Animal identification system
AssigneeRapID Lab, Inc.
InventorsMark Swope, Bretton Mark Swope, Vanessa Lai
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An animal identification system includes: a tray defining a set of tag receptacles; a set of tags, each tag defining a tag base and a barb and located in a tag receptacle in the tray; a set of backing plates, each backing plate defining a receiver and located in a tag receptacle in the tray with the receiver coaxial with a barb of a corresponding tag occupying the tag receptacle; and an applicator configured to insert into a tag receptacle in the tray, to retrieve a tag and a backing plate from the tag receptacle while maintaining a receiver of the backing plate coaxial with a barb of the tag, and to pierce an appendage of an animal and assemble the backing plate onto the barb of the tag in a continuous actuation motion.
Claims11
An applicator comprising:
- a set of pliers in a grip-to-close configuration and including:
- an upper jaw, distal of a pivot, defining a tag ejection boss proximal a tip of the upper jaw;
- and
- a lower jaw, distal of the pivot, defining a backing plate ejection boss proximal a tip of the lower jaw;
- an upper tongue comprising:
- a proximal end mounted to the upper jaw proximal the pivot;
- a distal end;
- defining a pair of upper forks extending on each lateral side of the tag ejection boss and configured to splay outwardly to receive a tag;
- defining a lower seat configured to engage opposing lateral sides of the tag;
- and
- biased downwardly off of the tip of the upper jaw;
- and
- a set of upper stops extending downwardly from the pair of upper forks between the proximal end and the distal end of the upper tongue;
- a lower tongue comprising:
- a proximal end mounted to the lower jaw proximal the pivot;
- a distal end:
- defining a pair of lower forks extending on each lateral side of the backing plate ejection boss and configured to splay outwardly to receive a backing plate;
- configured to insert into a pocket of a tag receptacle in a tray;
- defining a lower seat configured to engage opposing lateral sides of the backing plate;
- and
- biased upwardly off of the tip of the lower jaw;
- and
- a set of lower stops:
- extending upwardly from the pair of lower forks between the proximal end and the distal end of the lower tongue;
- and
- configured to engage the set of upper stops during actuation of the set of pliers to:
- drive the distal end of the upper tongue toward the tag ejection boss to eject the tag from the pair of upper forks;
- and
- drive the distal end of the lower tongue toward the backing plate ejection boss to eject the backing plate from the pair of lower forks;
- and
- wherein, during actuation of the set of pliers, the tag ejection boss and the backing plate ejection boss cooperate to:
- retain the tag following ejection from the pair of upper forks;
- retain the backing plate following ejection from the pair of lower forks;
- and
- drive a barb of the tag into a receiver of the backing plate to seat the barb within the receiver.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.