Patent Application
20240074401
The present disclosure relates generally to dairy equipment, and more particularly to milking claws for milking animals, such as cows and goats.
In general, milking claws typically include a claw top including a pair of front inlets and a pair of rear inlets. Certain embodiments include an outlet in a claw bottom, while others include a claw outlet in the claw top. Typically, the pair of front inlets are disposed on a top surface of the claw top and configured to draw milk into the claw top. The pair of front inlets may extend upwardly from the top surface of the claw top and are inclined towards a front half of the claw top. The pair of rear inlets are typically disposed on the top surface of the claw top and configured to draw milk into the claw top, extending upwardly from the top surface of the claw top and inclined towards a rear half of the claw top. The outlet is typically disposed at the rear half of the claw top or claw bottom. In some embodiments, a claw bottom may include a dividing wall configured to keep milk directed from the inlets spaced on opposite sides of a longitudinal axis of the milking claw from intermingling. The intermingling of the milk may cause splashing within the milking claw which would agitate the milk and break down the fatty globules in the milk which would otherwise cause the degradation of the milk.
One goal of milking animals in general is to provide as much comfort to the animal as possible during all stages of its life, and particularly during milking. Any added weight to the claw would generally be viewed as unwanted and a deterrent to this goal. Animal milking claws that have any unnecessary structural components or component thicknesses are therefore generally viewed as undesirable.
Despite the apparent convenience and animal comfort provided by known milking claws, problems remain. Efforts to reduce weight of milking claws may result in certain structural features not being strong enough to withstand varied, repeated movements produced by the animals, the milking machinery, and/or milking technicians. These disadvantages may cause frequent maintenance headaches, and in the worse case downtime for extended periods. Maintenance and replacement of known milking claws, drainage conduits, and drains may take away time that otherwise could be used in milking. Moreover, none of the known milking claws have any provision for cooling the obtained milk while the milk is in the claw itself. Any cooling of the milk in the milking claw would be beneficial in reducing cooling demand of downstream refrigerators and milk pre-coolers.
It would be advantageous to provide animal milking claws employing structural features that are able to withstand repeated movements of the animals and the milking machinery, while reducing labor, capital expense, and operating expenses compared with presently available systems, and which may significantly reduce maintenance issues. As may be seen, current milking claws may not be economical in all circumstances, and may result in one or more deficiencies as noted above. There remains a need for animal milking claws that are sturdy, easy to use, that are less susceptible to maintenance or replacement issues, and that may be used with a variety of metal and plastic pulsation blocks, such as side-to-side, front to back, and the like. The animal milking claws of the present disclosure are directed to these needs.
In accordance with the present disclosure, animal milking claws are described which reduce or overcome many of the faults of previously known milking claws and methods of using them, while providing high volume flow rates of milk from the animals.
A first aspect of the disclosure are animal milking claws comprising (or consisting essentially of, or consisting of):
In certain embodiments the animal milking claws may comprise the milk outlet having a reinforced portion adjacent a location where the milk outlet connects to the lower claw portion and extending at least a portion of a length of the milk outlet, with one or more reinforcing chamfers positioned on each location where the reinforced portion of milk outlet connects with the lower claw portion. In certain embodiments the animal milking claws may comprise
In certain embodiments the animal milking claws may comprise an upper claw portion and a lower claw portion, the upper claw portion having a first rear milk inlet, a second rear milk inlet, a first front milk inlet, a second front milk inlet, and the lower claw portion having a milk outlet, the upper and lower claw portions comprising shaped plastic, mating halves of a generally spherical or other arcuate shaped milking claw. In certain embodiments the animal milking claw assemblies of the present disclosure may comprise, in addition to a milking claw as defined herein, a plastic (preferably glass fiber-filled polycarbonate (machined, molded, printed, or otherwise formed)) pulsation block connected to the upper claw portion, the plastic pulsation block having a first vacuum source connection, a second vacuum source connection, a first teat vacuum connection, a second teat vacuum connection, a third teat vacuum connection, and a fourth teat vacuum connection, the first and second teat vacuum connections positioned on a first side of the plastic pulsation block, the third and fourth teat vacuum connections positioned on a second side of the plastic pulsation block, the first, second, third, and fourth teat vacuum connections positioned in a plane, the first and second vacuum source connections positioned on a first end of the plastic pulsation block and also located in the plane. In certain embodiments the animal milking claws may comprise the milk outlet having a reinforced portion adjacent a location where the milk outlet connects to the lower claw portion and extending at least a portion of a length of the milk outlet, with one or more reinforcing chamfers positioned on each location where the reinforced portion of the milk outlet connects with the lower claw portion.
