DEVICE FOR INJECTING AN EDIBLE MEDIUM

Abstract: A device for injecting an edible medium into an animal body comprising, a reservoir (12) for retaining a supply of the medium, a needle assembly (14) for injecting the medium into the animal body, a conduit (44) for supplying medium from the reservoir to the needle assembly, and a conduit (128) for supplying medium from the bed (16) to the reservoir. The reservoir, needle assembly, and bed are heated in order to liquefy the medium. The device is substantially closed by a cabinet (156), and the inside of the cabinet is also heated.

Description: DEVICE FOR INJECTING AN EDIBLE MEDIUM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for injecting an edible medium into an animal body. It has been found desirable to inject an edible medium, such as soybean oil, corn oil, vegetable oil, and in particular butter, into a turkey, such that the turkey self-bastes while it is being cooked. Since it is neces¬ sary to maintain the turkeys in a refrigerated state, the edible medium or fat is injected into the turkey inside a cooler where the temperatures are relatively low, e.g., 35-45°F. As a result, the edible fat or oil would normally be in a solid state, and could not be readily processed in the injection procedure. Hence, it is necessary to place the edible fat in a liquid condition, which is dif¬ ficult due to the relatively low temperature in the sur¬ rounding environment, such that the edible fat can readily be injected into the turkeys. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A principal feature of the present invention is the provision of an improved device for injecting an edible medium into an animal body. The device of the present invention comprises, a reservoir for retaining a supply of the medium, a needle assembly for injecting the medium into the animal body, a bed for collecting excess medium from the needle assembly, means for supplying the medium from the reservoir to the needle assembly, and means for supplying excess medium from the bed to the reservoir. The device, including the needle assembly, is substantially enclosed by a cabinet. A feature of the present invention is the provision of means for heating the medium in the reservoir. Another feature of the invention is the provision of means for circulating the heated medium in the reservoir in order to achieve a relatively uniform distribution of temperature in the reservoir. -fV EjT OMPI Yet another feature of the invention is the pro¬ vision of means for heating the medium in the needle assembly Still another feature of the invention is the provision of means for heating the excess medium in the bed. Yet another feature of the invention is the provision of means for heating the inside of the cabinet. Thus, a feature of the present invention is that the device heats the medium in order to maintain it in a liquid state suitable for processing. The needle assembly of the device includes both relatively long needles and relatively short needles. A feature of the present invention is that the long and short needles may be placed in a relative selected pattern in the needle assembly. A further feature of the invention is that the needles may be omitted at desired locations in the needle assembly. Thus, the long and short needles may be distri¬ buted in a selected pattern or may be omitted to minimize the possibility of injecting the medium into a cavity of the animal body. Further features will become more fully apparent in the following description of the embodiments of this invention and from the appended claims. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a device for injecting an edible medium into an animal body of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevational view, partly broken away and partly taken in section, of the device of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a manifold in a needle assembly of the device; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a reservoir for the device of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a top plan view, partly broken away, of the device of Fig. 1; ^ OMPI Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a needle pattern for the needle assembly in the device; Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating another pattern of needles for the needle assembly in the device; Fig. 8 is an end elevational view, partly broken away and partly taken in section, of the device of Fig. 1; and Fig. 9 is a fragmentary elevational view on an enlarged scale, taken partly in section, of a needle in the needle assembly of the device of Fig. 1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to Figs. 1, 2, 5 and 8, there is shown a device generally designated 10 for injecting an edible medium into an animal body, such as a turkey. The edible medium, fat or oil, is normally in a solid state at the operating temperature of the device 10, and may com¬ prise soybean oil, corn oil, vegetable