GB2321451A

GB2321451A - Self-emptying container

Info

Publication number: GB2321451A
Application number: GB9701557A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alexander Fraser; Simon David Johnston
Original assignee: MGK
Current assignee: MGK
Priority date: 1997-01-25
Filing date: 1997-01-25
Publication date: 1998-07-29
Anticipated expiration: 2017-01-25
Also published as: GB9701557D0; GB2321451B

Abstract

A self-emptying free-standing container 1 comprises a body 4 and a hingedly mounted base panel 16, the base panel 16 having a latch mechanism 22 which includes a projecting engagement member 24, formed and arranged for abutment with the side wall of a skip or similar body (26, Figure 7). As the container 1, which may be carried on the forks 2 of a fork-lift truck (not shown), approaches the skip, the member 24 abuts the top wall of the skip 26, thus releasing the latch mechanism 22. The latch mechanism 22 may include biasing means such as a spring 56. When the container 1 is raised in a controlled manner using, for example, a fork lift truck, the base panel 16 swings downwardly from its normal closed position to its open position to allow material to be discharged from the container. The container 1 also comprises a plurality of spaced apart legs 50, and the projecting engagement member 24 is located between, and has a downward extent less than, these legs 50. Preferably the hinge 14 is provided with an angled rear stop portion 70 (more clearly shown in figures 2 and 5), which serves to limit the angular extent to which the base panel 16 can open.

Description

IMPROVED SELF-EMPTYING 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 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 by an operator.

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.

Furthermore the release of the closure panel latch requires the operator to dismount from the vehicle which is also time consuming and potentially dangerous.

Our United Kingdom Patent (Publication No. 2257120B) discloses a container which has a sliding closure panel 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 or paper and cardboard which can "bridge" across the aperture blocking it and thus preventing the discharge of material even with the closure panel open.

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 having a plurality of spaced apart depending support members, which container comprises a base and a surrounding wall, said container having hingedly mounted base panel means movable between a first, normally closed position for closing a bottom aperture in the container and a second open position for allowing material disposed in said container in use thereof, to exit therethrough, said base panel means being provided with a latch mechanism formed and arranged for retaining said base panel means in said closed position thereof, which latch mechanism is provided with a laterally operable latch release means having a projecting engagement member depending from the underside of the base panel between and spaced from said plurality of spaced apart depending support members and having a downward extent less than said support members and formed and arranged for abutment, in use of the container, with an abutment portion at or in proximity to a top portion of a generally immovable body as defined herein whereby said bottom aperture may be opened progressively by: bringing said projecting engagement member into abutment with said body abutment portion and inducing relative movement of said container with respect to said body abutment portion to push back said projecting member so as to unlatch said base panel means; supporting the unlatched base panel means on said body abutment portion; and raising in a controlled manner said container above said body abutment portion to allow the base panel means to swing downwardly from its normally closed position towards open position.

Thus with a container according to the present invention, the base panel may be released without an operator having to dismount from a fork lift truck in use of the container and material contained therein, particularly paper and cardboard, may be readily discharged and by the controlled lifting of the container by a forklift it is possible also to obtain a substantially controlled rate of discharge.

As used herein the term immovable body includes any surface or upper edge of an external, more or less fixed body against which said engagement member may abut against and could include, for example, a kerb, the upper edge of a wall or preferably said body is the side wall of a skip or like container such that the contents of the container are discharged into said skip or like container. Alternatively the body may be in the form of an abutment bar or portion extending from the ground formed and arranged to abut said member thereby causing said container to discharge its contents at a predetermined area proximal said abutment bar.

The container is preferably a generally rectangular box shape and has a generally standard pallet size footprint, e.g.

approximately 1220 mm x 915 mm. It will be appreciated however that the container may have a wide variety of sizes and shapes as required to suit any particular application in this field.

Preferably said hingedly mounted base panel means comprises substantially the whole base of said container in order to facilitate the exit of material therethrough, but may also comprise only part of the base, especially where part of the base is inclined somewhat e.g. in order to facilitate discharge of certain materials - for example granular material, through an opening in the base.

Preferably said surrounding wall comprises four vertical walls arranged in a rectangular framework. Alternatively though said surrounding wall comprises two opposed vertical walls and two opposed inclined walls arranged in a said rectangular framework, said inclined walls being disposed in a generally "V"-shaped arrangement so as to direct material towards the base opening closed by the hinged base panel means 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 latch mechanism laterally operable latch release means is provided with biasing means to urge at least one engagement member extending therefrom into locking engagement of said base panel means in said closed position in to a lower portion of said container.

Preferably said base panel is provided with limiting means formed and arranged for limiting the extent to which said base panel hingedly opens. Preferably said limiting means is in the form of a rear stop on said hinge to define a maximum opening limit for said base panel. Preferably said limiting means is arranged so that said base panel drops down hingedly in range of from 300 to 600, desirably 450 from the horizontal so as to define a slide for material being discharged thereacross.

