CA1037409A - Mobile milk unit and system - Google Patents

Abstract

MOBILE MILK UNIT AND SYSTEM

Abstract A mobile, complete milking unit for milking cows and transferring the milk to a storage tank, the unit having all the milk handling components mounted thereon as an integral, portable unit. The unit can be moved about in the milking area whether it is in the barn, in the barn yard, or in the field.

Description

1037~9 ~
- Background of the Invention ~ This invention pertains generally to dairy equipment and more -`
i particularly to milking apparatus for milking cows and conveying the milk to a storage tank. Apparatus of this general character is shown in several : Canadian patents where the milk lines, receivers, and control equipment are secured in the milking parlor and/or in the milk room. These installations are permanent and generally quite expensive due to the milk lines and other apparatus which is required and furthermore these prior art apparatus are -- inflexible, somewhat inefficient, and expensive to produce and maintain.
Examples of such prior art apparatus are shown in Canadian Patent Nos. 796,550 .
issued October 15, 1968 and entitled "Fluid Conveying Apparatus"; 762,767 issued July 11, 1967 and entitled "Milk Line Equipment"; 805,941 issued ,i ~ebruary 11, 1969 and entitled "~luid Conveying Appara~us"; 880,150 issued . "
5eptember 7, 1971 and èntitled "Vacuum Operated Timing Device for ~luld i Conveying Apparatus"; and Canadian Pakent 937,527 issued November 27, 1973 i and entitled "Fluid Line Releaser and Washer". `~
Summary of the Invention According to the pre5ent invention there is provided a mobile milking unit having components energizable from an electrical power source . ~j and for supplying milk to a bulk storage tank remote from said unit compris-ing a mobile frame~ and, mounted on said frame, a single milk receiver, a ,`;
vacuum pump connected to said receiver for subjecting said receiver to vacuum, a first motor for~driving~said vacuum pump, means for connecting said first tor~to said power source, a plurality of teat claw assemblies, a plurality .
of adjustably movable swing arms on said frame for supporting said plurality ~ of teat claw assemblies, a plurality of milk conduits, each milk conduit -^.I~! ....
~;1 connected for conveying mi:lk from a teat claw assembly to said receiver in response to said vacuum in said receiver, a shut-of valve for each milk .l conduit for shutting off vacuum to a teat claw assembly not in use, an elec-;.,~ ~:, ,. :
;,l 30 trically operated pulsator energizable from said power source and operatively :
.~ i ; . .
,,'1, connected to said claw assemblies for selectively connecting said teat claw :;

.l assemblies to said vacuum pump and to atmosphere to thereby alternately sub- , ' -2- ;

037~C~9 ;;
`.; , .. :.
ject said claw assemblies to vacuum or atmosphere, electrically operated milk level sensing means in said receiver and energizable from said power source for providing electrical signals indicative of milk level in said receiver, a milk pump connected to said receiver for pumping milk from said receiver to , said bulk storage tank, a second motor for driving said milk pump, an electri~
cal contactor energizable from said power source for connecting said second ,`
motor to said power source, electrically operated milk level control means `
energizable from said power source and connected to said electrical contactor :
and to said milk level sensing means periodically for operating said milk ,:
pump to periodically empty said receiver into said bulk storage tank when milk .. ~, in said receiver reaches a predetermined level as sensed by said milk level ,; sensing means, and electrically operable pulsator timer means energizable from said power source and connected to said pulsator for cyclica].ly energ.lzing , ;

;~ said pulsator rom said source o power to eEEect timed control oE the pul- ~
: :
`~ sations of said pulsator.

~ Preferably, the milk level control means comprises a relay for ,;j operating said contactor, a controlled rectifier for operating said relay, ,....................................................................... :
,i and electric control means for sensing said signals and for operating said ~1 controlled rectifier in response thereto.
;i ~ 20 In one embodiment of the invention, the pulsator comprises a solenold operated~valv~e and said pulsator timer means comprises a solid state multivibrator to establish an on-off duty cycle at a predetermined frequency, ., ` ~ ! :
a solid state switch cycllcally operated by said multivibrator to effect operatlon of said solenoid operated valve in said pulsator, and a light ' actuated control rectifier to isolate said ~ultivibrator from said solid state :!,i i . .
switch to prevent undesirable frequency changes.