oil, but preferably butter. Hence, it is necessary to render the edible medium into a liquid state in order to process the medium by the device. Once the edible medium has been injected into the turkeys, the turkeys become self-basting when being cooked. The device 10 comprises, a reservoir or tank 12 for retaining a supply of the edible medium, a needle assembly 14 for injecting the medium into the turkeys, a bed 16 for capturing excess medium from the needle assembly 14, means for supplying the medium from the reservoir 12 to the needle assembly 14, and means for supplying the excess medium from the bed 16 to the reservoir 12. With reference to Figs. 1, 4, 5, and 8, the reservoir 12 has a chamber 18 for retaining the medium in a liquid state. The device 10 has a conduit 20 which is connected between a nozzle 22 and the chamber 18, and an initial supply of the medium in a liquid state is supplied through the nozzle 22 and conduit 20 into the chamber 18. The reservoir 12 has a pair of filters 24 and 26 through which the medium passes in order to remove meat particles from the liquid medium. The reservoir 12 has a pair of spaced inner and O PI ?Λ'ATl outer walls 27 and 28, respectively, defining a cavity 29 intermediate the walls 27 and 28. A source 30 of heated water is connected to the cavity 29 in order to pass the heated water through the cavity 29 to an outlet 31. In this manner, the medium in the chamber 18 is heated in order to maintain it in a liquid state. The reservoir 12 has an air motor 32 connected to an air supply 34 in order to drive the motor 32. The motor 32 has an elongated shaft 36 depending from the motor 32, and a plurality of blades 38 located below the level of medium in the chamber 18. The motor 32 rotates the shaft 36 and blades 38 in order to circulate the medium in the chamber 18, and achieve a more even distribution of temperature in the medium located in the chamber 18. With reference to Figs. 2 , 5, and 8, the chamber 18 of the reservoir 12 is connected to a conduit 40 which is connected to a pump 42. The pump 42 removes liquid medium from the chamber 18 through the conduit 40, and drives the liquid medium under pressure through a conduit 44 to a manifold 46 in the needle assembly 14. With reference to Fig. 3, the manifold 46 com¬ prises a pair of opposed shells 48 and 50 having a chamber 52 located partially in the shell 48 and partially in the shell 50, such that the chamber 52 is closed when the shells 48 and 50 are secured together. The shell 48 has a plur¬ ality of ports 54 extending therethrough and communicating with the chamber 52, and the shell 50 has a plurality of ports 56 extending therethrough and communicating with the chamber 52, such that the ports 54 and 56 are aligned when the shells 48 and 50 are connected together. The manifold 46 has an elongated conduit 58 extending in a sinusoidal configuration in the chamber 52, and the conduit 58 is connected to a source 60 of heated water which is passed through the conduit 58 in order to heat the edible medium in the chamber 52, with the medium being received in the chamber 52 from the conduit 44. With reference to Figs. 2, 3, and 6, the needle assembly 14 has a plurality of relatively long needles 62 slidably received in the ports 54 and 56, a plurality of relatively short needles 64 slidably received in the ports 54 and 56, and a plurality of solid bushings 66 located in the ports 54 and 56 in order to close selected ports 54 and 56. In Fig. 6 the long needles 62 are designated by the heavy circles, the short needles 64 are designated by the light circles, while the closure busings 66 are de- signated by the crosses. As shown, the long needles 62, short needles 64, and bushings 66 may be placed in a selected pattern in the ports 54 and 56 of the manifold 46. In this manner, the long needles 62 may be positioned to pene¬ trate the turkeys a maximum distance at selected locations, the short needles 64 may be positioned to penetrate the turkeys a minimal distance at selected locations, while the needles 62 and 64 are removed at the position of the bushings 66 in order to prevent penetration of the turkeys at these locations. The cavities of the turkeys may be avoided by placement of the short needles and bushings at selected locations in order to prevent injection of the liquid medium into the cavities of the turkeys. In the config¬ uration of Fig. 6, the pattern of needles 62 and 64 and bushings 66 is selected in identical fashion on opposed sides of a divider 68 to permit penetration of turkeys located in a side-by-side relationship on opposed sides of the divider 68. In an alternative form, as shown in Fig. 7, the pattern of needles 62 and 64 and bushings 66 on opposed sides of and between dividers 70 and 72 is selected in identical fashion to permit injection of three smaller turkeys passing between the dividers 70 and 72 and on opposed sides of the dividers 70 and 72. With reference to Figs. 2 and 8, the device 10 has a cylinder 74, an upright post 76 slidably received in the cylinder 74, a cross beam 78 connected to an upper end of the post 76, and a pair of spaced upright posts 80 and 82 connected to and extending from the beam 78. An upper OMPI end of the posts 80 and 82 is connected to the needle assembly 14. Thus, the cylinder 74 is operated in order to raise and lower the needle assembly 14, with the needle assembly being shown in a lowermost position in Fig. 2. The needle assembly 14 is raised by the cylinder 74 in order to permit passage of turkeys a desired distance beneath the needles 62 and 64, and the needle assembly 14 is lowered by cylinder 74 in order to permit penetration of the needles 62 and 64 into the turkeys below the needle assembly 14. With reference to Figs. 2 and 9, a representative long needle 62 is shown as slibably mounted in the manifold 46. The needle 62 has a lumen 84 which communicates with a plurality of openings 86 adjacent a lower end of the needle 62 through which the liquid medium is injected into the turkeys. The lumen 84 also communicates with a pair of openings 88 adjacent an upper portion of the needle 62. The manifold shell 48 has an upper bushing 90 positioned in the port 54, with the bushing 90 having a channel 92 to slidably receive the needle 62. Also, the bushing 90 has on O-ring 94 which sealingly engages against the needle 62, and a pair of side openings 96 which communi¬ cate between the needle 62 and the chamber 52 in the man¬ ifold 46. The shell 50 has a lower bushing 98 received in the port 56, and the bushing 98 has a channel 100 to slidably receive the needle 62. Also, the bushing 98 has an upper O-ring 102 which sealingly engages against the needle 62, and may have a lower O-ring 104 which sealingly engages against the needle 62. The needle assembly 14 has a cylinder 106 defining a chamber 108 which is connected to a supply 110 of pressurized air. The needle assembly 14 has a piston 112 slidably received in the cylinder 106, with the piston 112 having a gasket 114 to sealingly engage the inside of the cylinder 106. The needle assembly 14 has an abutment 116 which contacts an annular flange 118 of the piston 112 in order to limit downward movement of the piston 112 in the. cylinder 106. The piston 112 ^J E OMPI has a lower cavity 120 to receive a butt 122 at an upper end of the needle 62. The needle 62 and piston 112 are illustrated in Fig. 9 in a configuration with the needle assembly 14 raised, and the needle 62 removed from the turkey. In this configuration, the openings 88 of the needle 62 are located below the O-ring 102 in order to prevent passage of the liquid medium from the chamber 52 past the O-ring 102, and thus prevent passage of the liquid medium into the needle 62 and through the openings 86. Also, in this configuration, the piston 112 is biased by the source 110 of air pressure to its lowermost position in the cylinder 106, and the needle butt 122 is spaced from the piston 112. When the needle assembly 14 is lowered slightly, such that the lower end of the needle 62 contacts and pene¬ trates the turkey, the needle 62 is raised a distance such that the needle openings 88 are positioned in alignment with the openings 96 of the upper bushing 90, and the butt 122 of the needle 62 contacts the piston 112 in the cavity 120. Thus, in this configuration, the pressurized liquid medium passes from the chamber 52 through the openings 96 " of the upper bushing 90, the openings 88 of the needle 62, the lumen 84 of the needle 62, and the openings 86 of the needle 62 into the turkey as the needle assembly 14 is progressively lowered. in this manner, a relatively uniform distribution of the edible medium is obtained in the turkey as the needle assembly 14 and needle 62 progressively penetrates the turkey during move¬ ment of the needle assembly 14 to its lowermost position. Also, in this configuration, the biased piston 112 main¬ tains the needle 62 in the position with the openings 88 aligned with the openings 96 of the upper bushing 90. In the event that the needle 62 strikes a bone in the turkey, the needle 62 is driven upwardly in the manifold 46, and the needle 62 moves the piston 112 upwardly in the cylinder 106 until the openings 88 of the needle 62 are located above the O-ring-94 in the upper bushing 90. In this manner, communication between the chamber 52 and the openings 88 of the needle 62 is prevented in order to prevent passage of the medium into the needle lumen 84. Thus, the needle assembly 14 prevents passage of the edible medium through the needle 62 in the event that the needle 62 strikes a bone in the turkey. With reference to Figs. 2, 5, and 8, the bed 16 extends longitudinally along the device 10 beneath the needle assembly 14. As the needle assembly 14 is lowered and the liquid medium is injected into the turkeys, excess medium will pass from the needles and turkeys into an elongated tray 124 defining a cavity 126 