GB2302321A

GB2302321A - Self-emptying container

Info

Publication number: GB2302321A
Application number: GB9512236A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alexander Fraser
Original assignee: MGK
Current assignee: MGK
Priority date: 1995-06-16
Filing date: 1995-06-16
Publication date: 1997-01-15
Also published as: GB9512236D0

Abstract

A self-emptying, free-standing container comprises comprising a support structure (6), a base (8) and a surrounding wall (10), with the support structure (6) defining a first fixed portion (7) of the surrounding wall (10). The base (8) and the remaining movable, portion of the surrounding wall (10) are angularly displaceable from a first, normally closed, position for retaining material in the container to a second, open, position so as to allow a body of material (5) disposed in the container to be evacuated when a projecting member (26) depending from the underside (25) of the base (8) engages with a surface (28) of an external more or less fixed body (4) as the container is moved towards the body (4) by a fork lift truck (2).

Description

IMPROVED CONTAINER The present invention relates to containers, particularly self emptying containers of the type used to carry bulk material.

Self emptying containers are used in a variety of applications in different industries such as the collection of waste material e.g. scrap metal in a machine shop or waste paper in printing works or for handling particulate material. When such containers become full they are normally taken by fork lift truck or crane to be emptied into a larger container such as a skip and/or to a scrap collection area for further processing.

Previously known designs of self emptying container include containers having a base which is pivotally mounted at one side so that when the top of the container is lifted by a fork lift the base swings open thereby discharging the contents of the container.

Other designs of container utilise side discharge or require tipping but such designs require special fork lift apparatus which is expensive and often inconvenient in use. Furthermore, such previously known designs generally discharge the material at an uncontrolled rate due to the sudden opening of the closure panel when the latch which secures it in the closed position is released. This can result in dangerous load shifting which can cause the container to become dislodged from the fork lift apparatus. As a result it has been necessary to chain (or clamp) the container to the fork assembly or forks in order to avoid the possibility of serious accidents. This however requires the operator to dismount from the vehicle and carry out time consuming chaining and unchaining (or clamping and unclamping) operations every time a container requires to be emptied.

Our United Kingdom Patent (Publication No. 2257120B) discloses a container which avoids or minimises one or more of the above disadvantages but such a container has a limited capacity and the discharge aperture is relatively small so that it is not particularly suitable for use with for example solidifying particulate material.

It is an object of the present invention to avoid or minimise one or more of the above disadvantages of known containers.

The present invention provides a self-emptying, free-standing container of the kind described herein, which container comprises a support structure, a base and a surrounding wall with said support structure defining a first fixed portion of said surrounding wall, said base and the remaining, movable, portion of said surrounding wall being displacable from a first, normally closed position for retaining material in said container, rearwardly of said surrounding wall fixed portion with angular translation so as to tip forwardly said base and said remaining portion of said surrounding wall, to a second open position defining an aperture between said first fixed portion of said surrounding wall and said base for allowing a body of material disposed in said container in use thereof to be evacuated through said aperture, said base having a projecting engagement member depending from the underside thereof and having a downward extent less than the underside of said support structure and formed and arranged for abutment, in use of the container, with a surface of an external more or less fixed body whereby said aperture may be opened by bringing said projecting engagement member into abutment with said surface and inducing relative lateral movement of said container with respect to said surface to push back said projecting member so as to displace said base and the remaining portion of said surrounding wall from its normally closed position towards its open position.

Thus with a container according to the present invention particulate material, particularly solidifying particulate material, may be readily discharged and it is also possible to obtain a more controlled rate of discharge.

Preferably the support structure of the container is a generally rectangular box shape and said first fixed portion of said surrounding wall comprises at least one side wall of said support structure, desirably a front side wall or alternatively a front side wall and adjacent spaced apart side walls of said support structure of the container. The movable remaining portion of said surrounding wall may comprise simply a back wall corresponding to an open or closed back side of said support structure. Preferably though the displacable remaining portion of said surrounding wall comprises a back wall and two adjacent opposed side walls, said opposed side walls being generally parallel to the spaced apart sides of said support structure.It will be appreciated though that the opposed side walls of the support structure of the container may not be required where said displacable remaining portion of said surrounding wall comprises a back wall and two adjacent side walls.

The support structure is preferably provided with first and second lateral guide means for guiding the displacement of said base and the remaining portion of said surrounding wall between said first closed position and said second open position. Preferably said first guide means comprises two spaced apart, parallel, substantially vertical tracks adjacent an upper portion of said first fixed portion of said surrounding wall, each for guiding an upper front portion of the remaining portion of the surrounding wall vertically therealong.

Preferably said second guide means comprises two spaced apart, parallel, more or less horizontal tracks extending from a lower front side of the support structure to a lower rear side of the support structure, each for guiding a lower medial portion of the displacable remaining portion of the surrounding wall more or less horizontally therealong, although advantageously the second guide means are inclined slightly upwardly towards the rear of the container.

The synchronous displacement of the movable remaining portion of the surrounding wall along said first and second lateral guide means results in said angular translation of the base and the remaining portion of said surrounding wall between said first, closed and said second, open positions and the tilting thereof so as to facilitate the evacuation of material disposed in said container substantially under the action of gravity.

Various other means for facilitating the angular translation of said base and the remaining, movable,portion of said surrounding wall may be conceived though desirably they are formed and arranged such that said projecting engagement member depending from the underside of the base follows a substantially lateral, advantageously horizontal path during said relative movement of said container with respect to said surface of said more or less fixed body. Most preferably though the base and the remaining, movable, portion of the surrounding wall are formed and arranged within the support structure of the container such that the angular translation thereof takes place substantially within the confines of the support structure.

The container is preferably of generally standard pallet size, e.g. approximately 1220 mm x 915 mm. It will be appreciated however that the container may be of any size and shape as required to suit any particular application in this field.

Preferably said base extends substantially across the whole width of the container in order to facilitate the exit of material therethrough, but may also comprise only part of the base, especially where part of the support structure at its base portion is inclined somewhat e.g. in order to facilitate dishcarge through an opening in the base, or to prevent interference of material exiting the container with fork lift engagement members in the underside of the support structure.

The remaining, movable portion of the surrounding wall preferably comprises two opposed vertical walls and an inclined rear wall in a frame, said inclined wall being formed and arranged at an angle so as to direct material towards the base opening closed by the base of the container. It will be understood that the present invention extends to a container of the above-described type with a wide variety of base and side wall configurations and is not dependent on the use of any particular type of base/side wall configuration.

Preferably said base and the remaining, movable portion of the surrounding wall are provided with biasing means formed and arranged to urge said base and surrounding wall towards its first normally closed position.

Alternatively and/or in addition said second more or less horizontal guide means may be inclined from a higher rear side to a lower front side of the support frame so as to facilitate self closing under gravity of the container.

Damping means may be provided between the support frame and said base and surrounding wall of the container.

Preferably there is provided releasable latch means to retain the base and the surrounding wall portion in said second open position. Advantageously rollers may be fitted to one or other of the base and surrounding wall or the guide means in order to prevent the base and surrounding wall becoming stuck in said guide means when a particularly heavy load is placed in said container and bears down on said base.

The container is preferably mounted on short legs so that the base and the projecting engagement member are supported clear of the ground and not liable to damage thereby. In order to facilitate stacking of a plurality of containers of the invention one on top of another, the legs are desirably formed and arranged for nesting inter-engagement with leg extensions at the top of the container. Furthermore by raising the base of the container above the ground it is possible for the forks of a fork lift truck to pass under the container so that it may be lifted thereby and stacked or moved.

Desirably the top of the container is provided with fork engagement members formed and arranged to enable a container to be lifted from the top thereby not interfering with the base and/or the projecting engagement member on the underside of the container or the discharge of material exiting the container.

Preferably the projecting engagement member depends from the underside of the base and desirably extends across the width of the base to facilitate abutment with the surface of an external material receiving body.

The external body may be in the form of an abutment bar formed and arranged to abut said member thereby causing said container to discharge its contents at a predetermined area proximal said abutment bar.

Conveniently said external body may be the side wall of a skip whereby the contents of the container are discharged into the skip.

The container may be made of any suitable material but for durability and strength steel plate is desirable.

Where the contents are lightweight such as paper then wire mesh and/or plastics materials may be used.

Further preferred features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description given by way of example of a preferred embodiment illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a sectional side view of a self emptying container of the invention in use over a skip; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the container in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a front view of the container in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a side view of the container in Fig. 1; in a closed position; and Fig. 5 is a side view of the container in Fig. 1 in an open position.

Fig. 1 shows a self emptying container, generally indicated by reference number 1, being supported by the forks 2 of a fork lift truck (not shown) above a waste receiving skip 4 into which the contents 5 of the container 1 are to be discharged. The container 2 comprises a generally rectangular frame 6 made from hollow steel box section. The frame 6 supports a fixed front steel plate wall 7 and a displacable base 8, two vertical side walls 10, 12 and a back wall 14 having a vertical portion 16, and an inclined portion 18. (See also Fig. 2).

The base 8, the side walls 10, 12 and the back wall 14 of the container 1 are for closing an aperture 20 (see Fig. 2 also) in the underside of the container 1. The base 8 and the two vertical side walls 10, 12 are respectively in a horizontal 22 and vertical 23 elongate guideway and may be provided with biasing springs (not shown) for maintaining the base 8, side 10, 12 and back 14 wall 4 in a closed position against the fixed front wall 7 of the frame 6. The underside 25 of the base 8 has a depending engagement member 26 extending from its middle (see Fig. 3) and is formed and arranged for abutment with the side wall 28 of the skip 4 when the container is brought up to it, so as to just pass over the top edge 29 of the side wall 28.As the fork lift moves forward with the engagement member 26 catching against the skip wall 28, the relative lateral movement between the container 1 and the wall 28 causes the base 8, the side and back walls 14 to be displaced in an angular translation to an open position (see Fig. 5) whereby the contents of the container 1 may exit through the aperture 20. It will be seen as the forklift moves forward with the engagement member 26 abutting the side wall 27 there is a tendency for the forks 2 of the forklift to be pushed further into the container 1 thereby providing positive location and support for the container 1 on the forks 2 during discharge.

