Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02591901 2007-06-14
GARBAGE AND RECYCLING CONTAINER
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to garbage and recycling containers, and more
particularly, relates
to concrete garbage and recycling containers and waste sorting stations
adapted to receive
garbage and recycling materials.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The collection and temporary storage of garbage and recycling materials is an
ongoing and
necessary part of modem urban life. To facilitate the collection and temporary
storage of garbage
and recycling materials (hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to as
"recycling materials"),
a wide range of temporary collection and containment receptacles have been
developed,
including for example, one-piece plastic, concrete, wood, and metal recycling
material
receptacles, multi-piece plastic, wood, and metal receptacles (in which, for
example, an outer and
inner receptacle is provided, the inner receptacle being adapted to receive
the recycling materials,
and the outer receptacle being adapted to receive, support and protect the
inner receptacle, the
inner receptacle being removable from the outer receptacle for the purposes of
readily removing
the recycling materials therefrom.
Due to the adverse weather, traffic, and use conditions often present where
there is a significant
demand for the collection and temporary storage of garbage and recycling
materials it is desirable
to have a solid, weather-resistant, animal-resistant, heavy, movable, easy-to-
empty container
which is adapted to receive and provide temporary storage of garbage and
recycling materials.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a garbage and
recycling container
that is solid, heavy and movable and that is adapted to receive and provide
temporary storage of
garbage and recycling materials.
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Accordingly, another object of the present invention is to provide a garbage
and recycling
container adapted to receive and provide temporary storage of garbage and
recycling materials
that is weather-resistant, animal-resistant and can be temporarily locked to
thereby prevent the
unauthorized opening of the container.
Accordingly, another object of the present invention is to provide a garbage
and recycling
materials' container having access holes in a wall thereof to permit garbage
and recycling
materials to be placed in the container.
Accordingly, another object of the present invention is to provide a garbage
and recycling
container adapted to receive one or more removable receptacles that can be
filled, by way of
access holes in a wall of the container, garbage and recycling materials and
thereafter the
removable receptacles can be readily removed for emptying.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
container adapted to receive
a removable receptacle for the temporary storage of garbage or recycling
materials, comprising
means for securely supporting the removable receptacle, walls securely engaged
with the means
for securely supporting the removable receptacle and adapted to enclose at
least a portion of the
removable receptacle, at least one of the walls having an access hole therein
to permit the
passage therethrough of garbage or recycling materials for placement in the
removable
receptacle.
The advantage of the present invention is that it provides a garbage and
recycling container that
is solid, heavy and movable and that is adapted to receive and provide
temporary storage of
garbage and recycling materials.
The advantage of the present invention is that it provides a garbage and
recycling container
adapted to receive and provide temporary storage of garbage and recycling
materials that is
weather-resistant, animal-resistant and can be temporarily locked to thereby
prevent the
unauthorized opening of the container.
The advantage of the present invention is that it provides a garbage and
recycling materials'
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container having access holes in a wall thereof to permit garbage and
recycling materials to be
placed in the container.
