1. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) for distributing fodder andor drink in metered portions to an animal, which feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) is provided with a feed unit (10, 20, 30, 40, 50) for containing fodder andor drink, an entrance opening (11, 21, 31, 41, 51) to the feed unit (10, 20, 30, 40, 50), and a feed supplying device (13, 23, 33, 43) for supplying an amount of fodder andor drink to the feed unit (10, 20, 30, 40, 50), the feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) being provided with a closing means (25, 30, 40, 46, 50, 55) that is movable across the entrance opening in order to deter an animal visiting the feed unit (10, 20, 30, 40, 50) from taking fodder andor drink, characterized in that the closing means (25, 30, 40, 46, 50, 55) rotates about an axis (26, 36, 45, 57), the closing means being driven by a roll (19, 29, 39, 47, 56) that contacts the closing means, which roll (19, 29, 39, 47, 56) is driven by a motor (28, 38, 48).
2. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the feed metering device comprises an animal identification device (12), the roll (19, 29, 39, 47, 56) being controlled with the aid of data from the animal identification device (12).
3. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the roll (19, 29, 39, 47, 56) is disposed in the vicinity below the entrance opening (11, 21, 31, 41, 51).
4. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that a housing (A, B, C, D, E) is disposed in the vicinity below the entrance opening (11, 21, 31, 41, 51), in which housing (A, B, C, D, E) the roll (19, 29, 39, 47, 56) is mounted.
5. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that the movable closing means is constituted by the feed unit (30, 40, 50), which is designed as a movable one.
6. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the feed unit (30) comprises a wall portion (35) for catching remaining feed.
7. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the feed unit (30, 40, 50) bears on the housing (A, B, C, D, E) via the roll (19, 29, 39, 47, 56).
8. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the motor is included in the housing (A, B, C, D, E).
9. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the animal identification device (12) is included in the housing (A, B, C, D, E).
10. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the feed metering device comprises further deterring means, which further means include a loudspeaker (16) for producing an animal-frightening sound.
11. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the feed metering device comprises further deterring means, which further means include a lighting device (15) for emitting an animal-frightening light.
12. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the feed metering device comprises further deterring means, which further means include a voltage emitting device (27) for emitting an animal-frightening electric voltage.
13. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims 10 to 12 and with reference to claim 3, characterized in that the further deterring means for deterring an animal are at least partially integrated in the housing (A, B, C, D, E).
14. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the feed metering device is provided with means for weighing the fodder andor drink present in the feed unit (10, 20, 30, 40, 50), which means move the feed unit (10, 20, 30, 40, 50) in a pivoting respectively a rotating manner.
15. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that the means for weighing the fodder andor drink present in the feed unit (10, 20, 30, 40, 50) are connected to the feed supplying device (13, 23, 33, 43) for supplying an amount of fodder andor drink to the feed unit (10, 20, 30, 40, 50) with the aid of data both from the animal identification device (12, 22, 32, 42, 52) and the weighing means.
16. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in claim 14 or 15, characterized in that the means for weighing the fodder andor drink present in the feed unit comprise:
a feed unit (10, 20, 30, 40, 50), which is pivotable about a hinge pin (26, 36, 45, 57), the degree of pivotability being determined by the weight of the fodder andor drink present in the feed unit (10, 20, 30, 40, 50),
a device (18, 201) for determining the degree of pivotability of the feed unit (10, 20, 30, 40, 50) and for deducing, from the degree as determined, the weight of the fodder andor drink present in the feed unit (10, 20, 30, 40, 50).
17. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in claim 16, characterized in that the device (18, 201) for determining the degree of pivotability of the feed unit (10, 20, 30, 40, 50) and for deducing, from the degree as determined, the weight of the fodder andor drink present in the feed unit (10, 20, 30, 40, 50), is integrated in the housing (A, B, C, D, E).
18. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in claim 16 or 17, characterized in that the device for determining the degree of pivotability of the feed unit and for deducing, from the degree as determined, the weight of the fodder andor drink present in the feed unit, comprises a measuring roll (19, 29, 39, 47, 56) which is in contact with the feed unit.
19. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in claim 16 or 17, characterized in that the device for determining the degree of pivotability of the feed unit and for deducing, from the degree as determined, the weight of the fodder andor drink present in the feed unit, is constituted by a load sensor (202), the feed unit bearing on the load sensor (202).
20. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in claim 19, characterized in that the load sensor (202) is included in the housing (A, B, C, D, E).
21. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in claim 18 or 20, characterized in that the hinge pin (204, 59) and the measuring roll (29, 56) respectively the load sensor (202) are located at a small distance from each other.
22. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims 14 to 21, characterized in that there is provided a safety supporting bracket (101, 205, 58) for the feed unit.
23. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that the means for weighing the fodder andor drink present in the feed unit comprise:
a movable feed unit (30),
a motor (38) for moving the feed unit (30),
a device (301) for measuring the magnitude of the torque during movement and for deducing, from the magnitude of the torque measured, the weight of the fodder andor drink present in the feed unit (30).
24. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in claim 23, characterized in that the motor (38) for moving the feed unit (30), and the device (301) for measuring the magnitude of the torque during movement and for deducing, from the magnitude of the torque measured, the weight of the fodder andor drink present in the feed unit (30), are integrated in the housing (A, B, C, D, E).
25. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in claim 23 or 24, characterized in that the motor (38) for moving the feed unit (30) drives a torque roll (39), which torque roll (39) is in contact with the feed unit (30).
26. A feed metering device (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as claimed in claims 5 and 25 or claims 5 and 18, characterized in that the roll for driving the feed unit and the torque roll respectively the measuring roll, are constituted by one roll.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What is claimed is:
1. A method comprising measuring powers of at least one finger of a finger block, calculating crosscorrelations of the fingers of said finger block with one another, and deactivating said selected finger when a function of said powers and said crosscorrelations satisfies a predetermined criterion.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said finger block has two fingers.
3. A method according to claim 2, wherein said function is
FingerCostmin(PowerCenter1, PowerCenter2)C
where is a value between zero and one, PowerCenter1 and PowerCenter2 are powers of fingers in said finger block, C is a predetermined value and is one of said calculated crosscorrelations.
4. A method according to claim 3, wherein is
11
=
Re
k
=
1
N
(
ch
Finger1
(
k
)
ch
Finger2
*
(
k
)
)
k
=
1
N
(
ch
Finger1
(
k
)
ch
Finger2
*
(
k
)
)
.
5. A method according to claim 18, wherein is
12
=
k
=
1
N
ch
Finger1
(
k
)
ch
Finger2
*
(
k
)
k
=
1
N
ch
Finger1
(
k
)
2
k
=
1
n
ch
Finger2
*
(
k
)
2
.
6. A method according to claim 1, wherein said step of calculating uses a forgetting factor.
7. A method comprising measuring the power of a new path, and calculating the crosscorrelation of a finger candidate and at least one active finger whose time delay is closest to the time delay of said finger candidate.
8. A method according to claim 7, the method further comprising the step of assigning said finger candidate to said new path when a composite finger power for said finger candidate satisfies a predetermined criterion.
9. A method according to claim 7, wherein said step of calculating uses a crosscorrelation function defined as
13
=
Re
k
=
1
N
(
ch
FingerCandidate
(
k
)
ch
ClosestFinger
*
(
k
)
)
k
=
1
N
(
ch
FingerCandidate
(
k
)
ch
ClosestFinger
*
(
k
)
)
.
10. A method according to claim 7, wherein said step of calculating uses a crosscorrelation function defined as
14
=
k
=
1
N
ch
FingerCandidate
(
k
)
ch
ClosestFinger
*
(
k
)
k
=
1
N
ch
FingerCandidate
(
k
)
2
k
=
1
n
ch
ClosestFinger
*
(
k
)
2
.
11. A method according to claim 7, wherein said step of calculating uses a forgetting factor.
12. A finger deactivator comprising a finger power measurement unit for measuring powers of at least two finger in a finger block, a correlation calculator for calculating crosscorrelations of said at least to fingers of with one another, and a deactivation unit for deactivating a selected finger when a function of said powers and said crosscorrelations satisfies a predetermined criterion.
13. A finger deactivator according to claim 12, wherein said finger block has two fingers and said function is
FingerCostmin(PowerCenter1, PowerCenter2)C
where is a value between zero and one, PowerCenter1 and PowerCenter2 are powers of fingers in said finger block, C is a predetermined value and is one of said calculated crosscorrelations.
14. A finger deactivator according to claim 13, wherein is
15
=
Re
k
=
1
N
(
ch
Finger1
(
k
)
ch
Finger2
*
(
k
)
)
k
=
1
N
(
ch
Finger1
(
k
)
ch
Finger2
*
(
k
)
)
.
15. A finger deactivator according to claim 12, wherein is
16
=
k
=
1
N
ch
Finger1
(
k
)
ch
Finger2
*
(
k
)
k
=
1
N
ch
Finger1
(
k
)
2
k
=
1
n
ch
Finger2
*
(
k
)
2
.
16. A finger deactivator according to claim according to claim 12, wherein said correlation calculator uses a forgetting factor.
17. A finger assignor comprising a power measurement unit for measuring the power of a new path, and a correlation calculator for calculating the crosscorrelation of a finger candidate and an active fingers whose time delay is closest to the time delay of said finger candidate.
18. A finger assignor according to claim 17, the finger assignor further comprising an assignment unit for assigning said finger candidate to said new path when a composite finger power for said finger candidate satisfies a predetermined criterion.
19. A finger assignor according to claim 17, wherein said correlation calculator uses a crosscorrelation function defined as
17
=
Re
k
=
1
N
(
ch
FingerCandidate
(
k
)
ch
ClosestFinger
*
(
k
)
)
k
=
1
N
(
ch
FingerCandidate
(
k
)
ch
ClosestFinger
*
(
k
)
)
.
20. A finger assignor according to claim 17, wherein said correlation calculator uses a crosscorrelation function defined as
18
=
k
=
1
N
ch
FingerCandidate
(
k
)
ch
ClosestFinger
*
(
k
)
k
=
1
N
ch
FingerCandidate
(
k
)
2
k
=
1
n
ch
ClosestFinger
*
(
k
)
2
.
21. A finger assignor according to claim 17, wherein said correlation calculator uses a forgetting factor.