ES2670657T3 - Container reinforcement for waste collection - Google Patents

Abstract

Container (10) for waste collection, comprising a tank (11), side faces (12A, 12b, 12C, 12D) that form a peripheral wall (17), a lower wall (14), first areas (16) of connecting the lateral faces (12A, 12b, 12C, 12D) to each other, second zones (22) of connection between the lateral faces and the lower wall (14), overlapping zones (32) of the first and second zones of connection, at least one rib (24, 26) under the bottom wall (14), rib (24, 26) on which the container (10) rests on the ground in a normal waiting position, characterized in that the peripheral wall (17 ) forms at least one downward extension (34) only vertically and in the immediate vicinity of the overlapping areas (32) of the first and second connection areas so that it rests on the ground when the container (10) rests in normal waiting position, being the immediate vicinity limited to a distance (D1) of 50 mm from the areas of overlap (32), said at least one rib (26) being arranged under the lower wall (14), retracted with respect to the second zone (22).

Description

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DESCRIPTION

Container reinforcement for waste collection

The present invention relates to the technical field of waste collection containers, of the type comprising two wheels that allow them to be moved.

The present invention specifically relates to a container for waste collection according to the preamble of claim 1, as is known from patent applications US 2006/0103086 A1, US 2009/0127809 A1 or WO 03/050017 A1.

A container of this type is already known for the collection of waste comprising a tank comprising side walls, a bottom wall and two wheels under one of the side walls. This container is generally made of plastic material, specifically polypropylene. A reinforcement rib, arranged under the tank on the periphery of the lower wall, allows to increase the mechanical resistance in the lower part of the tank, that is, in its part in contact with the ground and constitutes a support that stabilizes the tank when it rests on the ground, by its wheels and by said rib.

These containers are generally adapted to fit into each other, which reduces their occupied volume and allows them to be stacked in order to store or transport them. Thus, prior art containers can be easily piled upright so that a stack comprising a predetermined number of containers is formed, this number being limited by the mechanical strength of the reinforcement rib and the wall thickness lower located under the tank. The inventors have observed that when this stack exceeds a certain number of containers, there may be a weakening of the bottom wall of the container at the bottom of the stack or even cracking of the reinforcement rib of this container.

In addition, to lighten the weight of the containers and save material, there is a tendency to reduce the thickness of the walls of the containers, which reduces the mechanical strength of the lower wall, while the ribs retain a certain thickness to meet their functions.

Because of this, when too many containers are stacked on top of each other and their weight is important, the rib under the container tank has a tendency to crush under the weight of the pile, and therefore the bottom wall of the container, which is relatively thin with respect to the rib, it cracks at the angle formed between the bottom wall of the container and this reinforcing rib.

Therefore, the stacking capacity of the containers on top of each other is reduced and it is not surprising that the container at the bottom of the stack is damaged by the stacking of an excessively large number of containers, which generates a significant rejection rate. .

Because of this risk of damage to the container at the bottom of the battery, no more than a certain number of containers can be stacked, which makes it necessary to use a larger area for storage. With regard to the transport of containers, it is also necessary to use more important means of transport, which has a negative impact on the environment and on the cost of transporting these containers.

On the other hand, the destruction of the reinforcement rib of the bottom container generates a certain instability of the container stack and this instability can cause the pile to fall on the ground, or worse, on people.

The present invention specifically aims to propose a container whose stacking capacity is larger and whose stability is improved when containers are stacked.

For this, the object of the invention is a container for waste collection, which comprises the technical characteristics of independent claim 1.

Advantageously, said at least one rib of the container is connected directly to said at least one extension downwards. Therefore, a rib is created that is integral with the extensions and that allows stiffening the assembly of the lower part of the container in an efficient manner.

Advantageously, at least one downward extension comprises a section along a plane substantially parallel to the bottom of the tank, said section being curved and devoid of angle. Therefore, because the downward extension does not comprise angles since its section is curved, the appearance of stress concentrations on the downward extension is avoided, specifically in the case of a tank that is at the bottom of a stack of vats.

Advantageously, the at least one downward extension has a height such that its vertex is at the same level as the vertex of the at least one rib. Next in the description, "vertex" is called the lower end of the downward extension, by analogy with the vertices of the ribs.

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"Ground" means a substantially horizontal plane and "normal waiting position" means a vertical position of the container that has the upper part of its tank facing up and in which the bottom wall of the container is substantially parallel to the floor .

Advantageously, the surroundings are limited to a distance of overlapping areas of 0.5 millimeters.

