Animal tag applicator

An animal tag applicator comprising: first and second jaws for engaging an animal tag therebetween wherein the second jaw is movable relative to the first jaw for mounting said animal tag on the animal; a movable lever coupled to the second jaw, the lever being arranged such that at least a first movement of the lever results in a resilient bias being applied to the second jaw for rectilinear movement of the second jaw towards the first jaw; a stop member positioned relative to the second jaw member for maintaining the second jaw member in an intermediate spaced apart position relative to the first jaw to prevent biased movement of the second jaw towards the first jaw when the lever is in the actuated position; a trigger member coupled with the stop member such that movement of the trigger member into a triggered position effects biased rectilinear movement of the second jaw towards the first jaw when the lever is in the actuated position.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to an applicator tool which is particularly suited for the application of ear tags to animals.

BACKGROUND

Any references to methods, apparatus or documents of the prior art are not to be taken as constituting any evidence or admission that they formed, or form part of the common general knowledge.

Many forms of applicator tools are known whereby an ear tag can be applied to the ear of an animal. The most common applicator tool is of a pliers type which comprises a pair of levers pivotally coupled together. To one side of the pivot the levers are formed as handles whilst on the other side they are formed as jaws which have retention means for retaining an animal ear tag part. A development of this general pliers type tool also includes an improvement that allows the jaws to retract immediately once the tag has been installed in the ear of the animal.

One of the problems associated with a pliers type applicator is that the jaws of the tool move on an arc which can lead to misalignment of one tag part in relation to the other during installation of the tag in the animal's ear. Accordingly, applicator tools have been developed whereby retention means for one of the jaws moves rectilinearly relative to the other.

This applicator tool not only has one of the retention means moving rectilinearly relative to one another but also has automatic retraction means such that upon completion of installation of the tag the movable retention means retracts.

One of the criteria which must be met with an applicator tool is that there must be sufficient space between the parts of the tag when retained by the retention means to facilitate the easy positioning therebetween of the ear of an animal. One way in which this gap can be obtained is to have the jaws pivot sufficiently away from one another when the applicator tool is opened. In this manner the required gap is provided, however, the applicator is often difficult to handle due to the handles thereof being too far apart for ease of use. Another issue with prior art applicator tools is that these tools require a high lever force during actual penetration of the tag into the animal's ear and the coupling of the male and female parts of the tag.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In one aspect, the invention provides an animal tag applicator comprising:

first and second jaws for engaging an animal tag there-between wherein the second jaw is movable relative to the first jaw for mounting said animal tag on the animal;

a movable lever coupled to the second jaw, the lever being arranged such that at least a first movement of the lever into an actuated position results in a resilient bias being applied to the second jaw for movement of the second jaw towards the first jaw;

a stop member positioned relative to the second jaw member for maintaining the second jaw member in an intermediate spaced apart position relative to the first jaw to prevent biased movement of the second jaw towards the first jaw when the lever is in the actuated position;

a trigger member coupled with the stop member such that movement of the trigger member into a triggered position effects biased movement of the second jaw towards the first jaw when the lever is in the actuated position.

In an embodiment, the animal tag applicator further comprises a biasing arrangement positioned relative to the lever and the second jaw for biasing the second jaw in said at least actuated position of the lever.

In an embodiment, the lever is pivotally movable relative to a handle, the lever being arranged such that pivotal movement of the lever towards the handle in the actuated position results in the resilient bias being applied to the second jaw for rectilinear movement of the second jaw towards the first jaw.

In an embodiment, the lever comprises:

a proximal portion for receiving a user's hand to effect pivotal movement of the lever and a distal portion; and

a distal portion for engaging said second jaw and applying said bias in the actuated position.

In an embodiment, the animal tag applicator further comprises a pivoting arrangement for allowing said pivotal movement of the lever relative to the handle, the pivoting arrangement being positioned in between the proximal and distal portions of the lever.

In an embodiment, the distal portion of the lever comprises a retaining portion for receiving and retaining a biasing member to apply resilient bias to the second jaw for rectilinear movement of the second jaw towards the first jaw.

