US Patent 7089880 Cooling milk in an automatic milking system

Example embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and arrangements for cooling milk in a milk storage tank of an automatic milking system comprising (i) measuring an amount of extracted milk by a milk flow meter; (ii) determining a cooling need for milk stored or to be stored in the milk storage tank based on the amount of milk; (iii) measuring a quantity indicative of a temperature of an inner surface area of a bottom portion of the milk storage tank; and cooling the bottom portion of the milk storage tank in consecutive periods, such that each period of cooling (τ1, τ3) is followed by a respective period of non-cooling (τ2, τ4), wherein the duration of each period of cooling and/or non-cooling is based on the measured quantity indicative of the inner surface area temperature, and the cooling need.