Teat cup liner
A milking machine teat cup liner having a dome and a barrel, and the barrel has an upper transition portion and a lower square portion. The transition section mates with the round cross-section of the dome and the square cross-section of the lower square portion to provide superior vacuum seal with less irritation and damage to teat tissue.
1. A liner for a milking machine teat cup, the liner comprising:
a dome having an upper surface and a substantially round cross-section and a dome shoulder; and
a barrel joined to the dome, the barrel defining a bore for receiving a dairy animal teat and having an upper transition portion joined to a lower portion of the dome shoulder, the upper transition portion having a substantially round cross-section and a sealing surface for creating a substantially uniform seal with the dairy animal teat to reduce vacuum loss in the bore when the liner is collapsed, and a lower transition portion that is substantially square in cross-section.
2. The liner of claim 1 , wherein the upper transition portion has a length of between about three-quarters of an inch to about one and one-half inches.
3. The liner of claim 1 , wherein a top of the transition portion is from about three-quarters of an inch to about one and one-half inch from the upper surface of the dome.
4. The liner of claim 1 , wherein the upper transition portion is generally conical in shape and tapers downward at an angle of about three degrees to about ten degrees.