AU685688B2

AU685688B2 - Bin lid actuator

Info

Publication number: AU685688B2
Application number: AU37942/95A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Duncan Bartlett Gilmore
Original assignee: JACCARA Pty Ltd
Current assignee: JACCARA Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1995-11-21
Filing date: 1995-11-21
Publication date: 1998-01-22
Anticipated expiration: 2015-11-21
Also published as: AU3794295A

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Invention Title: Jaccara Pty Ltd ACN 071 661 240 Duncan Bartlett Gilmore CULLEN CO., Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, 240 Queen Street, Brisbane, Qld. 4000, Australia.

Bin Lid Actuator The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me.

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to mobile garbage bins. In particular, the invention relates to an actuator for the lid of a mobile garbage bin, BACKGROUND ART Mobile garbage bins, or "MGBs" as they are frequently abbreviated, are now a common-place type of refuse receptacle. In Australia, for example, many millions of MGBs are now in domestic and commercial use.

MGBs are typically provided in 120 I and 240 I sizes and comprise an open-mouthed vessel, the mouth of which is covered by a hinged lid. A pair of wheels are provided at a bottom edge of the vessel so that when tilted, the MGB can be rolled across a surface, The lid hinge is invariably on the same side of the vessel as the pair of wheels and stood away therefrom so that the hinge forms a hand grip for tilting and moving the MGB.

It is frequently the case when a person is depositing refuse in an MGB that the person is carrying refuse with both hands. Thus, refuse must be released from one hand so that normally-closed lid can be raised for depositing the refuse. In some circumstances, such as MGBs used for receiving biologically or chemicallycontaminated waste, depositing refuse without contacting the MGB with the hands may be mandatory.

A number of foot-operated lid actuators have been described. For o.:i example, Australian Patent Application No. 33820/84 and Australian Petty Patent No. 654259 describe actuators in which a foot-pedal is pivotable associated with the axle of the MGB or a ground support member and an arm is provided for engaging the lid handle. Downward pressure on the foot pedal thereby raises the 25 lid.

A frame incorporating a foot-operated actuator, which frame is positioned about an MGB, is described in International Application No. PCT/GB93/00513 (Publication No. WO 93/17942). A simpler type of actuator is described in Australian Patent Application No. 89763191, wherein the actuator frame fits about the MGB vessel.

MGB lid actuators are also known which are permanently fixed to the MGB.

For example, the abovementioned Australian Patent Application No. 89763/91 includes a description of a foot pedal which is pivotably fixed to the axle of the MGB or side wall of the MGB vessel.

A major disadvantage of known MGB lid actuators is that they are 3 somewhat bulky, This is because linkages are necessary between the foot-pedal portion of the actuator and the lid handle. Excessive bulkiness is a particular disadvantage of the actuator described in PCT/GB93/00513. Furthermore, known actuators are not readily adaptable to the different sizes of MGBs.

Actuators permanently fixed to MGBs can create a problem for mechanised MGB handling. In fact, some local authorities have banned permanently affixed MGB lid actuators.

In view of the abundance of MGBs in countries like Australia and some European countries, and in view of the shortcomings of existing MGB lid actuators, there is thus a need for an actuator which meets the following requirements: 1) the actuator is compact in design and does not have all of the elongate elements or frames of existing actuators; and 2) the actuator design can be readily adapted to different sized MGBs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION to" 15 It is an object of the invention to provide an MGB lid actuator which may •o00: overcome disadvantages of existing actuators or at least provides the public with a useful alternative actuator.

