JPH11276002A - Individual information identification system for animal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly judge the conditions of each animal to be managed by directly looking at information displayed on the animal side. SOLUTION: In the case where, for example, a cow to be milked is an animal to be managed, the managing information of the animal and the individual identification information corresponding to the animal are communicated from an information communication means 20 on the ground side to an information holding means R attached on the animal by radio, and the information holding means R on the animal side identifies the managing information addressed to herself by the individual identification information for herself which is memorized beforehand and receives it from the information communication means T. The above-mentioned managing information which has been communicated from the information communication means T to the information holding means R is displayed on a display means 12 attached on the animal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information holding means for storing and holding individual identification information of an animal to be managed attached to a corresponding animal, and wirelessly communicating with the information holding means on the ground. The present invention relates to an animal individual information identification device provided with information communication means capable of communicating the individual identification information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The above-mentioned individual information identifying apparatus for animals uses, for example, a cow for milking as an animal to be managed, and a transmitter (corresponding to information holding means) hung on the neck of the cow to identify an individual (cow). For example, when a cow comes to a milking place, the above identification number transmitted from the cow is received by a receiver (corresponding to information communication means) installed on the ground side. I was trying to do it. Then, based on the identification number of the cow received by the receiver, the controller on the ground side, the individual information of each cow stored in advance, for example, management information for milking work such as physique data and nipple position data, etc. With reference to this, a milking tool is positioned at each nipple and processing such as automatic milking is performed (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-243315).

[0003] In addition to the above-mentioned nipple position data, it is necessary to manage information such as the time elapsed since the last milking, the presence / absence of mastitis, and whether or not the estrus is present. Yes, for example, based on the information on the elapsed time from the previous milking, the cows whose elapsed time from the previous milking is less than the set time are not milked and returned to the living area.

[0004]

However, according to the above-mentioned prior art, a worker can control each cow based on management information such as the elapsed time from the previous milking, the presence or absence of mastitis, and whether or not she is in an estrus state. In order to judge the state, the management information is displayed on a display screen such as a monitor provided on the controller on the ground side, and after confirming the display information, the actual cow will be visited, There was a problem that the state of each cow could not be known quickly.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to quickly determine the state of each animal while looking at the information displayed on the actual animal. is there.

[0006]

According to the present invention, management information on an animal to be managed and individual identification information corresponding to the animal are transmitted from an information communication means provided on the ground side to the animal. The information communication means is wirelessly communicated to the information holding means attached to the animal, and the information holding means on the animal side transmits the information for management from the information communication means while identifying the management information for the self by the individual identification information stored and held in advance. The management information received and communicated from the information communication means to the information holding means is displayed on the display means attached to the animal. Therefore, since the management information about the animal is displayed on the display means attached to the animal, the management information displayed on a display screen of a monitor or the like provided on a controller or the like on the ground side is displayed in the conventional manner. After confirmation, the state of the actual animal can be quickly determined while looking at the actual animal without the need to go to see the actual animal.

According to a second aspect, in the first aspect, the animal is a milking animal, and the management information is management information for a work of milking the animal. Therefore, when milking an animal for milking, it is necessary to quickly determine, for example, whether or not the animal is in a state suitable for milking, based on the management information displayed on the animal side, and to take appropriate measures according to the state. Thus, the preferable means of claim 1 is obtained.

According to a third aspect, in the first or second aspect, the management information comprises a plurality of management information, and each of the plurality of management information is displayed in a different color on the display means. Is displayed so as to be visible from outside. Therefore, when the management information includes a plurality of management information,
The contents of each piece of management information can be quickly determined while visually distinguishing each piece of management information by a different color-coded display, whereby the preferred means of claim 1 or 2 is obtained.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, a case in which an animal individual information identification device according to the present invention is applied to a cow milking facility with milking cows as animals to be managed will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the entire layout of the barn.
1A is a cattle feeding area adapted for automatic milking, 1B is a cattle feeding area not adapted for automatic milking, 2A is a first area serving as a living area for cows adapted for automatic milking, and 2B is not adapted for automatic milking. A second area 3 as a cow living area is a milking place, and a large number of stalls (beds) 2a and 2b separated by pipes are arranged in the first and second areas 2A and 2B. The feeding area 1A and the first area 2A are separated by two one-way gates 4 and 5, and these one-way gates 4 and 5 allow only passage from the feeding area 1A to the first area 2A. It is configured. And the first area 2A
In addition, between the second area 2B and the milking place 3, a passage L1 in which cows move and a waiting place 6 for waiting the order of milking are provided. In addition, a passage L2 is formed between the milking place 3 and the feeding place 1A. Therefore, the cows in the first area 2A pass through the milking parlor 3 to the feeding area 1A, and after eating, pass through the one-way gates 4 and 5 and return to the first area 2A along a one-way circulation path. To move. In addition, a passage L3 is formed between the second area 2B and the feeding ground 1B so as to be able to move freely.

