Back to results
US 8,574,172 B2Granted
Apparatus and process for monitoring a pregnant mammal
OwnerEnrico Cintiinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus for monitoring a pregnant mammal including: a sensor (11) operatively associated with a mammal to detect a condition of delivery of said mammal; a transmission circuit (15), operatively associated with said sensor (11), to generate and transmit a notification signal (100) based on the detection of said sensor (11), and a processing unit (20) operatively associated with said sensor (11) to receive said notification signal (100) and generate a corresponding communication signal (110) for an operator. The description also covers a process for monitoring a pregnant mammal.
Claims11
A system for monitoring a pregnant breeding animal, comprising:
- a detecting device configured to detect a change of state, including
- a magnetoresisitive position sensor that measures variations in an electromagnetic field on three Cartesian axes to detect a condition of a delivery of offspring of the breeding animal, the sensor including
- a generating element configured to generate an electromagnetic field, and
- a detecting element that is sensitive to the electromagnetic field, each of the generating element and the detecting element being adapted to be secured to one of a single labium and different labia of the breeding animal, and
- a transmission circuit, operatively associated with the sensor, the transmission circuit configured to generate and transmit a notification signal based on a detection of the condition of the delivery;
- a processing unit, operatively associated with the detecting device the processing unit configured to receive the notification signal and to generate a corresponding communication signal for an operator, and the processing unit including a counter configured to count a number of the offspring which have been delivered by the breeding animal during the delivery,
- wherein the detecting device is configured to generate and transmit the notification signal at least one of continuously and at preset intervals throughout the delivery to continually indicate the condition of the delivery, the notification signal being relative to detection of at least one of passage of the offspring through a vaginal opening of the breeding animal and parting of vaginal labia of the breeding animal beyond a preset threshold, and
- wherein the notification signal is configured to indicate different states of at least one of the passage and the parting.
5 more elements
A method for monitoring a pregnant breeding animal, comprising:
- securing a magnetoresisitive position sensor to the breeding animal, the sensor measuring variations in an electromagnetic field on three Cartesian axes, the sensor including a generating element configured to generate an electromagnetic field, and a detecting element that is sensitive to the electromagnetic field, and the securing the sensor to the breeding animal including securing each of the generating element and the detecting element to one of a single labium and different labia of the breeding animal,
- sensing a state of a delivery of the breeding animal using the sensor;
- generating and transmitting a notification signal, based on an output of the sensor;
- receiving and processing the notification signal;
- comparing the notification signal with stored information;
- generating a communication signal indicating the state of the delivery using a result of the comparing;
- and
- counting, via a processing unit including a counter configured to count, a number of offspring delivered by the breeding animal during the delivery;
- wherein the generating of the communication signal occurs at least at one of continually and at preset intervals during one of a passage of the offspring through a vaginal opening of the breeding animal and parting of vaginal labia of the breeding animal beyond a preset threshold to indicate different states of the delivery.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.