SE1951155A1 - Storage container and a method of handling batteries in connection with recycling - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention relates to a method and a storage container for secure storage for used batteries, especially lead batteries, comprising a container body (1) and a lid (2), said container body (1) comprising of bottom (10), a front side (11), backside (12), two longitudinal sides (13) and an opening (14) facing upwardly, and said lid (2) comprising at least one inlet arrangement (3) having an opening (31) enabling introduction of battery in to the interior of the storage container (1, 2), characterized in that said inlet arrangement (3) comprises a lid opening (21), preferably in a lid plate (20), and a protective housing (30) arranged to cover said lid opening (21) and that said protective housing (30) is arranged with an inlet opening (31) having dimensions that eliminates the possibilities for an individual to enter in to said housing (30).

Description

STORAGE CONTAINER AND A METHOD OF HANDLING BATTERIES INCONNECTION WITH RECYCLING TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to a method and a storage container for secure storage for usedbatteries, especially lead batteries, comprising a container body and a lid, said containerbody comprising of bottom, a front side, backside, two longitudinal sides and anopening facing upwardly, and said lid comprising at least one inlet arrangement having an opening enabling introduction of a battery in to the interior of the storage container.

BACKGROUND The recycling of used batteries the common backup power source in vehicles, especiallylead batteries, is a major problem. Firstly, due to the fact that the batteries are hazardousto handle due to being heavy and strong acids contained therein, Which brings aboutproblems in connection With handling thereof at recycling sites, not at least for staff.Secondly, because lead has become a metal that has great value on the market,especially the black market, Which has caused dangerous situations for staff at recyclingsites. As a consequence, it is difficult to store used lead batteries for recycling in a safemanner that can prevent thieves from stealing the batteries at recycling sites Where usedlead batteries are stored, and in manner that also fulfils requirements set by authorities regarding handling of hazardous objects.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved logistic chain for improved recycling and asecure and safe storage of batteries, e. g. lead batteries, at recycling sites for lead batteries.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide for improvements regarding recycling of leadbatteries Which is achieved by means of storage container and a method of handlingused lead batteries, and similar objects, in accordance With the independent claims appended hereto.

There is achieved a logistic chain that may increase the amount of lead batteries that aresuccessfully recycled. Thanks to the invention there is provide a storage container thatoffers an easier handling to deliver used lead batteries for storage and also a moresecure manner of storing lead batteries that may eliminate theft of lead batteries and recycling stations.

Furthermore, thanks to the invention storage container may be provided that mayimprove and increase efficiency in the prosses of sorting out stored lead batteries priorto processing of regaining lead from the batteries.

According to further aspects of the invention: - there are arranged transport means (4) to enable easy transport of a lead batteryin to said opening (31), - the transport means (4) has an extension along the main plane (PL) of the lid (2),having a first part (4A) that is at least partly outside of said opening (31) and asecond part (4B) that is at least partly inside of said inlet opening (31), Whereinpreferably said first part (4A) presents a larger part of said transport means (4),Which may provide for an easy feeding of batteries and also a safe arrangement. - the container body (10) is arranged with an upper edge (17) that is provided at aheight (H) that is smaller than the height of the rear wall (12) including a firstlifting arrangement (14), Wherein preferably said container body (10) is arrangedWith an upper edge (17) that is provided at height (H) that is less than 1 m,preferably in the range of 700-900 mm, Which may provide for an easy handlingof batteries that are to be recycled.

- The protective housing (30) covers a larger area than said lid inlet (21), Whereinpreferably the inlet (31) of said protective housing (30) is arranged at a distance(d2) from the front edge (21A) of said lid inlet (21), Which may provide for extrasecurity.

- The front Wall (10) is arranged at an angle (a) in relation to the bottom plane(BP) that is sharper than the angle (ß) for the rear Wall (12) in relation to saidbottom plane (BP), Wherein preferably said first angle (ot) is in the range of 130 -160 ° and said second angle (ß) is in the range of 100-130 °, Which may provide for an easy handling of the batteries in connection with disposal for furtherprocessing.

