GB2225709A - Refuse container - Google Patents

Abstract

A refuse container has an upstanding cylindrical metal shell formed by an upper part 2 and an open topped bin 1. The part 2 is press fitted in socket and spigot manner to the open top of the bin 1 to alleviate the ingress of air to a refuse chamber formed within the shell. Ports 9 are provided in the upper part 2 through which refuse is deposited in the chamber. Each port 9 has a metal closure member 10 which is spring biased on the part 2 to normally close that port and alleviate the ingress of air to the chamber, and thereby prevent fires. The shell is received within a complementary plastics sleeve 13 having windows 15 which coincide with the respective ports 9. Cooperating tracks and splines 16, 17 are provided between the shell and sleeve 13 to ensure that the sleeve 13 is positioned during its fitting for the windows 15 to coincide with the ports 9. The shell is preferably free standing with cylindrical. <IMAGE>

Description

"A refuse container1, TEC?NCAL '-EL.7 & BACRC,ROrJND ART The present invention relates te a refuse con.z~ne~ and is particularly concerned with such containers as are intended to alleviate the hazard of fire which may be caused by the inadvertent combustion of refuse therein (for example, where free standing refuse containers are provided on petrol station forecourts explosive situations are known to develop by refuse in the containers being set afire from lighted cigarettes which may be inadvertently deposited with the refuse).In an attempt to alleviate this problem refuse containers have been proposed which respond to the heat of combustion and cause a fire resistant plate to fall on to the refuse with the intention of smothering and snuffing out any flames which develop. However, containers of this latter type tend to be expensive by virtue of the heat responsive structural part, considerable heat and possibly flame has to develop before the smothering action is effected (and the existence of such flame may provide a hazardous situation before the container has had an opportunity to react to snuff out the flame), and the container may be appropriate for a single snuffing operation only since the inconvenience of resetting the heat responsive structural part may deter its further use it is an object of the present Invention. to prcv-te a refuse container which is intended to alleviate the hazard of fire caused by the combustion of refuse thereof anu which also alleviates the disadvantages as aforomentioned of the prior proposal.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION & ADVANTAGES According to the present invention there is provided a refuse container having a normally closed refuse chamber formed by a metal shell, said shell having an upstanding side wall with a port located in an upper part thereof through which port refuse is to be deposited in he chamber: a metal closure member on the interior ofl t shell and hinged thereto and biasing means by which the closure member is urged to normally close the port and alleviate the ingress of air to the chamber.

The refuse container of the present invention will usually be free standing and refuse is deposited in the chamber through the port by manually displacing the closure member against its biasing to effectively open the port.

Following the refuse being deposited the biasing of the member automatically closes the port substantially to seal the chamber against the ingress of air. It will be appreciated that with low cost containers it is unlikely that a fully hermatic seal will be formed between the closure member and the shell but nevertheless provided that the closure member is firmly biased against the shell and in close contact therewith around the periphery of the port, ingress of air through the pot should be adequately restrained to alleviate feeding any combustion which may occur within the chamber. Consequently, in the event that refuse within the chamber is ignited, the fire will be contained within the shell and will be extinguished by oxygen starvation.Any whiffs of smoke that may emerge from between the closure member and side wall are unlikely to be hazardous and will provide clear indication that the container should be removed to a safe area.

In practice the refuse container is likely to have two or more peripherally spaced ports (for convenience of access) with each port having a biased closure member as aforementioned. Typically the upstanding side wall of the metal shell will be cylindrical with a substantially flat metal bottom wall (on which the container can stand) and a metal top wall which is likely to be slightly domed or externally convex.

Preferably the metal shell is formed from upper and lower separable parts of which the Lower part is in the nature of a bin within which the refuse is ot o@ accommodated while the upper rar r;cludes ne ror or ports and their associated closure members. These two parts are fitted together, for example in socket and spigot relationship so that the join therebetween alleviates the ingress of air to the refuse chamber.

A further preference is that the metal shell is provided with an external plastics cover having one or more window openings which co-incide with the port or ports.

This plastics cover, which may be in the form of a sleeve removably fitted over the shell, can provide the container with desired aesthetic characteristics and can also afford a measure of protection against damage caused by impact.

Where the cover is removable, alignment means such as cooperating tracks and splines, can be provided between the cover and the shell, to ensure that during fitting of the cover, say as a sleeve which is dropped over the metal shell, the window openings will co-incide with the respective port or ports.

DRAWINGS One embodiment of a refuse container constructed in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of example onlyf with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawing n which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a two part metal shel comprised in the container and to which a plastics cover sleeve will be fitted as indicated by the broken lines, ana Figure 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the metal shell in which an upper part of the shell has been removed and inverted to indicate the ports and closure members therefor (such upper part conveniently being shown supported on a lower part of the shell).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The refuse container is a generally cylindrical free standing structure with a hollow metal (for example, zir.e ailoy or steel, shell. The shell comorses a lower tat in te form of an open topped bin I bd an upper par - which is fitted to the open top of the bin to provide a refuse chamber. The bin 1 has a substantially flat base on which the container stands and an upstanding cylindrical side wall 3 with vertical and peripheral corrugations 4 and 5 respectively for strengthening purposes.

