Multifunction Livestock Measurement Station

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018242558-A1
Application number	US-201615754701-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 4, 2016
Priority date	Aug 24, 2015
Publication date	Aug 30, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

A multifunction livestock measurement system provides automatic hip location for animal height (hip height) assessment using a side-looking optical system. An automatic implementation identifies the hip through an analysis of the underside of the hindquarters of the animal. A manual version identifies the hip manually in a similar image. Automatic ear tag reading, weight measurement and animal temperature measurement can be integrated into the station.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A livestock measurement system comprising:
a stall providing a platform surrounded by guide elements for positioning a standing animal on the platform at a predetermined location with respect to the platform; a light sensor for capturing an areal measurement of a hindquarters of the animal at the predetermined location on the platform, the aerial measurement being substantially within a vertical plane aligned with a superior/inferior axis 17 of the animal at the predetermined location to reveal a height from the platform of the hindquarters at multiple points displaced along the axis and at the uppermost position of the hindquarters; and an electronic computer receiving signals from the light sensor to identify, from the multiple points, a hip location and make a height measurement of the hindquarters at the hip location of the hindquarters within the areal measurement and recording the height measurement for output.

2 . The livestock measurement system of claim 1 wherein the light sensor comprises opposed two-dimensional arrays of light receivers and light transmitters sequentially exercised to make multiple substantially horizontal measurements within the vertical plane and wherein the electronic computer identifies, using the horizontal measurements, light receivers at an upper boundary representing the uppermost position of the hindquarters within the vertical plane and extracts the hip height from heights of the light receivers at the upper boundary.

3 . The livestock measurement system of claim 2 wherein the electronic computer further identifies light receivers at a lower boundary representing a lowermost position of the hindquarters within the vertical plane and extracts hip height from the heights of the receivers at the upper boundary based on an analysis of the light receivers at the lower boundary.

4 . The livestock measurement system of claim 3 wherein the electronic computer extracts hip height from a height of the receiver of the upper boundary along a vertical line aligned with a lowermost light receiver at the lower boundary.

5 . The livestock measurement system of claim 1 wherein the light sensor comprises an electronic camera positioned to capture an image of the vertical plane; and
wherein the electronic computer identifies a height of a predetermined pixel within the captured image as the hip height.

6 . The livestock measurement system of claim 5 wherein the camera is manually positionable in angle about a horizontal axis by a user and further provides an output to the electronic computer of an angle of the camera about the horizontal axis; and
wherein the electronic computer further extracts the hip height by determining a height of a portion of the animal represented by the pixel based on the angle of the camera.

7 . The livestock measurement system of claim 6 wherein the camera includes an accelerometer and wherein the angle of the camera is determined by using the accelerometer to determine a vector indicating an orientation of an acceleration of gravity.

8 . The livestock measurement system of claim 7 wherein the camera provides a display outputting the image and a cursor positioned over the predetermined pixel so that the predetermined pixel may be manually aligned with a hip of the animal in the image.

9 . The livestock measurement system of claim 1 further including a tag reader for reading a tag on the animal and providing a tag identification number to the computer and wherein the computer stores the hip height measurement in a database linked to the tag identification number.

10 . The livestock measurement system of claim 9 further including a remote temperature monitor for monitoring a temperature of the animal in the predetermined position; and
wherein the remote temperature monitor communicates with the computer; and
wherein the computer stores the temperature of the animal linked to the tag identification number.

11 . The livestock measurement system of claim 10 wherein the remote temperature monitor provides a two-dimensional thermal image of the animal's face at the predetermined position and selects from the thermal image a peak temperature.

12 . The livestock measurement system of claim 11 wherein the temperature of the animal selects a temperature from an area of a nose and mouth area as the temperature of the animal.

13 . The livestock measurement system of claim 9 wherein the platform provides an electronic scale supporting the platform and providing a weight of the animal at the predetermined location to the electronic computer and wherein the electronic computer stores the weight of the animal linked to the tag identification number.

14 . The livestock measurement system of claim 1 wherein the light sensor comprises a scanning light receiver movable in two dimensions to make multiple substantially horizontal measurements to create the areal measurement within the vertical plane and wherein the electronic computer identifies measurements at an upper boundary representing the uppermost position of the hindquarters within the vertical plane and extracts the hip height.

15 . The livestock measurement system of claim 14 wherein the electronic computer further identifies measurements at a lower boundary representing a lowermost position of the hindquarters within the vertical plane and extracts hip height from the measurements at the upper boundary based on an analysis of the measurements at the lower boundary.

Assignees

• Illinois Tool Works

Inventors

• O'Connell John P

Classifications

• G01G23/005

  Means for preventing overload · CPC title

• A01K29/00

  Other apparatus for animal husbandry · CPC title

• G01G17/04

  for weighing fluids, e.g. gases, pastes · CPC title

• G01G17/08

  for weighing livestock · CPC title

• G01G23/00

  Auxiliary devices for weighing apparatus · CPC title