The advantage of the present invention is that it provides a garbage and
recycling container
adapted to receive one or more removable receptacles that can be filled, by
way of access holes in
a wall of the container, garbage and recycling materials and thereafter the
removable receptacles
can be readily removed for emptying.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below with
reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 A is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention
with the roof
panel in the closed position;
Figure 1 B is a perspective view, partly in ghost, of the embodiment of the
present
invention illustrated in Figure 1 A with the roof panel in the closed
position;
Figure 1 C is a perspective view, partly in ghost, of the embodiment of the
present
invention illustrated in Figure 1 A with 3 removable receptacles therewithin
with the roof
panel in the closed position;
Figure 1 D is a perspective view, partly in ghost, of the embodiment of the
present
invention illustrated in Figure 1 A with 3 removable receptacles therewithin
with the roof
in the opened position;
Figure 1 E is a perspective view, partly in ghost, of the embodiment of the
present
invention illustrated in Figure 1 A with 4 removable receptacles therewithin
with the roof
panel in the closed position;
Figure 1 F is a perspective view, partly in ghost, of the embodiment of the
present
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invention illustrated in Figure 1 A with 2 removable receptacles therewithin
with the roof
panel in the closed position;
Figure 2 is a front view of the embodiment of the present invention
illustrated in Figure
1A with the roof panel in the closed position;
Figure 3 is a side view of the embodiment of the present invention illustrated
in Figure
lA with the roof panel in the closed position;
Figure 4 is a view of a hinge in position on the embodiment of the present
invention
illustrated in Figure 1 A;
Figure 5A is a view of the eye bolts of the embodiment of the present
invention illustrated
in Figure 1 A with the roof panel in the closed position;
Figure 5B is a partially cross-sectional view of the eye bolts of an
embodiment of the
present invention, in which the eye bolts are substantially aligned with one
another;
Figure 5C is a perspective view of the eye bolts of an embodiment of the
present
invention, in which the eye bolts are substantially aligned with one another;
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in Figures
1 A, 1 B, 1 C, 1 D, 2
and 3, a container 2 is provided, having, in a preferred embodiment, a front
wall 4, side walls 6
and 18, back wal125 and floor 20, all of which are preferably made of
concrete, which concrete
was preferably cast or formed in a single pour by way of a mold so that the
front wa114, side
walls 6 and 18, back wall 25 and floor 20 form a single piece, or
alternatively the front wall 4,
side walls 6 and 18, back wa1125 and floor 20 are each made of concrete slabs
bolted or
otherwise fastened together in a manner known to a person skilled in the art.
In the preferred
embodiment, the concrete front wall 4, side walls 6 and 18, back wa1125 and
floor 20 are each 3"
thick it being it being understood that alternative thicknesses of concrete
may alternatively be
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provided in a manner known to a person skilled in the art.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a roof panel 8
preferably made of a sheet
of 1/8" thick fiberglass is provided (it being understood that alternative
materials and thicknesses
of material may alternatively be provided in a manner known to a person
skilled in the art),
which roof panel 8 is preferably hinged to the back wall 25 by hinges 15
preferably attached by
anchor bolts 11 to the back wall 25 and by bolts 10 to the roof panel 8 to
allow the roof panel to
be moved from the closed position illustrated in Figure 1 A to the open
position illustrated in
Figure 1 D and vice versa (it being understood that alternative methods and
mechanisms may be
utilized to securely and openably support the roof panel 8 relative to the
front wall 4, side walls 6
and 18, and/or back wall 25 of the container of the present invention). In the
preferred
embodiment, as illustrated in Figures 1 A, 1 B, 1 C, 1 D, 2, 3,4 and 5 the
roof panel 8 slopes
downwardly toward the front, it being understood that in alternative
embodiments, with
appropriate modifications to the roof panel 8 and where necessary, one or more
of the front wall
4, side walls 6 and 18, and/or back wall 25, the roof panel 8 may be non-
sloping, or may
alternatively slope downwardly toward the back or either side of the container
2.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in
Figures 1 D, 5A, 5B and 5C
eye bolts 21 and 23 are provided on and bolted to or otherwise securely
engaged with the roof
panel 8 and front wall 4 respectively so that when the roof panel is in the
closed position, as
illustrated in Figures 3 and 5, the eyes of the eye bolts 21 and 23 are
proximate one another
allowing, for example, a padlock to be used to couple the eye bolts 21 and 23
together, to thereby
prevent the unauthorized opening of the container 2 and to prevent animals
from accessing the
contents of the container, it being understood that in alternative embodiments
of the present
invention, a wide range of different mechanisms and methods may be used to
temporarily
securely position the roof panel 8 in the closed position. In the preferred
embodiment of the
present invention, the eye bolts are substantially aligned with one another as
illustrated in Figures
IA, 1B, 1C, lE, 5B and 5C, to readily permit the insertion or removal of a
padlock or other
locking device into the substantially aligned eye bolts. In an alternative
embodiment of the
present invention, as illustrated in Figures IF, 2, 3 and 5A, the eye bolts
are proximate (but not
substantially aligned with) one another.
