GB2255899A - Waste container and liner assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A waste container 10 is provided with a liner 12 and a retainer bar 14 therefor. The retainer bar has two opposed end clamping plates 18, each having an integral stop member 20, whereby the retainer bar may be wedged and positively located in the open top of a container to clamp the interior of the top of the liner against the interior of the top of the container. <IMAGE>

Description

Title: "Waste Container and Liner Assembly" This invention relates to a waste container.

Waste containers of varying sizes for many different applications are well known. Such containers can vary in size from the 12 to 14 cubic yard or more capacity "skip" type of container which is usually made of steel and can weigh in excess of one tonne even when empty, down to the domestic sizes which are usually made of plastics materials and which are readily movable by hand even when full. One disadvantage common to many of the larger commercial sizes of waste container is that waste material is placed, or more usually thrown, into the container such that the interior of the container may become damaged but will certainly become extremely dirty and contaminated thereby presenting a potential health hazard.It has not been the practice to mitigate against this disadvantage by the provision of a liner in these commercial sizes of waste container although bin liners are of course well known for use with the smaller sizes of domestic waste container.

One reason why liners have not been utilised in conjunction with the larger sizes of waste container is that a liner, which would be made of a cheap disposable material such as a thin plastics, would not be self-supporting and would therefore collapse into the container.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved waste container assembly wherein some at least of the disadvantages mentioned above can be overcome.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a top-loading waste container assembly comprising an open topped container; a thin flexible liner disposable within the container, said liner being of bag-like form having an openmouthed top with a periphery disposable at or adjacent the periphery of the open top of the container; and one or more elongated retainer bars engagable with the liner and the container adjacent their open tops, each said bar having opposed end clamping elements for releasably securing a part of the top of the liner to a part of the top of the container.

The length of each said retainer bar is preferably so dimensioned relative to the dimensions of said container that said clamping elements are wedgably engagable in the top of said container and, conveniently, each said clamping element comprises a plate-like member engagable with the interior of the top of the liner to clamp the liner against the interior of the top of the container.

Preferably the two plate-like members are inclined downwardly and inwardly towards one another whereby the retainer bar may be readily wedged into the top of said container. There is preferably provided a stop member associated with each said clamping element for engagement with the upper rim of the top of the container whereby said retainer bar may be positively located in position in said container and conveniently each said stop member comprises a plate-like member extending outwardly of each said clamping element.

Each said stop member is conveniently formed integral with a said associated clamping element and the stop members, the clamping elements and the bar are preferably all formed of metal. Each stop member and its associated integral clamping element is conveniently welded to an end of the bar.

The invention also provides a retainer bar for use in conjunction with a waste container and liner therefor as set forth in the preceding paragraphs.

Other features of the invention will become apparent from the following description given herein solely by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic vertical cross-sectional view of a wheeled waste container including a liner and retainer bar in accordance with the invention; and Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view to an enlarged scale of a position prior to full engagement between the retainer bar, the liner and the container.

A waste container with which the invention may be utilised may be of conventional form of the type which may be mechanically lifted and tilted for discharge of its contents into a rear end loading vehicle. Such a container may be of open-topped form having two substantially rectangular planar side walls and two substantially rectangular planar end walls each having semi-circular upward extensions. There may be provided a pivotal lid of arcuate form whereby the container may be closed. Wheels may be provided at each corner of the base of the container whereby it may be readily manually manoeuvred on site as well as to and from a discharge vehicle. The container may be formed from a high density rigid plastics material or from galvanised steel.Containers of this type are known per se and are described solely by way of example as it will be appreciated that the invention finds application in any configuration of top-loading large capacity waste container.

A container 10 is shown diagrammatically in the drawings wherein there is provided a liner 12 formed of a cheap disposable thin plastics material of bag-like form disposable within the container 10 so as substantially to occupy the whole of its interior volume. In accordance with the invention there is provided at least one retainer bar 14 of elongate form extending, as illustrated, along one side wall of the container at the open mouth thereof. The retainer bar 14 comprises a tubular or solid bar proper 16 having at each of its ends a clamping element in the form of a plate-like member 18 with an integral stop member 20 also of plate-like form extending outwardly of the member 18 at approximately 90 thereto. Each clamping element and stop member are integral with one another and made of metal, such as steel, and each clamping element is welded to an end of the bar 16.

As will be seen clearly from of the drawings, the plate-like members 18 comprising the clamping elements extend downwardly and inwardly relative to one another. The length of the retainer bar 16 is so dimensioned relative to the corresponding dimension of the container 10 that the retainer bar may be initially readily inserted within the top of the container and then wedged into the top of the container by the application of downward pressure until such time as the stop members 20 engage the upper rim of the open top of the container to positively locate the retainer bar in position. In this fully engaged position each clamping element member 18 is wedged tightly against the interior of the top of the liner 12 whereby the liner is clamped against the interior of the top of the container 10.

In use, a fresh liner is inserted into a container and clamped in position by one or more retainer bars before the interior of the liner is filled with waste material. When the container is full, the or each retainer bar is removed manually and the liner and its contents are discharged from the container in known manner.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims (13)

CLAIMS:

1. A top-loading waste container assembly comprising an open topped container; a thin flexible liner disposable within the container, said liner being of bag-like form having an open-mouthed top with a periphery disposable at or adjacent the periphery of the open top of the container; and one or more elongated retainer bars engagable with the liner and the container adjacent their open tops, each said bar having opposed end clamping elements for releasably securing a part of the top of the liner to a part of the top of the container.

2. A waste container as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the length of each such retainer bar is so dimensioned relative to the dimensions of said container that said clamping elements are wedgably engagable in the top of said container.

3. A waste container as claimed in either one of Claims 1 or 2 wherein said clamping elements of each said retainer bar each comprise a plate-like member engagable with the interior of the top of the liner to clamp the liner against the interior of the top of the container.

4. A waste container as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the two plate-like members are inclined downwardly and inwardly towards one another whereby the bar may be wedged into the top of said container.

5. A waste container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims including a stop member associated with each said clamping element for engagement with the upper rim of the top of said container whereby said retainer bar may be positively located in position in said container.

6. A waste container as claimed in Claim 5 wherein each said stop member comprises a plate-like member extending outwardly of each said clamping element.

7. A waste container as claimed in either one of Claims 5 or 6 wherein each said stop member is formed integral with a said associated clamping element.

8. A waste container as claimed in Claim 7 wherein the stop members, the clamping elements and the bar are formed of metal.

9. A waste container as claimed in Claim 8 wherein each stop member and its associated integral clamping element is welded to an end of the bar.

10. A retainer bar for use in conjunction with a waste container and a liner therefor as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

11. A retainer bar as claimed in Claim 10 constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

12. A waste container, liner and retainer bar constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described.

13. Any novel feature or novel combination of features disclosed herein and/or shown in the accompanying drawings.