Pelvic bone splitter, particularly for deer

Details Pelvic bone splitter, particularly for deer Pelvic bone splitter, particularly for deer

2000-03-29

2001-08-28

Little, Willis (Department: 3643)

Butchering

Carcass subdivision

Cutting longitudinally through body or body portion

C030S173000, C030S257000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06280312

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a pelvic bone splitter and its method of use. The pelvic bone splitter is primarily used to sever the pelvic bone of most game animals such as deer. Splitting the pelvic bone opens the body cavity of the animal to facilitate the removal of digestive and excretory organs.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Hunters typically field-dress game animals near where the prey is felled. Failure to empty the body cavity of digestive and excretory organs promptly can cause the meat to have a strong, gamey taste or smell. However, hunters must take care not to cut or puncture any of those organs. Those organs contain contaminants such as urine, feces, or digestive fluids that can contaminate the meat.
Hunters often use hunting knives to field dress their game. While practical and convenient, hunting knives are generally ineffective for severing large bones. The obstacle presented by the pelvic bone often causes a hunter to unintentionally cut or puncture an organ, exposing the meat to contaminants.
Because splitting the pelvic bone reduces the risk of accidental contamination, hunters employ various tools and methods to split the pelvic bone. Some try to cleave the bone using an axe. Others use a rock to strike the back edge of a knife blade while holding the sharpened edge against the bone. Still others use saws. Each of those tools and methods has drawbacks.
Using a rock to strike a knife blade is both dangerous and difficult. Personal injury or inadvertent contamination may occur. An axe is cumbersome, heavy, and sharp. Its use could also lead to personal injury or inadvertent contamination. A saw is safer to use, but may still lead to inadvertent contamination. Using a saw is slow and requires substantial effort. It is also sharp and cumbersome to carry.
Pelvic bone splitting tools that rely on impact from an integral sliding weight are safer and more effective. Their main disadvantage, however, is the weight of the tool. To deliver a blow sufficient to sever a pelvic bone, the weight must be substantial. The substantial weight can be a burden for a hunter to bear.
Pelvic bone splitting tools that employ a shaft with a cutting blade hinged to an anvil shaft are also safe and effective. Their main disadvantage, however, is the length of the shafts needed to provide sufficient mechanical advantage makes the tool cumbersome to carry.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention addresses these and other shortcomings in the art by providing a pelvic bone splitting tool which pivots about a center fulcrum. In a first embodiment, the tool or splitter includes a lower grip handle formed as a unitary piece with an upper jaw. The grip handle includes finger-receiving indentations, and the upper jaw may include a cutting blade. The tool further includes an upper or palm handle formed as a unitary piece with a lower jaw, and the palm handle and the lower jaw maybe joined together by an angled connecting piece. The lower jaw includes a splitting blade, which may be removable from the tool.
In another embodiment, the upper handle/lower jaw combination and lower handle/upper jaw combination may be nearly mirror images of one another. These combinations are joined together at a rotating pivot which preferably forms a smoothly rotating joint. The tool may include a saw blade articulated into one of the handles, and a combination knife blade and gut hook articulated into the other handle. Further, the handle/jaw elements may themselves be articulated to provide a minimum form factor for ease of transporting the tool by a hunter.


REFERENCES:
patent: 882781 (1908-03-01), Gerpin
patent: 2858609 (1958-11-01), Hill
patent: 4905350 (1990-03-01), Gardner
patent: 4964216 (1990-10-01), Gosselin
patent: 5108343 (1992-04-01), Gilliam
patent: 5453043 (1995-09-01), Monson
patent: 5690548 (1997-11-01), Jones et al.

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