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JP-7856134-B1 - Health management systems for small herbivores

JP7856134B1JP 7856134 B1JP7856134 B1JP 7856134B1JP-7856134-B1

Abstract

[Challenge] To determine the possibility of gastrointestinal stasis in a health management system for small herbivores. [Solution] The small herbivore health management system 1 comprises a cage 2 and a controller. The cage 2 has a hard stool storage container 10. The hard stool storage container 10 has a first sorting tube 11 and a second sorting tube 12 provided on a second guide plate 16. The inner diameter of the first sorting tube 11 is smaller than the inner diameter of the second sorting tube 12. The first sorting tube 11 and the second sorting tube 12 sort the rabbit's hard stool by its outer diameter and distribute it to the first section 13a, the intermediate section 13b, and the second section 13c of the feces tray 13. The first sensor 31, the intermediate sensor 32, and the second sensor 33 measure the amount of feces in each section. From this amount of feces, the presence or absence of hard stool with a small outer diameter can be determined, and the controller determines the possibility of stasis in the rabbit. [Selection Diagram] Figure 2

Inventors

  • 板津呂 真夕
  • 近藤 雅之

Assignees

  • 積水ハウス株式会社

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20241113

Claims (11)

  1. A first detection means for detecting whether the hard feces of a small herbivore are smaller than a first size, Equipped with a controller, The above-mentioned first detection means is A first through-hole through which only hard stool of size less than the above-mentioned first size can pass, It has a first sensor that detects hard stool that has passed through the first through-hole, When the first sensor detects hard stool, it detects that the hard stool is smaller than the first size. The above controller is A health management system for small herbivores that determines that a small herbivore may have gastrointestinal stasis, provided that the first detection means detects that the hard stool of the small herbivore is smaller than the first size.
  2. A first detection means for detecting whether the hard feces of a small herbivore are smaller than a first size, A second detection means for detecting whether the hard stool is larger than the first size, specifically a second size or larger, Equipped with a controller, The second detection means described above is A second through-hole through which only the above-mentioned hard stool of size less than the second size can pass, It has a second sensor for detecting the hard stool that could not pass through the second through-hole, When the second sensor detects the hard stool, it detects that the hard stool is of size 2 or larger. The above controller is If the first detection means detects that the hard stool of the small herbivore is smaller than the first size, it is determined that the small herbivore may have gastrointestinal stasis. A health management system for small herbivores that determines that the small herbivore does not have gastrointestinal stasis, provided that the second detection means detects the hard stool to be of the second size or larger.
  3. The above controller is A health management system for small herbivores according to claim 2, wherein the first detection means detects that the hard stool of the small herbivore is larger than the first size, and the second detection means detects that the hard stool of the small herbivore is smaller than the second size, and a predetermined exclusion condition is met, and the small herbivore is determined to have a possibility of gastrointestinal stasis.
  4. A health management system for small herbivores comprising at least one of a first configuration and a second configuration, The first configuration described above has a first memory that stores a reference age and the age of the small herbivore, The second configuration described above is: A third detection means for detecting temperature and humidity, It has a second memory that stores a reference temperature and a reference humidity, The above controller is Provided that the above-mentioned first configuration is provided, Assuming that the age of the above-mentioned small herbivores is equal to or greater than the above-mentioned standard age, it is determined that the above exclusion conditions are met. Provided that the above second configuration is provided, A health management system for small herbivores according to claim 3, wherein the exclusion condition is determined to be satisfied on the condition that the temperature detected by the third detection means is equal to or greater than the standard temperature, or the humidity detected by the third detection means is equal to or greater than the standard humidity.
  5. The system includes a fourth detection means for detecting whether or not the above-mentioned small herbivore has defecated, The above controller is A health management system for small herbivores according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, at predetermined intervals, the fourth detection means detects that the small herbivore has not defecated a predetermined number of consecutive times, and the small herbivore is determined to have gastrointestinal stasis.
  6. The wire mesh on which the above-mentioned small herbivores are placed, The system includes a fifth detection means for detecting the feces of small herbivores on the wire mesh, The mesh size of the wire mesh described above is large enough to allow the hard feces of the small herbivorous animals to pass through. The above controller is A health management system for small herbivores according to claim 2 , wherein, on the condition that the fifth detection means detects the feces of a small herbivore on the wire mesh, it is determined that the small herbivore may have gastrointestinal stasis.
  7. A health management system for small herbivores comprising at least one of a third configuration and a fourth configuration, The third configuration described above is, A feeder that holds food for small herbivores, A sixth detection means for detecting the amount of feed held by the above-mentioned feeder, It has a third memory that stores a first reference amount, The fourth configuration described above is: A water dispenser that holds drinking water, A seventh detection means for detecting the amount of water held by the water dispenser, It has a third memory that stores a second reference amount, The above controller is Provided that the above third configuration is provided, At predetermined intervals, the sixth detection means is instructed to detect the amount of feed at the start and end of the period, the amount of decrease in the amount of feed during the period is calculated, and if the amount of decrease in the amount of feed is equal to or greater than the first standard amount, it is determined that the small herbivore does not have gastrointestinal stasis. Provided that the above fourth configuration is provided, A health management system for small herbivores according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, at the start and end of each predetermined period, the seventh detection means is instructed to detect the amount of water, the amount of decrease in the amount of water during the period is calculated, and it is determined that the small herbivore is not suffering from gastrointestinal stasis, provided that the amount of decrease in the amount of water is equal to or greater than the second standard amount.
  8. A feeder that holds food for small herbivores, The above feeder is equipped with a first supply means for supplying at least one type of forage grass from among Italian ryegrass, oat hay, wheat hay, barley, and alfalfa, as a fragrant forage grass. The above controller is A health management system for small herbivores according to any one of claims 1 to 3, 6, wherein, on the condition that the small herbivore is judged to be at risk of gastrointestinal stasis, the first supply means is supplied with the fragrant hay at predetermined intervals.
  9. A sixth detection means for detecting the amount of feed held by the above-mentioned feeder, It comprises a third memory for storing a first reference amount, The above controller is At each predetermined period, at the start and end of the period, the sixth detection means is made to detect the amount of fragrant grass used as feed, and the amount of fragrant grass reduced is calculated. Assuming that the above-mentioned fragrant pasture grass has not decreased, the above-mentioned small herbivore was judged to be suffering from gastrointestinal stasis. A health management system for small herbivores according to claim 8 , wherein the small herbivore is determined not to have gastrointestinal stasis, provided that the amount of reduction of the above-mentioned fragrant pasture is equal to or greater than the above-mentioned first standard amount.
  10. The above-mentioned small herbivores have a notification system to alert people when they need care, A reception method for receiving input indicating that the above-mentioned small herbivorous animal has received the above-mentioned care, The above-mentioned feeder is further equipped with a second supplying means for supplying at least one type of treat, such as fruit and dried leaves, as a fibrous treat. The above controller is Provided that the amount of the above-mentioned fragrant pasture grass decreases to more than zero and is below the above-mentioned first standard amount, the notification means shall be instructed to notify that the above-mentioned small herbivore requires the above-mentioned care. After the above notification, provided that the above receiving means does not receive input indicating that the small herbivore has received the above care, the above second supply means shall supply the above treat at predetermined intervals. At each predetermined period, the sixth detection means is made to detect the amount of treats at the start and end of the period, and the amount of treats consumed is calculated. Assuming that the above-mentioned snacks have not decreased, the above-mentioned small herbivore is judged to have gastrointestinal stasis. A health management system for small herbivores according to claim 9 , wherein the small herbivore is determined not to have gastrointestinal stasis, provided that the amount of the above-mentioned treats consumed is not zero.
  11. It is equipped with a reservation means that transmits a signal to make an appointment for a visit to a veterinary hospital, The above controller is The health management system for small herbivores according to claim 5 , wherein, on the condition that the small herbivore is determined to have gastrointestinal stasis, the reservation means transmits a signal to make a reservation for a visit to a veterinary hospital.

