KR20170065033A

KR20170065033A - A device for analyzing the amount of water consumed

Info

Publication number: KR20170065033A
Application number: KR1020150149625A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 이상석; 정창대; 최영경
Original assignee: 순천대학교 산학협력단
Priority date: 2015-10-27
Filing date: 2015-10-27
Publication date: 2017-06-13

Abstract

The apparatus for inspecting the water intake of a livestock according to the present invention allows the water supply gate to be opened when the livestock enters the water supply tank and simultaneously supplies water to the water supply tank so that the livestock can consume water. On the other hand, when the livestock leaves the water supply tank, the water supply gate is closed and the water supply device does not supply water to the water supply tank, and the water amount of the individual livestock is settled from the amount of water supplied to the water supply tank.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a device for measuring water intake of a domestic animal,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for examining a water intake of livestock.

Generally, water is a main component of human or animal cells, and plays a role of maintaining the normal shape of the cells and maintaining the shape of the animal.

As described above, the amount of water constituting the animal body varies depending on the animal species and growth stage. In the case of the new calf, about 82% of the ball weight is occupied by water, whereas in the case of adult cattle, The amount will drop to 53%. The changes in body water content with age of these cows are due to the increase in fat content as the livestock grows and the lower the body water content of the body fat tissue than the muscle tissue.

In addition, since water has a high specific heat, it removes excess heat generated in the metabolism process of the animal, and since it has a high heat of evaporation, it plays an important role in regulating body temperature by evaporating moisture through breathing and skin. It acts as a carrier to remove nutrients from tissues as well as to transport nutrients into tissues.

In addition, livestock is preferred to cool cold water in summer and warm water in winter to reduce the body temperature of hot period and increase the body temperature in cold weather, and it can be a great help to improve life activity and productivity of livestock. By accurately grasping patterns and intakes, you can quickly identify abnormal signs of livestock.

In this way, identification of individual intakes of water, the most essential nutrient for livestock biology and life activities, is the most important factor in identifying and managing the health status and productivity of livestock, It is difficult to study the water intakes of individual livestock by performing the operation of pouring the water inside the water tank until the water is clean to eat clean water and by the action of the livestock at the same time competing water intake.

In addition, in order to accurately investigate the water intake of livestock, the investigator must record the amount of water that the livestock feeds at the place where the feed is eaten during the day or the test period, and record the amount of food that has been consumed. There is a problem that this can not be done in the private farmhouse that is raised.

Meanwhile, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-0139404 discloses a method of recognizing a user by a unique identification code of an RFID tag, computing a water supply amount according to a water supply time, updating a daily water consumption amount of the user, As an alert, there is a known water intake automatic notification system that automatically checks the daily personal intake and informs the remaining intake requirement automatically.

The water intake automatic notification system as described above recognizes the water intake amount of the user through the user recognition unit including the main database provided in the water purifier and informs the user of the remaining intake amount in voice or graphic form. There is a disadvantage that it is difficult to investigate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above conventional problems and it is an object of the present invention to provide a water intake amount measuring device capable of precisely measuring the water intake amount of individual livestock, , It is possible to check in real time the life activity such as the amount of production of livestock and the increase in weight and the activity of the livestock and the activity of the feed and the feeding of the livestock. The present invention also provides an apparatus for inspecting a water intake of a livestock in a livestock farm.

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides an RFID tag having a unique identification code attached to a livestock and recognizable by an individual; A water supply tank in which water is contained in the livestock so that the livestock can take in water; A water supply device for supplying water to the water supply tank through an opened upper end of the water supply tank, and a flow rate sensor for sensing an amount of water supplied to the water supply tank; An object entrance detection sensor installed near the opening of the water supply tank and recognizing entry of livestock; An RFID reader installed on an inner surface of the water supply tank and recognizing the RFID tag; A water supply gate provided inside the water supply tank corresponding to the opening and opening / closing the opening; The control unit transmits a control signal for allowing the water supply unit to supply water to the water supply tank when the water intake signal is received from the object entrance detection sensor, When the water supply gate is closed, the water supply gate closes and a control signal is sent so that the water supply device does not supply water to the water supply tank. When the water supply gate is closed, And a main controller for calculating and storing the water dispensing amount of the individual livestock from the amount of the supplied livestock.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the water supply device comprises a water tank located above the water supply tank and containing a predetermined amount of water, and the water flow sensor being installed therein, and water being supplied to the water supply tank, And a water supply valve installed on the water supply line for opening and closing the flow of the water supply by a control signal of the main controller.

