Automatic Valve for Milking Installations with Cyclone Flow Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic valves for milking plants face issues such as incorrect operation due to inclination, difficulty in cleaning, plate instability at high milk flow rates, and turbulent milk flow, leading to reduced milk quality and increased foam generation, especially in high-frequency milking operations for sheep and goats where vacuum levels are lower and milking assemblies are lighter.
Innovation Solution
A lightweight automatic valve with a cylindrical hollow body, a resilient stainless steel spring, and deflectors to guide milk flow, ensuring laminar flow and easy cleaning, while being completely automatic and designed to prevent atmospheric air inflow during startup, reducing the risk of assembly detachment and maintaining vacuum levels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional automatic valve with a plate-shaped shutter is used, then the valve can close automatically when the barrel is detached, but the plate becomes unstable at high milk flow rates causing incorrect operation
Solution Approach 1:
The valve body is divided into multiple portions (first, second, third, and fourth portions) that can be separated for cleaning and maintenance. The shutter is segmented with a stem and head, allowing independent movement and cleaning access. This segmentation enables the valve to maintain reliability while handling high flow rates by allowing thorough cleaning without disassembling the entire valve.
Solution Approach 2:
A resilient member (spring) is introduced as an intermediary between the vacuum force and the shutter. The spring provides a counteracting force that stabilizes the shutter during high flow rates, preventing incorrect closure while still allowing automatic operation when the barrel is detached. This intermediary element resolves the conflict between reliability and high productivity.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If the valve is designed with complex internal structures to guide milk flow, then laminar flow can be achieved, but the valve becomes difficult to clean
Solution Approach 1:
The valve body is divided into multiple washable portions that can be separated to access internal surfaces. The milk passage is designed with smooth transitions between segments, allowing laminar flow while enabling complete disassembly for thorough cleaning. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by making complex internal structures accessible for maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of designing a single complex piece that is hard to clean, the valve is designed as multiple simple portions that can be separated. The cleaning approach is inverted from trying to clean a closed complex structure to easily separating and cleaning individual smooth-surfaced components, achieving both laminar flow and ease of cleaning.
3Ease of operation
If manually operated valves are used, then the operator can control the closure, but the operator may forget or be late in closing the valve causing vacuum loss
Solution Approach 1:
The valve is designed to close automatically through the action of the resilient member when vacuum is applied, without requiring operator intervention. The system serves itself by using the vacuum pressure differential to actuate the shutter, eliminating human error while maintaining reliable vacuum levels. This self-service mechanism resolves the contradiction between operational flexibility and reliability.
4Stability of the object's composition
If the valve body is made heavy to ensure proper operation, then the valve can maintain position, but the milking assembly becomes prone to detachment due to increased weight
Solution Approach 1:
The valve body is divided into multiple lightweight portions that can be assembled together, reducing the overall weight compared to a single heavy piece. The segments are connected with sealing elements that maintain structural integrity while minimizing weight. This segmentation allows the valve to remain stable during operation while reducing the risk of assembly detachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve portions are made from materials suitable for contact with foodstuff, likely using composite or optimized materials that provide sufficient structural strength and stability without excessive weight. This material selection resolves the contradiction by achieving the necessary stability with reduced weight, preventing milking assembly detachment.
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
The valve achieves laminar milk flow, reduces foam generation, ensures effective vacuum creation, and is easy to maintain, enhancing milk quality and reducing operational costs by minimizing the need for vacuum pump upgrades and manual interventions.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient member, e.g. a coil spring, arranged between the plate and the second port
Implementation Method 2
the plate keeps said second port open during normal milk passage, and makes the second port close when the barrel is removed from the teat and the plate is sucked upwards due to the vacuum action
Implementation Method 3
deflectors to guide milk flow, ensuring laminar flow
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
An automatic valve for milking installations, comprising a substantially cylindrical hollow body (11) internally defining a chamber (29) for milk passage, which chamber has an axial inlet duct (15) and a radial outlet duct (19) and is provided with a shutter (31) that is axially displaceable between a closure configuration, in which milk passage through the chamber (29) is prevented, and an opening configuration, in which milk passage through the chamber (29) is enabled, wherein said shutter (31) has a shaped impact surface (45b) for guiding the milk flow impinging on said shutter when entering the valve and for imparting a rotary motion to the milk entering the valve, until generating a cyclone effect on the milk flow, which effect is kept as far as along the discharge duct (19).