JP6366924B2 - System for detecting estrus in cattle - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a system for detecting estrus in cows reared tie Domestic (Thailand stall) or free-range (free stall, pasture) by like.

The key to the management of the dairy and livestock industry is to secure a stable feeding. The ideal way to secure a stable lactation is to produce one calf per year. However, in reality, there are problems such as weakening of estrus signs in cattle and dairymen not having enough time to observe estrus signs, and reproductive results remain at about 70% to 85%.
This problem is particularly noticeable for privately owned dairy farmers who cannot afford.
Therefore, there is a demand for the development and provision of an estrus detection device that can be introduced easily and inexpensively even by such a privately managed dairy farmer and that can reliably improve the reproductive performance.

  As a known estrus detection device for tethered cattle, as in the device described in the following patent document, among the features of cattle external estrus signs, there is a large amount of behavior during estrus. There is something that takes advantage of the feature.

JP 2011-45284 A JP 2007-37454 A JP 2006-75090 A JP 2010-33329 A JP-A-11-128210 JP 2012-90604 A

However, there are the following problems in the prior art shown in the patent document.
<1> Viewpoint of Detection Accuracy, etc. (1) In any patent document, there is a single method for detecting the estrus of cattle, and there is a limit to improvement in detection accuracy and detection rate.
In addition, if the detection method is single, the detection accuracy is likely to fluctuate due to individual differences between cows, and there is a possibility that a satisfactory detection result cannot be obtained.

(2) In the case of the invention according to Patent Document 1, the temperature detected by the temperature sensor deployed on the underside of the cow bed mat is [1] outside air temperature (including seasonal variation) [2] body temperature when the cow is lying down ( (3) Heat transfer) [3] The temperature of the bed mat when the cow stands (has a temperature drop characteristic depending on the heat capacity of the mat). However, in reality, there is a problem that there is no large temperature difference between the temperatures [1] to [3], and the responsiveness of temperature change is slow due to the heat capacity of the mat. Further, the mat temperatures of [2] and [3] change the responsiveness of the sensor due to the difference in heat capacity between the unsteady state and the steady state.

(3) In the case of the invention according to Patent Document 2, since the device determines only by the number of steps of the front leg, the number of steps varies greatly depending on the individual difference of the cow, and the determination accuracy tends to vary.

(4) As in the inventions described in Patent Documents 3 to 6, when a sensor is attached to the body of the cow, the cow moves variously to eliminate foreign matter, and the sensor instrument is damaged or unnatural. Behavior patterns, which do not lead to estrus signs detected from natural standing and lying behavior patterns, and may lead to a decrease in detection accuracy.

<2> Viewpoint of stress on cattle (1) Like the inventions described in Patent Documents 3 to 6, if any sensor is attached to the bovine body, the cattle will be stressed.
Cows are animals that are sensitive to stress, and the stress can reduce subsequent milking.

<3> Cost Perspective (1) In the case of the inventions described in Patent Documents 3 to 6, it is necessary to attach sensors to all cattle to be managed, and there is a limit to cost reduction.
In order to reduce costs, a method of attaching a sensor only to a cow that is predicted to be in estrus is considered, but the act of detaching the sensor each time is burdensome for both the breeder and the cow such as time and stress. Big and unrealistic.

As described above, the present invention differs from the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide estrus detection system of cattle with more excellent convenience.

The first invention of the present application, which has been made to solve the above problems, is a system for detecting the estrus of a cow, which is installed in a cow house that houses one cow to be detected. The first detection device that detects the estrus, the second detection device that detects the estrus of the cow from the amount of behavior of the cow, and the final determination of the presence or absence of the estrus from the determination results of each of the detection devices It includes a determination means, at least, the second sensing device, the distance between the sensor and the bovine by infrared or laser irradiation to cattle from above the cow with a non-attached adhesive type sensor be installed in the Ushibo An action amount detecting means for detecting the standing of the cow by measuring, and an action amount analyzing means for determining that the information is obtained from the action amount detecting means and the information obtained from the action amount detecting means is the estrus of the cow, At least To provide a detection system.
Further, according to a second invention of the present application, in the first invention, the first detection device is installed in a cow chamber and acquires a roaring sound of the cow, and a sound acquired from the sound acquiring means. It is characterized by comprising at least speech analysis means for performing frequency analysis and determining that the cow is in estrus when a preset condition is satisfied.
Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the number of frequency bands having a strength greater than or equal to a predetermined value is greater than or equal to a predetermined number within a predetermined frequency region for the sound signal subjected to frequency analysis by the sound analysis means. In this case, it is characterized in that it is determined as a cow estrus.
According to a fourth invention of the present application, in any one of the first to third inventions, selection means for narrowing a cow to be estrus from a cow group to be bred, and breeding when estrus of a cow is detected It is characterized in that at least one of notification means for notifying a person is further provided.

According to the present invention, at least one of the effects described below can be obtained.
<1> Viewpoints such as detection accuracy (1) A combination of the first detection device based on cow roaring and the second detection device based on the amount of behavior of the cow, and simultaneously using different detection methods to estrus the cow Therefore, the detection accuracy can be improved. In addition, detection omissions caused by individual differences in cattle can be avoided as much as possible, and an improvement in detection rate can be expected.

(2) By providing the selection means, the breeder only needs to bring the cattle notified by the selection means to the cattle stall where the system or apparatus according to the present invention has been introduced, Become more accurate.

<2> Viewpoint of bearer's burden (1) By providing notification means, estrus sign information is automatically notified to the breeder, so even if the breeder is in an activity other than farming such as shopping or eating The time of estrus of the cow can be grasped, and a veterinarian or an artificial inseminator can be called upon receiving this notification.
Therefore, improvement of the breeding efficiency of cattle can be expected, and as a result, stable management of the dairy and livestock industries becomes possible.

<3> Viewpoint of stress on cattle (1) Since no equipment is attached to the cow, the cow's estrus can be monitored in a situation where no stress is given to the estrus candidate cow.
Therefore, it is possible to prevent problems such as a decrease in milking amount and a decrease in detection accuracy due to an unnatural behavior pattern.

<4> Cost point of view (1) It is only necessary to bring a cow having a close estrus time to a cowhouse in which the system or apparatus according to the present invention is introduced, and it is not necessary to provide a sensor for all the cows. Therefore, it is not necessary to introduce the system or apparatus according to the present invention to all the cows, which contributes to cost reduction.

(2) Since the selection means provided in the present invention can be provided in the form of a program that can be executed by general spreadsheet software, it is necessary to introduce expensive dedicated software for predicting the cattle to be in estrus. There is no.

<5> Viewpoint of simplicity of usage (1) As a method of predicting estrus cattle, there are bleeding boards (breeding control turntables), etc., but compared with them, the selection means according to the present invention is: The milk test management data stored in the database for each dairy farmer can be used to predict the cattle that are scheduled to be in estrus, so even those users who do not need complicated operations and cannot operate machines can introduce it. The threshold is low.

<6> Merits of detection method based on stuttering or amount of activity (1) Because it detects the estrus of the cow with a microphone or sensor that does not need to be attached to the cow, it is not necessary to attach a separate device to the cow and stresses the cow Is not given.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a basic configuration example of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the spectrum-analysis image of an audio | voice signal. The block diagram which shows the 1st application example of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the calendar which shows the estrus time of a cow. The block diagram which shows the 2nd application example of this invention. Schematic which shows the specific Example of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure which concerns on FIG.

  Hereinafter, the basic configuration and application configuration of the present invention, and detailed examples thereof will be described with reference to the drawings.