- The lid (2) is arranged to protect the container from rain coming into its interior,Wherein preferably downwardly protruding objects (27, 28), preferably heavyobjects, are attached to said lid (2) at a level below a lid plane (PL), and morepreferred that a rear wall part (24) is arranged to cover an upper rear wall part ofthe rear wall (12) of the container body (1), which may provide for extra securityand good storage conditions respectively. - there is arranged a locking arrangement (29) arranged to securely lock the lid (2)to the container body (1), wherein preferably said locking arrangement includesa longish flexible strong member (290), e. g. chain or steel wire, which mayprovide for extra security.

- The longish flexible strong member (290) is arranged in a protected channel(153), preferably in a tubular member (152) that extends all the way from anupper edge (17) adj acent a bottom plane (BP) of the container body (1),preferably a hollow beam, to said container body (1), which may provide for extra security, Further advantageous aspects will become apparent from the detailed description below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES ln the following the invention will be described more in detail with reference to theenclosed figures, Wherein: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a storage container according to preferredembodiment of the invention, Figure 2 shows a side view of a container body according to preferred embodimentaccording to the invention, Figure 3 shows the container body of the storage container in a perspective view fromabove, Figure 4 Shows a perspective side view of a lid according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure 5 shows a perspective view from above of a plurality of inlet arrangementswithin the lid according to preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure 6 shows a detailed view of a preferred safety arrangement at the inlet of an inletarrangement according to the invention, and, Figure 7 shows a detailed view of a preferred locking arrangement according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In figure 1 there is shown a perspective view of a storage container according to apreferred embodiment of the invention. There is shown a storage container body 1 ontop of which is arranged a lid 2. The lid 2 has a basic lid plate 20 that is substantiallyhorizontally arranged in level with the upper main level of the storage container body 1,basically by having the lid 2 resting upon an upper edge 17 of the container body 1.Preferably the lid 2 at its outer periphery is arranged with downwardly protruding plates22, e. g. by means of using L-beams, that cover the upper edge 17 of the container body10, which hinders a bending object to be introduced between the edge 17 and the lid 2.Further it may be beneficial to arrange feet member 110 at the bottom ll which create a distance between the bottom plane BP and the ground G.

The lid 2 is arranged with an inlet arrangement 3. The inlet arrangement comprises boxshaped housing 30 that preferably has a length of about 800-1200 mm and is positionedon top of and enclosing an opening 21 in the lid plate 20. Hence, the area of the roofpart 30A of the box shaped housing 30 is larger than the area of the covered opening 21,preferably at least 10% larger. At one and of the box shaped housing 30 there is anopening 31 having a size adapted to the size of lead batteries. Accordingly, the size ofthe opening 31 has a height h and a width b allowing batteries to be introduced, whereinpreferably 350mm > b > 250 mm and 350mm > h> 250 mm.

The size of the opening 31 is such that the diagonal D is sufficiently small not to enablea human to enter in to the opening 31, since otherwise it would be possible for a humanto creep in and lift lead batteries out of the opening 21 of the container, from the inside thereof. Hence, the size of the diagonal D preferably is such that it also prevents children of a certain age to enter, i.e. preferably 450 mm > D > 350 mm. A kind ofcurtain 34 (see Fig. 1) may be arranged in the opening, i.e. being easily to pass throughfor a batterie being pushed therethrough but preventing possible splashing from inside of the container.

The opening 31 of the box shaped housing 30 extends substantially in a planeperpendicularly in relation to the plane PL of the lid plate 20 (see Fig. 4). The opening31 of the box shaped housing 30 is positioned a distance dl away from a front edge 20Aof the lid 2, preferably dl is in the range 300-500 mm. Further, each lid opening 21 hasa front edge 21A that is positioned a distance d2 (preferably d2 is in the range 250-400mm) into the box shaped housing 30, in relation to the plane of the opening 31 of thebox shaped housing 30. Preferably the lid opening 21 has a width that almostcorresponds to the width b of the housing 30, and a length that is in the range of 600 to800 mm, preferably at least 650 mm. The front edge 21A of the lid opening 21 ispreferably positioned about 600 - 800 mm from the supply edge 20A of the lid. ln front of the opening 31 there is arranged a transport device 4, enabling easymovement of a lead batterie from a position in front of the opening 31 in to and throughthe opening 31. Preferably, the transport device 4 comprises a plurality of rolls 40,which enable substantially frictionless movement of a battery along the transport path40A, 40 B (see Fig 5) in to and through the opening 31. In a preferred embodimentthese rolls have a diameter of between 50 and 100 mm. Preferably there is a largernumber of rolls 40 arranged outside the inlet opening 31 then the number of rolls 40arranged on the inside of the inlet opening 31, within the housing 30. According to apreferred embodiment the number of rolls at the outside is between 3 -10 and thenumber of rolls inside is between 2 -5. The rolls 40 are attached to vertically arrangedsupport members 42, providing positioning of the rolls 40 at a distance above the lidplate 20 to enable free rotation of each roll 40, and evidently also providing a gap inbetween each roll 40. Preferably the vertically arranged support members 42 protrude higher than the upper periphery of the rolls 40 to provide guiding sides.

Further, the lid 2 may be provided With a first lifting arrangement 5, enabling lifting ofthe lid 2 by means of introduction of forks in to hollow members 50 of the liftingarrangement 5. Preferably there are arranged a plurality of, e. g. three, inlet arrangements3 parallelly on the lid 2 and then having the two lifting members 50 on each side of a centrally positioned inlet arrangement 3.

Preferably there are arranged protecting members 33, e. g. rods, along the exposed edges 31A of the opening 31, in order to eliminate the risk of cutting.

At the backend of the lid 2 there is arranged an angled plate part 24 with an upper coveredge 24A, in order to protect the storage container from getting water in to its interior.Further it is shown that information signs I and reflex plates may be arranged onto thecontainer at appropriate places. The inlet arrangements 3, the lifting members 50 andthe transport device 4 may be arranged as a single unit, as indicated in Fig. 1, to beplaced on top of the lid plate 20, or alternatively by attaching individual parts (eg. theroll support walls 47 in the form of vertical plates, etc, etc, preferably by Welding) to thelid plate 20, as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5.

In figure 2 there is shown a side view of a storage container body 1 according to apreferred embodiment of the invention. The storage container comprises a bottom part11, a front wall 10, a rear wall 12, two side walls 13 and an upper supporting edge 17,for the lid 2. Preferably both walls 10,12 are arranged at angles, in relation to the planeBP of the bottom, that are larger than 90°. The front wall 10 is preferably arranged withan angle ot that is larger than the angle ß of the rear wall 12. Preferably the front angle otis between 130° -160 °and the rear wall angle ß is between 100°-l30 °. The reason forthis arrangement is to enable beneficial positioning of the container body 10 when liftedby a second lifting arrangement 14 and subsequent successive tilting of it duringemptying thereof. It is evident that the desired angle of the second lifting arrangement14 may also be achieved by arranging for adjustable/pivotal attachment of the second lifting arrangement 14.

The second lifting arrangement 14, provides the ability to lift the container body 10 withor without the lid 2. As shown in Fig 3 this second lifting arrangement 14 may bearranged at the rear wall 12, in the form of two parallel lifting members 14A, l4B,arranged to enable a dumper to grip, hold and lift the container 1,2, by means ofstandardised lifting details 140, 141, 142. As can be noted the length of the liftingmembers 14A, B is preferably larger than the height H of the container body 1. Thereason for this is that as is shown it is preferable to provide the lid plate 20 at a level Hthat is adapted to ergonomic aspects for lifting and handling heavy items such as leadbatteries. In a preferred embodiment the height H is below 1 m, preferably within a range of 70-90cm.

The container body 1 is preferably also arranged with a third lifting arrangement 15,enabling the lifting of the container by means of standardised container liftingequipment, that often are provided on different transport vehicles. Accordingly, thisthird lifting arrangement 15 comprises four stub shafts 150 for attachment of the liftingmembers of the vehicle (not shown). The stub shafts 150 that protrude outside of theside walls 13 of the container walls 13 may preferably be strengthened by also being attached to a tubular member 152.

Figure 3 shows the container body of the storage container in a perspective view fromabove, wherein is shown that according to a preferred embodiment of the invention theupper longitudinal sides of the edges 17 of the container body 1 are arranged with holes170 that match hollow channels 153, e. g. within the tubular members 152, wherebyimproved security may be achieved, by means of using a plurality of chains 290 (or anyother strong flexible device) that may be protected within the channels 153 and lockedin a protected manner to a locking device 292 (see Fig. 2) attached to the container body 1 at a position near the lower end of the channel 153.

As, shown in figure 4 a plurality of chains 290 may be fixedly attached at attachmentpoints 291 of the lid 2. Preferably the attachment points 291 are hidden behind thedownwardly extending plate 22 of the lid 2 and fit into holes 170 at the upper side of the edges 17 of the container body 1, to have a protected position within the channels 153.

In a preferred embodiment these chains 29 are positioned to correspond with thepositioning of the third lifting members 150. Thanks to this arrangement the tubularmembers 152 of the third lifting members 151 may also be used to protect the chains290, by means of a hollow channel 153. Accordingly, preferably each tubular member152 provides a hollow channel 153 that may be used to protect a wire/chain 290 andattachment points 291, e. g. by means of welding U-beams to the outer side of the sideWalls 13. Adj acent the lower end of each hollow channel 153 there is a securingmember 292 (see Fig 2) onto which a lower part of the chain 290 may be attached andsecured by a lock (not shown). Hence, the hollow channel 153 may provide a protectivecover/secured passage, extending vertically for the chains 290, into which a chain 290may be positioned from above. Altematively, it may be arranged vice versa with a lock at the lid 2.

Preferably the securing member 292 is arranged at the lower end of a hollow channel153 and most preferred in a channel 153 running all the way along the side walls 13,such that the container 1,2 needs to be lifted first before the lock/s become available,which brings about extra safety. Hence, the lid 2 may not be lifted and removed fromthe container body 1 without first unlocking the chains 290. It is evident that a pluralityof wires/chains 290 is preferred, but that also the use of merely one wire/chain 290 may be applicable.

In Fig. 7 there is shown a preferred embodiment of arranging a securing member 292for a wire/chain 290. The channel 153 then protrudes to the same level 11A as thelowest part of the bottom 1 1. In the preferred embodiment that level 11A is defined byfeet members 110 (e. g. longish U-beams) attached to the lower surface of the bottom11, whereby the tubular member 152 extends from the upper edge 17 down to thelowest bottom level 11A. A ring 294 is attached on the inside of the tubular member152 coaxially with holes 295A, 296A in brackets 295, 296 attached to the bottom 11,such that a locking member 291, in the form of a pin may be positioned in therein andlock a loop/link 290A of a wire/chain 290. The pin may be secured in position byintroducing a locking device (not shown, e. g. padlock or cotter pin) into a hole 297 in the pin, which hole 297 once in correct position between the brackets 295, 296 hinders removal of the pin such that the wire/chain 290 is securely fixed. To get access to unlock the wire/chain 290 it is needed to first lift the container 1,2.

Further, Fig. 4 shows that the lid 2 onto the lower surface of the lid plate 20 may also,or alternatively, be arranged with heavy beams 27, 28, as a security arrangementhindering unauthorised movement of the lid 2, at least partly by adding Weight. There isshown a first beam 27 arranged adj acent and parallel with the rear wall 12, which on topof adding weight also may hinder movement of the lid 2 backwards and also hindersmovement sideways, since the beam 27 protrudes below the edges 17 and willconsequently get in contact with the rear wall 12 and side walls 13 respectively, iftrying to push the lid backwards or sideways, Adjacent the front wall 10 a second beams28 is arranged, which may provide basically the same function as the first beam 17.Preferably one of the beams 27, 28, may be arranged with L-forrned downwardlyprotruding members 280, having a horizontal protruding member 280A that may be used to interlock with a device attached to the container body 10, for extra security.

