Low-slip High-capacity Teat Cup Liner Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional teat liners for automatic milking machines face issues with low slip and high-capacity milking efficiency, particularly under low vacuum conditions, and are prone to kinking and dislodgment due to rigid milk tubes and inadequate sealing, which affects milking speed and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A teat liner design featuring an oval tapered barrel with thick reinforced side walls and a concave internal skirt for improved sealing, combined with a short milk tube having an oval external profile and notches for flexible bending, allowing efficient attachment to a milk cluster without kinking, and locking wedges for enhanced anti-twist properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the milk tube is made rigid with ribs to prevent kinking, then the tube resistance to collapse and kinking is improved, but the flexibility of the milk tube deteriorates, causing it to slip off the teat and dislodge from the milking claw
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a soft, flexible milk tube made of elastomeric material that can bend and conform to the teat and milking claw geometry. This flexible shell design eliminates the need for rigid ribs while maintaining resistance to collapse through the material's inherent elasticity and the tube's dimensional specifications, thereby resolving the contradiction between rigidity for collapse resistance and flexibility for adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameters by selecting specific elastomeric compounds with optimized durometer values and cross-linking densities that provide the necessary balance between softness for flexibility and structural integrity for collapse resistance. This parameter optimization allows the tube to remain flexible while maintaining sufficient strength to prevent kinking under vacuum conditions
2Speed
If the liner is designed for fast collapse to improve milking speed, then the opening and closing speed is improved, but the vacuum stability deteriorates, causing increased slippage and seal breaking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes controlled periodic vacuum pulsation with specific duty cycles and pulse widths that allow the liner to collapse rapidly during the vacuum phase for fast milking speed while maintaining adequate vacuum pressure during the refill phase to prevent slippage. This periodic action with optimized timing parameters resolves the contradiction between speed and vacuum stability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a dynamically responsive liner design where the collapse speed and vacuum maintenance are adjusted in real-time based on milking progress and teat response. The system modulates vacuum pressure and pulse frequency to achieve fast collapse when needed while maintaining stability during critical sealing phases, resolving the speed-stability trade-off through dynamic control
3Stability of the object's composition
If the barrel cross-section is made triangular with convex sides to improve collapse consistency, then the collapse uniformity is improved, but the vertex contact with teat is reduced, lowering milking efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a barrel cross-section with curved, rounded contours rather than sharp triangular vertices. This curvature allows the barrel to collapse uniformly across its surface while maintaining continuous contact with the teat along the curved interface, eliminating the vertex contact problem while preserving collapse consistency through the geometric properties of the curved shape
4Reliability
If the skirt length is extended to improve sealing and reduce slipping, then the seal reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible elastomeric skirt that forms a seal through its inherent compliance and ability to conform to the shell interior surface. This flexible seal design achieves reliable sealing with minimal structural complexity by utilizing the material's elastic properties rather than requiring complex mechanical sealing mechanisms, thereby resolving the contradiction between seal reliability and structural simplicity
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 design achieves low slip and fast milking under low vacuum conditions by maintaining vacuum stability and reducing the likelihood of the teat slipping or the seal breaking, resulting in faster opening and closing of the liner and improved milking efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
an extended skirt with a concave internal surface for improving the sealing of the liner on the shell while reducing twisting of the liner
Implementation Method 2
A vacuum maintained in the milking claw causes a constant vacuum to be applied to the inside of the liner. The vacuum draws the milk from the teat through the short milk tube while the alternating pressure in the annular chamber creates a teat massaging action as the vacuum chamber and barrel collapses onto the teat stopping milk flow when fully collapsed and initiating milk flow when open.
Implementation Method 3
rubber liners are capable of recovering their original size and shape after repeated deformation
Data Source
AI summary
A hot stone therapy and acupressure roller including a specially designed rod where hollow, cylindrical stones, along with acupressure pins, are spaced along the rod. As the rod is applied to the body, the attached stones roll and acupressure may be applied. Targeted acupressure can be applied on either side of the rod, and the acupressure pins serve to hold the cylindrical stones and spacers in place. The stones can be inserted onto the rod or used individually. The stones can be used to conduct a cold and/or hot stone massage. Additionally, each end of the rod is shaped for use as a massage tool. When using either end of the rod as a massage tool, the acupressure pins serve to improve grip and increase leverage.