Light-Induced Feeder for Live Food Creatures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for feeding carnivores with live food creatures often result in escape, damage, and high maintenance, as they rely on mechanical manipulation and direct handling, which can lead to allergies and waste, especially when dealing with arthropods like insects.
Innovation Solution
A feeder system utilizing controllable light sources and guide surfaces to induce live food creatures to exit or remain in a reservoir based on their innate phototaxis and surface taxis behaviors, reducing the need for moving parts and direct handling, thereby enhancing feeding efficiency and reducing escape and maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If mechanical manipulation and direct handling are used to dispense live food creatures, then the dispensing process is simple and direct, but escape, damage, and maintenance issues increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical manipulation and direct handling with a light-based system. A controllable light source illuminates the chamber to induce phototaxis in the live food creatures, causing them to naturally move toward the dispensing aperture. This substitution eliminates the need for mechanical actuators, moving parts, and direct human contact, thereby reducing escape, damage, and maintenance while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system leverages the innate phototactic behavior of live food creatures to perform self-dispensing. When the controllable light source is activated, the creatures automatically move toward the light and exit through the dispensing aperture without external mechanical intervention. This self-service mechanism reduces the need for complex dispensing mechanisms and direct handling, improving reliability and reducing maintenance.
2Ease of operation
If moving parts are used in the dispensing mechanism, then direct handling is reduced, but damage to food creatures and maintenance requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates moving parts by replacing mechanical dispensing mechanisms with a light-based induction system. The controllable light source triggers phototactic response in the live food creatures, causing them to move voluntarily toward the dispensing aperture. This approach maintains ease of operation while dramatically reducing maintenance requirements and damage to food creatures, as there are no mechanical components to malfunction or require servicing.
3Productivity
If direct handling of food creatures is performed, then dispensing is straightforward, but allergies and waste increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces direct human handling with a light-based induction system. The controllable light source illuminates the chamber, inducing phototaxis in the live food creatures and causing them to move toward the dispensing aperture automatically. This eliminates direct contact between handlers and live food creatures, preventing allergy transmission and reducing waste from mishandling, while maintaining efficient feeding operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The controllable light source serves as an intermediary between the handler and the live food creatures. Instead of direct handling, the light mediates the dispensing process by triggering the creatures' natural phototactic behavior. This intermediary approach allows feeding operations to proceed efficiently while eliminating harmful direct contact, thereby preventing allergies and reducing waste.
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 system effectively dispenses and retains live food creatures without direct human contact, minimizing escape and damage, reducing maintenance, and improving feeding efficiency by leveraging natural behaviors of the food creatures.
Implementation Method 1
A controlled light source may, for example, be selectively operable to illuminate at least part of the chamber. Operation of the controlled light source in a dispensing mode may induces motion of the FCs in the chamber towards the carnivore interface
Implementation Method 2
In various embodiments, a guide surface(s) may advantageously guide live food creatures towards a dispensing aperture
Implementation Method 3
Such embodiments may, for example, advantageously prevent the live food from escaping
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus and associated methods relate to selectively inducing ingress and/or egress of live food creatures (FCs) relative to a reservoir using a controllable light source based on innate behavior(s) of the FCs. In an illustrative example, a feeder for dispensing live food to a carnivore may have a (partially) opaque chamber configured to receive FCs. A controlled light source may, for example, be selectively operable to illuminate at least part of the chamber. A carnivore interface may, for example, be in communication with the chamber via at least one dispensing aperture and be configured to present a dispensed FC to the carnivore. Operation of the controlled light source in a dispensing mode may induces motion of the FCs in the chamber towards the carnivore interface to be presented as food to the carnivore. Various embodiments may advantageously induce self-dispensing and/or self-retention of insects as food.