Milking box with robotic attacher
View Patent ↗In certain embodiments, a system includes a front wall, a rear wall positioned substantially parallel to the front wall, and first and second side walls each extending between the front wall and the rear wall. The first side wall includes a gate, and the second side wall is spaced apart from the first side wall such that the front wall, the rear wall, the first side wall, and the second side wall define a milking box stall of a size sufficient to accommodate a dairy livestock. The system includes an equipment portion located adjacent to the rear wall. The equipment portion houses a robotic attacher configured to extend between the rear legs of a dairy livestock located within the milking box stall in order to attach milking equipment to the dairy livestock.
1. A system, comprising:
a milking box having a stall to accommodate a dairy livestock, wherein the milking box comprises a front wall and a rear wall opposite the front wall;
a robotic attacher positioned adjacent the rear wall and operable to extend between the hind legs of the dairy livestock, the robotic attacher comprising a nozzle and operable to rotate such that, during a milking operation, the nozzle is positioned generally on the bottom of the robotic attacher, and during a spraying operation, the nozzle is positioned generally on the top of the robotic attacher; and
a feed bowl positioned proximate the front wall and operable to move toward or away from the rear wall.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the milking box comprises a side wall between the front wall and a rear wall, the side wall comprising an entrance gate and an exit gate, and the system further comprising a controller operable to control the opening and closing of the entrance gate and the exit gate.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the milking box comprises:
a first side wall extending between a front wall and a rear wall, the first side wall comprising an entrance gate; and
a second side wall extending between the front wall and the rear wall, the second side wall comprising an exit gate;
the system further comprising a controller operable to control the opening and closing of the entrance gate and the exit gate.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein the milking box comprises:
a first side wall extending between the front wall and the rear wall, the first side wall adjacent to a first sorting region and comprising a first exit gate; and
a second side wail extending between the front wall and the rear wall, the second side wall adjacent to a second sorting region and comprising a second exit gate;
and the system further comprising:
a sensor operable to identify the dairy livestock within the stall; and
a controller operable to open at least one of the first exit gate and the second exit gate based at least in part upon the identity of the dairy livestock in order to direct the dairy livestock into either the first sorting region or the second sorting region.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the milking box comprises an equipment portion located adjacent to the rear wall, and the robotic attacher is located in the equipment portion of the milking box.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the robotic attacher is suspended into position in the milking box by a rail.
7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the rail is arranged substantially parallel to the rear wall of the milking box.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the robotic attacher comprises:
a main arm;
a supplemental arm coupled to the main arm; and
a gripping portion coupled to the supplemental arm.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the gripping portion comprises a wrist operable to perform a tilt movement.
10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the gripping portion comprises a wrist operable to perform a pivot movement.
11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the robotic attacher further comprising a vision system positioned on a first surface of the robotic attacher and wherein the nozzle is positioned on a second surface substantially opposite the first surface.
12. The system of claim 1 , wherein robotic attacher is operable to move in at least one direction along the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis.
13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the robotic attacher is operable to:
retrieve a preparation cup;
attach the preparation cup to a teat of the dairy livestock; and
remove the preparation cup from the teat of the dairy livestock.
14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the robotic attacher is operable to:
retrieve a teat cup; and
attach the teat cup to a teat of the dairy livestock.
15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the robotic attacher is operable to attach multiple preparation cups to the dairy livestock at a time.
16. The system of claim 1 , wherein the robotic attacher is operable to attach multiple teat cups to the dairy livestock at a time.
17. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor operable to identify the dairy livestock within the milking box, wherein the feed bowl is movable toward the rear wall by a distance that is based at least in part upon the identity of the dairy livestock.
18. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a controller operable to:
determine whether to milk the dairy livestock based at least in part upon the identity of the dairy livestock; and
drop feed into the feed bowl if it is determined that the dairy livestock is to be milked.
19. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a manure gutter located proximate the rear wall of the milking box.