FR2499273A1 - MULTI-TIMES CONTAINER, AND INFORMATION HOLDER APPLICABLE TO THIS CONTAINER - Google Patents

Abstract

THE INVENTION RELATES TO A CONTAINER THAT CAN BE USED SEVERAL TIMES. THIS CONTAINER 1-2 SHOWS AT LEAST ONE PROJECTION AND OR ONE TROUGH 9, USED TO DETERMINE ITS POSITION AND THAT OF AN INFORMATION SUPPORT 10; THIS SUPPORT 10 IS FIXED TO CONTAINER 1-2 IN A DETERMINED POSITION IN RELATION TO 9, SO AS TO ALLOW THE CONTAINER 1-2 TO BE EASILY ORIENTED DURING ITS TRANSPORT, SO THAT 10 PASSES CLOSE TO A FIXED DEVICE OF READING. THE INVENTION IS APPLICABLE FOR EXAMPLE TO BEER BARRELS WHICH HAVE TO PASS THROUGH AN AUTOMATIC WASHING AND FILLING PLANT.

Description

The present invention relates to a container that can be used several times,

including a barrel. beer,

  comprising at least one information carrier.

  The information carrier allows the automatic handling of the container. This is for example

  that a beer barrel can be moved completely

  automatically, firstly through an installation

  cleaning, then through a filling plant. Until now, several sheets, serving as information carriers, were glued

  on the container, the code called "bar" being used.

  The collage of several information carriers, containing the same information, was necessary, since only then was it ensured that at least one of the information carriers was captured by the reading device. This kind of media of information did not prevail for all the cases of application, in particular not in the case of the automatic treatment of the barrels with beer, because the leaves,

  with time, can become detached, and they do not

  not in themselves the necessary resistance to be able to bear, repeatedly, without being

  damaged, a harsh treatment, as inevitably

  table for the transport and cleaning of barrels (exposure to shocks, ultraviolet radiation,

  to ozone, to hot detergents .. etc ..).

  The present invention is essentially intended to allow the realization of a container of the type indicated initially, such that a single information carriercan be automatically brought to the correct reading position by a simple device. The container according to the present invention is of the type indicated initially, and it is characterized in that the container has at least one projection and / or a hollow, used to determine its position, and that the information carrier has a determined position.

  relative to the projection and / or the recess.

  A container thus made, for example a beer barrel, can be brought by a simple device into a position where the information carrier is oriented towards the reading device. All that is required is a mechanical device which grips the projection or recess (for example a hole) and which brings the receptacle into the correct reading position. It is therefore not necessary to have on the container, several information carriers, with the same information. The present invention, however, also extends to containers comprising more than one information carrier, each carrier having different information. However, in general, a single support of information can suffice, which, with an acceptable expense,

  opens up the possibility of

  sufficiently robust to withstand even hard processing, several times, without compromising the safety of the reading, for example repeated treatment in a barrel washing plant and repeated transport of the barrel up to

  the user, and from the latter to the brewery.

  The projection or recess may be formed by portions of the container that exist anyway,

  or by specially designed projections or recesses

  to support the orientation of the information support

  mation. For example, gripping members, which is provided with the container, or flow holes in the projecting edge of the barrel, can serve as a starting point for the orientation of the information carrier. In the case of a barrel, an information carrier can be disposed both on the periphery of the barrel and on its bottom which is located

  at the top in the normal support position of the barrel.

  The provision of the information carrier on the side of the barrel offers the advantage of allowing to place a reading device on the side of the barrel conveyor device; the arrangement of the information carrier on a bottom of the barrel offers the advantage that said support is well protected against mechanical actions, especially when an edge protrudes

  above the bottom of the barrel, as is generally

  this is the case for modern stackable barrels.

  The present invention also relates to different embodiments of information carriers, capable of a long period of use. If for example the information medium is made in the form of a solid plate, manufactured separately,

  collected in the container, the quality of the information support

  is largely independent of the recipe

  tainer. The information support can however be

  formed by the container itself. For example, an over-

  face formed on a container envelope could serve as information carrier, said information, which can be formed for example by projections or recesses, can be introduced into the mold during the realization of the envelope. Instead, one could for example form hollows,

  representing information in the thermo

  plastic, after the realization of the envelope,

using a heated tool.

  An appropriate information carrier is constituted for example by a metal plate, on which marks can be made for example by stamping or drilling. An information carrier made of synthetic material also has important advantages, especially with regard to containers which themselves have a surface made of synthetic material. The

  information carriers formed by metal plates

  As well as those made in particular of synthetic material, they can be incorporated into a shell of the container, made of synthetic material. For example, beer casks often have an expanded plastic casing, in which the information carriers can be

recessed during expansion.

  Particularly durable are information in the form of projections or depressions. In this case, the depressions can also be made in the form of holes. However, it is also possible to envisage marks which are formed by an impression or another colored inscription standing out from a background. "Material" brands, however, have the advantage of being better

  duration. Such "material" marks are particularly

  advantageously for a container subject to frequent washing operations, as is the case

for barrels.

  It is also advantageous to provide, in accordance with the present invention, a plaintext entry in addition to the coded information. This facilitates control

  casual by reading information to the naked eye.

  There are, however, also reading devices which can decipher a plaintext, although the present invention is not limited to

  information carriers carrying coded information.

  According to another characteristic, facultativede the in-

  In the invention, the information carrier has limit markings which delimit an area within which there are coded markings enclosing the information. Such limit marks increase

  still the security of reading. The use of a -

  binary code for the information is particularly

advantageous and safe.

  The present invention also relates to a coded information carrier, represented by coded marks, which can be read by an electronic reading device, - this information carrier

  being characterized by the fact that

  It is made of a material having a good wear resistance, and the coded markings are projections or depressions, made in the same way, but arranged differently, which form optically readable spots on the support. An information carrier thus produced is characterized by an extraordinary robustness, which results on the one hand from the fact that the coded marks are "material" marks, and, on the other hand, from the fact that the coded marks are identical spots. Identical spots, for example circular spots, can be made with inexpensive means, for example by punching holes, and they can still be read safely even after a long period of use of the container, whereas codings with different marks, for example with thin lines and

  thick or with rectangles of different dimensions

  rents, can no longer be read safely once the marks have been slightly damaged

or soiled.

  By way of example, there is described below and illustrated schematically in the accompanying drawing, a form

embodiment of the invention.

  Figure 1 is an elevational view

  a barrel & beer in erect position.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view of this barrel,

  in the direction of arrow II of FIG.

  Figure 3 is a perspective view

  of the upper end of the barrel of Figures 1 and 2.

  FIG. 4 is a partial view of the barrel,

  in the information carrier area.

  FIG. 5 is a sectional view along the

line V-V of FIG.

  The barrel, the assembly of which is designated F, is constituted by an inner metal container, 1, and by an envelope 2, made of expanded synthetic material, which completely envelops this metal container. This envelope is filed realizing

  the expansion of the synthetic material around the

metallic pencil 1.

  The casing 2 as a whole has a cylindrical outer shape. Two tire-shaped beads, 3 and 4, are formed on the envelope.

  At its axial ends, the envelope 2 pre-

  projecting edges, 5 and 6. The upper edge is traversed by tap holes, 7 and 8, and

  the lower edge 6, through flow holes, 9.

  An information carrier, 10, is on the

outer face of the envelope 2.

  The information carrier, 10, is located on a generator 11, which also passes through a flow hole 9. This flow hole 9 forms a recess at which a mechanical orientation device can grip. which can rotate the barrel to a specific position on a conveyor belt or similar conveyor. The information carrier 10 is thus directed towards a device

  of reading, which allows a safer reading.

  The information carrier, 10, must not necessarily be on a generator that passes through the hole 9, but it can be offset with respect to such a generator, by a certain angle,

  for example, at an angle of ninety degrees.

  In place of the flow hole 9, the upper tap holes 7, 8 could also serve as

  starting points for the orientation of

  10. However, the use of the lower hole 9 offers the advantage of allowing the gripping of a

  mechanical orientation device at a favorable point

  particularly in such a way that there is no reason to fear a reversal of the barrel by the guidance forces. Figure 2 shows that an information carrier, 13, can also be disposed on the upper face 12 of the barrel. This information carrier may comprise the same information as the information carrier 10, which allows the reading device to be placed laterally with respect to the barrel, or above it. However, the two information carriers, 10 and 13, may also include

different information.

  The information carriers allow a fully automatic handling of the barrel. It is

  as well as the barrel can be guided in a whole way-

  Automatically through a cleaning and sterilization installation, in which the barrel interior is also processed through the tubing 14. Then the barrel can be guided fully automatically through a filling plant. . In FIG. 2, the arrow T indicates the direction of transport and the arrow L indicates the reading direction. If, as is common, the reading device is placed in a fixed position, the barrel being transported opposite this reading device, the reading direction relative to the barrel is of course opposite to its direction of transport. Figure 2 illustrates that a correct reading is only possible if the barrel is in the

correct angular position.

  In Figures 4 and 5, an information carrier 13 is shown in natural size. This is a stamped metal plate. The metal plate has flanges, 13a and 13b, which are connected to the

  inscription surface 14 by bent parts, 15, 16.

  The flanges are inside a layer 17 of expanded plastic, which is part of the envelope. The fixing of the information carrier 13 takes place in this case inside the expansion mold

  in which the envelope 2 is made.

  There is shown an information carrier, 13, which carries the information on the one hand in clear (benchmarks

  18), and, on the other hand, in binary code (points 19).

  The actual information, that the binary code

  must express, are indicated by marks within the

  20 This zone is surrounded by four limit markings, 21, by which the reading device checks whether the zone to be read, 20, is in the

  correct position with respect to this reading device.

  -Outside zone 20 is located

  lines 22 and 23. The line of control 22-

  extends perpendicularly to the reading direction, while the control line 23 extends in the reading direction. The control lines are constituted by so-called "control bits" which make it possible to check whether the coding marks, located inside the zone 20, are picked up by

the reading device.

  The marks, that is to say both the numbers 18 and 19, are constituted by holes in the plate 13. The marking is thus extremely durable; it is practically indestructible and, consequently, able to withstand

  harsh conditions of use in a brewery.

  The perforated marks can not be destroyed by washing agents, for example hot detergents. A marking formed by fingerprints

  would also offer corresponding benefits.

Claims (20)

  1. A container that can be used several times, in particular a beer barrel, comprising at least one information carrier, characterized in that the container has at least one projection and / or hollow (9) for determining its position, and that the information carrier (10, 13) has a position   determined with respect to the projection and / or the recess (9).   2. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that the information carrier has a specific position with respect to organs   taken on the container.   Container according to claim 1, in the form of a barrel, having an edge which extends beyond the bottom of the barrel, in particular a stacking edge, through which flow holes pass, a container characterized by the fact that the information carrier (10, 13) has a position determined by   relative to the flow holes (9).   4. Container according to any one of   Claims 1 to 3, in the form of a barrel,   and characterized by the fact that the information carrier   (10) is disposed on the side surface of the barrel (F), preferably in an area of its upper edge, facing an area of its lower edge, connected to a bearing surface, for example on a generator (11) which also passes through a lower flow hole (9).   5. Container according to any one of   Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the support   information item (13) is arranged on an upper side   (12) of the container (y), for example on the upper surface (12) of a barrel.   6. Container according to any one of   Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that   the information carrier (10, 13) is in the form of a solid plate, which has been manufactured   separately and which is joined to the container (F).   7. Container according to any one of the   1 to 6, characterized in that the information carrier is a metal plate, which is joined to the container, preferably by riveting or welding. 8. Container according to any one of   Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that   the information carrier is a plate of material   synthetic material, for example a plate of synthetic   injection molded tick, which is joined to the container,   preferably by gluing or during the course of   an expanded plastic envelope.   9. Container consisting of an internal hollow body of metal and an outer shell of synthetic material which has been formed by depositing synthetic material   liquid on the inner hollow body, according to the   cation 6, characterized in that the plate (13) is retained by partial incorporation into the material synthetic (17).   10. Container according to any one of   Claims 1 to 9, characterized in that   the entries of the information, which are preferably in the form of coded marks (19),   are formed by projections and / or depressions.   Container according to claim 10, characterized in that the coded marks are   performed in the form of piercing.   12. Container according to any one of   Claims 1 to 11, characterized in that   the information carrier (13) carries, in addition to the marks   coded (19), unencrypted inscriptions (18), for example   full of numbers, which can read immediately.   to the naked eye, the coded information.   13. Container according to any one of   Claims 1 to 12, characterized in that   the information carrier (13) has limit markings (21) defining an area (20) within which the coded markings containing information.   14. Container according to any one of the   1 to 13, characterized by the fact that information   mations are given in a binary code.   1.5. Support for coded information, which are   coded markings, which can be read by an electronic reading device, intended in particular for a container according to any one of the   claims 1-14 and characterized by   the information carrier (10, 15) is made of a material having good wear resistance, and that the coded markings (19) are projections or depressions, made in the same way, but arranged differently, which form, on the support (15) stains can be read optically.   16. Information carrier according to the claim   15, characterized in that it is made in the form of a solid plate, which has been manufactured separately.   17. Information carrier according to the claim   16, characterized by the fact that it is constituted by a metal plate.   18. Information carrier according to the   cation 16, characterized in that it is constituted   by a piece of synthetic injection molded material.   19. Information medium according to any one   claims 15 to 18, characterized in that   that the coded marks are formed by holes,   preferably having a round or square shape.   20. Information medium according to any one   claims 15 to 19, characterized in that   in addition to the coded markings (19), it presents inscriptions in the clear (18), for example numbers, which allow direct reading, with the naked eye, of coded information.   21. Information medium according to any one   claims 15 to 20, characterized in that   it has boundary marks (21) defining an area (20) within which the marks corresponding to the information are located. 22. An information carrier according to claim 21, characterized in that outside the area (20) there are arranged lines of control marks (22, 23), one of which extends in parallel and 'other   perpendicular to the reading direction.