Stackable Insect Farming Tray for Laminar Airflow and Thermal Uniformity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing insect farming trays for large-scale, particularly vertical farming, fail to optimize climatic and aeraulic criteria, leading to inefficient airflow and temperature distribution, which affects insect health and growth.
Innovation Solution
A tray design with rounded edges and feet positioned to minimize airflow disruption, allowing for better air circulation and temperature uniformity, featuring a rectangular parallelepiped shape with raised portions and elongated feet for improved aerodynamics and mechanical strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If trays are stacked closely to maximize space utilization, then volume efficiency is improved, but airflow circulation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The tray corners are rounded instead of sharp, creating curved surfaces that guide airflow smoothly around the tray edges. This curvature prevents flow separation and turbulence that would occur with sharp corners, maintaining laminar flow patterns even when trays are stacked in close proximity, thus preserving airflow circulation while maximizing space utilization.
2Stability of the object's composition
If feet are positioned to maximize stacking stability, then structural stability is improved, but airflow disruption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The feet are positioned at specific locations on the tray bottom that optimize both stacking stability and airflow. The feet are located near the corners but not exactly at the edges, providing stable stacking support while minimizing interference with the main airflow paths. This localized positioning strategy achieves both stability and airflow circulation requirements.
3Ease of manufacture
If tray edges are sharp to simplify manufacturing, then manufacturing ease is improved, but airflow disruption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tray features rounded corners and edges instead of sharp geometric features. This curvature design maintains manufacturing feasibility through standard molding processes while dramatically improving airflow characteristics by eliminating flow separation zones and turbulence that would occur at sharp edges, thus enhancing climate control efficiency.
4Reliability
If feet extend high above the tray to provide stable stacking surfaces, then stacking reliability is improved, but airflow obstruction increases
Solution Approach 1:
The feet extend partially above the tray body, providing sufficient stacking surface area for reliable tray stacking without excessive height. This partial extension achieves the necessary stacking reliability while minimizing the obstruction to vertical airflow circulation, balancing structural requirements with climate control needs.
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
Enhances airflow and temperature homogeneity, reducing energy consumption and improving insect growth conditions by minimizing airflow disruptions and optimizing thermal regulation.
Implementation Method 1
The body of the tray has no sharp edges, so as to limit disruptions to a laminar airflow flowing around the tray
Implementation Method 2
The feet of the tray are configured to enable stacking on top of said farming tray of an identical insect farming tray, while leaving a space between the bottom of said identical tray and the enclosure of the tray
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a tray for farming insects, comprising a solid bottom (2) that defines a substantially horizontal plane, and side walls (4) defining a peripheral enclosure (5) of the tray. The bottom (2) and the side walls (4) define a tray body. The tray comprises feet (6) that extend vertically from the bottom (2) of the tray to a level above the enclosure (5) of the tray. The feet make it possible for an identical insect farming tray to be stacked on top of the farming tray while creating a space between the bottom (2) of said identical tray and the enclosure (5) of the tray. The body of the tray has no sharp edges in order to limit disruption to a laminar air flow flowing around the tray. The invention also relates to a stack of multiple trays of this type.