System and method for measuring relative leg positions of an ungulate
IPC분류정보
국가/구분
United States(US) Patent
등록
국제특허분류(IPC7판)
A01K-001/00
A01K-029/00
출원번호
US-0824745
(2011-09-29)
등록번호
US-9363983
(2016-06-14)
우선권정보
AU-2010904382 (2010-09-29)
국제출원번호
PCT/AU2011/001248
(2011-09-29)
§371/§102 date
20130318
(20130318)
국제공개번호
WO2012/040782
(2012-04-05)
발명자
/ 주소
Doyle, John Conan
출원인 / 주소
Doyle, John Conan
대리인 / 주소
Saliwanchik, Lloyd & Eisenschenk
인용정보
피인용 횟수 :
0인용 특허 :
24
초록▼
A system (20) for measuring relative front (12, 13) and hind leg (16, 17) positions of a standing ungulate, the system including a sensing area within which an ungulate to be measured stands and which comprises a plurality of discrete linear sensor regions (30) spaced a known distance apart within t
A system (20) for measuring relative front (12, 13) and hind leg (16, 17) positions of a standing ungulate, the system including a sensing area within which an ungulate to be measured stands and which comprises a plurality of discrete linear sensor regions (30) spaced a known distance apart within the sensing area, each sensing region having a sensor operatively associated therewith, which sensor is responsive to the presence of the lower part of a leg within a sensing region and; a processor for receiving data from each sensor, identifying those sensor regions within which a lower part of a leg is present and based upon the distance between the identified sensor regions, determining the relative front and hind leg positions.
대표청구항▼
1. A system for measuring relative positions of a front leg and a hind leg of a standing ungulate, the system comprising: a grate upon which an ungulate to be measured stands and which comprises a plurality of parallel bars spaced a known distance apart, each bar being moveable from a free position
1. A system for measuring relative positions of a front leg and a hind leg of a standing ungulate, the system comprising: a grate upon which an ungulate to be measured stands and which comprises a plurality of parallel bars spaced a known distance apart, each bar being moveable from a free position to a displaced position in response to the weight of the ungulate when a front leg or the hind leg is placed thereon, each bar having a sensor operatively associated therewith, which sensor is responsive to and transmits data regarding the displacement of an associated bar by at least one of the front leg and the hind leg; and a processor for receiving the data transmitted by each sensor, identifying those bars which have been displaced and based upon the distance between the displaced bars, determining the relative front leg and hind leg positions. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor further determines a mid\- point between the front legs and a midpoint between the hind legs and calculates skeletal body length from said midpoints. 3. The system of claim 1, wherein measurement is initiated manually by an operator. 4. The system of claim 1, wherein measurement is initiated automatically by the processor. 5. The system of claim 1, which further comprises a confinement unit for confining the ungulate in a stationary position and without physical restraint, the confinement unit having a base and side walls, wherein the side walls diverge upwardly away from the base such that the head space area for a confined an ungulate is wider than the lower leg space area. 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the confinement unit has at least one bumper located on one or both of the side walls and towards the base such that in use the bumper or bumpers at least partially define the lower leg space area. 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the bumper or bumpers are moveable between a withdrawn and extended position. 8. The system of claim 1, which further comprises a device for measuring the pelvic height of the ungulate. 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the device includes an ultrasonic transducer for emitting an ultrasonic signal towards the pelvic region of the ungulate and which measures the distance between the ultrasonic transducer and the pelvic region. 10. The system of claim 1 which further includes a device for measuring a width of the ungulate. 11. The system of claim 10 wherein the measurement obtained by the device is used to sort the measured animals. 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the device for measuring the width comprises a pair of ultrasound transducers located so as to respectively emit ultrasound signals towards opposing sides of the ungulate and which measures the distance between the transducer and the ungulate. 13. The system of claim 1 which further includes a reader for electronically identifying an electronic animal identifier. 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the electronic animal identifier is selected from the group consisting of electronic ear tags, implants, collar and ruminal boluses. 15. The system of claim 1 having physical dimensions selected to accommodate a bovine. 16. The system of claim 15, wherein distance between the bars is between about 30 mm and about 80 mm. 17. The system of claim 1, wherein each sensor is an inductive sensor. 18. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor further determines a mid-point between the front legs and a midpoint between the hind legs and calculates skeletal body length of the ungulate from said midpoints. 19. A method for measuring relative front and hind leg positions of a standing ungulate, the method comprising: providing a sensing area within which an ungulate to be measured stands and which comprises a plurality of discrete linear sensor regions spaced a known distance apart within the sensing area, each sensor region having a sensor operatively associated therewith, which sensor is responsive to the presence of a lower part of a-at least one of a front leg and a hind leg within the sensor region, wherein the sensing area is a grate comprising a plurality of parallel bars and each linear sensor region is defined by said bar and each bar is moveable between a free position and a depressed sensing position in response to the weight of an ungulate placed thereon; andidentifying one or more sensor regions within which the lower part of the at least one of a front leg or a hind leg is present and based upon the distance between the identified sensor regions, determining the relative front and hind leg positions. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the linear sensor regions are defined by a series of bars moveable between a free position to a displaced position in response to an ungulate's weight placed thereon. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the ungulate is a bovine. 22. The method of claim 21 further comprising determining a midpoint between the front legs and a midpoint between the hind legs and calculating skeletal body length from said midpoints. 23. A method for determining the growth rate of an ungulate, the method comprising: determining a first skeletal body length and weight at a first time point, determining a second skeletal length and second weight at a second time point and comparing the first and second lengths and weights;wherein the first skeletal body length and the second skeletal body length are determined by the method of claim 22. 24. The method of claim 23, wherein pelvic height is also measured at said first and second time points. 25. The method of claim 23, wherein pelvic width is also measured at said first and second time points.
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