WO2016132415A1 - Method for raising chickens - Google Patents

Abstract

Broilers have been bred so as to quickly grow. As a result, some individuals cannot walk because of overweight. To solve this problem, it is required to encourage broilers to take moderate exercise. Provided is a method for raising chickens in a chicken house, said method being characterized by comprising: a step for feeding the chickens in the chicken house; and a step for encouraging the chickens to take exercise by moving a robot in the chicken house. Thus, the attention of the chickens in the chicken house is attracted by the robot so that the chickens are encouraged to take exercise.

Description

Chicken breeding method

The present invention relates to a method for breeding chickens for meat (so-called broilers) and chickens for egg collection (so-called layers) that are reared in poultry houses for meat.

Currently, most chickens are raised for livestock. Chickens are an important source of protein throughout the world as eggs and meat. In order to improve the productivity for eggs and meat, breeding has been carried out with the chicken itself as a species suitable for egg collection and a species suitable for meat. A chicken for egg collection is called a layer, and a chicken for meat is called a broiler.

Broilers have been improved in variety so that they can grow rapidly in a short period of time to obtain their meat. Currently, broilers become adults in 4 to 5 months for normal chickens, but become adults in 40 to 50 days and can be shipped. Moreover, as for the amount of feed given to obtain 1 kg of meat, the cow needs only 2.1 kg for the broiler, while the cow is 15 kg and the pig is 6 kg. In other words, it has become a highly productive animal for livestock for meat.

On the other hand, broilers have grown at such a fast rate, so there are some individuals who are slow to develop muscle strength to support their weight. Such individuals gradually become unable to move themselves due to daily weight gain and remain on the poultry house floor. The floor in the poultry house is moist, and bacteria and parasites are generated using manure as a hotbed.

Therefore, if you sit on the floor of the poultry house, you are more likely to get plague. In addition, growth stops because it cannot feed itself. Therefore, it has been considered to improve the productivity by promoting the movement of broilers in the poultry house so as not to cause epidemics and increasing the intake of food.

Patent Document 1 discloses a chicken farm with a floor conveyor belt. In Patent Document 1, broilers that are kept in order to improve productivity have a belt conveyor as a floor in order to solve the problem that the meat quality is water-like due to lack of exercise, there is no tightness, and the taste is poor. A chicken farm with a wire mesh is disclosed.

In Patent Document 1, if the broiler does not move in the direction opposite to the floor on the moving floor, it will be forced to move to one side of the poultry house. Has been. Moreover, since the floor moves, the effect that it is easy to clean the floor surface is shown.

In Patent Document 2, as in Patent Document 1, the floor becomes a belt conveyor system, and reciprocating motion is performed. In addition, it is said that the lack of movement of broilers can be solved by changing the moving speed of the floor according to the growth of broilers and promoting movements that match the growth.

JP 54-135169 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-319402

When broilers lacked exercise, they had no choice but to reduce productivity. Therefore, it is desirable to promote broiler movement to improve productivity. However, as in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when the floor surface is a belt conveyor system, it is extremely difficult to introduce the floor into an existing poultry house. This is because it has to start over from the basic construction of the poultry house.

Also, if the whole poultry house floor moves, all broiler chickens in the poultry house will panic and die all at once.

Also, in the closed-type poultry house that has been increasing in recent years and the poultry house that heats by flowing warm water under the floor, there is also a problem that it is difficult to install the belt conveyor system on the floor surface.

It should be noted that the layers are usually gauged during the egg collection period, so there is no opportunity to exercise. However, there is a demand to promote exercise before keeping a gauge or in a poultry house that has enough space even during the egg collection period. Therefore, the above problem is not limited to broilers.

The present invention has been conceived in view of the above-described problems, and provides a chicken breeding method that solves the lack of exercise of chickens by a simple method.

More specifically, the chicken breeding method according to the present invention includes:
A method of raising chickens in a poultry house,
Feeding the chicken in the poultry house;
It has the process of accelerating the movement of the chicken while moving the robot in the poultry house.

In the chicken breeding method according to the present invention, feeding is performed in the poultry house, and the robot is moved in the poultry house to raise the chicken's attention, thereby promoting the chicken's movement. With this method, the number of individuals that have noticed the movement of the robot is about ten or so around each other, so that the entire group will not panic.

Also, robots can be easily installed in existing poultry houses. It is not necessary to rebuild the poultry house itself.

Furthermore, by moving multiple camera-equipped robots inside the poultry house, a single breeder can observe many chickens, thereby saving labor in the poultry house.

Accelerating the movement of chickens (especially broilers) creates a space between the chicken and the ground, which helps to lower the body temperature of the chicken. When the temperature in summer is high, if you keep sitting on the warm ground, the temperature of the chicken becomes too high due to the temperature of the chicken and the temperature of the ground. Here, the exercise includes an operation of standing up.

It is a figure which illustrates the external appearance of a traveling robot. It is a figure which illustrates the external appearance of a flight type robot. It is an illustration of the top view of a poultry house. It is an illustration of the running line of the robot which runs the inside of a poultry house. It is a figure which illustrates the external appearance of the decoy which moves with a wire. It is a top view of the poultry house where a decoy is arranged. It is a top view showing arrangement | positioning of a decoy. It is a step view of the side of a poultry house showing the arrangement of decoys. It is a figure which illustrates the external appearance of the traveling robot which irradiates a light spot. It is a figure which illustrates the traveling line in the chicken house of the robot of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of a light irradiation apparatus. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the structures of a traveling type robot. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the base of the robot of FIG. 9, and a parent control apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of a roundabout of the robot of FIG. It is a figure which shows the top view of the poultry house in Embodiment 4. FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship with the base of a robot, a surveillance camera, and a parent control apparatus. It is a figure which illustrates the flow which eliminates the deviation of a crowd. It is a figure which shows the structure of the control system of the poultry house monitoring robot which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which illustrates the external appearance of the chicken house monitoring robot which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which illustrates the chicken house which a chicken house monitoring robot monitors. It is a basic processing flow of a poultry house monitoring robot. It is a figure which shows the example of the movement pattern of a chicken house monitoring robot, and a measurement point. It is a processing flow of the poultry house monitoring robot in the middle of movement.

Hereinafter, the chicken breeding method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present invention, the following description merely illustrates a plurality of embodiments, and the following embodiments can be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Each embodiment is described so that a specific function can be easily understood, and the function shown in the specific embodiment may be added to another embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
The subject of the present invention is mainly a so-called broiler for meat. However, as already mentioned, it does not exclude layers. Although the following description mainly explains a broiler, you may apply to the layer which can move the inside of a poultry house freely.

** As broiler varieties, varieties conventionally used as broilers can be used. Specifically, chunky, cobb, arbor acre and the like can be suitably used. These hybrids may also be used.

The bait used may be a publicly used bait. That is, high energy and high protein can be suitably used. Specifically, it is often called mixed feed, cereals such as corn, milo, barley, potatoes such as bran, rice bran, corn gluten feed, vegetable oil meal such as soybean oil cake, rapeseed oil cake, fish meal, skim milk powder, etc. Animal fertilizer, mixed fertilizer such as minerals such as calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate.

The method of feeding may be provided by a feeding device that can always be eaten. The feeding device automatically feeds each feeding point from the silo containing the feed. Feeding may also include water. Furthermore, in the breeding method of the present invention, the feeding step may include a light beam management step of changing the lighting in the poultry house according to the timing of feeding. As for broiler breeding, eating broiler feeds leads to improved productivity.

Next, a robot that alerts the broiler in the present invention will be described. As the robot moves through the poultry house, the broiler notices the presence of the robot. As the robot moves, the broilers that have noticed the robot stand up and move by themselves to promote movement.

The robot may be one that runs or walks on the floor of a poultry house, or one that flies. Here, “running” means moving by rotating a rotating body such as a tire or a caterpillar. “Walking” refers to moving by moving a plurality of legs. In this specification, both “running” and “walking” are also called “running”.

“Flying” means moving in the air without touching the floor. Therefore, not only using lifts such as propellers and air jets, but also those suspended from the poultry house ceiling with wires.

