Bulk rivet container and transfer cabinet

• US 10,643,410 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2018
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Newfrey Llc (Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Newfrey Llc (Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kho, Chuan Meng
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawford, Gene O
• Assistant Examiner(s): Randall, Jr., Kelvin L
• Application Number:
  US16/051,103
• Publication Number:
  US 20200043264A1
• Time in Patent Office: 644 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B21J 15/32 Devices for inserting or holding rivets in position with or without feeding arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B23P 19/001 Article feeders for assembling machines screws or nuts being carried by a disposable strip or disc B25B23/045
• CPC Class Codes: B23P 19/004 Feeding the articles from hoppers to machines or dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2203/12 Audible, olfactory or visual signalling means B65D51/248, B65D55/028, B65D79/02 and B65D81/24 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/02 for dispensing rod-shaped articles, e.g. needles packages for cigarettes provided with dispensing means B65D85/1009; dispensers for drinking straws A47G21/184
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/04 for dispensing annular, disc-shaped, or spherical or like small articles, e.g. tablets or pills
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks

Abstract

A bulk rivet container can include a cover and an adjacent RFID tag, and the cover can be moveable between a closed position and an open position. A cover exterior can have an opening recess. A peripheral side of the container can include an orienting protrusion and a container locking recess. The container can be designed to cooperate with a transfer cabinet having a rivet entry passage closable by a cabinet cover to which an RFID reader is coupled. The cabinet can have a locking protrusion and an opening protrusion oriented about the cabinet entry passage. The orienting protrusion, the container locking recess, and the container opening recess can be designed to be simultaneously couplable with the orienting recess, the container locking protrusion, and the container opening protrusion, respectively, while the RFID tag is simultaneously readable by the RFID reader.

Claims

1. A bulk rivet container designed to cooperate with a transfer cabinet having a cabinet entry passage closable by a cabinet cover to which an RFID reader is coupled and the transfer cabinet having a container locking protrusion and a container opening protrusion oriented about the cabinet entry passage relative to an orienting recess, the bulk rivet;

container comprising;

a container discharge passage through which bulk rivets are dischargeable from the container;

a container cover moveable between a closed container position in which the container cover closes the container discharge passage, and an open container position in which the container cover opens the container discharge passage;

an orienting protrusion provided along a peripheral side of the container adjacent the discharge passage;

a container locking recess provided along the peripheral side of the container adjacent the container discharge passage;

a container opening recess along an exterior of the container cover; and

an RFID tag adjacent the container cover;

wherein the orienting protrusion, the container locking recess, and the container opening recess are designed to be simultaneously couplable with the orienting recess, the container locking protrusion, and the container opening protrusion, respectively, and positioning of the RFID tag is designed to make the RFID tag simultaneously readable by the RFID reader.

2. The bulk rivet container of claim 1, wherein the container includes a container cap coupled to a container body, and the container cap includes the container cover slidably coupled to a cap body to provide slidable movement of the container cover relative to the cap body between the closed container position and the open container position.

3. The bulk rivet container of claim 2, wherein the cap body includes an anti-cover opening component, and the container cover includes a cooperating anti-cover opening component that engages the anti-cover opening component of the cap body to resist direct manual movement of the container cover from the closed container position to the open container position.

4. The bulk rivet container of claim 3, wherein the anti-cover opening component of the cap body is a first of a protrusion and a stop wall, and the cooperating anti-cover opening component of the container cover is a second of the protrusion and the stop wall.

5. The bulk rivet container of claim 3, wherein the anti-cover opening component of the cap body is a stop wall, and the cooperating anti-cover opening component of the container cover is an interiorly extending protrusion.

6. The bulk rivet container of claim 1, wherein the container includes a container cap coupled to a container body, and the peripheral side of the container corresponds to a peripheral side of the container cap.

7. The bulk rivet container of claim 6, wherein the orienting protrusion extends radially outwardly from the peripheral side of the container cap.

8. The bulk rivet container of claim 7, wherein the container locking recess extends radially inwardly from the peripheral side of the container cap.

