NZ504519A - Conduit for rotary milking turntable with narrowing transverse portion to hold cluster hoses to avoid discomfort to cows - Google Patents

Abstract

Access slot 9 is provided in milking turntable and has mouth 13 next to the rear of a side rail of bail 3. A conduit (not shown) can be moved laterally from mouth 13 into a guide portion of narrowing width to retain the conduit.

Description

Intellectual Property Office of N.Z. - 8 NOV 2001 RECEIVED Patents Form No. 5 Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION AN IMPROVED ACCESS SLOT FOR MILKING MACHINERY I, Colin David Donald, trading as Donald Engineering, a New Zealand citizen of 17 Salford Street, Edendale, Southland, New Zealand do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: 1 Technical Field The present invention relates to an improved access slot to be incorporated into a turntable.

Background Art In a herringbone milking shed, the milk line and suction cable are secured above the milking bays, and a network of suspended feed hoses lead to the milking clusters. The configuration of each feed hose set facilitates central alignment of a cluster onto an udder, maximising suction cup pressure/milk delivery, whilst minimising unbalanced 10 weight load or drag on the udder which would otherwise cause the animal discomfort.

An overhead milk line has proven impracticable for milking sheds incorporating a rotary platform assembly. The milk line and suction cable are located in the well of the assembly and a series of vertical platform access slots receive the feed hoses. One 15 access slot is provided for each milking bay.

At present, each access slot provides a cup shaped aperture located at the rear of the milking bay, beneath the bottom rail or behind the rear bail post of a dummy bail. The shape and orientation of each access slot relative to the milking bay holding area 20 affects the alignment of the cluster relative to an udder as the communicating feed hoses are drawn out of the aperture and extend across the platform to the animal. If the access slot is arranged beneath a dummy bail, the weight of the feed hoses tends to pull the suction cups towards that dummy bail, skewing the cluster and displacing the teats in the same direction. Conversely, if the access slot is arranged at the back 25 of a dummy bail parallel to the rear post, the suction cups will hang straight on the teats but the weight of the extended feed hoses place increased downward pressure the back set of teats. In either case, the animal can be in considerable discomfort from the drag on the corresponding side of the udder during milking.

The circular cross-sectional shape of the access slot becomes a physical barrier as the operator hauls the feed hose set through the access slot and across the platform to effect attachment of the milk cluster. Often, the above-platform height of the extended feed hose lengths requires adjustment to cater for variance in animal size. 2 To reduce the workload, an excess length of hose can be left to rest on the platform. This coiled hose length may lead to feed hose entanglement and/or kinking and poses an unnecessary hazard to the animal as she backs out of the milking bay onto the exit race. Further, the circular access slot outlet can increase the frictional wear on the hoses as the taut extended hose length rubs against the access slot lip.

It is an object the present invention to provide an improved access slot which enables a cable length to traverse a predetermined distance along a turntable. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an access slot capable of releasably retaining a portion of a cable.

Disclosure of Invention The present invention provides an access slot for a rotary milking turntable, said comprising a substantially vertical open-ended aperture through said turntable formed with a throat portion opening into a lateral guide portion; said throat portion being located adjacent one side rail of a milking bail and said lateral guide portion extending from said throat portion to a predetermined point at the rear of the bail; said throat portion being wider in plan than said guide portion.

Brief Description Of The Drawings By way of example only a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a partial plan view of a rotary platform assembly showing a milking bay from above; Fig. 2 is a partial side view of Fig. 1 depicting the location of the platform access slot relative to the left dummy bail, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the platform access slot of Fig.s 1 or 2 depicting the lower surface dimension of the aperture in dotted outline.

Mode For Carrying Out The Invention Referring to Fig.s 1 & 2, a milking bay 2 is defined by a pair of dummy bails (3,4). The area between the bails 3 & 4 is the animal holding area 5. During milking, the animal (cow, goat, llama etc.) is contained in the holding area 5 with its rump facing towards 3 the exterior of the platform 6. The approximate position of the udder and back legs of the animal are indicated in Fig. 1 by the letters "A" and "B", respectively.

The milking cluster and its associated feed hose set (not shown) can be hooked onto the dummy bail catch (7, Fig. 1) out of use. In the absence of a bail catch 7, the 5 cluster may itself be draped over a bail rail (8, Fig 2). The feed hoses emerge through the platform 6 at the rear of the milking bay 2 via a platform access slot 9.

With particular reference to Fig.s 1 & 3, the access slot 9 defines an open-ended aperture 10 for receipt of the feed hose set. The access slot aperture 10 axially 10 extends from behind the left dummy bail 3 into the holding area 5. The access slot 9 is functionally subdivided into two portions (11,12). The throat portion 11 is located behind the dummy bail 3 and is dimensioned to restrict movement of the feed hose set to raising and lowering of the milk cluster or to prevent further extension of these feed hoses above the platform 6. The communicating guide portion 12 facilitates the 15 transverse passage of the milk cluster along the platform 6 and assists in centrally aligning the cups of the milk cluster on the teats of the udder at position A.

