Animal health and wellness monitoring using UWB radar

• US 10,070,627 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2016
• Issued: 09/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: i4c Innovations Inc. (One Health Group, LLC)
• Original Assignee: i4c Innovations Inc. (One Health Group, LLC)
• Inventors: Tupin, Jr., Joe Paul, Couse, John Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Trinh T
• Application Number:
  US15/377,281
• Publication Number:
  US 20170181409A1
• Time in Patent Office: 637 Days
• Field of Search: 119859, 119856, 119857, 119858, 119863, 119865, 600484, 600300, 600301, 600529, 600481, 600483
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 27/009 with electric-shock, sound, magnetic- or radio-waves emitting devices
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 29/005 Monitoring or measuring activity, e.g. detecting heat or mating
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2503/40 Animals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0205 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02438 with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0507 using microwaves or terahertz waves
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0816 Measuring devices for examining respiratory frequency measuring frequency of electric signals G01R23/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1107 Measuring contraction of parts of the body, e.g. organ, muscle apparatus for measuring work or force in general G01L
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6822 Neck
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6831 Straps, bands or harnesses
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/0209 Systems with very large relative bandwidth, i.e. larger than 10 %, e.g. baseband, pulse, carrier-free, ultrawideband
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/88 Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications electromagnetic prospecting or detecting of objects, e.g. near-field detection, G01V3/00

Abstract

A collar with an ultra-wideband radar is described. A housing contains sensor electronics and the transmit and receive antennas are located separate from the housing around the circumference of the collar. A first example of the collar includes a first transmit antenna and a first receive antenna. A second example of the collar adds a second transmit antenna and a second receive antenna.

Claims

1. A collar comprising:

a processor configured to control generation of an ultra-wideband radar signal and reception of resultant signals;

a transmit antenna configured to output the ultra-wideband radar signal directed at biological tissue, the transmit antenna having an associated beam width, the transmit antenna located at a first circumferential position on the collar; and

a receive antenna configured to receive the resultant signals based on a reflection of the ultra-wideband radar signal from the biological tissue, the receive antenna having an associated beam width, the receive antenna located at a second circumferential position on the collar, the second circumferential position different from the first circumferential position,

wherein the transmit antenna is located at a fixed angle relative to the receive antenna to maximize a magnitude associated with the resultant signals such that the beam width of the transmit antenna is configured to overlap with the beam width of the receive antenna at the biological tissue.

2. The collar of claim 1, comprising:

a housing containing the processor, the housing located at a fourth circumferential position on the collar, the fourth circumferential position on the collar different from the first circumferential position and the second circumferential position.

3. The collar of claim 2, comprising:

a second housing,

wherein the housing containing the processor is a first housing, and

wherein the transmit antenna and the receive antenna are located in the second housing.

4. The collar of claim 1, comprising:

a tensioner located at a third circumferential position on the collar, the third circumferential position different from the first circumferential position and the second circumferential position.

5. The collar of claim 1,

wherein the transmit antenna is a first transmit antenna,

wherein the receive antenna is a first receive antenna, and

wherein the collar comprises:

a second transmit antenna; and

a second receive antenna.

6. The collar of claim 5,

wherein the first transmit antenna is circumferentially closer to a housing containing the processor than the first receive antenna, and

wherein the second transmit antenna is circumferentially closer to the housing than the second receive antenna.

7. The collar of claim 5,

wherein the first transmit antenna is circumferentially closer to a housing containing the processor than the first receive antenna, and

wherein the second receive antenna is circumferentially closer to the housing than the second transmit antenna.

8. The collar of claim 5,

wherein, after the first transmit antenna outputs the ultra-wideband signal, the first receive antenna is configured to receive the resultant signals.

9. The collar of claim 5,

wherein, after the first transmit antenna outputs the ultra-wideband signal, the second receive antenna is configured to receive the resultant signals.

10. The collar of claim 5,

wherein, after the first transmit antenna outputs the ultra-wideband signal, the first receive antenna and the second receive antenna are configured to receive the resultant signals.

11. The collar of claim 5,

wherein, after the first transmit antenna and the second transmit antenna output the ultra-wideband signal, the first receive antenna is configured to receive the resultant signals.

12. The collar of claim 1,

wherein the ultra-wideband signal output from the transmit antenna is configured to illuminate at least one of a carotid artery or a jugular vein, and

wherein the resultant signals contain information relating to a position and motion of the at least one of the carotid artery or the jugular vein.

13. The collar of claim 1,

wherein the ultra-wideband signal output from the transmit antenna is configured to illuminate muscles proximate to at least one of a trachea or an esophagus, and

wherein the resultant signals containing information relating to a position and motion of the muscles proximate to the at least one of the trachea or the esophagus.

14. The collar of claim 1, wherein the fixed angle is based on a type of tissue associated with the biological tissue.

15. The collar of claim 1, wherein the fixed angle is based on one or more structures between the biological tissue and at least one of the transmit antenna or the receive antenna.

16. The collar of claim 1, wherein the fixed angle is based on a type of physiological signal associated with the biological tissue.

17. The collar according to claim 1, comprising:

a range-delay circuit comprising;

a digital-to-analog converter;

an amplifier; and

a multivibrator.

18. The collar according to claim 1, comprising:

an analog-to-digital converter,

wherein the processor is configured to;

receive a digitized signal from the analog-to-digital converter; and

extract pertinent physiological information from the digitized signal.

19. The collar of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to:

inject a noise signal from a noise signal source into the ultra-wideband radar signal, wherein the noise signal is configured to cause spectral spreading and provide a unique transmit coding pattern for the transmit antenna.

20. The collar of claim 1, comprising:

a counterweight that is approximately a same weight as the transmit antenna and the receive antenna.