Waste Basket And The Like

Abstract

A container such as a waste basket is disclosed as having a transverse slot a short distance above its bottom. The container wall includes an inward projection overlying the slot and shaped and dimensioned to minimize the chances of articles entrant of the container through its open end escaping through the slot and a projection extending outwardly and downwardly from the bottom edge of the slot with its free edge resting on the floor, the outward projection being a collecting and guiding channel along which dirt may be swept. The projections are shown as parts of a slot-defining frame that is snapped into a transverse slot in the wall of the container.

Description

The present invention relates to waste baskets and other waste collecting containers.

Where cleaning is effected with a broom or brush, a collector such as a dust pan and a receptacle for the collected dirt are necessary adjuncts. While the problems with which the present invention are concerned are the same regardless of whether the cleaning is domestic or industrial, they are discussed herein primarily with respect to domestic uses where most rooms are provided with a waste basket. In house cleaning, it is presently necessary to carry both a dust pan and a brush or broom from room to room with the procedure being to sweep the gathered dirt into a dust pan and then empty the thus collected dirt into the waste basket.

The general objective of the present invention is to provide waste baskets or like larger waste collecting containers with a built-in dust pan thus to obviate the necessity of carrying a dust pan from room to room or bending over to hold the dust pan to enable the gathered dirt to be swept into it.

While dust collecting devices have been proposed of a type having a dirt receiving chamber with a dust pan in communication therewith, these were hand-held and had to be carried from one room to another. Such devices are illustrated by such patents as the patent to Richardson, U.S. Pat. No. 577,452, dated Feb. 23, 1897.

The other proposals are illustrated by the patent to Lingg, U.S. Pat. No. 2,791,374, dated May 7, 1957, and the patent to Leatherman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,170,183, dated Feb. 23, 1965. The latter patent required that a waste basket be held with a side against the floor in order to permit dust to be swept into it while the former patent required a special construction having a first compartment into which dirt could be swept and provided with means to lift the dirt collector therein and deposit it into a second compartment having an open top and a closed bottom.

The present invention obviates the objectionable features of the above referred to proposals in attaining the previously stated general objective. This result is attained by providing a waste collecting container of the previously defined type with a transverse slot spaced a short distance above its bottom. The container has an inwardly disposed projection overlying the slot and an outwardly disposed projection extending outwardly and downwardly from the bottom edge of the slot with its free edge resting on the floor and providing a collecting and guiding channel along which dirt may be swept. The inward projection is shaped and dimensioned to minimize the chance of dirt or articles deposited in the open end of the container escaping through the slot through which dirt may be swept without interference with the normal, every day use of the container.

Another objective is to provide an inward projection that has maximum effectiveness in preventing dirt or articles deposited in the open end of the container from escaping through the slot in its side wall. This objective is attained by providing that the inward projection is U-shaped in cross section with its side walls disposed downwardly and desirably in contact with the container bottom and desirably with the inward projection downwardly inclined to restrict the open end thereof.

A further objective of the invention is to provide an inward projection that is transversely hinged so that it will normally rest as a barrier but swing into an unblocking position when the container is inverted to discharge its contents.

Yet another objective of the invention is to provide a container construction in which the inward and outward projections are parts of a molded, slot-defining plastic frame that is secured to the container wall with the frame bordering a transverse slot therein.

In the accompanying drawings there are shown embodiments of the invention illustrative of these and other of its objectives, novel features, and advantages.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a waste basket in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section, on an increase in scale, taken approximately along the indicated lines 2--2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a modification of the invention in which the inwardly disposed projection is transversely pivoted.

In accordance with the invention, the wall of the basket 5 has a transverse slot 6 spaced a short distance, say 11/2 to 2 inches, above the basket bottom to provide a dirt trap. Above the slot 6 there is an inwardly disposed projection 7 shaped and dimensioned to block the escape of articles entrant of the open end of the basket 5 through the slot 6. Preferably the basket is molded from a suitable plastic, low density polyethylene, for example.

Extending outwardly and downwardly from the bottom edge of the slot 6 is a projection 8 with its free edge in the plane of the basket bottom. The projection 8 has side walls 9 and is dimensioned to provide a collecting and guiding channel along which dirt may be swept.

In practice, the projection 7 extends inwardly a distance in the neighborhood of one third of the distance between the slot 6 and the opposite portion of the basket wall and is shown as U-shaped in cross section with its side walls 10 in contact with the bottom of the basket and downwardly inclined to restrict its inner end to minimize the chance of articles deposited in the open end of the basket from working under the projection 7.

In practice, the projections 7 and 8 are low density polyethylene parts, for example, of a moldable frame having a marginal channel 12 dimensioned to enable the frame 11 to be snapped into a slot in the wall of the basket 5.

In FIG. 3, there is shown an embodiment of the invention in which a molded plastic frame 11A includes an outward projection 8A and inwardly disposed ears 13 to which the inward molded projection 7A is connected as by pivots 14 thus permitting the projection 7A to swing into an inoperative position as when the basket 5 is inverted.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that waste collecting containers in accordance with the invention are well adapted to provide increased convenience in the disposal of sweepings while at the same time making possible low cost and attractive containers. While the basket shown in the drawings is rectangular in cross section, it may be of any other cross sectional shape.

Claims

I claim:

1. A waste collecting container, the side wall of said container having a transverse slot spaced above the basket bottom and including an outwardly disposed, dirt collecting and guiding projection extending downwardly from the bottom edge of said slot with its free edge lying against the floor on which the container rests, and said wall including an inwardly disposed projection above said slot to minimize the escape of articles through the slot, said projection being U-shaped in cross section with its sides disposed downwardly, one at each end of the slot.

2. The waste container of claim 1 in which the inwardly disposed projection is inclined downwardly.

3. The waste container of claim 1 in which the sides of the inwardly disposed projection rest on the bottom of the basket.

4. The waste container of claim 1 and a frame attached to said side wall and bordering said slot, said frame including said projections.

5. The waste container of claim 4 in which the frame includes a marginal channel receiving the margins of said slot.

6. The waste container of claim 4 in which the inwardly disposed projection is U-shaped in cross section and is inclined downwardly.

7. The waste container of claim 4 in which the inwardly disposed projection is pivotally connected to the frame.

8. A waste collecting container, the side wall of said container having a transverse slot spaced above the basket bottom and including an outwardly disposed, dirt collecting and guiding projection extending downwardly from the bottom edge of said slot with its free edge lying against the floor on which the container rests, and said wall including an inwardly disposed projection above said slot to minimize the escape of articles through the slot with communication between the slot and the space in the container above the inwardly disposed projection being at the inner end thereof in the normal position of the container, and said inwardly disposed projection being transversely pivoted.