Method and control system for decreasing the thermal load on animals
First Claim
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1. A method of controlling a cooling unit in order to decrease thermal load on an animal located within a barn, the method comprising the steps of:
- with a first temperature sensor, a computerized control unit determining whether a first air temperature is greater than a first threshold value, wherein the first air temperature is representative of barn temperature as a whole;
with a second temperature sensor, the computerized control unit determining whether a parameter, dependent on a second temperature local to the animal, is greater than a second threshold value, wherein the second temperature sensor is located to measure the second temperature as one of i) temperature in an vicinity of an animal, ii) temperature in an area that houses plural animals at a time, iii) temperature in an area that houses only one animal at a time, and iv) temperature of one individual animal;
when the determined first air temperature is greater than the first threshold value, the computerized control unit starting the cooling unit to cool to lower the first air temperature within the barn; and
when the parameter being greater than the second threshold value, the computerized control unit starting the cooling unit to cool and thereby lower the second temperature.
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Abstract
A method of controlling a cooling element in order to decrease the thermal load on animals includes the step: —to start the cooling element when the air temperature exceeds a predetermined threshold value and/or a parameter, dependent on the relative humidity of air, exceeds a predetermined threshold value.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of controlling a cooling unit in order to decrease thermal load on an animal located within a barn, the method comprising the steps of:
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with a first temperature sensor, a computerized control unit determining whether a first air temperature is greater than a first threshold value, wherein the first air temperature is representative of barn temperature as a whole; with a second temperature sensor, the computerized control unit determining whether a parameter, dependent on a second temperature local to the animal, is greater than a second threshold value, wherein the second temperature sensor is located to measure the second temperature as one of i) temperature in an vicinity of an animal, ii) temperature in an area that houses plural animals at a time, iii) temperature in an area that houses only one animal at a time, and iv) temperature of one individual animal; when the determined first air temperature is greater than the first threshold value, the computerized control unit starting the cooling unit to cool to lower the first air temperature within the barn; and when the parameter being greater than the second threshold value, the computerized control unit starting the cooling unit to cool and thereby lower the second temperature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A control system arranged and configured to decrease the thermal load on animals within a barn, the control system comprising:
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a cooling unit; a first temperature sensor located for determining whether a first air temperature is greater than a first threshold value, wherein the first air temperature is representative of barn temperature as a whole; a second temperature sensor located for determining whether a parameter, dependent on a second temperature local to the animal, is greater than a second threshold value, wherein the second temperature sensor is located to measure the second temperature as one of i) temperature in an vicinity of an animal, ii) temperature in an area that houses plural animals at a time, iii) temperature in an area that houses only one animal at a time, and iv) temperature of one individual animal; a control unit i) connected to the first and second temperature sensors, and ii) configured so that A) when the determined first air temperature is greater than the first threshold value, the control unit starts the cooling unit to cool to lower the first air temperature in the barn; and B) when the parameter is greater than the second threshold value, the control unit starts the cooling unit to cool and thereby lower the second temperature. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A non-transitory computer program product containing computer software code portions loadable into an internal memory of a digital computer, the software code portions when executed by the computer causing the computer to perform a method of controlling a cooling unit in order to decrease thermal load on an animal located within a barn, the computer performing the steps of:
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with a first temperature sensor, determining whether a first air temperature is greater than a first threshold value, wherein the first air temperature is representative of barn temperature as a whole; with a second temperature sensor, determining whether a parameter, dependent on a second temperature local to the animal, is greater than a second threshold value, wherein the second temperature sensor is located to measure the second temperature as one of i) temperature in an vicinity of an animal, ii) temperature in an area that houses plural animals at a time, iii) temperature in an area that houses only one animal at a time, and iv) temperature of one individual animal; when the determined first air temperature is greater than the first threshold value, starting the cooling unit to cool to lower the first air temperature; and when the parameter being greater than the second threshold value, starting the cooling unit to cool and lower the second temperature. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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Specification