ブ It can be said that broilers are crowded because they are poised. Therefore, if a large stimulus is given to the entire body at one time, the panic will panic and the entire wing may be shocked. Therefore, the robot only needs to call the attention of the surrounding broiler while moving.

The height of the traveling robot (also called “traveling robot”) is preferably about the same as or twice the height of the grown broiler. If it is too high, it will irritate the entire broiler house.

The poultry house floor is usually covered with sawdust. Therefore, it is preferable that the traveling robot has a moving means that can move without being tired of sawdust. For example, a caterpillar, a large-diameter tire, a leg that can be walked on multiple legs, and the like can be suitably used. Appearance may expose necessary equipment. However, when entering a broiler house that has grown to some extent, it may be disguised as a chicken.

Also, poultry houses are equipped with devices such as a feeding device and a water supply device, and replenishment of food and water to these devices is often performed from the ceiling side. That is, there are many cases where a hose or a wire is fixed in the space inside the poultry house. Therefore, it is desirable that the flying robot (also referred to as a “flying robot”) has a structure that is not damaged even when it collides with an object arranged in the space.

Also, as a circular pattern is drawn at the center of crow protection and jet engines, birds are said to have the property of avoiding round patterns or round rotating bodies as eyes of birds of prey. Therefore, you may have such a pattern or a rotary body.

The robot may not only move and notice its presence, but also emit a sound or light to alert the broiler. For this reason, the robot may be equipped with one or more of a rotating lamp, a lighting indicator lamp, a flashing indicator lamp, and a light emitter (hereinafter referred to as “attention light”) and a speaker. Birds have more optic nerves than mammals and are sensitive to color. Therefore, attention is drawn to a warning light that appears to blink as a colored light such as red or blue rotates.

In addition, it is desirable that the sound be a buzzer sound that is about the same as a broiler cry or a voice that sounds when the broiler gets angry.

Also, it is desirable that the robot is equipped with a camera. When chickens suffer from H5N1 or these subspecies avian influenza, nearly 100% die. Avian influenza does not occur even if water or wild birds are affected. Therefore, if wild birds near the poultry house suffer from bird flu, the broiler in the poultry house will be annihilated and a great deal of damage will occur.

Therefore, it is desirable to seal the poultry house as much as possible. Then only humans can bring pathogens into the closed poultry house. Therefore, it is desirable that the inside can be observed from the outside even if the person does not enter the house as much as possible.

If the robot moving in the poultry house is equipped with a camera, it is possible to observe the detailed situation of each individual without entering the poultry house. Moreover, if an infrared camera is installed, it is possible to detect an increase in the body temperature of the broiler, and it is possible to quickly find an individual who has suffered a disease.

The robot may be self-supporting or operated (dependent) by another person. The self-supporting type refers to a robot that runs or flies according to instructions of a program recorded in advance. In the case of the self-supporting type, the vehicle travels or flies over a predetermined course in the poultry house, and the state during the traveling is recorded by a camera or transmitted to a supervisor.

Dependency formula refers to a robot in which the user controls (maneuveres) the movement of the robot itself in real time. In the case of the dependency type, it is desirable that a monitoring camera is separately arranged on the ceiling of the poultry house, and the supervisor controls the position of the robot. In addition, basically, when a broiler that moves in a self-supporting manner and is found to be abnormal by monitoring with a camera, the control may be switched to a dependency equation.

The robot approaches from the height close to the broiler's line of sight to the vicinity of the broiler. Therefore, the camera mounted on the robot is placed at a position where the state of the broiler can be observed in more detail than the camera installed on the ceiling.

Therefore, the observer may monitor the broiler's motion state from a separate room while moving in a self-supporting manner with a video through a camera, and mark an individual with an abnormality. The marked individual can be isolated separately and examined in detail later.

FIG. 1 illustrates a traveling robot 1. The robot 1 is a robot having a caterpillar 30. 1A is a side view and FIG. 1B is a front view. The appearance resembles a tank or bulldozer model. A camera 12, a warning light 14, and a speaker 16 are disposed on the upper portion of the main body 10. Moreover, the circular rotary body 18 and the marking apparatus 22 may be provided.

The rotating body 18 is simply a disk-like plate that rotates, but a spiral pattern is drawn on its surface. It is said that such a state where the pattern rotates is avoided for birds whose natural enemies are raptors.

Also, the marking device 22 marks individuals that are found to be abnormal when approaching the broiler and observing with a camera. For example, an ejection device that can eject water-soluble ink can be used. It should be noted that a broiler with an abnormality is slow in the first place, and can be approached enough to be marked even by a robot.

In the traveling direction, a guide bar 20 having a vehicle width or wider than that is provided. The guide bar 20 is used to contact the individual that does not move by itself even when the robot 1 is approaching, and to notice the presence of the robot 1. More specifically, by bringing the guide bar 20 into contact with the individual, the movement of the individual is promoted.

It is desirable to drive with a rechargeable battery. A fuel cell may also be used. On the other hand, combustion engines are not desirable. This is because exhaust gas is released into the poultry house.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flying robot 2. FIG. 2A is a plan view, and FIG. 2B is a front view. Forces broiler exercise, but does not need to promote so much exercise. Therefore, it is necessary not to fly at high speed, but rather to fly slowly. Therefore, the robot 2 is preferably a helicopter or multi-copter type. FIG. 2 illustrates a four-rotor multi-copter type robot 2.

The robot 2 includes a main body 40, four rotors 41a to 41d, a frame bar 46, and a guide frame 45. The four rotors 41a to 41d are arranged radially at equal intervals around the main body 40 in plan view (FIG. 2A). Each of the rotors 41a to 41d is fixed to the main body 40 by a corresponding rotor support 43a to 43d.

A guide frame 45 is fixed to the main body 40 by a frame bar 46. The guide frame 45 is provided so as to surround the movable range of the propellers of all the rotors 41a to 41d. In the poultry house, there are many members arranged from the ceiling toward the floor. The guide frame 45 is provided so that the rotors 41a to 41d and the rotor columns 43a to 43d are not caught on those members.

The camera 12 is provided in the lower part of the main body 40 in the front and rear. This is for observing the lower and front broilers. Moreover, the alert light 14, the speaker 16, and the marking apparatus 22 may be provided.

Next, the movement of the robot 1 or the robot 2 will be described. FIG. 3 illustrates a plan view of the poultry house 50. The poultry house 50 exemplifies an ordinary flat farm. A feeder 54 of the feeding device 52 is provided along the supply line 56. Further, a drinking place for water is provided in the same line as the feed supply line 56. The supply line 56 is connected to a silo 58. Food is distributed from the silo 58 through the supply line 56 to each feeder 54.

FIG. 4 illustrates a robot movement line that travels or flies within the poultry house 50. Each dotted line in FIG. 4 is an example of a movement line of a self-supporting robot. The number of robots in the poultry house 50 is not particularly limited. Line 60 is a case where one robot is arranged in the poultry house 50. The robot moves throughout the poultry house 50, alerts all broilers and promotes the movement of the broilers.

The line 62 is an example in the case where two robots move by deciding each other. Each compartment may have overlapping portions. These movements can be used even when the supervisor controls the robot.

Robot running or flight may be changed according to broiler age. When you are still young, you will not be stuck with your weight, so you can just run a certain pattern. On the other hand, after 30 days of age, broilers grow so large that some individuals gradually become unable to move with their own weight. Therefore, after the growth is over a certain level, the supervisor may call the robot to alert the individual who is particularly slow moving.

In this case, it is desirable to run while checking the surroundings of the robot not only with the camera mounted on the robot but also with the surveillance camera provided near the ceiling of the poultry house. This is because if only the field of view of the camera of the robot is used, there is a risk of overlooking an individual who is sitting outside the field of view.

Robot travel or flight may be performed at regular intervals. In the poultry house, light management is carried out in order to increase the number of broiler food intakes. Specifically, the lighting time is lengthened or the lighting time for a certain period is repeated intermittently.

Therefore, it is better to move the robot only while it is lit. This is because it is considered that the broiler is also sleeping while it is turned off. Here, “off” not only completely turns off the light but also includes a state in which the illuminance is lower than when the light is on.

In addition, it is preferable to illuminate the place where the broiler is fed, that is, the feeding point, brighter than the surroundings when moving the robot using the habit that broilers gather in the light. This is especially effective for Windless poultry houses where daylight does not enter from outside.

