Abstract:
A bark control device ( 10 ) for deterring a dog from barking. The bark control device ( 10 ) includes a housing ( 12 ) carried by the dog, the housing having a vibration dampening surface ( 13 ) covering at least a portion of the exterior of the housing ( 12 ). The device ( 10 ) also includes a bark detection mechanism ( 18 ), a stimulus delivery system ( 26 ) for delivering a stimulus to the dog to dissuade the dog from barking, and circuitry ( 22, 24 ) for activating the stimulus delivery system ( 26 ) in response to the detection by the bark detection mechanism ( 18 ) of a bark by the dog. The vibration dampening surface ( 13 ) of the housing ( 12 ) inhibits the delivery of false correction stimuli to the dog as the result of vibrations emanating from a source other than a bark by the dog.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     Not Applicable  
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]     Not Applicable  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     1. Field of Invention  
         [0004]     This invention relates to devices and systems that control the barking of pet dogs. More specifically, the present invention is related to a bark control device having an associated vibration dampening housing which decreases the possibility of false corrections being given to the dog. The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a vibration dampening housing for a bark control device.  
         [0005]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0006]     Electronic bark control devices and systems that controlling the barking of pet dogs by delivering a correction stimulus to the dog are known in the art. Such devices use various correction stimuli such as, for example, an audible warning sound, and, more commonly, an electric shock. Further, such devices use various triggering mechanisms to determine when a bark has occurred and when a correction stimulus is to be delivered to a dog. Certain systems utilize a vibration sensor carried by the dog that detects vibrations generated by a bark and triggers the delivery of a correction stimulus. For example, the vibration sensor can be a piezoelectric device in contact with the throat of the dog as in the case of the system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,054. However, bark control systems which utilize vibration sensors in contact with the throat of the dog to detect the barking of the dog can be prone to delivering false corrections to the dog. For example, the vibration sensor and associated electronic circuitry of the bark control device are typically disposed within a housing secured to the dog&#39;s neck with a collar. During the normal activities of the dog it is not uncommon for the housing to rub or scrape against objects such as furniture, bushes, food or water bowls, etc., causing vibrations. Such vibrations can be interpreted by the bark control device as a bark, resulting in a false correction being delivered to the dog. In this regard, false corrections can confuse the dog and undermine the training process. In order to limit the number of false corrections delivered to the dog, some bark control devices utilize a microphone which detects sound waves in addition to a vibration sensor which detects vibrations directly from the throat of the dog. Such devices can better discriminate between an actual bark by the dog wearing the device and other outside influences which could be mistakenly interpreted as a bark. However, devices utilizing microphones tend to be expensive, and tend to be less energy efficient such that the life of the batteries powering the devices can be significantly shortened. Therefore, bark control devices utilizing direct vibration monitors alone remain a popular alternative, notwithstanding the possibility of false corrections. Examples of various bark control devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,180,013; 5,927,233; 6,588,376; and 6,668,760.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The present invention provides a bark control device to be carried by a dog for deterring the dog from barking and provides an associated vibration dampening housing, which reduces the possibility of false corrections being delivered to the dog. The bark control device includes a bark detection mechanism for detecting a bark emanating from the dog, this mechanism being a vibration monitor in one embodiment. The bark control device also includes a stimulus delivery system and circuitry for activating the stimulus delivery system in response to the detection by the bark detection mechanism of a bark by the dog. In one embodiment the circuitry for activating the stimulus delivery system includes a signal conditioning circuit disposed within the vibration dampening housing for conditioning the signal received from the bark detection mechanism. The circuitry also includes a processing device disposed within the housing for monitoring the conditioned signal from the signal conditioning circuit and activating the stimulus delivery system upon determination that the dog has barked.  
         [0008]     The vibration dampening housing of the bark control device has a vibration dampening outer surface which makes the device less prone to misinterpreting vibrations from sources other than the vocal cords of the dog as a bark. Whereas the entire housing can be fabricated of an elastomer material so as to provide the vibration dampening outer surface, in one embodiment an outer vibration dampening shell or coating of elastomer material is provided over an inner casing. The elastomer material can be a natural or synthetic rubber material, or other resilient material. Accordingly, when the housing comes into contact with, or rubs against, another object, the resilient elastomer surface dampens any vibrations which may result from such contact. Further, the vibrations which are produced from such contact are characterized by an irregular stuttering pattern due to the drag produced by the elastomer surface. This stuttering pattern is dissimilar to the regular vibration pattern produced by a bark. Accordingly, the vibration dampening coating makes it less likely that vibrations will be produced which will be misinterpreted by the device as a bark from the dog.  
