Method for calculating the water consumption of a pet water fountain

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a method for calculating the water consumption of a pet water dispenser, comprising: S1: determining whether a pet has arrived, if not, obtaining an initial weight value and an initial stable timestamp; if yes, setting a countdown time and starting the countdown; S2: setting a required monitoring time interval, obtaining the weight difference before and after each time interval; S3: determining whether the weight difference is within a normal range, if yes, resetting the countdown time and repeating step S2; if not, calculating an abnormal value and adding it to obtain an abnormal total value; S4: determining whether the pet has left, if yes, obtaining the current weight value and the current stable timestamp, and calculating the difference between the two to obtain a preliminary water consumption; S5: determining whether the preliminary water consumption is within a normal water consumption range, if yes, the true water consumption; if not, calculating the difference between the preliminary water consumption and the abnormal total value to obtain the true water consumption. The total water consumption and the water consumption of each time are accurately calculated, effectively avoiding interference from external factors such as adding water or touching the pet water dispenser.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of drinking water data management technology, and in particular to a method for calculating the drinking water volume of pet water fountains. Background Technology

[0002] Pet water fountains are used to provide convenient drinking water for pets. Monitoring a pet's water intake allows you to understand their drinking habits and makes it easy to refill the fountain. Pets typically drink multiple times from the fountain, but current technology can only calculate the total amount of water consumed throughout the entire process, not the amount drunk at each individual drink. Furthermore, many factors can influence the amount of water a pet drinks each time, such as the pet's forelimbs touching the fountain or manual refilling, all of which can introduce errors into the calculation of each drink, thus affecting the accuracy of calculating the amount of water consumed at each drinking session.

[0003] For example, the invention patent with application number 202210233850.0 and patent title "Method and Device for Detecting Drinking Data Based on Arduino Microcontroller" describes a drinking data detection method based on an Arduino microcontroller, including: S1, obtaining the tilt angle z of the cup on the Z-axis in real time through a tilt sensor, and obtaining the side wall pressure p of the cup in real time through a flexible pressure sensor; S2, determining whether the side wall pressure p and tilt angle z are simultaneously 0 and stable for T seconds, if so, determining that the cup is in a stable state, and obtaining the first gravity of the cup at this time through a weighing sensor; S3, waiting for the side wall pressure p and tilt angle z to be simultaneously 0 and stable for T seconds again, and obtaining the second gravity of the cup at this time through a weighing sensor; S4, calculating the gravity difference based on the first gravity and the second gravity, and calculating the change in water volume in the cup based on the gravity difference; S5, determining whether the change in the weight of the cup is caused by the drinking action, if so, taking the change in water volume as the drinking volume, if not, taking the change in water volume as the pouring volume. Therefore, adding water to the cup during the drinking process will cause errors in the detected drinking data and affect the calculation of the amount of water consumed.

[0004] The above content is only used to help understand the technical solution of the present invention and does not represent an admission that the above content is prior art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To overcome the problems existing in the related technologies, this disclosure provides a method for calculating the water consumption of a pet water dispenser.

[0006] According to an embodiment of this disclosure, a method for calculating the water consumption of a pet water fountain is provided, comprising the following steps: S1: Determining whether a pet has arrived; if not, obtaining the initial weight value and initial stable timestamp of the pet water fountain; if yes, setting a countdown time and starting the countdown; S2: Setting the required monitoring time interval and obtaining the weight difference of the pet water fountain before and after each time interval; S3: Determining whether the weight difference is within the normal water consumption range of the pet within the time interval; if yes, determining that the pet is drinking normally, resetting the countdown time and starting the countdown again, and repeating step S2; if no, determining that the pet is drinking normally. If the pet's drinking is abnormal, calculate the abnormal value of the weight difference relative to the limit value in step S2 and sum them to obtain the total abnormal value; S4: Determine whether the pet has left. If so, obtain the current weight value and current stable timestamp of the pet water dispenser, calculate the difference between the current weight value and the initial weight value to obtain the initial water consumption of the pet from arrival to departure; S5: Determine whether the initial water consumption obtained in step S4 is within the normal water consumption range of a pet's single drinking session. If so, the initial water consumption is the pet's actual water consumption; if not, calculate the difference between the initial water consumption and the total abnormal value to obtain the actual water consumption.

[0007] In one implementation, in step S1, before the arrival of the pet is known, the weight value G1 of the pet water dispenser is collected by a weighing sensor and stabilized for a time T1, wherein the weight value G1 is the initial weight value and the time T1 is the initial stabilization timestamp.

