GARBAGE DISPOSAL UNIT

POUBELLE

English Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A garbage disposal unit comprises an outer casing with an
open front having a pair of opposed side walls, a top wall,
and a rear wall, and an inner container with an open top
pivotally mounted about a transverse pivot axis extending
between the side said walls of said outer casing. The
container is retractable into the casing, and the top of the
inner container has a shape complementary to the inner shape
of the top wall of the outer casing so as to mate therewith.
The location of said pivot axis is above the bottom of the
casing and in front of the centre of gravity of the
container such that the weight of the container, and any
contents therein, urges complementary top of the bin and the
top wall of the casing into sealed engagement. In this way
the escape of unpleasant odors can be avoided.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A storage unit comprising an outer casing having a pair
of opposed side walls, a top wall, and a rear wall defining
a front opening for said casing, said top wall being curved
away from the front opening, and a bin having an open top
pivotally mounted about a horizontal pivot axis extending
between the side walls of said outer casing, said bin being
retractable into said casing, the upper side edges of said
bin being convexly curved and having an edge contour
complementary to the inner shape of the top wall of said
outer casing so that the open top of said bin mates with
said top wall of said outer casing when the bin is retracted
in the casing, and the location of said pivot axis being
raised above the bottom of the outer casing and towards the
front of said bin such that the weight of contents within
said bin urges the top of said bin into mating engagement
with the top wall of the outer casing when the bin is in its
retracted position.

2. A storage unit according to claim 1, further comprising
a ledge attached to the lower front edge of the inner
container serving as a foot pedal for opening the unit.

3. A storage unit according to claim 1, further comprising
a band fitted around the upper edge of said inner container
to retain the overlapping edge of a liner located within
said container.

4. A storage unit according to claim 4, comprising a
plurality of inner containers for different types of garbage
located in a side-by-side relationship within said outer
casing.

5. A storage unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4,



wherein said bin removably rests on support means within
said outer casing providing said horizontal pivot axis.

6. A storage unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
wherein said horizontal pivot axis is provided by a knife
edge located on the bottom of the outer casing, the knife
edge being accommodated in a complementary groove in the
bottom of the bin.

7. A storage unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
wherein said horizontal pivot axis is provided by a knife
edge located in the bottom of the bin on the bottom of the
outer casing, said knife edge resting in a complementary
groove in the bottom of the outer casing.

8. A storage unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
wherein said top wall of the outer casing and said open top
of the bin have a common center of curvature coincident with
said horizontal pivot axis.

Description

201 8662

This invention relates to storage unit, such as laundry
hamper, firewood box, bread box, garbage disposal unit of
the type suitable for use in domestic kitchens, and the
like.

While the invention will be described primarily in
connection with garbage disposal units, it has utility in
the other types of storage unit listed above.

Many types of garbage disposal unlt are known. One popular
typs con9ists of a bln with an open top closed by a hinged
cover coupled by a lever mechanism to a foot pedal.
Depression of the foot pedal causes the cover to open.
Other common types consist of wall mounted bins with hinged
covers. Another popular type consists of wire frame adapted
to be mounted on the inside of a cupboard door. A loose bin
liner is folded over the wire frame, which defines an
opening closed by a hinged cover. Ons problem with this
arrangement is that the bin liner tends to fall off the wire
frame, spilling the contents over the floor of the kitchen.

Kitchen garbage, by its nature, tends to be odor generating,
and one disadvantage in common with all these prior art
units is that no means are provided for sealing the cover
shut so as to prevent the escapo of unpleasant odors.

An object of the present invention is to alleviate the
aforementioned disadvantage.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a storage unit
comprising an outer casing having a pair of opposed side
walls, a top wall, and a rear wall defining a front opening
for said casing, said top wall being curved away from the
front opening, and a bin having an open top pivotally
mounted about a horizontal pivot axis extending between the
side walls of said outer casing, said bin being retractable

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into said casing, the upper side edges of said bin being
convexly curved and having an edge contour complementary to
the inner shape of the top wall of said outer casing so that
the open top of said bin mates with said top wall of said
outer casing when the bin is retracted in the casing, and
the location of said pivot axis being raised above the
bottom of the outer casing and towards the front of said bin
such that the weight of contents within said bin urges the
top of said bin into mating engagement with the top wall of
the outer casing when the bin is in its retracted position.

