EP2953870A1

EP2953870A1 - Bin for collecting garments

Info

Publication number: EP2953870A1
Application number: EP14710979.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Edoardo AMERINI
Original assignee: Tesmapri SpA
Current assignee: Tesmapri SpA
Priority date: 2013-02-11
Filing date: 2014-02-11
Publication date: 2015-12-16
Also published as: ITUD20130015A1; WO2014122630A1

Abstract

Bin (10) for collecting garments comprises a fixed structure (11) defining a lower compartment (12) configured to contain a receptacle (13) for the garments and an upper compartment (14) in which introduction means (15) are disposed so as to allow a user to introduce the garments which he/she intends to donate. The introduction means (15) comprise a rotating member (18) configured to rotate around a vertical axis (X) passing through the fixed structure (11).

Description

BIN FOR COLLECTING GARMENTS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns a bin or rigid container, configured to collect garments, articles of clothing, fabrics, accessories or apparel, so that they can be re-used, or so that the fabrics and accessories that they consist of can be recovered. The bin can be positioned in certain collection points, even outdoors, as it is impermeable to rain.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field of containers bins are known, normally made of metal, that are disposed along the pavements, in recycling centers or other collection points, both indoors and outdoors, and which are suitable for the collection and donation, by charitable people, of garments, apparel or articles of clothing in general, so that they can then be completely re-used and recycled.

A bin is known for collecting garments that comprises a fixed structure, shaped substantially like a parallelepiped and divided into two compartments: a lower one, about 140-150 cm high, and an upper one that is provided with a front aperture for the introduction and insertion of the garments to be donated. A cover is disposed in the upper compartment, semi-cylindrical in shape and provided with a longitudinal cavity; it is rotatable on a horizontal axis to complete a rotation of about 90° and can be driven manually by the user, using a handle, so as to allow the garment to fall into the part below. The sizes of the front aperture are rather limited and allow only one garment and/or one bag containing garments to be introduced at a time. Moreover, it should not be possible for a person to access the storage area below, using his arm, through the front aperture, in order to prevent the garments from being dishonestly taken by persons who are not authorized to do so. Indeed, access to the lower compartment, and hence the collection container, should only be possible through a panel hinged on the fixed structure in correspondence with the lower compartment and locked.

However, this known bin has the disadvantage that it does not guarantee that a person cannot access the lower compartment through the front aperture and the longitudinal cavity in the rotary cover.

Indeed, there have been some incidents, sometimes even fatal, because people attempt to access the clothes compartment and are trapped inside the lower compartment, or have been struck by the uncontrolled closing of the closing cover of the access aperture.

Moreover, the known container is also rather dangerous for the people who normally use it, because the manual drive of the cover, rotating with a movement on the handle from up to down, risks trapping the user's hand in the front aperture, causing harm to the user himself.

Containers are also known, from documents US-A-1.121.161 and DE-A- 41.22.405, not strictly correlated to the collection of garments, and which comprise a containing body in which material is placed. The material is introduced into the containing body through an aperture made facing upward. Above the containing body and in correspondence with the aperture a support plane is provided that develops for only part of the usable access section of the containing body. Once introduced through the aperture, the material is disposed on said support plane.

A rotating member is also provided, with a vertical axis, configured to transfer the material present on the support plane into the containing body disposed below.

In document US-A- 1.121.161, the rotating member comprises a single plate with a diameter development, which is made to rotate around an axis passing through the center line of the plate and which, by means of rotation, thrusts the material on the support plane, making it fall into the containing body. Furthermore, the command member for the rotation of the rotating member is disposed in the upper part of the container, making it particularly inconvenient to actuate by smaller people, and if the container for clothes is very high. On the contrary, in document DE-A-41.22.405, the rotating member comprises a single transfer element configured in segments and provided with a plurality of delimiting walls.

The transfer element, together with the support plane, defines a box-like body to contain the material temporarily. By making the transfer element rotate, due to the action of the lateral walls, the transfer element thrusts the material out from the support plane, making it fall into the containing body. A command handle is associated with the transfer element and is equipped with circumferential movement. However, the movement of the transfer element is limited to the circumferential movement that the command handle is subjected to.

In both known solutions described in the documents cited above, however, the position of the aperture, and the configuration of the rotating members, in some positions of the rotating member allows to put the aperture of the container in direct communication with the containing body disposed below. Therefore, these solutions do not guarantee that people cannot access the containing body. Moreover, these solutions are not able to guarantee the watertight seal of the material disposed in the containing body when the aperture for introducing the material is not closed by the cover disposed above.

One purpose of the present invention is to obtain a bin for collecting garments which is simple, reliable and easy to use, and which at the same time gives good guarantees of safety, so that no user will run into any danger while handling it. Another purpose of the present invention is to obtain a bin for collecting garments which is easily accessible for users to introduce clothes.

Another purpose of the present invention is to obtain a bin for collecting garments which can even be positioned outdoors, with no danger that rainwater or other atmospheric agents can penetrate inside it.

The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is set forth and characterized in the independent claim, while the dependent claims describe other characteristics of the invention or variants to the main inventive idea.

In accordance with the above purposes, a bin for collecting garments according to the present invention comprises a fixed structure which defines a lower compartment configured to contain a container or receptacle for the garments and an upper compartment in which introduction means are disposed. The introduction means are provided with a support plane, a first aperture for the introduction onto the support plane of the garments which the user intends to donate, and a rotating member configured to rotate around a vertical axis passing through the support plane and to transfer the garments from the support plane to the lower compartment. The support plane partly separates the upper compartment from the lower compartment and defines a second access aperture, from the upper compartment to the lower compartment.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the rotating member comprises at least two cylindrical sectors, angularly offset with respect to the vertical axis and defining between them respective temporary housing cavities for the garments. The cylindrical sectors are configured to prevent access to the second aperture when one of the cavities is even partly accessible from the first aperture.

This configuration prevents anyone from being able to access the lower compartment through the first aperture in order to remove garments contained therein. This allows to prevent the possibility of accidents because people are prevented from accessing the receptacle in any condition of the rotating member. According to another characteristic aspect of the present invention, the bin is provided with conveying means associated to the support plane and configured to prevent water, for example rainwater, or other atmospheric agents, from entering inside the lower compartment, where the receptacle containing the garments is disposed.

According to another characteristic aspect of the present invention, the receptacle is provided at the lower part with wheels and the base of the lower compartment is provided with horizontal guides, parallel to each other, in which the wheels of the receptacle can run.

According to another characteristic aspect of the present invention, the lower compartment is optionally provided with weight and/or volume sensors, configured to signal, also to a remote control unit, that the receptacle is full.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of one form of embodiment, given as a non- restrictive example with reference to the attached drawings wherein:

- fig. 1 is a front view of a bin for collecting garments according to the present invention;

- fig. 2 is a right lateral view of the bin in fig. 1;

- fig. 3 is a perspective and schematic view of the bin in fig. 1, with its front panel in an open position and from which the right lateral flank has been removed in order to show its interior;

- fig. 4 is a right lateral view of the bin in fig. 3;

- fig. 5 is a section from V to V of fig. 4;

- fig. 6 is a section from VI to VI of fig. 4;

- fig. 7 shows an enlarged detail of the bin in fig. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ONE FORM OF EMBODIMENT

With reference to figs. 1 to 4, a bin 10 for collecting garments according to the present invention, comprises a fixed structure, or frame 1 1, made, for example, with metal section bars joined to each other in any known way, for example by welding, and covered externally with plates, made of sheet metal for example, which form the walls of the bin 10.

In the example shown here, the bin 10 is substantially shaped like a parallelepiped with a height of about 210 cm, a width and depth of about 1 15 cm each. The upper part of the bin 10 is slightly curved.

The internal space defined by the fixed structure 1 1 is divided into a lower compartment 12, which is suitable to contain a container or receptacle 13 (indicated by a line of dashes in fig. 4), to contain the garments donated by users, and an upper compartment 14 in which the introduction means 15 are disposed, configured to allow users to introduce the garments easily into the bin 10 and which will be described in more detail hereafter.

The fixed structure 1 1 also comprises four feet 16 (figs. 1, 2 and 4), which are advantageously adjustable in height, to allow to adapt the position of the bin 10 with respect to the support plane below.

The lower compartment 12 is closed on three sides by fixed walls, and is accessible from the outside by means of a door or panel 17, for example to remove or insert the receptacle 13 as necessary.

The panel 17 is slightly rounded in shape, although it is not excluded that it can also be flat, and can be disposed at the front, as in the example shown here, or on one of the lateral sides or at the rear of the bin 10.

