Octopus Trap Door Assembly with Segmented Trigger Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing traps for capturing octopuses are inefficient due to their tendency to allow the creatures to escape, as they can slip out of narrow openings and unlock or open traps, making them heavy, convoluted, and difficult to reset.
Innovation Solution
A trap design featuring a housing with a funnel-shaped entrance that transitions into a tunnel, a trap door assembly biased to close, and a trigger mechanism that can be activated by the octopus to ensure capture, allowing the trap door to remain closed once triggered, along with a removable and secure assembly unit that facilitates easy resetting and drainage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional traps are designed to prevent octopus escape, then capture reliability improves, but trap complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The trap is divided into a housing structure and a separate door assembly that can be independently handled. The door assembly includes a door, trigger mechanism, and biasing element as integrated components that work together as a modular unit, simplifying the overall trap design while maintaining effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The door assembly is designed to be removable from the housing, allowing it to be taken out for resetting or replacement. This extraction principle enables the trap to be reset quickly by simply removing and reattaching the door assembly without handling the entire trap structure.
2Reliability
If traditional traps are designed to prevent octopus escape, then capture reliability improves, but trap weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the trap into a lightweight housing and a separate door assembly, the overall weight is reduced compared to traditional monolithic designs. The door assembly can be made from lightweight materials and includes integrated biasing elements that eliminate the need for heavy mechanical locks.
3Reliability
If trap door is designed to close automatically, then capture effectiveness improves, but resetting difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The door assembly is designed to be easily removed from the housing by detaching the door from its mounted position. This allows the fisherman to quickly reset the trap by simply reattaching the door assembly to the housing without complex manipulation of the entire trap structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The biasing element is pre-loaded during door assembly manufacturing or initial setup, so that during operation the door automatically closes when triggered. This preliminary action eliminates the need for complex resetting mechanisms during fishing operations.
4Ease of operation
If trap structure is simplified, then resetting ease improves, but capture reliability may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The segmentation into housing and door assembly maintains reliability by keeping the trigger mechanism and biasing element as integrated components of the door assembly, while simplifying resetting through the removable nature of the assembly itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The biasing element automatically returns the door to its closed position after triggering, and the removable door assembly allows for quick resetting by simple reattachment to the housing, making the system self-servicing to a large extent.
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 trap effectively captures octopuses by ensuring the trap door remains closed after activation, simplifies the resetting process, and allows for easy drainage of water and sand, addressing the issues of escape and maintenance in traditional traps.
Implementation Method 1
a trap door assembly that includes a trap door which is biased toward a closed position
Data Source
AI summary
An octopus trap that includes a housing defining an interior containment space; an entrance opening to the interior containment space through which an octopus may enter the interior containment space; a trap door assembly that includes a trap door that is biased toward a first, closed position in which the entrance opening is blocked, the trap door being displaceable between the closed position and a second, open position in which the entrance opening is revealed; a trigger assembly that is capable of retaining the trap door in its open position against its bias, and that is capable of being triggered by an octopus from inside the containment space such that, when triggered, it causes the trap door to displace from its open position to its closed position and wherein the trigger assembly is capable of retaining the trap door in its closed position once triggered.