Patent Publication Number: US-8985434-B2

Title: Ballot box for collecting ballot envelopes and comprising a means for checking the physical acceptability of each ballot envelope

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention is of the field of materials used during an election and relates more particularly to a ballot box equipped with means for checking the physical acceptability of each ballot envelope, namely of the envelope and its contents. 
     PRIOR ART 
     It is not infrequent that during a voting process, elements other than acceptable ballots, such as hard objects, metal foil, cardboard and the like, are introduced into the envelope. Such elements are likely to disturb the efficient progress of the analysis and thereby to delay the results. 
     DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention has as its object to bring a solution to the above-mentioned problem by proposing a voting ballot box that incorporates a means for checking the physical acceptability of the ballot envelope. 
     For this purpose, the ballot box for collecting ballot envelopes that are each made of an envelope and a voting ballot inserted into the envelope—said ballot box comprising a horizontal bottom wall, vertical walls fastened to the bottom wall and a horizontal top wall forming a lid, which is provided with an opening for inserting a ballot envelope into the internal space of said ballot box—is characterized essentially in that the insertion opening forms a vertical guiding passage having a rectangular cross-section, delimited by two large parallel surfaces and two side surfaces, said opening comprising a motorized trap door that can occupy a position of obstructing said opening or a position of disengagement and in that said ballot box comprises a means for checking one of the physical parameters of the ballot envelope that is able to control the motor of the trap door in order to clear the opening if the envelope is acceptable or to prevent the opening in the opposite case. 
     According to another characteristic of the invention, the parameter measured is weight. 
     According to another characteristic of the invention, the parameter measured is the degree of opaqueness. 
     According to another characteristic of the invention, the parameter measured is the thickness of the ballot envelope. 
    
    
     
       SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES AND DRAWINGS 
       Other advantages, objects and characteristics of the invention will appear upon reading the description of a preferred embodiment given by way of nonlimiting example while referring to the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a ballot box according to the invention, 
         FIG. 2  is a cutaway view of a ballot box according to a first embodiment, 
         FIG. 3  is a cutaway view of a ballot box according to a second embodiment, 
         FIG. 4  is a cutaway view of a ballot box according to a third embodiment of the invention, 
         FIG. 5  is a cutaway view of a ballot box according to a fourth embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     BEST WAYS TO IMPLEMENT THE INVENTION 
     In  FIG. 1 , a ballot box  1  according to the invention is shown diagrammatically. This ballot box, with a parallelepiped shape, comprises a horizontal bottom wall on which four vertical walls are erected and fastened, namely a front wall, a rear wall and two side walls. The ballot box is also equipped with a horizontal top wall  10  that forms a lid, resting on the upper portion of each of the front, rear and side walls, this top wall being fastened in a removable way to these various vertical walls. 
     The top wall  10 , for example in its center, has a passage  11  for insertion, into the internal space of the ballot box, of the ballot envelopes P. 
     According to the invention, the passage  11  forms a vertical guiding passage having a rectangular cross-section, delimited by two large parallel surfaces and two side surfaces of lesser width than that of the large surfaces. This passage  11  at the lower end has a radial opening  12  for passage of a trap door  2  driven by an electric motor element  26 , which can occupy, under the action of the motor element  26 , either a position of obstructing the passage  11 , or a position of disengagement from this passage. Also, the ballot box, according to the invention, comprises a means for checking at least one of the physical parameters of the ballot envelope P, which can control the motor of the trap door to clear the passage if the envelope P is acceptable to pre-established criteria or to hold the passage  11  in a state of closure in the opposite case. The ballot envelope P is inserted into the passage  11  and is first blocked in this passage. If the ballot envelope, after checking, is considered acceptable, the passage  11  is cleared so that the ballot envelope P, under its own weight, can fall into the internal space of the ballot box. In the opposite case, the trap door  2  is held in a state of closure and the anomaly found is signaled by a sound or light signal. 