[0008] In one implementation, in step S1, upon receiving information that a pet has arrived, a countdown timer N1 is assigned and the countdown begins.

[0009] In one implementation, in step S2, during the countdown time N1, the weight G_OLD_1 of the pet water fountain before N1-1 and the weight G_NEW_1 of the pet water fountain after N1-1 are obtained at intervals N1-1, and the weight difference G2 of the pet water fountain before and after N1-1 is calculated, where G2 = G_NEW_1 - G_OLD_1.

[0010] In one implementation, in step S3, the countdown time N2 is reset, wherein N2 is the same as or different from N1.

[0011] In one implementation, in step S4, the current stable timestamp T2 when the pet leaves is obtained, and the pet's drinking time T = T2 - T1 is calculated.

[0012] In one implementation, in step S3, if it is determined that the pet's drinking is abnormal, the abnormal values ​​of G2 exceeding or falling below the endpoint limit of the normal drinking range in each time interval are calculated and summed to obtain the total abnormal value G2_ERR1.

[0013] In one implementation, in step S4, the current weight value G3 of the pet water fountain is obtained, and the initial water consumption G4 = G3 - G1 is calculated; in step S5, if it is determined that G4 is outside the normal water consumption range of a pet in one drinking session, it is determined whether G2_ERR1 is equal to zero. If G2_ERR1 is equal to zero, it is determined that the pet's actual water consumption drink_amout = G4.

[0014] In one implementation, if G2_ERR1 is non-zero, then the pet's actual water intake is drink_amout = G4 - G2_ERR1.

[0015] In one implementation, a pyroelectric sensor is used to detect whether a pet arrives or leaves, and a weighing sensor is used to detect the weight of the pet water dispenser.

[0016] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this disclosure may include the following beneficial effects:

[0017] 1. The method for calculating the water consumption of a pet water fountain provided in this embodiment of the present disclosure can accurately calculate the amount of water consumed by a pet each time by setting the required monitoring time interval to monitor and know the weight difference before and after each time interval. This effectively avoids calculation errors caused by the pet adding water during drinking or the pet's front paws touching the pet water fountain, and thus can accurately calculate the total amount of water consumed by the pet. Furthermore, by knowing whether the pet arrives or leaves, the drinking time of the pet from arrival to departure can be accurately calculated.

[0018] 2. The weight sensor can accurately detect the weight of the pet water fountain in each step to ensure that the calculated amount of water consumed by the pet is true and accurate;

[0019] 3. By saving timestamps T1 and T2, the drinking time of a pet can be accurately calculated;

[0020] 4. By calculating and accumulating abnormal drinking values ​​at each time interval, the purpose of monitoring the pet's water consumption within each time interval is achieved. This allows monitoring of whether the pet's water consumption is normal each time from arrival to departure. By determining whether the total abnormal value G2_ERR1 is zero, it can be determined whether the calculated actual water consumption from arrival to departure (drink_amout) is equal to G4. The method is simple and accurate. By taking the difference between G4 and G2_ERR1, the actual water consumption can be calculated quickly and accurately.

[0021] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not intended to limit this disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0022] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this disclosure.

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic block diagram illustrating a method for calculating the water consumption of a pet water fountain according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0024] Figure 2 This is a simplified flowchart illustrating a method for calculating the water consumption of a pet water fountain according to an exemplary embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0025] Exemplary embodiments will now be described in detail, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description relates to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numerals in different drawings denote the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of this disclosure as detailed in the appended claims.

[0026] Example

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic block diagram illustrating a method for calculating the water consumption of a pet water fountain according to an exemplary embodiment; Figure 2 This is a simplified flowchart illustrating a method for calculating the water consumption of a pet water fountain according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0028] To solve related technical problems, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown in the figure, this disclosure provides a method for calculating the water consumption of a pet water fountain, including the following steps: S1: Determine whether a pet has arrived. If not, obtain the initial weight value and initial stable timestamp of the pet water fountain. If yes, set a countdown time and start the countdown. S2: Set the required monitoring time interval and obtain the weight difference of the pet water fountain before and after each time interval. S3: Determine whether the weight difference is within the normal water consumption range of the pet within the time interval. If yes, determine that the pet is drinking normally, reset the countdown time and start the countdown, and repeat step S2. If no, determine that the pet's drinking is abnormal, calculate the abnormal value of the weight difference relative to the limit value in step S2, and sum them to obtain the total abnormal value. S4: Determine whether the pet has left. If yes, obtain the current weight value and current stable timestamp of the pet water fountain, calculate the difference between the current weight value and the initial weight value, and obtain the preliminary water consumption of the pet from arrival to departure. S5: Determine whether the preliminary water intake obtained in step S4 is within the normal water intake range for a pet's single drinking session. If yes, the preliminary water intake is the pet's actual water intake; otherwise, calculate the difference between the preliminary water intake and the total abnormal value to obtain the actual water intake.

