Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01K—ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; AVICULTURE; APICULTURE; PISCICULTURE; FISHING; REARING OR BREEDING ANIMALS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NEW BREEDS OF ANIMALS
  • A01K11/00—Marking of animals
  • A01K11/001—Ear-tags
  • A01K11/004—Ear-tags with electronic identification means, e.g. transponders
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01K—ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; AVICULTURE; APICULTURE; PISCICULTURE; FISHING; REARING OR BREEDING ANIMALS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NEW BREEDS OF ANIMALS
  • A01K11/00—Marking of animals
  • A01K11/006—Automatic identification systems for animals, e.g. electronic devices, transponders for animals

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a device for identifying articles such as animals, comprising a male part and a female part, which male part comprises an arrow-shaped element and which female part is provided with a passage with a front end and a rear end, wherein the arrow-shaped element can be inserted into the passage along the front end and wherein the passage is provided close to the front end with at least one protruding element.
• the invention further relates to a female part for use in such a device, to a method for manufacturing the female part of such a device, wherein the female part is manufactured by injection moulding using a multipart mould, and to a method for arranging an electronic transponder comprising at least one electronic component and an antenna winding in a part of hard plastic material.
• Such devices are for instance described in EP 0 941 656,, EP 1 161 139 and EP 0 639 942.
• the existing devices have the drawback of being relatively heavy, since the female part, which must be quite strong, is constructed from a plurality of components.
• the known embodiments are generally not fully fraud-proof or tamper- proof, wherein tamper-proof is specified in different ear tag regulations as: "the ear tag must display visible signs of any attempt at fraud".
• EP 0 639 942 shows in the figures an ear tag of the type stated in the preamble with a female part with a passage, the rear end of which is wholly open.
• the invention has for its object to provide a device and method of the type stated in the preamble, which device has a low weight and is tamper-proof, and which methods are easy to carry out.
• the invention provides for this purpose a device which is distinguished in that the passage is partly closed close to the rear end by a closing part, wherein the partly closed passage, including the protruding element, are manufactured integrally from a hard material.
• the arrow- shaped element can be inserted into the passage via the front end of the passage, wherein the at least one pirotruding element, as seen in the direction from the front end to the rear end of the passage, will engage behind the tip part of the arrow-shaped element and in this manner prevent removal of the arrow-shaped element back along the front end.
• the passage is partly closed near the rear end, it will not be possi-ble either to remove the arrow-shaped element along this rear end, such that a tamper-proof device is obtained which cannot be reused.
• the hard material from which the device i s manufactured is preferably a hard plastic such as acrylonitxile styrene acrylate (ASA) or polycarbonate (PC) .
• ASA acrylonitxile styrene acrylate
• PC polycarbonate
• the female part then weighs .Less than 3 grammes.
• a maximum weight for the ear tags is set for different types of animal.
• a maximum weight of the female part is set for different types of animal.
• a maximum weight of only 4 grammes Is permitted for piglets for the whole ear tag (male and female part) .
• this maximum weight is 12 grammes. This is particularly important for animals in which the ear tag is already arranged at a very young age.
• the maximum diameter of the arrow-shaped element is further preferably equal to or greater than the diameter of the passage, such that the ear tag retains an anvil effect during tagging so as to prevent crushing of the ear tissue.
• the female part is substantially disc-shaped, wherein the passage is arranged substantially centrally on the disc. This is an advantageous design which is particularly suitable for ear tags.
• an electronic transponder comprising at least one electronic component and an antenna winding is incorporated in the female part.
• a code coupled to the ear tag can be programmed in the electronic component and read in simple manner; using an electronic reader.
• Such an electronic transponder is for instance described in EP 0 941 656.
• two or more protruding elements are arranged close to the front end, spread regularly along the periphery of the passage. It is further recommended that trie perpendicular projections of the protruding parts and of the closing part onto a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the passage substantially do not overlap each other. As will further be found from the figure description, this has considerable advantages in the performing of the method according to the invention, particularly in respect of the design of the mould components.
• the method according to the invention is distinguished in that
• a first mould component is provided with a size and shape smaller than those of the passage for forming, wherein the cross-section is smaller than or equal to the smallest cross- section of the passage;
• a second mould component is arranged above the first mould component, which component has a lower part which together wiLth the first mould component has substantially the shape and size of the passage, and an upper part which together wi-th the top side of the first mould component bounds a space for the closing part;
• this method allows a device according to the invention to be made from a hard plastic material, wherein it is particularly possible to integrally manufacture the passage with the protruding parts on one side and the closing part on the other side by injection moulding.
• the form and size of the first mould component resembles as closely as possible that of the first passage, but the at least one protruding part and the first mould component, as seen in a projection onto a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the passage, do not overlap each other. In this way the first mould component can be removed without problem aILong the front end of the passage.
• the lower part of the second mould component and the closing part as seen in the projection onto a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the passage, do not overlap each other. In this way the second mould component can be removed without problem along the rear end of the passage.
• an electronic transponder comprising at least one electronic component and an antenna winding is arranged prior to the injection moulding in a space bounded by the multipart mould, into which space hard material is injected .
• the electronic transponder is preferably held by mould pins which retract during the injection moulding. In this manner a female part incorporating an electronic transponder can be manufactured in one process from hard plastic material.
• the present invention relates to a method for arranging an electronic transponder compri sing at least one electronic component and an antenna winding in a part of hard plastic material, wherein a plastic material is injected around the transponder in order to form a layer which fully encloses the transponder, wherein this plastic material is chosen such that a firm connection to the hard plastic of the part results.
• a plastic material is injected around the transponder in order to form a layer which fully encloses the transponder, wherein this plastic material is chosen such that a firm connection to the hard plastic of the part results.
• the transponder is fixed, prior to the injection, against a surface of the part of hard plastic, for instance by clamping, glueing or covering with an optionally self-adhesive foil plate, whereafter the plastic material is injected against this surface -
• the plastic material can be a hard plastic or a soft plastic, such as thermoplastic polyurethane, wherein the only- condition is that this plastic material forms a good connection with the hard plastic of the part.
• the electronic transponder is held by mould pins which retract during the injection moulding of the part of hard plastic, such that the whole part is injected from a hard plastic in one phase.
• the part of hard plastic material has a substantially disc-shaped body which is provided substantially in the centre with a passage for receiving an arrow-shaped element, wherein the transponder is arranged in the disc-shaped body.
• a disc-shaped surface with a peripheral edge and an inner edge is provided for the transponders, between which peripheral edge and inner edge the material is injected in order to form the disc-shaped body in which the transponder is incorporated.
• Figure IA shows an embodiment of a device according to the invention fixed to the ear of a pig
• Figure IB shows a female part of an embodiment of a device according to the invention
• Figures 1C and ID show two possible embodiments of a male part of a device according to the invention
• Figure 2 shows two other possible embodiments of the arrow-shaped element of the male part of: the device according to the invention;
• Figure 3 is a perspective view of the embodiment of figure IB as seen from the rear end;
• Figure 4 shows the embodiment of figure 3 in section along line IV-IV;
• Figure 5A is a top view of the embodiment of figure 4;
• Figures 5B and 5C show top views of two other possible variants of the female part of the device according to the invention;
• Figure 6A is a bottom view of the embodiment of figure 4;
• Figures 6B and 6C are bottom views of two other possible variants of the female part of a device according to the invention;
• Figures 7A-7C illustrate the method for manufacturing a cavity in a female part from soft material, as according to the prior art
• Figures 8A-8C illustrate an embodiment of the method for manufacturing a cavity in a female part of a device according to the invention
• Figures 9 and 10 show perspective -views of an embodiment of the second mould component for use in the method according to the invention.
• Figure 11 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the first mould component for use in the method according to the invention
• Figure 12 shows a cross-section through the first mould component close to the front end of the passage of the embodiment of figure 3;
• Figure 13 shows a perspective view of a part of hard plastic material with a surface against which a transponder is fixed.
• Figures 1A-1D show an embodiment of the device for an application as ear tag for an animal.
• Figure IB shows a female ear tag part 1 provided with a passage 2 having a front end 3 and a rear end 4.
• Figure 1C shows a male part 5 of the ear tag which comprises an arrow- shaped element 6 to which is connected a plate-like element 7, on which plate-like element 7 can be arranged identification data.
• Fig. ID shows a second embodiment of male part 5 which is particularly suitable for pigs .
• Passage 2 of female ear tag part 1 is provided at its front end 3 with three protruding parts 8, 8', 8", as can be seen more clearly in figure 3. Close to rear end 4 the passage 2 is partly closed off by a closing part 9 which is more clearly visible in figure 4.
• the tip part 10 of arrow-shaped element 6 is pressed along the front end 3 into passage 2 until the tip part is situated behind protruding parts 8, 8', 8", as seen in the direction from, the front end to the rear end of passage 2.
• These protruding parts 8, 8', 8" form stops for the rear side 11 of tip part 10, whereby tip part 10 cannot be taken back out of the passage. If an attempt were made to remove male part 5 from female part 1, the male part 5 would then break at the position of stem 12 of arrow-shaped element 6 and tip part 10 would remain behind in female part 1. Nor furthermore can this tip part 10 be removed along the rear end of passage 2, since this rear end is closed off by closing part 9. In this manner a fraud-proof or so-called "tamper-proof" ear tag is obtained, whereby reuse of either the female part or the male part is made impossible.
