CA2779531A1 - Milk meter, milk volume measuring method, and milking device - Google Patents

Abstract

A milk volume meter (1) comprising: a measuring container section (2) connected to the middle of a milk transfer line (Lm) and capable of containing milk (M) flowing therein from an inlet (2i); a liquid surface detection section (3) for detecting the liquid surface (Mu) of the milk (M) contained within the measuring container section (2); and a valve mechanism section (4) capable of opening and closing the outlet (2e) of the measuring container section (2), wherein a gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber (Rd) having a volume capable of containing a volume of milk which corresponds to at least a single operation and which is allowed to flow out of the outlet (2e) by opening and closing the valve mechanism section (4) is provided on the downstream side of the outlet opening (2e). The gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber (Rd) is provided with a milk delivery outlet section (6) having a delivery outlet (6f) for causing the milk (M) to flow out at a flow rate less than or equal to a predetermined flow rate (Qf) and delivering the milk (M) after mixing the milk (M) into air (A) within the measuring container section (2).

Description

DESCRIPTION

Title of Invention MILK METER, MILK VOLUME MEASURING METHOD, AND
MILKING DEVICE

Technical Field The present invention relates to a milk meter connected to the middle of a milk transfer line for feeding milk milked by a milking machine for measuring a milk volume, a milk volume measuring method, and a milking device.

Background Art A milk meter connected to the middle of a milk transfer line for measuring a milk volume has been known, and this type of milk meters are divided into a non-retaining type that directly measures flowing milk and a retaining type that temporarily retains the flowing milk in a measuring container portion and measuring the same.

The non-retaining type has an advantage of a small size and simple configuration but has a drawback in measuring accuracy. Thus, the retaining type is required for ensuring high measuring accuracy. The retaining type is usually constituted by a measuring container portion connected to the middle of a milk transfer line and capable of retaining milk inflowing through an inlet, a liquid level detection portion disposed inside this measuring container portion and having a low-position electrode portion detecting the liquid level at a low position of the retained milk and a high-position electrode portion for detecting the liquid level at a high position of the retained milk, a valve mechanism portion capable of opening/closing an outlet provided on the lower part of the measuring container portion, and a control system for controlling the valve mechanism portion so that the outlet is closed upon detection by the low-position electrode portion and the outlet is opened upon detection by the high-position electrode portion. As this retaining type milk meter, a milk meter disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is known.

Citation List Patent Literature Patent Literature: U.S. Patent No. 4,391,222 Summary of Invention Technical Problem However, the prior-art milk meter disclosed in the above-described Patent Document 1 has the following problems.

First, milk transferred from a milk tube on the upstream side is retained to a certain level of the measuring container portion and then, an on/off valve attached to the outlet on the bottom part is opened to discharge the milk to a milk tube on the downstream side through the outlet. Moreover, since the milk transferred to the measuring container portion is mixed with air, the measuring container portion also works as a gas-liquid separation chamber which separates air from the milk. The air is discharged from a vacuum line faced with a roof portion of the measuring container portion and then, added to the milk discharged through the outlet in the measuring container portion again, so that the milk is mixed with air and delivered to the milk tube on the downstream side. In this case, since a negative pressure for suctioning the milk is applied to the inside of the milk tube, a milk transfer path (the milk tube and the like) is temporarily blocked by the discharged milk during the opening of the on/off valve, and the internal pressure of the milk tube is fluctuated. In the end, this pressure fluctuation (pressure impact) is applied to a teat through the milk tube, which becomes an unnecessary stress factor to a cow and makes germs intrude into the teat easily causing garget or the like.

Secondly, the flow rate of the milk transferred through the milk tube is preferably averaged as much as possible in order to ensure stable milk transfer and to obtain milk not mixed with air bubbles. However, since a large flow rate of milk is temporarily discharged through the outlet of the measuring container portion, unnecessary air bubbles can easily mix into the milk after discharge, and it is difficult to ensure stable and balanced milk transfer.

The present invention has an object to provide a milk meter which solves such problems in the background art, a milk volume measuring method, and a milking device.

Solution to Problem In order to solve the above-described problems, a milk meter 1 according to the present invention is a milk meter including a measuring container portion 2 connected to the middle of a milk transfer line Lm and capable of retaining milk M
inflowing through an inlet 2i, a liquid level detection portion 3 for detecting a liquid level Mu of the milk M retained inside this measuring container portion 2, a valve mechanism portion 4 capable of opening/closing an outlet 2e of the measuring container portion 2, and a control system 5 for opening/closing control of the valve mechanism portion 4 at least upon detection of the liquid level Mu by the liquid level detection portion 3. In this milk meter, a gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd having a capacity capable of retaining a milk volume of at least one session flowing out of the outlet 2e through opening/closing of the valve mechanism portion 4 is provided on the downstream side of the outlet 2e, and a milk delivery outlet portion 6 having a delivery outlet (first outlet) 6f which allows the milk M to flow out in a flow rate not more than a predetermined flow rate (first flow rate) Qf and to be mixed with air A inside the measuring container portion 2 and delivered is provided in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd.

In this case, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the measuring container portion 2 can be constituted such that, by forming constricted portions 2su and 2sd at least at two spots in an intermediate portion in the vertical direction of a cylindrically formed peripheral surface portion 2f, a portion below the lowermost constricted portion 2sd is constituted as the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, a portion between the lowermost constricted portion 2sd and the constricted portion 2su on the next stage located above this constricted portion 2sd is constituted as a measuring chamber Rm, and a portion above the constricted portion 2su on the next stage is constituted as a gas-liquid separation chamber Rs. Moreover, the inner peripheral surface of the lowermost constricted portion 2sd is constituted as the outlet 2e, the inner peripheral surface of the constricted portion 2su on the next stage is constituted as an intermediate port 2m, and the valve mechanism portion 4 having a first valve 4u capable of opening/closing the intermediate port 2m and a second valve 4d capable of opening/closing the outlet 2e can be provided. At this time, the measuring chamber Rm preferably has an upper surface portion Rmu constituted as an inclined face above the peripheral surface portion and a lower surface portion Rind as an inclined face below the peripheral surface portion side. On the other hand, the valve mechanism portion 4 can include a pipe shaft 11 inserted through the outlet 2e and the intermediate port 2m, having an upper end port llu faced with the upper end of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and a lower end port 11 d faced with the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd so that the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd communicate with each other, a valve driving portion 12 which supports the upper end of this pipe shaft 11 and elevates up/down the pipe shaft 11, the first valve 4u provided on the upper side of an outer peripheral surface 11 If of the pipe shaft 11 located inside the measuring chamber Rm and the second valve 4d provided on the lower side of the outer peripheral surface 11 If.

Moreover, in the milk delivery outlet portion 6, a first outlet 6f for allowing the milk M to flow out in a flow rate not more than the first flow rate Qf if the milk volume retained in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd is not more than a predetermined volume and a second outlet 6r for allowing the milk M to flow out in a flow rate not less than a second flow rate Qr if the retained milk volume exceeds a predetermined volume can be provided. In this case, a buffer cylinder 7 standing from a bottom surface portion Rdd and having a lower end port 7d faced with the outside and an upper end port 7u faced with the inside is provided in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, the upper end port 7u of this buffer cylinder 7 is constituted as a second outlet 6s, and the first outlet 6f can be formed on the peripheral surface portion of the buffer cylinder 7. Moreover, by extending the lower end of the pipe shaft 11 downward and by having the lower end port 11 d faced with the inside of a discharge port 2t provided on the bottom surface portion Rdd of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, a portion faced with the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd is constituted as the buffer cylinder 7, the first outlet 6f is formed on the peripheral surface portion on the lower part of this buffer cylinder 7, and the second outlet 6s can be formed on the peripheral surface portion on the upper part of the buffer cylinder 7. The first outlet 6f can use at least one or more slit portions 7s ...and/or hole portions 7h ...formed in the peripheral surface portion of the buffer cylinder 7, and the second outlet 6s can use at least one or more hole portions 8h ... formed in the upper end 7u or the peripheral surface portion of the buffer cylinder 7. Moreover, on the lower end of the pipe shaft 11, an umbrella-shaped cover i i c can be provided so that the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e does not directly enter the milk delivery outlet portion 6.

