Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
wog6/07605 2 1 9 9 0 3 8 PCT/NL95/00294
WASTE CONTAINER
The invention relates to a collecting cont~; ner
comprising a supporting element intended to be fixedly
arranged, and a collecting chamber having, adjacent its upper
side, an insertion opening for introducing objects, and,
adjacent its lower side, a bottom on which the objects
introduced are caught and collected, which collecting chamber
is pivotable relative to the supporting element about a
substantially horizontally directed pivot.
Such a collecting container is usable for collecting
various types of objects. A particularly useful application of
such a collecting co~t~iner is the collection of refuse in
publicly accessible places, and the invention will hereinafter
be specifically described for this use, while it is explicitly
observed that the invention and the protective scope are not
limited to this use.
During normal usage, such a litter container is in an
operating condition wherein the collecting chamber is retained
relative to the supporting element in a position which will be
referred to as ~upright~. The litter container is then ready
for receiving litter. The hinge mechanism is intended to bring
the collecting chamber into an ejecting position wherein the
collecting chamber can be Q tied.
With known collecting containers, the ejecting position
of the collecting chamber can be referred to as ~inverted~,
2s i.e. the collecting chamber is rotated forwardly about the
above-mentioned pivot over more than 90, as a result of which
the insertion opening is located at the lower side and the
litter can leave the inverted collecting chamber through the
insertion opening. The litter can then be caught in a mobile
tank which is held under the collecting chamber.
In a first type of a known collecting cont~iner~ the
pivot is located adjacent the lower side of the collecting
chamber. A first drawback with this construction is that in
the inverted position, the insertion opening is at a lower
level than the bottom of the collecting chamber in the upright
position. Consequently, the mobile tank must be of a
W096/07605 PcT~n~5/00294
2 1 9qQ38 2
relatively low design, or the collecting chamber must be
mounted at a relatively high position. As for the sake of an
easy usage of the collecting contA;n~r, it is desired that the
insertion opening is not located at too high a level, this
implies a limitation of the height of the collecting chamber
and hence a limitation of the receiving capacity of the
collecting con~;ner. In general, a result of this is that the
collecting chamber is filled relatively quickly and hence has
to be emptied relatively often, which increases the costs of
operation, or that several collecting co~t~iners have to be
installed, which increases the investment costs, or that the
litter will be dumped next to the full collecting container,
which is of course also undesirable.
In another known collecting cont~;ner, the hinge is
located approximately halfway up the collecting chamber. It is
true that this collecting container does not have the height
drawback described hereinabove, but this collecting cont~iner
does have the drawback that during pivoting, the insertion
opening moves forewards and the bottom moves backwards. This
imposes restrictions on the installation possibilities of such
a collecting container, because it cannot for instance be
disposed directly in front of a wall or mounted on a lamppost.
Installation of this known collecting cgnt~ ~ner on the ground
requires two vertical poles, generally interconnected at their
upper ends to form an inverted U, with the collecting chamber
disposed between those poles and pivotally mounted thereon.
Moreover, this construction is relatively expensive.
A further drawback of this known construction is that
when the collecting chamber is being pivoted, the bottom with
the objects received thereon is to be moved upwards to above
the pivoting point. Depending on the nature and the amount of
the objects received, this requires relatively much effort.
As has already been mentioned, these known collecting
containers have in common that the emptying of the collecting
chambers takes place via the insertion opening, by inverting
the collecting chambers. There are already some drawbacks
attached to this operating principle. A first drawback is that
it is not possible to separate fluids, such as leakage fluids
W096/0760S 2 1 99038 ~ ` PCTn~L95/00294
that may leak from the litter (think of, for instance,
lP~onA~e, melting ice-cream, and the like) or penetrating rain
water from the solid substances.
A second drawback is that the egressive litter, and in
particular the fluid portion of the litter, causes the
insertion opening to be fouled, which is undesirable from an
aesthetic and hygienic point of view. The cleaning of the
insertion opening, after the collecting chamber has been
emptied, means an additional working operation with the costs
involved. In itself, litter bins are known that do not have
that problem, but a complicated construction is used therefor.
Such a litter bin consists of three components, viz. an outer
bin that is completely closed at its lower side, an inner bin
or bag disposed therein, and a lid pivotally mounted on top of
lS the outer bin, in which lid the insertion opening is located.
At its lower side, the outer bin is pivotally connected to the
supporting element, while the above-mentioned lid is also
pivotally connected to the supporting element. For emptying
this litter bin, the outer bin should be pivoted forwards and
the lid should be pivoted backwards, the inner bin should be
lifted from the outer bin, and the inner bin should be
inverted above a collecting vehicle.