This makes it possible for the broiler that has stood up and noticed the robot's travel to move to the feeding point, thereby providing an effect of promoting feeding.

Specifically, according to the traveling position of the robot, by illuminating only the nearby feeding points, feeding of the broiler can be promoted more efficiently than illuminating all the feeding points simultaneously.

Here, as a means to illuminate the feeding point brighter than the surroundings, spot lighting is provided separately from the lighting in the poultry house, a cylindrical condenser that changes the lighting in the poultry house to spot lighting, or lighting in the poultry house It is possible to apply a means such as moving downward. Among them, it is preferable to provide spot lighting separately because the activity becomes dull when the surroundings become dark.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a decoy that is another flying robot will be described. The decoy alerts the broiler by moving through the house. The broiler who notices the movement of the decoy moves by himself and promotes the movement.

The decoy may move in a state where it floats from the floor of the chicken house with a plurality of wires, as well as those that move by dragging the floor of the chicken house with a wire. If there is a tow wire near the floor, the chicken may catch the leg and get injured. Therefore, it is preferable that the wire is at a high position from the floor surface. In addition, by making the decoy into a bird-shaped shape, the broiler in the poultry house is alerted, and as the bird-shaped decoy moves, a large shadow is created on the floor, and the stimulated broiler moves by itself It is also possible to promote exercise.

Decoy is pulled by wire. On the other hand, a feeder, a water feeder, and a broder (heater) are arranged in the poultry house. Therefore, it is not easy for the decoy to freely route the poultry house. Therefore, a route that reciprocates in one direction arranged from one end of the poultry house to the other end is set in the decoy. Along the route, the decoy moves back and forth in the poultry house.

As mentioned above, the decoy can only reciprocate along one route. Therefore, in the case of a large poultry house, it is not easy to call attention to all chickens. Therefore, it is desirable to install multiple decoys in the poultry house.

Also, it is desirable to install a camera on the decoy. The movement of the decoy is to draw attention to the chicken and promote exercise. Therefore, the moving decoy needs to pay attention to the surroundings so that the chicken is not pinched or caught somewhere by moving the decoy.

FIG. 5 illustrates one form of decoy. The decoy 210 has a main body 212 and wings 214 (214a, 214b). The main body 212 includes a camera 216 (216s, 216t) and a camera 217. The camera 216 is arranged in the traveling direction. Therefore, these are the camera 216s and the camera 216t. Note that the camera 216t is in an invisible position in FIG.

The camera 217 is installed in a columnar mounting portion 218 protruding from the upper surface of the main body 212. Then, by rotating the attachment portion 218, the camera 217 can photograph the situation around the decoy 210. The images of the camera 216s, the camera 216t, and the camera 217 are sent to a control device 250 (see FIG. 7) installed outside the poultry house by a built-in communication means (not shown).

The main body 212 is provided with wire clamps 212s and 212t for locking the wires 222 (the wires 222s and 222t). In this way, the decoy 210 is lifted up and down the main body 212 by the wires 222s and 222t, and moves on the floor surface of the poultry house.

The main body 212 is provided with a wing 214. The wing 214 includes a wing 214a and a wing 214b whose length from the main body 212 is L. A motor 215 (motor 215a and motor 215b) for opening and closing the wing 214 is provided at the base of the wing 214 (the motor 215b is not visible in FIG. 5). For this reason, the wing | blade 214 can set the front-end | tip to the position (closed state: shown with the dotted line in FIG. 5) and the distant position (open state) along the main body 212, and the position between these. . Opening and closing of the blades 214a and 214b by the motors 215a and 215b is performed according to instructions from the control device 250.

Further, the wing 214 may be provided with a lifter 213 (a lifter 213a and a lifter 213b) inside so that the height of the wing 214 can be changed with respect to the main body 212. The lifter 213 is provided at the base of the blade 214, and the position of the blade 214 together with the motor 215 can be changed. In FIG. 5, the lifter 213 b is in a position that is hidden behind the main body 212 and cannot be seen.

The wings 214 are opened during the movement, and call attention of a chicken having a width of 2 L (actually, the width W of the main body 212 is also included) around the movement route of the decoy 210. The purpose of the wing 214 is to promote movement so that the wing 214 straddles the wing 214 or avoids the path of the wing 214.

Therefore, the decoy 210 moves at such a speed that the wings 214 and the main body 212 do not damage the chicken.

Also, when an obstacle or the like is recognized in the range of the width 2L in the traveling direction of the decoy 210, the wing 214 can be closed as much as necessary. Moreover, the alert light 14 which the robots 1 and 2 have, the speaker 16, and the marking apparatus 22 may be provided.

Next, the installation and operation of the decoy 210 will be described. FIG. 6 illustrates a plan view of the chicken house 290. The poultry house 290 exemplifies a normal flat farm. A feeder 294 of the feeding device 292 is provided along the supply line 296. In addition, a drinking place for water is provided in the same line as the bait supply line 296. Supply line 296 is connected to silo 298. From the silo 298, feed is distributed through the supply line 296 to each feeder 294.

The route of the decoy 210 is set so as not to be interfered by these facilities. FIG. 7 shows a state where two routes 260 (route 260a and route 260b) along the supply line 296 are set in the poultry house 290 of FIG. Of course, the route 260 may be provided with three or more routes.

Winches 280 (winch 280a, winch 280b) for operating the decoy 210 are provided at both ends along the route 260 of the chicken house 290. The winch 280a operates the wire 222t, and the winch 280b operates the wire 222s. These winches 280a and 280b are connected to the control device 250 and are driven by an instruction signal from the control device 250. Further, it is desirable that the winch 280a and the winch 280b include a tension detector in order to adjust the tension applied to each wire 222.

FIG. 8 shows a side sectional view of the chicken house 290. At both ends of the chicken house 290, a winch 280a and a winch 280b are provided. Adjacent to the winch 280, struts 282 (the struts 282a and struts 282b) are provided. A pulley 283 (a pulley 283a and a pulley 283b) is provided at the tip of the column 282, respectively. The wires 222 are connected to both ends of the decoy 210 from each winch 280 via a pulley 283 at the tip of the column 282.

The support column 282 may be configured such that the height can be changed. When changing the posture of the decoy 210, not only the tension of the wire 222 but also the position of the pulley 283 can be changed, so that the posture can be controlled without changing the height from the floor surface. It is.

When the wire 222t and the wire 222s are pulled by both the winch 280a and the winch 280b, the decoy 210 is lifted from the floor surface 290f of the chicken house 290 (see FIG. 8A). If the wire 222t and the wire 222s are fed out by both the winch 280a and the winch 280b, the decoy 210 descends to near the floor surface 290f (see FIG. 8B).

In addition, by pulling the wire 222t with the winch 280a and feeding the wire 222s with an appropriate tension with the winch 280b, the decoy 210 keeps a certain height from the floor 290f of the poultry house 290, and the direction of the winch 280a. Move to. On the other hand, if it is reversed, it moves in the direction of the winch 280b (see FIG. 8C).

The height H from the floor 290f of the decoy 210 can be adjusted by the difference between the tension of the winch on the pulling side and the tension of the winch on the drawing side. The controller 250 instructs the appropriate tension and winding or feeding speed of both winches 280 from the feeding lengths of the wires 222 of both winches 280.

Thus, the decoy 210 moves in the poultry house 290 by the winch 280, the support column 282, the pulley 283, and the control device 250.

Next, the operation of the decoy 210 having such a configuration will be described. The decoy 210 is usually hung near the ceiling at one end of the poultry house 290. The operation of the decoy 210 is performed while a light is lit in the poultry house 290. This is to prevent the chicken from sleeping when the chicken is sleeping.

Now, it is assumed that the decoy 210 is suspended from the wall on the winch 280b side (state shown in FIG. 8A). When operating the decoy 210, first, the wire 222s and the wire 222t are fed out from the winch 280b and the winch 280a, and the decoy 210 is lowered to the vicinity of the floor surface 290f (state shown in FIG. 8B).

The winch 280a winds the wire 222t while the winch 280b feeds the wire 222s. In this way, the decoy 210 moves while floating near the floor 290f. The height H at this time is preferably the same height as the chicken viewpoint. The height of the wing 214 from the floor surface 290f is preferably high enough to allow the chicken to jump over.

