JP2010227161A - Delivery reporting system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To lighten breeder's load in attending delivery. <P>SOLUTION: A delivery reporting system S includes: a slave device 1 mounted to each cow for propagation and a master device 2 for reporting a breeder of the presence of a cow almost in process of a delivery based on the information from the slave device. The slave device 1 is fitted to the cow by a belt wrapped round the trunk immediately behind the forelegs right above the backbone just behind withers section, and provided with an azimuth sensor for detecting the direction to the cow faces and a transmitting part for transmitting the detection result to the master device 2. The master device 3 includes a receiving part for receiving the transmit data from the slave device 1, an immediately before a behavior determination means for determining whether or not the cow concerned conducts turning and walking motions during a predetermined time or with a predetermined frequency or not, and a reporting means for reporting the breeder of the situation that delivery is near based on the determination result. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a delivery notification system, and more particularly to a system for notifying a breeder that a cow is about to deliver based on the characteristic behavior of a cow that is about to deliver.

  Livestock farmers (breds) sometimes breed more than 100 breeding cattle. One breeding cattle can cost over 1 million yen, and if a mother cow dies, it will suffer a great loss. Farmers often attend labor to prevent accidents during labor and to call vets at some point.

  Since the delivery time is not limited to day or night, it is hard work for livestock farmers. For this reason, seeding is planned to prevent concentration of delivery, but it is not possible to determine the delivery time, and there is a certain limit to the reduction of labor burden. In addition, cows with little experience in the first to third live births have fluctuating days of delivery and are prone to calving accidents, so farmers have to stay overnight and pay extra attention to the burden of labor. was there. In particular, there is a problem that a significant labor burden is required when the number of animals is large.

JP2007-296042 JP 2003-70815 A

  In other words, the problem to be solved is the burden of livestock farming attendance.

  The delivery notification system according to claim 1 includes a child machine to be attached to each breeding cow and a parent machine for notifying a breeder that there is a cow near delivery based on information from the child machine. A notification system, the child machine is attached to the cow by a belt body that rotates around the waist immediately after the front leg immediately above the spine immediately after the torso, and detects the direction of the cow, and the orientation sensor A transmission unit that transmits the detection result to the master unit, and the master unit receives the transmission data from the slave unit, and the cattle are more than a predetermined time based on the data received by the reception unit. Alternatively, the immediately preceding behavior determining means for determining whether or not the rotational walking motion is performed at a predetermined frequency or more, and the near-partum delivery when it is determined by the immediately preceding behavior determining means that the rotational walking motion is performed for a predetermined time or more or a predetermined frequency or more. Bred to the effect And notifying means for notifying to, the most important characterized by including the.

  That is, the invention according to claim 1 accurately detects a rotational walking movement of a cow (an action of walking in a certain direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) within a certain range, which may be expressed as a turning walking action). And notify the breeder that the delivery is near. This rotational walking movement can be observed several hours before delivery and can be observed separately from normal walking by using a sensor, so that the breeder does not have to wait for hours before. Since the cows scheduled for delivery are known in advance, they should be stored in a delivery cage as appropriate. At this time, in order to make it easy to detect the rotational walking motion, examples of the size of the ridge include a square having a side of 3.5 m to 6 m or a circle having a diameter of 4 m to 8 m. If it is too narrow, it will be difficult for the cow to move. As a result, if it is too wide, it will take time to turn and it will be difficult to distinguish it from normal walking. It should be noted that immediately after the torso does not reach the ground even if the cow lies down, it is possible to prevent damage to the child machine and to improve detection accuracy compared to the case where it is attached to other parts.

  In addition, the delivery notification system according to claim 2 includes a child machine to be attached to each breeding cow and a parent machine for notifying a breeder that there is a cow near delivery based on information from the child machine. It is a delivery notification system, and the child machine is attached to the cow by a belt body that rotates around the waist just behind the front leg just above the spine immediately after the torso, and a direction sensor that detects the direction the cow is facing, Based on the detection result of the azimuth sensor, the immediately preceding behavior determining means for determining whether or not the cow has performed the rotational walking motion for a predetermined time or more or a predetermined frequency or more, and the immediately preceding behavior determining means for performing the rotational walking motion for a predetermined time or more A transmission unit that transmits a message indicating that the delivery is nearing to the parent device when it is determined that the frequency is more than a predetermined frequency, and the parent device receives a transmission content from the child device; Based on the content received There are, and most important characterized by including a notification unit for notifying the breeders to the effect that imminent delivery, the.