         [0009]     The invention also provides a method for manufacturing a vibration dampening housing for a bark control device. The method includes the steps of molding an inner casing for enclosing at least a portion of the electronic components of the bark control device, and coating the inner casing with an elastomer material so as to produce a resilient outer surface. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]     The above-mentioned features of the invention will become more clearly understood from the following detailed description of the invention read together with the drawings in which:  
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is perspective view of a bark control device of the present invention mounted on a dog collar;  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is a side elevation view of a bark control device of the present invention as worn by a dog;  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a bark control device of the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is a top plan view of a bark control device of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is a partial perspective view of the vibration dampening housing of a bark control device of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view, in section, of a vibration dampening housing of a bark control device of the present invention; and  
         [0017]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a vibration dampening housing of a bark control device of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0018]     A bark control device of the present invention is illustrated generally at  10  in the drawings, and the associated vibration dampening housing is illustrated generally at  12 . The bark control device  10  is designed to deliver a correction stimulus to a dog in response to the dog barking in order to train the dog not to bark. As will be discussed in detail below, the housing  12  of the device  10  has an outer vibration dampening surface  13 , which in one embodiment is defined by an elastomer shell or coating  15 . The vibration dampening surface  13  makes the device  10  less prone to delivering false correction stimuli to the dog and, therefore, provides for more effective training of the dog. Further, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the vibration dampening housing  12  can be used with various types of bark control systems. Thus, whereas the housing  12  is described below as being used in connection with a system employing a piezoelectric vibration sensor to detect barking and a stimulus delivery system which delivers a mild shock to a dog, it will be understood that there is no intent to limit the scope of the invention to devices employing this specifically described system.  
         [0019]     As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , in one embodiment the bark control device  10  is designed to be mounted on a dog collar  14  which is received about the neck of a dog  16 . The device  10  includes a bark detection mechanism, which in the illustrated embodiment is a vibration sensor. More specifically, in the illustrated embodiment the vibration sensor is a piezoelectric vibration sensor  18  that includes a probe  20  which is placed in contact with the throat of the dog  16  so as to directly detect vibrations generated by the vocal cords of the dog when the dog barks. The piezoelectric vibration sensor  18  is a low current device compared to other devices used for detecting the barking of a dog and, therefore, allows the device  10  to have a longer battery life. It will, however, be recognized by those skilled in the art that the bark detection mechanism can be a microphone, or a combination of a microphone and other vibration sensing mechanisms, such as, for example, the bark detection mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,233.  
         [0020]     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , a signal conditioning circuit  22  is disposed within the housing  12  and conditions the vibration signal received from the vibration sensor  18 . The specific conditioning employed will depend upon the application and the desired level of sophistication of the bark detection circuit. However, typically, the signal conditioning circuit amplifies the output of the vibration sensor  18  to increase the level of the sensor output for further processing and accurate sampling. The signal conditioning circuit  22  may also serve to discriminate among the vibrations measured by the vibration sensor  18  so as to pass only measured vibrations that meet specified criteria. For example, the signal conditioning circuit  22  may be configured to pass only those vibrations occurring within a specified frequency range or those meeting certain durational limits or may be configured to remove unwanted components of the sensor output. Those skilled in the art will recognize the various filters, amplifiers, and other signal conditioning devices that can be used to prepare the measured vibrations for further processing. Those skilled in the art will also recognize that the type of signal conditioning depends upon the input signal, the corresponding sensor, and the desired characteristics of the input signal that are to be monitored. For example, the filter may be active or passive and may be set to pass a specific frequency range or remove high or low frequency noise. Further, depending upon the various components used, the output signal may not require additional amplification. Finally, other conditioning may be required to present a useable sensor output to the remainder of the circuit.  
         [0021]     A controller or processing device  24  is also disposed within the housing  12  and monitors the amplified output of the signal conditioning circuit  22  and activates a stimulus delivery mechanism  26  as necessary. Decision-making logic within the processor  24  determines whether a stimulus is needed. Typically, the input to the processor  24  is compared against a reference value to determine whether a stimulus is warranted. A conventional processing device includes an internal timer, memory registers, and math capabilities allowing sophisticated signal processing to occur; however, those skilled in the art will recognize that these capabilities can be achieved using other components without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Further, those skilled in the art will recognize that the components used depend on various factors including the cost of manufacture, size and weight constraints, and the complexity of the decision process. For example, the size and weight of the training collar worn by the animal are reduced by implementing the controller in a single application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a microprocessor, both of which allow complex decision making capabilities. For lower cost, larger units implementing a simple decision tree, an array of discrete logic components can be used.  
