RU2265324C2 - Ear tag attachment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: agricultural engineering.

SUBSTANCE: apparatus comprises first clamping part having elongated finger adapted for securing inside opening of animal's ear tag portion to be embraced, second clamping part adapted for securing and supporting by animal's ear tag embracing portion, first and second handle parts pivotally joined with each other for moving first and second clamping parts. Displacement of first handle part relative to second handle part results in displacement of first and second clamping parts toward one another and displacement of ear tag portion to be embraced through animal's ear for securing it with ear tag embracing portion, said portion being held by second clamping part on opposite side of animal's ear. Apparatus is further equipped with shifting device adapted for shifting of clamping parts to opening position, and locking device for joining first clamping part with second handle part. Locking device is detached after full securing of tag portion to be embraced with tag embracing portion of animal's ear tag for displacing first clamping part urged by displacement device to opening position regardless of handle parts. Longitudinal axis of elongated finger is positioned under front angle A deg, when clamping parts are in opening position and are extending substantially vertically to second clamping part, with tip of ear tag portion to be embraced being in contact with animal's ear. Longitudinal part of elongated finger moves beyond indicated substantially perpendicular position before first clamping part is released, with elongated finger being flexibly or pivotally joined with first clamping part and longitudinal axis of elongated finger extending behind its rotational axis to provide at least partial turning of ear tag located on elongated finger outside of first clamping part in response to force applied transverse to elongated finger.

EFFECT: simplified construction and reduced injury to animals.

4 cl, 11 dwg

Description

The invention relates to an ear tag attaching device for attaching ear tags to animals, such as cattle and the like, for identification.

A number of devices for attaching ear tags are well known and disclosed in the descriptions of many patents in the prior art. In the descriptions, which relate to devices for placing ear tags, consisting of 2 parts, various methods of releasing the device from the ear tag after its attachment were considered. In the simplest embodiments, the devices are made in the form of pincers in which the handles are pulled apart from each other, as a result of which the clamps are rotated to the open position to release the ear tag when the handles are likewise rotated from each other. If the animal is moving at this time, the animal’s ear may be damaged. With hand-held handles, the biasing tool does not open the clamps of the device until the user relieves pressure on the handles, which creates a delay.

To solve this problem, a number of devices for ear tags, consisting of 2 parts, is equipped with a finger that engages the covered part of the tag, which can be released from the covered part. Such mechanisms are not always reliable, and there is a tendency to lock the finger in engagement with the male part after its engagement with the female part, when the animal twitches, jamming the clamps of the device.

The present invention will be described in detail for ear tags consisting of two parts, which, for simplicity, relate to male and female tags, although the parts together form a single tag. However, it is understood that the present invention can be easily used for a one-piece ear tag when the animal’s ear provides resistance to pulling the tag.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a device for attaching an ear tag for labeling an animal, which eliminated some of the disadvantages of the prototype or which, at least, provides the user with a choice.

The problem is solved due to the fact that in the device for attaching an ear tag, containing the first clamping part having an elongated finger, made with the possibility of fastening inside the hole of the covered part of the ear tag for the animal, the second clamping part, made with the possibility of fastening and supporting the covering part of the ear tags, first and second grip parts, pivotally connected to each other to move the first and second clamping parts in such a way that the movement of the first grip part is relative relative to the second grip part, the first and second clamping parts move towards each other and moves the male part of the ear tag through the animal’s ear and fastens it with the female part held by the second clamping part on the opposite side of the animal’s ear, biasing means for biasing the clamping parts into opening position, snap means connecting in operative position the first clamping part to the second handle part, wherein the snap means is actuated by the floor of securing the male and female ear tag parts to move the first clamping part under the action of the biasing means to the opening position independently of the handle parts, according to the invention, the longitudinal axis of the finger is located at a rake angle A ° when the clamping parts are in the opening position and essentially perpendicular to the second clamping part, when the tip of the male part of the tag is in contact with the ear of the animal, and the longitudinal axis of the finger moves outside the specified essentially perpendicular the position to be smaller than the perpendicular, until the first clamping part is released, while the finger is flexibly or pivotally connected to the first clamping part and to the longitudinal axis of the finger extending behind its pivot axis for at least partially turning the tag located on the finger out from the first clamping part in response to a force transverse to the elongated finger.

