Hi everyone, I'm thinking on building an self cleaning cat litter for my 10 cats and I would like to know your opinions.
I would like the following features (not all are necessary immediatley) :
detect cat entrance (maybe with rfid key tag) and send data to file or google sheet or db (i already have the circuit, code, tags and antenna ) - This is a secondary feature
detect when cat exits the litter tunnel for starting the auto cleaning
autoclean the litterbox rotating a plastic cylindrical trash bin
shoot couple of photos and upload them to google drive or sd card (for fecis inspection) naming files with cat id and date time
measure the weight of the litterbox and supply new clean litter inside it when needed (i thought after cleaning it should weigh and supply new litter if needed - supplying thru an endless screw mechanism
measure the weight of waste bin or detect if full and notify owner to change waste bag (i already have the notification part done using telegram)
I know this is a full feature product and I don't pretend to realize everything immediatley, what i would like to know from you is what sensors or aproach would you use to acheive all this.
I specially need valid info on how to rotate the whole thing and make it stop at the right point, which gears to use, wich kind of electric engine (powered by my arduino)
I also would apreciate suggestions on positioning the sensors needed.
Any idea or suggestion is greatly apreciated...and I thanks in advance for this.
Do You have any drawings, photos etc. of the litter? You probably need to prevent a cat from entering the litter shortly after the previous cat has left. Washing a cat will call for an alternative litter for that cat….
As for weighing the litter, rather than go through the complexities of a load cell, possibly have the litter tray spring loaded so that the tray will lift off of several contacts (when a user is not present) to indicate additional litter is needed. I hope you are using the clumping type litter so that urine soaked clay doesn't cover the bottom.
another consideration is the length of the cleaning cycle. When another kitty has to go, waiting usually is not an option. Perhaps make two stations.
Thanks , no I don't have drawings right now, I have them in my mind though!
Thanks for your suggestion, I did think of that...i have to avoid other cat's entering the litter box while cleaning is performed. Any suggestions on how to do that?
If this is their only port of call, the traffic will likely be a problem after dinner time.
Are the different moggies ok with using the same soiled litter tray? or would they wait for clean tray, or use some other option for relief? Fights?
You’ll need to determine the actual cycle duration and frequency of cleanse cycles.
Some ideas i’ve seen in the past use a conveyor - similar to your rotating drum with less height.
Sounds like fun, but remember to liberally sprinkle deodorant into ‘the mix’...!
Hi and thanks for your reply.
I did not understand the conveyor fact you mention.
Do you have an example?
Well, I plan to use 2 of these cleaning itter boxes, obviously I'll have to watch frequency of usage and how long it takes to get the thing clean.
Conveyor... rather than a cylindrical ‘drum’ rotating, flatten it out to be a wide, flat mesh belt conveyor, perhaps 60x60cm.
Not as tall, and probably easier to mount and keep stable during operation.