AU677505B2 - A bin lifter - Google Patents

Description

Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

(ORIGINAL)

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: Peter W Conolly Peter W Conolly DAVIES COLLISON CAVE, Patent Attorneys, 1 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000.

A Bin Lifter Details of Associated Provisional Application(s): No(s): PM 6101/94 filed 14 April 1994 PM 6038/94 filed 1 June 1994 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: -1- P:\OPER\KAT16402-95.17 20/197 S A BIN LIFTER The present invention relates to a bin lifter and more particularly to a bin lifter which allows the easy lifting and emptying of wheeled rubbish bins into a large rubbish container or dump bin.

Wheeled rubbish bins are now widely used in homes, offices and in industry. Such rubbish bins are easy to transport, even when completely filled with rubbish.

950405,p:\oper\ky,conoy.spe,1 P:\OPER\KAT16402-95.17 10/ 2 9 7 -2- However, a considerable problem with these bins is that their size and weight makes them difficult to empty. This is particularly a problem when such bins are to be emptied into a commercial type rubbish container or dump bin. Such containers have high side walls and thus it is not possible for the average person to lift and tip the contents of the wheeled bin thereinto.

To date, the problems associated with emptying heavy wheeled bins into large rubbish containers have been addressed by the provision of simple lifting trolleys. Such lifting trolleys have a pivotal frame on which the bin is positioned and which can be pivoted, for example by an actuator, to a raised position at which the contents of the bin are emptied. One problem with such lifting trolleys is that it is extremely difficult for the operator to subsequently lower the pivotal frame fiom the raised position to the lowered bin receiving position. This is because the operator must overcome the biasing force applied by the actuator to lift the pivotal frame. This biasing force is normally quite high as it must be sufficient to lift heavily laden bins.

15 Another disadvantage with lifting trolleys currently on the market is that they are quite cumbersome and are difficult to transport and store. It is generally important that such trolleys are stored in a location where they cannot be tampered with and to prevent access thereto by inexperienced operators.

20 The present invention seeks to at least alleviate some of the aforementioned problems.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a manually operable bin lifter for attachment to a stationary rubbish container of the kind adapted to be used with a garbage vehicle having a lifting mechanism for the rubbish container, said bin lifter comprising: a fixed frame; a pivotal frame; manually operated means for moving the pivotal frame from a first position in which a bin mounted thereon is in an upight condition and a second position in which the bin is orientated so that the contents can empty into the rubbish container; and wherein said fixed frame, pivotal f7ame and manually operated means can be arranged in "A a compact configuration when said bin lifter is not in use so that the bin lifter does not interfere

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P:\OPER\KA'\16402-95.17 10/297 -3with the lifting mechanism of the garbage vehicle when said rubbish container is being lifted.

Preferably, the means for moving the pivotal frame -omprises a first moving means which moves said pivotal frame from said first position to an intermediate position between said first and second positions and a second moving means which moves said pivotal frame from said intermediate position to said second position.

Preferably, the second moving means further comprises an additional moving means which, in a first orientation, works with said first moving means to move said pivotal frame from said intermediate position to said second position, and in a second configuration does not substa-itially effect the movement of the pivotal frame.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- S Figure 1 is a front view of a bin lifter in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention with S' the pivotal frame in the first position.

Figure 2 is a rear view of the bin lifter shown in Figure 1.

a.

o Figure 3 is a cross-sectional side view along the line A-A in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional side view along the line B-B in Figure 1.

I- -4- Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the bin lifter along the line B-B showing the pivotal frame moving from the first position to the second position.

Figure 6 is a front view of a bin lifter in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention with the pivotal frame in the first position.

Figure 7 is a side view of the pivotal frame of the second embodiment of the invention which illustrates movement of the pivotal frame from the first position to the second position.

As best shown in Figure 5, the bin lifter 10 is arranged to be permanently connected to a large rubbish container or dump bin and comprises a fixed frame 12 and a pivotal frame 14. Pivotal frame 14 is movable between a first position, as shown in Figure 1, in which a laden bin can be mounted on the frame 14 and a second position, shown in dot-dash lines in Figure 5, in which the bin is orientated so that the contents of the bin can be emptied into another container. Movement of the pivotal frame 14 from the first position to the second position is achieved by two different mechanisms. The first mechanism lifts the pivotal frame 14 from the first position to an intermediate position, between the first and second positions.

