NZ616128A - Improvements to animal management - Google Patents

Abstract

A device (1) is disclosed which includes a weigh scale component (2), an RFID reader (3), and a decision making means (12). The weigh scale (2) is connected to load measuring sensors (8) that support an animal weighing platform (9). The RFID reader (3), which shares a common battery (10) with the weigh scale component (2), is to connected to RFID antenna (4). The decision making means (12) activates the RFID reader (3) when a signal received from the load measuring sensors (8) rises above a first predetermined threshold.

Description

PATENTS FORM NO. 5 Fee No. 4: $250.00 PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION IMPROVEMENTS TO ANIMAL MANAGEMENT After Provisional No: 600977 Dated: 29 June 2012 We, Gallagher Group Limited, a New Zealand company of Kahikatea Drive, Hamilton, New Zealand, do hereby declare this invention to be described in the following statement: IMPROVEMENTS TO ANIMAL MANAGEMENT TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an animal management device. The invention has particular application to animal weighing and radio frequency identification of animals.

BACKGROUND ART Reference throughout the specification will be made to animal weighing and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).

Animal weighing together with RFID are important aspects of livestock and pasture management. It is usually used for checking the weights of animals and for use in monitoring weight gain for specific animals. It is also used for optimising feeding programmes identifying when animals may be sick and need intervention and for identifying when animals are ready to be sent to the works or for drafting animals into different groups based on their weight and stage of development. Animal weighing systems are widely used in the field of animal management.

An animal weighing system will often comprise a weighing platform including load bars, a weighing device capable of recording the animal weights sensed on the platform. RFID readers usually comprise an antenna mounted either in the side of an animal race or in the side of an animal crate or processing station. The antenna is connected to a reader device which is capable of energising the antenna and of receiving RFID transponder data back from the antenna uniquely identifying the animal associated with that transponder. Readers are commonly connected to weigh scales so that the weight recorded by the weigh scale can be associated with the identity of a particular animal. In that way valuable use can be made of the weighing data. The reader device is usually battery powered or connected to a power source supplied from a mains power supply. The weigh scale traditionally has its own power supply.

Readers traditionally use a significant amount of power as they are continuously trying to read whether or not there is a tag in the field which means they require a large battery capacity if they are to be used continuously for a day without recharging and then need a significant amount of time on a recharger between use.

When a Reader is connected to a weigh scale there is often a cable used to interconnect the devices and in the farm animal processing situation the cable and cable connections are a part of the system that is particularly prone to failure and routing the interconnecting cables can be a problem and a hazard. There are also the additional problems of mounting both the weigh scale and the Reader.

The batteries in these systems are also prone to shortened life due to the batteries being deeply discharged either when in use or when not in use for prolonged periods.

In addition to the abovementioned problems a further problem with integrated weighing and RFID reading systems is that the readers consume so much power that an external power supply has to be used for the RFID reader or driving the antenna attached to the RFID reader so that the power supply to the weigh scale is not depleted too quickly.

It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.

All references, including any patents or patent applications cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinence of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents form part of the common general knowledge in the art, in New Zealand or in any other country.

Throughout this specification, the word "comprise", or variations thereof such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION According to a first embodiment of the present invention there is provided a device including a weigh scale component adapted to connect to load measuring sensors which support an animal weighing platform and an RFID reader component adapted to connect to an RFID antenna wherein the weigh scale component and the RFID reader component share a common battery which is also included in the device.

According to a second embodiment of the present invention there is provided a device according to the previous embodiment where the device includes a decision making means (the decision making means could be a microprocessor running a computer program or may use the computer hardware which is included in a weigh scale and have additional computer code to take care of the decision making process) which is adapted to control (the word control used in this context should be taken to mean control the power output of the reader to the antenna such control could include turning on (activating) or off (de-activating) the reader or turning the power output from the reader up or down) the operation of the RFID reader component.

According to a third embodiment of the present invention there is provided a device according to the previous embodiment where the decision making means controls the operation of the RFID reader component such control being dependent on the signal received by the weigh scale component of the device from the load measuring sensors indicative of an animal being on the animal weighing platform.

According to a fourth embodiment of the present invention there is provided a device according to the previous embodiment where the decision making means activates the RFID reader component when the signal received by the weigh scale component of the device rises above a predetermined threshold.

According to a fifth embodiment of the present invention there is provided a device according to the previous embodiment where the RFID reader component de-activates following a valid read from a transponder attached to an animal on the animal weighing platform.

According to sixth embodiment of the present invention there is a provided a device according to the fourth embodiment where the reader component is de-activated by the decision making means when the signal received by the weigh scale component of the device falls below a predetermined threshold.

According to a seventh embodiment of the present invention there is provided a device according to the second embodiment where the decision making means activates the reader component when the decision making means receives a signal from an external sensor which indicates there is an animal on the animal weighing platform.

According to an eighth embodiment of the present invention there is provided a device according to the seventh embodiment where the external sensor is an optical sensor.

According to a ninth embodiment of the present invention there is provided a device according to the seventh embodiment where the external sensor is a proximity sensor.

According to a tenth embodiment of the present invention there is provided a device according to the seventh embodiment where the external sensor is an infra-red radiation sensor.

According to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention there is provided a device according to the seventh embodiment where the external sensor is an ultrasonic sensor.

According to a twelve embodiment of the present invention there is provided a device according to any of the previous embodiments from the second onwards where the decision making means is incorporated in the weigh scale component of the device.

According to a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention there is provided a device according to any of the previous embodiments from the second onwards where the decision making means turns off other components of the device while the RFID reader is activated.

According to a fourteenth embodiment of the present invention there is provided a device according to any of the previous embodiments from the second onwards where the device includes an RFID antenna.

