NZ200001A - Fluid-supported rotatable milking platform - Google Patents

Description

SsOooolj^crov^l£0/^0 PATENTS FORM NO. 5 N.Z. PATENT OFf=tCE 2 3 MAR 1983 RfiCaVEO % j ti THE PATENTS ACT 19 5 3 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION SUBSTITUTION OF APPLICANT ^ UNDER SECTION 24 ^b^e^csQm-^rxj -Vurvan<j& After Provisional Nos ?nnnm t ?nnnq?f 201^60, 202541 Dated; 12th March. 1982, 23rd March 1982, 21st September, 1982 1'8th November, 19 82 TITLE: Rotatable Platforms I/m John Arthur Graham, a British subject and New Zealand citizen of 38 Hogan Street, Hamilton, New Zealand hereby declare the invention for which I/$g pray that a patent may be granted to me/i^, and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement; - 201960 202541 This invention relates to rotatable platforms.

Rotatable platforms are used for supporting animals during milking, the platforms being known as rotary milking platforms.

The present invention is of relevance and has application to rotary milking platforms, however, as will be appreciated from the ensuing description which is given by way of example in relation to the above application, a rotatable platform in accordance with the present invention has a broad and useful application to the conveying loads of any type for any purpose, other examples of possible uses being vehicle turn-arounds or domestic, industrial or commercial rotary conveyors.

Milking sheds for herd milking generally have milking stations or positions arranged in a herring-bone layout where animals are positioned in rows, the positioning of the cows being determined by bales defining the rows, or alternatively rotary milking platforms are used where animals to be milked are placed on a rotatable platform in other arrangements such that the various matters requiring attention during milking of the animal can be conveniently attended to. The rotary platforms may be circular and mount the cow bales or alternatively cow bales are fixed to a rotating annular platform.

For rotary platforms the rotating platform or part thereof is rotated about a central pivot and the platform is supported by support means and rotated by mechanical drivers. Support means for such rotary platforms are complicated and expensive and because of their size and/or the loads which the platforms need to support plus they need constant maintenance, they have not been universally adopted.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rotatable platform o incorporating improved fluid support means which will go at least sori3e7N$^0yt^g^'?' eliminate the disadvantages inherent in conventionally supported rotary ^latforms^ 200001 22°0°» 202541 Further objects of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example.

According to the present invention there is provided a rotatable platform comprising a base and a rotatable member having a loading deck, said rotatable member being arranged to be supported above the base by a liquid and being rotatable with respect to the base whilst being supported above the base by the liquid, wherein the base is a substantially circular trough having side walls and the rotatable member is a pontoon having a bottom wall and sidewalls extending upwardly from said bottom wall, said pontoon having a raised loading deck supported from the bottom wall and a working area below the loading deck where an attendant can be positioned, there being a liquid sink between the side walls of the pontoon and the side walls of the base, the arrangement and construction being such that the plan area of the pontoon on a plane of the liquid surface is greater than the area of the free surface of the liquid within the liquid sink.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of forming a rotatable platform as aforesaid comprising the steps of forming the base in a mouldable material allowing the material to cure, applying a material to the base for the purpose of ensuring that further mouldable material applied thereto does not adhere to the base, and applying said further mouldable material over the base and shaping the material to form a pontoon within the area defined by the said base, and, on curing of the mouldable material, floating said pontoon from said base.

Aspects of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1: is a plan view of a rotatable platform in accordance with one possible embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 2: is a diagrammatic cross-section taken at II:II of figure 1, and/ V27NWJ986* 200001 200092 201960 202541 Figure 3: is a plan view of a rotatable platform in accordance with a further possible embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 4: is a diagrammatic cross-section at IV:IV of figure 3, and Figure 5; is a plan view of a rotatable platform in accordance with a further possible embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 6; is a diagrammatic cross-section at VI:VI of figure 5, and Figure 7: is a diagrammatic cross-sectional drawing showing one method by which a rotatable platform in accordance with figures 3, k, 5 and 6 can be formed, and Figure 8: is a plan view of a rotatable platform in accordance with another possible embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 9: is a diagrammatic cross-section of the rotatable platform of figure 8, and Figure 10: is a typical cross-section at the periphery of the rotatable platform of figures 8 and 9, and, Figure 11: is a diagrammatic explanatory drawing relating to floatation principles for rotatable platform constructions in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

