Patent ID: 8001928

Claim:
Apparatus for removing milk from a teat of an animal, comprising: an outer body having an opening therein defining a first direction therein, said teat being insertable into said opening in said first direction; at least a first and a second resilient membrane, said first and second resilient membranes being held within said outer body, said first and second resilient membranes forming a space therebetween into which said teat is receivable when it is inserted into said opening; a support structure on which said first and second resilient membranes are mounted, said first and second resilient membranes are transversely stretched to place them under tension in a direction transverse to said first direction when there is the same pressure across said first and second resilient membranes, wherein said support structure is housed within said outer body and maintains said first and second resilient membranes under said tension independently of said outer body; and a pressure generating device for providing a pressure difference across said first and second resilient membranes.