MX2013014601A - Ear tag. - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention refers to an animal ear tag device, particularly referring to a tamper-evident ear tag for cattle, which is located in the ear of the animal to be identified by means of a perforation. The design of the ear tag facilitates the penetration into the ear of the animal due to the configuration of the stud and tip thereof, which has one or a plurality of notches for achieving the irreversible assembly thereof with a mobile ring located in the inner portion of the female portion. In such a manner, the female portion and the male portion may be rotated one with respect to the other, facilitating the release of the ear tag when it is hooked to another item or animal. Additionally, the present invention warrantees the identity, and therefore the traceability of the animal where it was located, since the configuration thereof prevents the same from being disassembled without being damaged in an evident manner, while preventing the ear tag from being re-assembled.

Description

IDENTIFIER AREA Field of the Invention The present invention is located in the field of animal identification devices, particularly the present invention relates to a tamper-proof tag for livestock, which is placed through the ear of the animal to be identified by means of a perforation.

Background of the Invention At present, there are several devices that allow the individual identification of an animal, such as identification earrings, which are used mainly to identify livestock such as cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and horses. Most of these identification earrings are placed on the ear of the animal to be identified by means of a perforation, thus ensuring the permanence of the identification tag on the animal throughout its life, which allows traceability of the animal, from birth until his death.

One of the most commonly used identification tags (ear tags) in the livestock industry is the one described in the patent MX 221139 which improves the characteristics of rape test compared to a label described in the specification of New Zealand No 213378, due to the interaction between the elements that compose it, where the coupling element has a stem with head and a female opening, through which the head of the stem can pass for perform a coupling action. However, in the preferred embodiments of the patent MX 221139 it is explained that "if the stem fractures / separates, the head will remain inside the cavity due to the tight conformity of the cavity with the head", while in figure 2 from said document it can be seen that the cross section of the head is greater than the cross section of the cavity, in such a way that to place this tag on the ear of an animal, it is necessary that the head pierce the ear before performing the coupling action, which is difficult at the time of application of the tag because the force required to pierce the ear is directly proportional to the size of the cross section of the head of the tag, which means that the larger the maximum size of the cross section of the head, more force will be needed for the perforation, which represents a great inconvenience considering that this type of tags are generally placed e with the help of an applicator clamp that uses the strength of the user's hand to make the perforation.

It should be noted that, when using the applicator clip, some users do not have enough strength to pierce the animal's ear with one hand, so they are forced to use both hands to perform this operation. The use of two hands during the application of the tag is a serious security problem, since the physical integrity of the user is compromised when performing this maneuver using his two hands, including the regulations established in certain countries, including Mexico, specifies that the user must apply the earring using only one hand.

Accordingly, the tag described in the patent MX 221139, as well as the similar identification devices described in the patents MX 287595, MX 26657, MX 271849, MX 250946, EP 0177201, EP 0056533, EP 0138629, US 4581834, US 6405462 and many Still others have the drawback of not having been designed to facilitate penetration into the ear of an animal, from the aforementioned point of view.

Another problem that arises when using identification earrings is that which originates when the earring is stuck in some object or animal belonging to the environment, to which the animal that carries it is exposed, since it is very common for cattle to enter contact with barbed wire, fences, vegetation, other animals, etc., causing the earring to get stuck in them. Once the earring is stuck, the animal that carries it moves instinctively to release its ear, however during this process, the animal's ear can tear, separating the animal's ear, which should never happen if you want to guarantee the identity and traceability of said animal. For this reason, the identification devices described in the patents MX 221139 and EP 0177201 allow the free rotation of the male part with respect to the female part when they are assembled, so that said characteristic of rotating, together with the elasticity of the parts of the earring, ensures that the parts of the earring can be flexed or moved when the earring is stuck, thus facilitating its release, however, the configuration of the devices described in the patents MX 221139 and EP 0177201 that allows to perform this rotation, is the same configuration that causes the problem of application of the earring using two hands, which was explained above.

