CA2753412C

CA2753412C - Milk meter and milking device

Info

Publication number: CA2753412C
Application number: CA2753412A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Toshiyuki Okatani; Hiroyuki Iwasaki
Original assignee: Orion Machinery Co Ltd
Current assignee: Orion Machinery Co Ltd
Priority date: 2009-02-26
Filing date: 2010-02-26
Publication date: 2015-07-14
Anticipated expiration: 2030-02-26
Also published as: WO2010098124A1; CA2753412A1; CN102334015A; CN102334015B

Abstract

A milk meter is provided with a metering container portion 2 having a cylindrical peripheral face portion 2f, a narrowed portion 2s formed at least at one spot of a vertically intermediate portion so that the upper side of the one narrowed portion 2s is defined as a gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and the lower side as a metering chamber Rm, the upper face portion Rmu of the metering chamber Rm being formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion 2f side being lowered, and the lower face portion Rmd of the metering chamber Rm being formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion 2f side being raised, a valve mechanism portion 4 having a first valve 4u capable of opening/closing an intermediate opening 2m between the metering chamber Rm and the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and a second valve 4d capable of opening/closing an outlet 2e provided on the lower part of the metering chamber Rm, and a control system 5 that controls the valve mechanism portion 4 by means of detection of a liquid level Mu by the liquid-level detection portion 3.

Description

DESCRIPTION

Title of Invention MILK METER AND MILKING DEVICE
Technical Field The present invention relates to a milk meter that meters an amount of milk by being connected to the middle of a milk feeding line which feeds milk and a milking device provided with this milk meter.

Background Art Hitherto, milk meters that meter an amount of milk by being connected to the middle of a milk feeding line have been known, and this type of milk meters are classified into a non-storing type that directly meters flowing milk and a storing type that temporarily stores the flowing milk in a metering container portion and meters the amount.

The non-storing type has a drawback in metering accuracy though it has an advantage that the size is small and configuration is simple, thus, the.
storing type is needed in order to ensure high metering accuracy. The storing type is formed of a metering container portion that is usually connected to the middle of the milk feeding line and can temporarily store milk flowing through an inlet, a liquid-level detection portion disposed inside this metering container portion and having a low-position electrode portion that detects a liquid level of the stored milk at a low position and a high-position electrode portion that detects a liquid level of the stored milk at a high position, a valve mechanism portion that can open/close an outlet provided at a lower part of the metering container portion, and a control system that controls the valve mechanism portion so that the outlet is closed by detection of the low-position electrode portion and opens the outlet by the detection of the high-position electrode portion, and as the milk meter of such a storing type, a milk meter as disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known.

On the other hand, since it is necessary to inspect the quality of sucked milk, the milk is sampled by a sampling device. However, since the application (purpose) of this type of milk meters is limited to metering of an amount of milk, the sampling device is usually connected to the middle of the milk feeding line. Therefore, if the milk meter and the sampling device are integrally configured, entire versatility (multi-functionality) can be improved, and the size reduction and cost reduction of the entirety can be realized and moreover, storage and handling performances can be made advantageous, which are merits. As a device in which such a milk meter and the sampling device are configured integrally, a milk-sample extracting device disclosed in Patent Document 2 is known. This milk-sample extracting device is a milk sampling and extracting device having a milk-flow metering device arranged in a milking duct and has a processor unit which controls an analysis sample container and the milk-sample extracting device connected to milk flow, in which the milk-sample extracting device has an electromagnetic coil which can be electrically controlled and is configured by the coil such that the seal main body is movable to a first position where a seal main body blocks a flow penetrating opening for sample separation flow and to a second position where the opening is opened.

Citation List Patent Literature Patent Document 1: U.S. Patent No. 4,391,222 Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.

2 Summary of Invention Technical Problem However, the above-described conventional milk meter (Patent Document 1) and the milk-sample extracting device (Patent Document 2) have the following problems.

First, the milk meter in Patent Document 1 is designed on the precondition of use by being horizontally mounted on a fixed object such as fixed equipment, column or the like in milking equipment as known from the fact that a layout structure of a detection electrode and the like in the meter container portion is not symmetrical.
Therefore, if the milk meter is inclined, the detection electrode detects the inclined liquid level, which causes a metering error. Particularly, since inclination occurs more or less in an actual use environment (installation environment), a metering error in a use stage cannot be avoided.

Also, since the inclined milk meter causes a larger metering error, its general versatility and convenience are poor such that the use environment (installation environment) is limited. For example, since a milking machine is used in actual milking equipment, if the meter can be attached particularly to a teat-cup automatic removing device into which sucked milk is taken in this milking machine, routing of pipelines such as a milk tube is reduced, and the mounting mode is made more desirable.
However, the teat-cup automatic removing device suspended by a stay through a hook can often swing considerably during milking, and considering a metering error, mounting is in fact difficult.

Meanwhile, from the viewpoint of integration of the milk meter and the sampling device, the milk meter in Patent Document 1 needs to connect a separate sampling

3 device by connection or the like and the milk-sample extracting device in Patent Document 2 has the milk meter and the sampling device configured integrally but it is configured in the form in which a structural portion of the milk meter and a structural portion of the sampling device, which are originally separate, are connected, thus, size reduction and cost reduction cannot be sufficiently realized.

Moreover, since the sampling device needs to sample average milk with respect to the total amount of the milk, sampling is made by a small amount with predetermined time intervals in a milking period from start to end of the milking.
Therefore, as in Patent Document 2, the configuration of the sampling device itself becomes extensive as electromagnetic coils that can be electrically controlled and a processor unit for control become necessary, which incurs complication of the device, size increase and increase in cost, and also, it is disadvantageous in durability and energy saving properties.

The present invention has an object to provide a milk meter and a milking device which solve the problems of the prior-art technologies.

Solution to Problem As for a milk meter 1 according to the present invention, in order to solve the above-described problems, in configuring a milk meter provided with a metering container portion connected to the middle of a milk feeding line Lm and capable of temporarily storing milk M flowing in through an inlet 2i, a liquid-level detection portion that detects a liquid level Mu of the milk M stored inside this metering container portion, a valve mechanism portion capable of opening/closing the outlet of the metering container portion, and a control system that controls opening/closing of the valve mechanism portion when the liquid-level detection portion detects the liquid level

4 Mu, the milk meter 1 has a metering container portion 2 having a cylindrical peripheral face portion 2f, a narrowed portion 2su formed at least at one spot of a vertically intermediate portion so that the upper side of the one narrowed portion 2su is defined as a gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and the lower side as a metering chamber Rm, an upper face portion Rmu of the metering chamber Rm being formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion side being lowered, and a lower face portion Rmd of the metering chamber Rm being formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion side being raised, a valve mechanism portion 4 having a first valve 4u capable of opening/closing an intermediate opening 2m between the metering chamber Rm and the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and a second valve 4d capable of opening/closing an outlet 2e provided below the metering chamber Rm, and a control system 5 that controls the valve mechanism portion 4 by means of detection of the liquid level Mu by the liquid-level detection portion 3.

In this case, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the valve mechanism portion 4 may include a pipe shaft 11 which vents air A in the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs by being inserted through the outlet 2e and the intermediate opening 2m and having an upper end opening 11 u faced with the upper end of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, a valve driving portion 12 that supports the upper end of this pipe shaft 11 and elevates up/down the pipe shaft 11, and the first valve 4u provided on the upper side of an outer peripheral face 11 f of the pipe shaft 11 located in the metering chamber Rm and the second valve 4d provided on the lower side of the outer peripheral face 11 If. At this time, the valve driving portion 12 may include a diaphragm portion 14 that supports the upper end of the pipe shaft 11 through a supporting member 13 and blocks the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs so as to form an upper face portion Rsu of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and a switching chamber portion Rc switched to a vacuum pressure or an atmospheric pressure by means of control of the control system 5 and faced with the diaphragm portion 14 on the opposite side of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs. Also, in the metering container portion 2, the inlet 2i may be provided so that the milk M flowing into the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs flows in a spiral state along an inner wall surface of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs. In addition, in the metering container portion 2, an air-supply cylinder portion 15 may be provided which stands upward from the upper face portion Rmu with which the first valve 4u in the metering chamber Rm is not brought into contact and allows the metering chamber Rm to communicate with the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs by having an upper end opening 15u faced with the upper end of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs. Moreover, in the liquid-level detection portion 3, at least two detection electrodes 3a, 3b, and 3c separated from each other are used for detecting the presence of the milk M by resistance of the milk M and at least a part of the detection electrodes 3a, 3b, and 3c may be faced with the inside of the air-supply cylinder portion 15. On the other hand, in the control system

5, a detection cancellation function Fc that cancels detection of bubbles Mb by determining the magnitudes of liquid-level detection signals Sa and Sb obtained from the liquid-level detection portion 3 may be provided. Also, below the outlet 2e, a milk receiving chamber Rr having the same diameter as that of the outlet 2e is formed, and for the diameter of this outlet 2e, a diameter with which the milk M in the metering chamber Rm is discharged within a predetermined time Te can be selected.

On one hand, a second narrowed portion 2sd is formed below the one narrowed portion 2su, an inner peripheral face of this second narrowed portion 2sd is used as the outlet 2e, a dividing opening 6i that samples a portion of the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e is disposed on the downstream side of this outlet 2e, and sampling means 6 that guides the milk M sampled from this dividing opening 6i to the outside of the metering container portion 2 may be provided. Also, on the downstream side of the

6 outlet 2e, a gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd may be provided having a capacity capable of storing a milk amount of at least one session flowing out of the outlet 2e caused by opening/closing of the valve mechanism portion 4 and a discharge opening 2t provided on a bottom face portion Rdd. Therefore, the sampling means 6 may use a dividing cylinder 7 that stands from the bottom face portion Rdd or the peripheral face portion of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, becomes the dividing opening 6i by having an upper end opening 7u faced with the inside and becomes a connection opening to the sample container 100 side by having a lower end opening 7d faced with the outside. In the dividing cylinder 7, a flow-collecting piece portion 7c that guides a portion of the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e into the dividing opening 6i may be provided by surrounding a part of the periphery of the dividing opening 6i.
Moreover, in the dividing cylinder 7, an air outlet 7r can be provided that can discharge the air A
inside the dividing cylinder 7 to the outside of the dividing cylinder 7 when the milk M
is sampled by the dividing opening 6i. This air outlet 7r may be formed continuously to the dividing opening 6i or may be separately formed so as to be non-continuous to the dividing opening 6i. Also, in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, a milk feeding-out portion 8 may be provided having a feeding-out opening 8f that allows the milk M to flow out at a flow rate not more than a predetermined flow rate Qf and also mixes it with the air A inside the metering container portion 2 and feeds it out and communicates with the discharge opening 2t. A lower end opening 11 d of the pipe shaft 11 may be faced with the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd and on the lower end of the pipe shaft 11, an umbrella-shaped cover 17 may be provided so that the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e does not directly enter the milk feeding-out portion 8.
On at least either of the outer peripheral face of the umbrella-shaped cover 17 and the inner peripheral face of the metering chamber Rm, a plurality of rectification piece portions 18..., 19... may be disposed in the circumferential direction with predetermined intervals, in the axial direction and projected in the radial direction only

7 by a predetermined width.