When moving, a light or LED may be turned on, and the shadow of the decoy 210 may be projected at the bottom to alert the chicken. When the chicken hits the wing 214, it moves slowly. This is because the sudden movement of the decoy 210 gives stress to the chicken. Further, when an obstacle hits the wing 214, the wing 214 may be closed by an appropriate angle. These operations can be performed by the supervisor through the control device 250.

Note that the relationship between the robot and the lighting of the chicken house described in the first embodiment may be applied in this embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Embodiment 3)
The breeding method according to the present embodiment will be described below. In the present embodiment, the broiler promotes the movement of the broiler by utilizing the action of avoiding the moving light spot and avoiding it.

FIG. 9 illustrates the appearance of the robot 3 according to the present invention. FIG. 9A is a side view, and FIG. 9B is a front view. The robot 3 of the present invention includes a moving device 120, a light irradiation device 122, a battery 140 (see FIG. 12), a position detecting device 124 (see FIG. 12), a communication device 126 (see FIG. 12), and a control device 128 (see FIG. 12). Moreover, you may mount the camera apparatus 130. FIG. Furthermore, the alert light 14 which the robots 1 and 2 have, the speaker 16, and the marking device 22 may be provided. Here, the tank type robot (traveling robot) shown in FIG. 1 will be described, but the multi-copter type or decoy flying robot shown in FIG. 2 may be used.

FIG. 10 shows a relationship between a plan view of the poultry house 50 and peripheral devices for operating the robot 3. The robot 3 is normally placed on the base 170 in the poultry house 50. The poultry house 50 is provided with a feeder 54 and a silo 58 as a source of food and water. A parent control device 150 is prepared for the robot 3. The parent control device 150 can control at least one robot 3. Further, the robot 3 may be provided with a base 170 in the poultry house 50. In the base 170, the robot 3 performs primary return, and can transmit the recorded data and charge the battery 140 (see FIG. 12).

Referring to FIG. 9 again, the moving device 120 is not limited in form as long as the robot 3 can be moved. For example, methods such as walking with multiple legs, caterpillar, and multiple wheels can be used. In addition, the floor surface of the poultry house 50 is spread with bedding such as sawdust. When moving on such a floor surface, the caterpillar can be said to be a moving means that can be suitably used in terms of capacity and cost. Here, the robot 3 will continue to describe an example in which the robot 3 has a caterpillar as the moving device 120.

The moving device 120 is installed in the lower housing 110b. An upper housing 110a is disposed on the lower housing 110b. A rotating tower 112 is provided in the upper housing 110a. The rotating tower 112 is pivotally supported with respect to the upper housing 110a. The rotating device 112d (see FIG. 12) of the rotating tower 112 is installed in the lower housing 110b.

In addition, a bumper 110s is provided around the upper casing 110a. The bumper 110s is formed of a cushioning material such as foaming urethane. A touch sensor 132a may be provided between the bumper 110s and the upper housing 110a. This is because the collision can be detected when the robot 3 collides with something. The bumper 110s protects the chicken and the robot 3 when the robot 3 comes into contact with the chicken or when the robot 3 collides with a wall or the like.

The rotating tower 112 is provided with a light irradiation window 112w. A light irradiation device 122 (see FIG. 11) is installed inside the light irradiation window 112w. The light irradiation device 122 can irradiate light from the light irradiation window 112w and scan left and right. Further, an irradiation angle changing device 123 (see FIG. 11) for changing an irradiation position indicating how much the robot 3 is irradiated in front may be provided.

In addition, a camera device 130 is also mounted in the rotating tower 112. The camera device 130 can grasp the situation around the robot 3 and can confirm where the light irradiated from the light irradiation window 112w is hit. Further, the surrounding situation may be recorded as image data.

The light irradiation device 122 is not limited to the configuration as long as it has at least the above performance. Here, FIG. 11 illustrates the configuration of the light irradiation device 122. FIG. 11A is a plan view of the rotating tower 112, and FIG. 11B is a side sectional view. The light irradiation device 122 includes a light source 122a, a polygon mirror 122b, a drive motor 122c for the polygon mirror 122b, an irradiation angle changing device 123, and a light source control device 122d.

The light source 122a is a light source 122a that can radiate parallel rays. This is because a light spot is generated on the floor surface. A laser device or an optical system having an afocal group lens that can convert light from a focal point into parallel rays is used. In particular, the inventor has confirmed that chickens can be effectively induced with red laser light (wavelength 635 to 690 nm). The light intensity is not particularly strong, and a light source 122a having a power of about 0.2 mW used for a laser pointer may be used. Further, the light source 122a may be plural instead of single. This is because if there are a plurality of light spots, the chicken can easily recognize.

The polygon mirror 122b is a polyhedral mirror, and a triangular mirror or octagonal mirror is used depending on the space in the rotating tower 112 to be installed and the scanning range. The polygon mirror 122b reflects light from the light source 122a and emits light from the light irradiation window 112w.

The polygon mirror 122b is rotated by the drive motor 122c. Each time it rotates, light is emitted from the light irradiation window 112w and scanned. The polygon mirror 122b and the drive motor 122c are fixed on one stage 123a, and an irradiation depression angle changing motor 123b for changing the depression angle of the stage 123a is provided. The stage 123a is pivotally supported in the rotating tower 112 so as to be swingable by a column 123c. The irradiation depression angle changing motor 123b can push up an unsupported portion of the stage 123a from below and adjust the depression angle of the stage 123a. The stage 123a, the irradiation angle changing motor 123b, and the support 1123c constitute an irradiation angle changing device 123.

The light source control device 122d drives ON / OFF of the light source 122a, the driving motor 122c of the polygon mirror 122b, and the irradiation depression angle changing motor 123b, and adjusts the rotation angle of the polygon mirror 122b and the depression angle of the irradiation light. By adjusting the depression angle of the irradiation light, it is possible to adjust how much the light spot is generated on the floor ahead from the light irradiation device 122. The light source control device 122d performs these controls according to instructions from the control device 128 (see FIG. 12). Note that the control device 128 may also serve as the light source control device 122d.

In addition, although the example using the light source 122a and the polygon mirror 122b was shown here as the light irradiation apparatus 122, in the robot 3, the light irradiation apparatus 122 is not limited to this. For example, a plurality of laser pointers may be fixed to the upper end of the rotating tower 112 and the light spot may be scanned by rotating the rotating tower 112. Further, only the light irradiation device 122 may be rotated separately from the rotating tower 112. For example, in the above example, the stage 123a on which the light source 122a is placed may be rotated. Such a light irradiation device 122 may be mounted on a multicopter type or decoy robot (flying robot).

Referring to FIG. 9 again, the rotating tower 112 is also equipped with a camera device 130. In FIG. 9, the camera device 130 is mounted below the light irradiation device 122, but may be above. In the camera device 130, the number of cameras 130a is not particularly limited. In FIG. 9, a total of four cameras 130 a are mounted on the front, rear, left and right of the rotating tower 112. Each camera 130a has a wide angle of view, and the four cameras 130a can cover 360 ° around the robot 3. The image of the camera device 130 may be sent to the communication device 126 (see FIG. 12) and sent to the parent control device 150.

The rotating tower 112 can be rotated with respect to the upper casing 110a by a rotating device 112d (not visible in FIG. 9, see FIG. 12). Therefore, the light irradiation window 112w and the camera 130a can change an angle with respect to the upper housing 110a.

FIG. 12 shows the connection relationship between various devices. The control device 128 is connected to the moving device 120, the light irradiation device 122, the camera device 130, the communication device 126, and the battery 140. The control device 128 includes an MPU (Micro Processor Unit) 128a and a memory 128b. In the memory 128b, a travel route and an action program when the robot 3 self-runs are stored. In addition, you may record the image of the event which generate | occur | produced during driving | running | working in the memory 128b.

The communication device 126 is a wireless communication device. Communication is performed with the parent control device 150. Further, wired communication may be performed with the base 170.

The position detection device 124 determines the current position based on GPS or a wireless beacon provided in the poultry house 50. In addition, so-called inertial traveling may be performed in which the position from the starting point is calculated by an accelerometer and a compass and returned to the starting point independently. The control device 128 knows the current position in the poultry house 50 based on the position information from the position detection device 124.