On the other hand, in order to solve the above-described problems, the milk volume measuring method according to the present invention is characterized in that, by means of the milk meter 1 connected to the middle of the milk transfer line Lm, when the milk M inflowing through the inlet 2i is retained in the measuring container portion 2, the liquid level Mu of the milk M retained inside this measuring container portion 2 is detected by the liquid level detection portion 3. At least if the liquid level detection portion 3 detects the liquid level Mu, when the milk volume is measured by opening/closing the outlet 2e of the measuring container portion 2 through opening/closing control of the valve mechanism portion 4 by the control system 5, the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd having a capacity capable of retaining the milk volume at of least one session flowing out of the outlet 2e by the opening/closing control of the valve mechanism portion 4 is provided on the downstream side of the outlet 2e so that the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e is retained in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd. Then, the milk M is allowed to flow out in a flow rate not more than the predetermined flow rate (first flow rate) Qf from the delivery outlet (first outlet) 6f of the milk delivery outlet portion 6 faced with the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd and mixed with the air A inside the measuring container portion 2 and delivered.

In this case, according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, if the milk volume retained in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd is not more than the predetermined volume, the milk M is allowed to flow out in a flow rate not more than the first flow rate Qf from the first outlet 6f, while if the retained milk volume exceeds the predetermined volume, the milk M can be allowed to flow out in a flow rate not less than the second flow rate Qs from the second outlet 6s.

On the other hand, in order to solve the above-described problems, a milking device 50 according to the present invention is a milking device provided with the milk meter 1 including the measuring container portion 2 connected to the middle of the milk transfer line Lm and capable of retaining the milk M inflowing through the inlet 2i, the liquid level detection portion 3 for detecting the liquid level Mu of the milk M retained inside this measuring container portion 2, the valve mechanism portion 4 capable of opening/closing the outlet 2e of the measuring container portion 2, and the control system 5 for executing opening/closing control of the valve mechanism portion 4 at least upon detection of the liquid level Mu by the liquid level detection portion 3. In the milk meter 1, the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd having a capacity capable of retaining a milk volume of at least one session flowing out of the outlet 2e by opening/closing of the valve mechanism portion 4 is provided on the downstream side of the outlet 2e, and the milk delivery outlet portion 6 having the delivery outlet (first outlet) 6f which allows the milk M to flow out in a flow rate not more than the predetermined flow rate (first flow rate) Qf and to be mixed with air A inside the measuring container portion 2 and delivered is provided in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd. In this case, according to the preferred embodiment, the milk meter 1 can be attached to a milking machine 51 which performs milking of a cow C. At least an automatic teat-cup removing device 52 is provided in this milking machine 51, and the milk meter 1 can be attached to this automatic teat-cup removing device 52.
Moreover, the milk meter 1 is provided with a milk meter main body lm excluding the control system 5, and this milk meter main body lm can be attached to the outer surface of the automatic teat-cup removing device 52 and a part of or the whole of the control system can be built in the automatic teat-cup removing device 52.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the above-described milk meter 1, the milk volume measuring method and the milking device 50 according to the present invention, the following marked advantages can be exerted.

(1) By providing the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd having a capacity capable of retaining a milk volume of at least one session flowing out of the outlet 2e by opening/closing control of the valve mechanism portion 4 on the downstream side of the outlet 2e, the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e is retained in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd and after that, the milk M in a flow rate not more than the predetermined flow rate (first flow rate) Qf is allowed to flow out of the delivery outlet (first outlet) 6f of the milk delivery outlet portion 6 faced with the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd and to be mixed with air A inside the measuring container portion 2 and delivered. Thus, the temporary blocked state of the milk transfer path (the milk tube and the like) caused by the milk M occurring during the opening of the valve mechanism portion 4 is avoided. As a result, problem of application of pressure fluctuation (pressure impact) in the milk transfer line Lm to a teat can be eliminated, and an unnecessary stress factor to the cow C and occurrence of garget or the like caused by intrusion of germs into the teat can be solved.

(2) Since the milk M can be allowed to flow out of the outlet 2e into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd quickly, contribution can be made to more efficient measuring through reduction of measuring time. Also, since the milk M can be allowed to flow out little by little in the flow rate not more than the predetermined flow rate Qf with respect to the air A flowing out of the measuring container portion 2 by the milk delivery outlet portion 6 provided in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, occurrence of unnecessary air bubbles can be suppressed and moreover, stable and balanced milk transfer can be ensured.

(3) According to the preferred embodiment, by forming the constricted portions 2su and 2sd at least at two spots in the intermediate portion in the vertical direction of the cylindrically formed peripheral surface portion 2f of the measuring container portion 2, a portion below the lowermost constricted portion 2sd is constituted as the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, a portion between the lowermost constricted portion 2sd and the constricted portion 2su on the next stage located above this constricted portion 2sd is constituted as the measuring chamber Rm, and a portion above the constricted portion 2su on the next stage is constituted as the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs.
Moreover, the inner peripheral surface of the lowermost constricted portion 2sd is constituted as the outlet 2e, the inner peripheral surface of the constricted portion 2su on the next stage is constituted as the intermediate port 2m, and the valve mechanism portion 4 having the first valve 4u capable of opening/closing the intermediate port 2m and the second valve 4d capable of opening/closing the outlet 2e are provided. Then, the optimal mode in which the measuring chamber Rm and the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd are linked with each other can be realized, and effectiveness and reliability of the functions of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd can be further improved.

(4) According to the preferred embodiment, by forming an upper surface portion Rmu in the measuring chamber Rm as an inclined face above the peripheral surface portion side and a lower surface portion Rind as an inclined face below the peripheral surface portion side, the inside of the measuring chamber Rm has a shape surrounded by the tapered surfaces from above and below. Thus, in an actual use environment (installed environment), even if the milk meter 1 is inclined, a measurement error caused by the inclination can be eliminated, and highly accurate milk volume measurement can be made. Moreover, by suspending the device by a stay through a hook, the device can be attached to the automatic teat-cup removing device which often largely swings during milking, which can remarkably expand the range of the use environment (installation environment (applications)). Thus, availability and convenience can be improved. Moreover, piping or the like of the milk tube can be reduced, and portable (movable) use can be also realized.

(5) According to the preferred embodiment, by constituting the valve mechanism portion 4 by the pipe shaft 11 inserted through the outlet 2e and the intermediate port 2m and having the upper end port flu faced with the upper end of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and the lower end port 11 d faced with the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd so that the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd communicate with each other, the valve driving portion 12 which supports the upper end of this pipe shaft 11 and elevates the pipe shaft up/down, the first valve 4u provided on the upper side of the outer peripheral surface 11 f of the pipe shaft 11 located inside the measuring chamber Rm, and the second valve 4d provided on the lower side of the outer peripheral surface 11 If, the pipe shaft 11 can be used both as a shaft for driving a valve and a shaft for ventilation and moreover, can be also used as a shaft for driving the first valve 4u and the second valve 4d. Thus, contribution can be made to simplification of the configuration, cost reduction and size reduction in the valve mechanism portion 4.

(6) According to the preferred embodiment, by providing the first outlet 6f for allowing the milk M to flow out in a flow rate not more than the first flow rate Qf if the milk volume retained in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd is not more than the predetermined volume and the second outlet 6r for allowing the milk M to flow out in a flow rate not less than the second flow rate Qr if the retained milk volume exceeds the predetermined volume in the milk delivery outlet portion 6, even if the liquid level Mu of the milk M flowing into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd exceeds a so-called limitation level due to the milk M remaining in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd or the like, the temporary overflow can be quickly solved by the second outlet 6s.

(7) According to the preferred embodiment, by providing the buffer cylinder 7 standing from the bottom surface portion Rdd and having the lower end port 7d faced with the outside and the upper end port 7u faced with the inside in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, by constituting the upper end port 7u of this buffer cylinder 7 as the second outlet 6s, and by forming the first outlet 6f on the peripheral surface portion of the buffer cylinder 7, the invention can be put into practice easily and with a lower cost since it is only necessary to additionally provide the buffer cylinder 7 in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd.

(8) According to the preferred embodiment, by extending the lower end of the pipe shaft 11 downward and by having the lower end port 11 d faced with the inside of the discharge port 2t provided on the bottom surface portion Rdd of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, the portion faced with the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd is constituted as the buffer cylinder 7, and by forming the first outlet 6f on the peripheral surface portion on the lower part of this buffer cylinder 7 and the second outlet 6s on the peripheral surface portion on the upper part of the buffer cylinder 7, the buffer cylinder 7 and the pipe shaft 11 can be integrally formed, and thus, the invention can be put into practice easily and with a lower cost, and the configuration (shape) on the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd side can be further simplified.

(9) According to the preferred embodiment, by using at least one or more slit portions 7s ... and/or hole portions 7h ... formed in the peripheral surface portion of the buffer cylinder 7 for the first outlet 6f or by using at least one or more hole portions 8h ... formed in the upper end 7u or the peripheral surface portion of the buffer cylinder 7 for the second outlet 6s, the milk delivery outlet portion 6 having various feeding modes (feeding characteristics) can be easily provided by combining the slit portions 7s ...and the hole portions 7h ... (8h... ) or moreover, by combining the quantities and shapes thereof, and the milk delivery outlet portion 6 can be optimized.

