Patent ID: 8807079

Claim:
A milking parlour ( 1 ), comprising: a rotatable platform ( 3 ) comprised of plural milking stalls ( 5 ), each milking stall having a set of teat cups ( 23 ), each set of teat cups ( 23 ) comprised of at least a first sub-set of the teat cups ( 21 d ) and a second sub-set of the teat cups ( 21 c ), the first and second sub-sets being mutually exclusive; a first robotic manipulation device ( 100 ); a second robotic manipulation device ( 200 ); and a plurality of milking stalls ( 5 ) provided on the platform ( 3 ) moveable relative to the first and second robotic manipulation devices ( 100 , 200 ), wherein, the first and second robotic manipulation devices ( 100 , 200 ) are positioned and controlled so that the first and second robotic manipulation devices ( 100 , 200 ) simultaneously service neighbouring milking stalls ( 5 ) on the platform ( 3 ) where the first robotic manipulation device ( 100 ) attaches the first sub-set of the teat cups ( 21 d ) to a first animal in a first milking stall ( 5 ) simultaneously while the second robotic manipulation device ( 200 ) attaches the second sub-set of the teat cups ( 21 c ) to a second animal ( 7 ) in a neighbouring second milking stall ( 5 ), and the first and second robotic manipulation devices ( 100 , 200 ) are positioned and controlled so that the first and second robotic manipulation devices ( 100 , 200 ) service neighbouring milking stalls ( 5 ) on the platform ( 3 ) where the first robotic manipulation device ( 100 ) attaches only the first sub-set of the teat cups ( 21 d ) to the first animal in the first milking stall ( 5 ), and the second robotic manipulation device ( 200 ) attaches the second sub-set of the teat cups ( 21 c ) to the first animal ( 7 ) in the first milking stall ( 5 ), wherein both the first and second robotic manipulation devices ( 100 , 200 ) attach teat cups to teats of the first animal.