Squirrel olfactory training device

Abstract

A squirrel olfactory training and cultivation device comprises a box, a reward device (2), a control system, and a data acquisition system. The technical key points are as follows: the box is composed of an outer support frame (1), and a transparent plate with holes is installed between the frames. The box adopts an upper and lower part, and the two parts are connected to each other by a ladder. A sealing plate driven by a motor is set at the opening of the upper part; wherein the upper space is further configured as a double-layer iron cage (14) structure, and is connected by a ladder; the iron cage (14) body is hoisted and limited in the upper structure by the box frame, and the upper and lower outer edges of the iron cage (14) are provided with driving rings (12), and one or more driving motors (13) are provided on the driving rings (12), and a supporting wheel (15) is provided between the driving rings (12) and the edge of the iron cage (14). The invention has the advantages of simple and compact structure, convenient and quick use, high training efficiency, reliable memory consolidation, and high degree of automation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to animal experimental equipment, in particular to a squirrel olfactory training and cultivation device, which is mainly used for performing olfactory memory training on squirrels, and ultimately enables the squirrels to make corresponding action feedback when smelling a specific odor. Background Art

[0002] Existing olfactory training devices often suffer from complex structures and high maintenance costs. For example, patent application CN103202240A discloses a device for simulating odor interference during mouse odor training. This device comprises three turntables, a needle insertion component driven by a suction electromagnet, and a four-way time relay. Each turntable's center is secured to a centrally located reduction motor. Multiple headspace sample vials, each containing a small amount of a different common interfering odorant, are equidistantly mounted around the edge of the turntable. This device can rapidly reduce a mouse's response to various irrelevant odors. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a squirrel olfactory training and cultivation device, which fundamentally solves the above problems. The device has the advantages of simple and compact structure, convenient and quick use, high training efficiency, reliable memory consolidation, and high degree of automation.

[0004] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides the following technical solution: The squirrel olfactory training and cultivation device comprises a box, a reward device (2), a control system, and a data acquisition system. The technical key points are:

[0005] The box body is composed of an outer support frame (1), and a transparent plate with holes is installed between the frames. The box body is composed of an upper and lower part, which are connected to each other by a ladder, and a sealing plate driven by a motor is provided at the upper opening; wherein the upper space is further configured as a double-layer iron cage (14) structure, and is connected by a ladder; the iron cage (14) body is hoisted and limited in the upper structure by the box body frame, and the upper and lower outer edges of the iron cage (14) are provided with a driving ring (12), and one or more driving motors (13) are provided on the driving ring (12), and a supporting wheel (15) is provided between the driving ring (12) and the edge of the iron cage (14);

[0006] The reward device (2) includes two or more feeding devices (21), a water tank mounted on the inner side of the cage, and a washing liquid container. The feeding device (21) includes a screw motor assembly fixed on an upper or lower driving ring (12), a guide column (212) located between the upper and lower driving rings, a driving bracket (213) limited on the four steel bars, a scent roller (214) and a cleaning brush (215) arranged on the driving bracket (213), a cleaning nozzle corresponding to each cleaning brush (215) arranged on the driving ring (12), and a feeding trough matched with the scent roller (214); the feeding trough is located at the uppermost part of the driving bracket (213) and has a funnel-shaped structure. An opening is arranged on one side of the bottom of the funnel, and a screw discharge structure is arranged on the opening.

[0007] Beneficial effects of the present invention: In terms of the overall solution, the culture device of the present invention has a simple and compact structure and occupies a small area, which can realize self-learning and odor consolidation training of squirrels under almost no control. It is convenient and quick to use. You only need to set the corresponding experimental parameters on the interactive screen and regularly put in bait and water sources, and the squirrels can survive and self-learn in a larger activity space, with almost no human intervention. The training efficiency is high. By using RFID chips in the body, multiple squirrels can be trained at the same time. The RFID chip serves as an identification code to record the learning progress of each animal separately, so that as much training as possible can be completed in a unit of time. The memory consolidation is reliable. Through system control, the random arrangement of each odor roller can be achieved, eliminating the influence of space or interfering odors, and further improving its ability to recognize the target odor. It has a high degree of automation. It uses a programmable control motherboard and prefabricated control programs, or through visual graphic programming, more flexible custom programming can be carried out according to the actual needs of the experiment, thereby improving the scope of application.

[0008] In summary, the present invention has the advantages of simple and compact structure, convenient and quick use, high training efficiency, reliable memory consolidation, and high degree of automation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 It is an isometric structural schematic diagram of the present invention.

[0010] Figure 1a for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the locally enlarged structure of part A.

[0011] Figure 1b for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the local enlarged structure of part B.