20 At the intermediate position, a second mechanism activates to lift the pivotal frame .oo.

14 to the second position. Further details of the first and second lifting mechanisms will be set out below.

The fixed frame 12 as shown in Figure 1 comprises first and second uprights 16, 18 which are connected approximately midway along their length by a cross-member Attached to the top end of each of the first and second uprights 16, 18 is a transversely extending sleeve 22. The sleeves 22 are arranged to receive a pivotal rod 24 which forms part of the pivotal frame 14 which will be described in more detail subsequently.

Attached to the bottom end of each of the first and second uprights 16, 18 is a transversely extending sleeve 26. The sleeves 26 are arranged to pivotally receive 950405,p:\oper\kaycoolly.spe,4 the first lifting mechanism. The first lifting mechanism comprises a circular rod 28 which is arranged for rotational movement within the sleeves 26 and a T-shaped member 27 centrally connected to the circular rod 28. Attached to a first end 28a of the circular rod 28 is a radial arm 30. A spring 32 connected between the second member 18 and the radial arm 30 serves to bias the rod 28 to the position shown in Figure 1.

Mounted on a second end 28b of the circular rod 28 is a foot pedal member 34.

Foot pedal member 34 comprises a sleeve 36 which is mounted for rotation on the periphery of the rod 28 and a foot pedal 38. The sleeve 36 includes an engagement surface 40 which is arranged to engage with a protrusion or pin 42 extending from the circular rod 28. In this manner, when the foot pedal 38 is pushed downwardly from the position shown in Figure 1 to the position shown in dashed lines in Figure the engagement surface 40 engages against the pin 42 thereby causing the rod 28 to rotate within the sleeves 26 in a direction towards the pivotal frame 14. When the circular rod 28 is thus rotated, the T-shaped member 27 engages against the rear side of the pivotal frame 14. This causes the pivotal frame 14 to be moved from the first position to the intermediate position as shown in dashed lines in Figure 5. When the foot operable pedal 38 is released the biasing action of the o. 20 spring 32 returns the rod 28 and foot operable pedal 38 to its original position.

o: i The pivotal frame 14 comprises first and second uprights 50, 52 which are rigidly connected at their upper end to the pivotal rod 24. At their lower ends, the first and second uprights 50, 52 are connected to a transverse support member 54.

25 Transverse support member 54 includes a lip 56 which extends outwardly from the support 54. Lip 56 is arranged so that the bottom edge of a bin can be rested thereupon.

Extending transversely across an upper portion of the first and second uprights 52 of the pivotal frame 14 is an elongate bin support member 58. Bin support member 58 is irranged to be positioned adjacent the upper edge of the bin when the bottom edge of the bin is positioned on the lip 56. Bin support member 58 950405,p:\oper\kayconoly~spe,5 -6prevents the bin from sliding along the pivotal frame 14 when the frame 14 is in the second position.

A spring biased locking member 60 is provided to engage against a portion of the inner upper surface of the bin wall. Locking member 60 thereby secures the bin in position on the pivotal frame 14.

As best shown in Figure 2, connected between the cross-member 20 and each of the first and second uprights 50, 52 of the pivotal frame 14 is a primary actuator 62.

Primary actuators 62 form the second lifting mechanism that lifts the pivotal frame 14 from the intermediate position to the second position. As explained in more detail below, each of the primary actuators 62 has a ram 64 whose free end is connected to a lug 65 mounted on the cross-member 20. This arrangement of the primary actuators 62 is such that the rams 64 are only able to extend when the pivotal frame 14 reaches the intermediate position.

A secondary actuator 66 is shown mounted between the two primary actuators 62.

The secondary actuator (6 is connected between the cross-member 20 and an Ishaped member 67 which is mounted for pivotal movement about the pivotal rod 20 24. The I-shaped member 67 comprises a sleeve 68 which extends about the pivotal rod 24, a central upright section 70 and a horizontal member 72 arranged to contact against the rear side of both the first and second uprights 50, 52 of the pivotal frame 14. The I-shaped member 67 can be locked by a locking mechanism 80 in a first position, as shown in Figure 2, in which the I-shaped member 67 is prevented from pivoting about the pivotal rod 24 and is connected to the cross-member Alternatively, the I-shaped member can be locked in a second position, as shown in Figure 5, in which the I-shaped member 70 is connected to the pivotal frame 14 o and is free to pivot therewith.

