Abstract:
The invention relates to a transport and/or collection device of molded plastics material including an electronic identity device such as a transponder, the identity device being integrated in a wall of the transport and/or collection device while the wall is being molded. The identity device is housed at least in part in a protective shell with the wall ( 2 ) being molded in contact therewith.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a transport and/or collection device of molded plastics material that includes an electronic identity device such as a transponder, and it relates more particularly, but not exclusively, to a container for collecting waste or garbage. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     In the context of collecting waste, for example, the identity device makes it possible to identify the container and to bill the user as a function of the weight of waste collected. 
     European patent 0 495 947 proposes integrating the identity device in the collar of the container in the form of an insert around which the plastics material constituting said wall is injected molded. 
     Nevertheless, that solution can be envisaged only when the identity device does not run any risk of being damaged by the temperature and/or pressure of the plastics material in the mold. 
     Otherwise, patent 0 495 947 proposes making a recess in the collar of the container and then inserting the identity device in the recess and holding it in place by means of a cover which is fixed by heat sealing, adhesive, screws, or rivets. 
     So far as the Applicant company is aware, no identity device exists that includes ordinary electronic circuits that is capable of withstanding the temperature and pressure of the plastics material in the mold without any risk of being damaged. 
     That is why, in practice, it is the solution using a cover that has been implemented whenever the identity device is somewhat complex. 
     Nevertheless, that technique does not give complete satisfaction, particularly concerning the reliability with which the cover is fixed. 
     German patent application DE-A-44 37 808 discloses a method of installing an identity device constituted by an antenna and a microcircuit on an object that is injection molded. 
     Initially, the plastics material is molded over a shell filled with a gel and housing the antenna. 
     Thereafter the microcircuit is fitted to the object, e.g. being held by a fixing piece or being embedded in a drop of adhesive. 
     In such a method, the identity device is not integrated in the object while it is being molded since installing the identity device requires an additional operation of fixing the microcircuit after the material has been molded. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is to provide a novel transport and/or collection device of molded plastics material such as a container for collecting waste, for example, the device being of the type including an electronic identity device integrated during molding in a wall thereof, the reliability with which the identity device is mounted being improved over prior art transport and/or collection devices without the cost of installing the identity device becoming excessive. 
     According to the invention, the transport and/or collection device is characterized by the fact that the identity device is housed at least in part in a protective shell, with a wall of the transport and/or collection device being molded in contact with the shell. 
     By means of the invention, the identity device is completely integrated in the transport and/or collection device during molding, thus without any need to provide an additional assembly step for fitting an element of the identity device after molding, and without any risk of the temperature- and/or pressure-sensitive circuits of the identity device being destroyed. 
     Preferably, the identity device is completely encapsulated in said protective shell. 
     In a particular embodiment, the protective shell is in the form of a box made of plastics material. 
     The box can be made, for example, by assembling together a bottom and a lid, or in a variant it can be made as a single piece, the identity device then being placed inside the box either through an opening thereof, which opening is then closed, or else by closing two half-boxes onto the identity device, which half-boxes are held together by a film hinge. 
     In a particular embodiment, the protective shell is completely embedded in said wall. 
     In a variant, the protective shell has a face that opens out to the surface of said wall, preferably in the outside surface thereof. 
     In another variant, the protective shell has two opposite faces opening out into surfaces of said wall. 
     In a particular embodiment, the protective shell is contained in a swelling on said wall. 
     In the particular case of a container for collecting waste, the protective shell can be integrated, e.g. in the front wall of the bin of the container or in its collar, whereby the container is engaged by the hoist of the collection vehicle. 
     The invention also provides a method of manufacturing a transport and/or collection device, the method being characterized by the fact that it comprises the steps consisting in: 
     encapsulating the identity device at least in part in a material suitable for protecting it during the step of molding the transport and/or collection device; and 
     molding a wall of the transport and/or collection device in contact with the identity device encapsulated in this way. 
     The identity device is preferably fully encapsulated in said material suitable for protecting it during molding of said wall. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention appear on reading the following detailed description of a non-limiting embodiment of the invention, and on examining the accompanying drawings, in which: container for collecting waste; 
     FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a container for collecting waste; 
     FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrammatic sections through two embodiments of an encapsulated identity device in accordance with the invention; and 
     FIGS. 4 to  8  are sections showing various ways in which the encapsulated identity device can be integrated in the wall of the container. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The container or bin  1  shown in FIG. 1 comprises a vessel  2  of plastics material provided at its top edge with a collar  3  integrally molded with the vessel and serving to stiffen it and to enable the container to be handled by the hoist member of the collection vehicle. 
     A lid  4  is hinged on the vessel  2  in conventional manner by means of hinges  5  disposed on either side of handles  6 . 
