AUTOMATED PET GROOMING DEVICE

Abstract

An automated pet grooming device comprises a body 1 is installed with an artificial intelligence-based imaging unit 2 determine body 1 dimensions of a pet animal present in proximity to the body 1 , a motorized iris lid 3 arranged on front portion of the body 1 for allowing the animal to enter inside the body 1 , an ultrasonic sensor is integrated inside the body 1 and synced with the imaging unit 2 for monitoring positioning of the animal inside the body 1 , a motorized first gripper 4 arranged inside the body 1 to position a curved member 5 , plurality of suction units 6 are integrated on inner periphery of the member 5 , and a color sensor integrated inside the body 1 and synced with the imaging unit 2 for detecting presence of injury on the animal’s body 1

Specification

Description:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to automated pet grooming device that is capable of grooming a pet animal in a self-sufficient manner without any requirement of skilled labors in least time consumption. In addition, the device is capable of detecting presence of injury on the animal's body, accordingly treat the injured portion of the animal's body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] People use to nourish different kinds of pets like dogs, cats or alike animals. These pets need proper caring as well as grooming for their better health and for maintaining their aesthetic view. Many pets, such as dogs and cats, tend to molt or shed hair. Pet owners generally want to remove the shed hair from their pets to minimize the amount of hair the pets shed indoors and to improve their pets' appearance. Thereby, they use some kind of pet grooming tools that helps in grooming their pet efficiently, the tools might be a hair brush for performing brushing or different kinds of combs for detangle their hair or to remove debris. However, these tools require physical efforts as well as consumes a lot of time. Thus, user use an equipment for performing grooming of a pet in an automated manner and within less time.

[0003] There were some traditional ways that are used by the people for grooming their pet like they used to perform regular brushing of their pet, as well as they also perform nail clipping at a regular interval of time so that their pet's is provided with proper aesthetic view. Thereby, people generally use some handheld tools for performing brushing, nail clipping, ear cleaning, combing or tooth brushing of pet. However, these handheld tools consume a lot of time while performing grooming of pet as well as require manual efforts for carrying out the overall grooming process efficiently.

[0004] US7077076B2 discloses about an invention that includes a pet grooming tool, for use with a furry pet such as a dog or cat having loose hair and non-loose hair, is adapted for removing the loose hair from the pet. The grooming tool comprises an elongate handle portion extending generally along a handle axis, and a pet engageable portion secured to the handle portion. The pet engageable portion includes a blade portion and a plurality of teeth. The blade portion includes a blade edge. The teeth extend from the blade edge. The pet engageable portion is secured to the handle portion in a manner so that pulling the handle portion generally along the handle axis while the pet engageable portion is in engagement with the pet causes the blade portion to engage the loose hair of the pet and pull it from the pet without cutting or pulling the non-loose hair from the pet.

[0005] US5862780A Discloses about an invention that includes an improved tool for grooming pets, especially for the removal of loose hair and hair that is soon to become loose, comprised of a base with comb extensions mounted on either side at an angle of less than 90 degrees to the base. The comb extensions are comprised of tines extending from a solid backbone or shoulder that protrudes from the base. The comb extensions on one side of the base have tines that are larger and spaced further apart than the tines of the comb extensions on the other side of the base. A cleaning tool comprised of a base with tines protruding therefrom is held in a compartment on the side of the invention when not in use. As the invention is stroked through the hair of the animal, the angle of the comb extensions causes a deep and prolonged penetration of the coat. When the hair passing between the tines of a comb extension comes into contact with the shoulder, the hair is compressed, generating friction or pulling force that not only removes hair that is loose but also hair that is still connected to the skin but about to become loose. Other embodiments include one with comb extensions mounted on removable panels that slide onto a base by way of grooves on either side of the base. This embodiment allows for a wider range of comb extension types available for one base.

[0006] Conventionally, many devices have been developed that are capable of grooming a pet. However, these devices are incapable of carrying out grooming of a pet animal in an efficient manner and fails in reducing manual efforts of the user in the overall process. Additionally, these existing devices also lack in detecting presence of injury on the animal's body, and are insufficient in treating the injured portion of the animal's body.