In an embodiment, the second jaw further a frontal portion with a tag engaging surface and a rear portion structured to be coupled with the biasing member.

In an embodiment, the animal tag applicator further comprises a sliding arrangement for allowing the second jaw to slide along a supporting member positioned on an upper portion of the handle and support the second jaw member during use. A secondary sliding arrangement also allows the second jaw to slide along a portion of the first jaw.

In an embodiment, the supporting member is configured to engage with a lower portion of the second jaw to allow the second jaw to slide along a length of supporting portion.

In an embodiment, the lower portion of the second jaw comprises engagement portions to engage and slide along one or more grooves extending along the length of the supporting member.

In an embodiment, the second jaw further comprises spaced apart web members, said web members comprising respective spaced apart engagement portions for engagement with corresponding grooves extending along the length of the supporting member.

In an embodiment, movement of the trigger member in an inward direction towards the lever in the triggered position effects downward movement of the stop member thereby allowing biased rectilinear movement of the second jaw towards the first jaw when the lever is in the actuated position.

In an embodiment, the lever comprises a recessed portion for receiving at least a portion of the trigger such that in the triggered position, the trigger member abuts the recessed portion of the lever.

In an embodiment, a lower portion of the stop member is structured to be seated on a seating portion of the trigger member such that the inward movement of the trigger member results pushes the lower portion of the stop member in a downward direction thereby allowing biased rectilinear movement of the second jaw towards the first jaw when the lever is in the actuated position.

In an embodiment, the stop member is substantially elongate and an end portion of the stop member abuts the second jaw member to prevent biased movement of the second jaw towards the first jaw when the lever is in the actuated position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 to 13illustrates an animal tag applicator100in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The animal tag applicator100comprises a first fixed jaw110and a second movable jaw120. The second jaw120is movable relative to the first jaw110and the relative movement between the jaws110and120allows opposed jaw surfaces115and125to engage with an animal tag positioned in between the jaws110and120. In the preferred embodiment, the second movable jaw120is used for pushing and fastening a two-piece tag (not shown) onto an animal.

Referring toFIGS. 1 and 2in particular, the second jaw120is structured for rectilinear movement towards the first fixed jaw110. The applicator100comprises a sliding arrangement190for allowing the second jaw120to slide along a supporting member192positioned on an upper portion of the handle130to support the second jaw120during use. The support member192is integrally formed with an upper portion132of the handle130and is configured to engage with a lower portion of the second jaw (or sliding jaw)120to allow rectilinear movement of the sliding jaw120along the length of the supporting member190. The sliding jaw120(also referred to as the movable jaw throughout the specification) further comprises spaced apart web members121. Each of the spaced apart web members121includes: a first pair respective engagement portions123for engagement with corresponding grooves127extending along the length of the supporting member192.

The tag applicator100also comprises a lever140which is pivotally fastened to the handle130by a pivoting arrangement180. The lever140comprises a proximal portion142which is positioned in close proximity to the handle130to receive a user's fingers when the handle130is held in the palm of the user. An intermediate portion144of the lever140(extending away from the pivoting arrangement180) is angled relative to the proximal portion142and extends transversely relative to the proximal portion142of the lever140. A distal end portion145of the lever140is bent relative to the intermediate portion144and is coupled to a rear section124of the second jaw120as will be explained in the foregoing sections.

FIGS. 1 to 6illustrate the animal tag100in a non-actuated open position whereby the lever140, particularly the proximal portion142of the lever140, is spaced away from the handle130. Pivotal movement of the lever140(as a result of the user's fingers pulling the proximal portion142of the lever) towards the handle130into an actuated position effects movement of the distal end portion145towards the second jaw120.FIGS. 7 to 9, illustrate the animal tag applicator100in the actuated position (which shows the movable jaw120in a primed position that will be explained in the foregoing sections) whereby which the lever140has been pivoted by the user such that the lever140is held in close proximity to the handle130.

