It is known in the technical sector relating to the rearing of animals such as chickens, turkeys and the like that there exists the need to subject the said animals to numerous operations involving the administration of vaccines, antibiotics and medicinal substances in general.

It is also known that these administering operations are performed by means of inoculation into the muscle, for example into the animal's chest, carried out using special syringes which are provided with a handle and the plunger of which is pushed by the action of the operator's thumb against the opposing action of a spring which, once the injection has been performed, causes the return of the plunger into the initial position for inoculation of a new dose of medication drawn from a reservoir as a result of the vacuum effect produced by the said return movement of the plunger.

Although performing their function, these manual syringes have certain drawbacks arising from the fact that the operator is obliged to exert, for each inoculation, a force such as to overcome the resistance of the medication to outward flow from the syringe and penetration into the animal's muscle, as well as the opposing action of the said return spring of the plunger.

Since, during the course of a day, several hundred

inoculations are performed, the operator has to make a considerable physical effort which cannot remain constant for the whole of the time necessary for treatment of all the animals, resulting in tiredness, with a consequent increase in the risk of accidents, lack of precision when inserting the needle into the animal's muscle, approximation in the quantity of inoculated medication, which may also be insufficient, and a reduced number of inoculations carried out during the course of the working day.

The technical problem which is posed, therefore, is that of providing an apparatus for the inoculation of medication such as vaccines and the like in animals, which allows a reduction in the operating force required by the operator, making the quantity of medication inoculated independent of the action of the said operator.

Within the scope of this problem a further requirement is that the apparatus should have a reduced weight and dimensions so that it may be easily handled.

In addition, the apparatus will preferably be provided with safety devices designed to avoid exposure of the needle, outside of actual inoculation, in order to increase the safety for the operator.

These technical problems are solved according to the present invention by an apparatus for the inoculation of medication such as vaccines and the like into the muscle of an animal, which comprises a syringe with an associated needle, said apparatus comprising moreover a handle supporting devices for pushing the plunger of the syringe, which can be actuated by associated operating means enabled by the operator.

Further details may be obtained from the following description of a non-limiting example of embodiment of the invention provided with reference to the

accompanying drawings in which: -Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an apparatus according to the invention; -Figure 2 shows a plan view of the apparatus according to Fig. 1; -Figure 3 shows a side view of the apparatus according to Fig. 1; -Figure 4 shows a side view partially sectioned along a longitudinal plane of a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention.

As illustrated (see Figs. 1,2 and 3), the apparatus according to the invention is composed essentially of a handle 10, forming the part for gripping by the operator as well as the base for a pneumatic distribution valve 20 and for a fixed support 30 on which there are mounted two pneumatic cylinders 40 for actuating the plunger 51 of a syringe 50 at the free end of which the inoculation needle 52 is arranged.

Below, for the sake of convenience, an orientation of the apparatus will be assumed where the front part is that corresponding to the part with the needle 52 (Fig.

3), while the rear part will be that opposite to the latter.

In greater detail, said handle 10 has an ergonomic shape for firm gripping by the operator and has, passing through it in the axial direction (vertically in the Figure), a pipe 21 supplying the valve 20 with the air under pressure coming from a reservoir (not shown) in turn connected to the said pipe by fast- engagement means 21a.

The air under pressure reaches the distribution valve which, in the embodiment according to Figs. 1-3, is of the two-way type and can be operated by means of a pushbutton 22 which can in turn be actuated by a trigger 11 pivotably mounted on the handle 10 and

squeezed by the operator's finger.

The pressure on the pushbutton 22 opens the duct 23 supplying the cylinder 40 which has, arranged inside it, the associated piston 41, the front end of which is integral with the plunger 51 of the syringe 50 inside which the needle 52 is axially inserted.

The syringe 50 also has, radially fitted to it, a nozzle 53 which is in turn connected to a reservoir containing the medication to be inoculated.

A spring 43 is arranged coaxially with the piston 41, the action of said spring causing the return of the said piston into the retracted position.

The rear part of the cylinder 40 is also provided with means 45 for adjusting the stroke of the plunger 51 and therefore the dose of medication to be inoculated.

In a preferred embodiment it is envisaged that the apparatus is also provided with safety means 100 consisting of a sleeve 101 fitted onto the front free end of the syringe 50 with the intervening arrangement of a coaxial spring 103.

The sleeve 101 has a hole 102 in its front surface lOla, said hole, once assembly has been performed, being substantially coaxial with the needle 52 of the syringe; the side surface of the sleeve also has, formed in it, a seat 107 extending in the axial direction from the rear edge thereof and designed to allow coaxial translation without interference of the sleeve relative to the syringe.

It is also envisaged that the sleeve 101 is provided with a second-substantially radial-hole 104 which is formed in the side surface of the said sleeve and into which a pipe 106 supplying a disinfectant 105a drawn from a reservoir 105 may be inserted, as will emerge more clearly below.