When the I-shaped member 67 is locked in the second position and the pivotal frame 14 is in the intermediate position, the secondary actuator 66 works in conjunction with the primary actuators 62 to drive the pivotal frame 14 upwardly 950405,p:oper\kayconoly.spe,6 ~I ss to the second position. The secondary actuator 66 can thereby be used to provide additional lifting force to lift very heavy bins. The operator must assess prior to attempting to empty the bin whether the two primary actuators 62 alone will be sufficient to lift the bin or whether additional lifting force from the secondary actuator 66 is required. If additional lifting force is required the I-shaped member 67 must be locked by locking mechanism 80 in the second position.

Attached to the pivotal frame 14 is a handle 90 which is positioned such that an operator of the bin lifter can pull the pivotal frame 14 downwardly from the second position to the first position after the bin has been emptied. The handle 90 may adopt numerous different configurations. In accordance with the presently described embodiment, the handle 90 comprises a circular loop which is movable between a first position, in which the loop extends into the page of Figure 1 and a second position, in which the loop extends transverse to the page of Figure 1.

When the bin lifter 10 is in use, the handle 90 is positioned in the first position.

In this position, the handle 90 can be easily gripped by an operator to lower the pivotal frame 14 from the second position to the first position. In the second So position, the handle 90 is positioned compactly against the uprights 50, 52 of the pivotal frame 14 so as to ensure a compact configuration of the bin lifter 10 when it is not in use.

An additional handle 92 may also be attached to the pivotal frame to aid in lowering thereof. The additional handle 92 as shown in Figure 5 hangs downwardly from the pivotal frame 14 and is therefore easier to reach by short operators than S 25 the handle To empty a bin using the bin lifter 10 shown i, The drawings, the bin is first positioned on the pivotal frame 14 such that the bottom edge of the bin rests on lip 56 and such that the upper edge of the bin is received below the elongate bin support member 58. Spring biased locking member 60 is then moved into engagement with the inner upper surface of the bin. A safety mechanism 150 which secures the pivotal frame 14 to the cross-member 20 is then released. The safety 950405,p:\opcr\kay,conolly.spe,7 I r_ -8mechanism 150 comprises a latching mechanism which latches against a cross member 152 mounted between uprights 50,52. Foot pedal 38 is then driven around to the position shown in Figure 5 thereby causing the T-shaped member 27 to engage against the rear side of thf pivotal frame 14. Pivotal frame 14 is thereby lifted from the first position to the intermediate position. Foot pedal 38 is then released. When the pivotal frame 14 reaches the intermediate position the rams 64 of the primary actuators 62 are able to extend which results in lifting of the pivotal frame 14 to the second position 12. At the second position, the contents of the bin are emptied.

To lower the pivotal frame 14 to the first position, the operator pulls downwardly on handle 90. If the bin to be emptied was heavy and the operator chose to make use of the additional lifting force of the secondary actuator 66, the operator may not be strong enough to overcome the upward biasing force of the combined primary and secondary actuators 62, 66. Therefore the operator will not be able to pull handle 90 downwardly to lower the pivotal frame 14 from the second position to the first position. To overcome this problem, when the pivotal arm 14 is in the second position, the operator can disengage locking mechanism 80 from the pivotal frame 14 and then pivot the I-shaped member 70 downwardly and lock 20 the I-shaped member 70 to the cross-mem- r 20. Secondary actuator 66 thereby no longer acts to hold the pivotal frame 14 in the second position and the operator only has to overcome the biasing force of the two primary actuators 62.

As described above, the bin lifter 10 is intended to be permanently connected to a 25 large rubbish container or dump bin. These dump bins are normally emptied into

I

a garbage vehicle by a lifting mechanism mounted thereto which raises the dump bin upwardly, tipping the bin at the same time, so as to cause the contents to empty into the body of the garbage vehicle.

