DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to a system for detection of the rodents, and more particularly to the detection of the rodents in the warehouse using cameras.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Rodents are the mammals which have a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. Commonly found rodents in the warehouses are the rats and mice which destroy the material which is stored in the warehouses. The common signs of presence of the rodents include spotting of a rodent, faecal pellets, tracks, gnawing damage, burrows, runways, grease marks, urine stains, live or dead rodents, rodent sounds, rodent odours etc. The activity of rodents is maximum during night, as it is dark and they can be safe from being caught and killed.
There are several traps and chemical medicines which are developed for rodents, but they are not very effective. Also using chemical in the warehouses containing food material is most dangerous as they can contaminate the food, causing serious illness and even death in the consumers who consume the contaminated food. The process of prevent the rodents must be developed based on the size of the infestation in the warehouses with proper trap and bait placements, in order to catch them.
There are several prior art patents which are developed for detection of the rodents.
A patent application, US5040326A by Ecotronics BV and Dijnsen Gerardus J A M Van, illustrates a system for detecting and capturing pests by suction. The system for the registration and combating of pests, such as mice and rats, for example, in which an electronic registration unit is connectable with one or more luring boxes selectively disposed in areas to be covered by the system. Each luring box is provided with an entrance aperture for the pest to enter the luring box, and detectors are associated with the luring boxes for producing a signal and sending it to the registration unit in response to the presence of a pest at the luring box. A suction unit is connectable with the luring box for applying a vacuum to the interior of the luring box to withdraw a pest from the luring box into the suction unit.
Another patent application US5806237A by Ecolab Inc., discloses a rodent bait station, which includes an enclosure having an inclined passageway leading from an opening in the enclosure to an elevated bait receptacle having a removable tray with a handle. The inclined passageway terminates at the lowest elevation of the opening to prevent water from becoming trapped in the enclosure. A separate internal receptacle is provided in the enclosure for storing and protecting printed materials, e.g., maintenance records. A replaceable latch on the enclosure includes an alignment member disposed between a pair of engagement members which engage cooperative slots and which are deformable to unengaged positions by a key that wedges between the engagement members and the alignment member.
Another patent application US8156683B2 by David Slotnick discloses a wireless rat trap movement detection system. The system and method of detecting and signalling the activation of a spring-loaded rat trap located at a remote location is disclosed where the system includes a wireless transmitter mounted inside a transmitter unit upon which a spring loaded rat trap is placed. When a rat is caught by the trap, the rat drags the trap over the top surface of the transmitter unit causing activation of one or more switches located on the top surface. The switch is coupled to the wireless transmitter that sends a signal to a wireless receiving unit located in the vicinity. Coupled to the receiving unit is a light or sound alarm that is activated when a signal is received from the transmitter unit indicating that the trap has been moved over the transmitter unit. The system may be used with one or more transmitter units so that system may be used to monitor rat infestation one or multiple locations.
Another patent application US3815278A by A Beaton et al, discloses an automatic electro-mechanical rodent trap which is a device for effectively trapping, killing and disposing of rodents and ectoparasites. A rectangular housing including a trapping chamber extending the length of the housing to form a runway into which the rodents pass. Arranged on opposite sides of and parallel to the runway is a pair of electrically chargeable plates held in a normally open position. These electromechanically controlled plates are responsive to a photosensitive device triggered by passage of a rodent into the runway which causes the plates to close by spring tension on the rodent. The plates are attached to a pair of rotatable support arms whereby the rodent is mechanically placed in a disposal chamber attached to the housing where the dead rodent is debugged and retained until removal from the area. The electro-mechanical circuitry automatically resets the plates so the device may be recycled independent of any operator action.
Even though the above mentioned prior art patents provides various solutions for rodent detection, they do not provide a real time, 24/7 system which can detect rodents present in the warehouse. Therefore there is a need for a system, which can detect the rodents present in the warehouse, and share the exact location of the rodents with the operator who takes care of the warehouse, who can take further action.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a rodent detection system to detect the rodents present in the warehouse.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a rodent detection system which can detect the presence of rodents using surveillance cameras.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a rodent detection system which can detect the movement of the rodents in the warehouse through thermal cameras.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a rodent detection system which can detect the presence of the rodents and triangulate their actual location in the warehouse and map the trajectory of their motion.
Other object of the present invention is to provide a rodent detection system which can estimate the locations of the hiding spots of rodents.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention discloses a rodent detection system to detect the rodents present in the warehouse. The components of the present invention includes a camera, an infrared sensor, a motion sensor, a database which are all connected to an electronic device which can be a computer system, laptop, tablet, mobile phone etc. to which the captured images are delivered, which can be used to monitor the situation.
The method of operation of the present invention comprises the rodent detection includes detection of movement of rodent by the motion sensor when rodent moves anywhere in the warehouse and measuring the temperature difference in the area using the infrared sensor. Once the object which moved identified as a rodent, capturing the images of the rodent along with the area in which it is present with the camera having wide angle feature. After getting images in electronic device an immediate action taken by warehouse in-charge, thus they can try to prevent the rodent infestation in the warehouse. The rodent detection system monitors the warehouse round the clock, thus the system enables immediate action on the rodents.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG 1 illustrates the rodent detection system showing the rodent detector unit.
