Teat cup inflation
OwnerLennart Peterssoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An inflation for a milking machine is formed to have an elongate, hollow barrel. The barrel terminates in open upper and lower ends. An elongate reinforcement element comprising a relatively narrow raised rib is molded integrally along an outer surface of the barrel. The raised ribs provide added integrity for the sidewalls of the barrel and greatly improved massage to the teat tissue.
Claims22
An improvement in an inflation for an automatic milking machine in which said inflation has (a) an elongate, hollow barrel that terminates in an open upper end and an open lower end and said barrel has a substantially uniform shape extending from said upper end to said lower end thereof, and (b) a head is formed at said upper end of said barrel, with said head having a mouthpart positioned across an otherwise open, uppermost end of said head and said mouthpart has a central opening that is adapted to accommodate a teat of an animal to be milked, said improvement comprising
- at least one elongate reinforcement element comprising a relatively narrow raised rib molded integrally along a surface of said barrel;
- each said raised rib having a top end that is located adjacent to said upper end of said barrel;
- and
- each said raised rib extending along a longitudinal length of said barrel, with a bottom end of each said rib being spaced from said upper end of said barrel by a distance of at least one-half to no more than three-fourths of said longitudinal length of said barrel.
An improvement in an inflation for an automatic milking machine in which said inflation has an elongate, hollow barrel that terminates in an open upper end and an open lower end and a head is formed at said upper end of said barrel, with said head having a mouthpart positioned across an otherwise open, uppermost end of said head and said mouthpart has a central opening that is adapted to accommodate a teat of an animal to be milked, said improvement comprising
- said barrel has a substantially uniform triangular cross-section extending from said upper end to said lower end thereof, such that said barrel has three longitudinal sidewalls;
- each of said longitudinal sidewalls having at least one elongate reinforcement element, said reinforcement element comprising a relatively narrow raised rib molded integrally along a surface of each of said longitudinal sidewalls;
- each said raised rib having a top end that is located adjacent to said upper end of said barrel;
- and
- each said raised rib extending along a longitudinal length of said barrel, with a bottom end of each said rib being spaced from said upper end of said barrel by a distance of at least ½ to no more than ¾ of said longitudinal length of said barrel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.