Said reservoir, since it has small dimensions, could in

turn be integral with the support 30 or the handle 10 or be inside the latter.

The operating principle of the apparatus is as follows: In the rest condition: -the pushbutton 22 keeps the trigger 11 in the forward position; -the spring 43 keeps the piston 41 retracted, said piston in turn drawing back the plunger 51 of the syringe 50; -the spring 103 keeps the sleeve 101 in the forward position so that the needle 52 is covered; during inoculation the operator pushes manually the apparatus against the animal's chest, causing: -the stopping contact movement of the sleeve 101 and exposure of the needle 52 which is able to penetrate into the animal's muscle with the same thrust exerted by the operator; -at the same time the operator pulls the trigger 11 which presses the pushbutton 22, which opens the supply of compressed air towards the cylinder 50; -the pressure of the air, overcoming the opposition of the spring 43, causes the forward movement of the piston 41 and therefore of the plunger 51 which causes entry of the medication into the needle 52 and, from here, into the animal's muscle; -at the end of inoculation, the valve 20 closes again the air supply, discharging the cylinder 40 and allowing the spring 43 to push the piston 41 and the plunger 51 backwards again; -the retraction of the plunger 51 produces a vacuum inside the chamber of the syringe 50, which causes the drawing of a new dose of medication for the next inoculation; -part of the air discharged from the cylinder 40 may also be used in order to place under pressure the

reservoir 105 containing the disinfectant 105a which is thus supplied to the needle 52 which is disinfected for the next inoculation.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, auxiliary means 120 for blocking the axial travel of the sleeve 101 are also envisaged so that the latter is unable to retract, exposing the needle during a mistaken movement by the operator who is thus protected against accidental pricks from an infected needle.

Said blocking means may be formed by an auxiliary bridge-piece 121 provided with seats 122 for insertion in the syringe in a position behind the sleeve 101 so that the latter is no longer able to slide axially backwards.

In a further embodiment not shown, the blocking means consist of an annular rim arranged on the external surface of the sleeve 101 and rotatable on the latter in both directions through a predefined angle so as to bring a suitable projection into a position of interference/non-interference with the nozzle 53 so as to prevent/allow axial sliding of the said sleeve.

In a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention (Fig. 4) it is envisaged that the support 130 for the assembly consisting of syringe 50/cylinder 40 is provided with longitudinal rails 131 suitable for engagement with respective guides 62a on a platform 60 integral with the handle 10.

In this way, the support 130 is able to be displaced in the longitudinal direction with respect to the platform 60 upon operation of respective actuating means consisting of a pneumatic cylinder 61 connected to the distribution valve 120 which in this case will be of the three-way type and comprising a return spring 63 coaxially arranged around the piston 61a.

In this configuration it is envisaged, moreover, that -la molla 103 mantiene il cannotto 101 avanzato in modo da tenere coperto 1'ago 52; al momento dell'inoculazione l'operatore spinge manualmente l'apparecchiatura contro il petto della bestia determinando: -1'arresto in battuta del cannotto 101 e la fuoriuscita dell'ago 52 che può penetrare nel muscolo dell'animale con la stessa spinta esercitata dall'operatore, -contemporaneamente l'operatore tira il grilletto 11 che preme il pulsante 22, che apre 1'alimentazione dell'aria in pressione al cilindro 50, -la pressione dell'aria, vincendo il contrasto della molla 43, determina 1'avanzamento del pistone 41 e quindi dello stantuffo 51 che provoca l'ingresso del medicamento nell'ago 52 e da questo nel muscolo dell'animale, -al termine dell'inoculazione la valvola 20 richiude 1'alimentazione dell'aria ponendo in scarico il cilindro 40 e consentendo alla molla 43 di spingere nuovamente indietro il pistone 41 e lo stantuffo 51, -1'arretramento dello stantuffo 51 determina una depressione nella camera della siringa 50 che provoca il richiamo di una nuova dose di medicamento per la successiva inoculazione,

part of the operator, resulting in reliable metering of the inoculated dose which no longer depends on the skill and on the physical condition of the operator.

In addition to this and in view of the particular operating conditions, the general safety of the operation is also greatly improved since the operator must merely perform the action of pressing the needle into the muscle of the animal, resulting in a reduction in the number of movements to be performed.

Consequently the productivity of the operation is also greatly improved, allowing a much higher number of inoculations compared to the previous devices. As can be understood, the above description has been provided in connection with only one of the two syringes illustrated, it being obvious that the minimum configuration of the apparatus envisages only one syringe. As illustrated, however, it is possible to arrange several syringes in parallel for the simultaneous inoculation of different medication or for doubling the dose of a single medication. It is envisaged that each syringe and the associated cylinder are arranged inside a respective eyelet 31 of the support 30,130, which allow the two syringes to be positioned along interaxes suitable for the specific size of the animal.