AU753522B2

AU753522B2 - Rubbish bin apparatus

Info

Publication number: AU753522B2
Application number: AU72439/00A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Larry Wiltshire
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-03-14
Filing date: 2000-12-20
Publication date: 2002-10-17
Anticipated expiration: 2020-03-14
Also published as: AU724340B3; AU7243900A

Description

2 Rubbish Bin Apparatus Technical Field The present invention relates to a rubbish bin apparatus.

Background of the Invention Since rubbish bins contain waste material, they have the potential to spread disease through hand contact with the bin. This problem has given rise to rubbish bins with foot-operated lid opening mechanisms designed to open the rubbish bin lid without the need for hand contact.

In one type of prior art bin, a foot-operated lid opening mechanism is built into the structure of the bin.

Typically, a foot pedal mounted in the base is arranged to push a shaft which lifts the lid up. This type of lid opening mechanism is not designed to be detachable from S. 20 the bin.

Another type of prior art bin comprises a frame with a lid and a foot-operated lid-opening mechanism. The "frame supports a disposable bag mounted beneath the lid.

Summary of the invention o0 *ooo: The present invention provides a lid-opening unit for use with a self-supporting rubbish bin having a hinged o. lid, wherein the lid-opening unit is arranged to facilitate hands-free opening of the lid and is releasable from the bin by a user of the bin, the lid-opening unit comprising a free-standing frame arranged to stand adjacent the rubbish bin during use, and a foot-operated 3 assembly for opening the lid, the frame being further arranged to be disassembled into members, each of which has a length which is less than the height of the bin, whereby to facilitate compact packaging of the unit.

The term "self-supporting" is used throughout this specification to mean that the bin will not, during normal use, collapse under its own weight, as distinct from disposable plastic or paper garbage bags. The term "releasable" is used throughout this specification to indicate that the unit can be removed from the rubbish bin by a user without the assistance of tools. For example, the unit would not be fastened to the rubbish bin with screws, as a user would require tools to release such a unit.

The lid-opening unit may be used with prior art free-standing bins having a hinged lid. The present invention may therefore be used to adapt a prior art bin (not having a hands-free lid-opening mechanism) to be S"opened without the use of hands. There is no disclosure 20 in the prior art of such a lid-opening unit. The lid-opening unit may be arranged to open the hinged lid of a household outdoor bin mounted on wheels, often referred to as a "wheelie bin". This embodiment has the advantage that when the rubbish bin is filled to capacity the unit can be removed and the bin can be conveniently wheeled away to a rubbish collection point. Prior art lid-opening units designed for use with disposable bags have the disadvantage that when the bag is removed from the unit, it is not self-supporting, does not have wheels, and needs to be sealed with a tie member. In addition, many waste removal trucks now require self-supporting rubbish bins with a standard size and shape in order for it to be handled by a robotic arm.

4 Furthermore, since the lid-opening unit is removable from the rubbish bin by a user, it can be removed before the bin is emptied into a waste removal truck. This has the advantage that the weight of the lid-opening unit is not added to the weight of the rubbish bin while it is emptied, and there is a reduced potential for damage to the lid-opening unit during the emptying procedure.

The foot-operated assembly may comprise a force generating means for generating an opening force sufficient to open the lid. The assembly may further comprise a force transmission means arranged to transmit the opening force to the lid and thereby open the lid.

The force generating means may comprise a mechanical device such as a lever, piston, motor etc. or a combination of one or more of these. The force generating means may be arranged to place the force transmission means in either tension or compression such that the lid either pulled or pushed open, respectively, by the S" force transmission means.

S. 20 In a particular embodiment of the foot-operated assembly, the force generating means comprises a foot-operated lever and the force transmission means [.comprises a cable. The lever has a fulcrum located partway along its length and is arranged to place the cable in tension when a downward pressure is applied to a first point on the lever having a footrest. The cable is connected from a second point on the lever located on an opposite side of the fulcrum to the first point, around a first pulley wheel mounted beneath the lever, and over a second pulley wheel mounted above the height of the bin, to a point on the lid distal to the hinge. The cable is removably attached to the lid. The second pulley wheel is mounted on a vertical member.

