Sealed animal wearable devices

Abstract

This application relates to the field of intelligent monitoring technology and discloses a sealed wearable animal device, including a circuit board, a base support, and a sealed shell. The electronic components on the circuit board include a battery and functional components; the base support includes a battery cavity, and the circuit board and electronic components are fixed to the base support; the sealed shell encloses the base support, and the sealed shell and base support together completely enclose the circuit board and electronic components; the base support is formed by a first injection molding process on the circuit board, and the sealed shell is formed by a second injection molding process using the same material on the combination of the base support, circuit board, and electronic components, with no gaps at the junction of the base support and the sealed shell. This application can solve the problem of device leakage failure and improve the sealing life.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of intelligent monitoring technology, and more specifically to a sealed wearable animal monitoring device.

[0002] Equipment-related technologies. Background Technology

[0003] The descriptions in this section are intended only to provide background information for the implementation of this application and should not be construed as an admission or implication that they constitute prior art.

[0004] Intelligent monitoring technology is a comprehensive technological system that integrates various modern technologies to achieve real-time perception, analysis, early warning, and management of the status, parameters, and behaviors of target objects (such as equipment, environments, and organisms) through automated and intelligent means. It overcomes the limitations of traditional manual monitoring, achieving a more efficient, precise, and intelligent upgrade to the monitoring process.

[0005] Among them, intelligent monitoring equipment for animal husbandry utilizes technologies such as the Internet of Things, sensors, and artificial intelligence to monitor and manage the growth status, environmental conditions, and health status of livestock and poultry in real time. The application of this type of equipment helps improve livestock production efficiency, reduce costs, and ensure the quality and safety of livestock and poultry products, serving as a crucial support for the development of modern animal husbandry.

[0006] Compared to intelligent monitoring equipment in other scenarios, the livestock industry places higher demands on the environmental tolerance of intelligent monitoring equipment. Existing intelligent monitoring equipment in livestock farming suffers from leakage and failure due to the high humidity and corrosive environment of farms. Furthermore, existing equipment exhibits shortcomings such as insufficient sealing and short service life.

[0007] Specifically, in existing intelligent monitoring equipment for animal husbandry, the internal base support and the external sealed shell are usually made of different materials according to the conventions of intelligent monitoring equipment. Different materials have different thermal expansion and contraction properties. In addition, existing intelligent monitoring equipment for animal husbandry generally adopts an exposed metal heat-conducting plate design, that is, the temperature sensor is exposed outside the sealed shell, which is easily affected by environmental interference and also increases the difficulty and cost of sealing the product. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The purpose of this invention is to provide a sealed wearable animal device that can solve the problem of device leakage and failure.

[0009] This application discloses a sealed wearable animal device, including a circuit board, a base support, and a sealed housing:

[0010] The electronic components on the circuit board include batteries and functional components;

[0011] The base support includes a battery cavity, and the circuit board and the electronic components are fixed on the base support;

[0012] The sealed housing encloses the base support, and the sealed housing and the base support together completely enclose the circuit board and the electronic components;

[0013] The base bracket is formed by a first injection molding on the circuit board, and the sealing housing is formed by a second injection molding of the same material on the combination of the base bracket, the circuit board and the electronic components, with no gap at the junction of the base bracket and the sealing housing.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the first injection and the second injection are performed at the same temperature.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the functional element includes a temperature sensor;

[0016] The sealed housing encloses the temperature sensor, which is kept in a non-contact isolation from the animal's body surface.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment, the temperature output by the temperature sensor is the temperature after calibrating the collected temperature information, and the parameters in the calibration formula include the inherent bias of the device and the time decay coefficient.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment, the functional element includes an LED light; the sealed housing is provided with a light guide positioning hole, the light guide positioning hole corresponds to the position of the LED light, and the sealed housing does not cover the LED light;

[0019] The base bracket encloses the LED light, and the area of ​​the base bracket corresponding to the light guide positioning hole is made of transparent material.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment, the base support is made of a transparent material.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment, the temperature sensor is used to collect temperature information of the animal, and the temperature sensor is a square sheet structure or a spherical structure.

[0022] In a preferred embodiment, the functional element further includes an antenna, which has a fan-shaped structure; the sealed housing encloses the antenna.

[0023] In a preferred embodiment, the functional elements further include a temperature sensor, an LED light, and an antenna;

[0024] The upper and lower ends of the circuit board are semi-circular, with the diameter of the upper end being larger than that of the lower end. The two sides of the upper and lower ends are smoothly connected to form a symmetrical structure.

