The present invention concerns a device for removing a set of teat cups from a dairy animal. The device includes a piston-and-cylinder mechanism. The cylinder is attached to the set by a cord secured to the piston.
A device of this type is known from German AS 2 262 129 for example. The cylinder is positioned above the animal, and the cord is in the active position while the equipment is in place. When milking is finished, the cylinder is activated and the set removed and suspended in a rest position below the cylinder. To keep the set away from the milker's head where it can interfere with pre-milking and post-milking care of the udder, the cylinder is usually mounted horizontally remote from that part of the animal. The accordingly slanting tug is practical, however, only in parlors where the set is applied from beside the animal instead of from behind.
In parallel-stall parlors the animals stand next to one another, and the teat cups must be introduced through their hind legs. Since there is very little room to move, the cord must remove the teat cups along a plane that extends between the hind legs and through the udder. The cylinder in the known device must accordingly be mounted behind the animal and accordingly in the vicinity of the milker's head, impeding him in the performance of his duties.