MXPA06011376A - In-line apparatus and real-time method to determine milk characteristics - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus and related methods using photographic imaging and the interactions between light beams and dairy milk to provide in-line monitoring, analysis, and display of the quality of milk collected from dairy animals. The apparatus is robust in tha t it is reliable, simple to install, relatively small in size, cost effective, easily cleaned, and low maintenance. The apparatus can be installed directly in-line with the milk collection apparatus for each animal so as to measure the entire milk yield produced by that animal at flo w rates typically used in milking parlours without requiring any unusual tube fittings or non- standard equipment. The apparatus is capable of handling analysis of a flow having mixed densities, air/liquid ratios, temperature variations, or any other similar variation of physical characteristics.

Description

ONLINE DEVICE AND METHOD IN REAL TIME TO DETERMINE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF MILK FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to the analysis of farm milk. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for online monitoring, analysis and visualization of the quality of the milk collected from dairy animals (cows, goats, sheep, etc.) during the milking process using machinery of milking operated empty.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the field of dairy farms, the quality of milk is a constant problem. Industrial partners and consumers demand high quality milk free of contamination. Milk pricing is based on test results that indicate cleanliness and percentage of components, on a per animal basis individually and collectively. Due to the lack of technological knowledge, these evaluations are carried out outside the farm representing a large expense for the farmer in terms of time and money. It would be beneficial to perform these tests while the milk is being distributed. Animals that arrive at the milking barn, especially cows, may have developed infections of mastitis or other disease or damage. In severe cases the operator of the milking equipment may observe symptoms that allow a diagnosis and diversion of the contaminated milk collected from the symptomatic animal, into a waste stream. In many cases, however, animals with significant levels of foreign bodies in their milk such as blood or so-called mastitis flakes do not present external symptoms since the disease or damage has not advanced to that degree yet. Dairy facilities such as milking stalls often combine the milk collected from several animals into a single main stream, providing the risk of contamination of the animal. Large volume of high quality milk for milk collected from a single damaged or infected animal. In addition, the total production of milk collected from an animal is distributed to the system in a short time, of the order of five minutes. It is highly desirable that the methods and instruments for measuring milk quality have rapid response times, so that effective action can be taken quickly. For example, contaminated milk can be diverted from the high-quality mainstream on time, to prevent the mixing of high-quality milk and contaminated milk. Current methods and apparatus for the detection of infections in milk rely on making visible the associated somatic cells in milk, or make them fluorescent by the addition of a dye or substance similar to milk. This is undesirable, since it results in contamination of the milk with the foreign substance in question, and requires that a consumable indicator be available whenever a measurement is required. A known method is discussed in a publication "Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for Dairy Management: Measurement of Unhomogenized Thousand Composition" by Tsenkova et al., 1999 J Dairy Sci 82: 2344-2351. In order to provide the most accurate estimate of foreign body sizes and relative concentrations in milk, in real time, direct measurement of body size is desirable, as well as a large number of sample measurements for production of milk extracted from each animal. Often, automation is used to facilitate such a large number of samples. However, the tendency to use more automation, particularly milking robots, is impeded by the requirement that cows be visually inspected for mastitis by an operator. If the apparatus and the method can replicate the function of a human operator this impediment can be overcome. As mentioned, the current detection of infections in milk rely on making somatic cells visible or fluorescent in milk, by the addition to the eche of a dye or similar substance. The concentration of somatic cells, which may be correlated to the degree of infection in the animal, can be estimated by the intensity or other characteristic of a fluorescent or similar signal emitted by the sample when irradiated with light of the appropriate wavelength, for example. Attempts to reduce the response times of methods or instruments for detection or infection in milk within the prior art have included the development of sampling cartridges incorporating the dye or fluorescent material, which can be used in conjunction with portable, automatic fluorescence analyzers. In addition, the normal characteristics inherent to milk are also of considerable interest to the dairy industry. The efficiency or other desirable attributes of the processes of the customers of the industry, are sensitive to the relative concentrations of the various components of the milk, such as the fat.- The concentration of the fat in the milk has been estimated by a number of methods known in the dairy art. These have included measuring the propagation times of signals of different frequencies. Attempts to reduce the costs of known methods have been limited to conventional means such as automation of the testing process. Frequently, such known methods provide the diagnosis of the contamination of the main-blood stream, by testing with consumable materials, but at the expense of the test only a small sample of the performance of each animal, or by deviation of that production from the rest of the animal. milk flow through the use of equipment and special procedures. To date, there is no prior technique for direct measurement of foreign body size in a milking parlor system or for the power to collect a large number of sample data for each milk production. In addition, there is no prior art for detecting foreign bodies or disease indicators in milk without diverting a portion of the milk from the main flow of production. Current methods for the detection of infections in milk are therefore limited.

Current methods can produce a result correlated to the concentration of somatic cells. This result is not correlated to the frequency distribution of the foreign body size or the total volume in the milk. In addition, the response times for the detection of infections in milk within the current methods can be 45 seconds or more, which is inadequate to allow timely decisions on the diversion of the production of an infected or damaged animal to the waste, or dilution in the rest of the volume of milk from healthy animals, etc. Using current methods, it is not readily possible to reduce the cost of prior art instruments to the level that would allow the detection of disease indicators, such as mastitis at each milking station in a significant proportion of all milking parlors. The methods and instruments known for the detection of mastitis have not addressed the intrinsic problems of contamination and sampling, since they rely on the use of consumable materials. Such known methods do not provide a direct measurement of the size of the foreign bodies nor the potential to collect a large number of samples due to the inherently long response time. In addition, such known methods for detecting foreign bodies or indicators of moisture in milk require that a portion of the milk be diverted from the flow. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a robust method and apparatus for real-time evaluation of milk quality during milk production.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An objective of the present invention is to avoid or mitigate at least one disadvantage of previous methods of the dairy industry for milk analysis. The present invention provides great benefit to the dairy industry with respect to the test results which indicate the cleanliness and the percentage of components of the milk, either on a per animal basis individually and collectively. The present invention performs these tests while the milk is being obtained on the farm, resulting in an advantageous reduction in the expense to the farmer, in terms of time and money. The present invention seeks to provide an apparatus used in the dairy industry that is robust, reliable, simple to install, small in size, low cost, cleanable (using no more hot water or chemicals than to clean the lines of milking tubing ), low maintenance, and suitable for low line and high line systems. The present invention desirably includes a sealed apparatus that can be placed vertically in line with no moving parts. While vertical assembly is discussed, it should be understood that any other orientation such as horizontal mounting is possible without departing from the intended scope of the present invention. The present apparatus and the associated method can be installed directly in line with the milk collection apparatus of each animal, to measure the production of whole milk produced by that animal, at flow velocity typically used in the milking rooms, although not requiring unusual tube fittings or non-standard equipment. Such typical flow rates exist in a manner where there is a mixed milk flow - for example, a flow having mixed densities, air / liquid proportions, temperature variations, or any other similar variation in physical characteristics. While a mixed flow is discussed here, it should be further understood that more consistent flow analysis may be possible where an upstream buffer may exist to ensure a filled tube where the detection occurs, rather than being partially filled or incompletely in a mixed flow. For purposes of describing the present invention, the terms milk production and milking parlor are defined as follows. Milk production is the volume of milk collected from a single animal during a simple milking. Milking parlor is an arrangement of milking equipment used to mirror the milk of several animals simultaneously, and combining the resulting milk flows into a tube leading to a reservoir, for subsequent transportation to a dairy food processing facility. It should be understood that the term milking includes the collection of milk from all available animals. It should be further understood that a cleaning or jet washing of the system could of course be desirable to increase the veracity of the analysis. In a first aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for determining the real time of milk characteristics, the apparatus includes: an input to accept a mixed flow of milk; an outlet to provide the mixed flow of milk to the processing of dairy products; a photographic element to obtain intermittent photographs of the mixed flow of milk; a temperature sensing element to obtain continuous temperature readings from the mixed flow of milk; and a pair of light emitters (such as, but not limited to, NIR) and the corresponding detectors to obtain the volume and fat readings from the mixed milk flow.

