JP3225353B2 - Nipple position detection device of automatic milking machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a nipple position detecting device of an automatic milking machine having a nipple position sensor for detecting a nipple position of a dairy cow.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known an automatic milking machine including a milking robot that raises a teat cup supported at a home position of an end effector by a lift mechanism and automatically attaches the teat cup to a teat. Such an automatic milking machine is provided with a nipple position detecting device that detects a nipple position using a nipple position sensor when a teat cup is attached.

A nipple position detecting device of this kind has already been proposed by the present applicant in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-275834. This nipple position detecting device is arranged in a U-shaped sensor frame by arranging a plurality of sets of optical detecting units each including a pair of light emitting units and a light receiving unit, so that a matrix-shaped detection space defined by the sensor frames is provided. A nipple position sensor that generates an optical path of the nipple, the nipple enters the detection space,
If any optical path is interrupted by the nipple, the position of the nipple is detected by the optical detection unit whose optical path is interrupted. The detection result of the nipple position detection device is applied to the control unit of the milking robot, whereby the end effector is driven and controlled, and the teat cup follows the nipple.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned conventional nipple position detecting device performs detection in a state where the nipple position sensor is brought close to the nipple, and therefore has the following problems to be solved.

First, since the nipple position sensor needs to be positioned above the teat cup at the home position, the nipple position sensor itself may be damaged or broken by being kicked by a dairy cow during milking. At the same time, dairy cow excrement and dust adhere to the nipple position sensor, and the nipple position cannot be detected or may be erroneously detected.

Secondly, if the nipple position sensor cannot be detected or is erroneously detected, the nipple position sensor may directly hit the nipple or the like, thereby damaging the cow body. Absent.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems existing in the prior art, and can improve the reliability by always detecting the position of the nipple accurately and reliably.
An object of the present invention is to provide a nipple position detecting device of an automatic milking machine that can improve the safety by eliminating the problem of damaging the cow body by the nipple position sensor.

[0008]

The present invention comprises a nipple position sensor 3 disposed above an end effector 2 for supporting a teat cup Ta and detecting the position of a nipple H of a dairy cow C. When configuring the nipple position detection device 1 of the automatic milking machine U, the effector arm portion 4 protruding from the end effector 2 is provided with a storage portion 5 for storing the nipple position sensor 3 and is used when the nipple position sensor 3 is not used. A moving mechanism unit 6 for moving the nipple position sensor 3 to the storage unit 5 and storing the nipple position sensor 3 is provided. Thus, when the nipple position sensor 3 is not used, the nipple position sensor 3 is moved by the moving mechanism section 6 and stored in the storage section 5 provided on the effector arm section 4 protruding from the end effector 2.

In this case, according to a preferred embodiment, the cover 5 covers the nipple position sensor 3 during storage.
1 is provided. Further, when the nipple position sensor 3 is stored, the storage unit 5 can be provided with a cleaning unit 12 that cleans the nipple position sensor 3. On the other hand, the moving mechanism 6
A sensor arm 13 supporting the nipple position sensor 3
And a rotation drive unit 14 for rotating and displacing the rear end of the sensor arm 13. The nipple position sensor 3 has a function of detecting a nipple H located in a detection space S defined by the sensor frame 3f by coordinates.

[0010]

Next, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, a nipple position detecting device 1 according to the present embodiment.
An outline of a stall A provided with an automatic milking machine U having the following will be described with reference to FIG.

The stall A comprises a combination of a plurality of frames F. on the other hand,
A rear door 102 is attached to the left rear half of the stall A. The rear door 102 opens and closes using the front end as a rotation fulcrum, and by opening it, the dairy cow C can enter the inside of the stall A. Further, a front door 103 is attached to the left front half of the stall A. Front door 1
03 opens and closes by using the rear end as a pivot point, and opens,
Cow C can exit stall A.

Next, the automatic milking machine U attached to the stall A
Will be described with reference to FIGS.

The automatic milking machine U has a milking robot 21 installed on the side of the stall A. The milking robot 21 has a base 22, and a manipulator 23 is provided on the upper surface of the base 22.
Is provided. The manipulator 23 is an X-direction moving mechanism 2
4, a Z-direction moving mechanism 25 and a Y-direction moving mechanism 26, and the end effector 2 is supported by the Y-direction moving mechanism 26.

