System and method of monitoring an animal
First Claim
1. An apparatus to monitor the health of an animal, comprising:
- a bolus configured to be disposed within a stomach of an animal and moveable between a first orientation and a second orientation, comprising,a sensor, andan active data transmitter; and
a base station, comprising,a data receiver, said data receiver having a first antenna with a first antenna orientation and a second antenna with a second antenna orientation, wherein said first antenna orientation substantially corresponds to said first bolus orientation and wherein said second antenna orientation substantially corresponds to said second bolus orientation.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for monitoring an animal is disclosed. In particular, an ingestible bolus configured to be maintained in the stomach of an animal is disclosed where the bolus comprises a sensor to monitor physiological and other characteristics of the animal. The bolus comprises a data transmitter in wireless communication with a base station and/or transponder in communication with a base station. Within the animal stomach, the bolus may be generally disposed in either a first orientation or second orientation. The base station and/or transponder comprises a plurality of antennae each having an orientation corresponding to a likely orientation of the bolus within the animal in order to reduce the power requirements of the bolus and increase its operational range. The base station may be configured to receiving incoming signals on each of the antennae and may combine the signals into a single input signal.
158 Citations
40 Claims
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1. An apparatus to monitor the health of an animal, comprising:
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a bolus configured to be disposed within a stomach of an animal and moveable between a first orientation and a second orientation, comprising, a sensor, and an active data transmitter; and a base station, comprising, a data receiver, said data receiver having a first antenna with a first antenna orientation and a second antenna with a second antenna orientation, wherein said first antenna orientation substantially corresponds to said first bolus orientation and wherein said second antenna orientation substantially corresponds to said second bolus orientation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method of monitoring an animal, comprising:
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receiving a first radio frequency signal on a first antenna having a first orientation; receiving a second radio frequency signal on a second antenna having a second orientation; and combining said first signal and said second signal into a single received signal, said received signal comprising an animal characteristics message. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. An apparatus for wirelessly monitoring an animal, comprising:
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an ingestible bolus configured to be disposed within a stomach of a ruminant animal and movable between a plurality of orientations, comprising, a sensor, a memory unit communicatively coupled to said sensor, a processor communicatively coupled to said memory unit and said sensor, an active wireless data transmitter, an active wireless data receiver, and means for powering said sensor, said memory unit, said processor, said active data transmitter, and said active data receiver; and a base station, comprising, a wireless data receiver having a plurality of receiver antennae, wherein each of said plurality of receiver antennae has a different orientation corresponding to one of said plurality of bolus orientations, and an wireless data transmitter having a plurality of transmitter antennae, wherein each of said plurality of transmitter antennae has a different orientation corresponding to one of said plurality of bolus orientations.
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Specification