Automatic milking machine control and cleansing

Claim 1

In automatic apparatus for successively milking a plurality of cows with a cow milking teat cup cluster and for internally cleansing the teat cup cluster between the milking of successive cows therewith, comprising the combination of: means normally communicating said teat cup cluster with a milk receptacle for the flow of milk therebetween; means to control milking a cow with said teat cup cluster; means to prevent operation of said means to control milking a cow, during internal cleansing of said teat cup cluster; means to interrupt fluid communication of said cluster with said milk receptacle, during internal cleansing of said cup cluster; means to pass cleansing fluid through said cluster; and means to control operation of said fluid communication interrupting means and said cleansing fluid passing means, which control means directs said cleansing fluid passing means to pass said cleansing fluid through said cluster only when fluid communication of said cluster with said milk receptacle is interrupted; said means to interrupt said fluid communication of said cluster with said milk receptacle including means both to disconnect fluid communication between and to physically separate and space away from one another in a direction having a directional component extending along the path of normal fluid communication therebetween, the fluid communicating parts of a pair of adjacent flow components providing a continuous flow path therebetween for milk.

Claim 5

A method of internally cleansing a cow milking teat cup cluster between the milking of successive cows therewith wherein said cluster is normally in fluid communication with a milk receptacle and means are included for controlling the application of vacuum to draw milk from said cup cluster into said milk receptacle, comprising the steps of: detecting discontinuance for more than a predetermined time of flow of milk from said cluster to said milk receptacle during the milking of a cow; disabling said milk drawing means in response to such a discontinuance of milk flow; interrupting said fluid communication of said cluster with said milk receptacle; thereafter passing sanitizing fluid through said cluster to kill any bacteria therein; thereafter providing a delay so that said sanitizing fluid remains in contact with the internal surfaces of said cluster a period of time to sanitize the same; passing rinsing fluid through said cluster to flush said sanitizing fluid therefrom; thereafter causing gaseous flow through said cluster to remove residual rinsing or sanitizing fluid therefrom; and reestablishing said fluid communication of said cluster with said milk receptacle.

Claim 6

A method of internally cleansing a cow milking teat cup cluster between the milking of successive cows therewith wherein said cluster is normally in fluid communication with a milk receptacle and means are included for controlling the application of vacuum to draw milk from said cup cluster into said milk receptacle, comprising the steps of: detecting discontinuance for more than a predetermined time of flow of milk from said cluster to said milk receptacle during the milking of a cow; disabling said milk drawing means in response to such a discontinuance of milk flow; interrupting said fluid communication of said cluster with said milk receptacle; thereafter passing sanitizing fluid through said cluster to kill any bacteria therein; thereafter providing a delay so that said sanitizing fluid remains in contact with the internal surfaces of said cluster a period of time to sanitize the same; passing rinsing fluid through said cluster to flush said sanitizing fluid therefrom; thereafter causing gaseous flow through said cluster to remove residual rinsing or sanitizing fluid therefrom; and reestablishing said fluid communication of said cluster with said milk receptacle.