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As illustrated in Figures 1 B, 1 C, 1 D, 1 E and 1 F, one or more removable
receptacles 27 may be
positioned on the floor 20 of the container 2 substantially beneath access
holes which are more
fully described herein, into which removable receptacles 27 garbage or other
recycling materials
may be placed, by way of the access holes, as more fully described herein.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, access holes 12, 14, and
16 are provided in
the front wall of the container to permit garbage or other recycling materials
to be passed
therethrough, and thereafter dropped or placed into the corresponding
removable receptacle 27
positioned therebeneath. The size and shape of the access holes 12, 14, and 16
may varied and
may be determined by the size and shape and type of garbage or other recycling
materials to be
placed in the removable receptacle 27 positioned therebeneath, and in one
embodiment of the
present invention, providing the individual placing garbage or other recycling
materials in the
container with a visual clue as to the type of garbage or other recycling
materials to be placed by
the individual through the hole so that it goes into the appropriate removable
receptacle 27. For
example, a small round hole such as access hole 12 may be used for beverage
cans and bottles
only, the small size and the shape of the hole providing the visual clue to
the user that only small
cylindrical items such as beverage cans and bottles are to be passed through
that access hole 12
and thereafter dropped or placed in the corresponding removable receptacle 27.
A wide range of
differently sized, shaped and positioned access holes may be provided as is
known to a person
skilled in the art.
In alternative embodiments of the present invention, as illustrated in Figure
1E, a container
adapted to receive more than 3 removable receptacles 27 (and corresponding
access holes 12, 14,
16A and 16) may be provided, or as illustrated in Figure IF, a container
adapted to receive fewer
than 3 removable receptacles 27 (and corresponding access holes 12 and 16) may
be provided, it
being understood that a wide range of possible variations of the container of
the present invention
may be provided.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, lifting holes 21 A are
provided on both side
walls 6 to permit the insertion therethrough of a lifting bar or pipe (not
shown) to permit the
container to be lifted and moved by way of the lifting bar or pipe in a
convention manner, it
being understood that a wide range of different mechanisms and methods may be
used to permit
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the container to be lifted and moved in manner known to a person skilled in
the art. In the
preferred embodiment of the present invention, drainage holes 23A are also
provided on both
side walls 6 at or near the floor to allow any water or liquids to be readily
drained from the
container, in the preferred embodiment, the drainage holes, as illustrated in
Figure 1 B being
positioned at or near the floor and at or near to the corner on one side wall,
and being positioned
at or near the floor and at or near to the opposite corner on the other side
wall.
In use, garbage or other recycling materials is/are placed by the user through
the appropriate
access hole and placed, or allowed by the user to drop into the removable
receptacle 27
positioned therebeneath. Periodically or as needed, the removable receptacles
27 may be emptied,
by moving the roof panel 8 to an open position (after the removal of any
padlock or other locking
device), and thereafter either removing the garbage or other recycling
materials therefrom, or
alternatively removing the removable receptacle 27 from the container,
emptying the garbage or
other recycling materials from the removable receptacle 27, thereafter
replacing the removable
receptacle 27 in the appropriate position within and on the floor of the
container, and thereafter
returning the roof panel 8 to the closed position (and if desired, temporarily
locking the roof
panel 8 in the closed position by securing the eye bolts by way of a padlock
or other locking
device).
The present invention has been described herein with regard to preferred
embodiments. However,
it will be obvious to persons skilled in the art that a number of variations
and modifications can
be made without departing from the scope of the invention as described herein.
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