FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to game or fish feeders, and the controlling of outlet of feed from such feeders.

BACKGROUND

Game feeders are used for dispersing feed in order to attract or retain animals, such as deer, wild boar or birds, at a specific location. Game feeders may be used by hunters to control game to a site where hunting is to be performed, but may also be used by farmers to divert the game away from crops. The game feeder may be controlled to distribute feed at certain times, such as in mornings and evenings, when the game is typically eating.

A game feeder may comprise a feed container and a motor for actuating a spreader, causing dispersal of feed from the feed container. The game feeder may further comprise a timer for controlling the motor such that the game feeder may be set up to disperse feed at specific times of day. The same type of structure may also be used for a fish feeder, by positioning the feeder by a waterfront so as to enable distributing fish feed into the water.

In U.S. Pat. No. 8,555,812, a game feeder configured for remote monitoring is disclosed. The game feeder comprises a computer comprising a wireless driver configured to communicatively couple the computer to a wireless communication network. The game feeder also comprises a remote monitoring system, which comprises an instrumentation suite including elements such as a rainfall sensor, barometer, thermometer, hydrometer, and camera. These sensors are selected to provide environmental data for the game feeder so that a user may through the wireless communication of the computer remotely be made aware of conditions at the hunting site.

The remote monitoring system is set up to avoid the need for a user to physically travel to the location of the game feeder in order to control it. In this regard, the remote monitoring system in U.S. Pat. No. 8,555,812 may also periodically transmit a communication with system information or statistics to a user. However, the information received from the remote monitoring system needs to be analyzed remotely in order for decisions to be taken on the controlling of the game feeder.

In US 2012/0085288, a game-animal feeding unit is disclosed, comprising a feed-dispersion mechanism in combination with a data acquisition unit and remote communication module. A volume sensor may detect that a volume of feed in a feed drum is low and a signal to a remote location may be wirelessly transmitted. Feed quantity, battery charge and/or other parameters can be transmitted on a schedule or can be interrogated from a remote station.

Hence, there is a need for an improved control of game feeders in order to facilitate for a user to easily ensure that the game feeder is working in a desired manner.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved control of game or fish feeders and to provide an improved feedback system on the operation of the game or fish feeder.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a control unit for a game or fish feeder, wherein the control unit is arranged for mounting on or in connection to the feeder, said control unit comprising: means for controlling the powering of a drive unit of said feeder for controlled output of feed from the feeder; a wireless transmitter arranged to communicate over a wireless network with a remote unit; a sensor for measuring a parameter of the feeder; and means for determining whether a measured parameter value provided by said sensor fulfills a predetermined condition in order to detect an action-requiring state of the feeder, wherein, in response to a detected action-requiring state, the wireless transmitter is triggered to send a notification to said remote unit.

The control unit may be defined in another way as a control unit for a game or fish feeder, wherein the control unit is arranged for mounting on or in connection to the feeder, said control unit comprising: a processing unit, which is configured for controlling the powering of a drive unit of said feeder for controlled output of feed from the feeder; a wireless transmitter arranged to communicate over a wireless network with a remote unit; a sensor for measuring a parameter of the feeder; and the processing unit being further configured to determine whether a measured parameter value provided by said sensor fulfills a predetermined condition in order to detect an action-requiring state of the feeder, wherein, in response to a detected action-requiring state, the wireless transmitter is triggered to send a notification to said remote unit.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a game or fish feeder system comprising: a feed container provided with a feed outlet; a spreader arranged to receive and spread feed from said feed outlet when said spreader is actuated; a drive unit connected to the spreader and arranged to actuate the spreader when the drive unit is powered; a battery arranged to power said drive unit; and a control unit according to the first aspect mounted on the feeder system.

Thanks to the invention, the control unit for a game or fish feeder may provide specific notifications regarding action-requiring states of the feeder. In particular, the control unit is able to send the notification as an immediate response to detecting that there is a problem at the feeder requiring attention. Also, the notification provides direct information to a user at a remote unit such that no further analysis of the information sent from the control unit is needed in order to determine that an action is required.

The control unit may for instance detect that an operational disturbance has occurred or is about to occur and may send a notification of such to a user at the remote unit. The user may thus be specifically notified when an operational disturbance occurs at the game feeder. This makes remote operational control easy for the user and also allows the user to only travel to the site of the game or fish feeder when necessary.

As used herein, the feature that the control unit “is arranged to be mounted on or in connection to the feeder” should be construed as the control unit being arranged in the vicinity of the feeder. The control unit may advantageously be mounted on any part of the feeder, such as on the feed container or on a stand on which the feed container is arranged. However, for the purpose of the invention, the control unit needs not necessarily be mounted on the feeder. For instance, the feeder may be situated close to another structure on which the control unit may be mounted.