The object of the invention is to ,~-,o~e the above-
mentioned drawbacks.
In particular, the object of the invention is to provide
a collecting cont~iner which is easy to manufacture, requires
no inner bin, and imposes few requirements on the location
where the collecting container is to be installed.
More in particular, the object of the invention is to
provide a collecting cont~i ner whose insertion opening is not
fouled when the collecting chamber is emptied.
A further object of the invention is to provide a
collecting container which enables fluids to be discharged
separately from solid substances.
In accordance with an important aspect, a collecting
cont~; ner of the above-mentioned type according to the
invention is characterized in that the bottom is fixedly
mounted on the supporting element, and extends forwards and
W09610760S 2 1 9qO38 4 PCTn~L95/00294
upwards from that supporting element according to a portion of
a circular arc, the center of that circular arc lying at least
substantially on the above-mentioned pivot.
In a preferred embodiment, the bottom is at its deepest
point provided with an outlet opening, connected to an outlet
pipe.
Hereinafter, the invention will be further expl~ine~
through a description of a preferred embodiment of the
collecting container according to the invention, with
reference to the accompanying drawings. In these drawings:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an example of a collecting
container according to the invention;
Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the
collecting container shown in Fig. 1 in the operating
position;
Fig. ~ is a side elevation comparable with Fig. 2, of the
collecting container in an emptying position;
Fig. 4 shows, on an enlarged scale, a detail of a preferred
embodiment of the collecting container; and
Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the detail illustrated in Fig. 4
taken on the line v-v in Fig. 4.
The embodiment of a collecting cont~A; n~r 1 illustrated in
the Figures is intended for collecting litter, and can also be
referred to by the term ~waste basket~l. In the embodiment
shown, the collecting container 1 comprises a supporting
element 2 in the form of a pole with a foot 3, intended to be
fixedly arranged by mounting the foot, by means of screws 4,
on a base, for instance a concrete block to be anchored in the
ground. Adjacent its upper end 5, the supporting element 2
comprises a hinge element 6 having a substantially
horizontally directed pivot. The collecting contA;n~r 1
further comprises a collecting chamber 10 having, adjacent its
upper side 11, an insertion opening 12 for receiving litter
and, adjacent its lower side 13, a bottom 14 on which the
litter is caught and collected. Adjacent its upper side 11,
the collecting chamber 10 is attached to the hinge element 6,
W096/07605 PCTn~LgS/002g4
2! 99~)38 5
permitting the collecting chamber 10 to pivot about the above-
mentioned pivot relative to the supporting element 2.
Because the nature and construction of the hinge element
do not constitute a subject of the present invention, and for
a proper underst~n~;ng of the present invention it is not
necessary for anyone skilled in the art to have knowledge
thereof, they will not be further described. It suffices to
observe that st~n~rd hinge constructions known in the art,
such as are known to skilled persons, can be employed for this
purpose.
The collecting chamber 10 is laterally bounded by a wall
construction comprising side walls 15, a front wall 16 and a
rear wall 17. In the embodiment shown, these walls are
straight, and are positioned against one another in such a
manner that the cross section of the collecting chamber 10 has
a trapezoidal shape. However, these walls can also have a bent
shape. During the normal operating position of the collecting
chamber 10, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the walls 15-17 are
directed substantially vertically. If so desired, the walls
15-17 can be positioned slightly obliquely, so that the cross
~im~n~ions of the collecting chamber 10 at the lower side are
larger than at the upper side.
Unlike conventional collecting cont~inPrs, in the
collecting cont~iner 1 according to the invention the bottom
14 is not fixedly connected to the walls 15-17 to form one
container therewith, closed at the lower side. In accordance
with an important aspect of the present invention, the bottom
14 of the collecting chamber 10 is fixedly attached to the
supporting element 2, for instance through welding, while the
walls 15-17 define a substantially vertical tube which is open
at the lower side. In the normal operating position, the rear
wall 17 of the collecting chamber 10 extends downwards to be
in close proximity to the top side of the bottom 14, or , as
in the embodiment shown, the rear wall 17 of the collecting
chamber 10 has an elongated slot 18 adjacent its lower side,
through which slot the bottom 14 extends with little or no
play into the interior of the collecting chamber 10. The
W096/07605 PCT~n95/~294
21 99038 6
bottom 14 has a bent shape, which bent shape, in section,
substantially corresponds to a portion of a circular arc, the
center of that circle lying substantially at the above-
mentioned pivot of the hinge 6. The bottom 14 is attached to
the supporting element 2 so that at the location of the point
of attarhm~nt 14A, i.e. at the rear wall 17 of the collecting
chamber 10 in its normal operating position illustrated in
Fig. 2, the bottom 14 is directed substantially horizont~l1y.
