Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – Specific condition
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-08
2001-02-20
Lee, Benjamin C. (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
Specific condition
C340S572900, C340S870030, C340S870030, C340S693500, C177S145000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06191691
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a bin for collecting refuse, and fitted with a transponder which is secured to the container of the bin by fixing means fastened thereon.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The transponder is designed, for example, to enable the bin to be identified by a refuse collection vehicle by interchanging data in manner known per se.
By weighing the bin before emptying, the use can be billed as a function of the quantity of refuse removed.
Various solutions have been proposed for securing the transponder to the bin.
It has been proposed in German utility model (Gebrauchsmuster) 92 12243 to house the transponder, embedded in a block of resin, in a box comprising two shells respectively fastened to opposite faces of a stiffening rib of the bin, each of the shells being provided with a first fixing element passing through the rib via a hole and becoming lodged in a complementary second fixing element made in the other shell.
It has also been proposed in German utility model 94 02392 to insert the transponder in a slot made in the wall of the handling collar of the bin, immediately after the plastics material constituting the container has been molded, and while said plastics material is still soft.
It has also been proposed in European patent 495 947 to dispose the transponder, embedded in a block of resin, in a housing in the bin that is closed by means of a snap-fastened or riveted plate.
The various known solutions are not entirely satisfactory.
In particular, putting the transponder in place in the bin while its constituent plastics material is still fluid requires relatively costly additional equipment to be used in association with the molds used for manufacturing the bin.
In addition, when the transponder is embedded in a block of resin, it is necessary to extract it from the bin before grinding up said bin with a view to recycling, thereby running the risk of mixing together plastics materials that are incompatible from the recycling point of view.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a new bin that is easy to recycle and in which the transponder can be put in place without any need for costly equipment.
The bin is of the type in which the transponder is secured to the container of the bin by fixing means fastened to the bin.
In the invention, the fixing means are arranged to come into direct contact with the transponder.
In other words, the transponder can be put in place on the bin without previously being completely embedded in a block of resin.
The fixing means are advantageously made from one or more materials chosen to be compatible, from a recycling point of view, with the plastics material used to make the container.
Thus, as a result of the invention, it is not necessary to extract the transponder before grinding up the bin with a view to recycling, thereby avoiding an operation that can be difficult with known bins.
In a particular embodiment, the fixing means used to secure the transponder to the bin include at least one holding part for insertion in a housing in the bin.
Still in a particular embodiment, the above-mentioned housing is situated under the handling collar of the bin, said housing preferably being open downwards and advantageously presenting a smooth inside surface before the holding part is put in place.
In a preferred embodiment, the fixing means include a box inside which the transponder is housed.
The box advantageously includes a box body and a cover that are snap-fastened together and the transponder preferably includes a printed circuit clamped between the box body and the cover.
The box can be easily put in place on the bin, without any need for costly equipment.
The box body preferably has an annular groove and the cover has a rib designed to snap-fasten in non-releasable manner in the above-mentioned groove.
In a preferred embodiment, the box body is threaded on the outside, and has on its bottom face, accessible from the outside of the bin, projections designed to co-operate with a tool with a view to removing the box if appropriate.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4626311 (1986-12-01), Taylor
patent: 4649397 (1987-03-01), Heaton et al.
patent: 5491483 (1996-02-01), D'Hont
patent: 5565846 (1996-10-01), Geiszler et al.
patent: 5781112 (1998-07-01), Shymko et al.
patent: 5894268 (1999-04-01), McLaren
patent: 5947256 (1999-09-01), Patterson
patent: 5969613 (1999-10-01), Yeager et al.
patent: 5986562 (1999-11-01), Nikolich
patent: 5999099 (1999-12-01), Stobbe
patent: 92 12 243.4 (1992-09-01), None
patent: 43 35 180 A1 (1993-10-01), None
patent: 0 495 947 B1 (1991-08-01), None
Compagnie & Plastic Omnium
Lee Benjamin C.
Schweitzer Cornman Gross & Bondell LLP
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