According to a specific embodiment, the control unit is formed as a self-contained box, and the control unit comprises an input for connection to a battery, and an output for connection to the drive unit of the feeder such that the control unit controllably provides power from the battery to the drive unit.

This implies that the control unit may be provided as a single, separate unit that may control the powering of the drive unit of the feeder. Hence, the control unit may be simple to install on the feeder. In particular, the control unit may be easily installed on feeders that are already in use. Therefore, the control unit may be used to upgrade or improve a feeder that is in active use.

Thanks to the control unit providing a self-contained box having an input for connection to a battery and an output for connection to the drive unit, the control unit may be compatible with most automatic feeders. The installation may only require the connection of the control unit between a present battery and drive unit or the replacement of a present timer. Thus, an improved control of the feeder and improved feedback on the operation may be available without requiring any substantial installation work on the feeder.

By the control unit being formed as a self-contained box, a sensor for measuring a parameter of the feeder is placed within the self-contained box. This implies that there may be no need to separately mount or install the sensor on the feeder.

The sensor may comprise a power sensor for measuring the power consumption of the drive unit. In such case, the predetermined condition may be a deviation from a predetermined power consumption. This implies that the sensor is able to detect deviations in the powering of the drive unit. A deviation of the power consumption may indicate an operational disturbance. For instance, if a spreader being actuated by the drive unit is jammed or not running as smoothly as desired, the drive unit may need more power to actuate the spreader. Hence, such a disturbance may be discovered by detecting an increase in the power consumption of the drive unit. Likewise, the power consumption may be altered if the feeder is empty or if feed is jammed in an output opening of the feeder so that no feed is dispersed by the spreader (lowering the power consumption for actuating the spreader).

Thanks to the power sensor being installed in the control unit, it is possible to detect problems of the drive unit without having a sensor mounted on the drive unit. Hence, operational disturbances of the feeder, such as no feed being dispersed, may be detected without having to install a separate sensor on the feeder. Rather, the entire control unit and sensor system may be formed as a self-contained box.

As used herein, the term “power sensor” should be construed as any sensor detecting the power consumption. This may be achieved in a number of different ways, detecting different properties of a circuit powering a drive unit. For instance, the power sensor may detect voltage, current, electric power, resistance, or other parameters of the circuit as measures of the power consumption. The power sensor may e.g. be configured as a Hall sensor that measures the current for powering the drive unit by detecting a magnetic field created by the current.

According to an embodiment, the deviation from the predetermined power consumption may be set in relation to a normal power consumption that occurs when the feeder is functioning properly. The deviation may vary between different models of drive units and feeders and the deviation may therefore be set according to the specific conditions of the feeder on which the control unit is mounted. However, a default deviation may alternatively be used so that no adaptation to the specific feeder on which the control unit is mounted will be needed. Typically, the deviation from the predetermined power consumption may be set to be larger than 30% or lower than 40% of the predetermined power consumption.

According to an embodiment, the wireless transmitter is part of a wireless transceiver for receiving and transmitting information over a wireless network. This implies that the control unit may also receive information, which would enable a user at a remote unit to send instructions to the control unit for remotely controlling the functionality of the control unit.

According to an embodiment, the control unit is arranged to cause said wireless transmitter to periodically communicate with a central control system and receive information for updating scheduling data for controlling output of feed from the feeder. Hence, the control unit may be arranged to periodically communicate with a central control system, regardless whether any action-requiring state is detected. This allows the control unit to provide information of a state of the feeder to the central control system and receive updated scheduling data in response from the central control system. Also, if a user wants to change the schedule of output of feed from the feeder, this may be achieved by the control unit periodically making contact with a central control system and receiving updates to scheduling data.

According to an embodiment, the control unit may further comprise a motor-protective circuit breaker for cutting power to the drive unit in order to prevent excessive load on the drive unit. Hence, the control unit may prevent the drive unit to be exerted to an excessive load. This implies that the control unit may protect the drive unit from being damaged by excessive loads.

According to an embodiment, the feeder may further be provided with a lamp for illuminating a site of the feeder and the control unit may further be arranged to control turning on and off of the lamp. The illumination of the site of the feeder may for instance be started in relation to output of feed from the feeder and the site may be illuminated during a time period after feed has been output. Thus, the illumination of the site may act as a signal to animals that feed has been output and animals may learn to associate an illuminated site with the possibility to find feed at the site.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for detecting an action-requiring state of a game or fish feeder, wherein the feeder has a control unit mounted on or in connection to the feeder, said method comprising, by the control unit: controlling the powering of a drive unit of said feeder for controlled output of feed from the feeder; measuring a power consumption of said drive unit; determining whether a value of the measured power consumption fulfils a predetermined condition in order to detect an action-requiring state of the feeder; and in response to a detected action-requiring state, sending a notification to a remote unit.

