GB2500860A

GB2500860A - Harness for a bird

Info

Publication number: GB2500860A
Application number: GB1121312.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Rory Wilson; Sylvie Vandenabeele
Original assignee: Swansea University
Current assignee: Swansea University
Priority date: 2011-12-09
Filing date: 2011-12-09
Publication date: 2013-10-09
Also published as: GB201121312D0

Abstract

A harness is formed of a neck loop 2 and a body loop 3 which are joined together via connection member 5. The neck loop can be positioned over shoulders of a wearer, such as a bird, keeping the wings free so as to avoid disrupting movement. The loops and the connection member are made from elastic material preferably a silicone based elastomer. The joints between the loops and the connection member are strengthening or reinforced using mesh or gauze. The elastic material preferably permeates the mesh. The harness is preferably moulded. The harness can accommodate a tracking or logging device that can be attached to the harness close to the centre of gravity of a bird.

Description

Harness

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a harness and in particular but not exclusively to a harness for attaching a tracking device to an individual.

Background of the Invention

The use of harnesses for the attachment of logging or tracking devices have greatly advanced the fields of wild animal biology, but devices, including attachmcnt systems, should cause minimum harm to the wearer. Birds are particularly troublesome in that it can be difficult to attach and keep a device on the bird. Short-term attachment exists which consists in taping the device to the feathers but which therefore falls off at the moulting period. A system that would allow tracking birds for long periods of time to study for instance the movements of migratory birds is particularly needed and the only reliable method available is to use harnesses.

It is known to have attachment devices that are made of a relatively stiff material such as a Teflon or leather harness that is placed around the bird's body but this could slip off or irritate the bird or animal. Also if the animal dies or is consumed by a predator then the attachment device may cause harm represent harm for the predator and/or have environmental impacts. Concerning the wearer, harnesses have been proved to cause serious impediment and even injuries. Therefore, harnesses tend to be avoided in many bird studies, such as those involving seabirds, because they interfere with the bird's natural activities and more important may compromise their survival Although it is essential that harnesses do not comprothise the animal's welfare, it is also required that a system is used that is robust enough to withstand all the physical stresses encountered by the birds in their environment as well as the bird's attempts to remove it. This problem may be solved by having a harness that is not visible, being placed under the feathers, preventing it to be exposed to the environment and that can be almost imperceptible to the bearer.

The current invenfion seeks to overcome the problems with the prior art by providing a harness that can be easily fitted and would have minimal impact on the wearer and the environment.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a harness for an individual having at least one first loop for positioning around an upper portion of the wearer's body and a second loop for attaching around a lower portion of the wearer's body, the first and second loops being attached to one another by way of a connector, characterized in that the loops and connector are formed of an elastic material and that joins between the ioops and connector have strengthening members contained within the elastic material in the regions of the joins.

The connector may be an elongate member or simply a location point that connects the two parts of the harness together.

Preferably, the first loop extends in a first axis and the second loop extends in an axis that is substantially at right angles to the axis of the first loop.

It is envisaged that the first loop is provided by two straps each having a first and a second end, the first and second end of each straps being connected to the second loop. Each strap sits on each shoulder of the wearer, and the neck of the wearer passes through the open space between the straps, which forms the first loop of the harness.

Preferably, the straps forming the first Sd second loop are semi-circular cross-section.

It is envisaged that the connection member is semi-circular in cross section.

It is preferred that the elastic material is a silicone based elastomer.

Preferably the elastomer is a medical grade elastomer. -A particularly useful elastorner is Silastic ®. A main advantage of this harness is its elasticity conferred by the material used to build the straps using a silicone based elastomer such as Silastic ®.

It is enWsaged that the strengthening members are sections or pieces of mesh material and in particular the mesh material is gauze.

Preferably the mesh material is a roll of material that is positioned across a join and which has elastomer permeated through the meshes in the mesh material to embed the mesh in the harness.

It is preferred that the harness is adapted for fitting around a bird, a first ioop of the harness being arranged to fit around the neck area of the bird and the second loop being adapted to fit around the body of the bird, with the connection member extending along a dorsal line of the bird, the harness being arranged so that the wings of the bird are. not restricted by the first and second loops. It is envisaged that the connection member also passes along the ventral line of the bird.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method of making a harness for fitting around a bird or animal, said method comprising forming a mould having a V shaped sections the apex of the V shaped section being joined to a substantially linear section by a connector which may be an elongate member or a joint, pouring a elastomeric material into the mould and allowing the elastomeric material to set, cutting the V shaped sections to a required length to fit around an individual that is to wear the harness and securing the two ends of the V shaped section to form a part of the harness that is to be positioned around the body of the wearer and attaching the two ends of a the substantially linear section to the first part of the harness to form a loop to fit about the upper portion of the wearer's body, wherein strengthening material are positioned in an area of the harness where joins are to be formed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a dorsal and harness according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of dorsal and ventral view of a harness in situ; Figure 3 shows a template mould for a harness according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 4 shows ajoint area for a harness according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 5 shows a cross section of a length of harness according to an embodiment of the invention; and Figure 6 shows a graph with the force required to extend 10 mm *ide, semicircular in cross-section, mm-long harness straps made of different percentages of silicone oil.