According to some possible forms of embodiment, the introduction means are provided with a support plane 23, a first aperture 21 to introduce the garments on the support plane 23, and a rotating member 18 configured to rotate around a vertical axis X passing through the support plane 23 and to transfer the garments from the support plane 23 to the lower compartment 14.

The support plane 23 partly separates the upper compartment 14 from the lower compartment 12 and defines a second aperture 24, to access the lower compartment 12 from the upper compartment 14.

According to some forms of embodiment, the rotating member 18 is configured to rotate on ball bearings 19 around the vertical axis X disposed substantially at the center of the fixed structure 11.

The rotating member 18 (fig. 6) comprises at least two cylindrical sectors 18a and 18b, angularly offset with respect to the vertical axis X and defining between them respective cavities 20 to temporarily house the garments. The cylindrical sectors 18a, 18b are configured to prevent access to the second aperture 24 when one of the cavities 20 is even partly accessible from the first aperture 21.

According to some possible forms of embodiment, the cylindrical sectors 18a, 18b each cover an arc of 90° and are offset by 180° with respect to each other. The two cavities 20 are diametrically opposite and also cover an angular sector of 90°.

The upper compartment 14 is accessible from the outside through the first aperture 21 which is made on a front wall of the fixed structure 1 1 and on a plane parallel to the plane on which the vertical axis X lies. This form of embodiment allows to dispose the first aperture 21 at a height accessible for persons, also depending on the height that the bin 10 can have.

According to some possible forms of embodiment, the first aperture 21 has an angle of opening a (fig. 5) with respect to the vertical axis X, less than the angular amplitude of the cylindrical sectors 18a, 18b. This configuration guarantees that when one of the cavities 20 is accessible from the first aperture 21, the cylindrical sectors 18a, 18b constitute a barrier against access to the second aperture 24, and hence to the lower compartment 12.

In the upper part of the two cylindrical sectors 18a and 18b, a horizontal disc 22 is attached (fig. 5), which functions as a command element, by means of which the user can make the rotating member 18 rotate manually, in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction with respect to the vertical axis X. In fact, the horizontal disc 22 can be actuated through the front aperture 21. According to some possible forms of embodiment, the support plane 23 comprises a first plate 23a, substantially horizontal, which extends toward the rear part of the fixed structure 11 only a little after the vertical axis X, so that the upper compartment 14 communicates with the lower compartment 12 only through the second aperture 24.

The bin 10 is also advantageously provided with conveying means to prevent water, for example rainwater, or other atmospheric agents, from entering inside the lower compartment 12 where there is the receptacle 13 that contains the garments donatedn by users. In particular, the first plate 23a is provided with a plurality of vertical through holes 25 through which any possible rainwater that were to enter into the bin 10 through the first aperture 21 can flow away downward.

A second plate 26 is disposed under the first plate 23a, to define a chamber 30 to collect the water falling onto the first plate 23a. The water collected in the chamber 30 is then made to flow outside, preventing the lower compartment 12 and hence the garments from getting wet.

The second plate 26 is inclined downward, both toward the center of the bin 10, that is, toward the vertical axis X, and also toward the sides of the bin 10, in order to convey any possible rainwater toward two lateral ports 27, each of which is inserted at the top of a corresponding vertical channel 28, configured to convey the rainwater toward the outside of the bin 10, that is, toward the support plane below.

Two vertical arched plates 29 are disposed in the upper compartment 14 to protect the user's hands in correspondence with the first aperture 21 (figs. 5 and 6). The plates 29 are substantially as high as the rotating member 18 and very close to it.

To facilitate the operations to remove and insert the receptacle 13, the latter may be provided with wheels at the lower part, and the base of the lower compartment 12 can be provided with horizontal guides 31, parallel to each other, in which the wheels of the receptacle 13 can easily run.

Alternatively, according to a variant not shown in the drawings, but easily understood by a person of skill, the horizontal guides 31 can be the telescopic type and provided with a sliding horizontal plane, on which the base of the receptacle 13 can be rested.

Furthermore, the lower compartment 12 can be provided with sensors, for example weight and/or volume sensors of a known type, such as load cells and/or photocells, which can signal, also to a remote control unit, that the receptacle 13 is full, that is, it has reached a determinate weight or volumetric bulk, so that an authorized person can come and collect the garments donated.

