RU2816757C1 - Systems and methods for sex determination and health assessment of newly hatched chickens - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: agriculture.

SUBSTANCE: disclosed is a system for identifying and separating chickens by floor in accordance with their feathering pattern, which comprises a separation unit, a sorting unit, an optical unit and a separating unit. System is based on an instinctive reaction of chickens to spread their wings to maintain balance in response to an instant loss of orientation due to a sharp change in spatial movement. Also disclosed is a method of identifying and dividing chickens by sex in accordance with the pattern of their plumage, which is implemented using said system.

EFFECT: invention provides high efficiency during operation.

31 cl, 14 dwg

Description

Cross references to related applications

This application is related to and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/943,881, entitled "A System for Feather Sexing of Chicks", filed December 5, 2019, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Field of technology

The present invention relates to the field of identifying and assessing the sex and health status of newly hatched chicks.

State of the art

Chick sexing is a method of determining the sex of chicks and other chicks, usually performed by a trained person called a chick sexer or chick sexer. Chick sexing is used primarily by large industrial hatcheries to separate female or "hen" chicks (intended to lay eggs for commercial sale) from male or "cockerel" chicks (most of which die within a few days of hatching because they are not are related to egg laying).

Sexing of newly hatched chicks can be achieved for most chick species by sexing by plumage. Plumage sexing is the ability to determine the sex of a newly hatched chick based on the growth rates of its wing feathers, which differ between sexes due to genetic coding. When extended, the female's wings have a pattern of long feathers in the primary row and short feathers in the secondary row, while the male's wings have a pattern of feathers of equal length in both the primary and secondary rows.

Assessing the health of newly hatched chicks is mainly done by observing the chicks and looking for signs that are characteristic of healthy chicks, such as clear eyes, agility and activity, head shape, beak shape, leg shape, etc.

Currently, health assessment and sexing of newly hatched chicks is done manually, requiring each chick to be observed with the naked eye and its wings spread to determine its health status and sex, respectively.

The essence of the invention

The present invention provides systems and methods for recognizing and separating chickens by sex. The system is based on the instinctive reaction of chicks to spread their wings to maintain balance in response to an instant loss of orientation caused by an external factor, for example, due to a sudden change in movement in space.

The present invention also includes a weighing system and a system for detecting external body defects of chickens for assessing the health status of chickens.

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a system for recognizing and separating chicks by sex according to their feather pattern, comprising: a separating unit including at least one conveyor extending at least partially through said separating unit; wherein said at least one conveyor is configured to support a forward path for said plurality of chickens in the queue; a sorting unit configured to receive said plurality of chickens in a queue, said sorting unit including: at least one conveyor extending at least partially through said sorting unit configured to support a forward movement path; and at least one container in communication with said at least one conveyor such that said at least one container moves between a first position and a second position while containing at least one chicken of said plurality of chickens; and an optical unit including a camera configured to capture at least one image of said at least one chicken when said at least one container is moved between said first position and said second position, and said at least one image then transmitted to image processing to determine the sex of the at least one chick.

Optionally, said at least one container communicates with said at least one conveyor through a movable element.

Optionally, said movement of said at least one container between said first position and said second position is achieved by moving the pin portion of said movable element along the inclined section.

Optionally, simultaneously with the movement of said at least one container between said first position and said second position, the intermediate portion of said movable element can be vertically moved along said at least one conveyor.

Optionally, said movable element is controlled by a computerized controller.

Optionally, said movable member includes a side-swivel mechanism for allowing the contents of the container to be removed.

Optionally, said side-swivel mechanism is controlled by said computerized controller.

Optionally, said system further includes a computerized controller configured to control said at least one conveyor and said chamber.

Optionally, the at least one conveyor is one of a belt conveyor, a U-shaped belt conveyor, a chain conveyor, a powered roller conveyor, and a combination thereof.

Optionally, the at least one container has the shape of an inverted pyramid with a flat top.

Optionally, said camera is a high-speed charge-coupled device (CCD) camera.

Optionally, said optical unit further includes a light source.

Optionally, said light source is a light emitting diode (LED) light source.

Optionally, said light source is controlled by a computerized controller.

Optionally, said system further includes a separating unit including at least one gate configured to receive at least one chicken from said at least one container.

Optionally, said separating unit is controlled by a computerized controller.

Optionally, said system further includes a counting machine for monitoring the number of chicks passing through said at least one gate.

Optionally, said counting machine is controlled by a computerized controller.

Optionally, said system further includes a packaging machine for receiving chicks from said at least one gate and packing them into boxes suitable for transporting chicks.

