NL1009895C1 - Cleaning system for cows' hooves uses shallow irrigated troughs to decontaminate hooves as cow stands in feeding stall - Google Patents

Abstract

When the cow is placed in the stall, her rear hooves stand in channels formed by a metal structure above a tray (2). High pressure jets spray the hooves removing mud, feces, etc. The jet pumps are actuated by switches which detect the weight of the animal. The ends of the channels are covered by rubber flaps which allow water to leave but will not damage the animal.

Description

DEVICE FOR CLEANING AND DISINFECTING COWS.

The invention relates to a device for automatic cleaning and disinfection of claws.

5 Cows that are housed in the stable, where the claws come into contact with manure and manure, are increasingly confronted with claw problems.

These conditions, such as stink leg, Mortellaro and the resulting ulcers, which for the most part only occur on the hind legs, have a major adverse effect on the milk and meat production of the cow. To treat these conditions and to prevent further contamination, a so-called disinfection tray is placed in a passage in the stable. This large shallow box that the cows walk through is filled with a disinfectant. The drawbacks of these buckets are that the claws of the cows only come into contact with the disinfectant for a short time and because claws are not cleaned, a lot of manure and dirt remains on the claws. In these places the claw is not reached at all by the disinfectant. In addition, the disinfectant container quickly contaminates with manure and liquid manure, so that the effect of the disinfectant is soon lost.

In addition to these disinfection trays, disinfection mats are also used, these are large mats of moisture-absorbing material which are filled with a solution of water and a disinfectant. If the animal walks over it, the liquid comes into contact with the animal's claw. The operation of this mat is almost the same as that of the disinfection tray and also has the same disadvantages. Years of research into harmless products that are less susceptible to contamination of manure and manure and could thus be successfully used in disinfection tanks have had no results. For proper operation, it is necessary to clean and disinfect the claws with a solution of disinfectant and clean water. The device must also be self-cleaning in a simple manner. This is because the contamination takes place not only through dragging through the legs, but also because the animal sometimes manures in the establishment.

The object of the invention is to provide a device which does not have the above-mentioned drawbacks and which fulfills the desired purpose.

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It is obvious to treat the animals in the milking parlor or when entering or leaving the milking parlor. Experiments with spraying and brushing devices when entering or leaving the milking parlor are known, but do not lead to the expected result. The animals come into the milking parlor twice a day, but a drawback here is that there is no time there to treat the animals a little longer. Milking should be done as soon as possible and treating the claws would change that. Also, treatment tailored to the individual animal is not possible.

A solution to this problem is obtained by not choosing the milking parlor to which the animal 10 is driven, but instead choosing a place in the stable where the animal is lured. The concentrate feeder is such a place where the animal is lured and where the animal stays for some time, so that there is enough time to treat the animal. This place can also be reached all day for the animals and it is possible to treat each animal individually in the correct manner. A system of cow recognition is then available. In order to use water, disinfectant and medicines as efficiently as possible, it is necessary to treat each animal individually, depending on the nature and severity of the contamination, in the correct way. Sometimes cleaning only, or cleaning and sanitizing, or cleaning, sanitizing, and medicating. In which not only the program suitable for the animal is completed, but also the number of times per unit of time can be different, e.g. every time the animal visits the automatic feeder, once a day, or once a week.

This is possible because the concentrate feeders are equipped with a cow recognition system. These systems recognize the cow and provide the animal with the correct amount of different feeds in multiple portions throughout the day. By now coupling this cow recognition system which is already available in the stable to a programmable control unit of a claw disinfection system, it is possible to treat each animal in the correct manner. The cow recognition system can easily be programmed in such a way that, in addition to the automatic feeder, it also controls the control unit of the claw disinfection device in the correct manner. The claw disinfection device, which is placed in the position of the automatic feeder, where the cow places its hind legs when it eats, consists of • a shallow box with a deepened part in the middle. The dimensions of the jj j 1009895 3 box are chosen in such a way that the largest and the smallest cow are taken into account.

Partly sunken in this container, a container-shaped lid is also hinged at the front. This lid has a raised middle part that transitions through oblique sides into two flat strips of perforated material while the 5 outer sides of the lid slope upwards again. This creates two narrow strips on which the cow will place her hind legs because she will slide off the sloping side walls. This strip is perforated material and non-slip and also forms a grid that prevents coarse dirt. The raised part is higher at the front than at the back and has a hollow shape at the top that catches any manure so that it does not come into contact with the disinfectant liquid. In the upright rear wall of the lid, the width of the rear wall a rectangular slot. A spring mounted under the rear of the lid pushes the lid upwards, such that the aforementioned openings project above the rear wall of the container. A proximity switch signals whether the lid is in the bottom or top position. Three centrifugal pumps are mounted on the underside of the raised part of the lid, so that when the lid is placed on the container, the suction parts of the pumps end up in the recessed part of the container.

A spraying system is connected to one of the pumps via a tube construction, which is attached to the front of the tray and sprays the liquid across the width of the two grids to the opposite side of the tray. The second pump has the same function, but it performs a reverse spray motion. The third pump is used to pump the liquid out of the container. On the front and back of the lid I.

there is an upright rubber flap which stops the splashing liquid, but because this flap is flexible, it does not make it difficult for the cow to get in and out of the box.

