Movable Livestock Floor Tiles for Continuous Waste Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing livestock floor surfaces accumulate waste such as excrement and food, which is unsanitary and costly to clean due to interference from livestock and the use of absorbent materials that only delay the negative impacts and are difficult to clean.
Innovation Solution
A tile cleaning system comprising movable tiles with integrated waste accumulation and removal features, using a cleaner to remove waste from the tiles in a circuit, with movers ensuring minimal disturbance to livestock.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If livestock floor surfaces are cleaned by removing livestock, then cleaning can be performed, but downtime occurs and productivity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The floor is divided into multiple movable tiles that can be independently cleaned while livestock remain on other tiles. This segmentation allows continuous operation as cleaning occurs on one segment while livestock use another segment, resolving the contradiction between cleaning effectiveness and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
Movable tiles serve as intermediaries between the livestock and the cleaning system. The tiles can be moved to present soiled surfaces to cleaners without moving the livestock, allowing cleaning to occur indirectly while maintaining continuous livestock operation.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If absorbent materials like woodchips are used to manage waste, then waste absorption is improved, but cleaning difficulty and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The waste accumulation function is extracted from the livestock floor surface itself and transferred to removable tiles. The tiles accumulate waste during use, then are moved to cleaners for removal, separating the waste management function from the permanent floor structure and making cleaning easier.
Solution Approach 2:
Tiles that have accumulated waste are discarded from the livestock area, cleaned separately by cleaners, and then recovered and returned to service. This cyclical process allows continuous waste management without requiring cleaning of the entire floor system at once.
3Ease of operation
If livestock are moved during cleaning, then cleaning access is improved, but stress to animals and operational disruption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning system is made dynamic through movable tiles that can be presented to stationary cleaners. This allows the cleaning point to move relative to the livestock without moving the livestock themselves, improving cleaning accessibility while minimizing animal stress.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable tiles act as intermediaries that carry the soiled surface to the cleaner without requiring livestock movement. The tiles are manipulated by movers to present accumulation surfaces to cleaners, enabling cleaning access while keeping livestock stationary and unstressed.
4Reliability
If complete floor cleaning is performed, then hygiene is improved, but system downtime and productivity loss increase
Solution Approach 1:
The floor cleaning system is segmented into multiple independent tiles that can be cleaned individually or in small groups. This allows progressive cleaning of the entire floor over time without requiring complete shutdown, maintaining hygiene through continuous cleaning while minimizing overall downtime.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning operation continues uninterrupted through the use of multiple tiles in circulation. While some tiles are being cleaned, others remain in service with livestock, and cleaned tiles are continuously returned. This creates a continuous cleaning process that maintains hygiene without complete system downtime.
Data Source
AI summary
Tile cleaning systems and associated methods are disclosed. The tile cleaning system can include a plurality of tiles and a plurality of movers. The movers can move the tiles along a floor in a circuit while the plurality of tiles directly contact the floor. The tile cleaning system can include a cleaner they can clean the tiles in the circuit.