Patent Publication Number: US-2007095304-A1

Title: System for Monitoring the Environment of an Animal

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This patent application claims the benefit of, under Title 35, United States Code, Section 119(e), U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/731,357, filed Oct. 28, 2005. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a system for monitoring the environment of an animal. More specifically, the invention relates to a camera worn by the animal that acquires, orients, and wirelessly transmits video to a remote location.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Systems for tracking and/or monitoring the location and surroundings of an animal are generally well known in the art. Such systems are desirable for a number of reasons, including locating, training, and studying the animals themselves, as well as applications that use animals for viewing the environments in which the animals are located.  
      For example, one common application of such animal monitoring systems are those employed by pet owners to keep track of roaming pets or to locate a lost animal. Pets can move in unknown directions over a large area and, as a result, often wander far from their homes and become lost. A number of mechanisms have been created to locate these lost pets. For instance, pet collars have been developed to help notify bystanders that the pet is lost, including collars that allow the pet owner to remotely activate a visual display located on the collar, such as an inflatable balloon inscribed with a message, flashing lights, or an electronic display. Although these systems may alert bystanders in the immediate vicinity that the pet is lost, they do not help the owner determine the pet&#39;s location, and thus, such devices depend solely on a bystander contacting the pet owner.  
      A number of systems have also been proposed that employ wireless communication capabilities, such as those employing global positioning satellite services. However, in addition to being expensive, these devices only generate data for calculating the pet&#39;s specific location, conveying little information about the pet&#39;s immediate environment. However, it is often helpful for the pet owner to observe the pet&#39;s surroundings and conditions, not just the representation of the pet&#39;s location on a map, particularly for those pet owners who are trying to locate the animals in small but confusing territory, such as wooded areas.  
      Other applications where information about an animal&#39;s immediate surroundings is important are those where it is desired to study the behavior of animals, such as the periodic monitoring of a particular, individual animal during training, or for general research regarding the behaviors of certain types of animals. Behavioral studies in the wild are often difficult and complicated, as the subject animals are moving targets, hide in forests or underbrush, and, in many cases, are active only at night. The challenges of studying these free-ranging animals are further complicated by environmental impediments, such as extreme temperatures, high humidity, low visibility, and other factors related to climate and geography that are often encountered by the researcher. Additionally, many animals have evolved extraordinary sensory capabilities that keep them keenly attuned to the slightest disturbance to their natural habitat, yet, in order to observe and understand animals in their natural state, the researcher needs to get close to them. The closer the researcher gets, the more he/she is likely to influence and affect the behavior under study.  
      In order to eliminate the effect of a human presence, small radio and satellite transmission systems have been used to help keep researchers connected to their subjects from a distance and study their movement patterns, free of human influence. While such devices relay information on location and movement patterns in the wild and have yielded valuable data on home ranges, migratory routes, and temporal activity patterns, they cannot tell scientists what an animal is actually doing at a given location and time. While current collar-tags provide invaluable information on animal location and range, many of the details of animal behavior must still be inferred, as such systems do not provide a comprehensive view of an animal&#39;s perspective that would provide detailed data on habitat use, foraging strategies, social interactions, etc.  
      Yet other applications for such monitoring systems are those in which it is desired to use the animal as a remote viewing or early warning tool, such as in the case of security systems. Often, it is desirable to use animals, such as guard dogs, to ensure that a particular location remains secure, such as a dwelling that the homeowner wishes to protect again burglars, or an installation that may come under attack, such as a terrorist target or military base.  
      The use of animals to perform this function can serve a variety of purposes. First, it allows the humans who are monitoring the security level of the property to do so from the safety of a remote location, minimizing the dangers presented by potential intruders as well as the discomfort of being exposed to the elements. Moreover, for large areas, the use of guard dogs to patrol the property minimizes the number of humans required to effectively monitor the area, as a single individual can simultaneously monitor multiple remote locations using multiple dogs.  
