IE44191B1 - Identification clip,for use,for example,on animals - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to Identification clips for use, for example, on animals and comprising an upper part and a lower part, which are adapted to , be connected together by a tag which is fixed to one part and, in use, passes through a part of an object to be identified, such as an ear of an animal, and by being deformed engages behind a web of the other part.

Such identification clips are generally used for identifying animals Intended for slaughter, such as cattle, pigs or sheep. Sometimes, such Identification clips are also used, for example, when a herd of cattle is suspected of infection. The animals which are investigated and found healthy are provided with such clips provided with an appropriate identification.

The aim of the present invention is to provide an identification clip constructed as Initially described, which is simple to make and of simple form, is easy to fit to an animal with minimum harm to the animal, and is secure when fixed.

To this.end, according to this invention, such a clip comprises an upper part and a lower part, which are adapted to be connected together by a crosspiece which comprises a tubular portion which extends from one part and, in use, passes through a part of an object to be identified, such as an ear of an animal, - 2 44191 and a tag which extends from the free end of the wall of the tubular portion and, in use, when the two parts are pressed together, is deformed by a bending die formed by a portion of the other part and engages behind a web of the other part to connect the two parts together, the tubular portion having a crosssection which Is greater than that of the bending die so that, when the upper and lower parts are pressed together, the free end of the tubular portion abuts the surface of a portion of the other part adjacent the bending die and limits the movement of the two parts towards each other, the tubular portion having the edge of its free end sharpened to cut through the part of the object as the two parts of the clip are pressed together.

A clip in accordance with the invention, while being simple to manufacture, provides increased advantages in use.

Because only the tag at the free end of the tubular portion is used for fixing the upper and lower parts together, only small forces are necessary for deforming the tag. As a result of the way in which the tag is bent into a hook-shape behind the web, an undetachable and firm anchorage is attained. As the end edge of the tubular portion bears against the other part, the tubular portion constitutes a rigid distance piece when the clip is used and thus excessive compression of the clip is prevented. As a result of this, sufficient clearance remains for growth of the ear of an animal and yet the clip itself forms a rigid structure; that is to say the upper and lower parts cannot be relatively displaced in a linear manner after fixing and are indeed largely angularly fixed relative to each other. The web has a cross-section which provides it with strength sufficient to withstand the opening forces which occur in normal use.

The cross-section of the root of the tag is preferably larger than that of the web and as a complete hook-like engagement of the tag behind the web is attained, when larger opening forces are applied for the purpose of reopening the clip, bending back of the hook-shaped tag does not occur. Instead the web breaks and releases the tag to allow the clip to be opened. Only a - 3 44191 relatively small opening force is thus required, but this does not constitute the only advantage thus achieved. In addition it is of major importance that in order to open the clip the web must be destroyed since the hook-shaped tag is enclosed by the laterally projecting end fjace of the tubular portions at one end of the other part and by the bending die at the other side so that it is quite impossible to straighten out the bent tag from outside without destroying the web. After the clip has once been used, therefore, it is not possible to fix the upper and lower parts together again and thus fraudulent use of the clip is prevented.

The clip is, moreover, extremely simple to manufacture since the various parts cin be made solely by stamping out and bending over a sheet metal blank in simple stamping operations. The web is preferably formed simultaneously with the formation of the portion which forms the bending die. This can be done by forming the bending die as two separate curved shells which are separated from each other by a slit and are situated on the side of the web remote from the one part. The web is then formed by the material punched out to form the slit in the stamping of the shells. The bending die obtained in this manner, in addition to fulfilling the covering function, also facilitates the fixing of the identification clip, since the forces required for deforming the tag are favourably distributed.

It is indeed possible to fix the clip by hand and to bend the tag into a position where .it passes behind the web. Subsequent final fixing, for example using pliers or pincers, is then desirable but this is a simple operation.

Incomplete fixing may be prevented by the alignment of the shells in .25 that preferably the edges of the shells at the slit are located at different distances from the web, the shell which is first engaged by the tag on pressing the upper and lower parts together being closer to the web. Thus, in spite of the slit .to be bridged, the tab cannot catch in the slit and thus prejudice complete fixing of the clip. In addition, in the subsequent pressing together of the upper and lower parts of the.clip by pincers, the slit ensures that the two - 4 44191 shells can be pressed together, if necessary until the slit is closed and the shells touch each other, and the shells thus approach the web to clamp the hook-shaped part of the tag in position.

The tag extending from the tubular portion must penetrate together with the tubular portion through the ear of the animal and is thus preferably formed, to cause minimum damage to the animal, as a surgical tip with sharpened side edges. After the clip has been completely closed, no sharp-edged portions of the tubular portion remain in contact with the ear of the animal and in addition the large peripheral surface of the tubular portion bears against the ear to prevent pulling out of the clip.

The tubular portion may with advantage be of polygonal, and preferably triangular, cross-section. A triangular cross-section is easy to form from a flat blank in a pressing operation. It is then possible while the blank is still flat to sharpen the side edges of the tag and also the end edge of the tubular portion, which is later bent, in a single grinding operation. The cross-section of the tubular portion is so dimensioned in relation to the diameter of the shells that the corners of the cross-section of the tubular portion bear against the face of the other part beyond the shells and then, in addition to forming a distance piece, the spigot also provides attack edges for an opening tool to open the clip when required as a result of the tangential alignment of the end edges of the spigot with the shells.

The above-described advantages are present in identification clips in which the upper and lower parts are initially separate and also in those which are U-shaped, the upper and lower parts being formed by the arms of the U.