According to the method, a control unit both controls the powering of a drive unit of a feeder and determines whether the powering of the drive unit functions properly. A user may thus be provided with a notification from the control unit when an action-requiring state of the feeder is detected. The user at a remote unit will therefore not need to perform further analysis of the information sent from the control unit in order to determine that an action is required. In particular, the method allows detection of any jamming of a spreader of the feeder or that a feed container is empty so the spreader is running without any load from feed.

The control unit may communicate with a remote unit via a central control system. The central control system may thus facilitate a user's control of the dispersal of feed actuated by the control unit and may provide direct instructions to the control unit based on a set-up by the user.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a central control system, wherein the central control system comprises: a set of rules for controlling feed dispersal, which is to be actuated by a game or fish feeder system; a communication module for communicating with a plurality of control units, each being associated with a game or fish feeder system; an interface for receiving and storing input from a user, said input comprising control unit specific parameters relating to feed dispersal and being associated with an identifier of the control unit identifying a specific control unit; wherein the communication module is further arranged to receive input from at least said specific control unit of the plurality of control units, said input comprising information of performed feed dispersals and being associated with the identifier of the control unit; and wherein the central control system further comprises a feed dispersal computing module, which is arranged to access the set of rules for controlling feed dispersal and the control unit specific parameters, and which is arranged to receive said input comprising information of performed feed dispersals, wherein the feed dispersal computing module is configured to determine feed dispersal instructions based on the received input and the set of rules for controlling feed dispersal and the control unit specific parameters, and wherein the communication module is further arranged to transmit the determined feed dispersal instructions to said specific control unit.

The central control system may thus provide a set of rules for controlling feed dispersal. This set of rules may constitute pre-set definitions of how feed dispersal may typically be scheduled. A user may thus be able to program the schedule to be used by a control unit in relation to the set of rules already provided by the central control system. Hence, the user may only need to input parameters that may adapt a pre-set definition to the specific schedule that the user desires. This facilitates a user's set-up of a control unit and also may facilitate making changes to the schedule after set-up. The schedule being set up for the control unit may also define time periods at which illumination should be provided by a lamp at a site of the feeder system.

Further, a control unit may be arranged to periodically connect to the central control system. For instance, the control unit may connect to the central control system in each interval between subsequent planned dispersals of feed. The central control system may thus check the input from the control unit regarding performed feed dispersals and determine whether a schedule for feed dispersal used by the control unit needs to be updated or temporarily changed. If an update or change is needed, the central control system may thus transmit updated feed dispersal instructions to the control unit.

According to an embodiment, the feeder system may further comprise a sensor for detecting a presence of an animal at a site of the feeder system. The input received by the central control system from the specific control unit may further comprise information whether animals have been detected at the site of the feeder system during a preceding period of time. The feed dispersal computing module may determine feed dispersal instructions based also on the information regarding detection of animals.

This may e.g. allow the feed dispersal computing module to determine instructions not to disperse feed if no animal has visited the site of the feeder system during a preceding period of time. Hence, feed dispersal may be made dependent on whether there are animals visiting the feeder site. Thus, unnecessary dispersal of feed may be avoided to save feed. Also, the timing of the feed dispersal may be maintained, even though it is made dependent of the presence of animals. Hence, the feeder system may not directly disperse feed when an animal is detected. Rather, the dispersal of feed may be performed according to a set schedule, but each of the dispersal occasions may be made dependent on whether animals are visiting the site.

According to an embodiment, the means for controlling the powering of the drive unit may induce one or more short current pulses to the drive unit for causing an output of a small amount of feed from the feeder system when no animal has visited the site of the feeder system during a preceding period of time. This may imply that at least some feed is provided on the ground at the site of the feeder and, in particular, close to the sensor for detecting a presence of an animal. Thus, if animals are coming to the site of the feeder, they may still be tempted to approach the sensor for detecting the presence such that the sensor is activated.

According to an embodiment, the central control system may further receive information regarding a location of the specific control unit and may have access to sunrise and sunset times for the location; wherein at least one rule in the set of rules may be related to the sunrise and sunset times; and wherein the feed dispersal computing module is further configured to determine feed dispersal instructions based on the sunrise and sunset times for the location of the specific control unit.

