Perforated Liner for Animal Litter Waste Segregation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Animal litter trays face challenges in efficiently removing solid and clumped animal wastes, as existing screening methods tend to accumulate used litter, leading to undesirable odors and decreased efficacy over time, and require inconvenient cleaning and operation.

Innovation Solution

A container with a disposable, perforated liner peelably attached to a substrate, where the liner conforms to the shape of the interior surface and has perforations that allow free-flowing litter to pass through while retaining clumped waste, facilitating easy disposal of used litter and reducing odor retention.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If a disposable liner is used to contain animal wastes, then waste removal is simplified, but unused litter is retained within the liner resulting in waste of usable litter

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewaste removalVSAvoidusable litter

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The liner is segmented with perforations that allow free-flowing litter to pass through while retaining clumped waste. This segmentation enables the liner to be divided functionally into a retention zone (for waste) and a release zone (for clean litter), solving the contradiction by allowing waste removal ease while preventing usable litter waste.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different regions of the liner have different properties: the bottom portion retains clumped waste while the upper portions allow free-flowing litter to pass through. This local differentiation of retention vs. permeability properties enables the liner to simultaneously achieve easy waste removal and preserve usable litter.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If a screening apparatus is used to remove clumped waste, then waste separation is achieved, but the apparatus accumulates used litter leading to odors and decreased efficacy

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewaste separationVSAvoidodors

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The liner is designed as a disposable component that is discarded after a single use, eliminating the problem of accumulated used litter and associated odors. The low cost of the disposable liner makes this approach economically viable, resolving the contradiction between reliable waste separation and odor prevention.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

Solution Approach 2:

The harmful function of litter accumulation and odor generation is extracted from the system by using a disposable liner that is removed immediately after use. This eliminates the recurring problem of odor accumulation that plagues reusable screening apparatus.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Loss of substance

If a reusable screening apparatus is used, then waste can be separated and litter reused, but cleaning and operation become inconvenient

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelitter reuseVSAvoidcleaning and operation

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of substanceVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of using expensive reusable screening apparatus that require frequent cleaning and maintenance, the invention employs inexpensive disposable liners. Each liner is used once and then discarded, eliminating cleaning operations entirely while still enabling litter reuse in subsequent cycles.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

Solution Approach 2:

The system discards the soiled liner containing all waste materials and recovers the clean litter that passed through the perforations. This discard-and-recover approach simplifies operation by eliminating cleaning steps while maintaining litter reuse, resolving the contradiction between litter recovery and operational convenience.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #34Discarding and recovering

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 solution enables efficient separation and disposal of clumped animal waste, reducing odor and maintaining litter quality, making it easier to clean and reuse the litter, thus extending the tray's usability.

Implementation Method 1

The lower surface of each liner sheet other than the bottom sheet has an adhesive on substantially the entire portion of the lower surface that overlaps the interior surface, and the lower surface of the bottom sheet has an adhesive on substantially the entire portion of the bottom sheet that overlaps the interior surface

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectAdhesive: Adhesive

Data Source

PatentUS9902144B2Shaped articles having peelable, perforated surfaces and their use for segregating particulate materials, such as in animal litter trays

Publication Date: 2018.02.27 CONVERTER MANUFACTURING LLC

AI summary

The disclosure relates to containers and other shaped articles that have a relatively thick substrate layer and one or more relatively thin liner sheets peelably adhered thereto. Animal litter can be placed atop the liner sheets, preferably in a concave portion to contain the litter. The liner sheets have perforations extending therethrough that permit the passage of non-soiled litter, but do not permit the passage of at least one of animal feces and soiled animal litter, such as clumps of litter and urine. After an animal has deposited waste on or in the litter, the liner sheet can be peeled from the container and waste unable to pass through the perforations can be collected.