WO2022045992A1

WO2022045992A1 - Automatic vaccine injector

Info

Publication number: WO2022045992A1
Application number: PCT/TR2020/050775
Authority: WO
Inventors: Haktan SAYAN
Original assignee: Alesta Gemicilik Ve Su Ürünleri Ticaret Limited Şirketi
Priority date: 2020-08-27
Filing date: 2020-08-27
Publication date: 2022-03-03

Abstract

The invention relates to an automatic vaccine injector (10) comprising the following; a body (21) which has a chamber (211) through which a vaccine is sucked, an injector needle (24) which ensures application of the vaccine from said chamber (211), a crab mechanism (22) which detects the contact and penetration condition to the tissue of the living being, is provided in the continuation of said body (21), a pump (25) which is driven for a suction step and for a pressing step so as to apply vaccine with a fixed dose and a control unit (40) which processes data so as to realize the suction and pressing steps by triggering said pump (25) by detecting contact and penetration.

Description

AUTOMATIC VACCINE INJECTOR

Technical Field

The invention relates to an automatic vaccine injector.

The invention is particularly related to an automatic vaccine injector to be used in the vaccination of the fish in fish producing and fish farming facilities.

State of the Art

The most important issue to consider in the aquaculture which has been developed in the last years is the diseases of said products and the treatments for these diseases. Within this framework, one of the methods widely used for preventing losses caused by the diseases in the aquaculture is the vaccine applications. The vaccine applications have common use against various bacterial and viral diseases in culture fishing. The vaccination methods in fish; are provided by 3 main methods as immersion, oral and injection. In the vaccination method with injection realized with the manual vaccine guns, optimum protection can be obtained with minimum side effect.

In the current applications, a veterinary technician inoculates thousands of animals per day by means of the manual vaccine guns. This phase of application causes the following disadvantageous conditions to become a current issue.

- The practicing person counts the number of vaccines that he/she administers during the application.

- In the manual vaccine guns found in the market, the substances such as fish scales that stick on the needle are cleaned manually and this case can cause selfvaccination.

In the present vaccine guns, the force which is used for the penetration of the needle to the target animal is totally provided by the muscle power of the practitioner and this condition causes the person to be tired and thus to make mistakes.

- In the present vaccine guns, before the complete dose of the vaccine/drug is applied, the needle can be withdrawn by the practitioner. - In the present vaccine guns, dosage calibration is prone to human error.

- The application of two different vaccines/drugs with different doses simultaneously with the same needle by means of non-automatic vaccine guns is very difficult and even it is not possible to achieve the same quality constantly.

- When the vaccination process extends, the alignment of the same on the proper region of the fish becomes difficult.

- The application requires high concentration and thus with the increase in the workload, the ratio of error also increases.

- The risk of self-vaccination of the practitioner is high and serious work accidents and pharmacovigilance cases regarding this may occur.

Today, automatic vaccine machines are developed so as to eliminate said disadvantages. However, these machines cannot substitute manual vaccination. Manpower is certainly required at some phases of the processes although the machine use is desirable since it reduces the intensive labor processes.

As a result, due to the abovementioned disadvantages and the insufficiency of the current solutions regarding the subject matter, a development is required to be made in the relevant technical field.

Brief Description of the Invention

The present invention is related to an automatic vaccine injector which fulfills the abovementioned requirements, eliminates all disadvantages and brings some additional advantages.

The particular aim of the invention is to provide an automatic vaccine injector which shortens the injection process by facilitating the steps of the vaccination process related to man power and increases the number of the vaccines applied daily and the quality by facilitating the alignment step based on its ergonomy.

An aim of the invention is to provide an automatic vaccine injector which provides the application of a fixed dose in each injection. Another aim of the invention is to provide an automatic vaccine injector which makes it possible to apply a plurality of vaccine/drug serum to the same application mechanism with different doses and simultaneously.

Another aim of the invention is to provide an automatic vaccine injector which provides a substantial decrease in the work accidents regarding the vaccine applications.

Another aim of the invention is to provide an automatic vaccine injector which provides proper counting with a counting mechanism that is independent from the practitioner.

Another aim of the invention is to provide an automatic vaccine injector from which the foreign substances stuck on the injector needle are removed easily.

In order to fulfill the abovementioned aims, the present invention relates to an automatic vaccine injector which comprises a body that contains a chamber from which it absorbs the vaccine and an injector needle which provides the vaccine to be injected to a living being from said chamber. Accordingly said automatic vaccine injector comprises the following; a crab mechanism which detects the contact and penetration condition to the tissue of the living being, is provided in the continuation of said body, a pump which is driven for a suction step that provides the vaccine to be filled into said chamber so as to apply a fixed dose vaccine and for a pressing step that enables orientation of the vaccine from the chamber to said injection needle and a control unit which processes data so as to realize the suction and pressing steps by triggering said pump by detecting contact and penetration.

In order to fulfill the aims of the invention, it comprises movable crab arms connected to said crab mechanism and magnets that ensures the connection of said crab arms to the crab mechanism.

In order to fulfill the aims of the invention, it comprises a spring which balances the movement of said crab arms.

In order to fulfill the aims of the invention, it comprises a hall sensor which is provided on said body, transmits the location information of the crab arms detected over said magnets to said control unit. In order to fulfill the aims of the invention, it comprises a piston that provides effect on the suction and pressing function by triggering said pump and a sleeve provided on the body on which said piston is housed.

In order to fulfill the aims of the invention, said control unit comprises a control box.

In order to fulfill the aims of the invention, it comprises an adapter so as to realize the voltage adjustment of said control unit and a compressor so as to provide compression of the air.

In order to fulfill the aims of the invention, said control box comprises an electronic control card and a screen-button module.

In order to fulfill the aims of the invention, said control box comprises a pneumatic valve which directs the compressed air into the pump in the direction of the signal provided from the control unit.

The structural and characteristic features of the present invention will be understood clearly by the following drawings and the detailed description made with reference to these drawings and therefore the evaluation shall be made by taking these figures and the detailed description into consideration.

Brief Description of the Figures

Figure 1, is a general view of the inventive automatic vaccine injector.

Figure 2, is a sectional view of the inventive automatic vaccine injector engaged with the control unit.

The figures are not required to be scaled and the details which are not necessary for understanding the present invention may be neglected. Moreover, the elements that are at least substantially identical or have at least substantially identical functions are shown by the same number.

Description of the References

10 Automatic Vaccine Injector

20 Injector Section 21 Body

211 Chamber

212 Liquid Inlet Check Valve

213 Liquid Outlet Check Valve

22 Crab Mechanism

221 Crab Arms

222 Magnet

223 Spring

23 Sensor Body

231 Hall Sensor

24 Injector Needle

241 Needle Connecting Piece

25 Pump

26 Sleeve

261 Piston

262 Air inlet bushing

30 Liquid Inlet Line

40 Control Unit

41 Control Box

411 Electronic Control Card

412 Screen-Button Module

413 Pneumatic Valve

42 Adaptor

43 Compressor

50 Electric Source

60 Open Air Pressure

70 Serial Connection Path

Detailed Description of the Invention

In this detailed description, the inventive automatic vaccine injector (10) is described only for clarifying the subject matter in a manner such that no limiting effect is created.

The general view of the inventive automatic vaccine injector (10) is given in Figure 1 and the structure mainly consists of, an injector section (20) and a control unit (40) which enables the operation and control of said injector section (20). The injector section (20) mainly consists of a body (21 ), a crab mechanism (22) which is provided in the continuation of said body (21), an injector needle (24) which is adapted at the end of the crab mechanism (22), a sleeve (26) where the body (21 ) is located and a pump (25) which is provided on said sleeve (26).

The body (21) comprises; a chamber (211) which is defined with a gap that is filled and discharged so as to realize the suction and pressing processes, a liquid inlet check valve (212) which is connected with a liquid inlet line (30) that allows a unidirectional liquid flow into said chamber (211 ) and a liquid outlet valve (213) which allows a unidirectional liquid flow through the chamber (211 ). A sensor body (23) is provided on the body (21). The sensor body (23) is the portion where the user grasps the same during application. There is a hall sensor (231 ) on the sensor body (23) which detects motion magnetically.

Said crab mechanism (22) is engaged with the body (21 ) in a manner such that its movement is limited. There are crab arms (221) on the crab mechanism (22) on which there are magnets (222) and which enables connection with the crab mechanism (22) with this mentioned magnets (222). Said crab arms (221) perform movement upon contact. The movement of the crab arms (221) is provided by a spring (223) to which it has contact. The crab arms (221 ) are configured such that they have softened surfaces that can come into contact with the living being with its structure and shape and they have gaps so as to see and clean the injector needle (24). The detection of the movement of the crab arms (221) in the crab mechanism (22) is realized through the hall sensor (231) on the sensor body (23) by means of the magnets (222).

Said injector needle (24) is a standard type needle for orienting the vaccine to the body of the fish. The injector needle (24) is engaged at the end of the body (21) and in the crab mechanism (22) through a needle connection piece (241 ). Said sleeve (26) comprises a piston (261) which moves with compressed air, serves for compressing and sucking the liquid within the chamber (211). An air inlet bushing (262) which is connected with the sleeve (26) and said pump (25) and forms the hose inlet for the pneumatic connection, is also placed in the injector section (20).

The control unit (40) seen in detail in the section view in Figure 2 consists of a control box (41 ) which controls the electronic and pneumatic system, an adapter (42) and a compressor (43). The control unit (40) is connected with an electric source (50), an open air pressure (60) and a serial connection path (70) which defines a serial communication connection so as to communicate with systems such as computer, telephone etc. There is an electronic control card (411 ), a screen-button module (412) and a pneumatic valve (413) within the control box (41). Said electronic control card (411) is a circuit card which controls the system electronically by means of the microprocessor and software it contains. The hall sensor (231) is connected to the electronic control card (411) through a cable. Said screen-button module (412) consists of electronic and mechanical parts such as button, screen etc. so as to enable the communication between the automatic vaccine injector (10) and the user. Said pneumatic valve (413) changes the direction of the compressed air with the electrical signals. The control box (41) is also connected with said adapter (42) which transforms the voltage of the electric source into system voltage and with the compressor (43) which obtains high pressure by compressing the open-air pressure.

