Abstract:
A teat cleaning device for animals includes a plurality of circumferentially separated elongated brushes individually rotatable about a vertical longitudinal axis, each of the brushes having bristles extending outwardly from a vertical shaft, the brushes together defining a central teat receiving space where the bristles of a lower portion of each brush are inclined upwardly from the vertical shaft.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to teat cleaning devices for cleaning the teats of animals. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART 
     A problem when milking dairy animals is how to ensue that the teats of the animal are clean before milking commences. As manual teat cleaning is labour-intensive, inefficient and time consuming various machines for cleaning teats have been proposed. 
     The German patent DD 127 384 describes a device with a plurality of elongated brushes mounted vertically on a holder. The brushes can rotate about their vertical central axis and have horizontally projecting bristles which can brush the surface of any teats introduced vertically down between the brushes. As the teat advances downwards the bristles are bent down and away from the tip of the teat. This device thus suffers from the disadvantage that the bristles do not adequately clean the tip of the teat. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to overcome the problems of the prior art teat cleaning devices. These problems are overcome by a teat cleaning device having the features mentioned in the characterising portion of claim  1 . Further developments and improvements to the invention are mentioned in the dependent claims. 
     In the present invention a teat cleaning device has substantially vertically mounted rotatable cleaning means such as brushes which are provided with cleaning elements such as bristles, the ends of which form a brushing surface which at least partly is inclined upwards. Thus a brushing surface can be formed by, for example, the distal ends of bristles, or the distal circumferential surfaces of cleaning disks, which are inclined upwards. In this application all orientations refer to orientations taken up when the device is in use for cleaning a teat and a vertical axis or direction is defined as being parallel to the longitudinal axis of a teat being cleaned. A vertical position which is nearer to an udder to which the teat is attached is defined to be higher than a vertical position which is nearer to the tip of the teat. 
     Normally cylindrical brushes comprise bristles collected into conical tufts mounted with the narrower proxial end in a cylindrical support. The bristles comprised in the tuft and situated above its longitudinal axis i.e. a radial axis with respect to the cylindrical shaft, are inclined upwards a few degrees (usually less than 5 degrees) even if the longitudinal axis is horizontal. These few degrees are not sufficient to produce the advantageous effects of the present invention. In order to more precisely differentiate the present invention from the prior art it is therefore appropriate to define what is meant by inclined upwards. Thus the expression upwardly inclined is intended to mean that the longitudinal axis of the tuft of bristles is upwardly inclined. In the case of disks then it is the cylindrical circumferential surface which is upwardly inclined. In the case of cleaning devices which have bent cleaning means e.g. flat inner discs with upturned outer discs then it is the plane of symmetry between the upper and lower surfaces of the outer discs which is inclined to the vertical. 
     A teat is introduced into the device vertically from above. As the teat is introduced into the device the upwardly inclined bristles resp. disc surfaces are bent downwards owing to the weight of the teat and the tips of the bristles resp. disc surfaces move outwards away from the axis of rotation of the brush and consequently nearer to the centre of the teat. Thus during loading with a teat i.e. when in contact with the tip of a teat being introduced past them, the tips of the bristles resp. the disk surfaces project out a greater distance from the axis of rotation then when there is no teat present. Thus the tip of the teat itself as it is being introduced pushes the tips of the bristles resp. disc surfaces into a position where they can clean the tip of the teat. As the teat is introduced further the bristles resp. disc surfaces are bent more by the thicker body of the teat and the tips of the bristles resp. disc surfaces ultimately can be pushed into horizontal or downwardly bent orientations. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Example of embodiments of the invention are shown in the appended drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 a ) shows a lateral view of one embodiment of a teat cleaning device according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 1 b ) shows a plane view from above of the device shown in FIG. 1 a ); 
     FIG. 2 a ) shows a lateral view of a second embodiment of a teat cleaning device according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 b ) shows a plane view from above of the device shown in FIG. 2 a ). 
