FR2844813A1 - Transponder equipped manhole or access cover for use in road networks, said transponder having a memory in which information relating to the services, ducts or channels beneath it is stored for access by a reader device - Google Patents

Abstract

Manhole covering device (2) for covering an access opening (14) in the ground (3). The device comprises an element (5) forming a frame and delimiting the opening and a removable element (6) that forms the cover for closing the opening. Integral with the removable cover is a transponder (24). The transponder comprises a memory in which identification information and information relating to ducts or channels covered are stored.

Description

i The present invention relates to a road system intended for

  flush with the ground of a track, of the type comprising a frame element defining an opening, and at least one element movable relative to the frame and

  forming a cover for closing the opening.

  The invention applies in particular to road devices used for closing inspection or inspection chimneys of underground water networks, such as manholes or sidewalks, to road devices intended to close rooms techniques for inspecting underground cable networks, such as hatches, but also to road systems for crowning manholes such as road grids or gutters. Management of water networks, underground cable networks or

  road devices of the aforementioned type, requires interventions, in particular maintenance, which are carried out on or through these road devices.

  It is necessary to prepare such interventions in order to determine

  precisely the road device (s) on which it will be necessary to intervene or which it will be necessary to use. Once there, it can be difficult to precisely identify the road system (s) concerned.

  Thus, the management of water networks, underground cable networks or

  above-mentioned road systems, and in particular their maintenance, is complex.

  An object of the invention is to solve this problem by providing a

  road system of the aforementioned type which simplifies this management.

  To this end, the invention relates to a road device of the aforementioned type, characterized in that it comprises a transponder.

  According to particular embodiments, the roadway device can comprise one or more of the following characteristics, taken alone or according to all technically possible combinations: - the device comprises a support for the transponder, which support is attached to a first of the elements of the road system, - the support is made of a non-magnetic and electrically insulating material, - the support is a plug placed in a recess of the first element, the recess is an orifice passing through the first element, - the support comprises elastic engagement means on the first element, - the device comprises a non-magnetic and electrically insulating block in which the transponder is housed, - the support comprises means for retaining the block, - the block is made of plastic material overmolded on the support,

  - The transponder includes a memory in which identification information of the road system and information relating to the road system are stored.

  The invention further relates to a track, characterized in that it

  includes a road system as defined above sealed in the ground and af15 flowering on its surface.

  The invention will be better understood on reading the description which will

  follow, given only by way of example, and made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figure 1 is a partial schematic view from above illustrating part of a track equipped with a road system according to l invention, - Figure 2 is a partial schematic view, taken in section along the line 11-II of Figure 1, and illustrating a transponder support plug provided on the road system, - Figure 3 is a view of below the plug of Figure 2, - Figure 4 is a very schematic diametral section of the road system, illustrating the use of a reader associated with the transponder, and - Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 2 illustrating a variant

  of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4.

  Figures 1 to 4 illustrate a track, more precisely a roadway 1 30 comprising a manhole cover 2 flush with the surface of the ground 3 of the

floor 1.

  Conventionally, the manhole cover 2 comprises - an element 5 forming a frame sealed in the ground 3, and

- An element 6 forming a cover.

  Elements 5 and 6 are for example made of ductile iron. The frame 5 and the cover 6 have substantially forms of revolution around a vertical central axis A. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the frame 5 comprises a substantially cylindrical skirt 8 extended at its lower end outwards by a sole 10 for sealing and inwards by a crown 12 for supporting the

cover 6.

  The frame 5 internally delimits an opening 14 for passage which communicates with a well 16 for access to an underground water network.

  The cover 6 is hinged in a conventional manner by at least one

  hinge 18 (Figure 1) to the frame 5 to be movable between a release position of the opening 14, allowing access to the well 16, and a closed position of the opening 14, allowing pedestrians or vehicles of 15 circulate on pavement 1 above well 16.

  Only the closed position is illustrated in Figures 1 and 4.

  Conventionally, the manhole cover 2 comprises means 20, diametrically opposite to the hinge 18, for locking the cover 6 in

its closed position.

  As illustrated more particularly by FIG. 2, a preferably central orifice 22 is formed in the cover 6. This orifice was for example formed by knocking out a pellet from the cover 6, as described in document EP-341,179.

  The orifice 22 passes through the cover 6 and has a substantially conical conical shape converging downwards.

  A transponder 24 is housed in the orifice 22. It will be noted that the transponder 24 has not been cut in FIG. 2.

  More specifically, the transponder 24 is embedded in a block 26 of a

  flexible non-magnetic and electrically insulating material, for example a plastic material such as a silicone resin or an elastomer foam.

  This block 26 has been molded in a support plug 28 fixed on the

  cover 6. It will be noted that the block 26 and the plug 28 have not been shown diagrammatically in FIG. 4 to simplify the representation.

  The plug 28 is made of an elastically deformable material,

  non-magnetic and electrically insulating, for example an elastomer or polypropylene.

