US3850360A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Tag applying tool
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1973-10-19
•
Granted: 1974-11-26
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Expires: 1993-10-19
Abstract
Abstract The tool includes a main body in the form of an elongate block normally held generally horizontal by gripping a depending handle. Retainer means for the tag is a pair of elongate retainer members pivoted to the aft end of the main body to swing up for loading and down to parallelism with the body for the tagging operation. A tag of resilient flat material having a wide base, a narrow neck, and an arrow-shaped anchoring head is sandwiched between the members with the leading end of the head forward. When the members are swung down, a pair of crimping jaws on a slidable bracket fold the wings of the head over each other and over the members to present a small compact cross section. One of the members is longer than the other and has a piercing point which is driven through the element to be tagged by manually forcing the tool forward. Contact of the jaws with the element drives them and the bracket relatively rearward to release the wings on the remote side of the element, and the tool is withdrawn rearwardly from the element. In a modification, a lever is pivoted at an intermediate point on an intermediate point on the handle. The lower portion of the handle and the lower rear portion of the lever form a plier-type grip, while the upper forward end of the lever carries a backup jaw to contact the remote side of the element to be tagged. When force is applied to the grip, the backup jaw and the retainer means move toward each other to force the piercing point through the element.
Inventors
- 👤 E Ritchey
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 21:11
CPC Classifications
A; A01; A01K; A01K11/00; A01K11/001; A01K11/002
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
363 words
A tag applying tool for use in combination with a tag of generally flat resilient material formed with a laterally extensive base, a narrow neck connected at its aft end to the forward end of the base, and an anchoring head connected at its aft end to the forward end of the neck and provided with a narrow leading end and rearwardly diverging wings defining detent shoulders at the forward end of the neck, the tool comprising: a main body having a fore and aft longitudinal axis and a handle to be gripped by an operator; narrow elongate retainer means for holding the tag having means at the aft end to pivotally mount said retainer means on the aft end of the main body for application of driving force to the retainer means and having a piercing point at the forward end to pierce the element to be tagged; the retainer means being adapted in operative position to lie adjacent to the upper edge of the main body and substantially parallel thereto, and being substantially longer than the main body to extend beyond the forward end thereof in operative position; a bracket longitudinally movably mounted on the main body and extending forwardly beyond the forward end of the main body; crimping means mounted on the forward end of the bracket and extending upwardly therefrom; the retainer means being adapted to receive the tag with its anchoring head in flatwise engagement with the forward portion of the retainer means and spaced rearward of the piercing point and movable down into juxtaposition with the crimping means to cause the latter to engage the wings and fold them one over another and over the retainer means to reduce the lateral extent of the wings; the retainer means being adapted to be forced by forward movement of the main body through the element to be tagged to an extent sufficient to carry the wings beyond the remote side of the element; and the bracket and crimping means being movable rearward with respect to the main body by contact with the adjacent side of the element to release the wings and allow them to spread to anchoring position.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
363 words
A tag applying tool for use in combination with a tag of generally flat resilient material formed with a laterally extensive base, a narrow neck connected at its aft end to the forward end of the base, and an anchoring head connected at its aft end to the forward end of the neck and provided with a narrow leading end and rearwardly diverging wings defining detent shoulders at the forward end of the neck, the tool comprising: a main body having a fore and aft longitudinal axis and a handle to be gripped by an operator; narrow elongate retainer means for holding the tag having means at the aft end to pivotally mount said retainer means on the aft end of the main body for application of driving force to the retainer means and having a piercing point at the forward end to pierce the element to be tagged; the retainer means being adapted in operative position to lie adjacent to the upper edge of the main body and substantially parallel thereto, and being substantially longer than the main body to extend beyond the forward end thereof in operative position; a bracket longitudinally movably mounted on the main body and extending forwardly beyond the forward end of the main body; crimping means mounted on the forward end of the bracket and extending upwardly therefrom; the retainer means being adapted to receive the tag with its anchoring head in flatwise engagement with the forward portion of the retainer means and spaced rearward of the piercing point and movable down into juxtaposition with the crimping means to cause the latter to engage the wings and fold them one over another and over the retainer means to reduce the lateral extent of the wings; the retainer means being adapted to be forced by forward movement of the main body through the element to be tagged to an extent sufficient to carry the wings beyond the remote side of the element; and the bracket and crimping means being movable rearward with respect to the main body by contact with the adjacent side of the element to release the wings and allow them to spread to anchoring position.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
134 words
A tool as claimed in claim 1; in which the crimping means comprises two gripping jaws located in laterally spaced relation at opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of movement of the bracket and pivotally mounted thereon; each jaw is pivoted near its outer edge on an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of movement of the bracket for swinging between lower retracted position and upper extended position; the inner edges of the jaws in retracted position are formed with opposing recesses sized to surround the retainer means and tag wings and restrain them in operative position; and the jaws are swingable upward and outward away from each other to extended position to define an open gap large enough to receive the retainer means and the wings as they are lowered to operative position.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
