EP1161926A1 - Device for artificial insemination, in particular for sows - Google Patents

Abstract

The apparatus consists of a saddle (12) fitted to the sow's back, a sachet (20) containing the semen, and a support (14) that holds the sachet vertical during the insemination operation. The apparatus is additionally equipped with a roller clamp (30) which applies a constant and adjustable pressure to the sachet to expel the semen from it during the contractions of the animal's uterus. The rollers (31, 32) have supple surfaces and their effort is adjusted by weights.

Description

The present invention relates to artificial insemination devices, more particularly adapted to the reproduction of pigs, of the genus comprising a saddle intended to be placed on the back of a female and provided with means support for a sachet containing animal semen.

We know an artificial insemination device of the kind mentioned above, favorable to artificial insemination called "by gravity" which does not require not the permanent presence of the operator for the entire duration of insemination; to do this, the seed bag is secured to the saddle and connected to an insemination probe engaged in the cervix of the female to inseminate.

Such a device also has the known advantage of facilitating detection heat of the animal. Indeed, if the female is not in the ovulatory period, she usually tries to get rid of the bowel movement by lying down or moving: it is therefore enough to place such a device on the female and observe its behaviour; if it actually supports the saddle, then install the sachet of animal semen and the insemination is allowed to run by flow seed due to gravity and uterine contractions which suck the seed; during this time the operator can proceed with other inseminations.

A device of this kind is for example described in the document FR-A-2 720 929 or in the French patent application filed on September 13 1999 under number 99 11433.

It is often recommended to exercise on the sachet containing the seed a pressure slightly stronger than that obtained by gravity, in particular for insemination of young nulliparous sows; moreover, this pressure does not should not be too high to avoid backflow and, therefore, risks of loss of fertility or prolificacy.

In the document FR-A-2 720 929 cited above, we also proposed to associate with the sachet containing the seed an empty sachet connected to a inflation device constituted for example by a stethoscope bulb.

Such an arrangement has drawbacks; on the one hand, the setting pressure value is not easy; on the other hand, as the semen flows into the uterus of the animal, the pressure decreases.

The object of the present invention is to avoid these drawbacks.

Thus, according to the invention, an artificial insemination device, in particular for sows, of the kind comprising a saddle intended to be placed on the back of a female and provided with support means for a sachet containing animal seed, is characterized by the fact that the support means are adapted to maintain said bag in a generally vertical position, means said constant pressure being provided, associated with said sachet, to maintain under constant pressure the seed contained in said sachet.

Advantageously, the constant pressure is adjustable.

Preferably, the sachet being made of flexible material, advantageously transparent, the pressure means consist of a suitable weighted clamp to close the bag tightly, leaving an air bubble above the level of the seed contained in the sachet and to slide along the sachet, under its own weight, as insemination takes place continues, following the uterine contractions of the animal, the level of semen decreasing in the sachet.

According to a preferred form, the clamp comprises at least two rollers rotatably mounted along two parallel axes and extending over at least the entire width of the bag, said rollers pressing one against the other, with sealing, the two walls of the bag; the two rollers each carry a flexible coating.

Advantageously, the pressure adjustment is obtained by taring rollers.

Preferably, the saddle support means comprise an arm with the end of which the bag is suspended; the bag has at least one pair of holes crossed by two hooks carried by the arm; the hooks are fixed at the end of the arm; alternatively, they are slidably mounted along the arm.

Advantageously, the hooks are carried by an elastic pin resiliently mounted around the arm so that its position is adjustable the along the arm.

Advantageously, the saddle is rigid.

Advantageously, the saddle includes a base adapted to rest on the back of the female; the base is a plate; alternatively, the base is wire stainless.

In addition to the arm, the base transversely carries a clip generally U-shaped, the wings of which are bent and adapted to elastically grip the flanks of the female; the clip is made from a suitably bent wire; thread comprises two strands extending at least in part generally parallel.

Advantageously, the wings of the clip include sections practically straight connected frankly angularly without rounding.

Preferably, the base is fixed.

Advantageously, the base is formed by extension and deformation of the wire constituting the clip.

Alternatively, the base is rotatably mounted on the saddle; the base is in form of wire loop articulated on the clip.

Advantageously, the arm is mounted at articulation relative to the saddle; the arm can occupy at least two positions, including a storage position; the arm can occupy at least two positions called insemination.

• la figure 1 est une vue générale en perspective montrant une truie en cours d'insémination à l'aide d'un dispositif conforme à l'invention ;
• la figure 2 est une vue partielle de la figure 1 à plus grande échelle ;
• les figures 3 et 4 sont des vues en perspective montrant une variante de dispositif, le bras y étant représenté dans deux positions différentes ;
• les figures 5 et 6 sont des vues partielles à plus grande échelle du dispositif des figures 3 et 4, respectivement ;
• la figure 7 montre en perspective une autre variante de dispositif ;
• la figure 8 est une vue de dessus du dispositif de la figure 7 en position de rangement.