      For these reasons, safety, convenience, and expense can all be significantly improved by employing a system that permits a user to remotely view the environments of animals. While a number of devices have been proposed that monitor the physical condition of the animal or allow the user to hear and/or analyze the bark of a dog, these systems still require a degree of interpretation to decipher precisely what is happening at the dog&#39;s location.  
      As a result of the needs of these various applications, a number of systems have been developed that allow a user to actually view the environment in which the animal is located. These devices typically include a video camera that is mounted to the animal. In order to maximize stability and viewing ability, it has been suggested to use a camera mounted to an animal&#39;s collar, such as in the systems disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,782,847 to Shemesh et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,720,879 to Edwards, U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0011146 by Kates, and U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0162279 by Marshall et al. By using such devices, a person is able to view the environment in which the animal is moving from a location remote from the animal.  
      However, one problem with these devices is that, though various locations on the neck of the animal have been tested in order to find the most ideal positioning of the camera, no location is truly satisfactory, as the anatomy of animals such as dogs renders the perspective of the video camera very irregular when the dog alters its position. Specifically, it has been discovered that the position of a dog&#39;s neck does not maintain a fixed relationship relative to the dog&#39;s viewing direction, but rather, changes significantly depending upon whether the dog is sitting, standing, laying down, running, or jumping. As a result, the camera can often provide video that is useless and does not really reflect what the dog is seeing.  
      What is desired, therefore, is a system that allows a user located remotely from an animal to monitor the environment of that animal. What is further desired is such a system for monitoring the environment of an animal that provides the user with a real-time view of the animal&#39;s location. What is also desired is such a monitoring system that provides a view of the animal&#39;s location that continually reflects what the animal is seeing, regardless of its position.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system for monitoring the environment of an animal that allows a user to monitor the animal from a remote location.  
      It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system for monitoring the environment of an animal that allows a user to view the environment in which the animal is located.  
      It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a system for monitoring the environment of an animal that allows the user to view the environment in real-time.  
      It is still another object of the present invention to provide a system for monitoring the environment of an animal that accounts for the various changes in the relationship between the animal&#39;s position and viewing direction.  
      In order to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and to achieve at least some of the objects and advantages listed, the invention comprises a system for monitoring the environment of an animal, including a video acquisition device worn by an animal moving in an environment, and a monitoring device with which a user remotely monitors the environment in which the animal moves, wherein the video acquisition device comprises a camera with a view vector that acquires video data, a transmitter that wirelessly transmits the video data to the monitoring device, and a rotation device that substantially maintains a vertical angle of the view vector as the animal moves, and wherein the monitoring device comprises a receiver that receives the wirelessly transmitted video data from the video acquisition device, and a display that displays the video data as live video to the user.  
      In another embodiment, the invention comprises a device for monitoring the environment of an animal, including a device for monitoring the environment of an animal, including a collar that is worn by the animal, a camera mounted to the collar, and a mount by which the camera is mounted to the collar, wherein the mount comprises a rotation device for rotating the camera.  
      In yet another embodiment, the invention comprises a system for monitoring the environment of an animal from a different location, including a collar that is worn by the animal moving in an environment, and a camera mounted to the collar that acquires video of the environment, wherein the camera wirelessly transmits the video to the different location, and wherein the camera is mounted to the collar such that the camera rotates when the angle of inclination of the camera changes.  
      In certain embodiments, the rotation is produced by a rotating mount portion coupled to a non-rotating mount portion by a bearing. In some of these embodiments, the bearing comprises a rotation retarding bearing that retards the speed of the rotating portion, which in some cases, comprises a friction bearing.  
      In some embodiments, a counterweight is affixed to the rotation portion such that, when the angle of inclination of the camera changes, the camera rotates.  
      In certain embodiments, the invention further includes at least one battery electrically connected to the camera, wherein the battery is mounted to the collar. In some of these embodiments, a container is mounted to the collar with a surface that abuts the collar, the battery is disposed therein, and the surface has an opening for accessing the battery. In other embodiments, the collar includes a plurality of segments, and the invention further includes a plurality of cell batteries disposed in the plurality of segments and connected in series.  