The whole is assembled in such a way that all working parts are mounted on the removable cover, this facilitates maintenance and repair and makes it possible to replace the said cover with all equipment with a flat cover plate during periods when the device is not in use. so that the equipment is spared and the bucket is not contaminated with manure and liquid manure.

The pumps are connected to a programmable control unit that can perform various rinsing and disinfection programs. This control unit is again connected to the feeding computer. Two electric water valves are also connected to this unit.

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A valve, connected to the water pipe, lets clean water through a hose into the container.

The second valve, also connected to the water pipe, allows a solution of 5 disinfectant and water to flow into the container via a water jet air pump that draws disinfectant.

The operation of the device will be elucidated on the basis of the following exemplary embodiment with accompanying drawings.

A cow enters the feeding box (1) in order to be fed concentrate therewith, the cover (4) is pressed down so that the proximity switch (9) gives a signal to the control unit (3). If the animal is actually fed concentrates and will therefore remain in the feeding box for some time, the feeding box also transmits a signal to the control unit. The control unit now lets approximately four liters of water, with or without disinfectant, run into the container (2). In turn, the pumps (5 and 7) responsible for spraying are now controlled for a few seconds. For example, the claws are sprayed alternately from the front as well as from the back; in turn, because then the water rinses better along the claw and the device consumes less water per wash. This process takes several minutes.

When the animal now leaves the feeding box (1) again, the cover (4) is pushed up again by the spring (8). The water pump (5) that sprays from front to back is actuated for a few seconds and sprays over the perforated plate (12), with the coarse dirt particles remaining on the plate being flushed out through the vacated opening (13).

The third pump (6) is then activated. This sprays the remaining liquid 25 from front to back over the hollow (14) of the raised middle part (15) so that any manure that has fallen there is removed.

This is just an example of a rinse program. For example, by adding a second electric water valve with a water jet air pump, a second type of disinfectant or medicine can also be added to the water. Many of the rinsing methods to be chosen will depend on the products still to be developed. However, the device according to the invention offers all possible applications, whereby the requirement is met that the legs are cleaned properly and that it can be rinsed with clean disinfectant or disinfectant for some time.

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Claims (2)

1. A device whose purpose is to treat claws to prevent or cure conditions such as, for example, stink leg and Mortellaro, characterized in that it concerns a combined mechanical device which performs two operations simultaneously, namely an automatic cleaning of the claw and automatic treatment of the claw with a disinfectant or a medicine. 2. A device as described above, characterized in that it is applied in a place where a cow voluntarily locks itself more or less separately from the stable mates for a shorter or longer period of time without additional human intervention, such as an automatic feeding box, so that individual treatment is undisturbed and can be used for a few minutes and characterized in that this device 15 is coupled to an existing electronic cow recognition system which controls the control unit of the device in such a way that the type, amount and concentration of the disinfectant or medicine and the frequency of the treatments can be automatically adapted to the requirements of each individual cow. 3. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that the device consists of a shallow tray (2) and a recessed section (17) in the middle, while, partly sunk into said tray, a also tray-shaped lid (4) is placed, which a hinge construction (11) is provided at the front, this cover (4) having a raised middle section (15) which transitions via oblique sides (18) into 2 flat strips of perforated material (12), while the outer sides of the aforementioned cover slope upwards and an upright rubber flap (19) is mounted on the front and rear of this lid, with an approach switch (9) placed on the bottom of the lid, indicating whether the lid is in the bottom or top position and wherein three centrifugal pumps (5,6 and 7) are mounted on the underside of the raised part of the lid, such that when the lid is placed on the tray, the suction parts of the pumps in h The recessed part (17) of the container comes out and wherein a sprinkler system is attached to the pump (5) via a pipe construction 1009895, which is attached to the front of the container and sprays the liquid over the width of the two grids (12) to the other side of the container and where the pump (7) has the same function, however it performs a spraying movement in the reverse direction and where the pump (6) serves to pump the liquid out of the container 5 and where the front and back of the lid there is an upright rubber flap (19) that stops the splashing liquid, but because this flap is flexible, it does not make it difficult for the cow to get in and out of the box and the assembly is composed in such a way that all working parts on the lid attached and can easily be replaced by a cover plate. 10 4. A device as described above, which is equipped with provisions for rinsing the device, characterized in that these provisions are formed every time the pumps (5, 6 and 7) have been switched on, they are left in for a few seconds reverse direction so that the dirt collected in the pump is removed therefrom and the coarse dirt remaining on the perforated standing plate (12) is removed from the device by, after the cow has moved away, by pump (5) with the water already used a rearward directed water jet is produced which sprays the coarse dirt on the perforated plate (12) backwards and because the hinged lid (4) is provided with a spring (8) which, in an unloaded condition, the lid at the rear (20) lifts slightly so that the opening (13) is above the back of the bin (21), flushing the dirt through that opening and raising The middle section (15) is provided with a recess (14) to prevent any manure deposited by the animal on the aforementioned central section from coming into contact with the water and / or the disinfectants with pump (6) switched on after each treatment. with a water jet, the manure present on the hollowing (14) rinses away via the lower side. 30 35 1009895