A MILKING STALL HOUSING AN ANIMAL TO BE SUBJECTED TO AN ANIMAL RELATED ACTION

Abstract: A milking stall for housing an animal to be subjected to an animal-related action comprises enclosure means (2), defining an area (1) and having at least one passage (3) permitting the animal to enter said area (1), and equipment (5, 8) for the performance of said action regarding the animal being present in said area. In order to distract the animal from said action and without offering the animal feed containing a considerable amount of energy, activatable distracting means (13, 15) is provided.

Description: A MILKING STALL HOUSING AN ANIMAL TO BE SUBJECTED TO AN ANIMAL RELATED ACTION TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART The present invention relates to an apparatus for housing an animal to be subjected to an animal-related action, comprising enclosure means defining an area and having at least one passage permitting the animal to enter said area, and equipment for the performance of said action regarding the animal being present in said area. Automatic milking of cows is known and disclosed in e.g. EP-A-91 892. The automatic milking takes place in one or more combined feeding and milking stalls provided in a barn in which the cows are allowed to walk about freely and find their way individually to the stalls for feeding, drinking and milking. Traditionally cows are milked twice a day. Because of high labour costs it was not interesting to increase the number of milkings per day as long as milking was performed manually. Milking a cow three to four times a day has proved to be of less detriment to her, since the udder is not filled to its maximum between each milking. Such a milking procedure corresponds more closely to the behaviour of the calves and therefore results in healthier cows. As a side effect, however, it is possible to increase the total milk production from one cow by up to 15-25%. By means of automatic milking machines it is not only possible, but would also be economically interesting to milk the cows more often than twice a day, since the labour costs are not any longer critical. In this case it is rather the high investment cost which is a limiting factor. Therefore, in order to reach a high utilization of the capacity of such automatic milking machines, it is necessary that the cow enters the milking stall frequently, that the teatcups are attached rapidly, and that the cow once she has been milked leaves the stall as soon as possible in order to give access to another cow. In order to entice the cow to enter the milking stall it is known to provide a feeding device therein, which offers the cow fodder, such as concentrate, see e.g. EP-A-188 303 which discloses a manger being movable between a position in a milking stall and a position outside the stall. When the cow has entered the milking stall she is subjected to one or more animal-related actions, such as cleaning of the teats, attachment of the teatcups and milking. Especially, the automatization of said attachment is technically complicated, requiring sophisticated control systems, and in order to enable such automatic attachment of the teatcups, it is important that the cow is relaxed and is kept relatively still during the stay in the milking stall. To this end, different forcing means has been proposed for forcing the cow into a specific position within the stall. Furthermore, it is essential that a cow which enters the milking stall although she should not be milked leaves the stall as soon as possible. This may be the case if she was just milked or if her udder and the teats are dirty to such an extent that they must be cleaned and dried before she can be milked, in order not to contaminate the milk. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for housing an animal to be treated, which is attractive to the animal and which has means occupying the animal such that it is still to facilitate the performance of the animal-related action. This object is obtained by means of the apparatus initially defined, which is characterized by activatable means adapted to distract the animal from said action without offering the animal feed containing a considerable amount of energy. Such a distracting means will occupy the interest of the animal and distract it from the animal-related action. Consequently, the performance of said action is facilitated. Since the animal concentrates on the distracting means and is not moving, localizing of a particular part of the animal, for example a teat of a cow, may be done more quickly. According to an embodiment of the invention, control means is provided to activate said distracting means during an initial phase of the performance of said action. In many automatic operations, the initial finding or localizing phase is critical. Consequently, it is advantageous that the animal does not move during this critical phase. According to another embodiment of the invention said control means is adapted to activate said distracting means by moving said distracting means to a position in said area. Thereby, said control means may be adapted to adjust said position of said distracting means such that a position of an individual animal is optimized for the performance of said action regarding said individual. Moreover, said control means may be adapted to move said distracting means between said active position and an inactive position such that it is not accessible, and preferably not visible, to the animal. It is advantageous that the distracting means may be "inactivated when the occupation of the interest of the animal is no longer needed. This may for example be the case when it is desired that the animal leaves said area. It may also be the case after a certain time interval in order to maintain the curiosity of the animal and thus the attracting effect of the distracting means. Thereby, said inactive position may be outside the enclosure means. According to a further embodiment of the invention said control means is adapted to activate said distracting means by moving a cover means such that the distracting means is accessible, and preferably visible, to the animal, and to disactivate said distracting means by moving said cover means such that the distracting means is not accessible, and preferably not visible, to the animal. According to a further embodiment of the invention, said distracting means comprises means adapted to dispense a substance upon activation, said substance being attractive to the animal. Thereby, a sensing device may be provided to sense if the animal is contacting said distracting means by its mouth and that the control means may be adapted to activate the distracting means in response to said sensing device. Thereby, the activation of the distracting means is a sort of reward to the animal, which may be given after a certain time interval or when said action steps requiring an immovable animal have been performed. Said substance may be provided to emit a smell enticing the animal to sniff or smell thereat. Alternatively, said substance may have an attractive taste. Moreover, said substance may comprise a hormone, such as oxytocin, to be assimilated by the animal upon activation. Moreover, said distracting means may comprise a solid compound, such as a salt stone. It should be noted that such a solid compound may be provided as the only distracting member or in combination with said dispensing means. According to another embodiment of the invention, said area comprises a milking stall and the equipment comprises a milking machine having a set of teatcups to be attached to the teats of the animal being present in a milking stall by means of an automatic handling device and said animal- related action comprises said attachment of the teatcups. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will now be explained more closely by description of different embodiments thereof and with reference to the drawings. Fig 1 shows a side-view of a milking stall according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig 2 shows a view from above of a milking stall according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Fig 3 shows a side-view of a first embodiment of an distracting member according to the present invention. Fig 4 shows a side-view of a second embodiment of an distracting member according to the present invention. Fig 5 shows a view from above of a third embodiment of an distracting member according to the present invention. Fig 6 shows a side-view of a fourth embodiment of an distracting member according to the present invention. Fig 7 shows a side-view of a fifth embodiment of an distracting member according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DIFFERENT EMBODIMENTS With reference to Fig 1, there is disclosed a milking stall 1 for housing a cow to be milked, which stall 1 may be provided in a barn (not disclosed) housing many cows walking about freely. The milking stall 1 comprises enclosure means in the form of a surrounding grid device 2 defining an area in the milking stall 1. The grid device 2 comprises an inlet gate 3 and an exit gate 4. In connection to the milking stall 1, there is provided a milking machine represented by a receptacle container 5, four milk conduits 6 and four teatcups 7 to be attached to a respective teat of the cow being present in the milking stall 1 (see Fig 2 ) . For said attachment, there is provided an automatic handling device 8 comprising an electronic control unit 9 and a robot arm 10 having gripping means 11 and a sensor 12, for example in the form of a video camera for determining the position of the teats of the animal being present in the milking stall 1. Thus, the robot arm 10 and the gripping means 11 may be controlled to grip successively a teatcup 7 and attach it to a teat of the cow. It should be noted that the automatic handling device 8 except for attaching the teatcups may be adapted to locate, inspect, pretreat, clean and/or posttreat the teats. Moreover, there may be provided an animal identifying means (not shown) for the identification of an animal entering the milking stall 1, for example in the form of a transponder and a receiver. Such identifying means is connected to the control system of the milking stall 1 in which a lot of information about each individual cow may be stored. Moreover, in connection with the milking stall 1 there is provided animal distracting means in the form of a distracting device 13 comprising a support structure 14 and a distracting member 15. The distracting member 15 is movably connected to the support structure 14 by means of an arm 16 which is extensible, e.g. telescopically, and movable in a vertical plane and a horizontal plane. The movability of the arm 16 and the distracting member 15 is obtained by drive means housed in the support structure 14 and schematically disclosed at 17. Moreover, the distracting device 13 comprises a schematically disclosed container 18 for keeping different substances to be used together with the distracting member 15 and to be described more closely further down. The distracting device 13 also comprises an electronic control unit 19 for the control of the position of the distracting member 15 and for the control of the supply of the substances from the container 18. A connection 20 is provided between the control unit 19 and the control unit 9 for coordination of the operation of the automatic handling device 8 and the distracting device 13. In Fig 1 the movability of the distracting member 15 in a vertical plane is illustrated. In the position p a cow of a relatively small size, which is occupied by the distracting member 15, may be in such a position in the milking stall 1 that the robot arm 10 easily can reach the teats of the cow and thus attach the teatcups 7. The position p' represents a suitable position of the mouth of a cow being relatively big, said position facilitating the attachment of the teatcups 7. The position p' ' is provided outside the enclosure means 2 and thus the distracting member 15 is not accessible to a cow being present in the milking stall 1. Although it is not disclosed in Fig 1, the position p' ' may be such that the distracting member 15 is not visible to the animal, and moreover, it may be such that the animal may not perceive the smell of the distracting member 15. Consequently, the cow would not mind leaving the milking stall 1 after the milking operation has been finished. Fig 2 shows a modified milking stall 1 according to a second embodiment of the invention. It should be noted that elements of the different embodiments having a corresponding function are provided with the same reference signs. Essentially, the second embodiment differs from the first one in that the distracting member 15 is provided outside the front grid in a box 21 having at least a front cover 22 facing the milking stall 1. The cover 22 is movable between an open position and a closed position by a drive means 23. The drive means 23 is connected to the control unit for the control of the position of the cover 22. When the cover 22 is in the open position, the distracting member 15 is accessible and visible to the animal, and when the cover 22 is in the closed position, the distracting member is hidden and thus not accessible and visible to the animal. Consequently, the distracting member 15 may be activated by opening the cover 22 and disactivated by closing the cover 22. Fig 3 discloses a distracting member 15 having a spherical shape and being provided with small perforations 21. The arm 16 may be hollow and permit a liquid or a gas from the container 18 to be transported through the arm 16 and out through the perforations 24. In this manner it is possible to emit a suitable smell through the perforations 24. It may be a smell of calves, bulls or any suitable smell attracting animals. The smell may be in the form of an etheric oil dissolved in a solvent such as alcohol. The spherical distracting member 15 may be of metal, a hard plastic material or a hard rubber material. Moreover, there is provided a proximity sensor 25, for example an IR-sensor or a video camera, which is connected to the control unit 19 and adapted to sense if the animal is approaching or contacting the distracting member 15 by its mouth. Thereby, the control unit 19 may initiate the emission of the smell a certain time interval after the cow has been in contact with the distracting member 15. This is believed to increase the distracting effect of the distracting member 15, since the cow is rewarded for its interest in the distracting member 15. It should be noted that the distracting member 15 disclosed in Fig 3 also may be provided to dispense substances to be assimilated through the nose, such as oxytocin being a hormone stimulating milk let down in the initial phase of the milking. Fig 4 discloses a second embodiment of the distracting member 15 having a semispherical shape with an essentially plane, horizontal upper surface 26 and an internal channel 27 having an orifice in the upper surface 26 and being connected to the container 18. Thereby, a liquid, such as water or a small amount of molasses, may be dispensed from the container 18 through the channel 27 and onto the upper surface 26. In the same way as in the first embodiment of the distracting member 15 disclosed in Fig 3, a proximity sensor 25 connected to the control unit 19 may be provided. It should be noted that the distracting members 15 disclosed in Fig 3 and 4 may be activated by being introduced into the milking stall 1, for example from the position p' ' to the position p as disclosed in Fig 1, or by opening the cover 22, and/or by the distribution of a substance in the form of a smell and/or a taste. Thereby, the distribution may be initiated by opening of a valve device (not shown) controlled by the control unit 19. Figs 5 and 6 disclose a distracting member 15 which is believed to attract animals. It should be noted that the shape of such a distracting member may be varied and the distracting members disclosed are merely examples thereof. Fig 5 shows a torus-shaped member 15 and Fig 6 a portion of a rubber hose. The distracting member 15 should be produced in a material which encourages the cow to chew or bite it. Such materials may for example be rubber material, plastic material or wood. Fig 7 discloses a distracting member 15 in the form of a mineral stone, for example a salt stone. It should be noted, however, that the substances of the stone 15 may also comprise for example sweet substances, such as molasses. As an example, the activation of the distracting device 13, by positioning or distribution of a smell and/or a taste, may be initiated by the control unit 19 receiving a signal from the control unit 9 that a cow has entered the milking stall 1. Thereby, the distracting member 15 may . be activated during the attachment of the teatcups, thus occupying the animal therewith. When the teatcups 7 have been attached, a confirming signal may be sent to the control unit 19 by which the distracting device 13 is inactivated. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed herein but may be modified within the scope of the following claims. Although the present invention has been explained in connection with a milking stall it should be understood that the inventive idea also may be applied to other animal-related actions, such as cleaning, medical treatment etc. The present invention may be applied to other animals than cows, for example sheep, goats, horses, buffaloes.

