Unattended automatic cattle scale

Abstract

The invention relates to an unattended automatic cattle scale, and belongs to the technical field of weighing in the livestock breeding industry. The cattle scale comprises a scale body, a pair of guardrails arranged on the two sides of the scale body, four electronic weighing sensors arranged at the bottom of the scale body and an integrated instrument electrically connected with the electronic weighing sensors. The size of the scale body is 1.2 m * 2.4 m. In the using process, manual guarding is not needed, queuing continuous weighing of cattle can be achieved, the scale body can be flushed regularly by arranging the gap with the gradient and the flushing spray head, then the weighing precision is ensured, maintenance is only needed for 2-3 times in one year, manpower and material resources are reduced, and cost is greatly reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of livestock weighing, and in particular relates to an unattended automatic cattle scale. Background Art

[0002] Animal husbandry is a production sector that uses domesticated animals such as livestock and poultry to convert plant energy such as grass and feed into animal energy through artificial breeding and reproduction to obtain livestock products such as meat, eggs, milk, wool, cashmere, hides, silk and medicinal materials. Different from self-sufficient livestock breeding, the main characteristics of animal husbandry are centralization, scale and profit-making.

[0003] In the process of artificially raising cattle, it is necessary to weigh them regularly, monitor their weight in real time and provide immediate feedback to ensure their health during growth. However, weighing livestock is not easy, especially for adult cattle weighing nearly 1 ton.

[0004] Chinese patents CN215448144U and CN207263276U disclose two cattle weighing devices. However, these two devices have complex structures and are surrounded by fences on all four sides. They require real-time manual operation and monitoring, and have low weighing efficiency. Each cow needs to be weighed one by one. Each time the cow is driven onto the scale and weighed individually, the probability of stress on the cow is increased. In addition, the efficiency is very low, the time is long, and it is not suitable for large-scale breeding bases. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a cattle scale which is unattended, has accurate measurement and is less affected by the environment.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions: An unattended automatic cattle scale, characterized in that it includes a scale body, an integrated instrument, and a pair of guardrails arranged on both sides of the scale body, and the four ends of the bottom of the scale body are provided with a first weighing sensor, a second weighing sensor, a third weighing sensor and a fourth weighing sensor electrically connected to the integrated instrument.

[0007] Furthermore, the size of the scale body is 1.2m*2.4m.

[0008] Furthermore, a gap with a slope is arranged in the center of the scale body.

[0009] Furthermore, a flushing nozzle is also provided on the scale body, and the flushing nozzle is connected to an external water source through an electric control valve and a water pipe.

[0010] The present invention also provides an unattended weighing method for an automatic cattle scale, which is characterized by comprising the following steps: S1: Analyze and list the six states of the scale during weighing, including: State 1: The cattle are not weighed; State 2: Only one cow is fully weighed; State 3: The front hoof of the first cow is on the scale, and the front hoof of the second cow is on the scale; State 4: The front hooves of the first cow are off the scale, and the rear cow is completely on the scale; State 5: The first cow is completely off the scale, and the second cow is completely on the scale; State 6: The first cow is fully weighed, and the second cow’s front hooves are weighed; S2: inputting the above six states into the integrated instrument to establish a cow walking model; S3: Analyze and filter the weighing data obtained by the integrated instrument through the model of the cow walking, obtain the data of state 2 and state 5, and finally obtain the accurate weighing data of the individual cow.

[0011] The beneficial effects of the present invention are: The present invention does not require manual supervision during use and can achieve continuous weighing of cattle. The scale body can be regularly flushed by setting a sloped gap and a flushing nozzle to ensure weighing accuracy. Maintenance is only required 2-3 times a year, which reduces manpower and material resources and greatly reduces costs.

[0012] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present invention. In order to more clearly understand the technical means of the present invention and implement it according to the contents of the specification, the following is a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of an unattended automatic cattle scale shown in one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a first state of a scale body of an unattended automatic cattle scale shown in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of a second state of a scale body of an unattended automatic cattle scale shown in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of a third state of a scale body of an unattended automatic cattle scale shown in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of a fourth state of a scale body of an unattended automatic cattle scale shown in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of a fifth state of a scale body of an unattended automatic cattle scale shown in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the sixth state of the unattended automatic cattle scale shown in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Explanation of the accompanying drawings: 1. Scale body; 2. First weighing sensor; 3. Second weighing sensor; 4. Guardrail; 5. Third weighing sensor; 6. Fourth weighing sensor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] The technical solution of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0016] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship, are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0017] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0018] In addition, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of the present invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0019] See also Figure 1 The unattended automatic cattle scale shown in a preferred embodiment of the present application includes a scale body 1, an integrated instrument, and a pair of guardrails 4 arranged on both sides of the scale body 1. The four ends of the bottom of the scale body 1 are provided with a first weighing sensor 2, a second weighing sensor 3, a third weighing sensor 5 and a fourth weighing sensor 6 electrically connected to the integrated instrument.

[0020] Furthermore, the unattended automatic cattle scale is installed in a foundation pit arranged in advance, and a gap with a slope is provided in the center of the scale body 1 to facilitate the cleaning and maintenance of debris and garbage.

[0021] Furthermore, an electronic tag reader / writer is provided on the scale body 1 for reading the serial number of the electronic ear tag provided on the cattle.

[0022] Furthermore, a flushing nozzle is also provided on the scale body 1, which is connected to an external water source through an electric control valve and a water pipe, and can automatically and regularly flush the debris on the scale body 1 to ensure the accuracy of the weighing reading.

[0023] The integrated instrument can accurately and flexibly implement various complex weighing control processes through upper computer software programming, and adopts 24-bit Σ-ΔA / D conversion technology, with weight sampling no less than 8 times per second, with high accuracy, fast speed, low temperature drift and long-term stability.

[0024] The integrated instrument is a dual-channel weighing instrument. The total weight of the first weighing sensor 2 and the second weighing sensor 3 is input into the weighing instrument through channel one, and the total weight of the third weighing sensor 5 and the fourth weighing sensor 6 is input into the weighing instrument through channel two. The weighing instrument superimposes and analyzes these two sets of data to obtain the correct weight of a single cow. The integrated instrument is provided with a standard RS232 / 485 dual communication port, and the communication parameters (baud rate check bit, etc.) and format can be programmed and set. The data output interface is RS232, and the default baud rate is 9600, N, 1, which is used to output weight data, and each output is the weight of a single cow.

[0025] The host computer receives and controls the basic functions of the integrated instrument through the RS232 / 485 communication interface of the integrated instrument. The panel of the integrated instrument can set parameters such as automatic zeroing, peeling, zero tracking, calibration and fault display, and the host computer can also be remotely controlled.

[0026] See also Figure 2-7 During use, the scale body 1 may have the following six states: State 1: The cattle are not weighed; State 2: Only one cow is fully weighed; State 3: The front hoof of the first cow is on the scale, and the front hoof of the second cow is on the scale; State 4: The front hooves of the first cow are off the scale, and the rear cow is completely on the scale; State 5: The first cow is completely off the scale, and the second cow is completely on the scale; State 6: The first cow is fully weighed, and the second cow’s front hooves are weighed; The states of all the above scales are integrated into an instrument to build a model of a cow walking, and intelligent analysis and screening are performed to obtain the accurate weight, that is, the weight measured in the second and fifth states.

[0027] Based on the above model of cattle walking, multiple experiments were conducted on cattle and the following data were obtained: The shortest time a cow spends on the scale is 1-2 seconds. During this time, the cow's front hooves are not on the scale, and the cow behind is not on the scale. During this 1-2 seconds, the cow is walking. The longest length of the cow is 1.7 meters, and the distance between the front and back legs is 1.4 meters. The cow walks 2-3 steps out of the scale. According to the test data, it is finally determined that the effect is best when the size of the scale body 1 is 1.2 meters * 2.4 meters, which can accurately measure the weight of individual cows.

[0028] Working principle: The present invention is arranged on the necessary road between the cattle feeding and drinking water areas. When the cattle are continuously weighed, the integrated instrument intelligently analyzes the cattle walking model and dynamically measures the weight of a single cattle within 1-2 seconds after it is weighed, thereby obtaining the accurate single weight of the individual cattle.

[0029] When a cow weighing 950 kg passes through the cattle scale, in the second and fifth states, the cow walks on the scale alone within 1-2 seconds, and the integrated instrument obtains the weight model of channel 1 and channel 2 in chronological order as shown in the following table (for example): time Channel 1 Channel 2 0.5s 270 kg 680 kg 1s 350 kg 600 kg 1.5s 450 kg 500 kg 2s 500 kg 450 kg It can be seen that the total value of the weighing data collected by channel one and channel two is 950 kilograms. When the cow is alone on the scale for 1-2 seconds, the value of channel one changes from small to large, and the value of channel two changes from large to small, but the total remains unchanged. After model analysis, this model data will only appear in the second and fifth states, so the other states can be removed and the exact weight of the cow is 950 kilograms.

[0030] Similarly, when the cow passes through the other end of the scale in the opposite direction, the value of channel one changes from large to small, and the value of channel two changes from small to large, and the total number remains unchanged. After model analysis, this model data will only appear in the second and fifth states. Therefore, other states can be eliminated, and the exact weight of the cow can be obtained as 950 kilograms.

[0031] By integrating the above two different models of two-way traffic, the automatic weighing of cattle scale in two-way traffic state is realized. At the same time, the cattle being weighed are read by the electronic tag reader / writer configured on the scale body 1 to read the cattle number for weight matching, and the cattle number, weight and weighing date are obtained, realizing unattended automatic weighing.

[0032] The present invention has high weighing efficiency, does not require personnel on duty during use, and can automatically and regularly flush the scale body 1 through a flushing nozzle. It only needs maintenance 2-3 times a year, saving manpower and material resources and greatly reducing breeding costs.

[0033] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0034] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present invention, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that, for ordinary technicians in this field, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present invention shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. An unattended automatic cattle scale, characterized in that: The scale comprises a scale body, an integrated instrument, and a pair of guardrails arranged on both sides of the scale body. The four ends of the bottom of the scale body are provided with a first weighing sensor, a second weighing sensor, a third weighing sensor and a fourth weighing sensor electrically connected to the integrated instrument.

2. An unattended automatic cattle scale as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The size of the scale body is 1.2m*2.4m.

3. An unattended automatic cattle scale as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: A gap with a slope is arranged in the center of the scale body.

4. An unattended automatic cattle scale as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The scale body is also provided with a flushing nozzle, which is connected to an external water source through an electric control valve and a water pipe.

5. A weighing method for an unattended automatic cattle scale as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1: Analyze and list the six states of the scale during weighing, including: State 1: The cattle are not weighed; State 2: Only one cow is fully weighed; State 3: The front hoof of the first cow is on the scale, and the front hoof of the second cow is on the scale; State 4: The front hooves of the first cow are off the scale, and the rear cow is completely on the scale; State 5: The first cow is completely off the scale, and the second cow is completely on the scale; State 6: The first cow is fully weighed, and the second cow’s front hooves are weighed; S2: inputting the above six states into the integrated instrument to establish a cow walking model; S3: Analyze and filter the weighing data obtained by the integrated instrument through the model of the cow walking, obtain the data of state 2 and state 5, and finally obtain the accurate weighing data of the individual cow.

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