DETECTION SYSTEM FOR MOUNT THROUGH INTRACORPORAL COMMUNICATIONS (IBC)

Abstract

A system for detecting mount events in animals, which uses the technique of intrabody (IBC) signal transmission is provided. The system is has a fundamental unit dispensed in each animal, which has an electronic box fastened to the neck of each animal through a collar and mainly formed by four modules: 1) processor, 2) sensor; 3) IBC (Intra-Body Communication) transceiver, 4) RF (radiofrequency) transceiver. The process for detecting the mount event with the system disclosed herein is also provided.

Claims

1. A system for detecting mount through intrabody communications comprising a gateway, computing terminals and an electronic box fastened to the neck of each animal through a collar and which is comprised by: a. a processor module comprising a clock and an internal memory; b. a sensor module which has a height sensor such as an atmosphere pressure sensor and an acceleration sensor; c. an IBC transceiver formed by a fixed electrode located on the body of the animal, and a hanging electrode located on the collar thereof; d. a RF transceiver connected to a RF antenna; wherein the RF transceiver wirelessly communicates to the computing terminals, and with other RF transceivers of other units in a direct manner or through a gateway.

2. The system for detecting mount through intrabody communications according to claim 1, wherein each collar comprises a counterweight formed by a metal piece fastened to the lower part of the collar which keeps it in one position by the action of the weight exerted, which formed the ground or electric mass of the collar, or the hanging electrode, or both alternately.

3. The system for detecting mount through intrabody communications according to claim 1, wherein the electronic box is a resistant box, installed on the collar electrically interconnecting to the mass, to the fixed electrode and to the hanging electrode, wherein the fixed electrode may be housed inside this box or be part of it.

4. The system for detecting mount through intrabody communications according to claim 1, wherein the collar comprises a fixed electrode formed by a metal piece in firm contact with the neck of the animal wearing it, and a hanging electrode consisting of a metal piece fastened hanging in the lower part of the collar, wherein the electrodes receive and transmit the electric signals induced through the body of the animal, which travel from and to the collar of another animal or from and to a gateway or computing terminal.

5. The system for detecting mount through intrabody communications according to claim 1, wherein the height sensor can be selected from the group consisting of: an ultrasound sensor, an infrared sensor, or a presence sensor.

6. The system for detecting mount through intrabody communications according to claim 1, that wherein the communication between the gateway and the computing terminals is made via wired and/or wireless links or via some data connection to internet.

7. The system for detecting mount through intrabody communications according to claim 1, wherein the computing terminals correspond to a terminal equipment such as a Smartphone , PC or server which communicates to the gateway and/or directly to the electronic collars through a compatible wireless or wired interface.

8. Process for detecting mount through intrabody communications, consisting in the transmission of an electric signal through a communication over the body IBC initiated from the IBC transceiver module of the collar of the animal mounting and transmitted until being received by the IBC transceiver module of the collar of the animal being mounted, wherein the process is comprises the following steps: a. periodically determining the current mode of activity of the animal, distinguishing at least the modes of feeding, laying down, walking, head up and jumping over other animal; b. storing and processing the information related to the time, animal identification, intensity of the IBC signal and duration, when a mount is produced; c. calculating the atmosphere pressure and height with respect to the sea level and dynamically recalculating the average height of the standing or walking animal; d. establishing the height threshold above which is considered that the animal could be jumping over a female in heat; e. initiating the IBC communication; and f. retransmitting the information to the 7and the computing terminals through the RF transceiver module.

9. Process for detecting mount through intrabody communications according to claim 8, wherein the step corresponding to the initiation of the IBC communication consists in generating an electric signal in the processor module and amplifying it with a power driver and a LC resonant circuit of the IBC transceiver module, said amplified signal being transmitted through the hanging electrode in contact or close to the animal loin being mounted, wherein the signal travels through the tissues of the animal being mounted until reaching the neck thereof where the fixed electrode of the collar of the animal receiving it and processing it preferably through a low consumption integrated circuit is located.

