Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2152~27
'~094115858 PCT/GB94/00026
VAPOUR EMISSION DEVICES FOR REFUSE CONTAINERS
-
This invention relates broadly to vapour
emission devices for refuse containers. The invention
is particularly concerned with such devices which are
designed for attachment to wheeled refuse bins,
particularly domestic wheeled refuse bins.
In recent years the use of wheeled bins for
the collection of domestic and garden waste has become
widespread. These bins have a hinged lid, and, being
normally closed, are subject to the build-up of
obnoxious smells, especially during hot weather. On
lifting the lid to deposit further rubbish the user is
then subjected to the odour of rotting waste material.
Also, problems can arise with flies and other
insects, particularly with certain types of refuse.
It is therefore an object of the present
invention to provide a vapour emission device which can
be affixed to a refuse container to emit a fragrant
smell and/or insect repellent and/or insect killer
within the interior of the refuse container.
It is a further object of the present
invention to provide a vapour emission device for a
refuse container, e.g. a wheeled container, in which
the device incorporates a removable component which can
be taken from the device and replaced by a new
component for renewal of the contents when the previous
source is exhausted.
Wheeled refuse containers have alternative
designs of lip around the top of the container,
depending upon the source of manufacture. It is
therefore an object of the present invention to provide
a vapour emission device which can be used with any of
the existing types of container or bin, regardless of
their configuration.
WO94/15858- PCT/GB94/0002
2~27 -2-
In accordance with one aspect of the present
invention there is provided a vapour emission device
for refuse containers, the device comprising fastening
means for attaching the device to the upper rim of a
S refuse container, and a component which emits a
fragrance and/or insect repellent and/or insect killer
and which in use is positioned within the container.
In accordance with another aspect of the
present invention there is provided a vapour emission
device to be fitted to an upper rim of a refuse
container, the device comprising a first part which is
adapted to be positioned over an upst~n~ing lip of the
container and depends into the container, a second part
externally of the container and cooperative with the
first part and with the container to enable the first
part to be affixed to the container, and a third part
carried by the first part within the container and
arranged to emit a fragrance and/or insect repellent
and/or insect killer.
In one embodiment, the third part is
pivotally movable relative to the first part. The
vapour-emitting means may comprise a cassette which
slides into and out of a holder. The cassette can
incorporate a pad which is impregnated with a fragrance
oil and/or insect repellent and/or insect killer.
The device of the present invention may
incorporate a fly or insect repellent or fly or insect
killer either alone or, preferably, in combination with
a fragrance-emitting product.
Preferably, the device will use a combination
of a fragrance oil with a fly repellent. The fly
repellent may be present in a proportion of for example
15% to 25% of the total liquid which impregnates the
pad or other holder which forms part of the device.
In other words, wherever reference is made
'~094/15858 ~15 2 8 2 7 PCT/GB94/00026
hereinafter to a fragrance oil or other fragrance-
emitting product, the present invention envisages
substituting for that either a combination of fragrance
oil with insect repellent or insect killer, or the
substitution of that fragrance oil by an insect
repellent or insect killer.
The first part preferably includes an
elongate tongue which extends down into the container
in contact with the inside surface thereof and which
has a hooked portion at its upper end for positioning
over the lip of the container.
In another embodiment, the first part
comprises a tongue which is a loose fit over the
container lip and extends downwards outside the
container, said second part comprises a spacer
extending between the lower end of the tongue and the
outside surface of the container, and the securement
- together of said first and second parts generates a
biassing force tending to maintain the device in place
on the container.
The vapour emission device is preferably
affixed to the back lip of the wheeled container. In
this way the third part, if pivotable, can, if not
hindered by waste material, move away from the side of
the bin and pivot further out of the direct passage of
the waste material as it is emptied from the inverted
container.
It is a particular advantage of the device of
the present invention that the unit is a permanent
fixing to the container and that it is only necessary
to replace a removable vapour-emitting means, for
example a cassette, in order to restore the fragrance
and/or insect repellent, etc., when renewal is
necessary.
If the means emitting vapour is a cassette,
W094/15858 2~ 2~ PCT/GB94/000~
it preferably comprises engageable front and back
portions with an impregnated pad therebetween.
Preferably, the front and/or back portions of
the cassette is/are provided with cut-outs to encourage
the movement of air through the impregnated pad.
In order that the invention may be more fully
understood, a number of presently preferred embodiments
of vapour emission device in accordance with the
invention will now be described by way of example and
with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the
drawings:
Fig. l is a perspective view showing a first
embodiment of vapour emission device fixed to the back
of a wheeled bin;
Fig. 2 shows a modified device having an
alternative fixing arrangement;
Fig. 3 is a plan view, from the back, of the
pivotable portion of the device of Figs. l and 2;
Fig. 4 is a side view of the pivotable part
shown in Fig. 3;
Fig. 5 is a view of one side of the removable
cassette;
Fig. 6 is a view of the other side of the
removable cassette;
Fig. 7 is an end view showing the cassette
mounted within the pivotable holder;
Fig. 8 is a partial schematic side view of a
second embodiment of vapour emission device shown
fitted to a container;
Fig. 9 shows a third embodiment of vapour
emission device;
Fig. lO shows a fourth embodiment of vapour
emission device; and,
Fig. ll shows a more detailed view of part of
the vapour emission device of Fig. lO.
`~094/15858 21~ 2 ~ 2 7 PCT/GB94/00026
In the different embodiments the respective
same reference numerals have been used to denote the
same or equivalent parts of the vapour emission device.
Referring first to Fig. 1 there is shown a
part of a wheeled refuse container or bin 10. In Fig.
1 the back of the container or bin is indicated at 11.
Around the top of the bin is a projecting rib 12 which
is of generally rectangular cross-section. Around the
upper opening of the bin is an upstAn~ing lip 13 which
encircles the opening. The bin is provided with a
hinged cover or lid (not shown).
The vapour emission device of the present
invention is arranged to be seated on the upstanding
lip 13, as shown. The vapour emission device comprises
a first part 14 which has a generally rectangular flat
tongue 15 which is positioned flat against the inside
face of the bin and which at the top is curved over in
the form of a hook 16 which can locate on the lip 13.
Projecting from the outside of the hook portion 16 is a
further tongue 17 which has serrated edges.
A second part of the vapour emission device
is indicated generally at 18 and is a shaped moulding
of plastics material. The upper outside face of this
second part 18 is provided with two bars 19 through
which the tongue 17 can be pushed or drawn in order to
provide a latching mechanism. The lower end of the
second part 18 is turned back on itself to define an
inner leg 20 which is of a resilient nature. With the
first part 14 hooked over the upstanding lip 13 and
with the second part 18 having its inner leg 20
positioned against the outside of the encircling rib
12, pulling of the tongue 17 through the latching bars
19 will cause the two parts 14 and 18 to be drawn into
tight contact with the bin.
The first part 14 carries a pivotally mounted
WO94/15858 2 15 2 8 ~ 7 PCT/GB94/0002
housing 21. The depending tongue 15 is provided on
each side with lugs and pins which provide a mounting
for arms 22 of the housing 21. The housing is shown
most clearly in Figs. 3 and 4. The housing has a front
portion 23 and a back portion 24, with the front
portion having an open face and the back portion
providing the two hinged arms 22. The front and back
portions 23, 24 of the housing are snapped together
during production. The housing 21 acts as a holder for
a cassette which is indicated generally at 26. The
cassette 26 is designed to be slidable into and out of
the housing 21 by manual gripping of the finger portion
27. The cassette 26 is shown most clearly in Figs. 5
and 6. The edge of the cassette opposite the finger
portion 27 is provided with a small recess 28 which
acts as a locating means engageable with a locating pin
which is provided in the moulded housing 21. The front
face of the cassette, as shown in Fig. 5, has a pattern
of cut-outs 29. The back of the cassette, as shown in
Fig. 6, is open but is provided with four supporting
loops 30 which act as retainers for an impregnated pad
31 which is located between the loops and the front
portion of the cassette. The pad 31 can be impregnated
with any suitable oil or other fragrance-emitting
product, and/or with an insect repellent and/or with an
insect killer. The cassette, incorporating the pad 31,
would normally be sold as a complete unit to the
consumer, for simple insertion into the housing 21.
In use, the vapour emission device is secured
to the rear of the wheeled bin with the housing holding
the cassette positioned within the interior of the bin.
Normally the pivotable housing 21 will hang down in the
bin. The open rear of the cassette 26 and the
apertured front of the cassette enable air to pass
around the impregnated pad and for the vapour from the
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NO 94/15858 PCT/GB94/00026
pad to circulate within the bin. If the bin is so
filled with waste material that the waste reaches the
level of the cassette then the cassette can be pivoted
upwards and then lowered into place on top of the waste
material. It will thus continue to exercise its
function even when the bin is substantially full. When
the bin is emptied into a collecting vehicle, the bin
is positioned so that the front edge of the bin is
towards the rear of the vehicle and the bin is lifted
so that the hinged bin lid drops forward. By siting
the vapour emission device on the rear edge of the bin
and by making the housing 21 pivotable, the waste
material can fall from the bin into the vehicle,
passing the vapour emission device without damaging it.
