AU2018101552A4 - Real Time Milk Testing Unit - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an apparatus for real-time determination of milk characteristics, the device including an input for accepting a mixed flow of milk; an output for providing the mixed flow of milk to a holding unit; a photographic element for obtaining intermittent photographs of the mixed flow of milk; a temperature sensing element for obtaining continuous temperature readings from the mixed flow of milk, and a pair of light (such as, but not limited to, NIR) emitters and corresponding detectors for obtaining volume and fat readings from the mixed flow of milk. Also contemplated is a method for real-time determination of milk characteristics using the disclosed apparatus.

Description

There are five pages in the description only.

2018101552 18 Oct 2018

DESCRIPTION

The present innovation is directed to a method and an apparatus for analyzing a flowable product, most importantly, Raw Milk. To be more precise the present innovation is directed to an apparatus for performing evaluations of milk quality using noninvasive techniques. This innovation is a necessary addition to the existing longrange milk transport technology. Transportation of raw milk internationally has been barred for many years due to the hazardous nature of it, given the existing technology allows the safe movement of raw milk, as a result, it becomes imperative for us to have real-time information on the state and condition of the milk to reassure compliance authorities of the safety of the milk. Therefore, it is desirable to have a method and apparatus for performing evaluations of products that provide an objective, quick, and reproducible analysis of the milk..

In the field of dairy farming, milk quality is a constant concern. The industry partners and consumers demand high-quality milk free from contamination. Milk pricing is based on test results indicating cleanliness and percentage of components, both on an individual animal basis and collectively. For the lack of technological know-how, these evaluations are performed off the farm at great expense to the farmer regarding time and money. It would be beneficial to perform these tests while the milk is being delivered. Animals arriving at the milking parlor, especially cows, may have developed mastitis infections or other disease or injury. In severe cases, the milking equipment operator may observe symptoms that allow for diagnosis and

2018101552 18 Oct 2018 diversion of the contaminated milk collected from the symptomatic animal into a waste stream. In many cases, however, animals with significant levels of foreign bodies in their milk Such as blood or so-called mastitis flakes, present no external symptoms as the disease or injury has not yet advanced to that degree.

Dairy installations such as milking parlors often combine the milk collected from several animals into a single, mainstream providing the risk for contamination of a large volume of high-quality milk by the milk collected from a single injured or infected animal. Furthermore, the entire milk yield collected from an animal is delivered into the system in a short time, of the order of five minutes. It is highly desirable that methods and instruments for measuring milk quality have rapid response times so that effective action may be quickly taken.

Current methods and apparatus for detection of infections in milk rely on rendering the associated somatic cells in the milk visible or fluorescent by the addition of a dye or similar substance to the milk. This is undesirable as it results in contamination of the milk with the foreign Substance in question and requires that a consumable indicator be available whenever a measurement is necessary.

The present invention seeks to provide for an apparatus used in the dairy industry that is robust, reliable, simple to install, Small in size, cost-effective, cleanable (using no more hot water or chemicals than to clean than milking pipelines), low maintenance, and suitable for low line and high line systems and bulk containers. The present invention desirably includes a secluded sealed apparatus that can be located vertically in-line without any moving parts. While vertical mounting is discussed, it should be understood that any other orientation Such as horizontal mounting is possible without straying from the intended scope of the present invention.

2018101552 18 Oct 2018 . In a first aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for real-time determination of milk characteristics, the device including an input for accepting a mixed flow of milk; an output for providing the mixed flow of milk to a holding unit; a photographic element for obtaining intermittent photographs of the mixed flow of milk; a temperature sensing element for obtaining continuous temperature readings from the mixed flow of milk, and a pair of light (such as, but not limited to, NIR) emitters and corresponding detectors for obtaining volume and fat readings from the mixed flow of milk.