The throat portion 13 defines a substantially vertical aperture section having a mouth 11 leading to the lateral guide portion 12, and a lateral cable support 15 arranged 20 forward of and perpendicular to the mouth 13. In addition to restricting the direction of movement of the feed hose set, the throat portion 11 can releasably retain a section of the feed hoses on the lip of the support 15 by an operator manually resting the hose lengths against a substantial portion of the access slot wall 14. The location of the support 15 adjacent the dummy bail catch 7 ensures that the feed hoses will be 25 retained within the support 15 whenever the milking cluster is hooked onto the bail catch 7. To release the hoses from the support 15, the operator takes hold of the milk cluster and/or grasps a section of the extended above-platform hose set. The feed hoses are lifted off the access slot wall 14 and swayed back into the vertical cavity of the throat portion 11 immediately adjacent the mouth 13 such that the feed hoses can 30 again be moved within that throat portion 11.

The guide portion 12 is an open channel in communication with the mouth 13, terminating at a tapered tip 16 which is located behind the holding area 5. The guide portion 12 defines an open-ended aperture section through the thickness of the 35 platform 6. The guide portion 12 is provided with comparatively larger outlet 17 on the )f r • & underside of the platform 6 as shown by the broken lines (Fig. 3). The size of the access slot inlet 18 and outlet 17 is determined by the inward incline of the front side wall 19. The differential size of the inlet and outlet (18,17) aids the vertical passage of the feed hose set. The parallel rear side wall 20 is formed with an arcuate interior face 5 to assist sliding motion of the feed hoses. The tip 16 is dimensioned to releasably grip a segment of the feed hose set therein, functioning as a second supportive region.

In use, the access slot 9 enables the operator to efficiently haul the feed hose set and reduce the work load in adjusting or maintaining the position of the milk cluster relative 10 to the platform 6. The throat portion 11 is utilised whenever the milk cluster is placed onto or taken off the dummy bail 3 and as an access portal (in conjunction with the guide portion 12) for individual feed hose maintenance or replacement. The guide portion 12 provides a relocation pathway shaped to prevent snagging of the feed hose set so that the milk cluster can be drawn across the platform 6, positioned on an 15 animal's udder A waiting to be milked in the holding area 5 and then returned to the dummy bail 3 after milking in the following manner:- a) The operator, holding and moving the milking cluster towards the holding area 5, draws the feed hoses into the guide portion 12 via the mouth 13. b) The associated feed hose set of the cluster remain freely moveable within the confines of the guide portion 12 until the feed hoses enter and abut the aperture region defined by the tip 16. Before the later orientation is attained, the operator can adjust the axial position of the cluster within the holding area 5 and attach the cluster to the udder A in known manner. c) When the cups of the cluster are visually centrally aligned on the animal's teats (i.e. the cluster hangs straight), the operator locks the cluster into position by wedging the associated feed hose set within the tip 16. If the animal moves, the 30 feed hoses are unable to extend further from the access slot 9 above the platform 6, milking becomes uncomfortable so that the animal tends to maintain the desired milking position without the need of leg restraints. d) After milking, the milking cluster is removed wherein the feed hoses are tug released from the grip of the tip 16 and slid across to the mouth 13 whilst the platform 6 is rotated to bring the milking bay 2 to the exit race (not shown). e) The cluster is returned to the dummy bail catch 7 and the animal has an unobstructed milking bay 2 from which to back out of onto the exit race.

Whilst the access slot 9 has been described and depicted with reference to milking, it will be appreciated that the or a series of access slots 9 could be provided in any 10 rotatable turntable for the receipt of a or a plurality of cables. A tapered tip similar to the tip 16, may be substituted for the support 15 especially where the cable is of relatively small diameter. Further, the orientation of the throat portion 11 and guide portion 12 could be interchanged so that the access slot is configured for a left-handed operator. For example, the access slot would lie adjacent the right dummy bail 4 with 15 the throat portion located behind that bail and the guide portion laterally extending behind the holding area 5 (not illustrated). 6

Claims (6)

Claims ^ i

1. An access slot for a rotary milking turntable, said access slot comprising a substantially vertical open-ended aperture through said turntable formed with a throat portion opening into a lateral guide portion; said throat portion being located adjacent one side rail of a milking bail and said lateral guide portion extending from said throat portion to a predetermined point at the rear of the bail; said throat portion being wider in plan than said guide portion.

2. The access slot as claimed in claim 1 wherein said predetermined point is, in use, substantially centrally behind an animal being milked in the bail.

3. The access slot as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the end of the guide portion remote from said throat portion is of reduced width relative to the remainder of said throat portion and is dimensioned to be capable of releasably gripping a hose of a milking cluster.

4. The access slot as claimed in any one of claims 1-3 wherein one side of said access slot formed in said turntable is angled so that the opening of the access slot aperture is larger on the underside of the turntable than on the upper side of the turntable.

5. A method of arranging a milking cluster relative to a rotary milking turntable, comprising: providing an access slot in the turntable, said access slot comprising a substantially vertical open-ended aperture through said turntable formed with a throat portion opening into a lateral guide portion; said throat portion being located adjacent one side rail of a milking bail and said lateral guide portion extending from said throat portion to a predetermined point at the rear of the bail; said throat portion being wider in plan than said guide portion; supporting said milking cluster with the hoses secured thereto extending through the throat portion of said aperture until the cluster is required for milking; when the cluster is required for milking, drawing said hoses along the lateral guide portion of said aperture until the cluster is behind the animal to be milked.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5 wherein the end of the guide portion remote from the throat portion is of reduced width, and wherein, when the cluster is behind the animal to be milked, the hoses are gripped by said end. An access slot for a rotary milking turntable, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings. A method of arranging a milking cluster relative to a rotary milking turntable, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings. 8