Optionally, said packaging machine is controlled by a computerized controller.

Optionally, said one or more images are further used to detect body defects in said at least one chicken.

Optionally, said system further includes a weighing unit coupled to said at least one conveyor of said sorting unit, wherein said weighing unit includes a load cell configured to perform a plurality of measurements of the weight of said at least one chicken when said container reaches it. to determine the health status of the at least one chicken based on its weight.

Optionally, said weighing unit is controlled by a computerized controller.

Optionally, said load cell is connected to a processor configured to calculate the actual weight of said at least one chicken.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a method for recognizing and sexing chicks according to their plumage patterns, which includes: placing said chicks along a first path to allow movement of said plurality of chicks in a queue; placing each of said plurality of chickens in a queue in a container, wherein said container is placed along a second path so as to cause said container to move between a first position and a second position, causing each of said plurality of chickens to spread their wings; capturing one or more images of the wings of each of said plurality of chickens as said container moves between said first position and said second position; and processing said one or more images of the wings of said at least one chicken to determine its sex.

Optionally, said movement of said container between said first position and said second position includes movement along an inclined section.

Optionally, said method further includes sorting said chickens by sex.

Optionally, said method further includes counting said chickens of each sex.

Optionally, said one or more images of said chicken are further used to identify body defects.

Optionally, said body defects may be one of the following defects: feather problems, defective head, turned head, crossed beak, and a combination thereof.

Optionally, said method further includes: performing a plurality of readings of the weighing values of each of said plurality of chickens as said container reaches a designated location on said second path; and calculating an average of said plurality of weighing measurement readings to determine the weight of each of said plurality of chickens and thereby determine their health status.

Unless otherwise specified, all technical and/or scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one skilled in the art to which the present invention relates. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those disclosed herein may be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present invention, typical methods and/or materials are described below. In the event of any conflict, the description of the present invention, including definitions, will control. Furthermore, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and are not intended to be necessarily limiting.

Brief description of the figures

Certain embodiments of the present invention are described herein by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specific reference to the detailed figures, it should be emphasized that the details shown are provided by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, the description given in conjunction with the figures will make it obvious to those skilled in the art how embodiments of the present invention may be practiced.

Let us now turn our attention to the figures in which identical positions or symbols indicate corresponding or similar components.

On the figures:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chick sex recognition and segregation system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the separation unit of the system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the sorting unit of the system shown in FIG. 1, which causes the chicks to lose their balance, causing them to spread their wings wide;

FIG. 4A-4E are plan views illustrating the transition of a female chick's wings from a folded position to an extended position and vice versa;

FIG. 5A-5E are top views illustrating the transition of a male chick's wings from a folded position to an extended position and vice versa.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a weighing system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The present invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of components set forth in the following description. The invention may be practiced in other embodiments or implemented in various ways. In addition, it should be understood that the language and terminology used herein are for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as limiting.

The present invention provides systems and methods for recognizing and sexing chicks based on their wing patterns. The present invention is based on the instinctive reaction of chicks to spread their wings to maintain balance in response to momentary disorientation.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a system 100. The system 100 includes a separating unit 102 having one or more conveyors, a sorting unit 103, and a separating unit 104. The system 100 further includes a conveyor 105, which is, for example, a belt conveyor, extending at least partially through the separating block 102, the sorting block 103 and the separating block 104.

The separating unit 102, which is best shown in FIG. 2 includes, for example, a first conveyor 106a and a second conveyor 106b extending at least partially through the separating unit 102 and configured to receive a plurality of chicks (not shown). The first and second conveyors 106a-106b, which are, for example, belt conveyors, are arranged in series one behind the other and communicate with each other so as to maintain a forward path.

The conveyors, which are either parts of the conveyor 105 or separate conveyors, may operate at the same speed or at different speeds and may be manually operated or controlled by a computerized controller (not shown) over wired and/or wireless networks or a combination thereof.

The separating unit 102 may communicate with other conveyors located in front of it. These conveyors supply the chicks to the separation unit 102, and may be, for example, a belt conveyor, a U-shaped conveyor, a chain conveyor, a powered roller conveyor, or the like.

Sorting unit 103, which is best shown in FIG. 3 includes an inclined section 110 extending from a proximal portion 110ax to a distal portion 110px, and a conveyor 108, which is, for example, a belt conveyor. Conveyor 108, which is either part of conveyor 105 or a separate conveyor, passes at least partially through sorting unit 103, and may be controlled by a computer, a computerized controller, or the like, or manually.