     Wheels  7  are also provided as are stiffening ribs  8  which are made on the outside of the vessel  2  beneath the collar  3 . 
     The container  1  is emptied by lifting it and tilting it forwards after the hoist member of a collection vehicle has been inserted beneath the collar  3  on its side remote from the hinges  5  and the handles  6 . 
     An electronic identity device such as a transponder is incorporated in the container, and the collection vehicle is provided with appropriate reading and recording means enabling information to be interchanged with the transponder. 
     The collection vehicle can be organized to weigh each container while it is emptying it so as to evaluate the quantity of waste collected therefrom. 
     The total mass of waste collected during a given period can be stored in the transponder so as to make it possible to bill the user in proportion to the quantity of waste collected as opposed to charging a fixed sum. 
     The transponder can also be useful in managing maintenance operations on the container. 
     By way of example, the transponder used can be of the type described in European patent 0 412 020, comprising a microprocessor and at least one memory. 
     In accordance with the invention, the transponder is housed in a protective shell which, in the embodiment described, is constituted by a box of injected plastics material. 
     FIG. 2 shows in highly diagrammatic manner a transponder  9  received in a box  10  constituted in this case by assembling together a bottom  11  and a lid  12 . 
     In a variant, as shown in FIG. 3, the box  10  is made as a single piece of plastics material and includes a side opening  13  through which the transponder can be inserted. The opening  13  is closed after the transponder has been put into place by closure means  14  which may be constituted, for example, by a flap connected to the body of the box by means of a film hinge. 
     The box  10  within which the transponder  9  is received can be placed in various locations in the container, for example in the front wall of the vessel  2  or in the collar  3 , the important point being that it must be possible to establish a link, e.g. by radio, between the transponder and the read and/or recording means present in the collection vehicle. 
     FIGS. 4 to  8  show various, non-limiting ways in which the box  10  can be integrated in the wall of the container in the context of the present invention. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, the box  10  can be completely embedded in the thickness of the wall of the container, e.g. in the thickness of the front wall of the vessel  2 . 
     In a variant, as shown in FIG. 5, the box  10  is not completely embedded in the thickness of the wall of the container, but has a face  15  which is flush with a surface thereof. 
     Where so desired, this embodiment makes it possible to write information on the visible face  15  of the box  10 , or to use the color of the box to indicate the kind of waste that is to be collected, e.g. glass or plastic. 
     As shown in FIG. 6, it is also possible to ensure that the box  10  has two opposite faces  15  and  16  each of which is flush with the surface of the wall of the container. 
     In other variants shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the box  10  is embedded in an internal or external swelling  17  integrally formed with the wall of the container. 
     In general, the orientation of the box is chosen so as to be best suited for interchanging information with the read/recording means of the collection vehicle. 
     It is thus possible, in a variant that is not shown, to incline the box relative to the surface should that give greater freedom in selecting the position of the read/recording means of the collection vehicle. 
     By means of the invention, the transponder  9  can be integrated in a container wall while the wall itself is being molded, even if the transponder is made of fragile electronic components that are liable to be damaged by the temperature and/or the pressure of the plastics material in the mold. 
     In addition, the transponder  9  can be positioned accurately, since once the wall of the container has been molded around the box  10 , there is no longer any likelihood of the box moving relative to the wall of the container, and the transponder  9  is preferably also secured relative to the box  10  by any suitable means. 
     In this respect, it should be observed that it is easy to make relief inside the small volume of the box  10  for the purpose of holding the transponder in position, whereas it would be difficult to make such relief directly in the wall of the container which is much larger. 
     The transponder can also be held in place inside the box  10  by using an elastomer material, for example, which has the advantage of absorbing shock. 
     In the embodiments described, it is not impossible to extract the identity device from the container without damaging it, and the transponder is thus held in the container in particularly reliable manner. 
     It would not go beyond the ambit of the present invention to encapsulate the transponder in any other manner so as to protect it from the temperature and/or the pressure of the plastics material during molding, which can be performed by injection, extrusion, blow molding, rotary molding, thermoforming, or indeed by any other technique for transforming plastics material. 
     In particular, the transponder can be encapsulated in a protective shell made of a material which is not necessarily rigid, said shell may also be arbitrary in shape and need only cover the fragile components of the transponder. 
     Without going beyond the ambit of the present invention, it is also possible to protect the transponder by overmolding a mere protective skin of plastics material thereon. 
     The material constituting the protective shell may indeed soften during molding of the container wall, the essential point is that the protective shell ensures that the transponder is given sufficient protection against the temperature and/or pressure of the plastics material in the mold. 
     The invention applies not only to a container for collecting waste, but can also be applied to the field of devices for transporting goods, such as pallets or cases and bins for handling purposes.