Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relates to a device for automatic
stripping upon attaining a specific milk volume flow and for
automatically removing the teat cups when the automatic stripping
is completed, particularly in milking installations.
The oontinuously increasing concentration of animals
requires afurther automation of the milking process in order to
increase the operation productivity and in order to save on
physically heavy work to the greatest extent possible. The desire
is to carry out by hand only the examination of the udders and
the attaching of the milking devices and to automate the
entire remaining process. Tests carried out in greater detail
have shown that in order to increase the milk yield, stripping
is essential. -
In most of the swing-out devices known heretofore
stripping was dispensed with for reasons of tehcnical expenditure,
which was too high. Because it has been found that the loss
in milk yield is substantially higher than the additional
technical expenditure, tests were recently carried out to auto-
mate the stripping process, to detach the milking utensils
from the udder automatically and to remove them from the
milking stall of the cow when the milk volume flow ceases. The
signal for starting the strippin~ process or for the swing-out -
operation is provided by a control device. If the milk volume
flow falls short of a specific value, then the stripping process
begins. When the milk volume flow slackens again, the control
device signals the completion of the stxipping process, the
milking devices are swung out and automatically removed. The
stripping process is carried out by a vertical or inclined
downward pull of the milking devices. The milking device can be
swung out horizontally However, since there is not sufficient
space under the cow, complex hinges are required so that the
multisection supporting arm can be telescopically retracted or
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folded and then swung out. Swinging out the milking devices
horizontally can also be carried out by means of levers or simply
by a cable. On detaching the milking devices from the udder a swing
cylinder draws the milking devices away in an inclined upward
direction. It is not always possible to ensure that the teat
cups tightly seal the short milk hoses nor can it always be avoided
that the droppin~ teat cups come in contact with the floor of the
milking installation. In order to cause the milk hoses to bend
and to seal them so as to avoid penetration of the atmosphere
of the cow shed, the teat cups in a conventional device, which
swings out horizontally, are secured to rods which are guided
vertically and permit a certain lateral motion. The shock of the
rods is absorbed by compression springs. The disadvantage lies
in that depending on the arrangements of the teats the compression
springs are more or less subjected to tensile stress so that
the udder is subjected to variable tensile stress. The ball
pivot disposed above the bracket cannot fully compensate for these
tension differences. During the stripping process the milking
devices are swinging and the bracket tries to adjust in the
direction of the stripping arm while the transmission of
force to the udder is not uniform. When the teat cups drop
off they must be pulled downwards so that the milk hoses thus
are bent.
In another conventional device the teat cups are
guided in a rack consisting of our sections. In contrast to
the other structures, the connections for the pulsating air are
arranged below the teat rubber cap in this case. The teat cup -
can thus be raised within its guide until the short milk hose
stretches and is lowered until the pulsation hose is mounted and
when the teat cup is lowered the short milk hose should bend.
However, in practice it has been found that this rack obstructs
the milker, that the teat cup can be pulled beyond the rack and
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that upon dropping the teat cup it remains suspended onthe rack
-~ and does not seal the milk hose. Milk hoses which are too tightly
stretched are partially pressed together at the milk collection
` pipe by the horizontally arranged hose nipples, so that the teat
cup does not obtain the required vacuum. The conventional
stripping and swing arms have several members and the stripping
is carried out either by a z-shaped lever, the mid-portion of which
- is rotatably and swingably supported, or by straight levers and
~ toggle levers which are connected to one another. One or even
10 two working cylinders serve for swinging out and one working
cylinder serves for stripping. However, in some conventional
devices the swinging of the milking arm and the stripping process
are carried out with only one working cylinder. These conventional
devices have the disadvantage that the space under the cow and
at the stall boundaries isnota~equate for properly swinging
the milking devices in and out. The milking arm must not obstruct
the milker when he attaches the milking devices. Moreover these
devices are complex because they are heavy and must be adjusted
by a counter-acting force. ~hen carrying out the stripping ~`
process this is effected either by oppositely acting upon the
working cylinder with the control medium or by tension springs,
the force of which must be additionally overcome when pulling
at the udder, and thus requires a larger working cylinder.
Moreover, the long-arm swing devices are very sensitive to
deformations.
The invention provides a device which gives an increase
in the operating productivity by combining an automatic stripping
process and the swinging out of the milking devices.
The present invention thus provides a device for
automatic stripping and for swinging out the milking utensils,
i.e., a device which saves a great deal of space, does not obstruct
the milker, removes the milking devices from the udder without
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the possibility o~ the teat cups coming in contact with the
milking floor when swin~ing out of the region where the cow
stands, and the milking cups of which are so attached that,
when dropping off, they reliably bend the milk hose and block
the vacuum.
According to the present invention there is provided
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a device for automatic stripping upon -r~n~t~ a specific milk
volume flow in the milking of a cow in a milking stall and for
automatically removing teat cups of milking devices when the
automatic stripping is complete, as a function of the milk volume
flow by means of a working cylinder and cable attached thereto
said device comprising a two armed lever pivotably mounted about
a point of support, milking devices flexibly secured to one end
of said lever and a stripping cylinder flexibly secured to the
other end of said lever, a bearing, disposed below said point of
support providing for horizontal movement of said lever, said
bearing being connected to said stall by a supporting arm so as
to be swingable in a circular path, said lever and said stripping
cylinder being swingable about a fulcrum of said supporting arm
20 by means of said cable on actuation of said working cylinder, said
milking devices being suspended such that below said lever a
universal hinge is provided with a milk collecting member
suspended therefrom and an offset rigid support with a vacuum
distributor attached thereto is provided above the said lever,
pairs of pulsationhoses extending between said vacuum distributor
and said milking devices and being of such length that they : -
provide for lowering of the milking devices while simultaneously
bending milk hoses extending between said milking devices and
said milk collecting member. -.
Thus according to the present invention, a two-armed
stripping lever, to one end of which the milking devices are
flexibly secured and to the other end a stripping cylinder is
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flexibly secured, has below its point of support a bearing for
the hori20ntal motion, said bearin~ being connected to the
stall construction so that it may be vertically swung by
a supporting arm, the stripping lever with the stripping
cylinder and the suspension of the milking devices being
swingably arranged about the fulcrum of said bearing, by
a cable, and below said stripping lever there is the hinge,
which is movable all around, with the milk collecting member
suspended therefrom and above said stripping lever there is an
offset rigid support with a vacuum distributor fastened thereto
and the hose lengths of the pulsation hoses in pairs are such as
to enable lowering of the teat cups while simultaneously
bending the milk hoses~ The milk-collecting member has connecting
pieces extending vertically upwards. The connecting pieces
are not inclined and the milk hoses leadirlg to the milking
cups are secured to said connecting pieces. When the milking
devices are attached the support with the vacuum distributor
is suitably on the cross bar which is rigidly secured to the
milking lever end in a direction towards the head of the cow and
the suspension of the milk-collecting member in a direction
toward the tail of the cow. Depending on the construction of
the stalls the crossbar can also be at a specific angle with
the stripping lever. The swing-out cylinder is outside the
stall construction and its main piston is connected by a cable
to the stripping lever end carrying the milking devices. The
supporting arm has a loop through which the cable passes. The
loop is provided with a detent.
The advantage of the invention is that it provides
with a minimum of expenditure, a stripping and swing out
device which is only slightly susceptible to trouble, saves
space, does not obstruct work and is properly adaptable.
Because of the comhined swing-out path the teat cups are swung
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out firstly horizontally and then vertically so that they do
not come in contact with the milking ~loor. The large number
o~ hinges and teat-cup guides required heretofore can be
dispensed with.
The present invention will be further illustrated
by way of the accompanying drawings in which;
Figure 1 is a schematic side view of the stripping
device according to one embodiment of the present invention in
the stripping position,
Figure 2 is a top view of the device of Figure 1,
Figure 3 is an end view of the stripping device
of Figure 1 in the normal position,
Figure 4 illustrates the arrangement of the teat
cups of the device of Figure 1 in both the attached position
; and the dropped-off position,
Figure 5 is the top view according to Figure 4.
Referring to the drawings, the two-armed stripping -
lever comprises the longer lever arm 1 and the shorter lever arm
; 2. The two lever arms 1 and 2 pivot about the point of
support 3~ A crossbar 4 is rigidly secured to the end of the
longer lever 3. On the head end of the cow a vertical support
5 with a vacuum distributor 6 and the connecting nipples 7 is
arranged on the crossbar 4. Below said crossbar 4 on the tail
end of the cow the hinge 8 with the milk-collecting member 9
and the connecting nipples 10 is arranged. The hinge 8 is
fixedly fastened to the crossbar 4 by a support 34. A pair
of pulsation hoses 11 lead to the distributor 6 and are
bi~urcated into the short pulsation hoses 12, each of which
provides a pair of teat cups 13 with the same working medium.
The teat cups 13 have a vacuum connection 14 for the pulsating
vacuum below the teat rubber head 15. The connecting nipples 10
of the milk-collecting member 9 are connected to the nipple 16
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on the teat cup 13 by the short milk hoses 17. The short
pulsation hoses 12 are so proportionally dimensioned in pairs
that all four teat cups 13 are substantially vertical in the
milking position. The height is adjusted by changing the position
; of the levers 1 and 2.
A stripping cylinder 18 is hinged to both sides of the
short lever 2 by the hinges 19 and 20. A vertically arranged
bearing 21, which provide for the horizontal motion of the entire
stripping device, is arranged below the point of support 3.
Detents 22 and 23 are provided for limiting the range of
horizontal swing to the region of the udder. The bearing 21
is rigidly attached to a supporting arm 24, which is swingable
in bearing 25 about a horizontal axis. The range of swing
towards the belly of the cow is limited by a detent 26. A
working cylinder 28 is arranged outside the stall 27 in the
direction of the milking devices. A cable 29, which is guided
by a loop 30 fastened to the supporting arm 24 and is secured
to the end of the lever 1, is attached to the piston of the
working cylinder 28. The cable 29 has a detent 31. The distance
between the detent 31 and the milking devices is such that
because of the pulling motion by the working cylinder 28 the
cable 29 first moves the lever 1 horizontally since only a
slight energy consumption is required, whereupon the detent 31
strikes the loop 30 and swings the supporting arm 24 with the
stripping device about the bearing 25 and holds it in this
position. A detent 32 and a limit switch 33 switch the device
off and switch it on again.
The mode of operation of the device is as follows;
Upon swinging the teat cups 13 under the udder by
pulling the rigid support 5 of the stripping lever 1, the teat
cups 15 are attached to the udder, whereupon the milking vacuum
is released by stretching the short milk hoses 17. The hinge 8
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enables the teat cups 15 to fit properly to the teats. When
the milk volume flow diminishes automatic means (not shown) turns
on the stripping vacuum so that a lifting force is produced on
the stripping cylinder 18. Said lifting force acts on the udder
as a pull. In the rhythmic release of the stripping cylinder
18 the udder again pulls the lever 1 up. secause of the downward
j pull the supporting arm 24 tries to swing further inward. However,
-, this is limited by the detent 26. When the milk volume flow
slackens again a control device (not shown) switches off the
milking vacuum. The teat cups 15 are then aerated and the
- milking cylinder then exerts a time-limited permanent pull on the
teat cups 15, which are withdrawn from the udder. The working
cylinder 28 pulls, via the cable 29, the lever 1 horizontally in
the direction of the head of the cow. The dropping teat cups 15
cannot tilt downwards since they are held by the pulsation hoses
12. The weight of the teat cups causes the milk hoses 17 to
bend at the nipples 10 and to some extent also at the nipple 16
so that the nipples reliably seal while the teat cups 15 assume
; an inclined position. Sloping of the nipple 10 and 16 is not
required and is unsuitable. In the meantime the detent 31 has
reached the loop 30 and the cable 29 pulls the supporting arm 24
with the stripping device from the region where the cow
stands until the detent 32 reaches the limit switch 33 and holds
it.
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