WO2005054087A1

WO2005054087A1 - Container for biodegradable waste

Info

Publication number: WO2005054087A1
Application number: PCT/GB2003/005187
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stewart Twinn
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-12-02
Filing date: 2003-12-02
Publication date: 2005-06-16
Anticipated expiration: 2006-06-02
Also published as: AU2003285551A1

Abstract

A container for collecting and storing biodegradable waste comprises a casing (11) having a cassette (20) forming a loading chamber (24) at the top of the casing for waste (70). The cassette holds a tubular liner (30), which is fed through the chamber. The bottom of the chamber is formed by sealing flaps (18), held closed by a mechanism (40). The mechanism is movable downwardly to release and open the flaps and has trap doors (41) which carry the waste and clamp the liner. Camming devices (60) effect opening of the trap doors on return upward movement of the mechanism, to unclamp the liner and permit waste to fall into the liner below the chamber (24).

Description

DESCRIPTION

Container for Biodegradable Waste

This invention relates to a container for biodegradable waste and, in particular, to a container suitable for collecting biodegradable kitchen waste.

The volumes of biodegradable kitchen waste produced by households is such that there is a growing need for governments to find ways of diverting this waste away from landfill sites. As this waste stream is a compostable by-product, it is only natural that householders are increasingly encouraged to manage this waste onto household compost heaps.

For those properties without the space for composting, local authorities are offering collection services for communal composting. Whilst different countries are at different stages of this recycling development, this basic requirement could be stated for most western-based counties.

The issue for householders is how they more effectively manage kitchen biodegradable waste in and around the home until it is either collected by a local authority or deposited on a household compost heap.

Scientific reports from the Netherlands have shown clear evidence of some health issues when organic kitchen waste is not properly contained inside households for even short periods of time. This is particularly important where the waste is to be collected, because biodegradable waste collections are often biweekly and there are currently no clean, easy to use methods offered to households to manage this waste until kerbside collections arrive.

An objective of the invention is therefore to provide a container suitable for the efficient management of biodegradable kitchen waste in the household for either home composting or presenting to kerbside for collection.

GB-A-2169188 discloses a waste container having a casing housing a removable holder. The holder supports a tubular liner, folded in concertina fashion, with a dependent end portion tied at its bottom end to form a bag. The liner can be severed to detach the filled bottom portion, retied and manually pulled down to form a new bag.

GB-A-2206094 similarly discloses a container with a holder for a folded liner. The liner is manually pulled down as in GB-A-2169188, but the liner is sealed by twisting, without severing, at intervals so as to form a series of discrete bags. The purpose is to seal an individual disposable nappy (diaper) in each bag, formed in the liner.

GB-A-2221889 is similar to GB-A-2206094 and is intended for use with disposable nappies. These are thrust into a liner, which is located in a container and has its bottom closed to form a bag. This manual action forces the liner into the container from a cassette and the liner is then twisted above the nappy to form a package for the nappy. The nappy is gripped by springs, to facilitate twisting of the liner. This design is impracticable for use with household waste. The waste would have to be handled to force it into the container and the springs could not grip the waste, unless it was compacted.

US-A-6065272 discloses a complex construction in which a liner is passed between driven rollers for squeezing waste deposited in the liner. The liner is drawn from a cassette by the rollers and sealing bars heat-seal the liner into sachets, which hold the compacted waste.

The present invention provides a container for collecting and storing biodegradable waste, comprising a casing (11) having a loading chamber (24), means (20) for mounting a liner (30) in the casing for receiving waste (70) from the chamber, a mechanism (40) below the chamber having a pair of doors (41) provided with gripping means (44) for clamping the liner substantially closed, a handle (50) operable to move the mechanism (40) with the clamped liner downwardly away from the chamber (24), actuating means (60) for effecting opening of the doors (41) to unclamp the liner and permit waste to fall into the liner below the chamber (24), and means to return the mechanism to its original position.

A sealing device may be provided above the openable means to seal the chamber. A cassette may be provided for holding a liner and having a continuous aperture for feeding the liner into the casing. The cassette may define the periphery of the chamber.

The openable means may be reciprocably mounted in the casing for initial movement by actuation of the actuating means to form a secondary chamber below the waste-receiving chamber and allow opening of the sealing means, and return movement.

The openable means may be openable by cam action during its movement.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig.l is a front view of the casing of a container according to the invention;

Fig.2 is a side view of the casing;

Fig.3 is a rear view of the casing;

Fig.4 is a top, plan view of the casing;

Fig.5 is a perspective view of a cassette, usually housed in the casing;

Fig.6 is a top, plan view of the cassette;

Fig.7 is a cross-sectional view on line E — E of Fig.6;

Fig.8 is a view similar to Fig.7, with a liner, mounted in the cassette body, extended and clamped to form a collection bag;

Fig.9 is a cross-sectional view of the container, showing the cassette housed in the casing and with the container in its normal waste-loading state;

Fig.10 is a cross-sectional view on the line H — H of Fig.9, showing the container in a transition state towards a waste-depositing state; Fig.l 1 is a view similar to Fig.10, showing the return from the waste-depositing state;

Fig.12 is a view similar to Fig.9, showing the container back in the waste-loading state, with waste deposited;

Fig.13 is a cross-sectional view in the direction of arrow "A" in Fig.9, illustrating a depositing mechanism;

Fig.14 is a cross-sectional view in the direction of arrow "B" in Fig.10, but with the waste not illustrated;

Fig.15 is a side view, with the casing in cross-section of the depositing mechanism;

Fig.16 is a similar view to Fig.15, with the container turned through 90 degrees;

Figs. 17A to 17D are detail illustrations showing positions of a cam, during a depositing operation of the mechanism; and

Figs.lδA to 18C are detail illustrations of cam action of the mechanism.

Figs. 19 to 22 are detail illustrations of a modified mechanism.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, 9 and 10, the container comprises a casing (11) of rectangular section, having a hinged access door (12) in one side, a vertical guide slot (13) in the opposite side and a hinged lid (14) at the top, raisable to allow access to the casing interior. As shown in Fig.10, the casing has an internal peripheral ledge (16) defining an opening (17). The opening is closed by a pair of flaps (18), resiliency biased to a closed position, so as to close and seal the opening (17). The ledge (16) is spaced from the top of the casing and a cassette (20) is housed in the casing and supported on the ledge. The cassette is removable from the casing through its top on raising of the lid (14). The cassette, as shown in Figs. 5 to 7, comprises an outer wall (21) and an inner wall (22), defining an annular gap (23) therebetween. The inner wall defines a loading chamber (24) with the flaps (18) (Fig.10) and a frustoconical member (25) forms a flared entrance to the chamber. A narrow slit (27) is defined around the member (25) and communicates with the gap (23). The inner and outer walls are joined together by a bottom wall (29) at the bottom of the cassette. A plastics liner (30) of tubular form is held in the gap (23) and folded in concertina fashion. One end of the liner passes through the slit (27) and is fed through the loading chamber (24), as shown in Fig. 8, and is sealed by a clamp (31). The liner may be sealed by other means, such as tying a knot.

Openable means, in the form of a mechanism (40) having a pair of openable doors (41), is provided in the casing below the flaps (18). The mechanism is normally located adjacent to the flaps and holds them in their closed positions. As shown in Figs. 13 and 14, the mechanism (40) has a rectangular frame (42) to which the doors (41) are hinged by resilient leaf springs (43). Each door has a gripping member (44), e.g. of rubber, at its end edge and the gripping members of the doors are mutually adjacent for gripping and closing the liner (30). Each door (41) includes an arm (55) at a side edge, the two arms being at opposite sides of the mechanism. Each arm (55) has an end extension portion (56), extending beyond the gripping member (44) of the respective door, and a curved catch portion (57) at the opposite end (Fig. 15).

The frame (41) is mounted on supports (46), carrying rotatably mounted wheels (47). The casing (11) has runners (49), spaced from and parallel to the slot (13) and the wheels engage in respective runners for vertical movement of the mechanism towards and away from the flaps (18). The frame is movable by means of a handle (50), which has a portion (51) extending through and engaging in the slot (13). A spring catch (26) is provided to hold the handle in the upper, normal position. A pair of actuating devices (60) is mounted in the casing and located below the doors (41). As shown in Figs. 17A to 17D, each device (60) comprises a block (61) mounted by a spring (62), so as to be pivotally movable away from the casing wall on which it is mounted. A cylindrical projection from the block defines a cam (63). Each device is associated with a respective door (41).

