GB2114045A - Tool for attachement of identification tags to animals - Google Patents

Abstract

An identification tag (18) is attached to an ear or other fleshy part of an animal by piercing the ear with a disposable pointed bit (14) releasably attached to an applicator tool. The bit may be integrally formed with a plastics carrier 25. Alternatively the bit may be releasably secured to a carrier 3. The bit (14) has a channel section portion which receives a folded tag attachment part (19). After piercing the ear the carrier (25) is withdrawn, leaving the tag in position, and the carrier is then disposed of. The carrier may be loaded into special applicator pliers for guiding the movement of the piercing bit. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Tool for attachment of identification tags to animals This invention relates to tools for the attachment of identification tags to animals.

It is known to attach identification tags, usually of plastics material, to the ears of farm animals such as cattle. For this purpose a hand-held tool is commonly used in which the identification tag to be attached is loaded onto a movable piercing element which is driven through the ear of the animal by the operation of a manual lever on the tool. When the lever is released the ear piercing element is withdrawn, leaving the tag anchored to the ear.

A problem associated with the use of known tag attachment tools of the kind referred is that the ear piercing element becomes contaminated with blood from each animal on which it is used.

This poses a potential hazard where there is a risk of transmitting blood-carried disease from one animal to another.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved tool for attachment of identification tags in which the risk of cross-contamination through the use of the tool is obviated or minimised.

According to the present invention there is provided a tool for attaching identification tags to an animal, comprising a body having a guide for a movable bit holder, a manually operable mechanism for moving the bit holder relative to the guide, andean expendible piercing bit releasably attached to the bit holder, the bit being formed with means for retaining an anchorage part of a tag to be attached so that said bit may pierce an ear or other part of an animal, carrying with it the said anchorage part, when the bit holder is moved by said mechanism.

After each use the expendible piercing bit is removed and a new bit attached before the tool is used on another animal. For this purpose the expendible bit may be a mass produced and inexpensive item, which may be moulded in plastics material or alternatively made of metal.

Preferably the releasable attachment of the bit to the bit holder is such that upon withdrawal of the holder after a piercing operation the bit is releasable from the holder. The expendible bit may alternatively be designed so that it can be left in the ear or other part of the animal after attachment of the identification tag, following separation of the bit from the bit holder.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the tool bit has a channel section part in which the anchorage part of an identification tag is located.

The expendible bit may be provided with an identification tag releasably located thereon prior to attachment of the bit to the bit holder.

The invention also comprehends a simple tool for attaching an identification tag to an animal, comprising a body to which an expendible plastics piercing bit is releasably attachable, the bit being adapted to retain and carry an anchorage part of a tag as the bit pierces an ear or other fleshy part of an animal to be tagged.

In another aspect the invention provides and expendible plastics carrier for attaching an identification tag to an ear or other fleshy part of an animal, the carrier being elongate and formed at one end with a piercing bit adapted to retain and carry an anchorage part of a tag, and having at its other end means for releasable engagement of the carrier with a tag applicator tool. The piercing bit may be formed in a channel-section part of the carrier which is adapted to receive the anchorage part of a tag in use of the carrier.

Preferably a transverse abutment is provided in the channel-section part to engage one end of a tag anchorage part located therein.

The invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying purely diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a tag attachment tool according to one embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a partial sectional view, on a slightly enlarged scale, of part of the tool shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective exploded view of the bit holder and expendible bit according to another aspect of the invention, employed in the tool shown in Figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of an expendable tag carrier according to another embodiment of the invention, for use in a tag attachment tool, and Figure 5 is a partial sectional view, corresponding to Figure 2, of part of a tag attachment tool, after operation of the tool to attach a tag using the carrier shown in Figure 4.

Corresponding parts in the different illustrated embodiments of the invention are indicated by the same reference numerals throughout.

The illustrated tool has a cast steel body 1 formed with a fixed channel section guide 2 in which a bit holder 3, also of channel section, is slidable longitudinally. The bit holder 3 is pressed from sheet metal and is provided with a transversely extending pin 4 which projects laterally from each of the side walls of its channel section, as illustrated in Figure 3. The ends of the pin 4 project through longitudinally extending slots 5 in the side walls of channel section guide 2 and through cooperating longitudinal slots 6 in respective pivoted drive arms 7 (one only of which is shown in Figure 1) pivotally attached to the tool body 1 by a fixed pivot pin 8.