     FIG. 3 shows schematically an embodiment of a brush for use in the device shown in FIGS. 1 a ) and  1   b ). 
     FIG. 4 shows schematically another embodiment of a brush for use in the device shown in FIGS. 1 a ) and  1   b ). 
     FIG. 5 shows schematically a further embodiment of a brush for use in the device shown in FIGS. 1 a ) and  1   b ). 
     FIG. 6 shows schematically yet another embodiment of a brush for use in the device shown in FIGS. 1 a ) and  1   b ). 
     FIG. 7 shows schematically yet another embodiment of a brush for use in the device shown in FIGS. 1 a ) and  1   b ). 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIGS. 1 a ) and  1   b ) show a first embodiment of a teat cleaning device  1  according to the invention. Teat cleaning device  1  comprises a box-like holder  3  with a teat receiving opening  5  in its upper surface  7 . Holder  3  is intended to be placed under the udder of an animal to be milked with opening  5  below a teat which is to be cleaned Holder  3  is then raised so that the teat enters the holder through opening  3 . Holder  3  contains a plurality of cleaning means  11  shown here as elongated cylindrical brushes  11  with bristles  13 ,  13 ′. Holder  3  also contains cleaning fluid supplying means (not shown) and preferably drying air supplying means (not shown). Brushes  11  are each orientated with their longitudinal axis substantially perpendicular to the plane of upper surface  7  and are arranged in a circle with a central space  15  able to receive a teat. Brushes  11  are rotatably mounted on holder  3  and can be rotated by driving means (not shown) of any suitable type. There are preferably an even number of brushes  11  and each brush  11  rotates in the opposite direction to its neighbouring brushes  11  as is shown by the arrows in FIG. 1 b ). Brushes  11  have cleaning surfaces  17  formed by the tips  19  of bristles  13 ,  13 ′ projecting from a central longitudinal shaft  21 . At least one of the brushes  11  is divided longitudinally into two portions  23 ,  23 ′. Portion  23  has bristles  13  which extend perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of central shaft  21  while portion  23 ′ has bristles  13 ′ which, in the rest position, extend upwards at an angle I to the longitudinal axis of central shaft  21 . Angle I depends on the stiffness of the bristles  13 ′ which is a function of their length, material and thickness, and can be between 5° and 75°. An example of suitable dimensions when the bristle material is Nylon (TM) are: bristle diameter 0.1 mm, length 9 mm, I=15°. The bristles  13 ′ are shown extending upwards with different angles I with, for example the upper bristles  13 ″ at the end of portion  23 ′ which is intended to be uppermost during use having an angle I of 15° while lower bristles  13 ′″ at the lower end of portion  23 ′ extend upwards at an angle I of 60°. The greater the angle I the greater the resistance to downwards deflection the bristles have and consequently the greater the scrubbing force they exert on the teat. 
     A tear which is to be cleaned is introduced into the device  1  vertically from above and holder  3  is raised. Brushes  11 ,  11 ′ are rotated and as the teat is introduced into the device it is first brushed by the brushing surface formed by the tips of bristles  13  which are subsequently bent down below a horizontal plane by the weight of the teat. As the teat is introduced further into the device it meets the upwardly inclined bristles  13 ′,  13 ″ which are bent downwards owing to the weight of the teat. Thus the tips of the bristles  13 ,  13 ″ first move outwards away from the axis of rotation of the brush as they are pushed down towards a horizontal orientation and they therefore rub more tightly on teat. Thus during and after loading with a teat, i.e. when in contact with the tip of a teat being introduced past them, the tips of the bristles project out a greater distance from the axis of rotation then when there is no teat present. Thus the tip of the teat itself as it is being introduced pushes the tips of the bristles into a position where they can clean the tip of the teat. As the teat is introduced further the bristles are bent more by the thicker body of the teat and the tips of the bristles ultimately can be pushed into horizontal orientations. Further bending of the bristles moves their ends to laterally or downwardly bent orientations. The length of at least some of the bristles  13 ′,  13 ″ are chosen such that when they are forced to project horizontally they preferably extend to, or beyond, the centre of the teat receiving opening to ensure that the centre of the tip of the teat is also scrubbed. Preferably the rings of bristles on the brushes are staggered so that interference between the bristles on different brushes  11 ,  11 ′ is minimised during use. 