Furthermore the rate at which the forklift truck moves forward determines the rate at which the aperture 20 is opened thereby determining in turn the rate of discharge of the contents 5.

The inclined portion 18 of the back wall 14 is formed and arranged so as to direct the contents 5 of the container towards the aperture 20 particularly when it is in a tilted open position thereby ensuring that substantially all the contents 5 are discharged through the open aperture 20.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the container 1 showing fixed inclined base walls 30 (see also Fig. 2) in the frame 6 in 'V' configuration so as to divert the contents 5 of the container 1 away from the fork engagement members 32 on the underside of the frame 6. It will be appreciated though that the fork engagement members 32 may be mounted on the top of the frame 6 in which case cut outs are required in the vertical portion 16 of the back wall 14.

Figs. 4 and 5 show side views of the container shown in Figs. 1 to 3. The frame 6 is provided with legs 34 having upturned cup bases 36. The bases 36 are formed and arranged to sit on the upstanding corner posts 38 of another like container 1 on which it may be stacked.

Figs 4 and 5 show also the angular translation of the base 8, the side walls 10, 12 and the back wall 14 (shown in dotted line) with respect to the frame 6. The vertical guideway 23 at the front of the container guides the vertical movement of the top front of the side wall 10 through a roller bearing 40 connected to the side wall 10. The horizontal guideway 22 guides the lower medial portion 42 of the side wall 10 again through a roller bearing 44 in the guideway 22.

Vertical downward movement (shown by arrow 'A') of the top front portion of the side wall in synchrony with horizontal rearward movement (shown by arrow 'B') of the lower medial portion 42 of the side wall 10 causes the base 8, the side walls and the back wall 14 to tilt in the direction of arrow 'C' so as to discharge the contents of the container though the aperture in the base of the container 1.

Claims

1. A self-emptying, free-standing container, which container comprises a support structure, a base and a surrounding wall with said support structure defining a first fixed portion of said surrounding wall, said base and the remaining, movable, portion of said surrounding wall being displacable from a first, normally closed position for retaining material in said container, rearwardly of said surrounding wall fixed portion with angular translation so as to tip forwardly said base and said remaining portion of said surrounding wall, to a second open position defining an aperture between said first fixed portion of said surrounding wall and said base for allowing a body of material disposed in said container in use thereof to be evacuated through said aperture, said base having a projecting engagement member depending from the underside thereof and having a downward extent less than the underside of said support structure and formed and arranged for abutment, in use of the container, with a surface of an external more or less fixed body whereby said aperture may be opened by bringing said projecting engagement member into abutment with said surface and inducing relative lateral movement of said container with respect to said surface to push back said projecting member so as to displace said base and the remaining portion of said surrounding wall from its normally closed position towards its open position.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said support structure is a rectangular box shape and said first fixed portion of said surrounding wall comprises a least one side wall of said supporting structure; a front side wall; or a front side wall and adjacent spaced apart side walls of said support structure.

3. A container as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said movable remaining portion of said surrounding wall comprises a back wall corresponding to an open or closed back side of said support structure.

4. A container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said movable remaining portion of said surrounding wall comprises a back wall and two adjacent opposed side walls, said opposed side walls being parallel to the spaced apart sides of said support structure.

5. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein said support structure is provided with first and second lateral guide means formed and arranged for guiding the displacement of said base and the remaining portion of said surrounding wall between said first closed position and said second open position through said angular translation.

6. A container as claimed in claim 5 wherein said first guide means comprises two spaced apart, parallel, substantially vertical tracks adjacent an upper portion of said first fixed portion of said surrounding wall, each for guiding an upper front portion of the remaining portion of the surrounding wall vertically therealong and said second guide means comprises two spaced apart, parallel, generally horizontal tracks extending from a lower front side of the support structure to a lower rear side of the support structure, each for guiding a lower medial portion of the displacable remaining portion of the surrounding wall generally horizontally therealong.

7. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein said means for facilitating said angular translation of said base and the remaining movable portion of said surrounding wall are formed and arranged such that said projecting engagement member depending from the underside of said base follows a substantially lateral horizontal path during said relative movement of container with respect to said surface of said more or less fixed body.

8. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein said base and the remaining movable portion of said surrounding wall are formed and arranged within the support structure of the container such that the angular translation thereof take place substantially within the confines of the support structure.

9. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein said base and the remaining, movable portion of the surrounding wall are provided with biasing means formed and arranged to urge said base and surrounding wall towards its first, normally closed, position.

10. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 mounted on legs formed and arranged such that said base and the projecting engagement member are supported clear of the ground.

11. A container substantially as described hereinbefore and with reference to Figs. 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.