GB1599562A

GB1599562A - Pivotal containers

Info

Publication number: GB1599562A
Application number: GB695078A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: FROMWELL K E
Current assignee: FROMWELL K E
Priority date: 1977-02-28
Filing date: 1978-02-22
Publication date: 1981-10-07
Also published as: DE2807552A1; FR2381689A1; SE404175B

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO PIVOTAL CONTAINERS (71) 1, KURT EDVIN FROMELL a Swedish subject of Montörvägen 10, 852 47 Sundsvall, Sweden, do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- The present invention relates to a pivotal container adapted to be lifted by a fork lift.

There have been proposed containers adapted to be lifted and pivoted by a lift arm of a tractor, wherein the container may take the form of a bucket which is undetachably connected to the lift arm or for example can consist of an easily removable conveying container which may be positioned freely at a filling place and then at an appropriate time can be lifted by a tractor for being conveyed so as to be emptied at a collecting place or in a larger storage container. Such a container can for instance to advantage be utilized in the refuse field.

The container in accordance with Swedish Patent Specification No. 351,413 can be taken as an example of a container of the last-mentioned type. This Swedish specification discloses a container which appropriately may be rectangular and which easily may be lifted and controlled by a lift arm which is brought into engagement with specific means on the rear side of the container. The front wall of the container can be made to pivot by the supporting lift arm being operated in such manner that a blocking member is actuated by the lift arm proper so that the front flap of the container is released and may pivot open under the influence of gravity.However, this type of container has the disadvantage that the blocking arm has to be actuable by the lift arm which means that the lift arm and the blocking arm have to be designed in consideration of one another. Iifting the container is performed by a tractor, and the design of the lift arm may vary from one type of tractor to another which makes it difficult to achieve standardization of the container blocking arm which is to cooperate with the lift arm.

According to the invention there is provided a pivotal container having two ends and being adapted to be lifted by a fork lift, said container having at one end a front wall in the form of a flap which is pivotally mounted at its upper edge and having at its other end a non-openable rear wall, said container forming a unit with a frame which is pivotally mounted on two pockets, into which the forks of the fork lift are intended to be introduced, at least one of said pockets carrying a latch for engaging the rear of said container, and the frame carrying a catch for retaining the flap of the container closed when the container is in a normal position, the container being operable when lifted by said fork lift, to pivot from its normal position in consequence of said latch being released manually or by remote controls, and a releasing mechanism, which is carried by the frame, operative substantially concurrently with said latch to release said catch so that the flap of the container is pivoted outwardly so as to enable the container to be emptied.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawing, the sole figure of which is a side view of a conveying container in accordance with the invention.

In the drawing, the designation 1 refers to the conveying container proper, the container being provided at its front end with a flap 2 which is mounted for pivoting in the container around an axis 3 at the upper edge of the container. The container is supported by hollow beams 4 located one on each side in the longitudinal direction of the container, the hollow beams in turn being rigidly connected to each other by means of two profiled beams 5 and 6, respectively, extending at right angles to the hollow beams. One of these profiled beams, namely the beam 5, is located at the rear end of the container in the illustrated embodiment, i.e. the non-openable end, whereas the other profiled beam 6 is Iocated fairly close to the front end of the container which may be opened but still not quite at this end.The beams 4, 5 and 6 constitute a supporting frame which forms a unit with the container.

Legs 7 are joined to the container at the front on each side, and the two hollow beams are connected to a supporting beam, for example a channel beam 10, over a mounting which may consist of a downwardly-directed connecting piece 8 attached to the hollow beam 4 and a horizontal connecting piece 9 connected to said connecting piece 8 over a mounting shaft 8' which is located in the central portion of the length of the frame. The channel beam 10 is, in turn, supported by two pockets 11 extending in the longitudinal direction of container 1 and being hollow so that the forks of a fork lift (not shown) may be introduced therein and subsequently can lift the container.The place at which the container is pivotally mounted on the pockets is positioned in such manner that the distance from the mounting to the closed end of the container is shorter than the distance from the mounting to the end of the container that may be opened. The purpose of this will become apparent below.

At each end the pockets 11 are provided with enaggement shoes 12 and 13, respectively, and the legs 7 are also provided with engagement shoes 14 at their lower ends. These engagement shoes are intended to engage the ground or the base when the conveying container is placed on the ground or on said base.