The invention will be better understood, and other advantages will appear more clearly, in the light of the following description of an artificial insemination device in accordance with its principle, given solely by way of example, made with reference to annexed drawings in which:

• Figure 1 is a general perspective view showing a sow being inseminated using a device according to the invention;
• Figure 2 is a partial view of Figure 1 on a larger scale;
• Figures 3 and 4 are perspective views showing a variant device, the arm being shown in two different positions;
• Figures 5 and 6 are partial views on a larger scale of the device of Figures 3 and 4, respectively;
• Figure 7 shows in perspective another variant of the device;
• Figure 8 is a top view of the device of Figure 7 in the storage position.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, we see a sow 11 in progress insemination; this artificial insemination is carried out using a device 10.

The device 10 comprises a saddle 12 placed on the back of the female 11.

The saddle 12, of the rigid type, comprises a base 13 by which it rests directly on the back of the female 11.

The arm 14 is tilted backwards, for example at 45 degrees, when the device is in place; its free end is shaped like a rake for two teeth, each of these teeth being in the form of a hook 15, 16 respectively, the arm 14 is made of rigid stainless steel wire here of about 5 millimeters in diameter and advantageously mounted articulated on a base 27 of the saddle 12 which are directly secured to the base 13 and a clip 17; this articulated assembly, made by means of a heel 43 which it presents at the end, makes the arm foldable, which facilitates the storage of the insemination device 10; heel 43 is two sides between which extends the heel 43 of the arm 14; moreover, the arm 14 can occupy several positions, as described below with regard to Figures 3 to 6.

The clip 17, which includes the saddle 12, is generally U-shaped, the wings are slightly angled so that you can firmly enclose the two flanks of the female 11.

More specifically, the clip 17 is made from a wire, such as a wire stainless steel 5 mm in diameter, suitably shaped by folding; the wings 18, 19 of the U are double, the wire comprising two strands 28, 29 generally extending in parallel, being for example spaced apart by a ten millimeters.

The wings 18, 19 are slightly bent inwards and imitate the better the front legs of a boar, so its embrace, which allows check if the female is receptive to insemination, stimulates the female and trains oxytocin discharges causing uterine contractions; such a clip 17 allows to wrap the belly of the female well, without the need to strap it, and ensures good stability of the device.

As can be seen, the rigid saddle 12 is washable and sterilizable.

Bag 20 is a flexible transparent plastic bag formed of two sheets welded together constituting the walls of the bag; the transparency allows visual control of artificial insemination; welding sheets define a peripheral edge; at least at one end of this edge peripheral are provided two lateral holes 21, 22 arranged on either side from the sachet by forming kinds of carnations; the bag 20 is for example of the type from that described in document FR-A-2 750 399.

The hooks 15, 16 of the arm 14 are at an equal distance from each other generally at a distance from the centers of said holes 21, 22 so that by these the bag 20 can be suspended from said arm 14, as can be seen in the figures; in this position, the bag 20 is disposed globally vertically.

Here, the hooks 15, 16 are oriented towards the rear; alternatively they extend forward, relative to the animal.

Constant pressure means are associated with the bag 20.

These constant pressure means comprise a weighted clamp 30 surrounding the bag 20; in the form shown, the clamp 30 comprises two rollers 31, 32 mounted to rotate along two parallel axes 33, 34; the length rollers 31, 32 is greater than the width of the bag 20, exceeding this one of ten millimeters on each side for example.

The axes 33, 34 are supported laterally by their ends by beams 35, 36. The rollers 31, 32 are made of a rubber-like material, or at least carry an elastomer type coating, advantageously flexible, so that when the bag 20 is introduced between them, these press against the sealing, one against the other, the walls of the bag 20; otherwise, this material, of the rubber type, adheres to said plastic walls such so that the clamp 30 can go up or down along the bag 20, following positive or negative uterine contractions, under the conditions described below.

The implementation of the device according to the invention is carried out as follows.

The female 11 supporting the saddle 12, the clamp 30 is placed on the bag 20: in fact, the bag 20 is introduced, through its upper part, between the rollers 31, 32 of the clamp 30; the rollers 31, 32 pinch the walls of the bag 20 and descend along these to a level above level 23 semen contained in the bag 20; the air trapped in the bag 20 is thus confined in a pocket 25 defined between the level 23 of the seed and the contact generators of the cylinders 31, 32; the bag 20 is then suspended from the hooks 15, 16 of the arm 14 by its holes 21, 22.