In figure 5 it is shown a front view in perspective from above showing three parallelinlet arrangements 3 according to the invention. It is shown that in between the frontpart 40 A of the transport path including the rolls 40 and the inner part 40 B thereof,there may be arranged a first protective plate 46. This first protective plate 46 provides aseal at the bottom of the passage formed between the roll support walls 47, such thatliquid from outside may not flow in to the opening 21/interior of the container 1,2 viathis passage. Furthermore, the first protective member 46 may also hinder fromremoving the roll 401 that is positioned in the plane of the inlet opening 31, since it eliminates the possibility of getting any good leverage below that roll 40.

In figure 6 there is shown that further in regard to the first protective device 46 there isalso provided a second protective device 48 in parallel with the first protective device46, wherein the second protective device 48 has the function to hinder removing the lastroll 402 by means of bending, which may be achieved by positioning the secondprotective member 48 sufficiently close to the last roll 40 to not hinder its movement but eliminating the possibility of introducing any solid bending device. Moreover, there may be provided a third protective device 49 in the form of protruding cover device, e. g.a rod, which is fixedly attached, e.g. by welds 49A, to the inner wall 30B within thehousing 30 and positioned slightly above and along the upper periphery of the innerrolls 40. Thanks to this arrangement the inner rolls 40 may not be removed even if theattachments/shafts 403 of the rolls 40 are cut through, since the first and secondprotective devices 46, 48 keeps the rolls 40 within the restricted rectangular area definedbetween them and the third protective member 49 keeps them in place in the vertical since they protrude further than the edges of the rolls 40 protrude.

When a storage container 1,2 according to the invention is used the lid 2 is safelysecured to the container body 1 and batteries safely stored therein, especially if the security arrangement with lockable flexible members 290 is used.

The container 1,2 may be filled with lead batteries by being placed in an accessibleposition on desired place for the recirculation of lead batteries. The position should besuch that a person who wants to deliver a used lead battery may position a vehicle closeto the front wall 10 of the container. Once in a good position the person may easily lift alead batterie from a vehicle on to one of the transport devices 4 and then position thelead battery on the front part 40A of the rolls 40. Thereafter the lead batterie may easilybe pushed into the interior of the container 1,2 by means of rolling on the rolls 40 intothe inlet opening 31 of the cover housing 30 and further until it tips over the edge 21Aof the opening 21 in the lid plate 20.

Thanks to the positioning and length of the opening 21 of the lid plate 20 it is foreseeingthat the batteries will not be stacked on top of each other in the container but ending uplying next to each other to provide for good capacity of filling the container body 1,since the length of the opening will enable batteries to freely fall into the container body10 at different speeds, i.e. also a batterie pushed in at high speed will freely fall into thecontainer body 10 since gravity, in combination with the length of the hole 21, willeliminate the possibility of hitting the rear edge of the hole 21, which otherwise could cause stacking problems. Once the container is to be emptied, this may be performed 11 either directly at the position of the container or at remote place. If it is to be transport to a remote place it may be preferable to first remove the lid 2.

The lid 2 may easily be removed by means of a fork lifter using the first lifting members5. First the chains 290 (if used) must be freed from the locking devices 292, which willthen need of first lifting the container 1,2 by means of the second or third liftingarrangement 14, 15 to get access to the locks if the cannels 153 run all way down.Thereafter the chains 290 are freely moveable within the interior of the channels 153.When the lid 2 has been removed the container body 1 may easily be transported toanother place by use of the second lifting members 15 or also by use of the first lifting members 14, e. g. by placing it on a transport vehicle.

When the container body 1 is at the desired position for emptying it may be lifted by useof the second lifting arrangement 14. Thereafter the container may be sequentiallyemptied by sequentially tilting the lifting device of the dumper. Thanks to the angle ot ofthe front wall 10 the batteries within the container body 1 will then slowly start slidingout from the container along the front wall 10. As is well known, most dumpers enablefine adjustment of the tilt angle, which makes it possible to step by step allow a pluralityof lead batteries to slide forward near the opening of the front side edge 10A. Then it iseasy for staff to sort different kind of batteries into different secondary storagecontainers for further processing of the used lead batteries. In an alternative there isarranged a plurality of containers wherein a strict sorting of batteries is arranged for atcollection thereof, such that the container body 1 may be emptied without any manual sorting prior to processing.

According to a modified embodiment, the dimensions of the container 1,2 are adaptedto require less space, e. g. for positioning at a garage. In order to make it more compactthe angled walls may be refrained from and instead having the container body 10 inparallel epipedic form (i.e. corners of 90 degrees) and using a second liftingarrangement in the fonn of fork ferrules (not shown) positioned at the bottom 11 of thecontainer body 10, such that the container 1 may be emptied by lifting and turning it 180 degrees, which will enable shortening of the length of the container body 10 by 12 about 25%, e. g. to be about 1,5 meters instead of about 2 meters. Preferably such acontainer body 10 is also made less wide by merely using two parallel inletarrangements 3, preferably with the opening 31 in opposite directions, enabling a widthin the range of 1,2 to 1,5 m. Alternatively, merely one inlet arrangement 3 enabling a width of about 1 m or less.

In a modification according to the invention there can be arranged a stop member thatmerely enables a desired kind of battery to be introduced into the interior of thecontainer 1,2. Such a stop member (not shown) may be combined with a sensor and/orreader that can identify what kind of battery is being introduced. For instance, it can bein the form of a barcode reader that removes the stop member ones an allowed kind ofbatteries identified by the reader, such that the used battery may be introduced into the interior of the container 1 only if it is of the intended sort.

Further the container 1,2 may be equipped with sensor and communication devices (notshown) that may remotely infonn of the filling level of a container 1,2, that mayeliminate need of human control for initiating emptying of a container 1,2 and whichmay assist in optimizing (e. g. by means of software assembling data from a plurality ofcontainers) a transport route of a collecting vehicle having capacity to collect from aplurality of containers 1,2. This equipment can also be used to send alarm if there isidentified a pattern of movements that indicates a possible attempt of unauthorizedopening of the container. Possibly also in combination with initiating an audible alarm at the site.

The invention is not limited to that described above but may be varied within the scopeof the claims. It is realized that many modifications may be arranged for by the skilledperson within the ambit of the claims without inventive skill, e. g. to use differentmaterials and/or different numbers of details than that described and/or to use thecontainer for secure storage of other objects that may need extra security, e. g. due toincluding material that has a high value, e.g. cables including copper. In that regard it isforeseen that the height of the container may be more than 1 meter, since mostly cables are not as heavy as batteries and that therefore separate protection may be applied for in 13 a divisional application focusing on the novel security aspects of the invention. Further,it is evident that the transport means may be of various designs, e. g. low friction surfacefor sliding the batteries into the interior, preferably in combination With a pivotal innerpart of the transport path that unloaded is at a higher level, such that it may hinder rain from flowing into the interior.

Claims (5)

1. A storage container for secure storage of used batteries, especially lead batteries,comprising a container body (1) and a lid (2), said container body (1)comprising of bottom (10), a front side (11), backside (12), two longitudinalsides (13) and an opening (14) facing upwardly, and said lid (2) comprising afirst lifting arrangement (5) and at least one inlet arrangement (3) having anopening (31) enabling introduction of a battery in to the interior of the storagecontainer ( 1, 2), characterized in that said inlet arrangement (3) comprises a lidopening (21), preferably in a lid plate (20), and a protective housing (30)arranged to cover said lid opening (21) and that said protective housing (30) isarranged With an inlet opening (31) having dimensions that eliminates the possibilities for an individual to enter in to said housing (30). A storage container according to claim 1, characterized in that there are arrangedtransport device (4) to enable easy transport of a battery in to said opening (31), preferably including a plurality of rolls (40). Storage container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said transportdevice (4) has an extension along the main plane (PL) of the lid (2), having afirst part (4A) that is at least partly outside of said opening (31) and a secondpart (4B) that is at least partly inside of said inlet opening (31), Wherein preferably said first part (4A) presents a larger part of said transport means (4). Storage container according to claims 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that saidcontainer body (10) is arranged With an upper edge (17) that is provided atheight (H) that is less than 1 m, preferably in the range of 600-900 mm, Whereinpreferably said container body ( 10) is arranged With an upper edge (17) that isprovided at height (H) that is smaller than the height of the rear Wall (12) including a second lifting arrangement (14). Storage container according to any preceding claim, characterized in that said protective housing (30) covers a larger area than said lid inlet (21), Wherein 10. preferably a front edge (21A) of said lid inlet (21)) is arranged Within saidprotective housing (30) at a distance (d2) from said inlet (31) of said protectivehousing (30). Storage container according to any preceding claim, characterized in that saidfront Wall (10) is arranged at an angle (ot) in relation to the bottom plane (BP)that is sharper than the angle (ß) for the rear Wall (12) in relation to said bottomplane (BP), Wherein preferably said first angle (ot) is in the range of 130 -160 °and said second angle (ß) is in the range of 100-130 °. Storage container according to any preceding claim, characterized in that said lid(2) is arranged to protect the container from rain coming into its interior,Wherein preferably doWnWardly protruding objects (27, 28), preferably heavyobjects, are attached to said lid (2) at a level below a lid plane (PL), and morepreferred that a rear Wall part (24) is arranged to cover an upper rear Wall part of the rear Wall (12) of the container body (1). Storage container according to any preceding claim, characterized in that there isarranged a locking arrangement (29) arranged to securely lock the lid (2) to thecontainer body (1), Wherein preferably said locking arrangement includes a longish flexible strong member (290), e. g. chain or steel Wire. Storage container according to claim 9, characterized in that said longish flexiblestrong member (290) is arranged in a protected channel (153), preferably in atubular member (152) that extends all the Way from an upper edge (17) to aloWest bottom level (11A) of the container body (1), Wherein more preferredsaid loWest bottom level (11A) is at a level below the outer main surface of said bottom (11). Method for storage and recycling of batteries, especially lead batteries, by use of a storage container according to claim 1, comprising the steps of; Positioning the storage container (1,2) at a desired collecting position, 11. 1

2. 1

3. 1

4. 1

5. 16 Allowing access to said storage container (1,2) for disposal of batteries,Positioning of a used battery on said transport means (4), Pushing said battery along said transport means (4) into the inlet (31) of theprotective housing (30) and further to fall through the inlet hole (21) of the lid(2) to be securely stored Within the container (2) Emptying of the storage container (1,2) once filled and further processing of the emptied batteries. Method according to claim 10, Wherein a locking arrangement (29) is activatedto securely lock the lid (2) to the container body (1) prior to or in connection With allowing access to said container (1, 2). Method according to claim 11, Wherein said locking arrangement (29) includes aat least one longish, flexible strong member (290) having one end fixedlyattached to one part of the container (1, 2) and a second end (29OA) releasably fixed to the other part by means of a locking member (291). Method according to claim 12, Wherein the container body (1) is arranged Withat least one protected channel (153) and said longish, flexible strong members(290) being passed through said protected channels (153) prior to activating saidlock member (291). Method according to claim 11, Wherein said container (1, 2) is lifted prior to getting access to unlock said locking arrangement (29). Method according to any of claims 10-14, Wherein a lifting device (14) attachedto said container body (10) is used in connection With emptying the container body (2).