This application relates to animal tags for identifying animals. For example, tags for identifying livestock animals such as sheep, pigs, goats and cattle.

It is desirable to tag animals so that each animal can be identified. This is particularly the case for livestock animals. It is a legal requirement in many countries, such as the UK, that livestock animals, for example, sheep, goats and cattle, are provided with a visible identification tag bearing a registration number. The identification tag is typically applied to the animal's ear and comprises a substantially planar portion where an identification or registration number can be written.

These tags typically take the form of two substantially planar portions which can be pivoted or folded relative to one another. At the other end from the pivot or fold a closure element is provided which can engage a corresponding receptacle formed in the other side of the tag. The closure element may also be referred to as a male portion and the receptacle may also be referred to as a female portion.

In use, to apply the animal tag, it is loaded into an applicator which folds the two portions of the tag relative to one another. The animal's ear is placed between the closure element - which has a sharp tip to penetrate the animal's ear smoothly - and the receptacle. The closure element passes through the animal's ear to engage the receptacle. In order to ensure the tag remains in place, the closure element typically has some form of ridge or waist portion at its end that engages a corresponding ridge in the receptacle so that once the closure element has engaged the receptacle the tag remains closed. Following application to an animal's ear and closure, the animal then remains in place on the animal's ear, where the identification number can be clearly seen and read on the tag.

An example of a prior art animal tag is depicted in diagrammatic form Figure 1. The tag comprises a first portion 2 and a second portion 4. Typically, these pieces are formed integrally from a plastics material. The tag depicted in Figure 1 is shown partially folded to the closure position. The first portion 2 has a closure element 6 located at the opposite end to the folding axis. The second portion 4 has a receptacle 8 for the closure element 6. The first and second portions 2, 4 are joined through a moulded curved section 10 which helps ensure that the folding or pivot point is controlled.

The closure element 6 is conical and follows a straight path, extending perpendicularly from the first portion 2, forming a right angle between the direction in which the closure element 6 points and the first portion 2. Figure 2 depicts a diagrammatic representation of a closure element 6 from a prior art animal tag. This illustrates how the tip of the closure element 6 forms a right angle with the plane of the first portion 2.

There exists a problem with animal tags of this type. The receptacle 8 typically comprises a circular or conical opening into which the pointed end of the closure element 6 is received. In certain circumstances, the closure element 6 does not correctly line up with the receptacle 8. In that case, the pointed end may fail to engage the circular opening of the receptacle. Instead, the pointed end of the closure element embeds itself in the edge of the receptacle. This prevents the tag from closing properly because the closure element is not properly received in the receptacle. It causes discomfort to the animal and reduces the rate at which tags can be applied to animals because the unclosed tag will have to be removed and another tag reapplied to ensure that the tag remains securely in place. Alternatively, the tag may be thought to have been properly applied and subsequently open because the closure element was not received in the receptacle.

In order to address this problem, the present invention provides a tag with a closure element having a tip section which is angled at an acute angle relative to the tag from which it extends. This has been found to align the tip section of the closure element with the receptacle better, reducing the likelihood of the closure element failing to engage with the receptacle.

According to the present invention, there is provided an animal tag for identification of an animal, the animal tag comprising: a first portion; a closure element extending from the first portion; and a second portion having a receptacle for receiving the closure element; wherein the first portion and the second portion are attached to each other and configured to pivot relative to one another about a pivot axis; and wherein the closure element comprises a pointed tip section at its end which is angled such that it points in a direction forming an acute angle with the first portion.

The first portion, closure elements, second portion and receptacle, may all be integrally formed from the same material. Alternatively, the first and second portion may be integrally formed with the closure element being a separate part. In another alternate embodiment, the first and second portions may be separate pieces themselves, joined by a pivotal connection, such as a hinge.

The first and second portion may be configured to pivot relative to one another by several means. At its simplest, this may be provided a single element which can be folded about a point along its length to form the first and second portion. The folding may be assisted by forming a predefined point of weakness between the first and second portion, or alternatively, moulding a predefined curved or angled section between the first and second portion.

According to the present invention, the closure element comprises a pointed tip section which is angled such that it points in a direction forming an acute angle with the first portion. Unlike the prior art, where the tip section forms a perpendicular angle to the first portion, it has been found that the angled nature of the tip section of the present invention provides for more accurate alignment with a receptacle when the tag is deployed.