<1> Basic Configuration Example FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a cow estrus detection system according to the present invention.
The cow estrus detection system according to this configuration example includes at least a voice acquisition unit 10, a voice analysis unit 20, a behavior amount acquisition unit 30, a behavior amount analysis unit 40, and a final determination unit 50.
Each of these devices, each means, and each unit is connected so that information can be transmitted and received by a known communication method regardless of wired or wireless.

(1) Voice acquisition means 10
The voice acquisition unit 10 is a unit for acquiring a cow's voice (stuttering) and transmitting the acquired voice signal to the voice analysis unit.
It is assumed that the voice acquisition means 10 is temporarily or regularly installed in a cow bull to which a cow to be estrus is connected.
The sound acquisition unit 10 includes at least a sound collection unit 11 and an A / D conversion unit 12.
Details of each element will be described below.

(1.1) Sound collection unit 11
The sound collection unit 11 has a function for recording a cow's salmon.
As the sound collection unit 11, a microphone having good unidirectionality can be used.

(1.2) A / D converter 12
The A / D conversion unit 12 is a member for A / D converting the audio signal recorded by the sound collection unit 11, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

(2) Voice analysis means 20
The voice analysis means 20 is a means for performing frequency analysis on the voice signal acquired from the voice acquisition means 10 and determining the presence or absence of cow estrus.
It is assumed that the voice analysis means 20 is realized by executing software on the control device A such as a personal computer or a server.
The control device A provided with the voice analysis means 20 may be installed near the cowhouse, or may be installed at a place away from the cowhouse such as a breeding house.
The voice analysis means 20 includes at least an analysis unit 21 and a determination unit 22.
Details of each element will be described below.

(2.1) Analysis unit 21
The analysis unit 21 has a function for analyzing the audio signal of the cow.
If it demonstrates in detail, the analysis part 21 will perform the process by converting the audio | voice information of a cow into frequency information by the analysis using a fast Fourier transform (FFT) after the noise removal of an audio | voice signal.
For these analyses, well-known software can be used, for example, free software such as “Sonic Visualizer”.

FIG. 2 is an example of a spectrum analysis image of a cow audio signal obtained by FFT analysis.
In FIG. 2, the horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents frequency, and the strength of each frequency is shown by color.
In the analysis image, a frequency band having a predetermined intensity or higher is defined as “section 211” for convenience of explanation.

(2.2) Determination unit 22
The determination part 22 is provided with the function for determining the presence or absence of the estrus of a cow from the said spectrum information.
More specifically, the determination unit 22 satisfies the determination conditions set in advance such as the total number of nodes 211 and the number of nodes 211 in a specific frequency band obtained from the spectrum analysis. Depending on whether it is a thing, the process which determines the presence or absence of the estrus of a cow is performed.

[Type of judgment condition]
The determination condition may be determined in advance, for example, by collecting audio samples of cows at the time of estrus and cows at the time of estrus and extracting conditions common to the cows at the time of estrus.
The judgment condition at this stage is that the number of stutters is more than a certain number of times within a certain time within the restrictions on the number of nodes existing in 0-2000Hz and the number of nodes existing in 800-1000Hz. When detected, it is determined as an estrus state.
In the future, it is speculated that more accurate detection conditions will be found as the number of collected samples increases.In any condition, the presence or absence of estrus in the cow is determined from the audio signal related to the cow's heel. As long as the determination process is performed, it is added that it is included in the scope of the present invention.

(3) Action amount acquisition means 30
The behavior amount acquisition unit 30 is a unit for acquiring a behavior amount of a cow and transmitting the acquired behavior data to the behavior amount analysis unit.
It is assumed that the action amount acquisition means 30 is temporarily or regularly installed in a cow bull to which an estrus cow is connected.
The behavior amount detection means 30 includes at least a behavior detection unit 31 and an A / D conversion unit 32.
Details of each element will be described below.

(3.1) Behavior detection unit 31
The behavior detection unit 31 has a function for detecting the behavior of the cow.
If it demonstrates in detail, the action detection part 31 is provided with the function to detect the aspect of standing / recumbent of a cow with the non-wearing type sensor which is not mounted | worn with a cow.

