GB2188034A

GB2188034A - Self-emptying container

Info

Publication number: GB2188034A
Application number: GB08607180A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Anthony Shaw Abram; Alexander Frazer; Bruce William Wishart
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-03-22
Filing date: 1986-03-22
Publication date: 1987-09-23
Also published as: GB8607180D0; GB2188034B

Abstract

A container has a base 10 hinged to an upstanding surrounding wall 11 and a latch mechanism 20 to normally retain the base closed. The latch mechanism comprises an upright bar 21 secured onto the front of the container wall but capable of axial rotation, a foot 22 extending from the lower end of the upright to locate engagingly below the base, and an actuator plate or 'flag' 23 extending from the fixedly secured to the upright to rotate therewith. On the application of pressure to the rear face of the actuator plate 23 the foot 22 is moved from below the base 10 to free the base for pivotal movement relative to the body of the container. The plate 23 is located at the front of a lifting bracket 25 mounted on or in the front wall of the container and is actuated by a fork of a fork-lift apparatus. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Self-emptying container This invention relates to containers, particularly containers which carry material in bulk to be emptied therefrom for further processing.

Said containers include stacking pallet cages used in the waste paper industry. Waste paper in bulk is loaded into these containers and taken by fork lift appartus (truck or trolley) to a conveyor onto which the paper is handloaded to further processing (hand-sorting). At present, these cages have a removable side to allow easy access for hand-emptying, but these tend to become damaged when separated from their cages. Further, while the cage is being manually emptied, it is unavailable for re-use and this is disadvantageous because hand-emptying is time-consuming. The cages can be emptied by machine, but this requires a special fitting on a fork lift apparatus which will lift and rotate the cage to spill out its contents. Such a fitting, however, is expensive. The above problems and disadvantages also occur in other fields, such as the scrap metal industry.

An object of this invention is to provide a container which is self-emptying when lifted by an ordinary fork lift apparatus.

According to the present invention there is provided a container having a base and an upstanding surrounding wall, in which the base is hinged to the wall about a horizontal axis so that the base and surrounding wall are relatively pivotal to open the bottom of the container, and in which a latch mechanism is provided to normally retain the base secured to the surrounding wall, said latch mechanism comprising a latch which is resiliently held in its locking position and an actuator which when actuated releases the latch.

Preferably, said actuator comprises a plate at the upper end of the container wail engageable through a lifting bracket on or in the wall by a fork of a fork lift apparatus whereby the container can be lifted via said lifting bracket, when the base is free to hinge open.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a container according to the invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation; Figure 3 is a side elevation showing the container partly open; Figure 4 is a plan; and Figure 5 is a detail.

Referring to the drawings, the container shown is a metal rectangular stacking pallet cage intended for the storage of waste paper prior to sorting. The container is moved around the storage/sorting area by means of a fork lift truck or trolley, the forks of which locate under the base of the container.

The container comprises a base 10 and an upstanding surrounding wall formed of four wire-mesh side frames 11, all supported on four upstanding corner posts 12, the lower ends of which extend below the base 10 and terminate in feet 13. Thus, there is space below the base for entry of the forks of a fork lift truck or trolley.

The posts 12 are cut horizontally at 14 level with the surface of the base 10 so that the lower portion 1 2A of each post 12 and the feet 13 are welded to the base and the wiremesh side frames 11 are welded to the remaining major portion of the posts 12.

The base 10 is hinged to the upstanding wall 11 along one of the longer sides, which serves as the rear of the container, by a pair of hinges 15 on the two rear posts 12. Each hinge comprises an upstanding bracket 16 welded to the lower leg portion 12A and a horizontal pin 17 welded to the upper portion of the leg 12. The bracket 16 extends above the level of the base and is bent rearwards with a hole at the rear end thereof to receive a projecting end of the pin 17. Thus, the two parts of each rear posts 12 are hinged to allow the base 10 and surrounding wall 11 to pivot relative to each other and open the bottom of the container.

A latch mechanism 20 biassed to its locking position prevents pivotal movement between the base 10 and surrounding wall and is only moved to its unlocking position when it is desired to open the bottom of the container.

The latch mechanism 20 comprises an upright 21 secured on the front of the container wall, but capable of axial rotation, a foot 22 extending from the lower end of the upright to locate engagingly below the base 10 and an actuator plate or "flag" 23 extending from the top of the upright and fixedly secured to the upright to rotate therewith. The flag 23 lies in a plane which is at 45O to the plane of the foot 22 so that when the flag is parallel with the container front wall, the foot 22 is located below the base. The flag 23 is springbiassed into the above disposition by a nonrotatable spring-loaded barrel 24 at the top of the upright 21, the barrel being welded to a lifting bracket 25 mounted on top of the front wall of the container. The flag presses against the front of the bracket 25.Thus, when the flag is pushed from the rear it will swing forward and cause the upright 21 to rotate which will cause the foot 22 to disengage from under the base, thus unlocking the base from the surrounding wall. The latch mechanism will remain unlocked as long as the flag is held pushed forward, but on release of that pressure the flag will return by spring bias to its original position as will the foot.

