AU540308B2 - Improvements in animal ear tags - Google Patents

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN ANIMAL EAR TAGS

This invention relates to an animal ear tag and it refers particularly to a two-piece ear tag of the self-piercing type comprising a male member and a female member the latter having an opening to receive the head of a stem of the male member, the stem head being capable of forming an opening in the ear of an animal to which the tag is to be attached, and one of said members having a tag of suitable size and shape to carry indicia to show ownership and/or other information.

It has been proposed to provide such ear tags and plier-like applicators for the tags - see Goldberg Australian Patent Specification No. 58854/65 and Murphy and Burford Australian No. 457448. In such applicators there is a pin of relatively small diameter onto which the male member is placed, the outer end of the pin extending through the male member , and the outer end of the pin effects the initial operation of piercing the ear. The stem of the male member is then forced through the opening to extend the opening and pass through the ear and into the opening in the female member, the stem of the male member having a head of enlarged size which acts to hold the two members in assembled relationship on opposite sides of an animal's ear once it has passed through the opening in the female member.

In the said Australian Patent Specification No. 457448 the stem of the male member is described as having at its outer end a flange and at that flanged end a hollow spike of hard material through which the end of the pin projects, as mentioned above.

The Goldberg Specification 58854/65 describes a male member made of relatively rigid material and the Murphy and Burford specification 457448 describes a male member of softer material having a hard metal insert at the outer end of the stem.

In both these proposed constructions the pin (of the applicator pliers) for holding the male member is of relatively small diameter and is long enough to project right through the male member and beyond the outer end of its stem, and it is believed that, in use, the pin would tend to bend so that it would no longer operate correctly to force the head of the stem (including the hollow spike in the latter case) through the opening of the female member. Also, as the end of the pin penetrates the ears of successive animals it is clear that cross-infection can occur. Further, the two members of the tag may be pressed together, tightly on opposite sides of the ear, so as to prevent a free circulation of air about the opening which has been made in the ear of the animal, and that can lead to infection. This invention has been devised with the object of providing an ear tag of the same general type as described and illustrated in the two said patent specifications, and applicator pliers for use in applying the ear tags, which will not possess the disadvantages mentioned above.

Another object is to provide an ear tag of the type mentioned wherein the two members, when fitted together, will be held in spaced-apart relationship such that there can be a circulation of air between the animal's ear and the parts of the tag, and wherein once the two parts are assembled it will be very difficult to pull them apart.

The constructions of ear tag previously proposed and described in the Australian Specifications Nos. 58854/65 and 457448 effect a piercing and spreading apart of the flesh of the ears to which the tags are applied and do not form clear-cut openings in the ears. Yet another object of this invention is to provide an ear tag which will cut an opening in the ear to which it is applied, such that the cut will heal more readily than a pierced opening.

A further object is to provide an ear tag of the type mentioned having a male tag member of polyurethane or other relatively soft material and a hard- ened spike or pointed head at the outer end of the stem of that male member which is adapted to fit on a pin (of the applicator pliers) shorter and of larger diameter than hitherto provided, and which will be more economical to make and lend itself more readily to mass production procedures than that described in specification 457448.

A still further object is to provide an applicator for ear tags of the type mentioned which will not possess the disadvantages mentioned above, particularly those associated with a pin of relatively small diameter and substantial length, and which will not lead to cross- infection from one animal to another.

The invention devised with these and other objects in view provides an ear tag of the type mentioned consisting of a male member and a female member, wherein the male member has a hollow stem with a shoulder near its outer end, a short neck extending outwardly of the shoulder, and a solid pointed head member engaged in the neck so that a tapered outer end part of the head projects beyond the neck, the maximum transverse cross-sectional area of the tapered outer end part being greater than that of the neck and the head having a shank to engage positively in the neck and resist removal of the head from the neck.

Preferably, the tapered outer end part of the head is substantially conical and it has a maximum diameter greater than that of the neck.

The applicator has a stud or pin to engage in the hollow stem, the inner end of the shank of the head being engageable with the outer end of that stud or pin.

It is preferred that the pointed head have, at about the middle of its shank, a shoulder to bear upon an internal shoulder in the hollow stem of the male member so as to firmly hold the pointed head in position.

It is also preferred that the tapered outer end part of the head be made with a peripheral groove or recess which will provide a cutting edge operable when the pointed head is pressed through an ear of an animal to co-operate with a shoulder of the female member and cut an opening in the ear.

The pointed head is preferably made of metal - such as brass - and the female member and remainder of the male member may be made of a resilient or flexible plastics material, such as polyurethane or polyethylene. In order that the invention may be readily understood and conveniently put into practical form reference will now be made to the attached illustrative drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a plan view of the male tag made according to this invention; Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of the male tag; Fig. 3 is a view in cross-section on the line and in the direction of the arrows 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 shows the pointed head member on enlarged scale;

Fig. 5 illustrates in plan view one design of female tag member; and Fig. 6 is a transverse cross-section on the line and in the direction of the arrows 6-6 of Fig. 5. The male tag member has a base part 11 which, as shown, is substantially circular in shape and has a stem 12 extending substantially normal to it from a central location. At the outer end of the stem 12 there is a neck 13 of reduced external diameter, providing a shoulder 14. Extending through the stem 12 and base 11 is a co-axial opening or passageway 15 which is shouldered at 16 so that the outer end part 17 thereof is of reduced diameter. Mounted in the outer portion of the stem 12 is the pointed head member having a head 18 and a co-axial shank 19, the shank 19 being of a diameter to fit tightly in the outer end part 17 of the passageway through the stem 12 and near its inner end it has an integral collar 20 adapted to bear upon the shoulder 16 and resist withdrawal of the pointed head member from the stem 12.