According to a broad format, the invention provides a lid actuator for a S• mobile garbage bin of the type comprising an open-mouthed vessel having an axle at the base thereof with a pair of wheels fitted thereto and a lid associated with the mouth of the vessel, which lid is hinged to an off-standing hand grip, said actuator comprising: a first lever for pivotably and releasably engaging said axle;

*SSO

se* •a second lever selected from: a member for pivotably and releasably engaging said hand grip and •for releasably engaging an edge of said lid adjacent said hand grip, wherein said member has a body which includes a downwardly directed slot or groove for pivotably and releasably engaging said hand grip, and wherein said releasable engagement of said lid is provided for by a horizontally disposed tab projecting from an end of said body; or (ii) an integral component of the lid comprising a member projecting rearwardly of said hand grip at or adjacent an end thereof; and a flexible member interconnecting said first and second levers; 35 wherein, in use said first lever serves as a second order lever and said 3a second lever serves as a third order lover, It will be appreciated from the foregoing paragraph that the first lever of actuators according to the invention can serve as a foot pedal thereby allowing "hands-free" lifting of an MGB lid. The pivotable and releasable engagement of the axle by the first lever can be provided for by including a bearing surface and e o e** e

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So 9

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associated retaining clip as part of the lever. Release of the retaining clip allows removal of the lever while in situ the lever is nevertheless free to pivot about the axle.

In a preferred embodiment, the pivotable and releasable engagement of the axle by the first lever is provided for by including a slot or groove in the lever which slot or groove receives the axle. With the lever uppermost with respect to the axle, the lever is retained thereon but is free to pivot about the axle within the angle required for lid lifting without being displaced from the axle. The base of a slot or groove is advantageously off-set with respect to the mouth of the slot or groove to aid retention of the lever on the axle.

The first lever preferably includes a return or housing at the fulcrum end of the lever. The return or housing fits about or over an MGB wheel when the lever is in place on the MGB axle. The first lever also advantageously includes a planar section for comfortable application of foot pressure to the lever.

The second lever when in the form of a member for pivotable and releasable engagement with the hand grip can be pivotable and releasable by any of the means used in connection with the first lever. The preferred means of pivotable and releaseable engagement is by way of a slot or groove in the lever member. The manner by which the lever engages the MGB lid can be by any 20 suitable means such as a projecting arm, shaft or tab. Preferably, the means comprises a projecting tab which fits between the lid edge and the lip of the MGB vessel where it can contact the lid edge.

First and second levers as described above can be fabricated from any suitable material such as plastics or metals materials. In a preferred emboeiment, 25 the first and second levers are both fabricated from sheet metal as will be described in greater detail below.

A second lever of the type comprising an integral component of the lid S**I typically comprises an extension of one of the webs which extend between the lid proper and the hand grip to which the lid is pivotably secured. There are usually two such webs inc'uded as part of a lid, one at each end of the hinge/hand grip.

S•The flexible interconnecting member can be a wire, chord or cable or the like and can be fabricated from any suitable material. Ends of the member can be provided with hooks or eyelets to facilitate connection to the first and second levers. Apertures can be provided in the first and second levers for receiving hooks or eyelets. Alternatively, the interconnecting member can be pivotably secured to a first or second lever by riveting or the like, It will be appreciated that when the second lever comprises an integral component of the lid, the interconnecting member is advantageously releasable from the first or second lever to allow removal and refitting of the first lever.

Actuators according to the invention can be used with any type of MGB including the well-known SULOTM and OTTOTM brands of MGBs. The combination of second and third order levers as components of the actuator provides compact components. The interconnecting member being a flexible member also facilitates removal and reinstallation of the actuator. (It will be appreciated that removal of the actuator is desirable prior to emptying the MGB).

For use with a 240 I MGB, the first lever has a length of about 500 mm and the interconnecting member is connected to the lever approximately 180 mm from the axis of the fulcrum. The interconnecting member has a length of about 950 mm and is connected to the second lever at a point about 80 mm from the axis of the fulcrum, which, it will be appreciated, is also the axis of the hand grip.

Similarly dimensioned components can be used with 120 I MGBs save for the interconnecting means which is shortened to about 870 mm.

The second lever of actuators according to the invention can include a stop to prevent lifting of the lid through an angle of greater than 90. Typically, the stop 20 prevents further lifting of the lid once the lid has been rotated through about .;i The first lever is typically fitted to an MGB so that the lever extends towards the front of the MGB with the lever running essentially parallel to the side of the I MGB the front of the MGB being the face opposite the face having the wheels and hand grip. However, the first lever can extend rearwardly of, and away from, 25 the MGB without altering the operation of the actuator.

o Actuators according to the invention are typically configured so as to be located on the right-hand side of an MGB when faced from the front of the MGB.

