WO1999002431A1

WO1999002431A1 - Trash container, waste collecting vehicle, and indoor trash bin for collecting waste materials selectively

Info

Publication number: WO1999002431A1
Application number: PCT/HU1997/000038
Authority: WO
Inventors: György KECSKÉS
Original assignee: Kecskes Gyoergy
Priority date: 1997-07-11
Filing date: 1997-07-11
Publication date: 1999-01-21
Also published as: AU3631297A

Abstract

Trash container (1) for selectively collecting waste materials having a discharging opening (11) with a hinged lid (2) and a storage space divided into five compartments (6, 7, 8, 9, 10). The compartments end into the discharging opening and form openings with a regular cross section having a modular size. The arrangement of these openings corresponds to the arrangement of the openings forming the filling opening of a waste collecting vehicle. Furthermore, the compartments are furnished with marks referring to the sort of waste materials to be collected, and preferably said marks are texts or pictograms. Also described is a waste collecting vehicle adapted to discharge the trash container and an indoor trash bin for selectively collecting waste materials at home or in th e office.

Description

Trash container, waste collecting vehicle, and indoor trash bin for collecting waste materials selectively

Description of invention

One of the inventions relates to a trash container for collecting waste materials selectively having a discharging opening with a closing hinged lid, and a storage space divided into two or more compartments in a way that the compartments end into the discharging opening. The next invention relates to a waste collecting vehicle, preferably for collecting waste materials collected in the trash container for collecting waste material selectively having a container unit mounted on a traditional chassis furnished with discharging mechanism which can be tilted, lifted up and down by hydraulic mechanism, and the vehicle, if required, is furnished with waste motioning mechanism, and said container unit has an upper filling opening and several lower discharging openings with hinged lid. The third invention relates to an indoor trash bin for collecting waste materials selectively at home or in office having a plurality of collecting cans furnished with hinged lid and handle.

Containers for collecting waste materials selectively are well known. These containers usually carry out the task of collecting rubbish selectively in a way that they gather up a plurality of usual rubbish bin or trash container or the likes. One of this type of container is disclosed in the HU-U-512 utility model description. The disadvantage of this container is that the usual bins are only fixed up by a framework but, at discharging, they have to be lifted up and emptied one by one. Furthermore, the size and position of the different bins do not refer to their content, therefore, and, mostly in case of common collecting vehicle, the selective collection becomes ineffective as the contents of the different bins go to the same place.

The document HU-B 210 766 relates to a colleting container for collecting waste material or dirty linen which can be built into an arrangement consisting of a plurality of parts having a pipe-framework and separating walls mounted thereon. Said walls form a row of compartments as if a row of common laundry box. The compartments are furnished with lids. The disadvantage of this container is also that the bins have to be emptied one by one, and even the bins cannot be motioned separately, therefore, it is not possible to collect selectively and automatically.

The three-compartment trash container disclosed in the document DE(OS)-36 44 075 is a transformed common trash container with a coneshaped wall. The collecting space is divided into three compartments with thee vertical walls placed by 120 degrees and, below the usual lid, it is covered with a lid which lets only one compartment open. The selective collection and emptying is realized through that this intermediate lid being turned to the position when the compartment used is open. This container allows using the standard size trash containers and the common waste collecting vehicle. However, the disadvantage is that the lids of the different compartments have to be turned one by one into the right position and the container have to be placed more times onto discharging mechanism of the collecting vehicle.

The system for mechanized pickup of separated materials published in the ducument US-PS 5,071,303 includes a point-of-use container having a plurality of removable bins with each bin for a different recyclable material. A pickup container, transportable to a pickup location, has a plurality of bins corresponding to the point-of-use bins , each bin having a normally closed hinged lid. A truck body has a set of bins corresponding to the pickup container bins and an automated arm mechanism for holding the lids closed and for a picking up and inverting the pickup container over the truck body bins. The disadvantage of the the system is that the openings of the container are not in corresponance with those of the truck, therefore, the bins cannot be emptied into the container of the truck.

A similar system is disclosed in the document of US-PS 5,275,522 having the same disadvantages.

The waste collecting vehicle disclosed in the document of US-PS 4,979,866 includes a collecting space divided into a plurality of chambers so as to collect waste materials selectively. However, its internal sections are basically provided for compressing the waste material having compactors for this purpose, so this vehicle is not in correspondance with public trash containers, therefore it is less suitable for selective refuse collection.

The following documents, US-PS 5,143,246, US-PS 5,139,299 and US-PS 5,167,342 disclose constructions suitable for fixing a plurality of trash cans together, but these constructions are suitable for selective refuse collection, though, are not suitable for the purpose of domestic trash bin as a part of a system including both a waste collecting vehicle and community trash containers, too.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a trash container of usual size and shape, or of the multiplied dimension of the usual item, which is suitable for selective trash collection and removal in one step with only a minor transformation of a usual waste collecting vehicle.

