EP0006242A1 - Container for collecting and compressing waste - Google Patents

Abstract

1. A container (1) for receiving and pressing of waste material, particularly of paper waste material, which can be closed by a lid (3) projecting into the container (1), the lid (3) being pivotably supported and being connected to actuation means, characterized in that the actuation means comprises a beam (4) traversing the front side of the container (1), the beam (4) being supported by the container (1) and being horizontally movable by a horizontal rod (5) on both sides of the container (1), respectively, and by two links (6, 7) articulated to the rods (5) and to a container wall (8), respectively, and that the rods (5) comprise a driver (11), respectively, the driver (11) being engaged with a curved guide (12), respectively, the guide being rotationally fixed to the lid (3) and being formed and located with respect to the pivoting axis (2) of the lid (3) in such a manner that when shifting the beam (4) in the direction of the container (1) the lid (3) is pivoted upwardly.

Description

The invention relates to a container for receiving and pressing waste, in particular paper waste. The container can also be used in particular for kitchen waste and other easily deformable waste such as packaging made of thin sheet metal, cardboard or plastic.

Waste has previously been thrown into a solid container, a wire basket or a stretched plastic bag. These containers are partly open, partly with a lid or a flap. All of these waste containers can only hold relatively small amounts of waste because the waste is not pressed. This has the disadvantage that the waste containers have to be emptied at short intervals and that the waste containers set up for the public are overcrowded due to a lack of adequate maintenance and as a result waste is located next to the container. This is especially true for Ab Containers of the paper towels used in many public toilets and washrooms.

Devices are also known for pressing the waste present in a container (DE-O 19 23 396 or US Pat. No. 3,696,737), in which a press plate in the container usually has a rather complicated and therefore expensive and fault-prone mechanism is pressurized to compress the entire contents of the container at the same time with great effort. However, these known devices, in particular, cannot solve the problem of overflow of publicly placed waste containers satisfactorily, since on the one hand no sufficient amount of waste can be accommodated in one container and on the other hand special operations to be carried out by trained personnel are required for compressing the container contents.

The object of the present invention is to avoid the inadequacies of the known containers and to create a simply designed, maintenance-friendly and easy-to-operate container of the type mentioned, in which a multiple of waste compared to the previously known can be accommodated in a reliable manner.

This object is achieved according to the invention in that the lid which is immersed in the container has a space shape which is sufficient for the space required by the individual pieces of waste to be thrown in and pressed and is blocked in its position closing the container. As soon as the loosely layered waste fills the container to the bottom of the closed lid, the pressing process begins with the lid designed according to the invention. Each further in the space occupied by the lid when the container is closed fene piece of waste is pressed together by the closing lid and then pressed into the container. Only a relatively small pressure is required for this. By blocking the lid according to the invention in the closed state of the container, the pressed waste must remain in the predetermined volume of the container. The result is that after a short time the internal tension of the waste will weaken so that it will not spring back when the lid is opened again. This creates with the lid open a free space corresponding to the shape of the lid in the upper part of the waste container into which new unpressed waste pieces can be thrown, which are pressed again with the subsequent lid closing movement. A multiple, for example more than ten times the container volume of waste can be accommodated in the container according to the invention.

In an advantageous embodiment of the container according to the invention, the closing movement of the lid mounted about a horizontal axis is controlled by a device which causes an increasing contact pressure of the lid on the waste during the transition of the lid from the open to the closed position. This enables a further increase in the amount of waste that can be accommodated in a container.

In an advantageous embodiment of the container according to the invention, the lid can be operated by body, e.g. B. by means of the thigh or the waist. Body operation is hygienic since there is no skin contact with the container or lid during operation, and requires only a relatively small amount of construction work. The body control therefore combines the advantages of the previously known manual control, which is also structurally simple, and the foot control, which is hygienic, without the disadvantages of these known forms of operation - the manual control is relatively unsanitary and the foot control requires a relatively large amount of construction.