~referably the top of the bin and the complementary mating
surface of the outer casings are convexly curved.

In a preferred embodiment, the bin accommodates a liner
which is held in place around the upper edge of the inner
container by a resilient band.

The horizontal axis is preferably provided by a knife edge
located on the bottom of the outer casing, the knife edge
being accommodated in a complementary groove in the bottom
of the bin to permit the bin to be easily removed and to
reduce friction. Alternatively, the knife edge can be
formed on the bottom of the bin and rest ln a groove formed
in the bottom of tha outer casing.

The invention will now be described in more detail, by way
of example only, with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which:-

Figure la is an isometric perspective view of one embodimentof a garbage disposal unit in accordance with one embodiment
of the present invention;

Figure lb is a detail of Figure la showing the horizontal
3C pivot axis;


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201 8662

Figure 2 is a diagram showing the top of the resilient band
on the upper edge of the inner bin; and

Figure 3 is an isometric perspective view of a multiple
garbage disposal unit.

In the drawings, the garbage disposal unit comprises a
roughly parallelpipedic outer casing 1 having a pair of
oppo~ed side walls 2, a rear wall ~not shown), a con~exly
curved top wall 3 and an open front 4. Pivotally mounted
within the outer casing 1 is an inner bin 5 having a
convexly curved open top 6 with a shape complementary to the
shape of the inside of the top wall 3 so as to mate
therewith in sealed relationship when the bin is retracted
into the casing.

The inner bin 5 is pivotally mounted at the bottom about an
inverted V-shaped knife edge 8 extending between the side
walls 2 and formed on the bottom of the outer casing. Knife
edge 8 engages in complementary groove 7 formed in the
bottom of the bin 7. The knife edge 8 allows the bin to
pivot freely, while resting on the knife edge, with minimum
friction. It also allows the bin to be removed slmply by
lifting it out of the oute~ casing.

The location of the knife edge 8, which is arranged near the
front of the outer casing 1 at a point slightly above the
bottom and slightly rearward of the front edge 21 Of the
side wall 2 is such that the bin falls naturally under its
own weight into the outer casing 1, with the top wall 3 and
corresponding open mating top of the bin being urged into
sealing engagement by the weight of the bin. For this
purpose, the arrangement is such that the centre of gravity
G of the inner bin 5 is located at a point to the rear of
the horizontal knife edge 8, and the location of the knife
edge 8 is at the center of curvature of the top wall 3 and


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open top 6.

Because of the location of the knife edge shaft 8, the
weight of any contents within the bin 5 are added to the
weight of the bin to further bias the bin 5 into the closed
position and the top 6 into a sealing engagement with the
top wall 3 of the outer casing 1.

A small horizontal ledge 9 serves as a foot pedal and allows
the user to open the bin by placing the foot on the pedal 9.
The garbage can be thrown into the open top 6 and the foot
released, thereby allowing the bin to fall naturally under
its own weight back into the outer casing 1, with the top 6
coming into sealing engagement with the top wall of the
outer casing 3. In this way, odors generated from the
garbage within the bin are prevented from escaping into the
environment.

The bin is provided with a standard plastic bin liner 10
folded over the top edge of the bin 5 as shown at 10l. In
order to prevent the liner 10 falling into the bin as it
becomes loaded, a resilient band 11 is snapped on to the
upper outer edge of the bin around the ~olded over portion
10l. The band 11 i9 shown in more detail ln Figure 2.

Figure 3 shows a multiple unit, which operates in exactly
the same manner as Figure 1, but which comprises three inner
bins 51, 5~, 53 resting on the knife edge 8 extending between
the opposed side walls of the common outer casing 1. The
different bins in the multiple unit can be used for
different types of garbage. For instance, vegetable matter
. may be placed in one bin, cartons in another and so on.
Each bin 5~, 5Z, 53, is otherwise similar to the bin 5 shown
in Figure 1.

The entire unit can be constructed from a modern, robust


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resilien~ plastic.

The storage unit can also be used with advantage as a
laundry hamper, firewood box, bread box and the like.




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Representative Drawing