Front positioning rail for milking parlor

Abstract

A front positioning rail for a diagonal milking parlor, in which cows stand alongside one another at an angle to the curb, is movable between a milking position and a release position. In the milking position the rail restrains the cows with their heads projecting over the rail with the briskets of said cows contacting the rail. In this rail assembly an elongated rail member extends laterally, and has a proximal generally vertical side and a horizontal upper edge. A plurality of vertical positioning loops rise above the upper edge and define head positions for the cows. The loops preferably have one vertical side and one sloping side, so that cows are discouraged from turning around in the parlor, but can slide down if they enter a position ahead of an unoccupied position. The positioning loops are spaced from one another at a predetermined interval. An air cylinder or other mechanism moves the rail member between the milking position and the release position so that said cows can exit said parlor. In one embodiment, the rail member proximal side has an upper tapered portion that slopes distally upwards so as to conform generally with the shape of the cow's brisket. The rail member can be indexed to bring the hind end of the cows against a back rail or splash shield.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.