Detailed Description of the Invention

As shown in Figure 1, the harness, which is generally shown as 1 in the figure, is formed of two loops 2, 3 which are joined together by at least one connector 5 that is attached to a part of the harness to fit around the body of the bird by join 4. Loop 2 is formed of two pieces 2a and 2b. The joining piece 5 may be an elongate member as shown or it may be shortened so that the loops 2a and 2b connect to the loop 3. A tracking or logging device can then be attached to the harness close to the centre of gravity of a bird. The two-loop harness includes a neck loop 2 and a body ioop 3 The neck loop can be positioned over shoulders not too close to the wings, to avoid disrupting the movement of the bird, and incorporated a V-form in the neck section which allowed the harness to sit just on the sternum in order not to impede swallowing. The wings extend through apertures between the two loops 6. The second loop, that is the body loop, sits behind the wings, but not so close to the thighs as to prevent movement of the legs. The neck and body loops are connected by a single strap on the dorsal side and one strap on the ventral side. If required, two straps can be provided on the ventral side. All the straps had a semi-circular cross-section with the curved surface directed outwards and the flat side located under the feathers in contact with the skin, thereby fitting the contours of the bird appropriately.

Figure 2 shows a harness is situ and the views given are a dorsal view and a ventral view. The dorsal view shows the back of the bird with the nedk loop 2 and the body loop 3. The neck loop extends towards the shoulders of the bird, while the body loop is tighter around the body. The connection pieces 4 and 5 extend linearly down the back and the abdomen of the bird, so that there is minimal interference with the muscles. Looking at the ventral view again the neck loop 2 avoids restriction around the neck area of the bird. Furthermore there is minimal restriction of the muscles are around the bird's chest, which could restrict breathing and/or flying.

As can be seen in Figure 3, the harness can be fornied as a single piece to which other sections can be attached but the double Y shaped structure as shown forms the basis of all harnesses produced according to the invention. A first part generally shown as a) is a part that can form the neck and the second part c) is can form the body loop and these are joined by a connection section b). The part b) forms the connectorS between the ioops which is secured to the ioops at join 4. To make the harness, a mould is provided and the material to form the harness is poured into the mould The resultant moulding is formed as a relatively flat structure that can be formed into the required 3D structure that is to fit around the wearer. Because the material used is soft and pliable, it is easy to cut the structure into the required lengths to go around the wearer's body. If further connectors are needed for the harness, (or loops) then an individual strip can be moulded and glued onto an existing harness or part of the existing harness can be replaced in the mould then a further section is moulded onto the existing harness.

The harness is subject to wear and tear and in particular whcre there are joints between sections in the harness. As can be seen form Figure 4, the jointed areas can include strengthening portions which are typically a net or gauze layer in proximity to the joints. The net/gauze is flexible and light and also as is has a structure having a series of holes, it allows for the material making up thc harness to permeate into the body of the mesh. Typically the mesh is in the form of a rolled structure as this keeps the gauze contained and when the harness is moulded it avoids pieces of the mesh from extending outside the body of the harness. If there are pieces of material that extend outside the body of the harness this is disadvantageous as birds may pick at the material and pull at the gauze which could cause the harness to be damaged.

The harness is made of a hypoallergenic, soft and elastic material based on silicone and which is used by the medical industry. The matérial is a two component material based on silicone elastomers which is cured with a curing agent. A typical silicone elastomer called Silastic®. Silastic is a mixture of octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane, decamethylcyclopentasiloxane and methylvinyl cyclosiloxanes.

When cured, the properties of the elastomer are that it has a Shore A hardness of 25, a tensile strength of 7.5 MPa, elongation at break of 850%, tear strength of 23 kN/m, relative density at 25 degrees centigrade of 1.12. and linear shrinkage of less than O 1 percent.