The touch sensor 132a is provided between the bumper 110s (see FIG. 9) and the upper housing 110a (see FIG. 9) (or the lower housing 110b). When the bumper 110s comes into contact with something, the control device 128 is notified. Such a touch sensor 132 a constitutes the travel disturbance detection device 132.

The travel disturbance detection device 132 can be preferably configured by the touch sensor 132a. However, the travel interference detection device 132 may be configured by colliding with something and being unable to proceed any further. For example, if the position information is acquired from the position detection device 124 every few seconds and the movement device 120 is driven, but the position information does not change, the vehicle is impeded by something and the traveling is hindered. It is also possible to configure the travel disturbance detection device 132 by determining that it is.

FIG. 13 shows the relationship among the robot 3, the base 170, and the parent control device 150 in detail. The base 170 is a storage place for the robot 3 arranged in the poultry house 50 (see FIG. 10). When the robot 3 is accommodated, a charging terminal for the battery 140 (see FIG. 12) and a wired communication terminal of the communication device 126 are connected to the robot 3. Therefore, the base 170 has a base communication device 174 between the battery charger 172 and the parent control device 150. In addition, it is preferable that the base 170 is provided so that it can be taken out from the outside of the poultry house 50. This is because the robot 3 can be recovered without entering the poultry house 50.

The parent control device 150 can control at least one robot 3 from outside the poultry house 50. The parent control device 150 includes a parent communication device 152. The parent communication device 152 performs communication between the base communication device 174 included in the base 170 and the communication device 126 included in the robot 3 (see FIG. 12). The parent control device 150 controls the robot 3 by remote control. Accordingly, the control device 154 is provided. The control device 154 includes an input device 156 capable of inputting control sticks and commands, and a display device 158 that displays the situation. The parent control device 150 also has a storage device 160 that stores image data from the robot 3 and other data.

The parent control device 150 can instruct the robot 3 from the input device 156 to change the traveling course or change the operation. In addition, the robot 3 can be run in real time, and a light spot can be generated or scanned while viewing an image from the camera device 130 (see FIG. 9).

Next, the operation of the robot 3 will be described.
<Independent mode>
The self-supporting mode is a mode in which the patrol in the poultry house 50 is automatically performed and returned again at a certain time. During this time, it is not necessary to receive an instruction from the control device 154. Here, looking around means running inside the chicken house 50 while scanning a light spot, alerting the chicken, and promoting the chicken's movement.

The robot 3 is stored in the base 170. Here, the battery 140 is charged and communication with the wired control device 154 is performed. The robot 3 departs for a patrol in the poultry house 50 at the specified time.

FIG. 14 shows a plan view of the poultry house 50. The robot 3 travels on a predetermined route in the poultry house 50. As a route, it is preferable to travel along the wall of the poultry house 50. In FIG. 14, it is shown by a chain line. A feeding device 54 is provided on the center side of the poultry house 50, and a healthy chicken obtains food and water there. On the other hand, a chicken with a bad condition is pushed toward the wall of the poultry house 50. The robot 3 guides such a chicken to the center side of the poultry house 50 where the feeder 54 is located.

The robot 3 irradiates the front wall surface with light from the light source 122a (see FIG. 11) while traveling. Moreover, you may irradiate toward about 50 cm ahead of the robot 3. Since the irradiated light is a parallel light beam, a light spot 144 is generated on the floor surface in front of the robot 3. The robot 3 scans the light spot 144.

The scanning angle is not particularly limited. In the self-supporting mode, scanning is performed at a predetermined angle. For example, 90 ° from 45 ° to 45 ° from the front of the robot 3 is scanned. The scanning speed may be about 1 to 2 seconds for 90 ° scanning. This is because the chicken cannot recognize the scanning of the light spot 144 either too early or too late.

The scanning method is not particularly limited. In the above example, when the polygon mirror 122b is rotated only in one direction, the light spot is scanned only from right to left or from left to right. However, the light spot may be scanned from right to left and again from left to right.

There may be multiple light spots. This is because the chicken is easily visible. When there are about one spot having a diameter of 1 cm or less, the chickens in the poultry house 50 are often not noticed. It is desirable that there are a plurality of light spots having a small diameter.

Also, if it is too large, it becomes a floodlight and it is just dazzling. In addition, it is difficult to create a gap enough to generate a large light spot on the floor surface in the poultry house 50 that is kept in the poultry. Therefore, the size of the light spot is preferably about 0.5 cm to about 10 cm. Moreover, the color of the light spot is preferably a color that is not the color of the lighting in the poultry house. It is to stand out. In particular, red for humans can alert chickens.

When the light spot is scanned, the chicken moves to avoid the scanned area. The cause of this is not clear. Perhaps the chicken moves to avoid the light spot and escape from the light spot. Note that the chicken itself does not panic with such an operation.

If the robot 3 does not collide with anything, it travels on the determined route and returns to the base 170 again. If you collide with something, record the number and location of the collision. When returning to the base 170, the battery 140 is charged and the image data recorded during the tour is transmitted to the parent control device 150. The number of collisions and the position are also transmitted in the same manner.

If the robot 3 collides with something while looking around, the robot 3 avoids this. The avoidance method is not particularly limited, but a method of traveling a certain distance away from the wall, proceeding in parallel with the wall again, and returning to the course along the wall again is conceivable.

箇 所 There is a high possibility that there are chickens that have already become unable to move in the places where the avoidance action is performed. The robot 3 communicates information on this point to the parent control device 150. The information notified at this time may be a position where a collision is detected or a position where an avoidance action is performed. This is because both indicate substantially the same position.

Robot 3 patrolls the chicken house 50 during the night for humans. Therefore, in the morning, the keeper examines the image when the robot 3 performs the avoidance action (or collides) the night before. If the cause of the avoidance action (or collision) is a chicken that has become difficult to move, when the human looks around, the point where the robot 3 has performed the avoidance action (or has collided) is examined, and the chicken with a sign of abnormality is found. Can be confirmed.

<Depending mode>
The robot 3 can travel in the poultry house 50 according to an instruction from the parent control device 150. In this case, an image photographed by the camera device 130 is displayed on the display device 158 of the parent control device 150, and the operator can see the inside of the chicken house 50 with the line of sight of the robot 3.

Also, the operator can move while irradiating light, or can move the robot 3 without irradiating light. In particular, in the self-supporting mode, in order to confirm a point where the robot 3 has performed an avoidance action (or has collided), the robot 3 is pointed to that point, and an image taken by the camera device 130 shows the vicinity of the point. It becomes possible to confirm.

Note that the relationship between the robot and the lighting of the chicken house described in the first embodiment may be applied in this embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Embodiment 4)
In the present embodiment, chickens in the poultry house 50 are regarded as a flock and the growth state is improved. The chickens in the poultry house 50 can move around freely. However, if a dense flock is formed in the poultry house 50, some of the chickens in the poultry house 50 often do not have the opportunity to eat food, and often develop poorly. Therefore, when a plurality of chickens are concentrated in a specific place in the poultry house 50, it is necessary to give each chicken an equal opportunity to feed by eliminating this crowded state.

FIG. 15 shows a plan view of the poultry house 50. In the present embodiment, the surveillance camera 70 is provided on the ceiling of the poultry house 50. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the robot 3, the base 170 of the robot 3, and the parent control device 150 are also provided. The robot 3 in the present embodiment is the robot 3 described in the second embodiment, and may be a robot to which a function that may be added described in the third embodiment is added. Of course, a flying robot may be used.

FIG. 16 shows the connection relationship between the robot 3, the base 170, the parent control device 150, and the monitoring camera 70, as in FIG. The monitoring camera 70 is connected to the parent control device 150. Therefore, the image of the monitoring camera 70 can be monitored by the display device 158.

When the state of the flock of chickens in the poultry house 50 is monitored with the surveillance camera 70 of this embodiment and the flock is biased when viewed over the whole poultry house, the robot 3 is sent to the place where the chickens are concentrated, Spread dense crowds. In addition, it may be said that it is promoting the movement of a chicken that the robot 3 spreads a dense flock.