      In certain embodiments, the monitoring device includes a converter that converts the wireless transmission to USB. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a video acquisition device and monitoring station representing a system for monitoring the environment of an animal in accordance with the invention.  
       FIG. 2A  is an isometric view of a video acquisition device employed in the system of  FIG. 1  in an assembled state.  
       FIG. 2B  is an isometric, exploded view of the video acquisition device of  FIG. 2A .  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a video acquisition device employed in the system of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of part of a video acquisition device employed in the system of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 5  is a schematic view of a network of devices employing the video acquisition device of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 6  is a schematic view of a network of devices employing the video acquisition device of  FIG. 1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      The basic components of one embodiment of a system for monitoring the environment of an animal in accordance with the invention are illustrated in  FIG. 1 . As used in the description, the terms “top,” “bottom,” “above,” “below,” “over,” “under,” “above,” “beneath,” “on top,” “underneath,” “up,” “down,” “upper,” “lower,” “front,” “rear,” “back,” “forward” and “backward” refer to the objects referenced when in the orientation illustrated in the drawings, which orientation is not necessary for achieving the objects of the invention.  
      The system  10  includes a video acquisition device  12 , which is worn by an animal  14 , such as a guard dog. In the embodiment illustrated, the video acquisition device  12 , further described below, acquires video data, which it then transmits to a monitoring station  16 . The monitoring station  16  includes a monitoring device for viewing the video data, including, for example, a receiver  18  for receiving the video data and a display  20  for rendering the data as live video to a user  22 .  
      As shown more clearly in FIGS.  2 A-B, the video acquisition device  12  includes a video camera  30 , which may for example, comprise a CCTV camera. In certain advantageous embodiments, the camera  30  is a mini digital camera, with a transmission frequency of approximately 2.4 GHz, such as, for example, the MicroCam 4 manufactured by Swann Communications. Such cameras are small and light with minimal electronic components, such that they are not burdensome for the animal, yet they can transmit video to a monitoring station up to approximately 100 meters from the location of the animal  14 . It should be noted, however, that any type of camera for capturing video may be employed, including an analog video camera used in conjunction with an A/D converter. The camera also includes a transmitter antenna  60  for wirelessly transmitting the video signal containing the data obtained by the camera  30 , as is further described below.  
      The camera  30  is mounted to a collar  34 , which is worn by the animal  14 , via a mount  40 . The mount  40  includes a non-rotating base  42 , through which the collar  34  is threaded, and a rotating portion  44 . The rotating portion  44  is coupled to the non-rotating portion  42  via a bearing  46 , which allows the rotating portion  44  to rotate relative to the non-rotating portion  42 . The camera  30  is connected to the rotating portion  44  such that, when the portion  44  rotates, the camera  30  rotates along with it. In the embodiment illustrated, the rotating portion  44  includes a receptacle  48  for securely connecting the camera  30  to the mount  40 .  
      In some embodiments, a counterweight  50  is affixed to the rotating portion  44 . As a result, when the dog  14  changes position, causing the angle of inclination of the camera  30  to change, the counterweight  50  will cause the rotating portion  44  of the mount  40  to automatically rotate, thereby substantially maintaining the view vector  32  of the camera  30 .  
      In certain advantageous embodiments, bearing  46  is a rotation retarding bearing that somewhat retards the motion of the rotating portion  44  in order to slow its rotation. In this way, even when the perspective of the animal changes quickly, the speed at which the counterweight  50  causes the rotating portion  44  to rotate will be limited. As a result, the view vector  32  will not reorient too quickly such that the video becomes choppy or blurred, making it difficult for the viewer to get a fix on the animal&#39;s surroundings.  
      While in some of these embodiments, the rotation retarding bearing is a friction bearing  46 , in other embodiments, other types of bearings that retard the rate of rotation may be employed. Moreover, it should be noted that other types of rotation devices may likewise be used, such as an electromechanical device for rotating the camera  30 , which may be powered by the same power source as the camera  30  itself.  
