Drinking water status determination device and storage medium

Abstract

This provides a drinking status determination device that, compared to previous methods, suppresses false detections of animals' drinking behavior. The drinking status determination device disclosed herein includes: a change rate calculation unit (54A) that calculates the change in gastric temperature (F) measured by a temperature sensor (21) disposed in the stomach (10S) of an animal per unit time, i.e., the temperature change rate (ΔV); a first timing determination unit (54B) that determines the timing when the temperature change rate (ΔV) exceeds a preset first predetermined change amount (V1) and becomes negative as a first timing (T1); a second timing determination unit (54C) that determines the timing after the first timing (T1) when the gastric temperature (F) is above a preset predetermined temperature (F1) and the absolute value of the temperature change rate (ΔV) falls within a preset second predetermined change amount (V2) as a second timing (T2); and a drinking value calculation unit (54D) that calculates a substitute value for the amount of water consumed during the time from the first timing (T1) to the second timing (T2), i.e., the drinking value (Q).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a drinking status determination device, a drinking status determination procedure, and a storage medium for determining the drinking status of animals. Background Technology

[0002] Conventionally, as such a drinking status determination device, techniques for determining an animal's drinking status by means of a position sensor and an acceleration sensor mounted on the animal are known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent documents

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-007613 (paragraph 0042) Summary of the Invention

[0006] The problem that the invention aims to solve

[0007] However, an animal's drinking behavior is closely related to its health, making it crucial for production management to monitor its drinking status. However, in conventional drinking status detection devices, even animals that are not actually drinking, for example, may be misjudged as drinking even when they are engaged in activities equivalent to drinking at the watering spot. Therefore, there is a need to develop technologies to suppress such problems.

[0008] Solution for solving the problem

[0009] The first solution of this disclosure, which addresses the aforementioned issues, includes a drinking status determination device comprising: a rate of change calculation unit that calculates the rate of change of stomach temperature per unit time, measured by a temperature sensor disposed in the stomach of an animal; a first timing determination unit that determines a first timing when the rate of change of temperature exceeds a predetermined first specified amount of change and becomes negative; a second timing determination unit that determines a second timing when, after the first timing, the stomach temperature is above a predetermined temperature and the absolute value of the rate of change of temperature falls within a predetermined second specified amount of change; and a drinking value calculation unit that calculates a substitute value for the amount of water consumed during the period from the first timing to the second timing, i.e., a drinking value.

[0010] The second aspect of this disclosure relates to a drinking status determination procedure that enables a computer to function as a drinking status determination device. This device includes: a rate of change calculation unit that calculates the rate of change of stomach temperature per unit time, measured by a temperature sensor disposed within the animal's stomach; a first timing determination unit that determines a first timing when the rate of change of temperature exceeds a predetermined first specified amount and becomes negative; a second timing determination unit that determines a second timing when, after the first timing, the stomach temperature is above a predetermined temperature and the absolute value of the rate of change of temperature falls within a predetermined second specified amount; and a drinking value calculation unit that estimates the amount of water consumed or its substitute value during the time from the first timing to the second timing. Attached Figure Description

[0011] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram showing the overall structure of a monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 2 This is a block diagram showing the electrical structure of the intragastric terminal and monitoring terminal.

[0013] Figure 3 This is a block diagram representing the structure controlling the terminal in the stomach.

[0014] Figure 4 This is a block diagram representing the control structure of the monitoring terminal.

[0015] Figure 5 This is a diagram representing an example of data related to drinking water conditions stored in the data storage unit.

[0016] Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating how drinking water values ​​are calculated.

[0017] Figure 7 This is a flowchart representing the data input and processing.

[0018] Figure 8 This is a flowchart of the procedure for determining drinking water conditions.

[0019] Figure 9 This is a graph illustrating the changes in the total monthly water consumption and the number of water consumptions as described in the second embodiment.

[0020] Figure 10 It is a graph representing the data obtained by histogramting the drinking water intervals of a day.

[0021] Figure 11 (A) and Figure 11 (B) in the figure represents a method for calculating drinking water values ​​in other embodiments. Detailed Implementation

[0022] [First Implementation]

[0023] Reference Figures 1-8 The first embodiment of the monitoring system 100 disclosed herein will be described below. Figure 1 The monitoring system 100 of this embodiment includes: a plurality of in-stomach terminals 20, which are placed in the stomachs 10S (specifically, the first stomach or the second stomach) of multiple cows 10; a monitoring terminal 50, which monitors the information of the cows 10 obtained by the in-stomach terminals 20; and a user terminal 70, which receives the information obtained by the in-stomach terminals 20 via the monitoring terminal 50. They are connected via a communication network 101 including wireless base stations 400 and 401. It should be noted that the monitoring terminal 50 is equivalent to the "drinking status determination device" in the technical solution.

