Patent Publication Number: US-2007102429-A1

Title: Trash bin

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a trash bin and particularly to a trash bin that has an automatic lifting lid and a barrel body consisting of an upper barrel and a lower barrel that are stackable and detachable to facilitate packaging and transportation without taking too much space and provide more versatile utilization.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The conventional trash bins or garbage cans usually are made in an integrated manner with a fixed height. During manufacturing process, the finished barrels of different heights have to be stacked and held separately in a storage. The barrels of different heights cannot be stacked together one over another. Hence a great deal of storage space is needed. Moreover, the trash bins have to be packaged separately and moved individually on trucks for transportation or storing. It takes a lot of manpower and efforts, and is not economic justified.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Therefore the primary object of the present invention is to provide a trash bin to improve practicality and convenience. The trash bin of the invention has a barrel body and an automatic lifting lid. The barrel body includes an upper barrel and a lower barrel that can be stacked and coupled together by latching. It also can be disassembled and packaged easily.  
      To achieve the foregoing object, the trash bin according to the invention has a barrel body which consists of a upper barrel and a lower barrel that are detachable and may be stacked and coupled by latching. The upper barrel includes a frame flange on the bottom that has one or more apertures. There is a latch member extending upwards from a lateral side of the aperture. The lower barrel has a coupling end on an upper side with coupling members on two sides and a front side and a rear side corresponding to the latch members. By means of such a design, the trash bin not only can hold garbage like the conventional one, the upper and lower barrels can be separated, stacked and packaged easily.  
      By means of coupling the upper and lower barrels to form the barrel body, the barrel body can be configured in varying combinations and styles. The upper and lower barrels can be disassembled and packaged to facilitate transportation. It is more practical and versatile.  
      In another aspect, the profile of the barrel body can be formed in various geometric shapes, such as circular, square, rectangular and the like to meet the requirements and preference of different consumers.  
      The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1A  is an exploded view of the present invention.  
       FIG. 1B  is a perspective view of a coupling member on a lateral side of a lower barrel of the invention.  
       FIG. 1C  is a perspective view of a coupling member on the front side of a lower barrel of the invention.  
       FIG. 1D  is a perspective view of a coupling member on the rear side of a lower barrel of the invention.  
       FIG. 1E  is a perspective view of the frame flange on the bottom of a upper barrel of the invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the present invention in a coupled condition.  
       FIG. 3A  is a sectional view of the invention in a coupled condition.  
       FIG. 3B  is a cross section taken on line  3 B- 3 B in  FIG. 3A .  
       FIG. 4  is a schematic view of the present invention in a detached condition for storing. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Please referring to  FIGS. 1A through 1D , the trash bin according to the invention mainly includes a barrel body  10  and an upper lid  40  which can be lifted automatically. The barrel body  10  includes an upper barrel  20  and a lower barrel  30  that can be stacked and coupled together. In an embodiment shown in the drawings, the upper barrel  20  has a frame flange  21  on the bottom that has at least one or more apertures  22 ,  23  and  24 . On a lateral side of each of the apertures  22 ,  23  and  24 , there is a latch member  220 ,  230  and  240  (also referring to  FIGS. 1A and 1E ) extending upwards that may be coupled respectively with a corresponding coupling member  32 ,  33  and  34  located on two lateral sides and the front side and rear side of a upper coupling end  31  of the lower barrel  30 . The upper barrel  20  has a first opening  200 .  
      The lower barrel  30  has a second opening  300  on an upper side. The coupling members  32  on the two lateral sides of the coupling end  31  are opposing each other in inverse directions. The first coupling member  32  has a first latch lug  320  extended from one side and two bosses  321  extended from two ends thereof. The second coupling member  33  on the front side has a second latch lug  330  extended outside and two latch notches  331  on two ends and a step member  332 . The third coupling member  34  has two sets located on the rear side of the coupling end  31  each has a third latch lug  340  extended outside and two tenons  341  on two ends (referring to  FIGS. 1A through 1D ).  
      Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 A, to assemble for using, wedge the latch lugs  320 ,  330  and  340  of the coupling members  32 ,  33  and  34  on the coupling end  31  of the lower barrel  30  in the apertures  22 ,  23  and  24  of the frame flange  21  of the upper barrel  20 , the latch lugs  320 ,  330  and  340  are urged inwards to latch on the latch members  220 ,  230  and  240  of the upper barrel  20  (referring to  FIG. 3B ). By means of the detachable design previously discussed, the lower barrel  30  can be latched on a lower side of the upper barrel  20 . The trash bin thus formed can be stacked and coupled to hold garbage.  
      When in use, the upper and lower barrels  20  and  30  can be assembled and coupled together. The upper barrel  20  is stacked over the lower barrel  30  at a higher elevation as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 A. The coupling members  32 ,  33  and  34  on the upper coupling end  31  of the lower barrel  30  can be latched on the latch members  220 ,  230  and  240  of the upper barrel  20  through the apertures  22 ,  23  and  24 . Thus the trash bin may be formed in various combinations and configurations according to use environments.  
      Referring to  FIG. 4 , for packaging, transportation or storing, the latch lugs  320 ,  330  and  340  of the lower barrel  30  latched on the latch members  220 ,  230  and  240  of the upper barrel  20  can be moved and disengaged through the apertures  22 ,  23  and  24  to separate the upper barrel  20  and the lower barrel  30 . Once separated, the lower barrel  30  may be placed into the upper barrel  20  through the first opening  200 . And the upper lid  40  can be swiveled to cover the upper side of the upper barrel  20 . Thus the upper barrel  20  and the lower barrel  30  can be detached and stored. Packaging is more convenient and transportation is easier. It also can reduce the storage space.  
      The barrel body  10  can be formed in varying geometric profiles such as circular, square, rectangular to meet the requirements and preference of different consumers.  
      In short, the present invention provides the upper barrel  20  and lower barrel  30  that can be coupled together in a up and down manner to form the barrel body  10  when in use. The upper and lower barrels  20  and  30  also can be separated to facilitate packaging and transportation without occupying too much space. Assembly and disassembly can be done easily.