extending along the bed 16. In turn, the liquid medium passes from the cavity 126 through a conduit 128 into the chamber 18 of the reservoir 12 where is passes through the filter 24 to remove meat particles from the liquid medium. The bed 16 has a plurality of spaced plates 130 extending longitudinally along the bed 16, with the plates 130 being connected together and having upper teeth 132 disposed along the plates 130. The beam 78 has an outwardly directed flange 134 which strikes a roller 136 as the beam 78 and posts 80 and 82 are raised by the cylinder 74, such that the flange 134 strikes the roller 136 while the needle assembly 14 is being raised in the device 10. In turn, the roller 136 is connected to rollers 138 and 140, such that upward movement of the roller 136 results in upper movement of the rollers 138 and 140. The rollers 138 and 140 contact the plates 130, and raise the plates 130 when the rollers 138 and 140 are raised. A cylinder 142 is connected through an assembly 144 to the plates 130. After the plates 130 have been raised by the flange 134, the cylinder 142 moves the plates 130 a specified distance in a direction toward the left as viewed in Fig. 2. After the plates 130 have been moved to the lefthand position as illustrated in Fig. 2, the needle assembly 14 is lowered by the cylinder 74, and the flange 134 is removed from the roller 136 in order to lower the plates 130 in the bed 16, after which the cylinder 142 returns the plates 130 toward a righthand position in Fig. 2. Thus, the plates 130 are lifted in the bed 16 in order to raise the turkeys to an elevated position, after which the plates 130 are moved to the left as illustrated in Fig. 2 in order to transport the turkeys a specified distance along the bed 16 relative to the needle assembly 14, after which the plates 130 are lowered to remove the plates 130 from the turkeys at a location for additional injection of the medium by the needle assembly 14, and the plates 130 are returned to the initial position preparatory to further movement of the plates 130 and turkeys along the bed 16. In this manner, the turkeys are moved a specified dis¬ tance relative to the needle assembly 14 to permit repe- titive penetration by the needles in the needle assembly 14 and movement of the turkeys along the bed 16. Thus, the turkeys may be placed in a side-by-side relationship through an opening 146 at one end of the device 10, after which the turkeys are transported beneath the needle assembly 14 and through an opening 148 at the other end of the device 10 for removal of the turkeys from the de¬ vice 10 after injection of the liquid medium in a uniform distribution in the turkeys. With reference to Figs. 5 and 8, the device 10 has an elongated conduit 150 wound in a sinusoidal config¬ uration in the bed 16, such that the conduit 150 defines conduit sections 152 located intermediate the plates 130, with the conduit 150 being connected to a source 154 of heated water which passes through the conduit 150. In this manner, the excess medium is heated in the bed 16 in order to maintain it in a liquid state, and thus permit passage of the liquid medium from the tray 124 through the conduit 128 into the reservoir 12. With reference to Figs. 1, 2, 5, and 8, the device 10 has a cabinet 156 which substantially encloses the device 10, including the needle assembly 14, except for the openings 146 and'148 through which the turkeys "g RE OMPI A Vipo pass. In a preferred form, the device 10 has slitted curtains 158 and 160 which cover the openings 146 and 148, respectively, in order to minimize passage of air through the openings 146 " and 148. The device 10 has a radiator 162 mounted in an upper portion of the cabinet 156, and a source 164 of heated water which is connected to the radiator 162 in order to pass the heated water through the radiator 162. The de¬ vice 10 has a fan 166 which passes air through the radiator 162 in order to heat the air surrounding the radiator 162, and distribute the heated air from the radiator 162 beneath the cabinet 156 including the location of the needle as¬ sembly 14 and bed 16. The device 10 has a probe 168 which includes a temperature sensor to measure the temper- ature of air in the cabinet 156. The temperature sensor of the probe 168 is connected to a valve assembly 170 of known type which controls the passage of the heated water to the radiator 162. In this manner, the temperature in the cabinet 156 is sensed, and the temperature is controlled through use of the valve assembly 170 in order to maintain a desired temperature within the cabinet 156. The heated liquid is returned from the radiator 162 through an outlet fitting connected to the cabinet 156. Thus, in accordance with the present invention, the device 10 has a reservoir 12 for retaining an edible medium, a needle assembly 14 for injecting the medium into an animal body, a bed 16 for capturing excess medium from the needle assembly 14, means for