[0025] The battery is located at the lower end of the circuit board. The battery is a round button cell and is housed in the battery cavity of the base bracket. The temperature sensor is located in the center of the circuit board, and the LED is located on one or both sides of the temperature sensor. The antenna is located at the upper end of the circuit board or at the upper end of the base bracket.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment, different areas of the base support and the sealed housing have different heights, and the raised support steps on the base support serve as a support structure.

[0027] In a preferred embodiment, the base support and the sealing housing are formed by pressure gradient control.

[0028] In a preferred embodiment, the pressure gradient control is to gradually increase to a high pressure level.

[0029] In a preferred embodiment, the functional element further includes a motion sensor and / or a positioning sensor, the motion sensor being used to collect the animal's movement state information, the positioning sensor being used to collect the animal's position information, and the motion sensor and / or positioning sensor being encapsulated within the sealed housing.

[0030] In a preferred embodiment, the base support is provided with a plurality of positioning posts for matching the relative positions of the first injection and the second injection.

[0031] On the other hand, this application also discloses a sealed animal wearable device, including: a temperature sensor and an encapsulation module for fixing to the animal's body surface;

[0032] The temperature sensor is completely sealed in the internal cavity of the encapsulation module and is kept in a non-contact isolation from the animal's body surface;

[0033] The encapsulation module is made of a polymer material with a thermal conductivity of ≤0.3 W / (m·K).

[0034] In a preferred embodiment, the distance between the temperature sensor and the outer surface of the packaging module is 1.5–3.0 mm, and the packaging module completely encloses the temperature sensor to form a seal.

[0035] In a preferred embodiment, the system further includes a radio frequency (RF) module located inside the package module. The RF module is electrically connected to the temperature sensor and is used to wirelessly transmit temperature data to an external terminal.

[0036] Compared with existing technologies, this invention employs a "secondary injection molding" process. First, a base support is formed through a first injection molding process on the circuit board. Then, the assembly is placed in a mold and a second injection molding process using homogeneous or highly compatible materials is performed to form a sealed shell. This process achieves molecular-level fusion between the base support and the sealed shell, resulting in a seamless, integrally sealed structure. This structure completely eliminates the risk of interface cracks caused by differences in the thermal expansion coefficients of different materials or adhesive aging in traditional assembled structures. It endows the equipment with extremely high IP68 dust and water resistance and high reliability, capable of withstanding harsh environments such as boiling in water at 85°C. Furthermore, it significantly increases the sealing life from less than 12 months (unoptimized) to over 36 months, while the interfacial tensile strength reaches over 45 MPa.

[0037] Furthermore, by completely encasing the temperature sensor within a sealed housing, thus isolating it from the animal's surface without contact, a thermal buffer layer can be formed using the thermal inertia of the housing material itself. This design effectively utilizes the thermal hysteresis effect to avoid transient interference to the animal's surface temperature caused by external environmental factors such as wind and spray, providing a stable and reliable raw data foundation for subsequent accurate inversion of the animal's core body temperature through algorithms.

[0038] Furthermore, by introducing two parameters, "inherent device deviation" and "time decay coefficient," into the temperature calibration formula, dynamic and long-term accurate calibration of the data collected by the temperature sensor can be achieved. This calibration method not only compensates for the initial errors generated during the manufacturing process of each device but also offsets the performance degradation caused by material aging during long-term use, ultimately controlling the temperature measurement error to within 0.3℃, which is far superior to the error level of over 1.2℃ in existing technologies.

[0039] Furthermore, by setting light-guiding positioning holes for the LED lights on the sealed housing, and using a transparent material for the base bracket encasing the LED lights in the corresponding area, it is possible to ensure that the LED light can effectively penetrate the device housing while maintaining the complete sealing of all electronic components except for the area with the opening. This ingenious structural design balances the functional indication (lighting) with the overall high sealing performance of the device, avoiding sacrificing the device's environmental tolerance for the sake of light transmission.

[0040] Furthermore, by designing the circuit board with a symmetrical structure that is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, and optimizing the layout of components such as the button battery, temperature sensor, LED light, and antenna, the device can accommodate multiple functional components within a limited space, achieving a high degree of integration and compactness. This layout not only conforms to ergonomics (or animal skin attachment) but also optimizes the signal radiation performance of the antenna and the functionality of each sensor, which is key to the miniaturization and practicality of this multifunctional wearable device.

