S&F Ref: 99473 1 AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 INNOVATION PATENT SPECIFICATION Name and Address Calfarme Australia Pty Ltd, of Applicant: an Australian Company (ACN) 107 399 235, of Unit 42, 55 Norman Street, Peakhurst, New South Wales, 2210, Australia Actual Inventor(s): Boon Lye Paul Neo Address for Service: Spruson & Ferguson St Martins Tower Level 35 31 Market Street Sydney NSW 2000 (CCN 3710000177) Invention Title: A lid assembly for a bin The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 5843c(538 9 481 1) - 1 A LID ASSEMBLY FOR A BIN Technical Field The present invention relates generally to bins and, in particular, to lids for such bins. Background 5 Bins are commonly used in both domestic households and commercial premises to maintain tidiness and sanitary standards. Many bins are manufactured of a durable, hard-wearing plastics material for long term use. An opening is normally provided in a lid or an upper wall of a bin, through which waste is inserted into the bin. A movable mechanism such as a flap is often 10 provided to cover the opening when not in use. Bins are generally provided with a manual mechanism for raising the flap which covers the opening. Bins which are provided with an automatic mechanism for raising the flap or opening a lid of the bin container are increasingly popular. Such automatic mechanisms are generally provided with a sensor that detects motion over the top of the 15 bin, and automatically lifts the flap using an opening mechanism upon detecting such motion. Thus, a user can insert waste into a bin container without touching the bin. Bins which have such automatic mechanisms are increasingly popular for use in kitchens, restaurants, bathrooms and hospitals. In particular, automatically opening bins are popular for use as sanitary bins. Sanitary bins are used to store medical and bathroom 20 waste, which has associated hygiene issues. Users of such automated sanitary bins can insert waste into a sanitary bin container without touching any part of the bin, thus avoiding contact with any spilled waste or associated bacteria, viruses and the like. 5385635-1 -2 Such sanitary bins often have flaps with a second or lower section to limit exposure of waste already in the sanitary bin container to the atmosphere external to the sanitary bin container if the main flap is raised. However, bins which open automatically are often expensive. A need therefore 5 exists for a decreased cost automatically-opening bin. Summary According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a lid assembly for a bin, the assembly comprising: a body shaped to retro-fit to a bin container, the body having an engagement 10 arrangement configured to secure the body to the bin container, and an opening formed in a top surface of said body; an insert movably attached to the body and having a cover section shaped to cover the opening when the insert is in a closed position; and an operational mechanism contained within the body, and including an actuator 15 and a motorised mechanism coupled to the insert, said motorised mechanism being configured to operate to raise the cover section to an open position to expose the opening and lower the cover section and then close the opening. The actuator may comprise a motion sensor, the motion sensor, the motion sensor providing generating a control signal to start the internal motor and raise the cover section 20 upon sensing motion in a given region surrounding the lid assembly to energise the motorised mechanism to raise the cover section for a predetermined period; and close the cover section to the closed position after the predetermined period. The engagement arrangement may comprise a plurality of side tabs, each side tab having at least one ledge formed on an inner surface thereof, the lid assembly being adapted to snap 5385635-1 -3 fit to a lip of a bin container by engagement of the at least one ledge with a lip of said bin container. Other aspects of the invention are also disclosed. Brief Description of the Drawings 5 At least one embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which: Fig. 1A shows a top perspective view of an embodiment of a lid assembly for a bin; Fig. lB shows a bottom view of the assembly of Fig. IA; 10 Fig. IC shows the lid assembly of Fig. IA used on a bin container 190; Fig. 2A shows a top perspective view of the assembly of Fig. I A; Fig. 2B shows a bottom perspective view of the assembly of Fig. IA; Fig. 2C shows a front view of the wall 202 of the body of Fig. 2A; Fig. 2D shows a top view of the body of the assembly of Fig. IA; 15 Fig. 2E shows a, bottom perspective view of a second embodiment of the body of the assembly of Fig. IA; Fig. 2F shows a cross-sectional view of the assembly of Fig. IA used on a bin container ; Fig. 3 shows an underside exploded perspective view of the insert of the assembly 20 of Fig. IA; Fig. 4A shows a plan view of the operational mechanism of the assembly of Fig. IA; Fig. 4B an exploded view of the operational mechanism of Fig. 4A; Fig. 4C shows a simplified circuit of the motor 420 of Fig. 4B; 5385635-1 -4 Fig. 5A shows an exploded underside view of the assembly of Fig. IA; and Fig. 5B shows a perspective view of the assembly of Fig. IA with cover section 302 raised. Detailed Description 5 Where reference is made in any one or more of the accompanying drawings to steps and/or features, which have the same reference numerals, those steps and/or features have for the purposes of this description the same function(s) or operation(s), unless the contrary intention appears. Overview 10 Figs. IA and 1B show an automated bin lid assembly 100 formed of three parts: a body 200, an insert 300 and an operational mechanism 400 (shown in Fig. 1 B only). As shown in Fig. IA, the body 200 is a parallelepiped-like shape. The insert 300 is attached to the body 200 to form a section of a top surface of the assembly 100. The insert 300 is movable within the body 200 and operates as a flap within the body 200. As illustrated in 15 Fig iB, the body 200 is substantially hollow. The insert 300 protrudes into the body 200. The operational mechanism 400 is L-shaped and is positioned inside a corner of the body 200. The lid assembly 100 is shaped to retro-fit securely to, and be removable from, a bin container, such as container 190 of Fig. IC. The body 200 is positioned on the 20 container 190 and held to the container a side tab 216 on each of left and right hand sides of the assembly 100 (right side only shown). Body Figs. 2A - 2E illustrate features of the body 200. The body 200 is a substantially hollow parallelepiped-like shell, preferably manufactured of a durable plastics material 5385635-1 -5 such as polyurethane, polyethylene and preferably injection mouldable plastics such as ABS. The body 200 may be formed by any of a number of manufacturing techniques including injection moulding and laser cutting, or combinations of these. As illustrated in Fig. 2A, the body 200 comprises a front wall 202, side walls 204 5 and 208, and a back wall 206. The back wall 206 is substantially rectangular in shape and the side walls 204 and 208 are preferably rhombic in shape, causing a top surface 209 to slope from back to front. The walls 202, 204, 206 and 208 have rounded corners 212. As depicted in Fig 2D, the front wall 202 is substantially rectangular but with upper edges 202A-202E. The edges 202B-202D form a substantially rectangular notch in 10 the surface 202. Referring to Fig. 2C, a relatively large opening 211 is formed in the top surface 209 and the wall 202 of the body 200. The opening 211 is bounded by edges 209A 209C and the edges 202B-202D, and provided so that waste may be inserted into a bin container such as the bin container 190. A rectangular window 218 is preferably formed in the surface 209 adjacent to a corner of the back wall 206. The window 218 is provided for 15 inclusion of a motion sensor in the assembly 100, as is discussed hereinafter. Cylindrical protrusions 219 and block-like stops 222 are provided within the body 200. As shown in Fig. 2E, inner walls 217 are provided in the depicted embodiment extending downwardly from an inner surface of the surface 209 adjacent to edges 209B (not shown) and 209C. The cylindrical protrusions 219 are formed to protrude horizontally inwardly under the 20 opening 211 from the inner walls 217. The protrusions 219 are provided to secure the insert 300 to the body 200 and allow rotational movement of the insert 300 therein. Each of the stops 222 is also formed horizontally inwardly on each of the walls 217, at an opposite end to the protrusions 219. The stops 222 are provided to prevent an inner flap of the insert 300 being raised past the opening 211, as discussed below. 