supplying?the ώediύm:from the reservoir 12 to the needle assembly 14, and means for returning excess medium from the bed 16 to the reser¬ voir 12. The reservoir 12 has means for heating the medium in the reservoir 12 to maintain it in a liquid state, and means for circulating the medium in the reservoir 12 to obtain a more uniform distribution of temperature of the medium in the reservoir 12. The needle assembly 14 has means for heating the edible medium in the needle assembly 14, and the bed 16 has means for heating the excess medium in the bed 16. The device 10 has a cabinet 156, means for heating air within the cabinet 156, and means for distribu¬ ting the heated air throughout the cabinet 156, in addition to means for controlling the temperature of the heated air in the cabinet 156. With reference to Figs. 3, 5, and 8, in an alter¬ native form the conduit 58 is removed from the manifold 46, and the inlet port 174 is closed. The outlet port 176 is connected to an outlet conduit 178 which in turn is connected to a conduit end 180. Thus, in this embodiment, the liquid medium passes from the conduit 44 into the manifold chamber 52, and excess liquid medium passes from the manifold chamber 52 through outlet port 176, conduit 178, and conduit end 180 into the chamber 18 of the reservoir 12. The foregoing detailed description is given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limi¬ tations should be understood therefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art. -£URE4 _ OMPI Φ?Λ 'A T I0

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A device for injecting an edible medium into an animal body, comprising: a needle assembly for injecting said medium into the animal body; a reservoir for retaining a supply of said medium; means for supplying the medium from the re¬ servoir to the needle assembly; and means for heating the medium in the reservoir. 2. The device of claim 1 wherein the heating means comprises a pair of spaced walls defining a cavity extending around the reservoir, and means for supplying a heated fluid to the cavity. 3. The device of claim 1 including means for filtering the medium in the reservoir. 4. The device of claim 1 including means for circulating the medium in the reservoir. 5. The device of claim 1 including means for collecting excess medium from said needle assembly, and means for supplying the medium from the collecting means to the reservoir. 6. A device for injecting an edible medium into an animal body, comprising: a needle assembly for injecting said medium into the animal body; a reservoir for retaining a supply of said medium; means for supplying the medium from the reservoir to the needle assembly; and means for circulating the medium in the reservoir. 7. The device of claim 6 wherein the circulating means comprises, a shaft having blade means on the shaft disposed below the level of medium in the reservoir, and means for rotating said shaft. OMPI 8. The device of claim 6 including means for filtering the medium in the reservoir. 9. The device of claim 6 including means for collecting excess medium from the needle assembly, and means for supplying the medium from the collecting means to the reservoir. 10. A device for injecting an edible medium into an animal body, comprising: a needle assembly for injecting the medium into the animal body; means for supplying the medium to the needle assembly; means for collecting excess medium from said needle assembly; and means for heating the medium in the collecting means. 11. The device of claim 10 wherein the heating means comprises an elongated conduit, and means for sup¬ plying a heated fluid to the conduit. 12. The device of claim 10 including a bed adja¬ cent the collecting means and extending beneath the needle assembly, and means for transporting the animal body along the bed. 13. The device of claim 12 wherein the trans- porting means comprises a plurality of spaced plates extending along the bed, and in which the heating means comprises a plurality of spaced conduit sections inter¬ mediate the plates, and means for supplying a heated fluid to the conduit sections. 14. The device of claim 13 wherein the trans¬ porting means comprises, means for raising said plates, and means for moving the plates a distance along said bed. 15. The device of claim 10 wherein the collecting means comprises a tray. 16. The device of claim 10 including means for returning the medium from the collecting means to the supplying means. 17. A device for injecting an edible medium into an animal body, comprising: a manifold having a chamber to receive the medium and a plurality of spaced ports communicating with the chamber; means for supplying the medium to the chamber; a plurality of hollow elongated needles re¬ ceived in said ports; means for establishing communication between the chamber and needles; and means for heating the medium in the chamber. 