[0007] In order to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, there exists a need in the art to develop a device that is capable of carrying out grooming of a pet animal in a self-sufficient manner, thus saves time as well as manual efforts of the user in the overall process. In addition, the developed device should also detect the presence of injury on the animal's body, accordingly treat the injured portion of the animal's body.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The principal object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.

[0009] An object of the present invention is to develop a device that is capable of grooming a pet animal in a self-sufficient manner without any requirement of skilled labors in least time consumption.

[0010] Another object of the present invention is to develop a device that is capable of detecting presence of injury on the animal's body, accordingly treat the injured portion of the animal's body.

[0011] Yet another object of the present invention is to develop a device that is compact and reliable in nature.

[0012] The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0013] The present invention relates to an automated pet grooming device that is capable of performing grooming of a pet animal in an automated manner without any requirement of skilled labors in least time consumption. Additionally, the proposed device also provides reliability and works in an efficient manner.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present invention, an automated pet grooming device comprises of, a body developed to be positioned on a fixed surface, an artificial intelligence-based imaging unit mounted on the body to determine body dimensions of a pet animal present in proximity to the body, a motorized iris lid arranged on front portion of the body to get open for allowing the animal to enter inside the body, an ultrasonic sensor is integrated inside the body for monitoring positioning of the animal inside the body, a motorized first gripper arranged inside the body to position a curved member integrated on the first gripper over the animal's body, plurality of suction units are integrated on inner periphery of the member to extract loose strands of the animal's body which is stored in a waste bin arranged inside the body, a color sensor integrated inside the body for detecting presence of injury on the animal's body, a motorized second gripper is installed inside the body and integrated a container that is positioned over injured portion of the animal's body, an electronically controlled nozzle integrated on the container to dispense an ointment stored in the container on injured portion of the animal, an angle sensor is integrated inside the body for monitoring angle of the container with respect to the container, and a battery is configured with the body for providing a continuous power supply to electronically powered components associated with the device.

[0015] While the invention has been described and shown with particular reference to the preferred embodiment, it will be apparent that variations might be possible that would fall within the scope of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
Figure 1 illustrates an isometric view of an automated pet grooming device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] The following description includes the preferred best mode of one embodiment of the present invention. It will be clear from this description of the invention that the invention is not limited to these illustrated embodiments but that the invention also includes a variety of modifications and embodiments thereto. Therefore, the present description should be seen as illustrative and not limiting. While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, it should be understood, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

[0018] In any embodiment described herein, the open-ended terms "comprising," "comprises," and the like (which are synonymous with "including," "having" and "characterized by") may be replaced by the respective partially closed phrases "consisting essentially of," consists essentially of," and the like or the respective closed phrases "consisting of," "consists of, the like.

[0019] As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" designate both the singular and the plural, unless expressly stated to designate the singular only.

[0020] The present invention relates to an automated pet grooming device that is capable of carrying out grooming of a pet animal in a self-sufficient manner, thus saves time as well as manual efforts of the user in the overall process. In addition, the proposed device also detects the presence of injury on the animal's body, accordingly treat the injured portion of the animal's body.

[0021] Referring to Figure 1, an isometric view of an automated pet grooming device is illustrated comprises of a body 1 installed with an artificial intelligence-based imaging unit 2, a motorized iris lid 3 arranged on front portion of the body 1, a motorized first gripper 4 arranged inside the body 1, a curved member 5 integrated on the first gripper 4, plurality of suction units 6 integrated on inner periphery of the member 5, a waste bin 7 arranged inside the body 1 , a motorized second gripper 8 installed inside the body 1 and integrated a container, and an electronically controlled nozzle 9 integrated on the container.

[0022] The proposed invention includes a body 1 developed to be positioned on a fixed surface. The body 1 is installed with an artificial intelligence-based imaging unit 2 integrated with a processor for capturing and processing multiple images in vicinity of the body 1 , respectively. The artificial intelligence-based imaging unit 2 comprises of a processor that is encrypted with an artificial intelligence protocol and a camera which upon actuation captures multiple images in vicinity of the body 1 for determining body 1 dimensions of a pet animal present in proximity to the body 1.