Preferably, the finger is positioned at an angle of at least substantially 18 ° from the perpendicular to the second clamping part until the first clamping part is released.

In addition, one end of the first grip portion adjacent to the first clamping portion may be provided with a support surface to limit further rotation of the first clamping portion by the biasing means to establish an opening position of the first clamping portion.

Preferably, the shock absorbing means is also provided between the first clamping part and the first grip part on or abut against the bearing surface in order to prevent the impact forces during the first grip part when the first clamping part is turned to the opening position.

Additional aspects of this invention may become apparent to those skilled in the art in the following description.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The following is a description with reference to the drawings, in which:

figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a device;

figure 2 is a perspective view with a spatial separation of the parts of the device of figure 1;

figure 3 is a view in section of the device of figures 1 and 2;

figure 4 is a perspective image of a further embodiment of the device;

Figure 5 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the device of Figure 4;

figures 6A and 6B are views in sections from the side and from the end of the clamp / finger assembly of figures 4 and 5;

figure 7 is a perspective image with a spatial separation of the details of a variant of implementation of the device from figures 4 to 6;

figure 8 is an embodiment of the device of figures 4-7 with the finger turned outward;

figure 9 is an embodiment of the device of figures 4-8 in the clamping position when the ear tag is in place;

figure 10 - the device of figure 9 to close the clamps;

figure 11 is a device from figures 9 and 10 after releasing the finger from the tag.

In figures 1-3 of the drawings shows the device 1 together with the first clip 2 and the second clip 3, which are made with the possibility of engagement, respectively, of the first and second or covered and covering parts 50, 51 of the ear tag, consisting of two parts, or, alternatively, ear tags consisting of one part (not shown). When the clips 2, 3 are moved towards each other, the parts of the ear tag can be fastened to the opposite sides of the animal’s ear to hold the ear tag in the animal’s ear.

In this particular embodiment, the movement of the first and second clamping parts 2, 3 is achieved by manipulating the first and second grip parts 4 and 5, respectively. When the handle parts 4 and 5 move towards each other, the clamping parts 2 and 3 move towards the closing position in which the ear tag is fixed. In figure 1, the clamping parts 2 and 3 are shown in the opening position.

Although the handle parts and the clamping parts are made in the form of parts of the device such as pliers, other configurations are possible. You can create other types of handles with different working mechanisms to move the first and second clamps towards each other. However, due to its simplicity, a pliers type device with handles and clamps moving around a common pivot axis 6 is preferred.

The first clamping part 2 may be provided with elongated finger engaging means 7, which is formed to hold inside the opening of the male part 50 of the tag and move this part of the tag towards the second clamp 3 and to the female part 51 of the tag supported by the holding means 8 . In particular, as shown in sectional view in FIG. 3, the holding means 8 can be made in the form of a pivot bar 8, and the female tag portion 51 can be placed in the cavity 9 under the bar 8 for holding in place. If necessary, appropriate biasing means, such as a spring 10, may be provided to apply some pressure to the female tag portion 51 placed in the cavity 9 and to keep the tag portion 51 in place.

As shown in FIG. 2, although a common axis is provided for the handle parts 4 and 5 and the clamping parts 2 and 3, which is the pivot axis 6, at least one part 2 of the clamping parts can independently move relative to the handle parts towards the opening position . In this particular example, the first clamp 2 is formed as a releasable portion with respect to the moving handle portion 5.

In the section shown in figure 3, it can be seen that the lower clamp 3 is made in one piece with the handle part 4, as a result of which a static relationship is provided for these two parts relative to the axis of rotation 6. The upper or first clamping part 2 is connected or made in one piece with the rotary latch 11, moving around the axis 6 of rotation. It can be seen that when the second grip part 5 extends toward the first grip part 4, engagement means 12 that rotate about an axis 14 made on this second grip part 5 engages the pivoting latch 11 to move the first clamp 2 toward the position closures. When the grip part 4 together with the grip part 5 approaches the closing position, the disengaging means 13 formed in the form of a protruding section from the grip part 4 can come into contact with the engaging means 12 and rotate the engaging means 12 around its own pivot axis 14, after whereby the engaging means 12 is no longer bonded to the pivoting latch 11. Thereafter, the first clip 2 is not restricted to pivot about the pivot axis 6, irrespective of the handle portion 5.

