Patent Publication Number: US-9903141-B2

Title: Waste container with improved latch

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/810,089, filed Apr. 9, 2013, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/868,694, filed Aug. 22, 2013, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/877,395, filed Sep. 13, 2013. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a waste container that includes a latch that prevents animals from being able to access an interior of the container but which can also allow cart lifters to lift and dump waste even if the lid remains latched. 
     Waste containers, such as for trash, recycling, or organic waste (compost), etc., often attract the interest of animals, such as rodents, dogs, raccoons, etc. Many containers include lids that latch, but some animals can pry under the lid and force the container open. For areas where the collection trucks include cart lifters, the containers might become damaged if they are lifted and dumped while latched. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A waste container includes a body having a base and a side wall extending upward from the base to define a container interior. A lid is hingeably secured to an upper portion of the side wall. A latch assembly selectively secures the lid to the side wall. The latch assembly includes a handle portion and a rotatable latch portion rotatable about an axis. The rotatable latch portion has a latch member that selectively interlocks with a hook portion. 
     In one example, at least one additional rotatable member is mounted to the latch assembly that is independently rotatable relative to the rotatable latch portion. 
     In one example, the waste container includes a release component that is independently operable of the latch assembly to unlatch the lid. 
     In one example, the lid includes at least one flexing channel to control flexing movement of the lid. 
     These and other features of the present invention can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front left side perspective view of a waste container according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a front right side perspective view of the container of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a rear left side perspective view of the container of  FIG. 1  with a lid in an open position. 
         FIG. 4  is a rear right side perspective view of the container of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a lid of the container of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a section view of the lid shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  is perspective view of an upper latch portion as used with the container of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 8  is a section view of a bottom of the lid of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 9  is a top perspective view of a lid with another embodiment of a latch. 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the latch of  FIG. 9  is a first position. 
         FIG. 11  is a view similar to  FIG. 10  but showing the latch in a second position. 
         FIG. 12  is a section view of the lid shown in  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 13  is a front perspective view of a waste container according to another embodiment. 
         FIG. 14  is a side view of the container of  FIG. 13 . 
         FIG. 15  is a front view of the container of  FIG. 13 . 
         FIG. 16  is an exploded view of the container of  FIG. 13 . 
         FIG. 17  is a top view of the container of  FIG. 13 . 
         FIG. 18  is a side section view of the container of  FIG. 13 . 
         FIG. 19  is a magnified view of the identified section of  FIG. 18 . 
         FIG. 20  is a top perspective view of a lid with another embodiment of a latch. 
         FIG. 20A  is a schematic representation comparing first and second sub-sets of channels as shown in  FIG. 20 . 
         FIG. 21  is a top view of  FIG. 20 . 
         FIG. 22  is a top view of a lid with another embodiment of a latch. 
         FIG. 23  is a side perspective view of the lid of  FIG. 22 . 
         FIG. 24  is a front perspective view of the lid of  FIG. 22 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A container, such as a roll out cart  10 , according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The roll out cart  10  generally includes a container body  12  and a lid  14  pivotably connected to the container body  12  for selectively providing access to an interior of the container  12 . The container body  12  includes a side wall  16  extending upwardly from a base  18  to define the container interior. A latch  20  selectively prevents the lid  14  from opening. In  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the latch  20  is shown in the latched (locked) position, in which the lid  14  cannot be opened. The roll out cart  10  may include a handle  22  and wheels  24  to facilitate moving the roll out cart  10 . 
     In  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the lid  14  is shown in the open position. Although the lid  14  is shown hinged generally perpendicularly to the handle  22 , the lid  14  may alternatively be hinged adjacent the handle  22  or opposite the handle  22 . 
       FIG. 5  is an enlarged perspective view of the lid  14  and latch  20  of the roll out cart  10 . The latch  20  is rotatable relative to the lid  14  and includes a handle  28  that is rotatable in a plane generally parallel to the lid  14 . Locked indicia  30  and unlocked indicia  32  may be molded into the upper surface of the lid. When the handle  28  of the latch  20  is rotated into alignment with the locked indicia  30 , this indicates that the latch  20  is locked and the lid  14  cannot be opened. When the handle  28  of the latch  20  is rotated into alignment with the unlocked indicia  32 , this indicates that the latch  20  is unlatched and the lid  14  can be opened. 
