Patent Application
20160042038
The systems and methods described herein may provide automatic monitoring and management of pets or other animals. Devices (e.g., collars, collar attachments, food serving and/or storage containers, cameras, microphones, toys, implanted devices, etc.) may include specialized monitoring, processing, and reporting elements for animal management. These devices may be worn and/or used by animals being monitored in some embodiments.
Systems and methods described herein may comprise one or more computers, which may also be referred to as processors. A computer may be any programmable machine or machines capable of performing arithmetic and/or logical operations. In some embodiments, computers may comprise processors, memories, data storage devices, and/or other commonly known or novel components. These components may be connected physically or through network or wireless links. Computers may also comprise software which may direct the operations of the aforementioned components. Computers may be referred to with terms that are commonly used by those of ordinary skill in the relevant arts, such as servers, PCs, mobile devices, routers, switches, data centers, distributed computers, and other terms. Computers may facilitate communications between users and/or other computers, may provide databases, may perform analysis and/or transformation of data, and/or perform other functions. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill that those terms used herein are interchangeable, and any computer capable of performing the described functions may be used. For example, although the term “processor” may appear in the following specification, the disclosed embodiments are not limited to processors. In some embodiments, the computers used in the described systems and methods may be special purpose computers configured specifically for animal management. For example, a device may be equipped with specialized sensors, processors, memory, communication components, etc. that are configured to work together to track, monitor, and report on an animal and/or perform any of the other actions described in greater detail below.
Computers may be linked to one another via a network or networks. A network may be any plurality of completely or partially interconnected computers wherein some or all of the computers are able to communicate with one another. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill that connections between computers may be wired in some cases (e.g., via Ethernet, coaxial, optical, or other wired connection) or may be wireless (e.g., via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, WiMax, or other wireless connection). Connections between computers may use any protocols, including connection oriented protocols such as TCP or connectionless protocols such as UDP. Any connection through which at least two computers may exchange data can be the basis of a network.
The app 111 may provide a variety of data and possible interactions to the user. For example, the app 111 may provide one or more of the following features.
In some embodiments, the processing of actions 215 and 220 may be performed by the device 112 instead of, or in combination with, the server 114 business logic 122. In this case, data stored in the database 120 may be sent to the device 112, the device 112 may compare the received data with data the device 112 has collected about the animal, and the device 112 may generated information related to the animal using the compared information. For example, if the animal is in poor health and urgently needs to see a vet, a red light and/or a fast flashing light may be shown on the device. In another embodiment, if the owner needs to buy food, or if the animal needs an appointment for a routine medical procedure a yellow light and/or a slow flashing light may be shown. Display of the yellow and/or slow flashing light may be based on reminders or appointments set by the user in the app 112 and/or may be automatic. For example, automatic triggering may be based on knowledge of how much food an animal should eat (based on the analysis of 215 and 220), how much the animal has eaten (based on sensed data from a device 112 in a food bowl), and information about the size of a food bag, suggesting that it may be time to buy a new bag of food. In another example, automatic triggering may be based on information about recommended frequency of grooming for the particular breed of the dog being monitored. After the appropriate amount of time has elapsed from the previous grooming session (which may have been reported and/or scheduled in the app 111), the device 112 may be triggered to display the reminder. If all is well and no actions are necessary, a green light may be shown. In some embodiments, instead of varying light color and/or flashing speed based on the type of information being conveyed, the device 112 may vary light color and/or flashing speed based on the urgency of the alert. Thus, any alert (for example, vet visit required, food needed, routine medical or grooming procedure needed) may start as a light of some color and/or speed and may change as time elapses without acknowledgement by the user. For example, an alert may start out as a solid green light and, if not acknowledged within some predefined time, may change to a slowly flashing yellow light. If the yellow light is not acknowledged within some predefined time, the alert may change to a quickly flashing red light. These changes are examples only, and any light colors and/or patterns may be used.