. The present invention provides a mobile, complete milking unit or `
: j .
milking cows, collecting the milk, and periodically transferring the collected milk to a storage tank, all o which is accomplished in an automatic and timed ~.i 30 manner. The portable unit can be used in the barn where the cows are brought ,~1 to be milked or the unit may be transported to the barn yard or out in the ` field where the cows are located, thus avoiding the necessity of bringing the * -2a-;', ~ " ' : :
- ~Q3~;'4C~9 cows into the barn or into a particular milking area and the latter procedure ; is especially desirable in countries or climates ., .
`'" ' :

',, ~

... .
',1,' ~, .".
' - ': ' :' ~ ' . ~ , .''' `' , ~ .

` :1 ,;l .
,~';. `,, ."~

,~i '' :.. ;
:,,,, ";':

.~ ` " .
. . ,,:: .
''~, ~ .,'," "';;
,, ; , . .
"!,1, ~''`` `" ' ; ~ , `, ,' . ",' .~"

-2b-` ~03~4~9 .
~.where such a system lends itself to that method oE milking. t .

The mobile milking unit contemplated by the present invention can . .
.
.;~be mounted on a portable cart having ground engaging wheels, it can be ,~mounted on an overhead trolle~T for being moved along a milking parlor, ... . ..
or it can be mounted on a sel~-propelled vehicleJ such as a truck, the truck .having an .internal combustion engine for driving a generator and ;,. .; .
,;,which thus provides. the necessar~r electrical energy. . .:
~ .
The invention provides electrical control means Eor periodically .

:;conveying the collected milk Erom a milk receiver and to the bulk storage ,. ..
',~. 10 . tank. "
,. . .
~; The pre~,ent invention provides a highly efficient ~nd complete milking unit which operates with no loss oE mil~ and is otherwise eE~lcient in operation; it is s~rlit~ry and complies with the various 5anitation codes;
.' ' ~ :.
; I it is flexible in operation and require~ no permanently attached milk .".i , ~ . .
. 1 lines or other components which would otherwise limit its use.
;'1 ' ~ `~.,.1' These and other objects and advantages oE the present invention w.ill appear hereinafter as this disclosure progresses, reEerence being had to the accompanylng drawings~
Brlef Descriptlon of the Drawings ..
:FIG.~1 is~a~side~elevationalvlewoEoneembodimentoEtheinvention and show.lng~ it as~applied ~to a portable, manually pushed cart having the necessary ground wheels; ; : . .
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the portable unit shown in :FIG. 1, certain parts being removed Eor the sake of clarity FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram o~ certain of the par-ts shol,vn in FIGS. ~.
!~ ,:, , 1 and 2 and also LncLuding an electric control circuit and components ~or . . ~:
: the various parts; :,~ .
:
. - 3 - :
.. ...
,; j ~ ..
.'1 . '", " .

~037 ., .,~
FIGS. 4 and 5 show embodiments of the invention wherein the portable unit is mounted on an overhead track for being conveyed along a milking area, FIG, 4 being an eLevational view of the unit taken generally along the line 4-4 of FIG. 5, and FIG. 5 being another elevational view ~`
of the unit.
FIG, 6 is another embodiment of the invention and showing the , .
unit as mounted on a self-propelLed vehicle, such as a truck and which truck also has a trailer attached thereto containing a storage tank. -... .
.' ,~ ~. .
Description of a Preferred Embodiment As shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, ~he mobile unit is ln the ~orm of a cart C, having a mobile frame F which is generally comprls~d of a steel vacuum tank 1 which acts as a base of the unit and to which are attached a pair of rubber tired wheels 2 and caster wheeL means 3. The mobile frame also has a eeries, for example four, of swing arms 4 swingabLy mounted , j j. .," ~ .
thereon. Any number of swing arms can be mounted on the frame and , . .. . ~.
,¦ each is adapted to~support a conventionaL teat cLaw 6 and the fLexible -~,-... ..
Lines 7 and 8 extending therefrom. Line 8 is a lower vacuum line having~ ;
an off/off valve 9, and extend from the-interior Liner 14 of the teat cups t2 through an enclosed pan 10 of the claw, and to a receiver manifold ~; 20 11. Only one such teat claw has been iLLustrated~in FIGS. 1 and 3, but it is i l ,. ~ .
I~ understood that other numbers can also be simultaneousLy used and the manifold 11 has a series of attached nipples 13 for the reception of said other vacuum Lines and claw assembLies.
The mobile frame also has a milk receiver 16 mounted thereon and this miLk receiver is generaLly formed of transparent materiaL such " . , .

