Patent Publication Number: US-2012043327-A1

Title: Dumpster

Description:
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/375,888 filed Aug. 23, 2010. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates generally to large containers, in particular dumpsters, which can be lifted and dumped by the forks of a refuse or recycling truck. Traditionally, these dumpsters were constructed of metal with metal pockets welded to side walls for receiving the forks of the truck. 
     A more recent dumpster is constructed entirely of plastic. The pockets on the side walls can be integrally molded with the walls of the dumpster in a rotomolding process. The plastic dumpster should be sufficiently robust to accommodate various dumpster applications including serving as a receptacle for trash as well as recycled products such as glass, metal, plastic, paper, etc. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention provides a plastic dumpster with features for increasing the robustness of the dumpster and for improving accessibility to a dumpster interior. 
     A dumpster includes a body with a base wall, a front wall, side walls, and a rear wall that cooperate with each other to define a dumpster interior with an open top. One or more lids are pivotally attached to the dumpster body. 
     In one example, the dumpster lids and body are comprised of a plastic material. 
     In one example, a support frame is attached to the plastic lid. 
     In one example, first and second lids are pivotally secured to the dumpster body. A locking mechanism is moveable between a plurality of lock positions. In a first lock position the first lid is locked and the second lid is unlocked and in a second lock position the second lid is locked and the first lid is unlocked. In a third lock position, both the first and second lids are locked at the same time. 
     In one example, the dumpster includes a divider that separates the dumpster interior into first and second compartments. The first lid covers the first compartment and the second lid covers the second compartment. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a dumpster with lids and a locking assembly. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the dumpster of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an opposite side view of the dumpster of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of the dumpster of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a top perspective view of the dumpster of  FIG. 1  with one lid partially open and one lid closed. 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded view of one lid assembly. 
         FIG. 7A  is a top view of a support frame for a lid body. 
         FIG. 7B  is a side view of the frame of  FIG. 7A . 
         FIG. 7C  shows front support member for the support frame of  FIG. 7A . 
         FIG. 8  shows a perspective view of the lid with the support frame in an assembled condition. 
         FIG. 9  is a partial cross-sectional view of a hollow lip of the dumpster. 
         FIG. 10A  is a top view of a lock frame that is attached to the dumpster. 
         FIG. 10B  is a rear view of the lock frame of  FIG. 10A . 
         FIG. 10C  is a side view of the lock frame of  FIG. 10A . 
         FIG. 11A  is a top view of a lock slide mechanism that is attached to the dumpster. 
         FIG. 11B  is a front view of the lock slide mechanism of  FIG. 11A . 
         FIG. 11C  is a side view of the lock slide mechanism of  FIG. 11A . 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the dumpster with the lock bar of the lock frame disassembled. 
         FIG. 13  is an enlarged view of a locking assembly with the assembly having one lid locked and an adjacent lid opened. 
         FIG. 14  is a view similar to  FIG. 13  with both lids closed and one lid locked. 
         FIG. 15  is an enlarged side view of the locking assembly. 
         FIG. 16  is a perspective, partially broken away, view of the dumpster showing a divider that separates the dumpster into multiple compartments. 
         FIG. 17A  is a side view of divider bottom supports. 
         FIG. 17B  is a top view of the divider bottom supports of  FIG. 17A . 
         FIG. 17C  is an end view of the divider bottom supports of  FIG. 17A . 
         FIG. 18A  is a top view of a divider support bracket. 
         FIG. 18B  is a front view of the divider support bracket of  FIG. 18A . 
         FIG. 19A  is a side view of a divider top support. 
         FIG. 19B  is an end view of the divider top support of  FIG. 19A . 
         FIG. 20  is an enlarged partial view of the divider top support in an installed position. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A dumpster  10 , shown in  FIG. 1 , includes a bottom or base wall  12 , a front wall  14 , side walls  16  and a rear wall  18  ( FIG. 2 ). The front wall  14 , rear wall  18 , and side walls  16  extend upwardly from a periphery of the base wall  12  to define a dumpster interior  20  ( FIG. 5 ). First  22  and second  24  lids are pivotally connected at the rear wall  18  of the dumpster and are independently movable between open and closed positions. 
     Pockets  26  are formed in each side wall  16 . The pockets  26  comprise a sleeve (schematically shown at  28  in  FIG. 1 ) and front  30  and rear  32  supports. The sleeves  28  are inserted (or, alternatively, insert-molded) into the front support  30  and rear support  32 . In  FIG. 1 , the sleeves  28  are shown in an uninstalled position for purposes of clarity. 
     The sleeves  28  could be formed of a material different from that of the rest of the dumpster  10 , or could be formed as one-piece with the dumpster from the same material. For example, the sleeves  28  could be metal, or the sleeves could be a higher-density polymer. The sleeves  28  also could be removable, such that damaged sleeves could be replaced. Snap-fit or other types of attachment methods could be used to attach the sleeves to the supports  30 ,  32 . Fork arms extending outwardly from a vehicle, such as a garbage or recycling truck for example, are inserted into the sleeves  28  to raise and lower the dumpster. 
