NZ231510A - One piece eartag: male and female portions joined by bridge of less width: weak hinge line in bridge - Google Patents

Description

^ I u i 0 231510 Patents Form # 5 .. . -rt=eS»1 CVr.~. j ■ NEW ZEALAND Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION AFTER PROVISIONAL NO : 231510 DATED : 24 November 1989 TITLE : ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION TAG I/We, : ITW New Zealand Limited, a New Zealand company of 7 Charann Place, Avondale, Auckland, New Zealand, hereby declare the invention, for which I/we pray that a patent may be granted to me/us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: PF05.JWP FEE CODE -1050 231510 FIELD This invention relates to identification tags for animals, and has particular application to "hang-down" ear tags for application to cattle and sheep.

BACKGROUND Identification tags for animals for attachment to the animal's ear, are typically formed on two pieces, one portion being formed of a soft plastic such as polyurethane, having an aperture therein, whereas the other piece is usually formed of a harder material, and typically has a metal spike which is forced through the animal's ear and through the aperture in the other portion, so that the two parts are fitted together and hang-down from the animal's ear. One or both parts of the tag typically bears a number or other indicia to identify the animal.

These hang-down tags require the use of specially designed applicators, and moreover the two components have to be separately loaded into an applicator before attachment to the animal's ear. This is particularly inconvenient, especially if both components are to contain the same indicia.

One piece tags have been formed from plastic, in the form of a strip having an aperture at one end and a prong at the other end. They are generally formed of a flexible plastics material so that the tag can be bent back on itself and punctured through the animal's ear. Such tags cannot hang-down in the manner of the two piece "hang-down" tags described above, as the bent over portion of the tag will contact the animal's ear, or alternatively the tag needs to be placed on the animal's ear near the periphery, and may not be as securely attached as the two piece tags described above.

Attempts have also been made to produce "stand-up tags" using two or more components but these have not proved to be entirely satisfactory as they require even more accurate placement than the one piece tags, and suffer from the usual disadvantages of two piece tags. ^ & w /• if * 13 J UN 1994 3>llC3.694/lv \ 231510 OBJECT It is an object of this invention to provide an improved animal identification tag, or one which will at least provide the farmer with a useful choice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect, the invention provides an identification tag for animals and suitable for use with an applicator tool, said tag being supplied in one piece and including a first portion having an aperture therein, a second portion having a male member protruding therefrom, said first and second portions being connected by a bridging portion of lesser width than the width of the first and second portions, said bridging portion having at least one severable connection between said first and second portions comprising at least one weak hinge line wherein in use operation of the applicator tool to affix the tag to an animal will also cause bending of said first and second portions towards each other and will further weaken said hinge line or lines, and facilitate severing of said first portion from said second portion by breaking along said line or lines.

Preferably the tag is formed substantially entirely from a plastic material. More preferably the tag is injection moulded in one-piece from nylon either as a single tag or as a "belt" or group of tags connected together by thin webs or sprue lines which can be readily broken as one tag is applied to an animal's ear.

Alternatively, other severable or frangible materials could be used. In some applications it may be preferable to form the tags of metal with thin "hinge lines" where the tag is to be separated.

More preferably, the severable connection comprises a connection plate which can be separated from both the first and the second portions of the tag. . 13 JUN 199-1 J91»C3.6»4/iv \ 231510 Preferably the connection plate is in the form of a spine, so that when partially folded, the connection means resembles the spine of a book, and can be held in an applicator tool at substantially right angles to the first and second portions just prior to completion of the attachment of the first and second portions to one another and to the animal's ear.

Alternatively, the first and second portions could be joined together by a single hinge, or by one or more weakened portions of plastics material which could be severed by a knife or the like forming part of the applicator tool.

In another aspect, the invention provides an identification tag for connection to an animal's ear, said tag being formed in one piece from a plastics material, said tag including a first portion having an aperture therein, a second portion having a male member protruding therefrom, said male member being capable of passing through an aperture in an animal's ear and through the aperture in the first portion to secure the first and second portions together, said tag further including a connection between said first and second portions, wherein said connection means is weak, and arranged to be further weakened by bending of the tag during application of the tag to an animal's ear, to facilitate severing along the connection means by opposing movement of the first and second portions, to allow the first and second portions to hang down from said male member.

In another aspect, the invention provides a plurality of animal identification tags as previously described connected together in the form of a cartridge or belt for insertion into an applicator tool.

