GB2080112A

GB2080112A - Artificial insemination device

Info

Publication number: GB2080112A
Application number: GB8018058A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Seisan Nipponsha KK
Current assignee: Seisan Nipponsha KK
Priority date: 1980-06-03
Filing date: 1980-06-03
Publication date: 1982-02-03

Abstract

An artificial insemination device comprises two coaxial cylindrical containers 2, 3. The inner container 2 is used to contain semen, and the outer container 3 is used to contain a semen nutrient, such as dialyzate. The inner container is made of a permeable material, such as a dialysis film to allow the passage of the semen nutrient from the outer container to the inner container. The outer container is made of a synthetic resin film, such as polypropylene or vinyl. The containers are sealed at each end by packing members 4a, 4b respectively. One packing member 4b has a tube 7b which communicates with the inner container 2 and which is connected to a semen injector having projecting from its free end an adjustable replaceable injector tube. The other packing member 4a has a tube 7a which is connected to a hand pump 10 for delivering semen from the inner container to the injector tube. The packing members also have tubes 8a, 8b which communicate with the outer container 3 for supplying a semen nutrient to the outer container. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Artificial insemination device This invention relates to an artificial insemination device and has particular reference to insemination of livestock, particularly swine.

In the art of artificial insemination of live stock, it is known that the sperms of swine have a shorter life span that those of other livestock. Hence long-time preservation of swine semen is accompanied with difficulties.

In order to popularize artificial insemination of swine, it is necessary to allow easy access to semen of choice boars and to have easy treatment thereof, so that any average farmer can preserve and use such semen without requiring any specific'skill or any complicated equipment. However, as things stand now, there are few farmhouses which have a refrig erator specified for preservation of semen, and in most cases, semen is obtained from a dealer and fertilized each time a breed sow comes on heat.

Also, in the operation of injecting the ob tained semen into the uterine cavity, it is the general practice to suck up semen into an injector from a container, then to insert the injector into the vagina and to inject the semen. In such an operation, however, semen often flows back from the cervical canal, re sulting in insufficient injection of semen into the uterine cavity. Also, when inseminating two or more sows successively by using a single injector, it is necessary to disinfect the injector which touches the cervical canal with an antiseptic solution or boiling water after each use, because otherwise an undersirable effect might be given to the sperms which would reduce the impregnation rate. Thus, the current practice of semen injecting is not easy and involves many difficult problems.

The invention provides an artificial insemi nation device comprising two coaxial contain ers, an inner container for storing semen and -an outer container, arranged around the inner container, for storing a semen nutrient, the inner container being made of a permeable material to allow passage of the semen nutri ent from the second container to the first container, the container being sealed by a packing member at each end, one packing member having a tube which communicates with the inner container, and which is con nected to a semen injector having projecting from its free end an adjustable replaceable injector tube, and the other packing member having a tube which communicates with the inner container and which is connected to a fluid-pressure actuated means for delivering semen from the inner container to the injector tube, and at least one of the packing mem bers having a tube communicating with the outer container for supplying sement nutrient to the outer container.

In view of the above, the present invention provides an improved device for artificial insemination of livestock, particularly swine, said device being capable of easy semen preservatin and elongation of semen shelf life and allowing immediate injection of semen from the injector without tranfusing semen from a preservation container into the injector. Also, the injector used in the device of this invention can prevent backflow of semen and can be inserted deep into the cervical canal. Further, the injector which touches the cervical canal is designed to be easily replaceable, unnecessitating disinfection after each use of the device. Thus, the device of this invention is hygenic and provides a marked improvement in impregnation rate.

Preferably, the invention can improve the keeping quality of semen, facilitate the semen injecting operation and increase the impregnation rate.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a partly broken away and partly sectional view of a semen reservoir in a device according to the invention; Figure 2 is a side and partly sectional view of the principal parts of the semen injector shown in Fig. 1; and Figure 3 illustrates an insemination operation.

A device according to the invention may be roughly divided into the following three parts: a semen reservoir 1, a semen injector 11 and a pump 10.

The semen reservoir 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. It is to be noted that a dialysis preservation technique is used for preservation of semen.

Fig. 1 shows an inner cylinder 2 made from a dialysis film (such as "Cellophane" (Registered Trade Mark)), and designed to contain semen therein. The inner cylinder 2 is within an outer cylinder 3 made from a synthetic resin film, such as polypropylene or vinyl.

There is a pedetermined space provided between the inner and outer cylinder to form a double-cylinder structure. Dialyzate (such as serum), which is a nutrient source for the semen, fills the space between the inner cylinder 2 and outer cylinder 3.

Both ends of the inner and outer cylinders 2, 3 are tightly sealed by packing members 4a, 4b, each of which comprises O-rings 5 and associated rubber bands 6 for securing tightness. Each of the packing members 4a, 4b is provided with a first tube 7a (7b), which communicates with a chamber defined by the inner cylinder 2, and a second tube 8a (8b), which communicates with a chamber defined by the space between the inner cylnder to and outer cylinder 3. The opening of each of these tubes 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b can be sealed by a plug 9. Fig. 1 shows the tubes 8a and 8b arranged one at each end of the double-cylinder structure. It is to be appreciated that both tubes 8a and 8b can be arranged at the same end of the structure.

The semen injector 11 will now be described with reference to Fig. 2, which shows a holder pipe 12 made of stainless steel or the like, which has at its rear end a grip 13. The holder pipe has at one end a removable cylindrical member 1 5 having a bulge 16 at its free end. An injector tube 19 9 is screwed into the bulge 16 via screw threads 25. Thus the length 'I' of the injector tube 19 protruding from the cylindrical member 1 5 can be easily adjusted by altering the position of the tube 19 within the screw threads 25.

A connection pipe 18 contacts the grip 13 at a contacting surface 26. The connection pipe 18 is connected to one of the first tubes 7a or 7b of the packing members 4a, 4b- of the semen reservoir 1. A pump 10 (which in the embodiment shown is a manual pump) comprises a generally known type of rubber pouch and a pipe 1 Oa connected thereto as shown in Fig. 4.The pipe 1 Oa is connected to one of the first tubes 7a or 7b of the packing members 4a, 4b, so that the inner cylinder 2 can be pressurized.

In order to store semen in the above-described device, a semen collector is connected to one of the tubes 7a or 7b of the packing members 4a, 4b by removing the plug 9 from the selected tube, and the semen is charged into the inner cylinder chamber 2. After completion of this operation, the tube is again plugged. In the meanwhile, dialyzate is poured into the outer cylinder chamber 3 from one of the second tubes 8a or 8b. Thus,.

the supplied semen is encompassed by the dialyzate, with the dialysis film therebetween, so that the nutrient can pass through the film to the sperms. As the sperms are refrigerated at 15"C under such a sealed condition, they can be kept alive and active for as long as 7 to 8 days. Also, since no specific refrigerator is required, any ordinary domestic refrigerator can be used for preservation.

In order to perform insemination, the connection pipe 18 of the semen injector 11 is first connected to one of the first tubes 7a or 7b of the packing members 4a, 4b of a semen reservoir 1 which has just removed from a refrigerator. The other of the first tubes is connected to the pump 10. Then, with the semen reservoir 1 held by one hand of the operator or preferably suspended from the operator's neck, the holder pipe 12 of the semen injector 11 is inserted into the vagina 21 so that the cylindrical member 1 5 is inserted through the os uteri 22 into the cervical canal 23 as shown in Fig. 3.With the cylindrical member 1 5 kept within the cervical canal 23, the connection pipe is moved forwards by a length of about 3 to 4 cm so that the injector tube 1 9 projects out by a length 'I' from the cylindrical member 1 5 to advance deep into the uterine cavity 24. The pump 10 is operated to inject semen from the inner cylinder chamber 2 into the uterine cavity 24 through the injector tube 19. During this semen injection operation, the bulge 16 at the end of the cylindrical member 1 5 presses tightly against the wall of the cervical canal 23 to inhibit backflow of semen, allowing the whole supply of semen to be injected into the uterine cavity 24.

After completion of injection, the holder pipe 12 is pulled out of the vagina 21 and the cylindrical member 1 5 at the end thereof is removed to replace the injector tube 19 with a new one, and after setting it properly, the device is used for the next insemination operation.

Thus, the semen reservoir adopting the dialytic preservation method can be stored for a long time in an ordinary type of refrigerator, and in the insemination operation, the reservoir can immediately serve as a semen supply tank, allowing injection of semen with no risk of exposure to the outer air, thus eliminating the problem of mixing of sundry germs or degeneration of semen and also allowing easy preparation for the injection operation.

Further, owing to the prolongation of the semen shelf life, it is unnecessary to procure semen each time a sow comes into heat, and semen can be easily used whenever it is needed.

Further, since an end-bulged cylindrical portion is provided at the end of the holder pipe of the semen injector and the injector tube can be extended out by a desired length from the cylindrical portion, the injector tube can be inserted deep into the cervical canal with no risk of injuring the uterus by the device while preventing back flow of semen, so that the semen hving a high spermous activity, owing to dialytic preservation, can be sufficiently injected into the uterine cavity to improve the fertilization rate.

In addition, since the injector tube can be easily removed from the holder pipe and replaced with a new one after each use for injection operation, disinfection of the principal parts of the device is unnecessary to promote efficiency of the injection work, whilst always allowing a clean and hygenic insemination operation.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. An artificial insemination device corriprising two coaxial containers, an inner container for storing semen and an outer container, arranged around the inner container, for storing a semen nutrient, the inner container being made of a permeable material to allow passage of the semen nutrient from the second container to the first container, the containers beign sealed by a packing member at each end, one packing member having a tube which communicates with the inner container, and which is connected to a semen injector having projecting from its free end an adjustable replaceable injector tube, and the other packing member having a tube which communicates with the inner container and which is connected to a fluid-pressure actuated means for delivering semen from the inner container to the injector tube, and at least one of the packing members having a tube communicating with the outer container for supplying semen nutrient to the outer container. 2. An artificial insemination device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the containers are cylindrical. 3. An artificial insemination device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the semen nutrient is a dialyzate. 4. An artificial insemination device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the permeable material is a dialysis film. 5. An artificial insemination device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the outer container is made from a synthetic resin film. 6. An artificial insemination device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the resin film is polypropylene or vinyl. 7. An artificial insemination device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fluid pressure actuated means is a hand pump. 8. An artificial insemination device for livestock comprising: a seman reserving container of a double cylinder structure consisting of an inner cylinder made of a dialysis film and adapted to contain semen and an outer cylinder designed to contain dialyzate which is the nutrient source of the sperms, with both ends of said double cylindered structure being sealed by packing members provided with tubes communicating with said inner cylinder chamber and tubes communicating with said outer cylinder chamber; a semen injector comprising a connection pipe detachably connected to one of said tubes communicating with said inner cylinder chamber and also having connected at its end a replaceable injector tube, a holder pipe having fitted at one end a removable end-bulged cylindrical member through which said injector tube is extendable; and a pump detachable connected to the other of the tubes communicating with said inner cylinder chamber and adapted to supply semen under pressure from the inner cylinder chamber. 9. An artificial insemination device substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. CLAIMS (21 May 1981)

1. An artificial insemination storage device comprising (i) an inner container for storing semen and (ii) an outer container coaxial therewith and spaced round the inner container, for storing a semen nutrient, the inner container being made of a permeable material to allow passage of the semen nutrient from the outer container to the inner container, the containers being sealed at each end by a packing member, the packing member at a first end having a duct which communicates with the inner container and which is connectable to a semen injector, with the packing member at a second end having a duct which also communicates with the inner container and which is connectable to means actuated by fluid pressure, whereby semen may be expelled from the inner container via the duct at the fitst end, at least one of the packing members having a further duct communicating with the outer container for supplying semen nutrient to the outer container.

2. An artificial insemination storage device as claimed in claim 1, wherein both containers are cylindrical.

3. An artificial insemination storage device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the semen nutrient is a dialyzate.

4. An artificial insemination storage device as claimed in any one preceding claim, wherein the permeable material is a dialysis film.

5. An artificial insemination storage device as claimed in any one preceding claim, wherein the outer container is made from a synthetic resin.

6. An artificial insemination storage device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the resin is polypropylene or a polyvinyl compound.

7. An artificial insemination storage device as described in claim 1 and substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

8. An artificial insemination storage device as claimed in any one preceding claim in combination with a hand pump constituting the means actuated by fluid pressure, attached to the duct in the second end.

9. An artificial insemination storage device as claimed in any one preceding claim in combination with a semen injector attached to the duct in the first end.

1 0. A semen injector for use in artificial insemination, comprising a tubular body having projecting from a bulged end thereof a replaceable injector tube, a tubular body being provided with means whereby the position of the injector tube may be longitudinally adjusted.

11. A semen injector as claimed in claim 10, including a screw-threaded member operable to immobilise the replaceable injector tube in a desired adjusted location.

1 2. A semen injector as claimed in claim 11, wherein the screw-threaded member comprises an internally screw-threaded portion of the tubular body which engages with a matching externally screw-threaded portion on the injector tube, thereby both controlling the longitudinal adjustment of position of the injector tube and immobilising it against accidental movement.

1 3. A semen injector as claimed in claim 10, substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

14. The combination of a semen injector as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 1 3 with an artificial insemination storage device as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 7, having a flexible tube placing in communication the duct in the first end of the artificial insemination storage device with the semen injector at the other end of its tubular body from the bulged end.

1 5. An artificial insemination device for live stock comprising a semen reserving container of a double-cylinder structure consisting of an inner cylinder made of a dialysis film and adapted to contain semen and an outer cylinder designed to contain dialyzate which is the nutrient source of the sperms, with both ends of said double-cylindered structure being sealed by packing members provided with tubes communicating with said inner chamber and tubes communicating with said outer cylinder chamber; a semen injector comprising a connection pipe detachably connected to one of said tubes communicating with said inner cylinder chamber and also having connected at its end a replaceable injector tube, a holder pipe having fitted at one end a removable end-bulged cylindrical member through which said injector tube is extendible; and a pump detachably connected to the other of the tubes communicating with said inner cylinder chamber and adapted to supply semen under pressure from the inner cylinder chamber.