     According to the preferred embodiment, the checking means comprises a sensor that is sensitive to at least one of the physical parameters of the ballot envelope and can produce an electric signal that is representative of the value of this parameter, and a central processing command and control unit  4 , structured, for example, around a microprocessor, to which both the sensor and the motor element  26  of the trap door are connected. Additionally, the passage  11 , above and away from the trap door  2 , will have a device  13  for detecting the presence of the ballot envelope. This detector will be connected electrically to the command and control unit  4 . This detector  13  will have an element that emits a light beam and an element that receives this beam. These elements will be able to be placed opposite one another on both sides of the path of the ballot envelope in the passage. This detector  13  functions by detecting the cutting of a light beam. Alternatively, the two emitting and receiving elements are placed side by side, the receiver being able then to detect the beam reflected by the ballot envelope. 
     In  FIG. 2 , a ballot box according to a first embodiment is shown, with the parameter considered being the weight of the envelope. 
     According to the embodiment that is the object of this  FIG. 2 , the passage  11  above the trap door  2  and below the detector  13  has a radial opening  11   a , and the weight detector comprises, above and away from the trap door  2 , a paddle blade  20   a  that can be engaged in the passage  11  by passing through the radial opening  11   a . This paddle blade  20   a , designed to receive and support the ballot envelope P for the purpose of weighing, is carried by a pivoting arm  20  that is hinged away from said passage  11  with a horizontal pin  21  carried by, for example, a clevis, not shown, fastened to the structure of the guiding passage. Thus, this paddle blade  20   a , by pivoting the arm  20 , is placed either in a position of obstructing the passage  11 , in which it is crosswise to the latter and opposes the advance of the ballot envelope P, or else in a position of clearing this passage  11 , in which it is sidewise to the latter. The arm  20  works with a balancing element that pulls it to the position of obstructing the passage  11 . The balancing element is formed either by an elastic element of the spiral spring type or, according to the preferred embodiment, by a counterweight  22 . For this purpose, the arm  20  is extended beyond the hinge pin  21  and receives at this level the counterweight  22 , the latter being fitted on the arm. Advantageously, the distance between the hinge pin and the center of mass of the counterweight is adjustable. In this connection, the counterweight can be equipped with a set screw tightened on the arm, or else the part of the arm located beyond the hinge pin can be threaded and can work by screwing with a through tapping formed in the counterweight  22 . 
     The arm  20  is driven while pivoting toward the position of clearing the passage by a motor element  3  installed permanently inside the ballot box and controlled by the command and control unit  4  to which it is connected. According to the preferred embodiment, the arm  20  has a radial extension  23  with which the motor element  3  works. This motor element  3 , by action on this extension  23 , forces the pivoting of the arm toward the position of clearing the passage  11 . According to an embodiment, this radial extension  23  is made of ferromagnetic material, and the motor element  3  is an electromagnet formed by an electric coil and a core made of ferromagnetic material that can, when an electric current is passed through the coil, generate a magnetic field under the effect of which the radial extension of the arm is drawn toward the core and the arm to pivot and the paddle blade  20   a  to be disengaged from the passage  11 . 
     Finally, the arm  20  carries an obstructing device  24  that can move, by pivoting the arm, opposite or toward an optical sensor  25  connected to the command and control unit  4 . This optical sensor  25  can be of the beam-cutting type and will consist of an element that emits a light beam and an element that receives this beam. The obstructing device is brought opposite the optical sensor  25  when the ballot envelope has a weight that is too great to be acceptable. 
     The functioning of this first embodiment is as follows: when a ballot envelope P is detected in the passage  11  by the detector  13  and this without the beam emitted by the sensor  25  being cut, the motor element  3  is activated by the command and control unit  4  so that the paddle blade  20   a , by pivoting the arm  20 , is disengaged from the passage  11 . The motor element  26  is also activated by the command and control unit  4  so that the trap door  2  is placed in its position of clearing the passage  11 , as explained earlier. However, when the weight of the ballot envelope P is too great, the arm  20  under the effect of this weight is displaced by an angular value such that the obstructing device  24  is then positioned opposite the emitter that has the optical sensor  25  and blacks out the latter. Under these conditions, the motor  26  will not be activated by the command and control unit  4 , and a default signal will be emitted by the latter. 