FIG 2 illustrates the process of detection of the rodents in the warehouse using the rodent detection system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The warehouses are very large, they are easy prey for rodent infestation, where the rodent detection can become very difficult due to the vast area, and the people who look after the warehouses cannot monitor all the areas of the warehouse. The system of the present invention enables monitoring of the unreachable areas where the chances of presence of rodent is higher, and can take necessary action for eliminating the rodent from the warehouse.
FIG 1 illustrates the rodent detection system showing the rodent detection system includes a camera, an infrared sensor, a motion sensor, a database which are all connected to an electronic device which can be a computer system, laptop, tablet, mobile phone etc. to which the captured images are delivered, which can be used to monitor the situation.
When the rodent moves anywhere in the warehouse, the motion sensor detects the movement of the rodent and the infrared sensor measures the temperature difference in the area. When the object which moved is identified as a rodent, then the camera captures the image of the rodent along with the area in which it is present with the wide angle feature in it.
The camera used in the present invention are type of security cameras which detect the rodent’s movement and captures the series of still images which are directly stored in the database. The camera captures and transmits the images only when they detect movement. The detection of movement is done by comparing sequential images and determining whether the differences between them represent motion. If there are significant differences between two consecutive images, the system confirms it as the intruder within the camera view and the series of images are captured. The camera can be set to capture only the images of the rodents and not the people working in the warehouse thus preventing creation of unnecessary data in the system. The cameras are set up in appropriate locations in the warehouse so as to span the complete area.
The infrared sensors which are used to detect and sense the temperature difference in the area. The sensors can monitor the temperature of a warehouse using the optimum room temperature of the warehouse. The detection of unusual changes in temperature caused due to the presence of the rodents is done using the infrared sensors which along with the motion sensor detects the presence of the rodent.
According to the present invention, the captured images are sent automatically to the electronic device which is handled by the in-charge of the warehouse, which can be a mobile phone, laptop, computer system etc., which is in connection with the rodent detection system through a network which can be a common Wi-Fi network. Once the images are sent to the warehouse in-charge, immediate action can be taken, thus they can try to prevent the rodent infestation in the warehouse. The rodent detection system monitors the warehouse round the clock, thus the system enables immediate action on the rodents.
There are several advantages of the present invention.
The primary advantage of the present invention is that the system detects the exact area where the rodent is located.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the captured image of the rodent in the area is automatically sent to the person who is in-charge of the warehouse.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the captured images are stored in the database for a set period of time, which can be viewed until the time limit is over.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the camera can be set to detect only the movement of the rodents and not the people working in the warehouse, thus prevent creation of unnecessary data to be stored in the database.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the camera gets activated only when there is movement of the rodents which is confirmed by both the thermal and infrared cameras, thus preventing unnecessary capturing of the images.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the captured images are sent in jpg format to the mobile phone of the in-charge of the warehouse, who can immediately take action.
,CLAIMS:We Claim:
1. A rodent detection system, comprising:
a. a camera with wide angle feature to capture the images of the rodents in the warehouse;
b. an infrared sensor or thermal sensor to measure the temperature difference in the area of interest;
c. a motion sensor to detect the movement of the rodent in the warehouse;
d. a database to store all the captures images; and
e. an electronic device through which the warehouse personnel can view the images captured through the camera;
wherein, the said camera, infrared sensor or thermal sensor, motion sensor, and said database are in connection with the said electronic device, through which rodents present in the warehouse can be detected.
2. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein, the said camera can be any type of security cameras with wide angle feature which can detect the movement of rodents, immediately capture a series of still images.
3. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein, the said system transmits the captured images from the said camera to the said electronic device only if any movement is detected.
4. The system as claimed in claim 3 wherein, the detection of movement of the rodents is carried out by comparing sequential images and determining whether the differences between the said images represent any motion, and in case significant differences between two consecutive images are found, the said system confirms it as the intruder within the camera view and a new series of images are captured.
5. The system as claimed in claim 3 wherein, the said camera can be set to capture only the images of the rodents and not the workers at the warehouse to prevent creation and accumulation of unnecessary data in the said system.
6. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein, the said infrared sensors sense and detect the temperature difference in the area of interest by using the optimum room temperature of the warehouse.
7. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein, the said camera gets activated only when there is movement of the rodents which is confirmed by both thermal and infrared cameras, preventing unnecessary capturing of the said images through the camera.
8. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein, the said electronic device can be any device like computer system, laptop, tablet, mobile phone, through which the situation inside the warehouse can be monitored.
9. The process of operation of the rodent detection system, comprising:
a. detection of movement of rodents with the help of the said motion sensor;
b. in case of rodent movement anywhere in the warehouse, the said system measures the temperature difference in the area using the infrared sensor or thermal sensor;
c. identification of the moving object to confirm if it is a rodent;
d. on positive identification of the rodent, capturing a series of still images of the rodent by the said camera with wide angle along with the area in which it is located;
e. transmission of the captured images from the said camera to the said electronic device; and
f. initiating immediate action on examining the images in the said electronic device for elimination of the rodent infestation.