Method and apparatus for controlling the whereabouts of an animal
First Claim
1. An apparatus affixable to an animal for controlling the whereabouts of the animal, the apparatus comprising:
- a receiver for receiving radio signals intermittently transmitted from at least one transmitter, said radio signals defining at least one boundary for the animal; and
a stimulator, operably coupled to said receiver, for administering at least one stimulus to the animal to deter the animal from encroachment of said at least one boundary in response to determining that a subsequent one of said radio signals was received during a predetermined time interval following reception of a prior one of said radio signals.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for controlling the whereabouts of an animal is affixed to the animal and selectively administers appropriate aversive stimuli effective to deter the animal from encroachment of boundaries in accordance with predetermined conditions based on the coding and/or timing of radio signals received from at least one transmitter, which may include a wire loop. The apparatus receives radio signals intermittently transmitted from the transmitters, wherein the radio signals define at least one boundary for the animal. The apparatus then selectively administers the appropriate aversive stimuli in response to determining that at least one of the received radio signals satisfies one or more of the predetermined conditions.
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Citations
71 Claims
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1. An apparatus affixable to an animal for controlling the whereabouts of the animal, the apparatus comprising:
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a receiver for receiving radio signals intermittently transmitted from at least one transmitter, said radio signals defining at least one boundary for the animal; and a stimulator, operably coupled to said receiver, for administering at least one stimulus to the animal to deter the animal from encroachment of said at least one boundary in response to determining that a subsequent one of said radio signals was received during a predetermined time interval following reception of a prior one of said radio signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An apparatus affixable to an animal for controlling the whereabouts of the animal, the apparatus comprising:
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a receiver for receiving radio signals intermittently transmitted from at least one transmitter, said radio signals defining at least one boundary for the animal; and a stimulator, operably coupled to said receiver, for administering at least one stimulus to the animal to deter the animal from encroachment of said at least one boundary in response to determining (i) that a subsequent one of said radio signals was received during a predetermined limited window of time occurring subsequent to reception of a prior one of said radio signals and (ii) that at least one of said radio signals bears a predetermined code. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for controlling the whereabouts of an animal, said method comprising the steps of:
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receiving radio signals intermittently transmitted from at least one transmitter, said radio signals defining at least one boundary for the animal; and selectively administering to the animal at least one stimulus to deter the animal from encroachment of said at least one boundary in response to determining that one of said radio signals was received during a limited window of time occurring subsequent to reception of another one of said radio signals. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for controlling the whereabouts of an animal, said method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a first radio signal bearing a first digital code, said first radio signal having a carrier frequency of about ten kilohertz or less and defining a first boundary for the animal; receiving a second radio signal bearing a second digital code, said second radio signal having a carrier frequency of about ten kilohertz or less and defining a second boundary for the animal; selectively administering to the animal a first stimulus to deter the animal from encroachment of said first boundary responsive to receiving said first digital code; and selectively administering to the animal a second stimulus to deter the animal from encroachment of said second boundary responsive to receiving said second digital code.
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23. A method for controlling the whereabouts of an animal, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) transmitting a radio signal from a first location positioned within a boundary from which the animal is to be excluded, said signal bearing a digital code; (b) at a second location corresponding to a position of the animal, detecting satisfaction of at least one condition of said radio signal indicative of encroachment of the animal upon said boundary, said at least one condition including a condition determined according to said digital code; and (c) in response to said at least one condition being satisfied, administering at least one aversive stimulus to the animal. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. An apparatus for controlling the whereabouts of an animal, said apparatus comprising:
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(a) at least one transmitter operable to transmit a radio signal defining a boundary generally surrounding each transmitter, said radio signal bearing a digital code; (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, said at least one predetermined condition including a condition determined according to said digital code, and, subject to satisfaction of said at least one predetermined condition, for administering to the animal at least one stimulus for deterring the animal from encroaching upon said boundary. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. An apparatus for controlling the whereabouts of at least a first animal and a second animal, said apparatus comprising:
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a first transmitter operable to transmit a first radio signal defining a first boundary generally surrounding said first transmitter, said first radio signal bearing a first digital code; a second transmitter operable to transmit a second radio signal defining a second boundary generally surrounding said second transmitter, said second radio signal bearing a second digital code; a first receiver/stimulator, affixable to the first animal, for receiving at least one of said first radio signal and said second radio signal and for administering, responsive to detection of said first digital code, at least one aversive stimulus to the first animal in order to deter the first animal from encroachment of said first boundary; and a second receiver/stimulator, affixable to the second animal, for receiving at least one of said first radio signal and said second radio signal and for administering, responsive to detection of said second digital code, at least one aversive stimulus to the second animal in order to deter the second animal from encroachment of said second boundary. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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59. A method for controlling the whereabouts of at least a first animal and a second animal, said method comprising the steps of:
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transmitting a first radio signal from within a first boundary from which the first animal is to be excluded, said first radio signal bearing a first digital code; transmitting a second radio signal from within a second boundary from which the second animal is to be excluded, said second radio signal bearing a second digital code; at a location corresponding to the position of the first animal and at a location corresponding to the position of the second animal, receiving at least one of said first radio signal and said second radio signal and detecting at least one of said first digital code and said second digital code; in response to detecting said first digital code, selectively administering at least one aversive stimulus to the first animal; and in response to detecting said second digital code, selectively administering at least one aversive stimulus to the second animal. - View Dependent Claims (60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71)
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Specification