[0010] Between the first and second areas 2A and 2B and the milking place 3, cows in the first area 2A can freely go to the milking place 3, and cows in the second area 2B. A first state in which the cows in the first area 2A are prohibited from moving to the milking place 3 and a cow in the second area 2B is free to go to the milking place 3; Second
An open / close gate G8 is provided which can be switched between states. The milking room 7 of the milking place 3 is provided with an automatic milking apparatus A (see FIG. 2) for automatically attaching a teat cup 50 as a milking tool to a nipple and milking incoming cows.

The milking system in this barn will be briefly described. A plurality of cows to be milked are classified into cows that are compatible with automatic milking by the automatic milking apparatus A (hereinafter referred to as automatic cows) and cows that are not compatible with automatic milking. (Hereinafter referred to as "manual cattle") and are managed as a group. Automatic cattle are managed to live in the first area 2A, and manual cows live in the second area 2B. Will be managed. In addition, with the cow which is not suitable for automatic milking, for example, the shape of a teat does not match the shape of the teat cup 50,
A cow that is difficult to be automatically worn, a cow that is unable to execute automatic milking because it is calm and violent when entering the milking place 3 due to an estrus state, or a cow that is sick with mastitis or the like, A cow that cannot automatically milk automatically by the automatic milking device A.

In many times of the day, the open / close gate G8 is switched to the first state, and the automatic cows in the first area 2A are free to milk whenever they become hungry. You can go to the feeding ground through place 3.
Although there is no food in the first area 2A, it is a delicious food that appeals to the taste of the cow at the place where the animal feeds when the automatic milking device A performs milking in the milking place 3 (feed box 36 in FIG. 2). Concentrated feed is fed, and dairy cows that are aware of this (educated) will naturally head for the dairy 3 when they are hungry. In addition, feeds 1A and 1B, which are places to feed when milking is not performed by the automatic milking apparatus A, are fed with a feed containing a large amount of roughage such as grass.

[0013] The manual cows are artificially managed and milked. In other words, the manual cow in the second area 2B can go to the feeding place 1B at any time through the passage L3 to feed, but normally, the open / close gate G8 is closed, so that it is not possible to go to the milking place 3 freely. Can not. Therefore, when the worker reaches a predetermined milking time, the operator switches the opening / closing gate G8 to the second state and sequentially moves the manual cows in the second area 2B to the milking place 3. Teat cup 50 by manual operation in 3
To carry out milking. The milked manual cow returns to the second area 2B via the return route L4.

Next, the milking parlor 3 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the milking place 3 has a moving passage 8 beside the two milking rooms 7, 7 arranged in series, and a return passage L5 for returning the cows that have failed automatic milking to the entrance side. Are provided side by side. A first gate G1 which can be opened and closed is provided on the entrance side of the moving passage 8 (on the side of the waiting area 6). A third (fifth) gate G3, G5, which is an exit, is provided.
At the exit side of the moving passage 8, a passage L to the feeding ground 1 A
A sixth gate G6 for distributing the cow to the return path L5 and the return path L5, and a seventh gate G7 for distributing the manual cow to the return path L4 and the return path L5 are provided. A one-way gate G9 is provided on the side of the waiting area 6 of the return path L5, which allows only passage to the waiting area 6 side. Although not shown, a large number of sensors for detecting the passage or presence or absence of a cow are provided to operate the gates in a coordinated manner. All sensors are
The optical sensor is constituted by a pair of a light emitter and a light receiver, and performs a detection operation by interrupting the optical axis or restarting the optical axis.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, on the neck of each cow,
A responder R for transmitting identification number information as the individual identification information of the cow is attached. When the cow enters each milking room 7, the identification number of the cow transmitted from the responder R is received by the reader T installed on the floor, and the cow (individual) is identified based on the received information. The milking operation by the automatic milking apparatus A is started. Here, the automatic cow can freely go to the milking place 3 at any time, but the individual is identified as described above, and the set time (about 4 hours) has not elapsed since the last milking. If it is determined that the milking station 3 is removed from the milking parlor 3 without performing automatic milking. When the automatic milking device A is reset after the automatic milking is completed, the cow is withdrawn from the milking room 7 toward the moving passage 8 and the cow returns to the feeding place 1 through the passage L2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the automatic milking apparatus A includes a milking machine (cluster) Aa having four teat cups 50 attachable to a teat at its tip and movable in the left-right and up-down directions. The cows 4 placed on the side of each milking room 7 and having a predetermined milking posture in the milking room 7
A state in which the sensor robot Ab for sensing the teat at the location and aligning the teat cup 50 directly below the corresponding teat is movable on the rail 62 toward the corresponding location of each breast pump (cluster) Aa. It is equipped with. The sensor robot Ab is provided with two rough sensors 55, 55 and one scanner-type fine sensor 56 as sensors for nipple sensing.

