RF signaling system and system for controlling the whereabouts of animals using same

• US 6,064,308 A
• Filed: 10/23/1997
• Issued: 05/16/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pole/Zero Acquisition, Inc. (Dover Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pole/Zero Corporation
• Inventors: Janning, Eugene A., Janning, Joseph J.
• Primary Examiner(s): SWANN III, GLEN R
• Application Number:
  US08/956,732
• Time in Patent Office: 936 Days
• Field of Search: 340/573.3, 340/572.7, 119/908, 119/721, 455/106, 455/91, 455/899
• US Class Current: 340/573.3
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 15/023 Anti-evasion devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 119/908 Electrical animal control or handling

Abstract

An RF signaling system and system for controlling the whereabouts of animals utilizing same functions, in a preferred embodiment, by efficiently establishing well-defined electronic boundaries using small, battery powered transmitters transmitting constant envelope RF signals in a near-field regime by repetitively delivering trains of brief, low duty cycle pulses of electrical energy to a resonant circuit which includes an antenna at a low RF carrier frequency corresponding to the resonant frequency of the circuit. During intervals between pulses, the resonant circuit is effectively isolated from the circuit delivering the pulses to minimize loading effects. Further energy efficiency is achieved by interposing inactive interals between at least some successive transmissions of the RF signals represented by the pulse trains. The RF signals emitted by the transmitters are digitally encoded as are those emitted from a wire loop coupled to an optional wire loop unit to define a wire loop boundary. A unit affixed to the animal selectively administers appropriate aversive stimuli effective to deter encroachment of the boundaries in accordance with predetermined conditions based on the coding and timing of RF signals received from the transmitters and/or the wire loop. In the event of a break in the wire loop, the wire loop unit automatically switches excitation of the wire loop to an AM signal thereby facilitating location of the site of the break for repair purposes using a conventional AM radio receiver.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

Claims

1. A radio frequency (RF) signaling apparatus, comprising:

(a) a resonant circuit resonant substantially at an RF carrier frequency, said resonant circuit including an antenna; and

(b) a drive circuit coupled to said resonant circuit, said drive circuit delivering to said resonant circuit, at substantially said RF carrier frequency, brief pulses of electrical energy separated by intervals of time in order to cause said resonant circuit to resonate, thereby exciting said antenna to transmit an RF signal at substantially said RF carrier frequency.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said drive circuit comprises a circuit which delivers said pulses of electrical energy at a duty cycle of less than about one percent (1%).

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said drive circuit comprises a circuit which delivers said pulses of electrical energy at a duty cycle of less than about five percent (5%).

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said drive circuit comprises a circuit which delivers said pulses of electrical energy at a duty cycle of less than about fifteen percent (15%).

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said antenna is electrically small and said RF carrier frequency is a frequency of about ten kilohertz or less.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said RF signal comprises a signal having a magnetic field whose magnitude decreases substantially in proportion to the cube of increasing distance from said antenna.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said apparatus further comprises circuitry for controlling the phase of said pulses to digitally encode said RF signal.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said RF signal comprises a signal having an amplitude bounded by an envelope having a substantially constant magnitude.

9. A radio frequency (RF) signaling apparatus, comprising:

(a) a resonant circuit resonant substantially at an RF carrier frequency, said resonant circuit including an antenna;

(b) a drive circuit coupleable to said resonant circuit, said drive circuit delivering to said resonant circuit, at substantially said RF carrier frequency, pulses of electrical energy separated by intervals of time in order to cause said resonant circuit to resonate, thereby exciting said antenna to transmit an RF signal at substantially said RF carrier frequency; and

(c) an isolation circuit operably interposed between said resonant circuit and said drive circuit, said isolation circuit operating to effectively electrically isolate said resonant circuit from said drive circuit during at least a portion of said intervals.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said portion of said intervals comprises substantially the entirety of said intervals.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said pulses are of a duration which is brief compared to said intervals and said RF carrier frequency is a frequency of about ten kilohertz or less.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said RF signal comprises a signal having a magnetic field whose magnitude decreases substantially in proportion to the cube of increasing distance from said antenna.

13. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising circuitry for controlling the phase of said pulses to digitally encode said RF signal.

14. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said RF signal comprises a signal having an amplitude bounded by an envelope having substantially constant magnitude.

15. A radio frequency (RF) signaling method, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing an antenna resonant substantially at an RF carrier frequency; and

(b) repetitively delivering to said antenna, at substantially said RF carrier frequency, pulses of electrical energy separated by intervals of time to cause said antenna to resonantly transmit an RF signal at substantially said RF carrier frequency.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said pulses and said intervals represent a duty cycle of less than about one percent (1%).

17. The method of claim 15 wherein said pulses and said intervals represent a duty cycle of less than about five percent (5%).

18. The method of claim 15 wherein said pulses and said intervals represent a duty cycle of less than about fifteen percent (15%).

19. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of encoding said RF signal by controlling the phase of said pulses.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein said encoding step comprises the step of shifting the phase of at least some of said pulses prior to delivering said pulses to said antenna.

21. The method of claim 15 wherein said providing step comprises the step of providing a said antenna which is electrically small.

22. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of encoding said RF signal by controlling the phase of said pulses.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein said encoding step comprises the step of shifting the phase of at least some of said pulses prior to delivering said pulses to said antenna.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein said providing step comprises the step of providing a said antenna which is electrically small and wherein said RF carrier frequency is a frequency of about ten kilohertz.

25. A radio frequency (RF) signaling method, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing an antenna resonant substantially at an RF carrier frequency;

(b) providing a drive circuit selectively electrically coupleable to said antenna;

(c) repetitively delivering to said antenna, at substantially said RF carrier frequency pulses, of electrical energy separated by intervals of time to cause said antenna to resonantly transmit an RF signal at substantially said RF carrier frequency; and

(d) effectively electrically isolating said drive circuit from said antenna during at least a portion of said intervals.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein said portion of said intervals comprises substantially the entirety of said intervals.

27. The method of claim 25 wherein said pulses and said intervals represent a duty cycle of less than about one percent (1%).

28. The method of claim 25 wherein said pulses and said intervals represent a duty cycle of less than about five percent (5%).

29. The method of claim 25 wherein said pulses and said intervals represent a duty cycle of less than about fifteen percent (15%).

30. The method of claim 25 further comprising the step of encoding said RF signal by controlling the phase of said pulses.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein said controlling step comprises the step of shifting the phase of at least some of said pulses prior to delivering said pulses to said antenna.

32. The method of claim 25 wherein said providing step comprises the step of providing a said antenna which is electrically small and wherein said RF carrier frequency is a frequency of about ten kilohertz or less.

33. An apparatus for controlling the whereabouts of an animal, said apparatus comprising:

(a) at least one transmitter operable to transmit a radio frequency (RF) signal defining a boundary in the vicinity of said transmitter, said transmitter including;

(i) a resonant circuit resonant substantially at an RF carrier frequency, said resonant circuit including an antenna; and

(ii) a drive circuit coupled to said resonant circuit, said drive circuit delivering to said resonant circuit, at substantially said RF frequency, a series of pulses of electrical energy effective to cause said resonant circuit to resonate thereby exciting said antenna to transmit said RF signal;

(b) a receiver for receiving said RF signal; and

(c) a stimulator responsive to said receiver for determining based on said RF signal whether at least one predetermined condition indicating encroachment of said boundary by the animal has been satisfied and, subject to satisfaction of said condition, administering to the animal at least one stimulus for deterring said encroachment in order to control the whereabouts of the animal.

34. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein said RF carrier frequency is a frequency of about 10 kilohertz or less.

35. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein said antenna is electrically small and said RF carrier frequency is a frequency of about ten kilohertz or less.

36. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein said transmitter is a transmitter operable to transmit a said RF signal having a magnetic field whose magnitude decreases substantially in proportion to the cube of increasing distance from said transmitter.

37. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein said transmitter further comprises circuitry for controlling the phase of said pulses to digitally encode said RF signal.

38. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein said transmitter is a transmitter operable to transmit a said RF signal having an amplitude bounded by an envelope of substantially constant magnitude.

39. An apparatus for controlling the whereabouts of an animal, said apparatus comprising:

(a) at least one transmitter operable to transmit a first radio frequency signal which defines a first boundary in the vicinity of each said transmitter;

(b) a wire loop operable to transmit a second radio frequency signal which defines a second boundary in the vicinity of said wire loop;

(c) a receiver for receiving said first and second radio frequency signals; and

(d) a stimulator operably coupled to said receiver for determining, based upon at least one of said first and second signals, whether at least one predetermined condition indicating encroachment of at least one of said first and second boundaries by the animal has been satisfied and, subject to satisfaction of said condition, administering to the animal at least one stimulus for deterring said encroachment in order to control the whereabouts of the animal.

40. The apparatus of claim 39 wherein said second radio frequency signal is of a frequency of less than about ten kilohertz.

41. The apparatus of claim 39 wherein said second radio frequency signal is a signal whose amplitude is bounded by an envelope of substantially constant magnitude.

42. The apparatus of claim 39 wherein said first radio frequency signal and said second radio frequency signal each bear a digital code, the reception of which constitutes a said predetermined condition.

43. The apparatus of claim 39 wherein said first radio signal is a signal having a magnetic field whose magnitude decreases substantially in proportion to the cube of increasing distance from said transmitter.

44. An apparatus for controlling the whereabouts of an animal, said apparatus comprising:

(a) at least one transmitter operable to transmit a radio frequency signal defining a boundary in the vicinity of said transmitter, said radio frequency signal having a magnetic field the magnitude of which decreases substantially in proportion to the cube of increasing distance from said transmitter;

(b) a receiver for receiving said signal; and

(c) a stimulator responsive to said receiver for determining based on said signal whether at least one predetermined condition indicating encroachment of said boundary by the animal has been satisfied and, subject to satisfaction of said condition, administering to the animal at least one stimulus for deterring said encroachment in order to control the whereabouts of the animal.

45. The apparatus of claim 44 wherein said transmitter comprises a transmitter operable to transmit said radio frequency signal at a frequency of about ten kilohertz or less.

46. A method for controlling the whereabouts of an animal, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a wire loop along a path defining a boundary for the animal;

(b) coupling the loop to a source of radio frequency electrical energy effective to cause the loop to transmit a radio frequency signal other than an amplitude modulated (AM) signal;

(c) detecting a condition of said radio frequency signal indicating encroachment of said boundary by said animal and, in response to said detecting of said condition, administering to the animal at least one stimulus for deterring the animal from said encroachment;

(d) monitoring for the occurrence of a break in said loop; and

(e) in response to detecting a said break in said loop, selectively coupling the loop to a source of amplitude modulated (AM) radio frequency electrical energy whereby locating the site of said break using a conventional AM receiver is facilitated.

47. In a system for controlling the whereabouts of an animal of the type in which an electronic boundary for the animal is established by transmitting a radio frequency signal and at least one aversive stimulus is delivered to the animal in response to detecting a condition of the radio frequency signal indicating that the boundary has been encroached upon by the animal, the improvement comprising:

interposing inactive intervals between at least some successive transmissions of said radio frequency signal.

48. The system of claim 47 wherein said inactive intervals are each within a range of from about thirty milliseconds to about five seconds.

49. An apparatus for controlling the whereabouts of an animal, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a transmitter for intermittently transmitting radio frequency signals defining a boundary for the animal;

(b) a receiver for receiving said signals; and

(c) a stimulator operably coupled to said receiver for administering at least one stimulus to the animal to deter the animal from encroachment of said boundary in response to determining, based on said radio frequency signals, whether at least one predetermined condition indicating encroachment of said boundary has been satisfied, at least one said predetermined condition being reception of at least one of said radio frequency signals during a predetermined limited window of time occurring subsequent to reception of a previously transmitted one of said radio frequency signals.

50. A method for controlling the whereabouts of an animal, said method comprising the steps of:

establishing a boundary for the animal by intermittently transmitting radio frequency signals in the vicinity of the boundary;

receiving said signals; and

selectively administering to the animal at least one stimulus to deter the animal from encroachment of said boundary in response to determining, based on said signals, whether at least one predetermined condition indicating encroachment of said boundary has been satisfied, at least one said predetermined condition being reception of at least one of said signals during a limited window of time occurring subsequent to reception of a previously transmitted one of said signals.

51. An apparatus for controlling the whereabouts of an animal, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a transmitter for intermittently transmitting radio frequency signals bearing a predetermined code, said signals defining a boundary for the animal;

(b) a receiver for receiving said signals; and

(c) a stimulator operably coupled to said receiver for administering at least one stimulus to the animal to deter the animal from encroachment of said boundary in response to determining, based on said signals, whether at least one predetermined condition indicating encroachment of said boundary has been satisfied, at least one said predetermined condition being reception of at least one of said signals during a predetermined limited window of time occurring subsequent to reception of a previously transmitted one of said radio frequency signals, an additional said predetermined condition being reception of at least one of said signals bearing said predetermined code.

52. A method for controlling the whereabouts of an animal, said method comprising the steps of:

establishing a boundary for the animal, said establishing step including the step of intermittently transmitting radio frequency signals in the vicinity of the boundary, at least some of said signals bearing a predetermined code;

receiving said signals; and

selectively administering to the animal at least one stimulus to deter the animal from encroachment of said boundary in response to determining, based on said signals, whether at least one predetermined condition indicating encroachment of said boundary has been satisfied, at least one said predetermined condition being reception of at least one of said signals during a limited window of time occurring subsequent to reception of a previously transmitted one of said signals, an additional said predetermined condition being reception of at least one of said signals bearing said predetermined code.

53. An apparatus for controlling the whereabouts of animals, said apparatus comprising:

a first device operable to transmit a first radio frequency signal defining a first boundary for the animal, said first radio frequency signal bearing predetermined first information;

a second device operable to transmit a second radio frequency signal defining a second boundary for the animal, said second radio frequency signal bearing predetermined second information; and

a unit affixable to the animal operable to receive at least one of said first and second radio frequency signals, and to determine, based on at least one of said first information and said second information, whether at least one predetermined condition precedent to applying a stimulus to the animal to deter the animal from encroaching at least one of said first boundary and said second boundary is satisfied.

54. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein said first device comprises a wire loop whose path traverses the midst of at least a portion of said first boundary.

55. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein said second device comprises a battery powered transmitter.

56. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein said first information comprises a first digital code and said second information comprises a second digital code distinguishable from said first digital code.

57. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein said unit comprises a unit further operable to select at least one predetermined stimulation parameter based on at least one of said first and second information.