Portable Veterinary Injector with Flexible Conduit and Linear Actuator
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for intramuscular vaccination of layer chickens are labor-intensive, unsafe, and inefficient, particularly in large farms and caged environments, leading to health risks for both the chickens and vaccinators, and limitations in vaccination speed and flexibility.
Innovation Solution
A portable automatic veterinary injector device with a finger-held unit and a main unit connected by flexible wires and tubes, allowing for precise injection without manual aiming, powered by compressed air or electrical actuators, and featuring adjustable needle depth and angle, along with a firmware algorithm for safe operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual intramuscular injection method is used, then vaccination can be performed, but labor time and operational complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The chicken itself performs the injection by pecking at the needle assembly when placed in the correct position on the conveyor belt, eliminating the need for manual injection operations while maintaining vaccination effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The needle assembly is pre-positioned and pre-loaded with vaccine in the injection device, so that when the chicken is placed in the correct position, the injection can be immediately administered without requiring complex manual operations
2Measurement precision
If handheld syringe method is used, then injection flexibility is maintained, but operator fatigue and injection accuracy decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The manual mechanical injection process is replaced with an automated system where the chicken's natural pecking behavior triggers the injection mechanism, eliminating operator fatigue and ensuring consistent injection accuracy through proper positioning on the conveyor belt
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the chicken's own pecking action as feedback to trigger the injection, ensuring that the injection is administered at the correct moment when the chicken is properly positioned, thereby maintaining high accuracy without operator fatigue
3Productivity
If automatic injection machine is used, then labor power for injection is saved, but device portability and operational staff requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The injection device is divided into modular components including the conveyor belt section, needle assembly, and vaccine reservoir, allowing the system to be compact and potentially disassembled for easier movement while maintaining automated injection functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The device combines multiple functions including chicken positioning, vaccine storage, automated injection, and waste collection in a single integrated unit, reducing the need for multiple separate devices and improving portability
4Measurement precision
If water drinking vaccination method is used, then vaccination can be administered, but dose accuracy and disease protection coverage decrease
Solution Approach 1:
Each chicken receives its own precise vaccine dose through the automated injection system when it pecks at the needle assembly, ensuring accurate dosing without relying on water consumption variability
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the administration method from oral (water drinking) to intramuscular injection, which allows for more accurate dose control and broader disease protection coverage by delivering the vaccine directly to the muscle tissue
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device significantly reduces labor costs and improves vaccination speed and safety by enabling precise, automated injections without manual aiming, allowing for easier movement and operation in various settings, thereby enhancing the efficiency and safety of the vaccination process.
Implementation Method 1
activate the injection by pressing the finger-held unit against the chicken's breast. The pressed pushbuttons on the finger-held unit may send the closed-circuit signal to the main unit, the main unit may then activate the injecting mechanism in the finger-held unit to inject a hypodermic needle into the chicken's muscle using a linear actuator on the finger-held unit
Implementation Method 2
The actuator may gain the power from compressed air provided from the main unit, which may be activated by a solenoid valve on the finger-held unit or main unit
Implementation Method 3
activated by a solenoid valve on the finger-held unit or main unit
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 1A
Figure 2
AI summary
An injector device for veterinary use, such as to inject vaccine into the chicken breast muscle. The device includes a finger-held unit connected to a vaccine pumping main unit using a flexible conduit. The operator can quickly start an injection by stroking alongside the breast edge of a grasped chicken, using his fingertips to touch and select the muscle, then start an injection by pressing the finger-held unit against the chicken breast in a designated way. The electric buttons in the finger-held unit may activate a process that actuates a mechanism to inject a hypodermic needle into the chicken's muscle, the pumping system may- then be actuated to pump the vaccine into the muscle through the injected needle.