[0024] like Figure 2 As shown, the intragastric terminal 20 includes a temperature sensor 21, a device control unit 22, and a wireless circuit 23, all housed in a casing (not shown) to protect them from gastric acid and other irritants within the stomach 10S. The detection unit of the temperature sensor 21 protrudes from the casing, measures the temperature within the stomach 10S of the cow 10, and transmits the measurement result to the device control unit 22. The device control unit 22 then causes the wireless circuit 23 to wirelessly transmit a signal based on the measurement result from the temperature sensor 21. It should be noted that the intragastric terminal 20 may also include, for example, a pressure sensor and an acceleration sensor, wirelessly transmitting information other than the temperature within the stomach 10S as part of the cow 10's status.

[0025] The device control unit 22 consists of a CPU 22A and a memory 22B. The CPU 22A is connected to devices such as the wireless circuit 23 and the temperature sensor 21, and controls these devices to execute a prescribed signal processing program. The memory 22B stores the signal processing program and an identification number assigned to each of the intragastric terminals 20. Furthermore, the CPU 22A acts as a controller by executing the signal processing program. Figure 3 The trigger generation unit 24, data generation unit 25, and data transmission unit 26, etc., are used to perform their functions.

[0026] It should be noted that the intragastric terminal 20 is equipped with a battery (not shown) that supplies power to the device control unit 22, the wireless circuit 23, and the temperature sensor 21. Additionally, a weight (not shown) is housed within the casing to ensure that the intragastric terminal 20 remains stably positioned within the stomach 10S of the cow 10.

[0027] Specifically, the intragastric terminal 20 operates as follows: That is, when a signal processing procedure is executed in the intragastric terminal 20, such as... Figure 3As shown, the trigger generation unit 24 generates measurement triggers at regular intervals (e.g., every 1 [minute]), and whenever these measurement triggers are generated, the temperature measurement of the stomach of the cow 10 within 10 seconds is performed by the temperature sensor 21. Furthermore, the data generation unit 25 generates temperature data D1, which is information about the temperature within the stomach within 10 seconds, based on the measurement results of the temperature sensor 21, and assigns it to the data transmission unit 26.

[0028] The data transmission unit 26 generates transmission data D2 by storing the identification number and temperature data D1 of the intragastric terminal 20 in a data frame of a preset data length. Here, the memory 22B temporarily stores the temperature data D1 generated by the data generation unit 25, and the data transmission unit 26 saves multiple temperature data D1 read from the memory 22B into the transmission data D2 (in this embodiment, for example, 10 temperature data D1 are saved). Moreover, the trigger generation unit 24 generates a transmission trigger every predetermined period (for example, every 10 [minutes]), and whenever a transmission trigger is generated, the data transmission unit 26 wirelessly transmits the generated transmission data D2 using the wireless circuit 23.

[0029] Data D2 transmitted from multiple intragastric terminals 20 is received by monitoring terminal 50. Specifically, as follows: Figure 1 As shown, the transmitted data D2 from the gastric terminal 20 is first received by a gateway 500 installed in the cattle pen or pasture where multiple cattle 10 are kept. The gateway 500 functions as a relay base station and performs protocol conversion. Furthermore, the gateway 500 transmits the transmitted data D2 from the gastric terminal 20 to the monitoring terminal 50 via a general communication line 300. In this embodiment, one gateway 500 is connected to one monitoring terminal 50, but for example, gateways 500 can be installed for each cattle pen or pasture, with multiple gateways 500 connected to one monitoring terminal 50.

[0030] The monitoring terminal 50, composed of computers such as server computers and personal computers, determines the presence of abnormalities in the stomach terminal 20 of cow 10 based on the temperature data D1 contained in the transmitted data D2 from the stomach terminal 20, and notifies the user terminal 70 (see reference). Figure 1 ). Monitoring terminal 50, such as Figure 2 As shown, it is configured with at least a communication circuit 51, a control unit 50A including a CPU 52, and a storage medium 60. It should be noted that the monitoring terminal 50 can also be a cloud server composed of multiple servers.

[0031] The communication circuit 51 receives the transmitted data D2 from the intragastric terminal 20 via the general communication line 300, and also transmits and receives data with the user terminal 70. It should be noted that the communication circuit 51 is equivalent to the "data receiving unit" in the technical solution.

[0032] Storage medium 60 consists of RAM, hard disk, flash memory, etc. Figure 4 As shown, the device includes a data storage unit 61, an identification number storage unit 62, and a program storage unit 63. The data storage unit 61 stores various data determined by the data parsing unit 54 (described later) based on the temperature data D1 obtained from the gastric terminal 20. The identification number storage unit 62 stores the identification number of each gastric terminal 20, enabling identification of each gastric terminal 20 based on the identification number. Furthermore, the program storage unit 63 stores the drinking status determination program PG1 (described later), and the CPU 52 executes the drinking status determination program PG1 to enable the monitoring terminal 50 to function as a drinking status determination device for determining the drinking status of the cow 10.