• closing part 9 since closing part 9 only partly closes the rear end 4 of the passage, ventilation still remains possible, which is important i ⁇ tissue parts are entrained during tagging.
• the female part 1 is for instance manufactured from a plastic with a hard, isolating quality such as ASA (acrylonitrile styrene acrylate) , PC (polycarbonate) or the like.
• the male ear tag part 5 is generally manufactured from a soft plastic material such as TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) , such that the male ear "tag part can be arranged in passage 2 of the female eax tag part 1 without it being necessary to exert much force, and stem 12 of the male ear tag part 5 breaks when the male and female ear tag parts are pulled apart.
• TPU thermoplastic polyurethane
• the diameter of passage 2 is preferably smaller than or equal to the maximum diameter of the arrow-shaped element 6 of male part 5.
• the female part has a substantially disc-shaped body 13, wherein passage 2 is arranged substantially centrally on disc-shaped body 13.
• female part 1 can also be formed without disc body 13 and that many other embodiments are possible.
• this disc body 13 is formed integrally with the rest of female part 1.
• Ear tags are for instance arranged increasingly early on pigs, i.e. already on the day of birth or at 2 to 3 days old, whereby the maximum weight of the ear tag (male and female part together) may not exceed 4 grams according to Dutch standards .
• the maximum weight of the ear tag male and female part together
• Figure 2 shows a number of othex possible embodiments of the arrow-shaped element of the male part which can be used for articles other than ear tags. If this is for instance a basket or other product in which an identification device must be fixed, it is in many cases not then essential for the tip part to have a real tip. What is important is that tip part 10' has a maximum diameter which is greater than the diameter of stem 12', such that tip part 10' has rear side 11' against which the protruding parts can engage, this in all positions of the male element in the female element.
• Figure 5A shows a bottom view of female part 1 of figure 3, in which the three protruding parts 8, 8' and 8" can be clearly seen.
• Figures 5B and 5C show bottom views of two other possible variants.
• the variant of figure 5B has two protruding parts 20, 20', while the "variant of figure 5C has four protruding parts 21, 21', 21", 21"' .
• Many other embodiments are thus possible, wherein all that is important is that means are provided which engage behind tip part 10 of arrow-shaped element 6.
• FIG 6A shows a top view of trie embodiment of figure 3.
• This figure clearly shows closing part 9, which is formed from three legs 22, 22', 22" which are connected at one end to the edge of passage 2 and come together at their other end in the centre of passage 2.
• closing part 9 is formed from three legs 22, 22', 22" which are connected at one end to the edge of passage 2 and come together at their other end in the centre of passage 2.
• the three protruding parts 8, 8' and 8" can be seen under legs 22, 22' and 22".
• FIGS. 6B and 6C show two other possible variants.
• the skilled person will understand that many other embodiment variants of closing part 9 are possible, wherein the design must be such that tip part 10 of the arrow-shaped element cannot be removed from the female part along the rear end 4 of passage 2.
• a first mould component 40 is provided with a size and shape smaller than those of the passage 2 to be formed, wherein the maximum cross-section S (see the hatched area in figure 12) is here equal to the smallest cross-section of passage 2, i.e. the cross-section of passage 2 at the position of protruding parts 8, 8', 8";
• first mould component 40 - above the first mould component 40 is arranged a second mould component 41 having a lower part 42 which, together with first mould component 40, has substantially the form and the size of passage 2, and having an upper part 43 which, together with the upper side 44 of first mould component 40, bounds a space for closing part 9;
• the first mould component can be removed along the front end 3 of passage 2 and the second mould component 41 can be removed along the rear end 4 of passage 2.
• FIG. 9-11 show further perspective views of the first and second mould components 40, 41.
• the device according to the invention can be provided with an electronic transponder (an RF-tag) which comprises an electronic component and an antenna winding.
• an ear tag such a transponder is generally accommodated in female part 1, this such that it is fully sealed off from the outside environment.
• This transponder must after all be completely isolated against outside influences such as pig bites , sucking on the ear tags, and so on.
• the electronic transponder comprises an electronic component 50 and an antenna winding 51.
• This transponder is placed on a surface of the female part 1 of hard plastic material wherein, in the variant of figure 13, this surface is a rear side 52 of a disc body.
• the disc-shaped surface is provided with a peripheral edge 53 and an inner edge 54 around passage 2.
• This side 52 is fully sprayed with a hard plastic material.
• the plast-Lc to be sprayed can be the same as that from which the first surface of the female part is made, or another plastic whi_ch forms a firm, protective connection to the first formed surface.
• This spraying generally takes place under very high pressure for maximum enclosure of the transponder:, since it is a requirement for a stable communication with readers that chip 50 can move as little as possible.
• the transponder Before spraying plastic material around the transponder it should preferably be secured in order to avoid displacement hereof during the spraying. This can take place in different ways, for instance by clamping, glueing or by covering with an optionally self-adhesive foil plate. According to yet another possibility, the transponder can be held by pins during the spraying, which pins can be retracted during the final stage of the spraying. After spraying of side 52 an ear tag part 1 is obtained which has the form of the female ear tag part as shown in figure IB.

Landscapes

• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Environmental Sciences (AREA)
• Birds (AREA)
• Zoology (AREA)
• Animal Husbandry (AREA)
• Biodiversity & Conservation Biology (AREA)
• Moulds For Moulding Plastics Or The Like (AREA)
• Injection Moulding Of Plastics Or The Like (AREA)
• Radar Systems Or Details Thereof (AREA)
• Control Of Vending Devices And Auxiliary Devices For Vending Devices (AREA)
• Encapsulation Of And Coatings For Semiconductor Or Solid State Devices (AREA)
• Details Of Aerials (AREA)
• Package Frames And Binding Bands (AREA)
• Catching Or Destruction (AREA)
• Apparatuses And Processes For Manufacturing Resistors (AREA)
• Adornments (AREA)
• Credit Cards Or The Like (AREA)
• General Factory Administration (AREA)
• Multi-Process Working Machines And Systems (AREA)

Priority Applications (15)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Related Child Applications (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=34974209

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (16)

Cited By (9)

Families Citing this family (15)

Citations (4)

Family Cites Families (28)

• 2004
  • 2004-10-25 BE BE200400518A patent/BE1016247A5/nl not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2005
  • 2005-10-20 CN CN201110117934XA patent/CN102273412B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2005-10-20 DK DK05808410T patent/DK1809096T3/da active
  • 2005-10-20 PL PL08101456T patent/PL1913812T3/pl unknown
  • 2005-10-20 WO PCT/BE2005/000148 patent/WO2006045162A2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2005-10-20 CN CN2005800365211A patent/CN101072499B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2005-10-20 DE DE200560021167 patent/DE602005021167D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2005-10-20 ES ES05808410T patent/ES2321428T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2005-10-20 BR BRPI0517453-8A patent/BRPI0517453B1/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2005-10-20 DK DK08101456T patent/DK1913812T3/da active
  • 2005-10-20 US US11/664,954 patent/US8099884B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2005-10-20 DE DE200560012982 patent/DE602005012982D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2005-10-20 EP EP20050808410 patent/EP1809096B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2005-10-20 MX MX2007004865A patent/MX2007004865A/es active IP Right Grant
  • 2005-10-20 AU AU2005299263A patent/AU2005299263B2/en not_active Expired
  • 2005-10-20 ES ES08101456T patent/ES2345797T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2005-10-20 IN IN972CHN2014 patent/IN2014CN00972A/en unknown
  • 2005-10-20 NZ NZ554909A patent/NZ554909A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2005-10-20 EP EP20080101456 patent/EP1913812B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2005-10-20 NZ NZ587936A patent/NZ587936A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2005-10-20 AT AT08101456T patent/ATE466478T1/de active
  • 2005-10-20 AT AT05808410T patent/ATE423460T1/de active
  • 2005-10-20 CA CA 2587012 patent/CA2587012C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2005-10-20 PL PL05808410T patent/PL1809096T3/pl unknown
• 2010
  • 2010-11-19 AU AU2010246334A patent/AU2010246334B2/en not_active Ceased
• 2011
  • 2011-01-07 US US12/986,910 patent/US9005505B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2011-10-11 US US13/270,839 patent/US20120118978A1/en not_active Abandoned

Patent Citations (4)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events