However, actuators can be configured to be fitted to the left-hand side of an MGB.

It will also be appreciated that the first lever can be operated by hand and for this purpose the lever can include a hand grip, BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first lever component of an actuator according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a second lever component of an actuator according to the invention, which component is of the type which can be fitted to and removed from a mobile garbage bin as desired.

Figure 3 is a side view of a mobile garbage bin in phantom with an actuator comprising the components shown in Figures 1 and 2 fitted thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, in which like items are identically numbered, Figure 1 shows a first lever component 1, or foot pedal, of an actuator according to the invention. The actuator is configured for fitting to the right-hand side of an

MGB.

Foot pedal 1 is fabricated from a strip of sheet metal and includes a slot 2 which receives the axle of an MGB and an aperture 3 for receiving an interconnecting member. The base of slot 2 is offset with respect to the mouth thereof so that a lip 4 is provided which aids the engagement between the pedal and the axle of an MGB. The strip is twisted near the end distal slot 2 so as to provide a foot pad 5. The extreme end 6 of foot pad 5 is bent downwards to minimise contact of the foot of an operator with the edge of the foot pad.

The end 7 opposite the foot pad includes a return 8 which with the pedal in situ fits about the wheel of the MGB.

To reduce the weight of the foot pedal, material can be punched out such as indicated at 9. Aperture 9 can also be used to fit a hand grip to foot pedal 1 for 20 hand operation thereof.

.:i Turning now to Figure 2, there is shown a second lever of an actuator of the type which pivotably and releasably engages an MGB hand grip. Lever 11 is fabricated from a piece of sheet metal and includes a body 12 which is in essence an inverted channel. One wall 12 of the body includes a slot 14 which, like slot 2 of the foot pedal shown in Figure 1, has an offset base so that a lip 15 is formed which aids retention of the lever by the hand grip of an MGB when fitted thereto.

A tab 16 extends from wall 13 of the lever, the leading edge 17 of which fits between the lid of an MGB and the lip of the MGB vessel.

When in situ on an MGB, the web extending from the MGB lid as part of the lid hinge is received by the channel formed in body 12. Slot 14 fits over the hand grip of the MGB with an end of the hand grip abutting wall 18 of body 12 of the lever. This aids engagement between the lever and the hand grip and minimises unintentional release of the lever from the hand grip. The position of a hand grip in the lever is shown in phantom in the figure.

Lever 11 also includes an aperture 19 for receiving an interconnecting

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member and a tab 20 extending between walls 13 and 18 of body 12. Tab 20 acts as a stop to prevent the lid of a MGB being opened too far when an actuator including lever 11 is in operation.

The strip of metal from which the foot pedal shown in Figure 1 is fabricated is 50 mm wide by 3 mm thick. The foot pedal has an overall length of 485 mm.

The fulcrum axis is located 110 mm from end 7 of the pedal. Return 8 has a length of 65 mm and is 61 mm from the main portion of the pedal.

The second lever depicted in Figure 2 has overall dimensions of 154 mm long by 37 mm high. Body 12 has a width of 23 mm and leading edge 17 of tab 16 projects about 30 mm from the body. Second lever 11 is fabricated from the same 3 mm thick sheet metal used for foot pedal 1.

Foot pedal 1 and second lever 11 are configured for use in conjunction with a 2401 MGB.

An actuator comprising a foot pedal and second lever similar to those shown in Figures 1 and 2 respectively is shown schematically in Figure 3. Figure 3 shows MGB 31 in phantom, which MGB has a lid 32, a hand grip 33 which is stood-off the MGB vessel by a plurality of webs, the first of which is indicated at 33a, and an axle 34 which has a pair of wheels fitted thereto one of which is indicated at 35. Lid 32 is pivotably connected to hand grip 33 by two webbs, the S .i 20 first of which is indicated at 36.

.:I Axle 34 has fitted thereto a foot pedal 37 like that shown in Figure 1. Foot pedal 37 includes a return 38 which can be seen to extend around wheel 35. A second lever 39 is fitted over hand grip 33 and lid webb 36. A tab 40 projecting from lever 39 can be seen to extend to just below the edge 41 of lid 32. A flexible stainless steel cable 42 extends between foot pedal 37 and lever 39 where it is connected thereto by way of apertures 43 and 44 respectively.

It can be appreciated from Figure 3 that downward pressure on foot pedal 37 as generally indicated by the arrow causes pivoting of the pedal about axle 34.

This pivoting of second lever 39 about hand grip 33 because of the interconnection of pedal 37 and lever 39. The pivoting of lever 39, which is in clockwise direction as viewed in the figure, causes lifting of lid 32 through contact of tab 40 with the edge thereof.

It will be appreciated that an actuator as exemplified above has the advantage that permanent fixing to the MGB is not required. Although the exemplified actuator is designed for use with a 240 i MGB, it can be readily adapted to a 120 I bin. In fact, no change at all is required for the foot pedal.

It will also be appreciated from Figure 3 that the foot pedal and second lever can easily be removed by slipping the components of the axle and hand grip respectively. Reinstallation of the actuator is merely a reversal of this procedure.

It will be further appreciated that many changes and modifications can be made to the actuator as exemplified above without departing from the broad ambit and scope of the invention, which ambit and scope should be limited only by the claims appended hereto.

a a. a.

a.

Claims

1. A lid actuator for a mobile garbage bin of the type comprising an open- mouthed vessel having an axle at the base thereof with a pair of wheels fitted thereto and a lid associated with the mouth of the vessel, which lid is hinged to an off-standing hand grip, said actuator comprising: a first lever for pivotably and releasably engaging said axle; a second lever comprising a member for pivotably and releasably engaging said hand grip and for releasably engaging an edge of said lid adjacent said hand grip, wherein said member has a body which includes a downwardly directed slot or groove for pivotably and releasably engaging said hand grip, and wherein said releasable engagement of said lid is provided for by a horizontally disposed tab projecting from an end of said body; and a flexible member interconnecting said first and second levers; wherein, in use said first lever serves as a second order lever and said second lever serves as a third order lever.

2. Actuator according to claim 1, wherein said pivotable and releasable engagement of said axle by said first lever is provided for by including a slot or groove in said lever which slot or groove receives said axle. S

3. Actuator according to claim 2, wherein the base of said slot or groove is off- set with respect to the mouth thereof.

4. Actuator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said first lever includes a return at the fulcrum end of said lever which return fits about a bin wheel when said lever is in place on a bin axle.

Actuator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the base of the slot 25 or groove in said member body of said second lever is off-set with respect to the mouth thereof. *0

6. Actuator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said first and second levers are fabricated from folded metal sheeting.

7. Actuator according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein said interconnecting member comprises a steel cable.

8. A lid actuator for a mobile garbage bin, which actuator is substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Description of a Preferred Embodiment.

9. A lid actuator as defined in claim 1, which actuator includes first and second levers substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 J and 2 respectively. A lid actuatnr for a mobile garbage bin, which actuator is substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 3. DATED THIS 15TH DAY OF AUGUST 1997 JACCARA PTY LTD By their Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO o ""e I- Abstract The invention relates to a lid actuator for a mobile garbage bin of the type comprising an open-mouthed vessel having an axle at the base thereof with a pair of wheels fitted thereto and a lid associated with the mouth of the vessel, which lid is hinged to an off-standing hand grip. The actuator comprises: a first lever for pivotably and releasably engaging the axle; a second lever selected from: a member for pivotably and releasably engaging the hand grip and for releasably engaging the lid adjacent the hand grip; or (ii) an integral component of the lid comprising a member projecting rearwardly of the hand grip at or adjacent an end thereof; and a flexible member interconnecting the first and second levers. In use the first lever serves as a second order lever and the second lever serves as a third order lever.