In a yet further aspect, the invention provides an applicator tool for use with an animal identification tag (as previously described) or a series of such tags, said tool including a pair of movable jaws having a seat capable of receiving and holding one such tag, and having parts positioned and arranged to force parts of said tag on either side of said connection in opposing directions, to break said connection, and to separate the first and second portions during or after attachment of the tag to the animal's ear. 7 ; M ' ''13 JUU1994 39IIC3.C94/1V 231510 In a further aspect, the invention provides a method of attaching an identification tag having a substantially flat configuration, a male member on one portion of the tag and a complementary part on another portion of the tag, and at least one weak hinge line between said portions, with a tool having a pair of movable jaws, capable of receiving and holding a said tag between said jaws, comprising the steps of fitting a said tag in the jaws of a said tool, bending the tag with the tool to further weaken said hinge line and bring said male member and complementary part together, and closing the tool to engage said male member and complementary part, and force parts of said tag in opposing directions to break said hinge line.

These and other aspects of this invention, which will be considered in all its novel aspects, will become apparent from the following description, which is given by way of an example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: DRAWINGS FIGURE 1: is a perspective view of a preferred tag, in partially bent configuration with a portion of the tag cut away to show the male member.

FIGURE 2: illustrates the preferred tag in top plan view.

FIGURE 3: illustrates the preferred tag in side elevation.

FIGURE 4*. illustrates the preferred tag in side elevation, partially bent, within the jaws of an applicator tool.

FIGURE 5: illustrates a preferred applicator tool for use with such a tag.

./** Q. a 391ICS«f94/lv < t i t* ' i \ loJuKiirJ-t 6 510 23 1 PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Animal identification tags in accordance with this invention, are preferably formed in one piece from a suitable plastics material. Preferably, the tags are moulded from nylon, as this is tough enough to enable a male member or spike formed of nylon to pierce the animal's ear and to penetrate the aperture in the other portion of the tag, without the need for an over moulded metal spike or the use of a special component to cut the animal's ear or to reinforce the spike in any way.

Whilst it is clearly preferable to form the tag from one material, without the addition of a metal spike, it will be appreciated that the invention equally applies to tags having an over moulded metal spike, tags formed of composite materials, and tags having hollow spikes or the like for use with special applicator tools in which the applicator tool includas a pin to reinforce the spike during penetration of the animal's ear.

Preferably the one piece plastics tag 10 as shown in the drawings has a first tag component 11 having an aperture therein, a second tag component 12 having the male member or spike 13 protruding therefrom, and connection means 14 which preferably takes the form of a weakened spine 14A, said connection means having two hinge lines, or zones of weakness 15,16 adjacent the first and second tag portions.

As shown in the drawings, by folding the tag about these hinge lines, the first and second portions move towards one another, and prior to penetration of the animal's ear, the spike faces towards the aperture, such that the first and second portions are at substantially right angles to the spine of the tag.

Preferably the tag is applied by means of an applicator tool 20, which in its simplest form is similar to a pair of pliers, having jaws capable of receiving the tag as shown in Figure 4.

Preferably the jaws are provided with transverse notches or grooves 21 at top and bottom capable of trapping the spine in place. This is best seen in Figure • i \" 39llCS.694/iv 13 iuii 1394 2315 ^ 0 4, where the jaws have recesses which are complementary to protrusions on the tags, so that the tag is located in place during the bending operation.

As the one piecc tag is bent into the position shown in Figure 4, the spine 14A is trapped within the top and bottom grooves of the applicator, and the spine is hild rigid, as there is preferably insufficient tolerance within the grooves to allow the spine to bend. Further movement of the jaws will cause the first and second portions to move towards one another, so that at the same time as the spike penetrates the animal's ear 10 and penetrates the aperture in the first portion, the first and second portions are sheared (or "broken") from the spine as they are moved bodily towards one another whilst the spine is held in a fixed position.

It will be appreciated that by using an applicator tool of this type, the tag can be simply 15 and readily affixed to an animal's ear, in ruch a way that the resulting tag hangs down as if it were a two piece "hang-down" tag, whilst the farmer need only deal with a single tag prior to insertion of the tag in the applicator.

Moreover, by using connection means in the form of a spine, and holding this in a fixed 20 position whilst moving the first and second portions of the tag, the movement of the applicator jaws can be used to shear or break the two tag portions from the spine without the need for the use of a separate knife which might otherwise cut or tear the animal's ear.

By forming the tag in one piece, as shown, the tags can be formed as a series or belt, for sequential insertion into the applicator, and one or more portions of each tag may be numbered or provided with human readable or computer readable indicia.

As shown in Figure 1, a number is visible on the first portion of the tag, although the 30 same number could be provided on the second portion of the tag, and if desired may also be provided on the spine, so that when the spine is sheared from the first and second portions, the farmer may retain a record of the number of the tag applied to the animal. If collected by the farmer, these discarded spines could provide a count of the number of tags applied to / ;>1'''' -. . » * 3»llCS.«»4/lv • '13 ilili A -8 231510 animals, although it is envisaged that most farmers will probably not wish to retain this extra information, and if the spine is made small enough, it may simply be discarded during application.

It will be appreciated that numerous modifications may be made to the invention, including the provision of a different form of applicator e.g. one with a knife or other means for cutting or separating the components of the tag. The tag may be provided in a range of different sizes or shapes, and/or the connection means between the first and 10 second portions may take a number of different forms.

Additional components may be attached to the first or second portions of the tag, e.g. one or more tear off portions as described in our earlier New Zealand patent application #225653, Although we prefer to injection mould the tag from nylon, it will be appreciated that other materials may be used, and that for some applications it may be preferable to include a metal spike, or indeed manufacture the entire tag from metal rather than a plastics material.

Finally, it will be appreciated that various other alterations or modifications may be made to the foregoing without departing from the scope of this invention as defined by the following claims. ."1 r' a»ucs.(M/iv , '• i u M !l V % ** ^ T* 1 ' 0 ■<* & & 231510

Claims (15)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. An identification tag for animals and suitable for use with an applicator tool, said tag being supplied in one piece and including a first portion having an aperture therein, a second portion having a male member protniding therefrom, said first and second portions being connected by a bridging portion of lesser width than the width of the first and second portions, said bridging portion having at least one severable connection between said first and seconcLportions comprising at least one weak hinge line wherein in use operation of theApplicator tool to affix the tag to an animal will also cause bending of said firstind second portions towards each other and will further weaken said hinge line ojlines, and facilitate severing of said first portion from said second portion by breaking along said line or lines.

2. An identification tag as claimed in clap 1, wherein said tag is supplied in a substantially flat configuration with saicy first, second and bridging portions lying substantially in a common plane, wherein in use said tag can be bent to bring said first and second portions towards eaclyother, and said male member is capable of passing through an animal's ear and/through the aperture in the first portion to secure the first and second portions together, whilst at the same time breaking along said line or lines to separate the tag into two pieces joined by the male member. 3. An identification tag as claimed ik claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said tag is formed substantially entirely from a plastics material. 4. An identification tag as claimed/in claim 3, wherein said plastics material is nylon. 5. An identification tag as claimpd in any one of the preceding claims wherein the bridging portion comprises k connection plate between said first and second portions, having a pair of weak hinge lines, with one weak hinge line between said first portion and said bridging portion and the other weak hinge line between said second portion and said bridging portion, such that the tag can be bent about the connection plate to facilitate inter-engagement of the male member and the aperture. V lilies.(»4/lv / uiuwm-; AS AMENDED 2.1/^10 WHAT WE CLAIM IS 1. An identification tug for animals, supplied in one piece, said tag including a first 5 portion having an aperture therein, a second portion having a male member protruding therefrom, at least one severable connection between said first and second portions, and having a substantially flat configuration with said first and second portions lying substantially in u common plane, wherein said tag can be bent to bring said first and second portions towards each other, said male 10 member is capable of passing through an animal's car and through the aperture in the first portion to secure the first and second portions together, and wherein said at least one severable conncction between said first and second portions comprises a connection plate between said first and second portions, joined to each said portion by a respective weak hinge line, such that the tag can be bent 15 about the connection plate to facilitate inter-engagement of the male member and the aperture and wherein bending of said first and second portions towards each other can further weaken said hinge lines, and facilitate severing of said first portion from said second portion by breaking said hinge lines. 20 2. An identification tag as claimed in claim I, wherein said tag is formed substantially entirely from a plastics material.

3. An identification tag as claimed in claim 2, wherein said plastics material is nylon. 25

4. An identification tag as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the conncction plate is of lesser width that the width of the first and second members.

5. An identification tag as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said 30 connection plate is in the form of a spine so that when partially folded, the connection plate resembles the spine of a book, and can be held in an applicator tool at substantially right angles to the first and second portions just prior to completion of the attachment of the first and second portions to one another and to the animals's ear. 35 6. An identification tag as claimed in claim 5 wherein said connection plate is •tfclltCTU. r^'tn, fOFHii] 26 March 1998/391lMCLA35B/BS'ms /iECElVFn \\o' -10 231510

6. An identification tag as claimed in claim 5, whereir/said connection plate is in the form of a spine so that when partially folded, th/connection plate resembles the spine of a book, and can be held in an applicatowool at substantially right angles to the first and second portions just prior to completion of the attachment of the first and second portions to one another and to thai animal's ear.

7. An identification tag as claimed in clainjS or 6, wherein said connection plate is severed by the pressure of an applicato/tool holding the connection plate in a fixed position whilst moving the first and second portions towards one another across the connection plate.