A U-shaped construction facilitates the production of the clip still further since the flat blanks required for forming U-shaped clips can be made so that cutting of the material is avoided to the greatest possible extent. In particular, the portions of the blank which are subsequently bent to form the tubular portion and the tag can be provided at one free end of the flat blank so that the surface regions of the upper and lower parts remain completely unobstructed - 5 44191 by cuts to provide an optimum area for the accommodation of lettering or other identifying marks.

An example of an identification clip constructed in accordance with the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:5 Figure 1 is a plan view of the clip before bending of a blank from which the clip is formed is complete; Figure 2 is an underneath plan view of the clip as shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view of the clip bent into a U-shape, but before use; . Figure 4 is an end view of the clip as shown in Figure 3; Figure 5 is a side view partly in section and to a larger scale and showing the clip after the upper and lower parts have been connected by the tag as happens in use; and Figure 6 is a section to a still larger scale showing a detail of the clip.

An identification clip constructed generally as shown in the drawings may have initially separate upper and lower parts, but it is preferably made, as illustrated in the drawings, in one piece from a flat blank subsequently bent to a ll or stirrup-shape. The free end of an upper part 2, which when bent forms 2q one arm of the U is formed integrally with a cross-piece 3 which, after insertion through part of an object to be identified, for example through the ear of a cow, is fixed to the free end of a lower part 4, which forms the other arm of the I).

The cross-piece 3 has, for this purpose, a tubular portion 6 having a triangular cross-section and extending from this portion is a triangular pointed tag 5. The tag 5 and also the hollow portion 6 are brought into the required relative positions by bending a flat blank until one edge 6' of the hollow portion 6 bears against the underface of the upper part 2, in order to set the angle between the portion 6 and the,part 2.

The tag 5 is formed as a sharpened surgical tip. Both the side edges of the triangular tag 5. and also the adjacent end edge of the tubular portion 6 - 6 4419 are provided with cutting edges S, which are ground on the blank in one operation while the blank is still flat.

To fix the tag 5 to the free end of the lower part 4, the lower part 4 has a stamped-out web 7. The web 7 is obtained by stamping out from the blank the portions of the material of the lower part 4 which lie on both sides of the side edges of the web. These portions are together stamped to a hemispherical shape and form separate shells 8 and 8'.

The tag 5 of the upper part 2 is so formed that, when the upper and lower parts are pressed together, the tag bears against the upper face of the shell 8 which thus fulfills the function of a bending die. As the pressing together is continued, the tag 5 is displaced with increased bending until it extends beyond a slit T between the two shells 8 and 8' and ends with its tip part of the way across the shell 8‘. In order to prevent it from catching in the slit T, the edge of the shell 8 at the slit T is slightly closer to the web 7 than is the adjacent edge of the shell 8'. The tag 5 thus engages behind the web 7 and connects the spigot 3 and hence the upper part 2 to the part 4.

The two parts 2 and 4 can be pressed together until the tubular portion 6, which serves as a distance piece and is larger in cross-section than the diameter of the shells 8, 8', engages with its end edge 6 against the upper face of the lower part 4. In this position, the tag 5 is bent into a hook-shape beneath the stamped-out web 7 under the action of the shells 8 and 8' is reduced by the force applied so that the shells approach the surface of the lower part 4 and the tag 5 is thus clamped between the shells and the web 7. As clamping takes place, the slit T tends to close and may if sufficient force is applied close completely.

The cross-sectional area of the web 7 is made less than that of the root of the tag 5 so that, when forces are applied to prise apart the upper and lower parts 2 and 4 in order to re-open the clip, it is not possible for the tag to be bent back to its original shape, but instead the web 7 breaks. As a result it is not possible to fix the tag 5 again to the lower part. - 7 4 419 i The external surfaces F of the parts 2 and 4 are left exposed for the application of appropriate identification numbers or other identification marks, stiffening ribs R being provided at the outer edges of the part 2 in a conventional manner.

Claims (1)

1. An identification clip for use, for example, on an animal, comprising an upper part and a lower part, which are adapted to be connected together by a cross-piece which comprises a tubular portion which extends from one part and, in use, passes through a part of an object to be identified, such as an ear of 10 an animal, and a tag which extends from the free end of the wall of the tubular portion and, in use, when the two parts are pressed together, is deformed by a bending die formed by a portion of the other part and engages behind a web of the other part to connect the two parts, together, the tubular portion having a cross-section which is greater than that of the bending die so that, when the 15 upper and lower parts are pressed together, the free end of the tubular portion abuts the surface of a portion of the other part adjacent the bending die and limits the movement of the two parts towards each other, the tubular portion having the edge of its free end sharpened to cut through the part of the object as the two parts of the clip are pressed together. 20 2. A clip according to Claim 1, in which the tubular portion is of triangular cross-section. 3. A clip according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the bending die comprises two separate curved shells which are separated from each other by a slit and are situated on the side of the web remote from the one part. 25 4. A clip according to Claim 3, in.which the edges of the shells at the slit are located ,at different distances from the web, the shell which is first engaged by the tag on pressing the upper and lower parts together being closer to the web. 5. A clip according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the tag 30 is triangular and has sharpened side edges which form cutting edges, - 8 4419 6. A clip according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the tubular portion is formed from a flat blank by bending. 7. A clip according to any one of the preceding claims, which is Ushaped, the upper and lower parts being formed by the arms of the U. 58. A clip according to Claim 1, constructed substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.