The bin lifter 10 may be welded to the side of a dump bin or may be bolted thereto. The bin lifter 10 includes bolt plates 100 to enable bolted connection of the bin lifter 10 to the dump bin. The bin lifter 10 would normally be connected 950405,p:\oper\ky,conolly.spe,8 -9to a front wall of the dump bin so that the open lids of the dump bin do not interfere with the working of the bin lifter To ensure that the bin lifter 10 does not interfere with the action of the lifting mechanism of a garbage truck emptying the dump bin, it is essential that the bin lifter 10 when not in use adopts a compact configuration. As best shown in Figures 3 and 4, the fixed frame 12 and pivotal frame 14 lie ,-ibstantially adjacent one another when the pivota frame 14 is in the first position. The handle 90 when in the second position rests against the uprights 50, 52 thereby facilitating the compact configuration of the bin lifter when it is not in use.

To prevent unauthorised use of the bin lifter 10 or vandalism thereto, the bin lifter is preferably hidden when not in use behind a cage or gate. The cage or gate should be lockable to prevent unauthorised access to the bin lifter 10. The cage or gate must adopt a configuration which will not interfere with the lifting mechanism of the garbage vehicle that empties the dump bin.

The embodiment of the bin lifter described herein is particularly advantageous for many reasons. Firstly, the provision of the primary and secondary actuators 62, 66 20 enables an operator to change the amount of lifting force used to raise the pivotal frame 14. This is particularly important where the bin to be lifted is very heavy.

If the operator chooses to use both the primary and secondary actuators 62, 60 to lift the pivotal frame, the operator then has the option to disengage the secondary actuator 66 after the bin has been emptied and prior to lowering of pivotal frame 14. This makes it considerably easier to lower the pivotal frame 14 from the second position to the first position.

4 As bin lifter 10 adopts a compact configuration when it is not in use it can be permanently attached to a large rubbish container or dump bin. Thus, it is no longer necessary for the operator to transport the bin lifter from a storage location to the large rubbish container or dumnp bin when smaller bins are to be emptied.

This considerably reduces the operator's work load and eliminates the considerable 950405,p:\oper\kayconoy.sp,9 problems associated with storing and transporting conventional type bin lifters.

Figures 6 and 7 illustrate a bin lifter in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention. The bin lifter 10' shown in Figures 6 and 7 is substantially similar to that described with reference to Figures 1 to 5. However, the pivotal frame 14' is modified so as to include a curved handle member 200 and a pivotal handle 300.

The pivotal handle 300 is normally provided instead of the handle 90 described in relation to the first embodiment of the bin lifter As best illustrated in Figure 7, the pivotal frame 14' of the second embodiment includes an additional upright 350 which is mounted between the bin support member 58' and the transverse support member 54'. The additional upright 350 is mounted so that it can rotate relative to its longitudinal axis. Rigidly attached to the additional upright 350 is the curved handle member 200. The curved handle S 15 member 200 may adopt numerous different configurations and is arranged to provide a location for the operator to grab onto the pivotal frame 14' and to lift it upwardly. The curved nature of the handle member 200 ensures that there are •go• no sharp surfaces to strike the operator. The additional lifting force applied to the pivotal frame 14' by the operator helps to lift the frame 14' from the first position to the intermediate position.

The pivotal handle 300 is formed substantially in a C-shape and is pivotally connected at one end 300A to the additional upright 350. The other end 300B of the pivotal handle 300 is constrained by a collar 400 connected to the additional 25 upright 350. The pivotal handle 300 and collar 400 are arranged such that when the pivotal frame 14' is moved to the second position, the pivotal handle 300 pivots to the position as shown in Figure 7. In this position, the pivotal handle 300 can be easily reached by the operator so that he can lower the pivotal frame 14' to the first position.

When the pivotal frame 14' is in the first position, the pivotal handle 300 strikes the first upright i6' of the fixed frame 12' or the side of the dump bin and is 950405,p:\oper\kay,conoly.spe.10 I -11 thereby caused to pivot in a clockwise direction until it strikes the collar 400.

When not in use, the bin lifter 10' can be made more compact by pivoting the additional upright 350 and thereby the attached curved handle member 200 and pivotal handle 300, to a second position in which the curved handle member 200 rests or extends substantially against the uprights 50', 52' of the pivotal frame 14'.

