Flexible Animal Enclosure Floor Seal Mediator

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Solution Overview

Problem

Animal enclosures face challenges in adhering to imperfect floors, leading to gaps that allow debris, including waste and bacteria, to cross-contaminate between enclosures, spreading disease and odor.

Innovation Solution

An animal enclosure floor seal system comprising a mounting portion coupled to the enclosure wall and extending barrier portions that impede or restrict debris flow, using mechanisms like glues, mechanical couplers, or integrated designs to ensure effective sealing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If an enclosure wall is placed directly on the floor, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but gaps are created due to floor imperfections that allow debris to cross-contaminate between enclosures

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveenclosure wall installationVSAvoiddebris cross-contamination

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

A seal member is introduced as an intermediary component between the enclosure wall and the floor. The seal member includes a seal body with a floor-contacting surface that directly contacts the imperfect floor, and a wall-contacting surface that contacts the enclosure wall, thereby mediating the interface and preventing debris passage through gaps

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The seal body is made of flexible material that can deform to conform to floor imperfections such as waves, channels, and dips. This flexibility allows the seal to maintain continuous contact with both the irregular floor surface and the enclosure wall, eliminating gaps without requiring complex rigid structures

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

2Object-affected harmful factors

If a seal member is added to bridge the gap between the enclosure wall and floor, then debris cross-contamination is reduced, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedebris cross-contaminationVSAvoidenclosure floor seal system

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The seal member utilizes flexible material properties to achieve sealing functionality through deformation rather than complex mechanical structures. The flexibility allows a relatively simple seal body form to adapt to various floor imperfections and maintain effective sealing

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Solution Approach 2:

The seal body extends in multiple dimensions with a first portion contacting the floor horizontally and a second portion contacting the wall vertically. This multi-dimensional configuration allows the seal to address both floor irregularities and wall-floor gaps using a unified structural approach

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentUS8707903B2Animal enclosure floor seal

Publication Date: 2014.04.29 MIDMARK CORP

AI summary

Devices, apparatuses, systems and/or methods related to animal enclosures. Specifically, the disclosed devices, apparatuses, systems and/or methods relate to animal enclosure floor seal systems that may be coupled to an animal enclosure wall and may impede, restrict and/or reduce debris from entering or exiting the animal enclosure. In this manner, likelihood of contamination of the animal enclosure may be reduced.