Rail-guided Scooper for Automated Cat Litter Excrement Collection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cat toilets require significant manual effort to remove excrement, leading to hygiene issues and unpleasant odors, as users must manually find and extract excrement from sand, which can be contaminated with bacteria.
Innovation Solution
A scoop-type cat toilet with a housing, excrement box, and rail system that allows a scooper to move along rails to collect and discharge excrement to a collection box, separating excrement from sand and reducing direct contact with contaminated materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If manual removal of excrement is used, then the structure is simple, but the hygiene is poor and odor exposure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by having the scooper automatically perform excrement removal without human intervention. The scooper moves along the rail, collects excrement, and deposits it in the collection box autonomously, eliminating the need for users to manually contact contaminated sand.
Solution Approach 2:
The scooper acts as an intermediary between the excrement and the collection box. It transfers excrement from the sand without requiring direct human contact, serving as a mediator that protects the user from harmful factors while completing the removal task.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If automated scooping system is implemented, then hygiene is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into distinct functional modules: the scooper unit, the rail system, the collection box, and the sand box. Each module performs a specific function and can be independently manufactured and assembled, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining automation benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The scooper is designed as a multi-functional component that can scoop excrement, move along the rail, and deposit waste in the collection box. This universal design reduces the number of separate components needed, simplifying the overall system while achieving automated hygienic waste removal.
3Productivity
If scooper moves along curved rail, then excrement collection is complete, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The rail incorporates curved portions that guide the scooper through a dynamic movement path. The curvature allows the scooper to reach different areas of the sand box and effectively collect excrement, while the dynamic path design balances collection completeness with manufacturable curvature radii.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a scoop-type cat toilet. The scoop-type cat toilet includes a housing having at least one opening through which a cat enters or exits an internal space of the housing, an excrement box having excrement sand, rails provided on inner surfaces of two opposite lateral surfaces of the housing, a collection part including gear boxes having gears configured to move along the rails, and a scooper connected to the gear boxes and configured to scoop and move excrement mixed with the excrement sand, and a collection box configured to accommodate the excrement moved by the collection part.