1 _4_ .I , ~; 1()37'4~9 ;~
; .,. "
. - as glass and acts to receive the milk from the teat claw assemblies 6.
, . .. . .
:: . Vacuum means are provided for continually drawing a vacuum in the interior of the receiver 16 and this vac;uum means includes a vacuu~n pump .i~
~ .. .
; 20 which is connected via line 21 to the vacuum tank L Ihe vacuum pump is `

.~ driven.by the pump motor 22 which in turn is connected by electrical lines i,, ~ ::
., . 23 with the e~èctric power lines 2d~. Power Lines 24 are connected via ;, , , ~. ..
an on/off switch 25 to an electrical source, not shown. The vacuum tank is .:
,',,'~' , : . ' ' ,`
~ ~ ¢onnected by vacuum conduits 28 and 29, respectively, to the receiver ,.. . .. .
. ' 16 and to a solenoid pu~sator 30 to be later referxed to. The vacuum pump ..

10 is conti~lually operated to produce a vacuum .irl the tan~ 1 wh.ich thus in ! ;.
: " turn continually draw9 a vacuum from the receiver 16, via tbie moisture ~ .
~ s ~
trap 32. The vacuum tank al~o cotltinuallg draws a vacuum Erom the solenoid pulsator through line 29.
....
s.~, A milk pump 40 is connected to an outlet 41 oE the receiver and is driven by the milk pump electric motor 42. A bul~ storage tan~ 44 .is provided and the milk pump periodica~ly Is actuated to pump ~he ~nilk From the receiver l6 through:a one-way check valve 46, milk fllter 48, and through a fl;exible~ tublng 50: and into the bulk storage tank. The Elexible tublng 50~ Is preferably~of plastlc materlal and can:be coiled for storage '.. :.. :
~20~ on the flexible tublng~btorage~Erame 52 which i5 carried by the mobile .
frame. As the mobile frame is moved from one milking area to another~
: the coil of fle~ible tubing 50 .is unwound so that the unit can convey the milk to the bulk storage tank 44 which can be located elsewhere. : `

Means are provided in the receiver 16 for sensing when the . :
,~, j: .
receiver is sufficlently full Of mllk .Erom the claw assembl.ies so that it should be emptied by actuating the milk pump 40 and pumping the milk from ~
the receiver to the storage tank 44~ This milk le~el sensing means located .,j , .
5~

~ .

: ~ ~ 03q4~9 ~
; in the receiver takes the form of three electrical probes A, B and C which ;, - ,.
extend upwardly therefrom, the bottom end of the probes being located at dif~erent levels in the receiver. These probes in turn are connected to ~ ,~
- milk level control mFans 60, to be referred to in detaii, and which control the milk pump 40 in a timed rnanner. The milk probes sense the level of ;~ the milk, both the low and high extremes thereof in the receiver jar and insure that the receiver will never over-flow and that the milk pump 40 ,........................................................ . .
will nat be damaged by running dry. The arrangement of the probe~ is such ,;;
that when the mllk level rises sufficiently in the receiver SQ as to contact `; 10 the shortest probe A, the milk level control 60 activates ia contacter 64 -which closes its normally open contacts to apply electrical energy to the ! j . ," '::
milk pump rnotor 42 frorn the lines 2gJ thu,~ emptylng the receiver when the ; 1 level rises a9 lndicated, ~ore speclfically, when milk enters the receiver , I ~ 16 and submerges the top probe A, enough current flows through the mil~
r l to be sensed by a solid state amplifier 61 which provides enough gate signal ~','; to trigger a silicon controlled rectifier (SCR). The output of the SCR operates the control relay 62. ~Once the control relay 62 is activated the SCR and the control relay 62;are 1atched through closure of the normally open contacts 6Za hetween lmes~65~;and 66. Activatlon~of control relay 62 effects closure of / - `

2~ the~normally open contacts 62b to activate the milk pu~np contactor 64. Probe B~ extends downwardlv ~In~the~recelver farther than probe A and when the quid level falls below this probe B, the milk level control means 60 de- ;
energizes contactor 64 and disconnects the milk pump motor 42 frorrl the '~
r ~ j :
lines 2a~ thereby deenergizing rnotor 42 and causing the pumping action of ;~ the pump 40 to cease,~ and consequently permitting the receiver 16 to a~,ain `, fill with milk from the continuous vacuum line ~. Probe ~ is a ground probe.
, , 1 .
1 ' , :`.,. .:
.t l , : , .,! ` ~,':. ~ `