When the pad 31 in the cassette 26 is
exhausted, one can simply remove the cassette from the
housing by drawing it vertically upwards and then one
can slide a new cassette into place.
Fig. 2 shows a modified embodiment of vapour
emission device in which the device is held in place by
the use of a webbing strap 32. This is attached to a
bar 33 provided on the outside face of the hook 16 of
the first part 14 of the moulding. The strap 32 is
provided with an adjustable buckle and clip indicated
generally at 34 which in use is sited so as to hook
under the peripheral rib 12 of the bin. When the strap
is tightened the top hook 16 is pulled down onto the
lip 13 of the bin.
In a further embodiment of the invention the
hinge mechanism of the device is omitted and the unit
effectively becomes a tongue hanging down inside the
refuse container. The tongue 15 in Figs. 1 and 2 is
omitted and the housing 21 then lies flush against the
inside of the container wall, with a clip or other
fastening at the top. The housing still carries a
CA21 52827
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removable cassette 26 or the equivalent.
In Fig. 8 the upper portion of the wheeled refuse container again
terminates at the top in a projecting upstanding lip 13 and has a
circumferential, outwardly projecting flange 12. The flange 12 is of
generally inverted L-shaped configuration in the illustrated embodiment. The
housing of the vapour emission device which holds the cassette is indicated
generally at 21. The construction of the cassette portion of the device may
be as described above in relation to Figs.1 to 7. Here, the upper margin of
the housing is provided with a tongue, indicated generally at 38. The
tongue comprises a first arcuate portion 39 which is a loose fit over the
upstanding lip 13 of the container. The tongue then has a generally
horizontally extending portion 40, a generally downwardly extending portion
41 and a return portion 42. The tongue 38 can be made for example of
polypropylene, for example of 2mm thickness. The plastics material from
which the tongue 38 is made has "memory" properties, such that the
downward portion 41 and return portion 42 of the tongue normally tend to
move towards the housing. These portions of the tongue 38 are forced
outwards by a spacer, indicated generally at 43, which extends between the
return portion 42 and the container itself. The spacer 43 comprises an
inclined leg 44 which terminates at the bottom in a foot 45 and which
terminates at the opposite end in a plate 46 which has upwardly and
downwardly extending portions from the leg 44. The upwardly extending
portion of the plate 46 has an outwardly curved outer end which lies
beneath the underside of the container flange 12. The foot 45 of the spacer
43 is preferably provided with a plurality of studs 47 which fit into
corresponding holes in the
~094/15858 2 1 ~ 2 8 2 7 PCTtGB94/00026
return portion 42 of the tongue 38.
When the spacer 43 is assembled to the tongue
38 and the device is fitted in place on the container,
as shown in Fig. 8, the spacer 43 will extend between
the tongue and the container and the memory properties
of the tongue will cause the spacer 43 to be biassed
into contact with the container and thus to generate a
holding force which will maintain the vapour emission
device in place on the container. With the fastening
arrangement described above the cassette housing 21
will remain flush against the inside face of the
container and is not pivotable relative thereto.
The means for securing the spacer 43 to the
tongue 38 need not consist of interfitting studs 47 and
holes. Any alternative method of securement may be
used, for example by having one part arranged to slide
relative to the other into a fixing location. Other
ways of achieving this object will be apparent to those
skilled in this art. The securement of the spacer 43
to the tongue 38 may be temporary, i.e. dismantlable,
or permanent.
Fig. 9 shows an alternative arrangement in
which the outwardly projecting flange 12 on the
container or bin is much smaller and in which the
upstanding lip 13 is longer. Here again the general
configuration of the securing mechanism for the vapour
emission device is as shown in Fig. 8, comprising a
tongue 38 and a spacer 43. Here however the relative
dimensions of the arm portions of the plate 46 differ
slightly from those of Fig. 8, in order to adapt them
to the configuration of the particular container.
Fig. 10 shows yet a further alternative
structure, where again the relative dimensions of the
parts of the spacer 43 are varied somewhat, but still
with the same object of maintaining a biassing force
WO94/15858 PCT/GB94/000~
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--1 o--
place on the container. Fig. 11 shows in more detail
the shape of the spacer 43, and in particular the use
of studs 47 on the underside of the foot 45.
Other methods of securing the vapour emission
device to the upper margin of a wheeled refuse
container will be evident to those skilled in this art
and are intended to be included within the scope of
this invention.