The system 300 may perform the method of
Sensor 320 may include a motion sensor, for example a 9-degree of freedom, 6-axis accelerometer, four 3-axis accelerometers, and/or a 9-axis MEMS device such as the Invensense™ MPU-9150 (including an accelerometer, gyrometer, and magnetometer). The motion sensor may sense data useful for complex activity detection, such as 3D motion data. For example, processor 310 and/or server 114 business logic 122 may be able to detect complex activity such as eating, drinking, rolling over, sitting, standing, barking, scratching, licking, panting, head shaking, laying down, shaking, tail wagging, jumping, belly rub request, belly rub received, etc., based on detected motion. The motion sensor data may also indicate physiological data such as heart rate and breathing rate. The processor 310 and/or server 114 business logic 122 may use this detected activity to gauge the animal's health and activity level. For example, the processor 310 and/or server 114 business logic 122 may determine that the animal is unusually lethargic and signal that the animal needs medical attention via the display 390 and/or app 111 as described above. In another example, the processor 310 and/or server 114 business logic 122 may determine that the animal is scratching often and therefore likely has fleas and signal that the animal needs medical attention via the display 390 and/or app 111 as described above. In another example wherein the sensor 320 is part of a system 300 installed in a food bowl, motion data reported by the sensor 320 may be analyzed by the processor 310 to determine when the animal starts to eat and finishes eating and/or other food consumption behaviors. The processor 310 may cause the display to indicate that the bowl is empty, so the owner knows the animal has eaten and/or knows to refill the bowl. In another example wherein the sensor 320 is part of a system 300 installed in a dog toy, motion data reported by the sensor 320 may be analyzed by the processor 310 to collect and report training and play activity data. In another example, the sensor 320 may be part of a system 300 installed in a monitoring device such as a camera and/or microphone. The processor 310 may trigger the camera or microphone to record the animal (e.g., photos, audio recordings, videos) based on a detected animal proximity, user command, and/or at preset times or intervals.
Data may be stored in the memory 330 and reported to the owner (e.g., via the app 111), so the owner can view the animal's activity history (e.g., to make sure the animal is meeting fitness goals or eating at the proper time, etc.) and/or to the server 114 for storage and/or processing. For example, a weight score may be given to any dog trying to achieve a new weight. The amount of food the dog eats is tracked through the collar system 300 and connected bowl system 300. At the end of each week, the dog may be weighed, and the dog's performance may be compared to its tracked eating habits. This data may also be used in the community features of the app 111. For example, dogs meeting their goals may have a higher score and may be highlighted as exemplars in the community. Owners may be challenged to do the right thing for their pet. The community features of the app 111 may also allow owners to opt-in to breed specific data gathering. Pet owners and their pets may become gatherers of data through the system 300, contributing to a vast database of machine learning data. As the database grows, relevant data may be fed back to the processor 310 via the networking hardware 340, and the ability for the system 300 to sense healthy versus unhealthy movement may increase. Once a trusted and accurate database is in place, it can be used to offer suggestions and recommend purchases in a given marketplace. Dietary concerns and general wellbeing may be personalized through the app 111 and/or inputs 380, allowing owners to receive expert advice on the topics most relevant to their dogs, including advice triggered by data gathered by the system 300. In some cases, data that has been sent to the database 120 and stored there may be purged from the memory 330 to make room for new data.
Sensor 320 may include a temperature sensor configured to register the animal's skin temperature when the device 112 is in contact with the animal (e.g., when the collar is worn). Temperature data may be processed by the processor 310 and/or server 114 business logic 122 to reveal information about the animal's health (e.g., whether the animal has a fever based on having a higher than expected temperature for the species or breed and/or based on a higher registered temperature than is typical for the individual animal).
In some embodiments, the app 111 may provide external data for comparison against the individual animal's collected data. For example, in the case of a dog, gathered information about the individual dog may be compared against a comparison database of AKC recognized pure breeds as well as common mixed breeds. This database may contain baseline activity, specifications (height, weight, size, etc.) and may provide the user with insight into the growth and development of their dog in relation to others. The app 111 may also provide animal wellness records in combination with the gathered data. For example, the app 111 may allow the user to view their dog's wellness records (veterinarian generated, grooming, training, etc.) which may be supplemented with detected activity data. Some wellness records may be uploaded into the app 111 from outside sources (e.g., the veterinarian's computer).