  That is, the invention according to claim 2 accurately detects a rotational walking movement of a cow (an action of walking in a certain direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) within a certain range, which may be expressed as a turning walking action). And notify the breeder that the delivery is near. This rotational walking movement can be observed several hours before delivery and can be observed separately from normal walking by using a sensor, so that the breeder does not have to wait for hours before. Since the cows scheduled for delivery are known in advance, they should be stored in a delivery cage as appropriate. At this time, in order to make it easy to detect the rotational walking motion, examples of the size of the ridge include a square having a side of 3.5 m to 6 m or a circle having a diameter of 4 m to 8 m. If it is too narrow, it will be difficult for the cow to move. As a result, if it is too wide, it will take time to turn and it will be difficult to distinguish it from normal walking. It should be noted that immediately after the torso does not reach the ground even if the cow lies down, it is possible to prevent damage to the child machine and improve detection accuracy as compared with the case where it is attached to other parts.

  Further, the delivery notification system according to claim 3 is the delivery notification system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the slave unit has a light emitting means and a control means for blinking or lighting the light emitting means when the child is approaching delivery. The main feature is that it is provided.

  In other words, the invention according to claim 3 allows the breeder to happen to be on the spot, or other workers to notice, and the reliability of notification is improved.

  In addition, the delivery notification system according to claim 4 is the delivery notification system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the data is collected and transmitted to the slave unit at a predetermined time to the slave unit, except at the time of transmission. The main feature is that a sleep means for disconnecting communication with the parent device is provided.

  That is, since the invention according to claim 4 can suppress power consumption without always connecting, the wearing time can be extended. On the other hand, the transmission output can be increased, wireless communication to a distant place can be realized, and a system that can be introduced even on a large-scale farm can be provided.

  In addition, the delivery notification system according to claim 5 is the delivery notification system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, in which cows that are close to giving birth are individually put in a cage, and the state in the cage is displayed. The main feature is that imaging means for photographing is provided, and the notifying means notifies that the delivery is imminent and transmits the state in the cage photographed by the photographing means to the breeder.

  That is, in the invention according to claim 5, the breeder can confirm the state of the cow near delivery and call a veterinarian if necessary.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to reduce the burden of livestock farming attendance. More specifically, according to the present invention (Claims 1 and 2), the rotational walking motion of the cow is detected with high accuracy, and the breeder is notified that the calving is near. Further, according to the present invention (Claim 3), the breeder can happen to be present at the site, or other workers can be noticed, and the certainty of notification is improved. In addition, according to the present invention (Claim 4), it is possible to provide a system that can be introduced even on a large-scale farm. Further, according to the present invention (Claim 5), the breeder can confirm the state of the cow near delivery and call a veterinarian if necessary.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a delivery notification system. FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing how the slave unit is attached. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware of the slave unit and the master unit. FIG. 4 is a view showing a state in which a cow near calving performs a rotational walking motion in a cage. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the output value of the orientation sensor when the sensor device is attached immediately above the spine immediately after the torso. The output value when the sensor device is attached to the neck is also shown. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the results of accumulating every hour for how many times the rotary walking movement was performed in the cage based on the data of the direction sensor for the cows near delivery.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is a behavior in which a cow walks around in a cage about several hours before parturition (a clockwise rotation is continued for a while if it is clockwise, and a counterclockwise rotation is continued for a while if it is counterclockwise). This is an invention made based on the first detection by using an orientation sensor.

  FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of the delivery notification system of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing how the slave unit is attached. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the hardware of the slave unit and the master unit. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the concept of the rotational walking motion.

  The delivery detection system S is a system including a child device 1, a parent device 2, a video camera 3, and a mobile phone 4. These will be described in order focusing on the slave unit 1 and the master unit 2.