;
r~, ' : 1~37~9 The milk level control 60 may, for example, take the form of a Model T CS10 . . !
device manufactured by Curtis Industries, Inc., 8000 West Tower Avenue, Milwaukee, ~lsconsin53223.
, ...................................................................... ..
Referring to the claw assemblies 6, they are subjected alternately .; to vacuum and/or atmospheric pressure thereby causing the teat cup liners 14 (FIG. 3) or inflations to open or collapse on the cow's teat in the known " S manner. Intermittent high vacuum is supplied to~the teat cups 12 by the vacuum . ,.j .
i.' line 7, which is connected to the manifold 15 of the solenoid 30. When the ,.'1, 'i ,:' , ~ solenoid permits air to enter the line 7, shutting off vacuum, the a~r fills ~ `

10 the space between the teat cup outer shell 12a and the cup liner and thus causes .,, :
~1 lnfLation of the cup to collapse, thereby massaging the teat~. Whetl the sole~oid .
,l applies the high vacuum to line 7, the teat cups are inFlated, ln the known ,, I .
manner. Conduits or lines 8 lead directly from the interior of the teat cups t';'''' 12 that is directly from the teat of the cow and the conduits 8 thus convey ;1; the milk to the rnanifold l1 and thus to the receiver 16. The vacuum in lines 8 is a lower vacuum than that in line 7, all as is conventionaL, thus milk and vacuum are drawn;into the receiver 16.
The pulsator 30 is connected to the ~ pulsator timer 80 which may be operated at 60~cycles~per mlnute and which is in tu~n connected to the power 20~ ~ lines~ 24. The pulsator~timer 80 has a 60-40 duty cycle alternating vacuum and atmospheric pressure. The purpose oE the pulsator timer 80 is ,., ., ~ :
to control the on/off time of the solenoid operated pulsator 30 which in turn alternates between vacuum and atmospheric pressure to effect :, ! ¦ . .
the teat cup operations as described. The pulsator timer 80 comprises an astable multivibr tor ~(timer) 81 which operates at a frequency of 1 Hz, with . 6 seconds on time and . 4 seconds off time. The pulsator timer 80 also -:, j ;
includes a light activated silicon control recti~ier (L~SC~) which is used to '~
.: i ' -, 7 , , .

`.. :'1 !
.. ,,-, , ,. .: `

10374~
;. ::; ., .
, provide isolation between the output circuits and the timer circuit so the ;`i .
.: frequency will stay constant. ~dditionaLly, the LASCF~ provides su~Eicient . ~ ., ` ;., gating current to trigger the TRIAC circuit which acts as a single pole `~
:. ~ ~, , :' ' normally open relay for controll.ing the pulsator solenoid 30. ', ~ :
,",'.',, During the .6 seconds on time voltage is applied to the three- .. ..
,,' way solenoid 30 and vacuurn .is applied via line 7 to the outer side of the teat cup inflator causing them to open and milk flows from the cows' teat.
,. ., . ;
,',.. ,'~ During the . 4 seconds oE time the solenoid 30 reverts to its static condition .'.. ':
, '`'~ and allows atmospheric pressure to the outer side oE the inElator aLlowing ,.`
it to collapse and massage the cows~ teat. The puLsator timer 80 is a solid ,,,'":, ~",,'ll state timing device using a three-way ~olenoid valve. '' .
.1,;'' , ;,',.', "'", The embodiment of the .Lnvent,Lon shown in FIGS, 4 and 5 ls the '~l same a~ that shown in connection with FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, except that the .. '"1 ' ' ~ ' mobile frame is mounted as previou~ly .indicated on an overhead trolley track 90 by the wheels 91 f~xed to the upwardly extending frame members 92.~ Thus, the 'mobiLe frame is suspended for overhead movement rather '~ ~;
" ',~ than movement along the floor.
FIG.: 6 shows another modi~ication wherein the mobile unit is ~.
mounted on a self-propelled vehicle,~:such as a truFk 100 which includes an '.,~.;': 20 :;~, : internal combustion~engine 101 that drives an eLectric generator 102. ~.,, The generator thus acts ag a source of electrical energy Eor the power .~
lines 24. In th.is modiElcation ths storage tank 44a is in the Eorm oE a .; ; ' trailer attached to the truck 100~ This embodiment of the invention can he .L, '.
used to go out in the Eield where the cows are located to thereby avoid ,'.. ;~., ;7 ~ the necess.ity oE bringing the cows into a particuLar miLking~ area. SeveraL
trailer type storsgs tanks 9~4a may be used so that they can be conveyed ,.'.¦ individually out in the field when they are Eull. .'.'`. `. ,'.`' ' " ~

, ;: ,.

