GB2141325A - Waste bin assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A waste bin assembly especially for soiled paper towels, is provided with a top structure 11 and a bottom structure 12. Rollers 1 housed in the top structure are positioned to receive waste material dropped into a funnel 20 and to feed it into a flexible bag 17 housed in the bottom structure. A lid 10 closes the opening to the funnel and urges material towards the rollers. The lid and rollers are operated by a foot pedal 7 via an endless cable 4 travelling around guide rollers 5. A rack 3 attached to the cable engages with cog wheels 2 to drive the rollers in one sense only through anti-return wheels, and a slotted rod 15 connects the cable to the lid. In a modification the top structure is adapted to be fitted onto an existing open-topped waste receptacle. The lid may be opened after the drive mechanism for the rollers has been actuated. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Waste bin assembly The present invention relates to waste bins and is particularly concerned with bins for waste paper towels.

Paper towels are often used in wash-rooms where they are disposed of by dropping into a waste bin.

The bin is commonly of the type having a polythene lining which is removed when full. One drawback of this arrangement is that used paper towels become bulky when rolled or screwed up and the bins tend to fill very rapidly. This leads to waste paper overflowing from the bins if the bins are not very frequently emptied.

The present invention enables a large number of used paper towels or other material to be retained in a relatively small volume, thus greatly reducing the frequency at which emptying is required.

The invention provides a waste bin assembly comprising an opening in an upper portion thereof through which waste material is fed to be retained within a receptable; rotatable feed means mounted adjacent the opening; drive means for driving said rotatable feed means such that material dropped into the opening is fed into the receptqble; and a lid arranged to close the opening and to be opened on operation of the drive means.

The action of feeding the waste material into a receptacle with rotatable feed means com pacts the material in the bin or receptacle and ensures that a substantially greater amount of waste material can be fed into the receptacle compared with a conventional receptable of similar capacity.

The drive means may be connected to the lid so that operation of the rotatable feed means and opening of the lid occur simultaneously, or in timed relation, e.g., the feed means may start to operate before the lid is opened.

By virtue of this arrangement, whereby the feed means operate as the lid is opened rather than as it is closed, the full force of the drive means, which will normally be pedal operated, is available for driving the feed means and for compressing waste material therebetween. An operator will naturally keep applying foot pressure to the pedal until the lid is completely opened and will, therefore, always provide sufficient pressure to ensure that waste material is driven through the feed means. In an embodiment utilising this arrangement, the rotatable feed means is located below the opening such that a space is defined between the top of the assembly and the rotatable feed means capable of accommodating an article dropped into the opening.Waste material is dropped into this space and, preferably, is pushed into engagement with the feed means when the lid closes, the underside of the lid suitably being profiled for this purpose. The waste material is held in this space above the bin or receptacle until the next operation of the pedal, when it is fed into the receptacle. With this arrangement it is advantageous to operate the feed means in advance of the lid so that the waste material begins to be driven into the receptacle before the lid begins to open. This arrangement prevents material sticking to the underside of the lid from being lifted away from the feed means as the lid opens.

In the preferred form of the invention, the rotatable feed means comprises a pair of rollers defining a nip between which the waste material can pass, and said drive means are operable to drive at least one of said rollers in rotation.

The rollers compress the waste material in the nip as the material is fed therethrough, thereby even further enhancing the capacity of the receptacle.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a vertical section through a waste bin; Figure2 is a second vertical section through a waste bin perpendicular to that of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a top elevation of the waste bin with the lid closed.

The waste bin assembly shown in Figures 1 to 3 comprises a bottom structure 12 within which waste material is to be retained and compressed, and a top structure 11 which is adapted to feed waste material into the bottom structure; the two structures being joined together by means of a ring 14. The assembly is supported on a base 18.

A lid 10 is pivotally mounted on the top structure and is adapted to close an opening through which material passes to the bottom structure. The opening is generally provided by a rectangular funnel 20 which is integral with the top structure and which leads towards the nip formed between two parallel rollers 1 mounted for rotation in the top structure.

The profiles of the rollers can best be seen in Figures 2and3.

The rollers generally have the form of right cylinders with a number of annular extensions 21 spaced therealong; the rollers being tangentially mounted and the annular extensions being made of resilient material to allow waste to pass between the nip of the rollers.

A mechanism for driving the rollers 1 and for raising the lid 10 is housed mainly within the bottom structure and comprises - on each of two opposite sides of the bottom structure - a loop of cable 4, made of steel or other suitable material and passing over a number of pulley wheels 5 mounted for rotation in a single vertical plane on a plate 13 which is fixed to the inside of the outer wall of the bottom structure.

As shown, the rollers are mounted with their axes parallel to the pivot axis of the lid. In an alternative embodiment (not shown) the rollers are mounted with their axes perpendicular to the pivot axis of the lid.

