Animal husbandry – Animal controlling or handling – Electromagnetic remote control
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-24
2001-08-07
Price, Thomas (Department: 3643)
Animal husbandry
Animal controlling or handling
Electromagnetic remote control
Reexamination Certificate
active
06269776
ABSTRACT:
APPENDIX
Attached hereto as Appendix A is an object code listing of software for use with the
FIG. 6
embodiment of a receiver for the present invention. The contents of Appendix A is incorporated herein by reference. Further, Appendix A contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The owner has no objection to facsimile or microfiche reproduction of the appendix as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all rights whatsoever.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic animal confinement systems and, more specifically, to such systems in which a receiver on the animal responds to an electronic signal to alert the animal to stay behind a boundary that is electronically defined by the signal.
II. Description of Prior Art
Electronic animal confinement systems have become very popular because they use electronic signals to create a boundary rather than an unsightly fence. For example, a boundary signal emitter wire is buried around the perimeter of the yard in which a pet, such as a dog, is to be confined. A transmitter hidden in the house or garage is electrically connected directly to the emitter to energize the wire with an RF boundary signal generated in the transmitter. The wire radiates the RF signal to thus electronically define an imaginary “boundary” coincident with the wire. A receiver worn about the neck of the dog and responsive to the radiated RF signal will sense or respond to the boundary signal as the dog approaches the boundary (e.g., the wire). The receiver includes circuitry designed to provide a shock to the dog to cause the dog to move away from the boundary. As a result, the dog may be kept in the yard without an unsightly fence.
Unfortunately, such systems are not without drawbacks. For example, in some situations, the receiver might not actually pick up the boundary signal as the pet approaches the boundary allowing the dog to simply “run through” the boundary. Similarly, if the dog is trapped near the boundary, repeated shocks will be administered for as long as the battery has power. Such long-term exposure to shocks is painful and deleterious to the animal. In other situations, non-boundary RF signals, such as from AC motors, electric utility cables, television sets, or the like, could be picked up by the receiver causing the dog to receive an unexpected and undesired shock even though the pet may not be near the boundary. Other problems have been experienced which further limit the utility of such animal confinement systems.
In a storm, for example, the wire acts not only as an emitter of the RF boundary signal, but may also attract energy such as from lightning. Should lightning strike at or near the wire, the transmitter circuitry may be damaged or destroyed. Also, the receiver units worn by the pet are battery-powered. It is not uncommon for the receiver to drain the battery fairly quickly. As a result, there is the risk of failure of the system to keep the pet confined due to battery failure, as well as the annoyance of frequent battery replacement to avoid such failure. An additional problem with typical receivers is that the metal lugs extending from the receiver and into the pet's neck to shock the dog are very hard and may tend to scratch or irritate the dog's neck.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an electronic animal confinement system, and receiver and transmitter components therefor, which overcome the above-described drawbacks of prior art systems. To this end, and in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the receiver worn by the pet includes three orthogonally positioned antennas to insure that whenever the animal is near the boundary, the boundary signal will be detected. The circuitry within the receiver examines each one of the antennas, preferably one at a time, until the boundary signal is detected. In response to detection of the signal on any one of the antennas, the circuitry provides an annoyance signal (such as an alarm sound or a shock) to the animal to prompt the animal to back away from the boundary. In this manner, the boundary signal should not go undetected as the pet approaches the boundary, thus minimizing the likelihood that the animal might “run through” the boundary.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the risk of inadvertent shocks from non-boundary RF signals is greatly reduced. To this end, the electronic boundary signal from the transmitter is encoded with a preselected signal such as by AM modulating an RF signal (e.g., 10 to 11 KHz) boundary signal with a code such as a low frequency (e.g., 10 to 1000 Hz) signal. The receiver circuitry includes a detector circuit that is responsive to the demodulated code signal and, only when that signal is found in the RF signal, is the annoyance signal provided. As a consequence, errant shocks from receipt of RF signals other than the boundary signal are minimized or eliminated.
Another feature of the present invention provides circuitry to avoid prolonged and possibly deleterious shocks to the animal. Should the animal be trapped, for example, close to the boundary, the typical receiver continues to shock the animal, possibly until the battery is drained. To avoid such a situation, in accordance with this aspect of the invention, if a shock is administered for more than a specified time, such as twenty seconds, for example, a monitor mode is commenced. In the monitor mode, shocks are suspended but the circuitry continues to monitor for the boundary signal. After the boundary signal has terminated for a period of time, indicating that the animal has been removed from the boundary, the monitor mode is terminated. Thereafter, subsequent detection of the boundary signal will result in administration of the annoyance signal once again. In this manner, prolonged and excessive administration of shocks is minimized or eliminated.
In accordance with a yet further aspect of the present invention, the battery life of the receiver is extended to reduce the annoyance of frequent battery changes or too-quickly drained receiver batteries. To this end, at least some of the power draining circuitry is duty-cycled on and off so as to reduce power usage and extend battery life. More specifically, the RF front end of the circuitry which actually detects and demodulates the received boundary signal need not necessarily be on at all times. Instead, that power-consuming circuitry is turned on for a brief interval and, if either no signal is detected or the received signal is below some minimum threshold, the RF front end will be turned off again to conserve battery power. The above-mentioned monitor mode further minimizes battery depletion as well. Still further, and to reduce the risk of a non-functional receiver due to a dead battery, circuitry is provided to monitor the battery and provide an alert when the battery is nearing the end of its useful life. The alert may be in the form of a flashing LED on the receiver housing and visible to the user to thus visibly warn the user to replace the battery well before it actually goes dead.
Microprocessor circuitry may be utilized to analyze the received signals and to control institution of the annoyance signals. In that case, the microprocessor circuitry may also be powered down when not in use and then turned back on when a signal is received to be analyzed to further conserve power. Alternatively, or additionally, the circuitry may include one or more motion sensors which allow the power-draining circuitry to be energized in response to movement of the animal such that when the animal is at rest and, therefore, not trying to cross the boundary, the battery is not wasted trying to detect a boundary signal that should not be present.
To further enhance the utility of an electronic animal confinement system, two levels of annoyance signal may be employed. As the boundary signal is first detected above the minimum threshold but below some higher threshold (in
Allen Paul M.
Coomer Timothy A.
Grimsley Richard L.
Teets Dale A.
Perimeter Technologies Incorporated
Price Thomas
Wood Herron & Evans LLP
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