On the other hand, a milking device 50 according to the prevent invention is, in order to solve the above-described problems, a milking device provided with a metering container portion connected to the middle of the milk feeding line Lm and capable of temporarily storing the milk M flowing in through the inlet 2i, a liquid-level detection portion that detects the liquid level Mu of the milk M stored inside this metering container portion, a valve mechanism portion capable of opening/closing the outlet of the metering container portion, and a milk meter having a control system that controls opening/closing of the valve mechanism portion when the liquid-level detection portion detects the liquid level Mu, characterized in that the milk meter 1 is provided having the metering container portion 2 having the cylindrical peripheral face portion 2f, the narrowed portion 2su formed at least at one spot of a vertically intermediate portion so that the upper side of the one narrowed portion 2su is defined as the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and the lower side as the metering chamber Rm, the upper face portion Rmu of the metering chamber Rm being formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion side located below, and the lower face portion Rmd of the metering chamber Rm being formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion side located above, the valve mechanism portion 4 having the first valve 4u capable of opening/closing the intermediate opening 2m between the metering chamber Rm and the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and the second valve 4d capable of opening/closing the outlet 2e provided on the lower part of the metering chamber Rm, and the control system 5 that controls the valve mechanism portion 4 by means of detection of the liquid level Mu by the liquid-level detection portion 3. In this case, according to the preferred embodiments, the milk meter 1 can be mounted on a milking machine 51 that performs milking of a cow C.

Advantages of the Invention

8 The milk meter 1 and the milking device 50 according to the present invention having the above configuration have the following marked advantages.

(1) Since the milk meter 1 has the metering container portion 2 having the upper face portion Rmu formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion 2f side being lowered, and the lower face portion Rmd of the metering chamber Rm formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion 2f side being raised, the valve mechanism portion 4 having the first valve 4u capable of opening/closing the intermediate opening 2m between the metering chamber Rm and the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and the second valve 4d capable of opening/closing the outlet 2e provided on the lower part of the metering chamber Rm, and the control system 5 that controls the valve mechanism portion 4 by means of detection of the liquid level Mu by the liquid-level detection portion 3, the inside of the metering chamber Rm has a shape vertically surrounded by tapered faces. Therefore, in the actual use environment (installation environment), even if the milk meter 1 is inclined, a metering error caused by inclination can be eliminated, and milk-amount metering with high accuracy can be made.

(2) Since in the milk meter 1, no metering error caused by inclination of the milk meter 1 in the actual use environment (installation environment) occurs, the range (applications) of the use environment (installation environment) can be dramatically expanded such that the milk meter becomes capable of being attached to a teat-cup automatic removing device which is suspended by a stay through a hook and can often swing considerably during milking, whereby general versatility and convenience can be improved. Also, routing of pipelines such as a milk tube can be reduced, and the milk meter can be used as a portable (movable) type.

9 (3) According to the preferred embodiment, in the milk meter 1, if the valve mechanism portion 4 is configured by including the pipe shaft 11 which vents air A in the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs by inserting the valve mechanism portion through the outlet 2e and the intermediate opening 2m and having the upper end opening l lu faced with the upper end of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, the valve driving portion 12 that supports the upper end of this pipe shaft 11 and elevates up/down the pipe shaft 11, and the first valve 4u provided on the upper side of an outer peripheral face 11 f of the pipe shaft 11 located in the metering chamber Rm and the second valve 4d provided on the lower side of the outer peripheral face 11 f, the pipe shaft 11 can be used for both as a valve driving shaft and an air-vent pipe, and moreover, it can be also used as the valve driving shaft for the first valve 4u and the second valve 4d, which can contribute to simplification of the configuration, cost reduction and size reduction.

(4) According to the preferred embodiment, in the milk meter 1, if the valve driving portion 12 is configured by including the diaphragm portion 14 that supports the upper end of the pipe shaft 11 through a supporting member 13 and blocks the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs so as to form the upper face portion Rsu of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and the switching chamber portion Rc switched to a vacuum pressure or an atmospheric pressure by means of control of the control system 5 and faced with the diaphragm portion 14 on the opposite side of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, the valve driving portion 12 can be formed by using the vacuum pressure (vacuum line) used in the milking machine, which can contribute to simplification of the configuration, cost reduction and size reduction.

(5) According to a preferred embodiment, in the milk meter 1, by providing the inlet 2i in the metering container portion 2 so that the milk M flowing into the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs flows in a spiral state along the inner wall surface of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, the flow velocity of the milk M when the milk M
flows down on the inner wall surface of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs can be decreased, and thus, occurrence of bubbles Mb which causes an error in milk-amount metering or waving on the liquid level Mu can be largely reduced, which can result in contribution to size reduction of the milk meter 1.

(6) According to the preferred embodiment, in the milk meter 1, by providing the air-supply cylinder portion 15 which stands upward from the upper face portion Rmu with which the first valve 4u in the metering chamber Rm is not brought into contact and allows the metering chamber Rm to communicate with the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs by having the upper end opening 15u faced with the upper end of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, air can be supplied from the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs to the metering chamber Rm, whereby the milk M in the metering chamber Rm can be discharged through the outlet 2e smoothly and quickly.

(7) According to the preferred embodiment, in the milk meter 1, by using at least two detection electrodes 3a, 3b, and 3c separated from each other and detecting the presence of the milk M by resistance of the milk M in the liquid-level detection portion 3, a cost can be reduced by a relatively simple structure, and the presence of the milk M
can be reliably detected, and by having at least a part of the detection electrodes 3a, 3b, and 3c faced with the inside of the air-supply cylinder portion 15, detection can be carried out while influences of useless waving, bubbling and the like are avoided.

(8) According to the preferred embodiment, in the milk meter 1, by providing the detection cancellation function Fc that cancels detection of the bubble Mb by determining the magnitudes of the liquid-level detection signals Sa and Sb obtained from the liquid-level detection portion 3 in the control system 5, an error factor caused by the bubbles Mb can be eliminated, and more accurate and stable milk-amount metering can be made.

(9) According to the preferred embodiment, in the milk meter 1, by forming the milk receiving chamber Rr having the same diameter as that of the outlet 2e below the outlet 2e and by selecting a diameter with which the milk M in the metering chamber Rm is discharged within the predetermined time Te for the diameter of this outlet 2e, the milk M in the metering chamber Rm can be discharged quickly, the metering time can be reduced, and efficient metering can be carried out. Moreover, contribution can be made to capacity reduction of the metering chamber Rm.

(10) According to the preferred embodiment, in the milk meter 1, by forming the second narrowed portion 2sd below the one narrowed portion 2su, by using the inner peripheral face of this second narrowed portion 2sd as the outlet 2e, by disposing the dividing opening 6i that samples a portion of the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e on the downstream side of this outlet 2e, and by providing the sampling means 6 that guides the milk M sampled from this dividing opening 6i to the outside of the metering container portion 2, the sampling means 6 can be configured by using parts of the structure and the function of the milk meter 1 as they are and can be disposed inside the milk meter 1, and thus, even if the milk meter and the sampling means are combined, size increase of the milk meter 1 can be avoided, and a cost can be reduced.

(11) According to the preferred embodiment, in the milk meter 1, by providing the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd having a capacity capable of storing a milk amount of at least one session having flowed out of the outlet. 2e caused by

12 opening/closing of the valve mechanism portion 4 and the discharge opening 2t provided on the bottom face portion Rdd in the downstream side of the outlet 2e, the sampling means 6 can be integrated by using the bottom face portion Rdd or the peripheral face portion of this gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, whereby practice can be facilitated and contribution can be made to further cost reduction.
Also, since the milk M in the metering chamber Rm can be made to flow out quickly into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, thus, contribution can be made to more efficient metering by means of reduction of the metering time and the invention can be put into practice in an optimal mode in which the metering chamber Rm and the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd are linked to each other, whereby effectiveness and reliability of the functions of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd can be further improved.

(12) According to the preferred embodiment, in the milk meter 1, by using the dividing cylinder 7 that stands from the bottom face portion Rdd or the peripheral face portion of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, becomes the dividing opening 6i by having the upper end opening 7u faced with the inside and becomes a connection opening to the sample container 100 side by having the lower end opening 7d faced with the outside as the sampling means 6, that can be put into practice by addition of a single component having a relatively simple shape on the bottom face portion Rdd or the peripheral face portion of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, the invention can be put into practice in an optimal mode from the viewpoint of size reduction and cost reduction of the sampling means 10, and contribution can be made to durability and energy saving.

(13) According to the preferred embodiment, in the milk meter 1, by providing the flow-collecting piece portion 7c that guides a portion of the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e into the dividing opening 6i on the dividing cylinder 7 by surrounding a part of the periphery of the dividing opening 6i, even if the milk meter 1 is in the inclined state, a certain amount or more of the milk M can be received by the flow-collecting piece portion 12 efficiently and stably from the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e, whereby nonconformity of insufficient sampling can be avoided.

(14) According to the preferred embodiment, in the milk meter 1, by providing the air outlet 7r that can discharge the air A inside the dividing cylinder 7 to the outside of the dividing cylinder 7 when the milk M is sampled by the dividing opening 6i, the air A inside the dividing cylinder 7 can be discharged to the outside through the air outlet 7r, thus, even if the opening area of the divider opening 6i is small, the milk M can be sampled stably and reliably.

(15) According the preferred embodiment, in the milk meter 1, by forming the air outlet 7r continuously to the dividing opening 6i, it is only necessary to form only one opening, thus, the invention can be put into practice easily and also, by forming the air outlet 7r separately so as to be non-continuous to the dividing opening 6i, the location where the air outlet 7r is formed can be arbitrarily selected, whereby design freedom can be improved, and inflow of the milk M and the like into the air outlet 7r can be avoided.

(16) According the preferred embodiment, in the milk meter 1, by providing the milk feeding-out portion 8 having the feeding-out opening 8f that allows the milk M to flow out at a flow rate not more than the predetermined flow rate Qf and mixes it with the air A inside the metering container portion 2 in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd and feeds it out and communicates with the discharge opening 2t, a temporary blocked state of a milk feeding path (milk tubes and the like) caused by the milk M when the valve mechanism portion 4 is opened can be avoided, whereby nonconformity that pressure fluctuation (pressure impact) in the milk feeding line Lm is applied to a nipple can be eliminated, a useless stress factor to the cow C
can be solved, and moreover, occurrence of garget or the like caused by intrusion of bacteria into the nipple can be solved, useless occurrence of bubbles can be suppressed, and furthermore, stable and well-balanced milk feeding can be ensured.

(17) According to the preferred embodiment, in the milk meter 1, by having the lower end opening 11 d of the pipe shaft 11 faced with the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd and by providing the umbrella-shaped cover 17 that prevents the milk M
having flowed out of the outlet 2e from directly entering the milk feeding-out portion 8 on the lower end of the pipe shaft 11, nonconformity that the milk M having flowed out of the outlet 2e directly enter the milk feeding-out portion 8 can be avoided, and thus, all the milk M having flowed out of the outlet 2e can be stored once in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, and a function of feeding out the milk from the milk feeding-out portion 8 little by little can be executed reliably.

(18) According to the preferred embodiment, in the milk meter 1, by providing a plurality of rectification piece portions 18..., 19...disposed in the circumferential direction with predetermined intervals, in the axial direction and projected in the radial direction only by a predetermined width on at least either of the outer peripheral face of the umbrella-shaped cover 17 and the inner peripheral face of the metering chamber Rm, even if the milk meter 1 is in the inclined state, the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e is rectified (regulated) by the rectification piece portions 18..., 19..., and thus, the flow of the milk M is not biased easily and can be made to flow into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd smoothly and guided to the dividing opening 6i efficiently and stably, and nonconformity of surplus/shortage of sampling of the milk M can be avoided.

(19) Since the milking device 50 is configured by including the milk meter 1 according to the present invention, even if the device is attached to a teat-cup automatic removing device which is provided in the milking device 50 and often swings, milk-amount metering with high accuracy can be made. Also, since the milk meter 1 can be integral with the milking device 50, routing of pipelines such as a milk tube can be reduced.

(20) According to the preferred embodiment, in the milking device 50, by attaching the milk meter 1 to the milking machine 51 that performs milking from the cow C, complication of the entirety can be avoided by integrating the milk meter 1 into the milking machine 51, and compactness, transportability, and storage performances can be improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a side sectional view illustrating a milk meter according to a best embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a dividing cylinder and a buffer cylinder provided in a gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber of the milk meter;

Fig. 3 is a plan sectional view taken transversely at the position of a metering chamber of the milk meter;

Fig. 4 is a side sectional view illustrating a state in which a first valve and a second valve in a valve mechanism portion, which is a portion of the milk meter, are raised;

Fig. 5 is an appearance side view (including a system diagram (virtual lines) when the milk meter is washed and disinfected) illustrating a state in which the milk meter is attached to the back face of a teat-cup automatic removing device;

Fig. 6 is an entire configuration diagram of a control system in the milk meter;
Fig. 7 is a explanatory diagram of use of the milk meter;

Fig. 8 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of the milk meter;

Figs. 9 are schematic diagrams for explaining the operation of the milk meter;

Fig. 10 is a side sectional view illustrating a milk meter according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 11 is a plan sectional view including a partially broken portion taken transversely at an upper position of a gas-liquid separation chamber of the milk meter;
Fig. 12 is a side sectional view illustrating a part of milk meter according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 13 is a side sectional view illustrating a part of a milk meter according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 14 is a plan sectional view including a partially broken portion taken transversely at a position of a metering chamber of the milk meter;

Fig. 15 is a side sectional view illustrating a part of a milk meter according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 16 is an appearance perspective view of a dividing cylinder used in the milk meter;

Fig. 17 is a side sectional view illustrating a part of a milk meter according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 18 is an appearance plan view including a partially broken portion of a dividing cylinder used in the milk meter; and Fig. 19 is a side sectional view illustrating a part of a milk meter according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals 1: milk meter, lm: milk-meter main body, 2: metering container portion, 2i: inlet, 2m: intermediate opening, 2e: outlet, 2t: discharge opening, 2f:
peripheral face portion, 2su: narrowed portion, 2sd: narrowed portion, 3:
liquid-level detection portion, 3a: detection electrode, 3b: detection electrode, 3c: detection electrode, 4: valve mechanism portion, 4u: first valve, 4d:
second valve, 5: control system, 6: sampling means, 6i: dividing opening, 7: dividing cylinder, 7c: flow-collecting piece portion, 7r: air outlet, 7u:
upper end opening, 7d: lower end opening, 8: milk feeding-out portion, 8f-feeding-out opening, 11: pipe shaft, 11u: upper end opening, 11d: lower end opening, 11f. outer peripheral face, 12: valve driving portion, 13: supporting member, 14: diaphragm portion, 15: air-supply cylinder portion, 15u: upper end opening, 17: umbrella-shaped cover, 18...: rectification piece portion, 19...: rectification piece portion, 50: milking device, 51: milking machine, 100: sample container, Lm: milk feeding line, M: milk, Mu: liquid level of milk, Mb: bubbles, Rs: gas-liquid separation chamber, Rsu: upper face portion, Rm: metering chamber, Rmu: upper face portion, Rmd: lower face portion, Rc: switching chamber portion, Rd: gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber, Rdd: bottom face portion, Rr: milk receiving chamber, A: air, Sa, Sb:
liquid-level detection signal, Fc: detection cancellation function, C: cow Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention Subsequently, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail on the basis of the attached drawings.

First, a configuration of a milk meter 1 according to this embodiment will be specifically explained by referring to Figs. 1 to 7.

Fig. 1 illustrates a milk-meter main body lm in the milk meter 1. Reference numeral 2 denotes a metering container portion, which is formed cylindrically in the entirety of a transparent or translucent material such as plastic, glass or the like, and upper and lower two narrowed portions 2su and 2sd, that is, the lowermost narrowed portion 2sd and the narrowed portion 2su on the subsequent stage located above this narrowed portion 2sd are formed at predetermined positions in the vertically intermediate portion in the peripheral face portion 2f. As a result, a portion above the narrowed portion 2su is a gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, a portion between the narrowed portion 2su and the narrowed portion 2sd is a metering chamber Rm, and a portion below the narrowed portion 2sd is a gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, an inner peripheral face of the narrowed portion 2su is an intermediate opening 2m which makes the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs communicate with the metering chamber Rm, and an inner peripheral face of the narrowed portion 2sd is an outlet 2e that makes the metering chamber Rm communicate with the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd.
In this case, the capacity of the metering chamber Rm can be selected to approximately 200 [milliliters], for example, and the capacity of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd can be selected to the capacity that can store a milk amount of at least one session flowing out of the outlet 2e or approximately 1.5 to 2 times (300 to 400 [milliliters]) of the capacity of the metering chamber Rm, for example. Additional one or two or more narrowed portions 2su may be formed as necessary on a peripheral face portion 2f in the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs. As a result, a substantial area of the inner peripheral face in the peripheral face portion 2f can be expanded, and thus, a flow velocity of the milk M can be decreased, and occurrence of bubbles Mb can be reduced. By configuring the metering container portion 2 in a structure in which a plurality of divided bodies are combined, even if the narrowed portions 2su and 2sd are provided, manufacture of the metering container portion 2 can be facilitated, and maintenance (washing, replacement and the like) can be performed easily and reliably:

The gas-liquid separation chamber Rs is provided with an inlet 2i which protrudes in the tangent direction from the outer face of the peripheral face portion 2f in the vicinity of the upper end and to which a milk tube 66 on the upstream side can be connected (See Fig. 11). As a result, since the milk M having flowed into the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs from the inlet 2i flows in a spiral state along the inner wall face of the peripheral face portion 2f in the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, when the milk M flows down the inner wall face of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, the flow velocity decreases, and occurrence of bubbles or waving of a liquid level Mu which causes an error of milk-amount metering is largely reduced. Also, contribution can be made to size reduction of the milk meter 1 as a result.

The metering chamber Rm has an upper face portion Rmu formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion side being lowered and a lower face portion Rmd formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion side being raised. As a result, the inside of the metering chamber Rm has a shape vertically surrounded by tapered faces, and even if the metering container portion 2 (the milk-meter main body lm) is in an inclined state when the milk M is stored in the metering chamber Rm, a layer of air A is not generated and even if the metering container portion 2 (the milk-meter main body lm) is in an inclined state when the milk M is discharged from the metering chamber Rm, the milk M does not remain therein. Therefore, the inclination angle of this inclined face can be arbitrarily selected in accordance with the actual use environment. Since the inclination angle in the use environment of the milk meter 1 (the milk-meter main body lm) is usually approximately 15[ ] at the largest, by setting the angle of the inclined face with respect to the horizontal plane at approximately 30[ ], it is sufficient in practical use.

As described above, by providing the metering chamber Rm having the upper face portion Rmu formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion side being lowered and the lower face portion Rmd formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion side being raised, even if the milk meter 1 is inclined in the actual use environment (installation environment), a metering error caused by inclination can be eliminated, and milk-amount metering with high accuracy can be made. Also, the range (applications) of the use environment (installation environment) can be dramatically expanded such that the milk meter can be attached to a teat-cup automatic removing device which is suspended by a stay through a hook and can often swing considerably during milking, whereby general versatility and convenience can be improved. Also, routing of pipelines such as a milk tube can be reduced, and the milk meter can be used as a portable (movable) type.

Moreover, on the inner face in the peripheral face portion of the metering chamber Rm, four rectification piece portions 19 ... disposed at 90[ ] intervals in the circumferential direction are integrally formed as illustrated in Fig. 3. In this case, each of the rectification piece portions 19... is made to follow the axial direction of the metering chamber Rm and projected inward in the radial direction only by a predetermined width. By providing such rectification piece portions 19 ..., even if the milk meter 1 is in an inclined state, when the milk M flows out of the outlet 2e, the milk is rectified (regulated) by the rectification piece portions 19 ..., and thus, the flow of the milk M is not biased easily and can be made to flow into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd smoothly. Also, by means of the rectification piece portions 19 ..., the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e can be guided to a dividing opening 6i, which will be described later, efficiently and stably. For the outlet 2e disposed on the lower part of the metering chamber Rm, that is, at the center of the lower face portion Rmd, a diameter with which the milk M in the metering chamber Rm is discharged within a predetermined time Te is selected, considering a flow rate per unit time of the milk M

21 flowing in from the inlet 2i.

On the other hand, a valve mechanism portion 4 is disposed inside the metering container portion 2. The valve mechanism portion 4 is provided with a pipe shaft 11 which makes the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs communicate with the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd by being inserted through the outlet 2e and the intermediate opening 2m and having an upper end opening 11u faced with the upper end of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and a lower end opening 11 d faced with the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, a valve driving portion 12 that supports the upper end of this pipe shaft 11 and elevates up/down the pipe shaft 11, and a first valve 4u provided on the upper side of an outer peripheral face 11 f of the pipe shaft 11 located in the metering chamber Rm and a second valve 4d provided on the lower side of the outer peripheral face 11 The first valve 4u and the second valve 4d are both formed of an elastic material such as rubber. Reference numeral 21 denotes a fixing member that fixes the first valve 4u and the second valve 4d to the outer peripheral face 11 f of the pipe shaft 11. As a result, the first valve 4u is made capable of opening/closing the intermediate opening 2m between the metering chamber Rm and the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, and the second valve 4d is made capable of opening/closing the outlet 2e between the metering chamber Rm and the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd. By providing the valve mechanism portion 4 with the above configuration, the pipe shaft 11 can be used for the both purposes of a valve driving shaft and an air-vent pipe, and moreover, the pipe shaft 11 can be used also as a valve driving shaft for both the first valve 4u and the second valve 4d, whereby, contribution can be made to simplification of the configuration, cost reduction and size reduction, which is an advantage.

Also, the valve driving portion 12 is provided with a diaphragm portion 14 that supports the upper end of the pipe shaft 11 through a supporting member 13 and blocks

22 the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, that is, forms the upper face portion Rsu of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs by blocking a circular opening portion 2uh disposed in the upper face portion 2u of the metering container portion 2, and a switching chamber portion Re faced with the diaphragm portion 14 on the side opposite to the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs. This switching chamber portion Re is switched to a vacuum pressure or an atmospheric pressure by means of control of a control system 5 (Fig. 6), which will be described later. Reference numeral 22 denotes a connection port projecting from the switching chamber portion Rc. Moreover, the diaphragm portion 14 is formed of vertically separated first diaphragm 14u and second diaphragm 14d so as to realize stable elevation displacement, and the supporting member 13 is joined to the central lower face of the second diaphragm 14d by forming the upper end opening 11u of the pipe shaft 11 in a non-blocked state. By providing the valve driving portion 12 with the above configuration, the vacuum pressure (vacuum line) used in the milking machine 51 (Fig. 7) can be used, and thus, contribution can be made to cost reduction and size reduction through simplification of the configuration, which is an advantage.

As described above, in the milk meter 1 according to this embodiment, by forming the narrowed portions 2su and 2sd at least at two locations in the vertically intermediate portion of the peripheral face portion 2f in the metering container portion 2, the space below the lower (second) narrowed portion 2sd is formed into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, the space between the lower-side narrowed portion 2sd and the narrowed portion 2su located on the upper side of this narrowed portion 2sd into the metering chamber Rm, and the space above the upper-side narrowed portion 2su into the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, respectively, and the inner peripheral face of the lower-side narrowed portion 2sd is formed into the outlet 2e and the inner peripheral face of the upper-side narrowed portion 2su into the intermediate opening 2m.
And

23 also, since the valve mechanism portion 4 having the first valve 4u capable of opening/closing the intermediate opening 2m and the second valve 4d capable of opening/closing the outlet 2e is provided, the milk M in the metering chamber Rm can be made to flow out quickly into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, contribution can be made to more efficient metering by means of reduction of the metering time, and the invention can be put into practice in an optimal mode in which the metering chamber Rm and the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd are linked to each other, whereby effectiveness and reliability of the functions of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd can be further improved, which is an advantage.

On one hand, the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd has an upper face portion Rdu formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion side being lowered and a bottom face portion Rdd formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion side being raised, and the basic form is the same as that of the metering chamber Rm. Therefore, the inside of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd has the shape vertically surrounded by tapered faces, and even if the metering container portion 2 (milk-meter main body lm) is in an inclined state when the milk M is fed out from the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, the milk M does not remain therein.

On the other hand, in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, a milk feeding-out portion 8 is provided having a feeding-out opening (first feeding-out opening) 8f which allows the milk M to flow out at a flow rate not more than a predetermined flow rate (first flow rate) Qf and mixes it with the air A in the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs flowing in from the pipe shaft 11 and feeds it out. In this case, it is more preferable that the first feeding-out opening 8f that feeds out the milk M at the flow rate not more than the first flow rate Qf when the milk amount stored in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd is not more than the predetermined amount and a second feeding-out

24 opening 8s that feeds out the milk M at a flow rate not less than Qr when the stored milk amount exceeds a predetermined amount are provided in the milk feeding-out portion 8 and set so that the condition of Qf < Qr is satisfied. Since the lower face portion 2d of the metering container portion 2 is the bottom face portion Rdd of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, the milk feeding-out portion 8 can be provided by a cylindrical buffer cylinder 23 standing from the center of this bottom face portion Rdd.
This buffer cylinder 23 has an upper end opening 23u faced with the inside and a lower end opening 23d side projecting downward from the bottom face portion Rdd and faced with the outside.

As a result, the upper end opening 23u of the buffer cylinder 23 can be made to function as the second feeding-out opening 8s of the milk feeding-out portion 8 and also can be made to function as the first feeding-out opening 8f of the milk feeding-out portion 8 by forming one slit portion 23s extending from the upper end to the position of the bottom face portion Rdd in the axial direction on the peripheral face portion of the buffer cylinder 23. Therefore, the first feeding-out opening 8f allows the milk M
flows out the liquid level Mu of the stored milk M is not more than the height of the upper end opening 23u of the buffer cylinder 23, that is, the milk M flows out at a flow rate not more than the first flow rate Qf when the stored milk amount is not more than a predetermined amount. At this time, the flow rate not more than the first flow rate Qf can be set by the opening area of the slit portion 23s, and the width of the slit portion 23s is set to an opening area with which the full amount of the milk M at arbitrary inflow flowing in from the outlet 2e can be all fed out at least by the subsequent inflow.
In the exemplified mode, the width of the slit portion 23s can be selected so as to be 1/N
or less or more preferably 1/6 or less of the diameter (inner diameter) of the buffer cylinder 23. Also, the second feeding-out opening 8s allows the milk M flows out the liquid level Mu of the stored milk M exceeds the height of the upper end opening 23u of the buffer cylinder 23, that is, the milk M flows out at the flow rate not less than the flow rate Qr when the stored milk amount exceeds the predetermined amount. At this time, the flow rate not less than the flow rate Qr can be set by the opening area of the circular upper end opening 23u in the buffer cylinder 23.

As described above, in providing the milk feeding-out portion 8, since it is only necessary to additionally provide the buffer cylinder 23 in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, the invention can be put into practice easily and with a low cost.
Such buffer cylinder 23, that is, the milk feeding-out portion 8 can be put into practice in various forms. At this time, with regard to the first feeding-out opening 8f, by using at least one or more slit portions 23s ... and/or hole portions 23h ... formed in the peripheral face portion of the buffer cylinder 23, the milk feeding-out portion 8 having various feeding-out modes (feeding-out characteristics) can be provided easily, and the milk feeding-out portion 8 can be optimized easily by means of combining the slit portions 23s... and the hole portions 23h ... or moreover, by means of combining the quantities and the shapes thereof.

By providing the milk feeding-out portion 8 having the feeding-out opening 8f that allows the milk M to flow out at a flow rate not more than the predetermined flow rate Qf and mixes it with the air A in the metering container portion 2 and feeds it out in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, a temporary blocked state of the milk feeding path (such as a milk tube) by the milk M generated when the valve mechanism portion 4 is opened can be avoided, whereby nonconformity that pressure fluctuation (pressure impact) in the milk feeding line Lm is applied to a nipple can be eliminated, a useless stress factor to the cow C can be solved, and moreover, occurrence of garget or the like caused by intrusion of bacteria into the nipple can be solved, useless occurrence of bubbles can be suppressed, and furthermore, stable and well-balanced milk feeding can be ensured. Particularly, by providing the first feeding-out opening 8f that feeds out the milk M at the flow rate not more than the first flow rate Qf when the milk amount stored in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd is not more than the predetermined amount and the second feeding-out opening 8s that feeds out the milk M at the flow rate not less than the second flow rate Qr when the stored milk amount exceeds the predetermined amount in the milk feeding-out portion 6, even if the liquid level Mu of the milk M having flowed into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd exceeds a so-called limit level due to the remaining milk M in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd or the like, temporary overflow can be quickly solved by the second feeding-out opening 8s.

Also, the lower end opening 11 d of the pipe shaft 11 faced with the inside of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd is located immediately above the upper end opening 23u of the buffer cylinder 23, and on the lower end of the pipe shaft 11, the umbrella-shaped cover 17 is provided so that the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e does not directly enter the milk feeding-out portion 8, that is, both the first feeding-out opening 8f and the second feeding-out opening 8s. The umbrella-shaped cover 17 is formed having the tapered shape expanded on the lower side. As a result, the upper part of the upper end opening 23u of the buffer cylinder 23 is covered by the umbrella-shaped cover 17, and nonconformity that the milk M having flowed out of the outlet 2e directly enters the milk feeding-out portion 8 can be avoided, and the function of once storing all the milk M having flowed out of the outlet 2e in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd and of feeding it out from the milk feeding-out portion 8 little by little can be reliably executed.

Moreover, on the outer peripheral face of the umbrella-shaped cover 17, as illustrated in Fig. 3, the four rectification piece portions 18 ... disposed at 90[ ] intervals are integrally formed. Each of the rectification piece portions 18 is made to follow the axial direction and projected outward in the radial direction only by a predetermined width. The position in the circumferential direction of each of the rectification piece portions 18 ... can be matched with the position of each of the above-described rectification piece portions 19 .... By providing such rectification piece portions 18 ..., even if the milk meter 1 is in an inclined state, when the milk M flows out of the outlet 2e, the milk is rectified by the rectification piece portions 18 ..., and thus, the flow of the milk M is not biased easily and can be made to flow into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd smoothly. Also, by means of the rectification piece portions 18 ..., the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e can be guided to the dividing opening 6i, which will be described later, efficiently and stably. Both the rectification piece portions 18 ... and 19 ... may be provided as in the illustration or either of them may be provided.

