EP1044899A1

EP1044899A1 - Waste container with pneumatically raised lid

Info

Publication number: EP1044899A1
Application number: EP00201297A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gianni Zoppi
Original assignee: General Patent Trade Ltd
Current assignee: General Patent Trade Ltd
Priority date: 1999-04-15
Filing date: 2000-04-10
Publication date: 2000-10-18
Also published as: CH693988A5

Abstract

A container is described (10) with a lid for collecting waste in which the aforementioned lid (6) is opened by moving a lever (1) connected to a rod (5) that moves vertically to rotate the lid (6) to which it is connected at one end, in which between the aforementioned lever (1) and the aforementioned rod (5) a pneumatic system is positioned (2, 12, 3, 8, 4, 9) that is supplied with pressure by the lever (1) and which pushes the aforementioned rod (5) to push it upwards, the aforementioned system comprises a flow-regulating valve (3) with differential action in both directions that is calibrated in such a way that the upward movement (S) of the rod (5) to open the lid (6) brought about by depressing the lever (1) occurs in less time than the downward movement (S) of the rod (5) that is pushed in the opposite direction by the weight of the lid (6) being closed again through the force of gravity.

Description

This invention regards the technological sector of waste containers, of the type that are commonly known as "skips", into which the household waste of households in the vicinity of the container is tipped.
More specifically, this invention regards those containers in which the lid is opened manually by exerting pressure on a lever that is connected to the lid by a sliding vertical bar that is pushed upwards by the aforementioned lever in order to thereby lift up the lid and which then, when pressure ceases to be exerted on the aforementioned lever, is pressed downwards to its initial position by the weight of the lid, which thereby closes again.
Usually, the lever in question is fitted with a pedal unit that can be pressed by the person's foot: when the person ceases to press on it, as is well known, the lid closes suddenly and, owing to its weight, it can also cause dangerous situations to arise.
This manner of operation also has the additional disadvantage that the lever must be kept pressed for the entire duration of the operation of tipping the waste into the container, which makes tipping difficult and very inconvenient.
To overcome this disadvantage containers also exist in which the lid, after reaching the raised position that corresponds to the completely opened position, remains locked in that position so that it has to be manually adjusted before it can be closed again.
However, this solution also creates another disadvantage, namely that a skip container with such a design cannot be used by children or frail elderly persons, for whom it is physically impossible to flip over the lid in order to close it again.
In order to eliminate the above disadvantages, the inventor of this invention has designed a container in which, between the lever that is normally operated by a pedal and the bar that moves vertically to open the lid, a pneumatic system is positioned that is so designed that it enables the lid to be lifted up rapidly but enables it to be closed again at an appropriately gradual speed by gravity. The gradual closing is obtained by means of this invention, which consists of a container as described in the introduction to attached claim 1, which is described in the part that characterises the claim.
The invention can be used in many different container applications: a favourite application will now be described in greater detail, and in the description in the interests of greater clarity reference will be made to the attached drawings, which show:

in figure 1 the transversal section of the aforementioned example of a container application using the invention with the lid closed;
in figure 2 the transversal section of the container in figure 1 with the lid pushed open.

In figure 1 we see how, in container 10, according to this invention, a known pedal lever in a fulcrum position at point 1f is in contact with the shaft 2s of a first piston 2. If force F is exerted on lever 1, the aforementioned piston 2 will move downwards axially into a first cylinder 12, compressing the air inside it and causing it to escape from a first conduit 12c that connects up with a flow-regulating valve 3 with differentiated action in both directions.
After the air has gone through the aforementioned flow-regulating valve 3 it is expelled through a second conduit 3c and reaches the cavity of a second cylinder 4 within which a second piston 9 moves on a vertical axis and is connected to one end of a vertical bar 5, and is connected at the other end to the lid 6 of the container 10.
The pressure of the air in the aforementioned second cylinder 4 pushes the second piston 9 and causes the bar 5 that is connected to it to moves upwards and lift the lid 6 of the container 10.
If the pedal lever 1 is released, in other words, if force F is no longer exerted on it, the weight of the lid 6 will tend to make the rod 5 and the second piston 9 that is connected to it move downwards, but this movement will be slowed by the required amount by the resistance to the air flow from the aforementioned flow-regulating valve 3 that is set to provide air resistance that varies according to the direction from the air flow is coming, the resistance to the air passing from the second cylinder 4 to the first cylinder 12 being much greater than the resistance to the air, which moves in the opposite direction.
This enables the lid 6 to reach its closed position (see figure 2) after a sufficiently long time.
The type of valve 3 used by the inventor is known to industry technicians: for example, it can be based on a reed system in which the seal in the closing direction is not hermetic but enables enough air to flow through suitably constricted spaces.
Valve 3 has moreover been described in general terms, because of the different embodiments that a technician can realize.
The inventor recommends providing the valve 3 with external means, for example an external knob 8, in order to adjust it to conditions of use, wear of different parts, etc. It is naturally advisable that one or more seal rings 2t, 9t be applied to both pistons 2, 9; the seal rings should preferably be of the type made from materials that can be compressed elastically, in other words the type known as "O rings".
Different applications of the container of the invention that can be obtained by modifying the shape, type, positioning and connection of the different component parts, but which are still based on the concepts expressed in attached claim 1 will be protected by the scope of this patent application.

Claims

Container (10) with lid for collecting waste in which the aforementioned lid (6) is opened by moving a lever (1) connected to a rod (5) that moves vertically and thereby rotates the lid (6) to which it is connected at one end, characterised by the fact that between this lever (1) and the aforementioned rod (5) a pneumatic system (2, 12, 3, 8, 4, 9) is positioned that is supplied with pressure by the lever (1) and which pushes the aforementioned rod (5) by pushing it upwards, the aforementioned system comprising a flow-regulating valve (3) with differential action in both directions that is calibrated in such a way as to ensure that the upward movement (S) of the rod (5) to open the lid (6) brought about by depressing the lever (1) occurs in less time than the downward movement (S) of the rod (5) that is pushed in the opposite direction by the weight of the lid (6) being closed again through the force of gravity.
Container according to claim 1, in which the aforementioned pneumatic system positioned between the aforementioned lever (1) and the rod (5) comprises:

a) a first piston (2) connected mechanically to the lever (1), which, when it is pressed axially downwards into a first cylinder (12), compresses the air inside and expels it through a first conduit (12c);

b) a flow-regulating valve (3) with differential action in both directions into which the aforementioned compressed air from the aforementioned first conduit (12c) flows, before exiting through the second conduit (3c);

c) a second piston (9) that is connected to the free end of the aforementioned rod (5) and that runs within a second cylinder (4) into which the air flows, that comes out, via the aforementioned second conduit (3c).
Container according to claim 2, in which the aforementioned flow-regulating valve (3) with differential action in both directions is provided with adjusting means (8).
Container according to one of the claims 2 or 3, in which, around the first (2) and second piston (9) one or more seal rings (2t, 9t) are applied.
Container according to claim 4, in which the aforementioned seal rings (2t, 9t) are made of a material that can be elastically compressed.