The grip or other engagement means 12 is shown by an offset spring 52 in the engaging position with the latch 11. The relationship between the protrusion 13, the latch 11 and the grip 12, as well as the movement of the finger 7 with the male part 50 tags are organized so that only after the male part 50 tags fully attached to the female part 51 of the tag, clip 2 is released.

To bias the first clamp 2 toward the opening position, biasing means are provided. The biasing means may have a large number of alternative views. Typically, biasing means may be some types of springs, which may include configurations such as a compression spring 15 between the first and second clamping parts, a tension spring 16 acting between the first clamp 2 and the handle part 4, or a circular spring (not shown), acting around the axis of rotation 6. The specific type of biasing means can be changed when necessary. However, as you can see, the tension spring 16 may be preferable to reduce the complexity of the mechanism near the axis of rotation 6 when using a spring acting around this axis 6 of rotation, and to leave free space between the clamps, which, as you can see, is more difficult to do in the case of the compression spring 15 .

To shift the handles 4, 5 to the opening position, when the user relieves the pressure exerted on the handles, another biasing means, such as a compression spring 29, can be used. Again, the biasing means 29 can be implemented in a variety of ways, including a variety of springs.

As soon as the engaging means 12 is released from the pivoting latch 11, the first clamping part 2 is not limited to rotate to the opening position under the action of the biasing means. In the configuration shown, the first clamping part 2 is moved away from contact with the abutment surface 17 at the adjacent end of the first handle portion 4. This contact between the first clamp 2 and the abutment surface 17 limits the amount of rotation of the first clamping part 2 toward the opening position. However, to reduce the impact on the handle part 4 resulting from the collision of the first clamping part 2 with the abutment surface 17, it is possible to provide a damping means 18 acting between the first clamp 2 and the abutment surface 17. The use of a certain amount of elastic material in this section may be sufficient to reduce the shock caused by the mechanism when the mechanism reaches the opening position.

In alternative forms of the invention, the rotation of the rotary latch 11 together with the first clamping part 2 can be used to limit the collision of the first clamping part 2 with the handle part 4. In such an embodiment, a second abutment surface can be formed on the engaging means 12, for example, in the form of an additional protrusion 19. In this case, when the handles approach the closing position and the engaging part 12 rotates from its initial engagement with the rotary latch 11, the first clip 2 will rotate about as long as the rotary latch 11 will not be based on the second portion 19 of the engagement. Alternatively, you can use the protrusion on the latch 11 to collide with the front surface of the capture 12 or to set it in motion. This may be preferred in order to completely eliminate contact between the first clamping part 2 and the handle part 4.

In FIG. 3, it can be seen that the elongated engaging means or the drive pin 7 can be positioned at such a rake angle A ° to the first clamping part 2, so that when the clamping parts rotate about the pivot axis 6 towards the closing position, the pin 7 is mounted essentially perpendicular to the bottom clip 3 when moving the tip 20 on the finger 7 almost to the bar 8. This happens so that the finger is installed perpendicularly when the tip 20 of the male part 50 of the tag is in contact with the animal’s ear. In this place, the greatest strength of the finger 7 is required to begin piercing the ear. An additional rotation to the final closing position, in which the male part 50 of the tag is fully bonded to the female part 51 of the tag held in the cavity 9, leads to the rotation of the finger 7 outside the perpendicular installation to increase the reliability of the fastening of the two parts of the tag. It has been found that in the case of the proposed geometry, an angle of deviation from the perpendicular of approximately 18 to 20 °, possibly slightly larger or smaller, is a suitable angle between the finger 7 and the lower clip 3 when the finger 7 is fully in the locked position. The angle may vary in accordance with a specific design and its orientation with respect to the axis of rotation 6.

As for figure 2, it may be desirable to make the rotary latch 11 in the form of one or more parts of a hardened material, for example, in the form of two parts shown in figure 2, which themselves are located on a common axis 6 of rotation. The use of hardened or solid material for the latch 11 can be advantageous, especially if most of the parts of the mechanism are made of materials such as plastics, and they can wear out over time. In an alternative design, many parts can be made of metals, especially metal such as aluminum, which will reduce weight. Similarly, the engaging means 12 can be made of solid material and in two parts, as shown in FIG. 2.

In one embodiment, the spring or biasing means can be used to open the handles 4, 5 and re-moving the gripper 12 to the contact position with the latch 11, or these two stages can be performed, as already described, by separate springs or other biasing means.

Thus, according to the invention, there is provided a device for attaching ear tags for labeling animals, in which independent movement of at least one clamping part under the influence of the biasing means is allowed after the clamps have reached the closing position in which the male and female parts of the tag are completely fastened , and the ear tag is completely closed up. This eliminates the need to open the handle parts 4 and 5 to release the device from the ear tag. In addition, there is no need to impose on the hooking means 7 the release function from the ear tag when the clamps are still in the locked position.

An additional embodiment of the invention is shown in figures 4-11, while it retains the same already used reference numbers. In this embodiment, the device 1 'is in many respects made in the same manner as in the previous embodiment, with the first clip 2 formed in the form of a retractable clip, which is removed from the direct rotation connection with the handles 4, 5, as a result of which it can be rotated to the opening position regardless of the handles 4, 5 under the influence of appropriate means of bias.

However, in this embodiment, the elongated finger 7 is fixed to the mounting unit 22, which itself is rotatably attached by a hinge 23 to the first clip 2. As can be seen, in particular in figure 8, this allows the elongated finger 7 to be turned out from the first clamp 2 in the direction of the arrow shown in figure 4.

As for figures 5, 6 and 7, it can be seen that the mounting unit 22 is pivotally fixed so that the longitudinal axis of the elongated finger 7 extends behind the axis of rotation 23. In this case, the longitudinal force along the elongated finger 7 during the tag attachment process helps to stabilize the elongated finger 7 in its position necessary for insertion, rather than turning it outward. Since the force is applied to the elongated finger 7, it is supported by the pivot axis 23 and the thrust protrusion 24 of the mounting unit 22. The thrust protrusion 24 is engaged with the first clamp so that the elongated finger 7 is not rotated back from the position in which it brings two parts of the ear tag.

The mounting unit 22 has a curved surface 25 that counteracts the elastic element 26 to further stabilize the mounting unit 22. However, when a transverse force is applied to rotate the elongate engagement means 7 outward, the surface 25 can move relative to the elastic element 26 to allow such an outward rotation . The element 26 biases the installation unit 22 to the finger insertion position, but as soon as it is overcome and the element 26 rests on the adjacent other surfaces of the installation unit 22, it can displace the installation unit 22 so that the elongated finger 7 is directed outward from the first clip 2 and is installed, usually parallel to the general direction of the first clamp 2, as shown in figure 8.

The manner in which the resilient member 26 acts with respect to the curved surface 25 enables the mounting block 22 to rotate partially outward in the direction of arrow X, but allows it to be shifted to its stable position, as shown in FIG. 5, to fully complete the rotation necessary for release finger 7 from male tag portion 50.

In an alternative embodiment, preferably, the rotatable assembly for the finger 7 (or the finger itself) is made (made) at least partially flexible in order to again enable the movement of the finger 7 with a forward rotation, which facilitates its release from the male part 50 of the tag .

By combining an independently retractable upper clip 2 and a pivotally or flexibly fixed elongated pin 7 in this preferred embodiment, the likelihood of jamming of the ear tag parts 50, 51 in the device 1 ′, causing damage to the animal’s ear if it tries to move during the tag attachment process, is reduced. Two separate release methods work together.

The retractable upper clip 2 described in the first embodiment has a tendency to jam if the animal twitches during the tag attachment process. In the embodiment shown in figures 1 to 3, with the fixed elongated finger 7, it is difficult to release the elongated finger 7 from the male part 50 of the tag when the finger 7 is jammed against the sides of the cavity in the male part 50 of the tag in which it is located.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 4-11 with independent retraction of the first clip 2, even a minimal movement of the elongated finger 7 in the direction of arrow X limits the force with which the animal pulls the ear tag toward itself by moving its ear 53, shown as a contour in Figure 9, and which can affect the finger 7, jamming it in the covered part 50 of the tag and preventing the abduction. Completely articulating the rotation of the finger 7 in a horizontal position may not be necessary to improve functioning; even compensation for minimal displacement providing some lateral force can reduce the likelihood of jamming. Although this preferred form relates to the articulation of the elongated engagement means 7, as mentioned above, some types of lateral flexibility or movement may be required to limit the force exerted by the ear tag in relation to the finger 7.

