WO2004037682A1

WO2004037682A1 - Waste bin

Info

Publication number: WO2004037682A1
Application number: PCT/GB2003/004568
Authority: WO
Inventors: David John Gray
Original assignee: David John Gray
Priority date: 2002-10-22
Filing date: 2003-10-22
Publication date: 2004-05-06
Also published as: AU2003274364A1; GB2395105B; GB2395105A; GB0224523D0

Abstract

The present invention relates to waste bins and more particularly, but not exclusively, to portable domestic waste bins. The invention provides a base member (4) and a body member (6) mounted on the base member (4), the body member (6) at least partially enclosing a space adjacent the base member (4) for receiving waste and an upper portion (30) of the body member defining a first aperture (18) through which, in use, waste may be passed. A portion of the body member (6) is slidable over the remaining portion of the body member (6) so as to open a second aperture (52) in the body member (6) without projecting from said remaining portion of the body member (6).

Description

DOMESTIC WASTE BIN

The present invention relates to waste bins and more particularly, but not exclusively, to portable domestic waste bins.

Domestic waste bins having a cylindrical body for retaining waste and a lid operable by means of a foot pedal so as to allow access to the interior of the bin body are well known. Such waste bins are generally fabricated from sheet metal materials and have a circular lid connected to the upper portion of a cylindrical body by means of a hinge. A foot pedal located diametrically opposite the lid hinge and at the base of the cylindrical body I connected to the lid by means of a push rod mechanism so that, on pressing down of the foot pedal, the lid is rotated about the hinge so as to allow waste to be deposited within the interior of the bin body. Generally speaking, the interior of the bin body will be lined with a disposable bag. Once the bin becomes full with waste, emptying of the bin may be readily achieved by depressing the foot pedal so as to allow access to the bag and then grasping upper portions of the bag and lifting the same from the bin body.

In practice, use of the aforementioned domestic waste bin can be problematic when it comes to moving the waste deposited therein. Very often the bin body will be overfilled with waste. Typically, the waste will be forceably compacted within the bin body so as to provide room for additional waste and obviate the need for removing the deposited waste and subsequently relining the bin body with a fresh liner. However, this practice has the undesirable consequence of significantly increasing the weight of waste held by the bin bag and the lateral force applied by the waste to the cylindrical wall of the bin body. As a result, lifting of the bin bag from the bin body can be difficult and often not possible without tearing the bin bag and spilling the waste contained therein. It is an object of the present invention to provide a waste bin which allows the convenient removal of waste contained therein.

Embodiments of the present invention may now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention arranged with the lid and side door in a closed configuration;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the first embodiment arranged with the lid in an open configuration and the side door in a closed configuration;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the first embodiment arranged with the lid in a closed configuration and the side door in an open configuration;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the first embodiment arranged with the lid and side door in an open configuration;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the first embodiment together with a rigid liner;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention together with a rigid bin liner; and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the second embodiment arranged with the lid in a closed configuration and the side door in an open configuration.

The first embodiment is a domestic waste bin 2 which is particularly suited for use in the home. The bin 2 comprises a circular base 4, a cylindrical body 6 extending upwardly from the perimeter of the base 4, and a circular lid 8 connected by means of a hinge arrangement 10 to an upper portion of the cylindrical body 6. A foot pedal 12 is mounted in a slot 14 (not shown in Figure 1) within the base 4 so as to project radially outwardly for engagement with a foot of a user. The foot pedal 12 is located diametrically opposite the hinge arrangement 10 (see Figure 2). By virtue of a connecting wall arrangement 16, the foot pedal 12 is linked to the lid 8 so that, in use, when pressing the foot pedal 12 downward the lid 8 is pushed upwardly by the connecting rod arrangement 16 so as to rotate about the hinge arrangement 10 and thereby allow access via a circular opening 18 to the interior of the body 6. When downward pressure applied to the foot pedal 12 is released, the lid 8 rotates in an opposite direction about the hinge arrangement 10 under the reaction of gravity and resumes the closed position (see Figure 1). It will be understood, that as the lid 8 rotates to the closed position, the foot pedal 12 is moved upwardly to its original position by means of the connecting rod arrangement 16.

In use, the interior of the cylindrical body 6 is preferably lined with a bin bag 20 for receiving any waste placed into the bin 2. With the bin 2 so lined, waste may be readily disposed of by a user through depressing the foot pedal 12 with a foot and then dropping unwanted waste through the opening 18 into the bag 20. Once waste has been deposited within the bin body 6, the opening 18 and bag 20 can be conveniently sealed by releasing pressure from the foot pedal 12 so as to allow return of the lid 8 to the closed position. Unwanted waste may continue to be deposited within the bin 2 until the bin body 6 is full. At this stage, the bin bag 20 may be finally sealed with a suitable tie 22 and then removed from the bin 2 and disposed of in a conventional manner so that the bin bag 20 may be removed from the bin to via the opening 18; however, as described below, the bin 2 comprises a second opening which can be advantageously used for removing the bin bag 20.