[0033] It should be noted that the drinking water status determination program PG1 is not limited to the above structure. For example, it can also be a structure in which the drinking water status determination program PG1 is pre-stored in a CD-ROM, USB memory or other non-temporary storage medium, and the CPU52 reads the drinking water status determination program PG1 and executes the program. Alternatively, it can be a structure in which the CPU52 executes the drinking water status determination program PG1 through a general communication line 300 using a service such as an application program.

[0034] CPU52 as Figure 4 The control block shown performs the functions. For example, it includes a data acquisition unit 53 that acquires transmission data D2 sent from multiple intragastric terminals 20 via a communication circuit 51, a data parsing unit 54 that functions when the drinking status determination program PG1 is executed, and an exception determination unit 55.

[0035] The data acquisition unit 53 performs data acquisition processing. In this data acquisition processing, it receives transmission data D2 sent from each intragastric terminal 20 and appends the reception time. It also stores the temperature data D1 contained in the intragastric terminal 20 separately in the buffer memory 53A according to each identification number. Here, in this embodiment, as described above, one transmission data D2 contains 10 temperature data D1s. In the data acquisition processing, the average value of the intragastric temperature F contained in these temperature data D1s is calculated. This average value is used as the intragastric temperature F of the transmission data D2, and the reception time is used as the measurement time t of the intragastric temperature F. These values ​​are then stored in the buffer memory 53A.

[0036] The drinking water status determination procedure PG1 is executed automatically, for example, once a day at a predetermined time. Furthermore, when the drinking water status determination procedure PG1 is executed, the data analysis unit 54 generates drinking water status-related data based on the gastric temperature F at each measurement time t of the day to determine the drinking water status, and the anomaly determination unit 55 determines whether there is an anomaly in the drinking water status based on this drinking water status-related data. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the drinking water status determination procedure PG1 is executed once a day, but it could also be executed multiple times a day.

[0037] Data parsing section 54, etc. Figure 4 As shown, it has a change rate calculation unit 54A, a first timing determination unit 54B, a second timing determination unit 54C, and a drinking water value calculation unit 54D.

[0038] The rate of change calculation unit 54A obtains the intragastric temperature F at each measurement time t from the buffer memory 53A and calculates the change in intragastric temperature F per unit time Δt. In this embodiment, the unit time Δt is used as the receiving interval of the transmission data D2 of the data acquisition unit 53. For example, the rate of temperature change ΔV(n) at measurement time t(n) is calculated by subtracting the intragastric temperature F(n-1) at the immediate preceding measurement time t(n-1) from the intragastric temperature F(n). The calculated rate of temperature change ΔV at each measurement time t is stored in the data storage unit 61 according to each identification number. Figure 5 The image shows an example of drinking water status data stored in the data storage unit 61, which stores the temperature change rate ΔV at each measurement time according to each identification number.

[0039] The first timing determination unit 54B determines the drinking start time based on the change in the rate of temperature change ΔV. Specifically, the first timing T1 is defined as the measurement time t when the rate of temperature change ΔV exceeds a pre-set first predetermined change amount V1 and becomes negative. In this embodiment, the drinking start time (first timing T1) is estimated based on the situation that "the stomach temperature F drops sharply when the cow 10 changes from a non-drinking state to a drinking state." It should be noted that the first predetermined change amount V1 is stored in the program storage unit 63; in this embodiment, the first predetermined change amount V1 is, for example, -0.3.

[0040] It should be noted that if the temperature change rate ΔV does not exceed the first predetermined change amount V1 and becomes negative at the measurement time t, it means that the person has not drunk water for a whole day. However, in this case, it is possible that the identification number has experienced an abnormal situation where it cannot drink water, or that the temperature sensor 21 has malfunctioned. In either case, emergency handling is required, therefore, the abnormality handling unit 56 described later (see [reference]) is used. Figure 4The system notifies the user terminal 70. Specifically, it determines the gastric terminal 20 corresponding to the identification number based on the data stored in the identification number storage unit 62, generates abnormality judgment data including the gastric terminal 20, the determination time, and information related to the abnormality, and sends the abnormality judgment data to the user terminal 70.

[0041] The second timing determination unit 54C determines the period during which the gastric temperature F deviates from the gastric temperature F when water has not entered the stomach for 10 seconds due to drinking, based on the change in the rate of temperature change ΔV. Specifically, the second timing T2 is defined as the measurement time t(T1), after which the gastric temperature F reaches a predetermined first specified temperature F1 or higher, and the absolute value of the rate of temperature change ΔV at this time reaches a predetermined second specified change amount V2. The interval from the first timing T1 to the second timing T2 is defined as the drinking interval. In this embodiment, the gastric temperature F recovers and slowly rises when the cow 10 changes from a drinking state to a non-drinking state, and the point when this rise reaches saturation is estimated as the end time of the drinking interval (second timing T2). It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the first specified temperature F1 and the second specified change amount V2 are stored in the program storage unit 63. In this embodiment, for example, the first specified temperature F1 is 38.0 degrees, and the second specified change amount V2 is, for example, 0.1.

[0042] In addition, the second timing determination part 54C, such as Figure 5 The drinking flag is set as shown, with the drinking range set to 1 and the non-drinking range set to 0, and is stored in the data storage unit 61.

[0043] The water consumption calculation unit 54D determines the water consumption amount for each water consumption interval. In this embodiment, utilizing the fact that "the absolute value of the change in gastric temperature F due to water consumption is proportional to the water consumption amount," the sum of the differences obtained by subtracting the gastric temperature F at each measurement time t of each water consumption interval from the gastric temperature F(T2) at the second time point T2 of each water consumption interval is calculated as the water consumption value Q, and used as a substitute value for the water consumption amount. That is, as... Figure 6 As shown, the drinking value Q is calculated by summing the areas of histograms obtained by representing the distribution of the gastric temperature F at each measurement time t within the drinking interval using the gastric temperature F(T2) at the second time T2 as a reference, and using the area of ​​a rectangle. Furthermore, the drinking value Q is stored in the data storage unit 61 according to each identification number (see reference). Figure 5 Here, the gastric temperature F(T2) at the second timing T2 is equivalent to the "reference temperature" in the technical solution.

[0044] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the gastric temperature F(T2) at the second time point T2 of each drinking interval is used as the reference temperature, and the gastric temperature F at each measurement time t of the drinking interval is subtracted. However, the reference temperature may also be the gastric temperature F(T1) at the first time point T1 of each drinking interval, or it may be the average of the gastric temperature F(T1) at the first time point T1 and the gastric temperature F(T2) at the second time point T2.

[0045] The anomaly determination unit 55 determines anomalies based on data related to drinking conditions generated by the data parsing unit 54. The anomaly determination unit 55 includes an overall anomaly determination mechanism 55A and an anomaly individual extraction mechanism 55B. The overall anomaly determination mechanism 55A determines whether there is an anomaly in the drinking conditions of the entire herd, and the anomaly individual extraction mechanism 55B extracts individuals with abnormal drinking conditions from the herd by comparing them with the overall herd.

[0046] The overall anomaly determination mechanism 55A calculates, for example, the average of the total daily water consumption Qt for all identified numbers in each cattle pen as the overall average value Qa1, and calculates the difference between this overall average value Qa1 and a preset overall benchmark value Qs. If the difference is less than the preset overall benchmark difference value ΔQ1, the cattle in that pen are determined to have no abnormal water consumption. On the other hand, if the difference is greater than the overall benchmark difference value ΔQ1, the cattle in that pen are determined to have an abnormal water consumption.

[0047] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the abnormal structure is determined based on the difference between the average of the total water consumption values ​​Qt of all identified numbers in each cattle pen (overall average value Qa1) and the overall baseline value Qs. However, the abnormal structure can also be determined based on the difference between the median of the total water consumption values ​​Qt of all identified numbers in each cattle pen and the overall baseline value Qs. Furthermore, the overall baseline value Qs can also be determined for each cattle pen. In addition, while an overall baseline value Qs is preset in this embodiment, the overall baseline value Qs can also be the average or median of the total water consumption values ​​Qt of all identified numbers in all cattle pens.

[0048] For example, the abnormal individual extraction mechanism 55B compares the difference between the overall average value Qa1 calculated by the overall abnormality determination mechanism 55A and the total daily drinking water value Qt of each identification number with a pre-set individual benchmark difference value ΔQ2. If the difference is smaller than the individual benchmark difference value ΔQ2, the identification number is determined to be abnormal. On the other hand, if the difference is larger than the individual benchmark difference value ΔQ2, the identification number is determined to be abnormal.

[0049] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the abnormal structure is determined by the difference between the total drinking water value Qt of all identification numbers in the cattle pen (overall average value Qa1), but the presence or absence of an anomaly can also be determined by the difference between the total drinking water value Qt of all identification numbers in all cattle pens.

[0050] Furthermore, if the anomaly determination unit 55 determines an anomaly, the anomaly processing unit 56 notifies the user terminal 70. Specifically, the gastric terminal 20 corresponding to the identified anomaly is determined from the identification number storage unit 62, anomaly judgment data including the gastric terminal 20, the determination time, and information related to the anomaly is generated, and the anomaly judgment data is sent to the user terminal 70. It should be noted that, not only in cases where an anomaly is determined, but also in cases where no anomaly exists, the anomaly judgment data can be sent. Figure 5 The data shown is notified to the user terminal 70.

[0051] It should be noted that, alternatively, the identification number storage unit 62 may pre-store the livestock identification information (e.g., cattle pen number, appearance photos, etc.) of each cow 10 that has these stomach terminals 20 in place for each stomach terminal 20, and the anomaly processing unit 56 may notify the user terminal 70 together with the livestock identification information and anomaly judgment data.

[0052] User terminal 70 can be a portable information terminal such as a personal computer, tablet, or smartphone owned by the livestock owner, or any general communication device capable of communicating with monitoring terminal 50. As described above, user terminal 70 receives notifications such as anomaly detection data from monitoring terminal 50. Alternatively, it can be configured so that user terminal 70 can access monitoring terminal 50 and freely view information such as the drinking status of each cow 10 on monitoring terminal 50.

[0053] the following, Figure 7 and Figure 8 This shows an example of the data acquisition process performed by the data acquisition unit 53 and the drinking water status determination program PG1 executed by the CPU 52 of the control unit 50A.

[0054] Data input processing such as Figure 7 This is performed each time transmitted data D2 is received from multiple intragastric terminals 20, as shown (in S11, "Yes"). Furthermore, an identification number and temperature data D1 are obtained from the received transmitted data D2 (S12), and the reception time of transmitted data D2 is appended as the measurement time t (S13). Moreover, the average intragastric temperature contained in the temperature data D1 is calculated, and this average value is taken as the intragastric temperature F. The intragastric temperature F, along with the measurement time t, is stored in the buffer memory 53A (S14).

[0055] The PG1 system automatically initiates a hydration status determination procedure once daily at a predetermined time. Figure 8 As shown, in step S21, the measurement time t(n) and gastric temperature F(n) for each day are obtained from the buffer memory 53A according to each identification number. Moreover, the rate of temperature change ΔV(n) at measurement time t(n) is calculated from F(n-1)-F(n) as the change in gastric temperature F per unit time Δt (S22).

[0056] Next, it is determined whether there is a temperature change rate ΔV(n) that exceeds the first predetermined change amount V1 and becomes negative (S23). If there is a temperature change rate ΔV(n) that exceeds the first predetermined change amount V1 and becomes negative ("Yes" in S23), the measurement time t(n) at this time is taken as the first timing T1 and determined as the drinking start time (S24). Here, if there is no temperature change rate ΔV(n) that exceeds the first predetermined change amount V1 and becomes negative ("No" in S23), as mentioned above, a malfunction of the temperature sensor 21 or an abnormal situation of not being able to drink water occurs. Therefore, an abnormal notification process is performed in step S28, and an abnormal notification is sent to the user terminal 70. It should be noted that the CPU 52 executing steps S21 and S22 is equivalent to the aforementioned change rate calculation unit 54A, and the CPU 52 executing steps S23 and S24 is equivalent to the aforementioned first timing determination unit 54B.

[0057] Furthermore, the second timing T2 is defined as the measurement time t(n) after the measurement time t(T1) determined as the first timing T1, where the gastric temperature F(n) reaches or exceeds a predetermined first specified temperature F1, and the absolute value of the temperature change rate ΔV(n) at this time is within a second specified change amount V2. This second timing T2 is then determined as the end time of the drinking interval (S25). Here, the CPU 52 executing steps S21 and S25 corresponds to the aforementioned second timing determination unit 54C.

[0058] Next, step S26 is executed to calculate the drinking value Q, which serves as a substitute value for the amount of water consumed. Specifically, in the drinking interval where the drinking flag is 1, the sum of the differences obtained by subtracting the gastric temperature F at each measurement time t in that drinking interval from the gastric temperature F(T2) at the second time T2 is calculated as the drinking value Q. Here, the CPU 52 executing steps S21 and S26 corresponds to the aforementioned drinking value calculation unit 54D.

[0059] Next, based on the determined first time point T1, second time point T2, and water consumption value Q, and other data related to the drinking status, an anomaly determination process is executed (S27). Furthermore, an anomaly notification process is executed (S28) which generates anomaly-related information obtained from the anomaly determination process, along with the gastric terminal 20 and the determination time, as anomaly detection data, and notifies the user terminal 70 of this data. Here, the CPU 52 executing step S27 corresponds to the aforementioned anomaly determination unit 55, and the CPU 52 executing step S28 corresponds to the aforementioned anomaly processing unit 56.

[0060] The description related to the structure of the monitoring system 100 of this embodiment is as described above. In the monitoring system 100 of this embodiment, a stomach terminal 20 is placed in the stomach 10S of multiple cows 10, and information about the stomach temperature F is wirelessly transmitted to the monitoring terminal 50. In this embodiment, by utilizing the situation that "the stomach temperature F decreases when water enters the stomach 10S while the cows 10 are drinking," the monitoring terminal 50 can determine that drinking has occurred when water enters the stomach 10S based on the change in stomach temperature F. Therefore, compared with the conventional structure that determines drinking based on the activity of the cows 10, the problem of "misjudging drinking as if no drinking has actually occurred" can be suppressed.

[0061] Furthermore, in the monitoring terminal 50 of this embodiment, by utilizing the situation that "the stomach temperature F drops sharply immediately after drinking water," the timing when the rate of temperature change ΔV of the stomach temperature F per unit time exceeds a pre-set first predetermined change amount V1 and becomes negative can be used as the first timing T1 to determine the start time of drinking water. This also allows for the determination of the drinking frequency and drinking interval.