This implies that the feed dispersal may be related to the actual times when sun rises or sets. For instance, a user may define control unit specific parameters in relation to the sunrise and sunset times, such that feed dispersal may always be actuated 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset. A schedule for illumination provided by the lamp of the feeder system may also be set in relation to the sunrise and sunset times and may further be correlated to the set times for feed dispersal.

The location of the specific control unit may be obtained by the control unit comprising a positioning sensor, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor, and the control unit transmitting a reading from the positioning sensor to the central control system. Alternatively, the location may be input through the interface for receiving input from a user, e.g. by the user marking the location of the feeder system (and the control unit) on a map.

The central control system may access a database comprising information of sunrise and sunset times in order to obtain the sunrise and sunset times for the location. The database may be internally stored in the central control system or may be external to the central control system. Even if the database is external to the central control system, the central control system may store the sunrise and sunset times for the specific location internally in order to allow quick access to such information.

The relation of the feed dispersal to sunrise and sunset times may be generally applicable and need not necessarily be combined with other features. According to a separate aspect, there is therefore provided a central control system, wherein the central control system comprises: a set of rules for controlling feed dispersal, which is to be actuated by a game or fish feeder system; a communication module for communicating with a control unit being associated with a game or fish feeder system; an astronomy module for retrieving sunrise and sunset times for a location at which the game or fish feeder system is positioned; an interface for receiving and storing input from a user, said input comprising control unit specific parameters relating to feed dispersal and being associated with an identifier of the control unit; and a feed dispersal computing module, which is arranged to access the set of rules for controlling feed dispersal, the sunrise and sunset times for the location and the control unit specific parameters, wherein the feed dispersal computing module is configured to determine feed dispersal instructions based on the set of rules for controlling feed dispersal, the sunrise and sunset times for the location and the control unit specific parameters, and wherein the communication module is further arranged to transmit the determined feed dispersal instructions to the control unit.

Thanks to the sunrise and sunset times being retrieved in relation to the location, the actual times when the sun rises and sets may be used in the control of the feed dispersal. This provides a substantial advantage in relation to feed dispersal being based on lighting conditions at the feeder system, since the lighting conditions may vary substantially on the weather conditions and therefore the feed dispersal may not in practice be performed at the sunset or sunrise.

A schedule for illumination provided by a lamp of the feeder system may also be set in relation to the sunrise and sunset times and may further be correlated to the set times for feed dispersal.

According to an embodiment, the communication module is further arranged to receive a notification regarding a detected action-acquiring state from a control unit, wherein the central control system is further arranged to send a message to the remote unit regarding the detected action-acquiring state.

The remote unit may run an application that is adapted for communicating with the central control system. In its simplest form, the application may be a web browser, that directs a user to web pages forming an interface to the central control system. The user may provide profile information through the application, such that the central control system has contact addresses to the remote unit. Alternatively, the central control system may communicate directly with the application that is run on the remote unit, sending the message to the application.

In one embodiment, the central control system may send a push notification to a device running the application in order to provide the message regarding the detected action-acquiring state. Alternatively, the central control system may send an e-mail to an e-mail address of the user or a short message services (SMS) message to a mobile phone of the user.

According to an embodiment, said input comprising control unit specific parameters relating to feed dispersal may comprise one or more of: parameters relating scheduling times of the feed dispersal to times defined by the rules; parameters relating to the amount of feed to be dispersed; and parameters relating to activation/deactivation of functionalities defined by the rules. For instance, the input may activate or deactivate an astronomy functionality that relates feed dispersal to sunrise and sunset times at the location, and may activate or deactivate a presence functionality that relates feed dispersal to detection of presence of animals at the site of the feeder system. In one embodiment, the astronomy functionality is activated and parameters are input for relating the feed dispersal time to the sunrise and sunset, such that the feed dispersal instructions may control feed dispersal to occur 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset.

According to an embodiment, the input comprising information of performed feed dispersals may comprise one or more of: information of duration of activation of a drive unit for feed dispersal, information of power consumption during feed dispersal, and information of times at which feed dispersal have been performed. Using the information of performed feed dispersals, the central control system may keep track of the amount of feed being output by the feeder system. Hence, the central control system may determine whether the feed in the feed container is about to run out and may provide a corresponding indication to a remote unit.

Also, the feed dispersal computing module may use the information of performed feed dispersals together with information whether animals have been detected at the site of the feeder system in order to determine whether an upcoming, scheduled feed dispersal is to be performed. For instance, the rules for controlling feed dispersal may define that no feed dispersal is to be made if no animal has been detected at the site of the feeder system during a preceding period of time. However, if several sequential feed dispersals are skipped due to no animals being present at the site of the feeder system, the feed dispersal computing module may use the information of performed feed dispersals to ensure that a time between two sequential feed dispersals does not exceed a threshold. The feed dispersal computing module may thus determine that feed is to be dispersed, even though no animal has been detected to be present at the site of the feeder system.

