Importance

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Abstract

A system for automatically milking animals comprising an area where the animals can move about freely. A milking robot in a milking compartment automatically connects teat cups to an animal's teats. The milking compartment has a concentrate station. The entire system is computer controlled. Doors in the milking compartment automatically open for the entry and departure of animals. An automatic cleaning member cleans the animal's teats and a cleaning system automatically cleans the entire milk line system or a selected part thereof. The herd is divided by a computer into milk production groups with a computer defined priority criteria for admitting a specific group of animals into the milking compartment prior to another group. Robot arms are controlled by three parallelogram structures in series, each being separately controlled by a piston and cylinder unit or an electromotor, the lowermost structures each being capable of extending a teat carrier under the cows udder, the forward structure, when so extended and as seen from above relative to a transverse vertical plane, being at an angle of roughly 45.degree. and the aft structure being at an angle of roughly 30.degree.. Retractable cables connect each teat cup to a teat cup carrier. Each teat cup is connected from its upper aspect by a cable to a spool mounted on the upper side of the milking compartment, each spool being computer controlled by an electromotor to retain the teat cups in upright positions after their disconnection from the teats when being retracted to the teat carriers.

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First Claim