In a further aspect, a method for real-time determination of milk characteristics is provided, the method includes: providing a mixed flow of milk within a detection area located in line with the processing of dairy product; analyze photographically the mixed flow of milk within the detection area in an intermittent manner, in order to detect the quantifiable characteristics of the milk; obtain temperatures within the mixed flow of milk in a continuous manner, to thereby determine the temperature of the milk in real time in the detection area; obtain volume readings of the mixed flow within the detection area; obtain grease readings of the mixed flow within the detection area; and based on the quantifiable characteristics of the milk, the temperature of the milk in real time, the readings of the volume, and the readings of the fat, establishing a total quality of the mixed flow of milk. While it is analyzed photographically, the mixed flow. of milk may appear intermittently, it should be understood that such sampling behavior can be replaced with a continuous coverage of data without departing from the intended scope of the present invention. Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following description of the specific embodiments of the invention, in conjunction with the appended figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the appended figures. Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention. Figure 2 is a schematic view of milk flow through the embodiment of Figure 1, showing the detection elements of the invention. Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating the processing and user interconnection components, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 4a is a schematic of a cross-sectional view taken along the axis of the milk flow. • Figure 4b is a schematic of a cross-sectional view taken through the milk flow axis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In general, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for the real-time determination of the in-line characteristics of milk, during the process of the dairy product. As shown in Figure 1, the apparatus of the present invention includes detection, processing and user interconnection components housed within a sealed housing. Due to the placement of the appliance in the dairy farm equipment, all materials used must be appropriate for proper hygiene. That is, stainless steel, food grade plastics and similarly easily cleaned surfaces are preferred materials for use in the manufacture of the sealed housing. The apparatus according to the present invention includes an inlet gate and an outlet gate for the flow of milk therethrough. While cow's milk is discussed here, it must be understood that any milking process within the dairy industry can be involved, including milking goats, sheep and any other dairy cattle. The apparatus includes the set of internal circuits used to detect and analyze the milk that flows through the apparatus. The printed circuit boards exemplify the set of circuits and related components discussed hereinafter. A display feature provides real-time data output, indicating the concentration of the somatic cells (SCC), the temperature of the blood, the total mass, or any other relevant characteristic determined by the internal circuitry. The display or screen can be in the form of any screen that properly transfers the information to a worker in the dairy industry, and may include one or more liquid crystal displays (LCD) or light emitting diodes (LEDs) with alphanumeric indication. Remote screens are possible through wired or wireless technology. In addition, provisions for grouped display banks that display information from multiple devices used in series within a milking parlor are also within the scope of the present invention. The apparatus also includes the indicators in terms of one or more LEDs or similar illuminated indicators, alone or in combination with audible alarms such as by means of piezoelectric devices. Such indicators can be used to show off / on activation, device status, failure situations, or any other similar operating characteristic. The apparatus also includes one or several suitable input / output cables for the readjustment of the apparatus, the actuation of the valves or any similar operation. For the analysis of centralized computation, a network cable (for example, RS485) can be provided for the central data acquisition or for the network connection of one or more devices. Figure 2 is a milk flow diagram illustrating the set of circuits and electronic components of the apparatus. In general, the present invention includes a vertical channel for milk side-to-side flow, which defines a detection area. It should be readily apparent that the detection area is considered a volume that includes milk that is to be detected and analyzed. The vertical channel can be a rectangular cross-section, of area similar to the milk pipe and made of material that is optically transparent and also transparent to near infrared radiation (NIR). The channel has an image forming area that is a smooth, transparent, flat window for the formation of the image. A camera, a lens and a lighting mechanism (e.g., LED) are provided in a manner to optically detect flakes / somatic cell particles (SC) and the blood within the milk flow. Emitters and paired detectors are arranged adjacent to the milk flow to measure low volume and fat. Such emitters and detectors may be of the NIR type including, but not limited to, LEDs and infrared laser diodes (GO) . If necessary, the NIR emitters may include IR filters to operate at the desired wavelength, for example, in the range of 880 nm to 950 nm. The measurement of flow temperature is achieved through the use of a thermistor. Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating processing and interconnection components with the user, in accordance with the present invention. A main microprocessor block is shown coupled to a direct current (DC) power supply block of 12V or 24V alternating current (AC). In off-grid applications, a battery supply with a battery may be possible. suitable current converter. The power supply block supplies the main processor, the network driver and the camera circuit / processor. The main processor includes an input / output (I / O) connection to the camera circuit / processor, which, in turn, is connected to the image illumination control, and the image sensor CMOS. Illumination of the image may be for lighting or flash or any other suitable manner of lighting including, but not limited to, continuous illumination if continuous photographic monitoring is used, rather than intermittent sampling. The main processor is also operationally connected to the temperature sensing thermistor, the NIR emitters, and the photodiode detectors. The main processor also includes an I / O connection to eliminate readjustments, actuation of the shut-off valve, and an impedance output that indicates low flow. The user interface that includes the screens, indicators and buttons / switches for manual control, are also operationally connected to the main processor. The actuator of the network is connected to an RS485 communication gateway for network communications. The main processor measures the depth (for example, within the detected area), the speed and fat content, calculates the instantaneous flow rate, interrogates the camera processor for the condition or condition, totalizes the volume, calculates the mass of flow, calculates SCC and blood concentrations, measures and maintains, the highest milk temperature, manages network communications, reads and controls 1/0, and provides user interconnection functions. In the operation of the apparatus, the present invention includes methods for determining the important characteristics of milk production through analyzes that include the detection and analysis of the flakes of somatic cells and foreign bodies, concentration of blood in milk, milk protein content by volume in milk, milk fat content by volume in milk, instant temperature of milk, and instant flow rate of milk. In terms of detection of somatic cell flakes or foreign bodies and the distribution of size frequency in milk, the presence of foreign bodies in milk can be realized by a variety of optical techniques. For example, a one-dimensional or two-dimensional array of photodetectors may be used, with appropriate illumination of the milk flow, with or without lenses, to detect the change in signal strength when an object that changes the intensity of light transmitted through or reflected from that portion of the milk, passes before one or more elements of the arrangement. One such illustration of this embodiment of the invention is a camera that captures and forms the milk flow image using light that has passed through a semi-transparent milk layer, relatively thin, on the wall of a transparent tube. By proper selection of the type of lens, the distance from the lens to the tube and the distance from the lens to the sensor, the desired amplification and resolution can be achieved. It should be easily understood by a person skilled in optical technology that the use of an electronic camera and the appropriate signal processing devices and the appropriate software allow a rapid indication of the presence of foreign bodies in the milk, with the distribution of the frequency of size, and for the related action by the operator or the automated milking system before the contaminated milk has entered the combined flow from the multiple milking stations. In terms of detection of blood measurement and concentration in milk, the presence of blood in milk can be detected via the color change that results from the mixing of red blood with white milk. Although in principle an optical sensor using principles similar to those described for the measurement of fat concentration in the present, can be performed, it is difficult to distribute reliable results against the variant thickness of the milk layer present in the actual flows of the milking parlor. A camera (for example, an optical device that uses one or more lenses to collect an image on a photosensitive surface) that provides sufficiently accurate color information can be used, with the appropriate illumination of the milk flow, to capture the images of the surface of the milk flow, or the light that has passed through a thin, partially transparent milk film, can be collected by the camera. Subsequent processing of photographic or electronic images, with adequate color fidelity fidelity controls, can allow reliable detection of the presence of blood in solution in milk well below the 1% volume levels. It should be easily understood by a person skilled in optical technology that the use of an electronic camera and the appropriate signal processing devices and the appropriate software allow a rapid indication of the presence of blood in the milk, with an estimate of the concentration , for action by the operator or the automatic milking system, before the contaminated milk has entered the combined flow from multiple milking stations. In terms of the relative measurement of protein concentration, protein concentration exploits the fact that protein particles in milk are smaller in size than fat globules or other structures. A significant proportion of the protein content is assembled in the so-called micelle structures, with sizes ranging from about 10 nm to about 500 nm in diameter. In contrast, fat globules appear in sizes in the range of about 100 nm to about 10 μm in diameter. In this way, optical phenomena for which the intensity of the signal depends on the size of the particles, such as dispersion at the appropriate wavelengths, can be used to measure the relative concentration of the different sizes of protein micelles, globules of fat, etc. The present invention can use the combination of measurements to produce additional results. Firstly, the measurement of the concentration of fat can be combined with milk flow thickness signals to correct the measurement of the thickness of the milk film, and therefore the volume of the flow, the errors introduced by the variation in the concentration of fat during milking, with the raising of the animal, the station and so on. Second, the measurement of the size distribution of foreign bodies can be combined with the measurement of the total volume for a given milk production, to estimate the volumetric concentration of the particles in the yield. This value can be displayed visually to the operator or distributed to the automated monitoring system. The concentration value can be used to determine the action that is going to be taken concerning the production of milk and / or the animal in question. Third, the relative measurement of protein concentration can be combined with measurements of total volume and fat concentration (as described below) to distribute an absolute result of the protein concentration, for the milk production in question. In terms of the measurement of the fat concentration in the milk, the present method of the invention for the measurement of the fat concentration exploits the fact that the difference in the absorbance or transmittance of a milk film sample to lengths of appropriately chosen wavelengths, will vary as a function of the fat content. Thus, if two beams of light of different selected wavelengths pass through the same optical path of a milk sample and the appropriate detectors measure the signal intensities, the fat content will be proportional to the proportion of the calibrated signals coming from the two detectors. For example, cow's milk, the largest difference in the ratio of absorbance for which the simplest and most reliable electronic devices are available, is observed between the wavelengths in the range of 905 nm to 930 nm and to 1450 nm. The values are tabulated right away.