[Configuration of non-wearable sensor]
As non-wearable sensors, piezoelectric sensors and pressure sensors are set inside a cow mat that is laid in the cow bunch, and a structure that detects the standing, recumbency and stepping state of the cow, an infrared sensor, a laser sensor, etc. It is possible to use a configuration that is set at a predetermined position / height and detects the standing or lying of the cow based on the distance information between the sensor and the cow.

(3.2) A / D Conversion Unit The A / D conversion unit 32 is a member for A / D converting the activity signal detected by the behavior detection unit 31 and outputting it as a digital signal. Omitted.

(4) Action amount analysis means 40
The behavior amount analyzing means 40 is means for determining the presence or absence of cow estrus from the activity signal obtained from the behavior amount obtaining means 30.
It is assumed that the behavior amount analyzing means 40 is realized by executing software on the control device A such as a personal computer or a server.
The behavior amount analyzing means 40 may be installed near the cowhouse, or may be installed in a place away from the cowhouse such as a breeding house.
The behavior amount analysis means 40 includes at least a behavior amount calculation unit 41 and a determination unit 42.
Details of each element will be described below.

(4.1) Action amount calculation unit 41
The behavior amount calculation unit 41 has a function for deriving the behavior state of the cow from the activity signal acquired from the behavior amount acquisition means 30.
More specifically, the behavior amount calculation unit 41 divides the activity signal acquired from the behavior amount acquisition unit 30 every hour, calculates the number and time of standing or lying on the cow, and generates behavior data. I do.

(4.2) Determination unit 42
The determination unit 42 has a function for determining the presence or absence of cow estrus from the behavior data.
If it demonstrates in detail, the determination part 42 will perform the process which determines the presence or absence of the estrus of a cow by whether the said action data satisfy | fills the determination conditions currently set beforehand.

[Type of judgment condition]
The judgment conditions are collected in advance by collecting a sample of behavior data of cattle at the time of estrus and cattle at the time of non-estrus, extracting conditions common to cattle at the time of estrus, using known conditions, etc. Just decide.
Note that it will be included in the scope of the present invention as long as processing for determining the presence / absence of estrus in cattle is performed from behavior data resulting from cattle behavior, regardless of the criteria.

(5) Final determination means 50
The final determination unit 50 is a unit that finally determines the presence or absence of estrus based on the determination results obtained from the voice analysis unit 30 and the behavior amount analysis unit 40.
The determination result by the final determination means 50 includes a process of logical product or OR of the determination results obtained from the voice analysis means 30 and the action amount analysis means 40.

[Advantages of logical product]
If the result is a logical product, it is determined that the estrus is determined by any of the different determination methods. Therefore, the convenience can be expected in terms of more reliably detecting the presence or absence of estrus.

[Advantages of logical sum]
If the result is a logical sum, a sign of estrus that has been overlooked by a single determination method can be grasped by a different determination method, so that an improvement in the detection rate of cattle that may be in estrus can be expected.

(6) Operation and effect of this example According to this configuration, each detection device contributes to improvement in detection accuracy and detection rate in the entire system by detecting the estrus of the cow.

(7) Independent configuration of each detection device As described above, the details of each means constituting the cow estrus detection system of the present invention have been described. However, the present invention is configured by cutting out a part of the system as a separate detection device. May be.
For example, as a device for detecting the estrus of a cow from the roar of the cow, the first detection device B can be made independent of the sound acquisition means 10 and the sound analysis means 20.
Similarly, as the detection device for detecting the estrus of the cow from the behavior amount of the cow, the independent second detection device C can be provided by the behavior amount acquisition means 30 and the behavior amount analysis means 40.
Thus, when using each detection apparatus as an independent detection apparatus, the final determination means 50 is unnecessary.

