Granted Patent B1

US 12,219,933 · App. 17/484,235 · Granted Feb 11, 2025

Inventor: Terry Anderton (Portsmouth, NH)

A01K27/009A01K29/005

Abstract

Claims (30)

1. A smart collar for deterring an animal from attacking, the smart collar comprising:

a power supply;

a deterrent device configured to output a corrective action to discourage the animal from attacking;

a warning mechanism configured to output a sound;

a microphone configured to detect sound output by the animal and output sound data;

an accelerometer configured to detect movement of the animal and output movement data;

an altimeter configured to detect an altitude of the smart collar and output altitude data;

a memory configured to store behavior patterns corresponding to one or more actions that are indicative of the animal being likely to attack;

a primary processor configured to:

determine if the sound data, the movement data, and the altitude data are indicative of the animal being likely to attack by determining if the detected sound, detected movement, and detected altitude correspond to one or more of the stored behavior patterns based, at least in part, on determining that the detected movement comprises a sequence of a stop, a crouch, and then a burst of speed;

in response to determining that the sound data, the movement data, and the altitude data are indicative of the animal being likely to attack:

cause the deterrent device to output the corrective action to discourage the animal from attacking; and

cause the warning mechanism to output the sound to warn nearby animals or persons; and

in response to determining that the smart collar is connected to a predetermined WIFI network indicative of the smart collar being in a safety zone, prevent the deterrent device from outputting the corrective action,

wherein the microphone is further electronically connected to a secondary processor, the secondary processor being configured to consume less energy than the primary processor.

2. The smart collar for deterring an animal from attacking of claim 1 , wherein the movement data from the accelerometer includes a magnitude indicating the type of movement and an angular component indicating direction of movement.

3. The smart collar for deterring an animal from attacking of claim 1 , further comprising:

a location determination device.

4. The smart collar for deterring an animal from attacking of claim 3 , wherein the smart collar is configured to temporarily disable the deterrent device when it is determined that the animal is located inside of its dwelling or other safety zone.

5. The smart collar for deterring an animal from attacking of claim 1 ,

wherein, when the collar is connected to the predetermined WIFI network, the primary processor does not analyze the animal's actions or behavior.

6. The smart collar for deterring an animal from attacking of claim 1 , wherein the smart collar has a training mode in which a user indicates which of the sound data and movement data indicate behavior consistent with the animal about to attack or already attacking.

7. The smart collar for deterring an animal from attacking of claim 1 , wherein the microphone is configured to detect an ambient noise, and wherein the primary processor is further configured to analyze ambient noise detected by the microphone to determine if other animals or persons are near the smart collar.

8. The smart collar for deterring an animal from attacking of claim 7 , wherein the primary processor is further configured to activate the deterrent device in response to determining that other animals or persons are near the smart collar.

9. The smart collar for deterring an animal from attacking of claim 7 , wherein the primary processor is further configured to activate the warning mechanism in response to determining that other animals or persons are near the smart collar.

10. The smart collar for deterring an animal from attacking of claim 1 further comprising a camera configured to capture an image or video.

11. The smart collar for deterring an animal from attacking of claim 10 , wherein the primary processor is further configured to activate the camera when the primary processor determines that sound data from the microphone is indicative of the animal barking.

12. The smart collar for deterring an animal from attacking of claim 1 , wherein the primary processor is further configured to determine whether the animal is indoors or outdoors.

13. The smart collar for deterring an animal from attacking of claim 12 , wherein, when the animal is determined to be indoors, the primary processor is further configured to cease determining whether the sound data from the microphone and the movement data from the accelerometer are indicative of the animal being likely to attack.

14. The smart collar for deterring an animal from attacking of claim 1 , wherein the secondary processor is configured to determine whether the sound data is indicative of an outside noise and, in response to determining that the sound data is indicative of the outside noise, activate the primary processor.

Assignments (6)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (215)

Cited By (6)

US 1,078,196 US 1,112,994 US 1,125,731 US 1,125,732 US 12,433,256 US 12,727,583