Patent Application
20090188933
The invention relates to a waste bin, comprising a container and also a cover which can be moved between an opened position and a closed position by means of a pivot mechanism, which pivot mechanism comprises at least one auxiliary arm which at one end is pivotably connected to the cover by means of a first pivoted connection, and at the other end is pivotably suspended relative to the container by means of a first pivoted suspension.
Such a waste bin is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,231. This known waste bin has a cover which is pivotably connected to a plate, which in turn is pivotably suspended from an auxiliary collar, which itself is placed on a container. The plate is provided with a resilient lip, which holds the cover constantly pressed in a closed position. Pressing against the cover causes the latter to move downwards against the initial tension force exerted by the resilient lip. The cover then gives access to the container, so that waste can be thrown into it.
The disadvantage of such a waste bin is that when pressed open the cover projects to a relatively great depth into the container. For that reason, a fairly high auxiliary collar has to be used, but this leads to a relatively large amount of lost space which is not available for receiving waste. A second disadvantage is that the throw-in opening is relatively small as a result of the position of the pivoted suspension of the cover.
The object of the invention is to provide a waste bin of the abovementioned type, i.e. a waste bin in which the cover can be opened by pressing on it with the hand, which does not have these disadvantages. That object is achieved in that a second auxiliary arm is provided, one end of which auxiliary arm is pivotably connected to the cover by means of a second pivoted connection, and the other end of which auxiliary arm is pivotably suspended relative to the container by means of a second pivoted suspension.
In the waste bin according to the invention each pivot point of the cover is situated above said cover, in such a way that the latter can be opened by pressing on it with the hand. On the other hand, by a suitable choice of the position of the pivoted suspensions and pivoted connections, and of the dimensions of the auxiliary arms, it is possible to obtain such a path on opening of the cover that the latter does not extend unduly far down into the container. Furthermore, all the above can be designed in such a way that the opened cover can remain stably in the opened position. On the other hand, it can also be ensured that during closure the cover goes into a stable closed position. The cover here does not have just one pivot point, but has a series of pivot points or a track with pivot points.
A stop may be provided in each case for both the opened position and the closed position of the cover. The stop which determines the closed position relates to the position of a cover at rest. For the stop to determine a three-part opened position there are two possibilities. According to a first possibility, said stop can be provided in such a way that the cover can move beyond its “dead centre” or the unstable position. In that position the cover stays open. As an alternative, for the opened position a stop from which the cover always falls shut can be provided. In the case of such a stop the cover therefore cannot move beyond the “dead centre”. In that connection, the length of the auxiliary arm whose pivoted suspension is situated at a higher level can also be greater than the length of the other auxiliary arm.
In an advantageous embodiment an auxiliary collar can be provided, which auxiliary collar is placed on the open end of the container and from which the auxiliary arms are pivotably suspended. In this case the pivoted suspension of the one auxiliary arm on the auxiliary collar can be situated at a higher level than the pivoted suspension of the other auxiliary arm on the auxiliary collar. It is also preferable for the pivoted connection of the auxiliary arm whose pivoted suspension on the auxiliary collar is situated at a higher level to be situated closer to said pivoted suspension than the pivoted connection of the auxiliary arm whose pivoted suspension on the auxiliary collar is situated at a lower level. In such an embodiment both a stable opened position and a stable closed position of the cover can be obtained.
As discussed above, the cover can in particular be opened by hand by pressing on it in the downward direction. As an alternative, or also as an addition, a pedal control can be provided, comprising a pressure rod whose top end acts upon one of the auxiliary arms between its pivoted connection and its pivoted suspension. In this case the pressure rod is preferably slidably guided in the longitudinal direction, preferably relative to the auxiliary collar. Furthermore, the free top end of the auxiliary rod can be pressed against the arm under the influence of pressure forces. This means that there is no need to provide a fixed pivoted connection between the pressure rod and the arm concerned. In this embodiment the pedal control remains passive when the cover is opened by hand.
The invention will be explained in greater detail below with reference to a number of exemplary embodiments shown in the figures.
The waste bin according to the invention shown in
A certain desired path of the cover 3 when it is opened and closed respectively is now obtained by selecting the mutual positions of the pivoted connections 6, 8 and of the pivoted suspensions 7, 9, and also by selecting the lengths of the auxiliary arms 4, 5. From the closed position shown in
As discussed above, the cover 3 can be opened in particular by hand by pressing on the front side 10 of said cover. As an alternative, the cover 3 can, however, also be opened by means of the pedal control 12. The latter has a pressure rod 13, the top end of which is guided relative to the container 1 by means of the guide 15. The top end 14 of the pressure rod 13 can therefore be pressed freely from below against the arm 4, causing the cover 3 to open. If, however, the cover 3 is opened by pressing down its front side 10, the pedal control 12 remains passive. This is made possible by the fact that the top end 14 of the pressure rod 13 is not permanently fixed to said arm 4, but merely moves against it through pressure. If the cover 3 is now operated by hand, the arm 4 simply moves away from the pressure rod 13, in such a way that the latter does not have to be moved along with it. The advantage of this is that opening the cover 3 by hand does not require much force, because the pedal control 12 does not have to move as well.
This movement path is shown in greater detail in the variant of
In the closed position the cover 3 rests against the stops 16 and 17, and in the opened position rests against the stop 18.
Although an embodiment in which the pivoted suspensions 7, 9 are situated on the collar is discussed above, the invention is not limited to that embodiment. For instance, the pivoted suspensions can also be placed on the container itself. A further advantage of the waste bin according to the invention is that the swing mechanism, including the arms and the pivoted suspensions and the pivoted connections, are situated below the cover. Furthermore, these parts are situated within the collar, in such a way that they are concealed in the interior of the waste bin. On the one hand, a good external appearance is obtained as a result of this while, on the other hand, the swing mechanism is well protected.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1030422 | Nov 2005 | NL | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/NL2006/050287 | 11/14/2006 | WO | 00 | 1/30/2009 |