[0012] Figure 1c for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the local enlarged structure of part C. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] The following combination Figure 1 The invention is described in detail through specific embodiments. The squirrel olfactory training and cultivation device includes a box, a reward device, a control system, and a data acquisition system;

[0014] The box consists of an outer support frame 1, with a transparent plate (such as an acrylic plate) with holes installed between the frames. It consists of two parts, upper and lower, connected by a ladder (not shown). A motor-driven cover is installed at the upper opening. The upper space is further configured as a double-layer iron cage 14, connected by a ladder. The cage 14 is hoisted and restrained within the upper structure by the box frame. Drive rings 12 are installed on the upper and lower outer edges of the cage 14, each equipped with one or more drive motors 13. Support wheels 15 are installed between the drive rings 12 and the edge of the cage 14. The floor of the cage is hollowed to facilitate the cleaning of feces and urine.

[0015] The reward device 2 includes two or more feeding devices 21 (eight in the embodiment shown in the figure), a water tank mounted on the inside of the cage (not shown in the figure), and a washing liquid (such as ethanol) container (not shown in the figure). The feeding device 21 includes a screw motor assembly fixed on the upper or lower drive ring 12, a guide column 212 located between the upper and lower drive rings, a drive bracket 213 limited on the four steel bars, an odor roller 214 and a cleaning brush 215 arranged on the drive bracket 213, a cleaning (deodorizing) nozzle corresponding to each cleaning brush 215 arranged on the drive ring 12, and a feeding trough coordinated with the odor roller 214; the feeding trough is located at the uppermost part of the drive bracket 213, preferably adopts a funnel-shaped structure, and an opening is provided on one side of the bottom of the funnel, and a screw discharge structure is provided on the opening.

[0016] The control system (not shown in the figure) includes a control mainboard, a remote communication system, a data processing system, and a touch screen located on the support frame 1; preferably, the control mainboard is installed on the top of the cage; the data processing system includes a storage module and a processor arranged on the control mainboard.

[0017] The data acquisition system (not shown in the figure) includes one or more cameras mounted on the iron cage 14 and a sensor located on the rotating shaft of the scent drum 214.

[0018] During use, substances with different target odors are placed in each odor roller 214 or the odor roller 214 is left empty. Experimental parameters are pre-set through the interactive screen on the support frame 1. For example, the following conditions are set:

[0019] 1) Only when one of the target odor rollers is rotated will the auger motor of the feeding trough be triggered. The other odor rollers are used as interference odors and will not cause any action when touched.

[0020] 2) The auger motor at the bottom of the feeding trough is triggered only after the odor drum 214 rotates N times to strengthen the odor recognition ability;

[0021] 3) setting the position of the target scent drum 214 to be randomly adjusted after the target scent drum 214 is triggered N times to eliminate the influence of spatial position;

[0022] 4) It is set that when the target odor drum 214 is triggered N times, it is cleaned to avoid interference from the original odor.

[0023] For condition 3), the sensor on the odor drum can be used to record the number of times the target odor drum is triggered. Through a pre-written program, when the set conditions are met, the drive motor on the drive ring rotates, driving all reward devices to rotate around the cage at a specific angle. The screw motor assembly then locates the position of the feeding trough and odor drum, such as the upper, middle, and lower positions. The upper and lower positions correspond to the upper and lower layers of the iron cage, respectively, and the middle position indicates that the odor drum is empty and is not used in this experiment.

[0024] Description of reference numerals:

[0025] 1 Support frame

[0026] 11 universal wheels

[0027] 12 drive rings

[0028] 13 drive motor

[0029] 14 Iron Cage

[0030] 15 support wheels

[0031] 2 Reward Devices

[0032] 21 Feeding device

[0033] 211 screw assembly

[0034] 212 guide column

[0035] 213 drive bracket

[0036] 214 Scent Roller

[0037] 215 cleaning brush.

Claims

1. A squirrel olfactory training and cultivation device, comprising a box, a reward device (2), a control system, and a data acquisition system, characterized in that: The box body comprises an outer support frame (1), and a transparent plate with holes is installed between the outer support frames (1). The box body comprises an upper and a lower part, and the two parts are connected to each other by a ladder. A sealing plate driven by a motor is arranged at the opening of the upper part. The upper space is further arranged into a double-layer iron cage (14) structure, and is connected by the ladder. The double-layer iron cage (14) body is hoisted and limited in the upper structure by the outer support frame (1). The upper and lower outer edges of the double-layer iron cage (14) are provided with driving rings (12), and one or more driving motors (13) are arranged on the driving rings (12). A supporting wheel (15) is arranged between the driving rings (12) and the edge of the double-layer iron cage (14). The reward device (2) comprises two or more feeding devices (21), a water tank mounted on the inner side of a double-layer iron cage (14), and a washing liquid container. The feeding device (21) comprises a screw motor assembly fixed on a driving ring (12), a guide column (212) located between the driving rings (12), a driving bracket (213) limited on the guide column (212), a scent roller (214) and a cleaning brush (215) arranged on the driving bracket (213), a cleaning nozzle corresponding to each cleaning brush (215) arranged on the driving ring (12), and a feeding trough matched with the scent roller (214); the feeding trough is located at the uppermost part of the driving bracket (213) and has a funnel-shaped structure. An opening is arranged on one side of the bottom of the funnel, and a screw discharge structure is arranged on the opening.

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