In operation, a cassette (20) is mounted in the casing (11) with a liner (30) extended and clamped, as shown in Fig.8 and 9. Waste (70) is deposited in the loading chamber (24) and is, accordingly, wholly located in the liner (30), which is closed between the flaps (18) and clamped by the gripping members (44) on the doors (41). The flaps (18) are held in the sealing position by the mechanism (40).

The handle (50) (Fig.10) is then depressed and moved past the spring catch, so as move the mechanism (40) downwardly, with the wheels (47) moving in the runners (49) (Figs. 15 and 16). This action causes the gripped liner (30) to be moved downwardly, with the liner being fed from the cassette (20). This action tensions the liner and forces open the flaps (18) against the closing bias, so that the waste (70) is supported on the doors (41), during the downward movement (Fig.10). As the mechanism moves downwardly, the arms (55) engage with the cams (63) on the actuating devices (60) (Figs. 17A to 17C). The devices are caused to pivot downwardly to permit the mechanism to pass.

The handle (50) is then returned to its original, upper position, where it is held by the spring catch (26). During upward movement of the mechanism, the arms (55) engage respective cams (63), which cam the doors open (Figs. 18A, 18B and 11C). The curved portions (57) of the arms catch the cams (63), during this movement. The waste (70) falls through the doors. Continued upward movement releases the arm extensions (56) from the actuating devices and the doors close under their spring bias. The extensions (56) prevent premature closing of the doors. The mechanism (40), as it returns to its original position, closes the flaps (18), returning them to their sealed positions. The waste is, therefore, hygienically handled and is stored in a liner, which is closed by the doors (41) and also sealed by the flaps (18). On further deposition of waste, the existing waste remains sealed in the liner by the doors (41) and the flaps (16). The stored waste is only exposed to the exterior for a short period during the return movement of the mechanism (40) in a further operation to move waste from the loading chamber (24) into the casing.

When the casing is substantially full, or earlier if required, the liner (30) is severed below the mechanism and the resulting bag is removed from the casing and sealed for disposal. The remaining part of the liner is again clamped below the mechanism (40). Access for these purposes is provided by the access door

(12).

It is envisaged that the mechanism may be spring loaded to its normal, upper position, so that the handle need only be depressed and then released. It is also envisaged that the handle may be replaced by an electric motor and a drive mechanism.

The liner may be made of biodegradable material and may be perforated to facilitate the severing action.

The flaps (18) may be omitted and the construction modified, so that the doors (41) effect sealing. Such an embodiment is shown in Figs. 19 to 22.

Each door (141) has a camming edge (176), engageable with a flange (178) of the frame (142) of the mechanism, to hold the doors (141) closed. When the mechanism (141) is lowered, the edge (176) disengages from the flange (178).

Claims

1. A container for collecting and storing biodegradable waste, comprising a casing (11) having a loading chamber (24), means (20) for mounting a liner (30) in the casing for receiving waste (70) from the chamber, a mechanism (40) below the chamber having a pair of doors (41) provided with gripping means (44) for clamping the liner substantially closed, a handle (50) operable to move the mechanism (40) with the clamped liner downwardly away from the chamber (24), actuating means (60) for effecting opening of the doors (41) to unclamp the liner and permit waste to fall into the liner below the chamber (24), and means to return the mechanism to its original position.

2. A container according to Claim 1, wherein the doors (41) are resiliently biased to a closed position.

3. A container according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the actuating means (60) is mounted on the casing (11) with a portion (63) positioned in the path of the mechanism (40) during said movement away from the chamber (24), the portion being resiliently movable by said mechanism out of said path, and said portion being positioned in the path of the doors (41) during reverse movement of the opening means towards the chamber (24), so as to cam the doors open.

4. A container according to Claim 3, wherein each door (41) has an arm (55) positioned to engage the respective actuating means portion (63), each arm having an extension (56) beyond the gripping means (44).

5. A container according to Claim 4, wherein each arm (55) includes a curved portion (57) opposite to the extension (56) for catching said actuating means portion (63).

6. A container according to any preceding claim, including a sealing device (18) above the mechanism (41) to seal the chamber (24).

7. A container according to Claim 6, wherein the sealing device (18) is biased closed and openable by said movement of the mechanism .

8. A container according to any preceding claim, including a cassette (20) for holding a liner (30) and having a continuous aperture (27) for feeding the liner into the casing.

9. A container according to Claim 8, wherein the cassette (20) defines the periphery of the chamber (24).

10. A container according to Claim 8 or 9, including a liner (30) housed in the cassette (20).

11. A container substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.