18. The device of claim 17 wherein the heating means comprises, an elongated conduit in the chamber, and means for supplying a heated fluid to the conduit. 19. The device of claim 17 wherein the needles are slidably mounted in the manifold ports. 20. The device of claim 17 including a plurality of relatively long needles, and a plurality of relatively short needles. 21. The device of claim 17 including means for closing a plurality of said ports. 22. A device for injecting an edible medium into an animal body, comprising: a needle assembly comprising a plurality of hollow needles for injecting the medium into the animal body; means for positioning the needles in a selected pattern in the needle assembly; and means for supplying the medium to the needles. 23. A device for injecting an edible medium into an animal body, comprising: a needle assembly for injecting the medium into the animal body, said assembly comprising a plurality of relatively long hollow needles, and a plurality of rela- tively short hollow needles; and means for supplying the medium to the long and short needles. 24. The device of claim 23 including means for positioning the long and short needles in a relative pat¬ tern in the needle assembly. 25. A device for injecting an edible medium into an animal body, comprising: a manifold having a chamber to receive the medium, and a plurality of spaced ports communicating with the chamber; means for supplying the medium to the chamber; a plurality of hollow elongated needles; means for mounting the needles in a selected pattern in the ports; means for establishing communication between the chamber and needles; and means for closing a plurality of selected ports. 26. A device for injecting an edible medium into an animal body, comprising: a manifold having a chamber to receive the medium, and a plurality of spaced ports communicating with the chamber; means for supplying the medium to the chamber; a plurality of elongated hollow relatively long needles; a plurality of elongated hollow relatively short needles; means for mounting the long and short needles in a relative selected pattern in the ports; and means for establishing communication between the chamber and the long and short needles. 27. The device of claim 26 including means for closing a selected pattern of said ports. 28. A device for injecting an edible medium into an animal body, comprising: a needle assembly for injecting said medium into the animal body; "gυRE OMPI A**, v^ro means for supplying said medium to the assembly; a cabinet for substantially enclosing the needle assembly and at least a portion of the supplying means; and means for heating the inside of the cabinet. 29. The device of claim 28 wherein the heating means comprises a readiator in the cabinet, and means for supplying a heated fluid to the radiator. 30. The device of claim 29 including means for controlling the temperature of the heating means. 31. The device of claim 30 wherein the controlling means comprises, means for sensing the temperature in the cabinet, and means responsive to the controlling means for controlling the passage of the heated fluid into the radiator. 32. The device of claim 29 including means for distributing heated air from the radiator inside the cabinet. 33. The device of claim 32 wherein the dis- tributing means comprises a fan for circulating air passing over the radiator. 34. The device of claim 28 including means for collecting excess medium from the needle assembly inside the cabinet. 35. The device of claim 34 including means for returning the medium from the collecting means to the supplying means, with at least a portion of the returning means being located inside said cabinet. 36. The device of claim 34 including means for heating the medium in the collecting means. 37. The device of claim 28 including means for heating the medium in the needle assembly. 38. The device of claim 28 including a reservoir for retaining the medium, means for collecting excess medium from the needle assembly inside the cabinet, means for returning the medium from the collecting means to the reservoir, and means for-heating the medium in the reser- voir, and in which the supplying means supplies medium from the reservoir to the needle assembly. 39. The device of claim 38 in which the reser¬ voir is located outside said cabinet. 40. A device for injecting an edible medium into an animal body, comprising: a reservoir for retaining said medium; a manifold having a chamber; a plurality of hollow needles mounted in the manifold; means for supplying the medium from the reser¬ voir to the manifold chamber; means for establishing communication between the manifold chamber and the needles; and means for returning excess medium from the mani fold chamber to the reservoir. 41. The device of claim 40 including means for heating the medium in the reservoir.

Inventors: LANGEN BERNARDUS GERTRUDA, LANGEN, BERNARDUS, GERTRUDA
Applicants: BELAM INC, BELAM, INC.
Application year: 1982
Main classification: A23L3
IPC codes: A22C17, A23B4