  The child machine 1 is attached to a cow that is approaching parturition one by one, and is attached to a cow placed in a delivery cage in the cowshed, and includes a sensor device 101, a belt 102 that attaches the sensor device 101 immediately after the upper part of the cow, and a sensor. And a pedestal 103 for mounting the apparatus 101 (FIG. 2). In addition, although the subunit | mobile_unit 1 is attached to the cow (it is not necessarily one head) near delivery as a general rule, in order to save the effort of attachment or detachment, you may make it always attach to all the breeding cows.

  In case of cows with little experience of delivery, for example, they will be housed for one week before, so that they will become accustomed to the environment, reduce stress, and cope with preterm birth. Cattle that have some experience in childbirth are accommodated, for example, two days before or one day in advance, taking into account the difference between the past scheduled delivery date and the actual delivery date.

  The sensor device 101 includes an orientation sensor 111, an acceleration sensor 112, a memory 113, a control unit 114, a communication unit 115, and a light emitting unit 116 (FIG. 3). The size of the housing is a flat box shape of 9 cm × 13 cm × 3 cm, and the lower surface is curved so as to fit the pedestal 103. In addition, the entire casing is waterproofed to improve the reliability of the apparatus. The sensor device 101 is driven by four AA batteries and performs necessary communication with the parent device 2. Next, each part will be described.

  The azimuth sensor 111 detects which direction the cow is facing based on the geomagnetism, and thereby determines whether the cow is rotating and walking, that is, whether the cow has rotated around the cage in a certain direction. Although a detection example will be described later, when it is about to be delivered, the sensor can confirm the motion of turning around continuously for several hours. However, in the case of wearing on the neck or the like, there is a lot of noise, and it cannot be determined whether or not the rotational walking motion has been performed. It can be said that the technical idea of the present invention is that a characteristic rotational walking motion before delivery can be detected when a sensor is arranged at an appropriate position. The output data from the azimuth sensor 111 is three because it is the inclination of the sensor in the space. In order to reduce the data capacity, the detection interval is every 2 seconds and the data length is 8 bits each.

  The acceleration sensor 112 monitors the vibration of the cow. This can grasp vibrations in a three-dimensional space and is used as an auxiliary to the direction sensor 111 to distinguish between rotational walking motions and simple walking. The output data from the acceleration sensor 112 is three because it is vibration in the space, and in order to reduce the data capacity, the detection interval is every 2 seconds and the data length is 8 bits each.

  Data acquired by the azimuth sensor 111 and the acceleration sensor 112 are sequentially stored in the memory 113.

  The control unit 114 performs control to store the data of the azimuth sensor 111 and the acceleration sensor 112 in the memory 113, and transmits the data to the parent device 2 when data for a predetermined time is accumulated. In addition, the control unit 114 performs lighting control of the light emitting unit 116, communication control of the communication unit 115, and other control of the entire sensor device 101.

  The control unit 114 also performs ON / OFF control of the communication sleep mode. This is because if the communication unit 115 always communicates, the amount of power consumption increases according to the transmission output, and the battery (not shown) runs out. The communication sleep mode is turned on / off at a predetermined time interval (for example, every 5 minutes), and the data stored in the memory 113 is transmitted to the base unit 2 collectively, and otherwise the communication is disconnected. Thereby, a battery can be reduced in size and the sensor apparatus 101 can be reduced in size and weight. On the other hand, if the battery capacity is the same, it means that it can be worn for a long time compared to the case of constant connection, and if the wearing time is the same, the transmission strength will be reduced. Data communication is possible even when the base unit 2 is far away. For example, if the output is 10 mW, data transmission / reception is possible even if the base unit 2 is arranged 200 m to 400 m away.

  The communication unit 115 performs communication between the sensor device 101 and the parent device 2 and transmits / receives data. The data to be transmitted to the master unit 2 includes various data for establishing communication with the master unit 2, data stored in the memory 113, cow ID, and the like. The data received from the base unit 2 includes various data for establishing communication with the sensor device 101, lighting request data for the light emitting unit 116, and the like.