5 The lid-opening unit may be arranged to close the lid by a force of gravity on the lid when the force generating means is not generating an opening force. For example, the unit may be arranged such that the lid falls shut when foot pressure is removed from a footrest on a foot-operated lever.

The force generating means and force transmission means may be supported by a frame. The lid-opening unit may further comprise a separation prevention means for preventing the bin from becoming separated from the lidopening unit whilst the lid-opening unit is in use. The separation prevention means may comprise a roll-stop member disposed at a base of the lid-opening unit, for preventing wheel-mounted bins from rolling. The separation prevention means may alternatively or in addition comprise a strap for securing the bin to the unit.

Throughout this specification, unless the context e requires otherwise, the word "comprise", or variations 20 such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element or integer or group of elements or integers but not the exclusion of any other element or integer or group of elements or integers.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, 25 by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings Fig 1 is a pictorial view of an embodiment of the lid-opening unit.

Fig 2 is a side view of the lid-opening unit shown in Fig 1, illustrating a rubbish bin before the lid is opened.

6 Fig 3 is a side view of the lid-opening unit shown in Figs 1 and 2, illustrating a rubbish bin with an opened lid.

Detailed Description of the Drawings An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to Figs 1 to 3. The lid-opening unit 10 is in the form of a frame designed to fit around a household garbage bin 30 mounted on two wheels 40, a so-called "wheelie bin". The bin 30 has rigid walls 50, a rear handle 60 for pushing the bin, and a top-mounted lid hinged to the bin 30 at the rear handle 60. The lid includes an upper handle 80 for lifting the lid 70. The lid-opening unit 10 includes a base frame 90 on which is mounted a force generating means in the form of a lever 100. The base frame 90 is formed by an L-shaped first arm 110 and an L-shaped second arm 120 which extends from "within a horizontal sleeve 130 attached at a right angle to the first arm 110. In use, the first and second arms 20 110, 120 sit on a flat surface such as a floor 140 and hold the lid-opening unit 10 upright. A vertical sleeve 150 is also attached at a right angle to the first arm 110 for supporting a vertical member 160. The vertical member 160 extends above the height of the lid 70, and is hollow along its length.

The lever 100 is mounted on an end 170 of the first arm 110 distal to the vertical sleeve 150 and pivots about S. a horizontal axis 180. The lever 100 comprises an elongate generally-straight section 190 and a shorter upwardly-bent section 200, the two sections being located on opposite sides of a fulcrum 210. The upwardly-bent section 200 also includes a footrest 220 mounted at a first end 230 of the lever 100. A second end 240 of the 7 lever 100 opposite the first end 230 is attached to a rope 250 which runs through a hollow passage in the vertical member 160 and vertical sleeve 150 and is connected to the upper handle 80 on the lid 70. The rope 250 enters the vertical sleeve through an aperture (not shown) at the base 260 of the vertical sleeve 150, and passes around a small first pulley wheel (not shown) at that point. The rope 250 also passes around a second pulley wheel 270 at an upper point 280 of the vertical member 160. By applying a downward pressure along a direction indicated by arrow A to the footrest 220 at the first end 230 of the lever 100, the second end 240 of the lever is forced to rotate upwardly around the fulcrum 210 and apply tension to the rope 250 over the two pulley wheels, thereby lifting the lid 70. When the downward pressure is released from the footrest 220, the lid 70 automatically falls shut under the force of gravity.

