The present invention relates to a waste receiving device, which comprises a container defining on its upper side a container opening enclosed by a container lip and a cover held on the container, said cover being pivotably movable about a cover swivel axis between a closed position closing the container opening and an open position uncovering the container opening, said lock device comprising an upper lock part to be fastened on the cover side with an upper lock part housing, a locking mechanism received in the upper lock part housing and a first locking element projecting downwards from the upper lock part housing and being pivotable about a swivel axis between a locking position and an unlocking position by actuating the locking mechanism; and a lower lock part to be fastened on the container side with a lower lock part housing, a second locking element projecting upwards from the lower lock part housing and being pivotable about a swivel axis between a blocking position and a release position, wherein said second locking element cooperates in its blocking position with the first locking element being in its locking position in such a way that the cover is locked, a weight part operatively connected to the second locking element, said weight part being pivotably received in the lower lock part housing such that it positions the second locking element in its blocking position, when the container is in its upright position, and is automatically transferred into its release position, in which the second locking element is brought out of engagement with the first locking element positioned in its locking position, when the container is tilted forward for emptying, and a first arresting means movably received in the lower lock part housing, said first arresting means being arresting the second locking element in its blocking position, when the container is in its upright position. Further, the present invention relates to a waste receiving device comprising a container having on its upper side a container opening enclosed by a container lip, a cover held on the container, said cover being movable between a closed position covering the container opening and an open position uncovering the container opening pivoting about a cover swivel axis which extends along a container rear side, and a lock device of the afore-mentioned type.
It is generally known in the prior art to lock waste receiving devices provided with a swiveling cover, such as waste bins, with a lock device to prevent unauthorized persons from adding waste to the container or removing waste from it. It is also known that the lock device can be designed as a gravity lock. Gravity locks are characterized by the fact that the cover lock caused by it is automatically released when the container is tilted forward from its upright position for emptying. Accordingly, bins being provided with a gravity lock can always be emptied by the refuse collector. Such a gravity lock is the subject of DE 197 08 193 C2, for example. This document describes a lock device which has an upper lock part to be fastened to the cover and a lower lock part to be fastened to the container. The upper lock part comprises an upper lock part housing, a lock accommodated in the upper lock part housing and operable by means of a key, and a first locking element projecting downwards from the upper lock part housing and pivotable about a swivel axis between a locking position and an unlocking position by actuating of the lock. The lower lock part comprises a lower lock part housing in which a second locking element projecting upwards from the lower lock part housing is accommodated, which in its blocking position can cooperate with the first locking element positioned in its locking position in such a way that the cover is locked. In order to enable the container to be emptied in this locked state of the cover, the lower lock part further comprises a weight part operatively connected to the second locking element, which is pivotably received in the lower lock part housing in such a way that it positions the second locking element in an upright position of the container in its blocking position and, when the container is tilted forward for emptying, automatically transfers it into its release position in which it is disengaged from the first locking element positioned in its locking position. In order to prevent the second locking element in the upright position in the container from moving to its release position, an arresting means in the form of a ball is movably accommodated in the lower lock part housing, the ball locking the second locking element in its blocking position in the upright position of the container. More specifically, the ball is movable upwards and downwards within the lower lock part housing in an upright extending rectilinear guide between an upper position and a lower position. In the lower position, the ball prevents the weight part from pivoting. In the upper position, however, it releases the pivoting movement of the weight part.
The lock device disclosed in DE 197 08 193 C2 has basically proved its worth in that it allows the container to be emptied without any problems at any time. However, the locking of the cover, which is effected by the first locking element and the second locking element, is also released if the container tips over due to the action of external forces, for example if the container is caught by a strong dust of wind or is deliberately knocked over by a person.
Based on this prior art, it is a task of the present invention to create a locking device as well as a waste collection device of the type mentioned above with an alternative design.
