Butchering – Viscera processing – Venting or opening preparatory to eviscerating
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-03
2001-04-03
Little, Willis (Department: 3643)
Butchering
Viscera processing
Venting or opening preparatory to eviscerating
C452S121000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06210263
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to an apparatus for field dressing wild or domestic animals. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for coring out or dissecting the anal sphincter and mobilizing a rectum of an animal being field dressed.
Many people hunt large animals such as deer, elk and moose to harvest the meat. Soon after the animal is killed, the hunter must field dress the animal to keep the meat from becoming tainted. An animal is field dressed by cutting open the animal's abdominal cavity typically by making an incision on the underside of the animal from the rectal region to the ribs of the animal. Once the incision has been made, the major organs and intestines of the animal are removed.
In order to remove the large intestine, the rectum must be detached or mobilized from the rest of the animal's body. While field dressing the animal, the hunter does not want to puncture the wall of the intestine allowing the fecal matter to exit the intestine which will contaminate or taint the animal's flesh. Consequently, the hunter must use great care in detaching or mobilizing the rectum from the rest of the animal's body.
Typically, an animal is field dressed near the place where the animal is slain. Most animals such as deer, elk and moose are slain in their natural habitat which typically is an isolated, remote region. Since the animal is slain in an isolated and remote region there typically is no access to running water. When the fecal matter contacts the flesh of the animal, there is no way to rinse off the fecal matter from the animal's flesh. When fecal matter contacts the animal's flesh for an extended period of time, the animal's flesh will be tainted, making the meat inedible.
The rectal region of the animal is a difficult area to field dress. Typically, a hunter uses the same knife having a broad blade to both make the incision from the rectal area to the ribs and to dissect or mobilize the rectum from the body of the animal by cutting through the anal sphincter of the animal in a circumferential fashion. The anal sphincter is a strong muscle which is difficult to cut through, therefore considerable force is needed to dissect or sever the anal sphincter muscle. Additionally, the pelvic bone and the hind quarters of the animal provide little room in which a knife can be manipulated. Consequently, dissecting the anal sphincter muscle and mobilizing the rectum while field dressing an animal is a difficult and tedious process which can lead to the puncturing of the intestinal wall and contamination of the meat. This is necessary in wild or domestic animals.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention includes an apparatus for coring out or dissecting an anal sphincter and mobilizing a rectum of an animal where the apparatus includes a probe attached to a first surface of a support member. At least one knife blade is attached to the support member a fixed distance from the probe. The distance from the surface of the probe to the knife blade is greater than a thickness of a rectal wall.
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Kinney & Lange , P.A.
Little Willis
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