According to a fifteenth embodiment of the present invention there is provided a device according to any of the previous embodiments from the second onwards where the device uses measurements from the weigh scale made after the reader has read a transponder attached to an animal to determine the weight of the animal.

According to a sixteenth embodiment of the present invention there is provided a device according to any of the previous embodiments from the second onwards where the decision making means controls the RFID reader as a result of data retrieved by the weigh scale concerning the weight or weighing information of an animal on the animal weighing platform.

The present invention may offer a number of advantages over the prior art, including: • As the power supply battery between the weigh scale and the reader is shared there is a saving in power supply components and also in battery charging components as there is only one power supply and battery system to manage.

• There is a time saving and convenience factor for the user who only needs to ensure that one battery pack is recharged as required rather than two and a shorter recharge time may be required.

• There is the reduced weight of reader due to reduced battery requirements.

• There is reduced material cost.

• There is a reduced power requirement as RFID reader only energised when an animal is on the platform.

• There is a reduced battery capacity required to power the combination weigh scale RFID reader.

• There is a longer battery life between charging • There is the ability to use different battery technologies because of reduced capacity requirements (lead acid batteries have a shortened life when deeply discharged and prone to even shorter life when left in this state).

• There may be reduced RFID reader reading interference due to control of reading time and other electronic components at the time of RFID reading; • Reduced interference with the reader operation as the decision making means is able to turn off any electronics required for the weighing operation as the reading operation is performed after the weigh scale has a locked in weight and the weigh scale/ decision making means issues the command to the reader for the reading operation to occur.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 provides a diagram of the device connected to an RFID antenna and to load bars.

Figure 2 provides a diagram of the signal from the load bars to the weigh scale when an animal steps onto a weighing platform then steps off the weighing platform.

Figure 3 provides a diagram showing an animal stepping onto a weighing platform and standing on the platform and stepping off the weighing platform.

Figure 4 shows the algorithm that the decision making means may typically use.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Figure 1 illustrates the best mode of carrying out the invention where the device (1) includes a weigh scale component(2) an RFID reader component (3) and a common power supply (10).

The power supply (10) is typically a battery. The RFID reader (3) component of the device is connected to antenna (4) and the weigh scale (2) component of the device is connected to load bars (8) supporting animal weighing platform (9). When an animal (7) steps onto the platform (9) a signal is sent or measurement made from the load bars (8) to the weigh scale (2). Examples of signals indicative of an animal stepping on the weighing platform are shown in figure 2.

Referring to figure 2, at the point in time marked (20) the signal from the load bars indicates through the weigh scale to the decision making means (12) that an animal is stepping onto the animal weighing platform (9) (fig 1) (and see fig 3A). At the point in time marked (21) (figure 2) the signal from the load bars to the weigh scale indicates to the decision making means (12) that the animal is completely on the platform (see fig 3B). At this point the signal from the load bars is above a predetermined threshold shown as dotted line (24)(fig 2). When the signal goes above the predetermined threshold the decision making means (12) which is applying the algorithm of figure 4 sends a signal to activate the RFID reader component (3) which energises the antenna (4) and performs a read on the transponder (6) of the animal which is on the animal weighing platform. Although in the aforementioned preferred mode a threshold value is used for determining when an animal is on the weighing platform other methods may be used such as proximity detection or optical detection or infra-red detection or some rate of change detection algorithm processing the load bar weight indication signal (not shown).

Referring to Figure 2 and figure 3 it can be seen that as an animal mounts the weighing platform, walks on the platform then dismounts from the platform the signals to the weigh scale from the load bars show an increasing then plateauing then decreasing signal indicative of an animal’s movement onto, along and off the animal weighing platform. When the decision making means (12) determines that an animal is on the platform it activates the RFID reader.

When valid identification data is received it is recorded in a data store (usually incorporated in the weigh scale) by the weigh scale together with the weight of the animal. The RFID reader or at least antenna driver is de-activated or powered down to conserve the power supply energy until the next read is required.

When a valid transponder read is made the RFID reader may de-activate itself or the decision making means may de-activate the RFID reader. When the decision making means determines from the weigh scale signal falling below some predetermined threshold (see fig 2 line marked ) at the point in time marked (23) (or by some other external sensor optical, ultrasonic or infra- red, not shown) that the animal has left the platform it then waits for a new animal to mount the platform before again activating the RFID reader to read the next animal’s RFID transponder.

Claims (7)

1. WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 15 1. A device including a weigh scale component adapted to connect to load measuring sensors supporting an animal weighing platform, an RFID reader component adapted to connect to an RFID antenna, a common battery shared by the weigh scale component and the RFID reader component, and a decision making means wherein the decision making means activates the RFID reader component when a signal received by the 20 weigh scale component of the device from the load measuring sensors rises above a first predetermined threshold.

2. A device according to claim 1 where the first predetermined threshold of the signal received by the weigh scale component of the device from the load measuring sensors is indicative of an animal on the animal weighing platform. 25

3. A device according to claim 1 where the RFID reader component de-activates following a valid read operation from a transponder attached to an animal on the animal weighing platform.

4. A device according to claim 1 where the RFID reader component is de-activated by the decision making means when the signal received by the weigh scale component of the device falls below a second predetermined threshold where the second predetermined threshold is indicative of an animal not being present on the weighing platform.

5. A device according to any one of the previous claims where the decision making means 5 is incorporated in the weigh scale component of the device.

6. A device according to any one of the previous claims where the device uses measurements from the weigh scale component to determine the weight of the animal made after the RFID reader component has read a transponder attached to the animal.

7. A combination Weigh scale and RFID reader device substantially as herein described 10 and with reference to the accompanying drawings. 20 GALLAGHER GROUP LIMITED