The electric essentially achieved from the electric source (50) in the operation of the automatic vaccine injector (10) provides energy to the system by means of reducing the same to the operating voltage of the system with the adapter (42). Subsequently, the air required for the automatic vaccine injector (10) is obtained from the open-air pressure (60) and is compressed by means of the compressor (43). Therefore, the electric and the compressed air required for the automatic vaccine injector (10) is provided through the control unit (40). The communication is provided between the pneumatic valve (413) and the hall sensor (231) via the serial connection path included in the control box (41).

The pneumatic valve (413) provides filling the compressed air into the sleeve (26) in line with the signal received from the control unit (40). The air filled in the sleeve (26) moves the piston (261). A volume change occurs in the chamber (211) together with this movement of the piston (261). The volume change enables two-step movement as the suction with the liquid inlet check valve (212) and pressing with the liquid outlet check valve (213). The vaccine provided from the liquid inlet line (30) during suction step, fills into the chamber (211) via the liquid inlet check valve (212). The vaccine in the chamber (211) during the pressing step is transferred to the vaccine hose via the liquid outlet check valve (213). The pressure created within the system is transferred to the injector needle (24) by means of the needle connection piece (241 ) and therefore a pump system which is moved by driving the air is defined.

The linear forward-backward motion and the axial motion of the crab mechanism (22) is limited. The forward motion is provided through the spring (223) that it is in contact with. In case the crab arms (221) contacts with the living being, the compressive force of approximately 30 grams created by the spring (223) is transferred to the crab mechanism (22) and compression occurs in the spring (223). The magnets (222), together with the compression in the spring (223) warn the hall sensor (231) in the sensor body (23) by moving and transmits signal to the control unit (40). Thus, the control unit (40) triggers the pump (25) and pump (25) realizes the suction step and the pressing step. Then the vaccine is injected to the fish through the tip of the injector needle (24) and the injection process is completed.

The control unit (40), during the operation of the automatic vaccine injector, triggers the injection process by sending signal to the pneumatic valve (413) so as to direct the pump (25) at certain periods with the contact information received from the hall sensor (231). Simultaneously it counts the injection numbers and keeps the same in its memory. This information and timing settings can be read or modified by the screen-button module (412) and the serial connection path (70).

In the vaccine applications with the inventive automatic vaccine injector (10), the steps based on manpower are facilitated and the injection process related with this is shortened, the number and the quality of daily administered vaccines are improved and the work accidents are minimized. The number of vaccination processes can be determined automatically and properly. When the pumping process is realized in a controlled manner, the vaccine dose can be applied to the living being automatically independent from the practitioner and with a fixed dose. In every movement of the crab mechanism (22) and the injector needle (24), the foreign materials such as fish scales etc. are provided to be removed from the injector needle (24).

Claims

CLAIMS An automatic vaccine injector (10) which comprises a body (21) that contains a chamber (211 ) from which the vaccine is absorbed and an injector needle (24) which provides the vaccine to be injected to a living being from said chamber (211), characterized by comprising;

- a crab mechanism (22) which detects the contact and penetration condition to the tissue of the living being, is provided in the continuation of said body (21),

- a pump (25) which is driven for a suction step that provides the vaccine to be filled into said chamber (211) so as to apply a fixed dose vaccine and for a pressing step that enables orientation of the vaccine from the chamber to said injection needle (24) and

- a control unit (40) which processes data so as to realize the suction and pressing steps by triggering said pump (25) by detecting contact and penetration. The automatic vaccine injector (10) according to claim 1 , characterized by comprising; movable crab arms (221) connected to said crab mechanism (22) and magnets (222) that ensure the connection of said crab arms (221) to the crab mechanism (22). The automatic vaccine injector (10) according to claim 1 and 2, characterized by comprising; a spring (223) which balances the movement of said crab arms (221). The automatic vaccine injector (10) according to claim 1 and 2, characterized by comprising; a hall sensor (231) which is provided on said body (21), transmits the location information of the crab arms (221) detected over said magnets (222) to said control unit. The automatic vaccine injector (10) according to claim 1 , characterized by comprising; a piston (261 ) that provides effect on the suction and force function by triggering said pump (25) and a sleeve (26) provided on the body (21 ) on which said piston (261) is housed. The automatic vaccine injector (10) according to claim 1 , characterized in that; said control unit (40) comprises a control box (41 ).

7. The automatic vaccine injector (10) according to claim 1 , characterized by comprising; an adapter (42) so as to realize the voltage adjustment of said control unit (40) and a compressor (43) so as to provide compression of the air. 8. The automatic vaccine injector (10) according to claim 5, characterized in that; said control box (41) comprises an electronic control card (411) and a screen-button module (412).

9. The automatic vaccine injector (10) according to claim 1 and 5, characterized in that; said control box (41 ) comprises a pneumatic valve (413) which directs the compressed air into the pump (25) in the direction of the signal provided from the control unit (40).