(10) According to the preferred embodiment, by providing the umbrella-shaped cover 11 c on the lower end of the pipe shaft 11 so that the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e does not directly enter the milk delivery outlet portion 6, problem that the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e directly enters the milk delivery outlet portion 6 can be avoided, and the function of retaining all the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd once before allowing it to flow out of the milk delivery outlet portion 6 little by little can be reliably performed.

(11) Since the milking device 50 is configured by including the milk meter 1 according to the present invention, the unnecessary stress factor to the cow C
and occurrence of garget or the like caused by germs intruding into the teat can be solved.
Also, the milking device 50 can be used as a device which can suppress unnecessary occurrence of air bubbles and can realize stable and balanced milk transfer.
Moreover, since integrity of the milk meter 1 with the milking device 50 can be ensured, piping of the milk tube or the like can be further reduced.

(12) According to the preferred embodiment, in the milking device 50, by attaching the milk meter 1 to the milking machine 51 which performs milking of the cow C, entire complication can be avoided by integrating the milk meter 1 with the milking machine 51, and thus, compactness, portability, and storage performances can be improved.

(13) According to the preferred embodiment, by providing at least the automatic teat-cup removing device 52 on the milking machine 51 and by attaching the milk meter 1 to this automatic teat-cup removing device 52, attachment to the automatic teat-cup removing device 52 which often swings largely during milking and has made attachment thereto difficult can be realized.

(14) According to the preferred embodiment, by providing the milk meter main body 1m excluding the control system 5 on the milk meter 1, by attaching this milk meter main body lm to the outer surface of the automatic teat-cup removing device 52, and by incorporating a part of or the whole of the control system 5 in the automatic teat-cup removing device 52, piping and wiring can be reduced, and contribution can be made to size reduction of the entirety.

Brief Description of Drawings Fig. 1 is a side sectional view of a milk meter according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a buffer cylinder to be provided in a gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber of the milk meter.

Fig. 3 is an appearance side view illustrating a state in which the milk meter is attached to a back face of an automatic teat-cup removing device (including a system diagram (virtual line) at washing and disinfection of the milk meter).

Fig. 4 is an entire configuration diagram of a control system in the milk meter.
Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram of use of the milk meter.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of the milk meter including a milk volume measuring method according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figs. 7 are schematic diagrams for explaining the operation of the milk meter.

Figs. 8 are pressure change graphs of a milk transfer line during the operation of the milk meter.

Figs. 9 are perspective views illustrating a modified embodiment of the buffer cylinder in the milk meter.

Fig. 10 is a side sectional view illustrating another modified embodiment of the buffer cylinder in the milk meter.

Fig. 11 is a side sectional view illustrating a modified embodiment of a constricted portion in the milk meter.

Reference Signs List 1: milk meter, I m: milk meter main body, 2: measuring container portion, 2i: inlet, 2m: intermediate port, 2e: outlet, 2f: peripheral surface portion, 2su:
constricted portion, 2sd: constricted portion, 3: liquid level detection portion, 4:
valve mechanism portion, 4u: first valve, 4d: second valve, 5: control system, 6:
milk delivery outlet portion, 6f: first outlet, 6r: second outlet, 7: buffer cylinder, 7d: lower end port, 7u: upper end port, 7s: slit portion, 7h: hole portion, 8h: hole portion, 11: pipe shaft, 11 u: upper end port, 11 f: outer peripheral surface, 11c:
umbrella-shaped cover, 50: milking device, 51: milking machine, 52: automatic teat-cup removing device, Lm: milk transfer line, M: milk, Mu: liquid level of milk, Rd: gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber, Rdd: bottom surface portion, Rm:
measuring chamber, Rmu: upper surface portion, Rmd: lower surface portion, Rs:
gas-liquid separation chamber, A: air Description of Embodiments Subsequently, a preferred embodiment according to the present invention will be cited and described in detail on the basis of the attached drawings.

First, a configuration of a milk meter 1 according to this embodiment will be specifically described by referring to Figs. 1 to 5 and Figs. 9.

Fig. 1 illustrates a milk meter main body lm in the milk meter 1. Reference numeral 2 denotes a measuring container portion which is formed of a material such as transparent or translucent plastic, glass or the like so as to have a cylindrical overall shape, and upper and lower constricted portions 2su and 2sd at predetermined positions in an intermediate portion in the vertical direction in a peripheral surface portion 2f, that is, the lowermost constricted portion 2sd and the constricted portion 2su on the next stage located above this constricted portion 2sd are formed. As a result, a portion above the constricted portion 2su is a gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, a portion between the constricted portion 2su and the constricted portion 2sd is a measuring chamber Rm, and a portion below the constricted portion 2sd is a gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd. Moreover, the inner peripheral surface of the constricted portion 2su becomes an intermediate port 2m through which the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and the measuring chamber Rm communicate with each other, and the inner peripheral surface of the constricted portion 2sd becomes an outlet 2e through which the measuring chamber Rm and the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd communicate with each other. In this case, the capacity of the measuring chamber Rm can be selected at approximately 200 [milliliters] and the capacity of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd can be selected at a capacity that can retain a milk volume of at least one session flowing out of the outlet 2e, for example, approximately 1.5 to 2 times of the capacity of the measuring chamber Rm (300 to 400 [milliliters]). On the peripheral surface portion 2f of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, additional one or two or more constricted portions 2su may be formed as necessary. As a result, a substantial area on the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral surface portion 2f can be expanded, and the flow velocity of milk M can be lowered, and occurrence of bubbles Mb can be further reduced. If the measuring container portion 2 is configured having a structure combining a plurality of divided portions, manufacture of the measuring container portion 2 can be facilitated even if the constricted portions 2su and 2sd are provided, and maintenance (washing, replacement and the like) can be performed easily and reliably.

The gas-liquid separation chamber Rs protrudes in the tangent direction from the outer surface of the peripheral surface portion 2f close to the upper end and includes an inlet 2i capable of connecting a milk tube 66 on the upstream side. As a result, the milk M flowing into the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs through the inlet 2i flows helically along the inner wall surface of the peripheral surface portion 2f of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, and when the milk M flows down the inner wall surface of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, the flow velocity decreases, and occurrence of bubbles and waving on a liquid level Mu which are error factors in milk volume measurement are largely reduced. In the end, contribution can be made to size reduction of the milk meter 1.

In the measuring chamber Rm, an upper surface portion Rmu is formed as an inclined face above the peripheral surface portion side and a lower surface portion Rmd as an inclined face below the peripheral surface portion side. As a result, the inside of the measuring chamber Rm has a shape surrounded by the tapered surfaces from above and below, and thus, even if the measuring container portion 2 (milk meter main body lm) is inclined when the milk M is retained in the measuring chamber Rm, a layer of the air A is not generated, and even if the measuring container portion 2 (milk meter main body lm) is inclined when the milk M is discharged from the measuring chamber Rm, the milk M no longer remains. Therefore, an inclination angle of this inclined face can be arbitrary selected in accordance with an actual use environment.
Usually, the inclination angle in the use environment of the milk meter 1 (milk meter main body lm) is approximately 15[ ] at the largest, and it is only necessary to select approximately 30[ ] as the angle of the inclined face with respect to the horizontal surface in practical use.

As described above, by providing the measuring chamber Rm by forming the upper surface portion Rmu in the measuring chamber Rm as an inclined face above the peripheral surface portion side and the lower surface portion Rmd as an inclined face below the peripheral surface portion side, even if the milk meter 1 is inclined in the actual use environment (installation environment), a measurement error caused by the inclination can be eliminated, and highly accurate milk volume measurement can be made. Moreover, by suspending the device by a stay through a hook, the device can be attached to the automatic teat-cup removing device which often largely swings during milking, the range of the use environment (installation environment (applications)) can be remarkably expanded, and availability and convenience can be improved.
Moreover, piping of the milk tube or the like can be reduced, and portable (movable) use can be also realized.

Moreover, four rectification piece portions Rms... disposed with an interval of 90[ ] in the peripheral direction are formed integrally on the inner surface of the peripheral surface portion of the measuring chamber Rm. In this case, each of the rectification piece portions Rms... is made to protrude in the axial direction of the measuring chamber Rm and inward in the radial direction only by a predetermined width. Moreover, for the outlet 2e provided at the center on the lower part of the measuring chamber Rm, that is, on the lower surface portion Rmd, a diameter through which the milk M in the measuring chamber Rm is discharged within predetermined time Te is selected, considering a flow rate per unit time of the milk M
inflowing through inlet 2i.

