Ear tag assembly and attachable transponder housing combination

Abstract: In combination, an ear tag assembly (12, 17) and an attachable transponder housing (1) for attachment to the ear tag assembly (12, 17). The attachable transponder housing (1) includes a body having a chamber containing a transponder. Integrally formed with the housing is a strap for enclosing a portion of the tag assembly (14, 17). Allows existing tag assemblies employing visual identification to also employ electronic identification.

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the combination of an ear tag assembly and an attachable transponder housing for attachment to the ear tag assembly which is attachable to animals, and in particular but not necessarily limited to animals such as ruminants inclusive of cattle, sheep, goats, deer or camels. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Identification of ruminants or other animals usually involves physical identification of distinguishing marks such as hard branding, ear tagging, ankle tagging and implantable transponders inserted under the skin. Branding may distress the ruminant and may cause hide damage resulting in a loss of profit. Further, branding does not identify individual animals and only identifies the owner of the animal. Ear tagging techniques generally only provide a visual representation on the ear tag and is not suitable for automatic identification of individual ruminants. A problem with implantable transponders is that there is a possibility that such transponders may migrate in the ruminants either as a whole or in fragments. Accordingly, due to the rapid production line in slaughter houses the transponder or parts thereof may be undetected resulting in the possibility of the transponder or parts entering the human food chain. This is highly undesirable and has been deemed unacceptable by the Australian Meat and Livestock Corporation. Another form of identification is that of administering a transponder enclosed in an ingestible capsule into the digestive system of the ruminant. The ingestible capsule has a specific gravity so that it may permanently reside for example in the reticulum or rumen. Such capsules are disclosed in Patent specifications GB2165723, ZA8303599, US4262632, W093/05648 and AU63038/94. Although ingestible capsules provide security they have not been readily acceptable by, for example, the cattle industry as the capsules are not recoverable until slaughter and cannot be administered to cattle aged three months and under. A wide variety of forms of tag assemblies are known. Generally, these include a button that engages a boss formed in a planar portion of the tag. Visual identification is provided on the planar section by colour coding or numbering. Some of the prior art tag assemblies include a housing or chamber in which a transponder may be located. Reference is made to Alfa-Laval Agriculture International AB application number WO 92/02127 and United States patent number 4694781 in the name of Howe et al. Document JP-A-7 031 318 discloses an attachable transponder housing. The attachable transponder housing includes a hole into which a belt may be inserted. The belt is supposed to be attached to an animal. The attachable transponder housing also comprises a space into which an electronic part may be inserted. DE-A-4 315 366 discloses the combination of an ear tag assembly and an attachable transponder housing according to the preamble of the attached claim 1. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved combination of an ear tag assembly and an attachable transponder housing. The above object is achieved by the invention defined in the annexed claim 1. Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are defined in the dependent claims. Preferably, said attachment means is integral with said body. The spaced portions are preferably spaced along a length of the body. Preferably, the medial portion is of a shape comprising two laterally extending portions adjacent a respective one of said spaced portions and an intermediate portion therebetween, said laterally extending portions being lateral relative to both the longitudinal axis of said body and the longitudinal axis of said spaced portions. Suitably, an outer surface area of said body is planar, said surface area extending along a length of said body. In preference, the body is formed form a hard plastics material such as nylon. The hard plastics material is most suitably an ultraviolet resistant material for prolonged life. Suitably, the attachment means is flexible or alternatively rigid. Preferably, the chamber is of a constant cross sectional area. Suitably, the chamber has a plug inserted in an open end thereof thereby holding said transponder captive therein. The plug preferably includes a pressure equalising passage formed therein. Alternatively, a pressure equalising passage may be formed in the body. The pressure equalising passage provides communication between the chamber and the outside of the body. The tag assembly is an ear tag assembly and the attachable transponder housing preferably attaches to the ear tag assembly so as to be located between the ear tag assembly and the animal. The body of the attachable transponder housing may suitably be of generally cylindrical shape having a ridge projecting therefrom. The attachable transponder housing may further comprise cushioning means for surrounding the transponder in the chamber. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that this invention may be readily understood and put into practical effect reference will now be made to a preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which: FIG 1 is a perspective view of an attachable transponder housing, which can form part of the combination according to the invention; FIG 2 is a perspective view of the housing of FIG 1 when attached to one type of ear tag assembly; FIG 3 is a perspective view of the housing of FIG 1 when attached to another type of ear tag assembly; FIG 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of an attachable transponder housing, which can form part of the combination according to the invention; FIG 5 is a perspective view of the housing of FIG 4 when attached to the type of ear tag assembly of FIG 3; and FIG 6 is a perspective view of a transponder and cushioning sheath. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG 1 there is illustrated an attachable transponder housing 1 comprising a body 2 with a chamber 3 of constant cross-sectional area and extending from body 2 is an integrally formed attachment means 4. Contained inside chamber 3 is an electronic identification transponder 5 which is surrounded by a cushioning means (such as shown in FIG 6 and described later) which may be a resilient sheath or viscous substance. Transponder 5 is held captive in chamber 3 by an insertable plug 6 having a pressure equalizing slot 7 extending along the length of plug 6. Plug 6 may also include a circumferential ridge (not shown) to assist with retaining the plug 6 in the chamber 3. A corresponding trough may also be formed on the inside surface of chamber 3. Attachment means 4 comprises two spaced portions 8 spaced along a longitudinal axis L1 of body 2. Strap 4 also comprises a medial portion 9 between spaced portions 8. Medial portion 9 is configured such that it has a shape comprising two laterally extending portions 10 adjacent a respective one of space-d portions 8 and an intermediate portion 11 between portions 10. Further intermediate portion 11 has a circular cross section and spaced portions 8 have longitudinal axes L2 and L2' which are lateral to longitudinal axis L1 and laterally extending portions 10 are lateral to both axis L1 and L2, L2'. Body 2 has an outer surface which has three substantially flat surface areas extending along the length of body 2 thereby providing a substantially triangular appearance. The triangular shape provides strength and resists damage to the body that can occur in normal usage. Failure of prior art transponder housings due to harsh conditions associated with livestock has been known and the inventors have found that strengthening of the body by appropriate shaping can minimise this problem. Attachable transponder housing 1 may be formed from any suitable material, however, the embodiment as illustrated is suitably formed from injection moulded ultra-violet resistant nylon or plastics material. After injection moulding attachable transponder housing 1, transponder 5 is inserted in chamber 3 and transponder 5 is padded from shocks by a plastic sheath 24 or a viscous substance. Plug 6 is then inserted into the open end of chamber 3 in which slot 7 allows for pressure equalization and therefore ease of insertion. Although the pressure equalising passage is shown in the plug in the preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated that a pressure equalising passage could be formed in the body to achieve the same ease of insertion of the plug. Because the transponder 5 can be inserted in the chamber 3 after manufacture the costs associated with failure of the transponder during the manufacturing process are eliminated. Furthermore, the transponder can placed in the chamber after the attachable transponder housing and tag assembly have been attached to the animal. With reference to FIG 2 there is illustrated attachable transponder housing 1 attached to an ear tag assembly 12 which comprises an integral sandwiching member 13 and a male snap fitment 14 at a free end of a shank 15. Ear tag assembly 12 is well-known to persons skilled in the art and carries visual identification information in the form of colour coding or alphanumeric coding. The form of ear tag shown in FIG 2 cannot carry any form of electronic identification. In use, attachable transponder housing 1 is positioned as illustrated before shank 15 pierces through the ear of the animal to be tagged wherein a planar area 16 of the outer surface of housing 1 faces the cheek or ear of the animal. Once tagged, housing 1 remains attached to ear tag assembly 12 by attachment means 4 enclosing a portion of assembly 12. If required ear tag assembly 12 may be removed from the tagged animal and therefore housing 1 may be re-used on another animal (i.e. if the tagged animal is sold to another person). A similar arrangement to that shown in FIG 2 can be used for ankle tagging of animals. The ankle tag is looped through the attachment means of the attachable transponder housing and then secured to the animal in the normal way. Referring to FIG 3 there is illustrated housing 1 attached to another form of ear tag assembly 17 which is commonly known to a