Additionally, another problem that arises when using identification earrings, is that which originates when the earring is allowed to be removed from an animal and placed in another different animal, by means of some manipulation subsequent to its placement in the first animal, which prevents that reliable traceability can be made when using it. So it is essential to have an assembly configuration that leaves the earring unusable once it has been manipulated when trying to disassemble it. For this reason, in the patent MX 286657 it is explained that: "if an attempt was made to remove the male part 5 from the female part 1, the male part 5 would then break in the position of the rod 12 of the arrow-shaped element. 6 and the tip part 10 would remain behind the female part 1 further, this tip part 10 can not be removed along the rear end of the passage 2, because this rear end is blocked by the closing part 9". In this way, a fraud-proof ear tag or the so-called "tamper-proof" ear tag is obtained, whereby the reuse of the female part or the male part becomes impossible ". However, the configuration described in the patent MX 286657, once again, is the same configuration that causes the problem of application of the earring using two hands, which has already been explained previously.

In conclusion, there is a great need to have an identification tag that, insofar as possible, has characteristics that facilitate its penetration into the ear of an animal, while providing a tamper-proof assembly, and that additionally facilitates the release of the earring when it is attached to any object or animal belonging to the environment to which the animal that carries it is exposed, since until now there is no earring that simultaneously provides all these characteristics.

Summary of the Invention It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an identifier, tamper-proof earring that identifies animals, particularly livestock, and traces the animal from birth to death.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an identification tag, which is placed and penetrates the ear of the animal, which it is desired to identify, during drilling.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide an identifier earring, which can be applied / placed by the user in the ear of the animal using only one hand and by means of an applicator clip.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide an identifier earring, which has an assembly configuration that leaves the earring unusable once it has been manipulated when attempting to disassemble it and thus can not be removed from an animal and placed in another different animal. .

A further object of the present invention is to provide an identification tag, which can be marked on one of its surfaces by means of laser and / or ink.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an identification tag, which may include some electronic device immersed in some of its parts.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide an identification tag, which includes a mechanism that facilitates its release in case the tag is stuck with any object or animal.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide an identification tag, which will resist the inclemencies of the environment to which it is exposed.

Brief Description of the Figures of the Invention Figure 1 shows a general outline of the identification tag of the present invention, in which a male assembly (1) and a female assembly (2) assembled through the animal ear (3) can be seen.

Figure 2 shows a perspective cut away of the casing (2a) of the identification tag of the present invention.

Figure 3A shows a side cut of the fixed ring (2c) separated from the movable ring (2d) belonging to the identifier earring of the present invention.

Figure 3B shows a side cut of the fixed ring (2c) attached to the mobile ring (2d) belonging to the identification tag of the present invention.

Figure 3C shows a front view of the mobile ring (2d) where the tooth (2h), the posts (2f) and the orifice (2i) belonging to the identifier earring of the present invention can be seen.

Figure 4A shows a side cut of the male assembly (1) of the identification tag of the present invention.

Figure 4B shows a perspective view of the male assembly (1) of the identification tag of the present invention.

Figures 5A to 5D show the steps in lateral sections of the assembly process between the male assembly (1) and the female assembly (2) of the identification earring of the present invention, wherein the animal ear (3) can be seen, wherein Figure 5A represents the first stage, Figure 5B represents the second stage, Figure 5C represents the third stage and Figure 5D represents the fourth and final stage in sequential order.

Figure 6A shows a side cut of the female set (2) of the identification tag of the present invention, in which it can be seen that the fixed ring (2c) is joined to the mobile ring (2d) by means of the internal poles. { 2f).

Figure 6B shows a perspective view of the female set (2) of the identification tag of the present invention, wherein the casing (2a) and the female flag (2e) can be seen.

Figure 7 shows a perspective view of the male assembly (1) assembled to the female set (2) of the identification tag of the present invention, where the turn of the male flag (la) with respect to the female flag (2e) is visualized. ).

Figure 8 shows a general scheme of an identifier earring mode of the present invention, in which the tip (Ib ') and the shank (Id') can be seen with two notches (le '), two teeth (2h') ) corresponding to the mobile ring (2 '), as well as the male assembly (1') and the female assembly (2 ') assembled through the animal ear (3).

Figure 9A shows a front view of the mobile ring (2d) where the teeth (2h), the posts (2f ') and the orifice (2i') belonging to a mode of the identification ring of the present invention can be seen.

