Mobile telephone dog training tool and method

• US 9,661,828 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2016
• Issued: 05/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Specifi-Kali, LLC
• Original Assignee: Specifi-Kali, LLC
• Inventors: Bianchi, James C., Holland, Robert W.
• Primary Examiner(s): ABBOTT-LEWIS, YVONNE RENEE
• Application Number:
  US15/375,505
• Publication Number:
  US 20170086425A1
• Time in Patent Office: 169 Days
• Field of Search: 119720, 119721, 119712, 119719, 3405731, 3405732, 3405733
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 11/008 incorporating GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 15/021 Electronic training devices specially adapted for dogs or cats
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 27/001 Collars
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 27/009 with electric-shock, sound, magnetic- or radio-waves emitting devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/34 Power consumption

Abstract

A mobile telephone adapts to use as a gundog training tool by interfacing with a dog collar using a wireless communication device, such as a WWAN text or IP interface, a WLAN interface or a radio transceiver that couples to the mobile telephone and is accessible to a training application running on the mobile telephone. The dog collar includes a GPS receiver to provide position information to the mobile telephone and a shock device to provide training stimulus to the dog. A wireless headset interfaces with the mobile telephone to provide audible indications of position to an end user, such as a dog point and tone indicators of directions to the dog. A wireless handset interfaces with the mobile telephone to accept inputs for application to the collar, such as training stimulus.

Claims

1. A dog training tool comprising:

a mobile processing device having a WPAN interface;

an adapter having a WPAN interface operable to communicate with the mobile processing device WPAN interface and a wireless communication module operable to communicate with a wireless radio signal;

one or more collars adapted to couple to a dog, the collar having a GPS receiver and a wireless communication module, the wireless communication module operable to communicate GPS positions of the GPS receiver to the adapter wireless communication module with the wireless radio signal; and

a training application stored in memory of the mobile processing device and operable to execute on a processor of the mobile processing device, the training application operable to receive the collar GPS positions from the adapter by the WPAN interface, the adapter receiving the collar GPS positions from the collar by the adapter wireless communication module with the wireless radio signal, the training application further operable to present the GPS positions at a display of the mobile telephone;

wherein the WPAN interface communicates the GPS positions from the adapter to the mobile processing device at a connection interval, the connection interval set a least in part based upon how often the one or more collars send the GPS positions by the wireless communication module.

2. The dog training tool of claim 1 wherein the WPAN interface connection interval is further set at least in part based upon the number of collars sending GPS positions by the wireless communications module.

3. The dog training tool of claim 2 wherein the wireless communication signal between the adapter and collar comprises a MORS band frequency of approximately 150 MHz.

4. The dog training tool of claim 3 wherein WPAN comprises Bluetooth Low Energy communication.

5. The dog training tool of claim 1 wherein the WPAN interface stores GPS positions is a queue and the connection interval is further set at least in part based upon the number of GPS positions stored in the queue.

6. The dog training tool of claim 5 wherein the one or more collars send GPS positions to the adapter by the wireless communication signal at predetermined distance change measured at the collar by the GPS receiver.

7. The dog training tool of claim 6 further comprising a power manager on the collar and operable to place the GPS receiver in a reduced power state between the wireless communication signals sent by the wireless communication module, the power manager estimating distance traveled by the collar based upon accelerations sensed by an accelerometer and bringing the GPS receiver out of the reduced power state when the estimated distance approaches predetermined distance change.

8. The dog training tool of claim 6 wherein the training application comprises a WPAN interface thread and a main thread, the main thread sleeping when the display is inactive.

9. A method for communicating position information from one or more collars, the method comprising:

gathering position information at the one or more collars with a GPS receiver integrated in each of the one or more collars;

sending the GPS positions from the one or more collars to an adapter by a wireless radio signal;

storing the GPS positions in a queue at the adapter;

sending the GPS positions from the adapter to a mobile processing device through a WPAN interface using a connection interval; and

adjusting the connection interval based at least in part upon the number of GPS positions stored in the queue.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

determining at the one or more collars a delay between sending a first GPS position and sending a second GPS position; and

placing the GPS receiver in a reduced power sleep state during at least part of the delay.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the determining at the one or more collars a delay further comprises:

determining a time interval between the VHF wireless signals to communicate the first and second GPS positions; and

placing the GPS receiver in the reduced power sleep state during at least part of the time delay.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the determining at the one or more collars a delay further comprises:

monitoring accelerations at the collar to estimate that the collar has moved a predetermined distance; and

in response to estimating that the collar has moved the predetermined distance, sending the GPS position.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

detecting that a predetermined time has passed without sending a GPS position from the collar; and

in response to detecting, sending a GPS position from the collar even if the collar has not moved the predetermined distance.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein the WPAN interface comprises Bluetooth Low Energy.

15. The method of claim 9 wherein adjusting a connection interval of the WPAN interface further comprises analyzing the number of collars sending GPS positions to the adapter.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein adjusting a connection interval of the WPAN interface further comprises analyzing the number of times that the collars send GPS positions to the adapter in a predetermined time period.

17. A system comprising:

a processing device having a processor, memory and WPAN interface;

plural external sensors, each sensor having a GPS receiver operable to determine the position of the sensor and a wireless communication device to communicate the position with a wireless communication signal; and

an adapter operable to receive the position from the sensors with the wireless communication signals and to communicate the position of the sensors to the processing device through the WPAN interface;

wherein the processing device and adapter communicate through the WPAN interface at a connection interval, the connection interval dynamically adapted based upon one or more predetermined conditions.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the one or more predetermined conditions comprise the number of external sensors sending positions through the wireless communication signal.

19. The system of claim 17 wherein the one or more predetermined conditions comprise how often the external sensors send positions through the wireless communication signal.

20. The system of claim 17 wherein the predetermined conditions comprise how many positions are stored in a queue of the memory of the adapter to be sent to the processing device.