[0041] Furthermore, by designing raised support steps on the base support and a serrated structure on the side edges of the sealing shell, these complex geometric features can be used to create stronger mechanical interlocking and a larger fusion contact area during the two injection molding processes. This design enhances the robustness and reliability of the connection between the base support and the sealing shell, further improving the overall structure's tensile and torsional resistance, and providing additional structural protection for long-term sealing reliability.

[0042] Furthermore, by employing a pressure gradient controlled molding process, especially by gradually and steadily increasing the mold pressure during secondary injection molding, it is possible to effectively prevent the high-speed, high-pressure molten plastic from impacting the precision electronic components already fixed on the circuit board, thus avoiding displacement or damage. This flexible processing method is key to achieving high-temperature injection molding on circuit boards filled with electronic components, ensuring high product yield and functional stability.

[0043] Furthermore, by integrating motion sensors and / or positioning sensors into a sealed housing, a single device can simultaneously collect information such as activity levels, behavioral patterns, and geographic location, in addition to its core function of monitoring animal body temperature. This greatly expands the device's application scenarios and data dimensions, upgrading it from a single health monitoring tool into a comprehensive animal health and behavior management terminal.

[0044] Furthermore, by pre-setting multiple positioning pins on the base support formed in the first injection molding, a precise physical reference can be provided for mold closing during the second injection molding. These positioning pins ensure that the base support and the mold for the second injection molding can be precisely aligned, restricting the degrees of freedom in each direction. This ensures that the final sealed shell has a uniform wall thickness and that key structures such as the light guide positioning hole are positioned accurately, which is an important process guarantee for achieving high-quality and high-consistency mass production.

[0045] By completely sealing the temperature sensor within a packaged module made of a polymer material with low thermal conductivity (≤0.3 W / (m·K)) and keeping it in non-contact with the animal's body surface, a stable temperature measurement environment can be created by utilizing the thermal inertia of the packaged material. This design defines an innovative temperature measurement method from both a material and physical perspective. It actively shields the body surface from transient temperature interference from the external environment, enabling the sensor to capture temperature information that more accurately reflects the animal's core physiological state after stable heat conduction, thus achieving high-precision body temperature monitoring.

[0046] It should be understood that, within the scope of this utility model, the above-described technical features of this utility model and the technical features specifically described below (such as in the embodiments) can be combined with each other to form new or preferred technical solutions. Due to space limitations, they will not be described in detail here. Attached Figure Description

[0047] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0048] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a circuit board and electronic components, a base support and a sealed housing structure according to one embodiment of this application.

[0049] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a basic support structure according to one embodiment of this application.

[0050] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the front and back of the sealing housing according to one embodiment of this application.

[0051] The labels in each of the attached figures are as follows:

[0052] 1-Circuit board;

[0053] 101-battery;

[0054] 102-antenna;

[0055] 2-Basic support;

[0056] 3-Sealed housing;

[0057] 301 - Light guide positioning hole;

[0058] 302 - Positioning Post. Detailed Implementation

[0059] In the following description, many technical details are presented to help the reader better understand this application. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the technical solutions claimed in this application can be implemented even without these technical details and various variations and modifications based on the following embodiments.

[0060] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0061] One embodiment of this application relates to a sealed animal wearable device, the structure of which is as follows: Figure 1 As shown, the device includes a circuit board 1, a base support 2, and a sealed housing 3.

[0062] The electronic components on circuit board 1 include battery 101 and functional components;

[0063] The base bracket 2 includes a battery cavity, and the circuit board 1 and electronic components are fixed on the base bracket 2; the battery 101 is fixed inside the battery cavity;

[0064] The sealed housing 3 encloses the base support 2, and the sealed housing 3 and the base support 2 together completely enclose the circuit board 1 and electronic components;

[0065] The base bracket 2 is formed by a first injection molding on the basis of the circuit board 1, and the sealing shell 3 is formed by a second injection molding of the same material on the combination of the base bracket 2, the circuit board 1 and the electronic components. There is no gap at the junction of the base bracket 2 and the sealing shell 3.

[0066] In one embodiment, the first and second injections are performed at the same temperature.

[0067] The second injection molding of this product completely covers electronic components not covered in the first injection molding. Because the materials used in both injections are similar or identical, they can effectively seal and encapsulate the electronic components. The temperature used is between 170-230℃, allowing for a certain margin of error. Homogeneous materials refer to the use of the same or highly compatible modified engineering plastics, specifically PA6 (Nylon 6) mixed with a certain proportion of glass fiber. This equipment enables molecular-level fusion between the bracket and the shell, achieving a long-term tight fit. This avoids stress cracks that are prone to occur in traditional low-temperature encapsulation, and also avoids interface contact problems caused by differences in the thermal expansion coefficients of different materials, eliminating the risk of interface cracks and achieving an IP68-level seal with high reliability. IP68 is an international ingress protection rating, indicating that electronic equipment or its enclosure is completely dustproof and can withstand continuous immersion in water (e.g., boiling at 85 degrees Celsius for 48 hours without leakage), respectively. Existing technologies are typically below IP54. The equipment has a sealing life of more than 36 months (verified in a 5% ammonia corrosive environment) and an interfacial tensile strength of more than 45 MPa, while the sealing life of existing technologies is usually less than 12 months.