     A second embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 2 a ) and  2   b ). Holder  33  contains a cleaning means  39  shown here as an elongated tubular brush  41  with internal bristles  43 ,  43 ′. Bristles  43 ,  43 ′ project in towards the centre of brush  41  from a casing  51  and form a central space  45  able to receive a teat. As before holder  33  also contains cleaning fluid supplying means (not shown) and preferably drying air supplying means (not shown). Brush  41  has a longitudinal axis substantially perpendicular to the plane of upper surface  37  and is rotatably mounted on holder  33  and can be rotated by driving means  34  of any suitable type. Brush  41  has a cleaning surface  47  formed by the tips  39  of bristles  43 ,  43 ′ projecting from the casing  51 . Brush  31  is divided longitudinally into two portions  53 ,  53 ′. Portion  53  has bristles  43  which extend perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of brush  41  while portion  53 ′ has bristles  43 ′ which, in the rest position, extend upwards at an angle I to the longitudinal axis of brush  31 . Angle I depends on the stiffness of the bristles  43 ′ and can be between 5° and 75°. Preferably angle I is between 15° and 45°. The bristles  43 ′ are shown extending upwards with different angles I with, for example the upper bristles  43 ′ at the end of portion  53 ′ which is intended to be uppermost during use having an angle I of 15° while lower bristles  43 ′″ at the lower end of portion  53 ′ extend upwards at an angle I of 60°. The greater the angle I the greater the resistance to downwards deflection the bristles have (assuming the length of the bristles remain the same) and consequently the greater the scrubbing force they exert on the teat. While the embodiment shown has a cup-like casing  51  with unitary base and side it is conceivable that the base is separated from the wall and provide with independent drive means, The base can in this case also be provided with substantially vertically projecting bristles and can optionally made vertically adjustable with respect to the housing. Furthermore the cup-like casing  51  can be exchanged for some other suitable bristle supporting means, for example, one or more vertically projecting arms. 
     In an alternative embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 3 the bristles  61 ′ at the end of portion  63 ′ which is intended to be uppermost during use having an angle of 60° while bristles  61 ″ at the lower end of portion  63 ′ extend upwards at an angle of 15°. 
     In a further embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4 in the idle position all the vertically inclined bristles  73 ′ project upwards with the same angle I. 
     In another embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 5 in the idle position all the vertically inclined bristles  83 ′ project upwards with the same angle I and the length of the bristles increases from the top of portion  81 ′ downwards so that the tips of the lower bristles project out further from the central shaft. 
     FIG. 6 shows a further embodiment of the invention in which the vertically inclined bristles  93 ′ are bent and comprise flat inner portions  95  and upwardly inclined distal ends  97 . 
     While it has been stated that the cleaning surface is formed by the tip of bristles it is of course possible that during use the tips of the bristles are bent away from the teat to be cleaned in which case the cleaning surface can also comprise the outer portions of bristles. 
     It is also conceivable to replace brushes with bristles by any other suitable resilient inclined cleaning means for example inclined disks of sponge material  101  as shown in FIG. 7, inclined rubber disks, flat disks with inclined projections, brushes with projecting loops of bristle material e.g. threads, etc. 
     While the invention has been illustrated by a device comprising a cylindrical holder with a base and side it is possible to eliminate the sides of the holder. 
     It is also conceivable to apply the principles of the embodiments shown with cylindrical brushes to the embodiments described with tubular brushes and vice versa.