Livestock Feed Trough Inward Projection Spillage Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing animal feed troughs face issues with food spillage and contamination due to their design, leading to health risks and increased manufacturing complexity, particularly in pig feeding systems, where food is easily pushed out and not hygienically contained.
Innovation Solution
A feed trough container with a projection that protrudes inwardly from the side wall, forming a shoulder element, allowing for easy adaptation to various shapes and manufacturing processes, reducing material strain and enabling a deeper, more accessible interior space with improved hygiene and reduced food discharge.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If the sides of the tub are made high to reduce feed discharge, then feed spillage is reduced, but deformation rates increase and material is overstrained leading to crack failure
Solution Approach 1:
The side wall is segmented into different height zones, with the projection creating an internal barrier at a specific height rather than uniformly increasing the entire side wall height. This localized segmentation prevents feed spillage while maintaining adequate material thickness and avoiding overstraining the material.
Solution Approach 2:
The projection provides localized feed containment at the critical spillage zone without requiring the entire tub to have uniformly high sides. This local quality enhancement addresses the spillage problem only where it occurs, preserving material strength in other areas and avoiding crack failure.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If flanging is applied to the edge of the trough, then feed discharge is prevented, but production complexity increases and cleaning becomes difficult due to cavities
Solution Approach 1:
The projection is integrated directly into the tub shell during the deep-drawing process, merging the feed containment function with the basic tub structure. This eliminates the need for separate flanging operations and reduces production complexity while preventing feed discharge.
Solution Approach 2:
The projection serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a feed barrier, maintains structural integrity, and provides a cleanable surface without creating cavities. This multi-functionality replaces the单一 flanging approach that only provided feed containment but created cleaning difficulties.
3Ease of operation
If the tub is designed with round, oval, or rectangular shapes with circumferential edges, then ease of operation is improved, but flanging cannot be carried out in a single process step
Solution Approach 1:
The projection is formed during the initial deep-drawing process before any subsequent operations. This preliminary action integrates the feed containment feature into the basic tub shaping, allowing round, oval, or rectangular shapes to be manufactured in a single process step without requiring additional flanging operations.
4Object-generated harmful factors
If high sides are used to prevent feed spillage, then feed discharge is reduced, but the interior space becomes less accessible
Solution Approach 1:
The projection creates an internal segmentation that divides the interior space into a feed containment zone and an accessible zone below. Animals can access the lower area freely while the projection prevents feed from being pushed over the edge, maintaining both spillage prevention and interior accessibility.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4
AI summary
The feed trough container (10) has a base portion (10a) having a bottom (11), side wall (12) and an edge (14a) on the side wall. The inner surface of the bottom and the inner surface of side wall form an enclosed interior space (Z). An inwardly protruding projection (14b) is formed in the region of edge on the side wall relative to the adjacent inner surface of the side wall interior and is extended along the edge.