A pedal lever 6 is connected to each cable by means of a toggle 22 at one end thereof and at the other end supports an end of a pedal 7. The pedal extends across a recessed portion of the bottom structure to allow an operator to put a foot on the central part of the pedal; the central part of the pedal being provided with a rubber cylinder or similar two improve frictional contact with the shoe of the operator. Depression of the pedal will cause the cables to move round on the pulley wheels by a distance A; this being equal to the full extent of pedal travel.

Two rods 15 are each connected at one end to the cable through a lost motion linkage; the other end of each rod being pivotally connected to the lid 10 at a position offset from the pivot axis. Depression of the pedal 7 thus causes the toggle 24 to run in the slot 26 in the rod 15 overthe first part of the travel of the cable and thereafter to raise the rods and thereby the lid 10. The length of the slot is chosen so that the distance A less the slot length is equal to the distance B which is the vertical distance through which the pivotal connections of the rods 15 to the lid must be raised in order to fully open the lid 10.

The two rollers are coaxially supported at each end by roller supports and anti-return wheels 16; cog-wheels 2 being located outwardly of the antireturn wheels and coaxially therewith. The arrangement is such that the anti-return wheels will transmit drive from the cog-wheels 2 to the rollers 1 in one sense only, viz., that sense tending to feed material dropped onto the top of the rollers through the nip formed between the rollers and thus into the bottom structure.

The rollers are snychronously driven by a pair of rack members 3 connected at their lower ends to the cable 4 by means of toggles 23. Each rack member 3 engages a cog-wheel 2 of each roller such that depression of the pedal 7 causes the rack members 3 to be pulled downwardly by the cable 4 thus to drive the cog-wheels 2 and thereby the rollers 1 in rotation; the dimensions of the cog-wheels being such that movement of the cable through distance A will lead to sufficient rotation of the rollers to drive the waste material into the bin. For example, the rollers may be rotated through 360o.

A return spring 19 is connected to the cable 4 by means of toggles 25 and acts-to return the cable to its initial position when pressure is removed from the pedal 7. This will lead to the pedal and the rack member being raised and the lid being closed. The first portion of the return movement of the cable will not affect the lid, and the lid will only be closed when the toggle 24 has travelled along the slot. This lost linkage gives an operatortimeto remove his hand from the zone beneath the lid and prevents the lid from snapping shut in a dangerous manner.

Due to the provision of the anti-return wheels 16 the return movement of the racks 3 does not effect rotation of the rollers 1, and so there is no tendency for waste to be thrown back out through the nip between the rollers.

The underside of the lid is profiled to extend (when closed) into the funnel of the top structure and to urge waste into engagement with the rollers. A plurality of fingers 27 held rigid by a connecting web 28 are arranged opposite the annular extensions 21 of the rollers 1, and above the nip therebetween. The lowermost edge of the long sides of the rectangular funnel interdigitate with the annular extensions 21.

Fingers 29 are similarly provided on the ring 14. All material fed into the nip between the rollers is thus squeezed and compressed by the rollers, passed through the ring 14, and is then dropped into the bottom structure.

Conveniently, a flexible lining bag 17 is supported on a ring 8 to receive the waste fed into the bottom structure. Initially (when the bag is empty) waste will simply drop passively into the bag. When the level of waste reaches the rollers, however, a positive com pressive effect will be imposed on the waste by the rollers as further waste is fed therethrough. This compressive effect is additional to the compression to which waste is subjected when passing between the rollers; a greatly improved capacityforthe bag thus being provided and hence longer periods between emptying. The ring 8 is supported on an annular gallery 9 fixed to the inside of the bottom structure.

Emptying of the bin may be achieved by providing access to the interior of the bottom structure in the form of a panel or door in a wall of the bottom structure. Alternativelythe top structure may be made to be pivotally mounted on the bottom structure such that the bin assembly is emptied through the top of the bottom structure. In this embodiment (which is not shown) the connections between the drive cable and the rollers and the lid are provided in a manner which allows the pivotal movement of the top structure. For example, the connections may be made flexible and may be arranged to pass close by the pivotal axis. In this way the connections merely have to bend around the pivotal axis when the top structure is moved.

Modifications ofthe bin assembly may be necessary for use in different environments where various waste materials may need to be accepted. It might be necessary, for example, to mount the rollers in such a way as to allow-them to move away from one another to permit the passage of a hard object such as a bottle. Alternatively, the annular extensions of the rollers may be made of a meterial which is sufficiently resilient to deform to the required extent when such an object is fed between the rollers.

