US 12,588,654 B2Granted

Method and apparatus for operating a rotary milking platform to maximise the number of animals milked per unit time and a rotary milking platform

AssigneeDairymaster

InventorsJohn Gerard Daly, Edmond Patrick Harty, Jr., Shane Joseph Burns

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A method and apparatus (3) for operating a rotary milking platform (1) to maximise the number of animals milked per unit time. The milking platform (1) is rotated about a central vertical axis (4) by a variable speed motor (6), and comprises a plurality of animal accommodating locations (5) for the animals being milked. An entry position (7) and an exit position (9) accommodate animals to and from the platform (1). A position sensor (10) monitors the angular position of the platform (1). An RFID sensor (12) reads the identity of animals entering the platform (1). Historical data relating to milking time per milking session and the milk yield per animal per session is stored in an electronic memory (17). A microprocessor (15) reads signals from flow meters (14) which monitor the milk flow from milking clusters of each animal accommodating location (5). The microprocessor (15) is configured as each animal enters the platform (1) to compute an optimum angular velocity for the platform (1) in order to maximise the number of animals milked per unit time. The optimum angular velocity is computed as a function of the historical data of each animal on the platform (1), and the current milk yield of each animal on the milking platform (1) determined from the flow meter (14).

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method for operating a rotary milking platform to maximise a number of animals milked per unit time on the platform, the platform comprising a plurality of animal accommodating locations circumferentially arranged around the platform, and each animal accommodating location is configured to pass through P positions between and including an entry position at which respective animal accommodating locations are sequentially entered by the animals, and an exit position from which the respective animal accommodating locations are sequentially exited by the animals during each revolution of the platform, the method comprising:

computing a predicted finishing position for each animal currently on the platform, at which milking of that animal is predicted to be finished, the predicted finishing position of each animal currently on the platform being computed as a function of historical data of that animal, the historical data of each animal currently on the platform comprising at least one of a historical milking time per milking session to milk that animal or a historical milk yield per milking session of that animal,
computing a non-productive period for each animal currently on the platform being a period that animal will remain on the platform from the computed predicted finishing position of that animal to one of the exit position of the platform for that animal or an ideal finishing position for that animal,
computing a number of revolutions of the platform each animal currently on the platform should remain on the platform in order to minimise a total value of a sum of the non-productive periods of the respective animals on the platform, and
determining an optimum angular velocity of the platform as a function of the computed number of revolutions each animal should remain on the platform in order to minimise the total value of the sum of the non-productive periods of the respective animals on the platform.

1 more element

Apparatus for operating a rotary milking platform to maximise a number of animals milked per unit time, the apparatus comprising a signal processor configured:

to compute a predicted finishing position for each animal currently on the platform, at which milking of that animal is predicted to be finished, the predicted finishing position of each animal currently on the platform being computed as a function of historical data of that animal, the historical data of each animal currently on the platform comprising at least one of a historical milking time per milking session to milk that animal or a historical milk yield per milking session of that animal,
to compute a non-productive period for each animal currently on the platform being a period that animal will remain on the platform from the predicted finishing position of that animal to the one of an exit position of the platform for that animal or an ideal finishing position for that animal,
to compute a number of revolutions of the platform each animal currently on the platform should remain on the platform in order to minimise a total value of a sum of the non-productive periods of respective animals on the platform, and
to determine an optimum angular velocity of the platform as a function of the computed number of revolutions each animal should remain on the platform in order to minimise the total value of the sum of the non-productive periods of the respective animals on the platform.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 18/363,264Filed 1 Aug 2023 · continuation
Priority: IE 2018/022327 Jul 2018
Published: US 2023/0371463 A123 Nov 2023
Granted: 31 Mar 2026
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification4 codes

A01K 1/126
Milking stations: carousels
A01J 5/007
Milking machines or devices: monitoring milking processes; Control or regulation of milking machines
A01K
Animal husbandry
A01J
Manufacture of dairy products

Family

PCT/IE2019/000009Parent of this continuation · filed 29 Jul 2019
US 2023/0371463 A1Pre-grant publication · published 23 Nov 2023
Application17/263,015Parent of this continuation
US 11,758,876 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2021/0307286 A1Published application
US 12,588,654 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.