The drive arms 7 have pivoted attachments at one end to an operating lever 9 which in turn is pivotally supported on the body 1 by way of a pivoted mounting link 1 0. The body 1 is formed with a hand-grip portion 11 and also provides an anchorage for one end of a tension spring 12 which acts on the operating lever 9. The body 1 is also formed with an open ended slot 13 adjacent one end of the bit guide 2.

The bit holder 3 is arranged to be releasably connected to an expendible insertion bit 1 4 of metal or plastics. The instertion bit 14, is, in thins embodiment, of channel section and formed with a sharpened end. In the illustrated example the bit 14 is arranged to fit over one end of the bit holder 3 and has moulded protuberances 1 5 on its inner surfaces which snap engage in respective slots 16 in the adjacent end of the bit holder 3. Other means of releasable snap engagement of the bit 14 with the bit holder 3 may be used. The base wall of the channel section bit 14 is formed with a moulded or stamped upstanding abutment 1 7 against which a folded anchorage part of a flexible plastics tag to be attached to an animal is placed when the tag is loaded into the insertion bit 14.

In Figure 3 a plastics tag 1 8 is shown diagrammatically, having an integral anchorage part 1 9 which is folded, as illustrated, for insertion in the channel section of the bit 1 4, between the abutment 1 7 and the pointed tip of the bit, as indicated by the arrow 20.

At its end remote from the insertion bit 14 the bit holder 3 is provided with a freely rotatable roller 21 which rolls on the bottom wall of the channel section guide 2 upon movement of the holder 3.

In use of the tool an identification tag 1 8 is first loaded into the insertion bit 14, as described and illustrated with reference to Figure 3. The tool is then held by its hand-grip 11 so that an ear or other suitable fleshy part of an animal to be tagged is located in the slot 13. The operating lever 9 is then depressed towards the hand-grip 11 by a rapid squeezing action, causing displacement of the bit holder 3 and its attached bit 14 relative to the guide 2, under the action of the drive lever 7. The bit 14 pierces the ear of the animal, carrying with it the anchorage part 1 9 of the tag 18. The anchorage part 1 9 expands into its undeformed state on the other side of the animal's ear, thereby effectively locking the tag 1 8 in position.

The fully inserted position of the bit 1 4 is shown in broken outline in Figure 1, together with the corresponding position of the operating lever 9. When the bit 14 is in this position the roller 21 is located over an aperture 22 in the base of the channel section guide 2, the aperture 22 being in turn opposite a cavity 23 in the tool body 1. This arrangement permits rotation of the bit 14 and its holder 3 about the pivot pin 4, but only when the bit 14 has been fully inserted, such rotation being limited to 900 by the engagement of stop lugs 24 on the bit holder 3 against the frontal surfaces of the channel section guide 2. During such rotation of the bit 14 and the holder 3 the roller 21 will enter the cavity 23.Such permitted 900 rotation is desirable once the bit 1 4 has been inserted, since it allows rapid withdrawal of the pierced ear of the animal from the slot 13, which will usually result from the flinching of the animal immediately after the insertion of the tag 18, without the danger of tearing of the ear. As the animal removes its ear from the slot 13 it detaches the tag 1 8 from the bit 14, which returns with the holder 3 to its initial position when the lever 9 is released, leaving the tag 18 attached to the animal's ear. The piercing bit 14 may then be detached from the holder 3 and a fresh bit attached to the holder 3 before the next animal is tagged.

In an alternative embodiment (not illustrated), the identification tag 1 8 may be combined with or attached to the piercing bit 14, the latter being such that, upon release of the lever 9, the bit 14 is detached from the bit holder 2, leaving the bit 14 and its associated tag inserted in the ear or other part of the animal.

