1-20. (canceled)
21. An animal guide device for leading and training an animal, comprising:
a body part to be placed on the body of the animal;
a leash attached to said body part, wherein a given pulling force exerted by the animal on the leash is transferred to a distal end of said leash;
a force measuring device disposed in-line between said body part and said distal end of said leash;
a signal generator connected to and activated by said force measuring device, said signal generator being configured to generate a first signal upon being activated when the animal exerts a minimum pulling force on the leash and to generate a second signal, different from the first signal, when the animal exerts a pulling force greater than the minimum pulling force.
22. The animal guide device according to claim 21, wherein said force measuring device is a load cell configured to record a tensile force.
23. The animal guide device according to claim 21, wherein said force measuring device is a tension spring or a strain gauge.
24. The animal guide device according to claim 21, wherein said signal generator is an ultrasound generator configured to generate ultrasonic waves of mutually different frequencies or mutually different intensities.
25. The animal guide device according to claim 21, wherein said force measuring device is carried in-line on said leash and said signal generator is disposed on said body part.
26. The animal guide device according to claim 21, wherein said force measuring device is disposed on said body part and said signal generator is disposed on said leash.
27. The animal guide device according to claim 21, wherein said force measuring device and said signal generator are commonly mounted in a structural unit.
28. The animal guide device according to claim 27, wherein said structural unit including said force measuring device and said signal generator are configured as a retrofit kit to be connected in-line between a leash and an animal collar or harness.
29. The animal guide device according to claim 21, which further comprises a control device for altering a frequency of the ultrasonic waves generated by said signal generator or an intensity of the signals.
30. The animal guide device according to claim 29, wherein said control device includes a manual adjustment actuator for changing a volume of an output signal of said signal generator.
31. The animal guide device according to claim 29, wherein said control device includes an optical display for displaying a current volume of the signal generator.
32. The animal guide device according to claim 29, wherein said control device is automatically controlled on the basis of a tensile force acting between the animal and the distal end of said leash.
33. The animal guide device according to claim 21, wherein said signal generator is configured to vary at least one of a frequency and an intensity of an output signal continuously in dependence on a magnitude of the pulling force.
34. The animal guide device according to claim 21, wherein said control device, said signal generator, and said force measuring device are commonly arranged in a housing and said housing is provided with respective suspension elements on opposite sides thereof.
35. The animal guide device according to claim 21, which comprises a suspension apparatus disposed on said leash or on said body part such that a trigger is activatable by mechanically moving the tensile force.
36. An animal training device, comprising:
a housing formed with a first suspension element to be connected to a collar or a harness on an animal and a second suspension element to be connected to a leash;
wherein, when said housing is connected between the leash and the animal, the animal is guided with the leash and a given pulling force exerted by the animal is transferred by way of said housing;
a force measuring device disposed in said housing in-line between said first suspension element and said second suspension element for measuring the pulling force acting between the leash and the animal;
a signal generator connected to and activated by said force measuring device, said signal generator being configured to generate a first signal upon being activated when the animal exerts a minimum pulling force on the leash and to generate a second signal, different from the first signal, when the animal exerts a pulling force greater than the minimum pulling force.
37. The animal training device according to claim 36, wherein said first and second suspension elements are disposed on mutually opposite sides of said housing and said signal generator is oriented to issue a signal in a direction of the animal.
38. The animal training device according to claim 36, wherein said said signal generator is configured to issue a signal of increasing intensity or increasing frequency in dependence on an increase of the pulling force exerted by the animal on the leash.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A system for using outside ventilation air to maintain indoor comfort and air quality, comprising:
a sensor system for detecting outdoor and indoor air temperatures;
an air delivery system for delivering the outside ventilation air to an interior space; and
a programmable controller, operably connected to the sensor system and the air delivery system, that includes:
a recovery element that receives an outdoor air temperature and an indoor air temperature detected by the sensor system;
a storage element that stores the detected outdoor air temperature and the detected indoor air temperature detected by the sensor system;
a calculating element that automatically calculates a predicted indoor temperature range and a predicted outdoor temperature range based on the stored outdoor air temperature and the stored indoor air temperature; and
a regulating element that automatically regulates operation of the air delivery system as a function of predicted indoor and outdoor air temperature ranges and a predetermined indoor air temperature range.
2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a user interface that displays the predicted and predetermined indoor air temperature ranges and is operably connected to the controller.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the controller regulates an airflow rate based on the desired indoor air temperature range.
4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a communication link connected to the controller for connection to an outside data source.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the communication link obtains a weather prediction.
6. The system of claim 4, wherein the controller regulates operation of the air delivery system based on information received from the outside data source over the communication link.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller regulates an indoor air temperature at which cooling by the outside ventilation air is discontinued based on predicted temperatures.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller regulates an airflow rate based on predicted temperatures.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller controls an airflow rate of the outside ventilation air in proportion to a cooling demand.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller controls the air quality by regulating a volume of the outside ventilation air delivered by the air delivery system.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the air delivery system further comprises a vapor compression air conditioner operably connected to the controller, wherein the controller operates the vapor compression air conditioner during early morning hours to pre-cool a building.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller activates the air delivery system when the outdoor air temperature is lower than the indoor air temperature.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein the air delivery system includes at least one of a vapor compression unit and an evaporative cooling unit to cool the outside ventilation air.
14. A method of maintaining indoor air comfort and air quality with a system having,
a sensor system for detecting outdoor and indoor air temperatures;
an air delivery system for delivering the outside ventilation air to an interior space; and
a programmable controller, operably connected to the sensor system and the air delivery system, that includes:
a recovery element that receives an outdoor air temperature and an indoor air temperature detected by the sensor system;
a storage element that stores the detected outdoor air temperature and the detected indoor air temperature detected by the sensor system;
a calculating element that automatically calculates a predicted indoor temperature range and a predicted outdoor temperature range based on the stored outdoor air temperature and the stored indoor air temperature; and
a regulating element that automatically regulates operation of the air delivery system as a function of predicted indoor and outdoor air temperature ranges and a predetermined indoor air temperature range, the method comprising:
detecting an outdoor air temperature and an indoor air temperature;
storing the detected outdoor air temperature and the detected indoor air temperature;
calculating a predicted indoor temperature range and a predicted outdoor temperature range based on the stored outdoor air temperature and the stored indoor air temperature; and
regulating operation of an air delivery system to deliver outside ventilation air into an interior space as a function of the predicted indoor and outdoor air temperature ranges and the predetermined indoor air temperature range.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising inputting a desired indoor air temperature through a user interface.
16. The method of claim 14, further comprising connecting the controller to an outside data source via a communication link.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising obtaining a weather prediction via the communication link.
18. The method of claim 14, further comprising regulating an indoor air temperature by controlling movement of outside ventilation air based on predicted temperatures.
19. The method of claim 14, further comprising activating at least one of a vapor compression unit and an evaporative cooling unit to cool outside ventilation air.
20. The method of claim 14, further comprising activating the air delivery system when the outdoor air temperature is lower than the indoor air temperature.