In another advantageous embodiment of the container according to the invention, the space occupied by a cover arrangement is variable depending on the position of the cover arrangement, in such a way that the cover arrangement in the closed state has sufficient space for the space required by the individual pieces of waste to be thrown and pressed and in the open state occupies a smaller, minimal space. This embodiment is particularly suitable for small containers, since by reducing the space required by the lid arrangement during the transition from the closed to the opened state, even with the smallest dimensions of the container, a sufficiently large opening for the waste is created.

In another embodiment of the container according to the invention which is very advantageous in terms of production costs, the lid, its actuating device and part of the device for blocking the cover in its position closing the container consist of a single injection molded part.

According to the invention, a further advantageous solution to the above-mentioned object consists in a container which has a funnel-shaped device for receiving the waste and an externally operable device for forcibly transferring the waste from the funnel-shaped receiving device into the interior of the container. The construction of these containers is extremely simple, easy to maintain, since they can hold a multiple of the container volume of waste, and easy to operate.

• Fig. 1 eine schematisch dargestellte, teilweise weggebrochene Seitenansicht einer Ausführungsform des Behälters gemäß der Erfindung im geschlossenen Zustand,
• Fig. 2 eine der Fig. 1 entsprechende Seitenansicht im geöffneten Zustand des Behälters,
• Fig. 3 einen schematisch dargestellten Längsschnitt durch eine weitere Ausführungsform des Behälters gemäß der Erfindung im geschlossenen und geöffneten Zustand (strichpunktiert dargestellt),
• Fig. 4 eine perspektivische Ansicht des in Fig. 3 gezeigten Behälters im geöffneten Zustand,
• Fig. 5a eine schematisch dargestellte perspektivische Ansicht einer die Deckelanordnung gemäß Fig. 3 und 4 enthaltenden Einheit,
• Fig. 5b eine schematisch dargestellte perspektivische Ansicht entsprechend Fig. 5a mit zwei Behälterkasseten,
• Fig. 6 eine Draufsicht auf eine einstückig als Spritzgußteil ausgebildete Einrichtung, bestehend aus einem Deckel, seiner Betätigungseinrichtung und einem Teil der Einrichtung zum Blockieren des Deckels,
• Fig. 7 einen Schnitt längs der Linie VII-VII in Fig. 6,
• Fig. 8 einen schematisch dargestellten Längsschnitt einer weiteren Ausführungsform eines Behälters gemäß der Erfindung mit einem als Trichter ausgebildeten Deckel und einem durch die Trichteröffnung führbaren Stößel,
• Fig. 9 einen schematisch dargestellten Längsschnitt eines Behälters gemäß Fig. 8 mit einem abgewandelten Stößel,
• Fig. 10 einen schematisch dargestellten Längsschnitt eines Behälters ähnlich der in Fig. 8 und 9 gezeigten Ausführungsform mit einem abgewandelten Trichter und abgewandeltem Stößel,
• Fig. 11 eine Seitenansicht eines Behälters gemäß den Fig. 8 bis 10 mit einem per Fuß betätigbaren Stößel,
• Fig. 12 einen schematisch dargestellten Längsschnitt eines Behälters mit einem als Stößel ausgebildeten Deckel und
• Fig. 13 eine schematisch dargestellte, teilweise weggebrochene Seitenansicht einer weiteren Ausführungsform eines Behälters gemäß der Erfindung.

Further advantages, features and possible uses of the present invention result from the following description of exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the drawing. In it show:

• 1 is a schematically illustrated, partially broken side view of an embodiment of the container according to the invention in the closed state,
• 1 corresponding side view in the open state of the container,
• 3 shows a schematically illustrated longitudinal section through a further embodiment of the container according to the invention in the closed and open state (shown in broken lines),
• 4 is a perspective view of the container shown in FIG. 3 in the open state,
• 5a is a schematically illustrated perspective view of a unit containing the cover arrangement according to FIGS. 3 and 4,
• 5b is a schematically illustrated perspective view corresponding to FIG. 5a with two container cassettes,
• 6 is a plan view of a device formed in one piece as an injection molded part, consisting of a cover, its actuating device and part of the device for blocking the cover,
• 7 shows a section along the line VII-VII in FIG. 6,
• 8 shows a schematically illustrated longitudinal section of a further embodiment of a container according to the invention with a lid designed as a funnel and a plunger which can be guided through the funnel opening,
• 9 shows a schematically illustrated longitudinal section of a container according to FIG. 8 with a modified plunger,
• 10 shows a schematically illustrated longitudinal section of a container similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 with a modified funnel and a modified tappet,
• 11 shows a side view of a container according to FIGS. 8 to 10 with a tappet which can be actuated by foot,
• Fig. 12 is a schematically illustrated longitudinal section of a container with a lid designed as a plunger and
• Fig. 13 is a schematically illustrated, partially broken side view of another embodiment of a container according to the invention.

