FR2611429A1 - Improvement of milking installations - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a new device which can be fitted onto installations for milking animals while they feed. It consists in providing each cell with a special fixing unit. The entire device comprises a part 4 which closes the cell when the animal has entered by tipping over the lever 1 pivoting on an axle 2. The lower part of the lever 1 will be provided with a sliding bolt 5 at its appropriately formed end. The bolt 5 will comprise a guiding axle 6 circulating in oblong openings of the closed end. When the animal is retained, the lower part of the lever being vertical, the sliding bolt exceeds, under the effect of its weight, the end of the lever. When the animal is trapped, the bolt 5 engages into the notch 8 of a manually controlled horizontal axle 7. A 180 DEG rotation of the axle, by action of the operator, will unbolt the tipping lever 1 to bring the bolt 5 onto a stop 11 for the axle 7, another rotation will completely liberate the bolt 5 and the lever 1 will return to the original position, its upper end coming to rest on a stop 3 integrally attached to the barrier.

Description

 For milking animals at the same time as feeding them, there are different systems for carrying out simultaneous operations on the greatest number of subjects.

 In general, the system used consists of a vertical barrier made up of a number of juxtaposed elements depending on the size of the herd.

This barrier made of non-injurious materials for animals includes cells for the passage of the head, from the neck to the chest. A food trough is placed at a suitable height behind the cells. The animals are arranged perpendicular to the barrier and generally placed like the barrier itself on a platform accessible at one end via an inclined plane. The raised platform facilitates the work of the milking operator, who works at a good height to arrange the sucking elements of the milking machine on the animals.

must them
The animals place them next to each other in their order of arrival and are very attracted to the food from the trough.

 When bending down to eat, they are held in place by a tilting pendulum, the operation of which they have started and cannot back down. They are forced to stay put. At the end of the operation, they are released.

 There are different materials to carry out the operations described above with more or less success. They do not in fact allow the assured and simultaneous release of all the animals when the milking is finished.

If there are indeed tilting pendulums retaining the animals, their operation leaves something to be desired for the restraint itself as for the release of the animals, there are cracks, non-operations requiring manual interventions causing chaos in animals . Liberation must be ef
fective for each of the horned or chipped beasts otherwise there are disturbances
important and need to have more staff.

The improvement object of the present invention overcomes the disadvantages
above and allows one person to operate on
a milking line.

It consists in improving the individual restraint of animals as and
as they are presented in the cells of the barrier and then their
collective release when the trafficking operations are completed.

There is the pendulum system and similarly there is the tree
controlled by an operator who releases the balancVerlls and therefore the animals.

The invention lies in the combination "of known elements ensuring a
very positive result, ie one hundred percent.

Take a barrier element and consider two successive cells
ves. The alveoli are the intervals between two spacing structures,
the dimensions take into account the size of the animals placed side by side
side.

The socket will be a passage to let pass the head, the neck of the animal
and possibly the horns. This last point is important. We will take
structures made from tubular elements consisting mainly
by two vertical uprights joined or formed directly, to obtain a
upper half-circumference allowing the passage of the head of
horny beasts or not. The elements are fixed on a horizontal bar. The alveolus
hold or release the animals using a pendulum as described below.

The pendulum will be made from a curved or bent tubular bar
whose two branches will form a very open angle between them. The pendulum
located in a vertical plane contiguous and parallel to the uprights of the structure,
will pivot on a horizontal axis fixed perpendicularly on one of the uprights
vertical structure. The axis will be arranged at a point such that, free, the pendulum
will rotate clockwise under the action of the weight of the
upper part.In the rest position, before use, its lower branch will be
inclined in the space of the cell, creating a movable "barrier".
the upper branch will come to rest on a stop
horizontal arranged on the other upright of the structure, at its upper part,
The lower part of the cell is relatively closed by the movable inclined "dam" while the upper part is free to access.

In the extension of the upper horizontal part of the balance, will be arranged a V-shaped closure element closing the upper part of the cell when the lower branch of the balance comes in a vertical position.

This position will be controlled by the animal by leaning towards the trough and thus exerting a push from top to bottom on the tilting mobile pivoting branch. The gauge being behind the barrier. When the pendulums are at rest, cells free to access from the top, the closure elements mentioned above will practically abut on the upper horizontal end of the pendulums of the preceding cells. A pendulum can, therefore, put itself in the closed position of the cell only if the previous one is already there.

To keep the balance in the animal's retaining position or, on the contrary, to release it, the following device is made up - A horizontal axis, perpendicular to the uprights of the structures, located in
the vertical plane where the pendulums move, is arranged along the part
of the barrier. It can pivot in distributed rings forming
bearings. The horizontal axis is at a very reduced distance from the end of the
pendulums when these are in vertical position (animals retained). The axis
is controlled manually. He will present, in front of each balance, a
notch receiving a vertical lock from top to bottom
(and from bottom to top for retraction) in the lower part of the balance
protruding it for engagement in the notch. The animal's push on
the lower inclined part of the pendulums triggers the locking of that
this on the notch at the same time as the closure of the upper part
of the alveolus via the obturator Vee. To make locking more positive,
an additional stop fixed on the upright of the structure will retain
the bolt sliding in the axis of the notch.

 There will be on the axis, which may consist of elements connected by sleeves or flanges, as many notches as pendulums.

