AU2010219331C1

AU2010219331C1 - System for identification of a lost animal

Info

Publication number: AU2010219331C1
Application number: AU2010219331A
Authority: AU
Inventors: David Axelrod
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-09-07
Filing date: 2010-09-07
Publication date: 2022-02-17
Anticipated expiration: 2030-09-07
Also published as: WO2012031314A8; WO2012031314A1; AU2010219331B1

Abstract

A system 10 for identifying a lost animal includes a device 12 to be carried by the animal and which communicates a message to be received in a vicinity of the device 12, and a resettable switch 30 associated with the device 12 which activates the device 12 to communicate the message. The resettable switch 30 activates the device 12 after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since a most recent setting or resetting of the switch .

Description

AUSTRALIA

FB RICE & CO Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys

Patents Act 1990

DAVID AXELROD COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT

Invention Title:

Systemfor identificationof a lost animal

The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to us:-

Field of the Invention The invention relates to a system for identification of a lost or escaped animal. Background ofthe Invention Domesticated animals such as pets (cats, dogs, etc.) often roam freely from their home or the site at which they are normally kept. Often, these animals return home of their own accord. However, sometimes the animals become lost. For a person unfamiliar with the animal, it may be difficult to determine whether an animal is lost or whether the animal is simply roaming and will return home safely of its own accord. As a result, a lost animal may not be identified as lost for sometime, or until it becomes agitated, sick or injured, or possibly dies. Animals can be fitted with identification tags on which can be engraved information about the animal, a contact telephone number to be called if the animal is found, and/or an address to which the animal can be returned if found. Recently, micro-chips have been implanted in the animal. The micro-chip can be read to determine the home and owner of animals. While this information may be useful for returning the animal to its home, it does not assist a stranger in identifying the animal as lost or missing. In addition, the animal must be apprehended before the information can be accessed. Therefore, even if someone believes that the animal is lost, it may not be possible to obtain the information from the tag because the animal runs away or is trapped out of reach, or because the person is unwilling to apprehend the animal because, for example, it is unclean or appears threatening. Even if these problems do not exist, it necessary for the stranger to be motivated to take the effort to apprehend the animal in the hope of obtaining the information. Some people may be reluctant to take such action. Not only because of the problems associated with apprehending the animal but also concern about what to do with the animal once it has been apprehended (for example, there may be a reluctance to abandon the animal again once it has been apprehended). If the animal is carrying a microchip, this might not be apparent even when the animal has been apprehended and the animal may have to be taken to vet or other facility in order to have the microchip read. These approaches require time and effort on behalf of a stranger and, as a result, even if the stranger is sympathetic, they may not be prepared to commit the time and effort required. Other systems use sophisticated electronics which assist an owner in discovering the whereabouts of a lost or missing pet. For example, GPS locators/transmitters, radio beacons, mobile phone enabled devices, or the like, can be fitted to the animal to allow tracking of the animal if the owner of the animal becomes aware that the animal is missing. The owner must then use compatible equipment to locate the animal. With such systems, the owner must become aware that the animal is missing and then initiate a search. Another problem with such systems is their high cost, which can be an obstacle to their use for many animal owners. Concern for the device being damaged by elements may induce the owner to remove it when taking the pet to out to a park, a beach or the like, which is exactly when such a device is most likely to be required. Radio-controlled devices typically have an operational range of a few miles, and therefore may prove useless if the animal is lost during a journey or travels too far from their home or owner. In addition, a valuable device worn by the animal may be removed by a malevolent person or may even result in the pet be harmed or stolen. Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.

Summary of the Invention According to the invention, there is provided a system for identifying a lost animal, the system including: a device to be carried by the animal and which communicates a message to be received in a vicinity of the device, the device including a resettable switch which activates the device to communicate the message; wherein the resettable switch activates the device after a predetermined period of time has elapsed during which there is an absence of a setting or a resetting of the switch. The resettable switch may be manually resettable. The system may further include a receiver associated with the resettable switch and the resettable switch may be reset by receipt of a signal by the receiver. The system may further include a first transmitter for transmitting the signal to the receiver. The first transmitter may have a predetermined range of transmission. The first transmitter may transmit the signal at predetermined times. The first transmitter may transmit the signal at predetermined intervals. The signal may repeat at least every one minute. The predetermined period of time may be at least 10 minutes.