The main controller may further include a water supply gate control unit for receiving an opening / closing signal of an opening of a livestock from the object entrance sensor and transmitting an opening / closing control signal of the water supply gate; A water supply amount control unit for transmitting a control signal for opening or closing the water supply valve when the water supply gate is opened or closed; A water supply amount calculation unit for calculating a water pollution amount of the livestock from the amount of water supplied to the water supply tank received by the flow rate sensor of the water supply device when the water supply gate is closed; And an entity recognizing unit receiving a signal from the RFID reader and the water supply amount computing unit and recording, updating and storing the water intake amount for the individual livestock.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that a support stand is provided on the outside of the opening of the water tank, and the object entrance sensor is installed at a distance from the support in a longitudinal direction, A water level sensor and a heater are installed inside the water tank, and the main controller is provided with a water level sensor and a water level sensor, And a heater control unit for receiving the temperature information of the water from the temperature sensor and controlling the output of the heater to supply water at a predetermined temperature to the water supply tank.

According to the present invention, it is possible to precisely measure the water intake amount of individual livestock through the water intake amount measuring device, and accordingly, the livestock production amount, the weight gain, etc., It is possible to check the life activity such as the activity of the production, the activity of the livestock and the consumption of the feed in real time and observe the excess or deficiency of the water by the livestock individual so as to promptly determine the growth state of the livestock, There is an excellent effect that the livestock individual management can be easily performed in real time.

1 is a front view of an apparatus for measuring the water intake of a livestock according to the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a water supply tank of a water intake amount measuring device for livestock according to the present invention,
3 is a side view of the water supply tank of the present invention,
4 is a block diagram of a water intake amount examining apparatus according to the present invention;
5 is a flowchart showing an operational flow of a water intake amount examining apparatus for livestock according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 4, a livestock water intake amount checking apparatus of the present invention includes an RFID reader 510 for recognizing an RFID tag 100 attached to a livestock, a water supply tank 200, a water supply device 400, an object entry detection sensor 300, a water supply gate 300, and a main controller 530.

The RFID tag 100 is attached to a livestock and is given a unique identification code that can be recognized by each individual. The water supply tank 200 has an opening 210 at an upper end thereof and an opening 210 through which the head of the livestock can enter. The water tank 200 has a water tank shape in which water is contained therein so that the livestock can take in water. The water supply device 400 includes a flow rate sensor 430 that supplies water to the water supply tank 200 through an opened upper end of the water supply tank 200 and senses the amount of water supplied to the water supply tank 200 . The object entrance sensor 300 is installed in the vicinity of the opening 210 of the water supply tank 200 to recognize entry of livestock. The RFID reader 510 is installed on the inner surface of the water supply tank 200 to recognize the RFID tag 100. The water supply gate 230 is installed inside the water supply tank 200 corresponding to the opening 210 to open and close the opening. The main controller 520 controls the water supply gate 400 to open the water supply gate 230 when receiving the incoming detection signal of the animal from the object entrance sensor 300 and to supply water to the water supply tank 200 The water supply gates 230 are closed and the water supply device 400 is connected to the water supply tank 200 when the catheter receives the departure detection signal from the entrance sensor 300 And sends out a control signal for not supplying water. The main controller 520 calculates the amount of water supplied to the individual livestock from the amount of water supplied to the water supply tank 200 received by the flow sensor 430 of the water supply device 400 when the water supply gate 230 is closed As shown in FIG. Hereinafter, each component will be described in detail.

The RFID tag 100 is attached to an individual of the livestock and the RFID tag 100 transmits a unique identification code to the RFID reader 510 through a signal transmitted from the RFID reader 510 installed in the water tank 200 . And the RFID tag 100 is fixed to the livestock body through a separate fixture.

As shown in FIG. 2, a drainage hole 201 is formed on the bottom surface of the water supply tank 200 so that the object of the livestock is water When the water supply tank 220 is cleaned, the drain port 201 is directly opened to allow the discharged water to be easily discharged.

A support stand 220 is protruded on the outside of the opening 210 of the water supply tank 200 and an object entrance sensor 300 constituted by an infrared ray sensor is installed on the support stand 220. One or more of the object entrance sensor 300 may be installed, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the specific number. However, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the supporting table 220 is provided with two spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction (height direction). Therefore, as described below, when a livestock leaving the opening 210 of the water supply vessel 200 receives a departure signal from any one of the two object entrance sensors 300, the main controller 520 The water supply gate control unit 530 sends a control signal to close the water supply gate 230 when it is determined that the animal is separated from the opening.

