Patent Application
20150083053
Not Applicable
Various animal training systems are known in the art. Typically, in such systems, a contact unit has a pair of conductive probes that extend from an RF receiver housing and are retained against the skin of an animal via a collar that is secured around the neck of the animal. A stimulus in the form of an electric shock may be provided to the animal via the conductive probes of the contact unit in response to undesired behaviors to train the animal not to engage in such behaviors.
In one form of animal training system, an antenna wire is buried in the ground or otherwise disposed so as to define an area in which an animal, such as a pet or livestock, is/are to be constrained or to define an area from which an animal is to be excluded. The antenna wire is energized to provide an RF field in the vicinity of the wire. When the animal approaches the antenna wire and the strength of the RF signal received by the RF receiver exceeds a specified threshold, the RF receiver may generate a stimulus in the form of an electric shock that is conveyed to the animal via the conductive probes. By providing the animal with an electrical stimulus when it approaches the antenna wire, the animal is trained not to approach the antenna wire and thus remains within or outside of the defined area.
In another form of animal training system, a trainer controls a transmitter that is capable of producing an RF signal. The RF signal is received by an RF receiver secured around the neck of the animal via a collar. In response to the receipt of the RF signal, the RF receiver conveys an electrical stimulus to the animal via the conductive probes. By applying an electrical stimulus to the animal when the trainer observes undesirable behaviors by the animal, the animal can be trained not to engage in such behaviors.
RF receivers that include replaceable metallic probes and that are mountable to a collar worn by a pet are known. RF receivers are also known that include conductive plastic probes which are molded into the base of an RF receiver housing. The replacement of the conductive plastic probes in this embodiment disadvantageously requires disassembly of the RF receiver housing and replacement of the entire base portion of the housing which includes the conductive probes, or alternatively, replacement of the entire housing for the RF receiver.
It would therefore be desirable to have a contact unit that was distinct from the RF receiver housing to permit replacement of the contact unit should such be required without replacement of all or a part of the RF receiver housing. Additionally, it would be desirable to provide a contact unit that was manufacturable in high volume and at low cost and that could be produced in various sizes to accommodate animals of different size and hair configurations.
A contact unit includes two or more electrically conductive contact probes and one or more non-conductive base portions. The electrically conductive contact probes are molded into the one or more electrically non-conductive base portions. The contact unit is mountable to a housing of an RF receiver via at least one fastener to releasably secure the contact unit to the housing and to electrically interconnect the conductive contact probes to conductive contacts mounted to the RF receiver housing. The conductive contacts are electrically coupled to stimulus generating circuitry within the RF receiver.
The contact probes are integrally formed single piece molded components. Each contact probe includes a probe tip portion for making conductive contact with the skin of an animal and an interconnection portion for conductively coupling the respective contact probe to a corresponding conductive contact on the RF receiver housing.
In one embodiment, the interconnection portion includes an opening sized to receive a fastener that is used to secure the interconnection portion of the contact probe to the conductive contact mounted to the RF receiver housing. Additionally, the fastener may be conductive and serve to electrically interconnect the interconnection to a corresponding conductive contact by engagement of the conductive fastener with the interconnection portion and the conductive contact.
The interconnection portion may be conductively coupled to the probe tip portion via a stem portion that extends between the interconnection portion and the probe tip portion.
In another embodiment, the contact unit is releasably secured to the RF receiver housing via a non-conductive fastener. The interconnection portion of the contact probe is disposed in conductive abutting relation with a corresponding conductive contact that is mounted to the RF receiver housing when the contact unit is mounted to the housing. The non-conductive fastener serves to maintain the interconnection portion in conductive abutting relation with a corresponding conductive contact mounted in the RF receiver housing.
The contact unit may be fabricated by molding the contact probes in a first molding operation and then molding one or more contact probes into one or more base portions. The contact probes are molded into the base portion(s) in a second molding operation using insert or over-molding techniques.
Alternatively, the contact unit may be fabricated by first molding one or more non-conductive base portions and then molding one or more of the contact probes in each base portion in a second molding operation.
The contact unit may be molded in various sizes and probe tip configurations to accommodate animals of different sizes and hair characteristics.
In addition to the use of the contact unit in conjunction with an RF Receiver as described above, the contact unit may be employed with a controller that produces an electrical stimulus in response to an audible, pressure, vibration, linear or rotary motion input or any other suitable input.
Other features, advantages and aspects of the presently disclosed contact unit will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the drawings and detailed description that follows.
The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following Detailed Description of the Invention in conjunction with the drawings of which:
In accordance with the present invention, a molded contact unit for use in an animal training system is disclosed. Referring to
The contact probes 102 are formed of an electrically conductive moldable polymer such as a conductive plastic, a conductive rubber or any other suitable moldable conductive material. It is recognized that the electrical conductively may be achieved via the addition of additives to an otherwise non-conductive polymeric material and the reference to a conductive polymer herein includes polymers that are conductive by reason of the addition of additives, such as carbon black, fine metal particles or other additives that impart conductive characteristics to otherwise non-conductive materials. By way of example, and not limitation, the contact probes 102 may be fabricated from Nylon 66 which is available from DuPont™ with a conductive additive such as carbon black or fine metal particles.
In the illustrated embodiment, the base portion 104 is formed of an electrically nonconductive moldable polymer such as an electrically nonconductive plastic, an electrically nonconductive rubber or any other suitable moldable non-conductive material. By way of example, and not limitation, the base portion 104 may be fabricated from Nylon 66 available from DuPont™. The base portion 104, as illustrated, is an elongated member having a pair of through-holes 104a located at opposing ends and a pair of upwardly extending spaced pedestals 104b disposed inwardly of the through-holes 104a. The upper surface of each pedestal 104 is in the form of a plateau which, in the exemplary embodiment is generally planar. The probe tip portions 102a extend upward from the two upstanding pedestals 104b formed in the base portion 104. The center portion of the passages 104c extend through the pedestals 104b. Surfaces of the upper portion of the passages 104c define slots in the base portion 104 which also define the outer surface of the wings 102e. The wings 102e extending from the stem portions 102c provide added support and stability for the contact probes 102 molded within the base portion 104.
The contact unit 100 is formed in first and second molding operations in which the contact probes 102 are first formed in one or more first molds in a first molding operation. The contact probes 102 are then inserted into a second mold and spaced and aligned such that the open areas of the second mold correspond to the structure of the base portion 104 to be formed. A nonconductive moldable polymeric material is then injected into the second mold to form the base portion 104 around the contact probes 102 and thereby produce the contact unit 100.
Alternatively, the contact unit 100 may be formed in first and second molding operations in which the base portion 104 is first molded and the contact probes are formed in a secondary molding operation. In the first molding operation, the base portion 104 is formed of a moldable nonconductive polymeric material in a first mold. The base portion 104 is then inserted and aligned in a second mold that is configured such that the open areas within the mold correspond to the structure of the contact probes 102. An electrically conductive polymeric material is then injected into the second mold to form the contact probes 102 and produce the finished contact unit 100 as depicted in
In the illustrated embodiment, the contact unit 100 is releasably mountable to conductive contacts 108 of an RF receiver 110 via fasteners 112, such as screws, as illustrated in
The fasteners 112 in the illustrative embodiment thus releasably secure the contact unit 100 to the RF receiver 110 and electrically interconnect the contact probes 102 of the contact unit 100 to the conductive contacts 108 mounted in the housing of the RF receiver 110. The contact probes 102 may thereby be energized by the electrical stimulus generating circuitry within the RF receiver 110.
The fasteners 112 may also be nonconductive fasteners which secure the contact unit 100 to the RF receiver housing. When nonconductive fasteners 112 are employed, the undersurface of the interconnection portion 102b is configured to mate with the conductive contacts 108 in abutting relation. The nonconductive fasteners 112 serve to secure the undersurface of the interconnection portions 102b in conductive abutting relation with the upper surface of corresponding conductive contacts 108.
A collar 114, that is configured to be secured around the neck of an animal, has through-holes 116 spaced so as to align with the openings 102d of the contact probes 102. The collar 114 may be disposed between the contact unit 100 and the RF receiver 110 as illustrated in
Alternatively, it should be recognized that a collar may be mounted to the RF receiver 110 housing or extend through strap retaining members formed in the housing rather than being disposed between the contact unit 100 and the RF receiver 110 as depicted in
While
Other embodiments may include more than two contact probes. For example,
In yet another embodiment of a contact unit 900, illustrated in
While several embodiments of contact units have been illustrated, it should be appreciated that the contact units may be formed with other numbers of contact probes. Additionally, other base configurations are contemplated that are distinct from and mountable to an RF receiver housing.
The interconnection portions of the contact probes may be electrically interconnected to the conductive contacts of the RF receiver housing in various ways. For example, a conductive fastener may be used to releasably secure and electrically interconnect the interconnection portion to a corresponding electrical contact of the RF receiver housing as previously described. Alternatively, the interconnection portions of the contact probes and the conductive contacts of the RF receiver housing may be configured and cooperative so as to abut one another in electrically conductive relation when the respective base portion is secured to the RF receiver housing via an electrically conductive or non-conductive fastener. In such an embodiment, it should be recognized that the interconnection portion of the contact probes need not have an opening therethrough for fastening the base portion to the RF receiver housing.
In the foregoing manner a contact unit is provided that is releasably securable to an RF receiver and that may be fabricated using high volume and low cost manufacturing techniques. The contact unit of the present invention thus permits the replacement of only the contact unit should replacement of just the contact unit become necessary.
The contact units, as described above, are employed in conjunction with an RF receiver in animal containment/exclusion systems in which an animal is provided an electrical stimulus when it approaches an antenna wire as noted previously, or in remote to remote activation by a trainer via an RF transmitter. In these applications, a controller that is operative to generate an electrical stimulus includes the RF receiver within a controller housing. It should be recognized that the contact units presently described may also be employed with controllers that contain electrical stimulus generating circuitry responsive to other inputs. For example, the contact units may be employed in conjunction with a controller that generates an electrical stimulus in response to an audible input, such as barking. Additionally, the presently described contact units may be employed with controllers that generate an electrical stimulus in response to a pressure input, linear or rotary motion, a vibration input or any other suitable input that is employed to initiate the generation of an electrical stimulus that is conveyed to the contact probes of the contact unit.
It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that modifications to and variations of the above described contact unit and associated methods for making and using the same may be made without departing from the inventive concepts disclosed herein. Accordingly, the invention should not be viewed as limited except by the scope and spirit of the appended claims.