1 and 2, a container 1 is shown with a cover 3 pivotable about a horizontal axis 2. A bar 4 is arranged on the front of the container and preferably extends essentially across the entire width of the container. On the sides, the beam 4 is each connected to a horizontal rod 5, each of which is mounted on a container side wall 8 via two swivel arms 6, 7 and can be displaced horizontally in the direction of the arrow. A tension spring 10 is provided between the front swivel arm 6 and the front wall 9 of the container. At the rear end of the rod 5, a driver 11 is arranged, which is in engagement with a cam disc non-rotatably connected to the cover 3. Strength in the _F. 1 and 2 is only schematically shown a preferably curvilinear slot 12 on the side wall of the cover, in which the driver 11 is guided. The operation of the container is readily apparent from FIGS. 1 and 2. The bar 4 is preferably pressed in the direction of the arrow with the help of the thigh or the hip part, as a result of which the driver 11 pivots the cover 3 into the open position shown in FIG. 2 via its positive guidance in the slot 12. In this state, the waste is thrown into the container.

The bar 4 is then released. Through the tensioned tension spring 10, the cover 3 is automatically transferred to the closed state according to FIG. 1, the special design of the slot 12 ensuring that the closing movement of the cover 3 already after a relatively short return movement of the rods 5 or the bar 4 has largely been completed. The last smaller part of this closing movement of the cover 3, in which essentially the waste is pressed, if this is already piled up to the underside of the cover, takes place during the larger part of the return movement of the bar 4. This results in an increasing contact pressure when closing of the lid 3. Body control should be perceived by many as more comfortable than foot control, because standing on both feet and pushing with the body exerts greater forces than standing on one foot and pushing with the other foot. In addition, the body control also has a positive effect in that you cannot pull back the body as quickly as e.g. a foot so that the lid moves more slowly and falls back into its closed position more quietly, especially when the container is still relatively empty.

The container allows a direct transmission of the operating movement to the lid in a simple manner. The upper part of the container with the lid and its actuating device can consist of a single unit which can be placed on the actual container, which simplifies maintenance and shipping. Experiments have shown that the pressing process of paper towels takes place satisfactorily even if many paper towels are thrown together into the press space occupied by the cover in the closed state, so that the automatically falling cover apparently stops halfway. Depending on the press at once the amount of paper lowers the lid more slowly or faster. In extreme cases, the pressing process can take up to a few minutes. The capacity of this container is enormous, as practical tests have shown.

3 to 5, a container 13 with a lid arrangement 14 is shown. The lid assembly 14 consists of a lower press plate 15 which is pivotally mounted on the inside of the rear wall 16 of the container at a distance from the upper end of the container about an axis 17, and an upper end plate 18 arranged above and parallel to the press plate 15. The end plate 18 is also pivotally mounted on the inside of the rear wall 16 of the container about an axis 19. On the front of the end plate 18, a handle 20 for actuating the cover arrangement 14 and a pawl 21 are provided which, in the closed position of the cover arrangement 14 shown in solid lines in FIG. 3, engage with a projection 22 in order to close the cover To block. The two plates 15 and 18 are rotatably connected to one another in the front region by a lever arrangement 23, which can consist of two rods or a plate. The bearing axes 17 and 19 of the two plates 15 and 18 and the pivot axes 24 and 25 of the lever arrangement 23 form the corner points of a collapsible parallelogram. A tension spring 26 is arranged between the axes 19 and 24.