Figure 4 illustrates an alternative, preferred embodiment of the invention in which the bit holder 3 of Figure 3 has been replaced by an expendible plastics tag carrier 25 which is elongate and formed at one end with an integral piercing bit 14. The bit 14 has a channel section portion designed to receive the tag anchorage part 1 9 of an indentification tag, and a transverse integrally moulded abutment 17 which abuts one end of the attachment part 1 9 when the latter is properly located in the channel of the bit 14.

At its end opposite the pointed tip of the bit 14 the carrier 25 is formed with a rounded nose 26 which serves the same function as the roller 21 in the embodiment of Figure 3. In place of the stop lugs 24 of Figure 3 embodiment the carrier 25 is formed with an integral moulded stop 27 which abuts the base of the guide 2 to limit rotation of the carrier 25 about the pin 4to 900, for the reasons explained earlier.

The tag carrier 25 is designed for snapengagment with the pivot pin 4 and to this end is formed on its underside with transversely-aligned keyhole-shaped slots or notches 28 which snap over the pivot pin 4 when the carrier 25 is inserted in the guide 2. Release of the carrier 25 from the pivot pin 4 after the latter has returned to its rest position following a tagging operation is easily accomplished by pulling on the upstanding stop 27.

Figure 5 shows the position of the tag carrier 25 after the insertion of a tag and following the detachment of the tag anchorage part 1 9 from the bit 14, the carrier 25 having been rotated through 900 by the withdrawal of the animal's tagged ear from the slot 13.

In an alternative version of the invention, not illustrated, the expendible tag carrier or bit may be adapted for releasable attachment to a simple hand-held insertion tool, rather than the tagapplication pliers previously described.

Claims (14)

1. A tool for attaching an identification tag to an animal, comprising a body having a guide for a movable bit holder, a manually operable mechanism for moving the bit holder relative to the guide, and an expendible piercing bit releasably attached to the bit holder, the bit being formed with means for retaining an anchorage part of a tag to be attached so that said bit may pierce an ear or other part of an animal, carrying with it the said anchorage part, when the bit holder is moved by said mechanism.

2. A tool according to Claim 1, in which the releasable attachment of the bit to the bit holder is such that upon withdrawal of the holder after a piercing operation the bit is releasable from the holder.

3. A tool according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the tool bit is snap-engageable with the bit holder.

4. A tool according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, in which the tool bit is made of plastics or metal and has a channel section part in which the anchorage part of an identification tag is located.

5. A tool according to Claim 4, in which the tool bit is moulded in plastics material, a transverse abutment being provided in or at one end of the channel-section part to engage one end of a tag anchorage part located therein.

6. A tool according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the bit holder comprises a pivot pin which extends transversely of and is guided for translational movement along the guide by the manually operable mechanism, the expendible piercing bit being formed as part of an expendible carrier having a slotted or profiled portion which is snap-engageable with the pivot pin to attach the bit to the pin.

7. A tool according to Claim 6, in which the expendible carrier is formed with an integral stop which limits rotation of the carrier about the pivot pin to substantially 900 when the mechanism is operated to cause the bit to pierce an ear or other fleshy part, such rotation being permitted by the configuration of the guide.

8. A tool according to Claim 7, in which the end of the carrier opposite the bit is rounded and engages-a cam surface of the said guide upon said rotation of the carrier.

9. A tool for attaching an identification tag to an animal, comprising a body to which an expendible plastics piercing bit is releasably attachable, the bit being adapted to retain and carry an anchorage part of a tag as the bit pierces an ear or other fleshy part of an animal to be tagged.

10. A tool according to Claim 9, in which the body includes a handle for direct hand-held use of the tool.

11. An expendible plastics carrier for attaching an identification tag to an ear or other fleshy part of an animal, the carrier being elongate and formed at one end with a piercing bit adapted to retain and carry an anchorage part of a tag, and having at its other end means for releasable engagement of the carrier with a tag applicator tool.

12. A tag carrier according to Claim 11, in which the piercing bit is formed in a channel section part of the carrier which is adapted to receive the anchorage part of a tag in use of the carrier.

13. A tag carrier according to Claim 12, in which a transverse abutment is provided in the channel-section part to engage one end of tag anchorage part located therein.

14. An expendible carrier for an animal identification tag, substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figurs 3 or Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.