[0029] The method for calculating the water consumption of a pet water fountain provided in this embodiment is simple and accurate. By setting the required monitoring time interval, the method monitors and obtains the weight difference before and after each time interval, which can accurately calculate the amount of water a pet drinks each time. This effectively avoids calculation errors caused by the pet adding water while drinking or the pet's forelimbs touching the pet water fountain, and thus can accurately calculate the total amount of water consumed by the pet. Furthermore, by knowing whether the pet arrives or leaves, the method can accurately calculate the drinking time of the pet from arrival to departure.

[0030] In the method for calculating the drinking volume of a pet water fountain provided in this embodiment, a pyroelectric sensor can be used to detect whether a pet has come to the pet water fountain; alternatively, an image acquisition module can be used to acquire images of the pet to determine whether it has come to the pet water fountain. In this embodiment, a pyroelectric sensor is preferably used to detect whether a pet has come to the pet water fountain. A weight sensor can be used to detect the weight of the pet water fountain to obtain its weight value. Specifically, in step S1, a pyroelectric sensor detects whether a pet has come to the pet water fountain. When a pet gradually moves from a distance to the pet water fountain, it will be detected by the pyroelectric sensor. Before the pet moves to the pet water fountain, an initial weight value G1 of the pet water fountain is acquired by a weight sensor, and a timer can be used to record the stabilization time T1 of the initial weight value G1. It should be noted that the stabilization time T1 of the initial weight value G1 is a variable value. If the initial weight value G1 does not change, the stabilization time T1 is continuously updated.

[0031] In step S1, upon detecting that a pet has arrived at the pet water fountain, a countdown timer N1 is assigned and begins. The next step is step S2, where, during the N1 countdown timer, at intervals N1-1, the weight of the pet water fountain before N1-1 (G_OLD_1) and after N1-1 (G_NEW_1) are obtained via a weighing sensor. The weight difference G2 between the pet water fountains before and after N1-1 is then calculated: G2 = G_NEW_1 - G_OLD_1.

[0032] In step S3, if it is determined that the pet's water consumption is normal, the countdown time N2 is reset and the countdown begins. N2 may be the same as or different from N1, and can be set according to actual needs. If it is determined that the pet's water consumption is abnormal in each time interval, the abnormal value G2 before and after the abnormal time interval is calculated, and the abnormal value that exceeds or falls below the endpoint limit of the normal water consumption range in that time interval is calculated. These values ​​are then summed to obtain the total abnormal value G2_ERR1.

[0033] In step S4, when the pyroelectric sensor detects that the pet has left, the timestamp T2 of the stable state of the pet water dispenser can be obtained through a timer. The total drinking time from arrival to departure, T = T2 - T1, can then be calculated. The current weight G3 of the pet water dispenser is obtained through a weighing sensor. The difference between the current weight G3 and the initial weight G1 is calculated to obtain the initial water consumption G4 from arrival to departure, where G4 = G3 - G1. If the pyroelectric sensor detects that the pet has not yet left, it indicates that the pet's drinking time has been relatively prolonged, and step S3 can be repeated.

[0034] In step S5, it is determined whether G4 is within the normal water intake range of the pet from arrival to departure. If so, the pet's actual water intake is calculated as drink_amout = G4 = G3 - G1. If not, the pet's actual water intake is calculated as drink_amout = G4 - G2_ERR1.

[0035] For example, in the method for calculating the water consumption of a pet water fountain provided in this embodiment, N1 is set to 2 minutes, N2 to 2 minutes, and N1-1 to 3 seconds. It is understood that the values ​​of N1, N2, and N1-1 can be set based on actual needs; they are merely used here to aid in understanding the technical solution of this invention. In this embodiment, a pyroelectric sensor first detects whether a pet has arrived at the pet water fountain. If the pet has not arrived, a weighing sensor obtains the initial weight value G1 and the initial stable timestamp T1 of the pet water fountain. A 2-minute countdown is then set and started.

