Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relate~ to an in~tallation for
~ccommodating animal~ while they are being milked and in parti-
cular to a mobile trailer comprising stalls for milking pasturing
animal~, or a fixed trailer for milking ~talling animalæ and for
their supplementary feeding.
Various type~ of trailers for this use are already
known. The oldest trailers compri~e a frame around which there
are di~tributed a certain number of rings adapted to which the
animal~ to be milked can be tethered. Sometimes, troughs adapted
to hold an amount of supplementary food are al~o provided opposite
to the rings. This type of trailer has the disadvantage that the
animals are not immobilized and can move about their tethers;
moreover, the animal to be milked i8 not ~eparated from the rest
of the herd.
There are al~o known various types of fixed block3 for
milking in, for example, circular, straight, or herringbone stalls. ;
~hese various milking blocks or unit# have the main disad~antages
; of requiring buildings specifically built for that purpose with
différent level~ for the location of the operator, which allows
no displacement nor extension for this type of ~tall. Furthermore,
the number of milking installations is generally high and milking
is not rapid because animals which are slow to be milked prevent
other animals from coming out of the stall.
Sub~equently, trailer~ subdivided into stall~ parallel
to one another have been also devi~ed, the animals entering at
one end of the stall which remains free, and coming out at the
other end which is provided with a liftable gate to which a trough
is generally attached.
These trailers already remedy a number of the aboue-
mentioned disadvantages. In particular, the animal~ to be milkedare well immobilized but the operator still has to bend down for
milking the animal.
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;~ According to the present invention there is provided
an installation for accommodating animals while they are bein~
milked, comprising a plurality of stall~, which have at the level
of the ground entries and exit~ for the animals at t-ro oppo~ite
end~ thereof and are accessible from the side, hydraulic lifting
- means for raising and lowering at least the floors of the stalls
to raise the animalq to a convenient height so that personnel
standing on the ground carry out from the side of the stalls ope-
rations associated with milking, and a manger in each qtall fed
from a foodstuffs reservoir by a hydraulically controlled dischar-
ging sy3tem.
Preferably, the stalls are arranged parallel and perpen-
.` dicular to the direction of the forward movement or to its length,
the manger being liftable or shiftable. ~he floor of the 3talls
is preferably raised to a height of about 80 cm from the ground,
the animals being able to lea~e the stalls by hydraulically lifting
or displacing mangers, the mangers being fed from reservoi.xs lo-
.. cated laterally in the planes of the mangers, the reservoirs being
provided with an hydraulically controlled di~charge system.
Furthermore, the reservoirs may also be lifted and
: lowered by a hydraulic means and if a canti].ever roof is provided
it is hydraulically folded, whereas stabilization of the stalls
on supports i3 also hydraulically controlled.
The invention will now be further described, by way
of example onl~, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which:
Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic plan view in cross-section
taken at a middle level of a stall trailer according to the
invention;
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Figure 2 is a diagrammatic side view of the animal
entry;
Figure ~ shows a diagrammatic view o~ a po~sible
embodiment of the roof;
Flgure 4 ~hows a diagrammatic side view o~ a stall;
Figures 5 to 7 show variou~ diagrammatic views of a
feeding reservoir and its control device.
Figure 1 shows stalls 1 mounted on a trailer, the stalls
delimiting two spaces 2 for the operator, the space~ 2 having
no floor 80 that the operator is at the ground level and i8
thus about 80 cm below the animals to be milked whi¢h are i~ the
stalls, when the stalls have been raised (Figure 2) and the
operator can thus reach the udder of the cows without bending.
~he illustrated arrangement of four stalls 1, two of which
are arranged side by side at the centre is, however, given
only by way of example; it hould be noted that the space~ 2
are then close to one another which considerably decreases
the movements of the operator. However, it i8 perfectly
possible to provide a larger number of stalls and, ~or example
when use i~ made of an automatic uncoupling syste~ for the
animal trailer~ an operator can ea~ily survey six or more
animals at a time. In the ca~e where six stall~ are provided,
a further couple of stalls 1 separated by a third space 2 i8
provided for example beyo~d the wheels 3.
Figure 1 (see also ~igure 2) shows a steering bar 4,
h~draulically raisable mangers 5, feeding reser~oirs 6 which
arc preferably hydraulically lowerable by being op~rated by ~n
h~draulic emptying or discharging means, control levers 7
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~Figure 2) for co,ntrolling the dsvices which control the
operations of each ~tall 1, and ~quilibrating Rupports 8
, for the trailer which are also hydraulicall~ operated. ~ -
Figure 2 shows the stalls 1 (the two external stalls
in the illustrated embodiment) which are accessible to the
animals since their floor 9 has been lowered to ground level.
~he stalls 1 are laterally fixed to vertical bars 10 which
can be hydraulically telescoped into a fixed vertical
upright 11 welded to a beam 12 extending at the centre over
the entire length of the trailer and forming the main
essential element of the frame o~ the trailer. Each stall
- 1 forms a fully lowerable and raisable box and comprises
a floor 9, horizontal bars 13" forming a barrier fixed to the
floor, Figure 4 showing only the ~ide acces~ible from the
spAce 2. It will be seen that in Figure 4 the rear side
(uprights 13") is relatively free 80 as to permit easy access
for the operator to the udder of the cows, whereas in front
of the box there is mounted a liftable manger 5 (to allow
an animal to get out) fixed to uprights 13" which delimit the
box, whereas at the rear a gate 14 in the form of a vertical
,; gate (Figure 2) is raised when the stall 1 is lowered (to
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, allow an animal to go in) and i8 conversely lowered ~hen the
' 6tall is raised (to prevent the animal from moving back in
`I the box). ~he guillotine gate 14 is made for ex~ple of
tubular members and is adapted to simply slide along the
; two rear sections 13" of the lateral barriers of the box.
~igure 3 diagrammatically shows a roof 15 for the -,
trailer, and a cantilever roof section 16 which can be raised
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or folded by a hydraulic piston 17 fixed to the upright
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: of the frame 12. Of course a cantilever roof ~ection can
be provided on each side of the trailer and the or each roof
section can be raised by an~ mechanical means.
~- Flgure 4 shows a manger 5 which is a triangular vat and
is ~upported by two arms 18, ~ormed by rectangular tubular
frames pivoted at two points 19 on the lateral barriers 13',
13" of the box. Preferably, sheets (not shown) are placed on
the three external sides of the two arm~ 18.
Figure 4 also show~ two arche~ 20 (not shown i~ Figure 2)
extending across the box 1.
Figures 5, 6 and 7 show feeding reservoirs 6 each of
which is in common with two mangers 5 (Figure 1) and comprise~
a large rectangular vat 21 whih has at it~ bot~om two openings
25. Hollow cylinders 22 are arranged below the two openings,
and each contains a drum 2~ urged in opposite direction~ b~-
cprings 24, each spring 24 normally urging its respective drum
to obstruct the upper ope~ing 25 of the hollow cylinder 22. It
.~ will be easily understood that when the drum 23 i8 moved back-
wards, food contained in the rectangular part 21 of the vat
f~lls through the opening 25 into the cylinder 22 and is then
pu~hed by the drum 23 50 as to Sill up the manger 5 through the
outlet 26.
Figure 7 shows a reservoir 6 adapted to be lowered (as
shown by dashed lines 6') ~o that the lid 27 ca~ be easily
lifted for re~tocking with food, the manger being lowered and
raised by hydraulic means (not shown).
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In order to decrease or i~crease the amount of food
supplied to one animal (Fi~ures 6 and 7) it is possible to
increa8e or decrease the extent of backward movement of the
drum 23 by pulling the rack 28 in the direction of arrow 31,
(Figure 7) thereby increasing the backward movement of the drum.
~he rack 28 iB held by a~ arm 32 en~aging in teeth 29 connected
to the hydraulic control device (not shown). ~y releasing the
arm 32, the rack 28 can move forw~rd and thus the dru~ 23 can
push food into the manger 5. On the other hand, by pulling
the rack 28 and by fully releasing it, it is also possible to
supply an additional amount of food.
A number of devices have not been shown: cable~, pistons,
etc., and other accessories of perfectl~ known type re~uired
for lowering and raising the stalls 1, mangers 5, reservbirs
6, etc~ ~ which only the control levers 7 accessible to
the operator in the space 2 have only been shown (Figure 2)~
8imilarl~, hydraulic control levers for the cantilever roof 16,
the supports 8, etc. have not been shown.
Moreover it i~ po~sible to provide in a conventional
manner mechanical devices (not æhown) of known type for blocking
the reservoir 6 at a~ upper position, possibly also mangers
as well as boxes themselves, and this either during milking
operations or du~ing displacements of the trailer, in the
latter case the trailer ~erving as a cattle wagon.
Various variant are possible in the co~struction of the
trailer; thus for example as already mentioned aboYe, alterations
can be made in the number of stalls 1 and spaces 2, but it is
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also pos~ible to provide different feeding devices which by
- means of a graduated needle system connected to the drum
-~ 23 determi~e the extent of the backward movement of the drum.
~dditionally, it i~ also possible to provide a system of
a known type for pushing the back of the animal into a stall,
such a~ an hydraulically controlled sy~tem used for the
manger 5. Moreover, it i~ possible by knowing the hydraulic
fluid pressure required for raising the animal before milking
to obtain a measurement in kilogrammes by means of a gauge
of the difference in pressure after milking æo aæ to obtain
a rough mea~urement of the amount of milk produced by the
1 animal.
s ~he trailer described en~ures that all manoeuvres
, required for milking the entire herd are effected by the
operator with little movement being required.
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