10. Process for detecting mount through intrabody communications according to claim 8, wherein when determining the current mode of activity of the animal, the standby mode can be interrupted through three different processes: IBC interruption, timer interruption and sensor interruption.

11. Process for detecting mount through intrabody communications according to claim 10, wherein the process for interrupting the standby mode by IBC interruption comprises the following steps: a. evaluating if the current state of the cow is laying down; b. evaluating if the RSSI intensity level of the IBC signal received is greater than a predefined threshold, if the animal state is different to the laying down state, activating the RF transceiver; c. obtaining the ID identification and height of the cow communicating via RF; d. comparing the height of the cow with the height of the cow communicating via RF; e. recording a mount with height confirmation if the height is less, or with no height confirmation if there is no fulfillment of the condition or no comparison was made; f. storing and sending the data via RF to the gateway ro directly to the computing terminal; and g. returning to standby mode.

12. Process for detecting mount through intrabody communications according to claim 10, wherein the process for timer interruption comprises the following steps: a. taking the height and acceleration measures; b. updating and calculating the measures of: height and atmosphere pressure, standby time, time standing or walking, time feeding, time lying down, head position and current state, periodically storing them and transmitting them; c. returning to the standby mode.

13. Process for detecting mount through intrabody communications according to claim 10, wherein process for interrupting the standby mode by sensor, comprises the following steps: a. establishing a zero initial time; b. evaluating if there has been an increase greater than the established threshold in the range between 50 cm and 200 cm in the average height of the animal standing, which indicates a possible mount; c. increasing the timer if there is no established increase; d. evaluating if the time is less than to a time T.sub.0, in which case the cycle is repeated; e. activating the IBC signal transmission, when an increase in the height is detected being greater than the threshold established in the range from 50 cm and 200 cm; f. evaluating if the height returns to the initial value before jumping; g. waiting a time if the height maintains the established increase, and evaluating if the time is less than the preestablished time T.sub.1; h. deactivating the broadcast of the IBC signal, if the height returns to the initial height; i. activating the RF transceiver; j. connecting via RF with nearby animals and obtaining from these the RSSI intensity level of the IBC signal; k. connecting via RF with the module of greatest IBC and sending the ID identification and height data; and l. deactivating the broadcast of the IBC signal and return to the standby mode.

Description

FIGURE LISTING

[0043] The relevant aspects and the advantages of the present invention will be better understood with regards to the following figures:

[0044] FIG. 1. Electric schematic of the fundamental unit arranged on the collar of each unit.

[0045] FIG. 2. Physical placement of the detection system developed.

[0046] FIG. 3. General schematic of the functioning of the detection system.

[0047] FIG. 4. Diagram of operation for interrupting the standby mode.

[0048] FIG. 5. Schematic of the process for interrupting the standby mode by IBC.

[0049] FIG. 6. Schematic of the process for interrupting the standby mode with a timer.

[0050] FIG. 7. Schematic of the process for interrupting the standby mode by a sensor.

TABLE-US-00001 LIST OF TAGS (1) Processing module (2) Sensor module (3) IBC transceiver (4) RF transceiver (5) Clock (6) Inner memory (7) Atmospheric pressure sensor (8) Acceleration sensor (9) Fixed electrode (10) Hanging electrode (11) RF antenna (12) Collar and buckles (13) Electronic box (14) Link door (15) Data connection to the internet (16) Computer terminals (17) Smartphone (18) IBC signal (19) Wireless link (20) Wired and/or wireless links (21) Wired and/or wireless links (22) Wired or wireless interface (23) Electronic unit (collar) of the animal doing the mounting (24) Electronic unit (collar) of the animal being mounted (25) Information sharing via RF communication (26) Standby mode (27) Standby mode interruption (28) Interruption by IBC (29) Interruption by timer (30) Interruption by sensor (31) Evaluate if the current state of the cow is laying down (32) Current state is different to laying down (33) RF transceiver activation (34) Obtaining ID identification (35) Comparing the height of the cow doing the mounting with the cow being mounted (36) Real mounting event (37) Data storage (38) Return to standby mode (39) Taking atmospheric pressure and acceleration measurements (40) Updating and calculating measurements for: height and atmospheric pressure, resting time, standing or walking time, feeding time, position of the head and current state. (41) Return to standby mode (42) Initial time Zero (43) Assess if there is an increase higher to the established threshold on the height of the animal (44) Increase timer (45) Assess if the time is less than 3 seconds (46) Activate the emission of the IBC signal (47) Assess if the height is still the initial height (48) Wait for a time (49) Assess if the time is less than 10 seconds (50) Deactivate the emission of the IBC signal (51) Activate the RF emitter (52) Connect via RF with nearby animals (53) Identify the module with the highest RSSI in the IBC signal and connect to it via RF (54) Return to standby mode