Likewise, the outward extension of the elongated finger 7 around the pivot axis 23 can occur simultaneously with some retraction of the first clamp 2, which can be compensated by a slight increase in the depth reached by the finger 7 in the male part 50 of the tag at the start of the turn.

As for figure 7, the latch 11 of figures 1-3 is replaced by a latch 30 formed on the rotary end of the clamp 2. The latch 30 is installed between the bifurcation of the end 31 of the handle 5. The latch 30 has a recess 39, into which a discrete element can be inserted 33 of solid material forming a surface engaged by the tip 38 on the gripper 34. The gripper 34 is compressed to engage with a spring 36 mounted between the protrusion 37 on the handle 5 and the recess 35 in the gripper 34. In the position shown 5, the end of the protrusion 13 just engages the surface 40 of the gripping device 34 to begin to rotate it and release it from the latch 30. When the release is completed, the finger 7 will additionally move down from the position shown in figure 5, to guarantee complete fastening covered parts 50 tags with a covering part 51 tags.

As for figures 6A, 6B, they show that the end 25 can abut against the edge 28 of the clip 2, when the finger 7 is completely moved to a horizontal position. In addition, although the resistance to movement of the end 25 extending along the end 27 of the element 26 may depend on the elasticity of the element 26 and on its rotation about the axis of rotation 42, it is provided that the biasing means, for example a spring, can be used in conjunction with the element 26, which itself some embodiments may not be resilient.

To provide support with respect to the handle 5, an elastic stop 49 is formed at the end of the handle 4.

It can be seen that in this additional embodiment, not only are there two ways to get rid of the ear tag, but the different methods work together to reduce the risk of jamming when using any method.

Where reference is made in the foregoing description to specific details or parts of the invention having known equivalents, such equivalents are included in the present description as if they were offered separately.

Although this invention has been described by way of example and with reference to its possible embodiments, it is understood that modifications or improvements can be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.

Claims (4)

1. A device (1) for attaching an ear tag, comprising a first clamping part (2) having an elongated finger (7) configured to fasten inside the opening of the male part (50) of the ear tag for the animal, a second clamping part (3) made with the possibility of fastening and supporting the ear tag covering part (51), the first and second grip parts (4), (5) pivotally connected to each other to move the first and second clamping parts (2), (3) so that the movement the first handle part (4) relative to the second hand the groove part (5) leads to the movement of the first and second clamping parts (2), (3) towards each other and moves the male part (50) of the ear tag through the animal’s ear and fastens it with the female part (51) held by the second clamp part (3) on the opposite side of the animal’s ear, biasing means (16) for shifting the clamping parts (2, 3) to the opening position, snap means (30) connecting in the working position the first clamping part (2) with the second grip part (5 ), and the latching means (30) is disconnected after full fastening the male (50) and female (51) ear tag parts to move the first clamping part (2) under the action of the biasing means (16) to the opening position independently of the handle parts (4, 5), characterized in that the longitudinal axis of the finger (7 ) is located at a rake angle A ° when the clamping parts (2, 3) are in the open position and essentially perpendicular to the second clamping part (3), when the tip 20 of the male part (50) of the tag is in contact with the animal’s ear, the longitudinal axis of the finger (7) moves outside the indicated by su perpendicular to the release of the first clamping part (2), while the finger (7) is flexibly or pivotally connected to the first clamping part (2) and to the longitudinal axis of the finger (7) extending beyond its pivot axis for at least partial turning the tag located on the finger (7) outward from the first clamping part (2) in response to a force transverse to the elongated finger (7). 2. A device for attaching an ear tag according to claim 1, characterized in that the finger (7) is located at an angle of at least essentially 18 ° from the perpendicular to the second clamping part (3) until the first clamping part (2) is released. 3. A device for attaching an ear tag according to claim 1, characterized in that one end of the first grip part (4) adjacent to the first clamping part (2) is provided with a supporting surface (17) to limit further rotation of the first clamping part (2) under the action of the biasing means (18) to establish the opening position of the first clamping part (2). 4. A device for attaching an ear tag according to claim 3, in which the shock absorbing means (18) are made between the first clamping part (2) and the first handle part (4) on the supporting surface (17) or against it to prevent impact forces during the first grip part (4) when the first clamping part (2) is turned to the opening position.

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