  The light emitting unit 116 is composed of LEDs, and emits light when receiving analysis result data indicating that the cow is about to be delivered from the parent machine 2. As a result, for example, even a person who happens to be in the barn can confirm that the delivery is near and can quickly prepare for delivery. Further, an LED for notifying the remaining battery capacity may be provided. Thereby, it can be confirmed from the outside so as not to cause a notification error due to a battery exhaustion.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the belt 102 passes immediately after the front leg (side part) of the cow and passes directly above, that is, immediately after the torso, to fix the sensor device 101. This belt is made of neoprene rubber and has a width of 8 cm. The length of the belt can be adjusted through a ring 121 and can be fixed at any position by a hook-and-loop fastener. If the wearing period becomes longer, it is tightened appropriately.

  As shown in the figure, the pedestal 103 has a triangular prism shape that is applied to the left and right with the spine as a center, directly below the sensor device 101. The material is a sponge material with a waterproof surface, which prevents the housing of the sensor device 101 from directly touching the back and reduces the cow's wearing stress. The sensor device 101 is stably fixed by the pedestal 103.

  Next, the master unit will be described. The master unit 2 analyzes the transmission data from the sensor device 101 attached to the cow near delivery (not necessarily one), determines whether the cow is just before delivery, and sends it to the breeder's mobile phone. Notify that. Specifically, base unit 2 includes communication unit 201, analysis unit 202, control unit 203, mailer 204, and display unit 205 (FIG. 3).

  The communication unit 201 performs communication between the parent device 2 and the child device 1 to transmit / receive data. Examples of data to be transmitted to the slave unit 1 include various data for establishing communication with the slave unit 1 and a determination result for blinking the LED of the light emitting unit 116. Data received from the slave unit 1 includes various data for establishing communication with the master unit 2, detection data of the direction sensor, detection data of the acceleration sensor, and the like. The communication unit 201 also transmits mail to the mobile phone 4.

  The analysis unit 202 includes a data storage unit 221 and a delivery determination unit 222, and determines whether delivery is approaching based on data from the child device 1. The data storage unit 221 stores the azimuth sensor data and the acceleration sensor data, which are periodically sent together, for each cow based on the cow identification number. The delivery determination unit 222 analyzes the data stored in the one-side data storage unit 221 to determine whether the cow that has transmitted data is nearing delivery.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the output value of the orientation sensor when the sensor device 101 is attached directly above the spine immediately after the torso. In addition, the figure also shows an example in which the same sensor device 101 is mounted on the neck. As is apparent from the figure, the movement of the cow is detected by the sensor device 101 from 12 hours or more before parturition, but the movement has been active since about 6 hours, and a characteristic graph is drawn. It can be confirmed. On the other hand, when the sensor device 101 is attached to the neck, the detection value of the sensor is always greatly changed, and it can be confirmed that there is no characteristic pattern that can distinguish between just before delivery and the others. Therefore, it can be said that when the sensor device 101 is arranged immediately after the scapula, it is possible to efficiently extract the feature quantity immediately before the delivery.

  The labor determination unit 222 further processes the raw data of the direction sensor and detects how many times the rotational walking motion is performed in the cage. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the results of accumulating every hour for how many times the rotary walking movement was performed in the cage based on the data of the direction sensor for the cows near delivery. As can be seen from the data from two days before delivery, it can be seen that 20 or more rotational walking exercises are performed immediately before delivery. Although other cows were also investigated, it was confirmed that 20 or more rotational walking exercises were performed just before delivery. In this way, the delivery determination unit 222 determines that it is just before delivery from the raw data of the direction sensor and the rotation speed in the bag.

  In the present embodiment, 20 or more rotations are determined to be immediately before delivery, but may be set to 15 or more depending on the specification.

  The control unit 203 controls the entire base unit 2, and in particular performs communication control of the communication unit 201, determination control of the analysis unit 202, and mail transmission control of the mailer 204. In addition, display control of the display unit 205 described later is performed. The master unit 2 may be a personal computer (PC) because there is no hardware limitation. In this case, the control unit 203 includes an OS and some software.

  When the analysis unit 202 determines that the calving is about to occur, the mailer 204 transmits a standard mail in which the cow number (ID) and the determination time are embedded to a predetermined address. Here, it transmits to the mobile phone 4 which a breeder owns. Thereby, the breeder can immediately grasp which cow is about to be delivered.