Claims: Claims 1. An apparatus for housing an animal to be subjected to an animal-related action, comprising enclosure means (2) defining an area (1) and having at least one passage (3) permitting the animal to enter said area (1), and equipment (5, 8) for the performance of said action regarding the animal being present in said area, characterized by activatable means (13, 15) adapted to distract the animal from said action without offering the animal feed containing a considerable amount of energy. 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by control means (17, 19) provided to activate said distracting means (13, 15) during an initial phase of the performance of said action. 3. An apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that said control means (17, 19) is adapted to activate said distracting means (15) by moving said distracting means (15) to a position (p, p' ) in said area. 4. An apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that said control means (17, 19) is adapted to adjust said position (p, p' ) of said distracting means (15) such that a position of an individual animal is optimized for the performance of said action regarding said individual. 5. An apparatus according to any one of claims 3 and 4, characterized in that said control means (17, 19) is adapted to move said distracting means (15) between said active position (p, p' ) and an inactive position (p' ' ) such that it is not accessible, and preferably not visible, to the animal. 6. An apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that said inactive position (p' ' ) is outside the enclosure means (2) . 7. An apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that said control means (17, 19) is adapted to activate said distracting means (15) by moving a cover means (22) such that the distracting means (15) is accessible, and preferably visible, to the animal, and to disactivate said distracting means (15) by moving said cover means (22) such that the distracting means (15) is not accessible, and preferably not visible, to the animal. 8. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said distracting means (13, 15) comprises means (21, 23, 24) adapted to dispense a substance upon activation, said substance being attractive to the animal. 9. An apparatus according to claims 2 and 8, characterized in that a sensing device (22) is provided to sense if the animal is contacting said distracting means (15) by its mouth and that the control means (19) is adapted to activate the distracting means (13, 15) in response to said sensing device (22) . 10. An apparatus according to any one of claims 8 and 9, characterized in that said substance is provided to emit a smell enticing the animal to sniff or smell thereat. 11. An apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that said substance has an attractive taste upon activation. 12. An apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that said substance comprises a hormone, such as oxytocin, to be assimilated by the animal upon activation. 13. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said distracting means (13, 15) comprises a solid compound, such as a salt stone. 14. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said area comprises a milking stall (1) and that the equipment comprises a milking machine (5) having a set of teatcups (7) to be attached to the teats of the animal being present in the milking stall (1) by means of an automatic handling device (8) and in that said animal-related action comprises said attachment of the teatcups.

Inventors: BJOERK ANDERS, HOERBERG ANN LOUISE, BJOERK, ANDERS, HOERBERG, ANN, LOUISE
Applicants: ALFA LAVAL AGRI AB, BJOERK ANDERS, HOERBERG ANN LOUISE, BJOERK, ANDERS, HOERBERG, ANN, LOUISE
Application year: 1997
Main classification: A01K1
IPC codes: A01J7, A01K1, A01K15