To solve this task, the invention creates a lock device of the type mentioned at the beginning, which is characterized in that at least one second arresting means is received movably in the lower lock part housing and is arranged and formed such that it arrests the second locking element in its blocking position, when the container is tilted laterally from its upright position. Thus, in the lock device according to the invention, the cover lock caused by the first locking element and the second locking element is only released when the container is tilted forward. At this point, it should be noted that the terms “front”, “rear” and “side” used in this application, always refer to the container in the upright position, unless expressively stated otherwise.
Preferably, the upper lock part housing and the lower lock part housing define insert chamfers which engage each other when the cover is moved in its closed position and align the first locking element and the second locking element with each other. For example, lower side surfaces of the upper lock part housing can be inclined to each other in a V-shaped manner and, when the cover is transferred to its closed position, engage a recess of the lower lock part housing accessible from above, the side walls of which also have a corresponding V-shaped inclination. Such insert chamfers are advantageous in that even if the cover of the container should warp slidely, proper locking of the cover is still possible without any problems.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the upper lock part housing is composed of an outer housing element projecting outwardly from the cover and an inner housing element projecting inwardly from the cover, the locking mechanism being arranged on the outer housing element and the first locking element together with its swivel axis being arranged on the inner housing element. In this way, a very simple and easy to assemble design of the upper lock part housing is achieved.
Preferably, a bar being pivotable about a swivel axis by actuation of the locking mechanism is provided in the outer housing element, said bar cooperating with an actuating section of the first locking element arranged on the inner housing element, which actuating section projects upwards into the outer housing element. In this way, a very stable design of the lock device is achieved.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first arresting means is provided in the form of a ball which is movable upwards and downwards guided in a guide within the lower lock part housing between an upper position and a lower position and which blocks the pivoting movement of the weight part in its lower position and releases the weight part in its upper position.
Preferably, the guide surface of the guide of the first arresting means is pros vided at its rear side with an obstacle which is formed such it prevents or at least makes it more difficult for the first arresting means to move from the lower position in the upper position, when the container is tilted backwards from the upright position to a lying position. Such an obstacle may, for example, be formed by a rib projecting from the actual guide surface, which prevents the ball from moving to the upper position when the container is tilted backwards. Alternatively, it is also possible to provide the rear guide surface with an inclination that prevents or at least hinders the ball from moving to the upper position when the container is tilted backwards.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second arresting means is provided in the form of a ball movably guided within the lower lock part housing in a substantially T-shaped guide, which has a substantially upright extending guide section and two guide sections branching off to both sides thereof at the lower end and extending substantially laterally, the ball releasing the pivoting movement of the weight part only when it is positioned at the upper end of the substantially upright extending guide section. Accordingly, an inadvertent opening in the event of lateral tilting of the container is safely prevented.
Preferably, the substantially laterally extending guide sections are bent upwards in an anchor-like manner, thus ensuring even better proper functioning of the lock device in the event of a lateral tilting of the container.
Advantageously, two second arresting means in the form of balls guided in the T-shaped guide are provided. It has been found out that a single ball within the T-shaped guide can jump uncontrolled in the event of a hard impact after the container has been tilted laterally, i.e. also into the essentially upright extending guide area, which would result in the cover lock being released. The second ball safely prevents such uncontrolled jumping.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first locking element is pretensioned via a spring element in the direction of its locking position in such a way that the transfer of the first locking element from the locking position into the unlocking position is effected by actuating the locking mechanism against the spring force of the spring element. This results in a very simple handling of the lock device.
Preferably, a third arresting means is movably received in the upper lock part housing, in particular in the inner housing element, said third arresting means being arranged and designed in such a way that it arrests the first locking element in the locking position, when the container is tilted laterally from the upright position into a lying position. It has been found out that the spring element can collapse and swing away uncontrollable when the container hits the ground after being tilted laterally. In such a case, the third arresting means reliably prevents uncontrolled opening of the cover.
Preferably, the third arresting means is provided in the form of a ball which is movably guided in the upper lock part housing, in particular inside the inner housing element, in a laterally extending guide between a lower position and an upper position, and which arrests, when in the upper position, the first locking element in its locking position, the ball in particular cooperating with the weight part. In this way, a very simple design is achieved.