In certain embodiments the animal milking claws may comprise the lower claw portion including an external girder having a distal end and reinforcing chamfers positioned on each side of the girder where the girder meets the lower claw portion, the distal end of the girder mating with a girder alignment clip. In certain embodiments the lower milking claw portion may include an internal lip extending from the milk outlet towards the center of the milking claw and generally parallel to the milk outlet. In certain embodiments, the milking claws may comprise a main gasket between flange halves of the lower claw portion and the upper claw portion, respectively, and a central connector of the upper claw portion, the central connector having a through bore. In certain embodiments the milking claws may comprise a partition in the lower claw portion, and a central connector of lower claw portion, the central connector having a through bore, with a connecting rod positioned within the through bore. In certain embodiments the animal milking claws may comprise a rubber bumper secured to a bottom of the lower claw portion, while certain other embodiments may comprise a metal cap secured to a bottom of the lower claw portion.
Certain milking claw embodiments may feature a milk coolant feature. In certain milking claw embodiments the milk coolant feature may comprise a coolant conduit having a coolant fluid inlet and a coolant fluid outlet, the coolant conduit positioned in close heat transfer contact with an exterior surface of a lower portion of the milk outlet conduit and in spiral flow heat transfer contact with an exterior surface of the lower claw portion. Other coolant flow arrangements are possible, such as dedicated coolant flow channels formed in the milk outlet conduit, and/or the lower milking claw.
As used herein “animal” refers primarily to cows, goats, sheep, and camels, although conceivably the milking claws and milking claw assemblies described herein could be scaled up for larger animal use or down for smaller animal use. “Milking claw” means the upper and lower claw portions (either fixed together or in a kit of separated upper and lower components), while “milking claw assembly” means a milking claw including a pulsation block and other accessories described herein. “Milking cluster” refers to an assembly including a milking claw assembly, teat cups and teat cup liners, and hoses connecting the teat cups with the pulsation block, and optionally hoses connecting the teat cups to a vacuum source. “Plastic” means polymeric, filled or unfilled with one or more fillers, whether active or passive fillers. “Plastic-coated” means the component may comprise a metal core with a plastic material coated or layered thereon.
In certain embodiments the shaped plastic milking claw upper and lower halves may be formed by a procedure selected from one or more subtractive processes, one or more additive processes, one or more molding processes (for example, but not limited to, injection molding extrusion, rotational molding, and blow molding), or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments the shaped plastic milking claw upper and lower halves may be a transparent or partially transparent plastic.
These and other features of the animal milking claws, assemblies, and methods of making and using same of the present disclosure will become more apparent upon review of the brief description of the drawings, the detailed description, and the claims that follow.
The manner in which the objectives of this disclosure and other desirable characteristics can be obtained is explained in the following description and attached drawings in which:
It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings of
In the following description, numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of the animal milking claws and methods of making and using them of the present disclosure. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the apparatus and methods disclosed herein may be practiced without these details and that numerous variations or modifications from the described embodiments may be possible. All technical articles, U.S. published and non-published patent applications, standards, U.S. patents, U.S. statutes and regulations referenced herein are hereby explicitly incorporated herein by reference, irrespective of the page, paragraph, or section in which they are referenced. Where a range of values describes a parameter, all sub-ranges, point values and endpoints within that range or defining a range are explicitly disclosed herein. All percentages herein are by weight unless otherwise noted.
All numbers disclosed herein are approximate values, regardless whether the word “about” or “approximate” is used in connection therewith. They may vary by 1%, 2%, 5%, and sometimes, 10 to 20%. Whenever a numerical range with a lower limit, RL and an upper limit, RU, is disclosed, any number falling within the range is specifically disclosed. In particular, the following numbers within the range are specifically disclosed: R=RL+k*(RU−RL), wherein k is a variable ranging from 1% to 100% with a 1% increment, i.e., k is 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, . . . , 50%, 51%, 52%, . . . 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100%. Moreover, any numerical range defined by two R numbers as defined in the above is also specifically disclosed.