2, a water supply gate 230 is provided inside the opening 210 of the water supply tank 200 to move upward and downward in a hydraulic or gearing manner such as a hydraulic cylinder, The water supply gate control unit 530 opens or closes the opening 210 of the water supply tank 200 by the entrance or exit detection signal of the water supply tank 300. In addition, the opening 210 of the water supply tank 200 is formed to have only one side opened, so that only one livestock head can enter the opening 210, and a plurality of livestock can enter at the same time So that it is possible to increase the accuracy of individual recognition of each individual animal.

An RFID reader 510 is installed on the inner side of the water supply tank 200 to recognize the RFID tag 100 attached to a livestock body that drinks water and recognize a livestock body that drinks water.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, a water supply device 400 for supplying water to an individual of livestock is installed above the water supply tank 200. The water supply device 400 includes a water tank 410 in which a predetermined amount of water is contained and a flow sensor 430 is installed therein, a water supply line 420 connected to the water tank 410, And a water supply valve 440 installed on the line 420 for controlling the flow of the water supply by the control signal of the main controller 520. The flow sensor 430 may be a configuration that includes a flow gauge, in which case the flow gauge may be installed exposed to the outside of the water tank. The water supply valve 440 is opened and closed by a control signal of the water supply amount control unit 800 of the main controller 520 by a method of opening and closing by a solenoid valve or the like by an electronic signal.

The water tank 410 is connected to an external water tank. A water replenishment valve 450 is installed in the water pipe 410 to open and close the water tank 410 according to a control signal of the water supply amount control unit 700 of the main controller 520. Therefore, only the water that can drink the livestock once is replenished and stored in the water tank 10.

A heater 470 is installed at the bottom of the water tank 410 to control the water supply temperature inside the water tank 410 through the temperature sensor 460 in the water tank 410 And the heater 470 is operated by the control signal of the heater control unit 480 so that the water supply in the water tank 410 can be maintained at a constant temperature at all times. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the water in the water tank 410 from freezing in winter and to supply hot water to the livestock in winter.

In the water tank 410 located above the water supply tank 200, water is supplied to the water supply amount control unit 800 of the main controller 520, The water in the water tank 410 is supplied to the water supply tank 200 through the water supply line 420. The water intake amount information of the livestock body, which is the flow rate supplied to the water supply tank 200 by the flow sensor 430, may be transmitted to the water supply amount calculation unit 700 of the main controller 520 to determine the water intake amount of the livestock.

The water intake amount information is stored in the database 600 through the object recognition unit 500. That is, the water supply amount measured by the flow sensor 430 is calculated by the water supply amount calculation unit 700, and the object recognition unit 500 reflects the water intake amount (water supply amount) consumed together with the past water intake amount information of the animal , The updated information is stored in the database 600 and updated.

The main controller 520 includes a water supply gate controller 530 for receiving an opening / closing signal of the opening 210 of the animal from the object entrance sensor 300 and sending an opening / closing control signal of the water supply gate 230, A water supply amount control unit 800 for transmitting a control signal for opening or closing the water supply valve 440 when the water supply valve 230 is opened or closed; A water supply amount calculation unit 700 for calculating a water amount of livestock from the amount of water supplied to the water supply tank received in the water supply tank, A recognition unit 500 and a heater control unit 480.

The main controller 520 may be installed on one side of the water supply tank 200 in the form of a control box.

On the other hand, the database 600 is a concept including a database of a water intake amount checking device, a memory installed in a computer connected to a wired / wireless connection with a water intake amount checking device, or a database of a water intake amount checking device or a web server connected with a computer Can be interpreted. Thus, the administrator can grasp water intake information for individual livestock.

Accordingly, it is possible to precisely measure the water intakes of individual livestock, and it is possible to precisely measure the water intakes of the livestock according to the information on the amount of water consumed, the amount of production of livestock, So that it can check the life activity such as ingestion in real time.

The operation of the apparatus for examining the water intakes of individual livestock according to the present invention will now be described with reference to FIG.

First, when a livestock body enters the opening 210 of the water tank 200, the object entrance sensor 300 senses it and transmits a signal to the water supply gate controller 530.

Each livestock body is equipped with an RFID tag 100. When a livestock body enters the opening 210 of the water supply tank 200, the livestock is supplied to the water supply tank 200 through the opening 210 through the entrance sensor 210 installed in the opening 210, And then transmits an entrance signal to the water supply gate control unit 530. [0060]

The water supply gate control unit 530 receiving the entrance signal transmits a gate opening signal to open the water supply gate 230 so that only one livestock head enters the opening 210 to allow the water intake of the individual .