The X-direction moving mechanism 24 includes an X-direction driving unit 27 disposed on the upper surface of the base 22. X direction drive unit 2
7 includes a horizontal moving plate 28 having one end attached to a movable portion (slider) that moves in the X direction. A guide rail 29 parallel to the X-direction drive unit 27 is provided on the upper surface of the base 22, and the other end of the horizontal moving plate 28 is movably loaded on the guide rail 29. Thus, the X-direction moving mechanism 2
4 can move the horizontal moving plate 28, that is, the end effector 2 in the X direction (front-back direction).

On the other hand, the Z-direction moving mechanism unit 25 includes a Z-direction driving unit 30 disposed on the upper surface of the horizontal moving plate 28. Z
The direction drive unit 30 includes a vertical moving plate 31 attached to a movable unit that moves in the Z direction. As a result, the Z-direction moving mechanism 25 moves the vertical moving plate 31, that is, the end effector 2
It can be moved in the direction (up-down direction).

On the other hand, a Y-direction moving mechanism section 26 includes a rotation drive section 32 mounted on the upper surface of a vertical movement plate 31 and a main arm 34 having one end mounted on a rotation shaft section 33 of the rotation drive section 32.
The other end of the main arm 34 has an end portion (rear end portion) of the effector arm portion 4 protruding from the end effector 2.
Are rotatably connected by a support shaft 35. The effector arm 4 has a parallel link mechanism 3 shown in FIG.
6 is attached. The parallel link mechanism 36 includes a link portion 37 extending from an end of the effector arm portion 4 in a direction opposite to the effector arm portion 4, a first shaft portion 38 disposed near the rotation shaft portion 33, Shaft 38 and link 37
And a link 40 rotatably connecting a second shaft portion 39 provided at the tip of the second shaft portion. In this case, the rotating shaft 33, the support shaft 3
5, the straight line connecting the first shaft portion 38 and the second shaft portion 39 is a parallelogram. Since the effector arm 4 moves in the Y direction along the arc, the effector arm 4 controls the X-direction moving mechanism 24 in accordance with the rotation angle of the rotation drive 32, and
A correction function is provided to make the displacement of the effector arm unit 4 in the X direction based on the rotation of the second unit zero.

The end effector 2 has a base portion 2o that is continuous with the effector arm portion 4 in an L-shape. As shown in FIG. ... support four teat cups Ta, Tb, Tc, Td. In this case, one telescopic mechanism Me (the other telescopic mechanisms Me..
As shown in FIG. 7, a pair of telescopic link mechanisms 5 in which a plurality of X-link sections 52 connected via a rotatable connecting section 51 are sequentially connected via a rotatable connecting section 53.
4a and 54b.
b are connected via the separator members 55. In this case, as shown in FIG.
A predetermined play (gap) for allowing the angle and displacement of the teat cups Ta ... over a predetermined range when e ... extends.
E ... are provided.

The lower end of the telescopic link mechanism 54a (same for 54b) is connected via a pair of mounting links 52d.
It is connected to the side surface of the mounting portion 56 fixed to the upper surface of the base portion 2o via a rotating portion 57d, and the telescopic link mechanism 5
The upper end of 4a is connected to the side surface of the supporting portion 58 via a pair of mounting links 52u.

Each of the support portions 58 has a support plate portion 58p projecting in the lateral direction, and the tip of the support plate portion 58p is fixed to the side surface of each teat cup Ta. The attachment portions 56 have a function of restricting the tilting of the extended telescopic mechanisms Me when the telescopic mechanisms Me are extended. With such a configuration, in particular, the telescopic mechanism M
e are shortened states shown in FIG. 5, that is, the teat cup Ta
Are returned to the home position Ph, the upper end position of the teat cup Ta can be set at a lower position, so that the teat cup Ta is attached with a margin even to a cow with a low nipple position. In addition, since the center of gravity of the teat cups Ta is reduced, advantages such as that the teat cups Ta are hardly inclined are obtained. Moreover, since the telescopic mechanisms Me are offset laterally with respect to the teat cup Ta, there are no obstructive members below the teat cup Ta.
Are connected to the milk tubes Tat and the vacuum tube. In this embodiment, the support plate portions 58p are connected to a teat cup Ta.
Although the case where it is fixed to the lower part of the side surface is shown, if necessary, it can be fixed to an arbitrary position such as the upper part of the side surface of the teat cup Ta.