It should be understood that wherever the term “comprising” is used herein, other embodiments where the term “comprising” is substituted with “consisting essentially of” are explicitly disclosed herein, and vice versa. It should be further understood that wherever the term “comprising” is used herein, other embodiments where the term “comprising” is substituted with “consisting of” are explicitly disclosed herein, and vice versa. Moreover, the use of negative limitations is specifically contemplated; for example, certain animal milking claws may include metal pulsation blocks, while other embodiments may be devoid of metal pulsation blocks. In certain embodiments the plastics used in constructing the animal milking claws may be devoid of fillers. In certain embodiments the upper and lower milking claw portions may be devoid of metal. The term “comprising” and derivatives thereof is not intended to exclude the presence of any additional component, step or procedure, whether or not the same is disclosed herein. In order to avoid any doubt, all systems, processes, and compositions claimed herein through use of the term “comprising” may include any additional component, step, additive, adjuvant, or compound whether monomeric, oligomeric, polymeric or otherwise, unless stated to the contrary. In contrast, the term, “consisting essentially of” excludes from the scope of any succeeding recitation any other component, step or procedure, excepting those that are not essential to operability. The term “consisting of” excludes any component, step or procedure not specifically delineated or listed. The term “or”, unless stated otherwise, refers to the listed members individually as well as in any combination.
As mentioned herein, despite the apparent convenience of known animal milking claws, problems remain. There remains a need for animal milking claws that provide faster milking while maintaining healthier teats, greater flow capacity, allow and handle good vacuum stability even at greater flow capacity, are structurally reinforced, more durable, yet easy to use and maneuverable, and flexible in construction to employ a variety of metal and plastic pulsaton blocks and configurations of vacuum source inlets and vacuum conduits for front and rear teats. The animal milking claws of the present disclosure are directed to these needs. In certain embodiments, milking claws of the present disclosure are capable of volume flow rates of milk from cows ranging from about 40 to about 50 ml/squeeze/side, and from about 15 to about 25 ml/squeeze/teat (or from about 18 to about 22 ml/squeeze/teat).
In certain embodiments (or portions thereof) the animal milking claws of the present disclosure may be formed by a procedure selected from one or more subtractive processes, one or more additive processes, one or more molding processes (for example, but not limited to, injection molding extrusion, rotational molding, and blow molding), or a combination thereof.
The one or more substractive processes may be selected from machining operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, all of which may be computer-aided or non-computer-aided.
The one or more additive processes may be selected from rapid prototyping, 3D printing, stereolithography (SLA) printing, near-net or net-shape casting, and combinations thereof.
In certain embodiments, the upper and lower milking claw portions and plastic pulsation block may comprise the same or different plastic homopolymer, a plastic copolymer, mixtures thereof, and layered versions thereof, wherein the plastic homopolymer may be unfilled or partially filled with one or more fillers, wherein the plastic copolymer may be unfilled or partially filled with one or more fillers, wherein the filler may be selected from fibrous materials, non-fibrous materials, and mixtures thereof.
In certain embodiments the plastic pulsation block may be a glass fiber reinforced polycarbonate having properties described in Table 1. These specific polycarbonates are known under the trade designation Panlite® polycarbonate, commercially available from Teijin.
Other polycarbonates useful in plastic pulsation blocks may be aliphatic or aromatic polycarbonates, branched chain polycarbonates, and copolymers with other monomers. For example, to enhance flame retardancy, without use of additives, 2,2-bis-(3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxyphenyl)propane (tetrabromobis-phenol A) has been used in copolymers with bis-phenol A. To enhance referactive index copolymers of bis-phenol S (thiodiphenol) with bis-phenol A have been employed. The refractive index of the copolymer no is 1.610 compared with 1.590 for the homopolymer. To reduce melt viscosity an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid may be used to partially replace the carbonic acid derivative. Easy-flow grades with a melt flow rate of 80 are available. Such an improvement in flow rate is, however, at the expense of heat distortion temperature. To enhance the resistance to heat softening bis-phenol A may be substituted by a stiffer molecule. Conventional bis-phenol A polycarbonates have lower heat distortion temperatures (deflection temperatures under load) than some of the somewhat newer aromatic thermoplastics, such as the polysulphones. A polycarbonate in which the bis-phenol A is replaced by tetramethylbis-phenol A has a Vicat softening point of 196° C., excellent resistance to hydrolysis, excellent resistance to tracking and a low density of about 1.1 g/cm3. Such improvements are obtained at the expense of impact strength and resistance to stress cracking. Polycarbonate homopolymers and copolymers may also be filled with solid lubricants, glass fibers, polyaramid fibers, colorants, and the like to enhance their structural, bearing and wear properties, and/or simply their appearance. Materials such as glass, PTFE, graphite and oil are all available in standard sizes.
In certain embodiments the upper and lower milking claw portions may be comprised of any of a variety of thermoplastics, such as as the above-described polycarbonates, polysulphones, polyphenylsulphones (such as those available under the trade designation Radel®, available from Solvay), polyesters, polyethers, and polyimides, and copolymers and terpolymers thereof (such as polyetherimides).
In certain embodiments the upper and lower milking claw portions may have a hemispherical or approximately hemispherical shape, or arcuate bowl shape, and for cow milking a volume of at least about 150 ml, or volume ranging from about 150 ml to about 300 ml, or from about 150 ml to about 250 ml. The thicknesses of the upper and lower milking claw portions may be the same or different, and may be uniform or nonuniform; an example of nonuniform thickness includes those where the thickness increases from the centerline locations where the upper and lower milking claw portions are connected to the locations where the milk inlet conduits connect to the upper milking claw portion. The thickness of the upper milking claw portion in the regions around the milk inlet conduits may be 25 percent, 50 percent, or 100 percent greater than the thickness at the center line of the milking claw.
The milking claw upper and lower portions may be transparent or partially transparent. In certain embodiments they may comprise a rigid transparent plastic, in addition to those already mentioned, such as for example polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyamide, polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), copolymers, mixtures, and layered versions of two or more of these, and the like.
Referring now to the drawing figures,
Embodiment 100 further includes a plastic pulsation block 116 connected to upper claw portion 102, plastic pulsation block 116 having a first vacuum source connection 138, a second vacuum source connection 140, a first teat vacuum connection 142, a second teat vacuum connection 144, a third teat vacuum connection 146, and a fourth teat vacuum connection 148, the first and second teat vacuum connections positioned on a first side of the plastic pulsation block, with the third and fourth teat vacuum connections positioned on a second side of the plastic pulsation block. The first, second, third, and fourth teat vacuum connections (142, 144, 146, and 148, respectively) are positioned in a plane in this embodiment, with the first and second vacuum source connections 138, 140 positioned on a first end of plastic pulsation block 116 and also located in the plane. Importantly, milk outlet 114 has a reinforced portion 122 adjacent a location where milk outlet 114 connects to lower claw portion 104 and extending at least a portion of a length of milk outlet 114, with one or more reinforcing chamfers 150 positioned on each location where reinforced portion 122 of milk outlet 114 connects with lower claw portion 104.
The animal milking claw of milking claw assembly embodiment 100 further comprises the first rear milk inlet 106 having a reinforced portion 126 adjacent a location where first rear milk inlet 106 connects to upper claw portion 102 and extending at least a portion of a length of first rear milk inlet 106. Second rear milk inlet 108 has a reinforced portion 128 adjacent a location where second rear milk inlet 108 connects to upper claw portion 102 and extending at least a portion of a length of second rear milk inlet 108. First front milk inlet 110 has a reinforced portion 130 adjacent a location where first front milk inlet 110 connects to upper claw portion 102 and extending at least a portion of a length of first front milk inlet 110. Finally, second front milk inlet 112 has a reinforced portion 132 adjacent a location where second front milk inlet 112 connects to upper claw portion 102 and extending at least a portion of a length of second front milk inlet 112.
Animal milking claw of milking claw assembly embodiment 100 further comprises the lower claw portion 104 including an external girder 124 having a distal end 154 and reinforcing chamfers 136 positioned on each side of external girder 124 where external girder 124 meets lower claw portion 104, distal end 154 of girder 124 mating with a girder alignment clip 134.