[0062] Furthermore, in this embodiment, by utilizing the situation that "when drinking ends, the gastric temperature F recovers and slowly rises, and soon the rise saturates," the moment when the gastric temperature F is above a predetermined first specified temperature F1 after the first moment T1, and the absolute value of the temperature change rate ΔV falls within a predetermined second specified change amount V2, can be used as the second moment T2 to determine the end time of the drinking interval. This allows for the determination of the drinking time period (drinking interval).

[0063] Furthermore, in this embodiment, by utilizing the fact that "the amount of water consumed is proportional to the absolute value of the change in gastric temperature F due to water consumption," the amount of water consumed in each drinking interval can be calculated by summing the absolute values ​​of the differences between the gastric temperature F(T2) at the second time point T2 and the gastric temperature F at each measurement time t within that drinking interval, and this sum is used as the drinking value Q. Through this data related to drinking status, changes in daily drinking status can be monitored.

[0064] Furthermore, in this embodiment, information on the stomach temperature F measured by multiple stomach terminals 20 is collected at the monitoring terminal 50 to generate data related to drinking status, thus enabling comprehensive monitoring of multiple cattle 10 raised in multiple pens or pastures. At this time, the monitoring terminal 50 obtains information on the stomach temperature F from the multiple stomach terminals 20 according to each identification number, thus enabling the identification and monitoring of multiple cattle 10. Moreover, in this embodiment, the anomaly determination unit 55 of the monitoring terminal 50 identifies stomach terminals 20 with identification numbers that exhibit data anomalies related to drinking status, thereby reducing the burden on livestock owners.

[0065] Furthermore, the anomaly determination unit 55 in this embodiment includes an overall anomaly determination mechanism 55A, which determines whether there is an anomaly in the overall drinking status of the cattle in a given pen by checking whether the difference between the average of the total drinking values ​​Qt (overall average value Qa1) identified and numbered for each pen and the overall baseline value Qs exceeds the overall baseline difference value ΔQ1. If this difference exceeds the overall baseline difference value ΔQ1, the total water consumption of the cattle in that pen is reduced or excessive. Therefore, it is possible to determine, for example, an anomaly such as a malfunction of the drinking station equipment, the inability of the cattle to drink due to hygiene problems, or the inability of the cattle to drink due to poor health caused by infectious diseases, or excessive water consumption. Thus, the overall drinking status of the cattle in a pen can be improved by adding drinking stations, improving the hygiene environment within the pen, or treating infectious diseases.

[0066] Furthermore, the anomaly determination unit 55 of this embodiment includes an anomaly individual extraction mechanism 55B, which determines whether there is an anomaly in the drinking status of the identified number by whether the difference between the aforementioned overall average value Qa1 and the total drinking value Qt of each identified number exceeds an individual benchmark difference value ΔQ2. Here, if the difference exceeds the individual benchmark difference value ΔQ2, the total drinking amount of the identified number is reduced or excessive. Therefore, for example, it is possible to determine anomalies such as cattle 10 fighting for position, being unable to stand up due to injury or disease and thus unable to drink, being unable to drink due to poor health, or drinking excessively. As a result, it is possible to identify the cattle 10 with the identified number, change the cattle pen, provide treatment, etc., and improve the drinking status of the identified cattle 10.

[0067] [Second Implementation]

[0068] In this embodiment, the anomaly determination unit 55 has a separate determination unit 57 that monitors changes in the daily drinking water status for each identification number. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in this respect. Hereinafter, regarding the monitoring terminal 50V of this embodiment, only the structure that differs from the monitoring terminal 50 of the first embodiment will be described.

[0069] The individual judgment unit 57 monitors the daily changes in drinking water status for each identification number over a specified period, such as a week's amount or a month's amount. Specifically, for example, it retrieves data related to the drinking water status for a month's amount for each identification number from the data storage unit 61 and generates... Figure 9 The chart shown illustrates the changes in total water intake (Qt) and the number of times N is consumed. Therefore, for each identification number, a standard lifestyle can be tracked, and changes in health status can be monitored individually. In this embodiment, the average value μ for the total water intake Qt and the number of times N is calculated for one month. A standard deviation σ is obtained based on this average value μ. If the deviation does not exceed μ ± σ, the water intake status of that identification number is considered normal; conversely, if it exceeds μ ± σ, an abnormality is considered to exist. Examples of such abnormalities include cattle fighting for position, being unable to stand and drink due to injury or illness, or excessive water consumption due to poor health.

[0070] In addition, such as Figure 10 As shown, if a histogram of watering intervals for each day of a month is generated for each identification number, it is possible to determine the preferred watering time period for each identification number. This allows for the detection of identification numbers that have not drunk water for extended periods. Furthermore, it can be used as an indicator of whether cattle pens with overlapping watering times for a large number of identification numbers have sufficient water supply. Additionally, from a water supply perspective, it can be used as an indicator for managing cattle numbers in pens, enabling improvements to the watering situation, such as adding more watering stations.

[0071] It should be noted that the individual determination unit 57 may be configured to process only the identification numbers determined to be abnormal by the abnormal individual extraction mechanism 55B. Alternatively, when the drinking water condition determination procedure PG1 is executed, the individual determination unit 57 may be configured to perform the processing simultaneously with the overall abnormality determination mechanism 55A and the abnormal individual extraction mechanism 55B. Furthermore, it may be configured to have only the individual determination unit 57 and not the overall abnormality determination mechanism 55A and the abnormal individual extraction mechanism 55B.

[0072] [Third Implementation]

[0073] In this embodiment, a drinking value selection unit 58 is provided instead of a drinking value calculation unit 54D, which differs from the previous embodiment. Specifically, the program storage unit 63 stores a data table in advance, which is derived from the correspondence between measured drinking time and drinking volume. Furthermore, the drinking value selection unit 58 retrieves the drinking volume corresponding to the drinking time for each drinking interval from the data storage unit 61 based on the data table, and determines the drinking volume for that drinking interval.

[0074] [Other Implementation Methods]

[0075] (1) In the embodiment described above, the gastric terminal 20 is placed in the stomach 10S of a cow 10, but the gastric terminal 20 can also be placed in the stomach 10S of other animals.

[0076] (2) The data parsing unit 54 may not have a second timing determination unit 54C. Even with this structure, the start time of drinking water can be determined, and therefore the drinking interval, drinking frequency (number of times of drinking water), and drinking time period can also be determined.

[0077] (3) In the above embodiment, the temperature change rate ΔV, which is the change in gastric temperature F per unit time Δt, is calculated, and the presence or absence of drinking action is determined by the temperature change rate ΔV. However, the presence or absence of drinking action can also be determined by whether the gastric temperature F is lower than a preset temperature.

[0078] (4) In the above embodiment, the overall abnormality determination mechanism 55A and the abnormal individual extraction mechanism 55B determine the presence or absence of abnormality by comparing the drinking water value Qt, but they can also determine the presence or absence of abnormality by calculating the number of drinking water N (drinking frequency) per day and comparing the number of drinking water N.

[0079] (5) In the embodiment described above, the data transmission unit 26 is a structure that summarizes multiple measurement results measured by the temperature sensor 21 at a certain period and transmits them at a predetermined cycle, but it may also be a structure that transmits them one by one each time the temperature sensor 21 measures.

[0080] (6) In the embodiment described above, the data acquisition unit 53 adds the receiving time to the transmitted data D2 and stores the receiving time as the measurement time t of the gastric temperature F in the buffer memory 53A. Alternatively, it may be configured such that the transmitted data D2 also stores the actual measurement time of each temperature data D1, and the actual measurement time is stored as the measurement time t in the buffer memory 53A.

[0081] (7) In the above embodiment, the drinking value calculation unit 54D calculates the drinking value Q as a substitute for the drinking amount by summing the areas of histograms obtained by representing the distribution of the gastric temperature F at each measurement time t in each drinking interval using the gastric temperature F(T2) at the second time T2 as a reference and using the area of ​​a rectangle. However, it can also be as follows: Figure 11 As shown in (A), the water intake value Q can be calculated by the area enclosed by the degree broken line obtained by connecting the distributions of gastric temperature F at each measurement time t and the gastric temperature F(T2) at the second time T2. Alternatively, it can be calculated as follows: Figure 11 As shown in (B), the drinking water value Q is calculated by obtaining a temperature line from the distribution of the gastric temperature F using the median value of each measurement time t and the next measurement time t.

[0082] (8) If cow 10 is a dairy cow, water intake and feed intake are reflected in milk production. Therefore, it is also possible that the data table obtained by pre-storing the correspondence between measured water intake value Q and milk production in the program storage unit 63 can be used to estimate the structure of milk production based on the water intake value Q. Alternatively, it is also possible that the data table obtained by pre-storing the correspondence between measured water intake value Q and feed intake can be used to estimate the structure of feed intake based on the water intake value Q.

[0083] (9) In the described embodiment, the first predetermined change amount V1, the first predetermined temperature F1, and the second predetermined change amount V2 of the first timing determination unit 54B and the second timing determination unit 54C are preset, but can also be set by a learning function. This learning function refers to a function that sets the data based on information on the gastric temperature F of multiple cattle 10 collected in the past during any given period. This "any given period" refers to, for example, data from the most recent period. In this embodiment, the interval where the gastric temperature F drops sharply and gradually recovers is extracted from the data from the most recent period and estimated as the drinking interval. The average or median value of the temperature change rate ΔV at the beginning of the drop in this interval is set as the first predetermined change amount V1. The average or median value of the last gastric temperature F in this interval, and the average or median value of the absolute value of the temperature change rate ΔV are set as the first predetermined temperature F1 and the second predetermined change amount V2. At this time, the gastric temperature F from the most recent period is always used for updating, thereby adapting to changes in the lifestyle and seasons of the cattle 10 and improving the accuracy of the determination. Alternatively, instead of using the gastric temperature F from the most recent period, data on temperature and humidity from a week ago, a month ago, or a year ago can be used to set the first specified change amount V1, the first specified temperature F1, and the second specified change amount V2. Alternatively, the first specified change amount V1, the first specified temperature F1, and the second specified change amount V2 can be set for each identification number.

[0084] (10) In the embodiment described above, the data parsing unit 54 and the anomaly determination unit 55 are provided on one monitoring terminal 50, but they may also be provided on different terminals.

[0085] (11) In the embodiment described above, the monitoring terminal 50 receives the transmission data D2 wirelessly transmitted from the stomach terminal 20, and the CPU 52 of the monitoring terminal 50 executes the drinking status determination program PG1, thereby functioning as a "drinking status determination device" for determining the drinking status of the cow 10. However, it is also possible to equip the stomach terminal 20 with the CPU 52.

[0086] It should be noted that the technical solutions disclosed in this specification and its accompanying drawings are specific examples of the technology contained therein, but the technology described in the technical solutions is not limited to these specific examples. It also includes solutions obtained by various modifications and alterations to the specific examples. In addition, it also includes solutions obtained by taking a part of the specific examples out of context.

[0087] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0088] 10. Cow (animal)

[0089] 10-second stomach

[0090] 20 Intragastric terminal

[0091] 21 Temperature sensor

[0092] 50. Monitoring terminal (computer, drinking water status determination device)

[0093] 51 Communication Circuit (Data Receiving Unit)

[0094] 54A Speed ​​Calculation Unit

[0095] 54B First Timing Determination Department

[0096] 54C Second Timing Determination Department

[0097] 54D Drinking Water Value Calculation Department

[0098] 55. Anomaly Determination Department

[0099] 60 Storage media

[0100] F. Stomach temperature

[0101] F(T2) reference temperature

[0102] F1 First Specified Temperature (Specified Temperature)

[0103] PG1 Drinking Water Status Determination Procedure

[0104] Q Drinking water value

[0105] T1 First Opportunity

[0106] T2 Second Opportunity

[0107] V1 First specified change amount

[0108] V2 Second specified change amount

[0109] ΔV is the rate of temperature change.

Claims

1. A device for determining drinking water status, wherein, The drinking water status determination device includes: The rate of change calculation unit calculates the rate of change of stomach temperature per unit time, which is measured by a temperature sensor placed inside the animal's stomach. The first timing determination unit determines the timing when the rate of temperature change exceeds a pre-set first predetermined amount of change and becomes negative as the first timing; The second timing determination unit determines a second timing when the gastric temperature after the first timing is above a predetermined temperature and the absolute value of the rate of temperature change falls within a predetermined second predetermined change amount; and The drinking water value calculation unit calculates the value representing the amount of water consumed during the period from the first time point to the second time point.

2. The drinking water status determination device according to claim 1, wherein, The water consumption value calculation unit calculates the water consumption value based on the sum of the absolute values ​​of the differences between multiple intragastric temperatures and a reference temperature for each unit of time included in the period from the first time point to the second time point.

3. The drinking water status determination device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The drinking status determination device includes a data receiving unit that wirelessly obtains information about the stomach temperature and the identification number of the stomach terminals, which are disposed in the stomachs of the animals and have the temperature sensor. The drinking value calculation unit calculates the drinking value according to each identification number.

4. The drinking water status determination device according to claim 3, wherein, The drinking water status determination device includes an anomaly determination unit that determines an identification number in which the drinking water volume or the drinking water value is abnormal compared to the total of the plurality of identification numbers.

5. A storage medium storing a drinking water status determination program, wherein, The drinking water status determination program enables the computer to function as a drinking water status determination device. The drinking water status determination device has the following features: The rate of change calculation unit calculates the rate of change of stomach temperature per unit time, which is measured by a temperature sensor placed inside the animal's stomach. The first timing determination unit determines the timing when the rate of temperature change exceeds a pre-set first predetermined amount of change and becomes negative as the first timing; The second timing determination unit determines a second timing when the gastric temperature after the first timing is above a predetermined temperature and the absolute value of the rate of temperature change falls within a predetermined second predetermined change amount; and The drinking water value calculation unit estimates the amount of water consumed during the period from the first time point to the second time point, or a value representing the amount of water consumed, i.e., the drinking water value.

6. The storage medium according to claim 5, wherein, The water consumption value calculation unit calculates the water consumption value based on the sum of the absolute values ​​of the differences between multiple intragastric temperatures and a reference temperature for each unit of time included in the period from the first time point to the second time point.

7. The storage medium according to claim 5 or 6, wherein, The water consumption status determination procedure is executed by a computer on the animal external terminal, which has a data receiving unit that wirelessly obtains information about the stomach temperature and the identification number of the stomach terminals from multiple stomach terminals configured in the stomachs of the multiple animals and having the temperature sensor.

8. The storage medium according to claim 7, wherein, The drinking water status determination program enables the computer to function as the drinking water status determination device. The drinking water status determination device has an anomaly determination unit that determines an identification number in which the drinking water volume or the drinking water value is abnormal compared to the overall total of the plurality of identification numbers.

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