Electronic animal confinement system
First Claim
1. A receiver adapted to be supported on an animal to confine the animal behind a boundary defined by a boundary signal, the receiver comprising:
- a housing;
at least one antenna supported within the housing;
a source of annoyance signals;
receiver circuitry coupled to the source of annoyance signals and the antenna and adapted to enable the annoyance signals in response to receipt of a boundary signal on the antenna;
battery means for powering at least the receiver circuitry;
a low voltage indicator operable in response to low voltage of the battery means to provide an alert when the battery is nearing the end of its useful life; and
duty cycle circuitry coupled to the receiver circuitry and selectively coupling power between the battery means and the receiver circuitry to turn same on and off responsive to the low voltage indicator whereby to conserve power.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system (10) for confining an animal (18) in an area (16) defined by a boundary signal. The system includes a transmitter (22; 22A) to generate the boundary signal and an emitter such as a wire (20) to define area (16). The system also includes a receiver (26; 26A; 200; 200A) to be carried on the animal'"'"'s neck. The receiver includes three selectively monitored and orthogonally-positional antennas (30, 32, 34; 202, 204, 206) to avoid missing a boundary signal. The receiver further includes code-detecting, duration monitoring and/or signal-strength circuitry (270) to control giving a shock to the animal. Further, the receiver is duty-cycled to conserve battery power (56). The shock is communicated via a conductive compliant tip (532) to reduce discomfort to the animal. The transmitter includes circuitry (64) to include a code in the boundary signal, and an isolation transformer (102) to protect the transmitter from energy strikes, such as lightning, at the emitter (20).
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A receiver adapted to be supported on an animal to confine the animal behind a boundary defined by a boundary signal, the receiver comprising:
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a housing; at least one antenna supported within the housing; a source of annoyance signals; receiver circuitry coupled to the source of annoyance signals and the antenna and adapted to enable the annoyance signals in response to receipt of a boundary signal on the antenna; battery means for powering at least the receiver circuitry; a low voltage indicator operable in response to low voltage of the battery means to provide an alert when the battery is nearing the end of its useful life; and duty cycle circuitry coupled to the receiver circuitry and selectively coupling power between the battery means and the receiver circuitry to turn same on and off responsive to the low voltage indicator whereby to conserve power. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of confining an animal behind a boundary defined by a boundary signal, the method comprising:
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generating a boundary signal; emitting the boundary signal from an emitter to define the boundary; monitoring in the vicinity of the animal for the boundary signal, the monitoring being accomplished with electronic circuitry powered by a battery; duty cycling the electronic circuitry on and off to conserve battery power; generating an annoyance signal to the animal if the boundary signal is received; monitoring voltage of the battery; and providing an alert when the battery is nearing the end of its useful life. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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Specification