The water supply amount control unit 800 opens the water supply valve 440 of the water supply device 400 so that water in the water tank 410 is supplied to the water supply tank 420 through the water supply / 200 so that the livestock body can consume water.

On the other hand, since only a certain amount of water is stored in the water tank, the water in the water tank is supplied to the water supply tank and the water is no longer discharged, or the water in the water tank is not supplied to the water tank due to other causes (for example, When the livestock body moves away from the opening 210 of the water tank 200, the object entrance sensor 300 detects the livestock object and transmits a departure detection signal to the water supply gate controller 530, The water supply gate 530 of the control unit 530 is closed.

The water feed gate 430 is closed while the water feed gate 530 is closed.

When the water supply valve 440 is closed, the water intake amount information of the individual livestock is transmitted to the water supply amount calculation unit 900 through the flow rate sensor 430 in the water tank 410. The water supply amount calculation unit 900 calculates a water intake amount The object recognition unit 500 stores the water intake amount information for each object received through the RFID reader in the database 600. [

The water amount control unit 800 controls the opening and closing operation of the water replenishing valve 450 so that the amount of water supplied from the water flow sensor 430 can be known and the amount of water discharged from the water tank 410 can be known So that a certain amount of water is supplied to the water tank.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the livestock in the water is released from the water supply tank, the water supply gate is immediately closed and the water intake up to the present time is settled. Also, if another object comes in or the same object comes in, the water gate is opened quickly so that water can be ingested.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically and precisely measure the water intakes of individual livestock, so that the livestock farmers managing the livestock specifications can easily produce the livestock production activity, live activities such as livestock activity and feed consumption in real time You can see that.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are intended to illustrate rather than limit the scope of the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents should be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

100 ... RFID tag 200 ... water supply tank
210 ... opening 230 ... water-
300 ... Entrance detection sensor 400 ... Water supply device
410 ... Water tank 420 ... Water supply line
430 ... flow sensor 440 ... water valve
500 ... object recognition unit 510 ... RFID reader
520 ... main controller 530 ... water gate control unit
600 ... Database 700 ... Water supply operating section
800 ... Water supply controller

Claims

An RFID tag attached to a livestock and having a unique identification code recognizable by an individual;
A water supply tank in which water is contained in the livestock so that the livestock can take in water;
A water supply device for supplying water to the water supply tank through an opened upper end of the water supply tank, and a flow rate sensor for sensing an amount of water supplied to the water supply tank;
An object entrance detection sensor installed near the opening of the water supply tank and recognizing entry of livestock;
An RFID reader installed on an inner surface of the water supply tank and recognizing the RFID tag;
A water supply gate provided inside the water supply tank corresponding to the opening and opening / closing the opening; And
The control unit transmits a control signal for allowing the water supply unit to supply water to the water supply tank when the water intake signal is received from the object entrance detection sensor, When the water supply gate is closed, the water supply gate closes and a control signal is sent so that the water supply device does not supply water to the water supply tank. When the water supply gate is closed, And a main controller for calculating and storing the water intakes of individual livestock from the information on the amount of water supplied.

The method according to claim 1,
The water supply device includes:
A water tank located above the water tank and containing a predetermined amount of water and having the flow sensor installed therein, a water supply line connected to the water tank to supply water into the water tank, And a water supply valve provided on the main body for opening and closing the flow of the water supply by a control signal of the main controller.

3. The method of claim 2,
The main controller includes:
A water supply gate control unit for receiving an entrance or departure signal of an opening of a livestock from the object entrance sensor and transmitting an opening / closing control signal of the water supply gate;
A water supply amount control unit for transmitting a control signal for opening or closing the water supply valve when the water supply gate is opened or closed;
A water supply amount calculation unit for calculating a water supply amount of livestock from the amount of water supplied to the water supply tank received by the flow rate sensor of the water supply device when the water supply gate is closed; And
And an entity recognizing unit for receiving information from the RFID reader and the water supply amount computing unit and recording, updating and storing the water intake amount for the individual livestock.

The method of claim 3,
A support base protruding from the opening of the water tank, the two entrance sensors being spaced a predetermined distance in the longitudinal direction of the support base,
Wherein the water supply gate control unit transmits a control signal for closing the water supply gate when it is determined that the catheter is separated from the opening when receiving the departure signal from any one of the two object entrance sensors. Investigation device.

The method of claim 3,
A temperature sensor and a heater are installed in the water tank,
Wherein the main controller further comprises a heater controller for receiving the temperature information of the water from the temperature sensor and controlling the output of the heater to supply water at a predetermined temperature to the water supply tank.