In this way, the signal strengths for the two detectors at 0.78% fat would vary by 10 0.8 or a ratio of 1: 6.3. Signal strengths for the two detectors at 6.48% fat would vary by 101"45 or 1:28 ratio.The use of this information in a lookup table or calibration curve allows direct estimation of fat content in time real or with a sufficiently low delay time to be useful in the online application.It must be easily understood by a person skilled in optical technology, after examination of the relevant milk spectral curves, a wide variety of configurations of the optical path, wavelengths, source types, as well as the numbers of emitters and detectors can be applied to realize a wide range of precision and cost results.In terms of measuring the temperature of the milk, the temperature of the milk is measured throughout the milking by means of a temperature sensor.The temperature sensor can be a thermistor located in the milk flow. would be mounted in a stainless steel housing or similar. The thermal impedance between the thermistor and the milk is low enough to provide quick and accurate measurements of the true temperature of the milk. The profile of temperature and peak temperature are key parameters that are used to determine the health of the dairy animal and abnormal milk. In terms of instantaneous determination of the milk flow, the present invention uses NIR sensors to determine the average milk depth in a plane orthogonal to the direction of milk flow and the average speed of the milk through this plane. In the vertically mounted mode described herein, this could of course determine the average depth of the milk in a horizontal plane in the channel = -and the average velocity of the milk through this plane. The depth of the milk is related to the absorption of IR. Due to the nature of the milking system, the milk flow is irregular and thus the flow velocity can be determined by comparing the detector output signals, upper and lower, to measure the phase shift. The average milk velocity between the upper and lower detector signals is equal to the distance between the upper and lower detectors, divided by the phase difference between the upper and lower detector signals (for example, the time taken for the milk goes from side to side). The flow velocity of the volume is then the product of the area of the milk in cross section (depth per effective width of the transparent tube) and the velocity. It should be understood that the transparent tube forms the channel in which the detection occurs. The mass flow rate is then given by the product of the flow rate in volume and the density of the milk. The flow is detected using NIR emitters and detectors. However, laser diodes, photodiodes or any other suitable or similar device may be used for the emitter or detector, as appropriate. The wavelength used is 880 nm and is selected to be minimally affected by the variation in fat content. Wavelengths 950 nm may be necessary in order to calculate fat and depth of measurement. Infrared (IR) filters can be used in conjunction with IR emitters to make possible the use of wavelengths such as 880 nm and 950 nm. Alternatively, laser diodes may be used in which case the IR filters will not be necessary. Six pairs of emitters / detectors can be used with three located through the channel (Upper) and three others located preferably at 25 mm below them, also located through the canal (Lower) . This 25 mm spacing is selected to balance the sampling rate and correlations per second. The emitters and detectors are selected for a narrow spectral response. NIR guides are used to minimize interference through the channel. Such guides can be formed as light tubes, or dampers, between emitters and detectors, to minimize interference between adjacent emitter / detector pairs. Photodiodes are used as detectors. A conditioning circuit for the linear to voltage current conversion signal is used. The output of the detector is smoothed by a simple resistor-capacitor (RC) filter with a time constant of approximately 30 μs. The intensity of IR in each detector is sampled at a speed of approximately 3 km / second, with a resolution of 12 bits.

To increase the effective resolution of the sampled signal, two gain levels can be used, one for the incident intensity (without milk) and one for the transmitted intensity (milk present). The emitters must be located near the outer channel surface and the detectors 12 mm from the other side of the outer surface of the channel, in order to reduce the variation of the intensity transmitted with position through the channel. To minimize energy consumption, it should be understood that IR emitters are turned off when not required. Theoretically, the depth in cross section (d) is given by: D = - (10 /? D) * log (I / Io) Where: D: Depth of cross section OD: Optical Density and is approximately 1.5 db / mm for whole milk with 4% fat I: Radiation intensity of transmitted IR I0: Intensity of incident IR radiation Or alternatively this can be written as: l / lo = 10 ((~ d *? D)? o) The intensity of the incident IR radiation is measured in a detector with a milk film on each channel wall. Such measurement is the intensity of the detector with the milk film. The incident intensity can be recalibrated between each cow, except for the first, when the stored data of the last cow of the previous milking will be used. It should be readily apparent that appropriate software could control data storage and data retrieval, and tracking of cows (for example, the first to the last cow). To determine the depth of the milk, the average of the three upper emitter / detector pairs is used.