Another object is to provide a waste collection vehicle suitable for collecting the separated trash in one step and for transporting and discharging the trash separately. An additional object is to provide an indoor trash bin suitable for collecting domestic or office garbage selectively.

A further object is to provide a system for selective collection and removal of rubbish consisting of trash containers, a waste collecting vehicle and indoor trash bins.

To the accomplishment of the above mentioned objects, the inventions may be embodied as follows:

According to the first aspect of the inventions we provide a trash container for collecting waste matarials selectively having a discharging opening with a closing hinged lid, and a storage space divided into two or more compartments in a way that the compartments end into the discharging opening.

The characterstic of the container is that the compartments ending into the discharging opening form openings with regular cross-section and said openings have modular size and their arrangement corresponds to an arrangement of the openings forming the filling opening of a waste collecting vehicle provided to a trash container, and the compartments are furnished with marks referring to the sort of waste material to be collected, and preferably said marks are texts or pictograms.

Preferably, said storage space is bordered with walls and divided into compartments with convertible and replaceable separation walls or with fixed separation walls.

Preferably, the container consist of compartments having steadily fixed walls, which can be attached to each other in various ways.

Preferably, the cross-section of said discharging opening forms a rectangle or other geometrical shape, the discharging opening is divided into two or more, perferably five openings of less cross-section which have a unit-sized cross-section or that of multiplied or divided unit-sized.

Preferably, the openings with unit-sized cross-section are for collecting secondary waste materials, eg paper and glass, the biggest opening which is 140 - 160 % of the unit is for main waste materials, eg domestic waste, and the two minor ones is for the waste of less amount, eg metal and plastic.

According to the second aspect of the inventios, we provide a waste collecting vehicle, preferably for collecting waste materials collected in the trash container defined in the claims 1. - 5. having a container unit mounted on a usual chassis furnished with discharging mechanism which can be tilted, lifted up and down by hydraulic mechanism, and the vehicle, if required, is furnished with waste motioning mechanism, and said container unit has an upper filling opening and several lower discharging openings with hinged lid.

The characteristic of the waste collecting vehicle is that the filling opening is divided into two or more, preferably five openings arranged in correspondance with the openings of a divided trash container, the container unit is divided into compartments, each of them is connected to an opening through filling pipes and each compartments has different discharging opening and the compartments are furnished with marks referring to the sort of waste material to be collected, and preferably said marks are texts or pictograms.

Preferably, said filling pipes are formed as descent pipes sloping towards the compartments.

Preferably, said discharging openings are furnished with lids mounted on hinges and the lids have locking clasps and handle.

Preferably, said compartments are formed with alterable sizes, and with partly convertible separation walls.

Preferably, the cross-section of said filling opening forms a rectangle or other geometrical shape, the filling opening is divided into two or more, perferably five openings of less cross-section which have a unit- sized cross-section or that of multiplied or divided unit-sized.

Preferably, the openings with unit-sized cross-section are that of the compartments for collecting secondary waste materials, eg paper and glass, the biggest opening which is 140 - 160 % of the unit is that of the compartment for main waste materials, eg mixed domestic waste, and the two minor openings are that of the compartments for the waste of less amount, eg metal and plastic.

In accordance with the third aspect of the present inventions, we provide an indoor trash bin for collecting waste materials selectively at home or in office having a plurality of collecting cans furnished with hinged lid and handle.

The characteristic of the indoor trash bin is that a body which is preferably formed into a framework or a casing, divided into compartments with several, preferably five removeable cans placed into them for collecting different waste materials and formed for collecting selectively waste materials like paper, glass, metal, plastic, and the hinged lids are furnished with distinguishing marks which are preferably the names of the wastes material to be collected or pictograms referring to that.

The inventions will be better understood in the light of the following description of the specific embodiments thereof. Attention being called to the fact, however, that the embodiments are illustrative only, and the changes may be made in the specific constructions illustrated and describen within the scope of the appended claims. The description of the embodiments is made with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic front view of the trash container;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic end view thereof; Figure 3 is a diagrammatic top view thereof; Figure 4 is a diagrammatic longitudinal sectional view thereof; Figure 5 is a diagrammatic rear view of the container unit of the waste collecting vehicle;

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic partly sectional top view thereof; Figure 7 is a diagrammatic partly sectional side view thereof; Figure 8 is a diagrammatic front view of the indoor trash bin; Figure 9 is a diagrammatic end view thereof; Figure 10 is a diagrammatic top view thereof.

Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, Figures 1 through 3 illustrate a trash container 1 embodying the size and shape of one of the usual rectangle trash containers having a discharging opening 1 1 covered by a common lid 2, manual handles 3 for moving by human power, wheels 5 for making the rolling easier on the ground. It also has machine grips 4 for automatic discharging with waste collecting vehicle. Naturally, the trash container may have an other cross- section than rectangle, eg square, circle, etc.

