Animal Shed Floor Mat with Perforated Urine Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional slatted floors in animal sheds mix urine and feces, producing ammonia that harms the environment, and separating these components is costly and difficult, with existing solutions being cumbersome and prone to blockages.
Innovation Solution
A floor assembly comprising a slatted floor and a removable floor mat with narrow through holes that allow urine to pass through while keeping feces on the surface, using a pattern of perforations to control airflow and ammonia removal, and a resilient material to maintain hole openness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional slatted floors with wide slot openings are used, then urine and feces can pass through easily, but urine and feces mix together producing ammonia that harms the environment
Solution Approach 1:
The floor opening is segmented into two distinct components: a wide horizontal slot for feces removal and a narrow vertical through-hole for urine passage. This segmentation allows differential treatment of urine and feces, enabling urine to pass through to the reservoir while feces remain on the floor surface for separate collection, thereby preventing ammonia production from mixing
2Object-generated harmful factors
If perforated floors with narrow holes are used to separate urine and feces, then urine can pass through while feces remain on surface, but the holes get blocked by dirt easily
Solution Approach 1:
Different parts of the floor structure have different opening characteristics: the horizontal slot maintains a wide opening (several centimeters) resistant to blockage, while the vertical through-hole remains narrow (millimeters) for effective urine filtration. This local quality differentiation allows each component to optimize its function without compromising the other
3Object-generated harmful factors
If profiles are inserted into slotted openings to decrease opening size, then urine can pass through better, but the profiles impair walkability and require heavy manual installation
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of modifying the horizontal slot dimension, the solution adds a vertical dimension by introducing a through-hole that penetrates the floor thickness. Urine passes through this vertical channel while feces are managed by the horizontal slot, separating the functions in three-dimensional space rather than competing for two-dimensional slot space
4Ease of manufacture
If standardized slatted floors are used, then manufacturing is simplified, but each floor requires individualized slot elements that are expensive and tedious to install
Solution Approach 1:
The floor mat is designed as a universal component that can be applied to various slatted floor configurations. The mat integrates both the slot cover and through-hole functions in a single standardized product that can be manufactured once and installed across multiple floors, eliminating the need for custom-made slot elements for each individual floor
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
Effectively separates urine and feces, reducing ammonia emissions and odor in the shed, facilitating easier feces removal, and maintaining a clean and functional floor surface.
Implementation Method 1
urine is allowed to flow through the through hole towards the slatted floor
Implementation Method 2
urine flow through the holes
Implementation Method 3
there is only a narrow connection of the animal shed with the underlying reservoir or manure cellar. Vapors such as ammonia thus remain largely in the reservoir
Implementation Method 4
The floor mat is made of a resilient material
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
The invention relates to an animal shed floor assembly comprising a slatted floor above an underlying manure reservoir, and having a plurality of slotted openings that open into the underlying manure reservoir; and a floor mat having a first mat surface and an opposite second mat surface spaced apart, wherein the first mat surface is a walking surface for animals and the second mat surface faces the first floor surface, wherein the floor mat further comprises multiple through holes extending from the first to the second mat surface, and opening towards the slatted floor, wherein the through holes are relatively narrow compared to the slotted openings of the slatted floor, such that urine is allowed to flow through the through hole towards the slatted floor and feces remains on the first mat surface when the animal shed floor is in use