  The display unit 205 performs control to output video shot by the video camera 3. The video camera 3 is a fixed camera and can grasp the state in the cage (FIG. 4). When the main unit 2 is installed in the waiting room of the cowshed, the waiting room may be provided with a monitor so that the cow can be observed. Further, when the waiting room is away from the breeder's home, a video transmission request may be issued from a PC separately arranged in the breeder's home and the video of the video camera 3 may be output on the PC. . In this case, transmission is performed by appropriately compressing according to the thickness of the communication line.

  By providing the display unit 205, it is possible to actually check the state after receiving notification that the delivery is near, so that time can be used effectively while reducing the possibility of a delivery accident. In other words, the labor burden on the breeder can be reduced.

  The video camera 3 is not particularly limited as long as it can capture the state inside the delivery basket, and the mobile phone 4 is not particularly limited as long as it can receive mail.

  With the delivery notification system S described above, it is possible to reduce the burden of the breeder's attendance at delivery.

  In addition, in the example mentioned above, although it was determined by the main | base station 2 that it is near delivery, depending on the aspect of a specification, you may determine by the subunit | mobile_unit 1 side without being limited to this. Since the determination method can be the same as that performed by the analysis unit 202, the description thereof is omitted.

  The present invention may be applied to horses (for example, racehorses) and pigs so as to reduce the labor burden of the breeder based on the feature values of delivery. However, it is necessary to appropriately optimize the mounting location of the sensor device and the size of the ridge.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Child machine 2 Parent machine 3 Video camera 4 Cellular phone 101 Sensor apparatus 102 Belt 103 Base 111 Direction sensor 112 Acceleration sensor 113 Memory 114 Control part 115 Communication part 116 Light emission part 121 Ring 201 Communication part 202 Analysis part 203 Control part 204 Mailer 205 Display unit 221 Data storage unit 222 Delivery determination unit S Delivery notification system

Claims (5)

A delivery notification system including a child machine to be attached to each breeding cow and a parent machine for notifying a breeder that there is a cow near delivery based on information from the child machine,
The child machine is attached to the cow by a belt body that rotates around the waist just behind the front leg just above the spine just after the torso.
An orientation sensor that detects the direction the cow is facing,
A transmission unit for transmitting the detection result of the direction sensor to the master unit;
Comprising
The parent machine
A receiving unit for receiving transmission data from the slave unit;
Based on the data received by the receiving unit, immediately before the action determining means for determining whether the cow is performing a rotational walking exercise for a predetermined time or more or a predetermined frequency or more,
A notifying means for notifying the breeder that it is close to delivery when it is determined by the immediately preceding action determining means that the rotational walking movement has been performed for a predetermined time or more or a predetermined frequency;
A delivery notification system characterized by comprising: A delivery notification system including a child machine to be attached to each breeding cow and a parent machine for notifying a breeder that there is a cow near delivery based on information from the child machine,
The child machine is attached to the cow by a belt body that rotates around the waist just behind the front leg just above the spine just after the torso.
An orientation sensor that detects the direction the cow is facing,
Based on the detection result of the azimuth sensor, the immediately preceding action determination means for determining whether the cow is performing the rotational walking motion for a predetermined time or more or a predetermined frequency or more;
A transmission unit that transmits to the parent machine that it is close to delivery when it is determined by the immediately preceding action determination means that the rotational walking movement has been performed for a predetermined time or more or a predetermined frequency;
Comprising
The parent machine
A receiving unit for receiving transmission contents from the slave unit;
Based on the content received by the receiving unit, notification means for notifying the breeder that it is close to delivery,
A delivery notification system characterized by comprising: In the cordless handset, light emitting means,
Control means for flashing or lighting the light emitting means when it is close to delivery;
The delivery notification system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: In the child machine,
The delivery notification system according to claim 1, 2, or 3, further comprising a sleep unit that collects data at predetermined time intervals and transmits the data to the parent device, and disconnects communication with the parent device at times other than the time of transmission. We have set up photography means to take the cows close to giving birth individually in the cage and photograph the situation inside the cage,
5. The notification unit according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies that the delivery is about to occur and transmits the state of the cage photographed by the imaging unit to the breeder. Delivery notification system.

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