Vacuum Manure Collection Tank Layout for Stable Suction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies for collecting liquid or semi-liquid manure from animal husbandry facilities are inefficient due to issues like material escape around scraper blades, loss of suction power, and difficulty in handling large quantities, especially in large-scale operations.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with a chassis, holding tank, suction device, and pumping system that includes a material-entry aperture, a suction device with a shut-off valve to prevent backflow, and a riser conduit to guide material into the tank, allowing efficient collection and transport of fluid materials via suction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a scraper blade or front-end bucket system is used to transfer manure, then the apparatus can move accumulated material, but the liquid or semi-liquid manure escapes around the sides of the scraper blade or bucket
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a pneumatic suction system with a vacuum tank and suction device to collect manure. The suction device creates negative pressure to draw liquid and semi-liquid manure through a collection system, preventing escape that occurs with mechanical scraper blades or buckets. This pneumatic approach effectively handles the fluid characteristics of manure that mechanical systems cannot contain.
2Device complexity
If the suction conduit opens directly into the lower half of the vacuum tank, then the apparatus structure is simplified, but the apparatus loses suction power during filling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions the suction conduit opening at the top of the vacuum tank rather than the lower half. This localized change in the opening position prevents the suction power loss that occurs when the conduit opens into filled material. The top positioning ensures the suction device draws air and manure vapor above the liquid level, maintaining consistent suction power throughout the filling process.
3Device complexity
If the scraper blade is mounted at the rear of the apparatus, then the apparatus structure is simplified, but the manure is compacted prior to being collected, making it difficult to separate from the barn floor and convey pneumatically
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the mechanical scraper blade from the system entirely, extracting the compaction problem. Instead of using a rear-mounted scraper that compacts manure against the barn floor, the system relies solely on the pneumatic suction device to lift and collect manure directly from the floor surface. This eliminates the compaction issue and maintains manure in a state suitable for pneumatic conveyance.
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 apparatus effectively collects and transports liquid or semi-liquid materials by maintaining suction power and reducing spillage, enabling efficient cleanup in large-scale animal husbandry facilities.
Implementation Method 1
a pumping system operatively connected with the holding tank for depressurising the holding tank and thereby gathering the material at least partially via suction through the inlet of the suction device
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides an apparatus for collecting material from a surface. The apparatus comprises a chassis, a holding tank, a material collector and a pumping system. The chassis comprises wheels for relocating the apparatus on the surface. The holding tank is for receiving the material and is operatively coupled with the chassis. The holding tank has a material-entry aperture in a bottom surface. The material collector comprises a suction device, which is operatively coupled with the material-entry aperture. The suction device has an inlet that can be disposed adjacent the surface. The pumping system is operatively connected with the holding tank for depressurizing the holding tank and thereby gathering the material at least partially via suction through the inlet of the suction device and the material-entry aperture in the holding tank.