Depth is determined by averaging each * of the output signals of the top three photodiodes (proportional to the intensity) over the flow calculation period, then determining the average depth for each detector, then averaging the depth of the three detectors. Such measurement is the average intensity of the detector. Average of the Highest Depth of the Milk (50 ms) = (10 / OD) * logl0 (Detector intensity with the Milk Film / Detector Average Intensity) The OD value used is determined by the fat content. For example, a percentage of fat in the range of 3.5 to 4.5 would involve an OD value of 1.3 db / mm. Other DO values can be determined for other percentages of fat. To determine the speed of the milk in the milk channel, the signal of each upper detector is related to the signal coming from the respective lower detector. The highest value (R2) of the three correlations is then calculated to determine the phase difference. If the best correlation is less than 0.5, then the phase difference obtained in the preceding cycle is used. The correlations are made using 300 samples (100 ms) of the upper detector, and 150 samples (50 ms) of the lower detector. With the upper samples beginning at t = 0, and the lower samples beginning at t = 50 ms. The correlations (132 are required) are then made and the highest correlation (and the respective phase that it represents) is selected. At a flow velocity of 4 m / s this sampling rate gives a resolution of ± 5%, at 2 m / s it will be 2.5%, and at 1 m / s it will be 1.25%. It should be noted that as the milk flows between the upper and lower detectors, it accelerates due to gravity (in the vertical implementation). Because the flow rate does not change as the milk moves down the tube and since the flow velocity in the upper detector is lower than the lower detector, the cross-sectional depth of the milk will be greater than the upper detector in relation to the lower detector. This effect compensated for when the flow rate is calculated. The ratio for the lower velocity (vu) to higher velocity (vi) is: v ± = (2gl + vu2) 0 * 5 where: g is the acceleration d due to gravity (9.8 m / s) I is the distance between the upper and lower sensors (0.025 m) Average speed = (vx + vu) / 2 Also, average speed = i / t where: t is the travel time from the top points to the bottom. In this way, vu = [. { (2l / t) 2-2gl} / 4l / t] So in this case, the Upper Speed = (0.025 / t) -4.9 t The mass flow rate is calculated every 50 ms. Flow Rate (Mass) = Superior Speed * channel width * average depth of the upper milk * Density of the Whole Milk) Where: The density of the whole milk is 1030 kg / m3 The total mass is updated every 50 ms as follows : [(Mass Flow Rate) / 20) + Previous total mass] * Correction Factor Where the Correction Factor is determined by experimentation and is common for all flow meters of the same type of model. In free fall at sea level, this may need empirical correction during the test since this is an oversimplification. The reasons are that (1) the milk is in contact with the canal wall retarding it in this way and (2) the surface of the milk has air that passes over it at a faster rate than the milk, accelerating it in this way . Alternative embodiments of the present apparatus may include a plurality of cameras located in different planes to determine the volume of the flow. Also, embodiments of the present method may include flow measurement using one or more chambers and instant determination of the milk flow using a plurality of chambers. In addition, the velocity of the fluid flow, the velocity of the volumetric flow and the total volume over the elapsed time, can be directly measured, or estimated to a desired degree of precision, using a variety of techniques that apply imaging devices such as cameras, in conjunction with electronic data processors. Figure 4a is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the milk flow axis, while Figure 4b is a schematic cross-sectional view taken through the axis of the milk flow. The cross-sectional area of the fluid in successive images of continuous video data can be estimated and the volumetric flow velocity (volume per unit time) calculated from the cycle time of the image. Alternatively, the transit time of the characteristics in the fluid flow mass, such as changes in the thickness (s) of the fluid layer (s) measured from the wall (s) of the tube or duct, the air bubbles , etc. they can be used to estimate the flow velocity (distance per unit of time). One embodiment of these techniques of the invention is the use of one or more electronic cameras to capture images of milk flow thickness in cross section, from one or more surfaces of known profile, for example, a smooth plane, through the walls of a transparent tube or conduit or transparent windows in an opaque tube or duct. In a relatively straightforward design, a simple camera can distribute a video signal for processing in which the images are continuous, ie there are no empty spaces between the images corresponding to the periods of time when the flow was flowing but was not captured the picture. The area of the fluid in each image is measured by counting the corresponding image pixels, and applying the known amplification factor. The distance through the flow of the fluid (along the optical axis) is known and in this way the estimated volume for an image and the flow rate for a simple image are given by: Image volume = (Area of the fluid x Distance through the fluid flow). And flow velocity = (Fluid area x Distance through fluid flow) / (cycle time of the image). The total volume that has flowed beyond the field of view of the camera for a period of time of interest is obtained by adding the appropriate number of simple values of image volume. A second embodiment of these techniques also includes the use of one or more electronic cameras to capture images of milk flow thickness against one or more known profile tube or duct surfaces., for example, a flat or flat plane. The position of the characteristics in the fluid flow in successive images can be measured by counting the number of pixels between the positions in the successive images and applying the known amplification factor. The time elapsed between the images is known and therefore the speed can be estimated. In a design such as the first previous mode, the camera will distribute a video signal for processing in which the sequence of images is continuous, ie there are no