Preferably said base panel is provided with spaced apart winglets on each side there so as to define a chute and thereby guide material down across said base panel and prevent spillage over the sides thereof.

The container is preferably mounted on short support members so that the base panel means, the latching mechanism 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 inter-engagement with leg extensions at the top of the container. Desirably said support members are provided on said base panel means. Said support members may be in the form of inverted cups formed and arranged for nesting interengagement with said leg extension at the top of a said container or may be in the form of skids or depending leg portions or a combination of skids and leg portions.

Desirably the top of the container is provided with fork engagement members or channels formed and arranged to enable a container to be lifted from the top thereby not interfering with the base panel means, and/or the projecting control member and/or the latch mechanism on the underside of the container.

Preferably the projecting engagement member depending from the underside of the base panel means is positioned more or less in the centre of the base panel to facilitate abutment with the surface of an external material receiving body.

Alternatively said engagement member extends across the width of the base panel means at a generally medial portion thereof.

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 side view of a self emptying container of the invention with its base panel fully open; Fig. 2 is a side view of the container in Fig. 1 with the base panel closed; Fig. 3 is a rear view of the container in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the container in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a partial sectional side view of the latch mechanism of the container in Fig. 1 Fig. 6 is an underside view of the latch mechanism of the container in Fig. l;and Fig. 7 a-c show the sequence of events to discharge material contained in a container of the type shown in Figs. 1 to 6.

Figs. 1 to 5 show a self emptying container, generally indicated by reference number 1, being supported by the forks 2 of a fork lift truck (not shown). The container 1 comprises a generally rectangular frame 4 made from hollow steel box section with upper fork channels 3. The frame 4 supports four vertical side walls 6, 8, 10, 12 and on the lower edge 5 of the rear side wall 6 there is hingedly 14 mounted therealong a base panel 16 which covers substantially the whole base 18 of the container 1 which defines the bottom aperture 20 in the container 1. The underside of the displaceable base panel 16 has a latching mechanism 22 (see Fig. 6) which includes a depending engagement member 24 (see also Figs. 2 to 5) formed and arranged for abutment with the side wall of a skip 26 when the container 1 is brought up to it (see Figs. 7a - c) and the detailed description below.

In more detail and with particular reference to Figs. 5 and 6, the latching mechanism 22 comprises two spaced apart elongate slider rods 28 bushedly 30 mounted into the base panel's 16 support frame 32 and which engage with the lower portion 34 of the front side wall 8 of the container 1 (see Fig. 3). The slider rods 28 are interconnected by a coplanar bar 36 from which extends at a central portion a horizontal drive member 38. The drive member 38 is positioned in a guideway 40 defined by two guide bars 42, 44. The guide bars 42, 44 are connected to two spaced apart beams 46, 48 forming the central portion of the base panel's support frame 32. Connected to the drive member 38 and depending from the underside of the base panel's support frame 32 is the projecting engagement member 24 formed and arranged for abutment, in the use of the container, with the side wall of the skip 26. The rear one 46 of the two spaced apart beams acts as an end stop to limit the extent of travel of the engagement member 24 (as shown in Fig.

5).

Each of the four corners of the base panel 16 has a leg member 50 which depends from the underside of the base panel. The two front members are in the form of skids 52. The projecting engagement member 24 has a downward extent just less the leg members 50 so that the projecting engagement member 24 is spaced apart from the ground 54.

The latching mechanism 22 is provided with springs 56 to bias the outer ends of the slider rods 28 outwardly of the base panel 16 for engagement with slider rod retaining apertures 58 in the lower portion 34 of the front wall 8 of the container 1. The inner ends 60 of slider rods are secured to the front one 48 of the two spaced apart beams 46, 48 forming the central portion of the base panel's support frame 32. The springs 56 act between the front one 48 of the beams and the slider rod interconnection bar 36 so as to urge the slider rods outwardly. The end 60 of each slider rods 28 has a chamber 62 to facilitate re-engagement of the rod 28 into the rod retaining aperatures 58.

The joint 64 between the base panel 16 and the bottom 66 of the side walls of the container 1 is sealed by means of a foam rubber seal 68 extending around the periphery of the underside of the container frame 32 (see Fig. 3).

The hinge 14, which extends along the full length of the rear wall 4 of the container (see Fig. 4) for strength and rigidity is provided with an angled rear stop portion 70 so as to limit the angular extent to which the base panel 16 can open. As shown in Fig. 1 the rear stop 70 is arranged to limit the extent of opening of the base panel 16 to approximately 450 from the horizontal.