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0051] The present invention refers to an electronic system for detecting mounting events in animals, which works by means of transmitting an intra body communications signal (IBC). The system consists of a fundamental unit on each animal characterized in that it comprises an electronic box attached to the neck of each animal by means of a collar and buckles, comprised mainly of for modules such as those shown in FIG. 1; Processor (1), sensor (2), IBC transceiver (3) and, RF transceiver (4).

[0052] The processor (1) comprises a series of input and output ports for communicating with the peripheral devices and remaining modules of the system. Similarly, it comprises a clock (5) and an inner memory (6) for storing instructions and data obtained. The sensor module (2) consists of at least one atmospheric pressure sensor (7) and an acceleration sensor (8), both sensors communicating with the processor by their ports.

[0053] The IBC transceiver (3) is comprised of a fixed electrode (9) located in the collar in contact with the body of the animal, and a hanging electrode (10) located in the collar thereof. While the data gathered are sent by means of an RF transceiver (4) through and RF antenna (11).

[0054] The detection on the sensor module (2) of a mounting and increase on the corresponding height of an animal mounting another, sets the beginning of the transmission of an electrical signal by means of an IBC communication through the body, started from the IBC transceiver module's (3) of the collar of the animal doing the mounting and transmitted to the collar of the animal being mounted, said electrical signal travels from the collar of the animal doing the mounting through the bodily tissues until it is received by the IBC transceiver in the collar of the animal being mounted. The hour, animal's identification, signal intensity and duration are the data stored in the memory (6) of the processor (1) and transmitted via the RF transceiver module (4) on the electronic collar to another RF transceiver linked to a computer terminal and/or mobile terminal which work as a means for processing the information, query and alert on the heat of the animals. The data stored in the memory (6) are used for retransmission in case of a failure, for generating analysis and historic with the same processor (1), and to be sent in packages of data revealing the mountings and activity of the animal during the previous weeks or months.

[0055] FIG. 2 shows a general schematic of the developed system. This comprises equipment for interacting with the users such as computer terminals (16) and mobile equipment such as smartphones (17), a link door for receiving ad transmitting information, and an equipment or developed for detecting mounting of an animal on another. The equipment developed for detecting mounting consists on an electronic system mounted on a collar (12) and buckles arranged on each cow.

[0056] This is a resistant belt which is adjusted by means of a buckle to the size of each animal's neck. Each collar (12) comprises an electronic box (13), installed on the collar, which contains the electronic modules and is electrically interconnected, with the fixed electrode (9) and the hanging electrode (10), the fixed electrode (9) can be housed inside this box or be a part of it. The fixed electrode (9) is a metallic piece secured in such a way that it remains in firm contact with the neck of the animal using it, its function is to receive the electrical signals induced through the body of the animal (18), which travel from the hanging electrode (10) of the collar of the animal doing the mounting. A hanging electrode (10) is a metallic piece joined to the lower part of the collar in such a way that it remains hanging from the neck of the animal using and in direct contact or close to the back of the second animal when the mounting is produced. Its function is to transmit the electric signals induced through the body of the animal (18), which travel to the fixed electrode (9) of the collar of the animal being mounted.

