Milking method and an apparatus therefor
AssigneeAlfa-Laval AB
InventorsSten Jakobson, Karl Rabold
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention relates to a method of milking loose-housing cows which find their way individually to one or more feeding stalls where they are automatically identified and fed with the aid of a computer connected to the identification and feeding means. The new feature resides in that the computer is used for recording of the points of time each cow is milked and to activate a device, in connection with the identification of a cow arriving at the feeding stall to eat, and provided that a predetermined time has passed after the preceding milking operation, which device is activated for automatic application of the milking means to the cow's udder and for starting a milking operation.
Claims10
A method of milking cows which are permitted to go loose and find their way individually to one or more stalls constructed for feeding, in which the cows are automatically identified and fed with the aid of a computer connected to the identification and feeding means used, wherein the computer is utilized, on one hand, to record the points of time at which every cow is milked and, on the other hand, to activate--in connection with the identification of a cow arriving at a feeding stall to eat, and provided that a predetermined time has passed after the cow in question was last milked--a device for automatic application of milking means to the udder of the cow and for starting a milking operation, while the cow is prevented from leaving the stall during milking.
Apparatus for milking cows which carry respective identifying means and which are permitted to go loose, the apparatus comprising at least one stall to which a cow can find her way, sensing means at said stall operable by proximity of any of said identifying means to emit a signal identifying the corresponding cow, a computer operatively connected to the sensing means for receiving cow-identifying signals therefrom, feeding means at the stall operable by the computer in response to a said signal to dispense feed in an amount selected for the corresponding cow, milking means at the stall including teat cups, a robot operable by the computer to apply the teat cups to the teats of a cow in the stall, removal means at the stall for removing the teat cups from the cow upon completion of milking, the computer including means operable by a said signal to record a point in time when the corresponding cow was last milked, the computer also including means operable by a said signal for rendering the robot inoperative when less than a predetermined time period has elapsed since said point of time for the corresponding cow, and retaining means operable by the computer to retain a cow in the stall during milking of the cow.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.