Fish Parasite Removal Device with Controlled Water Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for reducing exterior parasites on fish, such as sea lice, often cause physical harm to the fish due to the need for a vertical free fall, which can lead to damage and inefficiencies in parasite removal.
Innovation Solution
A device with a filter member and inlet channel arranged to provide a controlled vertical drop and downstream distance, allowing fluid from nozzles to impinge on the fish without direct contact with surfaces, simulating a vertical fall while minimizing fish trauma.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a vertical free fall is used to remove parasites from fish, then parasite removal efficiency is improved, but fish physical harm increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a water current as an intermediary medium to replace direct vertical free fall. Fish are conveyed through a treatment chamber by controlled water flow, allowing parasite removal mechanisms to act on fish without the traumatic impact of free falling. This mediator (water current) enables effective parasite removal while protecting fish from physical harm.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical vertical free fall system with a fluid dynamics-based conveyance system. Instead of relying on gravity-driven free fall, fish are moved through the treatment chamber using controlled water currents, substituting a harsh mechanical process with a gentler hydraulic system that achieves the same parasite removal objective without physical trauma.
2Productivity
If chemical treatment is used to eliminate lice from fish, then parasite elimination is improved, but environmental contamination and fish safety worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces chemical treatment mechanisms with a physical treatment approach using controlled water currents and mechanical conveyance through a treatment chamber. This substitution eliminates the need for harmful chemicals while maintaining effective parasite removal through physical means, thereby preventing environmental contamination and ensuring fish safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs hydraulic principles by using controlled water currents to convey fish through the treatment chamber and facilitate parasite removal. This hydraulic system provides a chemical-free alternative for parasite elimination, using water flow dynamics to achieve effective treatment without environmental contamination or fish safety concerns.
3Productivity
If mechanical treatment is used to remove parasites, then parasite removal is improved, but fish stress and injury increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses controlled water current as an intermediary to reduce direct mechanical contact between fish and treatment mechanisms. Fish are conveyed gently through the treatment chamber by water flow, allowing parasite removal to occur without direct mechanical handling that would cause stress and injury, thereby maintaining effectiveness while protecting fish welfare.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies hydraulic principles by using controlled water currents as the primary mechanism for conveying fish and facilitating parasite removal. This hydraulic approach replaces direct mechanical handling with fluid-based conveyance, reducing fish stress and injury while maintaining effective parasite removal through the controlled water environment.
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 device effectively removes parasites from fish without causing physical harm, improving fish well-being and increasing productivity in fish farms by ensuring efficient parasite detachment and prevention of reattachment.
Implementation Method 1
the inlet channel being arranged to provide fluid communication between the connection interface and the inlet interface of the filter member and to provide a vertical drop from a bottom edge of the inlet channel at the connection interface to a bottom edge of the filter member at the inlet interface
Implementation Method 2
a plurality of parasite removal nozzles surrounding a target volume and being configured to eject a fluid toward the target volume
Implementation Method 3
the filter member having openings with a smallest dimension in the range of 0.5 mm to 50 mm
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a device (100) for reducing the number of parasites on a fish, the device (100) comprising: —a filter member (101) arranged with respect to gravity to have a downward slope along a longitudinal axis (X-X) from an inlet interface (A) of the filter member to an outlet (B) of the filter member, the filter member having openings (107) with a smallest dimension in the range of 0.5 mm to 50 mm; —an inlet channel (200) having an inlet (C) at a first end of the inlet channel and a connection interface (D) at a second end of the inlet channel, the inlet channel being arranged to provide fluid communication between the connection interface and the inlet interface of the filter member and to provide a vertical drop (d) from a bottom edge (210) of the inlet channel at the connection interface to a bottom edge (110) of the filter member at the inlet interface, the vertical drop being in the range of 0 cm to 50 cm; —a plurality of parasite removal nozzles (104) surrounding a target volume (V) and being configured to eject a fluid toward the target volume (V), the plurality of parasite removal nozzles being positioned at a downstream distance (e) from the inlet interface along the longitudinal axis, which downstream distance is in the range of 0 cm to 50 cm; wherein at least one of the vertical drop and the downstream distance is at least 2 cm.