METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY APPLYING A MILKING CLUSTER

Abstract: An animal to be milked and the milking cluster are first coarsely positioned relatively to each other, followed by detecting the position of at least the animal's teats relative to at least the teat cups (1-4) of the milking cluster by means of ultrasonorous waves (12), then accurately positioning the teat cups (1-4) of the milking cluster relatively to the teats, starting from the detected position of the teats, and finally applying the teat cups (1-4) to the teats.

Description: This invention relates to a method of automatically applying a milking cluster, wherein an animal to be milked and the milking cluster are roughly positioned relatively to each other; the position of at least the teats relatively to at least the teat cups of the milking cluster is accurately detected by means of detection means; the teat cups are accurately positioned relatively to the teats and the teat cups are applied to the teats. This invention further relates to an apparatus for automatically applying a milking cluster including a plurality of teat cups, the apparatus including sensor means for detecting the position of the teats of an animal to be milked and for providing control signals for positioning devices for the milking cluster. A method and apparatus of the above-identified kind has been disclosed in EP-A-0091892, published after the priority date of the present application. More in particular EP-A-0091892 discloses a robot arm having a telescopic part which carries a support for either four milking cups or one milking cup. In the latter case the milking cups are placed one by one on the teats. In the former case the four milking cups are placed simultaneously on the teats and then the support is withdrawn. The robot arm is provided with one or more sensors for detecting the position of the teats of the animal to be milked. The nature of the sensors or the manner in which such sensors should be used for actually determining the location of at least the teats is not disclosed in EP-A-0091892. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved and practical method and apparatus for automatically applying a milking cluster. For this purpose, according to the invention, there is provided a method of automatically applying a milking cluster of the kind disclosed above, characterized in that the detection of the position of at least the teats is carried out by an ultrasonic transducer device which ultrasonic transducer device generates ultrasonic sound waves forming at least one ultrasonic beam, which ultrasonic beam is used for scanning a spatial region in a predetermined sequence. The method according to the invention can advantageously be combined with the automatic supply of food, adapted to each individual animal, which is already being used in many farms. Such automatic food supply can be realized, for example, by means of an electronic cow recognition system, developed and marketed by the present applicant, in which each cow carries a collar-responder which in an electromagnetic interrogation field generates a unique code. After the recognition of the code by a detector, the desired amount and kind of food is supplied to the cow on the basis of the data concerning the cow, stored in a computer memory. The food is commonly supplied in a feeding box, which accommodates one cow only. As soon as the cow is in such a box, therefore, she is already roughly positioned, while her identity is also known. Starting from the cow's rough position, which, however, can in principle also be determined by different means, a milking cluster can be applied automatically, as will be described hereinafter. According to the present invention an apparatus of the kind disclosed above is characterized in that the sensor means comprises at least one ultrasonic transducer device disposed in a known position on the milking cluster, and capable of transmitting ultrasonic waves and receiving reflections of the waves; means for controlling said ultrasonic transducer device in order to scan a spatial region in a predetermined sequence; means for focusing said ultrasonic waves; and means for processing signals generated by said transducer device to produce said control signals. It is noted that, in order that milking can be carried out entirely without supervision, it is desirable that the identity of the milked cow is known, in order that it can be recorded which cow has given the amount of milk taken. As stated above, this identity is indeed known when the automatic individual food supply system is used. It should be noted that the automatic application of the milking cluster does not by itself require that the cow's identity is known. As will be explained hereinafter, however, it is possible, with advantage, to use certain data relating to an individual cow in positioning the milking cluster. In that case, the cow's identity should be known. These data may concern, for example, the place and size of the udder and the position of the teats on the udder. The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 diagrammatically shows a side-elevational view of one embodiment of a milking cluster suitable for use in the method according to the present invention; Fig. 2 shows the milking cluster of Fig. 1 in a side-elevational view turned through 90° relatively to Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows the milking cluster of Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 in top view; Fig. 4 diagrammatically shows a control circuit for a milking cluster; Fig. 5 diagrammatically illustrates a variant of a portion of Figs. 1-3 and Fig. 4; Fig. 6 diagrammatically illustrates still another variant of the invention. Figs. 1-3 diagrammatically show a milking cluster for use in the method according to the present invention. The milking cluster comprises, in known manner, four teat cups 1-4, which each are secured by means of an arm 5-8 to a central carrier 9. The carrier is, in turn, secured to an arm 10. Furthermore, the bottom end of each teat cup is connected to a suction hose 11 for carrying off the milk. In the embodiment shown, the suction hoses are connected to the central carrier 9 which is of hollow construction for the purpose. Its cavity is in communication with the