U.S. patent number 3,567,062 [Application Number 04/864,435] was granted by the patent office on 1971-03-02 for refuse container having safety lid.
Invention is credited to James D. Kruse, Lawson F. Reed.
United States Patent |
3,567,062 |
Reed , et al. |
March 2, 1971 |
REFUSE CONTAINER HAVING SAFETY LID
Abstract
A box-type refuse container having lid means hinged to its rear
wall with a swinging arm connected to the lid on one end and
connected to a latch plate on the other end with the latch plate
being mounted for reciprocation in a confining bracket and having
slots on its upper surface which can be fitted over a portion of
the confining bracket for retaining the lid in an open position so
that the weight of the lid serves to latch the lid in the open
position. The pivotal connection between the latch plate and the
swinging arm is beneath the confining bracket so that the entire
container can be pivoted about a central axis parallel to the axis
of lid movement so that the lid can open as the container is
rotated for emptying but will be returned to a closed position as
the container is returned to its normal position. The lid is
manually liftable in a normal position so that the latch plate is
disengaged from the confining bracket and the lid can then
consequently be closed.
Inventors: |
Reed; Lawson F. (Plainview,
TX), Kruse; James D. (Plainview, TX) |
Family
ID: |
25343275 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/864,435 |
Filed: |
October 7, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/832;
217/60E |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65F
1/16 (20130101); B65F 2001/1669 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65F
1/16 (20060101); B65d 051/18 () |
Field of
Search: |
;220/29,36,1 (R)/
;217/60 ;214/302,303 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Leclair; Joseph R.
Assistant Examiner: Wagner; Richard
Claims
We claim:
1. A boxlike container having facing front and rear walls connected
by facing side walls, lid means hingedly connected to said rear
walls for permitting opening and closing of said container by
pivotal movement of said lid means about a pivot axis, a swinging
arm fixedly connected to said lid means and extending externally
along one of said sidewalls, a latch plate pivotally connected at
its rearward end to said swinging arm and having its forward end
mounted for reciprocation in a confining bracket extending from
said one of said sidewalls, said bracket including a horizontal
latch plate supporting surface engageable by the lower edge of said
latch plate in a nonlatching position as said lid is moved between
open and closed position and a horizontal lock rod located above
said latch bar, a plurality of latch slots extending inwardly from
the upper edge of said latch plate with each of said slots
extending between a mouth portion on the upper edge of said latch
plate and a bottom trough located centrally within said latch plate
and spaced a greater distance from the rearward end of said plate
than is the mouth portion of each respective slot and dimensioned
to receive said locking rod when said latch plate is in a latching
position so that said lid can be locked in an open position and the
weight of the lid tends to urge the latch plate in a direction to
retain the lock rod in said trough but wherein movement of said lid
in an opening direction causes said latch plate to move with
respect to said lock rod so that said slot no longer receives said
lock rod and the latch plate is moved by gravity to its nonlatching
position and said lid is consequently free to close.
2. The invention of claim 1 wherein the pivotal connection between
said latch plate and said swinging arm is closer to the bottom of
the container than is said bracket.
3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said bracket is U-shaped and
said horizontal latch plate supporting surface comprises one of the
legs of said U-shaped member and said lock rod comprises the other
leg of said U-saped member.
4. The invention of claim 3 additionally including a laterally
extending handle member on the forward end of said latch plate.
5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said lid means comprises first
and second lid members individually pivotable and each individually
having its own respective swinging arm, latch plate and confining
bracket.
6. The invention of claim 2 as additionally including a laterally
extending handle member on the forward end of said latch plate.
7. The invention of claim 6 wherein said lid means comprises first
and second lid members individually pivotable and each individually
having its own respective swinging arm, latch plate and confining
bracket.
8. The invention of claim 2 wherein said swinging arm is connected
to the end of a rotary torsion arm attached of said lid and mounted
for rotation on brackets fixed to the rear wall.
9. The invention of claim 8 wherein said bracket is U-shaped and
said horizontal latch bar supporting surface comprises one of the
legs of said U-shaped member and said lock rod comprises the other
leg of said U-shaped member.
10. The invention of claim 9 additionally including a laterally
extending handle member on the forward end of said latch plate.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention is in the field of containers and is, more
specifically, in the field of metal containers of the type commonly
employed for storing refuse or the like. Even more specifically,
the instant invention is directed to a metal boxlike container of
substantially large size having lid means which is latchable in an
open position but which is closeable if desired in an open position
but which is closeable if desired in an open position but which is
also designed to be employed with mechanical handling apparatus of
the type which lifts the container and pivots it about a horizontal
laterally extending axis for dumping the contents of the container.
Most such containers are designed so that they may be emptied into
specially designed trucks or other conveyances and returned to
their original position following such emptying. Presently known
containers in this field have suffered from a number of faults
which have gone uncorrected until the advent of the instant
invention. Specifically, the presently known containers have
employed lids which, when in an open or partially opened position,
are subject to damage by strong winds. Such damage is largely
caused in many of the prior known devices of this sort because of
the fact that the lids are latched or popped open at only a single
spot along the one edge of the lid and the forces imparted by the
wind consequently cause severe twisting and torsional strain on the
lid by virtue of the manner in which the lid is latched.
Additionally, previous known designs have proven to be hazardous
and unsafe due to failure of the previous known latch means and
many injuries have been occasioned by virtue of the lid falling
upon unwary persons depositing trash or other material in the
container. Needless to say, a heavy lid falling on the arm or hand
of the individual using the container can cause an extremely severe
injury.