From that point of attachment 14A, the bottom 14 extends
forwards up to the front wall 15, and reaches this front wall
at a point higher than the point of attachment 14A. The
~imPn~ions of the bottom 14 are chosen so that in the normal
operating position of the collecting chamber 10, illustrated
in Fig. 2, the bottom 14 is always in contact with the front
wall 16 and the side walls 15.
The walls 15-17 and the bottom 14 can be made from any
material that can be considered suitable, such as for instance
synthetic material or steel plate. As is shown in the Figures,
the edges of that plate may be flanged. If so desired, the
edges of the bottom 14 and/or the inner side of the front wall
16 and the side walls 15 can be provided with means such as an
elastic sealing strip, for instance made of rubber, to ensure,
in the normal operating position of the collecting chamber 10,
a proper sealing between the bottom 14 and the front wall 16
and the side walls 15. For the sake of simplicity, such
sealing means are not shown separately in the Figures.
When it is desired to empty the collecting cha-m-ber 10, a
receiving bag (refuse bag) or receiving bin is first placed
under the collecting chamber 10. Then, the collecting cha-mber
10 is pivoted forwards about the pivot of the hinge 6, while
it is the lower side of the collecting chamber 10 that moves
forwards and upwards, as indicated by the arrow Pl in Fig. 2,
until the emptying position illustrated in Fig. 3 is reached.
In that emptying position, the bottom 14 is withdrawn from the
collecting chamber 10, as a result of which the tubular
collecting chamber 10 is entirely open at its lower side, so
that the objects collected in the collecting chamber 10 fall
from the collecting chamber 10 to be received by the above-
WOg6~07605 PCT~n~5/00294
21 ~qO38 7
mentioned receiving bag or receiving bin, as indicated by thearrow P2 in Fig. 3. During the pivotal IllO~ of the
collecting chamber 10, the lower edge 21 of the rear wall 17
moves across the bottom 14 so that all objects collected on
the bottom lg are taken along. If so desired, that lower edge
21 may be provided with stripping means such as a rubber edge,
as will be apparent to a skilled person and is not shown for
the sake of simplicity.
An important advantage is that the objects falling from
the collecting chamber 10 do so at the lower side of the
collecting cham~ber 10, i.e. not via the insertion opening 12,
so that the edge of the insertion opening 12 is not fouled by
egressive litter.
In principle, the collecting cham~ber 10 can pivot further
than the emptying position illustrated in Fig. 3. If this is
considered undesirable, and it is desired to limit the pivotal
l~o~ ellt of the collecting chamber 10 to that emptying
position, this can readily be effected by providing the bottom
14 at its free edge, directed to the front wall 16, with a
downwardly extending edge portion 19, for instance by bending
the edge of the bottom 1g downwards. In the embodiment
illustrated, wherein the bottom 14 extends through a slot 18
in the rear wall 17, that downwardly extending edge portion 19
then acts as a stop for the lower edge 20 of the collecting
chamber 10, as is clearly ~m~n~trated in Fig. 3. In an
embo~;m~nt wherein the rear wall 17 only extends to above the
bottom 14, a pin or lip mounted on the lower edge 21 of the
rear wall 17 or on the side walls 15 and embracing the bottom
14 can abut against this downwardly extending edge portion 19
of the bottom 14.
When the collecting chamber 10 has been emptied, it is
returned into its nonmal operating position by pivoting it
backwards again, as indicated by the arrow P3 in Fig. 3. If it
is desired that the collecting cham~ber 10 is blocked in this
operating position against pivoting, this can readily be
established by providing the above-mentioned edge portion 19
of the bottom lg with a lip 22 which extends forwards and
upwards and fits in a recess 23 in the front wall 16, and
W096/07605 2 1 99038 8 PCT~n~5/00294
which, in the operating position, embraces the front wall 16.
When the collecting chamber 10 is to be emptied, that blocking
can readily be L~l.~ved by pressing this lip 22 downwards, as
indicated by the arrow P4 in Fig. 2.
If it is desired that this blocking is locked, ~eve,l~ing
unauthorized pivoting of the collecting chamber 10, that can
readily be established by providing a padlock (not shown for
the sake of simplicity) on this lip 22.
During the use of a collecting cont~;ner, fluids may end
up in the collecting cham~ber thereof. An important source
therefor is rain water when used outdoors. But also when used
in covered places or in buildings, fluid may leak from the
disposed litter itself, for instance coffee from coffee cups
or soft drink from cans. With known litter bins whose lower
sides are provided with discharge openings, for the very
purpose of offering an outlet for rain water, the fouling
liquid ends up on the ground right away. Litter bins which are
closed at the lower side are also known. For outdoor usage,
those litter bins should always be provided with a roof
construction to prevent raining in, which limits the ~;m~n~ion
of the insertion opening and renders the insertion of in
particular larger pieces of litter more difficult. At any
rate, whether rain water can enter the collecting chamber or
not, more often than not a muck will be formed at the bottom,
consisting of dust and leakage fluids and/or rain water. When
the litter bin is being e-m~ptied~ this muck may end up on the
ground, for instance because the refuse bags used for the
receiving the litter may have a leak. If one is not prepared
for this and no adequate measures are taken, the enviro~ t
of the litter bin may become dirty, which is unacceptable in
particular within buildings.
In a preferred e-m-bodiment as illustrated in Fig. 4, the
invention disposes of this drawback of the conventional litter
bins as well. For that purpose, efficient use is made of the
fact that the bottom 14 is fixedly connected to the supporting
element 2, while it is an additional advantage that owing to
its bent shape, the bottom 14 has a lowest point adjacent the
W096/07605 PCTn~L95/00294
21 99038 9
supporting element 2. Fig. 4 shows that at that lowest point,
the bottom 14 is provided with an outlet opening 30,
optionally provided with a sieve 31, to which an outlet pipe
32 is connected. At the location of that outlet pipe 32, the
lower edge 20 of the collecting chamber 10 may have been
broken away, as is clarified in the bottom view of Fig. 5, so
that the pivotal l~l~v~"ellt of the collecting chamber 10 is not
hin~Pred by that outlet pipe 32. The outlet pipe 32 may be
directed straight downwards, and/or be concealed in the
supporting pole 2 for protection.
Owing to this discharge construction according to the
invention, it is possible to collect and discharge fluids
separately, so that fouling of the envi-ul~l,ellt by fluids is
avoided to a significant extent. Preferably, the outlet pipe
32 debouches directly into a sewage pipe. Alternatively, it is
possible that the outlet pipe debouches into a receiving
container disposed below the floor surface, which container
can be emptied from time to time by a fluid suction apparatus
known per se.
In the embodiment shown, the collecting cont~iner 1 has
its foot 3 mounted on a grating 34, which may also provide
access to the above-mentioned sewage pipe. This offers
advantages for instance during the cleaning of the collecting
container. When it is desired to clean the collecting chamber
10 internally, this may readily be carried out by rinsing out
the inner sides of the walls 15-17, in the emptying position,
with a jet of water from the upper side, the used rinsing
water draining off directly at the lower side while entraining
dirt residues and finding its way into the sewer via the
grating 34.
It will be clear to anyone skilled in the art that it is
possible to alter or modify the embodiment shown of the
apparatus according to the invention without departing from
the inventive concept or the protective scope. For instance,
it is possible that instead of the trapezoidal shape shown,
the cross section of the collecting chamber 10 has a different
shape which is considered suitable for whatever reason, for
~ - - - - -
W096107605 PCT~n95/00294
2199038 lO
instance the shape of a rectangle or a semicircle. In a
particular design, the cross section of the collecting chamber
10 extends alongside the pole 2 on both sides. This enables
two collecting chambers to be disposed against each other,
back to back, on both sides of a suppport element such as a
lamppost, the two collecting chambers tightly abutting against
that lamppost while the combined outside contour of the two
collecting chambers forms a cylinder.
It is further possible that the walls of the collecting
chamber are provided with reinforcement ridges and/or
ventilating openings of any form considered suitable, as is
illustrated in Fig. 1.
Further, if desired, the collecting chamber may at its
upper side be closed by a roof construction to prevent raining
in, the insertion opening then being located in the upper side
of the front wall and/or the side walls.
Further, it is possible that the collecting chamber has
its lower side provided with a lock operable by a key, such as
for instance a triangular or square key, with a lock catch
engaging behind a fixed portion of the collecting cont~iner~
for instance behind an edge portion of the bottom, which lock
catch, in the opened position of the lock, being clear of the
fixed portion of the collecting COntA . n~r .
Alternatively, it is possible that the collecting chamber
is internally provided with resilient lips embracing the end
edge of the bottom. It is also possible that the rear wall of
the collecting chamber is provided with a backwardly extending
eye, located, in the operating position, next to the
supporting pole, while that support pole is provided with an
opening at the location of that eye, permitting a locking pin
to be fitted through that opening and the eye. In this case,
too, instead of an eye and a locking pin, a lock can be used
whose locking pin, in the locking position, engages with the
opening in the supporting pole. Such locking constructions are
k~own per se.