The network hardware 340 may include, for example, a WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 combo chip or a separate WiFi chip and Bluetooth LE chip (e.g., Nordic nRF51822). The processor 310 may switch between WiFi and Bluetooth for communications with other devices. In some cases, either WiFi or Bluetooth may be selected based on the detected presence of corresponding networks in the area of the system 300. When both network types are present, processor 310 may prefer Bluetooth over WiFi to optimize battery life in some embodiments, or processor 310 may favor WiFi over Bluetooth for extended range and/or data throughput. In some embodiments, processor 310 may function both as the main processing element for the system 300 and as the embedded controller within the Bluetooth transceiver.
The housing 400 may include a top case 405. For example, the top case 405 may be a hard case element made of structural hard plastic such as polycarbonate, metal, or some other suitable material. In some embodiments, the top case 405 may include an indentation 410. This may reduce the volume of the housing 400, accept stickers for personalization, and/or improve grip. The finish of the indentation 410 may vary from the remaining surface of the top case 405.
The housing may include a pinch switch assembly 415, which may include a mechanical switch (i.e., input 380) located on a PCB of the device 300 and a switch trigger that may bend down to actuate the switch only when pinched on both sides. Requiring a pinch from both sides to actuate the switch may reduce the likelihood of accidental switch actuation by motion of the animal, touching of the housing, etc. The switch trigger may be made of metal or some other material. One or more RGB LEDs 420 may be located on either side of the pinch trigger and may serve as the display 390. LEDs 420 be recessed into a middle transparent ring 425 that separates the top case 405 from the bottom case 450 to channel illumination into the edges of the housing 400. The middle transparent ring 425 may be made of silicon-like material (strong but with soft, rubberized feel) or some other suitable material. The middle transparent ring 425 may be flexible in order to simulate the “pinch” feel to the switch. The middle transparent ring 425 may be transparent with the back surface painted white or having a reflective coating to reflect and channel light in some embodiments. Smoky tint may be applied to the middle transparent ring 425 to avoid UV-caused yellowing over time. The middle transparent ring 425 may act as an O-ring to increase waterproofing in some embodiments. The middle transparent ring 425 may be an overmolding to the top case 405, instead of being independent, in some embodiments. A membrane button 430 may cover the switch in some embodiments.
The pinch button formed by the pinch switch assembly 415 and middle transparent ring 425 may be used to acknowledge alerts as discussed above and/or may have additional uses. For example, the pinch button may be used to turn on one or more of the LEDs 420 to provide a light on the animal (e.g., as a night light to allow the user to see the animal during evening walks). In some embodiments, the device 300 may register different pinch button presses as different commands. For example, a single press, a quick double press, a quick triple press, a hold, etc., could all trigger different responses by the device 300. Thus, one type of press may acknowledge an alert, another type may input that a meal has been given to the animal, and yet another may input that a treat has been given to the animal. In some cases, different presses may turn on different colored LEDs 420. In some embodiments, any type of information that may be input via the app 111 may also be input via the pinch button (e.g., food, treat, or medicine given; grooming or vet appointment attended; reporting mood of animal; etc.). For example, the input function of one or more button press types may be programmable via the app 111. The app 111 may have default commands. A user may be able to edit these commands and the edits may be conveyed to the device 300 via Bluetooth or other network connection.
A PCB 435 may be enclosed towards the center of the housing's height (on top of the Battery 440, which may serve as power supply 370 for the device 300) and may facilitate dual-side mounting of system 300 components.
