Milking of animals with reduced teat stress

#The subject of the invention relates to a milk tube, a milking unit comprising a milk collection piece and at least two milk tubes connected to the milk collection piece, a milking cup comprising a milking cup sleeve, in which a teat liner is arranged, and a milk tube connected to the teat liner, and also a milking appliance comprising a milk collection piece, at least two milking cups which have in each case a milking cup sleeve and a teat liner arranged in the milking cup sleeve, and milk tubes which connect the milking cups to the milk collection piece.

#Although the invention is described below in relation to the milking of cows, it is pointed out that the subject of the invention is suitable especially for use in the milking of sheep, goats, llamas, camels, dromedaries, buffalos, mares, donkeys, yaks and other milk-dispensing animals. The invention may be employed both in robot-assisted milking installations and in fully automatic, semiautomatic and conventional milking installations.

#To milk an animal, it is necessary for the milking cups to be attached to the teats of an animal. The attachment of the milking cups may take place robot-assisted. It is also known to attach milking cups to the teats of the animal manually. The milking cups have a teat liner which is arranged in a milking cup sleeve. The teat liner is connected to a milk tube.

#FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a milking appliance,

#FIG. 2 shows in section an exemplary embodiment of a clamping connection,

#FIG. 3 shows in section the configuration of a clamping connection with a clamping unit,

#FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a milking appliance for the milking of cows. The milking appliance comprises milking cups 1 which have teat liners 2. Milk tubes 3 are connected to the milking cups. The opposite ends of the milk tubes 3 are connected to a milk collection piece, not illustrated, so as to be adjustable in relation to the milk collection piece. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the connection of the milk tubes 3 to the milk collection piece is a clamping connection.

#There is the possibility that not all the milk tubes are connected to the milk collection piece by means of clamping connections. There is the possibility that different clamping connections are provided for the connection between the milk tubes and the milk collection piece. Furthermore, there is the possibility that only a predetermined number of the milk tubes are connected to the milk collection piece in an articulated manner. Thus, for example, two milk tubes may be connected to the milk collection piece in an articulated manner, while the other two milk tubes are connected rigidly to the milk collection piece.

#Moreover, the clamping connections between the milk tubes and the milk collection piece may be designed such that the pivotability of individual or a plurality of milk tubes in relation to one another is configured differently.