GB2257008A

GB2257008A - Sub-clinical mastitis detector and excluder.

Info

Publication number: GB2257008A
Application number: GB9109318A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sidney William Simpson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-04-30
Filing date: 1991-04-30
Publication date: 1993-01-06
Anticipated expiration: 2011-04-30
Also published as: GB9109318D0; GB2257008B

Abstract

Device to replace conventional claw of normal milking machine, with a semi spherical unit divided horizontally into two chambers 2, 4, one above the other. Four inlet tubes 6 incorporate four non-invasive transducers 7 to measure and compare conductivity of milk flow, each against the other three. Discrepancy of conductivity is indicative of mastitis and this operates alarm buzzer/LED, and corresponding diverter valve 8 to re-route infected milk through subsidiary outlet path 5 to dump reservoir in dairy, whilst allowing wholesome milk to flow in main outlet path 3 to bulk milk tank. <IMAGE>

Description

Sub-clinical Mastitis Detector and Excluder Mastitis is a disease of all lactating animals and causes verv considerable financial loss to the farmer and the clair-y industry. The purpose of thigh invention is to detect and divert mastitic milk from the wholesome milk and at the same time to identify the infected quarter.

Early treatment of this can prevent the physical udder damage that occurs when mastitis remains undetected until it becomes clinically obvious.

This I invention replaces that part of a milking machine known as the Claw. The conventional claw is suspended by rubber pulse and milk tubes from four teat cups which attach to the cow by vacuum. It acts as a manifold to coll 1 ect milk frcm the four quarters and feed this collected milk' through a path of rubber, glass or stainless steel tubes to the dairy where it enters a bulk milk tank. This conventional unit collects all milk, regardless of its condition.

One Patent intended to resolve the identfication problem is DE 1949559. This does not automatically identify the particular quarter infected, nor does it have any provision for diverting infected milk, or foremilk.

This invention replaces the Claw with a semi-spherical unit divided horizontally into two chambers, the upper chamber carrying wholesome milk through the common discharge path to the dairy bulk tan.::1 and the lower chamber carrying diverted mastitic mil k through the subsidiary discharge path, to a dump facility in the dairy This separation is effected by milk: entering the four inlet tubes and passing through the four transducer sensors which measure and compare the conductivity of each with the other three.The conductivity of milk f from each quarter of a normally heal thy cow should be approximately equal, but depending on stage of lactation, age of COW, feed, climate and other +actors, all four quarters may be higher, or all four may be lower than the herd average In the event of one quarter being substantially different +rom the other three, this discrepancy is indicative of the presence of sub-clinical mast it is.

In this invention, this difference will trigger an alarm buzzer and LED which will alert the operator to the problem and to the particular quarter infected, and simultaneously operate the relevant diverter valve which will divert the mastitic milk into the lower chamber of the Claw, from whence it will travel along the secondary discharge path to the dump facility in the dairy whilst permitting wholesome milk to continue through the main discharge path to the dairy bulk tank.

This initial period of comparison and assessment will be limited to say 2 seconds, variable by preferential choice. R lock-on decision may then operate which continues until the end of milking when automatic re-set takes place. The reason for this is as follows. During the course of milking, there is a progressive collapse of turgidity in the udder and also the probability of one or more teats emptying before the others. This may allow the ingress; of air around the top of the teat cup into the milk flow.For this reason the circuitry includes the above feature of a time window for assessment only during early full flow of milk, and so obviate spurious triggering during later stages of milking.

Under normal farm conditions, the milk contained in the cows teats prior to the commencement of milking could possibly be contaminated due to exposure through the Sphincter muscle of the teat to outside influences. This invention also makes provision for a period of, fuzz for example, 6 seconds at the commencement of milking when this contaminated milk from all four quarters is diverted into the 1 ower chamber and through the subsidiary discharge path to the dump facility in the dairy.At the end of this period e.g. 6 seconds, the milk flow will revert to the main common discharge path unless the milk from one quarter is revealed to he infected, in which case it will continue to be diverted. Thus foremilk will be discarded as is common practice.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now b described by way of example with reverence to the accompanying schematic drawing in which Fig 1 shows a top perspective of basic components of the Claw.

Fig a horizontal cross section of the Claw.