empty spaces between images, corresponding to periods of time when the fluid was flowing but no image was captured. In practice, the energy and signal processing expense required to continuously analyze video images to measure the flow rate is currently difficult to perform and is also too expensive for an instrument to be installed at each milking station . There are several methods that can be applied to face this practical problem. In one method, it is sufficient to apply the processing power of a simple processor and the associated hardware (hardware) and computer software (software) that are available to successive pairs of images, and use an average function to estimate the speed of flow for the period of time between measurements when the processor is analyzing the pair of preceding images. The sequence of events includes: the capture of a first image by the camera device; the transfer of the data corresponding to the first image from the camera device to the processor for the analysis; the capture of the second image by the camera device; the completion of the analysis of the first image by the processor; the transfer of the data corresponding to the second image from the camera device to the processor, for the analysis; the completion of the analysis of the second image by the processor; the comparison of the two images to detect and measure the distance between characteristics that have been transferred to different positions between the two images; the beginning of the next cycle. It is obvious to one skilled in the art that a variety of processing and storage devices can be accommodated in a number of configurations, with a variety of algorithms and software applications to reach the desired analysis speed, precision, cost , desired etc. A variation of this method could use more than one processor, the images being analyzed in tandem, instead of serially.

In this method, the requirement of the time period between images in a pair, to ensure that the characteristics in the first image, are also in the second image, is given by: Time between images < (Length of the field of view of the camera along the direction of flow) / (flow rate) While there is a vast number of solutions for this expression that can be applied to different designs, the time scale can be illustrated between the images in a pair by selecting an average flow rate of 1 meter per second, and a field of view length of the camera of 10 mm. In this example, the time between images must be less than or equal to 0.01 seconds. In a second method, which can be applied when the design criteria for the instrument does not support the short time interval between the successive images, two or more camera devices can be accommodated along the direction of flow. The processing of the image is applied in a general manner as described for the first method, but in this case: Time between images < (Distance between fields of vision of the camera along the direction of flow) / (flow rate). The spacing between the camera devices can be significantly larger than an image length, and therefore the time interval between images in a pair can be extended, however the designer must ensure that, given the dynamics of their flow. individual instrument design, the characteristics captured in an upstream chamber are stable enough to remain visible until their arrival in the field of view of the second chamber. In a third method, the transit time through the individual field of view of one or more cameras during a single image cycle time can be measured. For any given camera, the field of view can be segregated by applying appropriate delay times for the transfer of data from different lines or areas of pixels oriented through the direction of flow. The image processing is applied in a similar manner as described by the first method. If the field of vision has been segregated in N zones along the direction of flow, then the delay time between the reading of the different zones to ensure that the characteristics in a zone are also in the successive zone, is given by: Zone delay time = (Length of the field of view of the camera along the direction of flow) / (flow rate x N) It should be readily apparent that, as a penalty to reduce the cost of processing power, etc., in this method, The effective length of the field of vision along the direction of flow for each chamber has been reduced to 1 / N of the full value. However, this method can be particularly useful when the design constraints require that a simple camera be used and it is not possible to transfer the image data from the camera at a sufficient speed to meet the requirements of the Delay Time equation. Zone, previously mentioned. A fourth method is directed to the potential for error in the estimation of the flow velocity, due to variations in the cross-sectional thickness of the fluid along the optical axis. In this method, the cameras are mounted in pairs, with their axes and fields of vision aligned to capture images of the same length of fluid flow from opposite sides of the tube or conduit. The different thickness of the cross section of the fluid and / or the area estimates can be used, by means of an average function, to adjust the calculated values of the volumetric flow velocity, etc. which are otherwise based on the assumption that the thickness is constant along the optical axis. Several of the above methods are applied to the flow thicknesses or imagined as cross sections through a simple plane, for example the two surfaces of the fluid flow visible in an image plane orthogonal to the relevant surfaces of a tube or conduit of rectilinear section. If the instrument design flow dynamics are such as to ensure that the fluid always accumulates against the surfaces of interest, or to ensure that the thicknesses or other surfaces that are not measured are related in a controlled and known manner to the surfaces measurements, this can provide acceptable accuracy for the measured and calculated values. However, if it is not possible to confine the fluid against the surfaces where the cross sections of relevant flow are imagined in a simple plane under all the conditions of flow velocity, fluid density, viscosity, etc., other exemplary modalities may be applied. using the techniques described above, to measure the fluid flow thicknesses and / or the areas from two or more intersecting image planes, in order to reach the required degree of precision. The algorithm (s) used to analyze the images must be designed to accommodate different potential sources of erroneous flow velocity values. For example, foreign bodies present in the milk can adhere or crawl against the surfaces of the tube and thus move at speeds slower than the fluid itself. Also, the surface waves of the fluid / air interface can travel at different speeds than the fluid itself. The above described embodiments of the present invention are intended to be examples only. Alterations, modifications and variations to particular embodiments may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined only by the appended claims hereto. Having described the foregoing invention, the content of the following claims is claimed as property:

Claims (15)

1. An apparatus for real-time determination of the characteristics of the milk, the apparatus is characterized in that it comprises: an inlet to accept a mixed milk flow; an outlet to provide the mixed flow of milk to the processing of the dairy industry; a photographic element to obtain photographs of the mixed flow of milk; a temperature sensing element to obtain continuous temperature readings from the mixed flow of milk; and a pair of light emitters and the corresponding detectors to obtain the volume and the fat readings from said mixed flow of milk.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the pair of light emitters are near infrared emitters (NIR) and at least the photographic element, the temperature sensing element, and the pair of NIR emitters and corresponding detectors, are contained within the apparatus separated from the mixed flow of milk, to avoid milk contamination.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the inlet and the outlet are formed in a manner to facilitate the on-line connection of the apparatus to the standard milk line.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the apparatus includes a main processor and at least one photographic element, the temperature sensor element, and the pair of NIR emitters and corresponding detectors, are coupled to the main processor.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the apparatus includes a network actuator coupled to the main processor, for the network connection of the apparatus to one or more milk product processing mechanisms, external to the apparatus.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the photographic element obtains intermittent photographs of the mixed flow of milk.

7. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the pair of NIR emitters also include infrared filters.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the pair of light emitters are laser diodes and at least the photographic element, the temperature sensing element, and the pair of light emitters and corresponding detectors are contained within the separate apparatus of the mixed milk flow, to avoid contamination of the milk.

9. A method for real-time determination of the characteristics of the milk, characterized in the method because it comprises: the provision of a milk flow within a detection area, located in line with the processing of dairy product; obtaining the quantifiable characteristics of the milk from the milk flow within the sensory area; and based on the quantifiable characteristics of the milk, the establishment of a general quality of milk flow.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the obtaining of the quantifiable characteristic of the milk includes the photographic analysis of the milk flow within the detection area, in order to detect quantifiable characteristics of the milk.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that obtaining the quantifiable characteristic of the milk also includes obtaining temperatures within the milk flow, in order to determine the temperature of the milk in real time in the detection area.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that the obtaining of the quantifiable characteristic of the milk also includes obtaining volume readings of the flow within the detection area.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that obtaining the quantifiable characteristic of milk also includes obtaining fat readings of the flow within the detection area.

14. A method for real-time determination of milk characteristics, characterized in the method because it comprises: the provision of a mixed flow of milk within a detection area located in line with the processing of the milk product; analyze photographically the mixed flow of milk within the detection area in an intermittent manner, in order to detect the quantifiable characteristics of the milk; obtaining temperatures of the mixed flow of milk in a continuous manner, in order to determine the temperature of the milk in real time in the detection area; obtaining volume readings of the mixed flow within the detection area; Obtaining mixed flow fat readings within the detection area; and based on the quantifiable characteristics of the milk, the real-time temperature of the milk, the volume readings, and the fat readings, the establishment of a general quality of the mixed flow of milk.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the quantifiable characteristics of the milk include a characteristic of the milk selected from a group consisting of: an indication of the somatic cell flakes within the mixed flow of milk, an indication of the foreign bodies within the mixed flow of milk, an indication of the blood within the mixed flow of milk, and an indication of the milk protein within the mixed flow of milk. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An apparatus and related methods that use photographic imaging and the interactions between light and milk beams are described to provide on-line monitoring, analysis and visualization of the quality of the milk collected from dairy animals. The device is robust because it is reliable, simple to install, relatively small in size, low cost, easily cleaned, and low maintenance. The apparatus can be installed directly in line with the milk collection apparatus for each animal, so as to measure the production of whole milk produced by that animal at flow rates typically used in milking rooms without requiring unusual tube fittings or equipment not standard. The apparatus is capable of handling the analysis of a flow that has mixed densities, air / liquid proportions, temperature variations, or any other similar variation in physical characteristics.