     In the arrangement as described, the checking means functions as all or nothing. According to another arrangement of the invention, there is associated—with the arm  20  or with one of the elements connected to the latter—a potentiometric sensor or the equivalent, connected to the command and control unit  4 , which can deliver to the latter a signal that is representative of the angular position of the arm relative to an original position and as a result representative of the weight value of the ballot envelope. According to this embodiment, the arm will be returned to its original position by an elastic element known in the art. Still according to this embodiment, the command and control unit  4  compares the value of the signal received to a value or a range of values entered in memory, and if the value by weight of the ballot envelope is acceptable, it activates the motor elements  3  and  26  to clear the passage  11 . In the opposite case, these motor elements are kept deactivated by the command and control unit  4  so that the ballot envelope P cannot be inserted into the ballot box. Under this condition, a default signal is emitted by the command and control unit  4 . 
     In  FIG. 3 , a second embodiment of the ballot box according to the invention is shown. According to this embodiment, the checked parameter is the degree of opaqueness, and the passage  11  above the trap door  2  and below the detector  13  is equipped, on the one hand, with a light emitter  15  in the form of a light-emitting diode, for example, and, on the other hand, with a receiver  16  in the form of a phototransistor that is sensitive to the light emitted by the emitter  15 . The emitter defines a light path that is perpendicular to the two large surfaces of the passage. 
     According to this embodiment, the receiver  16  is associated electrically with the command and control unit  4 , which is able to compare the value delivered by the receiver to a value entered in memory and, if the value measured is compatible with the value entered in memory, is able to act on the motor  26  of the trap door  2  so that the latter is driven in the direction of the opening of the passage. 
     In a practical embodiment, a radial opening  11   a  is made in the passage  11  above the trap door  2  and below the detector  13 , and one of the elements—emitter  15  or receiver  16 —is fastened to the passage and the other is carried by a tip  20   b  mounted at the end of a hinged arm  20  that is mobile between a waiting position in which the tip  20   b  is outside of the passage and a measuring position in which the tip is inserted radially into the passage  11  by passing through the radial opening  11   a . In this position, the tip  20   b  applies the ballot envelope against the opposite surface of the passage. The ballot envelope therefore is sandwiched between the emitter  15  and the receiver  16 . Still in this practical embodiment, the arm  20  is equipped with a return element to be pulled to its waiting position and is driven to the measuring position by a motor element  3  installed permanently inside the ballot box and connected to the command and control unit  4  to be controlled by the latter. In the practical embodiment, the arm  20  is equipped with a radial extension  23  made of ferromagnetic material, and the motor element  3  consists of an electromagnet that can act magnetically on the radial extension to attract it and to force the pivoting of the arm to the measuring position. 
     The functioning of this embodiment is as follows: an envelope P inserted into the passage  11  is stopped in its advance toward the internal space of the ballot box by the trap door  2 , the latter being in a position of obstructing the passage  11 . The presence in the passage of the ballot envelope P is detected by the detector  13 , and the command and control unit  4  then activates the motor element  3  so that the arm  20  and the tip  20   b  that it carries are brought into measuring position. The measurement performed, the motor  3  will be deactivated so that the arm  20  under the action of the return element is brought back into waiting position. After measurement and comparison of the result to the values entered in memory, the motor  26  will be activated and the trap door  2  opened if the envelope P is acceptable or will stay deactivated in the opposite case. A default signal can then be emitted by the command and control unit  4 . 
     In  FIG. 4 , a third embodiment of the ballot box according to the invention is shown. According to this embodiment, the parameter checked is the thickness of the ballot envelope P, and the passage  11  above the trap door  2  and below the detector  13  receives an ultrasonic sensor  17  connected electrically to the command and control unit  4 , the latter being able to compare the value of the signal delivered by the ultrasonic sensor, which is representative of the thickness of the envelope P, to a value entered in memory and, if the value measured is compatible with the value entered in memory, to act on the motor  26  of the trap door so that the latter is driven in the direction of the opening of the passage  11 . 
