EP0326779B1

EP0326779B1 - Receptacle to contain disposable products

Info

Publication number: EP0326779B1
Application number: EP88500129A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ramón Lafuente Leston
Original assignee: Contenur SL
Current assignee: Contenur SL
Priority date: 1988-02-05
Filing date: 1988-12-29
Publication date: 1993-12-01
Anticipated expiration: 2008-12-29
Also published as: ATE97879T1; DE3886030D1; PT89629A; EP0326779A3; PT89629B; ES1004600Y; EP0326779A2; ES1004600U

Abstract

The clinical waste receptacle for disposable waste has a body with radial protrusions (7) into which perforated flaps (9) on the lid (2) fit to form the hinge. The lid has a peripheral flap (12) with a waterproof ledge (13) which fits into a saw toothed section (14) on the body. The lid can be held in the completely open, provisional closure and intermediate positions and finally in the permanently closed position. Lids and bodies are separately stackable.

Description

The object of the present invention concerns a container for disposable products as described in the pre-characterising part of claim 1, and known from US-A-2 685 983, in which the lid can adopt different positions with regard to the main part, including a closed position, and it can even be completely separated from said main part.
Containers which can be stacked empty, taking up the minimum of space, are known, such as for example the one shown by USA patent 4.558.799 containers equipped with hinged lids.
Containers such as the one shown by German Patent 3505892 are also known, in which although it is possible to achieve a hermetic seal between main part and lid, and even though these items are stackable, the closing system existing between lid and main part does not permit them to be hinged together, and said seal is either possible to open, enabling opening and closing manoeuvres of the container to be carried out as often as necessary, in which case full blocking between these items is not feasible, or else this full blocking is feasible, in which case there is no possibility of being able to open and shut said container repeatedly.
The container proposed by the invention has been thought out to be used on one or numerous occasions, until it is filled, being sealed shut between each pair of successive opening manoeuvres, and also permitting this tight seal to be maintained in a final seal after filling has ended, so that the lid can no longer be opened in the normal manner, and it is only possible to get at the contents by breaking the main part and/or lid, which means that the waste products or residue contained in same, which are normally infectious or have pollution possibilities, as we have already said, are kept completely isolated until it is time to destroy them, which is carried out by incineration, together with the container itself.
The problems encountered during the design of such a container are solved by the features described in claim 1.
For this reason, the receptacle proposed has the followings characteristics:

It is not transparent.
It can be desinfected.
Once it has been closed correctly, germs cannot get through.
It is completely waterproof.
While being used, it is stable in regard to its shape and can be filled in such a way that access is possible on different occasions, until it is completely filled.
It is resistant to perforation.
It is calculated for a density of 0.3 Kg./litre of the filling substances.
It is resistant to humidity.
It is provided with pulling devices, for example hand grips or handles.
It can be stood upright, is resistant to falls and stackable.
It is provided with a mechanism so that once the last supply has been made, it can be closed completely safely for transportation, in such a way that any later opening should give clear visual signs of same.
The lid of the container has a mechanism to assure final hermetic closing, once the receptacle is full, for which purpose it will be inserted by means of blows, after which it will then be immobilized.

To make these peculiarities materialize, the container proposed is comprised of a body and a lid which are both manufactured by means of the corresponding moulding process, from suitable plastic materials, for example polyethylene.
The body can be made in different sizes and it is considered advisable to manufacture it in different heights and similar diameters, so that one size of lid will be sufficient for all of them.
To assure the necessary characteristics, including the possibility of being incinerated without causing any kind of environmental pollution, it has been designed to be manufactured from polyethylene.
The lid is fitted onto the receptacle by means of a hinge that pivots on the receptacle and makes it possible to open and shut it repeatedly until the container is full, and when it is closed, it keeps all smells inside. Then, when the container is full, it can be closed permanently, practically hermetically, by pushing the lid down hard. To ensure that the lid has closed hermetically, the bin has a rib or stop that limits entry of the lid.
Once the lid has been closed definitively, it can only be opened if it is broken or if a special strong tool is used, and there are visible signs of this.
With regard to the receptacle, the lid presents the possibility of adopting a stable open position which makes it possible to put waste products into the container which have to be put in with both hands, either because of their size, weight or for any other reason.
To ensure the final closure of the container, the lid must be dropped down completely by shifting its side lugs which are provided with perforations with special tears, through the coinciding stubs, that the body of the container has. Between the body and the lid, there is a doughnut-shaped ring that prevents bacteria and liquids from getting out, since the container is definitively shut.
Now that the whole Model has been understood more clearly, other details and characteristics of it will be pointed out during the description that follows.
A broader idea of the invention is provided by the following description, in which reference is made to the illustrative drawings attached to this report, in which, the preferred details and the whole invention are represented in a somewhat sketchy way and only as a non-restrictive means of example, according to a case where it might be made in practice.
In these drawings, similar marks of reference are used to indicate pieces, the whole or parts, which correspond with each other in the different views presented, and these pieces, details and arrangement are defined specifically throughout the report, and later they are specified in the final claim notes.
In the drawings:

Figure 1, corresponds to a somewhat sketchy representation of a cross section along an upright surface, showing the opening of the container and the lid fitted onto it in the definitive closing phase, in the fully open situation and in an intermediate position.

To complement this, inside the circle, a detail of the articulation between the lid and the container is represented on a larger scale.
Figure 2 represents the body of the container without the lid, seen from above,
Figure 3 is an upright projection showing several stacked deposits, without the lids.
Figure 4 shows a face plan of two stacked deposits, provided with their respective lids and consequently, supposedly full.
It can be seen that the proposed idea is comprised of two basic pieces, a receptacle -1- open at the top and a covering lid capable of closing it -2-, which can be separated or fitted hingewise onto the receptacle.
The receptacle -1- quoted, is best if it is cylindrical at the top part -3- and tapered -4- in the remainder, to permit stacking of the receptacles when they are empty. At the top it has a ring-shaped opening situated on the peripheral widening -6- which includes a radial protrusion -7-with protruding stubs -8- to connect the flaps -9- of the lid -2- which are provided with special perforations -10-, so that the whole forms a hinge, situated in a diametrical position to the protrusion by way of a handle -11-.
The lid -2- has a ring-shaped hermetic closing sector -12- that fits onto the upper edge -5- of the receptacle, particularly when it is shifted downwards to the end position, in which case the perimetral rim -13- of the outline of the lid is blocked under the protrusion -14- of the package.
Since this operation means that the lid -2- goes down, the special passing openings -10-of the lid flaps -9-, are perforated and to delimit their two positions, they have the intermediate springs -15-.
Besides this, the lid has a closing rib -16- in the inside part of the ring-shaped closure -12- that adjusts inside the upper edge of the opening of the container, as well as a stiffener ring-shaped rim -17- .
Stacking of several lids alone, or stacking of containers with their lids already in place, is made easy due to the fact that the former have an upper ring-shaped recess -18-that serves as a seating.
After observing the drawings and the preceeding description, it will be readily understood that the present idea provides a simple and effective construction that can easily be put into practice, and assures good quality, relatively cheap manufacture.

Claims

Container for disposable products, comprising a main body (1) open at the top, and a lid (2) joined to the main body by means of a hinge, so that the lid can adopt a provisionally closed hermetical position and can be opened as often as necessary, and where the lid has a final closed position in which it can no longer be disconnected from the main part, characterised in that the lid has border flaps (9) provided with openings (10) which receive articulation stubs (8) jutting out from a radial projection (7) provided on the main body (1), each of said openings (10) comprising a lower and an upper sector for receiving said stubs (8), said sectors being connected together by means of intermediate springs (15) which allow said stubs (8) to be moved only in one direction from the one to the other one of the sectors formed in said openings, in such a way that, on one hand, when the lid (2) has to be moved between open and provisionally closed positions, relative to the main body, the stubs (8) are located in the lower sector of the openings (10), and on the other hand, the stubs shift towards the upper sector of the openings, when the lid is pushed down to adopt its final closed position, establishing a fixed connection between the lid and the main body (1), this main body (1) being cylindrical (3) at the top and tapered (4) in the middle and below, to permit it to be stacked with other similar ones.
Container for disposable products, as per claim 1, characterised in that the lid (2) has a ring shaped hermetic closing sector defined by a peripheral lip aimed toward the main body and a ring shaped closing rib (16), said ring shaped hermetic closing sector being intended to fit snugly onto a complementary upper edge (5) of the main body, said lid having additionally a perimetral rim (13) on the inside surface of said peripheral lip, forming a saw toothed coupling with a staggered section (14) formed on the upper edge (5) of the main body so that, independently of the normal tilting of the lid with regard to the main body, which permits multiple hermetic sealing situations through the surrounding ring shaped hermetic closing sector (12), the lid (2) can be shifted with regard to the main body, by hitting it, to a final position in which the articulation stubs (8) go on to occupy the extreme top part of the openings (10) and the perimetral rim (13) of the lid (2) goes beyond the ring-shaped protrusion (14) of the container, being blocked into the latter, and being impossible to move.