The lifting bracket 25 is duplicated (25A) on the rear wall and the two brackets 25, 25A are aligned so that a fork of a fork lift truck or trolley can enter the brackets from the rear.

As the fork passes through the front bracket 25, it pushes the flag 23 forward and thus causes the foot 22 to disengage. When the fork then lifts the container, the unlatched base will pivot about the hinges and the contents of the container will fall out through the opening in the bottom. As the container rises the opening will increase until, once the container is high enough the base will no longer be supported by the ground and the opening will be at its maximum. Once the container is empty, the fork lift truck or trolley can move to a clear floor area and lower the container onto the floor. When the fork lift truck or trolley withdraws, the flag is released to return to its original position and the foot relocates under the base.

The barrel spring 24 is shown in Fig. 5; it has a body 30 which carries a coil spring 31 and two end seatings 32, 33 which engage the ends of the spring. The body 30 has two end caps 34, 35 which are rotatable relative to the body 30 and interconnected by a pin 36 which passes through the body. The lower cap 35 is welded to the upright 21; the body 30 is welded to a fixture on the container, (bracket 25), and the upper cap 34 and lower seating 35 are welded to the flag 23 One of the two seatings 32, 33 is fixedly located within the body, but the other 33 is rotatable with end cap 35. Thus, when the flag 23 is pushed forward, the end caps 34, 35, the seating 33 and the upright rotate about their common axis, but the body 30 and seating 32 do not. As a result, the coil spring is coiled tighter.On release of the flag, the spring tends to unwind, thereby forcing the flag back to its original position.

In the preferred embodiment, the containers are stackable, the upright posts extending above the top of the surrounding wall. Thus, the lifting brackets and the latch flag can be located on the top of the wall to the level of the top of the upright.

However, in a modification, the lifting brackets are built into the front and rear walls, adjacent to the top thereof.

In a further modification, the single pair of lifting brackets are replaced by two pairs spaced so that both forks are used instead of one as in the preferred embodiment. Only one latch mechanism need be provided, although if desired, a latch mechanism may be provided for each fork.

The lifting bracket or brackets may be replaced by a slot or opening running the length of the front and rear walls.

In a further modification, the base only, ie the floor of the container, is pivotal relative to the remainder of the container.

The latch mechanism may be spring-biassed by means other than the barrel spring of the preferred embodiment, eg a strip of spring steel.

The container may be other than metal, for example, plastics with mesh or solid sides, and be for purposes other than storing waste paper, eg scrap metal, or bulk granular materials.

Claims

1. A container having a base and an upstanding surrounding wall, in which the base is hinged to the wall about a horizontal axis so that the base and surrounding wall are relatively pivotal to open the bottom of the container, and in which a latch mechanism is provided to normally retain the base secured to the surrounding wall, said latch mechanism comprising a latch which is resiliently held in its locking position and an actuator which when actuated releases the latch.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1, in which said actuator comprises a plate at the upper end of the container wall engageable through a lifting bracket on or in the wall by a fork of a fork-lift apparatus whereby the container can be lifted via said lifting bracket when the base is free to hinge open.

3. A container as claimed in claim 2, in which the latch mechanism comprises an upright bar member secured onto the front of the container wall but capable of axial rotation, a foot extending from the lower end of the upright to locate engagingly below the base, and said actuator plate- or 'flag' extending from and fixedly secured to the upright to rotate therewith on the application of pressure to the actuator plate thereby to remove the foot from below the base to free the base for pivotal movement relative to the body of the container.

4. A container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

4. A container as claimed in claim 2, in which a pair of lifting brackets are co-axially mounted on or in two opposed sides of the surrounding wall for location therethrough of a fork of a fork-lift apparatus.

CLAIMS Amendments to the claims have been filed, and have the following effect: Claims 1-4 above have been deleted or textually amended.

New or textually amended claims have been filed as follows:

1. A container having a base and an upstanding surrounding wall, in which the base is hinged to the wall about a horiziontal axis so that the base and surrounding wall are relatively pivotal to open the bottom of the container, and in which a latch mechanism is provided to normally retain the base closed, said latch mechanism comprising a latch which is resiliently held in its locking position and an actuator which when actuated releases the latch, said actuator comprising a plate at the upper end of the container wall connected to the latch and engageable, through a lifting bracket on or in the wall, by a fork of a forklift apparatus to release the latch whereby the container can be lifted via said lifting bracket with the base free to hinge open.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1, in which the latch mechanism comprises an upright bar member secured onto the front of the container wall but capable of axial rotation, a foot extending from the lower end of the upright to locate engagingly below the base, and said actuator plate or 'flag' extending from the fixedly secured to the upright to rotate therewith on the application of pressure to the actuator plate thereby to remove the foot from below the base to free the base for pivotal movement relative to the body of the container.

3. A container as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which at least one pair of lifting brackets are co-axially mounted on or in two opposed sides of the surrounding wall for location therethrough of a fork of a fork-lift apparatus.