail to accurately deliver feed compositions to small groups of animals due to the low amounts required, leading to deviations in the prescribed feed composition, which affects animal well-being and milk production.
Innovation Solution
A method that determines feed requirements and priorities across multiple feeding locations, combines feed delivery to multiple locations within a single round, and adjusts the filling amount to ensure accurate dosing and minimize operating costs, by using a feed delivery device that can be filled with a larger amount of feed composition and distributed to multiple locations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If feed is delivered to small feeding locations separately in small amounts, then the feed delivery device can service individual locations, but the dosing accuracy deteriorates and feed composition deviates from prescribed amounts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple small feeding locations into a single combined feeding location for dosing purposes. The control system aggregates the feed requirements of multiple small locations and prepares a combined feed composition that is then distributed to all participating locations. This merging approach ensures that the dosing process operates on larger quantities, maintaining accuracy while satisfying the needs of multiple small locations.
2Stability of the object's composition
If feed composition is prepared for small amounts, then individual feeding locations are serviced, but the mixing quality deteriorates due to insufficient minimum mixing amount
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple small feed requirements into a single larger batch for mixing and preparation. By combining the feed amounts from multiple small feeding locations, the system ensures that the mixing process receives sufficient quantity to achieve proper homogeneity and mixing quality. The prepared combined feed composition is then distributed to all participating locations, ensuring consistent composition.
3Measurement precision
If feed delivery device is filled with large amounts, then dosing accuracy improves, but the device capacity is wasted on small feeding locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple small feeding locations into a single dosing batch, allowing the feed delivery device to operate at optimal capacity levels. By aggregating the feed requirements of multiple locations, the system fills the delivery device with appropriate amounts that ensure dosing accuracy without wasting capacity. The combined feed is then precisely distributed to each participating location according to their specific requirements.
4Reliability
If multiple feeding locations are serviced in separate rounds, then each location receives appropriate attention, but operating costs increase due to more distributing rounds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple feeding location service operations into a single combined distributing round. The control system identifies multiple feeding locations that require feed, combines their requirements into a single feed preparation and delivery operation, and services all locations in one trip. This approach maintains reliable feed delivery to each location while significantly reducing the number of distributing rounds required, thereby improving operating efficiency and reducing costs.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for distributing feed over multiple separate feeding locations includes determining which feeding locations have a feed requirement; determining a priority for the feeding locations having a feed requirement, wherein a first feeding location has the highest priority; determining a feed composition and a first amount to be delivered to the first feeding location; determining a maximum filling amount of a feed delivery device; determining a remaining filling amount by subtracting the first amount from the maximum filling amount; determining which feeding locations have a feed requirement and require the same feed composition; apportioning at least a part of the remaining filling amount over one or more of the determined feeding locations; and filling the feed delivery device.