Fish Transport Grid Plate Design for Hygienic Draining
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fish transporting apparatuses in the fish processing industry face challenges such as limited speed due to fish properties and surface structure, difficulty in cleaning, and contamination issues due to slime and water residue, which are not hygienically suitable for the food industry, especially when handling larger fish species like trout and salmon.
Innovation Solution
A fish transporting apparatus with a grid plate bottom element featuring rectangular apertures, oriented at a right angle to the transport direction, allowing fins to catch and providing a strong drive impulse for reliable transport of all fish sizes, while the permeable design allows slime to flow away, facilitating easy cleaning and reducing water consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a closed surface bottom element with grooves or sandpaper is used to assist fish transport, then fish transport reliability is improved, but cleaning difficulty increases and hygiene requirements are not met
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom element is designed as a grid plate with numerous rectangular apertures, creating a porous structure that allows water and slime to pass through. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining fish transport reliability through the grid structure while enabling easy cleaning, as contaminants can drain through the apertures rather than accumulating on a closed surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The closed surface is segmented into a grid pattern with multiple rectangular apertures distributed across the bottom element. This segmentation creates numerous small open areas that facilitate cleaning while maintaining sufficient surface area for fish transport, resolving the conflict between transport reliability and cleaning ease.
2Reliability
If a rough surface structure is applied to the bottom element to help fish catch, then transport of smaller fish is improved, but transport of larger fish becomes difficult and speed is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The grid plate provides different local qualities: the rectangular edges provide catching points for smaller fish, while the open apertures allow larger fish to pass through or be transported without requiring rough surface attachment. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between reliable transport of small fish and adaptability to larger fish species.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the surface parameter from a continuous rough surface to a grid pattern with specific aperture dimensions. This parameter change allows the system to handle different fish sizes effectively, as the aperture size can be optimized for the target fish species, resolving the limitation on fish size adaptability.
3Productivity
If a closed surface bottom element is used, then fish transport is maintained, but water and slime accumulate leading to contamination and additional flushing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful elements (water and slime) are extracted from the transport surface by allowing them to pass through the rectangular apertures in the grid plate. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining fish transport continuity on the grid structure while actively removing contaminants, preventing accumulation and contamination issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The water and slime that would normally be harmful contaminants are converted into a beneficial drainage function. The grid plate structure allows these fluids to pass through and be removed from the system, turning the potential harm of fluid accumulation into the benefit of automatic drainage and reduced contamination.
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 grid plate design ensures efficient and hygienic transport of fish of all sizes, reduces contamination risks, and eliminates the need for flushing, maintaining constant production conditions and minimizing water usage.
Implementation Method 1
a vibrating member for vibratory driving of the transport device
Implementation Method 2
the permeable design allows slime to flow away
Implementation Method 3
the rough scale structure of the fish as a drive (impulse)... transport is effected by the scales so to speak 'catching' on a rough surface
Data Source
AI summary
The invention concerns a fish transporting apparatus for automatically feeding fish to a fish processing machine. The fish transporting apparatus can include a transport device with a bottom element for receiving the fish and lateral boundary elements for guiding the fish as well as a vibrating member for vibratory driving of the transport device, which is distinguished in that the bottom element is constructed as a grid plate with rectangular apertures. Furthermore, the invention concerns a device for aligning fish in a head/tail orientation with such a fish transporting apparatus.