Apparatus for and method of milking an animal
AssigneeTickleford Limited
InventorsSydney William Simpson, Alan Clare
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Transducers 114 are acted upon by milk flowing respectively from each teat of the animal into a milking claw which has an upper chamber 119 and a lower chamber 120. The transducers respond to a condition of the milk and control valves 128. If the transducer indicates normal milk, valve 128 is set to direct flow into the lower chamber 120 from which it passes via pipe 122 to a collection tank. If abnormal milk is indicated, valve 128 is set to direct flow into the upper chamber 119, from which it passes via pipe 124 to a dump bucket or drain.
Claims16
Apparatus for use in the milking of an animal which comprises a plurality of inlet paths, a common outlet path, a subsidiary outlet path, a respective transducer associated with each inlet path for providing a quantitative signal representing the magnitude of a property of milk in that path, comparison means for comparing the said signal in each inlet path with a reference, the comparison means providing an output signal which identifies the inlet path in which the milk has a magnitude of the said property differing by more than a predetermined amount from the reference magnitude, and a diverter valve in each of the said inlet paths which diverter valve is operable to divert flow from the inlet path away from the said common outlet path to the said subsidiary outlet path.
A method of milking an animal wherein milk is drawn concurrently from a plurality of teats of the animal, a property of milk drawn from each teat is compared during milking with the same property of milk drawn from each other teat, and, whilst said property has substantially the same value for all of the teats, the milk drawn from all of the teats is directed along a common discharge path and, when said comparing step shows that the value of said property of the milk from one teat departs substantially from the value of said property of the milk from the other teat or teats, the milk from either the one teat or the milk from the other teat or teats is diverted from the common discharge path whilst undiverted milk continues to flow along the said common discharge path.
A method of milking an animal wherein milk is drawn concurrently from a plurality of teats of the animal, a property of milk drawn from each teat is compared with a reference magnitude of said property, which reference magnitude is derived during milking from the magnitude of the said property of the milk drawn from the said plurality of teats, and, when said comparing step shows that the magnitude of said property of the milk from any one of the teats differs by more than a predetermined amount from the reference magnitude, the milk from the said one teat or the milk from the other teat or teats is diverted from the common discharge path, whilst undiverted milk continues to flow along the said common discharge path.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.