JP2003009693A - Feeding tank apparatus for stall - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To ensure the milking robot not to be damaged by avoiding the defect that the hind legs of a cow go forward over the optimal milking position in the stole and largely cost down by simplifying the driving system and the controlling system. SOLUTION: The feeding tank apparatus is equipped with a displacement mechanism 3 that displaces the feed tank 2 to the front side standard position Xs or to the rear side retroprogressive position Xr, a position detector 4 for detecting the rear end position Pr of the cow C going into the stall A, and a controller 5 that controls the displacement mechanism to displace the feeding tank 2 from the standard position Xs to the rear side retroprogressive position Xr, when the rear end position Pr detected by the position detector 4 is at the preliminarily set position Ps or in the fore position of the set position Ps.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a stall feeding device provided with a feeding container arranged in front of a stall for storing cows.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a stall feeding device provided with a feeding device disposed in front of a stall is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-280288.
There is known a stall tank device attached to a dairy cow mooring device for an automatic milking machine disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-242242.

This feeding device has a feeding device arranged at the front of the stall having an entrance having a rear door attached at the rear and an exit having a front door attached at the front. Yes,
A milking cow can enter the stall through the entrance to eat the food in the feed tank, and the milked cow can exit the stall through the exit. A series of operations related to milking is automatically performed by a milking robot.

By the way, when milking by a milking robot, it is necessary to restrict the cow in the stall to a fixed position as much as possible so that the moving distance of the teat cup is shortened, the teat is stably attached to the teat, the time is shortened, and the size is reduced. It is desirable for cost reduction. Therefore, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, a stanchion unit integrally provided with a feeding tank is provided so as to be movable in the front-rear direction of the stall by a movement drive unit, and has a database relating to a pre-stored body shape of a cow that has entered the stall. The control unit controls the movement drive unit and adjusts the position of the stanchion unit (feeding tank) so that the teat of the dairy cow becomes the reference position.

[0005]

However, the conventional stall tank device described above has the following problems to be solved.

First, since the position of the feeding tank is adjusted on the basis of a database stored in advance, for example, when the body shape at the time of milking is different from the database or the posture of the dairy cows in the stall is varied, the stall is adjusted. There is a risk that the dairy cows cannot be regulated in place. In particular, when the hind legs go too far forward, the milking robot (manipulator) is easily damaged by colliding with the hind legs of the cow or being kicked by the hind legs.

Secondly, the position of the feeding tank should be changed for each cow.
In other words, since the adjustment is performed steplessly, the configuration of the drive system and the control system for performing the position adjustment becomes complicated and the cost increases.

The present invention solves the problems existing in the prior art as described above, and in particular, avoids the problem that the hind legs of the cow in the stall go too far forward, and damages the milking robot. It is an object of the present invention to provide a stall tank device that can be reliably prevented and can significantly reduce costs by simplifying a drive system and a control system.

[0009]

Means and Embodiments for Solving the Problems According to the present invention, a feeding tank 2 arranged in front of a stall A containing a dairy cow C is provided.
In constructing the stall feeding device 1 including, the displacement mechanism part 3 for displacing the feeding device 2 at least to the standard position Xs on the front side or the retracted position Xr on the rear side, and the rear end position of the cow C that has entered the stall A are detected. When the position detecting section 4 and the rear end position detected by the position detecting section 4 are in a preset position or in front of the preset position, the displacement mechanism section 3 is controlled to move the feeding tank 2 to the standard position Xs. It is characterized by including a control unit 5 for displacing from the retracted position to the retracted position Xr.

In this case, according to a preferred embodiment, the displacement mechanism section 3 can be configured to include a guide mechanism 11 for slidably supporting the feeding tank 2 in the front-rear direction and an actuator 12 for displacing the feeding tank 2 in the front-rear direction. . In addition, the position detection unit 4 includes the detection plate 1 disposed behind the cow C in the stall A.
3, a guide mechanism 14 that slidably supports the detection plate 13 in the front-back direction within a predetermined range, a biasing mechanism 15 that biases the detection plate 13 forward, and a detector 16 that detects the position of the detection plate 13. And an actuator 17 for forcibly displacing the detection plate 13 rearward.
f can be set as the set position.

As a result, the feeding tank 2 is normally placed at the standard position X.
Even if it is set to s, the rear end position of the cow C that has entered the stall A is detected, and if the detected rear end position is at a preset setting position (or in front of this setting position), the feeding tank 2 is set. In order to displace the standard position Xs by a predetermined stroke to the rearward retreat position Xr, the dairy cow C is guided by the displacement of the feeding tank 2 and retreats. Therefore, the rear end position of the dairy cow C is the rear foot C
Since the position of fr is almost the same as that of fr, the hind foot Cfr is always
It will be located behind the set position, and the rear foot Cfr
It avoids the problem that the car goes too far forward.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the structure of the stall A having the feeding tank device 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The stall A is composed of a combination of a plurality of frames F ... And divides the whole into a rectangular parallelepiped shape. An entrance 21i is provided on the rear left side surface of the stall A, and a rear door 21d is attached to the entrance 21i. The rear door 21d can be opened and closed by an air cylinder (not shown) with the front rotating portion 22 as a fulcrum. Rear door 21 shown in phantom
d shows the opened state, and in this state, the cow C is stall A
Can enter inside. Further, an exit 23o is provided on the left side surface of the front part of the stall A, and the exit 23o is provided with the front door 2
Attach 3d. The front door 23d can be opened / closed by an air cylinder (not shown) with the turning portion 24 at the rear end as a fulcrum.
The front door 23d shown by a virtual line shows an open state, and in this state, the cow C can exit from the stall A to the outside. further,
B shown by a virtual line is a milking robot (manipulator) attached to the stall A, and in particular, Bs is an end effector that enters below the cow C.

Next, the structure of the feeding tank device 1 provided in the stall A will be described with reference to FIGS.

The feeding tank device 1 is provided with a feeding tank 2 arranged in front of the stall A, and the feeding tank 2 is displaced to a standard position Xs on the front side or a retracted position Xr on the rear side by a predetermined stroke Lr (see FIG. 4). The displacement mechanism section 3 is provided. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the displacement mechanism section 3 includes a guide mechanism 11 for slidably supporting the feeding tank 2 in the front-rear direction, and the feeding tank 2.
The actuator 12 is configured to displace in the front-back direction. The guide mechanism 11 includes a pair of left and right guide rails 25p and 25q horizontally fixed to the left and right frames F.
The inner end is fixed to the side surface of the feeding tank 2, and the outer end is constituted by a pair of left and right slide plates 26p and 26q slidably mounted on the guide rails 25p and 25q. Further, the actuator 12 uses an air cylinder 28. In this case, the cylinder head of the air cylinder 28 has the rotating portion 27.
The front end of the piston rod 28r is connected to the front surface of the feeding tank 2 via the rotating portion 29 while being rotatably connected to the front frame F via the. If the stroke Lr between the standard position Xs and the retracted position Xr is too short, the original effect cannot be expected, and if it is too long, the cow C
10's forefoot Cff gets off from the step 30
It is desirable to select 15 cm as a guide.

On the other hand, at the upper rear portion of the stall A, a position detecting section 4 for detecting the rear end position of the cow C that has entered the stall A.
To arrange. The position detecting unit 4 is located behind the dairy cow C in the stall A and has a detection plate 13 having a predetermined area which can be brought into contact with the rear end of the dairy cow C.
A guide mechanism 14 using a linear guide that slidably supports 3 in the front-back direction within a predetermined range, an urging mechanism 15 using a spiral spring that urges the detection plate 13 forward, and a rear plate F are fixed. Are provided, the detector 16 using a reflection type optical sensor that detects the position of the detected portion 31 that is displaced integrally with the fixed detection plate 13, and the air cylinder 32 that forcibly displaces the detection plate 13 rearward. The actuator 17 used is provided and configured. The detection plate 13 is a cow C
It also has the function of suppressing the movement of.