It s is normally desirable to have the lids on the refuse
containers closed following the dumping of the contents; however,
it is desirable that the lid be subsequently openable to be safely
maintained in an open condition while the container is being used
for receiving subsequent deposits of refuse. The instant invention
allows the lid to be safely maintained in an open position but
permits the lid to close upon completion of an emptying movement in
the manner discussed previously.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the primary object of this invention to provide a new and
improved refuse-type container with latchable lid means for holding
the lid in an open position.
Obtainment of the object of this invention is enabled through the
provision of a container formed of front and rear walls connected
by sidewalls and having lid means hingedly pivotable along the top
edge of the rear wall. A swinging arm extends from the pivot axis
of the lid means and is pivotally connected to the rearmost end of
a latch plate having a number of locking slots along its upper
edge. The latch plate is mounted for reciprocation within a
confining bracket including a lock rod over which the locking slots
can be received for latching the lid in an upper position. However,
the geometric relationship of the swinging arm and the latch plate
etc. is such that the entire container can be lifted upwardly and
pivoted about a central horizontal axis to dump the contents so
that the lid is unlatched and upon return of the container to the
ground, the lid assumes a closed position.
The instant invention provides a uniquely safe and rigid lid
construction in which the weight of the lid tends to maintain the
lid in latched condition but in which the latching connection to
the lid is solely through the hinge connection and the lid is not
subjected to the torsional strain found in many of the prior art
devices having latch means connected to only one edge of the
lid.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the
invention;
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view having a portion of the container
removed to illustrate the cooperation between the container and the
lid;
FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of one half of the container
illustrating one of the lid means associated therewith; and
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 2.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Attention is initially invited to FIG. 1 of the drawings which
illustrates the preferred embodiment comprising a boxlike container
having front and rear walls 20 and 22 respectively which are
vertically oriented and which are connected by facing sidewalls 24
and 26 in a well-known manner.
All of the walls are provided with reinforcing channels 28 and are
connected along their lower edges to a floor panel 29. Moreover,
the sidewalls 24 and 26 are provided with reinforced lifting
sleeves or brackets 30 only one of which is illustrated in FIG. 1;
however, the other sleeve is externally mounted on wall 26 in
horizontal alignment with the sleeve on wall 24. Sleeves 30 are
conventional in design and are for the purpose of receiving a
conventional lifting apparatus which can lift the container
upwardly and rotate the container about a horizontal axis to empty
the contents from the container. Such devices are conventional and
are well known in the art.
Lid means in the form of first and second lid members 32 and 34 are
hingedly mounted for pivotal movement along the top edge of the
rear wall 22. Each of the lid members is provided with hinge
brackets 36 welded to the top surface of each lid and extending
rearwardly from the lid where they are welded to a torsion rod 38.
Each of the torsion rods 38 is mounted for rotation in support
brackets 40 which are welded to the rear wall 22.
The external ends of the torsion rods 38 are weldingly connected to
a right-angle swinging arm 42 which extends in a generally downward
direction along the sidewalls 24 or 26 as the case may be. An
elongated latch plate 44 has its rearmost end pivotally connected
to the lower end of swinging arm 42 and extends forward from the
pivotal connection through a confining bracket 46 of U-shaped
construction. The forward end of the latch plate 44 is provided
with a laterally extending handle or projection 48. A plurality of
latch slots 49 extend inwardly from the upper edge of latch plate
44 and are formed with a mouth portion 50 which extends inwardly to
a centrally located trough portion 52 which defines the bottom of
the slot. It should be noted that the trough portion 52 is spaced
forwardly of the mouth portion 50 as shown in FIG. 2. Confining
bracket 46 is in the form of a U-shaped member in which the upper
leg constitutes a lock rod 54 which is dimensioned to be received
within the trough 52 of the latch slot 49. To be thus received, it
is necessary that the latch plate be in the solid line position
shown in FIG. 2. However, the latch plate can be moved to an
unlatching position in which its lower edge rests upon a horizontal
latch plate supporting surface formed of the lower leg 56 of the
U-shaped member forming the confining bracket 46.
Attention is invited to FIG. 2 which illustrates the manner in
which latch slot 49 is received over the lock rod 54 to retain the
lid 32 in an open position. It should be noted that the entire
weight of the lid serves to urge the latch plate 44 to the left so
as to retain the latch plate in its latched condition with lock rod
54 positioned in trough 52. The latching force is exerted through
the hinge brackets 36 which are of rugged construction and there is
no torsional or twisting force applied to the lid as occurs in the
case of many of the prior known devices. Should it be desired to
lower the lid, it is merely necessary that the lid be lifted upward
slightly so as to move latch plate 44 upwardly and to the right so
that the plate will fall from the locking solid line position to
the dashed line unlatched position in which the lid is then freely
movable to its lowered position. Additionally, the lid can be
unlatched by manually pulling upon the laterally projecting handle
48 to move the latch late to its unlatched position. Handle 48 also
serves to move the latch bar to a latching position to hold the lid
in an open position following opening movement of the lid.
When it is desired to empty the container, the container is lifted
upwardly by known means and pivoted about a central laterally
extending axis extending generally through the sleeves 30 so that
the container is rotated in a clockwise direction at least
90.degree. so as to empty the container. Such rotation will result
in opening movement of the lid if it is a not already open and a
consequent unlatching of the latch plate 44. Upon return of the
container to its vertical position, the lid will automatically
assume its closed position. However, it is a simple matter to lift
the lid and engage one of the latched slots with the lock rod for
retaining the lid in its open condition such as the position of the
right lid 34 as viewed in FIG. 1.
* * * * *