Figure 9B shows a perspective view of the male assembly (1 ') of an identifier earring embodiment of the present invention, where the tip (Ib'), the stem (Id '), the male flag (the ') and one of the two notches (le').

Detailed description of the invention The present invention relates to an identifier earring, which is placed by piercing the ear of the animals, preferably cattle, said earring is tamper-proof, allows identifying animals and traceability of the animal, from birth to death .

Figure 1 shows a general scheme of the identification tag of the present invention, which comprises a male set (1) and a female set (2). The male assembly (1) comprises a male flag (la) from which the rod (Id) extends, both made of a resistant and flexible material, preferably of polyurethane, and which, additionally, are perforated by means of a cavity guide (le) At the end of the rod (Id) a tip (Ib) is embedded and / or adhered, which is made of a hard and resistant material, preferably of some polyamide, such as nylon reinforced with fiberglass, or as the stainless steel. Said tip (Ib) is sufficiently sharp and hard to pierce and pass through the animal ear (3), also has one or more notches (le) that allow the assembly between the male assembly (1) and the female set (2).

According to the present invention, the female set (2) comprises a casing (2a), which is shown in detail in the perspective cut of Figure 2, in which its hollow shape can be seen with a stop (2g) inside it, while its exterior has cylindrical; a fixed ring (2c), and a mobile ring (2d). The housing (2a) with its stop (2g), the fixed ring (2c) and the movable ring (2d), are made of a hard and resistant material, preferably of some polyamide, such as fiberglass reinforced nylon, However, any type of thermoplastic with hardness greater than or equal to 95 on the Shore A scale, or even some resin, can also be used. The female set (2) further comprises a female flag (2e) which is made of a resistant and flexible material, preferably polyurethane, wherein the upper part of said flag wraps or contains the fixed ring assembly (2c) and the housing (2a), in such a way that the fixed ring (2c) and the housing (2a) are embedded in the upper part of the female flag (2e). The assembly between the fixed ring (2c) and the casing (2a) can be made by means of glue or ultrasonic welder, or any assembly can be used to orientate and fix both aligned pieces for its correct operation, such as an assembly type male-female, bolt, rivet, flange, etc.

Figure 3A shows a section of the mobile ring (2d) with its posts (2f), which are introduced in the corresponding guide holes (2j) of the fixed ring (2c) so that both parts can be permanently joined with glue or ultrasound . However, there is also the possibility that the movable ring (2d) and the fixed ring (2c) are injected together, as a single piece, in such a way that the poles. { 2f) are common to both pieces since, in that case, they would belong to the mobile ring (2d) and the fixed ring (2c), thus avoiding the use of glue or ultrasonic welding to fix them to the corresponding guide holes (2j). Additionally, in this figure, the cut of the tooth can be observed (2h), which IB it has a shape opposite to the notch (le) and extends from the inner face of the movable ring (2d) towards the center thereof, gradually restricting the cross section of the hole. { 2i) of the mobile ring (2d) because the tooth size (2h) increases gradually, as shown in said section.

Figure 3B shows a section where the union of the mobile ring (2d) and the fixed ring (2c) can be seen by means of the posts (2f), where the latter are characterized by being thick enough to join the ring mobile (2d) with the fixed ring (2c), but at the same time they are fragile enough to break when the tip (Ib) is pushed through the female assembly (2), due to the constant force applied to the tip (Ib) by means of some bolt passing through the guide cavity (le), wherein said bolt belongs to some device that facilitates the application of the identifying earring of the present invention, such as anchoring tweezers commonly used to achieve this effect.

Figure 3C shows a front view of the mobile ring (2d) in which the tooth (2h) can be seen, which extends from the inner side of the mobile ring (2d) towards the center thereof. Additionally, the posts (2f) and the hole (2i) of the mobile ring (2d) can also be seen.

Figures 5A to 5D show the steps in lateral sections of the assembly process between the male assembly (1) and the female set (2) of the identification earring of the present invention, through the animal ear (3), of this In FIG. 5A, the male assembly (1) and the assembly female (2) in position prior to assembly, as they are separated but aligned for proper coupling.

Figure 5B shows how the tip (Ib) and the shank (Id) have pierced the animal ear (3) and have entered the female set (2), while the tip (Ib) comes into contact with the mobile ring (2d) and with the tooth (2h).

In Figure 5C it is observed how the tip (Ib) and the shank (Id) have pushed the mobile ring (2d) because the tooth (2h) does not allow the tip (Ib) and the shank (Id) to pass freely through the hole (2i) of the movable ring (2d), thus separating the movable ring (2d) from the fixed ring (2c), due to the breaking of the poles (2f), additionally it can be seen that the movable ring (2d) ) has moved in the direction and direction of the movement of the tip (Ib), stopping its advance due to the stop (2g).

In Figure 5D, the tip (Ib) and a part of the shank (ld) have passed through the hole (2i) of the mobile ring (2d), since the latter can not continue its displacement due to the stop (2g) of the housing (2a), so the tip (Ib) and a part of the shank (Id) is deformed to be able to continue with the movement and pass through the hole (2i) of the mobile ring (2d), at the same time that the tooth (2h) also deforms due to the constant force applied to it to the point (Ib) by means of some bolt that passes through the guide cavity (you). Once the notch (le) is coupled to the tooth (2h), an assembly or irreversible coupling between both parts takes place due to its shape and its disposition, since the tooth (2h) enters the notch (it) producing thus an assembly Irreversible male-female between the tip (Ib) and the mobile ring. { 2d), where the tooth (2h) acts as a male and the notch (le) functions as a female. Additionally in this step, the movable ring (Id), is separated from the fixed ring (2c), so that the movable ring (2d) can freely rotate inside the housing (2a), and therefore, the male assembly (1) can rotate with respect to the pieces that make up the female set (2) with the exception of the mobile ring (2d), since in this stage, the mobile ring (2d) is assembled irreversibly to the tip (Ib). ), so it moves together with the elements of the male set (1).

The shank (Id) and the tip (Ib), not having protrusions or protrusions, do not require force greater than that of a hand to be able to pass through the ear of the animal; also the cross section of the shank (Id) and the cross section of the tip (Ib) is the same and its centers are aligned, so that a geometry similar to that of a needle is achieved, which allows piercing the animal ear (3) effectively. The authors of the present invention have surprisingly found that the notches (s) allow drilling and assembly between both sets (1 and 2) in a much simpler manner; compared to conventional earrings, which present at the end of the stem a protuberance, projection, extrusion, extension or head cross section greater than the cross section of the stem, which makes it difficult to apply that type of earring since it requires greater strength for the drilling to take place.

As described, the mobile ring (2d) is detached from the fixed ring (2c) of the female assembly (2) when the tip (Ib) enters it, allowing the free rotation of the male assembly (1) with respect to the female assembly (2), with the exception of the mobile ring (2d), when the assembly is effected; so the male set (1) and the female set (2) must be correctly aligned so that the notch (le) coincides with the tooth (2h) of the mobile ring (2d). However, the present invention admits the possibility of using a tip (Ib ') and a shank (Id') with several notches (le '), since in the same way, the notches (le') of the tip (Ib ') and of the rod (Id') must coincide with the corresponding teeth (2h ') of the mobile ring (2d') for its correct coupling, as exemplified in Figure 8 (slope).

Once the identification tag of the present invention is placed on an animal, it presents an easy release in case of getting stuck with some object or other animal, because the mobile ring (2d) freely rotates inside the female set (2) once made the assembly, so it facilitates its constant reorientation while the animal moves to release its ear, giving it more possibilities of undoing it; similarly, the flexible and resistant material of the male flag (la) and the female flag (2e) provide another feature that adds to the turn for easy release, so that the present invention, unlike the known earrings in the prior art, it uses a mobile ring (2d) to facilitate said release.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides anti-tampering characteristics, since by forcing the separation of both sets (1 and 2) the male set (1) of the female set (2) must be separated by moving them in the same direction but in opposite directions, causing the break of the stem (Id) at the height of its union with the tip (Ib), because it has a thinner section of material than the rest of the stem (Id) located at the junction of the tip (Ib) and the stem (Id), which leads to rupture in this area, in such a way that the tip (Ib) and a piece of the stem (Id) remain inside the female set (2) without being able to remove them.