         [0022]     Various stimulus delivery mechanisms can be used to produce deterrent effects including electrical shock, audible alerts, and other deterrent types known to those skilled in the art. By way of example, the device  10  illustrated in the Figures utilizes the stimulus delivery mechanism  26  which delivers an electric shock as a correction stimulus. In this regard, the stimulus delivery mechanism  26  incorporates a pair of electrodes  28  and  30  for transferring the electrostatic shock corrective stimulus to the dog when the delivery mechanism  26  is activated by the processing device  24 .  
         [0023]     As set forth above, the housing  12  of the device  10  has an outer vibration dampening surface  13  which makes the device  10  less prone to delivering false correction stimuli to the dog and, therefore, provides for more effective training of the dog. Whereas the entire housing  12  can be fabricated of an elastomer material so as to provide the vibration dampening outer surface  13 , in one embodiment the surface  13  is defined by a shell or coating  15  made from an elastomer material, such as natural or synthetic rubber material. In this regard, a thermoplastic elastomer, such as, for example, Santoprene® can be used. However, various resilient rubber, or rubber-like materials could be used.  
         [0024]     It will be understood that when the housing  12  comes into contact with, or rubs against, another object the resilient elastomeric surface  13  dampens any vibrations which may result from such contact. Further, with respect to the vibrations which do result from the housing  12  contacting other objects, the vibrations produced are characterized by an irregular, stuttering pattern due to the drag produced by the elastomeric surface  13 . This stuttering pattern is dissimilar to the regular vibration pattern produced by a bark. Accordingly, the surface  13  makes it less likely that vibrations will be produced which will be misinterpreted by the device  10  as a bark from the dog. Moreover, an object scraping against the surface  13  produces vibrations which are at a lower frequency than vibrations produced by the barking of the dog or an object scraping against the conventional hard surface of a prior art housing. Accordingly, the processing device  24  can be configured to more easily discriminate between vibrations generated by the barking of the dog and vibrations directed to the housing but generated by objects scraping against the surface  13 . Therefore, it is less likely that false corrections will be delivered to the dog.  
         [0025]     More specifically, and as best illustrated in  FIGS. 5-7 , in one embodiment the housing  12  includes an inner casing  32  having first and second casing components  34  and  36 , respectively, which cooperatively serve to enclose various components of the bark control device  10 . The coating  15  covers both of the casing components  34  and  36 . It will also be noted that in this particular embodiment the casing components  34  and  36  cooperatively define an opening  38  for receiving and accessing a battery (not shown) which powers the device  10 . Further, the housing  12  is provided with a releasable closure  40  for selectively covering the opening  38 , and the exterior surface of the closure  40  can also be provided with the vibration dampening coating  15 .  
         [0026]     With respect to the manufacture of the housing  12 , in one embodiment the inner casing  32  is mold from a strong, rigid material such as, for example, a strong, durable plastic material. In this regard, where the casing  32  includes the separate casing components  34  and  36 , the components  34  and  36  are separately molded. The coating  15  can be applied to the casing  32  using various methods, such as painting or spraying the coating  15  on the exterior of the casing, or dipping the casing  32  in the coating material. However, in one embodiment the coating  15  is over-molded onto the exterior surface of the casing components  34  and  36 . Over-molding insures a more uniform coating thickness and results in better bonding of the coating  15  to the casing  32 . After the coating  13  is applied to the casing components  34  and  36 , the electronic components of the device  10  can be positioned within casing components  34  and  36  and the casing components can be secured together with, for example, an adhesive or, alternatively, suitable mechanical fasteners.  
         [0027]     Whereas the over-molding process described above insures a secure bonding of the coating  15  to the casing  32 , it will be recognized that the coating  15  need not be directly bonded to, or adhere directly to, the casing  32 . In this regard, it is contemplated that the coating  15  can be a sleeve or cover that is closely received about the casing  32  without being bonded thereto. It will also be noted that the desired thickness of the coating  15  will depend upon the particular material used to fabricate the coating, and other factors such as the cost the particular material used.  
         [0028]     In light of the above, it will be recognized that the device  10 , with its vibration dampening housing  12  provides great advantages over the prior art. The vibration dampening surface  13  greatly reduces the possibility of false corrections being delivered to the dog, while allowing the use of a low cost, energy efficient piezoelectric vibration sensor as the bark detection mechanism. Further, the surface  13  reduces the need for complex and expensive circuitry for discriminating between vibration patterns produced by a bark and those produced by other sources, thereby reducing the overall cost of the bark control device.  
         [0029]     While the present invention has been illustrated by description of several embodiments and while the illustrative embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and methods, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicant&#39;s general inventive concept.