On the other hand, a valve mechanism portion 4 is disposed in the measuring container portion 2 (the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and the measuring chamber Rm). The valve mechanism portion 4 includes a pipe shaft 11 inserted through the outlet 2e and the intermediate port 2m, having an upper end port llu faced with the upper end of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and a lower end port 11 d faced with the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd so that the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd communicate with each other, a valve driving portion 12 which supports the upper end of this pipe shaft 11 and elevates the pipe shaft 11 up/down, a first valve 4u provided on the upper side of an outer peripheral surface 11 f of the pipe shaft 11 located inside the measuring chamber Rm and a second valve 4d provided on the lower side of the outer peripheral surface i If. The first valve 4u and the second valve 4d are both formed of an elastic material such as rubber.
Reference numeral 23 denotes a fixing member for fixing the first valve 4u and the second valve 4d to the outer peripheral surface 11 f of the pipe shaft 11. As a result, the first valve 4u becomes capable of opening/closing the intermediate port 2m between the measuring chamber Rm and the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, and the second valve 4d becomes capable of opening/closing the outlet 2e between the measuring chamber Rm and the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd. By providing the valve mechanism portion 4 having the configuration as above, the pipe shaft 11 can be used both as a shaft for driving the valve and a pipe for ventilation and moreover, can be also used as the shaft for driving both the first valve 4u and the second valve 4d, whereby an advantage of contribution to simplification of the configuration, cost reduction and size reduction can be obtained.

Moreover, the valve driving portion 12 includes a diaphragm portion 26 which supports the upper end of the pipe shaft 11 through a supporting member 25 and forms an upper surface portion Rsu of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs by blocking the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, that is, by blocking a circular opening portion 2uh provided on the upper surface portion 2u of the measuring container portion 2 and a switching chamber portion Rc faced with the diaphragm portion 26 on the side opposite to the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs. This switching chamber portion Rc is switched to a vacuum pressure or an atmospheric pressure by means of control of the control system 5 (Fig. 4), which will be described later. Reference numeral 27 denotes a connection port protruding from the switching chamber portion Rc. Moreover, the diaphragm portion 26 is composed of a first diaphragm 26u and a second diaphragm 26d separated vertically so as to realize stable elevation displacement, and the supporting member 25 is joined to the center lower surface of the second diaphragm 26d by forming the upper end port 11 u of the pipe shaft 11 in a non-blocked form. By providing the valve driving portion 12 with the configuration as above, a vacuum pressure (a vacuum line) used in the milking machine 51 (Fig. 5) can be used, and an advantage of contribution to cost reduction and size reduction by simplification of the configuration can be obtained.

On the other hand, in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, an upper surface portion Rdu is formed as an inclined face above the peripheral surface portion side and a bottom surface portion Rdd as an inclined face below the peripheral surface portion side, and the basic form is the same as that of the measuring chamber Rm.
Therefore, the inside of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd has a shape surrounded by the tapered surfaces from above and below and thus, when the milk M is delivered from the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, even if the measuring container portion 2 (milk meter main body lm) is inclined, the milk M no longer remains.

Then, a milk delivery outlet portion 6 having a delivery outlet (first outlet) 6f which allows the milk M to flow out in a flow rate not more than a predetermined flow rate (first flow rate) Qf and to be mixed with air A inside the measuring container portion 2 and delivered is provided in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd. More preferably, the first outlet 6f for allowing the milk M to flow out in a flow rate not more than the first flow rate Qf if the milk volume retained in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd is not more than a predetermined volume and a second outlet 6s for allowing the milk M to flow out in a flow rate not less than Qr if the retained milk volume exceeds a predetermined volume are provided in the milk delivery outlet portion 6 and set so as to satisfy the condition of Qf < Qr. Since a lower surface portion 2d of the measuring container portion 2 becomes the bottom surface portion Rdd of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, the milk delivery outlet portion 6 can be provided by using a cylindrical buffer cylinder 7 standing from the center of this bottom surface portion Rdd. This buffer cylinder 7 has an upper end port 7u faced with the inside and the lower end port 7d side protruding downward from the bottom surface portion Rdd faced with the outside.

As a result, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the upper end port 7u of the buffer cylinder 7 can function as the second outlet 6s of the milk delivery outlet portion 6 and also by forming a slit portion 7s from the upper end to the position of the bottom surface portion Rdd along the axial direction in the peripheral surface portion of the buffer cylinder 7, it can function as the first outlet 6f of the milk delivery outlet portion 6.
Therefore, the milk M flows out in a flow rate not more than the first flow rate Qf from the first outlet 6f, when a liquid level Mu of the retained milk M is at the height of the upper end port 7u of the buffer cylinder 7 or less, that is, when the retained milk volume is not more than a predetermined volume. At this time, the flow rate not more than the first flow rate Qf can be set by an opening area of the slit portion 7s, and the width of the slit portion 7s is set to an opening area by which the full volume of the milk M at arbitrary inflow flowing from the outlet 2e can at least fully flow out until the subsequent inflow. In the exemplified form, the width of the slit portion 7s can be selected to 1/N or less, or more preferably 1/6 or less of the diameter (inner diameter) of the buffer cylinder 7. Moreover, the milk M flows out in a flow rate not less than Qr from the second outlet 6s, when the liquid level Mu of the retained milk M
exceeds the height of the upper end port 7u of the buffer cylinder 7, that is, when the retained milk volume exceeds the predetermined volume. At this time, the flow rate not less than Qr can be set by the opening area of the circular upper end port 7u in the buffer cylinder 7.

As described above, by providing the first outlet 6f for allowing the milk M
to flow out in a flow rate not more than the first flow rate Qf if the milk volume retained in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd is not more than the predetermined volume and the second outlet 6r for allowing the milk M to flow out in a flow rate not less than the second flow rate Qr if the retained milk volume exceeds a predetermined volume in the milk delivery outlet portion 6, even if the liquid level Mu of the milk M
flowing into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd exceeds a so-called limitation level due to the milk M remaining in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd or the like, the temporary overflow can be quickly solved by the second outlet 6s. Moreover, by providing the buffer cylinder 7 standing from the bottom surface portion Rdd and having the lower end port 7d faced with the outside and the upper end port 7u faced with the inside in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, by setting the upper end port 7u of this buffer cylinder 7 as the second outlet 6s, and by forming the first outlet 6f on the peripheral surface portion of the buffer cylinder 7, the invention can be put into practice easily and with a lower cost since it is only necessary to additionally provide the buffer cylinder 7 in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd.

On the other hand, the lower end port 11 d of the pipe shaft 11 faced with the inside of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd is located immediately above the upper end port 7u of the buffer cylinder 7, and an umbrella-shaped cover 11 c is provided on the lower end of this pipe shaft 11 so that the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e does not directly enter the milk delivery outlet portion 6, that is, does not directly enter either of the first outlet 6f and the second outlet 6s. The umbrella-shaped cover 11c is formed having a tapered shape expanding downward, and four rectification piece portions 11s... disposed with an interval of 90[ ] are integrally formed on the peripheral surface portion on the outside. Each of the rectification piece portions 11 s... is made to protrude in the axial direction and outward in the radial direction only by a predetermined width. The position of each of the rectification piece portions 11 s in the peripheral direction can be matched with the position of each of the above-described rectification piece portions Rms.... By means of the configuration as above, the upper part of the upper end port 7u of the buffer cylinder 7 is covered by the umbrella-shaped cover 11 c, and thus, problem that the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e directly enters the milk delivery outlet portion 6 can be avoided, the function of retaining all the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e in the gas-liquid mixing buffering chamber Rd once before allowing it to flow little by little out of the milk delivery outlet portion 6 can be reliably executed.

Moreover, a sampling cylinder 21 for sampling a sample (the milk M) is provided on the lower surface portion 2d of the measuring container portion 2, that is, on the bottom surface portion Rdd of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd. The sampling cylinder 21 is made to stand from the bottom surface portion Rdd and has a lower end port 21 d faced with the outside and an upper end face 21 a faced with the inside. In this case, consideration is given so that the upper end face 21u is located in the vicinity of the outlet 2e, has the center position thereof faced with an inner peripheral edge portion of the outlet 2e and is located in the middle of the above-described two rectification piece portions 11 s and 11 s as illustrated in Fig. 1. Moreover, the upper end face 21u is inclined so as to follow the inclined face of the upper surface portion Rdu of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, and a slit-shaped sampling port 21ui is formed in the radial direction of the measuring container portion 2 in the upper end face 21u. Reference numeral 21c denotes a flow combining piece portion provided on the upper end of the sampling cylinder 21 for guiding a portion of the milk M
flowing out of the outlet 2e to the sampling port 2lui by surrounding a part of the periphery of the sampling port 2lui. Therefore, if such flow combining piece portion 21c is provided, provision of the rectification piece portions l 1 s ... and Rms... may be omitted. On the other hand, the lower end port 21d is made to protrude downward from the lower surface portion 2d and formed as a connection port to which a sampling tube 100 is connected. As a result, a container port of a sampling container 101 can be connected to the lower end port 21 d through the sampling tube 100.