[0023] The camera of the imaging unit 2 comprised of a lens and a digital camera sensor of the imaging unit 2 , wherein the camera lens takes all the light rays rebounding around and utilizes the lenses to transmit them to a single point for creating a sharp image. When all of those light rays rebound back and meet together on the digital camera sensor, creates a digital image and the processor performs various operations like pre-processing, feature extraction and classification which are then transmitted to an inbuilt microcontroller (not shown in figure) for further processing.

[0024] The microcontroller, mentioned herein, is preferably an Arduino microcontroller. The Arduino microcontroller used herein controls the overall functionality of the components linked to it. The Arduino microcontroller is an open-source programming platform.

[0025] Further, a motorized iris lid 3 is arranged on front portion of the body 1 and that is actuated by the microcontroller to get open for allowing the animal to enter inside the body 1 . The motorized iris lid 3 , mentioned herein, consists of a ring in bottom configured with multiple slots along periphery, multiple number of blades and blade actuating ring on the top. The blades are pivotally jointed with blade actuating ring and the base plate are hooked over the blade. The blade actuating ring is rotated clock and antilock wise by a DC motor embedded in ball actuating ring which results in opening of the holes for allowing animal to enter inside the body 1.

[0026] Then, the microcontroller activates an ultrasonic sensor is integrated inside the body 1 and synced with the imaging unit 2 for monitoring positioning of the animal inside the body 1 . The ultrasonic sensor disclosed herein, consists of an emitter and a receiver that acts as a transducer. On activation of ultrasonic sensor by the microcontroller, the emitter emits ultrasonic sound waves towards animal. Further, the radiation strike to the animal and reflect back which are captured by the receiver. The signal is sent to the microcontroller. The microcontroller processes the received signal from the ultrasonic sensor and on the basis of time lapse in between the sent and received radiations, the microcontroller monitoring positioning of the animal inside the body 1.

[0027] Then, a motorized first gripper 4 arranged inside the body 1 and that is actuated by the microcontroller to position a curved member 5 integrated on the first gripper 4 over the animal's body 1 . The motorized first gripper 4 comprises an electric motor and a controller. The controller provides a signal relating to the force, position, or the speed required of the gripping. The motorized first gripper 4 receives the signal and its motor carries out the gripping and positioning of the curved member 5.

[0028] Further, plurality of suction units 6 (ranging in between from 3 to 5 in numbers) are integrated on inner periphery of the member 5 that are actuated by the microcontroller to extract loose strands of the animal's body 1 which is stored in a waste bin arranged inside the body 1.

[0029] The suction units 6 work by atmospheric pressure such that when the piston is raised, creating a partial vacuum, atmospheric pressure outside forces air into the cylinder, whence it is permitted to escape by an outlet valve. The suction cup is supplied with a motor that creates a vacuum continuously and extract loose strands of the animal's body 1.

[0030] Further, the microcontroller activates a color sensor integrated inside the body 1 and synced with the imaging unit 2 for detecting presence of injury on the animal's body 1 . The color sensor is a photoelectric device that emits light rays of different wavelength towards the animal's body 1 and the reflected light rays are received by the sensor and the signal are transmitted to the microcontroller in order to detect presence of injury on the animal's body 1.

[0031] Further, a motorized second gripper 8 installed inside the body 1 and integrated a container that is positioned over injured portion of the animal's body 1 . Then, the microcontroller actuates an electronically controlled nozzle 9 integrated on the container to dispense an ointment stored in the container on injured portion of the animal. The electronically controlled nozzle 9 , used herein, controls flow of ointment by varying the size of the flow passage as directed by a signal from a controller. This enables the direct control of flow rate and the consequential control of process quantities such as pressure, and ointment level in view of dispensing the ointment as per the determined requirement.

[0032] Further, an angle sensor is integrated inside the body 1 and that is activated by the microcontroller for monitoring angle of the container with respect to the container. The angle sensor used herein is preferably an optical angle sensor (not shown in figure) that use light beams and optical detectors to measure changes in light reflection or transmission caused by the angle of the container with respect to the container.