With respect to the drawings, a rotatable platform in accordance with the present rcfferoxXe. pe-r- invention comprises a baoe generally indicated by arrow 2 arranged to be supported from a base 1 by a liquid, said rotatable member 2 being rotatab^^i&N ~r respect to the base 1 whilst being supported above the base by the liquid 3v Q O • • V^v- 200001 With respect to the embodiment of the present invention illustrated by figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the base 1 comprises a continuous trough 4 and the rotatable member 2 has a loading deck 5 and a floatation section generally indicated by arrow 6 depending downwardly from said loading deck 5. The floatation section is disposed within the trough 4. In the embodiment illustrated the floatation section 6 is defined by a pair of spaced side walls 8 depending downwardly from the loading deck 5 and a bottom member 9 which defines an air trap 10 in the trough with the liquid 3, the base also including a plurality of air feed outlets 11 arranged to disperse air into the air trap 10 via the liquid above the base (see bubbles indicated on figure 2). Where the air trap 10 is provided this can be segmented by a plurality of divider walls 9A dividing the air trap into say, six segmented compartments 10A. Each segmented compartment is provided with its own outlet 11 which receives air under pressure from pumping means (not shown).

In a milking installation the trough 4 conveniently provides a water reservoir for pumps which may be associated with the milking plant and further provides a silencer exhaust for a vacuum plant of the milking plant.

Simple mechanical valves (not shown) for example, large ballcock control valves can control air being exhausted from the segmented air traps 10A and when one side of .the rotatable member 2 moves down under load the valves closest to the point of loading close allowing incoming air to build up pressure and displace more water. Conversely, when one side moves up air is released reducing displacement.

The base 1 can be formed in a mouldable material such as concrete formed on site, and the rotatable member 2 can be fabricated wholly or partially from plastics or any other suitable material or combination of materials.

Where the rotatable platform is used for supporting milking animals bales 14 and a o s:- ■ ramp 16 to the rotatable member 2 are provided. ^ 27H0VJ986^| With respect to the embodiments of the present invention illustrated by figures 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the drawings, in each case the base 1 comprises a substantially circular trough 11 and the rotatable member 2 is a pontoon having a base 12 shaped to be complementary with the surface shape of trough 11.

The two different constructions of rotatable member provide a choice between inside and outside milking. For inside milking, animals (not shown) are positioned in stalls facing outwards and for outside milking the animals are positioned facing inwards. In each case a working or pit area is provided adjacent a loading deck on which the animals stand in which an attendant can be positioned at a comfortable height for attending to the milking. For the embodiment of figures 3 and 4 inside or outside milking arrangments may be chosen.

In the case of the embodiment of the present invention illustrated by figures 3 and 4 of the drawings, the loading deck 13 is a substantially annular deck which overlies the outer surfaces of the pontoon and where the rotatable platorm is used for supporting a plurality of milking animals (not shown) the loading deck 13 mounts bales 14. The loading deck 13 is supported from its base 12 by supports 15 which can be in the form of spaced piles (not shown) or a nib wall (as shown). Where the supports 15 are in the form of a nib wall a water run-off pipe 24can be provided to the lower central parts of the rotatable member 2 where there is a sump 12A. Pit or working areas are provided to either side of the loading deck 13.

In the case of the embodiment illustrated by figures 5 and 6 of the drawings the base 12 of the pontoon supports a loading deck 17 which covers most of the base 12 of the pontoon. The pontoon can be constructed about a substantially annular floatation material piece 18 which is covered by a mouldable material to form sides 19 and a top 20, and the outer 21 of the base 12. Between the sides 19 of the loading deck 17 and the sides 22 of the base 12 a pit or working area 23 is formed 200001 WMi 102541 which can have a drain 24 for water run-off to the centre of the pontoon from where accummulated water can be pumped or otherwise cleared and where the rotatable platform is used for supporting milking animals the deck 17 can mount bales 25.

With respect to figure 7 of the drawings, the base 1 for the rotatable platforms and the rotatable member 2 may be formed in mouldable material such as concrete by a method of construction which comprises the steps of mounting a central pivot support means 26 in a pit 27 formed in a ground surface 28 and using a rotatable screed 29 having a shaped surface forming member 30 which is supported centrally with respect to the pivot support means 26. A mouldable material such as concrete is placed over the pit 27 and the mouldable material is shaped with the screed 29 to form a base 1. Once the base 1 has been formed and is set a material such as plastics sheet (not shown) can be applied over the base for the purpose of ensuring that further mouldable material applied thereto will not adhere to the base, and a rotatable member 2 (see figures 2, 3, 4 and 5) formed directly on site on the base. When the construction of the rotatable member is complete and materials set the rotatable member and the base can be separated and the trough filled with water or another liquid.

