Patent Application
20070282281
The treatment of slaughtered animals by injecting a treatment solution into the circulation system of the slaughtered animals can be used to provide for improved meat quality and improved yield, among other benefits. Such processing, also called “rinsing,” involves the removal of blood from the animal and the introduction of the treatment solution into the circulatory system.
An exemplary apparatus for administering a treatment solution to animals such as cattle, horses, hogs, poultry, deer, buffalo, sheep among others is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,336, and is incorporated herein by reference. An exemplary slaughtering process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,656, and is incorporated herein by reference.
Such treatment processes can be complicated, for example, by the desirability of maintaining sanitation of the devices put into contact with the animals. Another complication involves retaining an injection device in the animal's circulatory system during treatment. Further, in some instances it may be difficult to provide the treatment in timely way, since some insertion locations that are used provide indirect access to an intended location of the device.
In the following detailed description of the present disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration how various embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to practice the embodiments of this disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that process, electrical, or mechanical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
As shown in the embodiment of
In various embodiments, the piercing point can be used to pierce through the body of the animal and into a portion of the circulatory system, such as into the heart of a slaughtered animal (e.g., a cow, a pig, a sheep, or a turkey, among various other animals). In embodiments utilizing barbs, the barbs can be used to retain the piercing tip in its insertion location, such as in the heart, during introduction of a rinse solution. In some embodiments, the piercing point can be used to pierce various other circulatory locations including the femoral artery, among other circulatory system locations.
The piercing tip can be made of various materials including various metals and/or plastics, among other materials. Some materials may be beneficial in increasing the durability of the tip, increasing the piercing ability of the tip, providing better sanitization of the tip, and/or allowing the tip to be more readily reusable or disposable, among other benefits.
In various embodiments, the rinse solution can be a chilled solution that can cause the circulatory tissue through which the tip is pierced, such as the heart wall, to contract around the barbs of tip 100 during introduction of the solution into the heart. In such situations, the barbs may be smaller or less pronounced than in the embodiment illustrated in
In various embodiments, such as that shown in
Embodiments are not limited to having multiple side ports, nor are the embodiments limited to a bifurcated lumen. For instance, the body could include a single port (e.g., through a side of the body or the tip) or more than two ports, among other configurations.
In some embodiments, as discussed above, the lumen 130 can pass through at least a portion of the tip portion 110. In such embodiments, the lumen may or may not be bifurcated and the tip may or may not include side ports.
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment illustrated in
The type of connection can be any of various suitable types of connections. For example, in various embodiments, the connection can be a threaded connection or other type of mechanical connection. In some embodiments, the connection can be a frictional connection, among other suitable connection types.
As illustrated in the embodiment illustrated in
In some embodiments, the piercing tip 100 can be disposable. In such embodiments, the piercing tip can remain in the body of the animal after the animal has been rinsed. For example, in some embodiments, the cannula and tip attachment can be designed such that pulling or twisting a cannula body attached to the tip with a sufficient force can be used to detach the cannula from the tip at connection 145.
The dimensions of the tip can be any suitable dimensions. For example, in various embodiments, the barbed portion 110 can be about 45 mm long, the body 150 can be about 40 mm long, the lumen 130 and/or side ports 120 can be about 5 mm in diameter, and the cap 140 can be about 26 mm in diameter. In such an embodiment, the piercing tip 100 can have a total length of about 90 mm. However, embodiments are not limited to these exemplary dimensions.
In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the disclosed embodiments of the present disclosure have to use more features than are expressly recited in each claim.
Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60802190 | May 2006 | US |
