Insect Breeding Cage With Light Translucent Walls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing insect breeding systems are inefficient due to limitations in controlling lighting, climate, and egg collection, leading to suboptimal breeding, mating, and growth conditions for insects.
Innovation Solution
A cage with a light translucent and gas-permeable design, featuring an openable tray for easy insect handling and egg depository devices, integrated with a rack system that allows for controlled lighting, temperature, and moisture management, enabling efficient breeding and egg collection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cage for insect breeding is designed with solid walls for containment, then insect containment is improved, but light control and climate regulation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The cage walls are constructed from mesh material with specific aperture sizes that prevent insects from escaping while allowing light to pass through. This porous structure enables simultaneous achievement of containment reliability and light control adaptability, as the mesh size can be selected to match the target insect species while maintaining transparency for lighting regulation.
2Ease of operation
If a cage with openable parts is added for easy insect insertion, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cage is divided into a main body and a removable tray component. The tray can be easily detached and reattached, providing simple access for insect insertion and removal without requiring complex mechanisms. This segmentation maintains operational ease while minimizing structural complexity through straightforward modular design.
3Productivity
If bigger cages are used for increased production capacity, then productivity is improved, but controllability of lighting and climate deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses multiple smaller cages arranged in racks rather than one large cage. Each cage maintains optimal dimensions for effective lighting and climate control, while the collective arrangement of multiple cages achieves high production capacity. This segmentation allows independent control of environmental parameters for each cage unit.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of increasing cage size horizontally, the system expands production capacity vertically by stacking multiple cages in racks. This dimensional transition allows maintaining small, easily controllable cage units while achieving large-scale production through vertical arrangement and multiplication of units.
4Adaptability or versatility
If walls are made gas-permeable for fresh air circulation, then climate control is improved, but structural integrity may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The mesh walls provide sufficient structural strength to maintain cage integrity while their porous structure allows gas permeability for air circulation. The mesh material and configuration are designed to withstand operational stresses while maintaining adequate openings for ventilation, thus simultaneously achieving structural integrity and climate adaptability.
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 solution enhances breeding efficiency by allowing precise control over lighting and climate conditions, improving insect mating and egg laying, while facilitating easy handling and collection of eggs, thus optimizing insect production.
Implementation Method 1
at least one of the walls is at least partly light translucent
Implementation Method 2
The at least partly light translucent wall and/or any of the other walls may be gas-permeable to permit fresh air to enter the cage
Implementation Method 3
A bottom wall of the comprises a gutter for conducting fluid to a fluid exit opening
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a cage (1) for breeding insects, comprising a space (2), limited by walls (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) for housing said insects and/or larvae thereof, wherein the walls are inpenetrable by the insects, at least one of the walls(4) is at least partly light translucent, and at least one of the walls comprises an openable part (10, 11, 12) for inserting insects. The invention further relates to a rack for holding a plurality of such cages, comprising at least one light source, wherein the lighting source is arranged such that it can illuminate the interior of a cage through the at least one at least partly light translucent wall, as well as a method for breeding insects.