5385635-1 -6 As shown in Fig. 2A, a ridge 215 extends generally horizontally from a lower edge of the walls 202, 204, 206 and 208 and the adjoining corners 212. The ridge 215 is provided around a full lower perimeter of the body 200. A first base wall 214A extends generally downwardly vertically from a portion of the ridge 215, adjacent to the walls 204, 5 202 and 208. A second base wall 214B extends similarly downwardly and outwardly from a second portion of the ridge 215, adjacent to the walls 204, 206 and 208. The ridge 215 is sized to sit on a lip of the bin container 190 on which the body 200 may be placed. A pair of side tabs 216 protrude downwardly from the ridge 215, one of the side tabs 216 positioned adjacent to the wall 204, the other of the side tabs 216 adjacent to the wall 208. 10 Each of the side tabs 216 is positioned between the base walls 214A and 214B, as seen in Figs. 2A and 2B. The tabs 216 are sized to fit the body 200 securely and removably to a bin container, as described hereinafter. Fig. 2B illustrates a ledge 224 protrudes inwardly from an inner side of each tab 216. A number of braces 220 protrude inwardly substantially normally from inner surfaces 15 of the walls 204 and 206, and at least one of the adjoining corners 212. The braces 220 are provided for positioning of the operational mechanism 400 in the lid assembly 100, as described hereinafter. A notch 230 is formed on an end of each of the braces 220 for placement of the braces 220 over a lip of a bin container on which the body 200 may be placed. 20 As shown in Fig. 2F, the body 200 of the assembly 100 sits on a bin container 190. The bin container 190 has a protruding lip 294. The ridge 215 sits on the lip 294 of the container 190. The side tabs 216 are configured to operate as an engagement arrangement to secure the body 200 to the container 190 by the resilient flexibility of the plastics material of the body 200. A user secures the body 200 to the bin container 190 by 5385635-1 -7 pushing each side tab 216 such that the ledge 224 slides over a corresponding lip 294 of the bin container 190, and snap-fits into place. To remove the body 200 a user holds one of the side tabs 216 in each hand and pulls the tabs 216 away from the wall 292 of the bin container 190, pulling the ledge 224 down and under the lip 294. In other implementations, 5 the body 200 may be secured to the bucket 294 by a variety of other engagement arrangements such as provision of a clip or clamp on the body 200, provision of an increased number of tabs similar to the tabs 216, or provision of an increased number of ledges 224. Fig. 2E shows a second embodiment of the body 300, which has an increased number of ledges 224 and a single tab 216 around the full perimeter of the body 300. 10 Insert As shown in Fig. 3, the insert 300 comprises a fixed section 301 and a further section 306, which is removable from the insert 300. The insert 300 may be manufactured of a plastics material such as polyurethane, polyethylene, nylon or the like and preferably injection mouldable plastics such as ABS. The insert 300 may be formed by any of a 15 number of manufacturing techniques including injection moulding and laser cutting, or combinations of these. The fixed section comprises a cover 302, which has a substantially rectangular shape and is sized to cover or seal the opening 211 of the body 200. A rounded edge 312 is provided on the cover 302, which is configured to cover a section of the slot bounded by 20 the edges 202B-202D. The rounded edge 312 also allows rotation of the insert 300 within the body 200 when attached thereto. A pair of walls 304 is provided on the cover 302. Each of the walls 304 extends vertically from an inside the surface of cover section 302 to form a curved edge 314. The walls 304 are provided to fit between the edges 209B and 209C of the opening 211 of the 5385635-1 -8 body 200, and such that waste can fit between the walls 304. A pair of braces 310 is provided on an inner surface of each wall 304 to form a channel 308 on each wall 304. The removable further section 306 is sized to securely fit into the channel 308, thereby securing the removable section 306 to the insert 300. The section 306 can be attached to 5 the fixed section 301 by sliding edges 306A and 306B into the channels 308. Similarly, the section 306 can be removed from the insert 300 by pulling the section 306 away from cover 302, sliding the edges 306A and 306B out of the channels 308. The section 306 is sized to have an edge which will engage with the stops 222 when the insert is raised from the opening 211, thereby limiting the height from the opening 211 which the cover 302 can 10 be raised, as discussed below. In further implementations, the further section 306 may be provided fixed to the section 301, or may be omitted. A wall 316 is provided extending generally normally from an outer edge of at least one of the walls 304. The wall 316 preferably has a curved shape similar to the curved edge 314 of the wall 304. A number of teeth 318 are formed with uniform spacing 15 along the outer edge of the wall 316. The wall 316 and the teeth 318 are provided to engage with the operational mechanism 400 of the assembly 100, as described hereinafter. A cylindrical hinge socket 320 is provided on an outside surface of each of the walls 304, adjacent to where the cover 302 adjoins the rounded edge 312. The hinge socket 320 is provided to secure the insert 300 to the body 200. A bulbous protuberance 20 324 is provided on the cover section 302 at an edge opposite the edge 312 to allow manual raising of the insert 300, as described hereinafter. Operational Mechanism As seen in Fig. 4A, the operational mechanism 400 is a substantially L-shaped box-like structure. The mechanism 400 comprises a motor compartment 402, a battery 5385635-1 -9 compartment 404, a motorised mechanism formed by a gear 412 and a DC motor (not illustrated), and an actuator, formed in the depicted embodiment by a motion sensor 410. A slanted edge 406 is provided between the motor compartment 402 and the battery compartment 404 to allow the unit 400 to fit in the body 200. The gear 412 is provided on 5 an external edge of the compartment 402 for engagement with the insert 300, as described hereinafter. A number of sections 419, each containing a screw-thread, are provided for securing the operational mechanism 400 to the body 200. The motor compartment 402 contains an electrically-driven DC motor 420, of appropriate size to fit in the compartment 402, as shown in Fig. 4B. . The battery 10 compartment 404 contains at least one battery (not shown) such as alkaline and lithium batteries, and the like, for example D Cell alkaline batteries. In some implementations, a cover 416 may provided on the battery compartment 404 such that batteries can be inserted and removed as necessary by a person using or maintaining the lid assembly 100. Batteries installed in the battery compartment 404 provide power to energise both the motor 420 and 15 the motion sensor 410 via battery terminal connectors 422. A shaft 421 is attached to the motor 420 and the external gear 412 to form a motorised mechanism. Action of the internal motor 420 rotates the shaft 421 and thus the gear 412. In some implementations, a mechanism other than a gear may be used, such as a pulley mechanism. When assembled, the motorised mechanism formed by the motor 420 20 and the gear 412 is coupled to the insert 300 by engagement of the gear 412 with the teeth 318. The motor sensor 410 is an actuator which detects user operation and operates the motorised mechanism accordingly. The motion sensor 410 may be a short-range passive infra-red or ultrasonic sensor or the like, preferably having an operating range of about 10 5385635-1 -10 15cm. The motion sensor 410 provides a control signal to the motor contained within the motor compartment 402 via circuitry provided on printed circuit board 418. The mechanism 400 has a slanted edge 406 relative to and between the compartments 402 and 404, such that the mechanism 400 can fit into corner of the body 200 and such that motion 5 sensor 410 is centred in the window 218 of the body 200. The sensor 410 can scan for, and sense, motion in a given space surrounding the window 218, for example if a user places a hand in that given space. The sensor 410 may scan the given space constantly as long as power is supplied from the battery compartment 404. In some implementations, the mechanism 400 may be provided with a power-saving circuit. Such a power-saving circuit 10 may limit the sensor 410 to scan the given area periodically after a specific time period such as 100 ms or 250 ms. A control circuit may also be provided on the board 418 or externally to the sensor 410 to manipulate the control signal supplied to the motor 420 from the motion sensor 410 to operate the motor 420. The motor 420 is connected to battery B, stored in the battery compartment 404, 15 as indicated in Fig. 4C. A switch matrix 428 is provided. The switch matrix 428 controls the connection of the battery B to a motor 420 according to a control signal 426. The control signal 426 is generated by the motion sensor 410 and input to the switch matrix 428The switch matrix 428 can be implemented using digital logic, discreet components, integrated circuits and the like. 20 If the control signal 426 indicates that motion has been detected within the range of the motion sensor 410, the switch matrix 428 connects the battery B to the motor 420 with a given polarity to energise the motor 420 to rotate the gear 412 in a first direction. Operation of the motor 420 and rotation of the gear 412 in the first direction causes the insert 300 to raise from a closed position (as shown in Fig. 2A) until an open 5385635-1 - 11 position where the further section 306 is in substantially the same plane as the to surface 209 (as shown in Fig. 5B). This raised or open position may be determined by an operating time of the motor 420 or by the movement of the insert 300 actuating a mechanical stop (not illustrated). At this point of operation the current through the motor 420 is reduced in 5 magnitude to a level which holds and maintains an open position of the insert for a predetermined period (for example, 5 seconds). The switch matrix then reverses the polarity of the connection of the battery B to the motor 420 and energises the motor 420 briefly, to rotate the motor 420 in the opposite direction. The shaft 421 rotates correspondingly in such opposite direction. Brief 10 energisation in the opposite direction is all that is necessary to commence the closing movement, the remainder being accomplished through operation of gravity. The cover 302 lowers to close the opening 211. The switch matrix 428 next disconnects the battery B from the motor 420 and the motor 420 switches off. In other implementations, the switch matrix may reverse the polarity of the connection of the battery B to the motor 420 after 15 the signal 426 indicates that the motion sensor 410 has detected further motion within range. Lid Assembly Fig. 5A shows an underside exploded view of the lid assembly 100. The insert 20 300 may be used with or without the removable further section 306 attached thereto. The protrusions 219 of the body 200 are provided inserted into the hinge socket 320 of the insert 300 to attach the insert 300 to the body 200. In alternate implementations, the insert 300 may be removable from the body 200 by snapping the protrusions 219 into, or out of, the socket 320. The cylindrical protrusions 219 and the hinge socket 320 are sized such 5385635-1 - 12 that the insert 300 can rotationally move around the protrusion 219 within the body 200 around the cylindrical wall 219, allowing the cover 302 to be raised and lowered. The insert 300 is inserted such that the cover 302 normally is held by gravity to cover the opening 211 of the body 200. If the cover 302 is raised, the opening 211 is exposed, as 5 shown in Fig. 5B. If attached to the insert 300, the section 306 provides a platform on which waste can be placed and substantially occludes the opening 211 if the insert 300 is held in raised position in the lid assembly 100. The stops 222 prevent cover 302 being raised such that the section 306 (if in use) is raised past the opening 211, thereby exposing any waste in a bin container to atmosphere surrounding the lid assembly 100. 10 The operational mechanism 400 can be attached to the body 200 by screws inserted into the screw threads 419 of the mechanism 400. In other implementations, the operational mechanism 400 may be snapped into place in the main body 200 by flexible rigidity of the materials in which the braces 220 of the body 200 are formed. The operational mechanism 400 can be pushed and snap-fitted into place between the braces 15 220 in such implementations. In alternative implementations, the operational mechanism 400 may be provided fully secured to the body 200 such that the mechanism 400 cannot be removed. The placement of the operational mechanism 400 allows the window 218 of the body 200 to lie over the motion detector 410 of the motor compartment. The motion detector 410 can thus detect motion in a range around the window 218. 20 In automatic use, motion sensor detector 410 of the motor compartment detects motion caused by a user in a given range around the window 218 of the body 200 and provides a control signal to the switch matrix 428 of the motor compartment 402 to raise, hold and then close the cover 302, as described above, by engagement of the gear 412 with the teeth 318 of the curved wall 316 of the insert 300. When the cover section 302 is raised 5385635-1 - 13 to an open position, the user can places waste on the section 306 if in use. When the cover section 302 is lowered to close the opening 211, the waste is displaced into the bin container 190. Alternatively, if the section 306 is not in use, the user places waste through the opening 211 when the cover is in the open position. 