On the other hand, in the measuring container portion 2, an air feed cylinder portion 28 standing upward from the upper surface portion Rmu of the measuring chamber Rm and having the upper end port 28u faced with the upper end of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs so that the measuring chamber Rm and the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs communicate with each other is provided. By providing the air feed cylinder portion 28 as above, the milk M in the measuring chamber Rm can be made to flow out of the outlet 2e smoothly and quickly. Moreover, in the measuring container portion 2, a liquid level detection portion 3 faced with the inside of the air feed cylinder portion 28 is attached. For the liquid level detection portion 3, three detection electrodes 3a, 3b, and 3c (3c is a common electrode) disposed separately in the vertical direction for detecting presence of the milk M by resistance of the milk M
are used. The detection electrodes 3a and 3b are selected so as to be located at predetermined positions where a liquid level Mu of the milk M, particularly the liquid level Mu excluding bubbles Mb of the milk M, comes above the measuring chamber Rm or preferably, as illustrated in Fig. 1, so that a position of retaining can be detected from the lower surface portion of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs to a predetermined height when the milk M is retained from the measuring chamber Rm to the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs. As described above, by having the liquid level detection portion 3 (the detection electrodes 3a and 3b) faced with the inside of the air feed cylinder portion 28, detection can be made avoiding an influence of unnecessary waving, bubbling and the like. Moreover, by using the detection electrode 3a ... in the liquid level detection portion 3, detection can be made with a relatively simple structure and with a low cost, and presence of the milk M can be reliably detected.

Fig. 4 illustrates the control system 5 connected to the milk meter main body lm.
The control system 5 is provided with a system controller 31 having a computing function for executing various control processing, calculation processing and the like.
Therefore, a control program 31p for executing a series of sequence control relating to milk volume measurement is stored in system memory built in the system controller 31, and various setting data 31 d including set time Ts and the like, which will be described later, is set. On the other hand, a detection processing portion 32 is connected to an input port of the system controller 31, and an electromagnetic three-way valve 33 is connected to a control output port of the system controller 31. Moreover, the detection electrodes 3a, 3b, and 3c are connected to an input portion of the detection processing portion 32 through a predetermined connection cable 34, and this detection processing portion 32 has a function of applying a predetermined voltage to each of the detection electrodes 3a and 3b and of detecting the liquid level Mu of the retained milk M by detecting a change in a resistance value.

The system controller 31 includes a detection cancellation function Fc for cancelling detection of the bubbles Mb by discriminating the intensities of liquid-level detection signals Sa and Sb. That is, the detection processing portion 32 outputs the liquid level detection signal Sa corresponding to a resistance value between the detection electrodes 3a and 3c and the liquid level detection signal Sb corresponding to the resistance value between the detection electrodes 3b and 3c, and gives it to the system controller 31. In this case, if a liquid portion of the milk M is present between the detection electrodes 3a and 3b, the detection electrode 3a detects a resistance value including the bubbles Mb, and the detection electrode 3b detects a resistance value only of the liquid portion of the milk M. However, since the resistance value including the bubbles Mb and the resistance value only of the liquid portion of the milk M
are different, the system controller 31 compares the resistance values, and it is determined that the liquid level Mu is present between detection electrodes 3a and 3b if the difference between the resistance values is not less than a predetermined size, and the detection is invalidated by the detection cancellation function Fc.

The control system 5 configured as above is provided with a function of controlling the valve mechanism portion 4 at least when the above-described detection electrode 3a of the liquid level detection portion 3 detects the liquid level Mu, that is, of closing the first valve 4u and opening the second valve 4d and also, of opening the first valve 4u and closing the second valve 4d in accordance with a predetermined recover condition.

A connection portion 27 protruding from the switching chamber portion Re is connected to a common port 33o of the electromagnetic three-way valve 33 through a vacuum tube 35. Moreover, one branch port 33a of the electromagnetic three-way valve 33 is connected to a vacuum tube (vacuum pump) 71, and the other branch port 33b of the electromagnetic three-way valve 33 is opened to the atmosphere. As a result, by means of switching control of the electromagnetic three-way valve 33, the above-described switching chamber portion Re can be switched to a vacuum state or an atmospheric state.

On the other hand, as the predetermined recover condition to open the first valve 4u and to close the second valve 4d after the first valve 4u is closed and the second valve 4d is opened, elapse of the set time Ts set in advance or detection of end of discharge of the milk M from the outlet 2e can be used. In this embodiment, the elapse of the set time Ts set in advance is set as the recovery condition. In this case, the set time Ts is set so as to be longer than the above-described predetermined time Te. As described above, by employing the control of opening the first valve 4u and closing the second valve 4d upon elapse of the set time Ts set in advance as the predetermined recover condition, the number of components is reduced, and the control can be facilitated, and thus, the invention can be put into practice with a lower cost. On the other hand, the control of opening the first valve 4u and closing the second valve 4d can be executed upon detection of the end of discharge of the milk M from the outlet 2e as the predetermined recovery condition. In this case, for example, it is only necessary to attach a detection portion similar to the liquid level detection portion 3 composed of the above-described detection electrodes 3a... at the outlet 2e. By using the control of opening the first valve 4u and closing the second valve 4d upon detection of the end of discharge of the milk M from the outlet 2e as the predetermined recover condition, recovery can be realized quickly, measuring time can be reduced, and efficient measuring can be made.

As described above, regarding the milk meter 1 according to this embodiment, by forming the constricted portions 2su and 2sd at least at two spots in the intermediate portion in the vertical direction of the cylindrically formed peripheral surface portion 2f of the measuring container portion 2, a portion below the lowermost constricted portion 2sd is constituted as the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, a portion between the lowermost constricted portion 2sd and the constricted portion 2su on the next stage located above this constricted portion 2sd is constituted as the measuring chamber Rm, and a portion above the constricted portion 2su on the next stage is constituted as the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs. Moreover, the inner peripheral surface of the lowermost constricted portion 2sd is constituted as the outlet 2e, the inner peripheral surface of the constricted portion 2su on the next stage is constituted as the intermediate port 2m, and the valve mechanism portion 4 having the first valve 4u capable of opening/closing the intermediate port 2m and the second valve 4d capable of opening/closing the outlet 2e are provided. Then, the optimal mode in which the measuring chamber Rm and the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd are connected with each other can be realized, and effectiveness and reliability of the functions of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd can be further improved.

Subsequently, a use method and an operation (function) of the milk meter 1 including the milk volume measuring method according to this embodiment will be described by referring to Figs. 1 to 8.

The milk meter main body lm in the milk meter 1 can be attached to the back face (outer face) of an automatic teat-cup removing device 52 provided in the milking machine 51 as illustrated in Fig. 3. Therefore, this milking machine 51 includes the automatic teat-cup removing device 52 and a conveying device 63, which will be described later. The milk meter 1 (milk meter main body lm) according to this embodiment can be also attached to the automatic teat-cup removing device 52 which often largely swings during milking and has made attachment thereto difficult.
In this case, the automatic teat-cup removing device 52 incorporates the controller 31, the detection processing portion 32, and the electromagnetic three-way valve 33 in the control system 5 provided in the milk meter 1. As described above, by attaching the milk meter main body lm to the back face of the automatic teat-cup removing device 52 and by having a part of or the whole of the control system 5 built in the automatic teat-cup removing device 52, piping and wiring can be reduced, and thus contribution can be made to size reduction of the entirety. The automatic teat-cup removing device 52 has a device main body 53 having an external casing, a hook 54 protruding upward from the upper face of this device main body 53, and a wire guide pipe 55 protruding from the lower face of the device main body 53, and a removal wire 56 (Fig. 5) is delivered out of the lower end of this wire guide pipe 55. A distal end of this removal wire 56 is connected to a milk claw 61 having four teat cups 61c ....
Therefore, the device main body 53 is provided with a winding mechanism for winding the removal wire 56 therein.

On the other hand, Fig. 5 illustrates an example of the milking device 50 using the milk meter 1. This milking device 50 is provided with the conveying device 63 moving along a rail 62, and the milking machine 51 is mounted on this conveying device 63. Moreover, the automatic teat-cup removing device 52 is suspended by hooking a hook 54 on an arm stay 65 provided in the conveying device 63. Fig.

illustrates a state in which the cow C is milked by the milking machine 51, and the four teat cups 61c ... are attached to the cow C. In the milking device 50, raw milk (the milk M) milked by the teat cups 61 c ... is supplied to the inlet 2i of the milk meter main body I m through the milk tube 66 from the milk claw 61 during milking. Then, the milk M having passed the milk meter main body I m is delivered to a milk pipe through a milk tube 67 from the discharge port 2t. Therefore, these milk tubes 66 and 67 constitute a milk transfer line Lm which connects the milk meter 1.
Reference numeral 70 denotes a vacuum pipe, reference numeral 71 denotes a vacuum tube (Fig.
4) which connects the vacuum pipe 70 side and the automatic teat-cup removing device 52, and reference numeral 72 denotes a vacuum tube which connects the automatic teat-cup removing device 52 and the teat cups 61c ..., respectively. Moreover, as described above, each of the detection electrodes 3a ... is connected to the automatic teat-cup removing device 52 (detection processing portion 32) side through the connection cable 34 (Fig. 4), and the switching chamber portion Rc (connection port 27) is connected to the automatic teat-cup removing device 52 (the branch port 33a of the electromagnetic three-way valve 33) side through the vacuum tube 35 (Fig. 4).

The operation of the milk meter 1 during milking will be described in accordance with a flowchart illustrated in Fig. 6 by referring to Figs. 7.

During milking (measuring), since the milked milk M is intermittently delivered to the milk tube 66 in the milk transfer line Lm, the milk M flows into the measuring container portion 2 from the inlet 2i (Step S 1). At the beginning of the inflow, the first valve 4u and the second valve 4d are at lowered positions, the intermediate port 2m is open, and the outlet 2e is closed. Then, the inflowing milk M flows helically along the inner wall surface of the peripheral surface portion 2f of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs as indicated by a solid-line arrow in Fig. 7A. As a result, favorable gas-liquid separation (centrifugal separation) is carried out, and when the milk M flows down the inner wall surface of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, the flow velocity decreases, and occurrence of bubbles Mb or waving on the liquid level Mu which are error factors of milk volume measurement is largely reduced. At this time, the separated air A flows into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd through the pipe shaft 11 as indicated by a dotted line arrow, and the milk M separated from the air A
flows into the measuring chamber Rm through the intermediate port 2m and is retained in the measuring chamber Rm (Step S2). Fig. 7A illustrates this state.

As the inflow of the milk M progresses, the liquid level Mu of the retained milk M
rises. Then, if it rises to the position of the detection electrode 3b, the connection between the detection electrodes 3b and 3c becomes an ON state. Since there are usually some bubbles Mb on the liquid level Mu, if the liquid Mu is located between the detection electrodes 3a and 3b as illustrated in Fig. 7B, the detection electrode 3a might be immersed in the bubbles Mb. In this case, the liquid level detection signal Sa indicating the resistance value between the detection electrodes 3a and 3c becomes larger than the liquid level detection signal Sb indicating the resistance value between the detection electrodes 3b and 3c. Thus, the connection between the detection electrodes 3a and 3c is not regarded as the ON state, and the detection is canceled by the detection cancellation function Fc. As a result, the error factor caused by the bubbles Mb is eliminated, and more accurate and stable milk volume measurement can be made.

On the other hand, if the liquid level Mu further rises to the position where the detection electrode 3a is immersed in the milk M as illustrated in Fig. 7C, both the detection electrodes 3a and 3b are immersed in the milk M and thus, a deviation between the liquid level detection signals Sa and Sb falls within a certain allowable range. Accordingly, the system controller 31 determines that the liquid level Mu has formally risen to the height of the detection electrode 3a and gives a valve switching signal Sc to the electromagnetic three-way valve 33. Then, the electromagnetic three-way valve 33 is switched, and a vacuum pressure (negative pressure) is applied to the switching chamber portion Rc (Steps S3 and S4). As a result, as illustrated in Fig.
7C, the diaphragm portion 26 is displaced upward, and since the first valve 4u and the second valve 4d are also displaced to raised positions, the intermediate port 2m is closed, and the outlet 2e is opened (Step S5).

Accordingly, the milk M in the measuring chamber Rm flows into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd through the outlet 2e (Step S6). At this time, since the diameter of the outlet 2e is selected such that the milk M in the measuring chamber Rm flows out within the predetermined time Te, the milk M in the measuring chamber Rm quickly flows out. In this case, since the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e flows down to the peripheral surface side of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd by the function of the umbrella-shaped cover 11 c, problem that the milk M directly enters the milk delivery outlet portion 6, that is, the first outlet 6f and the second outlet 6s can be avoided. In usual milking, since the liquid level Mu of the milk M retained in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd is set so as not to exceed the upper end port 7u of the buffer cylinder 7 (the second outlet 6s), all the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e is retained in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd once before flowing out of the first outlet 6f. Then, the milk M in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd flows out into the buffer cylinder 7 through the slit 7s as illustrated in Fig. 7C and mixes with the air A
from the upper end port 7u and then, delivered out to the milk tube 67 on the downstream side through the lower end port 7d of the buffer cylinder 7 (discharge port 2t) (Step S7 and S 10). In this case, since the opening area of the slit 7s is set so that the milk M flows out in a flow rate not more than the first flow rate Qf, the milk M is delivered out little by little in a small flow rate.

Therefore, a temporary blocked state of the milk transfer path (milk tube and the like) caused by the milk M occurring while the outlet 2e is open is avoided.
As a result, problem that pressure fluctuation (pressure impact) in the milk transfer line Lm applied to a teat can be eliminated, and thus, an unnecessary stress factor to the cow C

and occurrence of garget or the like caused by intrusion of germs into the teat can be solved. Moreover, since the milk M can be allowed to flow out little by little with respect to the air A flowing out of the measuring container portion 2, suppression of unnecessary occurrence of air bubbles and moreover, ensuring of stable and balanced milk transfer can be realized.

Figs. 8 illustrate the actually measured pressure fluctuation in the milk transfer line Lm. As the actually measured position, the inside of the milk claw 61 close to the teat was used. Fig. 8A illustrates a vacuum degree [MPa] when the flow rate was 1 kg/min, Fig. 8B when the flow rate was 2 kg/ min, and Fig. 8C when the flow rate was 4 kg/min, respectively. In Figs. 8A to 8C, actually measured data Pi on the left side illustrates a case of the milk meter 1 according to this embodiment, that is, the case after the measure, while the actually measured data Pr on the right side illustrates a case in which the essential structure of the milk meter 1 according to this embodiment is removed, that is, the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd and the buffer cylinder 7 are removed, and the structure before the measure in which the outlet 2e and the discharge port 2t directly communicate with each other was used. As is obvious from Figs. 8A to 8C, by using the milk meter 1 according to this embodiment, the pressure fluctuation in the milk transfer line Lm can be drastically reduced.

As illustrated in Fig. 7C, a portion of the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e is sampled from the sampling port 2lui provided on the upper end face 2l u of the sampling cylinder 21 and supplied to the sample container 101 through the sampling cylinder 21 and the sampling tube 100. In this case, since the flow of the milk M is rectified (regulated) by the rectification piece portions Rms... and lls...
even if the milk meter 1 is inclined, the flow of the milk M is hardly biased to one side, and the milk M can flow smoothly into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd. At the same time, a certain volume or more of the milk M can be made to flow into the sampling port 21 ui efficiently and stably.

On one hand, when the milk M in the measuring chamber Rm flows into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, if the liquid level Mu of the milk M
having flowed into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd temporarily exceeds the height of the upper end port 7u of the buffer cylinder 7 due to the milk M remaining in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd or the like, the milk M flows into the buffer cylinder 7 in a flow rate not less than Qr from the second outlet 6s (Steps S7 and S8).
In this case, since the second outlet 6s is the upper end port 7u of the buffer cylinder 7, the milk M flows out quickly in a large flow rate, so that temporary overflow is solved.
When the liquid level Mu of the milk M becomes the height of the upper end port 7u of the buffer cylinder 7 or less, the outflow from the second outlet 6s is stopped, and the normal state of outflow only from the first outlet 6f is recovered (Steps S9 and S 10).

