# US 2023/0054534 A1 · Weighing of Animals > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2023/0054534 A1 - Document ID: US20230054534A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 17/759,656 - Filed: 2021-01-25 - Published: 2023-02-23 - Earliest claimed: 2020-01-31 - Assignees: Farm Robotics and Automation Sl - Applicants: Farm Robotics and Automation SL - Inventors: Heiner Lehr - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20230054534A1 ## CPC - G01G 17/08: for weighing livestock - A01K 29/00: Other apparatus for animal husbandry - A01K 29/002: {for monitoring or measuring size or weight of the animal, e.g. monitoring growth} - G01G: WEIGHING (sorting by weighing B07C5/16) - A01K: ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; AVICULTURE; APICULTURE; PISCICULTURE; FISHING; REARING OR BREEDING ANIMALS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NEW BREEDS OF ANIMALS ## Abstract Devices and methods for monitoring the weight of animals in an animal housing facility including a support surface configured so that at least one of the animals can stand on the support surface, a force sensor, attached to the support surface, for measuring a force indicative of a weight of the animal on the support surface, a rail system actuator for suspending the device from a rail or track of a rail system and propelling it along the rail or track, a processor receiving a signal from the force sensor indicative of a weight of the animal or animals on the support surface when the support surface is located at a target position, and determining a weight measurement of an individual animal based on the signal. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A device for monitoring the weight of animals in an animal housing facility, the device comprising: a support surface configured so that at least one of the animals can stand on the support surface, in operation of the device; a force sensor, connected to the support surface, for measuring a force indicative of a weight of the animal or animals on the support surface, in operation of the device; a rail system actuator for suspending the device from a rail or track of a rail system and to propel the device when controlled accordingly, along the rail or track when operably attached thereto; and a processor, wherein the processor is adapted for: controlling the rail system actuator to move the actuator to a target position in the animal housing facility; receiving a signal from the force sensor indicative of a weight of the animal or animals on the support surface when the support surface is located at the target position; and determining a weight measurement of an individual animal based on the signal. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is adapted for receiving the signal by sampling the signal provided by the force sensor at a predetermined sampling frequency. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The device of claim 2, wherein the processor is adapted for analyzing fluctuations of the signal over time and comparing the signal or temporal changes in the signal to a predetermined range of typical forces due to weight of the animals, in which the weight of individual animals is determined on the basis of the signal or the temporal change of the signal when falling within the predetermined range. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, comprising a memory, and wherein the processor is adapted for storing a plurality of the weight measurements of individual animals in the memory. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, further comprising a communication module. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The device of claim 5, wherein the processor is adapted for communicating the weight measurement of an individual animal or a plurality of such weight measurements to a receiver using the communication module. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The device of claim 5, wherein the processor is adapted for determining the target position to move the rail system actuator based on instructions and/or coordinates received via the communication module. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is adapted for determining the target position to move the rail system actuator by randomly sampling locations in the animal housing facility and/or by periodically moving the rail system actuator to a next position of a predetermined sequence of positions. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the animals are poultry. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the support surface is adapted such that a plurality of the animals can stand simultaneously on the support surface. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is adapted for controlling the rail system actuator to move at a constant speed through the facility, and wherein the constant speed is a speed in a range of 1 mm per hour to 1 m per hour. ### Claim 12 (depends on 2) The device of claim 2, comprising a lifting actuator for lowering and raising the support surface. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The device of claim 12, wherein the lifting actuator is adapted for lowering the support surface to a predetermined distance (d) from the ground for performing weight measurements and for raising the support surface to an upper position for travelling through the animal housing facility. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The device of claim 12, wherein the lifting actuator comprises a telescopic arm, a telescopic lift, a scissor lift and/or combinations thereof. ### Claim 15 (depends on 12) The device of claim 12, wherein the processor is adapted for controlling the lifting actuator to raise the support surface before controlling the rail system actuator to move to the target position, and controlling the lifting actuator to lower the support surface after the target position has been reached. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The device of claim 15, comprising an animal presence sensor to detect the presence of an animal below the support surface. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The device of claim 16, wherein the processor is adapted to detect the presence, using the animal presence sensor, of an animal below the support surface while lowering the support surface, and, when the presence of an animal is detected, performing one or more of the following actions: halting the lowering of the lifting actuator until the presence of the animal is no longer detected; controlling the rail system actuator to move until the presence of the animal is no longer detected; moving the lifting actuator in a horizontal direction until the presence of on animal is no longer detected; and activating alerting means to encourage the detected animal to move away from underneath the support surface. ### Claim 18 A method for monitoring the weight of animals in an animal housing facility comprising: moving a support surface to a target position in the animal housing facility along a rail or track, wherein the support surface is suitable for at least one of the animals to stand on; receiving a signal from a force sensor indicative of a weight of the animal or animals on the support surface when the support surface is located at the target position; and determining weight measurement of an individual animal based on the signal. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18, further comprising: when the target position is reached, lowering the support surface to a predetermined distance (d) from the ground for performing weight measurements, raising the support surface to an upper position for travelling through the animal housing facility. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The method of claim 19, comprising: using an animal presence sensor to detect a presence of an animal below the support surface while lowering the support surface. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The method of claim 20, comprising: when the presence of an animal is detected while lowering the support surface, performing one or more of the following actions: halting the lowering of support plate until the presence of the animal is no longer detected; moving the support plate in a horizontal direction until the presence of on animal is no longer detected; and activating alerting means to encourage the detected animal to move away from underneath the support surface.