"The base frame 90 also includes two roll-stop members 290 mounted on the first and second arms 110, 120, 20 comprising metal plates bent into a triangular ridge 300 at one end. When a wheelie bin 30 is rolled wheels-first into position within the base frame 90, each wheel rolls over one of the triangular shaped ridges 300 onto a flat portion 310 of each roll-stop member 290. When the wheels 40 are in this position, the triangular-shaped ridges 300 prevent the bin 30 from rolling away from the base frame The L-shaped second arm 120 can be detached from the first arm 110 if necessary by extracting it from the horizontal sleeve 130. A screw 320 received within a threaded hole in the horizontal sleeve 130 can be tightened against the L-shaped second arm 120 to lock it into position and prevent movement relative to the first 8 arm 110. Rigidity of the vertical sleeve 150 with respect to the first arm 110 is enhanced by a brace member 330 extending diagonally therebetween. The first and second arms 110, 120, vertical and horizontal sleeves 150, 130, vertical member 160, brace member 330, and lever 100 are all formed in this embodiment from square-section hollow steel tubing externally coated with paint to prevent corrosion. However, it will be understood by a person skilled in the art that each of these components could alternatively be formed with any one of a variety of other types of elongate members having any one of a range of cross-sections. For example, these members could be in the form of round tubing, rods, channel sections, or L-shaped sections. Any one of a variety of materials may be used to form the arms 110, 120, lever 100, sleeves 150, 130, vertical member 160, and brace member 330, including metals, metal alloys, wood, fibreglass, composite materials, plastics, or combinations of more than one of these.

o 20 The rope 250 is attached to the upper handle 80 by passing the rope 250 through the handle 80 and forming a loop 340. A hook 350 at the end of the rope 250 is hooked onto another part of the rope to close the loop. When it is necessary to remove the bin 30 from the lid-opening unit 10, such as for the purpose of emptying the bin, the loop 340 is undone by releasing the hook 350, and the wheels 40 are rolled over the triangular ridges 300 in the roll-stop members 290.

A further feature of this embodiment is that the unit can be disassembled into members of roughly equal length for packaging purposes. The vertical member 160 is the longest component and is therefore formed from two shorter members 360 joined end to end by a connection member 370.

9 The connection member 370 closely fits the inner dimensions of the vertical member 160 and is designed to be inserted into opposed end portions of the two shorter members 360, thereby holding them together rigidly. The connection member 370 is formed from plastics, but it will be understood that many other types of materials may be used, including metal, metal alloys, wood, fibreglass, composite materials, or combinations of more than one of these.

In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the rope 250 passes along the outside of the vertical member and vertical sleeve. However, it is preferable that the rope passes along a hollow passage inside the vertical member and hollow sleeve in order to avoid entanglement and damage to the rope.

In a further embodiment (not shown), the unit is designed for use with a rubbish bin which does not have the upper handle 80 shown in figures 1-3. Instead, the S"unit includes an eye-bolt which is attached to the lid of 20 the bin. A hole needs to be drilled into the lid to receive a threaded portion of the eye-bolt, and a nut is screwed onto the threaded portion from an underside of the [.lid. As with the above embodiments, a rope, cable, or cord terminating with a hook is used to lift the lid by hooking onto the eye-bolt.

It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the present invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims

1. A lid-opening unit for use with a self- supporting rubbish bin having a hinged lid, wherein the lid-opening unit is arranged to facilitate hands-free opening of the lid and is releasable from the bin by a user of the bin, the lid-opening unit comprising a free- standing frame arranged to stand adjacent the rubbish bin during use, and a foot-operated assembly for opening the lid, the frame being further arranged to be disassembled into members, each of which has a length which is less than the height of the bin, whereby to facilitate compact packaging of the unit.

2. The lid-opening unit according to claim 1, further comprising a separation prevention means for preventing the bin from becoming separated from the lid- opening unit whilst the lid-opening unit is in use. The lid-opening unit according to claim 2, o e. Swherein the rubbish bin is mounted on at least two wheels, o 20 and the separation prevention means comprises at least one roll-stop member disposed at a base of the lid-opening unit for preventing rolling of the wheels. A lid-opening unit substantially as hereinbefore oee described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 20th day of December 2000 LARRY WILTSHIRE By his Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK