AU768983B2

AU768983B2 - Improvements in dairy bails

Info

Publication number: AU768983B2
Application number: AU16403/00A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Wilhelmus Theodorus Christopher
Original assignee: CHRISTOPHER DAIRY BAILS Pty LT
Current assignee: CHRISTOPHER DAIRY BAILS PTY Ltd
Priority date: 1999-02-12
Filing date: 2000-02-11
Publication date: 2004-01-15
Anticipated expiration: 2020-02-11
Also published as: AU1640300A

Description

Regulation 3.2 -1-

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

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COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT

APPLICANT:

NUMBER:

FILING DATE: CHRISTOPHER DAIRY BAILS PTY. LIMITED PP 8636/99 12/ 2/1999 Invention Title: IMPROVEMENTS IN DAIRY BAILS The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: IMPROVEMENTS IN DAIRY BAILS This invention relates to improvements in dairy bails and in particular to improvements in methods whereby animals being milked (for convenience we will refer to these as cows) can gain ingress into and, more particularly, egress from individual bails.

There have previously been proposed various types of bail systems, and the present applicant is the proprietor of Australian Patent No. 58051/96 entitled "Dairy Bail and Milking Assembly" which does show one particular form of bail which controls the ingress of cows into bails.

It is to this general type of bail that the present type of invention relates.

In our prior patent, we describe the means whereby individual bails are barred from access by cows until the preceding bails in the apparatus have been occupied.

The object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus where not only can the cows being milked have ready access to the bails, but also when milking has been completed, the cows are permitted to move from the bail with minimal disruption and further cows can be permitted to enter into these as rapidly as possible to facilitate the S•changeover from cows which have been milked to those which are to be milked.

O The invention, in its broadest sense, includes a dairy bail apparatus having a plurality of bails whereby cows can sequentially enter the various bails on the apparatus, a means for restraining a rearward and sideward movement of the cow whilst milking is affected, whereby the means for restraining the rearward movement may also cause the cow to move forward, and a means whereby a plurality of components on a front portion of the or each bail are able to be mechanically displaced such that the cows *can leave the apparatus by a forward movement.

25 Preferably the arrangement is such that the bails are located side by side and each bail S. other than the one furthest from the entry, the first bail, has a gate, the arrangement being that as a cow enters the first bail it trips means whereby the gate of the adjacent bail is opened and so on.

K:\WP\SPEC\dairybails2.wpd AT 2/9/03 A dairy bail apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein each bail has in front of the cow therein an assembly which normally restricts forward movement of the cow. Preferably, the assembly includes a feed bin in front of the cow.

In a preferred form of the invention, the assembly is adapted to be moved forwardly 5 and upwardly from a milking position where the assembly includes components in front of the cow to a release position where the assembly is moved from in front of the cow to permit the cow to move forwardly and leave the bail.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, we shall describe the operation of the invention in relation to the accompanying drawings, in which: *0*9 Figure 1 is side elevation of one bail from the exterior thereof with a cow located therein; Figure 2 is a view along line 2-2 of Figure 1 showing the various bails and the location of the doors which, as illustrated, are closed, except for the first station and this figure also shows the arrangement of the assembly mounted

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on rails thereabove; Figure 3 is a somewhat enlarged view of a portion of Figure 2 showing the arrangement of the doors on each bail; Figure 4 is a view showing the arrangement of Figure 3 but in plan showing the various bails on the location of the doors and the sliding door which can prevent further animals entering the apparatus once it is full; Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but on an enlarged scale and showing a cow about to enter the first bail; Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 showing in broken lines cows in the first two bails and a cow about to enter the third bail; K:\WP51\SPEC\dairybails.wpd AT 11/2/00 Figure 7 is an enlarged view of a latch arrangement which holds the sliding gate open or permits it to close; Figure 8 is a view not dissimilar to Figure 1 showing a cow in position for milking to occur; 0S *e :°Oseo o 0* 5 Figures 9 and 10 are views similar to Figure 8 showing the stabiliser bars 0 0600 moving from the position at which a cow can enter the bail to a position 000 where the bars are in their operative condition; s..I Osseo Figure 11 is a view showing the bail assembly moved away from the cow so .that the cow can readily leave the bail; and *fee Figure 12 is a view showing the apparatus returning to its position as shown in Figure 1.

