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US 5,778,820 AGranted
Apparatus and method for controlling feed received by animals while being automatically milked
OwnerCornelis van der Lely, Karel van den Berginventors
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OwnerCornelis van der Lely, Karel van den Berginventors
Estimating the term…
Apparatus and method for automatically milking animals, such as cows, including a milking robot with a laser detector for locating and emplacing teat cups on an animal's teats while in a milking compartment, milking the animal, and upon concluding the milking operation, withdrawing the teat cups and moving them from underneath the animal. The milking compartment has at its forward end a feeding trough and one or more devices for measuring the weight and/or quantity of fodder in the feeding trough. The apparatus also has a metering device for dispensing fodder, such as fodder concentrate, into the feeding trough. The metering device is computer controlled. With the aid of the computer, the anticipated feeding period is predetermined based on the animal's identity. The rate fodder is supplied to the feeding trough is based on that predetermined period and revisions thereto which may occur due to the teat cups not being placed upon the teats as quickly as expected, or the milking period being longer or shorter than expected, whereby the predetermined period of time is revised on an ongoing basis by experience and fodder is distributed at least substantially uniformly over the actual feeding period so dispensing of fodder terminates and the feeding period ends approximately at the same time that the milking operation ends and the milking robot has removed the milking apparatus from under the animal so as not to impede the animal's exit from the feeding compartment.
An apparatus including a mechanism for milking animals, such as cows, equipped with a milking robot which comprises dispensing means that includes a metering device for dispensing fodder, animal identification means, a computer operatively associated with said animal identification means, said computer controlling the amount of and rate that fodder is dispensed to an animal being milked by said mechanism in accordance with a feeding period which is determined on the basis of the identification of the animal by said animal identification means and said computer and variations from an anticipated period for completing the milking operation for the relevant animal detected during the ongoing milking operation said fodder being distributed substantially uniformly over the feed period.
An apparatus including a mechanism for milking animals, such as cows, equipped with a milking robot for automatically milking an animal which mechanism comprises a feeding trough and a measuring device for continually measuring the weight of fodder in said feeding trough.
A method of dispensing fodder to animals, such as cows, while they are being milked automatically by a milking robot in a milking compartment which has trough for feeding fodder to the animal while it is in the compartment for being milked, the method comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.