[0057] The mounting and animal state events are transmitted wirelessly towards a link gate (14). This is a communications equipment that is useful for transmitting information between the electronic collars and the computer terminals, said communication is carried out by means of some wireless link (19) such as radiofrequency, infrared, or electrical signals through the body of the animals. The communication between the link gate (14) and the computer terminals (16) is carried out by means of wired and/or wireless links (20), even towards the remote equipment by means of some data connection to the internet (15). The computer terminals correspond to a terminal equipment such as a smartphone (17), PC (16) or server, which communicates with the link gate (14) by means of a wired and/or wireless link (21) and/or directly with the electronic collars by means of a compatible wireless or wired interface (22), said terminal stores, processes and presents the information and alerts to the system users.

[0058] In FIG. 3 it is shown a schematic of the systems functioning. As it can be seen, the system comprises two identical electronic units located on each animal, one unit (23) corresponds to the collar placed on the animal doing the mounting, whereas unit (24) refers to the collar of the animal being mounted. The processor module (1) by means of a 3D accelerometer (8) and a height and atmospheric pressure sensor (7) of the sensor module (2) determines the current mode of the activity of the animal, distinguishing at least the modes corresponding to standing, feeding, laying down, walking and raised head, these calculations are initiated by timer interruption (29) every certain period of time, for example, with a priority of less than a second to several minutes. In a preferred way, said calculations can be made every half a second. The calculations to determine whether a cow is mounting another start at any instant from a sudden acceleration originating a sensor interruption (30), nonetheless said interruption is only possible if the state of the cow is standing up or walking, and is discarded if the state thereof is lying down or feeding, in this way it is prevented that sudden movements and height changes when the cow is feeding or standing up can be confused with mounts on anther animal.

[0059] All the calculated information is stored, processed and eventually retransmitted towards the link gate (14) and the computer terminals (16), with it changes in the behavior of the animal, present when the animals are in heat or in animals with health problems, are identified and mainly the movements of one animal mounting another animal in heat are identified.

[0060] In a similar way the processor module (1) by means of an atmospheric pressure sensor (7) of the sensor module (2) calculates the atmospheric pressure and height, and recalculates daily the average height of the animal standing up or walking. The calculation of the height can also be carried out by means of using ultrasound, infrared, distance or presence sensors.

[0061] The processor module (1) is all the time attentive to detecting a mounting of an animal on another animal by means of the sensor module (2). It is also permanently attentive to the reception of a signal by means of the IBS transceiver (3); in other words, it is always attentive to detecting a mounting on another animal or detecting that it was mounted by another animal.

[0062] The mounting on another animal is characterized by the sequence of the following events: raised head identified by the accelerometer (8) or gyroscope, sudden acceleration identified by the accelerometer (8), and an increase in the height higher than the threshold identified by the atmospheric pressure sensor (7).

[0063] When the mounting event is identified, the IBC communication (18) is initiated which consists of an electric signal generated at the processor module (81) and preferably amplified by a power driver and a resonating circuit LC of the IBC transceiver module (3), said amplified signal is transmitted via the hanging electrode (10) in contact with or close to the back of the other animal being mounted (24), the signal travels through the tissues of the animal being mounted (24) until they arrive at the neck thereof where the fixed electrode (9) can be found which receives and processes it, preferably by means of a low power AFE (Analog Front End) integrated circuit, giving origin to an interruption by IBC (28) on the processor (81) of the cow being mounted (24), as long as the state thereof is not lying down, the signal processed and rebuilt, as well as the strength indicator of the received RSSI signal, are sent to the IBC transceiver module (3) towards the processor module (1) where it is accepted or discarded that the signal corresponds to a mounting, the criteria for such decision are the duration, integrity and strength of the signal. If the signal received corresponds to a mounting then the processor stores the event with the exact time and retransmits every mount with its characteristics (time, duration, intensity) and with the identification of the animal being mounted and the one doing the mounting, said transmission is made by means of the RF transceiver module (4).