Figure 2 illustrates the collecting space of the trash container 1 as divided into compartments. This embodiment displayed consists of five compartments, but the number of the compartments can be altered within the confines of reason. The collecting space, therefore, is divided into compartments separated by walls which end into openings 6 - 10 at the top. The openings 6 - 10 forms together the discharging opening 1 1 . The cross-sections of the compartments are not necessarily identical with those of the openings 6 - 10, they may be larger of narrower. However, in the case of the displayed embodiment, which can be produced most easily, the shape of the openings 6 - 10 defines the shape of the compartment which are separated from each other by vertical walls or walls slanting in correspondance with the side walls. The illustrated compartments belonging in row to the openings 6 - 10 are provided for collecting paper, glass, mixed domestic waste, metal and plastic, therefore the openings 6 and 7 are unit-shaped (rectangle), the opening 8 is larger by 50% to the previous ones, while the openings 9 and 10 are made by halving the unit size.

In operation, the waste materials go separately into the individual compartments. When discharging the trash container, the compartments are also emptied separately by means of the opening 1 1 divided into individual openings 6 - 10.

For the sake of being easily understandable, the Figures 5 - 7 illustrates only the container unit 12 of the waste collecting vehicle. The container unit 12 displayed also includes five compartments, but their number also might be anything begining at two, whitin the confines of reason.

As it is shown on Figure 5, the container unit 12 is divided into compartments 16 - 20 having discharging openings 36 - 40 covered by lids 23 mounted onto hinges 25 so as to be turned up and down. The lids 23 are furnished with handle 22 and locking clasps 21, too. When being turned up, the lids 23 are fixed by means of suspension clasps. The filling opening 31 of the container unit 12 is divided into openings 6 - 10 corresponding with the arrangement of the openings 6 - 10 of the trash container 1.

The Figure 6 illustrates the top view of the arrangement of the compartment 16 - 20. The openings 6 - 10 of the filling openings 31 are connected to the compartments 16 - 20 through filling pipes 26 - 30. As it is shown on the Figur 7, the filling pipes 26 - 30 are formed as descent pipes sloping towards the compartments 16 - 20.

The container unit 12 can be, of course, provided with mechanical apparatus for moving the collected waste, which can compress the waste or make easier the dischargement thereof. However, we will not provide the details; the prior art refers to numerous apparatus of this kind.

When collecting waste materials, the trash container 1 is lifted to the filling opening 31 by means of a usual lifting mechanism and, as the openings 6 - 10 of the trash container 1 fit exactly to the openings 6 - 10 of the filling opening 31 , the waste will go separately into the individual compartments 16 - 20. When discharging the container unit 12, the lids 23 are turned up and attached to the suspension clasps 24 by means of their handle 22, and having the front part of the container unit 12 lifted up, the waste will be removed from the compartments 16 - 20. The compaπments 16 - 20 can be discharged simultaneously or one by on.

The number and function of the 6 - 10 openings and of compartments belonging to them can be, of course, defined in ways different from the illustrated version. If required, compartments can be used for collecting separately coloured and white glass, coloured and white paper, dangerous or poisonous materials, insecticides, textile wastes, etc. Their dimension and shape can be altered within the confines of reason and practicability. The trash container 1 can be provided in the form of a domestic trash container or a community waste receptacle. However, it is practical to take the worldwidely used community waste receptacle of a volume of 1.1 m3 as a basis and to provide the trash container 1 in accordance with the dimensions and shape thereof. When using a defined item of trash container 1, the container unit 12 of the waste collecting vehicle have to be, of course, provided with a corresponding filling opening 31. The indoor trash bin, as it is illustrated on the Figure 8 - 10, is provided with four cans 42 placed into a body 41 which, in this case, is framework-like, but it can be made into a continuous casing. The cans 42 are furnished with pedal 43 and lid 44. The pedal 43 operates a usual articulated rod structure for opening and closing the lid 44. There are marks 45 on the lids marking the sort of the garbage the given can 42 is used for collecting. The marks 45 may be texts, like the text 'PAPER." on the Figure 10, but they may be pictograms, too. Each can 42 can be removed from the body 41 and, if having been full, can be discharged this way one by one into a corresponding compartment of the trash container 1.

The illustrated version of the indoor trash bin is provided with four cans because the fifth main sort of garbage, the mixed domestic, kitchen waste is usually collected separately in a bin installed around the kitchen sink. The present version of the indoor trash bin serves for gathering the further main sorts of garbage, like plastic, metal, paper and galss. Therefore, the present indoor trash bin of four compartments, along with a garbage bin for the kitchen garbage, excellently fit to the abovementioned trash container 1 of five compartments and to waste collector vehicle, making up together a completed system.

