Animal husbandry – Milkers – With signals – indicators – registers – and timers
Patent
1985-09-18
1988-04-05
Friedman, Carl D.
Animal husbandry
Milkers
With signals, indicators, registers, and timers
119 1411, 119 1412, A01S 908
Patent
active
047351721
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a milking means comprising a number of teat cups, each having necessary connections for the milking function.
Known milking means is normally provided with a so called milk claw which is positioned close to the teat cups and beneath these ones and which is connected to the teat cups via the milk tubes and the pulsation tubes. In this connection the length of the milk tube between the teat cup and the milk claw usually is about 15 cm.
An essential drawback with known technics is that the milker must use both his hands when applying the teat cups onto the teats. As a rule, this is done in that way that the milker holds up the milking means by holding the milk claw with one of his hands and applies the teat cup onto the teat with his other hand. In this connection both his arms are outstretched in front of his body.
This working moment has been thoroughly studied by Professor J. Ekholm et al in the Karolinska Institut. The study of Mr. Ekholm comprises the load of the motion organs of the milker. Due to the working position there arise great moments in several of the joints of the body. By always having a certain working position at each cow being milked and having the milking work each day of the year, this can lead to wear and fatique of the joint surfaces. The opinion of Ekholm is that this phenomenon can be critical and lead to or make already arisen artroses and other joint troubles worse in the neck region, loin back, hips and knees. When milking in two planes, the load on knees, hips and loin back is reduced but is rather increased in the neck and shoulders. The opinion of Ekholm that the load can be critical is proved by a high frequence of mentioned types of troubles among milkers.
Another drawback with known technics is an uneven pull difficult to control in the teats of the cow. Due to the fact that the milk tubes and pulsation tubes leading from the teat cup to the milk claw have a certain stiffness, the centre of gravity of the parts included in the system are necessarily distributed more or less unevenly on the teats. This has the consequence that the udder will mot be completely milked out which leads to a low milk production of the cow.
A third drawback is that the milk tube and normally also the pulsation tube are fastened to the teat cup in such a way that when the teat cups are hanging in their tubes from the milk claw, the teat cups are directed downwards. This has the grave disadvantage that under unfavourable circumstances the teat cup can fall down onto the floor and suck up dirty particles and other things.
The purpose of this invention is to remove the problems connected with known technics. This purpose is attained according to the invention by a milking means of the kind mentioned by way of introduction the milking means has such a design that when the milking means is in the position for application of the teat cups onto the teats of the animal, each teat cup hangs down freely from the remaining teat cups from a point above the teat base of the udder of the animal.
Due to this arrangement each of the teat cups will be freely hanging, whereby the milker does not need to lift all the teat cups inclusive the milk claw when putting on a teat cup onto the teat as has been the case when using the known technics. Instead of lifting the whole weight of the milking means distributed on this outstretched arms, the milker needs only to lift a quarter of the weight with one arm.
That means a considerable reduction of the load on the motion organs of the body according to calculations made. For the neck region the load will be reduced with about 50% and for the loin back and the hip joint the reduction of the load for one plane-milking will be about 15%.
Due to the fact that each teat carries the weight of its own teat cup with tubes but cannot be influenced by the remaining parts of the milking means, the weight of the milking means will be evenly distributed on the teats and always of equal size even on cows having only three teats.
Other things that are characterist
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patent: 4586462 (1986-05-01), Icking
Mayntz Michael
Wahlstrom Lennart
Alfa-Laval Agri International AB
Friedman Carl D.
Hapgood Cyrus S.
Smith Creighton
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