TRACTOR TRIVIA and other interesting stuff 6/16/2024

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Give Anna Baldwen a hand

 

Historically, cows were all milked by hand and a previous study indicated that 40% of the dairy workers had problems with their back and 30% with neck and shoulder injuries. In response to the magnitude and expense of labor in dairy practices, the development of milking machines has undergone a revolution in technological innovation since the 19th century. In 1879, Anna Baldwen, a New Jersey farmer, invented and patented the first mechanical milking machine in the United States known as the Hygienic Glove Milker. This machine included a hand pump connected to a container with rubber cups that fit all four teats of the cow

Since then, pulsation, which was achieved by a hand-pump or foot-pump design, was considered by inventors to further improve milking efficiency. In 1898, the famous Thistle machine was the first to incorporate such a pulsator into the design, which combined a steam-driven pump to affect both suction and squeezing movements

This key development and the recognition of the utility of pulsation contributed to it becoming and remaining one of the main components of milking technology to the present day. So, the basic components of a modern machine are a vacuum system and pulsation, as a means of transportation and collection of milk, both of which can be traced back to these early machines.

From 1860 to the late 1870s, Baldwin filed for total of five patents, one of which was a reissue for an earlier patent, which had a large impact on dairy farming.

Baldwin received her first patent in 1868 for a device that offered an improved method of treating milk to produce pomade and butter. This invention would allow farmers to produce pomade and butter at a significantly faster rate, which led to an increase in income.

One year later, in 1869, Baldwin designed two new inventions, one was an improved milk separator and the other was an improved milk cooler. Baldwin would later reissue a patent for her milk cooler to implement some improvements to her design in 1871. Again, the main point being addressed is how to maximize farmers' output for commercial sale and use.