The first transmitter may be portable. The system may include a plurality of associated first transmitters for establishing at least one zone within which the signal is receivable. A predetermined signal strength may be required to reset the switch. The signal may be transmitted at a frequency audible to the animal. The device may include a speaker for communicating a verbal message. The system may further comprise a second transmitter associated with the device and the device may communicate the message via a signal transmitted by the second transmitter. The signal via which the message is communicated may be a signal communicated according to a communication protocol selected from the group consisting of Blue Tooth, Near Field Communication, and low power radio transmission. The message may include a component communicated within a frequency range audible to the animal. In this description, reference is made to a lost or missing animal. While the description may suggest that the animal is a pet such as a cat or dog, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to a specific species of animal or to pets in general. For example, the invention may be applicable to farm animals or to animals which are kept in zoos. In addition, reference is made to the "owner" of an animal but such references are for simplicity and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the person referred to may be a carer for the animal (such as a vet), a temporary custodian of the animal, an employee of the owner, and so on. In addition, reference is made to a "lost" animal, but this term is used in its broad sense and should not be considered to be limited to animals which are unable to find their way back home. The system is also applicable to animals which might have, for example, stayed away from the place in which they are normally housed too long, might have escaped, might have been released intentionally or unintentionally, etc.

Brief description of the drawings An exemplary embodiment of a system for identifying a lost animal is described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system for identifying a lost animal according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 shows a device according to the embodiment; and Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating another embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of exemplary embodiments In the figures, reference numeral 10 generally designates a system for identifying a lost animal. The system 10 includes a device 12 incorporated into a weather proof and watertight plastic case 14. The case 14 includes apertures 16 which 5 assist in attaching the case 14 to, for example, an animal's collar (not shown) by passing an end of the collar through the apertures 16. Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the device 12 includes a controller 22 for controlling the device 12 and a power source 20 in the form of a battery for providing power. The device 12 includes a speaker 28 for communicating a verbal message to the vicinity of the device 12. The message includes information to assist in identifying the animal as lost. For example, the message may be "I am lost". The message may also include information such as the telephone number and/or address of the owner of the animal. The controller 22 includes a resettable switch 30 which activates the device 12 to communicate the message. The resettable switch 30 activates the device 12 after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since a most recent setting or resetting of the switch 30. The reset switch 30 can be manually reset by depressing a reset button 31 provided on the case 14. In addition, the case 14 includes input buttons 24 for inputting data into and for setting the controller 22 and a display 26 for displaying information. The reset button 31 and the input buttons 24 are configured so that they cannot be inadvertently operated by the animal itself or by interaction with items or surfaces that the animal may come into contact with. The system 10 includes a receiver 32 associated with the resettable switch 30 and the resettable switch 30 can be reset by receipt of a signal by the receiver 32. The system 10 can be configured such that a signal below a particular signal strength will not reset the switch 30. The system 10 includes a first transmitter 34 which transmits the signal to the receiver 32 to thereby reset the switch 30. The first transmitter 34 can be configured to transmit the signal at specific times (for example, on the hour) and/or after a predetermined period of time (for example, 1 minute) has passed. In addition, the first transmitter 34 can be manually operated by a user to cause the first transmitter 34 to send the signal to reset the switch 30. The range of the first transmitter 34 can be set. For example, the range of the first transmitter 34 may be set to up to 100 meters.

The controller 22 is configured using the input buttons 24 to set the predetermined period of time after which the switch 30 will activate the device 12 to communicate the message. The predetermined period may be automatically set based on the type of animal with which the system is to be used or it may be input by a user of the system 10. For example, the predetermined period may be set at I hour. In that case, if the switch is not reset within I hour, the switch will activate the device 12 to communicate the message. In the following, an example of the system in use is described using the examples mentioned above of a transmitter range of up to 100 meters, a signal transmission interval of 1 minute and a reset period of 1 hour. The case 14 incorporating the device 12 and the controller 22 is fitted to the animal. While the animal remains within the range of the first transmitter 34, the receiver 32 receives signals every 1 minute and as a result the switch 30 is reset every minute. Therefore, while the animal remains within the range of the first transmitter 34, a lapse of the predetermined period of 1 hour from the resetting of the switch does not occur and the device 12 remains inactive or dormant. If the animal moves outside the range of the first transmitter 34, the receiver 32 will not receive the signals and the switch will not be reset. If the animal moves back into the range of the first transmitter 34 for more than 1 minute, the receiver 32 will receive a signal from the first transmitter 34 and the switch 30 will be reset. However, if the animal remains outside the range of the first transmitter 34 for more than I hour, the predetermined period of time of 1 hour will have elapsed, the switch 30 will activate the device 12 and the device 12 will communicate the message to the vicinity of the device 12 (and the animal). A person in the vicinity of the animal will hear the message (for example, "I am lost. Please telephone 01-2345-6789.") and may respond to the message. In this situation, it is not necessary for the person to apprehend the animal to be able to obtain the information and respond to the message. Once activated, the device 12 continues to communicate the message. The device may be set so that if the animal returns to the range of first transmitter 34 and the switch 30 is reset by the signal, the device will cease to communicate the message. However, the device may be set to require manual resetting of the switch 30 or some other action to stop communication of the message. As can be seen from Figure 2, the case 14 includes a light source 15 which can also be activated to assist in locating the animal in the dark, when the device 12 is activated to communicate the message.

