Dispensing – Processes of dispensing
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-22
2002-02-19
Jacyna, J. Casimer (Department: 3751)
Dispensing
Processes of dispensing
C141S231000, C141S094000, C222S544000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06347723
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a method for securing a flowable product in a storage and/or transportation tank and to a security system for flowable products in storage and/or transportation tanks, which have openings at least for filling, removing and/or checking purposes, particularly for performing the method for securing a flowable product in a storage and/or transportation tank.
The invention relates to a method for securing a flowable product in a storage and/or transportation tank according to claim 1 and to a security system for flowable products in storage and/or transportation tanks according to the preamble of claim
4
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During the transportation of flowable or pourable products conventionally use is made of mobile containers, which are installed on vehicles. For example, tankers and their trailers are known. However, also rail vehicles, ships and aircraft are equipped with such transportation tanks or containers.
During the delivery or transportation of such products, particularly from a manufacturer to a customer, it is expected that transfer of the product to be delivered, e.g. from a storage container at one location to a customer container at another location, will take place without any changes to the composition or state of the load. Finally, the customer must also receive precisely the quality and quantity of product ordered.
However, it has been found that with conventional transportation containers, particularly those having conventional closure systems it is not possible to adequately ensure that during the transportation, as well as filling or unloading manipulations do not take place to the product to be transferred. This applies to substantially all liquids and gases to be transported, as well as to pourable materials such as granules, starch, powder (flour, sugar, etc.), feedstuffs, etc.
It must therefore be ensured e.g. for a wine transporter having a tank with several segments that the product ordered by the customer is filled in a filling location with a quality and quantity complying with the order of the customer. This means that e.g. there must be no contamination due to remaining residual quantities or impurities in the transportation tank. It must also be ensured that in each case the correct quantity of the correct wines are filled and not branched off.
During transportation interventions on the tank content must be prevented, so that the tank content quantity and quality are maintained in the form ordered by the customer.
On unloading the tank content into the customer container it must be ensured that once again there is no confusion and therefore contamination.
The prevention of the manipulation of a product transported in a tank during transportation, i.e. particularly after filling and prior to unloading, is only sensible if it can also be ensured that the product transported is also delivered at the correct consignee, i.e. to the intended destination tank. however, conversely it is also important that the consignee receives the product ordered by him, which presupposes that filling has taken place with the corresponding quantity and quality at a filling plant.
In the case of conventional transportation containers or those having conventional closures, all these problems can only be controlled, if at all, by considerable expenditure on additional personnel and additional measuring equipment, which leads to considerable security costs and therefore to product price rises.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to provide a method and a security system with which flowable products can be made ready and/or transported in manipulation-proof manner in a container and can in particular be uninterruptedly monitored with respect to quality and quantity in a storage and/or transportation chain.
From the method standpoint this object is achieved by the inventive method for securing a flowable product in a storage and/or transportation tank, in which a control device and a write-read device are used for data exchange with connection elements connectable to the particular opening and which have a code mark or tag, with the following steps:
storing data with respect to the quantity and quality of the flowable product and/or unloading-relevant data,
association of closure elements and tags with the associated openings of the storage or transportation tank and coding the association,
checking whether the openings of the storage or transportation tank are correctly closed and closed with the closure element associated with the particular opening, use being made of the tag data read our with the write-read device,
generating, storing and/or displaying an “UNSEALED” signal, if at least one opening is not correctly closed or not closed with the associated closure element and
generating, storing and/or displaying a “SEALED” signal if in the existence of a predetermined filling state of the storage or transportation tank all the openings have been correctly closed within a predetermined time interval with the in each case associated closure element.
From the apparatus standpoint with a security system for flowable products in storage and/or transportation tanks, which have openings at least for filling, removal and/or control purposes, having at least one control device and a write-read device for data exchange with connection elements connectable to the particular opening. The system includes a tag associated with each opening, a closure element associated with each opening as a connection element and on which is located the tag associated with the opening. The association of tag and opening can be controlled and stored in the control device. Also, when there is a specific association of all the tags with the given openings, a manipulation-free state can be displayed by the control device. Advantageous further developments of the method and security systems according to the invention form the subject matter of subclaims.
In the security system for flowable goods in storage and/or transportation tanks according to the invention, with each tank opening from which product can be removed is associated in a particularly clear manner a code mark or tag.
In addition, with each opening is associated a closure element as a connecting element. On each closure element is applied a tag associated with the given opening. In the control device of the security system according to the invention it is possible to check and store the association between the tags and the openings. The control device of the security system according to the invention is constructed so that it indicates in the presence of a specific association of all tags with the given openings a manipulation-free state.
Thus, an essential idea of the present invention is that with each opening of the storage or transportation container is precisely associated a given closure element and that said closure element in each case has an identification device, e.g. in the form of a code mark or tag, which carries in it the association with the particular opening in the form of data.
A further essential idea of the present invention is that said data can be read by a write-read device of the associated opening. If the read data correspond to the association, i.e. the correct closure is located on the opening, this is established by the control device and consequently a signal is generated and/or represented which tells the user that the corresponding container opening is sealed and therefore manipulation-free. It is also essential for the association between the tags/closure elements and the openings to be checked and stored in the control device for comparing the actual state with the desired state.
The invention makes it possible to transfer pourable or flowable products from a container (A) at a given location (AA) to another container (B) at another location (BB) without any change to the load in the container or tank. Thus, e.g. unauthorized removals, content contaminations or state changes (e.g. temperature, etc.) are immediately noticeable, becau
Barlian Reinhold A.
Böhm Alfred
BARTEC Componenten und Systeme GmbH
Jacobson & Holman PLLC
Jacyna J. Casimer
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