ANIMAL PRIOR TO MILKING

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a teat cleaning device, for example for cleaning the teats of a cow or other animal prior to milking.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The milking of an animal generally involves the application of teat cups to the teats of the animal, and the use of vacuum and/or massage to stimulate the teats and extract the milk. The teats of an animal require cleaning prior to milking, to remove any dirt or debris present on the teats so that it does not contaminate the milk.

Various teat cleaning devices are known in the art, for example WO 99/04623 discloses a device in which two counter-rotating brushes rotate about horizontal axes, and receive a teat aligned vertically between them. However, whilst each brush cleans the side of the teat that faces towards it, the other sides of the teat such as those sides facing in directions parallel to the axes of the two brushes are insufficiently cleaned.

This uneven cleaning can be remedied by manually rotating the device beneath the animal, so that all sides of the teat face towards the brushes for at least some of the time. However, this is inconvenient, it relies on the operator to correctly operate the device, and it adds to the time that it takes to clean the teats.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved teat cleaning device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a teat cleaning device, comprising a cavity for receiving a teat of an animal with a length of the teat aligned along a length of the cavity. The device comprises three axles, each axle having an axis of rotation that is perpendicular to the length of the cavity.

Each one of the three axles forms a respective part of a path extending around the cavity, and each axle supports a brush configured to rub against the teat of the animal when the teat is received in the cavity and the axle is rotated.

Since three brushes are provided, each brush only needs to cover at most an arc segment of 360/3 = 120 degrees around the circumference of the teat of the animal, in order for the teat to be fully cleaned. This allows for full cleaning all the way around the teat without any need to rotate the device itself, and so is much less prone to operator error and cleans the teat more quickly than known devices, which typically use only two brushes with each brush expected to cover a full 180 degrees around the surface of each teat.

Each axle is driven to rotate, and to enable effective driving of each axle, the end of one axle may be used to rotate the end of the next axle in the path around the cavity. Accordingly, the rotational force can be passed from axle to axle, with only one of the axles needing to be driven in order to cause all of the axles to rotate. Each axle rotates as a single body, so the first end rotates with a same rotation as the second end, and the rotation can be passed from one axle to the next at the ends of the axles.

The rotational force may be passed between each pair of immediately adjacent axles by toothed wheels that mesh with one another at the ends of the two axles. The toothed wheels may for example be bevel gears, to accommodate the angular offset between the immediately adjacent axles that are next to one another in the path around the cavity.

Together, the axles preferably form a closed path all the way around the cavity, with the rotational force being passed between the ends of the axles so that all axles rotate. Every axle may have both of its ends passing rotational force to both immediately adjacent axles, to reduce the rotational load to be transferred between each pair of immediately adjacent axles.

There may be only three axles, with the path being in the shape of a triangle enclosing around the cavity, and each side of the triangle defined by a respective one of the three axles. Or, there may be more than three axles, for example four axles, so that each brush only needs to cover an arc segment of 360/4 = 90 degrees around the teat. The path may be in the shape of a regular polygon, each side of the polygon defined by a respective one of the axles.

The device typically comprises a housing that supports each one of the axles in its axis of rotation, for example the housing may be formed as two separate halves with the axles being held at the interfaces between those halves so the axles can be easily accessed and replaced if needed. Preferably, the device also comprises a motor that is configured to drive one of the axles to rotate, via one or more gears and/or pulleys. An inlet into the cavity for washing and/or disinfecting liquid may also be provided, to enhance cleaning of the teat. The housing may hold a reservoir of cleaning fluid connected to the inlet.

Preferably, each brush supported by each axle comprises a plurality of paddles, each paddle being a plate that extends along the length of the axle and radially outward from the axle. Each paddle may be configured to resile against the teat in the cavity and therefore rub down an arc portion of the circumference around the teat as the corresponding axle is rotated. This resile of the paddle against the teat as the paddle rubs down the teat helps to stretch the skin of the teat and release debris held in skin folds that bristle-type brushes alone often fail to reach. The paddles may for example be made of a resilient plastics or rubber material. The paddle and the axle may be integrally formed with one another, or a separate paddle slid over each axle.