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The apparatus, in very general terms, is designed to permit the animals (and for convenience we will refer to these as cows) to be milked to enter the various bails, to be retained therein whilst being milked and to be permitted to leave therefrom in an orderly manner with the apparatus being adapted to be returned to its initial condition to receive further cows as rapidly as possible.

Referring firstly to Figures 3 to 5, Figure 3 is a view looking from the passage along which the cow will pass, showing the entrances to four bails 31, 32, 33 and 34, bail 31 which is closest to the end wall of the apparatus does not have a door but each of the bails 32, 33 and 34 have a door 35, 36, 37 respectively.

Extending from the side of each bail across the entrance thereof, there is a trip 40, 41, 42 and 43 which are contacted by an animal entering the appropriate bail and moving forwardly into the bail.

As best can be seen from Figure 5, these rods 40, 41 are pivotally mounted about a pivot 50 and have an extension 51 which extends towards the next adjacent bail.

K:\WP51\SPEC\dairybails.wpd AT 11/2/00 The rods are spring biassed towards a position in which they lie flush against the adjacent side wall 60 of the bail, but are held from this position whilst the adjacent gate is closed by an extension 52 on the gate.

The gates are also biassed to be normally open.

5 The arrangement is such that when the cow enters the bail, and at this stage we shall discuss the first cow for ease, it causes the rod 40 to rotate, the extension 51 causes the adjacent bail gate to open slightly until the rod becomes free, the rod moves to its position adjacent the side wall 60 and the gate 35 of the next bail comes open under its bias.

10 As all of the gates are closed when the first cow enters the apparatus, it will bypass the initial bails and enter what we shall call the first bail. The movement rod causes release of the gate 35 of the second bail and when the next cow comes into the apparatus, it will enter the second bail and, in doing this, will cause the rod 41 to move, releasing the gate 36 of the subsequent bail and so on.

o* When the fourth cow is to enter the bail 34, it causes the rod 43 which is associated therewith to move, this rod acts on a trip associated with a sliding gate 60 which gate is biassed to be normally closed so that once the gate is released, it will close across the entrance to the passageway 30, preventing any further cows from entering the apparatus.

Associated with the gate assembly there can be a latch 65 which is normally held behind the trip 60 and thus holds the gate 61 in its open position. This may have a manual release operation as well as a fixed release.

When the cows are in position, ram 120 is caused to operate and this causes arm 150 which is part of a crank assembly 151 pivoted at 152 to rotate so that the arm 150 moves towards the rear of the cow and this acts as an obstruction to side ways K:\WP51\SPEC\dairybails.wpd AT 11/2/00 -6movements of the cow, either when the teats are being fitted, or generally when the cow is located within the bail.

This arm 150 stays in its operative location as the cow is permitted to move from the bail, see Figure 11, but as the assembly starts to return to its initial condition ram 120 is again extended so that the arm 150 does not obstruct the entry of the cow into the ***bail.

Once the cows are in position, the milking machine teats can be fitted to their udders and milking can be effected. Each cow has a feed bin 70 which is located in front of it, the food in the bins tending to occupy the cow so that it is relatively sedate when in the bail.

When milking of the cows has been completed, by manipulation of the apparatus, the cows can be permitted to leave by moving forward, removing the necessity of any rearward movement which can cause obstruction to the cows.

Figures 8 to 12 show the operation of the means whereby the cows can be permitted ooooo to rapidly leave their bail after milking is completed.

