Animal husbandry – Milkers – With supporting means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-06
2001-09-18
Poon, Peter M. (Department: 3643)
Animal husbandry
Milkers
With supporting means
C119S014080, C119S014130
Reexamination Certificate
active
06289845
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention refers to a milking equipment comprising a milking member having teatcups and at least one milk hose connected to the milking member. The invention also refers to a relief device for a milking equipment, which comprises a milking member, having a claw with a milk outlet nipple and teatcups connected to the claw, a milk hose connected to said milk outlet nipple, and a stationary support member, which has a vertical support shaft and an essentially horizontal support arm, which at its one end is connected to the support shaft and which at its other end carries at least a portion of the milk hose.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Freely walking cows are usually milked in a particular milking stall twice a day. Such a milking stall has a number of compartments for cows to be milked and is provided with a floor which is lowered in relation to the compartments and on which the milker may stand upright during the work with the attachment of the teatcups of a milking member to the teats of a cow. In order to enable the teatcup attachment, the milker keeps the milking member suspended by his one hand, wherein the arm is relatively extended in such a manner that the milking member is located in an appropriate position beneath the udder of the cow at the same time as the milker by his other free hand attaches the teatcups to the teats. However, the milker is in course of time subjected to the risk of getting stress injures in the arm used to lift the milking member and in the shoulder of this arm, since the milking member is relatively heavy and it may be a great number of cows to be milked at each milking occasion. A conventional milking member, having four teatcups and a claw, has a weight of usually about four kilos. In addition, the milker has to lift a portion of the milk hose, hanging from the claw.
It is previously suggested to provide devices which may overcome the problem of stress injures of the kinds defined above For instance, SE-B-331 611 discloses a support for the teatcups of a milking member, comprising a horizontal linkage member 5 having holders 8 for the teatcups. Thus, the support holds the milking member suspended in such a manner that both hands of the milker are free for the handling of the teatcups. However, the known support is relatively complicated and expensive and has not been commercialised.
DE-B-1278 166 discloses a support device comprising a horizontal cylinder 3 with a piston rod 4, wherein the piston rod has a free end intended to carry a milking member. The cylinder
3
is adjustable vertically by means of a vertical piston-cylinder member. However, this known support device is complicated and seems to give the milking member an insufficient freedom of movement beneath the udder of a cow when the teatcups are attached.
US-A-3 789 798 discloses an automatic teatcup remover having a horizontal support arm 32, 33, which at its one end is attached to a vertical shaft and which at its other end is arranged to carry a claw 45. Also this known teatcup remover is complicated and give the milking member an insufficient freedom of movement when its teatcups are attached.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a milking equipment facilitating the attachment of the teatcups in such manner that the above-described problem of stress injures is eliminated.
This object is obtained by means of a milking equipment of the kind initially defined and characterized in that the milking member and at least a portion of the milk hose are supported by a balancing device, adjustable to an application position, at which the balancing device is arranged to balance essentially the weight of the milking member and the weight of said portion of the milk hose in order to permit a milker to apply the teatcups to the teats of an animal without the need for the milker to carry simultaneously the whole weight of the milking member, and a milking position, at which essentially the whole weight of the milking member acts on the teats of an animal when the teatcups are attached to the teats.
The balancing device may be produced in a very simple and inexpensive manner. Preferably, it comprises an essentially horizontal balancing arm, which at its one end is attached to the milking member and which at its other end carries said portion of the milk hose, a pivot member, which carries the balancing arm, and a stationary support member, which supports the pivot member. Herein, the balancing arm is movable horizontally in relation to the pivot member between a first position, which corresponds to said application position and at which the pivot member is located relatively close to the milking member, and a second position, which corresponds to said milking position and at which the pivot member is located relatively far from the milking member.
Advantageously, the balancing device is arranged to permit the movement of the milking member between an operation position, at which the milking member is located in a milking space and is attachable to an animal present in said milking space, and a preparedness position, at which the milking member is located outside said space. The support member may comprise a vertical support shaft and an essentially horizontal support arm, which at its one end is connected to the support shaft and which at its other end is articulated to the pivot member. Thereby, the support arm may be rotated by means of the support shaft in such a manner that the milking member is movable between said operation and preparedness positions.
Suitably, the support arm is adjustable between a first position, at which the pivot member is located relatively far from the support shaft, and a second position, at which the pivot member is located relatively close to the support shaft. By the adjustability of the support arm, a proper adjustment of the milking member beneath the udder of an animal is enabled when the balancing device is adjusted to said application position. The support arm may comprise a first portion, which is connected to the support shaft, and a second portion, which is articulated to at the pivot member and which is displaceable along said first portion of the support arm.
The teatcups may be arranged to be removed from the teats of an animal after the milking is finished by means of an automatic teatcup remover. In such case, the teatcup remover is advantageously provided to move the milking member from the operation position to the preparedness position, when the teatcup remover has removed the teatcups from the teats of the animal. Moreover, the teatcup remover is advantageously arranged, during the movement of the milking member from the operation position to the preparedness position, to adjust the balancing device from the milking position to the application position. Usually, automatic teatcup removers have a drawing cord which is attached to the milking member. Suitably, such a drawing cord extends through a guide opening on the support arm at said other end of the support arm.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a relief device which reduces the risk for a milker to get stress injures during handling of a milking equipment.
This object is obtained by the relief device for a milking equipment of the type initially defined and which relief device is characterized by a tubular balancing arm, which is connectable between the milk outlet nipple of the claw and the milk hose in such a manner that the interior of the milk outlet nipple communicates with the interior of the milk hose via the interior of the balancing arm, and a pivot member, which via a joint member is connectable to the support arm at its said other end and which carries the balancing arm, wherein the balancing arm is movable relatively to the pivot member between a first position, at which the pivot member is located relatively close to the claw, and a second position, at which the pivot member is located relatively far from the claw, when the balancing arm is connected t
DeLaval International AB
Hovey Williams Timmons & Collins
Nguyen Son T.
Poon Peter M.
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