Patent Publication Number: US-6334542-B1

Title: Garbage can

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to a garbage collector, and more particularly to a garbage can. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     There are a variety of garbage cans available in the market place today for the consumer to choose from. These conventional garbage cans are generally rather simple in construction and are provided with very little feature to make them easy and convenient to use. In order to enhance the marketability and the competitiveness of a garbage can, the garbage can should be provided with a semiautomatic device enabling a synchronous motion of the cover and the garbage holder of the garbage can. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore the primary objective of the present invention to provide a garbage can with a synchronization mechanism to enable the cover and the garbage holder of the garbage can to work at the same time, so as to give an added convenience to the use of the garbage can. 
     The objective and the features of the present invention will be readily understood upon a thoughtful deliberation of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 shows a sectional schematic view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 shows another sectional schematic view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention in use. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As shown in FIGS. 1-5, a garbage can of the preferred embodiment of the present invention has a main body  10  which is provided in the hollow interior thereof with a container  101  and a space located under the container  101  for disposing a garbage holder  12  which is provided in two opposite outer walls thereof with a retaining recess  13 . The main body  10  is provided in two opposite inner walls thereof with a retaining projection  102  corresponding in location to the retaining recess  13  of the garbage holder  12 . The garbage holder  12  is pivotally disposed in the main body  10  such that the retaining projections  102  of the inner walls of the main body  10  are retained in the retaining recesses  13  of the outer walls of the garbage holder  12 . 
     The main body  10  is further provided in the hollow interior thereof with a synchronization mechanism assembly to enable a garbage can cover  11  and the garbage holder  12  to work synchronously. The synchronization mechanism assembly comprises the cover  11 , the garbage holder  12 , a motor  17 , a drive gear  16 , and a transmission gear  15 . The main body  10  is provided with a battery set (not shown in the drawings) as the power source of the motor. 
     The cover  11  is joined with the open top of the container  101  and is provided a toothed piece  14 . 
     The garbage holder  12  is provided with a toothed piece  14 . 
     The motor  17  is mounted on a motor mount  103  and is provided with a spindle  171 . The motor  17  is connected with a control chip set (not shown in the drawings) by a circuit (not shown in the drawings). 
     The drive gear  16  is mounted on the spindle  171  of the motor  17  such that the drive gear  16  is meshed with the toothed piece  14  of the garbage holder  12 . 
     The transmission gear  15  is mounted in the interior of the main body  10  such that the transmission gear  15  is engaged with the drive gear  16  and the toothed piece  14  of the cover  11 . 
     The cover  11  is provided with a retaining piece  111  which is retained by a touch switch knob  20  of the main body  10  at the time when the cover  11  is joined with the open top of the container  101  in which the paper towels and the like are kept. The cover  11  is further provided with a torsion spring  19 . The touch switch knob  20  is connected with a switch device  18  which is connected with the control chip set. 
     In use, the touch switch knob  20  is first pressed to trigger the torsion spring  19  to lift open the cover  11 , thereby causing the toothed piece  14  of the cover  11  to drive the transmission gear  15  which in turn drives the drive gear  16 . In light of the drive gear  16  being meshed with the toothed piece  14  of the garbage holder  12 , the garbage holder  12  is driven to move out of the main body  10  partially. In the meantime, the switch device  18  transmits a timing signal to the control chip set, which in turn transmits a signal to start the motor  17  to actuate the spindle  171  to turn. As a result, the drive gear  16  is driven to actuate the toothed piece  14  of the garbage holder  12  and the transmission gear  15 . The garbage holder  12  is therefore driven back into the interior of the main body  10 . The cover  11  is synchronously driven to cover the open top of the container  101 . While the cover  11  and the garbage holder  12  are opened up, the user of the present invention has access to the paper towel and the like, which are kept in the container  101 . The used paper towel is thrown into the garbage holder  12 .