[0068] In one embodiment, the functional element includes a temperature sensor;

[0069] The temperature sensor is enclosed in a sealed housing 3, maintaining a non-contact isolation between the temperature sensor and the animal's body surface.

[0070] In one embodiment, the temperature output by the temperature sensor is the temperature after calibrating the collected temperature information. The parameters in the calibration formula include the device's inherent bias and the time decay coefficient.

[0071] In one embodiment, the functional element includes an LED light;

[0072] The sealed housing 3 is provided with a light guide positioning hole 301, such as Figure 3 As shown in (a), the light guide positioning hole 301 corresponds to the position of the LED lamp, and the sealed housing 3 does not cover the LED lamp;

[0073] The base bracket 2 encloses the LED light, and the area of ​​the base bracket 2 corresponding to the light guide positioning hole 301 is made of transparent material.

[0074] In one embodiment, the base support 2 is made of a transparent material.

[0075] In one embodiment, a temperature sensor is used to collect temperature information of an animal. The temperature sensor is a square sheet structure or a small ball structure (such as a thermistor).

[0076] In one embodiment, the temperature output by the temperature sensor is the temperature after calibrating the collected temperature information. The parameters in the calibration formula include the device's inherent bias and the time decay coefficient.

[0077] This device features a design where the light guide positioning hole 301 and the base bracket 2 are partially or entirely made of transparent material for LED lighting illumination. Except for the area corresponding to the light guide positioning hole 301, the rest is completely enclosed by the sealed shell 3 to enhance the sealing effect. It abandons the design of exposed metal heat-conducting sheets and completely encapsulates the temperature sensor inside the device. It uses the thermal inertia of the encapsulation material (i.e., the thermal conductivity of the material is limited) to form a thermal buffer layer. Based on the temperature calibration formula (Tc = Ts + ΔT + a·t, where Ts is the collected temperature information, ΔT is the inherent deviation of the device, and a is the time decay coefficient; ΔT has undergone multi-stage calibration), it inverts the animal's core body temperature. It uses the thermal hysteresis effect to avoid transient interference on the body surface (wind / spray) and has undergone multi-parameter cross-validation, such as shielding motion interference and eliminating diurnal temperature differences, so that the temperature measurement error is ≤0.3℃, while the existing technology is usually ≥1.2℃.

[0078] In one embodiment, the functional element further includes an antenna 102, which has a fan-shaped structure; the sealed housing 3 encloses the antenna 102.

[0079] In one embodiment, the functional elements further include a temperature sensor, an LED light, and an antenna 102; the upper and lower ends of the circuit board 1 are semi-circular, with the diameter of the upper end being larger than that of the lower end, and the two sides of the upper and lower ends are smoothly connected to form a symmetrical structure.

[0080] The battery 101 is located at the lower end of the circuit board 1. The battery 101 is a round button battery and is housed in the battery cavity of the base bracket 2. The temperature sensor is located in the center of the circuit board 1, and the LED light is located on one or both sides of the temperature sensor. The antenna 102 is located at the upper end of the circuit board 1 or at the upper end of the base bracket 2.

[0081] In one embodiment, different areas of the base bracket 2 and the sealing housing 3 have different heights, and the raised support steps on the base bracket 2 are support structures, such as the edge of the area corresponding to the light guide positioning hole 301.

[0082] In one embodiment, the side edges of the sealing housing 3 have a serrated structure, and the serrated shape can reduce weight.

[0083] In one embodiment, the base support 2 and the sealing housing 3 are formed by pressure gradient control or by low-pressure mold technology to prevent displacement, rather than by traditional assembly bonding.

[0084] In one embodiment, the pressure gradient control is to gradually increase to a high pressure, such as from 0 to 1 MPa / 12s to 2.5 MPa / 5s.

[0085] In one embodiment, the functional elements further include a motion sensor and / or a positioning sensor, wherein the motion sensor is used to collect the animal's motion state information and the positioning sensor is used to collect the animal's position information, and the motion sensor and / or positioning sensor are encapsulated in a sealed housing 3.

