Abstract:
A teatcup supplying and retrieving device ( 4 ) has a teatcup supplying member ( 5 ) and at least one teatcup ( 10 ) connected to a tubing ( 11 ). The teatcup is provided with a teat entry end ( 19 ) having a surface defining an inlet opening ( 20 ) for a teat. The teatcup ( 10 ) is displaceable from a first position to a second position, in which the teat entry end ( 19 ) is directed differently from that of the first position, wherein the teatcup ( 10 ) is freely displaceable in relation to the teatcup supplying member ( 5 ) during displacement between the first and second positions. The displacement is at least initiated by a displacement device ( 8 ) controlled by a controller. Furthermore, there is provided an automatic milking apparatus having a milking robot provided with a robot arm ( 3 ) to be used in conjunction with such a teatcup supplying and retrieving device ( 4 ).

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a teatcup supplying and retrieving device comprising a teatcup supplying member and at least one teatcup connected to a tubing, said teatcup being provided with a teat entry end having a surface defining an inlet opening for a teat. 
     It also relates to an automatic milking apparatus comprising a milking robot arm provided with such a teatcup supplying and retrieving device. 
     Such a device and an apparatus are known from EP-A-0 213 660 
     Another such apparatus is known from WO 93/00001 
     OBJECT OF THE INVENTION 
     Milking robots provided with a teatcup supplying and retrieving device have been developed during the last twenty years. There are kinds known, where all the teatcups are constantly held in an upright position, such that the teat entry end is kept upwards, see e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,714 or EP-A-0 536 837. This is disadvantageous, as dirt may fall or flow into the teatcup when kept in a storage position. 
     Other milking robots are provided with a teatcup supplying and retrieving device in the form of a separate washing and/or storage magazine. in which the teat entry end is kept downwards, see e.g. EP-A-0 213 660 or WO 93/00001. On fetching the teatcup, the milking robot arm must turn the teatcup such that it takes an upright position. This is also disadvantageous, as it requires a complicated design of the milking robot arm. 
     It is, accordingly, an object of the invention to provide a teatcup supplying and retrieving device and a milking robot, which overcome these disadvantages. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This has been solved by a teatcup supplying and retrieving device of the initial defined kind, wherein said teatcup is displaceable from a first position to a second position, in which said teat entry end is directed differently from that of the first position, wherein said teatcup is freely displaceable in relation to said teatcup supplying member during displacement between said first and second positions, said displacement being at least initiated by a displacement means controlled by a control means. 
     It has also been solved by milking robot of the initial defined kind, wherein the milking robot arm is adapted to fetch at least one teatcup from said teatcup supplying member, the teatcup being at its second position, and to attach it onto a teat of an animal. 
     Hereby, it is made possible to store the teatcups in a position such that the teat entry end is kept in a direction other than upwards, i.e. the risk is less for contamination of the interior of the teatcup. 
     Preferably, said teat entry end is directed substantially downwards in said first position. Furthermore, it is preferred that said teat entry end is directed substantially upwards in said second position. Hereby is achieved that the teatcup can be fetched by the robot arm, while the teatcup is in an upright position, which allows for a simple design of the robot arm, which in turn reduces the manufacturing costs therefor. 
     Suitably, said teatcup supplying member comprises a displacement limiting means for limiting the movement of the teatcup. Hereby, a turning area is defined. 
     Preferably, said displacement limiting means comprises a stop member at said first position. Hereby, a turning point is defined. 
     Suitably, said movement limiting means comprises a guide means adapted to guide said teatcup towards said first position. Furthermore, said guide means comprises a pair of substantially parallel guide members. 
     Preferably, said tubing is allowed to extend between and through said pair of guide members during displacement of the teatcup between said first and second positions. Hereby, turning of the teatcup including the tubing is facilitated. 
     Suitably, said guide members are inclined in relation to the horizontal plane, and are arranged to allow said teatcup to perform a sliding movement along an upper surface of said guide members. Hereby is achieved that the teatcup is allowed to slide along the guide members towards said stop member. 
     Preferably, said guide members are arranged to allow said teatcup to perform a sliding movement along a lower surface of said guide members. Hereby, a guidance is achieved during teatcup retrieval. 
     Preferably, said teatcup comprises a flange means adapted to be in contact with said displacement limiting means while being displaced between said first and second positions. Hereby, a turning axis is defined. 
     Said flange means comprises at least one flange member forming a substantially annular flange. This allows for easy manufacturing. 
     Preferably, said tubing is associated with said displacement means. Hereby, displacement of the teatcup may be performed by displacing the tubing. 
     Suitably, said teatcup is displaceable between said first and second positions by means of a tubing linking means connectible to said displacement means, which linking means is arranged between the ends of said tubing, said tubing being connected, at its end opposite to the end connected to the teatcup, to a milk line connection point, movement of said linking means substantially towards said fluid connection point causing the teatcup to be displaced downwards. Displacement of the teatcup is thus achieved with less risk for disturbance. 
     Preferably, said tubing linking means comprises a pulley, about which said tubing is adapted to run. Hereby, a smooth displacement of the tubing and the teatcup is achieved. 
     Preferably, a disengagement of an engagement member of said displacement means causes gravity to displace said teatcup. Hereby, displacement of the teatcup may be performed without use of external power. 
     Alternatively, operation of a driving means of said displacement means causes displacement of said teatcup, said operation being controlled by said control means. Hereby, a controlled displacement of the teatcup may be performed with external power. 
     In order to perform said controlled displacement, said driving means comprises a pneumatic cylinder or a pneumatic vane motor. 
     Preferably, said teatcup is displaceable from an upper position to a position located substantially below therefrom, e.g. to said first position. Hereby is achieved a possibility of moving the teatcup from e.g. a storage place or a washing rack. 
     Suitably, said teatcup is adapted to be retrieved to said upper position by means of said displacement means after a signal from said control means. The signal may be initiated manually by pressing a push button, or automatically by e.g. a sensor sensing a ceasing milk flow, such as a milk flow sensor of a temperature sensor. 
     The automatic milking apparatus further comprises a milking stall defining an animal space for receiving at least one animal, and a milking robot arranged at a longitudinal side of said milking stall in such a way that a robot arm of said milking robot is allowed to move into said animal space, said teatcup supplying and retrieving device being arranged at the same longitudinal side of the milking stall as the milking robot. Hereby easy fetching of the teatcups by the milking robot arm is achieved. 
    
    
     DRAWING SUMMARY 
     The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which 
     FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective views of an automatic milking apparatus comprising a teatcup supplying and retrieving device, 
     FIG. 2A is a cross-section through the teatcup supplying and retrieving device comprising a driving means, 
     FIG. 2B shows the same device as in FIG. 2A with an alternative driving means, 
     FIGS. 3A to  3 D illustrate the principle of turning of a teatcup by gravity, 
     FIGS. 4A to  4 F illustrate turning of a teatcup in the teatcup supplying and retrieving device according to the invention, 
     FIG. 5 illustrates a teatcup in a supply position, as seen from the side and from underneath, 
     FIG. 6 is a front view. of the teatcup supplying and retrieving device according to the invention, 
     FIG. 7 illustrates a teatcup attached to a teat, 
     FIG. 8A illustrates retraction of a teatcup, 
     FIG. 8B illustrates the position of a teatcup during rinsing thereof, and 
     FIG. 9 shows a milking stall from above. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1A illustrates a cow to be milked by an automatic milking apparatus  1 , comprising a milking robot  2  with a robot arm  3  provided with a gripper  3   a . Bars to protect and suspend the equipment and to form a milking stall have been omitted for better understanding of the apparatus. The automatic milking apparatus  1  furthermore comprises a teatcup supplying and retrieving device  4  provided with four teatcup supplying members  5 . Please refer to FIG. 1B for a magnification. 
     Each teatcup supplying member is provided with a pulley  6 . Each pulley  6  is connected by a cord  7  to a driving means  8  in the form of a pneumatic cylinder or an air spring, via a link roll  8   a , which in turn is connected to a source of pressure or vacuum (not shown). During operation of the cylinder  7 , the pulley  6  is caused to move upwards or downwards in a guide member  9  of the teatcup supplying member  5 . 
     A teatcup  10  connected to a tubing  11 , consisting of a milk tube and a pulsation tube, is arranged in each teatcup supplying member  5 . The tubing  11  is arranged to run over the pulley  6 . 
     The teatcup  10  is provided with an annular flange  12 , which is adapted to interact with a pair of flanges  13 . During turning of the teatcup  10 , the tubing  11  is allowed to extend through an opening between the flanges  13 , for forming a smooth curve. 