The bin 10 as described heretofore functions as follows.

The user intending to deposit one or more garments in the bin 10 introduces them through the first aperture 21 and rests them on the support plane 23, which in some forms of embodiment can comprise the plate 23 a, positioning them in the cavity 20 that is positioned opposite the first aperture 21.

Then the user makes the horizontal disc 22 rotate manually, and with it the rotating member 18. After a rotation of 180° of these two, the garments fall due to gravity into the receptacle 13 below.

It is therefore easy to understand that the operation of inserting one or more garments into the bin 10 is advantageously very simple and very safe, because the vertical plates 29 prevent the user's hand from being damaged by the rotation of the rotating member 18 around the vertical axis X.

Moreover, access to the receptacle 13 through the first aperture is impossible for the user or anyone else, even those with criminal intent.

It is understood that modifications and/or additions of parts may be made to the bin 10 as described heretofore, without departing from the field and scope of the present invention.

It is also clear that, although the present invention has been described with reference to some specific examples, a person of skill in the art shall certainly be able to achieve many other equivalent forms of bin for collecting garments, having the characteristics as set forth in the claims and hence all coming within the field of protection defined thereby.

Claims

1. Bin for collecting garments comprising a fixed structure (1 1) which defines a lower compartment (12) configured to contain a receptacle (13) for the garments and an upper compartment (14) in which introduction means (15) are disposed, said introduction means (15) being provided with a support plane (23), a first aperture (21) for the introduction of the garments on said support plane (23), and a rotating member (18) configured to rotate around a vertical axis (X) passing through said support plane (23) and to transfer said garments from said support plane (23) to said lower compartment (12), said support plane (23) partly separating said upper compartment (14) from said lower compartment (12) and defining a second aperture (24) to access said lower compartment (12) from said upper compartment (14), characterized in that said rotating member (18) comprises at least two cylindrical sectors (18a, 18b), angularly offset with respect to said vertical axis (X) and defining between them respective temporary housing cavities (20) for said garments, said cylindrical sectors (18a, 18b) being configured to prevent access to said second aperture (24) when one of said cavities (20) is even partly accessible from said first aperture (21).

2. Bin as in claim 1, characterized in that said two cylindrical sectors (18a, 18b) each cover an arc of 90° and are offset by 180° with respect to each other and said two cavities (20) are diametrically opposite and also cover an angular sector of 90°.

3. Bin as in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said first aperture (21) is made on a front wall of said fixed structure (1 1) and on a plane parallel to the lying plane of said vertical axis (X).

4. Bin as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said first aperture (21) has an angle of aperture (a) with respect to said vertical axis (X) which is less than the angular amplitude of said cylindrical sectors (18a, 18b).

5. Bin as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that a horizontal disc (22) is attached in the upper part of said two cylindrical sectors (18a, 18b), which is configured to act as a command element, by means of which a user can manually rotate said rotating member (18) with respect to said vertical axis (X).

6. Bin as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that in said upper compartment (14), in correspondence with said front aperture (21), two curved vertical plates (29) are disposed, which are substantially as high as said rotating member (18).

7. Bin as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said support plane (23) comprises a substantially horizontal first plate (23 a), which extends toward the rear part of said fixed structure (11) only a little beyond said vertical axis (X).

8. Bin as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that it also comprises conveying means associated to said support plane (23) and configured to prevent water entering inside said lower compartment (12).

9. Bin as in claims 7 and 8, characterized in that said conveying means comprise one or more through holes (25) made in said first plate (23a) and a second plate (26) disposed below said first plate (23a), to define a collection chamber (30) to collect the water that falls on said first plate (23a).

10. Bin as in claim 9, characterized in that said second plate (26) is inclined downward, both toward said vertical axis (X) and toward the sides of said bin (10), to convey any possible water toward two lateral ports (27), each of which is inserted at the top of a corresponding vertical drainage channel (28).

1 1. Bin as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that the base of said lower compartment (12) is provided with horizontal guides (31) which are parallel to each other, configured to allow the wheels of said receptacle (13) to run.

12. Bin as in claim 11, characterized in that said horizontal guides (31) are the telescopic type and provided with a horizontal sliding plane, on which the base of said receptacle (13) can rest.

13. Bin as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said lower compartment (12) is provided with sensors configured to signal, also to a remote control unit, that said receptacle (13) has reached a determinate filled level.