In this position of the bag 20, the air pressure in the bag 25 is function, of course, of the weight of the clamp 30 which can be calibrated: it suffices to have a battery of pliers 30 of different weights, in particular equipped with rolls of different weights, staggered for example from 50 to 1000 grams, to adapt the pressure and / or the insemination time to different sows, for example example of different races; the pressure is thus moderate and controlled.

A probe 24 is then conventionally introduced, on the one hand, into the bag 20, at the bottom of it, and, on the other hand, in the cervix female 11.

As will be understood, as the seed descends to inside the womb of female 11, that is, uterine contractions appear, the rollers 31, 32 descend along the bag 20 in pushing the seed through the air pocket 25, the pressure of which remains constant, this of course during absorbent contractions of the horns female uterines; during its repressing contractions, the rollers 31, 32 go up along the bag 20, pushed by the air pocket 25 which goes up, itself pushed by the seed; as we can see, the movement of the clamp 30 is perfectly synchronized with the contractions of the uterus of the female 11.

Thanks to the device according to the invention, the insemination is simple, effective, visually controllable; it is not a forced injection as in some prior art methods; here is the start of uterine contractions, indicative of the animal's heat state, which triggers the movement of the clamp 30.

The device according to the invention having no contact with the uterus and the seed of the animal, it is possible to use it again without cleaning ; the risks of contamination or genetic mixtures are zero; made in a foldable manner, it takes up little space.

It should also be noted that the elastic clip 17 of the device 10 clamps the flanks of female 11, causing uterine contractions.

Figures 3 to 6 show a variant device according to the invention.

Here, the base 113, instead of being in the form of a plate as in the previous variant, is constituted by extension and deformation of the strand 29 of the wire constituting the wings 18 and 19 of the clip 17; the free ends of the wire are tied, for example by welding, as well as its middle part, to the base 27 with two sides vertical connected by an axis 41 around which the arm 14 is articulated by means of a buttonhole 42 formed in the heel 43 which it has; more precisely, the base 113 is here defined by two sections 46, 47 located in the extension of the sections of the base 27 and connected to two sections 48, 49, here at right angle, in line with each other; sections 46-47-48-49 are coplanar, so here that the core 50 of the strand 28 in U; oblique sections 51, 52 connect the sections 48, 49 to the rest of the strand 29 of the wings 18, 19.

On the back of the heel 43 are provided, on its upper edge, notches of different depths, here two notches 44 and 45, axially spaced relative to the arm 14 and adapted to cooperate with a pin 26 carried by the base 27 between its two sides.

Thanks to this arrangement, the arm 14 can have inclinations different, as shown in Figures 3 and 5, on the one hand, and 4 and 6, on the other part, which allows to place the bag 20 in an ideal position, called insemination, corresponding to the female to be inseminated, nulliparous or multiparous. In FIGS. 3 and 5, it is the shallow notch 44 which cooperates with the toc 26, while in Figures 4 and 6 is the deeper notch 45; on the latter, the arm 14 is therefore more inclined backwards.

As can be seen, the different positions of the arm 14 are obtained without no disassembly.

The length of the buttonhole 42 is such that by pulling the arm 14 towards outside the heel 43 can completely escape the pin 26; therefore the arm 14 can be completely folded down, and pass between sections 46 and 47 to extend inside the clip 17, parallel to the wings 18, 19, in the position of storage.

When the device 10 is on an animal, a so-called rest position of the arm 14 can be obtained by turning the arm 14 completely forward the animal until heel 43 cooperates with pin 26.

All that has just been said about the base of FIGS. 3 to 6 is valid for that of Figures 1 and 2 where the plate-shaped base has a notch open towards the rear for the passage of the arm.

Here, the hooks 15, 16 are carried by an elastic pin 38 mounted elastically around the arm 14 so that its position is variable along the arm, and can be chosen in such a way that the introduction of the probe 24 is facilitated, and that, from the bag, it extends along a line overall parabolic which is favorable for the flow of seed.

Figures 7 and 8 show another variant of the device according to the invention.

In these figures, the constituents identical to those of the variants previous, or playing the same role, carry identical references or increased by 100 or 200.

Here, the clip 117 is of the kind of that of Figure 1, made from a wire shaped, the wings 118, 119 being double, the wire comprising two strands 128, 129 extending generally parallel, for example being spaced 6 or 7 millimeters. The wings 118, 119 are also bent inward; here, each wing comprises, figure 8, four sections A, B, C, D practically straight successively forming an obtuse angle; we will notice that these angular connections are straightforward, the wire being bent there without rounding, such provision avoiding, in use, a deformation of the wings 118, 119 and therefore a reduction, in use, of the spring effect which exerts pressure on the sides of the animal.

Here, the base 213 is in the form of an open loop elongated in mounted wire articulated on the clip 117; more precisely, the ends 214, FIG. 7, of the open loop are wrapped around segments A, almost horizontal, strand 128 of wings 118, 119; the base 213 is a stabilization means for the saddle in the operational position; in this position, shown in figure 7, the base 213 extends under the base 27 and under the strand 129 of the wings 118, 119 which is the strand on the rear side in relation to the animal; in addition, the base 213 extends under the arm 114, therefore towards the rear of the animal; in this position, the base 213 prevents sliding and tilting of the saddle backwards under the action of the weight of the bag 20 and the clamp 30; moreover, the loop form open elongated base 213 allows it to overlap the column vertebral of the animal, which ensures the positioning and the transverse wedging from the saddle.

Here, the arm 114 has its free end in the form of a ring 115 to facilitate his grip.

Claims (26)

Artificial insemination device, in particular for sows, of the type comprising a saddle (12) intended to be placed on the back of a female (11) and provided with support means (14) for a sachet (20) containing animal seed, characterized in that the support means (14) are adapted to maintain said bag (20) in a generally vertical position, so-called constant pressure means (30) being provided, associated with said bag (20), to maintain the seed contained in said sachet (20) under constant pressure. Insemination device according to claim 1, characterized in that the constant pressure is adjustable. Insemination device according to either of Claims 1 and 2, characterized in that , the bag (20) being made of flexible material, advantageously transparent, the pressure means consist of a weighted clamp (30) suitable for closing hermetically the sachet (20) by creating an air bubble above the level of the seed contained in the sachet (20), and sliding along the sachet (20), under the effect of its own weight, as and as insemination continues, following the uterine contractions of the animal, the level of semen decreasing in the sachet (20). Insemination device according to claim 3, characterized in that the clamp (30) comprises at least two rollers (31,32) rotatably mounted along two axes (33, 34) parallel and extending over at least the entire width of the bag (20), said rollers (31,32) pressing one against the other, sealingly, the two walls of the bag (20). Insemination device according to claims 2 and 4 taken together, characterized in that the pressure adjustment is obtained by taring the rollers (31, 32). Insemination device according to one of claims 4 or 5, characterized in that the two rollers (31, 32) each carry a flexible coating. Insemination device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the saddle support means (12) comprise an arm (14, 114) at the end of which the sachet (20) is suspended. Insemination device according to claim 7, characterized in that the bag (20) is provided with at least one pair of holes (21, 22) crossed by two hooks (15, 16) carried by the arm (14, 114). Insemination device according to claim 8, characterized in that the hooks (15, 16) are fixed at the end of the arm (14). Insemination device according to claim 8, characterized in that the hooks (15, 16) are slidably mounted (50) along the arm (14, 114). Insemination device according to claim 10, characterized in that the hooks (15 16) are carried by an elastic pin (38) elastically mounted around the arm (14) so that its position is adjustable along the arm (14 ). Insemination device according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the saddle (12) is rigid. Insemination device according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the saddle (12) comprises a base (13, 113, 213) adapted to rest on the back of the female (11). Insemination device according to claim 13, characterized in that the base (13) is a plate. Insemination device according to claim 13, characterized in that the base (113, 213) is made of stainless steel wire. Insemination device according to one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that , in addition to the arm (14, 114), the base (13) transversely carries a clip (17, 117) generally U-shaped whose wings (18-19, 118-119) are bent and adapted to elastically enclose the flanks of the female (11). Insemination device according to claim 16, characterized in that the clip (17, 117) is made from a suitably bent wire. Insemination device according to claim 17, characterized in that the wire comprises two strands (28-29, 128-129) extending at least in part generally parallel. Insemination device according to one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that the wings (118, 119) comprise sections (A, B, C, D) practically straight connected frankly angularly without rounding. Insemination device according to one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that the base (13, 113) is fixed. Insemination device according to claims 15 and 17, taken together, characterized in that the base (113) is formed by extension and deformation of the wire constituting the clip (17). Insemination device according to one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that the base (213) is rotatably mounted on the saddle (12). Insemination device according to claims 17 and 22, taken together, characterized in that the base (213) is in the form of a wire loop articulated on the clip (117). Insemination device according to one of claims 7 to 23, characterized in that the arm (14, 114) is mounted at articulation (41-42) relative to the saddle (12). Insemination device according to claim 24, characterized in that the arm (14) can occupy at least two positions, including a storage position. Insemination device according to claim 25, characterized in that the arm (14) can occupy at least two so-called insemination positions.

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