In a further aspect, there is provided a method for real-time determination of milk characteristics, the method including: providing a mixed flow of milk within a sensing area located in-line with dairy processing: photographically analyzing the mixed flow of milk within the sensing area in an intermittent manner so as to detect quantifiable milk characteristics; obtaining temperatures within the mixed flow of milk in a continuous manner so as to determine real-time milk temperature in the sensing area; obtaining Volume readings of the mixed flow within the sensing area; obtaining fat readings of the mixed flow within the sensing area; and based upon the quantifiable milk characteristics, the real-time milk temperature, the volume readings, and the fat readings, establishing an overall quality of the mixed flow of milk. While photographically analyzing the mixed flow of milk may occur intermittently, it should be understood that such sampling behaviour may be replaced with continuous data coverage without straying from the intended scope of the present invention.

the apparatus of the present invention includes detecting, processing, and user interface components housed within a sealed enclosure. Due to the placement of the apparatus in the dairy setting, all materials used should be appropriate for proper hygiene. That is to say, stainless steel, food grade plastics and similarly easily

2018101552 18 Oct 2018 cleaned surfaces are preferred materials for use in fabricating the sealed enclosure. The apparatus in accordance with the present invention includes an input port and an exit port for milk flow therethrough to an auxiliary holding tank.

The apparatus includes internal circuitry used to sense and analyze the milk flowing through the apparatus. Printed circuit boards embody the circuitry and related components discussed further hereinbelow. A display feature provides realtime data output indicating Somatic cell concentration (SCC), temperature, total mass, or any other relevant characteristic determined by the internal circuitry. The display may be in the form of any screen to show testing activity but most importantly has the capability to connect via satellite and relay all information to the smart supply chain, and may include one or more liquid crystal displays (LCD) or light emitting diodes (LEDs) with alphanumeric indication. Remote displays are possible through wired or wireless technology.

In operation of the apparatus, the present invention includes methods for determining important milk production characteristics through analyses including detection and analysis of Somatic cell flakes and foreign bodies, blood concentration in milk, milk protein content by volume in milk, milkfat content by Volume in milk, instantaneous milk temperature, and instantaneous milk flow rate.

The present invention is aimed specifically to aid the transport of raw milk that I stored as pressurized in a bulk container for long range transport. There are two important issues that come up when trying to conduct a test on a food product that is stored under pressure. This device is able to navigate through these issues, mainly tackling the problem of non-contact testing as well as loss of pressure.

The device as per the current invention is directly bolted on to our inter modal tanks and is connected through food grade pipes. There is an inlet port as well as an

2018101552 18 Oct 2018 outlet port that extracts tested milk into an auxiliary tank after testing. This allows the tested milk not to be returned to the bulk in case of any contamination.

In order to test the quality of milk, the milk is required to be depressurized.

This happens in the depressurization zone that is a moving tumbling cylinder with small opening on the top ends to allow gas to release. Every 20 seconds, 20ml of milk will be sucked into the depressurization zone, the outer wall will open while in the inner wall will remain shut, this maintains the pressure in the tank. Once the 20 ml of milk in inside the depressurization zone, the outer wall will shut and a centrifugal action from the spinning cylinder will remove all gas in the liquid.

This liquid then travels to the testing unit and is tested using light reflections from multiple cameras placed inside the unit. The onboard computer will instantly analyse the images and send the results to the cloud platform which will in turn alert the users and stakeholders in the supply chain of the ongoing quality of the milk.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention are intended to be examples only. Alterations, modifications and variations may be affected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto

Claims (5)

1. There is one page in the claims only.

   2018101552 18 Oct 2018

   ON BOARD MIILK SENSING UNIT INNOVATION PATENT

   The claims defining this innovation are as follows;

   1. An apparatus for real-time determination of milk characteristics specifically for attachment to a bulk transport pressurized tank.
2. 2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said input and output are formed in a manner to facilitate in-line connection of said apparatus to standard intermodal tanks
3. 3. The apparatus as claimed in 1 wherein said apparatus includes a depressurization chamber that uses centrifugal force and agitation to remove gas from the milk.
4. 4. The apparatus as claimed in 1 wherein said apparatus includes loT enabled devices that is able to connect to any available mobile, Wi-Fi or satellite signal to upload information every 5 minutes to a distributed ledger on the cloud.
5. 5. The apparatus as claimed in 1 wherein said apparatus obtaining quantifiable milk characteristics that satisfy import and export regulations of multiple countries. Characteristics which may include but not limited to fat, protein, lactobacillus, E Coli etc.