GB2543841A

GB2543841A - Improvements in elastic e-tag marker ties

Info

Publication number: GB2543841A
Application number: GB1519281.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stefan Myers Nigel
Original assignee: Cabletrail Ltd
Current assignee: Cabletrail Ltd
Priority date: 2015-10-31
Filing date: 2015-10-31
Publication date: 2017-05-03
Anticipated expiration: 2035-10-31
Also published as: GB201519281D0; GB2543841B

Abstract

Visual and RFID Identification TagA flexible one piece moulded identification (ID) tag (tie, fastener) comprises an elongated strap, with a paddle (or oar, shovel) shaped tag at one end and a t-shaped cross bar at the other end. The strap has an elliptical cross section while each distal end of the cross bar curves back in the direction of the paddle. The tag may have a hole in the strap and the hole may be of sufficient size to receive the t-piece, thereby forming a loop with the strap. An RFID module may be moulded into the strap. The tag may be injection moulded in flexible polyurethane. The paddle may be written on with permanent marker or printed upon by laser marking. The paddle may have rounded corners and the strap section may be thicker than the paddle.

Description

Improvements in elastic E-Tag marker ties.

Automation is advancing at a pace and less and less articles are in fact handled by human hand. Thus logistics rely on items being identifiable by machines for shipping to the correct destination.

Hence a multitude of ways and means have been invented to achieve reliable identification of packages. There is the traditional, but not so reliable, method to tie a label on the item. However, labels get tom, wet or become otherwise illegible.

One answer to that is electronic labelling. An RFID (radio frequency id) tag can now also be used. They are usually encased in a glass cylinder and can be read by a scanner. To protect the module, it is inserted into a housing which can be attached to the item to be tagged. A good example of this is disclosed in GB2398454 (Paxton). This document shows a zip tie which has an RFID housing attached to the strap. The housing is moulded with the module inserted and together with the zip tie or separately and joined on later.

Another similar system is disclosed in GB2477927 (Hellermann) where an RFID housing is moulded onto the head of a zip-tie. The housing is barrel shaped and can be closed of after inserting the module. The usual closure is soldering a lid onto the housing to hold the module in place.

These arrangements have various disadvantages. The housing is permanently attached to the zip tie and the module is normally non replaceable. If the tie breaks or is damaged the housing and the module become unusable and will have to be replaced.

Moreover, zip-ties are not always appropriate. In situations where the zip tie closes a bag or similar container, a special releasable tie would need to be employed. Unfortunately, those re-usable ties tend to break easily and hence are not reliable.

Then there are situations in which is needs to be possible to identify an item both by scanner and by the human eye. Under normal circumstances such items are identified by the RFID being scanned and the item is moved into the correct direction or onto the correct conveyor belt.

Now, it has been found to be very useful for personnel to be in the position to identify an item by looking at it. For example, the scanner breaks down but the items are still delivered to the sorting station.

The usual reaction is to stop the belt and get the engineer in to fix the scanner. Thus everything has to wait for the scanner. If the item were to be tagged by an RFID and a legible tag, the logistics would be able to continue, despite the scanner malfunction.

There are several “paddle” tags on the market for manual identification of items, but usually they are too small to be read quickly and the orientation of the paddle is not ideal.

The inventors came up with the idea to combine the RFID tag with a visual tag so that one and the same tag can be used for visual and electronic identification, which would mean that a scanner breakdown would no longer affect the sorting process.

To ensure that electronic and visual identification can take place, the tags are quite large so large print or writing can be put on them.

Description of the invention

The inventive tie is moulded in one piece from polyurethane. It has a strap of elliptical cross-section with a width about 8 mm and a thickness of about 3 mm which ends in a T-piece at one end and a wide paddle-shaped part at the other.

The T-piece has curved ends bent towards the paddle-shaped part. And each branch of said T-piece is of approximately 12 mm length and otherwise has the same dimensions as the strap.

The transition of the strap into the paddle-shaped part sees a gradual widening of the strap and a simultaneous thinning in the other dimension, such that it gradually changes into the paddle-shaped part of the tie.

At the end of the strap, just before the transition part, an RFID module is moulded into said strap; the module itself being encased in a rigid shell to protect it from being damaged.

The paddle-shaped part has a hole in it near where the strap joins the paddle-shaped part.

This hole is of sufficient size and appropriate shape for the T-piece to be introduced to form a loop. This arrangement, whilst the curved T-piece allows it to be assembled easily by following the natural curve through the elliptical slot, it also achieves an secure fastening as it will not pass in reverse direction without considerable manipulation.

Any writing or printing will be situated perpendicular to the strap so that reading the information is made as easy as possible and avoids having to screw ones neck or tilt the head sideways to decipher the information on the paddle-shaped part.

The drawings show a front view and a cross-sectional view of the inventive tie indicating preferred dimensions.

Claims

Claims.

1. A flexible one piece moulded TD tag comprising an attachment strap, of elliptical cross-section, a large substantially rectangular paddle-shaped tag oriented in landscape in relation to said strap at one end and a T-piece at the other, which T-piece consists of two branches whose outer ends curve towards said paddle.

2. A flexible one piece moulded ID tag according to claim 1 wherein said strap has a width in the range of 5 to 10 millimetres.

3. A flexible one piece moulded ID tag according to claim 1 wherein said strap has a thickness in the range between 2 and 4 millimetres.

4. A flexible one piece moulded ID tag according to claim 1 wherein said strap is thicker than said paddle.

5. A flexible one piece moulded ID tag according to claim 1 wherein said strap widens gradually at the end which joins the paddle.

6. A flexible one piece moulded ID tag according to claim 1, wherein the paddle comprises a hole close to the point where the strap widens to join the paddle.

7. A flexible one piece moulded ID tag according to claims 1 to 2, wherein said hole is of sufficient size and shape for said T-piece to be fed through so as to form a loop fr4om the strap.

8. A flexible one piece moulded ID tag according to claim 1, wherein an RFID module is moulded into the strap.

9. A flexible one piece moulded ID tag according to claim 1, wherein the RFID module is moulded into the strap near the paddle end of said strap.

10. A flexible one piece moulded ID tag according to claim 4, wherein said RFID module is itself encased in a hard shell before it is moulded into said strap.

11. A flexible one piece moulded ID tag according to claim 1, wherein the whole tag is injection moulded in flexible polyurethane.

12. A flexible one piece moulded ID tag according to claim 1 wherein the surface of said paddle is treated such that it can be written on with a permanent marker pen.

13 A flexible one piece moulded ID tag according to claim 1 wherein the surface of said paddle is treated such that it can be printed upon at its manufacturing stage with laser marking.

14. A flexible one piece moulded ID tag according to claiml, wherein said substantially rectangular paddle comprises a long side of length falling into the range of 50 to 100 millimetres.

15 A flexible one piece moulded ID tag according to claim 1, wherein said substantially rectangular paddle comprises a short side of length falling into the range of 30 to 60 millimetres.

16. A flexible one piece moulded ID tag according to claims 8 and 9 wherein the paddle has rounded comers.