8. An identification tag as claimed jfi any preceding claim, wherein said male member is formed substantially of mete

9. A plurality of identification tags as claimed in any preceding claim, connected together.

10. An applicator tool for usfe with an identification tag as claimed in any one of claims 1-9, or with a plurality of said tags as claimed in claim 10, said tool including a pair of movable jaws/naving a seat capable of receiving and holding one such tag, and having parts positioned and arranged to force parts of said tag on either side of said connection towards one another, to break said connection and to separate the first and second portions during or after attachment of the tag to the animal's ear, said parts including a transverse notch or groove at the base of an inside face of at least one said jaw, whereby in use said inside face can bear against a first part of said tag on one side of said connection, but not against a second part of said tag on the other side of said connection, positioned adjacent said notch or groove. 11. An applicator tool as claimed in claim 10 wherein each of said pair of jaws has at the base of its inside face a said transverse notch or groove. c 13 JUN 1334 ' \ r o 3fltCS.<t4/lv H ^ 2^\Si° AS AMENDED tc severed by the pressure of an applicator tool holding the conncction plate in a fixed position whilst moving the first and sccond portions towards one another across the connection plate. 5 7. An identification tug as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said male member is formed substantially of metal. 8. A plurality of identification tags as claimcd in any preceding claim, connected 10 together. 9. An applicator tool for use with an identification tag as claimed in any one of claims I to 7, or with a plurality of said tags as claimed in claim 8, said tool including a pair of movable jaws having a scat capable of receiving and holding 15 one such tag, and having parts positioned and arranged to force said first and sccond portions of said tag on either side of said connection plate towards one another, to break said hinge lines and to separate the first and second portions from the connection plate during or after attachment of the lag to the animal's car, said parts including a transverse notch or groove at the base of an inside 20 face of each of said jaws, whereby in use, each of said inside faces can bear against only one of said portions of said tag on one side of said connection plate, but not against the other of said portions of said tag on the other side of said connection plate positioned adjacent said hinge lines. 25 10. An applicator tool as claimed in claim 9 wherein each of said pair of jaws has at the base of its inside face a said transverse notch or groove.

11. A method of attaching a one-piece identification tag to an animals' car and transforming the tag into a three piece tag during attachment, the tag having a SO male member on one portion of the tag and a complementary part on another portion of the tag, said tag portions being joined together by a connection plate joined to each portion by a weak hinge line, including the steps of attaching the tag with a tool having a pair of movable jaws, capable of receiving and holding a said tag between said jaws, comprising the steps of fitting a said tag in the 35 jaws of a said tool so that the tag is bent with its hinge lines close to the base of the jaws, and applying the tag to an animal's ear, bending the tag with the tool MldLLtUIUrtL QFriut or n.z. 26 March 1998/3918MCLA.398/BS/ma 17 L.3 RECEIVED -11- 12. A method of attaching a one-piece identification tag to an animal's ear and transforming the tag into a two piece tag during attachment, the tag having a male member on one portion of the tag and a complementary part on another portion of the tag, and at least one weak hinge line between said portions, attaching the tag with a tool having a pair of movable jaws, capable of receiving and holding a said tag between said jaws, comprising the steps/of fitting a said tag in the jaws of a said tool so that the tag is bent with its hinga line close to the base of the jaws, and applying the tag to an animal's ear, bending the tag with the tool to further weaken said hinge line and bring said male member and complementary part together, and closing the tool so that the male member penetrates the animal's ear and engages said complementary part, and thffclosing of the tool forces parts of said tag towards one another to break said/ninge line so that the tag is transformed into a two piece tag attached to the animal's ear. 13. An animal identification tag substantially as herein described with reference to any one of Figures 1-4 of the accompanying drawings. 14. A plurality of animal identification tags connected together substantially as herein described with reference to any one of Figures 1-4 of the accompanying drawings. 15. An applicator tool substantially as herein described with reference to either of Figures 4 or 5 of the accompanying drawings. 16. A method of attaching an identification tag to an animal's ear substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. JAMES W PIPER CO. Attorr licant ITWl ) LIMITED 13 J Oil 1394 391IC3.694/1V ti 2^'10 AS AMENDED to further weaken said hinge lines and bringing said male member and complementary part together, and closing the tool so that the male member penetrates the animal's ear and engages said complimentary part, and the 5 closing of the tool forces parts of said tag towards one another to break said hinge lines so that the tag is transformed into a two piece tag attached to the animal's ear, and the connection plate is separated therefrom.

12. An animal identification tag substantially as herein described with reference to 10 any one of Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.

13. A plurality of animal identification tags connected together, substantially as herein described with reference to any one of Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings. 15

14. An applicator tool substantially as herein described with reference to either of Figures 4 or 5 of the accompanying drawings.

15. A method of attaching an identification tag to an animal's ear substantially as 20 herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. JAMES W PIPER & CO Attorneys for the Applicant ITW NEW ZEALAND LIMITED 25 30 35 26 March 1998/3918KCLA. 398/BS/mj ' ■ <1 Tt'LLt C1 L'rt L~Fi,., r 11 i i y~ OF i-Or N.Z. i ? t.n ci3 | RECFIVFn