  This stopper 28 comprises an upper frustoconical converging conical end 30 of shape substantially complementary to that of the orifice 22. This upper end 30 is extended downwards by a cylinder 32 provided at its lower end with an inner rim 34 for retaining the block 26. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the inner rim 34 delimits a

  opening 36 substantially in the shape of an equilateral triangle with truncated corners.

  The cylinder 32 is extended outwards, slightly above the

  rim 34, by three lugs 38 arranged substantially at 1200 from one another with respect to the vertical central axis A. The lugs 38 delimit, in bottom view (fig.3), an equilateral triangle with truncated corners. The truncated corners of this triangle are arranged substantially opposite the truncated corners of the triangle delimited by the opening 36.

  The cylinder 32 of the plug 28 is hollow and the block 26 is disposed there.

  The lugs 38 project radially outward beyond

  the orifice 22 in order to be able to bear under the cover 6. The lugs 38 therefore retain the plug 28 relative to the cover 6 against an upward movement.

  The frustoconical end 30 bears against the wall of the orifice 22 while retaining the plug 28 relative to the cover 6 against displacement

down.

  Thus, the plug 28 is fixed on the cover 6, in its orifice 22. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the plug 28 is visible from the outside, which

  used to locate the orifice 22 and the transponder 24.

  To make the plug 28 provided with the transponder 24, the

  transponder 24 in the plug 28 and the block 26 has been molded there.

  To equip the cover 6 with the plug 28, the plug 28 30 has been inserted into the orifice 22 from above. During this downward movement, the lugs 38 have been elastically deformed upward to pass through the orifice 22 and then have returned elastically, under the cover 6, to their initial positions shown in FIG. 2. This fixing by elastic engagement

  plug 28 on cover 6 is therefore particularly simple.

  In addition, this method of fixing the transponder 24 to the cover 6 by means of the block 26 and the plug 28, guarantees correct positioning of the transponder and therefore allows optimum reading of the latter.

  The transponder 24 is for example a radio frequency transponder.

  This transponder 24 conventionally comprises an antenna and an integrated circuit comprising a memory in which identification information or identifier for the manhole cover 2 is stored, and a module for transmitting and receiving radiofrequency waves. It is, for example, a passive transponder, that is to say one comprising no autonomous means of electrical supply such as a cell or a battery. Such a transponder is supplied with

  electrical energy by radiofrequency waves received by its antenna.

  These received radio frequency waves are modified, as a function of the identifier stored in the memory of the transponder 24, and backscattered by the transponder 24. Such a transponder 24 therefore constitutes a means of transmission.

stimulated radio frequency waves.

  In the event of intervention on the water network to which well 16 belongs,

  an operator 40 uses a device 42 for reading the transponder 24, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

  The device 42 may include a housing 44 extended downward and forward, relative to the operator 40, by a rod 46 made for example of ferrite and containing at its lower end an antenna 48 for transmission and reception of radiofrequency waves. The box 44 contains: - a modulator / demodulator 50 of radiofrequency waves connected to the antenna 48, - an on-board database 52, - a removable communication interface 54, - input means 56 in the form of a keyboard, - a screen 58, - a clock 60, - on-board power supply means 62, and - an electronic information processing unit 64 connected to the modulator / demodulator 50, to the on-board database 52, to the interface 54, keyboard 56, screen 58 to clock 60 and means 62 of electrical supply. Thanks to the interface 54, information relating to the manhole cover 2 was stored in the on-board database 52, for each manhole cover 2 of the underground water network considered, this information being

  associated with the identification information of the manhole cover 2 considered.

  This different information has for example been stored in the on-board database 52 from one or more fixed database (s) and via the removable interface 54.

  This information is for example information concerning the type of manhole cover 2, its commercial reference, its constituent materials, its manufacturer, the place and date of its installation, its method of sealing in the roadway 1. This information can also include information on the operating conditions or the viewing environment 2. This may be information on the associated water network, for example the type of network, the nature of the pipes used, the identity of network operator, location of

  installation, the date of the last and next maintenance of the network ...

  To obtain information on the manhole cover 2 near which the operator 40 is located, the operator points the lower free end of the rod 46 towards the central orifice 22 of the cover 6 of the manhole 2, the lower end of the rod 46 being located at a distance from the upper face of the plug 28 or which can come into contact with the latter. Thus, the antenna 48 is placed near the transponder 24 which is shown very schematically on the

figure 4.

  Note that the fact that the plug 28 and / or the orifice 22 is visible from the outside allows the operator 40 to easily place the antenna 48 nearby

of the transponder 24.

  The electronic information processing unit 64 comprises a microprocessor suitably programmed to automatically, and for example regularly over time, interrogations in the emission field of the antenna 48. These interrogations are ensured by the emission

  of radiofrequency waves by the modulator / demodulator 50 and the antenna 48.

  Thus, when the antenna 48 is placed near the transponder 24, the device 42 interrogates the transponder 24.

  The transponder 24, which is supplied with electrical energy by the on5 of the radio frequencies emitted by the modulator / demodulator 50 and by the antenna 48, transmits in response to the antenna 48 the identification information of the gaze of

floor 2.

  The radiofrequency signals received by the antenna 48 are demodulated by the modulator / demodulator 50 which supplies the identification information from the road guard 2 to the information processing unit 64. This accesses, thanks to this information d 'identification, to the information stored in the on-board database 52 and associated with this identification information. These

  stored information can then be displayed on screen 58.

  The operator 40 then has at his disposal all the information 15 available on the manhole cover 2. He can in particular verify that the manhole cover 2 is the one on which he must intervene or use to access

to the underground water network.

  Once his intervention is complete, the operator 40 can use the keyboard 56 to update the information stored in the on-board database 52.

  The interface 54 will later make it possible to update the one or more

  fixed database (s) from the on-board database 52.

  The transponder 24 therefore simplifies network management

  with which the manhole cover 2 is associated.

  It should also be noted that the above principles can be applied

  to existing manhole covers 2 without requiring significant or costly modifications. In fact, the cost of plugs 28 fitted with transponders 24 as well as the costs associated with their fitting are particularly reduced.

  It will also be noted that the block 26 and the plug 28 protect the transponder 24 against shocks and limit the electromagnetic disturbances during communication by radiofrequency waves between the antenna 48 and the transponder 24 thanks to the fact that they are made of non-magnetic and electrically insulating materials, unlike cover 6.

  In general, materials other than plastics

  can be used for this purpose.

  Thus, the transponder 24, possibly coated with a block 26, can

  be embedded in a concrete lining provided on the cover 6.

  It will also be noted that, in a variant not shown, the housing 44 and the rod 46 of the reading device 42 can be separated. The operator can then carry the box 44 over the shoulder and manipulate with one hand

cane 46.

  More generally, information can be stored in the memory of the transponder 24 in addition to the identification information of the

pavement manhole 2.

  In particular, some or all of the information cited above as being stored in the on-board database 52 can be stored in the memory of the transponder 24. In this case, the transponder 24 is preferably a transponder which can be used for reading and writing and the device 42 constitutes a device for reading and writing in the memory of the

transponder 24.

  The various information relating to the manhole cover 2 are

  then read by the antenna 48 and displayed by the screen 58 of the device 42. The keyboard 56 makes it possible to modify them by transmitting corresponding signals to the transponder 24 via the antenna 48.

  More generally, the transponder 24, possibly provided with a protective block 26 and / or a support 28, can be housed in a recess provided at any location on the manhole cover 2, for example in the frame 5. Preferably, this recess will be flush with the surface of the ground 3 so that an operator 40 can place the free end of the rod 46 at

proximity to the transponder 24.

  It will be noted that the retention of the block 26 relative to the plug 28 can

  be provided in a manner different from that described above, in particular using reliefs of a shape different from that of the rim 34.

  Thus, in the variant of FIG. 5, the rim 34 has been removed and lateral orifices 70 have been provided in the side wall of the cylinder 32 to receive the material of the block 26 when it is poured into the cylinder 32. These orifices thus ensure satisfactory anchoring of block 26 and therefore of transponder 24

in cap 28.

  More generally, the above principles can be applied to a road device 2 of generally polygonal shape equipped with one or more covers of polygonal shape, articulated or not with the frame. These principles also apply to a device other than a manhole cover.

  In particular, the cover 6 can be formed by a grid and only partially close the opening 14 delimited by the frame 5. The cover 6 can

  also be carried out in several parts.

  Similarly, the traffic lane 1 in which the road system 2

  is arranged can be formed by a sidewalk.

Claims (11)

  1. Road system (2) intended to be flush with the ground (3) of a track   (1), of the type comprising an element (5) forming a frame and delimiting an opening (14), and at least one element (6) movable relative to the frame and forming a cover for closing the opening (14), characterized in that it comprises a transponder (24).   2. Road system according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a support (28) of the transponder (24), which support (28) is attached   on a first (6) of the elements of the road system.   3. Road system according to claim 2, characterized in that the   support (28) is made of a non-magnetic and electrically insulating material.   4. Road system according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the support (28) is a plug disposed in a recess (22) of the first element. 5. Road system according to claim 4, characterized in that   the recess is an orifice (22) passing through the first element (6).   6. Road system according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized   in that the support (28) comprises means (38) for elastic engagement on the first element (6).   7. Road system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a non-magnetic and electrically insulating block (26) in which the transponder (24) is housed.   8. Road system according to one of claims 2 to 6 taken into account   combination with claim 7, characterized in that the support (28) com25 takes means (34; 70) for retaining the block (26).   9. Road system according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that   that the block (26) is made of plastic overmolded on the support.   10. Road system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transponder (24) comprises a memory in which identification information of the road system and relative information   to the road system are stored. he   11. Track (1), characterized in that it comprises a road device (2) according to one of the preceding claims sealed in the ground (3) and flush with its surface.