      The camera (and possibly, a rotation device) may be powered in different ways. For example, as shown in  FIG. 1 , a battery container, such as a pouch  70 , may be mounted to the collar  34 . The pouch  70  holds at least one disposable or rechargeable battery, such as a nine volt battery, which is electrically connected to the camera  30 . In such embodiments, wires providing this electrical connection (not shown) may run through the webbing of the collar  34 . In some of these embodiments, and as shown more clearly in  FIG. 4 , the pouches  90 ,  92  are accessed via openings in the back surfaces of the pouches that abut the collar  34 , and openings  94 ,  96  are provided in the collar  34  to facilitate this. This arrangement allows one to access the batteries (i.e., to remove them for replacement or recharging) only when the collar is removed from the dog&#39;s neck, thereby preventing any safety concerns that may arise from the dog scratching itself or otherwise knocking loose the battery.  
      In certain embodiments, circuitry is employed to limit the power consumption from the batteries and thereby extend their life. Multiple batteries or power packs may also be employed, such that one can switch off one of them. In other embodiments, solar cells may be mounted to the outer rim of collar  34  for storing and providing the requisite power. Additionally, sensors, such as motion or heat sensors, may also be employed such that the device can effectively be in a sleep mode when there are no active changes to the animal&#39;s environment.  
      As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , in other embodiments, part or all of the collar  34  may be fashioned from different packs or segments  72  that retain a plurality of cell batteries  74  therein, which are connected in series and to the camera  30 . In such embodiments, the collar may include an adaptor  80  such that, in embodiments where the collar  34  includes, for example, a series of gel batteries, the collar  34  can just be removed from the animal  14  and plugged into a wall to recharge. In some of these embodiments, either the camera  30  or the mount  40 , or both, are easily detachable from the collar  34 , such that a fully charged replacement collar  34  can be used with the camera  30  while another one charges.  
       FIG. 5  illustrates one implementation of the above-described system. A plurality of video acquisition of devices  102 ,  104 , 106  are worn on guard dogs (not shown) at different locations at a large industrial facility. As each device  102 ,  104 ,  106  acquires video of its respective animal&#39;s surroundings, it wirelessly transmits this data to a remote monitoring device, which will, for example, include a wireless access point  110  that receives the wireless signal and communicates it to a computer  120  connected thereto. The remote monitoring device also includes at least one display, which may, for example, be a single computer monitor that displays the video from the different devices  102 ,  104 ,  106  in different windows, or a plurality of displays  122 ,  124 ,  126  that display the video from the devices  102 ,  104 ,  106 , respectively.  
      The signals coming from the different cameras  102 ,  104 ,  106  may be received and routed appropriately via various methods, such as, for example, by having each such camera insert a unique code into the signal transmitted therefrom, which is identified and processed by software in the monitoring device, or, as another example, by using a different wireless access point  110  for each of the devices  102 ,  104 ,  106 . In certain embodiments, the computer  120  has software executing thereon that converts the wireless signal received from the video acquisition devices  102 ,  104 ,  106  to USB.  
       FIG. 6  illustrates another implementation of the above-described system. A video acquisition device  202  is worn on a guard dog (not shown) at a residential home. The device  202  acquires video of the dog&#39;s surroundings and wirelessly transmits it to a network  208 , which may include, for example, the Internet. This data is then retrieved via the Internet by a monitoring device, such as a computer  210 , or on a handheld device  220 , on which a user can view the video. In this way, a homeowner or security personnel can monitor the dog&#39;s surroundings from inside the dwelling, a remote security station, or while traveling.  
      In certain embodiments, the monitoring device further includes a storage device for storing the video. This storage, which may occur automatically during live display or only at the command of a user, may simply comprise temporary memory so that a user can ‘rewind’ the video for a certain period of time, or can be long term storage, such as a computer drive or a portable media, such as DVD or video cassette.  
      It should be understood that the foregoing is illustrative and not limiting, and that obvious modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, reference should be made primarily to the accompanying claims, rather than the foregoing specification, to determine the scope of the invention.