Method and installation for identifying animals

• US 6,684,810 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2002
• Issued: 02/03/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Allflex Europe SAS (Merck & Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Farmexpress.Com SA
• Inventors: Martin, Jacques Georges
• Primary Examiner(s): Jordan, Charles T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lofdahl, Jordan M
• Application Number:
  US10/168,106
• Publication Number:
  US 20030051678A1
• Time in Patent Office: 473 Days
• Field of Search: 119/712, 119/51.02
• US Class Current: 119/51.02
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 11/008 incorporating GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 29/00 Other apparatus for animal husbandry
• CPC Class Codes: A22B 5/0064 for classifying or grading carcasses; for measuring back fat
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisious for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer

Abstract

A method and an installation for identifying animals and managing data concerning animals so as to control the traceability of the animals and of the data. The installation includes an identifier (1) borne by the animal; a system for reading (2) the identifier; a self-contained system (3) for communicating with the user, processing and storing in a storage unit (7) data concerning at least an animal, a link between the self-contained system (3) and the reading system (2); a centralised database (4) assembling data concerning the animals; databases concerning data on the animals are included in the self-contained system storage unit and duplicated in the centralised data bank; device for communicating data between the self-contained system (3) and the centralised database (4) and communication means (6) and (6′) between the self-contained system (3) and another self-contained system (3′).

Claims

1. Installation for identification of animals and for managing information relative to said animals, comprising:

a reading system;

an identification readable by the reading system;

a centralized database for collecting information concerning said animals bearing the identification,

the centralized database, the identification, and the reading system being operatively connected; and

at least two autonomous communication systems for users, each of said autonomous communication systems integrating,

the reading system for reading, for at least one animal, the identification born by the one animal,

a memory for storing information peculiar to the one animal,

a selecting means that allows a user selective identification of the one animal as a selected one animal,

a communication means to communicate to the centralized database the information stored in the memory peculiar to the selected one animal, to receive from the centralized database other information peculiar to the selected one animal and to store received other information from the centralized database in the memory, and

a direct communication means to directly communicate to another communication system of said at least two autonomous communication systems the information peculiar to the selected one animal, to receive from the another communication system yet other information peculiar to the selected one animal, and to store received yet other information from the another communication system in the memory, the yet other information received by a direct communications means selected by a user of the another communication system,

the direct communication between the communication system and the another communication system being without passing through the centralized database.

2. Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the memory (7) of the autonomous system or systems is removable.

3. Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the memory (7) of each autonomous system contains data corresponding to it and which are duplicated in the centralized databank, these unfalsifiable and unique data are for use for the identification of the user of the autonomous system (3).

4. Installation according claim 3, characterized in that the memory (7) contains both information relative to the user and to the animal.

5. Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the reading system (2) of the identification (1) uses the principle of radio frequency.

6. Installation according to claim 3, characterized in that the identification (1) is fixed to the ear of the animal.

7. Installation according to claim 3, characterized in that the identification (1) is implanted beneath the skin of the animal.

8. Installation according to claim 3, characterized in that the identification (1) is ingested by the animal.

9. Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the identification is a visible mark read by a human operator.

10. Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the memory (7) contains information relating to the animals and information relating to the holder of said memory.

11. Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the communication means between the autonomous system and the database of the information, use a telephone network.

12. Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the reading system (2), the autonomous system (3), the communication means (5) and the direct communication means (6) are integrated in a same housing.

13. Installation according to claim 1, further comprising vocal communication means for vocal communication of information between the user and the autonomous system.

14. Installation according to claim 1, further comprising a geographic location global positioning system device.

15. Process for identifying animals and managing information relative to said animals using the installation according to claim 1, comprising a step of reading the identification (1) of the animal and acquiring information relative to said animal in the memory of the autonomous system (3).

16. Process according to claim 15, comprising a further step of transferring acquired information toward the centralized database (4).

17. Process according to claim 15, comprising a further step of returning information from the database (4) to the autonomous system (3), said information validating that the data contained in the memory of the autonomous system (3) are correctly recorded in the database (4).

18. Process according to claim 15, comprising a further step of communicating information between the memories of the two autonomous systems (3).

19. Process according to claim 15, comprising a further step of reading the identification (1) of an animal and recovering information relative to said animal from the database (4) toward the autonomous system (3).

20. Process according to claim 15, comprising a further step of ensuring, automatically, certifiably and necessarily the transmission of new information contained in the autonomous system to the database.