Biometric reader for compactor/baler and method

• US 9,193,126 B2
• Filed: 02/11/2013
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• 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.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Jimmy T
• Application Number:
  US13/764,339
• Publication Number:
  US 20130145938A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,016 Days
• Field of Search: 100/35, 100/43, 100/45, 100/48, 100/99, 100/341, 100/345, 100/347, 100/226, 100/229.R, 100/245, 100/265, 340/5.2, 340/5.22, 340/5.52, 340/5.53, 340/5.54
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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. A method for controlling access to a compacting chamber of a compactor/baler having a chamber door, a loading gate, a platen, a compacting chamber, a gate locking mechanism, a fingerprint reader, a proximity sensor, a plurality of stored fingerprints and a stored authorization code, the loading gate located above the chamber door, the loading gate movable between a closed position blocking a loading opening and an open position exposing the loading opening, the loading opening providing access to the compacting chamber, the loading gate movable along a gate path, the gate locking mechanism including a locking bar, the gate locking mechanism mounted to a top portion of the frame, the locking bar movable between a blocking position located at least partially within the gate path and a withdrawn position wherein the locking bar is spaced from the gate path, the method comprising the steps of:

a) orienting the compactor/baler in a locked configuration wherein the loading gate is in the closed position and the 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 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 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.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the stored authorization code is comprised of a plurality of stored authorization codes, each of the plurality of stored authorization codes associated with one of the plurality of stored fingerprints, the gate locking mechanism actuated in step (e) only when the accepted user fingerprint of step (b) matches one of the plurality of stored fingerprints and the accepted user authorization code of step (c) matches the associated one of the plurality of stored fingerprints.

3. The method of claim 1 comprising the further step of:

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

4. The method of claim 1, 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.