Further, in the end effector 2, the teat cup Ta is set free or the home position Ph is set.
Are provided. As shown in FIG. 5, the tension mechanisms Mp have wire members 61 each having one end connected to the bottom of the support portion 58. The other side of the wire members 61 penetrates through the inside of the expansion / contraction mechanism Me and the base 2o, and the other end is fixed below the base 2o. Also, the tension mechanism M
p ... pushes the wire members 61 ... in the horizontal direction, and pulls the wire members 61 ... in the expansion / contraction mechanism Me ...
, And the pulling drive mechanisms 62.
, A driving portion 64 using an air cylinder or the like for displacing the pushing engagement portion 63 in the horizontal direction, and a wire member 61 in the telescopic mechanism Me. Are provided in the vertical direction.

On the other hand, a lift mechanism L is provided on the upper surface of the base 2o. The lift mechanism L includes a first movable base 72 movably supported by a pair of guide rails 71 fixed to the upper surface of the base 2o. The first movable base 72 is a main cylinder disposed on the base 2o. (Air cylinder) 73 and sub cylinder (air cylinder) 74
Moves in the Y direction. In this case, the sub cylinder 74
The telescopic stroke of the first movable base 72 is set to の of the telescopic stroke of the main cylinder 73, and the telescopic strokes of the two cylinders 73 and 74 are combined.
Can be moved to the positions of the four teat cups Ta.

A multipoint positioning actuator 75 is provided on the upper surface of the first movable base 72, and the second movable base 76 is moved in the X direction by the actuator 75. Further, on the upper surface of the second movable base 76, an elevating cylinder (air cylinder) 77 is installed in a vertical direction, and a cup hand portion 79 is attached to an elevating rod 78 of the elevating cylinder 77.
Install. The tip of the cup hand portion 79 has a U-shaped locking portion 79s for accommodating the teat cup Ta, and the other teat cup Ta has a locked portion Tas locked to the locking portion 79s. .

Further, an elevating cylinder 80 is installed at a position close to the elevating cylinder 77 on the upper surface of the second movable base 76, and a supporting plate 82 is attached to an elevating rod 81 of the elevating cylinder 80. A rotation drive unit 14 using a rotary solenoid or the like is attached to the support plate 82, and a sensor shaft 1 is attached to a rotation shaft 83 projecting upward from the rotation drive unit 14.
3 Attach the rear end. The nipple position sensor 3 is attached to the tip of the sensor arm 13.

As shown in FIG. 8, the nipple position sensor 3 has a U-shaped sensor frame 3f into which the nipple H can enter, and a plurality of sets of optical detection units 92 are provided inside the sensor frame 3f. ... is arranged. Each optical detector 9
Numeral 2 includes a pair of light emitting sections 93 and light receiving sections 94, and forms a matrix of optical paths K in a detection space S defined by the sensor frame 3f. In this case, in particular, one horizontal optical path Kh and one oblique optical path Ks are disposed so as to pass through the center position of the teat cups Ta. As a result, the nipple H enters the detection space S, and an arbitrary optical path K
Are blocked, the position (coordinates) of the nipples H is detected by the optical detectors 92 blocked in the optical path K.

It should be noted that the sensor arm section 13 and the rotation drive section 1
4, the lifting cylinder 80, the actuator 75, the main cylinder 73, and the sub cylinder 74
Constitutes a moving mechanism unit 6 for storing in the storage unit 5 described later. In this case, since the actuator 75, the main cylinder 73, and the sub-cylinder 74 essentially constitute a movement drive unit for moving the cup hand unit 79, they are also used as the movement mechanism unit 6.

On the other hand, the storage section 5 is provided by attaching the cover section 11 to the effector arm section 4. The storage portion 5 is formed in a pocket shape having a rectangular cross section and having an opening 5o on the base portion 2o side. Therefore, a secondary effect is obtained in which the effector arm 4 is reinforced by the addition of the cover 11. Further, a cleaning unit 12 is provided inside the storage unit 5. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the cleaning section 12 can be configured by a U-shaped brush section 12 b fixed to the lower surface of the upper plate section of the cover section 11. By this, if the nipple position sensor 3 enters (or exits) the storage section 5, the sensor frame 3f
Of the light emitting portions 93 and the light receiving portions 94 are wiped off.

Next, the nipple position detecting device 1 according to the present embodiment
The operation of the automatic milking machine U including the function described above will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, if the rear door 102 of the stall A is opened,
Cow C enters stall A. When the cow C enters the stall A, the rear door 102 is closed and the cow C is identified. The cow C has a collar on which an ID code is set, and the cow code is read by a cow identification sensor attached to the stall A to identify the cow C. When the dairy cow C is identified, the position of the nipples H in the dairy cow C is read from the database. Further, the position of the dairy cow is detected by the cow body position detecting device.

Next, the manipulator 23 of the milking robot 21, that is, the X-direction moving mechanism 24, the Y-direction moving mechanism 26, and the Z-direction moving mechanism 25 are respectively driven and controlled, and the end effector 2 is indicated by a virtual line in FIG. Move to the position shown (under the breast).

At this time, since the nipple position sensor 3 is stored in the storage section 5, that is, at the position indicated by the imaginary line 3i in FIG. 1, the nipple position sensor 3 is moved to the use position. In this case, first, the main cylinder 73 and the sub-cylinder 74 are driven and controlled, and the first movable base 72 is moved toward the teat cup Td, so that the nipple position sensor 3 is completely retracted from the storage section 5. Thereafter, the drive of the lifting cylinder 80 is controlled to raise the nipple position sensor 3, and the drive of the rotation drive unit 14 is controlled to rotate the sensor arm 13 by 90 °. As a result, the nipple position sensor 3 is in a usable state.

Thereafter, the process proceeds to a normal mounting process of mounting the teat cups Ta on the nipples H. When installing,
First, the main cylinder 73 and the sub-cylinder 74 are drive-controlled to move the first movable base 72 to the position of the teat cup Ta, and the drive of the actuator 75 is controlled. Advance to the position shown. In the case of the teat cup Tb, the position is as shown in FIG. Then, based on the detected position of the cow C and the position of the teat H read from the database, the teat H
Is controlled within the detection space S of the nipple position sensor 3. When the nipple H enters the detection space S, the position of the nipple H is detected by the nipple position sensor 3, and the manipulator 23 is driven and controlled so that the nipple H is positioned at the center of the teat cup Ta.

As a result, the teat cup Ta is changed to the teat H
, The drive of the elevating cylinder 77 is controlled to raise the cup hand portion 79. Thereby, the locking portion 79s of the cup hand portion 79 is locked to the locked portion Tas of the teat cup Ta, and the teat cup Ta is raised. In this case, with the rise of the teat cup Ta, the extension mechanism Me also follows and extends. Since the teat cup Ta has a negative pressure, if the teat cup Ta rises to some extent, the nipple H is sucked and vacuum-connected, and milking starts. Thereafter, the cup hand unit 79 is lowered by controlling the drive of the elevating cylinder 77, and the drive of the actuator 75 is controlled to retract the cup hand unit 79 so as to be separated from the teat cup Ta.
The teat cup Ta attached to the nipple H follows the movement of the nipple H by the connecting portion 53 having a predetermined play (gap) E in the expansion mechanism Me, even if the nipple H moves randomly. That is, the angle and the displacement of the teat cup Ta are allowed over a predetermined range.

This operation is performed by another teat cup T
The same applies to b, Tc, and Td. In this case, the cup hand unit 79 changes the position in the Y direction by the main cylinder 73 and the sub cylinder 74 and changes the position in the X direction by the actuator 75 so as to correspond to each teat cup Tb, Tc, Td.

When all the teat cups Ta have been mounted, the teat position sensor 3 is stored in the storage section 5. In this case, since the second movable base 76 has been moved to the last retreat position and the first movable base 72 has been moved to the position of the teat cup Td, first, the rotation drive unit 14 is drive-controlled so that the sensor arm The part 13 is rotated by 90 °. In addition, the drive of the lifting cylinder 80 is controlled to lower the nipple position sensor 3 to the lowermost position. At this time, the rotation of the sensor arm 13 and the lowering of the nipple position sensor 3 may be advanced simultaneously. Thereby, the sensor arm 13
Is parallel to the effector arm 4. Next, if the main cylinder 73 and the sub-cylinder 74 are drive-controlled to move the first movable base 72 toward the teat cup Ta, the nipple position sensor 3 enters the inside from the opening 5o of the storage section 5, and the nipple The position sensor 3 is a virtual line 3i in FIG.
Move to the position indicated by. As a result, the nipple position sensor 3 is completely housed in the housing 5 and is covered by the cover 11. In this case, the nipple position sensor 3 is
When entering (or exiting), the brush portion 12b disposed inside the storage portion 5 enters the inside of the sensor frame 3f, so that the light emitting surface and the light receiving surface of the light emitting portion 93 and the light receiving portion 94. Is wiped off and cleaned by the brush portion 12b. Therefore, the cleaning of the nipple position sensor 3 is automatically performed for each milking.