The feeder system may be provided with a sensor for controlling whether feed is to be dispersed in relation to presence of animals at the feeder site. Such a sensor may or may not be used in combination with a control unit at the feeder.

Hence, according to a separate aspect, there is provided a game or fish feeder system, comprising: a feed container provided with a feed outlet; a spreader arranged to receive and spread feed from said feed outlet when said spreader is actuated; a detector for detecting an external force that may be assigned to a presence of an animal, the detector comprising: a movable actuator, which is mounted such that at least a part of the feed being output from the spreader is output in close vicinity of the movable actuator; wherein the movable actuator is biased towards a block position preventing access to the part of the feed and is movable from the block position by an external force being exerted on the movable actuator; and a sensor, which is arranged to detect when the movable actuator is moved from preventing access to the part of the feed.

Thanks to a feeder system comprising a movable actuator being arranged such that at least part of the feed is output close to the movable actuator and the actuator further prevents access to the part of the feed, the feeder system may be arranged to detect presence of animals at the site of the feeder system. In particular, an animal may smell and/or see the presence of feed at the movable actuator and may be tempted to nudge the movable actuator trying to access the feed. Thus, the movable actuator may be moved allowing the sensor to detect that an animal has visited the site of the feeder.

According to an embodiment, the detector for detecting an external force is mounted below the spreader. A small part of the feed may fall from the spreader during output of feed, which implies that part of the feed will be output close to the movable actuator. For instance, if the spreader comprises a rotatable disc for flinging out feed, part of the feed may still fall off the disc and end up below the spreader.

According to an embodiment, the movable actuator comprises a blocker, which is arranged to be mounted close to the ground in the block position of the movable actuator. The blocker may have relatively large dimensions parallel to the ground, such that it may prevent an animal to access feed on the ground below the blocker. There may be one or more holes or openings in the blocker such that feed falling onto the blocker may fall through the holes or openings so as to end up on the ground below the blocker.

The arrangement of a blocker close to the ground may effectively prevent animals from getting access to feed below the blocker. Thus, an animal will nudge or push the movable actuator to move the blocker so that the animal may get access to the feed. Thus, the animal may create a movement of the movable actuator that may be detected by the sensor in order to detect the presence of the animal.

According to an embodiment, the movable actuator may comprise a rod, which is jointedly connected to a structure of the feeder system and extends towards the ground from the jointed connection. The blocker may be attached to the rod. The rod may further be biased by at least one spring to the block position of the jointed connection. The spring may thus bias the movable actuator to the block position and may also dampen external forces to ensure that strong pushes by an animal does not damage the detector.

The movable actuator and the sensor allows for a simple construction for detecting the presence of an animal. The sensor may be a simple detector for registering that the actuator is moved. In this regard, the sensor may e.g. detect that the rod affects an electromagnetic or a vibrational wave, such as detecting that the rod blocks or reflects the wave. For instance, the sensor may detect that the rod blocks emitted light from reaching a photodiode, or the sensor may detect that a frequency of a reflected ultrasonic wave is shifted due to movement of the rod. Alternatively, a capacitive or inductive sensor may be used, wherein the sensor may be arranged to detect proximity of the rod in the block position by the rod providing a capacitive or inductive coupling to the sensor. The sensor may thus detect presence of an animal by the rod being moved away from proximity of the sensor. As a further alternative, the rod may make contact with a mechanical switch such that an electrical circuit is opened or closed when the rod is moved.

According to another embodiment, the detector for detecting an external force may comprise a residue compartment, which is arranged in relation to the spreader such that a part of the feed being spread by the spreader will be provided into the residue compartment; the residue compartment comprising an output opening and a movable plug, which is arranged to block the output opening and which may be moved from blocking the output opening by an external force; and a plug sensor for detecting when the plug is moved. Thus, when an animal exerts an external force of the residue compartment, the plug may be moved from the output opening and a small amount of feed may be released through the output opening of the residue compartment, giving the animal an incentive to nudge the residue compartment. Hence, the arrangement of a plug in a residue compartment will learn an animal to nudge the compartment in order to get access to more feed, while the animal does not get access to a large amount of feed since it is only residues from earlier performed feed dispersals that may accessed through the output opening of the residue compartment.

The detector for detecting an external force may be connected to the control unit according to the first aspect of the invention. Upon the sensor detecting that the movable actuator is moved, the sensor may thus provide an input signal to the control unit indicating that an animal is present at the site of the feeder.

