Milking box with robotic attacher comprising an arm that pivots, rotates, and grips

摘要

In certain embodiments, robotic attacher comprises a supplemental arm comprising a fixed portion and a gripping portion. The fixed portion comprises a pivot assembly and a rotating assembly. The pivot assembly pivots the gripping portion between maximum-left, maximum-right, and centered positions. The rotating assembly rotates the gripping portion between upright and upside down positions. The gripping portion comprises a gripper comprising claw arms operable to open and close.

主权项

1. An apparatus, comprising:
a milking box having a stall to accommodate a dairy livestock; a robotic attacher comprising a main arm that is suspended vertically from a rail of the milking box, and a supplemental arm that is coupled to and extends horizontally from the main arm along a longitudinal axis, wherein the supplemental arm comprises a fixed portion and a gripping portion; the fixed portion comprising:
a pivot assembly that pivots the gripping portion around a vertical axis that is substantially parallel to the main arm of the robotic attacher, in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the supplemental arm, and between positions selected from the group consisting of: a maximum-left position, a maximum-right position, and a centered position; anda rotating assembly that rotates the gripping portion about the longitudinal axis of the supplemental arm independently of the fixed portion, and between positions selected from the group consisting of: an upright position and an upside down position; and the gripping portion comprising:
a gripper comprising claw arms operable to open and close.