IMPROVEMENTS IN VACCINATING APPARATUS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Smith, 62, Bishopsgate St. Within, London,
in the County of Middlesex, for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN
VACCINATING APPARATUS." A communication from abroad by Dr. Victor
Burq, of Paris, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Smith at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd November 1881.
THOMAS SMITH, 62, Bishopsgate St. Within, London, in the County of Middlesex.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN VACCINATING APPARATUS." A communication from abroad
by Dr. Victor Burq, of Paris, France.
In the annexed Drawing Fig. 1 represents the apparatus for providing or arming
a set of vaccinating needles, pins, or other instruments with vaccinating matter, and
Fig. 2 another for holding a small number of such armed needles. Both apparatuses
consist of a case or holder P, which by means of a screw cap or other suitable lid
or stopper, viz., as shewn by O, Fig. 2, may be closed sufficiently air tight for
preventing the outer air from acting on, and thereby causing injury to, the
vaccinating matter of the vaccinating needles P¹, which latter are imbedded moveably
in cotton wadding, and (as shewn in Fig. 1) are situated with their pointed end
turned towards the centre of the cup C, the outer part of which latter is provided
with the screw P2 for the lid of the case P. This arrangement allows of providing
at once the entire set of needle points with vaccinating matter, and afterwards
covering them with cotton wadding to be pressed firmly on the needles by means of
the lid or stopper.
As shewn by a, each of the needles at its turn may be fixed in position ready for
vaccinating, viz., in Fig. 1 by means of the set screws 1, 2, 3, 4, and in Fig. 2 by
the screw cap or stopper O.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Thomas Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 27th April
1882.
THOMAS SMITH, 62, Bishopsgate St. Within, London, in the County of Middlesex.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN VACCINATING APPARATUS." A communication from abroad by
Dr. Victor Burq, of Paris, France.
•
The Invention relates to apparatus for vaccinating or inoculating cowpox or
other analogous virus either to men or to cattle or other animals, the said
apparatus being constructed according to the following principles, viz., in such
manner as to present one or more series of inoculating needles, pins, or other
similar suitable pricking or delicately cutting instruments, located in such manner
in the apparatus as to allow of readily applying the virus or inoculating matter to
the said needles, and after the said matter has become sufficiently dry allow of
embedding the thus armed pointed part of the needles in cotton wadding or other
appropriate stuffing contained in the apparatus, which latter allows of being her-
metically closed by screw caps or other suitable lids, so as to prevent the outer air
from acting on and thereby injuring the inoculating matter of the needles; the
apparatus further allowing of removing each of the needles at its turn and put the
same in position ready for inoculating either in the apparatus itself or in a holder
or handle suitably arranged for the said purpose. In respect to the needles, pins,
or other suitable pricking or delicately cutting instruments to be made use of in
these apparatus, I prefer them to be galvanized or otherwise covered with gold,
platinuin, or other similar unoxydizable metal, and to have their pointed end
striated, serrated, perforated, or roughened, in order better to retain the vaccinating
matter. As for the apparatus, they may be constructed of any suitable resisting
material, such, for instance, as boxwood, bone, ivory, vulcanite, or of brass, silver,
or other suitable metal. As may be observed from what has been said hereabove,
the Invention consequently allows of having constantly at hand a suitable number
of inoculating. needles armed with cowpox or other virus or inoculating matter
ready for immediate use,
and the same reduces the vaccination or inoculation to a
mere pricking by means of one of the thus armed needles, and so as to allow of this
operation being performed not only by a medical practitioner but by any one else,
and thus appropriate the apparatus as an instrument for the use of families, com-
munities, or others. In the hereunto annexed Drawing are represented various
views of apparatus arranged according to the above described principles, but it will
be readily understood that such apparatus may be constructed in various other
manner or shape without departing from the main principles of the Invention. The
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 represent various views of an apparatus more particularly
intended for the medical practitioner, who requires to have constantly at hand a
large number of inoculating needles ready for use; Fig. 6 shows a longitudinal
sectional view of a modification of the said apparatus, and Fig. 7 a similar view of
an apparatus which may serve either as a handle for holding the needle in per-
forming an inoculation, or as a small case for family use, being provided with a
small number of arined needles ready for immediate use; Fig. 1 shows a plan or
top view; Fig. 2, a side view; Fig. 3, a sectional view over the dotted line m, n, of
Fig. 1'; and Fig. 4, a perspective view of parts of the apparatus, Fig. 5 giving an
upper plan view of the lower plate, disc, or cover P'. In Fig. 4 the screw cap C is
shown as removed, and part of the upper disc P is represented cut away, in order
better to show the position of the needles a, the wadding or stuffing provided in
the circular groove R of the lower disc P¹. In Fig. 5 r, r, indicates some of the
furrows provided in the disc P¹, and which furrows serve as guides or rests for a

page_text: r'
series of vaccinating needles or pins a. In these Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, corre-
sponding parts are indicated by the same letters of reference.
The apparatus
resembles a sort of round pin cushion, which by preference is made of brass or
other suitable metal, or of ivory, vulcanite, or other suitable resisting material. As
may be seen from the Drawings, the needles a are inserted in the furrows r with
their pointed end converging towards a common centre, and on a layer of cotton
wadding, cotton wick, or other suitable stuffing inserted in the circular groove or
depression R of the dise P₁, which latter may be firmly pressed against the upper
disc P by means of the tightening screws b and their nuts b'. The central parts of
the discs P & P presents a large circular opening O' formed by the sockets g, on
the outside of which is provided a screw thread for the screw caps or lids C & CL
to be screwed on. In the centre of each of these lids is situated a standard fprovided
with a screw thread, on which are screwed the buttons O, and the space o' left
open between and round these latter is to be filled with cotton wadding or other
suitable stuffing, in order to provide the required occulation for preventing the outer
air from acting on, and thereby causing injury to, the inoculating matter with
which the pointed end of the needles a are to be provided. The manner of making
use of the apparatus is as follows:-The upper disc P and the screw cap C having
been removed, the groove R is provided with cotton wick or other suitable stuffing,
and the needles or pins a laid in their respective furrows r with their pointed end
directed towards the cent of the apparatus, the other end protruding sufficiently
far beyond the rim of the disc C₁ so as to allow of taking hold of this end for
withdrawing the need"
when required. Stuffing is now applied in the lower part
of the opening O¹, an she upper disc C fixed on the other disc C by means of the
tightening screws bo their nuts 6', after which the cowpox or other inoculating
matter is applied in ne or more layers to the pointed end of the needles by a pencil
or other suitable meas, and after the said matter has become sufficiently dry the
space O is filled with cotton wadding or other suitable stuffing, and finally the
cap C is screwed on sufficiently tight for procuring the necessary occlusion. With-
drawing afterwards one of the needles from the apparatus, and fixing the needle
in any suitable holder, such, for instance, as the one represented in Fig. 7, the
inoculation may forth with take place. Fig. 6 represents a longitudinal sectional
view of an inoculating apparatus in which a series of needles a may be momentarily
fixed in a sloping vertical position round a common centre, in a manner analogous
to that of the feathers of a shuttle cock, viz., with their pointed end directed slightly
outward, and so as to allow of providing this end with the inoculating matter,
which latter having become dry the needles are inserted in the perforations provided
in the upper flange b of a socket B, the pointed end of the needles being embedded
in suitable stuffing pressed round the socket B between its upper and lower flanges b
& b. The socket B is screwed on the central bolt D, whilst the bottom or lid C¹ is
screwed in the lower part of the screw thread of the socket B. For fixing the
needles in the position ready for receiving the inoculating matter, the said needles
are inserted with their blunt end in corresponding vertical grooves provided in the
upper lid or cap C of the apparatus, which lid C forms a socket, the needles being
pressed by a ring E, the interior of which forms a cone in which moves a corre-
sponding truncated cone H actuated by a button J screwed on the upper end of the
screw bolt D; the upper edge of the cone H in pressing against the upper part of
the needles pushes their pointed end slightly outward, viz., in the manner as shown
in the Drawing. The centre of the button J is perforated for the purpose of
allowing to insert therein one of the needles armed with inoculating matter when
the said needle is to be made use of for inoculating. Fig. 7 represents a longitudinal
sectional view of a case intended for family use, and containing but a small number
of inoculating needles, say, for instance, half a dozen. In the bottom of the case E
is screwed a perforated partition d, in the perforations of which are inserted the
armed needles a embedded in wadding or stuffing provided in the hollow part E' of
the case E, the case being closed at the bottom by a screw cap H, whilst in the top
of the case is screwed a button O, the centre of which is perforated for allowing of

page_text: inserting therein a needle a, and thus make the apparatus serve as a holder for the
operator.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention, and the manner in which
the same is or may be put into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not
confine myself to any of the above described apparatus, neither to the material of
which the same may be made, or to the precise details of their arrangements, but
what I claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein before in part recited
Letters Patent is,―
1ly. The construction of apparatus intended for inoculating cowpox or other
suitable virus either to human beings, cattle, or other suitable animals, in which
apparatus one or more series of inoculating needles, pins, or other analogous pricking
or suitable delicately cutting instruments are or may be located, so as to allow of
readily providing or arming them with cowpox or other virus or inoculating matter,
and after this latter has become sufficiently dry embed the thus armed pointed or
sharp end of the said instruments in cotton wadding, cotton wick, or other suitable
stuffing, and keep the apparatus tightly closed by screwlids or other suitable
moveable caps, in such manner as to prevent the air from acting on, and thereby
causing injury to, the inoculating matter of the needles, the apparatus further
allowing of withdrawing each of the needles at its turn and apply the same for
inoculating, and for this purpose momentarily fixing one or more of the said armed
needles in suitable position either in the apparatus itself or in any suitable holder or
handle.
2ly. Coating the pointed or cutting end of the inoculating needles, pins, or other
similar suitable pricking or cutting instruments with gold, platinum, or other
suitable unoxydizable metal, and having this pointed_or_cutting_end_suitably
serrated, striated, perforated, or roughened, for the purpose of causing the virus or
inoculating matter more firmly adhere thereto.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Smith, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.