Claims (4)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A mobile milking unit having components energizable from an electri-cal power source and for supplying milk to a bulk storage tank remote from said unit comprising a mobile frame and, mounted on said frame, a single milk receiver, a vacuum pump connected to said receiver for subjecting said receiver to vacuum, a first motor for driving said vacuum pump, means for connecting said first motor to said power source, a plurality of teat claw assemblies, a plurality of adjustably movable swing arms on said frame for supporting said plurality of teat claw assemblies, a plurality of milk conduits, each milk conduit connected for conveying milk from a teat claw assembly to said receiv-er in response to said vacuum in said receiver, a shut-off valve for each milk conduit for shutting off vacuum to a teat claw assembly not in use, an electrically operated pulsator energizable from said power source and opera-tively connected to said claw assemblies for selectively connecting said teat claw assemblies to said vacuum pump and to atmosphere to thereby alternately subject said claw assemblies to vacuum or atmosphere, electrically operated milk level sensing means in said receiver and energizable from said power source for providing electrical signals indicative of milk level in said receiver, a milk pump connected to said receiver for pumping milk from said receiver to said bulk storage tank, a second motor for driving said milk pump, an electrical contactor energizable from said power source for connect-ing said second motor to said power source, electrically operated milk level control means energizable from said power source and connected to said electrical contactor and to said milk level sensing means periodically for operating said milk pump to periodically empty said receiver into said bulk storage tank when milk in said receiver reaches a predetermined level as sensed by said milk level sensing means, and electrically operable pulsator timer means energizable from said power source and connected to said pulsator for cyclically energizing said pulsator from said source of power to effect timed control of the pulsations of said pulsator.

2. The unit set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that said milk level control means comprises a relay for operating said contractor, a controlled rectifier for operating said relay, and electric control means for sensing said signals and for operating said controlled rectifier in response thereto.

3. The unit set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that said pulsator comprises a solenoid operated valve and said pulsator timer means comprises a solid state multivibrator to establish an on-off duty cycle at a predetermined frequency, a solid state switch cyclically operated by said multivibrator to effect operation of said solenoid operated valve in said pulsator, and a light actuated control rectifier to isolate said multivibrator from said solid state switch to prevent undesirable frequency changes.

4. A mobile milking unit having components energizable from an electri-cal power source and for supplying milk to a bulk storage tank remote from said unit comprising a mobile frame and, mounted on said frame, a single milk receiver, a vacuum pump connected to said receiver for subjecting said receiv-er to vacuum, a first motor for driving said vacuum pump and connected to said power source, a plurality of teat claw assemblies, a plurality of adjustably movable swing arms on said frame for supporting said plurality of teat claw assemblies, a plurality of milk conduits, each milk conduit connected for conveying milk from one teat claw assembly to said receiver due to said vacuum in said receiver, a shut-off valve for each milk conduit for shutting off vacuum to a teat claw assembly not in use, a solenoid operated pulsator valve energizable from said power source and operatively connected to said claw assemblies for selectively connecting said teat claw assemblies to said vacuum pump and atmosphere to thereby alternately subject said claw assemblies to vacuum or atmosphere, electrically operated milk level sensing means in said receiver and energizable from said power source for providing electric signals indicative of milk level in said receiver, a milk pump connected to and for pumping milk from said receiver to said bulk storage tank, a second motor energizable from said power source for driving said milk pump, an electrical contactor for connecting said second motor to said source of power, electri-cally operated milk level control means energizable from said power source and connected to said contactor and to said milk level sensing means periodi-cally for operating said milk pump to periodically empty said receiver into said bulk storage tank when milk in said receiver reaches a predetermined level as sensed by said milk level sensing means, said milk level control means comprising a relay for operating said contactor, a controlled rectifier for operating said contactor, a controlled rectifier for operating said relay, ane electric control means for sensing said signals and for operating said controlled rectifier in response thereto, and electrically operated pulsator timer means connected to said solenoid operated pulsator valve for cyclically energizing said pulsator from said power source to effect tired control of the pulsations of said pulsator valve, said pulsator timer means comprising a solid state multivibrator to establish an on-off duty cycle at a predeter-mined frequency, and a solid state switch cyclically operated by said multi-vibrator to effect operation of said solenoid operated pulsator, and a light actuated control rectifier to isolate said multivibrator from said solid state switch to prevent undesirable frequency changes.