Patent ID: 8205574

Claim:
A teat cup handling device for a robot arm adapted to attach teat cups to teats of a milking animal, wherein in use, the teat cup handling device i) grips teat cups stored in a teat cup storing device, the teat cup storing device being separated and spaced apart from the robot arm, ii) fetches the gripped teat cups from the storing device, and iii) attaches the fetched teat cups to the teats of the milking animal, the teat cup handling device comprising: a first axis ( 5 ), and four teat cup holding parts ( 4 ) arranged around the first axis ( 5 ), the four holding parts ( 4 ) arranged at different positions along a curved path extending around the first axis ( 5 ), each holding part ( 4 ) comprising a holding unit ( 9 ) with a contact surface ( 9 a ) for releasably holding a respective teat cup ( 2 ) on the contact surface ( 9 a ), the contact surface ( 9 a ) of each holding unit ( 9 ) being inclined in relation to the contact surface ( 9 a ) of each of the other holding units ( 9 ), wherein each teat cup ( 2 ) has an elongated substantially cylindrical shape with a first end surface ( 2 a ) provided with a recess for receiving one teat of the milking animal and an oppositely located second end surface ( 2 b ), a centrally located longitudinal axis ( 2 c ) extending through the first end surface ( 2 a ) and the second end surface ( 2 b ), wherein, in use, with the teat cups stored in a storing position in the teat cup storing device with the first end surface ( 2 a ) oriented downward and the teat cups free of holding by the holding parts, each holding part ( 4 ) of the teat cup handling device i) grips and then holds the teat cups stored in the storing position in the teat cup storing device so that the teat cups become gripped and held by the holding parts, ii) fetches the gripped teat cups from the storing device, and iii) attaches the fetched teat cups to the teats of the milking animal with milk conduits ( 13 ) of the teat cups extending back to the teat cup storing device, and wherein, in use, in fetching the gripped teat cups from the storing device, the contact surfaces ( 9 a ) of the holding units ( 9 ) hold the teat cups ( 2 ) such that i) the longitudinal axis ( 2 c ) of each teat cup is inclined in relation to the longitudinal axes ( 2 c ) of all other teat cups ( 2 ), and ii) an extension of the respective longitudinal axis ( 2 c ) of the teat cups ( 2 ) simultaneously all cross each other in a common point ( 5 ′).