There is a sub-which can have associated therewith the side walls 60 of the bails, the gates 35 to 37 and the feed bins 70. The sub-frame assembly has members 76, 81 and 82 on each side thereof, which members extend upwardly and have at their upper ends wheels or rollers (hereinafter called wheels) 91 which are adapted to co-operate with a track 90 which extends parallel to the longitudinal location of the bails.

upwardly and is mounted on a track 90 to permit movement of the sub-frame.

Whilst we have referred to wheels or rollers 91 which cooperate with the track, any other form of non-friction device could equally well be used.

K:\WP51\SPEC\dairybails.wpd AT 11/2/00 -7- The sub-frame 80 has basically 2 portions. A forward portion 83 and a rearward portion 84 which are pivotally connected at The forward portion 83 has a member 86 which has an upwardly directed portion which is that which is connected to the rail and a rearwardly extending portion 87 5 which constitutes the side wall of the bail. A beam or the like 88 is connected to the portion 86 and extends rearwardly and is in turn connected to the upwardly directed member 81 and has an extending lug or the like 89 to which the pivot 85 to the rearwardly directed portion is connected.

The feed bins 70 which located forwardly of the cow are on a frame which includes a bell cranked member 71, one end 72 of which is pivotally connected to a telescopic strut 73 and the other end 74 of which is pivotally to a link 75 which in turn is S' pivotally connected at 76 to upwardly directed member 86. The body of the strut 73 has an extension 78 therefrom which is pivoted at 79 to the forward part of the sub- S•frame. This strut, as will be described hereafter provides a support for the weight of the bins 70 as the sub-frame moves.

The rear part of the sub-frame includes members 140 which have connected therebetween transverse members 141 nd 142 which, when the cows are entering the bails are located at the side of the passage 30 away from the bails so as to cause no obstruction to the cows as they enter the bails.

Movement of the sub-frame is effected by an hydraulic ram 100 which is connected to the beam 88 and to part of the girder assembly 76 at 101.

Extension of the ram 100, as can best be seen from Figure 11 causes the sub-frame to move forward, the member 86 is caused to rise as its wheels 91 move up a ramp 92 to an upward portion 93 of the track K:\WP51\SPECdairybails.wpd AT 11/2/00 -8- At the same time, extension 78 on the body of the strut 73 causes the strut to rotate about pivot 77 and this movement causes forward movement of the link 75 which, in turn, causes the bin 70 to move forwardly of the sub-frame assembly and rise until it is effectively at the level of the portion 87 of the sub-frame assembly which has been moved to an angle which is equivalent to the height of the ramp 92 which causes o partial rotation of the forward portion of the sub-assembly. The strut acts to limit the force needed to cause the movement of the bins Effectively the operations of the ram 100 cause the bail to rise, as the member 86 of the sub-assembly rises up the track and the bin 70 is caused to move up and out of the path of the animals and the bails.

At the same time, the transverse members 141, 142 are moved forwardly with the remainder of the sub-frame and these strike the cows at their rear and urge them forward.

Because the forward part of the bail has been lifted, at this time, they can move forwardly and quit the apparatus.

The position of the transverse members 141 and 142 can be provided by an adjustment 133 provided where member 141 enters member 84.

It will also be appreciated that member 84 moves forward simply along the rail when the forward part of the sub-assembly commences to move up the ramp 92 so there is no vertical component in the movement of the transverse members 141 and 142.

Gate 61 is opened by a pivoted rod 130 which is pivoted at 131 to fixed member 133 and bias to rotate this rod is provided by spring 132.

K:\WPS1\SPEC\dairybails.wpd AT 11/2/00 -9- When the bail is in the position where the cow is located therein the rod is held in the position shown in Figure 8 by a stop member 134 which is connected to part of the movable sub-assembly.

As the sub-assembly is moved forwardly to permit a cow to leave the bail, the rod 130 rotates about the pivot 131 and before the assembly reaches its fully forward position, the lower end 135 of the rod clears the extension 134 and the rod rotates to the position shown in Figure 11 where it is located behind latch member 136 on gate 61, which latch member can be rotated about a pivot 137 to permit the rod 130 to be located therebehind.

