Modular Animal Pen With Removable Divider Panels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing animal pen systems lack flexibility in configuring enclosures to accommodate the changing needs of young animals as they mature, requiring separate enclosures initially and group housing later, without a modular solution that allows easy adjustment between these configurations.
Innovation Solution
A modular animal pen system with removable dividers and interchangeable panels that can be arranged in various configurations to create primary and secondary enclosures, allowing for individual or group housing by inserting or removing divider panels and side panels, enabling flexible enclosure adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If animals are housed in separate enclosures initially and then grouped together later, then animal management requirements are met, but the system requires multiple separate enclosures and complex reconfiguration
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure system is divided into modular panels that can be independently arranged and reconfigured. Each panel is a discrete unit that can be combined with others to create different enclosure configurations, allowing the system to adapt from individual to group housing without requiring completely separate structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The panels are designed to serve multiple functions: they form walls for individual enclosures, create dividers within larger enclosures, and can be arranged to form group housing areas. The same universal panel components are used across all configuration needs, eliminating the requirement for specialized enclosures for different housing modes.
2Ease of operation
If fixed enclosures are used for individual animals, then isolation is achieved, but flexibility to reconfigure for group housing is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure system transitions from static fixed structures to dynamic reconfigurable arrangements. Panels can be easily moved, added, or removed to change the configuration from individual to group housing as animals mature, allowing the system to adapt dynamically to changing management requirements without complex construction or demolition.
3Area of stationary object
If multiple separate enclosures are provided for different housing stages, then animal needs are met, but space utilization and resource efficiency decrease
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple individual enclosures are merged into a single versatile modular system. The same physical space can be configured to house individual animals or groups depending on arrangement, maximizing space utilization. Instead of requiring separate dedicated areas for different housing stages, the system combines all functionality into one reconfigurable enclosure structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A modular animal pen system comprises front and rear panels and opposed side panels extending between the front and rear panels to form a primary enclosure. The front panel has adjacent doorway apertures formed therein to receive respective selectively closable gates, and a mullion is disposed between the doorway apertures. The mullion has a first slot, and a second slot in the rear panel is in registration with the first slot. The animal pen system further comprises a removable divider panel whose longitudinal ends are sized to fit removably within the respective slots so that the divider panel can divide the primary enclosure into two secondary enclosures. The side and divider panels may be formed by interchangeable profile panels, and the front and rear panels may be formed by interchangeable face panels connectable end-to-end to form a junction slot therebetween sized to receive the longitudinal ends of the profile panels.