Animal training apparatus and method
First Claim
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1. An apparatus to aid in training an animal, comprising:
- a housing removably attachable to the animal;
a transducer mounted to the housing for delivering a stimulus to the animal;
a magnetically actuated switch, disposed within the housing and coupled to the transducer, for controlling at least one of(i) a type of stimulus delivered by the transducer to the animal,(ii) a rate of stimulus delivered by the transducer to the animal, and(iii) an intensity of stimulus delivered by the transducer to the animal;
a magnet, external to the housing, for actuating the switch externally from the housing by disposing the magnet within a reaction zone of the switch;
a controller, coupled to the switch and to the transducer, for interpreting a command applied by a user using the magnet, the command corresponding to at least one of the rate, the type and the intensity of stimulus delivered to the animal; and
an indicator, coupled to the controller, for indicating to the user the command applied by the user.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for training an animal and confining the animal to a defined area includes a magnetically actuated switch. The apparatus further includes a housing removably attached to the animal and a transducer mounted to the housing for delivering a stimulus to the animal. The magnetically actuated switch is disposed within the housing and is coupled to the transducer. The magnetically actuated switch is used for controlling at least one of a type of stimulus delivered by the transducer to the animal, a rate of stimulus delivered by the transducer to the animal, and an intensity of stimulus delivered by the transducer to the animal.
148 Citations
26 Claims
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1. An apparatus to aid in training an animal, comprising:
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a housing removably attachable to the animal; a transducer mounted to the housing for delivering a stimulus to the animal; a magnetically actuated switch, disposed within the housing and coupled to the transducer, for controlling at least one of (i) a type of stimulus delivered by the transducer to the animal, (ii) a rate of stimulus delivered by the transducer to the animal, and (iii) an intensity of stimulus delivered by the transducer to the animal; a magnet, external to the housing, for actuating the switch externally from the housing by disposing the magnet within a reaction zone of the switch; a controller, coupled to the switch and to the transducer, for interpreting a command applied by a user using the magnet, the command corresponding to at least one of the rate, the type and the intensity of stimulus delivered to the animal; and an indicator, coupled to the controller, for indicating to the user the command applied by the user. - 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)
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25. A method of training an animal by delivering a stimulus to the animal, comprising the steps of:
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attaching a housing to the animal which includes a transducer mounted to the housing for delivering the stimulus to the animal, and includes a magnetically actuated switch coupled to the transducer; actuating the magnetically actuated switch with a magnet to control at least one of (i) a type of stimulus delivered by the transducer to the animal, (ii) a rate of stimulus delivered by the transducer to the animal, and (iii) an intensity of stimulus delivered by the transducer to the animal; detecting a coded radio signal with a receiver; delivering the stimulus based upon detection of the radio signal; and after the detection step, the steps of reducing the sensitivity of the receiver, attempting to detect the coded radio signal, and delivering a warning stimulus upon failure to detect the coded radio signal. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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Specification