Advantageously, the peripheral wall of the container comprises a part adjacent to the lower wall generated by a rectilinear generatrix, and the distance between the downward extension and the generatrix is less than 60 mm, while the thickness of a rib is between 1, 5 mm and 5 mm.

"Rib" is understood as a solid partition that has two opposite faces that delimit it and join along a free edge of the partition.

Advantageously, said at least one rib of the container belongs to the second connection zone.

Advantageously, said at least one rib is connected directly to said at least one extension downwards, said at least one rib extending downward along a plane substantially parallel to the peripheral wall and said plane being a distance of at least 5 mm, and preferably of at least 15 mm, of a generatrix located at the bottom of the peripheral wall. Therefore, such a configuration turns out to be an aesthetic advantage since the lower part of the rib that is in contact with the ground, and therefore has a worn or even damaged appearance by its use, is not visible by a person standing near the container.

Advantageously, the thickness of the side faces of the container and the lower wall are less than 5 millimeters and preferably less than 3.5 mm

Therefore, a thin thickness makes it possible to save plastic material in the containers, while maintaining a good strength of the bottom of the container.

The invention will be better understood after reading the following description, given by way of example only and made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

- Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of the bottom of a container according to the invention;

- Figure 2 is a bottom view of the container of Figure 1;

- Figure 3 is a section according to MI-MI taken in Figure 1;

- Figure 4 is a view analogous to that of Figure 2 showing a container according to another embodiment of the invention.

Figure 1 shows the bottom of a container 10 whose general shape is substantially parallelepipedic but widened upwards. This container comprises a tank 11 formed by side faces 12A, 12b, 12C, 12D, hereinafter referred to as front face 12B, rear face 12D, left side face 12C and right side face 12A, connected to each other by rounded edges 16 and by a wall lower 14 whose shape corresponds substantially to that of a square whose corners 15 are rounded. In the described embodiment, the rounded edges 16, called first connection zones 16, form parts of truncated cones that exceed the general parallelepiped shape of the container. The lateral faces 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D, as well as the first connection areas 16 together form a peripheral wall 17 of the container.

On the right side face 12A a reinforcement 18 can be seen, delimited by a curved edge 18A, which allows the accommodation of a wheel (not shown) of the container. Arranged in the lower part of the rear face 12D, there are ribs 18 provided with holes 20 which allow to maintain an axis of rotation of the wheels (not shown) and reinforce the lower part of the wall 12d to which they are connected.

The right side faces 12A, front 12B, left side 12C (but not the rear face 12D) are connected to the bottom wall 14 by a second connection zone 22 that forms a rounded edge. It is considered that this rounded edge should have a minimum radius of 4 mm.

Under the lower wall 14 and approximately in the center of it there is a circular rib 24. This function is to support the ground in a central region of the lower wall of the container when the latter is in a normal waiting position.

In this embodiment, side ribs 26 are located at the border between the second connection zone 22 and each of the side faces 12A, 12B and 12C. The lateral ribs 26 have a profile that has substantially straight portions 26A and curved portions 26B. Its main function is to support the bottom wall 14 of the container on the floor, guaranteeing good stability as well as resistance to friction. In the example, the side ribs 26 and the circular rib 24 have a thickness that is equal to 3 mm, while the side faces 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D and the bottom wall 14 have a thickness equal to

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3 mm

Figure 2 shows the lower part of the container, in which the circular central rib 24 and the lateral ribs 26 are recognized. On the periphery of the container there is a flange 27 provided with reinforcement ribs 29 and handles 31 that allow manipulation the container 10.

The first connection zones 16 and the second connection zone 22 overlap. Their intersections constitute third zones, called "overlap zones" 32. In the vertical of the overlap zones 32, the peripheral wall 17 forms two extensions 34 downwards. The extensions 34 have a curved profile that corresponds to that of the first zones 16. In other words, the extensions below have their origin below the tank, in the overlapping areas 32.

However, a downward extension 34 is not necessarily limited to the vertical of the overlapping areas 32, and this extension can obviously exceed the second adjacent connection zones 22 a little, without thereby leaving the scope of the invention. Therefore, a downward extension 34 is considered to be located in a region comprising only an overlapping zone 32 and its surroundings, the vicinity extending on both sides to the adjacent second connecting zones 22. In this case, the surroundings are considered to be limited to a distance of 50 mm from the overlapping areas and preferably to a distance of 0.5 mm.