A biasing arrangement comprising a spring170is positioned in between the rear section124of the second jaw120and the distal end portion145such that the movement of the lever140(in a direction towards the handle130-as described above) results in a resilient bias being applied to the second jaw120in the primed position. A stop member160is positioned adjacent the second jaw120to maintain the second jaw120in an intermediate spaced apart position relative to the first jaw110(which is also referred to a primed position) to limit biased movement of the second jaw120towards the first fixed jaw110when the lever140is in the primed position. In other words, the stop member160limits movement of the second movable jaw member120particularly when the second jaw120is held under resilient bias applied by the spring170when the lever140is in the actuated position. The distal portion145of the lever140comprises a spring retention member146to engage and retain an end portion of the spring170during use.

A trigger member150is provided to trigger the movement of the second jaw120towards the first fixed jaw member110when the second jaw120is held under bias by the biasing spring170and release the movable jaw120from the primed position. Specifically, the stop member160is coupled with the trigger member150such that movement of the trigger member150into a triggered position (by the user) effects biased movement of the second jaw120towards the first jaw110when the lever140is held by the user in the actuated position as shown inFIGS. 10 to 12.FIG. 13Aillustrates an enlarged sectional side view of the applicator100in the initial non-actuated or open position.FIG. 13Billustrates an enlarged view of the movable jaw (also referred to as the second jaw)120whilst being held under the biasing force of the biasing spring170in the primed or actuated position.FIG. 13Cillustrates an enlarged view of the movable jaw120(also referred to as the second jaw)120in the triggered position. The stopping member160comprises an elongate configuration and extends between two ends. A triangular stopping portion162, located at an upper end portion of the stopping member160, abuts a lower frontal portion129of the movable jaw120to limit movement of the movable jaw120in order to maintain a predetermined spacing (S) from the fixed jaw110. The trigger member150includes a linking portion152of the trigger that is linked with a lower end portion164of the stopping member160when the moving jaw120is held under bias in the actuated position as shown inFIG. 13B. The lever140includes a recess147that is shaped for receiving the trigger member150and allowing the trigger member150to move within the recess147during the triggering of the trigger member150when a user applies a force on the frontal part of the trigger150. In the primed position. Upon applying a triggering force on the frontal portion of the trigger member150, the trigger member150turns about a pivot point within the recess147and the rear wall of the trigger150abuts the recess wall (seeFIG. 13C). As a result, the upper portion of the trigger150including the linking portion152pushes the abutting end162of the stop member160in a downward direction. The downward movement of the abutting end of the stop member160causes the stopping portion162to no longer obstruct the movable jaw120. Since the movable jaw120is biased by the spring170, once the stopping portion162moves downwards (as a result of the trigger movement), the movable jaw120applies a thrusting force on the two-piece animal tag thereby mounting the animal tag on the animal's ear. The non-abutting end of the stop member160is linked to a lower portion of the fixed jaw (also referred to as the first jaw)110by a pin165to allow the stop member160to turn about the pin165during the triggering movement.

The provision of the trigger member150in combination with the lever member140in the presently described embodiment provides a significant advantage over the prior art tag applicators by reducing the extent of force that is required whilst mounting the animal tag on the animal's ear. The aforementioned arrangement of the movable lever140in combination with the trigger150provides an applicator100that can be operated by a two-step process. The first step involves pivoting the lever140to apply a resilient bias on the second jaw120and hold the second jaw120under a biasing force of the spring170to position the second jaw member120in the primed position such that the second jaw120is spaced sufficient away from the first fixed jaw110to allow the two piece animal tag to be inserted in between the spaced apart jaws110and120. Once the applicator has been primed, the user may continue to hold the lever140in the actuated position whilst positioning the animal tag over animal's ear before pushing the trigger member150(a second movement) to trigger the movement of the second jaw120under the biasing force of the spring170which applies sufficient force to attach the two-piece tag to the animal's ear.

In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features. The term “comprises” and its variations, such as “comprising” and “comprised of” is used throughout in an inclusive sense and not to the exclusion of any additional features.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect.

The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art.