Pet restraint system
First Claim
1. A method of controlling a position of an animal, the method comprising the steps of:
- tracking a position of the animal using a global positioning system and a first global positioning system receiver attached to the animal;
tracking a time-varying position of a user using the global positioning system, the user having a base object comprising a second global positioning system receiver;
determining a relative position of the animal with respect to the user accurately, based on positions of the animal and the user, the base object acting as a differential global positioning unit;
computing a velocity of the animal and, based on the velocity, determining a time when the animal will reach a boundary relative to the user; and
when the relative position exceeds a minimum value, providing a stimulus to the animal to encourage the animal to reduce the relative position.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
In various embodiments, a method of controlling a position of an animal includes tracking a position of the animal using a positioning system, such as a global positioning system. A time-varying position of a base object is also tracked using the positioning system, and a relative position of the animal with respect to the base object is determined, based on the positions of the animal and the base object. When the relative position exceeds a minimum value, a stimulus is provided to the animal to encourage the animal to reduce the relative position. A user of the system may define a region for the animal using a map of the surrounding territory.
102 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method of controlling a position of an animal, the method comprising the steps of:
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tracking a position of the animal using a global positioning system and a first global positioning system receiver attached to the animal; tracking a time-varying position of a user using the global positioning system, the user having a base object comprising a second global positioning system receiver; determining a relative position of the animal with respect to the user accurately, based on positions of the animal and the user, the base object acting as a differential global positioning unit; computing a velocity of the animal and, based on the velocity, determining a time when the animal will reach a boundary relative to the user; and when the relative position exceeds a minimum value, providing a stimulus to the animal to encourage the animal to reduce the relative position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of restraining a position of an animal, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving, at a base station, information defining at least one boundary of a territory; monitoring a position of an animal within the territory using a differential global positioning system comprising a first global positioning system receiver attached to the animal and a second global positioning system receiver disposed at a fixed location on the territory; determining a distance accurately between the position of the animal and the at least one boundary by receiving satellite data at a substantially same time and with a substantially same displacement error at both of the first and second global positioning system receivers; computing a velocity of the animal and, based on the velocity, determining a time when the animal will reach the at least one boundary; and providing a stimulus to the animal to encourage the animal to stay within the territory. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of restraining a position of an animal, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving, at a base station, information defining at least one boundary of a territory; monitoring a position of an animal within the territory using a differential global positioning system comprising a first global positioning system receiver attached to the animal and a second global positioning system receiver disposed at a fixed location on the territory; determining a distance accurately between the position of the animal and the at least one boundary; providing a stimulus to the animal to encourage the animal to stay within the territory; discontinuing the monitoring of the position of the animal within the territory using the differential global positioning system and enabling monitoring of the position of the animal relative to a user having a base object and a time-varying position, the base object comprising a third global positioning system receiver and acting as a differential global positioning system unit; and subsequent to the enabling of relative position monitoring, when the relative position exceeds a minimum value, providing a stimulus to the animal to encourage the animal to reduce the relative position. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification