Retaining Device for Teat Cup Positioning and Stimulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current milking processes, especially in semi-automatic and fully automatic systems, face challenges such as high personnel and maintenance costs, reduced milk yield, and compromised udder health due to inadequate automation and hygiene issues, particularly in large-scale dairy operations.
Innovation Solution
A retaining device for teat cups that allows for fixed positioning during attachment, individual access, and controlled vacuum management, along with a stimulation mechanism to mimic natural milking processes, reducing manual intervention and improving hygiene and milk quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If teat cups are manually attached during milking, then flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but personnel workload and time expenditure increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The teat cup assembly is divided into separable components: a holder that remains stationary and teat cups that can be individually attached and detached. This segmentation allows automated positioning of the holder while maintaining manual dexterity for cup attachment, resolving the contradiction between automation and manual flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
A retaining device acts as an intermediary between the automated positioning system and the manual attachment process. The device holds teat cups in predetermined positions and allows manual removal while maintaining vacuum connection, serving as a bridge between automated and manual operations.
2Productivity
If fully automatic robotic milking systems are implemented, then personnel costs are reduced, but acquisition and maintenance costs increase dramatically
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of implementing full automation for all aspects of milking, the patent applies partial automation only to the teat cup positioning and retention functions. This partial automation achieves sufficient productivity improvement without the prohibitive costs of complete robotic systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The retaining device automatically maintains vacuum connection and positions teat cups without requiring continuous manual intervention. The system serves itself by maintaining the milking connection throughout the process, reducing personnel workload without requiring expensive robotic systems.
3Reliability
If teat cups are held in fixed position during milking, then hygiene is improved and contamination is reduced, but accessibility for manual removal is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The retaining device provides dynamic retention: it firmly holds teat cups in a hygienic position during milking, then easily releases them for removal. The device transitions from a constrained state during milking to an accessible state during removal, resolving the contradiction between fixed positioning and manual accessibility.
4Productivity
If vacuum is continuously applied to teat cups, then milking efficiency is maintained, but udder health may be compromised during attachment and removal phases
Solution Approach 1:
The retaining device establishes vacuum connection in advance during the attachment phase, allowing teat cups to be securely connected before milking begins. This preliminary vacuum application ensures immediate milk flow when needed while allowing controlled vacuum management during critical phases.
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 solution enhances milking efficiency, reduces personnel workload, and improves udder health by allowing precise control over teat cup positioning and vacuum application, leading to higher milk yields and better hygiene conditions.
Implementation Method 1
a vacuum system (1540, 1541) which is formed to provide a vacuum necessary for suctioning milk
Implementation Method 2
a retaining device (200) for the manual removal of the teat cups (210), wherein the retaining device (200) has a fastening device (201) in order to fix the retaining device (200) in place at a predetermined milking position
Data Source
AI summary
According to the invention, an actuator is provided for a milking installation, wherein the actuator is fixed at a distance to a teat cup cluster and is mechanically coupled to the teat cup cluster via a flexible component so as to incite a stimulating movement of the teat cup cluster on the udder by means of an actuator element. The inventive actuator can also be used to adjust the angle of tilt of the teat cup cluster during milking. The invention also provides a retaining device for teat cups, comprising a fastening device for fixing the retaining device on a predetermined milking position, wherein the retaining device is furthermore formed to maintain, during a first operational phase, every teat cup of a plurality of teat cups in a fixed position relative to each other and to allow manual access to every retained teat cup in such a manner that during a second operational phase every teat cup can be manually moved in several directions relative to the retaining device and at least one additional teat cup.