The upper part 2 has a cylindrical side wall 6 with an internal shoulder 6a which forms a cylindrical socket 7 within which the upper cylindrical rim 3a of the bin 1 is received as a close press fit. The upper part 2 has on the wall 6 at the end thereof remote from the socket 7 a closure wall 8 which is externally convex to provide a domed top to the shell.

Provided in the wall 6 of the upper part are four circumferentially spaced rectangular ports 9 which provide access to the refuse chamber that is formed within the fitted parts 1 and 2 of the shell. Each port 9 has associated therewith a closure member in the form of a metal plate 10 which is located on the interior of the part 2 and is hinged at 11 to the cylindrical wall 6. Each plate 10 is biased by a spring 12 to abut the side wall 6 and normally close the port 9. It will be seen from Figure 2 that the plates 1C are of par cylindricai shape to correspond with the cyincrical profile of the wall c and so that they will closely abut the wall 6 to normally restrain the Ingress of air through the respective ports 9 into the refuse chamber of the shell. Similarly the close fitting socket and spigot engagement between the parts i and 2 of the shell alleviates the ingress of air to the refuse chamber.

It will be seen from Figure 1 that the metal shell is provided with a plastics, generally cylindrical, cover sleeve indicated by the broken line 13 which open at its lower end and provided with a domed closure wall 14 at its upper end. The sleeve 13 is dropped over the shell and is provided with a circumferentially spaced array of window apertures 15 which are positioned to co-incide with the ports 9. For convenience of orientating the sleeve 13 relative to the metal shell, an external vertical spline shown at 16 can be provided on the lower part of the bin which is intended to co-operate with a complementary track 17 on the interior of the sleeve 13 whereby it may be ensured that the sleeve is positioned correctly during fitting for the windows 15 to co-incide with the ports 9.

In practice refuse will be deposited in the bin 1 through a port 9 as the plate 10 for that port is displaced against its spring biasing. The plate 10 will automatically close the port so that the refuse chamber will normally be closed against the ingress of air. In the event that refuse within the container is ignited the refuse chamber will, substantially, be starved of oxygen so that the fire is contained within the metal shell and will rapidly die. In the event that combustion occurs within the refuse chamber it is possible that whiffs of smoke will emerge through the ports 9 by seepage between the wall 6 and plates 10 (even though the fire is contained) and this smoke may serve as a warning that the container should be removed to a safe area until the fire is extinguished (following which the refuse container will be immediately available for further use).

During normal service of the container it will be apparent that it is a simple matter to remove the aesthetic and protective sleeve 13 and then remove the upper part 2 of the shell so that the bin 1 can be emptied.

Claims (11)

1. A refuse container having a normally closed refuse chamber formed by a metal shell, said shell having an upstanding side wall with a port located in an upper part thereof through which port refuse is to be deposited in the chamber; a metal closure member on the interior of the shell and hinged thereto and biasing means by which the closure member is urged to normally close the port and alleviate the ingress of air to the chamber.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1 and having at least two said ports which are peripherally spaced in the upper part of the upstanding side wall, each said port having associated therewith a said metal closure member, with said biasing means.

3. A container as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 in which the shell is formed by upper and lower separable parts of which the lower part comprises a refuse bin and the port or ports are located in the upper part, said upper and lower parts beinq fitted together to alleviate the ingress of air to the chamber.

t. A container as claimed in claim 3 in which the upper and lower parts are press fitted together in socket and spigot relationship.

5. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the shell is provided with an external and substantially complementary, plastics cover removably fitted thereto, said cover havina one or more window openings which coincide with the port or ports.

6. A container as claimed in claim 5 in which the plastics cover comprises a sleeve within which the shell is received.

7. A container as claimed in claim 6 in which the shell is free standing on a base thereof and wherein said sleeve is open at one end and closed at the opposite end, the sleeve being fitted to the shell by the uPper part of the shell being received in the open end of the sleeve and the sleeve being lowered over the shell.

8. A container as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 7 in which alignment means is provided to co-operate between the shell and cover whereby during fitting of the cover the alignment means ensures that the window opening or openings coincide with the respective Port or ports.

9. A container as claimed in claim 8 when appendant to claim 7 in which the alignment means comprises upstanding track and spline means which co-operate between the shell and sleeve as the sleeve is lowered over the shell.

10. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the upstanding side wall of the shell is substantially cylindrical and the or each closure member has a substantially part cylindrical profile to be substantially comDlementary to the cylindrical profile presented by the side wall.

11. A refuse container substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawinqs.