GB2463294A

GB2463294A - A waste bin with a storage area for a dustpan

Info

Publication number: GB2463294A
Application number: GB0816438A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Antonio De Luca; Paul Brown
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-09-09
Filing date: 2008-09-09
Publication date: 2010-03-10
Also published as: GB2463128B; GB0816438D0; GB0911269D0; GB2463128A

Abstract

A waste bin with a storage area 4 for a dustpan 5, the storage area 4 is underneath the bin. When the dustpan 5 is in the storage area 4, the dustpan 5 is positioned to allow debris to be swept directly into the dustpan 5, until the user wishes to empty dustpan into the main waste storage area 2 of the bin (fig 3). The storage area 4 may be incorporated into the body of the waste bin or may be retro-fitted to the base of an existing waste bin. The dustpan 5 may have a rubber strip along its front to provide good contact with the floor and maybe removed from the storage area 4 by a mechanism that ejects the dustpan or by the user pulling the dustpan 5. The storage area may have a flap on the front to conceal the debris stored in the storage area and/or dustpan 5. Preferably a brush with an 'L shaped' telescopic handle is used to sweep debris into the dustpan 5. The waste bin may be used in workshops, offices, factories or outdoors. Alternatively the dustpan 5 and/or the brush may be stored on the lid, back or sides of the bin. A suction device may be incorporated into the bin to suck debris from the storage area 4 or dustpan 5 into the main waste receptacle of the bin.

Description

Waste bin and rubbish collection system The present invention relates to a waste bin and the method of putting the rubbish put into the bin.

Many different types of waste bin exist and known examples include simple bins with open tops, bins with pull-up or flip-top lids and bins with foot pedal operated lids, all of which are normally free, floor standing. Other bins include those built into kitchen cabinets which can have the lid opened by a mechanism linked to the cabinet door, and bins with separate compartments to help separate waste types for downstream recycling.

Rubbish from these smaller types of bins is typically emptied into large, outdoor bins for removal by the local council.

Many different types of rubbish collecting methods exist and include a simple hand-held dustpan with hand-held brush, a larger dustpan, sometimes with a front flap, on a long handle which is typically filled using a long handled brush (normally used in hairdressers, retail and office environments), very wide, straight or V' shaped brushes on long handles (normally used in shopping mall, retail and office environments for collecting dust from large floor areas), mains powered vacuum cleaners and smaller, rechargeable handheld vacuum cleaners.

A problem with hand-held dustpans with hand-held brushes is that they are normally needed to be located and then taken out of storage, e.g. from a cupboard, are then typically used for just one cleaning session, the rubbish emptied into a bin then needed to be put back in the storage place. Furthermore, the operation of using a hand-held dustpan and brush means the user needs to bend down to brush up the rubbish which is a physical inconvenience. This is a lot of actions and inconvenience, particularly for less abled people, for collecting just a small amount of rubbish.

A problem with larger dustpans, sometimes with a front flap, on a long handle typically filled using a long handled brush is that they are difficult to fill and manoeuvre as both hands/arms are needed to operate both the brush and pan handles. Furthermore, the pan is difficult to lift and manoeuvre when emptying into a bin due to the long attached handle and the possible need to open the bin lid at the same time.

A problem with normal, straight, very wide or V' shaped brushes on long handles is that after all the rubbish has been collected a further device and action is required to move the rubbish from the floor up into a larger bin or rubbish bag. This means the user would probably need to use a hand-held dustpan and hand-held brush which has the problems as stated earlier of requiring the user to locate the dustpan and brush then bend down to collect the rubbish.

A problem with mains powered vacuum cleaners is that they are typically, large, heavy, noisy and cumbersome to use, need to be removed from their storage place, the power cable pulled out and then plugged in, used and then the unit put away again after use which is a lot of actions if only wishing to do a quick clean up session. Furthermore the storage capacity is normally relatively small and not suitable for larger volumes of rubbish, for example, lots of bulky hair needed to be cleaned up from a hairdressing salon floor. A problem with smaller, rechargeable handheld vacuum cleaners is that they too may be too noisy to use in a retail environment where customers are present and have even smaller storage capacities, so have limited use and require frequent emptying.

An object of this invention is to provide a rubbish collection method which does not require the user to bend down every time to collect the rubbish, nor bend time every time to pick up and empty the rubbish into a bin after every cleaning session and which enables a quickly accessible, quick to operate, quiet and convenient method of cleaning the floor with only occasional need to move the collected rubbish into the main bin.

Accordingly, this invention provides a bin with a dustpan stored underneath the bin and a brush which allows the user to quickly sweep up the rubbish from the floor directly into the dustpan part where it can be left and allow the user to instantly walk away to continue with other work. The dustpan can be left parked' under the bin until the user wishes to empty it at a later date, for instance when it eventually becomes full, after which it can be removed and emptied into the main part of the bin.

It is preferable for the dustpan part to have a straight front form to allow a rubber strip to be fixed to the bottom lip to enable good contact with the floor surface. It is also preferable for the brush part of the system to be a wide brush with a long handle to enable quicker brushing up. It would be preferable for the handle of the brush to be telescopic so it can be stored next to or onto the bin for quick and easy access. It would be also be preferable for the long handle of the brush to have a an L' shape at the base to allow the brush part to enter the dustpan to enable the rubbish to be pushed in deeper to hence allow more rubbish to be stored in the dustpan. Alternatively a standard short handled brush would suffice for this system.

A particular benefit of the present invention is that the dustpan, main bin and brush are all stored together as a system in the same place so are easy to find and quick to use. Also user does not need to carry both the dustpan and the brush, because the dustpan remains stationary under the bin, which enables the user to stand up if using a long handled brush and more quickly brush up rubbish from all around the room with bigger sweeping actions, sweeping it straight into the parked dustpan positioned under the bin. A speedy cleaning operation is of particular benefit to busy users, such as hairdressers, who need to quickly clean up after the last customer to make the salon look clean and smart yet need to swiftly move on to the next customer, so have little time to clean up. A further benefit of the present invention is that the user does not need to bend down to sweep up nor bend down to pick up the dustpan after every cleaning session, because the rubbish can remain in the dustpan if desired until a later date, thus reducing the inconvenience and physical actions and required of the user.

This present invention can be utilized for other areas and uses such as workshops, offices, factories and outdoor/garden/yard use and combined with multi-compartment recycling bins.

Further details may be added to the present invention such as a flap on the front of the collection area to conceal the collected rubbish stored in the dustpan. A further detail may be added such as a mechanism which enables the user to eject the dustpan part easily from the bin base part. This could be a simple bent piece of metal which is pulled by the user and which pushes on the back of the dustpan to eject it, or any other mechanism to achieves the same end result. Preferably and for simplicity the dustpan would be removed by the user pulling on the front edge of the top wall of the dustpan, accessed by a cutaway part within the front of the bin.

Other embodiments of the present invention are possible and include storing the dustpan underneath the bin but not allowing the rubbish to be swept directly into it. In this configuration the user would need to extract the dustpan to collect the rubbish. Similarly the dustpan and/or the brush could be stored elsewhere on the bin such as in the lid, on the lid, on the back or side of the bin. A further embodiment includes supplying the base part and/or dustpan as a separate add-on unit which can be retro-fitted to any bin. The base part, supporting the bin above, does not need full walls on the three sides but could be a series of pillars for instance.

A further embodiment of the present invention could involve a suction device which sucks the rubbish from the base part or dustpan into the main bin part. In this embodiment it would not be necessary for the dustpan to be removable, or exist, and the base part would be the secondary rubbish collection area. A further embodiment would be where the base part is also the dustpan and the main bin part needs to be removed to allow the base part to be picked up and emptied.

The dustpan handle can be of a variety of designs including a handle formed in the top wall of the unit by having two cut outs each side to allow the fingers to go through, a scooped out handle along the back wall of the dustpan like an upside-down gutter, a flip over handle which has a stored mode and an in-use mode and conventional handles either protruding out the back of the back wall or the front of the back wall. The dustpan can have a wall across the top or not. The dustpan could be a bag on a frame.

As shown in Figure 1, the bin has a lid 1, a main bin storage area part 2, a cut-away area 3 which enables the user to grab hold of the dustpan 5, a storage area underneath the bin 4 for the dustpan 5, a base part 6 (which could be integrated with main bin part 2) and an L' shaped brush 7. During normal operation the dustpan 5 is stored in the parking bay' or dustpan storage area 4. Rubbish is swept from the floor into the dustpan 5 with a brush 7 and the rubbish remains there until it is considered an appropriate time to empty the rubbish into the bin 2.

Figure 2 shows the bin 2 with the lid 1 closed with the dustpan 5 out of the dustpan storage area 4 of the base part 6. The user can pick up and manoeuvre the dustpan 5 with the handle 8.

Figure 3 shows the lid 1 open and the rubbish 9 being emptied into the main bin part 2.

The main bin part 2 would have a solid base which would not allow the rubbish 9 to fall out onto the floor or have apertures would have the requirement for rubbish bag to be inserted into the main bin part 2 to hold the rubbish.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A bin with a dustpan storage area underneath and dustpan stored underneath
2. A bin and rubbish collection system as claimed in Claim 1 in which the rubbish can be swept directly into the dustpan part stored under the bin
3. A bin and rubbish collection system as claimed in any proceeding claims which has a brush as part of the system
4. A bin and rubbish collection system as claimed in any proceeding claims which has an L' shaped brush
5. A bin and rubbish collection system as claimed in any proceeding claims in which the base part and dustpan are supplied separate to the main bin part and can be retro-fitted to a bin
6. A bin and rubbish collection system as claimed in any proceeding claims in which the base part and dustpan are separate to the main bin part
7. A bin and rubbish collection system as claimed in any proceeding claims in which the base part has a cover over the dustpan parking area
8. A bin and rubbish collection system as claimed in any proceeding claims in which the dustpan is moved out with a mechanism
9. A bin and rubbish collection system as claimed in any proceeding claims in which the dustpan is moved out by pulling on the dustpan
10. A bin and rubbish collection system as claimed in any proceeding claims in which the dustpan or base part is emptied using a suction device into the main bin part
11. A bin and rubbish collection system as claimed in any proceeding claims in which the base part is also the rubbish collection area or dustpan
12. A bin and rubbish collection system as claimed in any proceeding claims which is combined with a multi-compartment, recycling bin system
13. A bin and rubbish collection system substantially as herein described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.