NL1011758C2 - Method of milking animals. - Google Patents

Description

Method of milking animals.

The invention relates to a method according to the preamble of claim 1. Such methods are known and are used in the automatic milking of cows with a so-called milking robot. Milking animals has shown that the animal that reports to the milking implement does not always have sufficient milk in the udder, for example because it has been milked shortly before or because the milk yield is too low, as is the case at the end of the lactation. may be the case. It also happens that an animal does have enough milk in the udder so that it can be milked, but that it is not milked because the previous milking has ended too recently.

The object of the invention is to avoid these drawbacks and for this purpose the method is carried out in accordance with the characterization of claim 1. Here, the teat positions required for connecting the teat cups determine, for example, the shape of the udder and thus how filled the udder udder. It is hereby possible to decide to milk an animal on the basis of the filling of the udder, which benefits the milk yield.

The invention also comprises a method according to claim 2. It has been found that this makes it easy to decide whether the udder is sufficiently filled.

In accordance with a further improvement, the method is carried out according to claim 3. The control criteria are hereby adapted to the measured amount of milk, so that changes in shape of the udder during lactation are taken into account.

The invention is explained below with reference to an exemplary embodiment.

1011758 2

An automatic milking machine is placed in a cubicle barn. Cows can roam freely in the cubicle barn. The cows receive bait in the milking implement, which encourages them to come to the milking implement.

The milking implement is designed as a milking parlor in which the cow to be milked can enter and be enclosed. The milking parlor is equipped with a feeding trough in which the bait food is dosed. A milking robot and a milking rack with teat cups are placed along one of the long sides of the milking parlor. The milking robot can be coupled to the milking rack and thereby move the teat cups such that they are placed around the teats of the udder of a cow to be milked. The milking robot is provided with sensors 15 which are used for determining the positions of the teats of a cow present in the milking parlor. The mutual position of the teats can also be determined with the aid of these sensors. A device as described above is known from various publications, including EP-A-0440313, the content of which is hereby considered to form part of this application.

It has been found that the relative position of the teats gives an indication of whether an animal's udder is suitable for being milked at that time. If an onion has been milked empty and insufficient time has passed after this has happened, the udder is still insufficiently filled with milk. This is usually evidenced by the teats being very close together. This makes it difficult and undesirable to place the teat cups around the teats. In some 30 cases, the udder's emptiness is evidenced by the teats protruding far out, which is also undesirable.

It thus appears to be possible to assess the suitability of the udder to be milked because, for example, ry J * ï |. S S —v * La / t -> ΰ 3 there is enough milk in the udder, derived from the position of the teats. If the udder is suitable for milking, the teats of the udder are each located in a specific area, which areas have a mutual location characteristic of the animal in question. By measuring the relative locations of the teats with a suitable sensor after entering the milking parlor of the animal to be milked and by comparing these measurement data with the areas recorded in a memory which forms part of the control of the device, it can be determined whether the udder of an animal is suitable for milking and it can be decided whether the teat cups are placed around the teats. If the animal is not milked, it is released from the milking parlor again by opening the gates. If it is milked, the teat cups are placed around the teats.

The aforementioned areas within which the teats must be positioned for an animal to be suitable for milking are, for example, circles with a radius of 70-20 mm or square areas of 70 by 70 mm, these areas being chosen such that the teats fall within these areas if the udder is just filled enough and if the udder is completely filled. It can also be included in the control on which sides of each area the teats 25 will lie outside the boundaries of the areas if the udder is too empty and / or if the udder is too full.

In order to ensure that the location and / or size of the areas recorded in the control are always adapted to the shape of the udder changing during lactation, a control has been included in the control with which this adjustment takes place. This program adjusts the areas according to the measured teat positions and the corresponding amount of milk in the udder, as determined after the end of milking as a quantity of milk. The last milking can always be taken into account, but the average is preferably taken over a number of milkings.

In addition to the exemplary embodiment 5 described above, many variants in design are possible. It is possible to derive the milk maturity of an animal from the shape of the udder in a different way. The position of the teats is then not measured, but the shape of the udder is determined, for example, by measuring its contour in one or more directions.

1011758

Claims (3)

1. Method for milking animals such as cows with an automatic milking device with teat cups which are automatically placed around the teats of the animal 5 before milking, the shape of the udder or the positions of the udders being teats are measured relative to each other, characterized in that the shape of the udder, possibly determined with the aid of the measured positions of the teats, determines whether the teat cups will be placed around the teats. 2. Method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the teat cups are placed when the positions of the teats fall within areas predetermined for the animal to be milked. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the areas determined for the animal to be milked are adapted on the basis of the measured positions of the teats and the quantity of milk subsequently taken. 1011758 JMiYiciv »icrM \ moj v i_rvur \ rtvj \ roi / REPORT ON NEWNESS RESEARCH OF INTERNATIONAL TYPE OF IDENTIFICATION OF-QE NATIONAL APPLICATION Characteristic of CE applicant or of the authorized representative I _ _ ~ 1003 NL 1 Dutch application n ,, 11 April 8 date" 1999 Priority date invoked Applicant INaam) Prolion Bv Date of request for an investigation of iniemational tvpe Granted by the Injranrie for international Investigation USA) to the request for an investigation of international type hr, SN 32821 NL I. CLASSIFICATION OF THE SUBJECT (if applicable of different classifications, indicate all classification symbols) Follow »the International * classification IIPC1 —— Int.Cl.6: A 01 J 5/017 II AREAS OF TECHNIQUE EXAMINED __ Minimum documentation examined _Classification system_j_ Clause symbols Int.Cl.6: A 01 J Examined documentation other than minimum documentation to the extent that such documents are in the on the areas searched are included III. I 1 NO RESEARCH MAY BE FOR CERTAIN CONCLUSIONS (comments on supplementary sheet) IV. 1 | LACK OF UNIT OF INVENTION (comments on supplement sheet fj, brake ACT / ISA / rOTIAJ 07.1979