According to such a nipple position detecting device 1,
When the nipple position sensor 3 is not used, the nipple position sensor 3
Is stored in the storage section 5 provided by using the effector arm section 4, and thus is externally protected. Therefore, there is no danger of the nipple position sensor 3 itself being damaged or broken by being kicked by the dairy cow during milking, and excrement or garbage of dairy cows adheres to the nipple position sensor 3 and the nipple position cannot be detected or There is no risk of erroneous detection. Therefore, the nipple position can always be detected accurately and reliably, and the reliability is enhanced. In addition, detection by the nipple position sensor 3 becomes impossible or erroneous, and the nipple position sensor 3 directly hits the nipples H, etc., so that there is no risk of damaging the cow body, and safety is enhanced.

On the other hand, a series of milking treatments is performed, and when the milking is completed, the suction by the vacuum is released to stop the milking. The teat cups Ta are returned to the home positions Ph by pulling the wire members 61 by the pulling mechanisms Mp. Thereafter, the end effector 2 is moved to the home position to complete the milking operation.

The embodiment has been described in detail above.
The present invention is not limited to such an embodiment,
The detailed configuration, shape, and the like can be arbitrarily changed, added, or deleted without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, as the expansion / contraction mechanisms Me, it is possible to use another expansion / contraction mechanism such as a bellows type or accordion type in which a plurality of cylindrical rings are connected. The cleaning unit 12
Can be provided as needed and need not necessarily be provided. Further, the moving mechanism 6 and the nipple position sensor 3 that move the nipple position sensor 3 to the storage unit 5 and store the nipple position sensor 3 are not limited to the examples, and any configuration and type can be applied.

[0040]

As described above, the nipple position detecting device of the automatic milking machine according to the present invention provides the effector arm portion projecting from the end effector with the accommodating portion for accommodating the nipple position sensor. Since the moving mechanism for moving the nipple position sensor to the storage section and storing the nipple position sensor during use is provided, the following remarkable effects are obtained.

When the nipple position sensor is not used, the nipple position sensor can be externally protected, so that the nipple position can always be detected accurately and reliably, and reliability can be improved.

The nipple position sensor can solve the problem of damaging the cow body, and can enhance safety.

According to a preferred embodiment, the storage
If a cover is provided to cover the nipple position sensor during storage, the strength of the effector arm can be further increased.

According to a preferred embodiment, the storage
If a cleaning unit for cleaning the nipple position sensor is provided, the nipple position sensor can be automatically cleaned for each milking.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional plan view showing a part of an automatic milking machine including a nipple position detecting device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a stall provided with the automatic milking machine;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a Y-direction moving mechanism in the automatic milking machine;

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a part of the automatic milking machine in a state where a nipple position sensor of the nipple position detection device is stored in a storage portion;

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a state immediately before mounting of the automatic milking machine;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view showing the inside of a storage section of the nipple position detection device;

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of a telescopic mechanism in the automatic milking machine, viewed from a plane direction;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional plan view showing an internal configuration of a nipple position sensor of the nipple position detection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Nipple position detection apparatus 2 End effector 2o Base part 3 Nipple position sensor 3f Sensor frame 4 Effector arm part 5 Storage part 6 Moving mechanism part 11 Cover part 12 Cleaning part 13 Sensor arm part 14 Rotation drive part U Automatic milking machine Ta ... Teat cup C dairy cow H ... teat S detection space

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A01J 5/00-7/00

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A teat position detecting device of an automatic milking machine having a teat position sensor for detecting a teat position of a dairy cow disposed above an end effector supporting a teat cup, wherein the effector arm portion protrudes from the end effector. Automatic milking, wherein a storage portion for storing the nipple position sensor is provided, and a moving mechanism portion for moving and storing the nipple position sensor to the storage portion when the nipple position sensor is not used is provided. Nipple position detector of the machine. 2. The storage unit according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit has a cover that covers the nipple position sensor when stored.
The nipple position detecting device of the automatic milking machine according to the above. 3. The nipple position detection of an automatic milking machine according to claim 1, wherein the storage section has a cleaning section for cleaning the nipple position sensor when storing the nipple position sensor. apparatus. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving mechanism includes a sensor arm for supporting the nipple position sensor and a rotation drive for rotating and displacing a rear end of the sensor arm. Nipple position detection device of automatic milking machine. 5. The nipple position detecting device of an automatic milking machine according to claim 1, wherein the nipple position sensor has a function of detecting a nipple located in a detection space defined by a sensor frame by coordinates.