The extensions 34, the lateral ribs 26 and the circular rib 24 have vertices 30, 31 whose respective heights are all at the same level. Although it does not appear in the section plane, a lateral rib 26 is shown in Figure 3. It is observed that its vertex 31 is at the same height as vertex 30 of the downward extension 34. Therefore, when the container is In normal waiting position placed on the ground, the vertices 30, 31 of the different ribs and those of the extensions are all in contact with the ground, which guarantees a good distribution of the weight of the container and a good stability.

The extensions 34, which are located in the overlapping areas 32, have the function of supporting the container when it is placed on the ground in a normal waiting position.

Therefore, the extensions 34 guarantee a continuity of matter with the first zones 16 according to the longitudinal direction of the container. This continuity of matter guarantees a continuity in the transmission of the forces when the containers are stacked, allowing adequate resistance and stability of the lower part of the container.

On the other hand, in this example, the lateral ribs 26 and the circular rib 24 also play a stabilizing role while conferring an increased mechanical resistance of the container specifically when the container receives a stack of other containers. In fact, due to its distribution at the same time in the center and on the periphery of the lower surface, the central rib, the extensions 34 and the lateral ribs 26 guarantee stability and optimum resistance when the container receives a stack of other containers during the storage phases. Therefore, it becomes possible to stack a larger amount of containers thanks to the increased resistance of the lower wall 14 of the container against weakening of the rib.

As shown in Figure 3, the lower part of the first connection zone 16 has an outer face that is an adjacent part 17 'to the lower wall 14 and is generated by a rectilinear generatrix G. The extension 34, which is located in an overlap zone 32, it is at a maximum distance Dmax from the generator G. In the example, the distance Dmax has a value of 40 mm.

A container according to a second embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 4, in which elements analogous to those of Figure 1 are designated by identical references. The bottom wall 14, the circular rib 24 and the lateral ribs 26 that are directly connected with the extensions 34 in the overlapping areas 32 are observed. In this embodiment, said at least one rib 26 is connected directly to said at least a downward extension 34, said at least one rib 26 extending downward along a plane substantially parallel to the peripheral wall and said plane being a distance d 'of at least 5 mm, and preferably at least 15 mm from a generatrix located at the bottom of the peripheral wall 17.

The invention has been described according to preferred embodiments. However, it will be understood that, respecting its essential characteristics, multiple variations of detail are allowed to be introduced therein, which will be protected just like the others and which may refer to the shape of the extensions 34, their dimensions, the material used , as well as any other element provided they do not go beyond the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (7)

10 2. fifteen 3. 20 4. 5. 25 6. 7. 30 8. 35 Container (10) for waste collection, comprising a tank (11), side faces (12A, 12b, 12C, 12D) that form a peripheral wall (17), a lower wall (14), first areas (16) of connecting the lateral faces (12A, 12b, 12C, 12D) to each other, second zones (22) of connection between the lateral faces and the lower wall (14), overlapping areas (32) of the first and second zones of connection, at least one rib (24, 26) under the bottom wall (14), rib (24, 26) on which the container (10) rests on the ground in a normal waiting position, characterized in that the peripheral wall (17 ) forms at least one downward extension (34) only vertically and in the immediate vicinity of the overlapping areas (32) of the first and second connection areas so that it rests on the ground when the container (10) rests in normal waiting position, being the immediate vicinity limited to a distance (D1) of 50 mm from the areas of overlap (32), said at least one rib (26) being arranged under the lower wall (14), retracted with respect to the second zone (22). Waste collection container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one downward extension (34) has a height such that its vertex (30) is at the same level as the vertex (31) of the at minus a rib (24, 26). Container for waste collection according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one downward extension (34) comprises a section according to a plane substantially parallel to the bottom of the tank, said section being curved and devoid of angle . Waste collection container according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the surroundings are limited to a distance of 0.5 mm from the overlapping areas (32). Container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the peripheral wall (17) comprises a part adjacent (17 ') to the lower wall (14) generated by a rectilinear generatrix (G), and a distance (Dmax) between the downward extension (34) and the generatrix (G) is less than 60 mm, while the thickness of a rib (24, 26) is between 1.5 mm and 5 mm. Waste collection container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one rib (26) belongs to the second zone (22). Container (10) for waste collection according to claim 1, wherein said at least one rib (26) is connected directly to said at least one downward extension (34), said at least one rib (26) extending towards below according to a plane substantially parallel to the peripheral wall and said plane being a distance (d ') of at least 5 mm, and preferably at least 15 mm from a generatrix located at the bottom of the peripheral wall (17') . Container according to any one of the preceding claims, the thickness of the side faces (12A, 12B, 12C, 12D) of the container and of the bottom wall (14) are less than 5 mm, and preferably less than 3 mm.