42 words
A tool as claimed in claim 2; in which the pivot axes of the jaws are above the centers of the recesses when the jaws are in retracted gripping position, defining eccentric pivotal mountings to increase the restraining action of the jaws.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
A tool as claimed in claim 2; in which the jaws swing upward from retracted gripping position about 60* to extended open position.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
26 words
A tool as claimed in claim 2; in which spring biasing means are connected to each of the jaws to yieldingly urge them to extended position.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
47 words
A tool as claimed in claim 1; in which spring means are provided to yieldingly urge the bracket forward and stop means are provided to limit the forward movement of the bracket to locate the jaws in the predetermined appropriate position to initially receive the tag wings.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
47 words
A tool as claimed in claim 1; in which the retainer means comprises two narrow elongate retainer members arranged to retain the tag between them in predetermined position; one member being longer than the other and extending forward beyond it and being provided with the piercing point.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
41 words
A tool as claimed in claim 7; in which the leading end of the shorter retainer member is bent inward toward the longer member to enclose the leading end of the anchoring head and prevent its displacement during the piercing operation.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
60 words
A tool as claimed in claim 7; in which one of the retainer members is provided with a pair of flanges, one at each side edge, extending toward the other member to embrace the tag neck and abut the aft edges of the tag wings to longitudinally locate the wings in predetermined position for folding engagement with the crimping means.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
44 words
A tool as claimed in claim 7; in which the retainer members are pivotally connected to the aft end of the main body at their point of engagement therewith; and their forward portions are swingable up and down with respect to the crimping means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
56 words
A tool as claimed in claim 10; in which the retainer members are discrete and are pivoted with respect to each other to swing apart for reception of the tag and to swing together in facewise contact with the opposite faces of the tag and retain it in position for wing-folding engagement with the crimping means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
201 words
A tool as claimed in claim 11; in which the tip of the longer retainer member with the piercing point has a planform in the general shape of an arrow head, and the shank aft of the tip is of substantially the same width as the neck of the tag; the shorter retainer member is of substantially the same width as the neck of the tag and is provided at each side edge with a flange directed toward the longer member to embrace the tag neck and the shank of the longer member and restrain the tag against lateral displacement; the forward section of the shorter member is tapered to a narrow tip bent inward toward the longer member to shield the tip of the anchoring head of the tag; the flanges are located aft of the tip of the shorter member a sufficient distance to abut the aft edges of the tag wings and urge the tag forward with the retainer members; and the aft end of the tip of the longer member is wider than its shank to pierce an opening in the element to be tagged large enough for passage of the folded anchoring head of the tag.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
112 words
A tool as claimed in claim 1; in which a force-applying member is movably connected to the tag applying tool and is provided at its forward free end with a backup jaw adapted to engage the remote side of the element to be tagged and formed with a passageway for the retainer means; the backup jaw in initial position is substantially in alignment with and spaced forward of the piercing point of the retainer means to define a gap for reception of the element to be tagged; and the retainer means and the backup jaw are relatively movable toward each other to force the retainer means through the element and the passageway.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
43 words
A tool as claimed in claim 13; in which the passageway in the backup jaw is open upwardly to provide a path for relatively upward releasing movement of the retainer means from the backup jaw after completion of the piercing and tagging operation.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
22 words
A tool as claimed in claim 13; in which the force-applying member is pivotally connected to the handle of the main body.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
74 words
A tool as claimed in claim 13; in which the force-applying member is an elongate lever pivotally connected at an intermediate point to an intermediate point on the handle of the main body; the ends of the lever and the handle exTending beyond the pivotal connection define plier-type gripping members; and the gripping members are movable toward each other under manual pressure to produce relative movement of the retainer means and the backup jaw.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
35 words
A tool as claimed in claim 16; in which the main body is pivotally mounted on the handle to tilt forwardly and initially align the retainer member with with the passageway in the backup jaw.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
33 words
A tool as claimed in claim 17; in which spring means is interposed between the main body and the handle and is arranged to yieldingly tilt the main body toward its initial position.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
35 words
A tool as claimed in claim 18; in which portions of the main body and the handle are arranged to interengage and serve as stops to limit the tilting movement to the predetermined initial position.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-11-25 | 1978-05-27 | 1978-11-26 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-11-25 | 1982-05-27 | 1982-11-26 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-11-25 | 1986-05-27 | 1986-11-26 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |