Patent Grant
10858182
This application claims benefit under 35 USC 119 to Canada National Application No. 3,023,327 filed on Nov. 7, 2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present disclosure. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art nor material to the presently described or claimed inventions, nor that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
The present invention relates generally to the field of cabinet structures of existing art and more specifically relates to an automatic locking trashcan.
People who live and work in households and residential properties generate trash. Trash/refuse is typically kept in trashcans and then delivered to the curb for pickup by garbage trucks that deliver the garbage in bulk to the landfills. Many times wind storms and the like can topple trashcans which makes for a mess that needs to be cleaned up. A suitable solution is desired.
Foreign Pat. No. EP0699600 to Beckmannshagen et al., relates to a lockable refuge container. The described lockable refuge container includes a locking device which is automatically unlocked when it is tipped into the position of being emptied by a bolt rod (18) which is spring tensioned (21) into its closing position. The bolt rod is displaceable parallel to the lid and in the closed position engages in a closing hook attached to the vertical wall of the bin. A weight (15) is set Rotationally movable in the lid whereby the bolt rod and weight are coupled together to convert the rotary movement of the weight into a longitudinal displacement of the bolt rodwill automatically release the lock. The bolt rod has a protruding journal (23) and the weight has an inclined plane (24) running down on the journal as the weight rotates. The bolt rod can have on angled arm to produce a vertical distance between the lid and closing hook.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known supports: cabinet structure art, the present disclosure provides a novel automatic locking trashcan. The general purpose of the present disclosure, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide an efficient and effective automatic locking trashcan to minimize mess and prevent safety issues.
An automatic locking trashcan system is disclosed herein comprising: a trashcan assembly comprising a trashcan-body having an inner volume; and an outer-surface; a rigid inner liner; a trashcan-lid; and an automatic-locking-assembly (including a spring arm hook; a latch-arm; a pivot pin, a top guide bracket, a spring bracket, a spring pin, and a bottom guide bracket); and a step on pedal; wherein the trashcan assembly comprises the trashcan-body, the trashcan-lid and the automatic-locking-assembly in functional combination such that when the trashcan-body is not normal to a ground surface the automatic-locking-assembly secures the trashcan-lid to the trashcan-body such that trashcan-contents are not able to leave the inner volume. Structurally speaking, the trashcan-body is defined by the inner volume and the outer-surface. The automatic-locking-assembly comprises in functional combination the a spring arm hook; a latch-arm; a pivot pin, a top guide bracket, a spring bracket, a spring pin, and a bottom guide bracket and in alternate embodiments a latch-bar, the hook, the rod, and the spring. As designed the automatic-locking-assembly is able to alternate between an unlocked-condition and a locked-condition dependent on a relative orientation of the trashcan-body to the ground surface.
A method of use for the automatic locking trashcan system is also disclosed herein, the method comprising the steps of: providing the automatic locking trashcan system disclosed; opening the trashcan-lid relative to the trashcan-body; filling refuse in the inner volume; and closing the trashcan-lid relative to the trashcan-body; wherein when the trashcan-body is not normal to a ground surface the automatic-locking-assembly secures the trashcan-lid to the trashcan-body such that trashcan-contents of the refuse are not able to leave confines of the inner volume.
For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein. The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and detailed description.
The figures which accompany the written portion of this specification illustrate embodiments and methods of use for the present disclosure, an automatic locking trashcan, constructed and operative according to the teachings of the present disclosure.
The various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements.
As discussed above, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to cabinet structures and more particularly to an automatic locking trashcan as used to provide that the contents of the trashcan remain within its confines when tipped over.
Generally, the present invention comprises a trashcan that automatically locks the lid when the trashcan is tipped over to keep all the trash contents inside. When the trashcan is upright it remains unlocked. This keeps the surrounding area clean of refuse, keeps pets and children safe from exposed garbage and refuse secured within the trashcan inner volume. The device is designed for ease of use and to be fail-safe.
Referring now more specifically to the drawings by numerals of reference, there is shown in
According to one embodiment, the automatic locking trashcan system 100 may be arranged as a kit. In particular, the automatic locking trashcan system 100 may further include a set of instructions. The instructions may detail functional relationships in relation to the structure of the automatic locking trashcan system 100 such that the automatic locking trashcan system 100 can be used, maintained, or the like, in a preferred manner.
Referring now to
The automatic-locking-assembly 140 is located with the inner volume 122 of the trashcan-body 120; wherein the trashcan-lid 130 and the trashcan-body 120 are normally in the unlocked-condition when the trashcan-body 120 is normal to the ground surface (
Referring now to alternate embodiments of the automatic-locking-assembly 140; the latch-bar 142 is mounted horizontally within the trashcan-lid 130. The hook 144 is engaged to the latch-bar 142 when the trashcan-body 120 is not normal to the ground surface (
In preferred embodiments the latch arm is mounted horizontally within the trash can and attached to the pivot pin in the trash can lid. The spring arm hook is threaded through the spring and the spring is mounted to the spring bracket. The spring bracket is mounted to the trash can body. The top guide is mounted to the trash can body and the latch arm runs through the guide slot. The bottom guide is mounted to the trash can body and the spring arm hook runs through the guide slot. When the trash can is upright the spring arm protruding out the bottom has pressure applied to it by the floor leaving the can unlocked. As soon as the pressure is removed (tips over) the spring creates a downward pressure pulling the spring arm hook down latching to the latch arm and pulling down the lid and locking it into place.
Referring now to
It should also be noted that the steps described in the method of use can be carried out in many different orders according to user preference. The use of “step of” should not be interpreted as “step for”, in the claims herein and is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). It should also be noted that, under appropriate circumstances, considering such issues as design preference, user preferences, marketing preferences, cost, structural requirements, available materials, technological advances, etc., other methods for trashcan containment means via locking are taught herein.
The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3023327 | Nov 2018 | CA | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20030168466 | Spiers | Sep 2003 | A1 |
| 20030189340 | Kitzis | Oct 2003 | A1 |
| 20060016816 | Bremer | Jan 2006 | A1 |
| 20070029819 | Kitzis | Feb 2007 | A1 |
| 20140238990 | Banik | Aug 2014 | A1 |
| 20140299602 | Manssourian | Oct 2014 | A1 |
| 20150053684 | Nussbaum | Feb 2015 | A1 |
| 20160159570 | Reeb | Jun 2016 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20200140195 A1 | May 2020 | US |
