Modular injection system for avian embryos
DCFirst Claim
1. An injection apparatus that is particularly suitable for accurate and precise injection of eggs to the same depth and location when the eggs are of varying sizes and may be presented to the injection apparatus in somewhat different orientations, said injection apparatus comprising:
- a generally horizontally oriented tooling plate with an opening therethrough;
an injector resting generally vertically in said opening in said tooling plate with a lower portion of said injector depending downwardly below said tooling plate and an upper portion of said injector resting at or above said tooling plate; and
means for raising and lowering said tooling plate and said injector therewith so that when said plate is lowered and said lower portion of said resting injector contacts an object such as an egg to be injected, said resting injector stops while said tooling plate proceeds downwardly until said injector disengages from said tooling plate and is free to move in a translational direction independent of said tooling plate, and so that when said tooling plate is raised it reengages said injector and carries it upwardly and away from the object being injected.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An injection apparatus that is particularly suitable for accurate and precise injection of eggs of varying sizes and that may be presented to the injection apparatus in somewhat different orientations. The injection apparatus comprises a generally horizontally oriented tooling plate with an opening therethrough, an injector resting generally vertically in the opening in the tooling plate with a lower portion of the injector depending downwardly below the tooling plate and an upper portion of the injector resting at or above the tooling plate. Means are included for raising and lowering the tooling plate and the injector therewith so that when the plate is lowered and the lower portion of the resting injector strikes an egg to be injected, the resting injector stops while the tooling plate proceeds downwardly until the injector disengages from the tooling plate and is free to move in a translational direction independent of said tooling plate. When the tooling plate is raised it reengages the injector and carries it upwardly and away from the egg.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. An injection apparatus that is particularly suitable for accurate and precise injection of eggs to the same depth and location when the eggs are of varying sizes and may be presented to the injection apparatus in somewhat different orientations, said injection apparatus comprising:
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a generally horizontally oriented tooling plate with an opening therethrough; an injector resting generally vertically in said opening in said tooling plate with a lower portion of said injector depending downwardly below said tooling plate and an upper portion of said injector resting at or above said tooling plate; and means for raising and lowering said tooling plate and said injector therewith so that when said plate is lowered and said lower portion of said resting injector contacts an object such as an egg to be injected, said resting injector stops while said tooling plate proceeds downwardly until said injector disengages from said tooling plate and is free to move in a translational direction independent of said tooling plate, and so that when said tooling plate is raised it reengages said injector and carries it upwardly and away from the object being injected. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An egg injection apparatus that is particularly suitable for accurate and precise injection of eggs to the same depth and location when the eggs are of varying sizes and may be presented to the injection apparatus in somewhat different orientations, said injection apparatus comprising:
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a generally horizontally oriented tooling plate with a plurality of openings therethrough; a generally horizontally oriented stabilizer plate positioned above and in fixed substantially parallel relation to said tooling plate, said stabilizer plate having a plurality of openings therethrough that are in substantial registration with said openings in said tooling plate; a plurality of injectors, each said injector having upper and lower portions, said injectors resting vertically in said openings in said horizontally oriented tooling plate, with said lower portion of each said injector depending downwardly below said tooling plate, and with said upper portion of each said injector extending above said tooling plate and through said respective openings in said stabilizer plate; said upper portions of each said injector further comprising a double acting air cylinder; said lower portions further comprising cylindrical injection needle, a cylindrical punch surrounding said needle, and a punch guide surrounding said punch, and wherein said needle and said punch are both driven by said air cylinder; means for aligning a plurality of eggs beneath said tooling plate so that each egg is beneath one of said injectors; and means for raising and lowering said tooling plate and said stabilizing plate and said injectors therewith with respect to said egg aligning means so that when said plate is lowered and said lower portion of said resting injectors strike respective eggs, said resting injectors are free to stop while said tooling plate proceeds downwardly until each said injector disengages from said tooling plate and wherein each said injector is free to move in translational directions independent of said tooling plate to thereby orient properly with respect to an egg regardless of misorientation of the egg, and so that when said tooling plate is raised it reengages said injector and carries it upwardly and away from the object being injected. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of accurately and precisely injecting a plurality of eggs of different sizes and that may be at least partially misoriented, the method comprising:
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positioning a plurality of egg injectors in a corresponding plurality of openings in a tooling plate and without fixing the injectors to the plate, and wherein portions of the injectors are smaller than the openings in the tooling plate; positioning a plurality of eggs beneath the injectors and in substantial alignment with the injectors; and lowering the tooling plate and the injectors until the injectors contact the eggs and stop, while continuing to lower the tooling plate until the injectors no longer rest vertically in the tooling plate, so that each injector is free to stop at a position defined by the top of each individual egg, and each injector is further free to move translationally to the extent permitted by the difference between the size of the opening in the tooling plate and the smaller size of the injector, so that the injector can travel translationally to orient itself most accurately on the top of the egg, regardless of the position or orientation of any of the other eggs or injectors.
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Specification