On the other hand, 5 is a control unit, which controls the displacement mechanism unit 3 to set the feeding tank 2 to the standard position when the rear end position of the cow C detected by the position detection unit 4 is at a preset position. It has a function of displacing from Xs to the retracted position Xr.
In this case, the set position is the most advanced position Pf of the detection plate 13. As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 5 includes a controller 35 having a computer function, and the detector 16 is connected to the controller 35. Reference numeral 36 denotes a pressure air circuit including a compressor serving as a pressure air source, an electromagnetic on-off valve, and the like. The output ports of the pressure air circuit 36 are connected to the above-described air cylinders 28 and 32, and the pressure air circuit is also connected. A control signal for driving and controlling the air cylinders 28 and 32 is given to the controller 36 from the controller 35.

Next, a series of operations of the stall A including the function of the feeding tank device 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In general, the feeding tank 2 is shown by a solid line in FIG.
Is set to the standard position Xs on the front side indicated by a virtual line). Further, the air cylinder 32 is in a state of being drive-controlled to the front side. Therefore, since the engagement between the air cylinder 32 and the detection plate 13 is released, the detection plate 13 can be freely displaced along the guide mechanism 14.

On the other hand, at the time of milking, the controller 35 first gives a control signal to the pressure air circuit 36 to drive and control the air cylinder 32 rearward, thereby forcibly displacing the detection plate 13 rearward. (Step S1).

Next, the rear door 21d of the stall A is shown in FIG.
To the position indicated by the virtual line (step S2). As a result, the dairy cow C enters the inside of the stall A from the entrance 21i (step S3). When the dairy cow C has entered the stall A, the rear door 21d is closed (step S4).
Further, the air cylinder 32 is controlled to be driven forward (step S5). Thereby, the detection plate 13 and the air cylinder 32
Since the engagement of the detection plate 13 is released,
And is displaced forward along the guide mechanism 14 and stops at the position where it abuts on the rear end of the cow C.

On the other hand, the position of the detection plate 13 is detected by the detector 16 using a reflection type optical sensor, and the controller 3
5 is given. The position of the detection plate 13 detected at this time is the rear end position of the cow C.

By the way, the detection plate 13 has a guide mechanism 14
As a result, the displacement to the rear of the most retracted position is regulated, and the displacement to the front of the most advanced position Pf (FIG. 1) is regulated. Therefore, in the case of the majority of standard cows C, the position of the detection plate 13 in contact with the rear end of the cow C is located between the most retracted position and the most advanced position Pf. In this case, since the position of the detection plate 13 detected by the detector 16 is given to the controller 35, the controller 35 determines that the position is normal. As a result, the controller 35 outputs the milking start signal, and the normal milking processing by the milking robot B is performed (steps S6 and S9).

On the other hand, it is assumed that a particularly small dairy cow C has entered. FIG. 1 shows this state. In this case, since the rear end of the cow C is shown in front of the detection plate 13 at the most advanced position Pf, as in the cow C shown by the solid line, the detection plate 13 does not contact the rear end of the cow C and is at the most advanced position. Stop at Pf. This most advanced position Pf is the detector 16
Is detected by and is given to the controller 35. Since the most advanced position Pf coincides with the set position, the controller 35 determines that a small cow C has entered and gives a control signal to the pressure air circuit 36 to drive and control the air cylinder 28. Then, the feeding tank 2 is displaced to the retracted position Xr shown by the virtual line position (solid line in FIG. 4) in FIG. 1 (steps S6, S7, S8).

As a result, the dairy cow C is guided by the displacement of the feeding tank 2 to retreat, and at the same time, the detection plate 1 abutting the dairy cow C
3 moves away from the most advanced position Pf and moves rearward. Figure 1
In the figure, the detection plate 13 indicated by the phantom line shows a state in which the detection plate 13 is displaced rearward by the rear end of the cow C indicated by the imaginary line. When the detection plate 13 moves away from the most advanced position Pf, the controller 35
Outputs a milking start signal and the milking robot B performs a normal milking process (steps S6 and S9). If the detection plate 13 is not separated from the most advanced position Pf even if the feeding tank 2 is displaced to the retracted position Xr, it is judged as an abnormal cow and milking is not performed. On the other hand, when the milking process is completed, the front door 23
Open d to the position shown in phantom in FIG. This allows
The cow C can exit the stall A from the exit 23o.

Therefore, according to the feeding device 1 of this embodiment, the rear end position of the dairy cow C substantially coincides with the position of the rear foot Cfr, so that the rear foot Cfr is always positioned rearward of the set position. Therefore, the problem that the rear foot Cfr goes too far forward, that is, the problem that the end effector Bs of the milking robot (manipulator) B collides with the rear foot Cfr of the cow C or is kicked by the rear foot Cfr is avoided, and milking is performed. It is possible to reliably prevent damage to the robot B. Also, the drive system
Since it can be constituted by the simple guide mechanism 11 and the air cylinder 28 and the constitution of the control system can be simplified, the cost can be largely reduced.

The embodiment has been described in detail above.
The present invention is not limited to such an embodiment,
The detailed configuration, shape, method, etc. can be arbitrarily changed, added, or deleted without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the displacement mechanism unit 3 is exemplified by the guide mechanism 11 that slidably supports the feeding tank 2 in the front-rear direction, but any structure capable of displacing the feeding tank 2 in the front-rear direction can be adopted. For the actuator 12, any driving means other than the air cylinder 28 can be used. In addition, the position detection unit 4 detects the cow C in the stall A.
A configuration using a detection plate 13 arranged at the rear of the detection plate 13 and a detector 16 for detecting the position of the detection plate 13 is illustrated, and a case where the most advanced position Pf of the detection plate 13 is set to a set position is shown. However, the detector 16 (reflective sensor) may directly detect the rear end of the dairy cow C. In this case, based on the fact that the detected position is ahead of the set position, the feeding tank 2
Should be displaced to the retracted position Xr.

[0029]

As described above, the stall feeding device according to the present invention has the displacement mechanism portion for displacing the feeding device to at least the standard position on the front side or the retracted position on the rear side, and the rear end position of the cow that has entered the stall. When the position detecting unit to detect and the rear end position detected by this position detecting unit are at a preset position or in front of this preset position, the displacement mechanism unit is controlled to move the feeding tank from the standard position to the retracted position. Since the control unit for displacing is provided, the following remarkable effects are achieved.

(1) The milking robot can be reliably prevented from being damaged by avoiding the problem that the rear leg of the cow in the stall goes too far forward.

(2) The drive system and the control system can be simplified, and in particular, the structure of the displacement mechanism section for displacing the feeding tank can be simplified, and a large cost reduction can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a stall including a feeding device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a stall provided with the same feeding tank device,

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional front view showing a displacement mechanism portion extracted from the feeding tank device;

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a displacement mechanism portion extracted from the feeding tank device,

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a series of operations of a stall including the feeding tank device,

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Stall storage device 2 Feeding tank 3 Displacement mechanism section 4 Position detector 5 control unit 11 Guide mechanism 12 actuators 13 Detection plate 14 Guide mechanism 15 Energizing mechanism 16 detector 17 Actuator C dairy cow A stall Xs standard position Xr retracted position Pf most advanced position

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A stall tank apparatus comprising a stall arranged in front of a stall for storing milk cows, wherein a displacement mechanism section for displacing the stall to at least a standard position on the front side or a retracted position on the rear side is provided on the stall. A position detection unit that detects the rear end position of the dairy cow that has entered, and the displacement mechanism unit is controlled when the rear end position detected by this position detection unit is at a preset position or in front of this preset position. A stall tank device, further comprising a control unit for displacing the tank from the standard position to the retracted position. 2. The stall storage tank according to claim 1, wherein the displacement mechanism section includes a guide mechanism for slidably supporting the storage tank in the front-rear direction and an actuator for displacing the storage tank in the front-rear direction. apparatus. 3. The position detection unit includes a detection plate disposed behind the cow in the stall, a guide mechanism for slidably supporting the detection plate in the front-back direction within a predetermined range, and the detection plate disposed in front of the detection plate. An urging mechanism for urging, a detector for detecting the position of the detection plate, and an actuator for forcibly displacing the detection plate backward, and setting the most advanced position of the detection plate as the set position. Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned.
The stall feeding device described.