The paddles of immediately adjacent axles preferably extend from those axles at different radial angles from one another, to avoid collisions between those paddles as the axles rotate. The use of toothed wheels to pass the rotational force from axle to axle helps keep each immediately adjacent pair of axles in the correct phase of rotation relative to one another, so the paddles of those axles do not collide with one another.

Preferably, the axes of rotation of the axles are all in a single plane, so that the device cleans evenly all the way around the teat, and can be moved up and down the teat if desired to help ensure substantially the whole length of the teat is cleaned. The axes of rotation of the axles may not be aligned with one another, so that each axle and associated brush provides cleaning of a distinct arc-segment of the circumference around the teat. The axes of rotation of the axles may be non parallel with one another, as is the case when three axles are used to form a triangular path around the teat.

In use, the axles all rotate so that the brushes within the cavity sweep downwards along the length of the cavity, in a direction from the root of the teat towards the tip of the teat. Then, any dirt and debris that is dislodged is swept off the end of the teat. The use of bevel gears at the ends of the axles keeps all the axles rotating in the correct direction to achieve this.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of cleaning a teat of an animal prior to milking the animal. The method comprises inserting the teat into the cavity of the teat cleaning device of the first aspect, with the length of the teat aligned along the length of the cavity, and activating the teat cleaning device to rotate the axles and rub debris from the teats with the brushes. The device may be activated by pushing a button on the housing, causing a motor to start to rotate and turn the axles, before or after the teat has been inserted into the cavity. Other buttons may also be provided, for example to control application of cleaning fluid to the teat.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of non-limiting example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows an exploded schematic perspective diagram of part of a teat cleaning device according to an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a schematic perspective diagram of an axle and brush arrangement of the device of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 shows a plan view of the axle and brush arrangement of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 shows a plan view of the teat cleaning device of Fig. 1 ; and

Fig. 5 shows a flow diagram of a method of cleaning a teat of an animal prior to milking.

The figures are not to scale, and same or similar reference signs denote same or similar features.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4. First with reference to Fig. 1 , a teat cleaning device 1 comprises an upper housing 20 and a lower housing 10. The upper and lower housings are outer shells that fit together with one another, and that are held together using screws (not shown) through various holes around their peripheries such as holes 18 and 28. The upper and lower housings are formed of a plastics material such as ABS, and support an axle and brush arrangement 30 in between them.

The upper housing 20 has an aperture 25 extending through the housing, for receiving a teat of an animal into the device 1. The tip of the teat is moved vertically downward relative to the device in direction 26, passing through the aperture 25 and into a cavity inside of the device. The length of the teat and the length of the cavity are both aligned with direction 26. The axle and brush arrangement 30 is beneath the aperture 25, and comprises three axles 33 that are arranged in a horizontal plane and angled at 60 degrees relative to one another along a triangular path around the cavity. Each axle rotates about its own axis 33c in directions indicated by the arrows 50, and the axes 33c are perpendicular to the length direction 26 of the cavity. Each axle 33 has two bevel gears 32 at opposing ends of the axle, for meshing with the bevel gears of the other two axles. Each axle has brush paddles 38 fitted over it, which rotate with the axle when the axle is rotated. The lower housing 10 has three gear bays 12 for receiving the intermeshing bevel gears 32 where the ends of immediately adjacent axles meet one another. Each end of each axle 33 is received in a cradle 14 and a cradle 16, with the bevel gear 32 being held between the cradle 14 and cradle 16. The upper housing 20 has corresponding cradles 24 so that when the upper and lower housings are screwed together the axles are fully supported.

One of the axles 33 has an extended end portion 36a, which extends through the cradle 16a, and into a drive bay 19. In this embodiment, the extended end portion 36a is fitted with an additional bevel gear (not shown), and this meshes with a drive shaft from a motor in a separate part of the housing 20a (see Fig. 4).