 By making a rapid rotation of the axis of 1800 the lock will be erased, the pendulum will pivot and take a non-final inclined position because a stop fixed on the horizontal axis at 1800 relative to the notch but offset horizontally will retain it .

 This liberating position corresponds to the time of "reflection" that the animals allow themselves before taking "leave" from their cell. A new rotation of the axis will let the pendulums return to their starting position. The animals evacuate towards the exit of the platform in good order.

The barrier can receive a new team. There was collective liberation while the animals were placed one by one as they arrived, unable to do otherwise.

 The dimensions of the elements indicated above will depend on the volumes of the animals. The modules can be juxtaposed and handled by one person.

 The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention for various animals.

 Plate 1/5 represents structures connected to a horizontal bar forming a barrier. The upper parts of the structures are rounded.

The space between two structures will be called cell, a, b, c, d, ...

 The improvement device which is the subject of the present invention will be the pendulum 1 and the operating accessories relating thereto.

 The pendulum 1 will have the form indicated on the board 1/5, it will be pivotable on the horizontal axis 2.

The horizontal part or not far from the horizontal will rest on a stop 3 and will close the cell b. A V-shaped part 4 will be fixed to the balance 1. One of its sides being in the extension of the lying part of the balance I resting on the stop 3. The dimensions of the
Vé, 4 arise from the width of the cells.

The lower part of the pendulum will be made according to the figures
I and 2 of plate 4/5. The pendulum tube 1 is flattened to give passage to a rectangular section 5 sliding inside the tube and guided by an axis 6, itself guided by two buttonholes on the walls of the flattened tube. A shaft 7 parallel to the lower spar of the barrier will pivot on rings 10 integral with the spar.

 The shaft 7 will be provided with notches 8 at the right of each pendulum 1 when its lower branch is vertical.

 The shaft will also be provided with a stop 11 offset by 1800 relative to the notch and offset longitudinally by a width of the cell approximately. See plate 1/5 - 2/5 - 3/5 - 4/5.

 Under the action of the push of an animal engaging the head and the neck in a and leaning to feed in the trough located behind the barrier, the pendulum I will pivot, will take a vertical position see plate 2/5 , the sliding lower part 5 coming into the notch 8 at the same time as the pendulum comes against the stop 9. The piece enVé, 4 closes the upper part of the cell, the animal is retained.

 It will be noted, board 1/5, that the horizontal end of the pendulum 1 abuts on the part 4 preventing any pivoting of a pendulum if the previous one has not been tilted by an animal from the first.

 The animals are therefore placed one after the other one by one.

 When the milking operation is finished, the user will rotate the shaft 7 of 1800, the pendulums 1 will come into position along the board 3/5 fig. 1, the sliding part 5 abuts on 11. A new rotation of the shaft will bring the pendulums 1 according to FIG. 1 of the board 1/5 under the effect of the weight of their upper part, all the cells will be released and the animals fully released simultaneously.

 The operation of the whole is 100% guaranteed. We can have as many barriers as we want. Such a device will be used for example for milking goats.

 Plate 5/5 illustrates such an operation, the observant being placed on the trough side, goats retained.

Claims (8)

1) Device for improving the animal restraint barriers during  milking operations.  animals.  closing and opening of the engagement cells of the head and neck  copies that there are cells, ensuring the successive operations of  Characterized by the fact that it includes a special balance 1 in as much 2) DEVICE according to CLAIM 1  Characterized by the fact that the vertical balance 1 comprising two branches  forming an obtuse angle pivots on a horizontal axis 2 fixed on an upright  of a tubular animal separation structure, a structure  killed by two uprights joined by a semi-circumferential part. 3) DEVICE according to CLAIMS 1 & 2  Characterized by the fact that the lower branch of the pendulum 1 is provided  a sliding part 5 of rectangular section housed in its end  flattened over a certain length and guided by an axis 6 passing through it,  guided itself by two buttonholes of the flattened part. 4) DEVICE according to CLAIM 1 dc 3  Characterized at the outset by the fact that the pendulum 1 takes under the effect  the weight of its upper part a lower position inclined relative to  horizontally, partially blocking the bottom of the cell, the upper part  horizontal resting on a stop 3 and closing the next cell. 5) DEVICE according to CLAIM 4  Characterized by the fact that the first animal, entering the first alve  ole leaning towards the trough behind the cell, press on the part  inclined and brings it vertically against a stop 9 and the part of a  sliding 5 in a notch 8 horizontal axis 7 whose rotation is  manually controlled by the user, for subsequent operations. 6) DEVICE according to CLAIM 5  Characterized by the fact that the pendulum 1 comprising a part 4 in -  angle of about 90 "with one branch extending from the branch  upper of the pendulum I closes the upper part of the cell, pendulum  1 blocked in notch 8.  7) DEVICE according to CLAIM 6  Characterized by the fact that having turned axis 7 of 1800, pendulum released  of the notch, the sliding and pivoting part 5 is stopped on a stop  11 to 1800 with respect to notch 8 but offset logitudinally by one  width of the cell, the piece of Véne closes the cell more. 8) DEVICE according to CLAIM 6  Characterized by the fact that a new rotation of axis 7 liberating completely  the pendulum 1, brings it back to its starting position, the tip of the W coming  practically abut on the horizontal end of the preceding pendulum 1  prohibiting the entry of a cell if previous ones are not occupied,  balance 1 being blocked.