Method of and computer program for managing one or more agricultural devices

• US 8,918,475 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2011
• Issued: 12/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lely Patent N.V. (Lely)
• Original Assignee: Lely Patent N.V. (Lely)
• Inventors: Van Der Tol, Patrick Philip Jacob, Loosveld, Serge Louis, Song, Xiangyu
• Primary Examiner(s): ZHANG, SHIRLEY X
• Application Number:
  US13/169,116
• Publication Number:
  US 20110308627A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,275 Days
• Field of Search: 709220-226, 709/217, 119/14
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/02 Agriculture; Fishing; Forestry; Mining
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/0324 With control of flow by a condition or characteristic of a fluid

Abstract

A system and method for managing an agricultural device, including connecting the agricultural device to a network, collecting operational data relating to the agricultural device, granting an access right in respect of the collected operational data to an entity connected to the network, receiving data from the entity in response to the access right, and managing the agricultural device on the basis of the collected operational data and the data from the entity. The method may be implemented for managing multiple agricultural devices, and may be implemented in a computer readable medium. In one embodiment, the operational data relates to clinical mastitis detection.

Claims

1. A non-transient, computer-readable medium containing program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of managing an agricultural device, comprising:

connecting the agricultural device to a network;

collecting operational data relating to the agricultural device;

granting an access right in respect of the collected operational data to a second agricultural device connected to the network;

receiving operational data from the second agricultural device in response to the access right; and

managing the agricultural device on the basis of the collected operational data of the agricultural device and the operation data from the second agricultural device, further comprising;

defining a benchmark for the agricultural device from operational data of at least the second agricultural device;

comparing the operational data of the agricultural device with the benchmark;

defining a setting of the agricultural device based on the collected operational data of the agricultural device and the operational data of the second agricultural device; and

transmitting the defined setting via the network to the at least one of the agricultural device and the second agricultural device;

wherein the agricultural device comprises a milking device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the operational data comprises at least one of:

time between consecutive milkings of a dairy animal, a measurement of milk obtained from the dairy animal, a recorded error message, an anomaly, and feed data.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the operational data comprises manager input data, comprising at least one of:

a threshold value, a rejection criterion, and a parameter modification.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the granting of the access right takes place in response to a release instruction by a manager of the agricultural device.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein management contact data is released in response to the release instruction by the manager.

6. The method according to claim 1, comprising the steps of:

defining from at least one of the collected operational data of the agricultural device and the operational data of the second agricultural device at least one other setting for at least for at least one of the agricultural device, the second agricultural device and a group of agricultural devices;

transmitting the defined setting via the network to the respective agricultural devices;

collecting operational data during operation of at least one of the agricultural device, the second agricultural device and the group of agricultural devices with the transmitted setting;

comparing the collected operational data during operation of at least one of the agricultural device, the second agricultural device and a group of agricultural devices;

deriving from the other setting, on the basis of the comparison, of a most suitable setting for at least one of the agricultural device, the second agricultural device and a group of agricultural devices; and

transmitting the most suitable setting to at least one of the agricultural device, the second agricultural device and a group of agricultural devices.

7. A non-transient, computer-readable medium containing program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of managing a milking device, comprising:

connecting the milking device to a network;

collecting preliminary mastitis detection operational data from obtained milk, wherein if the milk has a mastitis detection parameter less than or equal to a threshold value then no further operational data is collected;

collecting primary mastitis detection operational data;

granting an access right in respect of the collected primary operational data to a second milking device connected to the network;

receiving primary operational data from the second milking device in response to the access right; and

managing the milking device on the basis of the collected primary operational data of the milking device and the primary operation data from the second milking device, further comprising;

defining a benchmark for detection of mastitis for the milking device from primary operational data of at least the second milking device;

comparing the primary operational data of the milking device with the benchmark;

defining a setting of the milking device based on the collected operational data of the milking device and the operational data of the second milking device; and

transmitting the defined setting via the network to the at least one of the milking device and the second milking device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the mastitis detection parameter comprises at least one of:

electrical conductivity, color of milk, dead milk time and milk yield proportion per quarter for milk.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least one mastitis detection parameter is analyzed based on a predetermined number of preceding milkings.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the benchmark is defined as:

Z=(x−

μ

)/σ

wherein Z is the benchmark, μ

is the average of the parameter value for at least one of electrical conductivity and color value of the predetermined number of preceding milkings, x is the value of the current milking visit for both electrical conductivity and milk color, and σ

is the standard deviation of the predetermined preceding milkings.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein when Z is greater than 2, mastitis is determined to be present.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the defined setting is sent to a controller for review before transmission via the network.

13. A non-transient, computer-readable medium containing program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of managing a milking device, comprising:

connecting the milking device to a network;

collecting preliminary mastitis detection operational data from obtained milk, wherein if the milk has a mastitis detection parameter less than or equal to a threshold value then no further operational data is collected;

collecting primary mastitis detection operational data comprising at least one of;

electrical conductivity, color of milk of a plurality of samples during operation of the milking device, dead milk time and milk yield proportion per quarter for milk that has an electrical conductivity of the threshold value based on the preliminary detection;

granting an access right in respect of the collected primary operational data to a second milking device connected to the network;

receiving primary operational data from the second milking device in response to the access right; and

managing the milking device on the basis of the collected primary operational data of the milking device and the primary operation data from the second milking device, further comprising;

defining a benchmark for detection of mastitis for the milking device from primary operational data of at least the second milking device;

comparing the primary operational data of the milking device with the benchmark;

defining a setting of the milking device based on the collected operational data of the milking device and the operational data of the second milking device;

comparing the defined setting to a current setting, if the defined setting differs from a previous setting by more than a threshold value, then the defined setting is sent to a controller for approval;

if the defined setting falls below the threshold or are approved by the controller, transmitting the defined setting via the network to at least one of the milking device and the second milking device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the mastitis detection parameter comprises at least one of:

electrical conductivity, color of milk of a plurality of samples during operation of the milking device, dead milk time and milk yield proportion per quarter for milk.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the benchmark is defined as:

Z=(x−

μ

)/σ

wherein Z is the benchmark, μ

is the average of the parameter value for at least one of electrical conductivity and color value of a predetermined number of preceding milkings, x is the value of the current milking visit for both electrical conductivity and milk color, and σ

is the standard deviation of the predetermined preceding milkings.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein when Z is greater than 2, mastitis is determined to be present.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the defined setting is configured to be at least one of modified or overruled by the controller.