[0086] In one embodiment, the base support 2 is provided with a plurality of positioning posts 302 for matching the relative positions of the first injection and the second injection, such as... Figure 3 As shown in (a) and (b) in the figure. The positioning post 302 is a limiting post during the mold forming process, such as limiting the Z-axis degree of freedom; it can be matched with the hole on the sealing shell 3 for limiting.

[0087] On the other hand, this application also discloses a sealed animal wearable device (or an animal body temperature monitoring device), including: a temperature sensor and an encapsulation module for fixing to the animal's body surface;

[0088] The temperature sensor is completely sealed in the internal cavity of the encapsulation module and is kept in a non-contact isolation from the animal's body surface;

[0089] The encapsulation module is made of a polymer material with a thermal conductivity ≤0.3 W / (m·K). The polymer material includes nylon, polypropylene, epoxy resin, or glass fiber reinforced plastic.

[0090] In one embodiment, the distance between the temperature sensor and the outer surface of the packaging module is 1.5–3.0 mm, and the packaging module completely encloses the temperature sensor to form a seal.

[0091] In one embodiment, the encapsulation module completely encapsulates the temperature sensor to form a seal through low-pressure injection molding.

[0092] In one embodiment, the device further includes a radio frequency (RF) module located inside the package module. The RF module is electrically connected to the temperature sensor and is used to wirelessly transmit temperature data to an external terminal.

[0093] It should be noted that in the claims and specification of this patent, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0094] All documents mentioned in this invention are incorporated herein by reference as if each document were individually incorporated by reference. Furthermore, it should be understood that after reading the foregoing teachings of this invention, those skilled in the art can make various alterations or modifications to this invention, and these equivalent forms also fall within the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A sealed animal wearable device, characterized by, Includes a circuit board (1), a base support (2), and a sealed housing (3): The electronic components on the circuit board (1) include a battery (101) and functional components; The base support (2) includes a battery cavity, and the circuit board (1) and the electronic components are fixed on the base support (2); The sealed housing (3) encloses the base support (2), and the sealed housing (3) and the base support (2) together completely enclose the circuit board (1) and the electronic components; The base bracket (2) is formed by a first injection molding on the basis of the circuit board (1), and the sealing housing (3) is formed by a second injection molding of the same material on the combination of the base bracket (2), the circuit board (1) and the electronic components, with no gap at the junction of the base bracket (2) and the sealing housing (3).

2. The sealed animal wearable device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The functional component includes a temperature sensor; The sealed housing (3) encloses the temperature sensor, and the temperature sensor is kept in a non-contact isolation from the animal's body surface.

3. The sealed animal wearable device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The temperature output by the temperature sensor is the calibrated temperature after the collected temperature information has been calibrated. The parameters in the calibration formula include the inherent bias of the device and the time decay coefficient.

4. The sealed animal wearable device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The functional component includes an LED light; The sealed housing (3) is provided with a light guide positioning hole (301), the light guide positioning hole (301) corresponds to the position of the LED lamp, and the sealed housing (3) does not cover the LED lamp; The base bracket (2) encloses the LED light, and the area of ​​the base bracket (2) corresponding to the light guide positioning hole (301) is made of transparent material.

5. The sealed animal wearable device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The functional components also include a temperature sensor, an LED light, and an antenna (102). The upper and lower ends of the circuit board (1) are semi-circular, with the diameter of the upper end being larger than that of the lower end. The two sides of the upper and lower ends are smoothly connected to form a symmetrical structure. The battery (101) is located at the lower end of the circuit board (1). The battery (101) is a round button battery and is housed in the battery cavity of the base bracket (2). The temperature sensor is located at the center of the circuit board (1). The LED light is located on one or both sides of the temperature sensor. The antenna (102) is located at the upper end of the circuit board (1) or at the upper end of the base bracket (2).

6. The sealed animal wearable device according to claim 1, characterized in that, Different areas of the base support (2) and the sealing shell (3) have different heights, and the protruding support steps on the base support (2) are support structures.

7. The sealed animal wearable device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The base support (2) and the sealing shell (3) are formed by pressure gradient control.

8. The sealed animal wearable device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The functional components also include a motion sensor and / or a positioning sensor, wherein the motion sensor is used to collect the animal's motion state information and the positioning sensor is used to collect the animal's position information, and the motion sensor and / or positioning sensor are encapsulated in the sealed housing (3).

9. The sealed animal wearable device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The base support (2) is provided with multiple positioning posts (302) for matching the relative positions of the first injection and the second injection.

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