Patent Document ID: 20020116200
Application ID: 09044426
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A feedlot computer network installation for managing feedlot operations within a feedlot having a plurality of animal pens each having a feedbunk and containing one or more animals for feeding and health maintenance, said feedlot computer network installation comprising: a feedbunk reading computer system, installed onboard a feedbunk reading vehicle transportable to each said animal pen in said feedlot, said feedbunk reading computer system including means for receiving, storing and displaying said animal health data and feed ration dispensed data; a means for producing, storing and displaying feed ration delivery data, said feed ration delivery data specifying the assigned amount of feed ration to be delivered to the feedbunks associated with a plurality of animal pens along a feeding route during a specified number of feeding cycles to be executed within a predetermined time period, and said feed ration dispensed data indicating the actual amount of feed ration delivered to the feedbunks of said animal pens during each said specified feeding cycle; a plurality of feed delivery vehicles each having a computer system, each said feed delivery vehicle computer system being installed onboard each said feed delivery vehicle and transportable to each said animal pen in said feedlot and having storage means for storing an assigned feed load, and feed metering means for metering the actual amount of feed ration delivered to the feedbunks associated with said specified sequence of animal pens, and data producing means for producing said feed ration dispensed data indicative of the actual amount of feed ration delivered to said feedbunks, each said feed delivery vehicle computer system being operatable by a feed delivery vehicle operator assigned to said feed delivery vehicle and having means for receiving, storing and displaying said feed ration delivery data provided from said feedbunk reading computer system, and means for receiving said feed ration dispensed data produced from said metering means aboard said feed delivery vehicle; a feedmill computer system, installed at a feedmill in said feedlot and having means for receiving, storing and displaying said feed ration delivery data produced from said feedbunk reading computer system; a feedlot management computer system, installed aboard a feedlot management vehicle team, for receiving, storing and displaying said feed ration delivery data, said feed ration dispensed data and said animal health data, for use by a feedlot manager of said feedlot; a digital data communications system integrated with said feedlot computer network, for transferring digital data files among said feedbunk reading computer system, said feedmill computer system, said plurality of feed delivery vehicle computer systems, said feedlot management computer system and said feedmill computer system, wherein said digital data file contain said feed ration delivery data, said animal health data and said feed ration dispensed data; and a database for maintaining information representative of a model of said feedlot and objects contained therein, wherein each said computer system installed on-board each said plurality of feed delivery vehicles, includes a subsystem for viewing an aspect of said model maintained in said database, vehicle information acquisition means for acquiring vehicle information regarding (i) the position of said feed delivery vehicle relative to a first prespecified coordinate reference frame, and/or (ii) the state of operation of said feed delivery vehicle, and information transmission means for transmitting said vehicle information to said database to specify in the position and/or the state of operation of said feed delivery vehicle represented within said model of said feedlot.