       FIG. 6  is a section view of the roll out cart  10  of  FIG. 5 . The latch  20  includes the handle  28  as part of an upper latch portion  21 . The upper latch portion  21  is positioned on an external side of the lid  14 . The latch  20  further includes a generally disc-shaped lower latch portion  36  below the lid  14  and snap-fit (or otherwise connected) to the upper latch portion  21 . The lower latch portion  36  is positioned on an internal side of the lid  14  and when the upper and lower latch portions are secured together they rotate together about an axis A ( FIG. 8 ). In  FIG. 6 , the latch  20  is rotated to the locked position, in which the handle  28  is aligned with the locked indicia  30 . 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the upper latch portion  21 . The upper latch portion  21  includes a base  40  having supports  42  extending to the handle  28 . Paddles or rotatable members  44  extend between the handle  28  and the base  40  outward of the supports  42 . The rotatable members  44  may include radially extending fins  46  and are rotatably mounted on pins  48  extending between the handle  28  and the base  40  outward of the supports  42 . In the example shown in  FIGS. 1-8 , the rotatable members  44  rotate about axes A 1  that are offset from the axis A. 
     The rotatable members  44  help prevent a rodent from being able to rotate the handle  28  and the upper latch portion  21 . If the rodent tries to push on the rotatable member  44  to rotate the handle  28 , the rotatable member  44  will just rotate about the pin  48 , thereby depriving the rodent of leverage on the handle  28 . The rotating members  44  may also distract and occupy the rodent and thereby prevent the rodent from opening the lid  14 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , the lower portion  36  is generally disc-shaped and includes large diameter portions  60  and small diameter portions  62 . Notches are defined between the large diameter portions  60 , outward of the small diameter portions  62 . In this example, the large diameter portions together occupy approximately ⅔ of the circumference of the lower latch portion  36 , while the two opposed small diameter portions  62  together comprise approximately the remaining ⅓ of the circumference of the lower latch portion  36  (approximately 60° each). Alternatively, a single small diameter portion  62  could be provided. Further, alternatively, the larger diameter portions  60  and small diameter portions  62  could have different relative sizes, depending upon the application or depending upon user preferences. 
     A latch member  64  protrudes downwardly and radially inwardly from an outer periphery of the larger diameter portions  60  of the lower latch portion  36 . As shown, the latch member  64  may be arcuate. A forward facing hook  68  is formed adjacent an upper edge of the container body  12 . The hook  68  engages the latch member  64  of the latch lower portion  36  thus, latching the lid  14  to the container body  12 . The latch assembly includes the upper latch portion  21 , lower latch portion  36  and hook  68 . In the example shown, the hook  68  is integrally formed with the container body  12  as one piece. 
     In use, a user places waste in the container body  12  and rotates the handle  28  of the latch  20  about an axis generally transverse to the lid  14  to the locked position, in which the handle  28  is aligned with the locked indicia  30 . This engages the latch member  64  with the hook  68  and latches the lid  14  to the container body  12 . 
     On waste pick-up day, the user can wheel the roll out cart  10  to the curb and then rotate the handle  28  of the latch  20  to the unlocked position, where the hook  68  on the container body  12  would be aligned with one of the smaller diameter portions  62  of the lower latch portion  36 . When the driver of the waste truck arrives, the driver can see whether the lid  14  is locked or unlocked. If the lid  14  is unlocked, the driver can use the cart lifter on the truck (e.g. using the grab bar and/or portions of the side walls  16 ) to lift the roll out cart  10  and dump the contents into the truck. If the driver sees that the handle  28  of the latch  20  is still in the locked position, the driver will not attempt to dump the cart  10  while the lid is latched. The driver or another worker can then rotate the latch  20  to the unlocked position to dump the cart  10 . Another beneficial feature is that after the cart  10  has been dumped, as the lid  14  closes back down after being released by the cart lifter, and if the lid closing force is sufficient, the latch member  64  can slip over the hook  68  to re-latch the lid  14  without requiring any user input. 
       FIGS. 9-12  illustrate an alternate cart  110  with an alternate upper latch portion  121  having an additional a rotatable member that is independently rotatable relative to the handle  28 . In this example, the additional rotatable member comprises a rotatable carousel  170  mounted for rotation relative to the upper latch portion  121 . The cart  110  shown includes the same container body  12  and lid  14  as in the previous embodiment. 
     The upper latch portion  121  includes a base  140  and supports  142  extending upward from the base  140  to the handle  128 . The carousel  170  includes a handle  172  extending across a diameter of a cylindrical body  174  that is rotatably mounted to the base  140  of the upper latch portion. Alternatively, or additionally, the handle  172  of the carousel  170  is rotatably mounted to the handle  128  of the upper latch portion  121 . Fins  176  protrude outwardly from the cylindrical body  174 . Openings  178  may be formed through the cylindrical body  174 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 , the carousel  170  can be rotated relative to the upper latch portion  121  which rotates about the axis A. In the example shown, the upper latch portion  121  and the carousel  170  both rotate about the axis A ( FIG. 12 ). A rodent trying to open the latch would simply rotate the carousel  170  without releasing the latch. A human user would align and grasp both the handle  172  of the carousel  170  and the handle  128  of the upper latch portion  121 . The user could then rotate the handle  128  and the upper latch portion  121  to lock or unlock the lid  14 . 
       FIGS. 13-19  illustrate an alternate cart  210  having an alternate latch configuration that can be unlocked by a cart lifter even when the latch has been left in the locked position by the user. The exemplary roll out cart  210  generally includes a container body  212  and a lid  214  pivotably connected to the container body  212  for selectively providing access to an interior of the container body  212 . The container body  212  includes a side wall  216  extending upwardly from a base  218  to define the container interior. A latch assembly  220  selectively prevents the lid  214  from opening. In  FIGS. 13-15 , the latch assembly  220  is shown in the latched (locked) position, in which the lid  214  cannot be opened. The roll out cart  210  may include a handle  222  and wheels  224  to facilitate moving the roll out cart  210 . 
     In  FIGS. 13-15 , the lid  214  is shown in the closed position. Although the lid  214  is shown hinged generally perpendicularly to the handle  222 , the lid  214  may alternatively be hinged adjacent the handle  222  or opposite the handle  222 . 
       FIG. 13  is a perspective view of the cart  210 . The lid  214  includes a visual position indicator  214   a  that identifies how the cart  210  should be positioned relative to a street for pick-up. In the example shown, the visual position indicator  214   a  explains that the cart  210  should be positioned such that the arrow  214   b  faces the street. The use of an arrow is just one example of a visual position indicator  214   a , it should be understood that other indicators, symbols, markings, etc. could also be used. 
     The side wall  216  includes a street facing or front portion  216   a , a first side portion  216   b , a second side portion  216   c , and a rear portion  216   d . In this example configuration, the lid  214  is hinged to the rear portion  216   d  and the latch assembly  220  is positioned adjacent one of the edges of the lid  214  near one of the side portions  216   b  or  216   c  of the side wall  216 . The latch assembly  220  includes a release component  280  that will allow a cart lifter to unlatch the latch  200  from a locked position when the user has left the latch assembly  220  in the locked position such that the cart  210  can be emptied without the driver having to leave the truck to unlock the lid  214 . In the example shown, the release component  280  is mounted to the side wall  216   b  or  216   c  that is adjacent to the latch assembly  220  on the lid  214 . The operation of the release component  280  will be discussed in greater detail below. 
       FIG. 14  is a front view of the cart  210  as the cart  210  would be viewed from the street. 
       FIG. 15  is a side view of the cart  210 . 
       FIG. 16  is an exploded view of the cart  210 . The latch assembly  220  operates in a manner similar to the latch  20  discussed above. Further, the latch assembly  220  could also be used with the carousel  170  as shown in the embodiment of  FIGS. 9-12 . The latch assembly  220  is rotatable relative to the lid  214  and includes a handle  228  that is rotatable in a plane generally parallel to the lid  214 . Locked indicia  230  and unlocked indicia  232  may be molded into the upper surface of the lid. When the handle  228  of the latch assembly  220  is rotated into alignment with the locked indicia  230 , this indicates that the latch assembly  220  is locked and the lid  214  cannot be opened by a user gripping the lid in an attempt to rotate the lid  214  relative to the body  212 . However, when the latch assembly  220  is aligned with the locked indicia  230 , the lid  214  can be opened by a cart lifter by actuating the release component  280 . When the handle  228  of the latch assembly  220  is rotated into alignment with the unlocked indicia  232 , this indicates that the latch assembly  220  is unlatched and the lid  214  can be opened. 
     As shown in  FIG. 16 , the latch assembly  220  includes the handle  228  as part of an upper latch portion  221 . The latch assembly  220  further includes a generally disc-shaped lower latch portion  236  below the lid  214  and snap-fit (or otherwise connected) to the upper latch portion  221 . The upper latch portion  221  includes a base  240  having supports  242  extending to the handle  228 . Paddles or rotatable members  244  extend between the handle  228  and the base  240  outward of the supports  242 . The rotatable members  244  operate as described above. 
     The lower portion  236  is configured similarly to lower portion  36  described above. The lower portion  236  includes a latch member  264  that protrudes downwardly and radially inwardly from an outermost periphery of the lower latch portion  236 . 
     The release component  280  is independently operable of the latch assembly  220  to unlatch the lid  214 . The release component is capable of unlatching the lid  214  without having to rotate the latch  264 . As shown in  FIG. 16 , the release component  280  comprises a compression bar  282  having an elongated body that extends vertically from a lower end  284  to an upper end  286 . The lower end  284  is mounted to the side wall  216  with a pivot bracket  288  and pivot or lock pin  290 . Fasteners  292  can be used to secure the bracket  288  to the side wall  216 . 
       FIG. 17  shows a top view of the cart  210 . The latch assembly  220  in  FIG. 17  is shown as being in the locked position by the visual indicator associated with the handle  228 . 
       FIG. 18  shows a section view taken along line A-A as shown in  FIG. 17 . The section is taken through the latch assembly  220  and the release component  280 . As shown in  FIG. 18 , the upper end  286  of the compression bar  282  includes an outwardly facing hook  268 . Thus, instead of the hook being formed as part of the cart body itself, the hook is now formed as part of the release component  280 . In the example shown, the hook  268  is integrally formed as one-piece with the compression bar  282 . 
     The hook  268  engages the latch member  264  of the latch lower portion  236  thus, latching the lid  214  to the container body  212  as shown in the magnified view of the latch section in  FIG. 19 . The release component  280  also includes one or more springs  294  positioned between the side wall  216  and an inner facing surface of the compression bar  282 . The springs  294  bias the hook  268  into locking engagement with the latch member  264 . When the compression bar  282  is compressed toward the side wall  216  by arms of a cart lifter, the spring force is overcome and the hook  268  is released from the latch member  264 . The latch assembly  220  includes the upper latch portion  221 , lower latch portion  236 , and hook  268 . 
     The lid  214  includes a lip  296  that extends outwardly and then downwardly from an upper edge of the container body  212  ( FIG. 16 ). The side wall  216  includes an extension portion  298  that is open at the bottom such that the upper end  286  of the compression bar  282  can extend underneath the lid  214  to interact with the latch  264  (see  FIG. 19 ). The lip  296  is located outwardly of the hook  268  and latch  264 . 
     In use, a user places waste in the container body  212  and rotates the handle  228  of the latch assembly  220  about an axis generally transverse to the lid  214  to the locked position, in which the handle  228  is aligned with the locked indicia  230 . This latches the lid  214  to the container body  212 . 
     On waste pick-up day, the user can wheel the roll out cart  210  to the curb and leave the handle  228  of the latch  20  in the locked position such that rodents will be prevented from unlatching the lid while the cart sits at the curb. When the driver of the waste truck arrives, it does not matter whether the lid  214  is locked or unlocked. The driver can use the cart lifter on the truck to grab opposing side wall portions  216   b ,  216   c  of the cart which will cause compression bar  282  to be compressed against the side wall  216 . This will move the hook  268  out of engagement with the latch  264  such that the cart lifter can lift the cart  210 , the lid  214  will open, and the contents in the container can be dumped into the truck. 
       FIGS. 20-21  illustrate an alternate cart  310  with an alternate latch configuration. The cart  310  has a lid  314  pivotably connected to a container body  312  for selectively providing access to an interior of the container body  312 . A latch  320  selectively prevents the lid  314  from opening. The latch  320  operates in a manner similar to the latch  20  or  220  discussed above. Further, the latch  320  could also be used with the carousel  170  as shown in the embodiment of  FIGS. 9-12 . 