In one embodiment, the system 10 includes a plurality of transmitters 34 which can be arranged to define a zone or zones within which the animal can roam without the device 12 becoming activated. This might be implemented on a large property or farm. It might also be implemented in a situation where the animal is cared for at two or more separated locations, for example, the owner's home and the owner's place of business. The system 10 may also include a portable first transmitter 36 which can be carried by the owner of the animal when the animal is being walked or is taken by its owner out of the range of the first transmitter 34. The portable transmitter 36 continues to transmit the signal and resets the switch 30 so that the device 12 is not activated unnecessarily. In addition, if the animal and the owner leave the range of the first transmitter 34 together, the owner can reset the switch 30 manually by pressing the reset button 31 to prevent the device 12 being activated unnecessarily. With regard to this, the simplest configuration of the system 10 does not have the first transmitter 34 and the owner resets the switch 30 manually from time to time or at regular times. For example, the predetermined time after which the device becomes activated could be set at 25 hours and the owner of the animal may reset the switch 30 each day at the same time, for example, at feeding time. The predetermined period of time after which the device 12 is activated can be set according to the nature of the animal. For example, cats are often considered to be independent animals and may roam from their home for longer periods of time before returning home of their own accord. Therefore, a cat may not be considered lost or missing until it has been absent from the range of the transmitter 34 for more than 24 hours. In that case, the owner could set the predetermined period to 24 hours. In contrast, a dog may be considered lost or missing if it has been absent from the range of the transmitter 34 for several hours. In that case, the owner could set the predetermined period to 3 hours, for example. For a farm animal normally kept within a fenced enclosure, any absence from the transmitter range may mean the animal has left the enclosure and that may be a cause for concern. In that case, the owner may set the predetermined period to be short, for example, 10 minutes. In another embodiment shown in Figure 3, a system 110 includes a second transmitter 40 associated with the device 12. In this embodiment, the device 12 is able to communicate the message via a signal transmitted by the second transmitter 40 to the vicinity of the device 12. The signal via which the message is communicated is a signal communicated, for example, according to the Bluetooth wireless protocol, a Near Field Communication protocol, a low power radio transmission, or the like. The signal is received by a device 42 (for example, a mobile phone, mobile music player, mobile game device, a portable radio, or the like) which is compatible with the protocol used by the second transmitter 40. For example, when the second transmitter 40 is a low power radio transmitter, it can be set to transmit at a particular radio frequency within the AM or FM bands which can be received by an AM or FM radio. In such a case, a particular frequency may be officially authorized by regulators for short range transmission of such messages. Thereby, a person carrying a radio (device 42) in the vicinity of the animal can receive the message. The message may be or may include a text or visual message which may be displayed on the device 42. It will be appreciated that, in this embodiment, the system 110 may include this second transmitter 40 in addition to the speaker 28 or in place of the speaker 28. This embodiment may also include the first transmitter 34 for transmitting the signals to reset the switch 30. However, the first transmitter 34 may be absent and the switch 30 may be reset by depressing the reset button 31 on the case 14. The signal which resets the switch 30 is configured to be specific to the switch 30 in order to avoid the switch 30 being reset by signals from transmitters set for systems being used for other animals. Thereby, it is possible to make each system 10, 110 specific to a particular animal. This can be by the signal being set at a particular frequency or by the signal including an identifying component which is specific to the first transmitter 34 and the switch 30. It would also be possible for several animals to be fitted with associated devices 12 which have switches 30 which are reset by the same signal. The type of signal used to reset the switch 30 is not particularly limited and may be a radio signal, an ultrasound signal, etc. The signal may be transmitted at a frequency which is audible to the animal but not audible to humans. In that case, for example, with dogs, the animal may be trained to recognize the signal and to stay in (or return to) the area within which the signal can be heard. As indicated above, the transmission range of the transmitter 34 is selected based on the range desired for the animal, but might be, for example, a range up to 50 to a range up to 300 meters. In the embodiment described above, the power source 20 is a battery. The system 10, 110 may also include a recharging component for recharging the battery, for example, the system 10, 110 may include a solar cell or a vibration-energy charger. In the examples of the message given above, the message has been customized for the animal and the owner. However, the message may be preset and include an appeal to anyone in the vicinity of the animal and the number of a particular phone service set up to receive calls regarding lost or missing animals. The message may also include other information relevant to the animal. The message may include a command or sound that the animal has been trained to respond to by, for example, returning home. In that case, the message may include a component (for example, the