The operation of the bin assembly is as follows: an operator presses down the foot pedal through distance A against the force of the return spring 19; movement of the cable 4 operates to drive the rollers through 360" and to raise the lid; the operator then drops a piece of waste paper or other waste material into the funnel 20 and releases the pedal; the cable is returned to its initial position by the return spring, the lid closes such that the waste paper is engaged by thefingers 27 and pressed into the nip between the two rollers, and the rack member 3 returns to its initial position without driving-the rollers due to the intervention of the anti-return wheels 16. The waste paper is then fed through the rollers on the next depression of the pedal; the free play provided by toggle 24 and slot 26 ensuring that the waste paper is disposed of into the bottom structure before the lid is opened and hence before it can be seen or touched bythe user. Furthermore, the use of the initial depressive movement of the pedal to drive the rollers ensures that the waste material is compressed and disposed of at the time when the maximum amount of pressure is applied by the user.

This waste bin assembly is particularly useful in dealing with damp paper such as paper towels as used in wash-rooms etc. Such towels tend to occupy a large area after use and fill up waste-bins very quickly. The above waste bin assembly overcomes this problem by compressing the damp paper as it is fed between the rollers and also by force feeding paper into the receptacle when the level of waste paper approaches that of the rollers, When used for this purpose, the waste bin assembly described has an effective capacity four or five times that of a conventional bin.

Various arrangements of rotatable feed means are possible. For example, the rollers may be combined with a pair of converging belts which carry the waste material into the nip. In another arrangement, the feed means comprises an Archimedean screw mounted for rotation about a vertical axis.

While the embodiment shown in the drawings is provided with a lid which is profiled to urge waste material into engagement with the rollers, this may not be necessary depending on the particular construction of the top structure and the disposition of the rollers.

Means can be provided for indicating that the receptacle is full. This may consist of a movable element on the upper part of the housing which is pushed out into a "bin full" position when the receptacle is filled, or nearly filled, with waste material. This may be combined with a latch mechanism operable to prevent use of the drive means in this condition.

In a particular advantageous modification the top structure comprises an assembly which is adapted to fit onto and be supported by an existing free standing open-topped waste receptacle. In this modification the drive mechanism for the feed means, and lid if provided, is either housed in the top structure or mounted on a depending frame; the assembly including a pedal or a handle for operation of the drive mechanism.

Claims (16)

1. A waste bin assembly comprising an opening in an upper portion thereof through which waste material is fed to be retained within a receptacle; rotatable feed means mounted adjacent the opening; drive means for driving said rotatable feed means such that material dropped into the opening is fed into the receptacle; and a lid arranged to close the opening and to be opened on operation of the drive means.

2. A waste bin assembly as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the drive means comprises a drive mechanism powered by an operator through a handle or pedal.

3. A waste bin assembly as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the rotatable feed means is located below the opening such that a space is defined between the top of the bin assembly and the rotatable feed means capable of accommodating an article dropped into the opening.

4. A waste bin assembly as claimed in Claim 3 wherein means are provided for urging waste material retained in the space into engagement with the feed means when the lid is closed.

5. A waste bin assembly as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the lid is provided on its underside with a depending structure which projects into said space when the lid is in its closed position.

6. A waste bin assembly as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the depending structure comprises a plurality of laminar fingers held rigid by a connecting web.

7. A waste bin assembly as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the drive means is operable to drive the rotatable feed means in one sense only.

8. A waste bin assembly as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 7, wherein the rotatable feed means comprises a pair of rollers defining a nip between which the waste material can pass, and said drive means are operable to drive at least one of said rollers in rotation.

9. A waste bin assembly as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the rollers are driven through an anti-return wheel by a rack and pinion assembly.

10. A waste bin assembly as claimed in any preceding claim wherein, on operation of the drive means, the feed means start to be driven before the lid starts to be opened.

11. A-waste bin assembly as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the lid is opened and closed by the drive means through a lost motion linkage.

12. A waste bin assembly as claimed in Claim 11, wherein the drive means comprises a loop of cable passing over a plurality of pulley wheels; the handle or pedal, the rack and pinion assembly and the lost motion linkage being coupled to the cable.

13. A waste bin assembly as claimed in any of Claims 9 to 12, wherein the rack and pinion assembly comprises at least one rack member which engages a cog-wheel associated with each roller; the rollers being driven by the cog-wheels through the intermediary of anti-return wheels.

14. A waste bin as claimed in Claim 12, wherein the opening is provided by a funnel which is formed integrally with the upper portion of the assembly; the funnel also defining the space into which the depending structure of the lid projects.

15. A waste bin assembly as claimed in any of Claims 12 to 14, comprising a top structure which supports the lid and the rollers, and a bottom structure adapted to retain waste material and which houses at least the cable and pulley wheels of the drive means.

16. A waste bin assembly as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 14 adapted to be fitted onto or adjacent an open-topped waste receptacle.