Also, the movable ring (2d) hinders any attempt to remove the head (Ib) and the piece of the stem (Id) mentioned above, since the constant rotation of the mobile ring (2d) prevents the person who wishes to manipulate it from knowing the location of the tooth (2h) to force it to open, since in these circumstances the earring does not have any visible feature that gives any indication of the orientation of the tip (Ib) or the mobile ring (2d), since both elements are inside the female set (2). In fact, the only possibility to manipulate the earring is to open the female assembly (2) to extract the tip (Ib), together with the piece of shank (Id), of the mobile ring (2d), in order to separate them, then re- assemble the male set (1) and the female set (2) using glue or some other means of fastening, which would be evident and could not be used for a long period of time since the shank (Ib) is very thin and could detach with the movement of the animal, additionally, the mobile ring (2d) is disoriented inside the female set (2) because its posts (f) have been broken, which hinders its correct orientation before of the reassembly, thus preventing the falsification of the animal's identity and guaranteeing reliable traceability.

Both the male flag (la) and the female flag (2e), are made of polyurethane, material that can be engraved with laser or indelible ink, allowing the manufacturer to print on any of its faces all kinds of numbers, letters, characters , symbols, barcodes, QR codes, etc., which are very useful for handling animals. Additionally, RFID chips or any other type of electronic device can be embedded inside any of the two flags, because polyurethane, like other thermoplastics, isolates electronic devices from moisture and dust by encapsulating them, and even protects them. against UV rays in case some polyurethane with said property is used.

The described features of the present invention are exemplary and should not be considered as limiting thereof, since it responds to the diversity of needs of each user and it is possible to make different useful configurations; for example, in an alternative modality the male flag (Ib) and the female flag (2e) are shorter, since a laser or ink will not be used to print a code or large characters on any of its faces, but rather This number will be printed with some code or small characters, but additionally it will be digitally recorded in an RFID chip which will be embedded along with its respective antenna on top of the female flag (2e) or the male flag (la) , in such a way that said RFID be read and decoded by the corresponding electronic reader.

In another of the alternative embodiments of the present invention, the male flag (la) is shorter than the female flag (2e) or vice versa, and either of them may or may not contain an embedded RFID chip, depending on the needs of the user .

It should be noted that in any of the alternative embodiments of the present invention, the shape of the male flag (la) or the female flag (2e) may have the geometric characteristics that the user requires, since it is generally necessary for the earrings to be different visually for their handling, for example; earrings for cattle should have a different shape or design to the earrings of pigs to avoid confusion, however, both earrings have the same principle of operation.

Finally, it is very important to point out that in order to guarantee the correct functioning of the present invention, the notch (le) of the tip (Ib) must be aligned with the tooth (2h) of the mobile ring (2d) during all stages of the coupling or process of assembly, since otherwise the coupling or assembly can be carried out incorrectly or not carried out, or even, the identification tag could be unusable. Similarly, the same alignment should be made in the case that a tip (Ib ') and a shank (Id') with several notches (le) are used.

Claims (17)

CLAIMS Having described the invention as above, the content of the following claims is claimed as property:

1. An animal identifier ring characterized because it comprises: - a male assembly (1) and - a female set (2); wherein the male assembly (1) comprises a male flag (la) from which a rod (Id) extends, both drilled by means of a guide cavity (le), where at the end of the shank (Id) a tip (Ib) is embedded and / or adhered, and wherein said tip (Ib) comprises one or more notches (you); wherein the female set (2) comprises a hollow housing (2a) with a stop (2g) inside it, a fixed ring (2c) with two or more guide holes (2j) and a mobile ring (2d) with two or more posts (2f), wherein the fixed ring (2c) comprises one or several teeth (2h) that are inserted or inserted in the notch (s) (le) allowing the assembly between the male assembly (1) and the female assembly (2); Y wherein the female assembly (2) further comprises a female flag (2e) whose upper part surrounds or contains the assembly of the fixed ring (2c) and the housing (2a).