Below an inner peripheral edge portion 2ep (Fig. 3) which forms the outlet 2e, the dividing opening 6i that samples a portion of the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e is disposed, and the sampling means 6 that guides the milk M sampled by this dividing opening 6i to the outside of the metering container portion 2 is provided. As a specific form of the sampling means 6, as illustrated in Fig. 2, a dividing cylinder 7 that samples a sample (milk M) by being integrally provided on the bottom face portion Rdd of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd which becomes the lower face portion 2d of the metering container portion 2 can be used. This dividing cylinder 7 stands from the bottom face portion Rdd, has a lower end opening 7d faced with the outside, and an upper end opening 7u faced with the inside. The upper end opening 7u is, as illustrated in Fig. 1, located in the vicinity of the outlet 2e and also, as illustrated in Fig.

3, located immediately below the inner peripheral edge portion 2ep which forms the outlet 2e and located in the vicinity of the center between the above-described two rectification piece portions 18 and 19. Moreover, the upper end opening 7u is, as illustrated in Fig. 1, inclined along the inclined face of the upper face portion Rdu of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, and in the upper end opening 7u, the slit-shaped dividing opening 6i is formed in the radial direction of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd as illustrated in Fig. 3. As described above, in providing the sampling means 6, it can be integrated into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd located at the lowermost part of the metering container portion 2, and thus, practice can be facilitated and contribution can be made to cost reduction.

Also, the lower end opening 7d of the dividing cylinder 7 is projected downward from the lower face portion 2d and formed as a connection port to which a sampling tube 101 is connected. As a result, as illustrated in Fig. 1, to the lower end opening 7d, one end of the sampling tube 101 can be connected, and the other end of the sampling tube 101 can be connected to a container port 100i of a sample container 100 through a connection pipe 102.

As described above, if the dividing cylinder 7 which stands from the bottom face portion Rdd or the peripheral face portion of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd and becomes the dividing opening 6i by having the upper end opening 7u faced with the inside and becomes the connection port to the sample container 100 side by having the lower end opening 7d faced with the outside is used as the sampling means 6, the sampling means can be put into practice by addition of a single component having a relatively simple shape to the bottom face portion Rdd or the peripheral face portion of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, it can be practiced in an optimal form from the viewpoint of size reduction and cost reduction of the sampling means 6, and contribution can be made to durability and energy saving.

On one hand, in the metering container portion 2, an air-supply cylinder portion 15 is provided which stands upward from the upper face portion Rmu of the metering chamber Rm so as to allow the metering chamber Rm to communicate with the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs by having the upper end opening 15u faced with the upper end of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs. By providing such air-supply cylinder portion 15, the milk M in the metering chamber Rm can be made to flow out of the outlet 2e smoothly and quickly. Moreover, in the metering container portion 2, a liquid-level detection portion 3 faced with the inside of the air-supply cylinder portion 15 is attached. For the liquid-level detection portion 3, three detection electrodes 3a, 3b, and 3c (3c is a common electrode) disposed vertically separately and detecting the presence of the milk M by means of resistance of the milk M are used. The detection electrodes 3a and 3b are selected so that the liquid level Mu of the milk M or particularly a predetermined position where the liquid level Mu excluding the bubbles Mb of the milk M is located above the metering chamber Rm can be selected or preferably, as illustrated in Fig. 1, a position of storage from the lower face portion of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs to a predetermined height can be detected when the milk M is stored in the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs from the metering chamber Rm. As described above, by having the liquid-level detection portion 3 (detection electrodes 3a and 3b) faced with the inside of the air-supply cylinder portion 15, detection can be made while an influence of useless waving, bubbling or the like is avoided. Also, by using the detection electrodes 3a .. for the liquid-level detection portion 3, the invention can be put into practice with a relatively simple structure and a low cost, and presence of the milk M can be reliably detected.

On the other hand, Fig. 6 illustrates the control system 5 connected to the milk-meter main body lm. The control system 5 is provided with a system controller 31 having a computing function that executes various types of control processing, calculation processing and the like. Therefore, in system memory built in the system controller 31, a control program 31p that executes a series of sequence control relating to milk-amount metering is stored, and various setting data 31 d including a set time Ts and the like, which will be described later, is set. On the other hand, a detection processing portion 32 is connected to an input port of the system controller 31, while electromagnetic three-way valve 33 is connected to a control output port of the system controller 31. Also, to an input portion of the detection processing portion 32, the detection electrodes 3a, 3b, and 3c are connected through a predetermined connection cable 34. This detection processing portion 32 has a function of detecting the liquid level Mu of the stored milk M by applying a predetermined voltage to each of the detection electrodes 3a and 3b and detecting a change in a resistance value.

The system controller 31 is provided with a detection cancellation function Fc of cancelling detection of the bubbles Mb by determining the magnitudes of liquid-level detection signals Sa and Sb. That is, the detection processing portion 32 outputs the liquid-level detection signal Sa corresponding to a resistance value between the detection electrodes 3a and 3c and the liquid-level detection signal Sb corresponding to the resistance value between the detection electrodes 3b and 3c, and they are given to the system controller 31. In this case, if a liquid portion of the milk M is present between the detection electrodes 3a and 3b, the detection electrode 3a detects a resistance value including the bubbles Mb, and the detection electrode 3b detects a resistance value only of the liquid portion of the milk M. However, since the resistance value including the bubbles Mb and the resistance value only of the liquid portion of the milk M are different from each other, the system controller 31 compares the resistance values, and if a difference between the resistance values is not less than a predetermined magnitude, it is determined that the liquid level Mu is present between the detection electrodes 3a and 3b, and the detection is invalidated by the detection cancellation function Fc.

The control system 5 configured as above is provided with a function of controlling the valve mechanism portion 4, that is, of closing the first valve 4u, opening the second valve 4d, opening the first valve 4u according to a predetermined return condition, and closing the second valve 4d at least if the above-described detection electrode 3a of the liquid-level detection portion 3 detects the liquid level Mu.

Also, the connection port 22 projecting from the switching chamber portion Rc is connected to a common port 33o of the electromagnetic three-way valve 33 through a vacuum tube 35, and moreover, one branch port 33a of the electromagnetic three-way valve 33 is connected to a vacuum tube (vacuum pump) 71, while the other branch port 33b of the electromagnetic three-way valve 33 is opened to the atmospheric air. As a result, by means of switching control of the electromagnetic three-way valve 33, the above-described switching chamber portion Rc can be switched to a vacuum state or an atmospheric air state.

On the one hand, for a predetermined return condition for opening the first valve 4u and closing the second valve 4d after the first valve 4u is closed and the second valve 4d is opened, elapse of the set time Ts set in advance or detection of end of discharge of the milk M from the outlet 2e can be used. In this embodiment, the elapse of the set time Ts set in advance is set as the return condition. In this case, the set time Ts is set so as to be longer than the above-described predetermined time Te. As described above, by employing the control so that the first valve 4u is opened and the second valve 4d is closed when the set time Ts set in advance has elapsed as the predetermined return condition, the number of components is decreased and control can be facilitated, and thus, the invention can be put into practice with a low cost. On the other hand, as the predetermined return condition, control can be executed so that the first valve 4u is opened and the second valve 4d is closed upon detection of end of discharge of the milk M from the outlet 2e. In this case, it is only necessary that a detection.
portion similar to the above-described liquid-level detection portion 3 formed of the detection electrodes 3a ... is attached to the outlet 2e, for example. By using the control that the first valve 4u is opened and the second valve 4d is closed upon detection of the end of discharge of the milk M form the outlet 2e as the predetermined return condition, return can be realized quickly, metering time is reduced, and efficient metering can be performed.

Subsequently, a use method and an operation (function) of the milk meter 1 according to this embodiment will be described by referring to Figs. 1 to 9.

The milk-meter main body lm in the milk meter 1 can, as illustrated in Fig. 5, be attached to the back face (outer face) of a teat-cup automatic removing device provided in the milking machine 51. Therefore, this milking machine 51 includes the teat-cup automatic removing device 52 and a conveying machine 63, which will be described later. The milk meter 1 (the milk-meter main body lm) according to this embodiment can be attached even to the teat-cup automatic removing device 52 which often swings considerably during milking and has been considered that attachment thereto is difficult. In this case, the teat-cup automatic removing device 52 incorporates the system controller 31, the detection processing portion 32, and the electromagnetic three-way valve 33 in the control system 5 provided in the milk meter 1.
As described above, by attaching the milk-meter main body I m to the back face of the teat-cup automatic removing device 52 and by incorporating a part of or the whole of the control system 5 in the teat-cup automatic removing device 52, routing of pipelines or wiring can be reduced, and thus, contribution can be made to size reduction of the entirety. The teat-cup automatic removing device 52 has a device main body 53 having an external casing, a hook 54 projecting upward from the upper face of this device main body 53, and a wire guide pipe 55 projecting from the lower face of the device main body 53, and a removal wire 56 (Fig. 7) is fed out from the lower end of this wire guide pipe 55. The distal end of this removal wire 56 is connected to a milk claw 61 having four teat-cups 61c .... Therefore, inside the device main body 53, a hoisting mechanism that hoists the removal wire 56 is provided.

On the other hand, Fig. 7 illustrates an example of the milking device 50 that uses the milk meter 1. This milking device 50 is provided with the conveying machine 63 that moves along a rail 62, and the milking machine 51 is mounted on this conveying machine 63. Also, by hooking a hook 54 to an arm stay 65 provided in the conveying machine 63, the teat-cup automatic removing device 52 is suspended. Fig. 7 illustrates a state in which the cow C is milked by the milking machine 51, and four teat cups 61c ... are attached to the cow C. In the milking device 50, raw milk (the milk M) milked by the teat cups 61c ... is supplied to the inlet 2i of the milk-meter main body lm through the milk tube 66 from the milk claw 61. Then, the milk M having passed through the milk-meter main body lm is fed to a milk pipe 68 through a milk tube 67 from a discharge opening 2t. Therefore, the milk tubes 66 and 67 form the milk feeding line Lm which connects to the milk meter 1. Reference numeral 70 denotes a vacuum pipe, reference numeral 71 denotes a vacuum tube that connects the vacuum pipe 70 side to the teat-cup automatic removing device 52 (Fig. 6), reference numeral 72 denotes a vacuum tube that connects the teat-cup automatic removing device 52 and the teat cups 61c ..., respectively. Also, as described above, each of the detection electrodes 3a ... is connected to the teat-cup automatic removing device 52 (detection processing portion 32) side through the connection cable 34, and the switching chamber portion Rc (connection port 22) is connected to the teat-cup automatic removing device 52 (the branch port 33a of the electromagnetic three-way valve 33) side through the vacuum tube 35 (Fig. 6).

An operation of the milk meter 1 during milking will be described below in accordance with the flowchart illustrated in Fig. 8 by referring to Fig. 9.