9. The bulk rivet container of claim 1, wherein the container includes a container cap coupled to a container body, the container body includes an anti-cap removal component, and the container cap includes a cooperating anti-cap removal component that engages the anti-cap removal component of the container body to prevent removal of the cap from the container body.

10. The bulk rivet container of claim 9, wherein the container cap is threadably coupled to the container body.

11. The bulk rivet container of claim 10, wherein each of the anti-cap removal component of the container body and the cooperating anti-cap removal component of the container cap include apertures aligned with each other.

12. The bulk rivet container of claim 11, wherein the anti-cap removal component of the container body and the cooperating anti-cap removal component of the container cap include a pin and grommet extending through the apertures.

13. The bulk rivet container of claim 1, wherein the container includes a container cap coupled to a container body with a pin and grommet extending through aligned apertures of the container cap and container body, respectively.

14. The bulk rivet container of claim 13, wherein a tamper evident sticker extends over the pin and grommet.

15. The bulk rivet container of claim 1, wherein the exterior of the container cover comprises an exteriorly extending protrusion and the container opening recess is provided within or behind the exteriorly extending protrusion.

16. The bulk rivet container of claim 1, wherein the bulk rivet container houses self-piercing rivets.

17. The bulk rivet container of claim 1, wherein the RFID tag is coupled to an interior side of the container cover.

18. The bulk rivet container of claim 1, wherein the container includes a container cap coupled to a container body, wherein the container body includes an anti-cap removal component and the container cap includes a cooperating anti-cap removal component that engages the anti-cap removal component of the container body to prevent removal of the cap from the container body, and wherein the container cap includes the container cover slidably coupled to a cap body to provide slidable movement of the container cover relative to the cap body between the closed container position and the open container position, and wherein the cap body includes an anti-cover opening component, and the container cover includes a cooperating anti-cover opening component that engages the anti-cap removal component of the cap body to resist direct manual movement of the container cover from the closed container position to the open container position.

19. A bulk rivet container and transfer cabinet combination, comprising:

the transfer cabinet including;

a cabinet entry passage through which bulk rivets are receivable into the cabinet from the container;

a container mounting receptacle positioned over the cabinet entry passage and including a container orienting recess in a periphery thereof;

a cabinet cover movable between a closed cabinet position in which the cabinet cover closes the cabinet entry passage and an open cabinet position in which the cabinet cover opens the cabinet entry passage, and an exterior of the cabinet cover having a container opening protrusion;

a container locking protrusion adjacent the container mounting receptacle and movable between an unlocked position and a locked position; and

an RFID reader coupled to the cabinet cover; and

the bulk rivet container including;

a container discharge passage through which bulk rivets are dischargeable from the container into the cabinet;

a container cover moveable between a closed container position in which the container cover closes the container discharge passage, and an open container position in which the container cover opens the container discharge passage;

a container orienting protrusion along a peripheral side of the container adjacent the container discharge passage;

a container locking recess along the peripheral side of the container adjacent the container discharge passage;

a container opening recess along an exterior of the container cover;

an RFID tag adjacent the container cover;

wherein, when the container is mounted to the container mounting receptacle of the cabinet, the RFID tag is positioned to be readable by the RFID reader, the container orienting protrusion is engaged with the container orienting recess, the container locking protrusion is movable between the unlocked position in which the container locking protrusion is outside the container locking recess and the locked position in which the container locking protrusion is engaged with the container locking recess, and the container opening protrusion is engaged with the container opening recess enabling the container cover to move from the closed container position to the open container position as the cabinet cover moves from the closed cabinet position to the open cabinet position.

20. The bulk rivet container and transfer cabinet combination of claim 19, wherein the transfer cabinet includes a cover actuator carrying the container opening protrusion, and wherein the transfer cabinet includes a lock actuator carrying the cabinet cover and container locking protrusion;

and wherein the transfer cabinet includes a bump actuator carrying a bumper; and

wherein reciprocating actuation of the bump actuator reciprocates the bumper against the container when the container is mounted to the container mounting receptacle of the cabinet.