National Research Development Corporation

British Technology Group Limited

John A Marchant

John Farrell Hughes

Michael J Street

Arthur Leonard Wilkin

John A Benson

Clive John Allen

Andrew R Frost

Preparing mixed liquids

An arrangement to apply a milking apparatus to the udder of an animal at a milking point including a store for the apparatus, a handling device having an elongate arm to support and move the apparatus between an apparatus acquisition point and the milking point, a stall to define a specific space for an animal to be milked fixedly related to the acquisition point and the milking point, including guides to retain loosely in the space an animal to be milked, sensors to sense retained animal position with respect to the fixedly related space and points and provide a first signal indicative of sensed animal position, pneumatic elements in the device to swing and to longitudinally displace the elongate arm to move and position the elongate arm and any supported apparatus, and control circuitry to control the pneumatic elements to operate the arm to acquire milking apparatus at a position forward of the teats of a retained animal, the control circuitry being responsive to the first signal to move the acquired apparatus rearwardly under the animal to the milking point for application to a respective teat of a retained animal, the arrangement further including in association with the acquired apparatus localized teat sensors to provide a second signal indicative of sensed teat position relative to the acquired apparatus, the control circuitry being responsive also to the second signal to control the pneumatic elements for application of the acquired apparatus to a respective teat, the movement of the arm by the response of the control circuitry to the second signal being localized with respect to the response to the first signal to enable a teat cup of the apparatus to be applied to a teat.

Automatic milking of animals

A spray head for a spray nozzle including a hood providing a surface extending forward from the nozzle and also supporting insulating mountings for electrodes energizable to exert an inductive charging field or spray from the nozzle. The surface is earthed or earthy in operation to encourage collection of stray or return spray and stop stray or return spray affecting the charging field by landing on the electrodes or their mountings. The collected spray may be retained as liquid or caused to flow to projections to again leave the spray head as small droplets. The field from the electrodes may shape the spray.

Electrostatic spray head

A sprayer, particularly for hand-held or vehicle-borne agricultural use, has a rotatable sprayhead having a liquid dispersing surface in the form of disc, dish or cup, a rotatable electrode spaced from the outer edge of said surface by a gap, means for supplying liquid to the liquid dispersing surface, connections for the poles of a source of electrostatic potential to apply one pole of the source to the electrode and to apply the other pole of the source to at least the outer edge of the surface to apply the potential of the source across the gap, and means to rotate the surface and the electrode to disperse liquid supplied to the surface as a charged spray. The potential may be applied to the outer edge via the liquid if conductive or via a suitable conductive path in the sprayhead.

Electrostatic sprayers

A spraying apparatus to deliver inductively charged spray, for example to crops. The apparatus includes a spray head and electrodes to apply a potential difference in the region of the spray head to charge spray. An aspirating means is arranged to remove liquid deposited on an electrode to reduce interference with the charging process. When the spray liquid is to be at high potential in the apparatus a long high resistivity supply tube may be provided. The aspirating means may be operated by spray liquid bled from a pressurized supply spray liquid.

Growing community of inventors

Bedford, United Kingdom

John A Marchant