Automated Milk Wagon with Sensor-Based Consumption Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ad libitum feeding of farm animals using drinking containers poses challenges in accurately monitoring the consumption of liquid food, as the remaining quantities are often discarded or fed to other animals, making it difficult to track individual consumption.
Innovation Solution
A milk wagon equipped with a storage container, detection device, and dosing control that automatically dispenses liquid food into drinking containers, allowing for identification, filling, and subsequent calculation of consumed amounts by determining the remaining quantity, enabling precise monitoring of individual consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If ad libitum feeding via drinking containers is used, then unlimited feed availability is achieved, but accurate monitoring of individual consumption becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by recording the initial fill quantity of the drinking container before the animal consumes the feed. This preliminary measurement allows the system to later calculate the exact consumption amount by comparing the initial quantity with the remaining quantity after consumption, thus enabling accurate monitoring even under ad libitum feeding conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring the remaining quantity of feed in the drinking container after consumption and using this information to calculate the actual amount consumed. This feedback mechanism provides accurate consumption data while maintaining unlimited feed availability during the feeding period
2Adaptability or versatility
If drinking containers are filled sufficiently to ensure sufficient drink is available at all times, then unlimited feed availability is achieved, but residual feed in containers cannot provide information about actual amounts consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs a preliminary action by recording the initial fill quantity before consumption occurs. This preliminary data capture ensures that when the animal consumes feed, the system can later compare the initial quantity with the remaining quantity to accurately determine consumption, preventing loss of consumption information even though residual feed remains in the container
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the detection device as an intermediary to measure both the initial fill quantity and the remaining quantity after consumption. This intermediary measurement capability allows the system to calculate consumption indirectly by determining the difference between the two quantities, thus preserving consumption data despite the presence of residual feed
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for feeding farm animals, in particular ad libitum feeding, with a liquid foodstuff, comprising the following steps: • Providing a milk truck comprising a storage container (16, 18) with a supply of the liquid foodstuff, a detection device (22, 24) for detecting an identifier assigned to a drinking hopper, and a dosing control (18, 20) for automatically dispensing a defined quantity of the liquid foodstuff from the storage container (16, 18) into a drinking hopper, • Identifying a drinking hopper assigned to a specific animal or group of animals with the detection device (22, 24) and filling the identified drinking hopper with the dosing control (18, 20) with a quantity of the liquid foodstuff at an initial time and storing the quantity, • Re-identifying the drinking hopper with the detection device (22, 24)24) and determining the remaining quantity in the drinking container at a second, later time, • Calculating the amount of liquid food consumed as the difference between the fill quantity and the remaining quantity.