[0064] During the mounting the RF transceiver module (4) of the animal doing the mounting (23) is activated as well as the RF transceiver module of the animal being mounted (24), This happens so as to allow RF communication between both animals and share information (25) such as ID, The IBC's RSSI, height and pressure. In those cases where two or more females receive the same IBC signal from the same animal doing the mounting, said event is communicated between them by means of the RF transceiver module (4), informing the ID and RSSI intensity of the IBC signal each animal is perceiving, in this way false alarms that could be caused by the contact of the hanging electros (10) with more than one animal during the same mounting, are discarded. RF communication between the animals during mounting also allow for validation that the height of the animal doing the mounting is greater than that of the animal being mounted, thus eliminating false alarms due to mistaken activation of the IBC signal.

[0065] FIG. 4 shows the schematic of how the standby mode (26) of the processor module (1) can be interrupted (27) by means of three different processes; IBC interruption (28) when the fixed electrode of the collar on a cow not laying down detects an IBC signal possibly coming from the collar of another animal. Timer interruption (29), when the measurements of the acceleration and pressure sensors is updated, and sensor interruption (30) in case that the sequence of events indicating a jump and mounting on another animal occurs, in other words characteristic changes in angles, acceleration and heights. In this way, the standby mode of the processor can be interrupted once an effective mount is detected, indicating that the cow has been mounted and is effectively in heat.

[0066] The process of interrupting the standby mode, by IBC interruption (28) is specified in FIG. 5. The first step of the method consists on evaluating whether the current state of the cow is laying down (31) with which the processor returns to standby mode (38). If the state is different, it is assessed (32) if the RSSI intensity level of the received IBC signal is greater than a set threshold, in which case the RF transceiver is activated (33), to obtain (34) the ID and height of the cow which is communicating via RF. Next the height of the cow being mounted (H1) is compared (35) with the height of the cow doing the mounting (H2), since if this height is lower, then there is an additional confirmation of the location of the animal doing the mounting, due to this reason a mounting with confirmed height (36) is registered and stored (37) and the data is sent vie RF through the link gate, or directly to the computer terminal. After this, the processor (1) returns again to the standby mode (38).

[0067] The process for timer interruption (29) is shown in FIG. 6. The process begins with taking the pressure and acceleration measurements (39), then the measurements for: height and atmospheric pressure, resting time, standing up or walking time, feeding time, head position and current state are updated and calculated (40), said updated information is sent to the inner memory (6) and the computer terminals (16). Once the previous data have been updated, it returns to standby mode (41).

[0068] FIG. 7 shows the process for interrupting the standby mode by sensor (30). The first step consists on setting an initial zero time (42), then it is evaluated if there has been an increment higher than the established threshold in the range of 50 cm to 200 cm (43) in the height of the animal, indicating a possible mounting. If there is no set increment, the timer is increased (44) and it is assessed (45) the time in comparison with a reference time T.sub.0 (for example 3 seconds), in which case the cycle is repeated and in the contrary it returns to standby mode (54). On the other hand, if an increase in the height higher to the established threshold (43) is detected, the IBC signal transmission is activated (46) and it is evaluated if the height returns to the initial value it had before the mounting (47). If the height is maintained with the established increment, there is a wait time (48) and it is assessed if this time is shorter than a reference time T.sub.1 (for example 10 seconds) (49), after which the system deactivates the IBC transmission and returns to standby mode (54). In case the height returns to the initial height, the IBC signal emission is deactivated (50) and the RF emitter is activated (51), to connect via RF with nearby animals (52) and obtain from them the RSSI intensity level of the IBC signal. Once the module with the largest IBC is identified, it connects (53) via RF with it and sends the data of ID identification and height, to finally deactivate the IBC and return to standby mode (54).

[0069] It is deemed unnecessary to further extend this specification, for an expert in the mater to understand the scope and advantages of the invention. The materials, shape, size and arrangement of the elements will be susceptible to variations as long as it would no suppose an alteration of the essential aspect of the invention. Al the technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art. Every publication, patent application and patents and other references mentioned, are hereby incorporated as reference entirely.

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