Stackable Insect Rearing Tray with Self-Locking Feet
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for breeding flightless insects are complex, immobile, difficult to clean, and prone to insect escape, with limited automation and unsuitable for efficient transportation and storage.
Innovation Solution
A durable, easy-to-clean mast trough design featuring a movably mounted frame with folded inner sides and stainless steel construction, optimized for flightless insect breeding, featuring feet at corners for secure stacking and transport, and a transport lock for safe movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If existing systems for breeding flightless insects are used, then insect breeding can be performed, but the systems are complex and immobile
Solution Approach 1:
The breeding system is divided into separate modular components: a removable frame structure that can be detached from the breeding box, allowing the box to be used independently or stacked with other units. This segmentation enables both simplified individual operation and flexible system configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame is designed to be movably mounted on the breeding box, allowing it to be easily attached and detached. This dynamic design enables the system to transition between fixed and mobile states, resolving the contradiction between structural stability and mobility.
2Ease of manufacture
If existing mast trough designs are used, then insect breeding is possible, but they are difficult to clean
Solution Approach 1:
The frame structure is extracted as a separate removable component from the breeding box. This allows the breeding box to be cleaned independently without the frame, significantly simplifying the cleaning process while maintaining the structural integrity when the frame is attached.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of integrating the frame permanently into the breeding box structure, the design inverts the relationship by making the frame a separate attachment that can be removed. This reversal of the traditional integrated design enables easy cleaning of the breeding box while preserving the frame's structural support function.
3Extent of automation
If traditional breeding systems are used, then insect rearing can occur, but automation is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The movably mounted frame with feet automatically positions itself when placed on the breeding box, eliminating the need for complex adjustment mechanisms. The frame self-aligns and secures in the correct position, enabling easy automation while maintaining operational simplicity.
4Reliability
If breeding systems are designed for stationary operation, then stable breeding conditions are maintained, but transportation and storage efficiency is poor
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple breeding boxes can be stacked vertically with frames nested within or between them, creating a compact tower structure. This nesting arrangement minimizes the volume occupied during storage and transport while maintaining the stable breeding environment when assembled.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from horizontal spreading to vertical stacking by utilizing the vertical dimension. Multiple breeding units are arranged vertically rather than horizontally, significantly improving space utilization during transportation and storage while preserving the stable breeding conditions within each unit.
5Stability of the object's composition
If frames are permanently fixed to breeding boxes, then structural stability is improved, but cleaning and automation become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The frame is designed with movable mounting that provides stable attachment during operation but allows easy removal for cleaning. The dynamic mounting mechanism maintains structural stability when assembled while enabling simple disassembly, resolving the contradiction between stability and cleanability.
Data Source
Figure 1~4
AI summary
The invention relates to a rearing tray (1) for use in the worldwide, hygienic, safe and effective breeding of flightless insects, formed from a base and surrounding side walls, feet (2) arranged at the corners of the rearing tray (1) and a frame (3), wherein the side walls are bent inwards at their upper edge so that the frame (3), corresponding to the size of the rearing tray (1), rests flat on the rearing tray (1) by its own weight and is equipped with beveled inner surfaces to prevent escape of the flightless insects, wherein the feet (2) are designed to be higher than the tray (1) and bearing surfaces (2a) are arranged at the upper ends of the feet (2) which define a vertical movement of the frame (2) in the guide formed by the feet (2) and the bearing surfaces (2a) are designed in such a way thatthat when several mast trays (1) are stacked, the lower end of the feet (2) of an upper mast tray (1) is securely received and fixed in the support surfaces (2a) of the lower mast tray (1), thereby forming an upper stop for the frame (3).