On the other hand, when the set time Ts set in advance has elapsed after the valve switching signal Sc is outputted, the system controller 31 gives a valve recovery signal Sr to the electromagnetic three-way valve 33. As a result, the electromagnetic three-way valve 33 is switched, the vacuum pressure applied to the switching chamber portion Re is released, and the switching chamber portion Re is returned to the atmospheric pressure (Steps S 11 and S 12). As a result, the diaphragm portion 26 is displaced downward, and the first valve 4u and the second valve 4d are also returned to the lowered positions as illustrated in Fig. 7D. Since the intermediate port 2m is opened, and the outlet 2e is closed, the milk M in the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs flows into the measuring chamber Rm through the intermediate port 2m (Step S13).
After that, the above-described operation (processing) is repeated until the milking is finished (Steps S14, Si...). The system controller 31 acquires the total milk volume by counting the number of measuring times by the measuring chamber Rm and moreover, a flow rate (velocity) or the like through calculation processing.

Further, the milk meter 1 according to this embodiment can be washed and disinfected as follows. A system diagram when the milk meter 1 is washed and disinfected is illustrated in Fig. 3 by a virtual line. When the milk meter 1 is to be washed and disinfected, the milking machine 51 is moved to a predetermined washing area, the discharge port 2t of the milk meter 1 (the milk tube 67) side is connected to the milk pipe 68 and the teat cups 61c ... are immersed in a washing fluid tank 200 in which a washing fluid (disinfection fluid) is contained. An automatic washing mode is executed by operating the milking machine 51, and the automatic washing is performed in accordance with a washing program set in advance. During the automatic washing, the washing fluid (disinfection fluid) in the washing fluid tank 200 is sucked through the teat cups 61c ... and flows into the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs from the inlet 2e of the milk meter 1 through the milk claw 61, the milk tube 66 and the like. At this time, by setting an operation mode in which the intermediate port 2m is closed by the valve mechanism portion 4, the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs is washed by the washing fluid, and the washing fluid is retained in the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs before being discharged from the upper end port 28u of the air feed cylinder port 28.
Moreover, the measuring chamber Rm, the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, the sampling cylinder 21 and the like are washed by the washing fluid discharged from the upper end port 28u, and also, the washing fluid is discharged from the discharge port 2t and also, the discharged washing fluid is returned to the washing fluid tank 200 through the milk tube 67, the milk pipe 68 and the like. On the other hand, by setting the operation mode in which the intermediate port 2m is opened by the valve mechanism portion 4, a state in which the washing fluid is filled in the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and the measuring chamber Rm can be maintained. In the operation mode in which the intermediate port 2m is closed by the valve mechanism portion 4, a liquid quality (washing state) can be measured. Therefore, a temperature sensor, a pH
sensor and the like are added to the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs in advance in addition to the detection electrodes 3a, 3b, and 3c. The washing (disinfection) includes a rinsing process, an alkali washing process, and an acid rinsing process, and washing patterns in which processing time of each process, an operation mode and the like are combined are performed.

Subsequently, a modified embodiment of the milk meter 1 according to the present invention will be described by referring to Figs. 9 to 11.

Figs. 9 illustrate various modified examples of the milk delivery outlet portion 6.
Figs. 9A to 9D illustrate modifications of the first outlet 6f. Fig. 9A
illustrates a modification in the mode of the milk delivery outlet portion 6 illustrated in Fig. 2 to which three slit portions 7s ..., each formed in a notch shape, are added, and each of the slit portions 7s ... has a notch having a predetermined length in the axial direction from the edge portion of the upper end port 7u formed with an interval of 90[ ] in the peripheral direction. As a result, the flow rate in the upper part in the buffer cylinder 7 becomes larger than the flow rate in the lower part, and if the volume of milk M in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd is larger than usual, for example, the surplus can be made to flow out quickly. Fig. 9B illustrates a modification in which a V-shaped slit 7sw having the upper part of the slit portion 7s illustrated in Fig. 2 expanded upward is formed instead of adding the three slit portions 7s ... formed, each having a notch, in Fig. 9A. As a result, the basic function is the same as that in Fig. 9A, but when the volume of milk M in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd is larger than usual, the surplus can be made to flow out quickly, and the flow rate can be made larger as the liquid level Mu becomes higher.

Figs. 9C and 9D illustrate modifications in which the entirety is made different from the mode of the milk delivery outlet portion 6 illustrated in Fig. 2.
Four slit portions 7s ..., each of which having a notch with a predetermined length in the axial direction from the edge portion of the upper end port 7u of the buffer cylinder 7, are formed with an interval of 90[ ] in the peripheral direction. Moreover, four hole portions 7h ... are formed in the axial direction on the peripheral surface portion of the buffer cylinder 7 and in the vicinity of the bottom surface portion Rdd with an interval of 90[ ] in the peripheral direction. None of the slit portion 7s or the hole portion 7h is provided in the intermediate portion in the axial direction of the buffer cylinder 7.
Therefore, in the cases of Figs. 2, 9A, and 9B, the flow rate is reduced as the liquid level Mu is lowered, but in the case of Fig. 9C, the flow rate can be made substantially constant in the intermediate portion in the axial direction of the buffer cylinder 7. In Fig. 9D, the basic functions are the same as those of Fig. 9C, but the lengths of each of the slit portions 7s ... and each of the hole portions 7h...are partially changed, the flow rate of the milk M made to flow out is set with respect to the height of the liquid level Mu, and the milk delivery outlet portion 6 can be optimized. As described above, the milk delivery outlet portion 6 can be put into practice in various modes.

Fig. 10 illustrates a modified example of the buffer cylinder 7. Fig. 10 illustrates that the lower end of the pipe shaft 11 is extended downward and the lower end port 11 d is faced with the inside of the discharge port 2t provided on the bottom surface portion Rdd of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd so that the portion faced with the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd is constituted as the buffer cylinder 7, and the first outlet 6f is formed on the peripheral surface portion on the lower part of this buffer cylinder 7 and the second outlet 6s on the peripheral surface portion on the upper part of the buffer cylinder 7. In this case, the first outlet 6f is constituted by one slit 7s formed in the peripheral surface portion on the lower part of the buffer cylinder 7 similarly to the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1, and the second outlet 6s is constituted by four hole portions 8h..., for example, formed in the peripheral surface portion on the upper part of the buffer cylinder 7 so that the areas and a relationship of positions (height) of the slits 7s and the hole portions 8h ... can be put into practice in compliance with the dimensions in the embodiment in Fig. 1.

According to the buffer cylinder 7 according to such modified example, since the buffer cylinder 7 and the pipe shaft 11 can be integrally formed, the invention can be put into practice easily and with a lower cost, and an advantage of simplification of the configuration (shape) on the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd side can be achieved.
Moreover, as illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10, by using at least one or more slit portions 7s ... and/or hole portions 7h ... formed in the peripheral surface portion of the buffer cylinder 7 for the first outlet 6f or by using at least one or more hole portions 8h ...
formed in the upper end 7u or the peripheral surface portion of the buffer cylinder 7 for the second outlet 6s, the milk delivery outlet portion 6 having various feeding modes (feeding characteristics) can be easily provided by combining the slit portions 7s ...and the hole portions 7h ... (8h... ) or by further combining the quantities and shapes thereof, and the milk delivery outlet portion 6 can be optimized.

Fig. 11 illustrates a modified example of the constricted portions 2sd and 2su. In the milk meter 1 illustrated in Fig. 1, the measuring container portion 2 having a wall portion with a certain thickness is assumed, and the example of forming the constricted portions 2sd and 2su by drawing when the measuring container portion 2 is manufactured from a glass material or the like, for example, is illustrated.
In the case of integral molding with a plastic material or the like, as illustrated in Fig. 11, projecting portions may be formed on the flat inner wall surface of the measuring container portion 2 so as to provide the constricted portions 2sd and 2su. Therefore, such modified example is also included in the concept of the constricted portions 2sd and 2su. The upper surface portion Rmu and the lower surface portion Rind forming the measuring chamber Rm are formed by horizontal surfaces (non-inclined faces) in the exemplification, but it is needless to say that they can be formed by inclined faces as in the measuring chamber Rm illustrated in Fig. 1. In Figs. 10 and 11, the same portions as those in Fig. 1 are given the same reference numerals so as to clarify the configuration, and the detailed description will be omitted.