<2> First Application Example A first application example of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a first application example of the present invention.
In addition to the basic configuration example described above, the present invention can be provided with a selection means 60 for narrowing down the cows to be brought to the barn where the voice acquisition means 10 and the action amount acquisition means 30 are installed.
Hereinafter, details of the selection means 60 will be described.

(1) Selection means 60
The selection means 60 is a means for narrowing down the cows that are to be estrus from the herd to be raised.
It is assumed that the selection unit 60 is realized by executing software on the control device A such as a personal computer or a server.
The control device A provided with the selection means 60 may be installed near the cowhouse, or may be installed in a place away from the cowhouse, such as a breeding house.

  The selection means 60 has a function of automatically estimating the estrus time of each cow and displaying it on a calendar, paying attention to the breeding management record of the breeding cattle and the fact that the estrus of the cow is a 21-day cycle. .

Breeding management records of domestic cattle can be obtained from, for example, milk test management data provided by the Hokkaido Dairy Examination Association, which most dairymen in Hokkaido have joined.
This dairy management data is for each member dairy farmer's monthly calving records, milk yield, milk composition, recent fertilization days, postpartum days, fertilization times, purchased feed supply, breeding management Records, management status, etc. are made into a database, and dairymen can obtain their own cattle database from the website using CSV data.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a calendar showing the estrus time of cows.
The selection means 60 selects the CSV data in the CSV selection area 61 and selects the update button 62, thereby automatically estimating the estrus time of each cow and displaying it in a calendar format on the display provided in the control device A. Configure to

As shown in FIG. 4, by visually displaying the name of the cattle to be estrus on the calendar, it is possible to predict the use schedule of the cow bull in which the cattle estrus detection system according to the present invention is introduced.
Further, as described above, since the estrus of the cow is a 21-day cycle, when it is displayed in units of two months as shown in FIG. 5, it is excellent in viewability and easy to schedule in the future.
In addition, the selection means 60 may provide a user with a browseability option by providing a switching button 63 that displays a calendar on a yearly and weekly basis.
The provision of the calendar print button 64 is also beneficial for users who are unfamiliar with machine operation because it can be carried on paper.

[Effects of selection means]
According to the selection means 60 of the present invention, the breeder only needs to bring the cattle notified by the selection means 60 to the cow house in which the detection system or apparatus according to the present invention has been introduced. Contributes to improving accuracy.
Moreover, since it is not necessary to introduce the system or apparatus according to the present invention to all the cows, it contributes to a reduction in the cost of the entire system.

[Other configuration examples]
In addition, providing a notification function that notifies the person in charge of the presence or absence of cattle scheduled for estrus on the day contributes to further improvement in convenience.

<3> Second Application Example A second application example of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a second application example of the present invention.
In addition to the basic configuration example described above, the present invention can be provided with a notification means 70 that notifies the person in charge when the final determination means 50 detects the estrus of a cow.
Details of the notification means 70 will be described below.

(1) Notification means 70
The notification means 70 is a means for notifying the person in charge when the estrus of the cow is detected.
It is assumed that the notification means 70 is realized by executing software on the control device A such as a personal computer or a server.
The control device A provided with the notification means 70 may be installed near the cowhouse, or may be installed at a place away from the cowhouse, such as a breeding house.
The notification means 70 can use a method such as automatically sending an e-mail to an e-mail address of a breeder registered in advance.

[Effects of selection means]
By providing the notification means 70 of the present invention, the estrus sign information of the cow to be monitored is automatically notified to the breeder (person in charge), so that the breeder is in an action other than farming such as shopping or eating. In addition, it is possible to grasp the estrus time of cattle, and to receive this report, a veterinarian or an artificial inseminator can be called.
Therefore, improvement of the breeding efficiency of cattle can be expected, and as a result, stable management of the dairy and livestock industries becomes possible.

Hereinafter, more specific examples of the estrus detection system for cattle according to the present invention will be described.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a specific embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration according to FIG. 6 for each function.