One of said pockets 11 is provided with a mounting 15 having an abutment in the form of a set screw 16, the upper end of which is engaged by one end 17 of a bell crank 17' which is pivotal around a shaft 18 and having its other end 19 connected to a pull rod or connecting rod 20 as well as to a spring 21 which at its other end for example may be attached to one of the hollow beams 4 at position 22.

The pull rod or connecting rod 20 is articulated to a catch 23 at its other end, said catch having the purpose of maintaining the flap 2 of the container closed when the container is in its initial position. In the illustrated embodiment the catch 23 is designed in the form of a hook which may be pivoted around a shaft 24.

The container 1 is substantially rectanular, and its lower rear portion 25 engages the hollow beams 4 but has a transition into an upwardly inclined portion 26 which does not engage the hollow beams 4. The purpose of this upwardly inclined portion is to enable the flap 2 to be pivoted open freely without engagement and to enable any liquid present in the container to be poured out.

The rear end of the container is provided with a latch 28 having a handle 27 and engaging a triangular stop 29 secured to the rear side of the container. The latch 28 is connected to a shaft 31 by means of an arm 30 disposed at right angles to said latch, said shaft being mounted in a support 32 connected to one of said pockets 11. In quiescent position the latch 28 is maintained in engagement with said stop 29 by means of a spring 33 which at one other end is connected to a mount 34 which end is connected to said arm 30 and at its is attached to the profiled beam 5 in the illustrated embodiment.

The device in accordance with the invention operates in the following manner.

The container is normally placed on the ground or at some other appropriate place and is fflled in conventional manner. When the container is full and is to be emptied a fork truck drives up to it and extends its forks into the two pockets 11. The fork lift lifts the container and drives to the place of discharge, whereafter the driver of the fork lift or some other person opens the container by pulling the handle 27, if desired by remote control, whereby the latch 28 is released from the stop 29 and the container pivots forwardly around its mounting axis 8' in consequence of its mode of mounting.This pivotal movement causes the end 17 of the bell crank to be disengaged from set screw 16 so that the connecting rod 20 is pulled to the right in accordance with the figure by means of spring 21, with the catch 23 being rotated around its shaft 24 so as to release the lower end of the flap 2 for pivotal movement in the direction of the left arrow in the double-arrow 35.

The contents of the container will now be discharged, and when the driver of the fork lift considers the discharge to have been completed he lowers the container towards the ground, whereby the legs 7 connected to the front end of the container urge the front end of the container upwards, thereby pivoting flap 2 to closed position, with the flap being retained in its closed position by the latch 23 which returns to its locking position by means of the connecting bar 20 after the set screw 16 has been urged against the end 17 of the bell crank. The container is concurrently locked at its rear end by cooperation between the latch 28 and the stop 29.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment which has been described above and which is illustrated in the drawing.

This embodiment merely comprises an example of the invention and its utilization. For example, the latch that is illustrated at the rear wall of the container may be secured to the side wall of the container, which also is the case of the catch for container flap 2.

Claims

WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A pivotal container having two ends and being adapted to be lifted by a fork lift, said container having at one end a front wall in the form of a flap which is pivotally mounted at its upper edge and having at its other end a non-openable rear wall, said container forming a unit with a frame which is pivotally mounted on two pockets, into which the forks of the fork lift are intended to be introduced, at least one of said pockets carrying a latch for engaging the rear of said container, and the frame carrying a catch for retaining the flap of the container closed when the container is in a normal position, the container being operable when lifted by said fork lift, to pivot from its normal position in consequence of said latch being released manually or by remote control, and a releasing mechanism, which is carried by the frame, operative substantially concurrently with said latch to release said catch so that the flap of the container is pivoted outwardly so as to enable the container to be emptied.

2. A container in accordance with claim 1, wherein said container is provided with legs for pivoting the container back to its normal position, when said container is placed on the ground, wherein said catch and said latch, respectively, regain their locking functions.

3. A container in accordance with claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the releasing mechanism comprises a bell crank which is rotatable around a shaft, with one arm of said bell crank engaging, in the normal position of the container, an abutment on one of said pockets, whereas the second arm of said bell crank is connected to a spring and to said catch.

4. A container in accordance with claim 3, wherein the abutment comprise a set screw.

5. A container in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the latch is spring biased so as to be held in its locking position when the container is in its normal position.

6. A container in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the frame is pivotally mounted on the pockets in the central portion of the length of the frame.

7. A container in accordance with claim 6, wherein the distance from the pivotal mounting to the rear end of the container is shorter than the distance from the pivotal mounting to the front end of the container.

8. A pivotal container, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.