2. The identification tag according to claim 1, characterized in that the mobile ring (2d) comprises two or more posts (2f), which are introduced in the corresponding guide holes (2j) of the fixed ring (2c).

3. The identification tag according to claim 1, characterized in that the fixed ring (2c) and the housing (2a) are embedded in the upper part of the female flag (2e).

4. The tag according to claim 1, characterized in that the tip (Ib), the casing (2a) with its stop (2g), the fixed ring (2c) and the mobile ring (2d) are made of a hard and strong material, preferably of some polyamide, such as nylon reinforced with glass fiber, stainless steel or any type of thermoplastic with hardness greater than or equal to 95 on the Shore A scale.

5. The tag according to claim 3, characterized in that the assembly between the fixed ring (2c) and the casing (2a) can be made by means of glue, ultrasonic welding or any type of assembly that allows orienting and fixing both aligned pieces for its correct operation.

6. In addition, the identifier earring according to claim 5, characterized in that in addition the movable ring (2d) and the fixed ring (2c) can be injected together as a single piece, in such a way that the posts (2f) are common in both parts.

7. The identification tag according to claim 1, characterized in that the tip (Ib) and the shank (Id) pierce the animal ear (3) entering the female set (2), while the tip (Ib) comes into contact with the mobile ring (2d) and with the tooth or teeth (2h), wherein the tip (Ib) and the shank (Id) push the mobile ring (2d) because the tooth (2h) does not allow the tip (Ib) and the shank (Id) to pass freely through the mobile ring ( 2d), thus separating the mobile ring (2d) from the fixed ring (2c), due to the breaking of the posts (2f), while the mobile ring (2d) moves in the direction and direction of the movement of the tip ( Ib), stopping its advance due to the stop (2g), thus achieving that a part of the tip (Ib) and a part of the shank (Id) are deformed to continue with the movement and pass through the mobile ring (2d), at the same time that the tooth or teeth (2h) are deformed by the constant force applied to the tip (Ib) by means of some bolt that passes through the guide cavity (le), and wherein the notch (s) of the tip (Ib) is coupled to the teeth (2h), producing an irreversible assembly or coupling between both parts.

8. The tag according to claim 7, characterized in that the posts (2f) are thick enough to join the mobile ring (2d) with the fixed ring (2c).

9. The tag according to claim 8, characterized in that the posts are in turn sufficiently fragile to break when the tip (Ib) is pushed through the female assembly (2), due to the constant force which is applied to the tip (Ib) by means of the bolt through the guide cavity (le).

10. . The identification tag according to claim 7, characterized in that once the male assembly (1) and the female assembly (2) are assembled, the mobile ring (2d) can rotate freely inside the housing (2a), thus achieving that the male assembly (1) can rotate with respect to the pieces that make up the female set (2) with the exception of the mobile ring (2d) which is irreversibly assembled to the tip (Ib).

11. The identification tag according to claim 10, characterized in that the mobile ring (2d) hinders any attempt to remove the head (Ib) since its constant rotation prevents the user from knowing the exact location of the teeth (2h) to force them to open since the earring does not have any visible feature that shows any indication of the orientation of the tip (Ib) or the mobile ring (2d), since both elements are inside the female set (2).

12. The identification tag according to claim 7, characterized in that by forcing the separation of both sets (1 and 2), the male assembly (1) of the female set (2) must be separated, causing the stem (Id) to break at the height of its union with the tip (Ib), thanks to the fact that it has a thinner section of material than the rest of the stem (Id), causing the rupture in this area in such a way that the tip (Ib) and a piece of the stem (Id) remain within the female set (2) without possibilities of removing them.

13. The airtreatment is defined as any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the earring can be applied / placed by the user to the ear of the animal using only one hand and by means of an applicator device with a bolt.

14. The identification tag according to claim 13, characterized in that the applicator device is preferably applicator clips.

15. The identification tag according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has an assembly configuration that leaves it unusable if an attempt is made to disassemble it.

16. The identification tag according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it can be marked on any of its surfaces by means of laser and / or ink, as well as including any electronic device immersed in any of its parts.

17. The identification tag according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is placed on animals, preferably cattle.