Title of Invention

A SEALED LID FOR CLOSING AN OBJECT

Abstract

A sealed lid for closing an object,characterized in that it comprises: a base (10) provided with an opening to give access to said object to be closed; a shutting piece (20) suitable for co-operating with the base (10) to shut off the opening (13), and provided with passageway means for passing a sealing wire (50); fixing means (14, 15, 16a, 17b, 24, 25, 26, 27, 34, 35) for securing said shutting piece (20) to the base (10); and a closure piece (30) provided with passageway means organized to co-operate with the passageway means of the shutting piece (20) in a manner such that a sealing wire (50) inserted through said passageway means secures the closure piece (30) to the shutting piece (20).

Full Text

The present invention relates to a sealed lid for closing an object, such as a switch, a read cell, a control member, a connection or the like. It also relates to a meter provided with such a lid. In general, sealing or "tamper-proofing" devices are used to guarantee the integrity of a product, e.g. a measuring instrument such as an electricity meter, which is entrusted to a user who might try to disassemble it in order to falsify it. For sealing such a product, it is common to connect a screw to its support by a sealing wire closed by an authentication seal which is destroyed if the screw is undone. Unfortunately, some meters are programmable, and they can be programmed via an optical or magnetic read cell placed behind a window situated in the cover of the meter. Such programming can also be performed via a connection. Thus, for such meters, it is necessary not only to guarantee the integrity of the metering means, but also to guarantee that their programming has not been modified or falsified. The present invention makes it possible to close access to the programming means, i.e. to an optical or magnetic cell or the like, of a metering device, and, more generally, to close access to an object, such as a control member, a switch, a connection, or the like, while making it possible to guarantee the integrity of the sealed closure. More precisely, a sealed lid of the present invention comprises: a base provided with an opening to give access to said object to be closed; a shutting piece suitable for co-operating with the base to shut off the opening, and provided with passageway means for passing a sealing wire; fixing means for securing said shutting piece to the base; and a closure piece provided with passageway means organized to co-operate with the passageway means of the shutting piece in a manner such that a sealing wire inserted through said passageway means secures the closure piece to the shutting piece. In a particular embodiment, the passageway means of the shutting piece comprise a stud provided with a through passageway, and with a groove intersecting the passageway. In which case, the passageway means of the closure piece comprise a recess suitable for receiving the stud and, in said recess, a projection provided with a notch, said projection being suitable for penetrating into the groove in the stud. Advantageously, the closure piece is provided with a guide groove incorporating the notch in the projection. For grasping purposes, said closure piece is provided with two side recesses. In a particular embodiment, the fixing means comprise: at least one through hole provided in the base; at least one lug provided with a shoulder and supported by the shutting piece, which lug is suitable for penetrating into said at least one through hole; and locking means for preventing said shutting piece from being separated from the base when they are fixed together. Preferably, each through hole in the base is extended by a slot of width less than the largest width of the hole, and less than the extent of the shoulder of the lug. Advantageously, two through holes are provided in the base on either side of the opening. Preferably, the locking means comprise: at least one through hole provided in the shutting piece, and positioned facing a through hole in the base when the shutting piece is co-operating with base; and at least one catch fixed to the closure piece and organized to pass through a through hole in the shutting piece, and to penetrate into a through hole in the base, the catch being of extent greater than the width of the slot. In a variant, the base may be made of metal. The invention also provides a meter provided with such a sealed lid. Other characteristics and advantages of the invention appear clearly from the following description given by way of non-limiting example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 diagrammatically shows an exploded perspective view from below of a sealed lid of the invention; Figure 2 diagrammatically shows an exploded perspective view from above of the sealed lid shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 diagrammatically shows a perspective view from below of the Figure 1 lid as assembled; and Figure 4, comprising Figure 4a and Figure 4b, diagrammatically shows two mutually perpendicular section views of the Figure 1 lid. Figure 1 diagrammatically shows an exploded view from above of a sealed lid of the invention. In this figure and in the other figures, the lid has a circular outline, but it may have a outline that is square, rectangular, or of some other shape, depending on the environment in which it is to be used. The lid 1 is made up of a base 10, of a shutting piece 20, and of a closure piece 30. The base 10 is organized to be fixed to the element that contains or protects the object to be closed. Thus, in the embodiment shown, which embodiment is well suited to closing an optical read/write cell for reading data from a meter and for programming said meter, two openings 11, 12 are provided for fixing the base 10 to the window of the cell (not shown) by means of screws, or by being engaged on prongs provided for this purpose on the window. In a variant, the base 10 may be integrally molded with the window, instead of being in the form of a separate piece. However, using a