Sorting unit 103 further includes one or more containers, such as container 112, configured to receive one chicken. The container 112, which may have a different shape, such as an inverted pyramid with a flat top, communicates with the conveyor 108 and the inclined section 110 through, for example, a movable member 114.

The movable member 114 includes, for example, a pin portion 116 configured to be slidable along the inclined portion 110, a container portion 118 configured to be capable of connection between the movable member 114 and the container 112, an intermediate portion 115 configured to to be capable of connection between the pin portion 116 and the container portion 118, and a conveyor portion 117 configured to be capable of connecting the movable member 114 to the conveyor 108. The intermediate portion 115 is capable of moving vertically along the conveyor 108 in response to movement along the inclined section 110 , such that to allow the container 112 to move between a first position 119a in which the container 112 is adjacent to the conveyor 108 (e.g., at and in front of the proximal portion 110ax and after the distal portion 110px) and a second position 119b in which the container 112 is at a predetermined distance from the conveyor 108 (for example, on the far side 110px).

The movable member 114 may further include a mechanism for removing the contents of the container, such as a side-swivel mechanism. The side-turning mechanism, which may be controlled by a computer, a computerized controller, or the like, or manually, is actuated using, for example, an extension (not shown) that impacts either side of the bottom of the container 112, causing it to turn over and release contents.

The sorting unit 103 further includes an optical unit 120 covering at least a portion of the area of the inclined section 110. The optical unit 120 includes a camera 122, which is, for example, a high-speed charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, or other camera suitable to achieve the same purpose, and a light source 124, which is, for example, a light emitting diode (LED) light source or other light source suitable to achieve the same purpose. The camera 122 and light source 124 are located, for example, at the top of the optical block 120, above the tilt section 110, and are connected to a connected computer 126. The term "connected" as used in this description covers both wired and/or wireless communication channels, so computers, servers, components, devices, etc. are directly or indirectly in electronic and/or informational communication with one another.

The connected computer 126 is further coupled to a splitter block 104. The splitter block 104, located, for example, after the distal portion 110px, includes one or more gates, for example, three electromagnetic gates (not shown). Each electromagnetic gate represents, for example, a specific gender (male, female, or unrecognized gender) and is triggered in response to a signal sent from the connected computer 126.

The gate may have an optional connection to a counter or counting machine to keep track of the number of chicks passing through each gate. The gate may also communicate with a packaging machine including boxes suitable for transporting chicks. Each box holds a specified number of chicks, for example 100 chicks per box, so that they can be delivered to the customer.

During operation, chicks enter the separation unit 102 and are manually or automatically placed on the first conveyor 106a. The chickens move, for example, in a horizontal direction from the first conveyor 106a to the sorting unit 103 via the second conveyor 106b. The second conveyor 106b operates, for example, at a speed that is, for example, 10% higher than the speed of the first conveyor 106a. The difference in speeds allows a queue of chicks to be created, allowing chicks to be fed into the sorting unit 103 one at a time. The distance between each two chickens in the queue arrangement may be predetermined or random.

In the sorting unit 103, each chicken is manually or automatically placed into a separate container 112 located at its first position 119a. The containers are then sequentially moved one by one by the conveyor 108 at a constant speed to the proximal portion 110a of the inclined section 110. This speed, for example, is equal to the speed of the second conveyor 106b, which allows the chicks to relax and calm down (FIG. 4A and FIG. 5A).

Once the containers reach the proximal portion 110ax, the pin portion 116 of each movable member 114 moves along the inclined section 110 from the proximal portion 110ax to the distal portion 110px. This movement causes the intermediate portion 115 of each moving member 114 to move vertically relative to the conveyor 108, causing the containers to move from their first position 119a to the second position 119b. This movement, which causes a rapid change in the height of the container relative to the conveyor 108, causes an instinctive reaction by the chicks inside the containers, causing them to spread their wings to maintain balance in response to the momentary disorientation.

Simultaneously with the movement of each moving element along the path of the inclined section 110, the camera 122 obtains images of each chicken spreading its wings within each container (FIGS. 4B-4D and FIGS. 5B-5D). These images are then transmitted to a connected computer 126, which determines the sex of the chick through image processing. Image processing occurs, for example, in real time and includes: separating the chicken's pixels from the background, analyzing the outline of the chicken to select images of the chicken with its wings spread, extracting features related to the chicken's wings, and determining the sex of the chicken from these features.

After the distal portion 110px, the intermediate portion 115 of each movable member 114 moves back to its original position, causing each container to move back to its first position a119. The conveyor 108 supports the forward movement of each container 112 with its conveyor portion 117 toward the separating block 104 in a horizontal motion. This horizontal movement allows the chick within each container 112 to relax, regain balance, fold its wings, and return to a vertical position (FIG. 4E).

When each container 112 reaches the separating block 104, the connected computer 126 transmits a signal to the separating block 104. The signal causes the specific electromagnetic gate (male, female, or unrecognized gender) to open according to the gender determined by the image processing.

Once the container 112 reaches its designated gate, the chick is removed from the container 112 and moved through the gate of the appropriate floor either manually or using the rotating mechanism of the moving element 114.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the inclined section 110 is positioned in a reverse direction such that the movement of the container occurs in the opposite direction to the movement described above, from the distal portion 110px to the proximal portion 110ax. This movement also causes the chicks to become momentarily disorientated, which causes the chicks' instinctive reaction to spread their wings to maintain balance.

The present invention also provides a weighing system and a system for detecting external body defects of chickens for assessing the health status of chickens. These systems can be independent or integrated with the above system to recognize and sex chicks based on their wing patterns.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a weighing system 130 that determines the health status of a chicken based on its weight (a healthy chicken weighs more than 42-43 g). The weighing system 130 includes, for example, a panel 132, a load cell 134 coupled to a processor (not shown) that is further coupled to a connected computer (not shown), and first and second projections 136a and 136b that extend upward from the plane 132 so to attach the panel 132 to the surface 137. The load cell 134 is directly or indirectly coupled to the surface 137 to create a weighing position 138 at which a weight reading is read. The weighing position 138 further includes an anchor portion 142 configured to attach a chick to be tested to the weighing position during weight reading.

The system 130 further includes, for example, two electromagnetic gates (not shown), a healthy chick gate and an unhealthy chick gate, which are located after the weighing position 138 and are connected to a connected computer.

In operation, when a chick enters the weighing system 130, it is directed to the weighing position 138, for example by placing it directly on a surface that is, for example, a conveyor belt, or by placing it, for example, inside a container that has the same design and operates in the same way as the system 100 containers described above.

Once the chick reaches the weighing position 138, it is attached either directly or via pin 116 to the weighing position 138 by the anchor portion 142. This action allows the load cell 134 to take, for example, more than one hundred measurements and transmit their values to the processor. The processor identifies "clean" readings (readings in which the chick did not move) and calculates the average of the "clean" readings. This value is then sent to the connected computer.

The connected computer compares the weight value transmitted from the processor with a predetermined threshold value, for example, a weight value of 42-43 g, and sends a signal either to the healthy chick gate (if the weight value is equal to or above the predetermined threshold value) or to the chick gate. unhealthy chicks (if the weight value is below a preset threshold), respectively, causing the selected gate to open and accept the chick.

A system for detecting external body defects of chickens for assessing the health status of chickens includes, for example, a camera configured to obtain images of chickens, and an attached computer connected to the camera, which is configured to be able to obtain images generated by the camera and evaluate the health status of chickens by processing these images. The chicks are directed into the camera's field of view by placing, for example, directly on a conveyor, such as a belt conveyor, or by placing, for example, inside a container similar in design and operation to the containers of system 100 described above. The system further includes, for example, two electromagnetic gates, a gate for healthy chicks and a gate for unhealthy chicks, which are located outside the field of view of the camera and are connected to a connected computer.

During operation, as each chick enters the camera's field of view, the camera receives images of the chick and transmits them to the connected computer. The connected computer processes the images and detects external body defects such as feather problems, defective head, turned head, crossed beak, etc.

Once image processing is complete and the chick moves out of the camera's view towards the gate, the connected computer will send a signal to either the healthy chick gate or the unhealthy chick gate, causing the selected gate to open and accept the chick.

Although the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, it should be understood that many variations, modifications and other applications of the present invention can be made. Thus, the claimed invention as set forth in the following claims is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

Claims (45)

1. A system for recognizing and separating chickens by sex in accordance with their plumage pattern, containing: a separating unit including at least one conveyor extending at least partially through said separating unit, wherein said at least one conveyor is configured to be controlled by a computerized controller and so as to maintain a forward path of movement of a plurality of chickens in a queue; a sorting unit configured to receive said plurality of chickens in a queue, said sorting unit including: at least one second conveyor extending at least partially through said sorting unit configured to support a forward movement path; And at least one container communicating with said at least one second conveyor such that said at least one container moves upward between a first position and a second position when it contains at least one chick of said plurality of chicks, so as to stimulate chickens independently spread their wings, thereby making it possible to identify the difference between the sexes of chickens; an optical unit including a camera configured to capture at least one image of said chicken spreading its wings when said at least one container is moved between said first position and said second position, and then transmitting said at least one image for processing images for determining the sex of the at least one chicken, wherein image processing occurs in real time and includes separating pixels of the chicken from the background, analyzing the outline of the chicken to select images of the chicken with its wings spread, identifying features related to the wings, and determining the sex of the chicken according to these signs; And a separating unit controlled by said computerized controller and configured to physically separate said plurality of chicks based on said sex determination; wherein said at least one second conveyor supports the forward movement of each of said at least one container from the sorting unit to the separating unit in a horizontal movement, each container having dimensions suitable for a chicken to fold its wings during the horizontal movement between the sorting block and the separating block. 2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one container communicates with said at least one conveyor through a movable element. 3. The system according to claim 2, characterized in that said movement of said at least one container between said first position and said second position is achieved by moving the pin portion of said movable element along the inclined section. 4. The system according to claim 3, characterized in that, simultaneously with the movement of said at least one container between said first position and said second position, the intermediate part of said movable element can be vertically moved along said at least one conveyor. 5. The system according to claim 2, characterized in that said movable element is controlled by a computerized controller. 6. The system according to claim 2, characterized in that said movable element includes a side-swivel mechanism designed to allow the contents of the container to be removed. 7. The system of claim 6, wherein said side-swivel mechanism is controlled by a computerized controller. 8. The system of claim 3, further comprising a computerized controller configured to control said at least one conveyor and said chamber. 9. The system of claim 8, wherein said at least one conveyor is one of a belt conveyor, a U-belt conveyor, a chain conveyor, a powered roller conveyor, or a combination thereof. 10. The system according to claim 3, characterized in that said at least one container has the shape of an inverted pyramid with a flat top. 11. The system according to claim 3, characterized in that said camera is a high-speed charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. 12. The system according to claim 3, characterized in that said optical unit additionally includes a light source. 13. The system according to claim 12, characterized in that said light source is a light emitting diode (LED) light source. 14. The system according to claim 12, characterized in that said light source is controlled by a computerized controller. 15. The system of claim 3, wherein said separating block includes at least one gate for receiving said at least one chicken from said at least one container. 16. The system of claim 15, wherein said separating unit is controlled by a computerized controller. 17. The system of claim 15, further comprising a counting machine for monitoring the number of chicks passing through said at least one gate. 18. The system according to claim 17, characterized in that said counting machine is controlled by a computerized controller. 19. The system of claim 17, further comprising a packaging machine for receiving chicks from said at least one gate and packing them into boxes suitable for transporting the chicks. 20. The system according to claim 19, characterized in that said packaging machine is controlled by a computerized controller. 21. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that said one or more images are further used to detect body defects in said at least one chicken. 22. The system of claim 3, further comprising a weighing unit coupled to said at least one conveyor of said sorting unit, said weighing unit including a load cell configured to perform a plurality of measurements of the weight of said at least one chicken, when said container reaches it, to determine the health status of said at least one chicken based on its weight. 23. The system according to claim 22, characterized in that said weighing unit is controlled by a computerized controller. 24. The system of claim 22, wherein said load cell is coupled to a processor configured to calculate the actual weight of said at least one chicken. 25. A method for recognizing and separating chickens by sex in accordance with their plumage pattern, which includes: ensuring the availability of the system according to clause 1; placing said chickens along a first path to allow movement of said plurality of chickens in a queue; placing each of said plurality of chickens in a queue in said container, wherein said container is placed along a second path so as to cause said container to move between a first position and a second position, causing each of said plurality of chickens to spread their wings; capturing one or more images of said wings of each of said plurality of chickens as said container moves between said first position and said second position; And processing said one or more images of the wings of said at least one chicken to determine its sex. 26. The method according to claim 25, wherein said movement of said container between said first position and said second position includes passage along an inclined section. 27. The method of claim 25, further comprising sorting said chickens according to their sex. 28. The method of claim 27, further comprising counting said chickens of each sex. 29. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that said one or more images of said chicken are further used to identify body defects. 30. The method of claim 29, wherein said body defects are one of the following defects: feather problems, defective head, turned head, crossed beak, and a combination thereof. 31. The method according to claim 26, additionally including: performing a plurality of readings of the weighing values of each of said plurality of chickens as said container reaches a designated location on said second path; And calculating the average of said plurality of weighing readings to determine the weight of each of said plurality of chickens and thereby determine their health status.