As the sub-assembly moves rearwardly, the stop member 134 strikes the lower end 135 of the rod, as can be seen from Figure 12, the rod acts against the latch member 136 and causes the gate 61 to open thus permitting ingress of further cows.

The movement of the gate occurs just as the bails return to the operative condition so S"when this is open the next cow can enter the passageway and the operation can be recommenced.

Once the animals have cleared the apparatus the operation is reversed, the side wall of the bails are caused to move rearwardly, the feed bins 71 are caused to move downwardly, the transverse members 130 and 131 return to the position where they do not occlude the passageway, the gates 35 to 37 are closed and the gate 61 is opened, thus returning the apparatus to the position as shown in Figure 4 when an animal can walk into the apparatus and the process can be repeated.

Whilst in this specification, we have disclosed one specific arrangement of the bail apparatus of the invention, it is to be understood that there can be various modifications of this, particularly in the location and relationship between the K:\WP51\SPEC\dairybails.wpd AT 11/2/00 10 components which, nevertheless, provide the required movements to effect the required operation.

K:\XW51\$PEC\dairybaiIs.wpd AT 11/r2/00 11 All such modifications of the invention as described will be considered to be within the scope of the invention.

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Claims

2. A dairy bail apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the bails are located side by side and each bail other than the one furthest from the entry, the first bail, has a gate, the arrangement being that as a cow enters the first bail it trips means whereby the gate of the adjacent bail is opened and so on.
3. A dairy bail apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein each gate is biassed to be normally open but is held against the bias by a latch, the latch extending into the adjacent open bail and is actuated by the movement ofa cow into that bail.
4. A diary bail apparatusas claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein when all •the bails are filled, a gate is closed to prevent the ingress of any further cows. A dairy bail apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein after the cows are in the bails a member behind the cows is moved towards the cows to restrain rearward movement thereof.
6. A dairy bail apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein each bail has in front of the cow therein an assembly which normally restricts forward movement of the cow. o K:\WP\Spec\dairybails2.wpd AT 23/10/03 13
7. A dairy bail apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein the assembly includes a feed bin in front of the cow.
8. A dairy bail apparatus as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7 wherein the assembly S. ".is adapted to be moved from a milking position where the assembly includes components in front of the cow to a release position where the assembly is i.. moved from in front of the cow to permit the cow to move forwardly and 04006 leave the bail.
9. A dairy bail apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein the assembly is moved forwardly and upwardly.
10. A dairy bail apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein the feed bin moves relatively to the remainder of the assembly and is moved upwardly relative to this.
11. A dairy bail apparatus as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10 wherein when the assembly is moved, the member behind the cows is caused to move forwardly to assist in moving a stationary cow forward.
12. A diary bail apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 11 wherein after the cows have left the bails, the assembly is moved downwardly and rearwardly to its initial position.
13. A diary bail apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein as the assembly is moved the feed bins move to their feeding position. K:\WP51\SPEC\dairybails.wpd AT 11/2/00 -14-
14. A dairy bail apparatus as claimed in claim 12 or claim 13 wherein when the assembly is moved to its initial position, the member behind the cow is moved rearwardly so as to not obstruct the entrance of further cows.
15. A dairy bail apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 14 wherein when 5 the assembly is moved to its initial position, the gate are moved to their closed position and latched therein.
16. A dairy bail apparatus as claimed in claim 15 wherein when the assembly has moved to its initial position, the gates are closed and the member behind the cows has been moved rearwardly, a gate in the entrance to the bail apparatus 10 is opened to permit further cows to enter the apparatus.
17. A diary bail apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the S*accompanying drawings. DATED this 11 t h day of February, 2000 CHRISTOPHER DAIRY BAILS PTY. LIMITED By its Patent Attorneys A TATLOCK ASSOCIATES K:\WP51\SPEC\dairybails.wpd AT 11/2/00