During milking (metering), since the milked milk M is intermittently fed into the milk tube 66 in the milk feeding line Lm, the milk M flows into the metering container portion 2 from the inlet 2i (Step S l). In the beginning of inflow, the first valve 4u and the second valve 4d are located at lowered positions, the intermediate opening 2m is open, and the outlet 2e is closed. The milk M having flowed in flows in the spiral state along the inner wall face of the peripheral face portion 2f in the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs as indicated by a solid-line arrow in Fig. 9(a). As a result, favorable gas-liquid separation (centrifugal separation) is performed, and when the milk M falls down the inner wall face of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, the flow velocity is reduced, and occurrence of the bubbles Mb or waving of the liquid level Mu which causes an error in milk-amount metering is largely reduced. At this time, the separated air A flows into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd through the inside of the pipe shaft 11, and the milk M from which the air A has been separated flows into the metering chamber Rm through the intermediate opening 2m and is stored in the metering chamber Rm (Step S2). Fig. 9(a) shows this state.

As the inflow of the milk M progresses, the liquid level Mu of the stored milk M
rises. If it rises to the position of the detection electrode 3b, a space between the detection electrodes 3b and 3c is brought into the ON state. Since bubbles Mb are usually present more or less on the liquid level Mu, if the liquid level Mu is located between the detection electrodes 3a and 3b as illustrated in Fig. 9(b), a state in which the detection electrode 3a is immersed in the bubbles Mb can occur. In this case, the liquid-level detection signal Sa indicating the resistance value between the detection electrodes 3a and 3c becomes larger than the liquid-level detection signal Sb indicating the resistance value between the detection electrodes 3a and 3c, and thus, the space between the detection electrodes 3b and 3c is not considered to be in the ON
state, and the detection is cancelled by the detection cancellation function Fc. As a result, the error factor caused by the bubbles Mb is eliminated, and more accurate and stable milk-amount metering can be performed.

On the contrary, if the liquid level Mu further rises and the liquid level Mu rises to a position where the detection electrode 3a is immersed in the milk M as illustrated in Fig. 9(c), the detection electrodes 3a and 3b are both immersed in the milk M
and thus, the deviation between the liquid-level detection signals Sa and Sb falls under a certain allowable range. Therefore, the system controller 31 determines that the liquid level Mu has formally risen to the height of the detection electrode 3a and gives a valve switching signal Sc to the electromagnetic three-way valve 33. Accordingly, the electromagnetic three-way valve 33 is switched, and a vacuum pressure (negative pressure) is given to the switching chamber portion Rc (Steps S3 and S4). As a result, as illustrated in Fig. 9(c), the diaphragm portion 14 is displaced upward, and moreover the first valve 4u and the second valve 4d are also displaced at raised positions, whereby, the intermediate opening 2m is closed, and the outlet 2e is opened (Step S5).

As a result, the milk M in the metering chamber Rm flows into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd through the outlet 2e (Step S6). At this time, since the diameter of the outlet 2e is selected so that the milk M in the metering chamber Rm flows out within the predetermined time Te, the milk M in the metering chamber Rm quickly flows out. Also, at this time, even if the milk meter 1 is in the inclined state, since the milk M is rectified by the rectification piece portions 19 ... and 18 ... when the milk M flows out of the outlet 2e, the flow of the milk M is not easily biased and can be made to flow into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd smoothly. The milk M having flowed out of the outlet 2e falls down on the peripheral face side of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd by means of the function of the umbrella-shaped cover 17, nonconformity that the milk M directly enters the milk feeding-out portion 8, that is, the first feeding-out opening 8f and the second feeding-out opening 8s is avoided, and since it is set such that the liquid level Mu of the milk M stored in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd does not exceed the upper end opening 23u (second feeding-out opening 8s) of the buffer cylinder 23 in usual milking, all the milk M
having flowed out of the outlet 2e is once stored in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd and fed out of the first feeding-out opening 8f. Then, the milk M
in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd flows out into the buffer cylinder 23 through the slit 23s as illustrated in Fig. 9(c) and is mixed with the air A from the upper end opening 23u so as to be fed out to the milk tube 67 on the downstream side through the lower end opening 23d (discharge opening 2t) of the buffer cylinder 23. In this case, since the opening area of the slit 23s is set so that the milk M flows out at a flow rate not more than the first flow rate Qf, the milk is fed out little by little at a relaxed small flow rate.

Therefore, a temporary blocked state of the milk feeding path (milk tube and the like) by the milk M caused when the outlet 2e is opened is avoided. As a result, since nonconformity that pressure fluctuation (pressure impact) in the milk feeding line Lm is applied to a nipple can be eliminated, a useless stress factor to the cow C
can be solved, and moreover, occurrence of garget or the like caused by intrusion of bacteria into the nipple can be solved and as the milk M can be fed out little by little to the air A having flowed out of the metering container portion 2, useless occurrence of bubbles can be suppressed, and furthermore, stable and well-balanced milk feeding can be ensured.

Moreover, as illustrated in Fig. 9(c), a portion of the milk M having flowed out of the outlet 2e is sampled from the dividing opening 6i in the dividing' cylinder 7 and supplied to the sample container 100 through the dividing cylinder 7, the sampling tube 101, and the connection pipe 102. At this time, even if the milk meter 1 is in the inclined state, the milk M is rectified (regulated) by the rectification piece portions 19 ... and 18 ... when the milk M flows out of the outlet 2e, and thus, the flow of the milk M is not biased easily, and the milk M not less than a certain amount in the milk M
flowing out of the outlet 2e can be guided to the dividing opening 6i.
efficiently and stably, and surplus/shortage of sampling of the milk M can be avoided.

As described above, by forming the narrowed portion 2sd at least at one spot in the vertically intermediate portion in the peripheral face portion 2f formed cylindrically, by disposing the dividing opening 6i that samples a portion of the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e below the inner peripheral face of the narrowed portion 2sd, and by providing the sampling means 6 that guides the milk M sampled from this dividing opening 6i to the outside of the metering container portion 2, this sampling means 6 can be configured by using a part of the structure and the functions of the milk meter 1 as they are. Therefore, the sampling means 6 can be disposed inside the milk meter 1, size increase of the milk meter 1 can be avoided, and the invention can be put into practice with a low cost. Particularly, a part of the functions of the milk meter 1 can be used as they are. That is, since the sampling is made at the timing when the valve mechanism portion 4 is opened, the valve mechanism for the sampling is no longer necessary, and only by adding the above-described dividing cylinder 7 to the main body of the milk meter 1, sampling can be made by a small amount with predetermined time intervals in the milking period from start to end of the milking, and the average milk M
can be sampled from the total amount of the milk M.

On the other hand, when the milk M in the metering chamber Rm flows into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, if the liquid level Mu of the milk M
having flowed into the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd temporarily exceeds the height of the upper end opening 23u of the buffer cylinder 23 due to remaining of the milk M in the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd or the like, the milk M flows into the buffer cylinder 23 from the second feeding-out opening 8s at a flow rate not less than Qr. In this case, since the second feeding-out opening 8s becomes the upper end opening 23u of the buffer cylinder 23, the milk is made to flow out quickly at a large flow rate, and the temporary overflow is solved. When the liquid level Mu of the milk M falls below the height of the upper end opening 23u of the buffer cylinder 23, the outflow from the second feeding-out opening 23s stops, and the state returns to normal in which the milk flows out only of the first feeding-out opening 23f.

Also, after the valve switching signal Sc is outputted, when the set time Ts set in advance has elapsed, the system controller 31 gives a valve return signal Sr to the electromagnetic three-way valve 33. Accordingly, the electromagnetic three-way valve 33 is switched, and the vacuum pressure given to the switching chamber portion Rc is cancelled, and the switching chamber portion Rc returns to the atmospheric pressure (Steps S8 and S9). As a result, the diaphragm portion 14 is displaced downward, and as illustrated in Fig. 9(d), the first valve 4u and the second valve 4d return to the lowered positions. The intermediate opening 2m is opened, and the outlet 2e is closed, and thus, the milk M in the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs flows into the metering chamber Rm through the intermediate opening 2m (Step S 10). After that, the above operation (processing) is repeated until the milking is finished (Steps S 11, S 1... ).
In the system controller 31, the total milk amount or moreover, the flow rate (velocity) and the like is acquired by calculation processing by counting the number of metering times by the metering chamber Rm.

On one hand, the milk meter 1 according to this embodiment can be washed and disinfected as follows. A system diagram of when the milk meter 1 is washed and disinfected is indicated by virtual lines in Fig. 5. When the milk meter 1 is to be washed and disinfected, the milking machine 51 is moved to a predetermined washing area, where the discharge opening 2t (milk tube 67) side of the milk meter 1 is connected to the to the milk pipe 68, and the teat cups 61c ... are immersed in a washing liquid tank 200 which contains a washing liquid (disinfecting liquid).
Then, by operating the milking machine 51, an automatic washing mode is executed, and automatic washing is performed in accordance with a washing program set in advance.
During the automatic washing, the washing liquid (disinfecting liquid) in the washing liquid tank 200 is sucked from the teat cups 61c ... and flows into the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs from the inlet 2i of the milk meter 1 through the milk claw 61, the milk tube 66 and the like. At this time, by switching to an operation mode of closing the intermediate opening 2m by the valve mechanism portion 4, the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs is washed by the washing liquid, and the washing liquid is stored in the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and then, discharged from the upper end opening 15u of the air-supply cylinder portion 15. Also, the metering chamber Rm, the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, the dividing cylinder 7 and the like are washed by the washing liquid discharged from the upper end opening 15u, and after that, the washing liquid is discharged from the discharge opening 2t and the discharged washing liquid is returned to the washing liquid tank 200 through the milk tube 67, the milk pipe 68 and the like. On the other hand, by switching to an operation mode of opening the intermediate opening 2m by the valve mechanism portion 4, a state in which the washing liquid is filled in the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and the metering chamber Rm can be maintained. During the operation mode of closing the intermediate opening 2m by the valve mechanism portion 4, a liquid quality (washing state) can be measured. Therefore, in the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, in addition to the detection electrodes 3a, 3b, and 3c, a temperature sensor, a pH sensor and the like are attached in advance. The washing (disinfection) includes a rinsing process, an alkali washing process, and an acid rinsing process, and a washing pattern in which processing time of each process and operation mode and the like are combined is executed.