In this position the bin lifter 10' adopts a very compact configuration and does not interfere with the action of the mechanism of a garbage truck emptying the dump bin to which the bin lifter 10' is attached.

The curved handle member 200 and pivotal handle 300 may adopt numerous different configurations.

The embodiments have been described by way of example only and 15 are possible within the scope of the invention.

Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated ir.eger or group 20 of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

e 950405,p:\opcr\ky,conoly.spe, 11

Claims (6)

12- THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1. A manually operable bin lifter for attachment to a stationary rubbish container of the kind adapted to be used with a garbage vehicle having a lifting mechanism for the rubbish container, said bin lifter comprising: a fixed frame; a pivotal frame; manually operated means for moving the pivotal frame from a first position in which a bin mounted thereon is in an upright condition and a second position in which the bin is orientated so that the contents can empty into the rubbish container; and wherein said fixed frame, pivotal frame and manually operated means can be arranged in a compact configuration when said bin lifter is not in use so that the bin lifter does not interfere with the lifting mechanism of the garbage vehicle when said rubbish container is being lifted. 15 2. A bin lifter according to claim 1 wherein said manually operated means for moving the •pivotal frame comprises a first moving means which moves said pivotal frame from said first Sposition to an intermediate position between said first and second positions and a second moving means which moves said pivotal frame from said intermediate position to said second position. 20 3. A bin lifter according to claim 2 wherein the first moving means comprises a member b* which is forced against said pivotal frame so as to cause pivotal movement thereof to said Sin termediate position. a 4. A bin lifter according to claim 3 wherein the member is connected to a foot operable pedal. A bin lifter according to any one of claims 2 it 4 wherein the second moving means comprises at least one first actuator. 6. A bin lifter according to claim 5 wherein the first actuator biases the pivotal frame in the direction of the second position. 1- 4 P:\OI'E.R\KA1\16402-95.17 10/297 13 7. A bin lifter according to any one of claims 2 to 6 wherein the second moving means further comprises an additional moving means which, in a first orientation, works with said first moving means to move said pivotal frame from said intermediate position to said second position, and in a second configuration does not substantially effect the movement of the pivotal frame. 8. A bin lifter according to claim 7 wherein the additional moving means comprises an actuator. 9. A bin lifter according to any one of the preceding claims further comprising a handle means attached to said pivotal frame, said handle means being arranged so as to enable an operator to pull the pivotal frame downwardly from the second position. 10. A bin lifter according to claim 9 wherein the handle means is movable betw' ni a first in- 15 use position and a second position adopted when the bin lifter is in the compact configuration, said handle means being positioned substantially adjacent the pivotal frame and/or the fixed frame in the second position. i 11. A bin lifter according to claim 10 wherein the handle means comprises a first handle 20 member arranged for pivotal movement. 12. A bin lifter according to claim 11 wherein the handle means further comprises a second handle member and wherein said second handle member is arranged in the- second position to lie substantially across and adjacent to said pivotal frame.

13. A bin lifter according to claim 12 wherein the first and second handle members adopt a curved substantially c-shaped configuration.

14. A bin lifter according to any one of the preceding claims further comprising means for securing the pivotal frame in said first position. I-- p:\OPER\KAT16402-95.17 10/297 14 A bin lifter as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the bin lifter is permanently connected to the rubbish container.

16. A bin lifter as claimed in claim 15 wherein the rubbish container is of the type normally emptied to the garbage vehicle by the lifting mechanism.

17. A bin lifter according to claim 15 or claim 16 further comprising means to prevent unauthorised access to the bin lifter when the bin lifter is not in use.

18. A bin lifter substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Ca C C C C. C *C.C DATED this 10th day of February, 1997. Peter W. Conolly By His Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CAVE ABSTRACT A bin lifter for lifting and emptying of wheeled rubbish bins. The bin lifter comprises a fixed frame a pivotal frame (14) and means for moving the pivotal frame (14) from a first position in which the bin mounted thereon is in an upright condition and a second position in which the bin is orientated so that the contents can empty into a receptacle. *o e 950405,p-\oper\ky,conoUy.spe,1S I,=