Turning now to the method of operation of the container 1 which will be described with reference to Figs. 7a - c. A forklift truck 72 inserts its forks 2 into fork channels 3 on the upper edge of the container 1. The forklift 73 and container 1 is then raised clear of the ground 54 and the truck 72 driven towards a skip 26 into which the contents 74 of the container 1 are to be discharged. The forklift 73 and container 1 is lowered so as to just to pass over the top edge 76 of the side wall 78 of the skip 26. The fork lift truck then moves slowly towards the skip (in the direction of arrow 'A'-Fig. 7 b) - so that the engagement member 24 catches against the top edge 76 of the skip wall 78 and further movement causes the latching mechanism to disengage the slider rods from the retaining apertures. The base panel is now supported on the skip side wall and is ready to be opened in a gradual and controlled manner by slowly raising, in the direction of arrow 'B'- Fig. 7 c - the forklift 73 and container 1 thereby opening the base panel 16 so that the contents 74 of the container 1 can be discharged progressively into the skip 26.

To close the container 1 the forklift 73 is lowered so as to bring the base panel 16 into contact with the edge 76 of the skip 26. Further downward movement of the fork lift brings the base panel into a more or less horizontal attitude so that the sliding rods on the latching mechanism may re-engage and lock into the retaining apertures. The container may now be raised slightly so as to clear the side edge of the skip and driven away. Alternatively the base panel may be brought into contact with the ground and the container lowered so that the slider rods re-engage and lock into the retaining apertures.

It will be seen that as the forklift moves forward with the engagement member abutting the side wall there is a tendency for the forks of the forklift to be pushed further into the container thereby providing positive location and support for the container 1 on the forks during discharge. Furthermore the rate at which the forklift moves upward determines the rate at which the aperture opens thereby determining in turn the rate of discharge of the contents.

Various modifications may be made to the above described embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention. Thus for example the base panel may be provided at its sides with small upstanding wall means so as to direct material down the panel and prevent spillage over the side.

The left and right side walls may be inclined in a 'V' type arrangement to facilitate discharge of for example granular material. This arrangement facilitates the use of bottom end fork channels as opposed to upper fork channels as described above.

Claims

1. A self-emptying free-standing container having a plurality of spaced apart depending support members, which container comprises a base and a surrounding wall, said container having hingedly mounted base panel means movable between a first, normally closed position for closing a bottom aperture in the container and a second open position for allowing material disposed in said container in use thereof, to exit therethrough, said base panel means being provided with a latch mechanism formed and arranged for retaining said base panel means in said closed position thereof, which latch mechanism is provided with a laterally operable latch release means having a projecting engagement member depending from the underside of the base panel between and spaced from said plurality of spaced apart depending support members and having a downward extent less than said support members and formed and arranged for abutment, in use of the container, with an abutment portion at or in proximity to a top portion of a generally immovable body whereby said bottom aperture may be opened progressively by: bringing said projecting engagement member into abutment with said body abutment portion and inducing relative movement of said container with respect to said body abutment portion to push back said projecting member so as to unlatch said base panel means; supporting the unlatched base panel means on said body abutment portion; and raising in a controlled manner said container above said body abutment portion to allow the base panel means to swing downwardly from its normally closed position towards its open position.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1 having a generally rectangular box shape of standard pallet size and footprint.

3. A container as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said hingedly mounted base panel means comprises substantially the whole base of said container in order to facilitate the exit of material therethrough.

4. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said surrounding wall comprises four vertical walls arranged in a rectangular framework.

5. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said surrounding wall comprises two opposed vertical walls and two opposed inclined walls arranged in a said rectangular framework, said inclined walls being disposed in a generally V-shaped arrangement so as to direct material towards the base opening closed by the hinged panel means of the container.

6. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein said latch mechanism laterally operable latch release means is provided with biasing means to urge at least one engagement member extending therefrom into locking engagement of said base panel means in said closed position in to a lower portion of said container.

7. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein said base panel is provided with limiting means formed nd arranged for limiting the extent to which said base panel hingedly opens, said limiting means being in the form of a rear stop on said hinge to define a maximum opening limit of said base panel.

8. A container as claimed in claim 7 wherein said limiting means is arranged so that said base panel drops down hingedly in the range from 300 to 600 from the horizontal so as to define a slide for material being discharged thereacross.

9. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein said base panel is provided with spaced apart winglets on each side thereof so as to define a chute and thereby guide material down across said base panel.

10. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 which is mounted on short support members formed and arranged so that said base panel means, said latching mechanism and the projecting engagement member are supported clear of the ground.

11. A container as claimed in claim 10 wherein said support members are formed and arranged for inter-engagement with the leg extensions of the top of the container to facilitate stacking of a plurality of containers.

12. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11 provided with fork engagement members or channels formed and Arranged to enable a container to be lifted from the top portion thereof.

13. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein said projecting engagement member depends from the underside of the base panel means in a position more or less in the centre of said base panel.

14. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein said projecting engagement member extends across the width of the base panel means at a generally medial portion thereof.

15. A self emptying free standing container substantially as described hereinbefore and with reference to Figs. 1 - 7 of the accompanying drawings.