Thus, according to the milk meter 1 as above according to this embodiment, since the metering container portion 2 having the upper face portion Rmu formed into the inclined face with the peripheral face portion 2f side being lowered and the lower face portion Rind of the metering chamber Rm formed into the inclined face with the peripheral face portion 2f side being raised, the valve mechanism portion 4 having the first valve 4u capable of opening/closing the intermediate opening 2m between the metering chamber Rm and the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and the second valve 4d capable of opening/closing the outlet 2e provided on the lower part of the metering chamber Rm, and the control system 5 that controls the valve mechanism portion 4 by detection of the liquid level Mu by the liquid-level detection portion 3 are provided, even if the milk meter 1 is inclined in the actual use environment (installation environment), metering errors caused by inclination can be eliminated. As a result, milk-amount metering with high accuracy can be made, and in the exemplified mode (Fig. 1), the metering accuracy can be kept within approximately 5 [%]. Also, since no metering error caused by inclination of the milk meter 1 in the actual use environment (installation environment) occurs, the milk meter can be attached to the teat-cup automatic removing device 52 or the like which is suspended by a stay through a hook 53 and can often swing considerably during milking, the range (applications) of the use environment (installation environment) can be dramatically expanded, whereby general versatility and convenience can be improved. Also, routing of pipelines such as a milk tube 67... can be reduced, and the milk meter can be used as a portable (movable) type.

Subsequently, the milk meter 1 according to a variation (second embodiment to seventh embodiment) of the present invention will be described by referring to Figs. 10 to 19.

The milk meter 1 according to the second embodiment illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11 illustrates a mode provided with the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs and the metering chamber Rm similar to those in the milk meter 1 illustrated in Fig. 1 but not provided with the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd and the sampling means 6.
Therefore, a milk receiving chamber Rr having the same diameter as that of the outlet 2e is formed below the outlet 2e, and for the diameter of the outlet 2e, a diameter with which the milk M in the metering chamber Rm is discharged within the predetermined time Te is selected. In this case, the milk receiving chamber Rr has a simple cylindrical shape, and the discharge opening 2t is provided in the lower end of this milk receiving chamber Rr. In Figs. 10 and 11, reference numeral 300 denotes a cover portion suspended and formed over a predetermined length downward from the upper face portion 2u of the metering container portion 2 (gas-liquid separation chamber Rs) and prevents the milk M from intruding into the upper end openings 1 lu and 15u by covering the peripheries of the upper end opening 11 u of the pipe shaft 11 and the upper end opening 15u of the air-supply cylinder portion 15. In Figs. 10 and 11, the same reference numerals are given to the same portions as those in Fig. 1 so as to make the configuration clear, and detailed description will be omitted.

Even in such second embodiment, the inside of the metering chamber Rm has a shape vertically surrounded by tapered faces, and in the actual use environment, even if the milk meter 1 is inclined, a metering error caused by inclination can be eliminated, and milk-amount metering with high accuracy can be made and also, since a metering error caused by inclination of the milk meter 1 in the actual use environment does not occur, the range (application) of the use environment can be dramatically expanded, and general-versatility and convenience can be improved. Also, the basic working effects that routing of pipelines such as a milk tube can be reduced, and the milk meter can be used as a portable type similar to the embodiment in Fig. 1 can be enjoyed.
Particularly, since the milk receiving chamber Rr having the same diameter as that of the outlet 2e is formed downward from the outlet 2e, and for the diameter of this outlet 2e, a diameter with which the milk M in the metering chamber Rm is discharged in the predetermined time Te is set, the milk M in the metering chamber Rm can be discharged quickly, and as a result, the metering time is reduced, efficient metering can be made, and contribution can be also made to reduction in the capacity of the metering chamber Rm.

The milk meter 1 according to a third embodiment illustrated in Fig. 12 is a device in which a second liquid-level detection portion 3a is added to the peripheral face portion 2f of the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs. The configuration of the liquid-level detection portion 3s is also the same as that of the above-described liquid-level detection portion 3 and is formed of a pair of detection electrodes 3bs and 3cs vertically separated and detecting the presence of the milk M by the resistance of the milk M. Therefore, a difference is only a mounting position which is above the liquid-level detection portion 3 and is separated only by a predetermined height. In the above-described milk meter 1 in Fig. 1, in the beginning of inflow of the milk M into the milk meter 1, the first valve 4u and the second valve 4d have been displaced to the lowered positions, but in the case of the third embodiment, the first valve 4u and the second valve 4d have been displaced to raised positions. As a result, before the milk M is made to flow into the metering chamber Rm, by having the milk stored to the position (Mus) of the second-liquid-level detection portion 3s in the gas-liquid separation chamber Rs, the milk M without any bubbles M can be supplied to the metering chamber Rm. That is, in this case, if the second liquid-level detection portion 3s detects the milk M, the first valve 4u and the second valve 4d are displaced to the lowered positions. As a result, the milk M begins to flow into the metering chamber Rm and also, in the inflow, the fact that the milk M is filled in the metering chamber Rm can be detected by the liquid-level detection portion 3 disposed on the lower side, and thus, if the milk M is detected by the liquid-level detection portion 3, the first valve 4u and the second valve 4d are displaced to the raised positions so that the milk M in the metering chamber Rm is made to flow out of the outlet 2e. After that, the operation in which this state is maintained until the liquid-level detection portion 3s disposed on the upper side detects the milk M, and if the liquid-level detection portion 3s detects the milk M, the first valve 4u and the second valve 4d are displaced to the lowered positions is repeated. At this time, by setting an interval between the liquid-level detection portions 3 and 3s as appropriate, the above-described control by elapse of the set time Ts is no longer necessary.

In such third embodiment, metering performances can be further improved such that the milk M without any bubbles Mb can be stored in the metering chamber Rm.
In the third embodiment, the control similar to that using only the liquid-level detection portion 3 (detection electrodes 3b and 3c) described above may be executed using only the liquid-level detection portion 3s (detection electrodes 3bs and 3cs).
Therefore, in this case, the liquid-level detection portion 3 (detection electrodes 3b and 3c) in Fig. 12 is no longer necessary. Also, either of the liquid-level detection portion 3 or 3s is selected and used in accordance with the amount of the bubbles Mb and the like as necessary and the control similar to that using only the above-described liquid-level detection portion 3 (detection electrodes 3b and 3c) may be executed.
Moreover, it is possible to provide position (height) adjusting means of the liquid-level detection portion 3 and 3s as necessary. In Fig. 12, the same reference numerals are given to the same portions as those in Fig. 10 so as to make the configuration clear, and detailed description will be omitted.

The milk teeter 1 according to a fourth embodiment illustrated in Figs. 13 and has a flow-collecting piece portion 7c which guides a portion of the milk M
flowing out of the outlet 2e to the dividing opening 6i provided on the dividing cylinder 7 by surrounding a part of the periphery of the dividing opening 6i. In this case, the flow-collecting piece portion 7c is formed into a semi-cylindrical shape and disposed on the center side of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd, and the upper end is made to stand up to the height close to inner peripheral edge portion 2ep which forms the outlet 2e. At this time, a portion in the flow-collecting piece portion 7c interfering with the inner peripheral face of the outlet 2e is notched. As a result, even if the milk meter 1 is in the inclined state, a constant amount or more of the milk M
flowing out of the outlet 2e can be received by the flow-collecting piece portion 7c efficiently and stably, and nonconformity of insufficient sampling can be avoided.

Since this flow-collecting piece portion 7c is provided as a measure against the inclined state of the milk meter 1, if such flow-collecting piece portion 7c is to be provided, the above-described rectification piece portions 19 ... and 18 ...
can be omitted. Therefore, Figs. 13 and 14 illustrate the case in which the rectification piece portions 19 ... and 18 ... are omitted. In addition to the provision of the flow-collecting piece portion 7c, the rectification piece portions 19 ...
and/or 18 ... may be provided together. As a result, even if the milk meter 1 is in the inclined state, the advantage that the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e is reliably guided to the dividing opening 6i can be further improved and the advantage that nonconformity of surplus/shortage of sampling of the milk M can be avoided can be further improved.
In Figs. 13 and 14, the same reference numerals are given to the same portions as those in Figs. 1 and 3 so as to make the configuration clear, and detailed description will be omitted.

The milk meter 1 according to a fifth embodiment illustrated in Figs. 15 and 16 has the air outlet 7r capable of discharging the air A inside the dividing cylinder 7 to the outside of the dividing cylinder 7 when the milk M is sampled by the dividing opening 6i provided on the dividing cylinder 7. In this case, the air outlet 7r is formed, as illustrated in Fig. 16, by extending the lower end of the slit-shaped dividing opening 6i formed in the inclined face further downward and forming the air outlet continuously over the peripheral face portion of the dividing cylinder 7. By providing such air outlet 7r, the air A in the dividing cylinder 7 can be discharged to the outside through this air outlet 7r, and thus, even if the opening area of the dividing opening 6i is small, the milk M can be sampled stably and reliably. Particularly, by forming the air outlet 7r continuously to the dividing opening 6i, it is only necessary to form only one opening, which can be put into practice easily. In Fig. 15, the path of the air A is indicated by dotted arrows and the path of the milk M by solid arrows. In Figs. 15 and 16, the same reference numerals are given to the same portions as those in Figs. 1 and 2 so as to make the configuration clear, and detailed description will be omitted.

The milk meter 1 according to a sixth embodiment illustrated in Figs. 17 and also has the air outlet 7r capable of discharging the air A inside the dividing cylinder 7 to the outside of the dividing cylinder 7 when the milk M is sampled by the dividing opening 6i provided on the dividing cylinder 7, but the sixth embodiment is different from the fifth embodiment in a point that the air outlet 7r is separately formed so as to be non-continuous to the dividing opening 6i. With the sixth embodiment, too, the basic working effects similar to the fifth embodiment can be enjoyed, and particularly, since the position (location) where the air outlet 7r is to be provided can be arbitrarily selected, design freedom can be improved, and at the same time, it has an advantage that interference with the dividing opening 6i, that is, inflow of the milk M from the air outlet 7r into the inside can be avoided. In Figs. 17 and 18, reference character 7c denotes a flow-collecting piece portion having the same function as that of the flow-collecting piece portion 7c illustrated in Fig. 13. In Figs. 17 and 18, the same reference numerals are given to the same portions as those in Figs. 1 and 2 so as to make the configuration clear, and detailed description will be omitted.

The milk meter 1 according to a seventh embodiment illustrated in Fig. 19 illustrates a variation of the narrowed portions 2sd and 2su. With regard to the milk meter 1 illustrated in Fig. 1, the metering container portion 2 with a wall portion having a certain thickness is assumed, and if it is manufactured by a glass material or the like, the example of formation of the narrowed portions 2sd and 2su by drawing is shown, but if it is integrally molded by a plastic material or the like as in the seventh embodiment, the narrowed portions 2sd and 2su may be provided by forming projecting portions on the flat inner wall face of the metering container portion 2. Such embodiment is also included in the concept of the narrowed portions 2sd and 2su.
Even in this case, the inclined upper face portion Rmu and the lower face portion Rind are provided above and below the metering chamber Rm so as to form metering chamber Rm having the shape surrounded by upper and lower tapered faces. The working effects similar to those in the milk meter 1 illustrated in Fig. 1 can be enjoyed.
In Fig. 19, the same reference numerals are given to the same portions as those in Fig. 1 so as to make the configuration clear, and detailed description will be omitted.