     In the practical embodiment, a radial opening  11   a  is made in the passage  11 , above the trap door  2  and below the detector  13 , and the ultrasonic sensor  17  is carried by a tip  20   b  mounted at the end of a hinged arm  20 , which is mobile between a waiting position in which the tip is outside of the passage  11  and a measuring position in which the tip  20   b  is inserted radially into the passage  11  by passing through the radial opening  11   a . In this position, the tip  20   b  applies, with a calibrated force, the ballot envelope P against the opposite surface of the passage for the purpose of measuring it. Still in this practical embodiment, as before, the arm  20  is equipped with a return element to be pulled to its waiting position, this return element being able to consist of a counterweight or else an elastic element. The arm  20  is driven to the measuring position by a motor element  3  installed permanently in the ballot box, connected to the command and control unit  4  and controlled by the latter. According to a preferred embodiment, the arm  20  is equipped with a radial extension  23  made of ferromagnetic material, and the motor element  3  consists of an electromagnet able to act magnetically on the radial extension to attract it and to move the arm angularly to the measuring position. 
     The functioning of this embodiment is as follows: an envelope P inserted into the passage  11  is stopped in its advance toward the internal space of the ballot box by the trap door  2 , the latter being in a position of obstructing the passage  11 . The presence in the passage of the ballot envelope P is detected by the detector  13 , and the command and control unit then activates the motor element  3  so that the arm  20  and the tip  20   b  that it carries are brought into measuring position. The measurement performed, the motor  3  will be deactivated so that the arm  20  under the action of the return element is brought back into waiting position. After measurement and comparison of the result to the values entered in memory, the motor  26  will be activated and the trap door  2  opened if the envelope P is acceptable or will stay deactivated in the opposite case. A default signal will then be able to be emitted by the command and control unit  4 . 
     In  FIG. 5 , a fourth embodiment of the ballot box  1  according to the invention is shown. According to this embodiment, the parameter checked is still the thickness of the ballot envelope P, and the guiding passage  11  is equipped with a mechanical feeler  20   c  associated mechanically with a measuring element  19 . This element measures the degree of penetration of the feeler  20   c  in the passage  11 , and is connected to the command and control unit  4 , which is able to compare the value of the signal delivered by this measuring element  19  to a value entered in memory and if the value measured is compatible with the value entered in memory to act on the motor  26  of the trap door  2  so that the latter is driven in the direction of the opening of the passage  11 . 
     In the practical embodiment, a radial opening  11   a  is made in the passage  11  above the trap door  2  and below the detector  13 , and the feeler  20   c  is mounted at the end of a hinged arm  20 , which is mobile between a waiting position in which the feeler  20   c  is outside of the passage  11  and a measuring position in which the feeler is inserted radially into the passage  11  by passing through the radial opening  11   a . In this position, the feeler  20   c  applies, with a calibrated force, the ballot envelope P against the opposite surface of the passage for the purpose of measuring the thickness. Still in this practical embodiment, the arm  20  is equipped with a return element, counterweight or elastic element to be pulled to its waiting position. The arm  20  is driven to the measuring position by a motor element  3  installed permanently in the ballot box, connected to the command and control unit  4  and controlled by the latter. Advantageously, the arm  20  is equipped with a radial extension  23  made of ferromagnetic material and the motor element  3  is an electromagnet able, when it is activated, to act magnetically on the radial extension to attract it and as a result to move the arm  20  to its measuring position. 
     According to this embodiment, the measuring element  19  is mechanically connected to the arm  20  and is able to produce a signal whose value is representative of the angular position of the arm  20  relative to an original position and consequently of the thickness of the ballot envelope P. Advantageously, this measuring element  19  consists of a potentiometric sensor or the equivalent. 
     The functioning of this embodiment is as follows: an envelope P inserted into the passage  11  is stopped in its advance toward the internal space of the ballot box by the trap door  2 , the latter being in a position of obstructing the passage  11 . The presence in the passage of the ballot envelope P is detected by the detector  13 , and the command and control unit then activates the motor element  3  so that the arm  20  and the feeler  20   c  that it carries are brought into measuring position. The measurement performed, the motor  3  will be deactivated so that the arm  20  under the action of the return element is brought back into waiting position. After measurement and comparison of the result to the values entered in memory, the motor  26  will be activated and the trap door  2  opened if the envelope P is acceptable or will stay deactivated in the opposite case. A default signal will then be able to be emitted by the command and control unit  4 . 
     Finally, according to the preferred embodiment, the guiding passage  11  extends vertically into the space for receiving the ballot envelopes. 
     Of course, this invention can receive all modifications and variants of the field of the technical equivalents without thereby going outside the scope of this patent.