During testing, it has been found that a prior art tag with a tip section forming a perpendicular angle to the first portion of the tag performs less well, exhibiting more instances of misalignment between the closure element and the receptacle than the present invention. The difference in the number of instances of misalignment becomes even more marked as the thickness of the animal's ear to which the tag is applied increases. It is not uncommon for the thicknesses of a livestock animal's ear to approach 5mm or more. In that case the rate of misaligned tags with the prior art tag has been found to approach 50% of tags of applied.

Misalignment is a problem for two reasons. Firstly, it has an impact on the welfare of the animals being tagged. If a tag is misaligned during application it will have to be removed and another tag reapplied. This increases the distress caused to the animal. Secondly, misalignment reduces the rate at which tags can be applied to animals because time is wasted removing the misaligned tag and applying another one.

Despite tags with straight, perpendicular closure elements being applied to animals for many years, no solution to the problem of misalignment has been identified until the present invention.

It might be thought that the angled nature of the tip section would lead to a weakness in the closure element. Typically tags are closed using a device similar to pliers which exerts a force that follows an arc such that at each point in the arc the force exerted on each end of the tag is substantially perpendicular to the first and second portions. With an angled tip according to the present invention, the force applied by the applicator may be in a different direction than the direction the tip is pointing in. In other words, with the present invention when the tip enters an animal's ear the force will not be in exactly the same direction as the direction the tip is pointing, the acute angle will mean that a moment is present. This moment might at first glance appear to increase the chances of the closure element buckling or snapping at some point. Surprisingly, it has been found that rather than reducing the performance of the tag and causing buckling of the closure element, the angling of the present invention assists in closure without noticeably increasing the tendency for the closure pin to buckle or snap rather than passing through the animal's ear.

In a preferred embodiment, the tip section points in a direction substantially perpendicular to the radial line between the pivot axis and the tip section. The "radial line" referred to is the line extending perpendicular to the pivot axis to the tip section. Functionally, this ensures that the tip section is angled such that it points in a direction substantially tangential to the arc prescribed by the pointed tip section when the first portion is pivoted relative to the second portion.

One possible explanation for the misalignment in the prior art is because when a straight closure element 6 extends perpendicularly from the tag, the tip section does not point in the direction in which the tip section travels as the tag is closed. Instead, the base of the closure element points in this direction, but because the closure element has a finite length (it may be 2-3 cm or longer measured to the tip), at the tip, the actual piercing end is pointing at an angle to the path followed by the tip. If instead, the tip section is angled so that it points in a direction substantially perpendicular to the radial line between the pivot axis and the tip section, the tip section of the closure element is now pointing in the direction of its path. Thus, when an animal's ear is pierced, the tip section will tend to follow a path towards the receptacle, rather than continuing at an offset path which may mean that it does not fully engage with the receptacle.

In a preferred embodiment, at least a portion of the closure element is curved. This further improves the likelihood that the closure element will properly engage the receptacle. It allows the closure element to follow a curved path to further assist alignment with the receptacle. The curved portion may have a substantially constant radius of curvature corresponding to the radial distance between the tip section and the pivot axis. With this feature the curve of the closure element will generally follow the arc prescribed by the tip as the tag is closed. This allows the closure element to follow a generally tangential path through the ear for good alignment with the receptacle.

In one embodiment, the closure element comprises a first, straight section extending from the first portion and a second, curved section extending from the first, straight section. Optionally, a third, straight section may extend from the curved section. Alternatively, substantially all the closure element may be curved.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure l is a diagrammatic representation of a side view of a prior art animal tag; Figure 2 is a diagrammatic representation of a close-up of a closure element of a prior art animal tag;

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic representation of a side view of a closure element according to the present invention;

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic representation of a close-up of a closure element according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 depicts a side view of a first embodiment of the animal tag according to the present invention. The animal tag comprises a first portion 12 and a second portion 14. The first and second portions 12, 14 are connected via a curved section 16 which ensures that when the first and second portions 12, 14 are pivoted or folded relative to each other they pivot about an axis 18 which is at a predetermined and controlled position. A closure element 20 extends from the free end of the first portion 12. A corresponding receptacle 22 is provided at the free end of the second portion 14.

As depicted in Figure 3, the animal tag is shown partially closed. In practice, the animal tag may be supplied flat or partially folded to towards a closure position where the closure element 20 engages the receptacle 22.

The closure element 20 comprises a tip section 24. The tip section 24 has a pointed end so that when the animal tag is closed the closure element 24 can more easily pierce an animal's ear. The other end of the tip section 24 comprises a narrower waist portion so that a lip is formed at the end of the tip section 24. The receptacle 22 delimits a generally conical hole (not shown) for receiving the tip section. This defines a corresponding ridge so that once the tip section 24 has passed the ridge, the ridge engages the lip at the end of the tip section 24 and prevents the closure element 20 from being easily removed from the receptacle 22. The internal configuration of the receptacle 22 is not shown in Figure 3 but is well known in the art and will not be discussed further.

As can be seen in Figure 3, the tip section 24 points in a direction which is perpendicular to the radial line between the pivot axis 18 and the tip section 24. If this direction is extended back towards the first portion 12, it subtends an acute angle 26 with the first portion 12. As an example, for a tag for application to a sheep's ear may have first and second portions approximately 40 mm long and a closure element approximately 15 mm long. The angle 26 is then approximately 70 degrees. The dimensions can be varied from this example depending on the requirements of the particular application. For example, the dimensions may be increased for application to larger animals than sheep.

As depicted in Figure 3, the entire closure element 20 is curved along a path indicated by line 29. The radius of curvature is substantially constant and corresponds to the radial distance between the tip section and the pivot axis, so that the closure element is curved along the tangential path followed by the tip section as the tag is closed.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, not illustrated, the closure element may be straight and not curved. In that case the closure element generally follows the line of direction 28 in Figure 3 so that the closure element in that case extends at an acute angle 26 from the first portion 12.

For ease of manufacture, the first portion 12, second portion 14, closure element 20 and receptacle 22 may all be integrally formed from a single piece of moulded plastics material, for example, polyethylene, polyurethane or polypropylene. Alternatively, the different parts may be manufactured separately and attached together. In one alternate embodiment, the closure element 20 may be formed from a harder material than the remainder of the animal tag, for example glass-filled nylon. This enables the closure element 20 to more easily penetrate the animal's ear while also allowing the first and second portion to be sufficiently flexible so that they can be folded or pivoted relative to one another from an integral moulding.

In alternative embodiment, the first and second portions 12, 14 may be formed from separate pieces attached together, for example by a hinged connection.

The first and second portions 12 and 14 are preferably substantially planar. This provides a substantially planar surface on which an identification number can be easily and clearly inscribed for identification of an animal to which the tag has been applied. This number may be printed, engraved or otherwise marked on the first portion 12 and/or the second portion 14 during manufacture. Alternatively, it may be added just prior to or after application to an animal, for example, by writing on the surface of the first portion 12 and/or second portion 14 using a permanent marker pen.

An alternative embodiment of a closure element 30 that may be used in conjunction with the embodiment of Figure 3 is depicted in Figure 4. The closure element 20 of this embodiment has a compound structure. The closure element of this embodiment has a three stage structure. The first portion of its structure, which extends from the first portion is substantially straight and in this embodiment extends substantially perpendicularly to the first portion of the tag. This merges into a second section 34 which is curved along a tangential line of the path followed by the tip section 36 during closure. Finally, the tip section 36 itself is substantially straight. The curvature of the curved section 34 ensures that the tip section 36 is pointing in a direction substantially tangential to the arc prescribed by the point of the tip when the tag is closed.

In use, the angled nature of the tip section of animal tags according to the present invention enables the animal tag to enter the ear substantially tangentially to the path followed by the tip section during closure of the tag. In contrast, in the prior art, the straight, perpendicular nature of the closure element ensures that the tip section entered the ear pointing at an angle to the tangential path followed by the tip section. Thus, with a closure element according to the present invention, the tip section follows a path which is more closely directed towards the receptacle than in the prior art. This problem has been found to be particularly troublesome in the prior art when applying to relatively thick flesh, for example, around 5mm or more. In that case, in the prior art, the thickness of the flesh means that the tip will move in a substantially straight line through the flesh and will be offset from the receptacle when the closure is made. This causes the closure element to embed itself in the side of the receptacle rather than being properly received in the receptacle. The angled nature of the tip section of the present invention overcomes this problem. Thus, according to the present invention an improved animal tag is provided in which the instances of the animal tag failing to close through misalignment of the closure element with a receptacle is reduced.

The above-described embodiments may be combined with each other.

It will be appreciated that the concept of an angled tip section can be applied to any animal tag which is folded or pivoted to apply it and where closure is made by the engagement of a closure element in a receptacle. Although several embodiments have been described above, other configurations of the first and second portions and the way in which they are joined to each other are possible and will be apparent to the person skilled in the art. These fall within the scope of the present invention, which is defined by the appended claims.