Patent ID: 8776722

Claim:
A milking system, comprising: a controller ( 20 ); a milking robot ( 1 ) with a robot arm ( 110 ) that applies teat cups ( 50 ) to the teats of an animal, said controller ( 20 ) connected to said milking robot and controlling operation of said milking robot ( 1 ); and an optical detector ( 40 ) that detects radiation from the animal to determine the position of teats of the animal, said controller ( 20 ) connected to said optical detector ( 40 ) and controlling operation of said optical detector ( 40 ), said detector having i) a housing ( 410 ) with a window ( 420 ) that is substantially transparent to said radiation, ii) a detecting element ( 430 ) that is enclosed within said housing and receives said radiation through said window ( 420 ), and iii) an airflow arrangement ( 440 ), said airflow arrangement ( 440 ) provided with a connection to a source of pressurized air and having an aperture ( 450 ) disposed adjacent the detector window ( 420 ) for generating an air curtain that flows across a surface of said detector window ( 420 ), wherein, said optical detector ( 40 ), under control of said controller ( 20 ), moves to a position under the animal for detecting a position of the teats of the animal, and said controller ( 20 ) prevents contamination of the optical detector ( 40 ) by controlling application of the pressurized air to said aperture ( 450 ) to start generation of the air curtain flowing across the surface of said detector window ( 420 ) based on a start of a further operation controlled by the controller.