Live Insect Transport Device Using Laminar Flow for Neonate Larvae
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for large-scale insect farming face challenges in synchronizing the age of insects, leading to inefficient use of farming facilities and unpredictable production volumes, as existing technologies lack effective means to manage and transport live insects like neonate larvae without causing harm or loss during transportation.
Innovation Solution
A live insects transport device featuring a fluid guiding unit, a fluid discharge member, and a feeder arrangement that uses a laminar flow to transport freshly hatched neonate larvae, ensuring the insects remain viable and uninjured, with a tunable outflow for precise dosing and analysis, and a casing for temperature and humidity control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual handling methods are used for transporting live insects, then equipment complexity is low, but insect losses and injuries increase during transportation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a laminar flow chamber that uses controlled fluid flow to transport live insects. The chamber creates a laminar flow environment where insects are moved gently along a defined path from the hatching chamber to the rearing chamber, minimizing mechanical contact and injury while maintaining high survival rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a laminar flow chamber as an intermediary transport mechanism between the hatching chamber and rearing chamber. This intermediate system allows insects to be transferred without direct mechanical handling, using controlled fluid dynamics to move insects safely through the transition zone.
2Extent of automation
If automated transport systems are implemented, then labor requirements decrease, but device complexity and initial investment increase
Solution Approach 1:
The automated transport is achieved through a laminar flow chamber that uses controlled air or fluid flow to move insects automatically. The chamber design allows insects to be carried by the laminar flow from one chamber to another without mechanical intervention, providing automation through fluid dynamics rather than complex mechanical systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical transport mechanisms (conveyors, belts, mechanical handlers) with a laminar flow-based transport system. This substitution uses fluid dynamics and controlled flow fields to achieve automated insect transport, reducing mechanical complexity while maintaining automation benefits.
3Reliability
If insects are transported without environmental control, then device complexity is low, but insect health and viability deteriorate during transport
Solution Approach 1:
The laminar flow chamber serves as a controlled environmental intermediary between the hatching chamber and rearing chamber. It maintains specific temperature, humidity, and flow conditions during the transition period, protecting insects from environmental shocks while moving them between chambers with different conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements controlled changes in environmental parameters (temperature, humidity, flow rate) within the laminar flow chamber during transport. These parameter changes are carefully managed to match insect needs at different stages of transport, ensuring viability while adapting to the requirements of destination chambers.
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 device enables efficient, automated transportation of live insects with minimal losses, achieving synchronized age batches with a narrow age difference, optimizing insect farming by maintaining insect health and facilitating precise dosing and analysis for improved farming performance.
Implementation Method 1
the live insects are taken up in a laminar flow of fluid and while in said fluid are transported to a predetermined location
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a device for use in large-scale industrial insect farming. More in particular, the invention relates to a live insects transport device for transporting live insects from a first location to a predetermined second location, the live insects transport device comprising a fluid guiding unit, a fluid discharge member and a feeder arrangement, wherein the live insects transport device is configured to receive live insects such as freshly hatched neonate larvae, for example of black soldier fly, wherein the live insects are taken up in a laminar flow of fluid and while in said fluid are transported to a predetermined location in the live insects transport device. Furthermore, the invention relates to the use of the device in industrial insect farming, such as large-scale farming of black soldier flies, and the invention relates to a method of dosing live insects, wherein preferably live insects are doses which are essentially of the same age, such as freshly hatched neonate larvae.