Since they are usually housed in poultry houses, the average density of chickens (number of chickens per unit area) is considered to be almost the same no matter where they are on the floor. However, in reality, there is a tendency to gather along the wall of the poultry house 50. And chickens whose food intake is reduced often occur in a flock that gathers near such walls.

Therefore, apart from regularly exercising with the robot 3, spreading a biased flock can also contribute to chicken development in the entire poultry house.

The method for detecting the swarm deviation with the monitoring camera 70 is not particularly limited. A human may look at the image of the surveillance camera 70 to determine whether or not there is a bias. Further, the bias may be digitized by image processing. If it can be judged that there is a bias in the flock by image processing, the flock of chicken can be moved by the surveillance camera 70 and the robot 3 even if the human is not looking at it. Can be resolved.

An example of a specific method is shown below. FIG. 17 shows a processing flow of the parent control device 150. When the process starts (step S100), an end determination is made (step S102). The end determination is not particularly limited, and it may be possible to stop at a specific time or to give a stop instruction. When the process ends (Y branch in step S102), the process stops (step S150).

If not finished (N branch in step S102), the surveillance camera 70 takes a picture of the floor surface to obtain image data G (step S104). Next, the image data G is divided into predetermined sections. An infrared camera may be used in order to increase the accuracy of the number counting in the subsequent image processing.

To divide into sections is to divide the floor surface into nine sections of three vertical and three horizontal sections in advance, and to divide the image data G in that way. Let the divided sections be g1, g2,... Gn. However, “n” is a natural number. If it is divided into 9 sections, n is 9. Note that all the sections need not have the same size and the same shape. For example, the wall side may be a long section along the wall side.

Next, the number of chickens in each section gk is counted (step S106). Let C (g1), C (g2), ..., C (gk), ..., C (gn) be the number of chickens in each compartment. When viewed from the ceiling, the chickens in the compartment are individually spindle-shaped and separated from the adjacent chickens, so the number can be counted with image processing software. Here, “k” is a natural number satisfying 1 ≦ k ≦ n and is a variable representing an arbitrary section among the divided sections.

The floor area of the poultry house 50 is known in advance, and the number of chickens currently present in the poultry house 50 is also known. Therefore, if chickens are uniformly distributed in the poultry house 50, it is determined how many chickens are in one section. This is defined as the block average number Cav. In addition, the feeder 54 etc. are also installed in the division. In addition, as described above, the sections may not be the same size. Therefore, the section average number Cav may not be the same in all sections. In other words, the section average number Cav may be provided for each section.

The number of chickens C (gk) counted in each section is compared with the section average number Cav (step S108). It can be determined that the large sections in which the number of chickens C (gk) in the section is larger than the section average number Cav are densely crowded. In step S108, “m” is a weight constant. For example, if m is 1.1, even if there are 1.1 times as many chickens as the average number of sections Cav, it is not considered that there is a bias in the flock. That is, it may be determined that the degree of crowding (group bias) is not more than a certain degree of the section average number Cav.

If it is determined in step S108 that there is a group bias (Y branch of step S108), the parent control device 150 dispatches the robot 3 to the section gk (step S110). The robot 3 described in the second embodiment moves to the section gk while scanning the light spot, and, for example, reciprocates in the section gk to disperse the swarm.

If it is determined that there is no group bias (N branch in step S108), the process returns to the end process (step S102).

In addition, although the image | photographed floor surface was divided | segmented into division here and the number of the chickens for every division was counted, you may obtain | require the temperature for every division with a thermo image camera etc. This is because the temperature is displayed high in the section where the flock is dense, and the temperature is low in the section where the flock is thin.

As described above, the surveillance camera 70 is arranged on the ceiling of the poultry house 50, the presence or absence of a flock of chickens is determined based on the image of the camera, and the robot 3 eliminates the flock of individual flocks, whereby individual chickens are eliminated. Can get the opportunity to eat food. In other words, the number of individuals with poor growth without eating food can be reduced, and productivity can be improved.

Note that the relationship between the robot and the lighting of the poultry house described in Embodiment 1 may be applied in this embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
(Embodiment 5)

Hereinafter, the robot for measuring the environment according to the fourth embodiment will be described. FIG. 18 shows a configuration of a poultry house monitoring robot according to the present invention. The poultry house monitoring robot 301 includes a traveling unit 310, a communication device 312, a position detection unit 314, a battery 316, a control unit 320, and a sensor unit 330. The sensor unit 330 includes temperature sensors 331a and 331b, humidity sensors 332a and 332b, carbon dioxide sensors 333a and 333b, ammonia sensors 334a and 334b, and the like.

In addition, the kind of sensor is not limited to these, Sensors other than the above may be mounted. Further, only one type of sensor may be mounted on the sensor unit 330. Here, the description will be continued assuming that the sensor is mounted. These sensors are prepared in two sets for the upper part and the lower part. The sensor unit 330 may be equipped with a camera 340 and a thermosensor 341.

More specifically, the functions of the robot 1, the robot 2, the robot 3, and the decoy 210 described in the first, second, and third embodiments can be appropriately installed.

FIG. 19 shows an example of the appearance of the poultry house monitoring robot 301. The shape of the poultry house monitoring robot 301 is not particularly limited. However, for example, in the case of a broiler house, bedding such as sawdust is laid on the floor. This bedding is formed to a thickness of 2 to 5 cm. Therefore, it is necessary to have a traveling means that can travel on such a litter.

For example, forms such as walking with multiple legs and a caterpillar can be suitably used. Here, a tank type robot using the caterpillar 362 is illustrated. An upper sensor dome 364 in which the sensor unit 330 is incorporated is provided on the upper surface of the main body 360. The camera 340 and the thermosensor 341 are housed in a camera tower 366. The camera tower 366 rotates to have a 360 ° field of view. A lower sensor dome 363 is provided on the lower surface of the main body 360. This is because the environment directly above the bedding can be measured.

FIG. 20 illustrates a plan view of the chicken house 400 monitored by the chicken house monitoring robot 1. The poultry house 400 is provided with a feeding / water supply apparatus 410 having a pipe 411, a feeder 412 and a silo 413. Further, a ventilation fan 402 for performing ventilation, a broder 403 for heating the inside of the poultry house 400, a cooling pad 404 for cooling the intake air when taking air into the poultry house 400, a fine adjustment fan 405 attached to the wall, etc. Environmental control devices are provided.

The poultry house 400 is provided with a charging station 406 for charging the poultry house monitoring robot 301. The charging station 406 charges the battery 316 of the poultry house robot 301 when the poultry house monitoring robot 301 comes to a predetermined position.

In addition, a reference signal transmitter 407 for allowing the poultry house monitoring robot 301 to recognize its own position in the poultry house 400 may be provided. The reference signal transmitters 407 are provided on the ceilings at the four corners of the poultry house 400 and transmit signals having different frequencies.

Also, a control unit 370 that receives and records measurement data transmitted from the poultry house monitoring robot 301 may be provided.

The control unit 370 receives measurement data from the poultry house monitoring robot 301, and records and tabulates it. The control unit 370 is provided with a display screen 372, which can receive and display a video signal from the poultry house monitoring robot 301. Furthermore, the control unit 370 may be provided with a control device 373 for the poultry house monitoring robot 301. This is for operating the poultry house monitoring robot 301 from the control unit 370 side.

Referring to FIG. 18 again, traveling section 310 includes motors 310a and 310b that drive left and right drive wheels, and caterpillar 362 (see FIG. 22). These motors 310 a and 310 b are connected to the control unit 320. And it drives by the instruction | indication from the control part 320. FIG. The poultry house monitoring robot 1 can drive the left and right motors 310a and 310b independently to change the direction straight, backward, and left and right.

The battery 316 supplies power to each device in FIG. Further, electric power is stored by supplying electric power from the outside. In other words, the battery 316 is preferably a secondary battery.

The communication device 312 is a wireless communication device. The communication protocol is not particularly limited. For example, a system using a public line may be used. The communication device 312 transmits the measurement data acquired by the poultry house monitoring robot 301. Moreover, you may receive the instruction | indication from the control unit 370 with which the poultry house 400 was equipped.

