Milking Cluster Pipe Support With Gravity-Pivoted Stowage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing milking cluster pipe supports are not highly reliable, require manual intervention, and do not optimize milking efficiency or animal welfare, particularly in automatic milking systems, often obstructing cow movement and posing injury risks.
Innovation Solution
A pivotable pipe support arm that moves between deployed and stowed positions, constrained by end stops, pivots freely under gravity, and integrates with automatic retraction systems to minimize manual handling and ensure optimal positioning and stowage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fixed pipe support is used to hold the milking cluster in position, then the cluster positioning is stable, but it obstructs cow movement and creates injury risks
Solution Approach 1:
The pipe support is designed to pivot between a deployed position (when a cow is present) and a stowed position (when no cow is present). This dynamic adjustment allows the support to be out of the way during cow movement while providing stable support during milking, resolving the contradiction between positioning stability and movement obstruction.
2Reliability
If the pipe support is always in exposed position to support the cluster, then cluster positioning is maintained, but it increases risk of breaking and injury
Solution Approach 1:
The pipe support operates periodically - deployed when needed for cluster support, stowed when not needed. This periodic deployment minimizes the time the support is exposed to potential impact from kicking cows, reducing the risk of breaking and subsequent injury while maintaining cluster positioning reliability when actually needed.
3Measurement precision
If manual intervention is used to position the pipe support, then positioning accuracy is achieved, but productivity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The pipe support is designed to pivot automatically under its own weight when the milking cluster is removed. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for manual repositioning, maintaining positioning accuracy through gravity-assisted movement while significantly improving productivity by reducing personnel intervention time.
4Reliability
If the pipe support structure is robust to prevent breaking, then reliability is improved, but it becomes an obstacle to cow movement
Solution Approach 1:
The pipe support maintains structural integrity through its robust design but dynamically changes its position - pivoting to a stowed position when not in use. This allows the structure to remain strong enough to support the cluster reliably while minimizing obstruction to cow movement during the stowed phase.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances milking efficiency, reduces personnel input, improves cluster positioning, and ensures safe cow movement by automatically adjusting to stowed positions, minimizing injury risks and facilitating easy cluster attachment and removal.
Implementation Method 1
the pipe support arm pivots freely around the pivot within the plane P and moves in a first rotational sense from its deployed position to its stowed position and in a second rotational sense from its stowed position to its deployed position, wherein when the pipe support arm is located in the deployed position its centre of gravity is located on one side of the vertical axis Y-Y and the pipe support arm is held against the deployed position end stop under the action of gravity and when the pipe support arm is located in the stowed position its centre of gravity is located on the other side of the vertical axis Y-Y and the pipe support arm is held against the stowed position end stop under the action of gravity
Data Source
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AI summary
A milking cluster pipe support (1) for fitment to the deck-side (3) of a milking parlour comprising a pivotable elongate pipe support arm (5) having pipe slots (29) and which is moveable about a pivot (7) between a deployed and a stowed position within a plane P. The pipe support arm (5) is pivotable in a first rotational sense from its deployed position to its stowed position and in a second rotational sense from its stowed position to its deployed position, wherein the first and second rotational senses are opposite to each other. The pipe support arm (5) has a centre of gravity which is located on one side of the vertical axis Y-Y in the deployed position and on the other side of the vertical axis Y-Y in the stowed position.