Furthermore, the present invention provides for the solution of the abovementioned task a waste collection device comprising a container having on its upper side a container opening enclosed by container lip, a cover held on the container, said cover being movable between a closed position covering the container opening and an open position uncovering the container opening pivoting about a cover swivel axis which extends along a container rear side, and a lock device according to the invention.
Further features and advantages of the present invention are illustrated by the following description of a waste collection device according to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the enclosed drawing. In it shows:
The lock device 1 comprises an upper lock part 7 to be fastened to the cover 5 of the container 3 of the waste receiving device 2, said upper lock part 7 comprising as main components an upper lock part housing 8, a locking mechanism 9 accommodated in the upper lock part housing 8 and a first locking element 11 projecting downwards from the upper lock part housing 8 and pivotable about a swivel axis 10 between a locking position and an unlocking position by actuating the locking mechanism. The upper lock part housing 8 is composed of an outer housing element 8a and an inner housing element 8b. When the lock device is attached to the waste receiving device 2, the outer housing element 8a projects outwards and the inner housing element 8b projects inwards from the cover 5 of the waste receiving device 2. The housing parts 8a and 8b are connected via screw-on mandrels 12 projecting downwards from the outer housing element 8a, said screw-on mandrels 12 engage from above in associated mandrel receptacles 13 of the inner housing element 8b. The outer housing element 8a accommodates the locking mechanism 9 which can be operated with a key 14. At the inner end of the locking mechanism 9, a bar 15 is mounted so as to be rotatable about a swivel axis 16 defined by the locking mechanism 9, said swivel axis 16 in this case extending parallel to the swivel axis 10 of the first locking element 11, see for example
The lock device further comprises a lower lock part 25 cooperating with the upper lock part 7, said lower lock part 25, as shown in
When, in a blocked state of the cover 5, the container 3 is tilted for emptying to from its upright position forward beyond the horizontal position, the arresting means 46 automatically moves from its lower position to its upper position. The same applies to the arresting means 44 guided in a the substantially T-shaped guide 43, which move from the lower position along the substantially upright extending guide section 43a to a position at the upper end of the substantially upright extending guide section 43a. In this state, the pivoting movement of the weight part 37, which is initiated by gravity, is released so that the second locking element 30 is transferred from its blocking position to the release position via the weight part 37. Correspondingly, the second locking element 30 comes out of engagement with a first locking element 11 positioned in its locking position so that cover 5 opens automatically.
If the container 3 is tilted by an external force having a lateral component, the arresting means 44 move within the substantially T-shaped guide 43 along the guide sections 43b of the guide extending substantially laterally whereby a pivoting movement of the weight part 37, which is also initiated here by gravity, is prevented. Accordingly, the second locking element 30 remains in engagement with a first locking element 11 positioned in its locking position, so that cover 5 does not open. Should, in the course of such a laterally tilting of the container 3, the spring element 18, which holds the first locking element 11 in its locking position, be overstressed and collapse, whereby it would be basically be possible to move the first locking element 11 into its unlocking position, this transfer to the unlocking position is prevented by the arresting means 22 guided in the guide 23 provided on the inner housing element 8b of the upper lock part housing 8, which moves to the left from the position shown in
When the container 3 is tilted backwards from the upright position, the arresting means 46 guided in the guide 45 of the lower lock part 25 will move from the lower position towards the upper position. In doing so, it strikes against the obstacle 45a formed on the rear guide surface of the guide 45 and is correspondingly prevented from reaching the upper position, in which it releases the movement of the weight part 37 and the second locking element 30 into the release position. Accordingly, cover 5 will not open here either.
It should be clear that the embodiment described above is only an example and in no way restrictive. Rather, modifications and alterations are possible without leaving the scope of protection of the present application as defined in the enclosed claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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20 2019 101 543.8 | Mar 2019 | DE | national |