The schematic diagram of Fig. 2 shows the axle and brush arrangement 30 in isolation from the rest of the device, and it can be seen that each axle 33 has a first end 33a and a second end 33b, with the brush paddles 38 intermediate of those ends. Each end is provided with a collar 36, for fitting into the corresponding cradle 16 of the lower housing 10 and for preventing the axle from moving longitudinally along its axis, so the bevel gears mesh correctly with one another.

Each brush has a root portion 37 which is slid over the axle 33, and four paddles 38 which extend radially from the root portion at regular 90-degree angles to one another. Each paddle is in the shape of a rectangular plate that extends along the length of the axle and radially away from the axle. The root portion 37 and paddle portions 38 of each brush are integrally formed from a silicone rubber material, and so are soft enough to resile against the teat of an animal when the teat is placed in the cavity, defined between the axles 33. Each bevel gear comprises a collar 34 which fits in the corresponding cradle 14 of the lower housing and cradle 24 of the upper housing. The bevel gears are slid onto the axle 33 until the collars 34 abut against the root portion 37 of the brush, with the brush located between the bevel gears 32.

As shown, the bevel gears 32 mesh with one another, so that a rotational force applied to the extended end portion 36a will be transmitted to the other axles. Since the axle having the extended end portion 36a has two bevel gears 32a and 32b intermeshing with the two respective other axles, there is less force transmitted by the bevel gear 32b than what there would be if the bevel gear 32a was absent, and this helps the axle and brush arrangement 30 run more smoothly and last for longer.

The brushes of each axle 33 are set at fixed rotational angles to one another, to prevent paddles 38 of differing axles from colliding with one another when the axles are rotated. The bevel gears keep the axles and brushes at fixed phases of rotation with respect to one another. For example, a first one of the brushes may be 30 degrees of rotation ahead of a second one of the axles, and a third one of the axles may be 60 degrees of rotation ahead of the first one of the axles. So, with three axles each having four paddles, one paddle strokes lengthwise along the teat for every 30 degree rotation of the extended end portion 36a. Since only one paddle is strongly pushing against the teat at any one time, the teat moves back and forth as it is impacted by the various paddles on different sides of the teat, helping to dislodge dirt and debris. Clearly, more/less paddles and axles could be used in alternate embodiments, however the use of three axles with four paddles each has been found to provide efficient cleaning of teats without the paddles interfering with one another or excessively squeezing the teat.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic plan diagram of the axle and brush arrangement 30, where the triangular shape of the path 31 around the cavity can be seen. The teat enters and is drawn into the cavity at the region 39 that is centrally between the axles 33, and the overlap of the paddles 38 in the region 39 can also be appreciated from Fig 3. In use, the length of the teat extends perpendicular to the plane of the page on which Fig. 3 is drawn, downwards through region 39. The paddles move downward through region 39 as the extended end portion 36a is rotated, flexing against the teat, and rubbing dirt and/or debris downwardly off the end of the teat.

The schematic diagram of Fig. 4 shows a plan view of the whole device, including the handle portion 20a which houses the motor for driving the extended end portion 36a. The aperture 25 in the upper housing 20 is visible, with the paddles 38 being beneath the aperture 25 and the cavity defined between the axles 33. The handle portion 20a also houses a reservoir for cleaning fluid, which can be injected into the region of the paddles 39 through an inlet (not shown in figs). It is also possible to add cleaning fluid through the top of the upper housing via aperture 25, if desired.

The flow diagram of Fig. 5 shows a method for using the device 1 to clean a teat of an animal prior to milking. In a first step 54, the device 1 is applied to the teat of the animal by moving the device upwardly towards the udder of the animal with the teat entering the aperture 25. In a second step 56, the device is activated by starting the motor, causing the axles and brushes to rotate. This draws the teat further into the cavity of the device, centering the teat at the region 39, centrally of the axles 33. The paddles 38 successively wipe down the teat, cleaning the teat, and cleaning fluid may be added from the reservoir in the handle 20a or through the aperture 25. Finally, the device is withdrawn from the teat in a third step 58, and may be applied to the next teat of the animal. There is no need to de-activate the device by stopping the motor before applying the device 1 to the next teat.

Many other variations of the described embodiments falling within the scope of the invention will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.