With respect to figure 11 of the drawings the rotatable platforms illustrated by way of example with reference to figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are all designed in accordance with similar floatation principles. In each case there is a liquid sink 31 between the sides 32 of the rotatable member 2 and the sides 33 of the base 1. The rotatable platforms designed are such that a plan area A of the rotatable member 2 on a plane B on the liquid surface is greater than the area C of the free surface of the liquid within the sink 31. An alternative design criteria may be that the plan area A of the rotatable member 2 on the plane B on the liquid surface is less or equal to the area C of the free surface of the liquid within the fjjai4~aink, although a rotatable platform constructed in accordance with this laj^w firintMprte^v is likely to be somewhat unstable under load. -jijf f 200001 200092 tea An important design feature of the present invention is that one unit of vertical displacement of the rotatable member produces a number of units of rise in the free liquid surface in the sink 31. Hence the vertical settlement of the rotatable member when loaded is minimised because the effective liquid displaced has been ^ magnified by the above area ratios causing the liquid surface to rise around the rotatable member by a number of times greater than its downward displacement.

With respect to the embodiment of the present invention illustrated by figures 8, 9, and 10 of the drawings the rotatable member 2 of the rotatable platform is circular and is formed from joinable segments 35.

The liquid can be stored in a reservoir 37 formed inside the base 36 and is transferred by a pump 38 into chambers 39 formed between the under surface 40 of the rotatable member 2, the top surface 41 of the base 36 and sealing means indicated by arrow 42 at the periphery of the base 36.

The pump has an extending conduit 43 which extends into the reservoir 37 and liquid pumped therefrom is expressed by the pump into the chambers 39 (see path arrows of figure 9). The rotatable member 2 is thus supported by the liquid.

The sealing means 42 comprises a pair of I-shaped resilient sealing strips 44 which are fixed to surface 40 of the rotatable member and pressure inside the chambers 39 causes lower flanges 45 thereof to seal against the surface 41. Liquid which may have escaped from beneath the inside sealing strip 44 can re-enter the reservoir 37 via drain holes 46 and liquid which escapes the further outer sealing strip beyond the drain holes 46 is collected in a sump 47 and returned to the reservoir 37 via apertures 48. A sealing bearing or rotary gland 49 surrounds the conduit 43 to prevent leakage.

It is to be appreciated that a platform supported by a liquid under pressure could be supported by a gas such as air, similar construction details (excepting for the reservoir) being used. j >e Af 8 DEC 1986' 200001 mm 202541 In all cases the rotatable members 2 can be driven (rotated) by driving means (not shown) such as a hydraulic or air motor through driving means such as rack and pinion gears or the motors may drive a wheel which contacts with the sides of the rotatable members. 0198a 0%pll

Claims (7)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A rotatable platform comprising a base and a rotatable member having a loading deck, said rotatable member being arranged to be supported above the base by a liquid and being rotatable with respect to the base whilst being supported above the base by the liquid, wherein the base is a substantially circular trough having side walls and the rotatable member is a pontoon having a bottom wall and sidewalls extending upwardly from said bottom wall, said pontoon having a raised loading deck supported from the bottom wall and a working area below the loading deck where an attendant can be positioned, there being a liquid sink between the side walls of the pontoon and the side walls of the base, the arrangement and construction being such that the plan area of the pontoon on a plane of the liquid surface is greater than the area of the free surface of the liquid within the liquid sink.

2. A rotatable platform as claimed in claim 1 wherein the loading deck mounts a plurality of radially extending and spaced bales defining milking positions for animals.

3. A rotatable platform as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the raised loading deck is provided adjacent the sidewalls of the pontoon and a pit forming said working area and within which an attendant can be positioned is provided in the centre of the platform.

4. A rotatable platform as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the raised loading deck is provided at the centre of the pontoon and a pit forming said working area and within which an attendant can be positioned is provided between the raised loading deck and the side walls of the pontoon.

5. A method of forming a rotatable platform as claimed in claim 1 comprising the steps of forming the base in a mouldable material, allowing the material to cure applying a material to the base for the purpose of ensuring that further mouldable material applied -10- 200001 200092 thereto does not adhere to the base, and applying said further mouldable material over the base and shaping the material to form a pontoon within the area defined by the said base, and, on curing of the mouldable material, floating said pontoon from said base.

6. A rotatable platform substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in figures 3 and 4, or in figures 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.

7. A method of forming a rotatable platform substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CORPORATION OF NEW ZEALAND by their Attorneys B -11-