interior of arm 10, which is also hollow. Naturally, it is also possible to use loose hoses. Mounted on the central carrier, at the top in this example, is a transducer 12 for transmitting and receiving ultrasonorous waves. The ultrasonorous waves may, for example, be in the frequency range of about 100 to about 300 kHz. By means of this transducer, a spatial area 13 located above the central carrier can be scanned for accurately determining, after coarse positioning of the milking cluster relative to the cow, the position of the teats. It is noted that, after a first coarse positioning of the cow, realized for example by the cow being in a feeding box, it would possible first to carry out a slightly more accurate positioning step, in which the position of the udder is roughly determined. For this purpose, ultrasonorous waves can be used, too. As stated above, however, it is also possible to utilize data concerning the position of the udder of the cow in question as stored in a memory. It is further noted that the ultrasonorous scanner may alternatively be mounted on a separate arm, whose position relative to the milking cluster is known at any moment. The transducer is pivotable in two directions, designated by x and y in Figs. 1 and 2. By selecting, both in the x direction and in the y direction a number of positions in which a focused ultrasonorous pulse is transmitted, and then measuring the time at which the first reflection of this pulse is received, there is formed a spatial polar pattern of data which, when the time information is translated into distance, via the velocity of propagation of sound in air, can be used to determine the position of the teats. In order that, after the positions of the teats have been accurately determined, the teat cups of the milking cluster may be accurately positioned relatively to the teats, arm 10 is constructed as a robot arm which is movable in all directions, as indicated by arrows 14, 15 and 16 in Figs. 1 and 3. Furthermore, arms 5-8 of the teat cups are telescopic and the central carrier 9 is preferably mounted for rotation on robot arm 10. In addition, arms 5-8 may be mounted for rotation relative to carrier 9. In this way the teat cups can be moved in the direction of the arrows 17, 18 and 19 as shown in Fig. 3. The drive means required to perform the desired movements of the robot arm and of the teat cups may be of any of the types known for the purpose, and are not shown herein. The information obtained during the scanning by the transducer is used to form a spatial bit map in a memory. Owing to the manner of scanning, the information becomes available in the form of polar coordinates. Via a micro-processor, the polar coordinates are translated into carthesian coordinates, and the teat cups are adjusted to these positions, for example, by means of incremental motors, whereafter, by means of the robot arm, the entire milking cluster is raised. Fig. 4 shows a block diagram of one example of an apparatus for controlling the scanning cycle and the positioning process. The total scanning cycle is, in this example, derived from the position of a digital counter C. The counting pulses for counter C come from a clock K. The output bits of counter C are divided into three groups of, for example, 8 bits, with the most significant group ms being used for adjusting the y scanning direction of the transducer T, for example, by means of an incremental motor not shown, the middle group is for adjusting the x scanning direction, and the least significant group ls for determining the moment when a pulse is transmitted and the time which lapses before the first reflection is received. At each scanning position a short signal pulse is generated by a transmitter Z, which via an electronic switch S is passed to the transducer to be transmitted as an ultrasonorous pulse. Thereafter the electronic switch S is switched to a receiver O. The sound wave from transducer T is focussed in the scanning direction by giving this transducer a concave form or by providing an acoustic lens on this transducer, or by using a so-called annular transducer, which consists of concentric rings, with the rings being energized by the transmitted pulse with such a time shift, via delay lines, that the sound beam is focussed. At reception focussing can be realized in the same manner. So long as no reflections are received via receiver O, a "low" level is written in a memory position of a memory M, which position is determined by the position of the counter. The position of the counter at the moment the first reflection is received from the scanning direction is a measure for the time lapsed between the transmission of the pulse and the reception of this first reflection and, the velocity of propagation of sound in air being substantially constant, also a measure for the distance of the transducer from the object against which reflection took place. In all memory positions provided for this scanning line a "high" level is written after the reception of the first reflection until the first group of least significant bits has been counted round. The writing signal is, in this example, supplied via a stage 40 to the memory. Subsequently, the x position of the transducer is changed and the cycle repeated. The control of the position of transducer T is indicated symbolically by the blocks x-pos and y-pos and the broken lines 41 and 42. At the following scan lines the above is repeated until all x positions and all y positions have been traversed and counter C has been counted through. At this moment, a bit map in polar coordinates, defining the position of the udder and the teats, is present in memory M. By means of a processor P the polar bit map is translated through goniometric functions into a carthesian bit map, whereafter the location of the teats can be determined by reading the memory from below upwards. The teat cups are then, under the control of processor P, adjusted to the correct positions and applied to the teats by means of individual positioning and positioning of arm 10 by suitable servomechanisms 43 and 44. A second possible embodiment of the apparatus can be obtained by giving the transducer a static position in the milking cluster and using a planar transducer consisting of a large number of transducers disposed in matrix form. When, in