[0033] As the angle changes, the amount of light reflected or transmitted varies, allowing the sensor to calculate the angle. The angle sensor provides an output signal that represents the detected angle of the container with respect to the container and transmits the signal to the microcontroller. The microcontroller processes the signal to monitor the inclination angle of the container with respect to the container accordingly the microcontroller directs the actuation of the second gripper 8 . The second gripper 8 works similar to the working of the first gripper 4 as mentioned above.

[0034] A battery (not shown in figure) is associated with the device to supply power to electrically powered components which are employed herein. The battery is comprised of a pair of electrodes named as a cathode and an anode. The battery uses a chemical reaction of oxidation/reduction to do work on charge and produce a voltage between their anode and cathode and thus produces electrical energy that is used to do work in the device.

[0035] The present invention works best in the following manner, the body 1 developed to be positioned on the fixed surface, followed by the body 1 is installed with the artificial intelligence-based imaging unit 2 integrated with the processor for capturing and processing multiple images in vicinity of the body 1 , respectively to determine body 1 dimensions of the pet animal present in proximity to the body 1 . Then, the motorized iris lid 3 arranged on front portion of the body 1 that is actuated by the inbuilt microcontroller to get open for allowing the animal to enter inside the body 1 , followed by the ultrasonic sensor is integrated inside the body 1 and synced with the imaging unit 2 for monitoring positioning of the animal inside the body 1 . Then, the motorized first gripper 4 arranged inside the body 1 that is actuated by the microcontroller to position the curved member 5 integrated on the first gripper 4 over the animal's body 1 , followed by plurality of suction units 6 are integrated on inner periphery of the member 5 that are actuated by the microcontroller to extract loose strands of the animal's body 1 which is stored in the waste bin arranged inside the body 1 . Then, the color sensor integrated inside the body 1 and synced with the imaging unit 2 for detecting presence of injury on the animal's body 1 , followed by the motorized second gripper 8 is installed inside the body 1 and integrated the container that is positioned over injured portion of the animal's body 1 , followed by actuation of the electronically controlled nozzle 9 integrated on the container to dispense the ointment stored in the container on injured portion of the animal.

[0036] Although the field of the invention has been described herein with limited reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternate embodiments of the invention, will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention. , Claims:1) An automated pet grooming device, comprising:

i) a body 1 developed to be positioned on a fixed surface, wherein said body 1 is installed with an artificial intelligence-based imaging unit 2 integrated with a processor for capturing and processing multiple images in vicinity of said body 1 , respectively to determine body 1 dimensions of a pet animal present in proximity to said body 1 ;
ii) a motorized iris lid 3 arranged on front portion of said body 1 that is actuated by an inbuilt microcontroller to get open for allowing said animal to enter inside said body 1 , wherein an ultrasonic sensor is integrated inside said body 1 and synced with said imaging unit 2 for monitoring positioning of said animal inside said body 1 ;
iii) a motorized first gripper 4 arranged inside said body 1 that is actuated by said microcontroller to position a curved member 5 integrated on said first gripper 4 over said animal's body 1 , wherein plurality of suction units 6 are integrated on inner periphery of said member 5 that are actuated by said microcontroller to extract loose strands of said animal's body 1 which is stored in a waste bin arranged inside said body 1 ; and
iv) a color sensor integrated inside said body 1 and synced with said imaging unit 2 for detecting presence of injury on said animal's body 1 , wherein a motorized second gripper 8 is installed inside said body 1 and integrated a container that is positioned over injured portion of said animal's body 1 , followed by actuation of an electronically controlled nozzle 9 integrated on said container to dispense an ointment stored in said container on injured portion of said animal.

2) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein an angle sensor is integrated inside said body 1 for monitoring angle of said container with respect to said container, in accordance to which said microcontroller directs actuation of said second gripper 8.

3) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a battery is configured with said body 1 for providing a continuous power supply to electronically powered components associated with said device.

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