Animal husbandry – Milkers – Methods of milking
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-10
2001-07-10
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)
Animal husbandry
Milkers
Methods of milking
C119S014140
Reexamination Certificate
active
06257169
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A device for milking animals, includes a milking parlour and milking equipment having milking cups, a control system and at least one sensor for detecting the position or other properties of the animals to be milked, or parts thereof, and/or for detecting the position or actions of various components of the milking device.
Devices of this kind are known, it being possible for the sensor to carry out detections which in the sensor are converted into an electrical signal. This electrical signal is coupled, for example via electric cables, to the control system, where it is processed.
The drawback of the known devices is that such sensors, which are located in the vicinity of the cows to be milked, are provided with long electrical connections to the control system. The long cables running between the control system and the sensors run through the milking parlour and are particularly susceptible to picking up electromagnetic interference. This interference often occurs, for example, during thunderstorms, but is also caused by switching on motors for the milk-cooling system, the vacuum pump and the like and by the use of high voltage for provoking the animals to move and, for example, when electrified wire is used. This electromagnetic interference propagates into the control system, where it is sometimes treated as if it were a signal from sensors. These incorrect sensor signals can disrupt the control system, which is undesirable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to eliminate the abovementioned drawback, and to this end the sensor is provided with a transducer for converting a signal produced by the sensor into an electrical signal which can be processed by the control system, the transducer being located at a different position from the sensor and the sensor and the transducer being electrically insulated from one another. As a result, the control system is no longer affected by undesirable interference signals.
According to an improvement to the invention, the transducer is located in a switch cabinet. This allows the electric lines from the transducer in the switch cabinet to the control system to be installed in advance and suitably protected and also allows the lines to parts of the milking parlour which are not electrically conductive to be installed later, thus simplifying assembly.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the sensor for detecting the presence of an animal comprises, inter alia, a switching platform, as well as bellows on which at least part of the switching platform rests, a transducer which is able to convert changes in air pressure into an electrical signal and an air line for connecting the bellows and the transducer. The result is a robust sensor which is easy to connect and can be placed in the wet floor area of a milking parlour without any risk of parts of the parlour being placed under electrical voltage.
According to another aspect of the invention, the transducer comprises a switch which is adjusted in such a manner that it switches when the platform is loaded with a weight which essentially corresponds to the weight of an animal to be milked. As a result, no signal is transmitted if, for example, the farmer steps onto the switching platform, while a signal is transmitted if a cow does so. This prevents the control system of the device from being affected by the farmer when he/she walks through the parlour and the gangways to carry out maintenance, so that faults are avoided.
According to a further improvement, a passageway along the milking parlour comprises a plurality of switching platforms which are covered with a common cover, such as a rubber mat. By dividing the passageway into a plurality of sections, each with one or more switching platforms and placing a common cover over them, it is possible in a simple manner to detect the progress of a cow through the passageway, while the sensors cannot be contaminated, owing to the fact that they are well covered.
According to a further improvement, the passageway is provided with a mechanically driven, moveable slide. This allows excrement, for example, to be cleaned off the top side of the common cover in a simple manner, while the mechanically driven, moveable slide can also be used to drive animals into the passageway and to stimulate them to leave the passageway.
According to another embodiment of the invention in which the milking cups are provided with an entry chamber containing a sensor, inter alia for detecting the presence of a teat in the milking cup, the sensor comprises a transducer which is able to convert changes in air pressure into an electrical signal, as well as an air line for connecting the entry chamber to the transducer. This prevents a sensor which operates using electrical voltage from being used in the region of a very sensitive body part of a cow, which is frequently also moist as a result, for example, of cleaning, for detecting whether the teat has been placed in the milking cup. Measuring the pressure in the entry chamber has been found to be sufficient to detect the presence of a teat. This is because it has been found that the variation in pressure in the entry chamber provides a clear indication of whether the teat has been arranged correctly. This is because if the teat has not been put in position or has fallen out, there is virtually no pressure reduction in the entry chamber, while if the teat is folded double at the top of the milking cup a considerable, more or less constant subatmospheric pressure prevails in the entry chamber, while if the teat has been arranged correctly there is a slightly fluctuating subatmospheric pressure which is of a lesser magnitude than the subatmospheric pressure in the milking line.
According to a further improvement, the transducer is able to convert the pressure measured into an electrical signal which is proportional to the pressure. As a result, the pressure profile in the entry chamber can be recorded accurately in the control system and the latter can be used, if appropriate, to adjust the subatmospheric pressure in the milking cup or to adjust the milking process in some other way.
According to another application of the invention in which a part of the milking device which can be moved by means of the control system, such as for example a moveable fence, is provided with a sensor for detecting a position thereof, the sensor comprises bellows, as well as a transducer which is able to convert changes in air pressure into an electrical signal, and an air line for connecting the bellows and the transducer. As a result, there is no longer any need to use sensors which operate with electrical voltage in the vicinity of the animals, with the result that they are no longer able to bite into the electric cabling, and faults are avoided and assembly is simplified.
According to another aspect of the device according to the invention, the sensor is able to generate an optical signal and the device comprises a transducer, which is able to convert the optical signal into an electrical signal, as well as a fibre optic cable for connecting the sensor and the transducer. As a result, there is no need to connect any long electric cabling to the control system, while it is nevertheless possible to transmit sensor sianals containing large amounts of information to the control system.
According to one embodiment of the invention in which the milking equipment comprises an application system for automatically applying milking cups around the teats of an animal to be milked, and the control system controls the application system on the basis of the information obtained using sensors, a fibre optic cable is provided for the purpose of transferring data between the control system and the application system. This avoids a further source of interference which is caused by the fact that the cabling would pick up signals caused by electromagnetic interference in the milking parlour environment.
The invention also comprises a method for automatically milking animals with a device according to
Jordan Charles T.
Prolion B.V.
Shaw Elizabeth
Webb Ziesenheim & Logsdon Orkin & Hanson, P.C.
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