The preferred embodiments and variations (second to seventh embodiments) have been described in detail, but the present invention is not limited to those embodiments, but arbitrary changes, addition or deletion in the configuration of the details, shapes, materials, quantities, methods and the like can be made within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, with regard to the inclined face having the peripheral face portion 2f side being lowered in the upper face portion Rmu of the metering chamber Rm and the inclined face having the peripheral face portion 2f side being raised in the lower face portion Rmd of the metering chamber Rm, the example of tapered formation is shown but it may be a curved face. Therefore, it may be so formed that the front section is a flat oval shape, and the mode of the inclined face is not limited to the exemplified illustration. Also, with regard to the valve mechanism portion 4, the example in which the pipe shaft 11 is used both as the valve driving shaft and the air-vent pipe is shown, but the valve driving shaft may be formed of a rod material and the air-vent pipe may be separately provided at another position. Moreover, the example in which the valve driving portion 12 is formed of the diaphragm portion 14 and the switching chamber portion Rc switched to the vacuum pressure or the atmospheric pressure is exemplified, but the diaphragm portion 14 may be directly displaced by an actuator such as an electromagnetic solenoid, an air cylinder or the like. On the one hand, the example in which the pair of detection electrodes 3a, 3b, and 3c are used as the liquid-level detection portion 3 (3s) is exemplified, but any liquid-level detection portion on the basis of other various principles such as mechanical type using a float or the like, an optical type using an optical sensor or the like, an electrostatic type which detects electrostatic change, an electromagnetic type which detects electromagnetic change and the like can be used as long as the position of the liquid level Mu can be detected.
Also, the control system 5 may be attached to the milk-meter main body lm or the like by being separately formed of a control box or the like. On the other hand, as the sampling means 6, the example is shown in which the dividing cylinder 7 which stands from the bottom face portion Rdd of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd and becomes the dividing opening 6i by having the upper end opening 7u faced with the inside and having the lower end opening 7d faced with the outside is used, but the dividing cylinder 7 may be bent in the middle part and made to stand from the peripheral face portion of the gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber Rd or the milk M may be made to flow out to the outside using a semi-cylindrical channel extended diagonally so that a portion of the milk M flowing out of the outlet 2e can be received.

Industrial Applicability As described above, the milk meter 1 according to the present invention can be used not only for the exemplified milking device 50 but also can be used by being installed for applications other than milking or in various locations for installation relating to milk-amount metering or the like of various animals.

Claims

Claim 1 A milk meter comprising:
a metering container portion connected to the middle of a milk feeding line and capable of temporarily storing milk flowing in through an inlet;
a liquid-level detection portion that detects a liquid level of the milk stored inside this metering container portion;
a valve mechanism portion capable of opening/closing an outlet of said metering container portion; and a control system that controls opening/closing of said valve mechanism portion when said liquid-level detection portion detects said liquid level, wherein the metering container portion having a cylindrical peripheral face portion, narrowed portions formed at least two spots of a vertically intermediate portion so that space below a lower-side narrowed portion is defined as a gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber, space between the lower-side narrowed portion and a narrowed portion located on the upper side of the lower-side narrowed portion is defined as a metering chamber, and space above the upper-side narrowed portion is defined as a gas-liquid separation chamber, the inner peripheral face of the lower-side narrowed portion being formed into an outlet, the inner peripheral face of the upper-side narrowed portion being formed into an intermediate opening, an upper face portion of said metering chamber being formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion side being lowered, and a lower face portion of the metering chamber being formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion side being raised, the valve mechanism portion having a first valve capable of opening/closing said intermediate opening, a second valve capable of opening/closing said outlet, and a valve driving portion that elevates up/down the first and second valves, the liquid-level detection portion using at least two detection electrodes separated from each other for detecting the presence of the milk by resistance of the milk to detect a liquid level of the milk stored from a lower face portion of the gas-liquid separation chamber to a predetermined height, and the control system that controls said valve mechanism portion by means of detection of said liquid level by said liquid-level detection portion so as to close the first valve and open the second valve and to open the first valve and close the second valve according to a predetermined return condition, are provided.
Claim 2 The milk meter according to claim 1, wherein said valve mechanism portion includes a pipe shaft which vents air in the gas-liquid separation chamber by being inserted through said outlet and said intermediate opening and having an upper end opening faced with the upper end of said gas-liquid separation chamber;
a valve driving portion that supports the upper end of this pipe shaft and elevates up/down the pipe shaft; and said first valve provided on the upper side of an outer peripheral face of said pipe shaft located in said metering chamber and said second valve provided on the lower side of the outer peripheral face.
Claim 3 The milk meter according to claim 2, wherein said valve driving portion includes a diaphragm portion that supports the upper end of said pipe shaft through a supporting member and blocks said gas-liquid separation chamber so as to form an upper face portion of the gas-liquid separation chamber; and a switching chamber portion switched to a vacuum pressure or an atmospheric pressure by means of control of said control system and faced with said diaphragm portion on the opposite side of said gas-liquid separation chamber.
Claim 4 The milk meter according to claim 1, wherein in said metering container portion, said inlet is provided so that the milk flowing into said gas-liquid separation chamber flows in a spiral state along an inner wall surface of the gas-liquid separation chamber.
Claim 5 The milk meter according to claim 1, wherein in said metering container portion, an air-supply cylinder portion is provided which stands upward from the upper face portion with which said first valve in said metering chamber is not brought into contact and allows said metering chamber to communicate with said gas-liquid separation chamber by having an upper end opening faced with the upper end of said gas-liquid separation chamber.
Claim 6 The milk meter according to claim 5, wherein in said liquid-level detection portion, at least a part of said detection electrodes is faced with the inside of said air-supply cylinder portion.
Claim 7 The milk meter according to claim 1, wherein said control system is provided with a detection cancellation function that cancels detection of bubbles by determining the magnitudes of liquid-level detection signals obtained from said liquid-level detection portion.
Claim 8 The milk meter according to claim 1, wherein below said outlet, a milk receiving chamber having the same diameter as that of the outlet is formed, and for the diameter of this outlet, a diameter with which the milk in the metering chamber is discharged within a predetermined time is selected.
Claim 9 The milk meter according to claim 1, wherein a dividing opening that samples a portion of the milk flowing out of the outlet is disposed on the downstream side of said outlet, and sampling means that guides the milk sampled from this dividing opening to the outside of said metering container portion is provided.
Claim 10 The milk meter according to claim 1, wherein said gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber has a capacity capable of storing a milk amount of at least one session flowing out of said outlet caused by opening/closing of said valve mechanism portion and is provided with a discharge opening provided on a bottom face portion.
Claim 11 The milk meter according to claim 10, wherein said sampling means is provided with a dividing cylinder that stands from the bottom face portion or the peripheral face portion of said gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber, becomes said dividing opening by having an upper end opening faced with the inside and becomes a connection opening to the sample container side by having a lower end opening faced with the outside.
Claim 12 The milk meter according to claim 11, wherein said dividing cylinder is provided with a flow-collecting piece portion that guides a portion of the milk flowing out of said outlet into said dividing opening by surrounding a part of the periphery of said dividing opening.
Claim 13 The milk meter according to claim 11, wherein said dividing cylinder is provided with an air outlet that can discharge the air inside the dividing cylinder to the outside of the dividing cylinder when the milk is sampled by said dividing opening.
Claim 14 The milk meter according to claim 13, wherein said air outlet is formed continuously to said dividing opening.
Claim 15 The milk meter according to claim 13, wherein said air outlet is separately formed so as to be non-continuous to said dividing opening.
Claim 16 The milk meter according to claim 10, wherein said gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber is provided with a milk feeding-out portion having a feeding-out opening that allows the milk to flow out at a flow rate not more than a predetermined flow rate and mixes it in the air inside said metering container portion and feeds it out and communicates with said outlet.
Claim 17 The milk meter according to claim 16, wherein a lower end opening of said pipe shaft is faced with said gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber and on the lower end of said pipe shaft, an umbrella-shaped cover is provided so that the milk flowing out of said outlet does not directly enter said milk feeding-out portion.
Claim 18 The milk meter according to claim 17, wherein on at least either of the outer peripheral face of said umbrella-shaped cover and the inner peripheral face of said metering chamber, a plurality of rectification piece portions are disposed in the circumferential direction with predetermined intervals, in the axial direction and projecting toward the radial direction only by a predetermined width.
Claim 19 A milking device, comprising a milk meter including:
a metering container portion connected to the middle of a milk feeding line and capable of temporarily storing milk flowing in through an inlet;
a liquid-level detection portion that detects the liquid level of the milk stored inside this metering container portion;
a valve mechanism portion capable of opening/closing an outlet of said metering container portion; and having a control system that controls opening/closing of said valve mechanism portion when said liquid-level detection portion detects said liquid level, wherein the milk meter is provided with the metering container portion having a cylindrical peripheral face portion, narrowed portions formed at least two spots of a vertically intermediate portion so that space below a lower-side narrowed portion is defined as a gas-liquid mixing buffer chamber, space between the lower-side narrowed portion and a narrowed portion located on the upper side of the lower-side narrowed portion is defined as a metering chamber, and space above the upper-side narrowed portion is defined as a gas-liquid separation chamber, the inner peripheral face of the lower-side narrowed portion being formed into an outlet, the inner peripheral face of the upper-side narrowed portion being formed into an intermediate opening, an upper face portion of said metering chamber being formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion side being lowered, and a lower face portion of the metering chamber being formed into an inclined face with the peripheral face portion side being raised, the valve mechanism portion having a first valve capable of opening/closing said intermediate opening, a second valve capable of opening/closing said outlet, and a valve driving portion that elevates up/down the first and second valves, the liquid-level detection portion using at least two detection electrodes separated from each other for detecting the presence of the milk by resistance of the milk to detect a liquid level of the milk stored from a lower face portion of the gas-liquid separation chamber to a predetermined height, and the control system that controls said valve mechanism portion by means of detection of said liquid level by said liquid-level detection portion so as to close the first valve and open the second valve and to open the first valve and close the second valve according to a predetermined return condition.
Claim 20 The milking device according to claim 19, wherein said milk meter is mounted on a milking machine that performs milking of a cow.