     A guide roller  14  is provided to guide the tubing during attachment of a teatcup  10  onto a teat of the cow and subsequent detachment thereof, in order to avoid wear of the tubing against edges. 
     FIG. 2A illustrates how the tubing  11  is connected at one end to the teatcup  10 , runs over the pulley  6  and is connected at its opposite end to a fluid connection point  15  in the form of a pair of nipples (not shown), which in turn connect to a milk line and a vacuum line, respectively (not shown). 
     The cord  7  is moved over the link roll  8   a  by a piston in the pneumatic cylinder  8 . 
     FIG. 2B illustrates the use of an alternative driving means  8 , namely a pneumatic vane motor as disclosed in WO 95/07607, which may alternatively be driven by air under pressure. 
     It should be noted that for causing the pulley  6  to move downwards, it is not needed to actively drive the driving means. On the contrary, it is possible to disengage the motor by e.g. allowing atmospheric air to be introduced into the working chambers on each side of the piston of the pneumatic cylinder. Regarding the vane motor, reference is made to WO 95/07607. 
     In FIGS. 3A to  3 D, the principle of turning of a teatcup about a pair of horizontal flanges  13  is shown. 
     FIG. 3A illustrates a teatcup supported on its annular flange  12  on the pair of flanges  13 , of which only one is shown for clarity reasons. 
     FIG. 3B illustrates how the tubing bends when it is slackened, which causes the teatcup to turn about the annular flange  12  resting on the pair of flanges  13 , due to gravity acting on the tubing and the teatcup. Further slackening of the tubing will cause the teatcup  12  to turn even further (FIG.  3 C). 
     FIG. 3D shows the teatcup  10 , when completely turned. 
     FIGS. 4A to  4 F illustrate the principle of turning of the teatcup  10  about the pair of flanges  13  of the teatcup supplying and retrieving device  4  according to the invention. 
     In FIG. 4A, the teatcup is in its retracted position. 
     In FIG. 4B, the teatcup rests and slides against an inclined portion  16  of the pair of flanges  13 . 
     In FIG. 4C, the teatcup  10  rests on its annular flange  12  against a horizontal portion  17  and a vertical portion  18  of the pair of flanges  13 , which both form a stop member for preventing further downward or sideward movement of the teatcup  10 , so that a rotational movement can be initiated. A teat entry end  19  of the teatcup  10  is directed downwards. 
     In FIG. 4D, a rotational movement of the teatcup  10  has been initiated, so that the teat entry end  19  is inclined downwards. In FIG. 4E, the teatcup has performed a further rotation, the teat entry end  19  being inclined upwards, and in FIG. 4F, the teatcup  10  the teatcup has turned completely to a state where the annular flange  12  rests against the pair of flanges  13 . In this position, the teat entry end  19  is directed upwards. 
     In FIG. 5, the position of the teatcup  10  in the teatcup supplying member  5  according to FIG. 4C is shown for sake of clarity. Consequently, the figure illustrates the teatcup  10  resting on its annular flange  12  on said pair of flanges  13 . In the surface of the teat entry end  19 , there is formed an opening  20  for insertion of a teat to be milked. 
     Turning now to FIG. 6, the turning of teatcups  10  is shown in connection with a front view of the teatcup supplying and retrieving device  4 . 
     Starting from the leftmost teatcup supplying member  5 , the teatcup  10  is in its retracted position. 
     In the teatcup supplying member  5  second from the left, operation of the driving means  8  has cased the cord  7  and the pulley  6  to move downwards. The tubing  11  has run over the pulley  6  due to gravity acting on the tubing  11  and the teatcup  10 . The teatcup rests against a part of the pair of flanges  13  that is inclined  16  (cf FIG.  4 B). 
     In the teatcup supplying member  5  second from the right, operation of the driving means  8  has caused the teatcup  10  to turn such that the teat entry end is directed horizontally, as the annular flange  12  of the teatcup  10  prevents further downward movement of the teatcup. As the teatcup cannot move further, the tubing  11  is forced to bend, as shown in FIGS. 1B and 4E, respectively, which in turn causes the teatcup  10  to turn. 