The pointed head 18 is generally of conical shape and it has a circumferential groove 21 between the pointed outer end 22 and the rim 23, forming a cutting edge 24. The rim 23 is of a diameter substantially the same as that of the major part of the stem 12, somewhat larger than the neck 13.

The female member has a flat flap 26 with a coplanar neck 27, extending normal to which is a cup 28 with a recess 29 and an opening 30. The opening 30 is a little smaller in diameter than the stem neck 13, and the recess 29 in the cup 28 is large enough to accommodate freely the pointed head 18, the depth of the recess 29 being such that the pointed outer end 22 will not project beyond the rim 31 of the cup.

The length of the opening 30 through the base of the cup 28 and neck 27 is the same as the length of the neck 13 of the stem 12 so that the pointed head 18 may be pressed through the opening 30 and into the recess 29, when the neck 13 will be gripped tightly in said opening with the base of the neck 27 pressed against the shoulder 14. Thus, the female member will be held in spaced relationship with the base 11 of the male member, and that spacing is greater than the thickness of the animal's ear, so as to permit circulation of air across the ear.

When the pointed head 18 is being pressed through an animal's ear and into the opening 30 the cutting edge 24 of said head will co-operate with the underside of the neck 27, which then acts in the same manner as an anvil, to cut an opening in the ear. It is believed that such an opening, being a relatively clean cut, will heal more rapidly than will a pierced opening. It is apparent that the pliers for applying the two parts of the ear tag to an ear of an animal may be of the same general design and adapted to operate substantially in the manner as illustrated and described in the Australian Patent Specifications Nos. 58854/65 (Goldberg) and 457448 (Murphy and Burford) referred to previously, but owing to the construction of the male member of the ear tag as described above and as illustrated in the drawings instead of a pin of substantial length and narrow diameter - as the pin 42 shown in the specification 58854/65 of Goldberg - the pliers may have a pin of effective length equal to the distance from the underside of the base 11 to the inner end of the shank 19, less than half the length of the pin 42 of Goldberg. Furthermore, that pin may be, and preferably is, the same diameter as the passageway 15, substantially greater than the diameter of that pin 42 of Goldberg. In consequence that pin of the applicator pliers will be very much stronger, and far less likely to bend, than the pin 42 of the pliers described and illustrated in said prior art specifications. It is to be noted thar in said specification 53354/65 of Goldberg the pin -2 is described as being replaceable, a necessity in view of the likelihood of damage to the pin. With this construction that is not necessary.

When the male tag member is securely engaged with the female tag member the tight engagement of the stem neck 13 in the opening 30 ensures that the material of the neck 13 engages tightly on the shank 19 of the head member, whereby to ensure retention of that head member i the male tag member and inhibit disengagement of the two parts of the tag.

The solid pointed head member may be fitted into the moulds for formation of the plastics male tag member whereby to mould the tag member integrally with the pointed head member, or it may be applied to the moulded plastics male tag member as a subsequent operation.

It is to be understood that the shape of the ^"base 11 of the male tag member and the flap 26 and neck 27 of the female tag member may be made any satisfactory shape to suit individual requirements and that the sizes and proportions of the two tag members may be altered as desired. All such modifications in details of design and/or construction as come within the broad scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims are to be deemed to be included in the ambit of the invention.

Claims (10)

CLAIMS - - - - - - - - - - - -

1. An animal ear tag consisting of a male member and a female member adapted to be fastened together in spaced relationship, wherein the male member has a hollow stem, with a neck at the outer end of the stem, and a relatively rigid pointed head member having an integral shank engaged in the hollow stem, the tapered outer end part of the head member projecting beyond the neck and the maximum transverse cross- sectional size of that tapered outer end part being greater than that of the neck.

2. An ear tag as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the pointed head member is solid.

3. An ear tag as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 wherein the heck is of smaller cross-sectional size than the remainde of the stem and there is an external shoulder at the junction of the neck and the remainder of the stem.

4. An ear tag as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the hollow stem has an internal shoulder and the shank of the pointed head member has a collar engaging behind that shoulder to resist removal of the head member from the shank.

5. An ear tag as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the tapered outer end part of the head member has a peripheral groove forming a peripheral edge around said head member.

6. An ear tag as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the female member has an opening adapted to accommodate tightly the neck of the stem of the male member and operative to inhibit removal of the shank from said stem.

7. An ear tag as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the length of the neck is such as to prevent linear movement of the female member after it has been secured on the male member.

8. An animal ear tag consisting of a male member and a female member adapted to be fastened together in spaced relationship, wherein the male member is of relatively flexible material and has a hollow stem, and a relatively rigid tapered head member is engaged in the outer end part of the hollow stem so that its outer end projects beyond the outer end of the stem, characterized in that the head member is tapered to a point at its outer end and it has at its inner end an integral shank, and in that said head member has no aperture through it.

9. In an animal ear tag a male member having a hollow stem of relatively flexible material and fastened in said stem a relatively rigid pointed head member having an integral shank, said pointed head member being adapted to penetrate an ear of a selected animal and to engage in an opening in a female member of the ear tag, said pointed head member being imperforate, and said shank having means for locking it in the hollow stem.

10. An animal ear tag constructed and adapted to operate substantially as herein described with reference to the drawings.