sound or command) communicated within a frequency range which is audible to the pet. In the embodiment described above, the device includes buttons 24 for inputting data into the controller 22 and for setting the controller. However, the invention is not limited to such an arrangement for controlling the controller 22. For example, the device 12 may be preconfigured or it may be controllable using a wireless protocol, such as Bluetooth. In the above, the expression "in the vicinity of the device" and "in the vicinity of the animal" have been used equivalently as the device is intended to be carried by the animal. By "vicinity" is generally meant the area around the animal/device such that a person receiving the message is sufficiently close to the animal to, for example, identify the animal, associate the message with the animal, and/or respond to the message. This area would typically be in the range of meters to tens of meters from the animal but might extend up to the range of several hundreds of meters depending on the type of animal, the environment (for example, city or rural) in which the system is used, and the protocol used for communicating the message. In the above embodiment, the device 12 is configured for fitting on a collar warn by the animal. It will be appreciated that the device 12 may be attached to the collar or other item worn by the animal in other ways or it may be integrally formed with a band which is worn as a collar. With the system 10 described above, a person in the vicinity of the animal can be alerted to the fact that the animal is lost. The person can obtain information, such as a telephone number, from the message communicated by the device and take action. It will be appreciated that the device actively informs the person that the animal is lost and, therefore, the person does not have to speculate about whether or not the animal is lost. In addition, the person does not have to apprehend the animal to obtain information about the animal. This may increase the likelihood of the person taking action to assist such as calling the owner as the amount of effort involved is reduced compared to having to capture the animal to read a dog tag, or capture the animal and take it to a facility which has a scanner for reading imbedded microchips. In addition, the information is available, even if the animal is trapped in an inaccessible location such as up a tree. It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1. A system for identifying a lost animal, the system including: a device to be carried by the animal and which communicates a message to be received in a vicinity of the device, the device including a resettable switch which activates the device to communicate the message; wherein the resettable switch activates the device after a predetermined period of time has elapsed during which there is an absence of a setting or a resetting of the switch.
2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the resettable switch is manually resettable.
3. The system according to claim 1 or claim 2, further including a receiver associated with the resettable switch, the resettable switch being reset by receipt of a signal by the receiver.
4. The system according to claim 3, further including a first transmitter for transmitting the signal to the receiver.
5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the first transmitter has a predetermined range of transmission.
6. The system according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the first transmitter transmits the signal at predetermined times.
7. The system according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the first transmitter transmits the signal at predetermined intervals.
8. The system according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the first transmitter is portable.
9. The system according to any one of claims 4 to 8, comprising a plurality of associated first transmitters for establishing at least one zone within which the signal is receivable.
10. The system according to any one of claims 3 to 9, wherein a predetermined signal strength is required to reset the switch.
11. The system according to any one of claims 3 to 10, wherein the signal is transmitted at a frequency audible to the animal.
12. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the device includes a speaker for communicating a verbal message.
13. The system according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein the signal repeats at least every one minute.
14. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the device is controllable using a wireless protocol.
15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the wireless protocol is Bluetooth.
16. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a second transmitter associated with the device, wherein the device communicates the message via a signal transmitted by the second transmitter.
17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the signal via which the message is communicated is a signal communicated according to a communication protocol selected from the group consisting of Bluetooth, Near Field Communication, and low power radio transmission.
18. The system according to claim 16 or 17, comprising a further device configured to receive the signal transmitted by the second transmitter.
19. The system according to claim 18, wherein the further device is any one of a mobile phone, a mobile music player, a mobile game device, and a portable radio.
20. The system according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein the message includes a text message or a visual message displayed on the further device.
21. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the message includes a component communicated within a frequency range audible to the animal.
22. The system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the predetermined period of time is at least 10 minutes.
23. A system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.