     In the rightmost teatcup supplying member  5 , operation of the driving means  8  has caused the teatcup  10  to turn to a state where the annular flange  12  of the teatcup rests against the pair of flanges  13  and the teat entry end is directed upwards. 
     FIG. 7 illustrates a teatcup  10  attached onto a teat of the cow. The guide roller  14  guides the tubing  11  to take a desired curved form, and to prevent it from being bent, which could stop flow through the tubing. 
     The guide roller  14  also guides the tubing  11  during detachment of the teatcup  10  from the teat to safely move into the member  5 . 
     FIG. 8A illustrates the movement of the teatcup during retraction of the teatcup after detachment from the teat, which is performed by operation of the driving means  8 , so that the pulley  6  is pulled upwards, causing the tubing  11  and the teatcup  10  to be retracted. Due to the pair of flanges  13  of the teatcup supplying member  5  and the annular flange  12  of the teatcup  10 , the teatcup will slide against the horizontal portion  17  and upwardly (see arrow) along the inclined portion  16  thereof as the tubing  11  is retracted by the pulley  6 , until the teatcup has passed the pair of flanges  13  (indicated by broken lines). Thereafter, the teatcup will move to the right (cf. FIG.  4 A), depending on the horizontal position of the pulley  6 . 
     After retraction, it may, be suitable to lower the teatcup  10  again into the position shown in FIG. 8B, in which position the interior of the tubing  11  and the teatcup  10  is cleaned by flushing a rinsing agent and water therethrough, to be let out through the opening  20  of the teatcup. 
     In FIG. 9, a milking stall  21  having front gate means  22  and rear gate means  23  is shown from above. The teatcup supplying and retrieving device  4  is arranged on a longitudinal bar  24  running along said milking stall  21 . 
     OPERATION 
     A cow to be milked is identified by e.g. a transponder (not shown). If she is allowed to be milked, she is let into the milking stall  21  through the rear gate means  23 . When the cow has entered the stall, the teatcup supplying and retrieving device  4  starts to move a teatcup  10  downwards in the sequence shown in FIGS. 4A to  4 F in order to turn it. 
     The gripper  3   a  of the robot arm  3  fetches the teatcup  10  from the teatcup supplying member  5  when in the position shown in FIG.  4 F. The teatcup  10  is lifted over the vertical portion  18  of the pair of flanges  13  by the robot arm  3 . The robot arm moves the teatcup towards a selected teat by a teatcup locating device not shown, but may be by means of a laser sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a vision system or the like. 
     The milk tube is connected to vacuum so that the teatcup can be attached to the teat (cf FIG.  7 ). The pulsation tube is connected to a pulsating vacuum for allowing a pulsating milk extraction to be started. 
     This sequence is repeated for the remaining three teatcups until each of them has been attached to a suitable teat, unless it should not be milked due to e.g. infection. 
     After performed milling, a suitable sensor, such as a milk flow sensor, is used for sensing a ceasing milk flow. When a control means has established end of milking outgoing from a signal from the sensor, the control means controls the driving means  8  to pull the pulley  6  for retracting the teatcup. 
     The teatcup is lowered into the position shown in FIG. 8B for rinsing the interior of the tubing  11  and the teatcup  10 . The liquid is flushed down to the floor provided e.g. with a drain. 
     After rinsing is finished, the teatcup is retracted to the position shown in FIG.  4 A and the cow is let out from the stall  21  by opening the front gate means  22 . 
     The automatic milking apparatus is now ready to milk another cow. 
     Of course, pre-treatment and after-treatment of the teats, such as cleaning, iodine-spraying, massage and premilking, may be performed before and/or after attachment of the teatcups, which treatments are performed by moving a suitable equipment to the teats by means of the robot arm. 
     If it is desired to attach the teatcups  10  manually—which may be the case if the teatcup and supplying and retrieving apparatus  4  is used without the milking robot  3 , or in case of a malfunction of the milking robot  3 —a push-button is pressed to activate the driving means  8 , either one at a time or all of them simultaneously. The teatcups will be put into the position shown in FIG. 4F, where they are easy to fetch by hand. The teatcups are then attached to the teats of the cow by a dairy maid, instead of by the robot arm  3 . 
     After milking is finished, the teatcups will be automatically detached and retracted, as above. 
     Wherever reference has been made to a cow, it should be interpreted as also including any milk animal, such as a sheep, a goat, a horse or a buffalo.