BIOMETRIC READER FOR COMPACTOR/BALER AND METHOD

• US 20130145938A1
• Filed: 02/11/2013
• Published: 06/13/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PTR Baler and Compactor Company
• Original Assignee: PTR Baler and Compactor Company
• Inventors: CORREALE, Edward Howard Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 9,193,126 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 100/35
• CPC Class Codes: B30B 13/00 Methods of pressing not special to the use of presses of any one of the preceding main groups
• CPC Class Codes: B30B 15/00 Details of, or accessories for, presses; Auxiliary measures in connection with pressing safety devices F16P
• CPC Class Codes: B30B 15/26 Programme control arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B30B 9/3007 Control arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B30B 9/3032 Press boxes
• CPC Class Codes: F16P 3/08 in connection with the locking of doors, covers, guards, or like members giving access to moving machine parts
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00563 using personal physical data of the operator, e.g. finger prints, retinal images, voicepatterns

Abstract

A compactor/baler for compacting materials includes a frame defining a compacting chamber, a platen movably mounted to the frame, a loading gate movably mounted to the frame and a control panel including a biometric reader having a biometric scanner. The platen is movable within the compacting chamber and the loading gate is movable from a closed position blocking access to the compacting chamber and an open position exposing the compacting chamber. The control panel is actuable between a locked configuration and an operational configuration. The biometric reader is designed to accept a biometric attribute of a user and to actuate the controller between the locked and operational configurations. The biometric reader actuates the controller to the operational configuration if the biometric attribute matches a stored biometric attribute. The control panel prevents the loading gate from moving to the open position when the controller is in the locked configuration.

Claims

1-14. -14. (canceled)

15. A method for controlling access to a compacting chamber of a compactor/baler having a loading gate, a platen, a compacting chamber, a gate locking mechanism, a fingerprint reader, a proximity sensor, a plurality of associated stored fingerprints and a stored authorization code, the method comprising the steps of:

a) orienting the compactor/baler in a locked configuration wherein the loading gate is in a closed position and a gate locking mechanism blocks the loading gate from moving out of the closed position;

b) accepting a user'"'"'s fingerprint with the fingerprint reader;

c) accepting a user authorization code with the fingerprint reader;

d) comparing the accepted user'"'"'s fingerprint and user authorization code of steps (b) and (c), respectively, to the plurality of associated stored fingerprints and the stored authorization code; and

e) actuating the gate locking mechanism to permit the loading gate to move out of the closed position when the accepted user fingerprint and user authorization code of steps (b) and (c) match one of the plurality of associated stored fingerprints and the stored authorization code, respectively, and notifying the user when the accepted user fingerprint and user authorization code of steps (b) and (c) do not match one of the plurality of associated stored fingerprints and the stored authorization code.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the loading gate is movable along a gate path between the closed position and an open position, the gate locking mechanism including a locking bar movable between a blocking position located at least partially within the gate path and a withdrawn position spaced from the gate path, the fingerprint reader actuating the locking bar to move from the blocking position to the withdrawn position in step (e) when the fingerprint and authorization code of steps (b) and (c) match one of the plurality of associated stored fingerprints and the stored authorization code.

17. The method of claim 15 comprising the further step of:

f) transmitting the plurality of associated stored fingerprints and the stored authorization code from the fingerprint reader to a slave fingerprint reader associated with a slave compactor/baler.

18. The method of claim 15 comprising the further step of:

f) transmitting the plurality of associated stored fingerprints and the stored authorization code from the fingerprint reader to a remote storage device.

19. The method of claim 15 comprising the further step of:

f) sounding an alarm when the loading gate is in an open position for more than three minutes (3 min) following step (e).

20. The method of claim 18 comprising the further step of:

g) sensing the position of the loading gate with the proximity sensor to determine when the loading gate is in the open position.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the fingerprint reader permits the platen to move from an initial position to a compacting position only when the loading gate is in the closed position.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein the stored authorized code is comprised of a plurality of stored authorization codes, the plurality of stored authorization codes corresponding to the plurality of associated stored fingerprints such that each one of the plurality of stored authorization codes is associated with one of the plurality of associated stored fingerprints, wherein in step (d), the accepted fingerprint of the user is compared to the plurality of stored fingerprints to confirm that the accepted fingerprint matches one of the plurality of stored fingerprints and comprising the further step of:

f) identifying the one of the plurality of associated stored authorization codes corresponding to the accepted fingerprint when the accepted fingerprint matches one of the plurality of associated stored fingerprints;

g) comparing the accepted user authorization code to the corresponding identified associated stored authorization code; and

h) performing step (e) only when the accepted user authorization code matches the identified associated stored authorization code of step (g).