Sliding Cover Insect Repellency Testing Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing insect repellency testing methods face challenges such as mosquito escape, imprecise timing, inability to measure contact effects, and limited test capabilities, including competitive testing and lack of attractant baits.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with a housing, plate-shaped cover, and slidably retained sample holder, allowing precise exposure and measurement of insect repellency effects by sliding the cover and sample holder between rails to prevent mosquito escape and enable precise timing and contact measurements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fabric cage is used to house mosquitoes during testing, then mosquitoes can be contained, but mosquitoes may escape from the fabric cage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a mesh cage made of fine netting material that acts as a flexible barrier to contain mosquitoes while allowing air flow. The mesh structure prevents mosquito escape while maintaining a natural environment for the insects during testing.
Solution Approach 2:
The testing apparatus is divided into separate compartments including a mosquito housing area and a sample exposure area, connected by controlled openings. This segmentation allows independent control of mosquito containment and sample testing zones.
2Ease of operation
If the sample is placed in the container in advance, then the testing procedure is simplified, but the timing of test start becomes imprecise
Solution Approach 1:
The sample is pre-prepared and placed in a separate sample holder before the test begins. The mosquito cage and sample holder are both ready in advance, but the actual exposure is triggered at a precise moment by removing a partition or opening a valve, ensuring accurate timing while maintaining operational simplicity.
3Reliability
If a mesh barrier is used to separate sample and mosquitoes, then mosquitoes are contained, but contact effects between mosquito and sample cannot be measured
Solution Approach 1:
The partition or mesh barrier between the sample and mosquitoes is made movable rather than fixed. During the test, the partition can be removed or the opening can be enlarged to allow controlled contact between mosquitoes and the sample, enabling measurement of contact effects while maintaining containment capability.
Data Source
AI summary
In a housing (1), an internal space capable of housing an insect is formed, an opening (11) through which the internal space and an outside communicate with each other is formed, and a portion other than the opening (11) is closed so that the insect is incapable of passing through the portion. Rails (2) in a pair are disposed in parallel with each other on both sides of the opening (11) across the opening (11) on an outer surface of the housing (1), maintain a gap between a face, on which the opening (11) is formed, of the housing (1) and a cover (3) to have a size preventing the insect from passing through the gap, and slidably retain the cover (3) on the external side of the housing (1). A sample holder retains a sample, is slidably retained by the rails (2), and enables the sample to be exposed from the opening (11) to the internal space when being slidably retained by the rails (2) in the state of retaining the sample. The cover (3) and the sample holder retaining the sample can be slid between the rails (2) in the pair in a state in which one side of the cover (3) and one side of the sample holder come into contact with each other, whereby the cover (3) and the sample holder can be moved between a position at which the cover (3) covers the opening (11) and a position at which the sample covers the opening (11).