Milking inflation

A milking inflation for use with a teat cup assembly including a rigid shell having a lower end, said inflation being made from an elastomeric material and having a tubular milking tube section extendable from the lower end of the shell, said milking tube section including

• an elongated stem portion having an exterior wall including an outer surface, upper and lower end portions and an inner wall defining a flow passage therethrough;
• a circumferentially-extending first groove in the outer surface of said exterior wall of said stem portion at a location below and spaced from the lower end of the shell, when said inflation is installed in the shell and adjacent a thicker part or an internally supported part of said stem portion, said first groove being arranged to permit substantial angular bending of said teat cup assembly relative to said stem portion for attachment to a cow's teat without substantial crimping which causes a reduction in the cross-sectional area of said flow passage;
• and
• a second circumferentially extending groove in the outer surface of said exterior wall of said stem portion axially spaced from said first groove in a direction toward said lower end portion and being arranged to cooperate with said first groove to permit the teat cup assembly to be folded over toward said stem portion to a folded over position where said stem portion is sufficiently crimped in the vicinity of said second groove to substantially close said flow passage and where the teat cup assembly can be laid on a generally horizontal support surface and remain in a folded over position such that, when said inflation is installed in the shell, said second groove is located far enough away from the lower end of the shell to permit the teat cup assembly to be moved to the folded over position before the shell or any part carried by said shell engages said stem portion.