The cylindrical bin body 6 is comprised of a fixed part cylindrical body portion 24, a movable part cylindrical body door, and a circular upper guide rim 28. The part cylindrical body portion 24 extends through an arc of preferably no greater than 180° and is fixedly secured to the perimeter edge of the base 4 opposite the foot pedal 12. The body portion 24 is secured to the base 4 so that movement between the two components is prevented. Also, although the body portion 24 may extend through an arc greater than 180°, this is not preferred since the width of the second opening would be thereby reduced. This in turn reduces the ease with which a full bin bag 20 may be removed from the bin 2.

The upper guide rim 28 is provided as two substantially semi-circular portions 30, 32 connected to one another by means of two hinges 34. The first rim portion 30 is fixedly secured to the upper edge of the fixed body portion 24. The hinge arrangement 10 associated with the lid 8 is mounted to the first rim portion 30. The second rim portion 32 is upwardly rotatable relative to the first rim portion 30 about the hinges 34. Mutually abutting surfaces 36, 38 of the two rim portions 30, 32 (see Figure 4 in particular) limits downward rotation of the second rim portion 32 about the hinges 34 so as to prevent the second rim portion 32 from rotating under the action of gravity downwards into the body interior. As will be understood from the view shown in Figure 4, the purpose of rotating the second rim portion 32 upwards about the hinges 34 is to allow the lid 8 to be retained in the open position without the need for applying downward pressure to the foot pedal 12. In the upwardly rotated position, the second rim portion 32 locates in a recess 40 provided on the underside of the lid 8. The recess 40 is defined between two raised portions 42, 44 extending from the lid underside. The first raised portion 42 has a sloping leading surface 46 which acts to guide the second rim portion 32 into the recess 40 and prevent the second rim portion 42 from undesirably catching on the raised portions 42, 44. Once the second rim portion 32 is located within the recess 40, the weight of the lid 8 pressing on the rim portion 32 substantially prevents said rim portion from accidentally removing from the recess 40. The arrangement is preferably such that, when the second rim portion 32 is located in the recess 40, said rim portion 32 extends perpendicularly from the lid 8 towards the hinges 34. This required orientation of the second rim portion 32 is assured by the abutment of two angled surfaces 47 on each of the two rim portions 30, 32 with the upper edge of said portions 30, 32.

The underside of the upper guide rim 28 is provided with a groove 48 within which the movable body door 26 may locate and slide. The portion of groove 48 provided in the second rim portion 32 can be readily seen in Figure 4. A similar groove 50 is also provided in the upper surface and along the perimeter edge of the circular base 4. Again, the body door 26 is received within the groove 50. In use, both upper and lower grooves 48, 50 act as circular guide rails for guiding and controlling a sliding movement of the body door 26 about a central longitudinal axis of the bin 2 between open (see Figures 3 and 4) and closed (see Figures 1 and 2) positions.

The body door 26 extends through an arc of sufficient magnitude to ensure a degree of overlap between the body door 26 and the fixed body portion 24 when the door 26 is in the closed position. For example, if the body portion 24 extends through an arc of 180°, then the body door may extend through an arc of 200°. In this way, a 10° arc of overlap will be provided at each of the two adjacent edges of the body portion and door 24, 26. The body door 26 is located in the grooves 48, 50 to the exterior of the fixed body portion 24. When the body door 26 is rotated from the closed position through approximately 180° so as to locate directly behind the fixed body portion 24, a second bin opening is provided. When in the open position, the door 26 extends beyond each longitudinally extending edge of the fixed body portion 24 due to the aforementioned overlap requirement of the door 26 in ensuring an adequately sealed closure of the opening 52. However, although the door 26 extends beyond the fixed body portion 24 when in the open position, the location of the door 26 radially beyond the fixed body portion 24 ensures that the width of the opening 52 divided by the longitudinal edges of the fixed body portion 24 is not necessarily reduced.

The body door 26 is provided with a flange along at least one longitudinally edge. The flange 54 assists in providing the door 26 with rigidity and also acts as a convenient handle by which the door 26 may be grasped and moved between open and closed positions. It will be appreciated that, since the door 26 extends through an arc of more than 180° and that the first rim portion extends through an arc of at least 180°, the door 26 is captivated between the upper and lower grooves 48, 50. This is the case even when the door 26 is located in the closed position with the second rim portion rotated upward about the two diametrically opposed hinges 34.

Thus, once the bin bag 20 becomes full, the bin lid 8 may be opened and retained in an open position by means of the second rim portion 32; the body door 26 may be moved to an open position; and the bin bag 20 removed via the combined first and second openings 18, 52 (see Figure 4). The sliding of the door 26 to the open position allows convenient access to the interior of the bin body and allows removal of the bin bag 20 without the need of the bag 20 to be lifted. Indeed, since moving the door 26 to the open position effectively reduces contact of half of the body 6 with the bag 20, compression forces applied to the waste by the bin 2 are reduced when the door 26 is opened and, consequently, removal of the bin bag 20 is further assisted. It will also be further understood that the mechanism by which the door 26 is moved between open and closed positions ensures that the door 26 does not project beyond the diameter of the base 4 at any stage and thereby allows convenient operation of the bin 2 in confined spaces within the home.

At the option of the user, the bin 2 may be used together with a rigid liner 58. The rigid liner 58 is preferably provided with a wire handle 60 and may, at the option of the user, be itself lined with a bag. It will be appreciated that, since the second rim portion 3 is upwardly rotatable, the rigid liner 58 may extend the full height between the upper surface of the base 4 and the upper edge of the guide rim 28 and still be removed laterally through the second opening 52 (see Figure 5).

A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figures 6 and 7 of the accompanying drawings. These two Figures show a second bin 2' which is identical to the bin 2 of Figures 1 to 5 except in that the two-piece upper guide rim 28 of the first bin 2 is replaced by a single-piece guide rim 28' in the second bin 2'. The second bin 2' does not therefore have a second rim portion 32 which is upwardly rotatable to engage the lid 8. Accordingly, the lid 8 of the second bin 2' is not provided with a recess 40. However, in other respects, the first and second bins 2 and 2' are identical and corresponding components have been identified in the drawings with the same reference numerals. Nevertheless, it will be understood that if the second bin 2' is to be used with a rigid liner 58' then this rigid liner 58' must be shallower than the rigid liner 28 used with the first in 2 so that said liner 58' may be withdrawn laterally through the second opening 52 under the single-piece rim 28'.

Both of the two bins 2, 2' may be manufactured from conventional materials. For example, the body portion and door 24, 26 may be fabricated from sheet metal whilst the base 4, foot pedal 12 and upper guide rim 28 may be injection moulded using suitable plastics materials. The lid 8 may also be manufactured from sheet metal.

The present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. Alternative arrangements and suitable materials will be apparent to the reader skilled in the art.

Claims

CLAMS:

1. A waste bin comprising a base member and a body member mounted on the base member, the body member at least partially enclosing a space adjacent the base member for receiving waste and an upper portion of the body member defining a first aperture through which, in use, waste may be passed; wherein a portion of the body member is slidable over the re afning portion of the body member so as to open a second aperture in the body member without projecting from said remaining portion of the body member.

2. A waste bin as claimed in claim 1, wherein said slidable and remaining portions of the body member are part-cylindrical in shape.

3. A waste bin as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the body member comprises a rim defining a closed loop about the first aperture, said rim being fixed to said remaining portion of the body member.

4. A waste bin as claimed in claim 3₅ wherein a portion of said rim partially defines said second aperture and separates said first and second apertures from one another, said rim portion being rotatably mounted to the remainder of the rim.

5. A waste bin as claimed in claim 4, wherein the rotatable and remainder portions of said rim comprise cooperating mating faces which abut one another so as to limit the relative rotation of the two rim portions.

6. A waste bin as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein the bin further comprises a lid member mounted to the body member so as to be rotatable between a first portion in which the first aperture is closed and a second position in which the first aperture is open, the lid member being provided with a recess for receiving the rotatable rim portion when the lid member is in the second position.

7. A waste bin as claimed in claim 6, wherein the recess is located so that, with the rotatable rim portion positioned therein, the rotatable rirn portion extends perpendicularly from the lid member.

8. A waste bin as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein a guide track arrangement is provided for controlling Hie sliding movement of said slidable body portion between a first position in which the second aperture is closed and a second position in which the second aperture is open.

9. A waste bin as claimed in claim 8, wherein the guide track arrangement comprises two concentric circular grooves.

10. A waste bin as claimed in claim 9 when depending on any of claims 3 to 7, wherein one of said grooves is defined in the base member and the other of said grooves is defined in the rim.

11. A waste bin as substantially hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.