5 As the operational mechanism 400 is entirely contained within the assembly 100, the lid assembly 100 may be used to replace a lid on an existing bin. If the batteries in the battery compartment 404 are drained or if the motion sensor 410 fails to operate, the lid assembly 100 can be used manually. The bulbous protuberance 324 of the insert 300 allows a user to manually raise the cover 302 and to insert waste into a sanitary bin 10 container to which the assembly 100 is attached. As the lid assembly 100 can retro-fit to a standard bin, a user or bathroom provider does not have to buy a complete new bin container for automatic operation and thus limits cost. Automated bin container assemblies may be provided in a variety of sizes, depths and widths and with a variety of aesthetic adornments or designs. Modifications 15 and/or changes to be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, the embodiments being illustrative and not restrictive. The following lettered paragraphs describe aspects of the present disclosure: A. A lid assembly for a bin, the assembly comprising: a body shaped to retro-fit to a bin container, the body having an engagement 20 arrangement configured to secure the body to the bin container, and an opening formed in a top surface of said body; an insert movably attached to the body and having a cover section shaped to cover the opening when the insert is in a closed position; and 5385635-1 -14 an operational mechanism contained within the body, and including an actuator and a motorised mechanism coupled to the insert, said motorised mechanism being configured to operate to raise the cover section to an open position to expose the opening and lower the cover section and then close the opening. 5 B. The lid assembly according to claim A, wherein the actuator comprises a motion sensor, the motion sensor generating a control signal upon sensing motion in a given region surrounding the lid assembly to: energise the motorised mechanism to raise the cover section for a predetermined period; and 10 close the cover section to the closed position after the predetermined period. C. The lid assembly according to any one of claims A-B, wherein the engagement arrangement comprises a plurality of side tabs, each side tab having at least one ledge formed on an inner surface thereof, the lid assembly being adapted to snap-fit to a lip of a bin container by engagement of the at least one ledge with a lip of said bin 15 container. D. A bin comprising: a lid assembly according to any one of claims A-C, and a bin container to which the lid assembly is fitted. E. A lid assembly being substantially as hereinbefore disclosed with 20 reference to any one of the embodiments depicted in Figs. 1-5 of the accompanying drawings. F. The lid assembly according to claim A, wherein the insert further comprises a further section, the further section being configured To substantially occlude the opening when the corner section is raised and to permit waste to be place between the 5385635-1 - 15 cover section and the further section such that when the cover section is lowered to close the opening, the waste is displaced to the bin container. G. The lid assembly according to claim F wherein the further section is removable from the insert. 5 H. The lid assembly according to claim B, wherein motion sensor is operable to energise the motorised actuator to raise the cover section until further motion is sensed in the given region; and lower the cover to the closed position after further motion in the given region is 10 sensed. I. The lid assembly according to any one of claims A-C, wherein the operational mechanism is removable from the body. J. The lid assembly according to any one of claims A-C, wherein the operational mechanism further comprises at least one battery for energising the operational 15 mechanism. K. The lid assembly according to claim J, wherein the at least one battery is replaceable. L. The lid assembly according to any one of claims A-C, wherein the motorised mechanism includes a gear configured to engage a toothed section of the insert 20 between the raised and closed positions. M. The lid assembly according to any one of claims A-C; wherein the insert is removably attached to the body. 5385635-1 -16 In the context of the specification the word "comprising" means "including principally but not necessarily solely" or "having". The variations of the word "comprising", such as "comprise" and "comprises" have correspondingly varied meanings. 5385635-1