The advantage of the presented trash container is that, regarding to their size and shape, it corresponds with those of the usual trash collecting containers allowing the selective collection and simultaneous disposal of the waste while the usual waste collecting vehicle needs only a minos transformation.

The advantage of the waste collecting vehicle is that it is suitable for collecting the selected waste in one step while transporting and discharging it selectively.

The advantage of the indoor trash bin is that it makes well part of a system for collecting waste selectively including the abovementioned trash container and waste collecting vehicle.

Claims

The CLAIMS defining the inventions are as follows:

1. Trash container for collecting waste matarials selectively having a discharging opening with a closing hinged lid, and a storage space divided into two or more compartments in a way that the compartments end into the discharging opening characterized in that the compartments ending into the discharging opening (11) form openings (6, 7, 8, 9, 10) with regular cross-section and said openings (6, 7, 8, 9, 10) have modular size and their arrangement corresponds to an arrangement of the openings forming the filling opening of a waste collecting vehicle provided to a trash container (1), and the compartments are furnished with marks referring to the sort of waste material to be collected, and preferably said marks are texts or pictograms.

2. Trash container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said storage space is bordered with walls and divided into compartments with convertible and replaceable separation walls or with fixed separation walls.

3. Trash container as claimed in claim 1 consisting of compartments having steadily fixed walls, which can be attached to each other in various ways.

4. Trash container as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims wherein the cross-section of said discharging opening (1 1) forms a rectangle or other geometrical shape, the discharging opening (11) is divided into two or more, perferably five openings (6, 7, 8, 9, 10) of less cross-section which have a unit-sized cross-section or that of multiplied or of divided unit-sized.

5. Trash container as claimed in claim 4 wherein the openings (6, 7) with unit-sized cross-section are for collecting secondary waste materials, eg paper and glass, the biggest opening (8) which is 140 - 160 % of the unit is for main waste materials, eg mixed domestic waste, and the two minor ones (9, 10) is for the waste of less amount, eg metal and plastic.

6. Waste collecting vehicle, preferably for collecting waste materials collected in the trash container for collecting waste material selectively defined in the claims 1. - 5. having a container unit mounted on a usual chassis furnished with discharging mechanism which can be tilted, lifted up and down by hydraulic mechanism, and the vehicle, if required, is furnished with waste motioning mechanism, and said container unit has an upper filling opening and several lower discharging openings with hinged lid, characterized in that, the filling opening (31) is divided into two or more, preferably five openings (6 - 10) arranged in correspondance with the openings of a divided trash container, the container unit (12) is divided into compartments (16 - 20), each of them is connected to an opening (6 - 10) through filling pipes (26 - 30) and each compartments (16 - 20) has different discharging opening (36 - 40) and the compartments (16 - 20) are furnished with marks referring to the sort of waste material to be collected, and preferably said marks are texts or pictograms.

7. Waste collecting vehicle as claimed in claim 6 wherein said filling pipes (26 - 30) are formed as descent pipes sloping towards the compartments (16 - 20).

8. Waste collecting vehicle as claimed in claim 6 or 7 wherein said discharging openings (36 - 40) are furnished with lids (23) mounted on hinges (25) and the lids have locking clasps (21 ) and handle (22).

9. Waste collecting vehicle as claimed in any of the claims 6 - 8 wherein said compartments (16 - 20) are formed with alterable sizes, and with partly convertible separation walls.

10. Waste collecting vehicle as claimed in any of the claims 6 - 9 wherein the cross-section of said filling opening (31 ) forms a rectangle or other geometrical shape, the filling opening (31 ) is divided into two or more, perferably five openings (6, 7, 8, 9, 10) of less cross-section which have a unit-sized cross-section or that of multiplied or divided unit-sized.

1 1. Waste collecting vehicle as claimed in claim 10 wherein the openings (6, 7) with unit-sized cross-section are that of the compartments (16, 17) for collecting secondary waste materials, eg paper and glass, the biggest opening (8) which is 140 - 160 % of the unit is that of the compartment (18) for main waste materials, eg mixed domestic waste, and the two minor openings (9, 10) are that of the compartments (19, 20) for the waste of less amount, eg metal and plastic.

12. Indoor trash bin for collecting waste materials selectively at home or in office having a plurality of collecting cans furnished with hinged lid and handle characterized in that, it includes a body (41) which is preferably formed into a framework or a casing, divided into compartments with several, preferably five removeable cans (42) placed into them for collecting different waste materials and formed for collecting selectively waste materials like paper, glass, metal, plastic, and the hinged lids (44) are furnished with distinguishing marks (45) which are preferably the names of the wastes material to be collected or pictograms referring to that.

(5 drawing sheets, 10 figures)