Movable Partition Stall for Automated Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Generic livestock stalls have limited and costly care and cleaning options for the activity area due to its integration with the feeding area, making efficient maintenance difficult.
Innovation Solution
The stall design features movable partitions that can be oriented orthogonally to the barn axis, allowing for easy cleaning of the activity area by keeping it free of livestock and feed troughs, and incorporating additional feeding troughs between the activity and excretion areas, facilitating barrier-free and automated cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the activity area and feeding area are integrated in prior art housing systems, then the design is compact and space-efficient, but the cleaning and maintenance of the activity area becomes limited and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The stable is segmented into distinct functional areas (lying area, activity area, excretion area) with movable partition walls that can separate the activity area from the feeding area. This segmentation allows the activity area to be isolated for cleaning while maintaining space efficiency when partitions are reconfigured.
Solution Approach 2:
Movable partition walls enable dynamic reconfiguration of the stable spaces. The partitions can be positioned to either integrate the activity and feeding areas for space efficiency or separate them for cleaning accessibility, allowing the system to adapt to different operational needs.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the feed trough is oriented parallel to the barn axis in prior art systems, then the feeding area integrates naturally with the activity area, but cleaning requires livestock removal and is time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The feed trough is positioned perpendicular to the barn axis at the boundary between the first and second areas, creating a natural barrier that prevents livestock from entering the activity area during cleaning operations. This preliminary positioning of the feed trough eliminates the need to remove livestock for cleaning, saving time and effort.
3Ease of operation
If movable partitions are added to enable cleaning access, then cleaning efficiency improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The movable partition walls are extracted as separate, independent elements that can be easily positioned and removed. This extraction approach simplifies the overall system by using straightforward partition mechanisms rather than complex integrated structures, maintaining ease of cleaning while minimizing added complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
A stable (1) for keeping farm animals, wherein the stable (1) has a floor area which is divided into at least three areas (2, 3, 4), wherein the second area (3) is arranged between the first (2) and the third area (4), wherein a feed trough (5a) is arranged between the first (2) and the second area (3), wherein the stable (1) has at least two partition walls (7) which can be moved from a first position to a second position, wherein the at least two partition walls (7) in the first position are oriented substantially parallel to a stable axis (x) and delimit the second area (3) in such a way that farm animals can move from the first (2) to the second (3) or from the second (3) to the first (2) and from the second (3) to the third (4) respectively.from the third (4) to the second area (3) can move back and forth, wherein the at least two partition walls (7) in the second position are oriented essentially orthogonally to the stall axis (x) and limit the second area (3) in such a way that farm animals are kept in the first (2) and/or third area (4).