The position detection means 314 includes a method using a reference signal transmitter 407 provided in the poultry house 400, a method using GPS, a method by triangulation using the radio of the communication device 312 and a moving direction and movement from the charging station 406. A method (so-called inertial navigation) for obtaining a position from speed and travel time can be used. Here, an example in which the reference signal transmitter 407 provided in the poultry house 400 is used is shown.

As the battery 316, a chargeable / dischargeable secondary battery can be suitably used. The battery 316 supplies power to all the electric consumption parts of the poultry house monitoring robot 301.

The sensor unit 330 is a set of sensors that measure the environmental index of the chicken's living space. The sensor unit 330 preferably includes at least temperature sensors 331a and 331b, humidity sensors 332a and 332b, carbon dioxide sensors 333a and 333b, and ammonia sensors 334a and 334b. These sensors are provided at two locations in the upper sensor dome 364 and the lower sensor dome 363 provided on the upper surface of the main body 360. Sensors provided in the upper sensor dome 364 have an extension “a”, and sensors provided in the lower sensor dome 363 have an extension “b”.

Measured data such as temperature / humidity at the height of the chicken and measured data such as temperature / humidity directly above the laying are very effective for providing a comfortable environment for the chicken. The humidity directly above the bedding reflects the humidity of the bedding. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a guideline that the air conditioning of the poultry house 400 must be controlled so that the litter is further dried.

Also, by knowing the carbon dioxide concentration and ammonia concentration in the space about the height of the chicken, if it can be determined that ventilation is not necessary, the ventilation volume is reduced, saving energy. Of course, if there is a lot of carbon dioxide in the space where the chicken lives, the ventilation rate near the floor must be increased.

The upper sensor dome 364 may be provided with an illuminance meter 335 and a microphone device 336. The illuminometer 335 measures the brightness in the chicken house 400. The microphone device 336 may measure the volume of a specific frequency band. When the chicken feels alert or afraid, it makes a relatively high-pitched call. This is to measure the sound.

The camera 340 is equipped with a camera that can capture normal visible light. The interior of the poultry house 400 is usually set to about 25 lux. Therefore, it is desirable that the F number has a lens as small as possible. In addition, since it may be necessary to illuminate when photographing, a spotlight 340a may be provided.

Desirably, the thermosensor 341 has a two-dimensional imaging surface. This is because the object to be photographed can be seen as an image of temperature distribution. If the camera 340 and the thermosensor 341 are arranged side by side and the optical axis of the lens is directed in the same direction, the temperature distribution of the image taken by the camera 340 can be observed. The camera 340, the spotlight 340a, and the thermo sensor 341 are provided in a camera tower 66 provided on the upper surface of the main body 360.

The control unit 320 is connected to the sensors of the sensor unit 330, the traveling unit 310, the communication unit 312, and the position detection unit 314. Then, an instruction signal is transmitted to each unit, and a signal from each unit is received. In addition, the control unit 320 is provided with a clock 321 and a memory 3 22 inside. The operation of the control unit 320 is controlled by a control program 323 installed in the memory 322. In addition, the target point list 324 is stored in the memory 322. The target point list 324 may be position coordinates in the chicken house 400, for example.

The operation of the poultry house monitoring robot 301 having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 21 shows a flow of basic operations of the poultry house monitoring robot 301. The poultry house monitoring robot 301 has a self-supporting mode and a maneuvering mode. In the independent mode, the chicken house 400 is run by the control program 323 in which the chicken house monitoring robot 301 is built, and the environmental index is measured at a predetermined measurement point.

Referring to FIG. 21, when control unit 320 of poultry house monitoring robot 301 starts processing (step S400), initial setting is performed (step S402). The initial setting includes time adjustment, battery remaining amount confirmation, initial target point setting, and the like. When the initial setting is completed, the poultry house monitoring robot 301 starts moving.

When the movement is started, it is confirmed whether or not the feedback condition is satisfied (step S404). The feedback conditions are time and remaining battery capacity. For example, when the scheduled activity time is determined, the elapsed time from the departure time is confirmed, and if the scheduled activity time is exceeded, the feedback condition is satisfied. Even within the scheduled activity time, if the remaining battery level is low, the feedback condition is satisfied.

When the return condition is satisfied (Y branch of step S404), the target point is set in the charging station 406 of the poultry house 400 and moved. When the charging station 406 is reached, the process is terminated (step S420).

If the return condition is not satisfied (N branch in step S404), it is determined whether or not the target point has been reached (step S406). The target point is the position of the moving destination where the poultry house monitoring robot 1 moves in the poultry house 400. This is recorded in advance as a target point list 324 in the memory 322. The initial target point is set during the initial setting (step S402). Therefore, the poultry house monitoring robot 301 moves toward the first target point in the target point list 324.

The control unit 320 knows the position in the poultry house 400 by the position detection means 314. The position detection unit 314 calculates the position in the chicken house 400 based on a signal from the reference signal transmitter 407 provided in the chicken house 400. Here, the chicken house 400 is provided with four reference signal transmitters 407 having different transmission frequencies. The poultry house monitoring robot 301 can know the position in the poultry house 400 from the ratio of the received intensity of these signals. Therefore, the own position and the position of the target point are compared, and the traveling unit 310 is controlled so that the difference is reduced.

FIG. 22 illustrates the set target points. Referring to FIG. 22, a dotted line indicates a patrol route of chicken house monitoring robot 301 that travels inside chicken house 400. The numbers in circles are the set target points. The poultry house monitoring robot 301 visits the target points set on the patrol route in numerical order, and performs measurement by the sensors at the points.

As described above, by patrolling the chicken house 400, the chicken house monitoring robot 302 not only measures the environmental index, but also promotes chicken movement. At this time, in order to call attention of the chicken, scanning of a light spot, lighting of a warning light, and sound generation may be performed. An apparatus for implementing these can be implemented by the configuration of the robots 1, 2, 3, and 201 described in the first, second, third, and fourth embodiments.

Refer again to FIG. If the target point has not been reached, the process is repeated from step S404. When the poultry house monitoring robot 301 reaches the target point (Y branch in step S406), it stops and measures the environmental index with sensors (step 408).

Environmental indices such as temperature and humidity at the point where the poultry house monitoring robot 301 stops are measured on the upper surface side and lower surface side of the main body 360. These measurement data are transmitted by the communication apparatus 312 with the positional information and measurement time of a measurement point (step S410).

When the measurement data is transmitted, the next target point is read from the memory 322, and movement toward the point is started (step 412). The process flow returns to step S404.

Thus, the poultry house monitoring robot 301 basically moves within the poultry house 400 to a predetermined target point, and measures the environmental index at the target point. Then, the operation of transmitting measurement data is repeated.

The poultry house monitoring robot 301 photographs the surroundings with the camera 340 and the thermo sensor 341 of the camera tower 366 while moving. In addition, the illuminance meter 335 and the microphone device 336 measure ambient illuminance and sound.

FIG. 23 shows an operation flow while the poultry house monitoring robot 301 is running. When movement to the next target point is started (step S500), it is determined whether or not the target point has been reached (step S502). When the vehicle arrives at the target point (Y branch of step S502), the process flow ends (step S520). This is because environmental measurement is performed.

If it has not arrived at the target point (N branch in step S502), it is determined whether or not the illuminance is lower than the predetermined brightness ThL (step S504). The inside of the poultry house 400 should be maintained at a brightness of about 25 lux for a certain period of time, but if a malfunction occurs in the lighting device or the like, a dark spot is formed in the poultry house 400.

Further, it is determined whether or not the sound volume in a predetermined high frequency band is equal to or higher than a threshold value Thi (step S506). When the chicken is surprised or frightened, it makes a relatively high-pitched alert.

Also, it is determined whether or not a sudden sound has occurred (step S508). Chickens are adaptable to relatively continuous noise. However, he is afraid of sudden sounds.

If any of these measurements is observed (Y branch of steps S504, S506, S508), the poultry house monitoring robot 1 stops on the spot and transmits the current position, time, and observation result (step S510). . When the transmission is completed, the movement is started again (step S512).

Referring to FIG. 22 again, the poultry house monitoring robot 301 can be operated from the outside by the control device 373 of the control unit 370. If the monitor recognizes an abnormality in the chicken house 400 based on the video on the display screen 372 of the control unit 370 or the measurement data from the chicken house monitoring robot 301, the monitoring device 301 moves the chicken house monitoring robot 301 to a desired location. To move. At this time, the chicken can be observed up close by the image of the camera 340.

For example, the presence or absence of contact dermatitis and feather dirt can be easily detected. In addition, when people looked around, they had to pick up and observe chicken legs such as the heels and knee joints. However, with the camera 340 from the same height as the chicken, it is possible to detect infections of the heels and knee joints at an early stage by observing the feet of the walking chicken.

In addition, by observing the image with the thermosensor 341, it is possible to discover an individual whose body temperature has risen, and conversely, an individual whose body temperature has decreased.

The control unit 370 records measurement data from the poultry house monitoring robot 301. And these measurement data may be totaled. In the recorded data, the position data in the poultry house 3100 and the observation time data are combined. Therefore, the temperature and humidity of the floor can be displayed together with the temperature distribution and humidity distribution in the poultry house 400.

Note that the relationship between the robot and the lighting of the chicken house described in the first embodiment may be applied in this embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

A test was conducted on the broiler breeding situation when the robot 3 described in the third and fourth embodiments was actually operated. The robot 3 was equipped with three laser pointers on the upper part of the rotatable rotating tower 112, and scanned 90 ° in 2 seconds while traveling. The laser pointer used was red (wavelength 635 nm) and 0.2 mW. The light spot was generated about 50 cm above the floor of the left hand wall in front of the robot 3. That is, three light spots are generated at a position 50 cm in front of the robot 3 (running direction), and 90 ° is scanned at an angular velocity of about 2 seconds.

In the test, 6300 chicken houses 50 were used as test areas (chick houses 50 where the robot 1 was run), and 6600 chicken houses 50 were used as control areas. The chicken species is chunky. After entering the chicks, they went from 3 days old to 7 days old morning.

During the day, humans look around the poultry house 3 times from 8 to 9 o'clock, from 13:00 to 14:00, and from 16:00 to 17:00. In the evening, the robot 3 went around the wall of the poultry house 50 four times from 19:00 to 20:00, 22:00 to 23:00, 1 to 2 o'clock, 4 to 5 o'clock.

Robot 3 made a total of 16 tours, 3 days old night, 4 days old night, 5 days old night, and 6 days old night. In the control zone, the robot 3 is not running at night. Therefore, the broilers in the test group exercise more than the broilers in the control group for a total of 16 times.

750 weights of 450 chicks were measured between 13:00 and 14:00 at 7 days of age. During the test, there was no individual that did not move due to the scanning of the light spot. Therefore, the robot 3 did not cause a collision on the determined course.

As a result, the average body weight at the time of entering the chick was 46.56 g in the test group and 48.03 g in the control group, and the test group was lighter than the control group. In contrast, the body weight at 7 days of age was 165.00 g in the test group and 160.90 g in the control group, and the test group was heavier than the control group. The multiplication factor was 3.54 times in the test group and 3.35 times in the control group, and the test group was heavier than the control group.

Therefore, it is considered that by running the robot 3 in the poultry house 50, the chicken's exercise was promoted, the appetite of the chicken was increased, and the weight was also increased. Although the tests after this have not been performed yet, it is considered that by running the robot 3, a decrease in the number of individuals who cannot move because their legs do not follow the increase in body weight can be expected.

The broiler breeding method according to the present invention can be suitably applied to broilers kept in close proximity.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Robot 2 Robot 3 Robot 10 Main body 12 Camera 14 Attention light 16 Speaker 18 Rotating body 20 Guide bar 22 Marking device 30 Caterpillar 40 Main body 41a-41d Rotor 43a-43d Rotor support | pillar 45 Guide frame 46 Frame bar 50 Chicken house 52 Feeding device 54 Feeder 56 Supply line 58 Silo 60 Line 62 line
70 surveillance camera 110b lower casing 110a upper casing 112 rotating tower 112w light irradiation window 112d rotating device 110s for rotating tower 112 bumper 132a touch sensor 120 moving device 122 light irradiation apparatus 122a light source 122b polygon mirror 122c driving motor for polygon mirror 122b 123 Irradiation angle changing device 123a Stage 123b Irradiation depression angle changing motor 123c Post 122d Light source control device 140 Battery 124 Position detection device 126 Communication device 128 Control device 128a MPU
128b Memory 130 Camera device 130a Camera 132 Travel disturbance detection device 144 Light spot 150 Parent control device 152 Parent communication device 154 Control device 156 Input device 158 Display device 160 Storage device 170 Base 172 Battery charger 174 Base communication device 210 Decoy 212 Main body 212s Wire clamp 212t Wire clamp 213 Lifter 213a Lifter 213b Lifter 214 Wing 214a Wing 214b Wing 215 Motor 215a Motor 215b Motor 216 Camera 216s Camera 216t Camera 217 Camera 218 Mounting part 222 Wire 222s Wire 222t Wire 250 Controller 260 Route 260a Route 260b Route 280 Winch 280a winch 280b winch 282 support 282a support 82b Post 283 Pulley 283a Pulley 283b Pulley 290 Chicken house 290f Floor 292 Feeder 294 Feeder 296 Supply line 298 Silo 301 Chicken house monitoring robot 310 Traveling part 310a, 310b Motor 312 Communication device 314 Position detection means 316 Battery 320 Control part 321 Clock 322 Memory 323 Control program 324 Target point list 330 Sensor unit 331a, 331b Temperature sensor 332a, 332b Humidity sensor 333a, 333b Carbon dioxide sensor 334a, 334b Ammonia sensor 335 Illuminance meter 336 Microphone device 340 Camera 340a Spotlight 341 Thermo sensor 360 Main body 362 Caterpillar 364 Upper sensor dome 363 Lower sensor dome 366 Camera tower 370 Control unit 372示画 surface 373 pilot controls 400 houses 402 ventilation fan 403 Buruda 404 cooling pad 405 fine adjustment fan 406 charging station 407 reference signal transmitter 410 water supply device 411 pipe 412 feeder 413 silo

Claims (14)

1. A method of raising chickens in a poultry house,
   Feeding the chicken in the poultry house;
   A chicken breeding method comprising a step of accelerating movement of the chicken while moving a robot in the poultry house.
2. In the step of promoting the chicken's movement,
   The chicken breeding method according to claim 1, wherein the chicken breeding method is performed while lighting in the poultry house is on.
3. In the step of promoting the chicken's movement,
   The chicken breeding method according to claim 1, wherein a place where the chicken is fed is brightly illuminated from the surroundings.
4. The robot;
   The lighting that illuminates the place where the chicken is fed brighter than the surroundings is linked,
   The chicken breeding method according to claim 3, wherein the place where the chicken is fed is sequentially illuminated brighter than the surroundings according to the moving place of the robot.
5. In the step of promoting the chicken's movement,
   The chicken breeding method according to claim 1, wherein the robot scans a light spot.
6. In the step of promoting the chicken's movement,
   2. The chicken breeding method according to claim 1, wherein the robot turns on a warning light.
7. In the step of promoting the chicken's movement,
   The chicken breeding method according to claim 1, wherein the robot emits a sound.
8. 2. The chicken breeding method according to claim 1, wherein the robot is a robot that travels on a floor surface in the poultry house.
9. 2. The chicken breeding method according to claim 1, wherein the robot is a robot that flies in the poultry house.
10. And further detecting the presence or absence of bias of the flock of chickens in the poultry house,
    The chicken of claim 1, wherein the step of promoting the chicken movement is a step of promoting the chicken movement while moving the robot in a place where the flock is biased. Breeding method.
11. The robot is
    A traveling section;
    A sensor unit, a communication device,
    A position detection means and a control unit;
    The chicken breeding method according to claim 1, wherein the chicken breeding method travels inside a poultry house, performs environmental measurement by the sensor unit at a specific position, and transmits measurement data.
12. 12. The chicken breeding method according to claim 11, wherein the sensor unit includes a sensor disposed at a position directly above the floor surface of the poultry house and a point directly above the floor surface.
13. The chicken breeding method according to claim 11, wherein the measurement data is transmitted together with the measured position data.
14. 12. The chicken breeding method according to claim 11, wherein the sensor unit includes a camera.

Images