Metal Ear Tag With Self-Clinching RFID Housing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing livestock ear tags, particularly those made of plastic, are prone to damage and failure due to their fragile nature, leading to issues with data accuracy and animal safety, as they can get caught on fencing and cause infections, while metal tags are not easily combined with electronic identification systems.
Innovation Solution
A one-piece metal ear clip with a self-clinching mechanism is combined with a plastic sleeve housing an electronic RFID transponder, ensuring secure attachment and durability without compromising the metal clip's closure mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If plastic ear tags are used, then manufacturing cost and ease of manufacture are improved, but reliability and durability worsen due to fragile nature and bending stress damage
Solution Approach 1:
The ear tag combines plastic and metal materials to create a composite structure where the plastic body provides cost-effective manufacturing and the metal reinforcement strip provides durability and resistance to bending stress, resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The ear tag is divided into functional segments: a plastic body for housing electronic components and a separate metal reinforcement strip for structural strength, allowing each material to perform its optimal function while maintaining overall reliability and manufacturability
2Reliability
If metal ear tags are used, then reliability and durability are improved, but adaptability worsens due to difficulty in combining with electronic identification systems
Solution Approach 1:
The hybrid plastic-metal construction allows the tag to maintain the reliability of metal while providing the adaptability of plastic for integrating electronic identification components, resolving the contradiction between reliability and adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The ear tag design incorporates multiple functions within a single structure: traditional identification through visible indicators, electronic identification through integrated RFID or similar components, and durable attachment through metal reinforcement, making it adaptable to various identification systems
3Ease of manufacture
If two-piece plastic ear tags are used, then ease of manufacture is improved, but reliability worsens due to locking member failure from bending stress
Solution Approach 1:
The metal reinforcement strip embedded in the plastic body provides structural strength to withstand bending stress during installation, preventing locking member failure while maintaining the ease of manufacture of molded plastic components
Solution Approach 2:
The metal reinforcement strip acts as a pre-installed structural support that cushions and distributes bending stress away from the locking member and electronic components, preventing damage before it occurs during the installation process
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a durable and reliable electronic identification system for livestock that minimizes damage and infection risks, maintaining data integrity while withstanding environmental stresses and existing installation methods.
Implementation Method 1
A one-piece metal ear clip with a self-clinching mechanism is combined with a plastic sleeve housing an electronic RFID transponder
Implementation Method 2
plastic sleeve housing an electronic RFID transponder
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic animal identification ear tag. A self powered transponder is encased in a plastic housing, and the housing is affixed to a one piece metal ear clip. The ear clip has self clinching provisions that are metal only, and the housing has a bubble opening therein to accommodate the closure of the self clinching means. The self clinching locking means and, in a first embodiment, a retaining tooth formed on a leg of said metal ear clip maintain the position of the sleeve on said metal ear clip. In the first embodiment, the housing is a sleeve sliding onto the metal ear clip, while a second embodiment has the housing formed and molded around the metal ear clip.