Improvements connected with Milking Machines.
Year: 1895

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements connected with Milking Machines.
I, ALEXANDER SHIELS, of 190 Bath Street, Glasgow, M.B., C.M., B.Sc., do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention which relates to milking machines is a further development of
my prior inventions Nos. 8325" and 14638.
The object of the present invention is to combine in one apparatus the vacuum
pulsating device and the valve, which I have termed the "bye pass valve," for
increasing and maintaining the supply of vacuum whenever the vacuum, at the teat
cups, from any cause, falls below the proper minimum.
The apparatus consists of a casing having two passage ways in it one com-
municating with the valve, which I have termed the "constant valve," for
regulating the supply of vacuum from the vacuum reservoir, and the other in
communication with the pipe leading to the teat cups of the milking machiue.
Passing up through the casing and out at its upper end is a spindle on which a
disc valve is fitted capable of closing an opening, having a ring seat in it,
establishing communication between the aforesaid passages.
There is also fitted on the spindle, above the valve, a cup shaped piston which
works in a liner in the casing and a diaphragm held in place by the cover of the
casing and open to atmospheric pressure on its upper side.
The spindle is
connected, at its upper end, to one end of a cross lever, fulcrumed on a pillar
or bracket secured to the casing or its cover, and which has at its other end a
wheel or roller. Slung upon the lever or to the spindle of the wheel or roller is a
weight which can be adjusted as desired.
In conjunction with the device is a cam, which, when rotated by the milking
machine, acts on and gradually depresses the roller of the cross lever and thereby
lifts up the valve spindle and gradually opens the valve to the full extent.
The weight is so arranged relatively to the area of the diaphragm and the
suction, when the machine is working, on the underside of the valve, that, apart
from the action of the cam, the valve will remain closed so long as the vacuum at
the teat cups is at or above the minimum but will immediately open automatically
whenever the vacuum at said cups is reduced below the minimum.
The whole arrangement is such, that, when the cam begins to operate on the
roller the pulsating valve is slowly opened to the full extent and gradually
supplies vacuum to the teat cups until the maximum is reached, when the valve
suddenly closes sufficiently to reduce the vacuum down again to the minimum. In
practice so long as milking is going on the valve never closes entirely as the weight
is so adjusted that a minimum vacuum sufficient to retain the teat cups on the
cow's teats is always supplied.
The construction and arrangement of the apparatus may manifestly be varied
without departing from the invention.
Dated this 4th day of April 1895.
H. D. FITZPATRICK,
70. Wellington Street, Glasgow, Agent.

page_text: I, ALEXANDER SHIELS, of 190 Bath Street, Glasgow, M.B., C.M., B.Sc., do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention which relates to milking machines is a further development of
my prior inventions Nos. 8325" and 14638.
In my prior invention No. 14638" I have described a vacuum pulsating device
which is operated by means of a cam on the main driving shaft of the machine.
The "pulsator" has acting in conjunction with it a "by pass" valve, i.e., a valve
for supplying additional vacuum to the teat cups of the milking machine at certain
times; a 66
vacuum destroying valve " for destroying, at certain times, any excess
of vacuum at the teat cups; and also a constant valve for giving a regular
supply of vacuum from the vacuum reservoir to the "pulsator." The arrangement
and operation of these devices is fully explained in the Specification of my
aforesaid Patent.
"
This invention has for its object to combine in one device the "pulsator" and
the "by pass valve" so that the parts of the machine can be reduced and simplified
and a better action produced.
"
The annexed drawing shows the new pulsating device. As will be seen,
Fig. 1, the device consists of a casing a having two passage ways b, c, in it, the
one b, communicating with the valve d, which is the "constant valve for
regulating the supply of vacuum from the vacuum reservoir and is of the same
construction as in my prior invention, and the other, c, communicating with the
pipe, leading to the teat cups of the milking machine.
Passing up through the casing and out at its upper end is a spindle g on which
a disc valve h is fitted capable of closing an opening i, having a ring seat in it,
establishing communication between the aforesaid passages b, c.
There is also
fitted on the spindle, above the valve h, a cup shaped piston k, which works in a
liner k¹ secured in the casing, and a double or single diaphragm held in place
between the cover of the casing and said liner, and which is open to atmospheric
pressure on its upper side through the hole m in the casing.
9
The spindle is connected by the link g', at its upper end, to one end of the
cross lever n fulcrumed at n' on the pillar o secured to the casing or its cover and
which lever has, at its other end, the wheel or roller p carried in a stud p'. Slung,
by means of a jaw 9, upon the lever n, or to the spindle r of the wheel or roller, is
n weight s. The spindle with its valve his operated by the cam t, t¹, in the same
manner as the spindle and valve of the pulsator described with reference to Fig. 5
of the Specification of my prior invention No. 14,638 aforesaid.
The weight s is so arranged relatively to the area of the diaphragm l, and the
suction, when the machine is working, on the underside of the valve h, that, apart
from the action of the cam t, the valve h will remain closed so long as the vacuum
at the teat cups is at or above the minimum, but will immediately open auto-
matically whenever the vacuum at said teat cups is reduced below the minimum ;
and the whole arrangement is such that, when the cam t, t¹ begins to operate on the
roller p, the pulsating valve his slowly opened to the full extent and gradually
supplies vacuum from the constant valve d to the teat cups until the maximum is
reached when the valve suddenly closes sufficiently to the reduce the vacuum
down again to the minimum.. So long as the milking is going on the valve /
never closes entirely as the weights is so adjusted that a minimum vacuum
sufficient to retain the teat cups on the cow's teats is always supplied from the
valve d. It will thus be readily seen that the arrangement serves both as a

page_text: "
by pass
"valve to prevent the vacuum at the teat cups falling below the minimum
and as a "pulsator.'
u is the casing of the constant valve d.
is the passage leading from the
vacuum reservoir of the milking machine to the constant valve." w is the
66 constant "valve spindle.
is the cam shaft driven from the driving shaft of the machine.
The dotted lines indicate one of the standards or pillars for carrying the
driving shaft of the machine.
The arrows indicate the direction of the vacuum flow from the constant valve to
the pipe fand teat cups.
Fig. 2 shows a modification wherein a screw stud q' with a dome head q' is
used instead of the stud pl with its roller p, as in Fig. 1. The weights in this
case has a hooks which hooks into an eye at the bottom of the stud 9.
The construction and arrangement of the apparatus may manifestly be varied
without departing from the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
consider novel and desire to claim is :-
"
1. In a vacuum milking machine a combination valve capable of acting both
&B & vacuum pulsator" and as a "by pass" valve for automatically supplying
at certain times additional vacuum to the teat cups substantially as hereinbefore
set forth.
2. The general arrangement and combination of parts of the combined
"pulsator" and "by pass" valve, substantially as hereinbefore described and
shown on the drawings annexed.
Dated this 4th day of January 1896
H. D. FITZPATRICK,
70 Wellington Street, Glasgow, Agent.