Telemetry-enabled trap monitoring system
AssigneeNew Frequency, Inc.
InventorsTodd Moran, Darrell Hollis, Frank Bowers, Leo Desjardins, Michael Cruse, Kevin Keegan, Bret Warren
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed is a trap including a status LED configured to indicate a trap status, a door sensor configured to indicate a door status, and a status button, configured to: 1) wake a micro controller such that the telemetry-enabled trap can be registered with a telemetry system, and 2) cause the status LED to indicate at least the trap status and the door status. Also disclosed is a method for monitoring the trap. The method includes receiving GPS data, monitoring the GPS data for valid positional information, and receiving an event message from a trap tracker module.
Claims24
An apparatus for monitoring an animal trap having a movable trapping member, wherein the movable trapping member is movable between a set state and an actuated state, the apparatus comprising:
- a GPS unit;
- a sensor arranged to sense a state of the movable trapping member;
- and
- an indicator configured to indicate a trap status;
- a controller arranged to receive a signal from the sensor and control the indicator in response to the signal;
- and
- the controller having a sleep state and a wake state, at least a portion of the controller receiving power during the sleep state and the controller programmed to change from the wake state to the sleep state independent of the state of the movable trap member;
- when in the sleep state, the controller programmed to listen for a signal from a clock;
- and
- when in the wake state, the controller further programmed to monitor the sensor and generate a registration message to a remote system, the registration message comprising information identifying a location of the animal trap and the state of the movable trapping member.
A telemetry-enabled apparatus for monitoring an animal trap having a trap member, the trap member comprising a set state and an actuated state, the telemetry-enabled apparatus comprising:
- a GPS unit;
- a status indicator configured to indicate a trap status;
- a sensor arranged to detect a state of the trap member;
- and
- a circuit in electrical communication with the GPS unit and the sensor, the circuit comprising a micro controller and a status activator, the circuit being configured to, in response to actuation of the status activator:
- wake the micro controller from a sleep mode to a wake mode, the micro controller programmed to receive data from the GPS unit, determine whether the trap member is in the set state or the actuated state, and generate and transmit a registration message such that the telemetry-enabled apparatus can be registered with a remote system, the registration message comprising information identifying a location of the animal trap and the state of the trap member;
- cause the status indicator to indicate at least the trap status;
- and
- return the micro controller from the wake mode to the sleep mode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.