skilled addressee. Ear tag assembly 17 comprises a button 20 having a male snap fitment 18 at one end of shank 19 and an ear tag 21 with a female member 22 for complimentary snap fitment engagement with male snap fitment 18. In use, housing 1 is positioned as illustrated before shank 19 pierces through the ear of the animal to be tagged wherein planar area 16 abuts a non-sandwiching surface 23 of ear tag 21. Once tagged, housing 1 remains attached to ear tag assembly 17 by attachment means 4 enclosing a portion of assembly 17. Further, because of the shape of attachment means 4, surface 16 lies flat against surface 23 which therefore has aesthetic appeal and reduces movement of housing 1. A second embodiment of an attachable transponder housing 25 is shown in FIG 4. The attachable transponder housing 25 comprises a body 26 with a chamber 27 formed therein. As with the previous embodiment, the chamber 27 houses a transponder 5 in a sheath 24. The chamber 27 is close by a plug as previously described but not specifically shown in FIG 4. Extending from body 26 is integrally formed attachment means 28. Attachment means 28 comprises two spaced portions 29 spaced along a longitudinal axis of the body 26. The spaced portions 29 are joined by a medial portion 30 to form a loop. The medial portion 30 comprises two laterally extending portions 31 extending from the spaced portions 29 and an intermediate portion 32. Intermediate portion 32 and laterally extending portions 31 have a substantially square cross-section. Laterally extending portions 31 make approximately a ninety degree angle with spaced portions 29. This allows the attachable transponder housing 25 to sit flat against the ear tag assembly 17 as shown in FIG 5. The body 26 of attachable transponder housing 25 is generally cylindrical in shape with a projecting ridge 33 formed along one side. The inventors have found that the projecting ridge 33 provides additional strength to the housing which is necessary for the purposes described earlier. The ridge 33 is formed in a side of the body 26 opposite to the direction of projection of laterally extending portions 31. This allows the attachable transponder housing 25 to sit closely and securely against ear tag 21. The inventors have found that it is preferable to hang the attachable transponder housing 25 on the rear of the ear tag 21 so that visual identification on the front of ear tag 21 is not obscured. To provide additional strength to the attachable transponder housing a web 34 is formed between the spaced portions 29. The web 34 also attaches to the body 26. The web 34 provides strength to the attachment means 28 and minimises the likelihood of failure due to twisting or stretching. Although the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein but to the scope of the appended claims.

Claims: In combination, an ear tag assembly (12, 17) and an attachable transponder housing (1) for attachment to the ear tag assembly (12, 17), said attachable transponder housing (1) including: a body (2, 26) having a chamber (3, 27) containing a transponder (5) therein; and attachment means (4, 28) associated with the body (2, 26) for attachment of the attachable transponder housing (1) to the ear tag assembly (12, 17); characterised in that said attachment means (4, 28) are suitable for pendant attachment of the attachable transponder housing (1) to the ear tag assembly (12, 17) and in that said attachment means (4, 28) comprises two spaced portions (8, 29) extending from the body (2, 26) and a medial portion (9, 30) joining the spaced portions (8, 29) such that the spaced portions (8, 29), medial portion (9, 30) and a body (2, 26) form a loop capturing a portion of the ear tag assembly (12, 17). The combination of claim 1 wherein said attachment means (4, 28) is formed integral with the body (2, 26). The combination of claim 1 wherein the spaced portions (8, 29) are spaced along a longitudinal axis (L1) of the body (2, 26). The combination of claim 1 wherein the medial portion (9, 30) is of a shape comprising two laterally extending portions (10, 31) adjacent a respective one of said spaced portions (8, 29) and an intermediate portion (11, 32) therebetween, said laterally extending portions (10, 31) being lateral relative to both the longitudinal axis (L1) of said body (2, 26) and the longitudinal axes (L2, L2') of said spaced portions (8, 29). The combination of claim 1 wherein the body (2, 26) is formed of hard plastics material. The combination of claim 1 wherein the body (2, 26) is formed of ultraviolet resistant material. The combination of claim 1 further comprising a removable plug (6) for closing the chamber (3, 27), said plug (6) including a pressure equalizing passage (7). The combination of claim 7 further comprising a circumferential ridge on the plug (6) for engaging a corresponding circumferential trough in the chamber (3, 27). The combination of claim 1 wherein the body (2, 26) is of a generally cylindrical shape having a ridge (33) projecting therefrom. The combination of claim 1 further comprising cushioning means (24) surrounding the transponder (5) in the chamber (3, 27).

Inventors: FINLAYSON DOROTHY E, FINLAYSON JOHN D F, FINLAYSON, DOROTHY, E., FINLAYSON, JOHN, D.F.
Applicants: DELAVAL HOLDING AB
Application year: 1996
Main classification: A01K11
IPC codes: A01K11