Next, the control configuration will be described with reference to FIG. The responder R includes a control microcomputer 10 having a built-in memory unit 11 for storage, a communication unit 13 for communicating with the reader T on the ground side while being connected to the microcomputer 10, An activity amount sensor 14 for detecting an activity amount is provided. In addition, the responder R
Is supplied with operating power from a power supply battery (not shown). The identification number of the cow to which the responder R is attached is stored in the memory unit 11 as nonvolatile information. Also, the activity sensor 14 is configured in a pedometer type and configured to output a pulse in accordance with the operation of the cow,
The integrated value of the output counted by the microcomputer 10 is stored in the memory unit 11. Further, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
Indicator 12 having indicator lamps 12a, 12b, 12c
Are mounted so as to be connected to the microcomputer 10 of the responder R, and each of the indicator lights 12a, 12b, 12c displays a different color such as red, yellow, and blue when lit. This color may be a combination of other colors.

On the ground side, a control device 20 using a microcomputer is provided. The control device 20 includes a monitor 21 having a display screen, input means 22 such as a keyboard, and the reader. T is connected. Although not shown, the control device 20 includes storage means such as a floppy disk. The control device 2
0 stores and holds management information for each cow, that is, a plurality of management information for milking the cow.
For example, if the integrated value information of the output of the activity amount sensor 14 is received from the responder R for each set time and the change amount of the integrated value within the set time exceeds the set value, the cow is in the estrus state. And the information of "estrus" is stored. For cows with mastitis, the operator inputs information of "with mastitis" through the input means 22.
Further, as described above, information on “elapsed time since last milking” is stored for each cow.

As described above, the responder R functions as information holding means for storing and holding individual identification information (identification number) of each cow, and the reader T is provided on the ground side.
This corresponds to an information communication means capable of wirelessly communicating the individual identification information (identification number) with the responder R. And
The said leader T said management information about each cow,
An identification number corresponding to the cow is configured to be communicable with the responder R, and the responder R receives the management information for itself from the reader T while identifying the management information based on the individual identification information. It is configured.

The microcomputer 10 on the responder R side
Is the self-managed information received (whether there is "estrus",
"Mastitis", "Elapsed time since last milking")
On the indicator 12, the red indicator light 12a is turned on when "estrus is present", and the yellow indicator light 12b is turned on when "mastitis is present". "Elapsed time since last milking" Is longer than a set time (for example, 4 hours), the blue indicator light 12c is turned on to display.
That is, the display unit 12 corresponds to a display unit that is attached to the cow and displays the management information transmitted from the reader T to the responder R.
Is configured to display each of the plurality of management information (presence / absence of “estrus”, “presence / absence of mastitis”, “time elapsed since last milking”) in a different color-coded display so as to be visible from the outside. It is configured.

[Alternative Embodiment] In the above embodiment, the animal to be managed is a dairy cow as an example of an animal for milking. The present invention may be applied to a case where an animal is an animal to be managed, and the management information is appropriately changed according to each case.

In the above embodiment, the information communication means (leader T) provided on the ground side communicates with the information holding means (responder R) on the animal side only when the animal comes to a predetermined place (milking place or the like). Although it was configured to be possible, the present invention is not limited to such a communication mode, and the individual identification information and the management information are wirelessly provided to the information holding means on the animal side where the information communication means on the ground is present in a wide range. May be configured to be able to communicate.

In the above embodiment, the display means 12 is provided with the LE
Although a D-type display is used, a lamp-type display or the like may be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall plan view showing a barn layout.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an information communication state between the cow side and the ground side in a milking place.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing an information communication state between the cow side and the ground side in a milking place.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a collar type information holding unit.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control configuration.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 display means R information holding means T information communication means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An information holding means for storing and holding individual identification information of an animal to be managed is attached to a corresponding animal, and the individual identification information is wirelessly communicated with the information holding means on the ground side. An animal individual information identification device provided with a possible information communication means, wherein the information communication means holds the management information about the animal and the individual identification information corresponding to the animal, The information holding means is configured to receive the management information for itself from the information communication means while identifying the management information for itself by the individual identification information; and A display means for displaying the management information communicated to the holding means, wherein the animal individual information identification device is attached to the animal. 2. The animal individual information identification device according to claim 1, wherein the animal is a milking animal, and the management information is management information for a work of milking the animal. 3. The management information includes a plurality of pieces of management information, and the display unit displays each of the plurality of pieces of management information in a different color-coded display so as to be visible from the outside. The animal individual information identification device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: