Method and apparatus for automatically cleaning the teats and udder of an animal after it has been milked
AssigneeC. van der Lely N.V.
InventorsKarel van der Berg, Rene Fransen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method an apparatus for automatically cleaning the udder and teats of an animal, following milking, wherein after the teat cups have been automatically removed from the teats of the animal, a robot arm moves under the teats of the animal which sprays an after-treating liquid upwardly in a fan-shaped pattern against the animal's udder and teats. The teat cups are moved away from the animal's udder and teats while they are being sprayed in a manner so that the teat cups which have been removed are never under an area which has just been sprayed by the fan-shaped pattern.
Claims17
An implement for milking animals, such as cows, automatically, that includes an after-treating device for after-treating the udder and/or the teats of a recently milked animal automatically, the device comprising a source of after-treating liquid under pressure, a spray nozzle and an after-treating liquid conduit between said source and said spray nozzle, a valve in said conduit adjacent said nozzle, and transport means for selectively moving said device under and away from said animal's udder, said transport means comprising an arm of a milking robot for automatically milking the animal, said spray nozzle being disposed at the end of said arm, said arm carrying two teat cups at said end and said spray nozzle being disposed between said two teat cups, said arm including a carrier plane on which said teat cups are supported, said spray nozzle being located under said carrier plane.
An implement for milking animals, such as cows, automatically, including an after-treating device for after-treating the udder and/or the teats of a recently milked animal automatically, the device comprising a source of after-treating liquid under pressure, a spray nozzle and an after-treating liquid conduit between said source and said spray nozzle, a valve in said conduit adjacent to said nozzle, and transport means for selectively moving said device under and away from said animal's udder, said spray nozzle being located at the outer end of said transport means, said spray nozzle being arranged and constructed to discharge said after-treating liquid in a forward and upward direction relative to said end and forming said discharge into a fan-shaped spray pattern.
A method of after-treating the teats of a milked animal in an implement for the automatic milking of animals after the animal has been milked and the teat cups have been disconnected from the animal's teats, which comprises the steps of moving a spray nozzle to a position below the animal's udder and automatically spraying an after-treating liquid against the animal's udder and teats, said after-treating liquid being sprayed in a fan-shaped pattern against the animal's udder and teats, supporting said teat cups and said nozzle on movable transport means, moving said nozzle by said transport means while spraying said fan-shaped pattern together in a direction whereby the teat cups supported by said transport means are disposed so that they are never under an area of said udder which has just been sprayed by said fan-shaped pattern, said pattern being moved along said udder and teat cups in a direction corresponding to that extending from said fan-shaped pattern to said teat cups.
An implement for automatically milking animals, such as cows, which comprises:
- a robot arm;
- an after-treating device mounted on said robot arm which includes a spray nozzle for spraying a cleansing liquid in an upward direction onto the animal's teats and udder, a vessel having cleansing liquid therein, a conduit from said vessel to said nozzle, a valve in said conduit proximate said spray nozzle;
- and
- a computer control, including means for moving said robot arm under the animal's teats and udder, means for opening said valve for spraying said teats and udder with said cleansing liquid, and means for closing said valve after said teats and udder have been cleansed by said cleansing liquid sprayed thereon.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.