     The latch  320  is rotatable relative to the lid  314  and includes a handle  328  that is rotatable in a plane generally parallel to the lid  314 . Locked indicia  330  and unlocked indicia  332  may be molded into the upper surface of the lid  314 . When the handle  328  of the latch  320  is rotated into alignment with the locked indicia  330 , this indicates that the latch  320  is locked and the lid  314  cannot be opened by a user gripping the lid in an attempt to rotate the lid  314  relative to the body  312 . When the handle  328  of the latch  320  is rotated into alignment with the unlocked indicia  332 , this indicates that the latch  320  is unlatched and the lid  314  can be opened. 
     As shown in  FIG. 20 , the latch  320  includes the handle  328  as part of an upper latch portion  321 . The latch  320  further includes a generally disc-shaped lower latch portion  336  (similar to lower latch portions  36 ,  236  described above) below the lid  314  and snap-fit (or otherwise connected) to the upper latch portion  321 . The upper latch portion  321  includes a base  340  having supports  342  extending to the handle  328 . Paddles or rotatable members  344  extend between the handle  328  and the base  320  outward of the supports  342 . The rotatable members  344  operate as described above. 
     The upper latch portion  321  interfaces with a raised boss  370  that extends outwardly from an upper surface of the lid  314 . The base  340  includes a bottom surface with a pair of downwardly extending prongs  372  having hooked ends  374 . The boss  370  includes an opening  376  through which the prongs  372  extend. 
     The lower latch portion  336  includes a protrusion  378  that is received within the opening  376  via a bottom of the lid  314 . The protrusion  378  includes a pair of slots or openings  380  that receive the prongs  372  such that the hooked ends  374  of the upper latch portion  321  can be snapped to the lower latch portion  336 . 
     The lower surface of the base  340  also includes one or more raised ribs  382 . In one example, the ribs  382  extend in a radial direction and are circumferentially spaced apart from each other relative to the opening  376  in the boss  370 . 
     The lid  314  includes a mount area for the upper latch portion  321 . In one example, the mount area comprises an upper surface of the boss  370 , which includes a plurality of channels  384  that extend in a radial direction and which are circumferentially spaced apart from each other relative to the opening  376 . As shown in  FIG. 20A , one sub-set of the channels  384   a  are defined by a first depth D 1  and another sub-set of the channels  384   b  are defined by a second depth D 2  that is less than the first depth D 1 . In the example shown, the first sub-set  384   a  has a greater number of channels than the second sub-set  384   b . Further, the channels in the first sub-set  384   a  are narrower than the channels in the second sub-set  384   b , i.e. the first sub-set of channels  384   a  has a first width W 1  and the second sub-set of channels  384  has a second width W 2  that is greater than the first width W 1 . In the example shown, the channels  384   b  of the second sub-set are generally aligned with the unlocked indicia  332 . 
     The ribs  382  create friction between the boss  370  and upper latch portion  321  such that the handle  328  does not spin freely. The area that allows the latch  320  to become disengaged, i.e. the second sub-set of channels  384   b , is not as deep as the other sub-set of channels  384   a . Thus, a slip point is provided such that if a rodent is pulling the handle  328 , the handle will slide easily pass the unlocking areas and jump back into one of the locked areas. 
       FIGS. 22-24  show another alternate lid configuration. A lid  414  is attached to a cart body  412  as described above. The lid  414  includes a one or more channels  490  that reduce the amount of flex for the lid  414 . The channels  490  make it harder for a rodent to pull one side of the lid  414  open. Thus, the channels  490  are formed within the lid at specific locations to control flexing movement of the lid  414  to thwart animal attempts to create enough leveraging force to pry open the lid. 
     In the example shown in  FIGS. 22-24 , the lid  414  includes a first channel  490   a  and a second channel  490   b . The first channel  490   a  is located generally at a center of the lid  414  and extends from a first end  492  to a second end  494 . The first end  492  is positioned generally at a center of the lid  414  and the channel extends axially to the second end  494  which is open to an edge of the lid  414 . In the example shown, the first channel  490   a  is generally parallel to side edges  496  of the lid  414  and is transverse to front  488  and rear  498  edges of the lid  414 . 
     The second channel  490   b  comprises a flexing channel that is formed to extend at least partially about a boss portion  470  formed within the lid  414  for a latch  420 . The latch  420  can comprise any of the latch configurations described above. The flexing channels  490   a ,  490   b  combat the lid from being leveraged open by a handle  428  of the latch  420 . The channels keep the corners opposite of the handle  428  from pulling up when the handle  428  is being pulled. 
     While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.