Offal Storage Hopper with Automated Cooling and Auger Drainage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional offal storage and collection systems face challenges in maintaining freshness, especially during long-distance transportation, are labor-intensive, costly, and prone to human error, due to the high cost of ice and water, and lack of resources for handling offal, which is of lower value compared to animal carcasses for human consumption.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with a hopper for collecting organic materials, a cooling fluid circuit for automatic cooling, and a transfer mechanism using intermeshing auger shafts to efficiently drain and filter fluids, minimizing manual labor and ensuring reliable storage and transportation of offal while maintaining freshness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional collection skips with woven mesh and manual chilling are used, then offal can be collected and chilled locally, but maintaining freshness during long-distance transportation becomes problematic and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service through automated components: the hopper automatically receives offal, the auger shafts automatically convey and drain it, and the cooling fluid circuit automatically chills the material during storage and transport, eliminating the need for manual intervention in chilling operations
Solution Approach 2:
Manual mechanical chilling operations are replaced by an automated cooling fluid circuit that circulates chilled fluid through the offal in the hopper, providing continuous automated cooling instead of manual ice application or water pouring
2Reliability
If ice is used to chill the skips during transportation, then freshness can be maintained, but the cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the physical parameters of cooling by using a circulating cooling fluid at controlled temperatures rather than solid ice, allowing for more efficient and cost-effective thermal management of the offal during storage and transport
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling fluid circuit provides continuous cooling action as the fluid circulates through the hopper, ensuring consistent temperature control without the intermittent application required by ice, thereby maintaining freshness more efficiently
3Productivity
If abattoirs allocate more resources to offal handling, then storage and collection efficiency improves, but resources are currently directed to higher-value meat production
Solution Approach 1:
The hopper system serves multiple functions: it collects offal, conveys it via auger shafts, drains fluids through the mesh floor, and provides continuous cooling through the circulating fluid circuit, consolidating multiple operations into a single integrated device that improves productivity without requiring separate complex systems for each function
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 apparatus provides a cost-effective, automated system for collecting, storing, and unloading offal, reducing manual labor, maintaining freshness, and optimizing logistics, thereby reducing costs and wastage while ensuring compliance with food safety regulations.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling fluid circuit for circulating cooling fluid through the organic material collected by the hopper
Data Source
AI summary
A filter for removing particulate matter from a contaminated fluid. The filter includes a housing with an inlet for receiving the contaminated fluid and an outlet for releasing the filtered fluid. A sieve is mounted within the housing and includes perforations to allow both the passage of the contaminated fluid and collection of particulate matter from the filtered fluid. The filter further includes a turbine for rotating the sieve about a central axis and a spray bar mounted within the sieve. The rotation and spray removes particulate matter from the sieve for disposal.