Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
Description
Field of the Invention
The present work relates to the scorpion venom extraction, it aims towards an
important production of the
precious substance, enhanced with the deployment of a live scorpion cartridge
and a fully automatic
system. This guarantees a safe, efficient and high-quality production without
injuring the scorpion nor
exposing the human life to high-risk situations related to the scorpion or
venom manipulation.
The invention possesses numerous benefits and advantages over known scorpion
venom collecting
systems, In particular, the invention is based on a permanent live scorpion
cartridge in which the human
interaction with the scorpion is reduced to the maximum and almost canceled.
Additionally , the cancelation of the human hand guarantees a better quality
venom by the automation of
the special collection mechanism implemented in the present work.
The hygiene of the scorpion is ensured by the cartridge, such that the
scorpion's body is preserved away
from dirt, therefore the time and effort of the cleaning process in the prior
inventions are also avoided.
Moreover, the scorpion will spend a long period of time encapsulated and fed
automatically, without
compromising the scorpion's life as multiple environmental measurements are
being collected regarding
the scorpion living space, and that happens each time the scorpion cartridge
is in the machine.
The use of a Venturi effect-based mechanism to feed the scorpion inside the
cartridge without the need of
opening the cartridge manually or getting the scorpion out of the cartridge is
by its turn another innovative
feature.
In addition, the scorpion telson positioning on the top of the venom container
is made fully automatic
using the multipurpose stimulation mechanism which is one of the extra new
features that overcome the
prior known similar devices.
Furthermore, the stimulator based on electrical and mechano-acoustic
vibrations that generate enough
harmless stress to the scorpion and trigger more than one scorpion sense at
the time, consequently
enhancing the effectiveness of the venom productivity.
Furthermore, the scorpion cartridge itself represents a reusable low-cost
device equipped with a unique
radio frequency identifier (RFID) for massive production traceability, at the
same time it's easy to
fabricate.
A practical example can involve the use of multiple live scorpion cartridges
in form of horizontal rack
delivered via conveyer and getting multiple multipurpose stimulation
mechanisms working in parallel, so
each individually stimulated scorpion drops its venom inside a container, then
finally gathering everything
in a single bigger container resulting in an important high-quality
production.
Description Of Prior Art
Since a long time ago venom was a subject of investigation especially in
eastern civilization, mainly used
in ancient rituals and nowadays in medicine. The scorpion venom particularly
is one of the most
interesting substances of modern scientific research.
Therefore, many try to find the best way to collect the precious liquid. The
recorded patents related to the
development of scorpion venom extraction devices are listed chronologically as
follows:
CN-2030802-U a patent entitled "Scorpion venom extracting device" published on
18/01/1989; this device
is based on electrical stimulation with light and sound simulation .
CN-2031605-U a patent entitled "Extractor for continual extraction of
scorpion's poison" published on
01/02/1989, the device uses electric stimulation theory: two elastic metal
sheets are used , fixed on two
supporting seats to be used as electrodes of an electric stimulation
instrument, so that scorpion poison is
continually extracted.
CN-2042666-U a patent entitled "Scorpion venom extraction instrument"
published on 16/08/1989, this
patent is introducing the concept of electrical signal tuning via an
oscillating circuit, and voltage
amplification output circuit, and using a venom extraction electrodes.
CN-2043047-U a patent entitled "Collection device for scorpion venom"
published on 23/08/1989, in this
patent some of the tuning parameters are fixed in range and extra components
are added to generate a
particular stimulating signal such as frequency of an oscillator between 150-
500HZ, and the duty cycle of
20-80%, the idea of the electrodes is maintained from the CN-2042666-U patent
CN-2043823-U a patent entitled "Scorpion 's poison collect rack" published on
06/09/1989, in this patent
CA 3065184 2019-12-14
the concept of the electrode that has a storage ability embedded in its pen-
like body and the scorpion
venom is stored directly after the stimulation, the stimulation itself is
electrically-based similar to the
antecedent invention
CN-2045575-U a patent entitled "Collecting unit for scorpion venom" published
on 11/10/1989, this patent
represents an upgraded design version of the CN-2043823-U
CN-2049116-U a patent entitled "Scorpion 's poison extractor 13/12/1989, this
patent suggests a new
parameter for the stimulating signal but designed with integrated circuits
rather than the transistor classic
oscillating circuit used in the previous inventions such as the CN-2042666-U
patent. This patent
suggested an amplitude of 12 volts and 24 volts and a frequency of 128 hertz,
can output a sine wave
stimulus signal with the alternating current of 36 volts and the frequency of
50 hertz and can convert the
signals into a continuous stimulus signal with an output interval of 1 second
to 2 seconds.
CN-2076826-U a patent entitled "Scorpion venom gathering unit" published on
15/05/1991, in this
invention is suggesting to put multiple scorpions between a piece of glass and
a conductive grid mounted
on a frame and stimulate the scorpions at once with an electrical signal
leading the venom to be
deposited on the same piece of glass which is fixing the scorpions.
CN-2333183-Y a patent entitled "Automatic scorpion poison extracting
apparatus" published on
18/08/1999,this patent represents a new concept to the scorpion collecting
devices with a special trap
activated when the scorpion crosses the apparatus photoelectric, the trap is
triggered by photoelectric
leading an electrical magnet to block the scorpion movement and triggers the
electrical stimulation, the
venom is guided to bottle via a groove, the scorpion will be released after a
given time.
CN-2529511-Y a patent entitled "High pureness scorpion venom extracting
equipment" published on
08/01/2003, in this patent, the electrodes are replaced with a conductive
clamp and a lead, the
electroshock is triggered with a foot pedal switch and the venom is carried
away via a vacuum pump
connected to the venom gland.
CN-101336622-A a patent entitled "Scorpion electric venom collecting device
and method" published on
07/01/2009, This invention is mainly the optimization of the CN-2031605-U by
substituting the electrodes
with special clamps suitable for holding in hand and adapted to the Buthus
Martensi Karsch scorpion the
stimulation is electric and the tuning signal concept is reintroduced as
mentioned previously in the CN-
2043047-U patent
CN-201243556-Y a patent entitled "Electronic toxin-collecting device of Buthus
Martensi Karsch"
published on 27/05/2009, this patent is mainly an update of CN-101336622-A
patent in which its concept
has been introduced previously is the same.
CN-203243839-U a patent entitled "Scorpion venom extracting device" published
on 23/10/2013, this
patent discloses a scorpion venom extracting device which comprises a
transformer, a switch, and a
conductive clamp, wherein a positive wire and a negative wire are wound onto
two clamp heads of the
conductive clamp respectively, the transformer is connected with the mains
supply, the positive electrode
output end of the transformer is electrically connected with the positive wire
through the switch, and the
negative electrode output end of the transformer is electrically connected
with the negative wire.
CN-102308775-B a patent entitled "Scorpion venom extractor" published on
13/11/2013, is a patent that
discusses an invention includes a base, a collector funnel, icebox, the
conductive mesh, and the
conductive mesh outer glass tube and vibration components. By using the glass
tube vibration and odor
insect diet glass tube vibrations emitted by a suction scorpion the scorpion
tail automatically extends into
contact with the outer conductive line grid into the conductive mesh of
electrical shock to achieve
discharge of scorpion venom extraction.
CN-103767181-A a patent entitled "Extracting and operating method for glove
special for collecting
scorpion venom" published on 07/05/2014, This invention is based on electrical
stimulation of the
scorpion , in this invention, the electrodes are mounted on special glove
acting as electrodes, in other
words, the concept of electrode in CN-2042666-U is enhanced, where the signal
type is the same of the
stimulation signal parameter mentioned in CN-2049116-U
CN-203675883-U a patent entitled "Continuous and automatic scorpion venom
extracting device"
published on 02/07/2014, This invention discloses automatic scorpion venom
extracting device in which
the scorpions are in a control boxes passing through a sequence of devices:
the washing device, the
absorption device, the drying device and the venom extracting device based on
electric stimulation.
CN-203952166-U a patent entitled "Scorpion venom extracting device" published
on 26/11/2014, in this
invention 2 layers of springs grids are used to host the scorpions, the
springs are metallic and used as
electrodes to stimulate the scorpions in between the layers.
CA 3065184 2019-12-14
CN-204350854-U a patent entitled "Scorpion venom extracting device" published
on 27/05/2015, in this
invention the signal used for the scorpion stimulation system is updated, in
this invention the same
parameters of the signal mentioned earlier in the CN-2049116-U patent is
mentioned a signal around 10-
12V and a frequency of 128 Hz, however in this invention the electronics are
based on a microcontroller
and the device has an LCD display, as well the electronic is optimized and the
stimulation is electrical and
generated by a pulse booster and controlled via the PMW generated from the
microcontroller.
CN-103798192-B a patent entitled "One kind of scorpion venom continuous
automatic extraction device
and extraction method" published on 05/08/2015, Is an updated version of
CN102308775B
MA-38892-A1 a patent entitled "An automatic extraction of scorpion venom"
published on 30/04/2018, this
invention intends to hold the scorpion to undergo an electrical discharge with
parameters suitable for each
scorpion species, and this device is connected to the computer via a
microcontroller-based board.
CN-108552118-A a patent entitled "A kind of scorpion carries the malicious
machine" published on
21/09/2018, this patent represents an invention that includes an automatic
loading scorpion system onto a
rotating mechanism allowing retrieving the venom via electrical stimulation
into a frozen container and
releasing after the scorpion in a lower bucket.
Even if several inventions have been made regarding the subject of the venom
collection they don't solve
the issue of the massive production properly, while safety has been always a
subject of concern.
Many inventions proclaim the ability to solve the issue of massive production,
but some side effects are
neglected.
For example, the scorpions are well known for a cannibalism attitude so
realizing such a similar system to
the invention registered as CN-108552118-A can lead to undesirable mortality
among the scorpions just
released by the machine, especially after being stressed out by stimulation.
An important number of previous inventions are related only to the signal
generation and not a global
solution such as CN-2049116-U and CN-204350854-U.
Other previous techniques such as the one deployed in CN-2529511-Y cannot be
applied to massive
production ,where handling the scorpion is hazardous and may cause disasters.
Some scorpions have strong tail muscles so invention like the CN-103767181-A
is not desirable since the
scorpion will move aggressively when stimulated and it can be risky, also
grabbing many scorpions may
lead to the fatigue of the human hands and per consequence can cause a
scorpion falling off the user's
hands.
The invention registered as CN-103798192-B is a good approach for the problem,
however, it has some
features that need improvement like the scorpion packaging and others can be
avoided like the cleaning
and drying the scorpion to gain more in speed.
The traceability is an essential feature for the massive production of the
venom, especially knowing that a
huge number of scorpions are required to produce a small venom quantity,
however, no prior invention
proposed a practical efficient solution to the exploited scorpion 's tracking.
Though such devices have been implemented, interest rise and scientific
progress made about the
scorpion venom usage in medicine created more demand of the substance; there
has been a continuous
need for improving safely the venom productivity, there has been a continuous
need for safely improving
the venom productivity.
Summary of the Invention
The invention consists of an automatic venom collector with a live scorpion
cartridge designed for high-
quality massive production of the scorpion venom that allows keeping the human
safe without injuring the
scorpion.
This invention is made of several elements working together in harmony
attached to an interface board
and governed by a computer system. The idea is to use a cartridge with a
living scorpion inside and a
moving multipurpose stimulation mechanism crosses that cartridge to correct
positioning of the scorpion
tail in such way that scorpion telson matches exactly the top of a venom
container located in an automatic
venom collector in front of the moving part.
Since the cartridge used is permanent, a complementary mechanism for feeding
the scorpion is deployed
; the transportation of the cartridges is made automatic for safety and
rapidity insured with a conveying
system.
The live scorpion cartridge is a box-like shaped rigid element designed to
host a live scorpion in its
cavitations, the cartridge allows the scorpion to live the maximum possible
period packaged inside during
CA 3065184 2019-12-14
all its exploitation period where it will be fed and stimulated. The idea is
to hold the scorpion body in a
separate manner in a way that the scorpion tail can be managed easily by an
automated process. Each
cartridge can be uniquely identified through an RFID Tag installed in the back
right of it.
The scorpion body is fixed inside the cartridge using a holding plate. The
holding plate has a curved
bottom edge for grabbing the scorpion from its mesosoma and fixing it through
the cartridge without
hurting the scorpion in such a manner that the scorpion body will be located
in 2 places, the pre-abdomen
will be in the scorpion living area while the post-abdomen will be in the tail
area, As per result in the
movement forward and backward of the scorpion 's body is neutralized by the
holding plate and locked
inside the cartridge.
The living area is cavitation located in the middle-low front of the cartridge
with a height of few millimeters
above the scorpion body and width large enough just to let the scorpion use
its clamps freely for grabbing
food. However, the tail area is another cavitation located in the center of
the cartridge rear where the
height and depth are equal and the same to the metastoma size so the telson
can be pulled out, the width
of the tail area is just a few millimeters larger than the post-abdomen
permitting the scorpion to retract
and elongate its tail but the lateral movements are restricted.
The scorpion tail area is secured with a security gate located in the back of
the cartridge and prevents the
telson to be out, and the living area has a front door to keep the insect used
inside for feeding, as well as
it can be a trap for the scorpion in case the holding plate fails.
Used to host the instrumentation, another cavitation is made in the cartridge
body located above the
scorpion living area with the same width as this last and depth just enough to
make a connection between
the front of the cartridge and the tail area.
In order to feed the scorpion and collect the environmental data of the living
area, An auto-closing internal
sliding door is placed on the top of the scorpion 's clamps, this door uses
the instruments cavitation as a
sliding rail and closes automatically by 2 lateral springs hosted in special
cylindrical cavitation located in
its back, this door has a flipped upside-down U shape and each of the U ends
cover a gap, the left one
used for feeding the scorpion while the right one is used for getting sensors
in contact with the living
space of the scorpion.
When in use the live scorpion cartridges are lined up on a conveyor that will
move them one by one in
front of a multipurpose stimulation mechanism in order to extract the venom,
feed the scorpion and take
the needed measurements inside the living scorpion 's area.
The multipurpose stimulation mechanism is a rod-like element designed to fit
the cavitation above the
scorpion 's living area, this mechanism moves through a transmission piece
bonded to a linear actuator
and uses a fixed guiding rack to penetrate the cartridge at the exact
location.
The multipurpose stimulation mechanism has 2 main parts: a stimulation part
that has the same width as
the tail hosting area which is responsible for elongating the tail and
performing the stimulation. However,
the part of the electronic instruments is a part with the same upper
cavitation width, and is responsible of
feeding and measuring.
The stimulation part is equipped with 10 squared separate metallic pieces
located in its bottom face,
those metallic pieces represent 5 anodes and 5 cathodes aligned one by one
alternatively to increase the
contact probability with the scorpion tail, this part includes also a tiny
electric vibration source.
The electronic instruments part has 2 holes both are in the bottom front, one
in the right used to collect
data and another one in the left used to feed the scorpion . The one used to
feed the scorpion is
connected with a guiding tube hosted inside the electronics instruments part
and extends through its
back.
When the multipurpose stimulation mechanism moves inside the cartridge the
stimulation part goes in
front and its width allows it to pass smoothly through the internal gate and
reaches the tail area where it
starts shaping the scorpion 's post-abdomen, however, electronic instruments
part larger in width will
move the internal U shaped body and reveals the gaps used for feeding and
measuring.
Once the multipurpose stimulator fully in position, the post-abdomen will be
totally fixed between the
bottom of the tail area and the stimulation part, at this stage, stimulator
electrodes enter in contact with
scorpion 's metastoma, and the telson will be totally exposed at the back of
the cartridge.
At this moment, the internal door will be fully opened and the electronic
instruments' body holes will be
matching the holes on the cartridge, so the food injection and data collection
are made be possible,
however, the insect will not move alone, therefore, a feeding mechanism is
deployed, this last is working
based on the Venturi effect theory, its role is to propel a living insect with
the minimum injuries into the
scorpion 's living area allowing it to grab the insect and eat it just like
prey.
CA 3065184 2019-12-14
The feeding system has a venturi pump with enough big section to suck an
insect and avoid smashing it
against the pump wall, the air is sourced out from an air blower to keep the
pressure low and at the same
time ensure the airflow circulation necessary for the sucking to occur, the
insect will be delivered passing
by a flexible hose then the multipurpose stimulating mechanism to end up in
the scorpion 's clamps, an
infrared detector installed in the end of the guiding tube is used to ensure
that the insect is properly
injected.
On the side, the scorpion 's telson revealed by the multipurpose stimulation
mechanism will be located on
the top of the venom container made of glass, the container itself mounted on
an automatic collecting
mechanism.
The automatic venom collecting mechanism is principally a fixed part located
just behind the cartridge its
main role is to gather the venom droplets as efficiently as possible when the
stimulation occurs.
The automatic venom collector has a front wall that maintains the cartridge in
position and avoids the
cartridge to fall from the conveyor when the multipurpose stimulation
mechanism is moving, the wall has
also the role of a support for an RFID reader that is used to detect the
cartridge presence in front and
further to identify the cartridge and help the computer matching the sensors
data with each corresponding
cartridge.
Before starting the stimulation of the scorpion 's venom gland, the automatic
venom collector checks the
presence of the venom container by a sensor under the container holder, and
then a servomotor installed
in the lower part of the mechanism adjusts the venom's container in a
perpendicular position to prepare it
for receiving the venom.
Once the stimulation triggered, the mechano-acoustic vibrations are generated
by the stimulator body and
a specific electrical signal is sent through the electrodes to the scorpion
post-abdomen, the vibrations
help the sticky venom droplet to fall inside the venom container while the
servomotor makes the venom
container internal wall touch the scorpion sting and recover the venom droplet
completely. During the
stimulation, after gathering the environmental data an insect is injected.
Later when the stimulation stops, the multipurpose stimulation mechanism comes
back to its initial
position and so the cartridge is set free, while the scorpion is moved by the
conveyer to rest, the
servomotor shack gently the venom container driving so the venom droplet to
the bottom, a new cartridge
takes place and a new cycle can start.
Later when the stimulation stops, the multipurpose stimulation mechanism comes
back to its initial
position and the cartridge is set free, while the scorpion is moved by the
conveyer to rest, the servomotor
shack gently the venom container driving the venom droplet to the bottom, a
new cartridge takes place
and a new cycle can start.
The collected venom can be gathered in the same container then retrieved
securely by making the
container holder turn to an angle like 300 to the back where the container can
be retrieved with security.
The scorpion cartridges sent for rest will be stored in a special conditioning
space with a controlled
internal climate suitable for the scorpions' species used inside the
cartridge, after the rest period that
allows the generation of new venom dose the cartridge can be reused.
Brief Description of the Drawings
FIG.1 shows a global view of the automatic venom collector with a live
scorpion cartridge in position.
FIG.2 shows an isometric top view of the multipurpose stimulation mechanism.
FIG.3 shows an isometric bottom view of the multi-purpose stimulation
mechanism.
FIG.4 shows a sketch view of the feeding mechanism.
FIG.5 shows an isometric front view of a live scorpion cartridge.
FIG.6 shows an isometric rear view of a live scorpion cartridge.
FIG.7 shows an isometric front view revealing the multiple components of a
typical scorpion cartridge of
Figures 5-6.
FIG.8 shows a cut of the scorpion cartridge with a scorpion inside.
FIG.9 shows a cut of the scorpion cartridge with a scorpion inside and the
multipurpose stimulation
mechanism in position.
FIG.10 shows an isometric front view of the collecting mechanism.
FIG.11 shows an isometric rear view of the collecting mechanism.
FIG.12 shows a diagram of the interface board connectivity with the rest of
the devices.
CA 3065184 2019-12-14
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
The invention is an automatic venom collector with a live scorpion cartridge
designed for high-quality
massive production keeping safe the human and without harming the animal. In
the particularly
advantageous embodiment of the invention illustrated as per the following
figures:
The FIG.1 is a global view of the automatic venom collector system, referred
to the FIG.1 it is composed
of: multipurpose stimulation mechanism 1, live scorpion cartridge 6 and an
automatic venom collector 7,
in the right side of drawing the parts of the scorpion feeding system, are
shown.
The multipurpose stimulation mechanism 1 is a moving part that moves forward
and backward via a
motion transmission piece 2 connected to a linear actuator 3 as shown in this
embodiment, the motion of
the multipurpose stimulation mechanism 1 is guided with a rack 4 installed on
a fixed metallic frame 5
made preferably of aluminum.
The motion transmission part 2 has also the role of a stand for the
multipurpose stimulation part 1 while
the rack 4 and the linear actuator 3 are supported by the metallic frame 5 to
ensure the correct level with
the live scorpion cartridge 6 and the collecting unit 7.
The multipurpose stimulation mechanism 1, live scorpion cartridge 6 and the
collecting mechanism 7
must be positioned in perfect alignment ( horizontally and vertically), so the
cartridge 6 is placed on the
top of a conveyor belt 8 which aligns it horizontally with the rest of the
system's elements, while the
vertical alignment is ensured by the conveyor's stand 9.
The metallic frame 5 is located in parallel to the collecting unit 7
additionally to its contribution to the
stability it is also used for the alignment of the multipurpose stimulator 1
movements through the cartridge
6.
An air hose 11 is linking the feeding mechanism parts, coming from the venturi
pump 12 to the
multipurpose stimulation part 1, the venturi pump is connected by its turn to
an air blower 13 via a flexible
hose 11 from one side and to an insect container 14 from # the other side,
with the purpose of sucking a
live insect from the container 14 and propelling it into the scorpion
cartridge 6 via the stimulation
mechanism 1.
The entire mechanisms are linked to a computer system via an electronics
interface board located in the
electronics case 15.
The FIG 2 & 3: are showing more details about the multipurpose stimulation
mechanism 1 described
earlier in FIG.1 so the FIG.2 shows an isometric top view, while FIG.3 is the
isometric bottom view.
The multipurpose stimulation mechanism 1 as shown is composed of stimulation
part 16 located in the
front, followed by an electronic instrument part 17.
The stimulation part 16 is characterized by being narrow and its front has a
paraboloid curvature in order
to guide the scorpion telson without injuries, multiple metallic plates made
of inoxidizable act like
electrodes 18 are located under the stimulator part 16 used for the electrical
stimulation of the scorpion, a
high-frequency vibration generator 19 is embedded in the stimulator part 16
close to the junction with the
electronic instruments part 17, the vibration generator 19 is used to generate
a mechano-acoustic
stimulation to stress out the scorpion without exposing it to powerful
electroshocks.
The electronic instruments part 17 has an embedded humidity and temperature
sensors 20 in the lower
front right side, allowing the acquisition of the environmental data inside
the cartridge 6.
To ensure the injection of the food (Live insect) into cartridge 6 a guiding
tube 21 is implemented inside
the part of the electronic instruments 17. The guiding tube 21 has an inlet 22
in the back left side of the
multipurpose stimulation mechanism 1 and an outlet 23 in the lower front left
side of the part of the
electronic instruments 17, the infrared detector 24 is located just in the
guiding tube 21 outlet 23.
The multipurpose stimulation mechanism 1 is connected to the electronics case
15 through a multi-core
flexible cable attached in the electronic instruments part 17 at the cable
plug 25 located in the rear right.
The FIG.4 represents a cut view illustrating the feeding mechanism.
The feeding mechanism works thanks to the venturi effect, so venturi pump 12
sucks live insects 26 from
a special container of insects 15 through the creation of a differential
pressure created whenever the air
blower 13 starts flowing the air into the flexible hoses 11, that way the
insect body is not damaged by the
physical forces.
The flexible hose 11 coming from the Venturi pump 12 that is linked with a
seal 27 to the inlet 22 of the
guiding tube 21, the infrared detector 24 gives feedback on the number of
insects injected in the cartridge
6, and so the computer can issue an order to stop of the feeding when the
targeted number of insects to
pass is reached.
CA 3065184 2019-12-14
The FIG 5 & 6: are demonstrating the external details about the live scorpion
cartridge 6 described
previously in FIG.1, Where the FIG.5 shows an isometric front view, and FIG.6
shows an isometric rear
view.
A scorpion cartridge 6 is made of a rigid non-toxic Thermo insulating
material, the cartridge 6 as
represented in FIG 5 and FIG 6 consists of body 28 with three main
cavitations, two in the front and one
in the back.
The frontal cavitations are the scorpion living area 29 which hosts the main
scorpion body (pre-abdomen)
located in the bottom and the stimulation mechanism's cavitation 30 located
just top of the scorpion living
area 29.
The back cavitation is the scorpion tail's area 31 that hosts the scorpion's
post-abdomen, the movement
of post-abdomen up and down is free where the movement in both sides (right
and left) is limited with the
side walls 32. The scorpion tail will be elongated on the bottom wall 33 and
exceeds the cartridge body 28
during the venom extraction time.
The integrated RFID tag 34 is located to the back of the cartridge in order to
make each cartridge
uniquely identifiable and traceable.
The associated elements of cartridge main body 28 are mentioned bellow:
(a) A front gate 35 which is a rigid plate separating the scorpion's living
area 29 of the external world,
avoiding therefore the insects used for feeding to escape as well as for the
scorpion in case of holding
plate 36 fails, a rectangular stimulator mechanism window 37 is located in the
center of the front gate 35
to allow the stimulator mechanism 1 to penetrate, this gate is fixed in the
front sliding rail 38.
(b) A security gate 39 is a blind plate used to forbid the sting being
exposed by mistake consequently
making the cartridge 6 fully secure when displacing with a living scorpion
inside, the security gate 39 fits
in the back of the cartridge body 28 at the security gate emplacement 13.
(c) A holding plate 36 is a rigid plate used to fix the scorpion movement
forward and backward from
the scorpion's mesosoma, this plate 36 has a small circular cut 41 in middle-
lower edge allowing the
scorpion body to fit exactly and so fix its movement properly without injuring
the animal, a smaller window
42 is located in the center of the holding plate 36 allows the stimulator 16
to penetrate to the tail space
31, the holding plate 36 fits in at the holding plate location 43.
(d) An inner gate 44 is a block that allows the live insect to be injected
into the scorpion living area 29
and to take internal measurements, this gate 44 can only be pushed with a
stimulator mechanism1 and it
opens completely only when this mechanism 1 is fully inserted in the cartridge
6.
The FIG.7 shows more details on the cartridge internal components already
described from the external
perspective with FIG.5 and FIG.6.
The form of inner gate 44 already introduced with the FIG.5 is shown to be a
flipped up-side-down U
shaped element, this gate 44 moves only when the electronic instrument's body
17 is in place and the
inner gate 44 closes automatically with lateral springs 45 installed on its
back ensuring the proper sealing
of the scorpion living area 29, the springs have a special cavitation 46 to
fit into the cartridge body 28.
The scorpion living area 29 is accessible from the top after the inner gate 44
gets opened via a
measurement window 47 and feeding window 48, the inner gate 44 movement
controls both accesses at
the same time.
The scorpion living area 29 has a build-in pillow 49 used as support for the
scorpion body especially to
allow the stimulator part 16 to better touch the scorpion tail when it is
elongated on the lower tail's area
wall 33.
The FIG.8 & FIG.9: show how the scorpion occupies its place in the cartridge
29 and how it is affected by
the multipurpose stimulating mechanism 1.
Starting with FIG.8: that shows a cut view of the scorpion cartridge 6 with a
scorpion inside before the
multipurpose stimulation mechanism 1 is in position, the FIG.8 shows the
scorpion body occupying the
proper emplacements in the cartridge 6, the scorpion post-abdomen is in the
tail area 31 and the scorpion
pre-abdomen is in the living area 29, the scorpion itself is fixed by the
holding plate 36. The front 35 and
the inner gate 44 are both closed. It can be noticed that the scorpion can
move its legs and clamps with
certain liberty allowing it to grab insects to eat, while the tail is allowed
to move up and down with
restricted lateral movements. The build-in pillow 49 allows better comfort for
the scorpion and doesn't let
its abdomen hanged.
Next, the FIG.9 shows the same perspective of the scorpion cartridge 6
illustrated in the FIG.8 but with
the multipurpose stimulating mechanism 1 in its position. Once the
multipurpose stimulation mechanism 1
is pushed inside the live scorpion cartridge 6, the scorpion tail will
lengthen proportionally to the
CA 3065184 2019-12-14
penetration level and get more and more fixed between the tail bottom wall 33
and the electrodes 18
located under the stimulator part 16, the scorpion telson 50 is pushed out of
the tail area 31. The inner
gate 44 is opened allowing the delivery of the live insect directly into the
scorpion living space 29, and the
sensors to read the environmental data around the scorpion body. At that
level, the scorpion is ready to
receive the stimulation.
The FIG 10 & 11: are showing details about the collecting mechanism 7
described previously in FIG.1,
Where the FIG.10 shows an isometric front view, and FIG.11 shows an isometric
rear view.
The automatic collecting mechanism 7 is a fixed part of this invention however
it has a moving part that
allows the maximum venom collection. This mechanism is designed to gather the
venom directly from the
scorpion's telson 50 which is stimulated when it is on the top the container
51, the container 51 itself is
carried on a container holding piece 52.
The venom container 51 a container made of glass, generally have the shape of
a test tube, it fits exactly
a special holder 52 having the same shape attached to the container holder 52
which is a moving part
that keeps the venom container 51 in the appropriate position.
The automatic collecting mechanism 7 has a fixed body 10 located directly
behind the cartridge 6, this
mechanism has a cubic shape with a perpendicular front wall 53, the body 10
includes a free space 54 for
the swing of the moving part.
The frontal wall 53 has an RFID reader 55 fixed to it used to identify the
cartridge in front, as well as
infrared sensor 56 that allows the verification of the correct positioning of
the telson 50 on the top of the
container 51, where the servomotor 57 is fixed in the bottom of the body 10
and it permits the precise
swinging of the moving parts, a large holding pin 58 allows to create extra
swinging stability.
Moving parts are allowing the venom to be gathered completely, it swings over
an axis, it includes a glass
venom container 51, a container holder 52 and container detector 60.
The FIG.12 shows an illustrative diagram of the interface connectivity board
with the rest of the devices.
It's an illustrative diagram of the control layout of the basic automatic
system implemented in this
invention showing the different inputs and outputs, its location in the system
and how are they linked to
the interface board used to allow the interaction between the computer and the
rest of the mechanism in
order to fully govern the system activities sequence.
Although the invention has been described in connection with a preferred
embodiment, it should be
understood that various modifications, additions, and alterations may be made
to the invention by one
skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention as defined in the appended
claims.
CA 3065184 2019-12-14