[Selection of monitored cattle]
A program corresponding to the selection means 60 is installed in the computer e.
The cattle close to the estrus time selected by the selection means 60 will be guided to the cow barn where the estrus detection system of the present invention is installed.

[Aspect of detection device by cow roar]
A microphone a corresponding to the sound collecting unit 11 is installed in the central ceiling portion of the cow bunch, and the audio signal acquired from the microphone a is an audio signal transmitter b having the function of the A / D converter 12. To the computer e.

[Aspect of the detection device based on the amount of behavior of the cow]
A cow bed mat c provided with a piezoelectric element corresponding to the action detection unit 31 is installed in the cow chamber, and an action signal including a piezoelectric signal obtained from the cow bed mat c, or a ceiling of the cow chamber Distance measurement that is an infrared sensor or laser sensor set on the site
The distance signal from the device f is sent to the computer e through the behavior signal transmitter d having the function of the A / D converter 32.

[Judgment processing by computer]
The computer e is installed with programs corresponding to the voice analysis means 20, the behavior amount analysis means 40, the final determination means 50, and the notification means 70.
The computer e receives the sound signal and the action signal, respectively, determines whether the cow is in estrus by the sound analysis means 20, the action amount analysis means 40, and the final determination means 50, and determines that the cow is in the estrus state. When this happens, the notification means 70 notifies the breeder of the detection of estrus by e-mail or the like.

Each device, each means, and each unit described in the first embodiment may be integrated with all functions in one device or may be realized by arbitrarily distributing these functions to a plurality of devices.
For example, the audio signal transmitter b and the action signal transmitter d can be configured to correspond to the plurality of microphones a and the cow bed mat c.
Further, the microphone a, the audio signal transmitter b, the behavior signal transmitter d, and the computer e can be configured to be integrated with an information processing apparatus (for example, a mobile phone, a smartphone, and a tablet) having a communication function.

A control device B first detection device C second detection device 10 voice acquisition unit 11 sound collection unit 12 A / D conversion unit 20 voice analysis unit 21 analysis unit 22 determination unit 30 action amount acquisition unit 31 action detection unit 32 A / D conversion unit 40 Action amount analysis unit 41 Action amount calculation unit 42 Determination unit 50 Final determination unit 60 Selection unit 61 CSV selection area 62 Update button 63 Switch button 64 Print button 70 Notification unit a Microphone b Audio signal transmitter c Cow bed Mat d action signal transmitter e computer f distance measuring device

Claims (4)

A system for detecting the estrus of cattle by installing it in a cow house that houses one cow to be detected,
A first detection device for detecting the estrus of the cow from the roar of the cow;
A second detection device that detects the estrus of the cow from the amount of behavior of the cow;
From the determination result of each detection device, final determination means for determining the presence or absence of final estrus,
Including at least
The second detection device includes:
A behavior amount detecting means for detecting the standing of the cow by measuring the distance between the sensor and the cow by infrared or laser irradiating the cow from above the cow with a non-wearing type sensor installed in the cow chamber; ,
When the information acquired from the action amount detection means satisfies a preset condition, the action amount analysis means determines at least that of cow estrus,
Cattle estrus detection system. The first detection device includes:
Voice acquisition means installed in a cow bull and acquiring the roar of the cow;
Analyzing the frequency of the sound acquired from the sound acquisition means, and determining that it is a cow's estrus when a preset condition is satisfied, the sound analysis means comprises at least,
The estrus detection system for cattle according to claim 1. The voice analysis means, for a voice signal subjected to frequency analysis, in a predetermined frequency region, when the number of frequency bands with a predetermined strength or more is a certain number or more, it is determined that the estrus of the cow,
The estrus detection system for cows according to claim 2.   It is characterized by further comprising at least one of selection means for narrowing down the cattle to be estrused from the cattle herd to be raised and notification means for notifying the breeder when the estrus of the cow is detected The cow estrus detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.