Trapezoidal Radiolucent Kennel for Animal Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional animal kennels are not suitable for behavioral and radiographic examinations due to obstructive metal walls that hinder visual observation and radiographic imaging, and their rectangular design fails to properly restrain animal head movement, leading to increased radiation exposure and anxiety for technicians and unnatural animal behaviors.
Innovation Solution
A trapezoidal animal kennel with translucent and radiolucent walls, allowing for unobstructed visual observation and radiographic imaging, and designed to properly orient animals for examination by having a narrower front portion than rear, facilitating alignment and reducing animal movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If metal walls (wire mesh) are used in traditional kennels, then structural strength and containment are improved, but visual observation and radiographic imaging are obstructed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter of the kennel walls from metal (wire mesh) to translucent and radiolucent materials. This parameter change allows the walls to maintain structural strength while simultaneously enabling unobstructed visual observation and radiographic imaging, resolving the contradiction between strength and information loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite or specially engineered materials that possess multiple properties: translucency for visual observation, radiolucency for imaging, and sufficient structural strength for containment. These composite materials integrate multiple functions that were previously conflicting into a single wall structure.
2Ease of manufacture
If rectangular floor plan kennels are used, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but animal head movement restraint is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a symmetric rectangular floor plan to an asymmetric trapezoidal floor plan. The trapezoidal shape with a narrower front portion and wider rear portion creates natural spatial constraints that guide and restrain animal head movement toward the centerline, improving ease of operation for behavioral assays while remaining manufacturable.
3Device complexity
If traditional rectangular kennels are used, then device complexity is reduced, but proper animal orientation for examination is difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric trapezoidal geometry inherently guides animal positioning. The narrower front portion naturally funnels the animal toward the centerline orientation, achieving precise measurement positioning without complex mechanical restraint devices, thus maintaining low device complexity while improving measurement precision.
Data Source
AI summary
An animal kennel comprises front, rear, top, bottom, and opposite side walls that collectively define a cavity. At least a portion of the cavity has a horizontal cross-section that is bordered by the front, rear, and opposite side walls. The cross-section has a front portion and a rear portion. The front portion is narrower between the opposite side walls than the rear portion. A majority of each of the front, rear, top, bottom and opposite side walls is formed of a material that is translucent and radiolucent.