The housing 400 may include a bottom case 450. For example, the bottom case 450 may be a hard case element made of structural hard plastic such as polycarbonate, metal, or some other suitable material. A USB door 445 may be located on the bottom of the bottom case 450. The housing 400 may include Velcro 455 or some other attachment element. The example Velcro 455 shown may include a finished, ribbed edge that can be shortened to match different sizes of collars. Velcro 455 may have a ribbed rubber insert in the center to prevent the Velcro 455 from coming undone easily. The housing 400 may include a Velcro attachment loop 460, for example made with thin and strong plastic with some level of flexibility. The Velcro attachment loop 460 may be screwed, welded, or otherwise attached to the bottom of the bottom case 450 to the side of the USB door 445. The housing 400 may also include a ribbed surface lock/traction element 465 to lock Velcro 455 in place.
The following tables and examples include additional features that may be provided in some embodiments and/or additional description of some features described above. For example, the events in Tables 1-4 may match animal activity that is identified through sensor 320 data gathering and subsequent analysis by processor 310 and/or server 114 business logic 122 based on data in the database 120. When such activity is identified, it may be logged in the database 120.
Table 1 is an example set of data recording features according to an embodiment of the invention.
Table 2 is an example set of discrete activity data recording events according to an embodiment of the invention.
Table 3 is an example set of time bound activity data recording events according to an embodiment of the invention
Table 4 is an example set of cumulative activity data recording events according to an embodiment of the invention.
The following is a sample data recording and event log showing a combination of these event types in a single event log file. The timestamps are shown in ISO 8601 for readability.
2014-10-22T08:00:00 movements 30 distance 22 calories 13 rest 6 light 8 medium 1 heavy 0
2014-10-22T08:08:09 activity stand
2014-10-22T08:08:13 activity sit
2014-10-22T08:08:21 activity rollover
2014-10-22T08:08:37 activity belly-rub-request
2014-10-22T08:08:45 activity belly-rub-receive
2014-10-22T08:08:59 activity sit
2014-10-22T08:09:03 activity bark
2014-10-22T08:15:00 movements 68 distance 41 calories 19 rest 9 light 4 medium 1 heavy 1
2014-10-22T08:17:03 activity rollover
2014-10-22T08:17:08 activity sit
2014-10-22T08:17:17 activity bark
2014-10-22T08:24:44 activity lick start
2014-10-22T08:26:13 activity lick stop
2014-10-22T08:30:00 movements 13 distance 6 calories 8 rest 11 light 4 medium 0 heavy 0
2014-10-22T08:45:00 movements 0 distance 0 calories 7 rest 15 light 0 medium 0 heavy 0
2014-10-22T09:00:00 movements 0 distance 0 calories 7 rest 15 light 0 medium 0 heavy 0
2014-10-22T09:00:00 alert medicine trigger
2014-10-22T09:03:54 alert dismissed
2014-10-22T09:15:00 movements 49 distance 33 calories 15 rest 7 light 5 medium 2 heavy 1
2014-10-22T09:22:03 activity bark
2014-10-22T09:22:08 activity sprint
2014-10-22T09:30:00 movements 77 distance 49 calories 22 rest 5 light 3 medium 3 heavy 4
While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope. In fact, after reading the above description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement alternative embodiments. Thus, the present embodiments should not be limited by any of the above-described embodiments
In addition, it should be understood that any figures which highlight the functionality and advantages are presented for example purposes only. The disclosed methodology and system are each sufficiently flexible and configurable such that they may be utilized in ways other than that shown.
Although the term “at least one” may often be used in the specification, claims and drawings, the terms “a”, “an”, “the”, “said”, etc. also signify “at least one” or “the at least one” in the specification, claims and drawings.
Finally, it is the applicant's intent that only claims that include the express language “means for” or “step for” be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). Claims that do not expressly include the phrase “means for” or “step for” are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).
This application is based on and derives the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 62/035,896 filed Aug. 11, 2014, 62/036,306 filed Aug. 12, 2014 and 62/067,882 filed Oct. 23, 2014. All of the foregoing are incorporated by reference in their entireties herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62035896 | Aug 2014 | US | |
| 62036306 | Aug 2014 | US | |
| 62067882 | Oct 2014 | US |