separate piece makes it possible for this piece to be made of metal. This is particularly advantageous when applied to closing a write/read cell of a meter because the base 10 then serves to fix, by magnetization, the read/write head used to read the data from the meter and/or to program said meter, it being understood that the housing of the meter is normally made of a plastics material. In the embodiment shown, the base 10 is thus a thin circular plate provided with a main through opening 13 designed to give access to the object (not shown) closed by the lid 1 when said lid is in place. On either side of the opening 13, the base 10 is also provided with two through holes 14, 15, each of which is extended by two slots 16a & 16b, and 17a & 17b. The shutting piece 20 is designed to co-operate with the base 10. It has a bottom face 21 and a top face which is shown in Figure 2, The bottom face 21 supports two lugs 26, 27 provided with shoulders and disposed such that they can be inserted simultaneously into the through holes 14, 15 in the base 10, and then, by rotating the shutting piece 20, slide along the slots 16a, 17b or 16b, 17a depending respectively whether the rotation is clockwise or counterclockwise. The shutting piece 20 is provided with two through holes 24, 25 disposed such that, when the lugs 26, 27 are in place in the slots 16a, 17b, or in equivalent manner 16b, 17a, the holes 24, 25 face respective ones of the through holes 14, 15 in the base 10. Figure 2 shows an exploded perspective view from above of the lid 1. The top face 22 of the shutting piece 20 supports a stud 23 provided with a through passageway 28 and with a groove 29 intersecting said passageway 28 at right angles. The passageway 28 is designed to receive the sealing wire as explained in more detail below. As shown in Figure 1, the closure piece 30 has two catches 34, 35 organized to pass through the through holes 24, 25 in the shutting piece, and to penetrate into the holes 14, 15 in the base 10. However, the extent or "width" of the catches 34, 35 is greater than the width of the slots 16a, 16b, 17a, 17b. In this way, the catches 34, 35 cannot penetrate into the slots 16a, 16b, 17a, 17b. The closure piece 30 is provided with a recess 33 suitable for receiving the stud 23 on the shutting piece. A projection 39 provided with a notch 38 is disposed in the recess 33 in a manner such that it penetrates into the groove 29 in the stud 23 when the parts 20 and 30 are interfitted. In which case, the notch 38 lies in alignment with the passageway 26. As shown in Figure 2, the top face 32 of the closure piece 30 is provided with a guide groove 37 incorporating the notch 38. The guide groove 37 makes it easier to insert the sealing wire when the various elements 10, 20, 30 are interfitted. On either aide of the groove 37, two side recesses 40a, 40b are provided to make it easier to grasp the closure piece 30. Figure 3 diagrammatically shows a perspective view from below of the lid as assembled. The base 10 is provided with an opening 11, 12 for fixing it around the object to be closed. By means of this fixing, the base 10 is normally non-removable. In order to shut off the opening 13 and in order to seal the lid, firstly the shutting piece 20 is secured to the base 10 by fixing means provided for this purpose. In the embodiment shown, these fixing means are constituted by the through holes 14, 15 and their slots 16a, 17b, or in equivalent manner 16b, 17a, by the lugs 26, 27 provided with shoulders, and by locking means which, in this example, are constituted by the catches 34, 35 and by the through holes 24, 25. In order to secure the shutting piece 20 to the base 10, firstly the lugs 26, 27 are inserted into respective ones of the through holes 14, 15. Then, by applying rotation, the lugs 26, 27 are caused to move in translation into respective ones of the slots 16a, 17b. Since the width of the slots is less than the extent of the shoulders on the lugs, the shutting piece 20 is thus prevented from being withdrawn vertically. In this position, the through holes 24, 25 with which the shutting piece 20 is provided face respective ones of the through holes 14, 15 in the base 10. In order to hold the shutting piece 20 stationary in this position, it is necessary merely to use the locking means. The catches 34, 35 are inserted through the through holes 24, 25 in the shutting piece 20, and then through the through holes 14, 15 in the base 10. Since the extent or "width" of the catches 34, 35 is greater than the width of the slots 16a, 16b, 17a, 17b, the catches 34, 35 cannot be moved in translation into the slots, and the closure piece is thus prevented from rotating, thereby locking the shutting piece 20 in its position. Sealing wire is then used to secure the closure piece 30 to the shutting piece 20, as described below with reference in particular to Figure 4. Figure 4 comprises Figure 4a and Figure 4b which are mutually perpendicular section views of the lid as assembled. Figure 4a is a view of the lid in section on an axis extending along the groove 29 in the shutting piece 20. Figure 4b is a view of the lid in section on an axis extending along the guide groove 37 in the closure piece 30. In the embodiment shown, when the various elements are interfitted, these two axes are mutually perpendicular, but it can be understood that they could be positioned otherwise. When the shutting piece 20 and the closure piece 3 0 are interfitted, the stud 23 is engaged in the recess 33 and the projection 39 penetrates into the groove 29. In this configuration, the stud 23 on the shutting piece, and the notch 38 provided in the projection 39 co-operate to form a passageway for a sealing wire 50. The sealing wire is inserted into the guide groove 29 which guides it towards the passageway 28 inside which it passes through the notch 38 and out through the other end of the passageway 28. In this way, the closure piece 30 is secured to the shutting piece. The closure piece 30 is prevented from being withdrawn vertically by means of the bottom of the projection 3 9a being blocked by the sealing wire 50 which is itself held stationary by the top walls 23a of the passageway 28. Once its ends are connected together via an authentication seal (not shown), the sealing wire 50 cannot be withdrawn from the passageway 28: the integrity of the shutting of the opening 13 is thus guaranteed. Once the device is in place and closed by means of a seal, the only way to gain access to the opening 13 is to break either the sealing wire or the seal. Numerous variant embodiments are possible for the above-described device without going beyond the ambit of the present invention. For example, it is possible to provide a single through hole associated with one slot in the base, and thus, correspondingly, a single lug provided with a shoulder, supported by the shutting piece, and suitable for penetrating into the hole and for sliding into the slot, while a single catch supported by the closure piece vertically locks the lid-forming assembly. It ia also possible to provide more than two through holes in the base, which holes co-operate with an equal number of lugs and of catches. In another variant, each of the through holes provided in the base is not associated with a slot, the hole(s) being rectangular, for example. In which case, each of the lugs provided with shoulders must be rectangular and suitable for being rotated about its own axis through one fourth of one turn. Each lug is inserted into its respective hole, and then it is rotated, thereby locking the shoulder, i.e. the length, of the lug against the edges of the hole. Once the closure piece is in place, it is no longer possible to access the lugs in order to release them. The shutting piece is thus secured properly to the base. Measuring instruments such as meters may advantageously be provided with a lid as described above, e.g. in order to guarantee the integrity of the shutting of an access window providing access to a read/write device of the meter. Since such a read/write device makes it possible both to read the meter and to program it, in particular in order to program it with the applicable charging rates, it is particularly advantageous to be able to seal access to it in order to bring to light fraud or attempted fraud in simple and low-cost manner. WE CLAIM : 1. A sealed lid for closing an object, characterized in that it comprises: a base (10) provided with an opening to give access to said object to be closed; a shutting piece (20) suitable for co-operating with the base (10) to shut off the opening (13), and provided with passageway means for passing a sealing wire (50); fixing means (14, 15, 16a, 17b, 24, 25, 26, 27, 34, 35) for securing said shutting piece (20) to the base (10); and a closure piece (30) provided with passageway means organized to co¬operate with the passageway means of the shutting piece (20) in a manner such that a sealing wire (50) inserted through said passageway means secures the closure piece (30) to the shutting piece (20). 2. A lid as claimed in claim 1, wherein the passageway means of the shutting piece (20) having a stud (23) provided with a through passageway (28), and with a groove (29) intersecting the passageway (28). 3. A lid as claimed in claim 2, wherein the passageway means of the closure piece (30) comprise a recess (33) suitable for receiving the stud (33) and, in said recess (33), a projection (39) provided with a notch (38), said projection (39) being suitable for penetrating into the groove (29) in the stud (23). 4. A lid as claimed in claim 3, wherein the closure piece (30) is provided with a guide groove (37) incorporating the notch (38) in the projection (39). 5. A lid as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the closure piece (30) is provided with two side recesses (40a, 40b) for grasping the closure piece. 6. A lid as claimed in any one of claim 1 to 5, wherein the fixing means having at least one through hole (14, 15) provided in the base (10); at least one lug (26, 27) provided with a shoulder and supported by the shutting piece (20), which lug is suitable for penetrating into said at least one through hole (14, 15) and locking means (24, 25, 34, 35) for preventing said shutting piece (20) from being separated from the base (10) when they are fixed together. 7. A lid as claimed in claim 6, wherein each through hole (14", 15) in the base (10) is extended by a slot (16a, 17b) of width less than the largest width of the hole (14, 15), and less than the extent of the shoulder of the lug (26, 27). 8. A lid as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein two through holes (14, 15) are provided in the base on either side of the opening (13). 9. A lid as claimed in any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the locking means having: at least one through hole (24, 25) provided in the shutting piece (20), and positioned facing a through hole (14, 15) in the base (10) when the shutting piece (20) is co-operating with base (10) and at least one catch (34, 35) fixed to the closure piece (30) and organized to pass through a through hole (24, 25) in the shutting piece (20), and to penetrate into a through hole (14, 15) in the base (10), the catch being of extent greater than the width of the slot (16a, 17b). 10. A lid as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the base (10) is made of metal. 11. A meter characterized in that it is provided with a sealed lid as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 10.

Documents:

0368-mas-1999 abstract-duplicate.pdf

0368-mas-1999 abstract.jpg

0368-mas-1999 abstract.pdf

0368-mas-1999 assignment.pdf

0368-mas-1999 claims-duplicate.pdf

0368-mas-1999 claims.pdf

0368-mas-1999 correspondence-others.pdf

0368-mas-1999 correspondence-po.pdf

0368-mas-1999 description (complete)-duplicate.pdf

0368-mas-1999 description (complete).pdf

0368-mas-1999 drawings-duplicate.pdf

0368-mas-1999 drawings.pdf

0368-mas-1999 form-1.pdf

0368-mas-1999 form-13.pdf

0368-mas-1999 form-19.pdf

0368-mas-1999 form-26.pdf

0368-mas-1999 form-4.pdf

0368-mas-1999 form-6.pdf

0368-mas-1999 others.pdf

0368-mas-1999 petition.pdf