The operation of this container is readily apparent from FIGS. 3 and 4 and is as follows: The user grasps the handle 20 and releases the locking mechanism 21, 22 by slightly turning the handle clockwise. The cover arrangement 14 is then automatically lifted by the tension spring 26 into the dash-dotted line in FIG. 3 and pivoted open position shown in FIG. 4. In this To the opening of the container is very large compared to a thick rigid lid. After inserting the paper, the handle 20 is gripped again and pivoted downward against the action of the tension spring 26 until the locking mechanism 21, 22 is closed again. The container 13 can have extremely small dimensions without interfering with the throwing in and pressing of the waste. Such a small container, which is only 13 cm deep and 16 cm wide, for example, can be used in private hand washing systems. The cover arrangement 14 can be accommodated in a separate unit 27, as shown in FIG. 5a, and screwed onto a wall, for example. The actual container is attached to this unit 27, wherein a plurality of cassettes 28 can be arranged one above the other. 5b shows two such cassettes 28.

6 and 7, a lattice-shaped press cover 29 is shown with openings 30 open upwards and downwards, the design of which is adapted to a lattice-shaped waste basket. However, such a cover could also be continuously closed on its top or bottom. If the underside is open, as is the case in the example shown, the grid size must be matched to the size of the waste, ie the underside of the lid must be able to press the waste into the interior of the container when the lid is closed. On the front of the cover 29, a handle 32 is provided which is connected to the cover via a flexible L-shaped connecting element 31. On the outside of the vertical leg of the connecting element 31, a pawl 33 is arranged, which engages with a projection provided on the container when the container is closed and blocks the lid. This locking is achieved by gently pressing the handle 32 or the vertical leg of the connecting element 31 loosened inwards when opening the cover 29. In order to prevent damage to the connecting element 31, the movement of the vertical leg of the connecting element to the rear or to the front is limited by stops 34 or 35, 36 on the container. The cover 29 with its actuating device 31, 32 and the pawl 33 of the locking device can be produced in one piece in a very cost-saving manner by injection molding.

8 to 12 show embodiments of the container in which a funnel-shaped device receives the waste, an externally operable device forcibly transports the waste into the interior of the container and the waste is retained inside the container.

8 shows a container 37 with a fixed lid designed as a funnel 38. The funnel opening 39 has teeth 40 which act as barbs and are directed into the interior of the container. A plunger 41 is arranged above the funnel 38 and is guided in a straight line in a guide device 42. A compression spring 46 is arranged between the top 43 of the guide device 42 and an abutment 44 on the tappet shaft 45. The container 37 is operated as follows: The waste, for example a piece of paper 47, is thrown into the funnel 38. The plunger 41 is then pushed in a vertical direction through the funnel opening 39 by pressing a button 48 against the resistance of the compression spring 46, the piece of paper 47 being pressed into the interior of the container. Then you let go of button 48. The plunger 41 is automatically returned to its starting position shown in FIG. 8 by the restoring force of the compression spring 46. The pieces of paper are exiting through the hopper opening 39, if provided there is already so much paper in the container 37 and a corresponding return pressure upwards, prevented by the teeth 40 acting as barbs.

9 and 10 show two slightly modified embodiments of this type of container. In Fig. 9, a plunger 49 is attached to a lever 50 which is pivotally mounted about an axis 51. When the lever 50 is pivoted counterclockwise by means of a button 52, the plunger 49 moves on a circular arc into the funnel opening 53 (shown in solid lines) and becomes automatic again when the button 52 is released by a spring, not shown, acting on the lever 50 pivoted back into its starting position shown in broken lines. 10 shows an asymmetrical funnel 54 with a funnel opening 55. The asymmetrical arrangement facilitates the insertion of a piece of paper 71 into the funnel. A plunger 56, like the plunger 49 shown in FIG. 9, moves on a circular arc, but along the funnel jacket surface 57, which is also circular-arc shaped, into the funnel opening 55. The funnels and tappets of the containers shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 can have a round or rectangular cross section.

FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of this type of container, in which a plunger 58 can be pivoted via a rod 59 and a foot pedal 60.

An embodiment of this type of container is shown in FIG. 12, in which a plunger 80 designed as a lid is pivotally mounted about a horizontal axis 82 arranged in the funnel 81. A drive device arranged outside the funnel 81, for example an electric motor, pivots the lid-shaped tappet 80 by 180 ° in the double arrow direction from a horizontal position to the other and back again. Here, a piece of waste thrown into the funnel 81, for example a piece of paper, is gripped by the plunger 80 and, depending on the position of the plunger 80, pushed into the left or right half of the container at the moment of insertion. In order to prevent faults in the case of a motor-driven plunger 80 when solid objects or body parts jam between the plunger and the funnel wall, the funnel walls arranged parallel to the axis 82 are designed as flaps 83 which are rotatably mounted about axes 84. These flaps 83 evade when a solid object jams. An electric switch actuated by the corresponding axis 84 changes the direction of motor rotation so that the jammed object is ejected again.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the funnel-shaped receiving device is designed for the drop from a roll gap 61 of two rolls 63 and 64 which are prestressed against one another by a tension spring 62. On the head side of the rollers 63 and 64 which are arranged vertically offset from one another, pinions 65 and 66 are provided which are connected to the roller in a rotationally fixed manner and which engage with a toothed rack 68 which can be displaced horizontally from the outside via a bar 67. The piece of paper picked up by the nip 61 is driven by the rollers 63 and 64 rotating in the direction of the arrow, which are driven by a horizontal displacement of the bar 67 to the right in FIG. 13 via the toothed rack / pinion arrangement 68, 66, 65 forced into the interior of the container. Wipers 69, 70 remove the paper that may be adhering to the roller jacket from this jacket and convey it into the interior of the container. The bar 67 is then released. As a result, the rack is automatically returned to its starting position by means of a spring, not shown. By means of a corresponding freewheel in the bearings of the pinions 65 and 66 when the rack 68 moves back, the rollers 63, 64 are not driven.

Claims (10)

1. With a lid lockable container for receiving and pressing waste, in particular paper waste, characterized in that the lid (3, 14) immersed in the container (1, 13) is a space shape sufficient for the space requirement of the individual pieces of waste to be thrown in and pressed has and is blocked in its position closing the container. 2. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that the closing movement of the lid (3) mounted about a horizontal axis (2) is controlled by a device (11, 12), which an increasing contact pressure of the lid on the waste at the transition of the lid caused from the open to the closed position. 3. A container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that on the front of the container (1) is arranged a transverse bar (4) which can be actuated by means of clothed body parts and which has a horizontal rod (5) on each side of the container and is mounted on the container and horizontally displaceable via at least one swivel arm (6, 7) which is articulated to the rod and a container wall (8). 4. A container according to claim 1, characterized in that the space occupied by a cover arrangement (14) is variable depending on the position of the cover arrangement. 5. A container according to claim 4, characterized in that the lid assembly (14) in the closed state egg Necessary space for the space requirements of the individual pieces of waste to be thrown in and pressed and, when opened, occupies a smaller, minimal space. 6. A container according to claim 1, characterized in that the lid (29), its actuating device (31, 32) and a part (33) of the device for blocking the lid in its position closing the container consist of a single injection molded part. 7. A container according to claim 6, characterized in that the lid (29) has a grid-like shape open in at least one vertical direction. 8. Container for receiving and pressing waste, in particular paper waste, characterized by a funnel-shaped device (38, 54; 61) for receiving the waste and an externally operable device (41, 49, 56, 58; 63, 64) for the forcibly transferring the waste from the funnel-shaped receiving device into the interior of the container. 9. Container according to claim 8, characterized in that ..sich the externally operable device for the compulsory transfer of the waste from the funnel-shaped receiving device into the interior of the container automatically returns to its starting position after actuation and release. 10. A container according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the funnel-shaped receiving device consists of a roller gap (61) and the device for forcibly transferring the waste into the interior of the container consists of two elastically biased rollers (63, 64) which can be driven from the outside .

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