[0036] Upon detecting a pet's arrival, a 2-minute countdown is initiated, with each 3-second interval, a weighing sensor is used to determine the weight of the pet water fountain three seconds prior (G_OLD_1) and three seconds later (G_NEW_1). The weight difference G2 is calculated as G2 = G_NEW_1 - G_OLD_1. The system then determines whether the weight difference G2 falls within the pet's normal water intake range and calculates any abnormal G2 values, accumulating them to obtain a total abnormal value G2_ERR1. This total abnormal value is used to determine and calculate the pet's actual water intake. For example, if a pet's normal water intake range within 3 seconds is 5-20g, and the normal range for the entire period from arrival to departure is 50-200g, then if G2 within the first 3 seconds falls within the normal range, there is no abnormal value; that is, the abnormal value G2_1 within the first 3 seconds is 0. If G2 is below the normal drinking range within the second 3 seconds, for example, G2 = -2g, then the absolute value of G2 is outside the normal drinking range, and the abnormal value within the second 3 seconds is G2_2 = -|5 - (-2)| = -3g. If G2 is normal within each 3-second interval of the remaining countdown, that is, the abnormal value G2_N = 0 in the Nth (N>2) 3-second interval, the total abnormal value G2_ERR1 = G2_1 + G2_2 + G2_N = -3g. At this time, the initial drinking volume G4 is not within the normal drinking range, so we check whether the total abnormal value G2_ERR1 is equal to zero. Since G2_ERR1 is not equal to zero, it is determined that 3g of water was added to the pet water dispenser within the first 3 seconds, and the pet's actual drinking volume drink_amout = G4 - G2_ERR1.

[0037] In the above scenario, if G2 is below the normal drinking range during the second 3 seconds (e.g., G2 = -2g), then the abnormal value during the second 3 seconds is G2_2 = -|5 - (-2)| = -3g. If G2 is abnormal and exceeds the normal drinking range only during the twentieth 3-second countdown (e.g., G2 = 23g), then the abnormal value during the twentieth 3-second countdown is G2_20 = -|20 - 23| = 3g. Therefore, the total abnormal value G2_ERR1 = G2_2 + G2_20 = 0, indicating that the pet drank normally during the first 3 seconds, but its forelimbs contacted the water dispenser during the second 3 seconds, causing an increase in the dispenser's weight and consequently a decrease in the pet's water intake. If the pet removes its forelimbs from the water dispenser during the twentieth 3-second countdown, the dispenser's weight decreases, resulting in an increase in the pet's water intake. However, the pet's total actual water intake throughout the entire process is drink_amout = G4.

[0038] If the total abnormal value G2_ERR1 is not equal to zero, the difference between G4 and the total abnormal value G2_ERR1 can be used to obtain the pet's actual water intake (drink_amout). This is simple and convenient, and can monitor the pet's water intake at each time interval. It can also accurately and quickly calculate the pet's actual water intake (drink_amout) from the moment the pet arrives until it leaves.

[0039] In summary, the method for calculating the water consumption of a pet water fountain provided in this disclosure is simple and convenient. By knowing when the pet arrives and leaves, the calculated water consumption and drinking time are ensured to be accurate and effective. Furthermore, this method can accurately calculate the pet's actual water consumption (drink_amout) and total drinking time (T) from arrival to departure. In this method, the required monitoring time interval is set based on actual needs. For example, the monitoring time interval can be set based on the pet's drinking time per sip (i.e., per mouthful) to monitor the pet's water consumption each time, ensuring the accuracy of the calculated water consumption and drinking time for each instance and avoiding calculation errors caused by factors such as the pet's forelimbs touching the water fountain or manual refilling. If any anomalies are detected during each watering interval monitored by the pet, the total anomaly value G2_ERR1 is calculated by summing the anomaly values ​​for each instance. The accuracy of the pet's total water consumption (drink_amout) from arrival to departure is determined by checking if G2_ERR1 equals zero. If G2_ERR1 equals zero, the pet's actual water consumption (drink_amout) equals the difference in weight between the water fountain before and after the pet's arrival (i.e., drink_amout = G4 = G3 - G1). If G2_ERR1 is not zero, the difference between G4 and G2_ERR1 is used to calculate the pet's actual water consumption (drink_amout).

[0040] It is understood that in this disclosure, "multiple" refers to two or more, and other quantifiers are similar. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, and B alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship. The singular forms "a," "the," and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0041] It is further understood that the terms "first," "second," etc., are used to describe various types of information, but this information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from one another, and do not indicate a specific order or degree of importance. In fact, the expressions "first," "second," etc., are completely interchangeable. For example, without departing from the scope of this disclosure, first information can also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information can also be referred to as first information.

[0042] It is further understood that the terms “center,” “longitudinal,” “lateral,” “front,” “rear,” “up,” “down,” “left,” “right,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” “inner,” and “outer,” etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this embodiment and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation.

[0043] It can be further understood that, unless otherwise specified, "connection" includes both direct connections where no other components exist between the two parties and indirect connections where other components exist between them.

[0044] It is further understood that although operations are described in a specific order in the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of this disclosure, this should not be construed as requiring these operations to be performed in the specific order or serial order shown, or requiring all of the shown operations to be performed to obtain the desired result. In certain environments, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.

[0045] Other embodiments of this disclosure will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this disclosure that follow the general principles of this disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The specification and examples are to be considered exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of this disclosure are indicated by the following claims.

[0046] It should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the precise structures described above and shown in the accompanying drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from its scope. The scope of this disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for calculating the water consumption of a pet water fountain, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1: Determine if the pet has arrived. If not, obtain the initial weight and initial stable timestamp of the pet water fountain. If yes, set a countdown timer and start the countdown. S2: Set the required monitoring time interval and obtain the weight difference of the pet water fountain before and after each time interval; S3: Determine whether the weight difference is within the normal water intake range of the pet within the time interval. If yes, determine that the pet is drinking normally, reset the countdown time and start the countdown, and repeat step S2. If no, determine that the pet is drinking abnormally, calculate the abnormal value of the weight difference relative to the limit value in step S2 and sum them to obtain the total abnormal value. S4: Determine if the pet has left. If so, obtain the current weight value and current stable timestamp of the pet water fountain, calculate the difference between the current weight value and the initial weight value, and obtain the initial amount of water consumed by the pet from arrival to departure. S5: Determine whether the preliminary water intake obtained in step S4 is within the normal water intake range for a pet's single drinking session. If yes, the preliminary water intake is the pet's actual water intake. If no, calculate the difference between the preliminary water intake and the total abnormal value to obtain the actual water intake.

2. The method for calculating the water consumption of the pet water fountain according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S1, before the arrival of the pet is known, the weight value G1 of the pet water dispenser is collected by a weighing sensor and stabilized for a time T1, where the weight value G1 is the initial weight value and the time T1 is the initial stabilization timestamp.

3. The method for calculating the water consumption of the pet water dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S1, upon receiving information that a pet has arrived, a countdown timer N1 is assigned and the countdown begins.

4. The method for calculating the water consumption of the pet water dispenser according to claim 2, characterized in that: In step S2, during the countdown time N1, the weight of the pet water fountain before N1-1 and the weight of the pet water fountain after N1-1 are obtained at intervals N1-1, and the weight difference G2 between the pet water fountain before and after N1-1 is calculated, where G2 = G_NEW_1 - G_OLD_1.

5. The method for calculating the water consumption of the pet water dispenser according to claim 4, characterized in that: In step S3, the countdown time N2 is reset, where N2 may be the same as or different from N1.

6. The method for calculating the water consumption of the pet water fountain according to claim 4, characterized in that: In step S4, the current stable timestamp T2 when the pet leaves is obtained, and the pet's drinking time T = T2 - T1 is calculated.

7. The method for calculating the water consumption of the pet water fountain according to claim 4, characterized in that: In step S3, if the pet's drinking is determined to be abnormal, the abnormal values ​​of G2 exceeding or falling below the endpoint limit of the normal drinking range in each time interval are calculated and summed to obtain the total abnormal value G2_ERR1.

8. The method for calculating the water consumption of the pet water fountain according to claim 7, characterized in that: In step S4, the current weight value G3 of the pet water fountain is obtained, and the initial water consumption G4 = G3 - G1 is calculated. In step S5, if it is determined that G4 is outside the normal water intake range for a pet in one drinking session, then it is determined whether G2_ERR1 is equal to zero. If G2_ERR1 is equal to zero, then it is determined that the pet's actual water intake drink_amout = G4.

9. The method for calculating the water consumption of the pet water dispenser according to claim 8, characterized in that: If G2_ERR1 is non-zero, then the pet's actual water intake is drink_amout = G4 - G2_ERR1.

10. The method for calculating the water consumption of the pet water fountain according to claim 1, characterized in that: The arrival and departure of pets are detected by pyroelectric sensors, and the weight of the pet water dispenser is detected by weighing sensors.

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