Drinking apparatus for an animal
AssigneeSureFlap Ltd
InventorsSimon Trimble, Jonathan Bowen, Jaume Fatjo Rios, Zbigniew Marcin Bandkowski, Paul Oxley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
We describe a water presentation device for one or more animals e.g. a domestic animal or pet such as a cat, dog or rabbit, or an agricultural or livestock animal such as a sheep, cow or pig. The device may promote visibility of the water. The device may contain sensor(s) to detect proximity of an animal, and/or proximity in the form of an animal actually touching the water. Detection of a drinking event may trigger a variety of responses within the device, e.g.: activation of an RFID antenna, weighing of water within the basin, e.g. separable bowl, and/or communication of drinking data determined by the device to a remote location.
Claims20
A drinking apparatus for an animal, comprising:
- a basin for holding water;
- a capacitive touch sensor comprising a sense electrode disposed underneath the basin;
- and
- a processing circuitry coupled to the capacitive touch sensor and configured to determine a capacitance value of capacitance coupled to the sense electrode,
- wherein the processing circuitry is configured to detect touching by an animal of the water held by the basin, said detection based on detecting a change of the capacitance to a capacitance value that exceeds a detection threshold relative to a reference capacitance value, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the reference capacitance value based on an average of earlier capacitance values sensed by the capacitive touch sensor.
A drinking apparatus for an animal, comprising:
- a basin to hold water;
- and optionally a reservoir to store and replenish the held water, and
- at least one load cell configured to measure a weight of part of the drinking apparatus including at least one of the basin including any said held water and any reservoir including any said stored water;
- the apparatus configured to:
- estimate an amount of water consumed by an animal based on at least two said weights of the part measured at different times, wherein the at least two weights comprise a said weight measured before an animal proximity detection and a said weight measured after an animal proximity detection;
- and
- detect an occurrence of a water leak or spillage from the basin, the detection comprising:
- using the animal proximity sensor to determine if there is absence of an animal during a time period, the determination indicated by a lack of any touch detection of water held in the basin;
- using the at least one load cell to determine if a change in the weight of the part during the time period exceeds a weight change threshold;
- and
- indicating occurrence of a said leak or spillage when during a time period a said change exceeds the weight change threshold and there is a said animal absence or lack of touch detection.
A method of operating a drinking apparatus for an animal, the drinking apparatus comprising a basin for holding water and a capacitive touch sensor to detect touch of the water by an animal, the method comprising:
- receiving a plurality of capacitance values measured by the capacitive touch sensor;
- calibrating a reference capacitance value based on an average of the capacitance values;
- calculating a statistical spread of said capacitance values;
- determining a detection threshold based on the statistical spread;
- receiving a further capacitance value measured by the capacitive touch sensor;
- if the further capacitance value differs from the reference capacitance value by more than the detection threshold, indicating that an animal is proximate to the drinking apparatus.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.