Patent ID: 8689735

Claim:
An arrangement for attaching teat cups (C 1 , C 2 , C 3 , C 4 ) to the teats (T 1 , T 2 , T 3 , T 4 ) of a milking animal (A), each teat cup having a teat-receiving end configured to receive one teat of the animal (A), the arrangement comprising: a teat cup magazine ( 120 ) that stores teat cups (C 1 , C 2 , C 3 , C 4 ); a gripper element ( 140 ) that grips and removes the teat cups (C 1 , C 2 , C 3 , C 4 ) from the teat cup magazine ( 120 ) and holds at least one removed teat cup (C 1 , C 2 ) during transport thereof towards an udder (U) where the teats (T 1 , T 2 , T 3 , T 4 ) are located; a robotic arm ( 150 ) carrying the gripper element and configured to transport the gripper element, gripping the at least one teat cup, between the teat cup magazine and the teats; a positioning element ( 130 ) that determines position estimates representing at least one spatial characteristic of the udder; and a control element ( 110 ) that a) receives the determined position estimates, and b) after receiving the position estimates, controls the robotic arm and the gripper element to i) grip the at least one teat cup in the teat cup magazine, and ii) attach the gripped at least one teat cup to one of the teats, wherein the control element i) based on the at least one spatial characteristic of the udder represented by the received position estimates, determines a horizontal level (z C1 , z C2 ) to grip the at least one teat cup, the horizontal level being determined relative to the at least one teat cup's teat-receiving end, and ii) controls the robotic arm and the gripper element so that the gripper element grips the at least one teat cup in the teat cup magazine at the determined horizontal level, and the gripper element removes the at least one teat cup from the teat cup magazine with the at least one teat cup gripped in the gripper element at the determined horizontal level relative to the a least one teat cup's teat-receiving end.