Dairy animal milking preparation system and methods

Abstract

The present invention relates to preparing dairy animal teats for being milked, and more particularly to teat preparation, rinsing, and milking that all take place in a milking machine teat cup liner. Such a method includes: applying a teat sanitizer to the teat; injecting air into the liner to force the teat sanitizer toward a waste milk line connected to the liner; pulsating the liner at a first pulsation rate; drawing a rinsing milk from the teat; directing the teat sanitizer, the air, and the rinsing fluid to the waste milk line; pulsating the liner at a second pulsation rate to draw additional milk from the teat; and directing the additional milk to a good milk line.

Description

[0001]This application is a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12 / 932,276 filed Feb. 22, 2011, which claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 61 / 338,630 filed Feb. 22, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to preparing dairy animal teats for being milked, and more particularly to teat preparation, rinsing, and milking that all take place in a milking machine teat cup liner.[0003]Other aspects of the invention include an apparatus and methods for milking dairy animals and collecting milk, and more particularly to a dairy harvesting facility with apparatus and methods for protecting milk collecting lines and systems from various types of cleaning fluids and contaminated milk.[0004]Dairy animal teat preparation is usually necessary before milking to prevent dirt and debris from entering milk lines and contaminating milk. Teat preparation also stimulates teats to ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a method for preparing and milking dairy animals' teats in a single teat cup liner while protecting the milk lines from contamination. The method involves sealing off the liner from the good milk line, applying pulsation to the liner, allowing a sanitizer to remain on the teat for a predetermined period of time, venting the liner with air, introducing a rinsing fluid or air to flush sanitizer from the liner, and drawing good milk or rinsing fluid from the teat. The invention also includes a double block valve arrangement to isolate the good milk line from the waste milk line during preparation and milking. The technical effects of the invention include proper preparation of the teats, reduced dirt in the milk, and improved sanitization of the milk lines.

Problems solved by technology

Thus, faster pulsation does not always result in faster milking.

The preparation process is further complicated because not all dairy animals are at the same stage of milking readiness when they enter a milking stall.

Further complications result when the cows are to be milked by a robotic milking machine that automatically attaches (or attempts to attach) teat cups with their teat cup liners to an animal's teats.

Nonetheless, sometimes attachment attempts fail and must be retried automatically or with the aid of a dairy operator.

Preparing all four teats to provide optimum milking is, thus, even further complicated given the staggered starts on the teats.

The process is further complicated when it is all done after a dairy animal's teat is attached to a milking machine teat cup and teat cup liner because sanitizers, rinses, and foremilk must not be allowed into the dairy's milk lines.

Attaching two separate units to the animals with the teats exposed for a brief interval in between, wastes valuable time and risks the teats becoming dirty again.

This system is efficient and effective, but attaching a preparation system to a milking system may be a possible source of contamination because vacuum in the milking system could draw sanitizer, water or dirt from the cleaning system into the milking system.

Moreover, dairy pipeline washing fluids and contaminated milk must not be allowed to enter milk lines that transport milk to centralized chillers and storage tanks unless the milk lines themselves are to be cleaned.

Nonetheless, a four-way valve can be insufficient to prevent cleaning fluids and contaminated milk from entering the dairy milk collecting system because vacuum in the milk lines (used to draw milk to a central storage location) results in the milk line having a different pressure than the wash lines, and the wash lines are subjected to various pressures before and after a wash cycle.

Differential pressure and vacuum applied on opposite sides of a four-way valve are likely to cause seepage and leaking of milk and / or cleaning fluids past seals in the four-way valve.

Thus, the competing pressures in the various lines attached to the four-way valve could eventually cause valve failure and milk line contamination to some degree.

This problem is well known in dairies that use clean-in-place (“CIP”) wash systems.

The block-bleed-block arrangement is not new to the dairy industry, but implementing a block-bleed-block system is not always possible, convenient or practical.

Expense for building and maintaining these systems can be prohibitive, so when space does not permit a block-bleed-block arrangement, some milking systems are designed to segregate wash and milk lines in other ways.

Requiring an operator to be involved is further complicated in robotic systems because milking machines are washed only when necessary, and not on a regular basis that would be conducive to operator scheduling.

Involving an operator would likely slow down the milking process for the dairy as a whole, and would at least partially defeat the point of a robotic milking system.

Images