Before pouring into a mould, the elastomer is mixed well to make sure that the curing agent that is added to the base elastomer is mixed well into the composition. Hand or mechanical mixing can be used but ide1ly the mixing is controlled i.e. it is not so vigorous, that bubbles are created as bubbles in the harness could weaken the structure. Also if the harness is to be coloured to match the colour of the animal or bird to which it is to be attached, then any lumps in the pigment should be eliminated, and again, this is a measure to avoid building in any weaknesses in the structure. It is possible to accelerate curing of the elastomer by warming at a temperature of between 50 and 80 degrees centigrade. It is also possible to cure the structure at different rates in different areas by blowing heated air The moulds that are used are typically semicircular in cross section as shown in Figure 5. The moulds allow for the production of semi-circular straps with a width of 10 mm, which are particularly appropriate for subjects such as gulls (Laridae sp.).The flat surface of the strap can sit against the wearer's body while the rounded or semicircular surface is positioned away from the wearer's body. The use of a strap having different surface profiles where one surface is substantially flat and the other surface is curved prevents the strap from being displaced because if the ètrap is circular it can have a tendency to move across the wearer's body and so becomes displaced on the wearer. This has particular problems in animals because if the strap is displaced it may irritate the animal and further it can move into a position where the animal can pick at the strap and eventually break it.

Figure 6 shows that the elasticity of the straps was modulated by mixing the uncured elastomer with 10% (by volume) silicone fluid. A number of tests were performed on Silastic® straps made with different percentages of silicone fluid: Semi-cylindrical strips of 10 mm wide Silastic® measuring 200mm long and incorporating 0, 10, 20, 30 or 40% of silicone were constructed and were stretched using a 600 g Pesola® spring balance to determine the force required to extend each band, held horizontally, by defined lengths because a loose harness may disturb the wearer such as a bird or animal by moving with respect to its body or a tight harness could cause injury. An observation was made of a bird after equipping it with a harness made of 40% silicone oil. The addition of silicone oil to the Silastic® affected the force required to stretch it profoundly, with greater quantities of silicone oil resulting in greater elasticity. For example, a 50% stretch required forces of 5.25, 3.80, 3.29, 2.53 and 1.96 N for 0%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% silicone oil mixes, respectively. Thus, a mix with 40% silicone oil in a stretched body-loop would exert less on average three tithes less pressure on the bird of a strap with no silicone oil. Juveniles were fitted with harnesses made of Silastic® mixed with 30% silicone oil and it would appear that the inclusion of 30% to 40% silicone oil provides an optimal degree of stretch so the harnesses can be fitted in relation to robustness for allowing the harness to be worn over a reasonable length ot time. -The harness is particularly suited to use with birds but other animals and even humans could be equipped with the harness.

It should be noted that the above mentioned embodiment illustrates rather than limits the invention and that alterations or modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as described. It is to be noted that the invention covers not only individual embodiments described but also combinations of those embodiments.

Claims

Claims 1. A harness for an individual having a first loop for positioning around an upper portion of the wearer's body and a second ioop for attaching around a lower portion of the wearer's body, the first and second loops being attached to one another by way of a connection member, characterized in that the ioops and connecting member are formed of an elastic material and that the joins between the ioop and connecting member have strengthening members contained within the elastic material in the regions of the joins.
2. A harness according to claim 1, wherein the first loop extends in a first axis and the second loop extends in an axis that is substantially at right angles to the axis of the first loop.
3. A harness according to claim 2, wherein the first loop is provided by two pieces each having a first and second end, the first and second end of each of the two pieces being connected to the second ioop to form a harness over the shoulders of the wearer.
4. A harness according to any preceding claim wherein the first and second ioops are semi-circular in cross section.
5. A harness according to any preceding claim wherein the connection member is semi-circular in cross section.
6. A harness according to any preceding claim wherein the elastic material is a silicone based elastomer.
7. A harness according to claim 6 wherein the silicone based elastomer is a medical grade elastomer.
8. A harness according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the silicone based elastomer is Silastic®.
9. A harness according to any preceding claim wherein the strengthening members are sections of mesh material.
10-A harness according to claim 9, wherein the mesh material is gauze.
11. A harness according to claim 9 or claim 10 wherein the mesh material is a roll of material that is positioned across a join and which has elastomer permeated through the meshes in the mesh material to embed the mesh in the harness.
12 A harness according to any preceding claim adapted for filling around a bird, a first ioop of the harness being arranged to fit around the neck area of the bird and the second loop being adapted to fit around the body of the bird, with the connection member extending along the dorsal and ventral lines of the bird, the harness being arranged so that the wings of the bird are not restricted by the first and second loops.
13. A method of making a harness for fitting around a bird or animal, said method comprising forming a mould having a V shaped sections the apex of the V shaped section being joined to a substantially linear section by a connector which may be an elongate member or a joint, pouring a elastcimeric material into the mould and allowing the elastomeric material to set, cutting the V shaped sections to a required length to fit around an individual that is to wear the harness and securing the two ends of the V shaped section to form a part of the harness that is to be positioned around the body of the wearer and attaching the two ends of a the substantially linear section to the first part of the harness to form a loop to fit about thc uppcr portion of the wearer's hod)', wherein strengthening material are pOsitioned in an area of the harness where joins are to be formed.
14. A harness as substantially described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying figures.