A cleaning unit for cleaning at least one head section of a teat cup, the cleaning unit having a chamber that has a substantially circular cross-section, is delimited by a wall, and has an opening delimited by a sealing element that is flexible around a circumference of the chamber.

A cleaning device includes cleaning units (3) for receiving and cleaning teatcups (7). The cleaning unit includes a cup-shaped member (10). The cup-shaped member includes an annular bottom surface (12) extending around a longitudinal central axis (x) of the cleaning unit, and a side surface (13) extending around the annular bottom surface and facing the longitudinal central axis. Ribs (14) protrude from the annular bottom surface and have an extension between an inner position (A) and an outer position (B) on the annular bottom surface. The inner position is located more closely to the longitudinal central axis than the outer position. The ribs are configured to create a gap (15) between the annular bottom surface and an end surface (8) of a teatcup received in the cleaning unit. Each of the ribs is curved along at least a part of the extension.

The present invention relates to a UV lamp having an axial dimension normal to a cross-section having a cross-sectional area with a ratio of the axial dimension to the cross-sectional area in the range of 0.1 cm/cm.sup.2 to 1000 cm/cm.sup.2. The UV lamp includes a first axial conductor separated from a second axial conductor by an electrically insulating material and a light emitting diode (LED) capable of providing light at a wavelength in the range of 100 nm to 400 nm, which LED is mounted to emit light from an outer surface. The invention also relates to a method of sterilising a surface using the UV lamp.

The present invention is related to the type of milking machines with milk bucket or trolley bucket milking machine used for milk production mainly in small-medium scaled animal breeding enterprises.

The invention is particularly related to an automatic washing method which is used for washing the milking machine with milk bucket after milking automatically and also both increases the quality of the milk and prevents damage to the udder, comprises pre-rinsing, washing, final-rinsing process steps and to a milking machine with a milk bucket having an automatic washing system which comprises detergent dosing unit, washing boiler, milk can, milking cluster, washing jetter, washing line, liquid drafting line in the milk bucket, milk bucket vacuum connection, washing boiler vacuum connection, boiler-milk bucket vacuum orientation and vacuum discharge valve, boiler and milk bucket interim valve, washing line valve, drainage valve, drainage line, water heating resistance, cold water intake valve, hot water intake valve, float bottom level sensor, float upper level sensor.

Milking clusters for a milking installation have four teat cups, each teat cup having a cup housing and a teat cup liner with a top region and a suction region. A connection for a milk tube is arranged at the cup bottom or at the end of the suction region of the teat cup liner. A mouth portion of a sterile air pressure line is arranged in the top region of the teat cup liner, through which pressure line sterile air is introduced at a volumetric flow rate greater than a fluid aspiration volumetric flow rate at the milk tube, such that a sterile air blanket is established in the top region of the teat cup liner. The milking clusters with the cup liner and sterile air blanket prevent milked milk from being contaminated by contaminants and microorganisms from the shed air, extending storage life for untreated raw milk.

A space divider of a milking parlor arrangement for at least one milking parlor for milking milk-producing animals, wherein the space divider is arranged approximately parallel to a longitudinal axis of the animal to be milked, has an arm device having a milking cluster, which can be adjusted from a parking position to a working position and back. The arm device is arranged with the milking cluster in the parking position in the space divider and can be adjusted into the working position laterally to the animal to be milked between the front and rear legs thereof in fully automatic operation or semiautomatic operation. The space divider is designed in such a way that no additional space is required between adjacent animals, so that many animals can be milked in a milking parlor arrangement while the smallest possible amount of space is required.

A system for cleaning a dairy animal milker unit and applying dip to a dairy animal, the system includes a main control, an air supply, a water supply, a backflush fluid supply, a dip supply, a stall control for receiving the air, water, backflush fluid and dip supplies, and a safety valve that is adjacent to a downstream portion of the milker unit to control backflush and dip fluids being fed to the milker unit.

A system for cleaning a dairy animal milker unit and applying dip to a dairy animal, the system includes a main control, an air supply, a water supply, a backflush fluid supply, a dip supply, a stall control for receiving the air, water, backflush fluid and dip supplies, and a safety valve that is adjacent to a downstream portion of the milker unit to control backflush and dip fluids being fed to the milker unit.

A space divider (4) of a milking parlor arrangement (1, 1, 1, 1) for at least one milking parlor (3) for milking milk-producing animals (T), wherein the space divider (4) is arranged approximately parallel to a longitudinal axis of the animal (T) to be milked, has an arm device (6) having a milking cluster (5), which can be adjusted from a parking position to a working position and back. The arm device (6) is arranged with the milking cluster (5) in the parking position in the space divider (4) and can be adjusted into the working position laterally to the animal (T) to be milked between the front and rear legs thereof in fully automatic operation or semi-automatic operation. The space divider (4) is designed in such a way that no additional space is required between adjacent animals (T), so that many animals (T) can be milked in a milking parlor arrangement (1, 1, 1, 1) while the smallest possible amount of space is required.

The present invention relates to preparing dairy animal teats for being milked, and more particularly to teat preparation, rinsing, and milking that all take place in a milking machine teat cup liner. Such a method includes: applying a teat sanitizer to the teat; injecting air into the liner to force the teat sanitizer toward a waste milk line connected to the liner; pulsating the liner at a first pulsation rate; drawing a rinsing milk from the teat; directing the teat sanitizer, the air, and the rinsing fluid to the waste milk line; pulsating the liner at a second pulsation rate to draw additional milk from the teat; and directing the additional milk to a good milk line.