Milking arrangement and method for guiding animals through a milking arrangement

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10945407-B2
Application number	US-201615578582-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 30, 2016
Priority date	Jun 1, 2015
Publication date	Mar 16, 2021
Grant date	Mar 16, 2021

Abstract

A milking arrangement that includes at least a first and a second milking system for milking animals, a common entrance lane configured to allow a plurality of animals to enter the milking arrangement, and a guiding structure configured to guide each of the plurality of animals to either one of the first and second milking systems to be milked therein, where the guiding structure comprises a smart gate arrangement that guides each animal, after having been identified, to a respective one of the first and second milking systems depending on the identity of the animal, and where, depending upon selected periods of time, such as during periods of low expected or measured utilization of the milking arrangement, the smart gate arrangement guides each animal to a single one of the first and second milking systems irrespective of the identity of the animal.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A milking arrangement ( 11 ), comprising:
at least a first ( 12 ) and a second ( 13 ) milking system for milking animals;
a common entrance lane ( 14 ) configured to allow a plurality of animals to enter the milking arrangement; and
a guiding structure ( 15 ) configured to guide each of the plurality of animals to either one of the first and second milking systems to be milked therein, the guiding structure comprised of a smart gate arrangement ( 61 ) that includes
an entrance configured to permit animals to enter the smart gate arrangement,
an animal identifier that identifies each animal having entered or is to enter the smart gate arrangement, and
at least two separate exits, through which, in a first operating mode of the smart gate arrangement, each animal which has entered the smart gate arrangement is selectively guided to exit the smart gate arrangement after having been identified, thereby to be guided to a respective one of the first and second milking systems depending on the identity of the animal,

wherein the smart gate arrangement is further configured to operate, in accordance with one or more selected periods of time, in a second operating mode where, in the event that an animal has entered the smart gate arrangement during one of said selected periods of time, the smart gate arrangement operates in such a manner as to guide the animal out from the smart gate arrangement and into a single one of the first and second milking systems irrespective of the identity of the animal,
wherein the one or more selected periods of time are determined as periods of time during which utilization of the milking arrangement meets a selected criterion.

2. The milking arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the selected periods of time are periods of time during which the utilization of the milking arrangement meets the selected criterion based on historical data of the utilization of the milking arrangement.

3. The milking arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the selected periods of time are periods of time during which the utilization of the milking arrangement meets the selected criterion based on continuous measurements of the utilization of the milking arrangement.

4. The milking arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the selected criterion operates in accordance with a determination that the utilization of the milking arrangement is lower than a selected threshold.

5. The milking arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the smart gate arrangement is configured, during the selected periods of time, which are during night time, to guide each animal, which has entered the smart gate arrangement, to exit the smart gate arrangement to thereby be guided to the single one of the first and second milking systems irrespective of the identity of the animal.

6. The milking arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the first milking system is an automatic milking system comprising one or more stationary milking boxes, in each of which one animal is automatically milked at a time, and the second milking system comprises a rotary milking system.

7. The milking arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the single one of the first and second milking systems is the first milking system.

8. The milking arrangement of claim 1 ,
wherein the first milking system comprises a first exit lane ( 16 a ), and the second milking system comprises a second exit lane ( 16 b ), and
wherein at least one of the second exit lane ( 16 b ) and an entrance lane ( 15 b ) leading to the entry of the second milking system at least partly surrounds the first milking system.

9. The milking arrangement of claim 1 ,
wherein the first milking system comprises a first exit lane ( 16 a ), and the second milking system comprises a second exit lane ( 16 b ), and
wherein the first and second exit lanes comprise another smart gate arrangement ( 16 - 1 ) configured to guide all incompletely milked animals exiting from the first and second milking systems to a single one of the first and second milking systems to be milked again therein.

10. The milking arrangement of claim 9 , wherein said incompletely milked animals are animals that have not been milked sufficiently due to any of a failure of attaching teat cups to the teats of the animals and due to teat cups being unintentionally removed from the teats of the milking animals during milking.

11. A method for guiding animals through a milking arrangement ( 11 ) that includes at least a first ( 12 ) and a second ( 13 ) milking system for milking animals, a common entrance lane ( 14 ) configured to allow a plurality of animals to enter the milking arrangement, and a guiding structure ( 15 ) configured to guide each of the plurality of animals to either one of the first and second milking systems to be milked therein, where the guiding structure is comprised of a smart gate arrangement ( 61 ) that includes an entrance configured, in a first operating mode, to permit animals to enter the smart gate arrangement, an animal identifier that identifies each animal having entered or is to enter the smart gate arrangement, and at least two separate exits, through which each animal, which has entered the smart gate arrangement, is selectively guided to exit the smart gate arrangement after having been identified, thereby to be guided to a respective one of the first and second milking systems depending on the identity of the animal, said method comprising the steps of:
configuring the smart gate arrangement with one or more selected periods of time; and
in the event that an animal enters the smart gate arrangement during one of said selected periods of time, the smart gate arrangement operates in a second operating mode to guide the animal to only a single one of the first and second milking systems, irrespective of the identity of the animal,
wherein the selected periods of time are determined as periods of time during which utilization of the milking arrangement meets a selected criterion.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the selected criterion is based on historical data of the utilization of the milking arrangement.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the selected criterion is based on continuous measurements of the utilization of the milking arrangement.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the selected criterion is such that the animals are guided based on a determination whether the utilization of the milking arrangement is lower than a selected threshold.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein each animal, which has entered the smart gate arrangement, is guided during the selected periods of time, which occur during night time, to exit the smart gate arrangement to thereby be guided to the single one of the first and second milking systems irrespective of the identity of the animal.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first milking system is an automatic milking system comprising one or more stationary milking boxes, in each of which one animal is automatically milked at a time, and the second milking system comprises a rotary milking system.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the single one of the first and second milking systems is the first milking system.

18. The method of claim 11 ,
wherein the first milking system comprises a first exit lane ( 16 a ), and the second milking system comprises a second exit lane ( 16 b ), and
wherein at least one of the exit lane ( 16 b ) of the second milking system and an entrance lane ( 15 b ) leading to the entry of the second milking system at least partly surrounds the first milking system.

Assignees

• Delaval Holding Ab

Inventors

• Palmqvist Martin
• Jensen Robert

Classifications

• A01K1/12

  Milking stations · CPC title

• A01J5/017

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• A01K1/0023 Primary

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• A01K1/126

  Carousels · CPC title

• A01K11/006

  Automatic identification systems for animals, e.g. electronic devices, transponders for animals (identification systems for access to feeding pens A01K1/0209; ear tags with electronic identification means A01K11/004) · CPC title