The animal milking claw assemblies of the present disclosure may further comprise a rubber bumper 120 secured to a bottom of the lower claw portion 104, or in other embodiments may comprise a metal cap 198 secured to a bottom of the lower claw portion 104. When using a rubber bumper 120, a washer 202 may be positioned between the rubber bumper and a lower spout of lower claw portion 104. In certain embodiments, a rubber gasket 204 is positioned between plastic pulsation block 116 and a U-hook 118. Embodiments may further comprise a gasket 206 between plastic pulsation block 116 and upper claw portion 102. Suitable gasket and rubber bumper materials include various natural and man-made rubber compounds, elastomeric compounds, thermoplastic elastomer compounds, and the like, with or without fillers, additives, coupling agents, and other optional additives.
Animal milking claw assembly embodiment 600 comprises a metal pulsation block 264 connected to upper claw portion 102, metal pulsation block 264 having a first metal vacuum source connection 274, a second metal vacuum source connection 276, a first teat metal vacuum connection 278, a second teat metal vacuum connection 280, a third teat metal vacuum connection 282, and a fourth teat metal vacuum connection 284. The first and second teat metal vacuum connections (278, 280) are positioned on a first side of metal pulsation block 264, and the third and fourth teat metal vacuum connections (282, 284) are positioned on a second side of metal pulsation block 264. The first, second, third, and fourth teat metal vacuum connections (278, 280, 282, and 284) are positioned in a plane, with the first and second metal vacuum source connections (274, 276) positioned on a first end of metal pulsation block 164 and also located in the plane. Milk outlet 114 may be similarly reinforced at a reinforced portion 122 adjacent a location where milk outlet 114 connects to the lower claw portion and extending at least a portion of a length of milk outlet 114. One or more reinforcing chamfers 150 may be positioned on each location where reinforced portion 122 of milk outlet 114 connects with lower claw portion 104.
Embodiment 600 further comprises a shackle 260 connected to a metal cap 262. Metal cap 262 is integral with a metal connecting rod 194, and a nut 266 is threaded onto a distal end of metal connecting rod 194. Embodiment 600 further comprises a gasket 263 positioned between metal cap 262 and lower claw portion 104. A first metal connection plate 268 is provided for attaching metal pulsation block 264 to upper milking claw portion 102 with a gasket 270 positioned between first metal connection plate 268 and upper milking claw portion 102. A second metal connecting plate 272 parallel to and positioned in a plane spaced apart from the first metal connection plate 268 is provided and secured with nut 266.
A method of fabricating milking claws and assemblies and components thereof is another aspect of the present disclosure. One method embodiment comprises (a) forming components, in no particular order:
The milking claws and milking claw assemblies illustrated schematically in the various figures comprise several non-limiting examples. Other configurations are possible, depending upon the specific design parameters. With regard to the claw structures and pulsation block structures the embodiments illustrated schematically in
Suitable metals for the metal pulsation blocks include stainless steels, for example, but not limited to, 304, 316, as well as titanium, titanium alloys, aluminum, aluminum alloys, copper, copper alloys, and the like. High-strength materials like C-110 and C-125 metallurgies that are NACE qualified may be employed. (As used herein, “NACE” refers to the corrosion prevention organization formerly known as the National Association of Corrosion Engineers, now operating under the name NACE International, Houston, Texas.) The skilled artisan, having knowledge of the particular application, temperatures, and available materials, will be able design the most cost effective, safe, and operable components for each particular application without undue experimentation.
In alternative embodiments, one or more of the various components may be ornamented with various ornamentation produced in various ways (for example stamping or engraving, or raised features such as reflectors, reflective tape), such as facility designs, operating company designs, logos, letters, words, nicknames (for example MADERO, and the like). Animal milking claws of the present disclosure may include optional hand-holds, which may be machined or formed to have easy-to-grasp features for fingers, or may have rubber grips shaped and adorned with ornamental features, such as raised knobby gripper patterns.
From the foregoing detailed description of specific embodiments, it should be apparent that patentable animal milking claws, assemblies, and methods have been described. Although specific embodiments of the disclosure have been described herein in some detail, this has been done solely for the purposes of describing various features and aspects of the apparatus and methods and is not intended to be limiting with respect to their scope. It is contemplated that various substitutions, alterations, and/or modifications, including but not limited to those implementation variations which may have been suggested herein, may be made to the described embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
