Animal husbandry – Milkers – Methods of milking
Patent
1994-08-22
1996-10-29
Swiatek, Robert P.
Animal husbandry
Milkers
Methods of milking
119 1408, 119 1415, A01J 5011
Patent
active
055687881
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an implement and a method for milking animals, that is especially suitable for milking cows.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Automatic milking takes place in a milking parlor which is provided with a milking robot typically comprising a robot arm functioning as a carrier of one or several teat cups to be applied to the teats of an animal's udder. The teats are located by means of one or several sensors, whereupon the robot arm--swung from a side of the milking parlor to underneath the animal--can be positioned so that through an upward movement of an appropriate teat cup said teat cup can be applied to a teat of the animal's udder. In order to control the process of connecting the teat cups, the milking process itself, and the physical constitution of the cows, according to the invention, the implement is characterized in that in the line system from a teat cup down to the location where the milk lines from the teat cups join there is provided one or more sensors including a vacuum-sensitive sensor, a flow-sensitive sensor, a temperature-sensitive sensor, an electrical conductivity sensor. A computer is also provided for processing and reproducing the information produced by these sensors. Such a line system may be provided for each of the quarters of the animal's udder. The sensors may be placed in only one line and consequently relate to the flow of milk from only one teat, but they may also be placed in several lines from individual teat cups and then relate to the flow of milk from several teats. When the flows of milk from the individual teats are combined in a milk claw, the sensors should be placed in one or several teat cups and in the relatively short lines from said teat cups to the milk claw; if desirable, the milk claw may comprise separate compartments to accommodate sensors for each of the quarters of the animal's udder, with the milk from these compartments joining together in a further part of this milk claw. When the milk from the individual teats is fed through separate lines to a common milk meter, the sensors in one or several teat cups and in these separate milk lines should be placed before the connection to the milk meter. When separate milk meters are used for the milk flows from the various teats the flow of milk leaving such a milk meter is fed into a central milk line and the line system in which sensors may be included is considerably longer. It should be kept in mind, however, that the location of the sensors is also determined to a large extent by the nature of the sensor. The temperature-sensitive sensor, for example, should not be placed too far downstream from a teat cup, because the milk will have cooled down too much there and the information from this sensor will thus be of little value.
According to another aspect of the invention, the implement can be provided with a vacuum-sensitive sensor for each of a plurality of teat cups, to detect the presence and/or a vacuum drawn amount therein. For a set of teat cups, the implement may be provided with a vacuum-sensitive and a flow-sensitive sensor combined with a computer to determine the dead time associated with the flow of milk. However, for each of a plurality of teat cups, the implement may also comprise a combination of a vacuum-sensitive and a flow-sensitive sensor to determine, in association with a computer, the dead time with regard to the flows of milk in the relevant teat cups.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the implement can include a temperature-sensitive sensor for one or several teat cups to determine the temperature of the relevant flow of milk, and also a computer to determine the dead time and, in conjunction with the information originating from the temperature-sensitive sensor, to produce an indication of an abnormally high temperature indicating a physiological condition in the animal. Furthermore, there may be provided for one teat cup or for each of a plurality of teat cups a combination of a temperature-sensitive sensor and a se
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Fransen Rene
van den Berg Karel
Albright Penrose Lucas
C. van der Lely N.V.
Swiatek Robert P.
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