The preferred embodiments and modified embodiments have been described above in detail, but the present invention is not limited to those embodiments and is capable of arbitrary changes, additions and deletions in the configurations, shapes, materials, quantities, methods and the like of the details within the range not departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, the milk delivery outlet portion 6 provided with the first outlet 6f and the second outlet 6s is exemplified, but if there is more room in the capacity of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd or the like, the second outlet 6s does not necessarily have to be provided. The milk delivery outlet portion 6 configured to be provided with the buffer cylinder 7 on the bottom surface portion Rdd of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd is exemplified, but the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd may be replaced by another structure as long as it has the first outlet 6f for allowing the milk M to flow out in a flow rate at least not more than the predetermined flow rate (first flow rate) Qf. On the other hand, the inclined face above the peripheral surface portion side in the upper surface portion Rmu of the measuring chamber Rm and the inclined face below the peripheral surface portion side in the lower surface portion Rmd of the measuring chamber Rm are illustrated as being formed having tapered shapes, but they may be curved surfaces. Therefore, they may be formed so as to have a flat elliptic front section, and the form of the inclined face is not limited to the exemplification. Regarding the valve mechanism portion 4, the pipe shaft 11 functioning both as the valve driving shaft and the ventilation pipe is exemplified, but the valve driving shaft may be formed of a rod material and a ventilation pipe may be separately provided at another position. The valve driving portion 12 composed of the diaphragm portion 26 and the switching chamber portion Rc capable of switching to the vacuum pressure or the atmospheric pressure is exemplified, but the diaphragm portion 26 may be directly displaced by an actuator such as an electromagnetic solenoid, an air cylinder or the like. On the other hand, the detection electrodes 3a... used as the liquid level detection portion 3 is exemplified, but any other liquid level detection portions on the basis of various other principles such as mechanical using a float or the like, an optical using an optical sensor or the like, a static detecting a static change, an electromagnetic detecting an electromagnetic change and the like can be used as long as the position of the liquid level Mu can be detected. The control system 5 may be attached to the milk meter main body 1 in or the like by being separately configured by a control box or the like. The exemplified milk meter 1 is illustrated as a so-called milk meter with sampling function provided with the sampling cylinder 21 but it is needless to say that the milk meter 1 may be provided only with a milk volume measuring function and not provided with a sampling function (sampling cylinder 21) or the milk meter 1 may be added with other functions (configurations) as necessary.

Industrial Applicability The milk meter 1 (milk volume measuring method) according to the present invention can be used by being installed not only in the exemplified milking device 50 but also in various installation target portions relating to applications other than milking or measuring milk volume of various animals and the like including various types of milking systems.

Claims (17)

1. Claim 1 A milk meter, comprising:
   
   a measuring container portion connected to the middle of a milk transfer line and capable of retaining milk inflowing through an inlet;
   
   a liquid level detection portion for detecting a liquid level of the milk retained inside this measuring container portion;
   
   a valve mechanism portion capable of opening/closing an outlet of the measuring container portion; and a control system for opening/closing control of said valve mechanism portion at least upon detection of said liquid level by said liquid level detection portion, wherein a gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber having a capacity capable of retaining a milk volume of at least one session flowing out of said outlet by opening/closing of said valve mechanism portion is provided on the downstream side of said outlet; and a milk delivery outlet portion having a delivery outlet (first outlet) which allows the milk in a flow rate not more than a predetermined flow rate (first flow rate) to flow out and to be mixed with air inside said measuring container portion and delivered is provided in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber.
2. Claim 2 The milk meter according to claim 1, wherein constricted portions are formed in said measuring container portion at least at two spots in an intermediate portion in the vertical direction of a cylindrically formed peripheral surface portion so that a portion below the lowermost constricted portion is constituted as said gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber, a portion between the lowermost constricted portion and the constricted portion on the next stage located above this constricted portion is constituted as a measuring chamber, and a portion above the constricted portion on the next stage is constituted as a gas-liquid separation chamber;
   
   the inner peripheral surface of said lowermost constricted portion is constituted as said outlet and the inner peripheral surface of said constricted portion on the next stage is constituted as an intermediate port; and a valve mechanism portion having a first valve capable of opening/closing said intermediate port and a second valve capable of opening/closing said outlet are provided.
3. Claim 3 The milk meter according to claim 2, wherein said measuring chamber has an upper surface portion formed as an inclined face above the peripheral surface portion side and a lower surface portion as an inclined face below the peripheral surface portion side.
4. Claim 4 The milk meter according to claim 2, wherein said valve mechanism portion includes a pipe shaft inserted through said outlet and said intermediate port, and having an upper end port faced with an upper end of said gas-liquid separation chamber and a lower end port faced with said gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber so that said gas-liquid separation chamber and said gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber communicate with each other, a valve driving portion which supports the upper end of this pipe shaft and elevates up/down the pipe shaft, said first valve provided on an upper side of an outer peripheral surface of said pipe shaft located inside said measuring chamber, and said second valve provided on a lower side of the outer peripheral surface.
5. Claim 5 The milk meter according to claim 1, wherein said milk delivery outlet portion has a first outlet for allowing the milk to flow out in a flow rate not more than said first flow rate if the milk volume retained in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber is not more than a predetermined volume and a second outlet for allowing the milk to flow out in a flow rate not less than a second flow rate if the retained milk volume exceeds said predetermined volume.
6. Claim 6 The milk meter according to claim 1, wherein a buffer cylinder standing from a bottom surface portion and having a lower end port faced with the outside and an upper end port faced with the inside is provided in said gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber;
   
   said upper end port of this buffer cylinder is constituted as said second outlet; and said first outlet is formed on a peripheral surface portion of said buffer cylinder.
7. Claim 7 The milk meter according to claim 4, wherein a lower end of said pipe shaft is extended downward and a lower end port is faced with the inside of a discharge port provided on the bottom surface portion of said gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber so that a portion faced with the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber is constituted as a buffer cylinder; and said first outlet is formed on a peripheral surface portion on a lower part of said buffer cylinder and said second outlet on a peripheral surface portion on an upper part of said buffer cylinder.
8. Claim 8 The milk meter according to claim 1, wherein said first outlet uses at least one or more slit portions formed on the peripheral surface portion of said buffer cylinder.
9. Claim 9 The milk meter according to claim 1, wherein said first outlet uses at least one or more hole portions formed on the peripheral surface portion of said buffer cylinder.
10. Claim 10 The milk meter according to claim 1, wherein said second outlet uses at least one or more hole portions formed on an upper end or the peripheral surface portion of said buffer cylinder.
11. Claim 11 The milk meter according to claim 4, wherein an umbrella-shaped cover preventing the milk flowing out of said outlet from directly entering said milk delivery outlet portion is provided on a lower end of said pipe shaft.
12. Claim 12 A milk volume measuring method in which milk inflowing through an inlet is retained in a measuring container portion by connecting a milk meter to the middle of a milk transfer line and a liquid level of the milk retained inside this measuring container portion is detected by a liquid level detection portion, and at least when said liquid level detection portion detects said liquid level, an outlet of said measuring container portion is opened/closed through opening/closing control of the valve mechanism portion by a control system so as to measure a milk volume, characterized in that a gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber having a capacity capable of retaining the milk volume of at least one session flowing out of said outlet by the opening/closing control of said valve mechanism portion is provided on the downstream side of said outlet so that the milk flowing out of said outlet is retained in said gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber; and then the milk is allowed to flow out in a flow rate not more than a predetermined flow rate (first flow rate) from a delivery outlet (first outlet) of a milk delivery outlet portion faced with the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber and mixed with air inside said measuring container portion and delivered.
13. Claim 13 The milk volume measuring method according to claim 12, wherein when a milk volume retained in said gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber is not more than a predetermined volume, the milk is allowed to flow out of said first outlet in a flow rate not more than said first flow rate; and when the retained milk volume exceeds said predetermined volume, the milk is allowed to flow out of a second outlet in a flow rate not less than a second flow rate.
14. Claim 14 A milking device provided with a milk meter, including: a measuring container portion connected to the middle of a milk transfer line and capable of retaining milk inflowing through an inlet; a liquid level detection portion for detecting a liquid level of the milk retained inside this measuring container portion; a valve mechanism portion capable of opening/closing an outlet of the measuring container portion; and a control system for opening/closing control of said valve mechanism portion at least upon detection of said liquid level by said liquid level detection portion, wherein a gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber having a capacity capable of retaining a milk volume of at least one session flowing out of said outlet by opening/closing of said valve mechanism portion is provided on the downstream side of said outlet; and a milk delivery outlet portion having a delivery outlet which allows the milk in a flow rate not more than a predetermined flow rate to flow out and to be mixed with air inside said measuring container portion and delivered is provided in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber.
15. Claim 15 The milking device according to claim 14, wherein said milk meter is attached to a milking machine for milking a cow.
16. Claim 16 The milking device according to claim 15, wherein said milking machine includes at least an automatic teat-cup removing device;
    and said milk meter is attached to this automatic teat-cup removing device.
17. Claim 17 The milking device according to claim 16, wherein said milk meter includes a milk meter main body excluding said control system;
    said milk meter main body is attached to an outer surface of said automatic teat-cup removing device; and a part of or the whole of said control system is built in said automatic teat-cup removing device.