Description

This invention relates to a health management system for small herbivorous animals. Patent Document 1 discloses a pet management system comprising: a water supply tray having a water intake acquisition unit that acquires the amount of water a pet drinks and generates water intake information indicating the amount of water drunk; a pet toilet having a urine output acquisition unit that acquires the amount of urine a pet excretes and generates urine output information indicating the amount of urine excreted; a health status determination unit that determines the pet's health status based on the water intake information and urine output information and generates health status information indicating the pet's health status; and a display control unit that receives the health status information and displays the pet's health status. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-182920 Figure 1 is an external perspective view showing the configuration of the rabbit health management system 1.Figure 2(A) is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the hard stool storage unit 10, and Figure 2(B) is a schematic diagram showing the first guide plate 14 and the second guide plate 16 of the hard stool storage unit 10.Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the controller 20.Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the controller 20.Figure 5 is a flowchart that explains the operation of the controller 20, following the flowchart in Figure 4.Figure 6 is a flowchart that explains the operation of the controller 20, following the flowchart in Figure 5.Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a modified hard stool storage unit 10. The following describes in detail an embodiment of the health management system for small herbivorous animals according to the present invention, using a rabbit health management system as an example. It should be noted that the following embodiment is merely one example of this disclosure, and the embodiment can be modified as appropriate without altering the gist of this disclosure. [Configuration of Rabbit Health Management System 1] As shown in Figures 1 and 2(A), the rabbit health management system 1 comprises a cage 2 for housing a rabbit R and a controller 20. Only one rabbit R is housed in the cage 2. Hereinafter, the vertical direction is defined based on the state in which the cage 2 is set up for use. The front-to-back direction is defined with the side with the door 7 as the front. The left-to-right direction is defined when viewing the cage 2 from the front. Rabbit feces are broadly classified into hard feces and cecal feces. Hard feces consist of fibrous material that cannot be digested in the colon. When hairball formation occurs due to gastrointestinal stasis (hereinafter simply referred to as "stasis"), multiple hard feces may become linked together in a bead-like fashion due to the rabbit's shed hair mixed in with the hard feces. Such linked hard feces are called "connected feces." Cecal feces are feces that have been separated in the colon from nutrients that could not be digested and absorbed in one go. Cecal feces are softer than hard feces and consist of multiple feces encased in mucus, forming a cluster-like structure resembling grapes. The cage 2 comprises a wire mesh 3, a feeder 4, a water dispenser 5, a suction fan 6, a door 7, a hard stool container 10, and an environmental sensor 17. The rabbit R is placed on the wire mesh 3. The door 7 is opened when inserting or removing the rabbit R into the cage 2, and closed when the rabbit R is inside the cage 2. The environmental sensor 17 detects the ambient temperature and humidity. The environmental sensor 17 corresponds to the third detection means. As shown in Figure 3, the controller 20 has an imaging unit 24 and a stand 29. The stand 29 supports the controller 20 in a position where the imaging unit 24 can image the entire cage 2. The controller 20 may be, for example, a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet, or a personal computer. The personal computer may be separate from the imaging unit 24, or only the imaging unit 24 may be supported by the stand 29. [Hard Feces Storage Container 10] As shown in Figure 2(A), the hard feces storage container 10 includes a first sorting cylinder 11, a second sorting cylinder 12, a feces tray 13, a first guide plate 14, a second guide plate 16, and a first urine sheet 15. In this embodiment, the first size s1 is 3 mm and the second size s2 is 7 mm. The rabbit R defecates on the wire mesh 3. The mesh size of the wire mesh 3 is larger than the maximum diameter of the hard feces that the rabbit R defecates. In other words, the mesh size of the wire mesh 3 is large enough to allow the rabbit R's hard feces to pass through. As shown in Figure 2(B), the first guide plate 14 has a first valley 14a in the central part in the front-rear direction. The front and rear parts of the first guide plate 14 are inclined to descend toward the first v