On commencement of milking all. four di verter valves 8 may be optionally set to direct foremilk into the lower discard chamber 4 and out through the subsidiary discharge path 5 to the remote dump facility in the dairy. Thit can be set to personal preference from say one to six seconds. Simultaneously the non-invasive transducers 7, will be assessing and comparing conductivity of all four mille flows against each other for a concurrent period optionally variable to farmers requirement, say ten to thirty seconds. This will be the period of +ui 1 flow. Additional accuracy may be achieved by 1 limiting assessment measurements tn the "B" phase of pulsation. A discrepancy in conductivity levels between quarters during this time will r-esult in the affected milk being diverted by valve 8 into lower chamber 4 and out through the subsidiary outlet path 5 arid at the same time allowing the wholesome milk to continue through the common outlet path 3 to the main bulk milk tank. Once the conductivity status has been established, the circuitry will lock-on for the remainder of that cow's mi) ki rig, thus eliminating spurious triggering due to airentrainment, cessation of mill I.:: flow or other +actors.

The unit will automatically re-set at end of cycle.

Publications taken into account when assessing patentability DE 1949559

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A method of milking an animal wherein milk is drawn concurrently from a plurality of teats of the animal, an electrical parameter of milk drawn from each teat is compared during milking with the same parameter of milk drawn from each other teat, whilst said parameter has substantially the same value for all of the teats, the milk drawn from all of the teats is directed along a common discharge path and, if the value of said parameter of the milk from one teat departs substantially from the value of said parameter of the milk from the other teats, the milk from the one teat is diverted from the common discharge path.
2. A method according to Claim 1 wherein, once the milk from the one teat has been diverted from the common discharge path, diversion of the milk from that teat from the common discharge path is maintained, irrespective of whether the value of said parameter of the milk from the one teat reverts to a value substantially the same as the value of that parameter of the milk from the other teats.
3. A method according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein, during an initial stage of milking, milk from all of the teats is directed to a common, subsidiary discharge path, irrespective of the values of said parameter of the milk from the several teats and, at the end of the initial stage of milking, the milk from all of the teats is directed to a common main discharge path, unless the value of said parameter of the milk from one teat departs substantially from the value of said parameter of the milk from the other teats, in which case milk from the one teat continues to be directed to the subsidiary discharge path.
4. Apparatus for use in the milking of an animal and which defines a plurality of inlet paths and a common outlet path, wherein the apparatus comprises a respective transducer associated with each inlet path for providing a quantitative signal representing the magnitude of a parameter of milk in that path and means for comparing the value of said parameter of the milk in each inlet path with the values of the parameter of the milk in each other inlet path and for providing an output signal which identifies any inlet path in which the milk has a value of said parameter substantially different from the values of the parameter of the milk in the other inlet paths.
5. Apparatus for use in milking an animal and which defines a main outlet path, a subsidiary outlet path and a plurality of inlet paths along which milk is directed from respective teats of the animal towards the main outlet path and a respective valve in each inlet path for diverting flow from that inlet path away from the main outlet path to the subsidiary outlet path.
6. Apparatus according to Claim 5 further comprising a respective transducer associated with each inlet path for providing a quantitative signal representing the magnitude of a parameter of milk in that path and control means for comparing the magnitude of said parameter of milk in each inlet path with the magnitude of said parameter in each other inlet path and operating the valve in a path in which the magnitude is substantially different from the magnitude in the other paths.
7. Apparatus according to Claim 4 or Claim 6 wherein the transducer is a non-intrusive transducer.
8. Apparatus according to Claim 7 wherein the transducer comprises a plurality of inductors arranged to be coupled by milk in the corresponding inlet path.
9. Apparatus according to Claim 5 or Claim 6 wherein the main outlet path includes a chamber having a plurality of inlets the inlets being in respective ones of the inlet paths.
10. Apparatus according to Claim 9 comprising a further chamber which is a part of the subsidiary outlet path and which also has a number of inlets equal to the number of inlet paths.
11. Apparatus according to Claim 6 or according to any one of Claims 7 to 10, as appendant to Claim 6, wherein the control means is so arranged that, during an initial stage of milking, the valves direct milk from all of the inlet paths to the subsidiary outlet path and, at the end of the initial stage, some or all of the valves are operated to direct milk from the corresponding inlet paths to the main outlet path.
12. Apparatus for use in milking an animal and which defines a plurality of inlet paths leading to a common outlet path and a respective transducer associated with each inlet path for providing an output signal representing the value of a parameter of milk in the inlet path and means for comparing the value of said parameter of the milk in each inlet path with the values of the parameter of the milk in each other inlet path, wherein each said transducer comprises a pair of inductors arranged to be coupled by milk in the corresponding inlet path.