this case, just as in the case of the annular transducer, the various elements of the matrix are provided with a transmission pulse, shifted in time through delay lines, and during reception the various signals are again combined, shifted in time, it is possible to realize beam control in addition to focusing, and mechanical adjustment of the direction of the transducer is unnecessary. Fig. 5 illustrates diagrammatically how the various elements of a matrix-shaped transducer device 50, which in this example includes individual transducers T₁-T₃₆, shown separately, are coupled through programmable delay lines 51a-51u to receiver O and transmitter Z. The delay lines are controlled by a processor P. In the same way as with the mechanical scanner, it is now possible to make a bit map, based on polar coordinates, and the teat cups can be adjusted to the correct position. In a third possible embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, the bit map is produced by transmitting, via a planar transducer statically secured to the milking cluster, an omnidirectional sound beam successively per element in the matrix, and making a time registration of the signals received by the element concerned. By means of Fourier transformation to the frequency domain, based on the position of the elements in the matrix, the acoustic information can be synthetically focussed afterwards. This synthetic focusing method is known per se, and is also used in seismics, and in medical diagnostics. In a fourth possible embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, each teat cup is provided with a plurality of transducers, for example eight, disposed in a circle. The diameter of the circle shape is so large (about 15 cm) that, starting from the cow's position and the known position of the teats in this cow, one can be certain that the teats fall within the ring of transducers. If the teat is in the centre of the teat cup, then, if only one transducer is transmitting and the other transducers are receiving, only the sound beam in the direction of the diametrically opposite transducer is interrupted. If now, during successive transmission pulses, each time a next adjacent transducer is used as a transmitter and the other transducers as a receiver, and it is determined which sound paths are interrupted by the teat, the position of the teat can be ascertained. Depending thereon, the position of the teat cup can be corrected so that the teat comes to be in the centre of the ring of transducers and hence also in the centre of the teat cup. If, during this movement the milking cluster is bodily moved slowly upwards, it can be applied. Fig. 6 shows diagrammatically the position of the transducers 60a-60h in a ring 61, and the sound paths between these transducers, and also a teat 62. In all of the embodiments described, it is of importance that the teat cups are controlled so fast that a change in the position of the teats from movements of the cow can be followed. At the moment when the milking cluster is applied, the drives of the teat cups and the robot arm can be uncoupled, because the teat cups will remain in position owing to the suction force. It is observed that, after the above disclosure, various modifications of the invention will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Thus, in principle, it is possible, in case the data concerning the position of the udder and the teats thereon are already stored in a memory, to bring the teat cups in the correct positions relative to each other during the coarse positioning step. These data may have been obtained, for example, during a preceding automatic milking process. The apparatus is then of the learning type. During the accurate positioning step the only procedures required are then a movement of arm 10 and possibly a rotation of the central carrier relative to arm 10. As methods of automatically removing a milking cluster are already known, the invention makes it possible to realize complete automation of the milking process. The invention is basically also applicable to dairy cattle other than cows.

Claims: A method of automatically applying a milking cluster, wherein an animal to be milked and the milking cluster are roughly positioned relatively to each other; the position of at least the teats relative to at least the teat cups of the milking cluster is accurately detected by means of detection means; the teat cups are accurately positioned relatively to the teats and the teat cups are applied to the teats, characterized in that the detection of the position of at least the teats is carried out by an ultrasonic transducer device (12;50;T) which ultrasonic transducer device generates ultrasonic sound waves forming at least one ultrasonic beam, which ultrasonic beam is used for scanning a spatial region (13) in a predetermined sequence. A method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the scanning of the spatial region (13) is carried out by means of a transducer pivotable in two directions (X,Y). A method as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that a pivotable transducer device (12;50;T) is used which comprises an annular transducer built up from concentric rings, the rings being energized on a time-shift basis to focus the ultrasonic waves. A method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the scanning of the spatial region (13) is carried out by means of a non-pivotable transducer device (12;50;T) which is composed of a number of individual transducers disposed in a matrix form (50), the individual transducers being energized on a time-shift basis for providing a pivotable and focussed ultrasonic sound beam, scanning said spatial region in a predetermined sequence. A method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that for the scanning of the spatial region (13) in a predetermined sequence a transducer device is used comprising individual transducers disposed in matrix form (50), said individual transducers being energized to successively transmit an omnidirectional ultrasonic beam, wherein synthetic focusing is carried out on the basis of the reflections received. A method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the scanning of the spatial region (13) is carried out by means of an ultrasonic transducer device (12;50;T) disposed on the milking cluster. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the information concerning at least the position of the teats, obtained by means of the at least one ultrasonic beam, is stored in the form of polar coordinates, which subsequently are translated into carthesian coordinates, on the basis of which the position of the milking cluster and of the teat cups (1-4) is adjusted. A method as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the coordinates are used for making a bit map of at least the position of the teats. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that data concerning the position of the udder and of the teats on the udder of each animal to be milked are stored in a memory (M) and that the positions of the teat cups (1-4) relative to each other are pre-adjusted in conformity with the stored data. Apparatus for automatically applying a milking cluster including a plurality of teat cups, the apparatus including sensor means for detecting the position of the teats of an animal to be milked, and for providing control signals for positioning devices for the milking cluster, characterized in that the sensor means comprises at least one ultrasonic transducer device (12;50;T) disposed in a known position on the milking cluster, and capable of transmitting ultrasonic waves and receiving reflections of the waves; means for controlling said ultrasonic transducer device in order to scan a spatial region (13) in a predetermined sequence, means (P) for focusing said ultrasonic waves and means for processing signals generated by said transducer device to produce said control signals. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the ultrasonic transducer device (12;50;T) comprises a pivotable transducer device capable of being pivoted in two directions. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, characterized by said pivotable transducer device being cup-shaped. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that said pivotable transducer device (12;50;T) is provided with an acoustic lens. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that the pivotable transducer device (12;50;T) is composed of concentric annular individual transducers. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the pivotable transducer device (12;50;T) is composed of a plurality of individual transducers disposed in matrix form (50); that the means (51a-51n;P1) for controlling the transducer device is arranged to energize the individual transducers on a time-shift basis, and that the means for processing the signals generated by the transducer device is arranged to combine the signals from the individual transducers on a time-shift basis. Apparatus as claimed in claim 15, characterized in that the means for controlling the pivotable transducer device (12;50;T) includes an array of programmable delay lines (51a-51n), and that a processor (P1) is provided to control said delay lines, each delay line being connected to an individual transducer (T1..T36); and that the array of programmable delay lines also forms part of the means for processing the signals generated by the transducer device. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the pivotable transducer device is composed of a plurality of individual transducers disposed in matrix form (50), each of said transducers being capable of transmitting an omnidirectional ultrasonic beam; that the means for controlling the transducer device is arranged to energize the individual transducers successively; that the means for processing the signals generated by the transducer device is combined with the means for focussing and is arranged to form a time registration of the signals generated per individual transducer, to store this in a memory, and to process the joint time registrations by means of synthetic focusing algorhythms in the frequency domain to form a bit map of the position of at least the teats. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 11-14, characterized in that the means for controlling the pivotable transducer device (12;50;T) comprises a digital counter (C), a first part (ms) of whose output signals is used to control the pivotal movement of the pivotable transducer device in one direction, and a second part (is) of whose output signals is used for controlling the pivotal movement of the transducer device in the other direction, a third part (ls) of these output signals of the counter (C) being used to energize the pivotable transducer device at the moments desired. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 12-18, characterized in that the means for positioning the milking cluster includes a robot arm (10) that is movable in all directions, and a central carrier (9) mounted for rotation at the end of said robot arm, said central carrier including a plurality of radial arms (6-8) each carrying a teat cup (1-4). Apparatus as claimed in claim 19, characterized in that said radial arms (6-8) are telescopic. Apparatus as claimed in claim 20, characterized in that the angle between the radial arms (6-9) is adjustable. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 19-21, characterized in that the central carrier (9) and the robot arm (10) are hollow and together form a channel for a liquid, and that the teat cups (1-4) are connected to the central carrier through hoses (11). Apparatus as claimed in claim 10, characterized by the provision of a ring (61) of transducers (60a-60h) on each teat cup, said ring being of such diameter that, after rough positioning, the teats (62) are at any rate each disposed within a ring (61) when the milking cluster is raised, and that the means for controlling the transducers is arranged to energize successively one transducer in each ring (61) and switching the other transducers of the ring (61) as receivers, the means for processing the signals generated by the transducers being arranged to determine the position of the teat within the ring (61) concerned on the basis of the presence or absence of output signals from the transducers connected as receivers, and to form control signals for the positioning means of at least the teat cups (1-4).

Inventors: HOGEN ESCH, JOHANNES HARM L.
Applicants: N.V. NEDERLANDSCHE APPARATENFABRIEK NEDAP
Application year: 1986
Main classification: A01J7
IPC codes: A01J5, G01S15