     The front and rear supports  30 ,  32  are reinforced by upper gussets  34 . As shown in  FIGS. 2-4 , stacking posts  36  are formed below the front and rear supports  30 ,  32  and stacking recesses  38  ( FIG. 5 ) are formed along an upper edge of one of the walls of the dumpster  10 . The stacking recesses  38  are aligned with the stacking posts  36 . Stacking posts  36  of one dumpster  10  are received within stacking recesses  38  of another dumpster when the dumpsters are in a stacked relationship. This allows multiple dumpsters to be efficiently stored and transported between different locations. While the stacking posts  36  and recesses  38  are shown as being located along the side walls  16  of the dumpster, it should be understood that the posts and recesses could be located at other positions in addition to, or in place of, the posts and recesses as shown. 
     A hollow lip  40  extends around an upper edge of the periphery of the dumpster  10 , i.e. the hollow lip  40  extends about upper edges of the front  14 , rear  18 , and side  16  walls. The lip  40  extends outwardly of the front  14 , rear  18 , and side walls  16  to form an overhang. A hinge connection portion  42  ( FIG. 2 ) extends outwardly of a rear edge portion of the lip  40 . The lids  22 ,  24  are mounted on the dumpster  10  at the hinge connection portion  42  such that each lid  22 ,  24  can be moved independently of the other to close or open access to the dumpster interior  20  as needed. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 5 , recesses  44  are formed in an upper front edge of the hollow lip  40 . The recesses  44  allow a user&#39;s hand to more easily get under front edges of the lids  22 ,  24  in order to lift the lids to access the interior of the dumpster  10 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the dumpster  10  includes a divider  46  that separates the dumpster interior  20  into at least two different receptacle compartments  20   a ,  20   b . This allows trash and/or recycling to be pre-sorted prior to pick-up. For example, one compartment  20   a  could be used for trash while the other compartment  20   b  could be used for recycling materials such as glass, plastic, metal, paper, etc. Or, the dumpster could be used for recycling alone, with one compartment being used for glass and the other compartment being used for metal or plastic, for example. The divider  46  will be discussed in greater detail below. 
     When the dumpster  10  is being emptied, a garbage truck or recycling vehicle will insert forks or lift arms into the sleeves  28  to raise the dumpster upwardly and then the lift arms are rotated to turn the dumpster upside down such that the trash can be emptied into the truck. The dumpster  10  includes a locking assembly  50  that allows one of the lids  22 ,  24  to be locked while the other of the lids  22 ,  24  is unlocked. This allows one of the compartments  20   a  or  20   b  to remain closed while the contents of the other compartment  20   a  or  20   b  are emptied into the garbage truck or recycling vehicle.  FIG. 5  shows an example where lid  22  is held in the closed/locked position by locking assembly  50  while the lid  24  is open to provide access to the contents of compartment  20   b.    
     The lids  22 ,  24  are usually formed from a plastic material by a blow molding process. Typically, these lids are not robust enough to support the weight of the trash and/or recycling held in one of the compartments as the dumpster is turned upside down, while the other compartment is being emptied. As such, the subject lids  22 ,  24  each include a support frame  52  ( FIG. 6 ) that is installed within a body of the respective lid  22 ,  24 . The support frame  52  strengthens the lids  22 ,  24  such that when the dumpster is turned upside down, the locked lid can support the weight of the trash remaining in the locked compartment. The support frame  52  is shown in greater detail in  FIGS. 7A-7C  and  8 . 
     In one example, the support frame  52  is comprised of a metal structure including a pair of side support members  54  and a front support member  56  that is secured to forward ends of the side support members  54  with welding, fasteners, or with any other type of attachment method. A sleeve  58  is integrally formed with or separately mounted to the front support member  56 . The sleeve  58  forms part of the locking assembly  50 , which will be discussed in greater detail below. 
     In one example, each lid  22 ,  24  is drilled in six locations. Two holes  60  ( FIG. 6 ) are formed to receive the side support members  54  and the remaining four holes  62  are formed to receive fasteners to secure the support frame  52  to the lid  22 ,  24 . This is merely one example of attaching the support frame  52  to the lids, other attachment configurations could also be used depending on the size and shape of the lid. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the locking assembly  50  includes a lock frame  70  attached to the hollow lip  40  and a slider mechanism  72  that interacts with the sleeves  58  on the lids  22 ,  24 , and which is movable relative to the lock frame  70 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , the hollow lip  40  includes a forward wall  74 , a lower wall  76 , a rearward wall  78 , and an upper wall  80  that cooperate to define a hollow cavity  82  within the lip  40 . As shown in  FIGS. 10A-10C , the lock frame  70  includes a plate  84  that is mounted to the forward wall  74  of the lip  40  at a location between the recesses  44 . A plurality of flanges  86  extend outward of the plate  84  and include openings  88  that are aligned with one another to receive a bar  90 . In the example shown, three flanges  86  are used to support the bar  90 , two flanges at each end of the plate  84  and one flange in the middle of the plate  84 ; however, fewer or additional flanges could be utilized depending on the size of the dumpster. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 11A-11C  and  FIGS. 12-15 , the slide mechanism  72  includes a slide bar  92  that supports a handle  94 . One or more shift sleeves  96  are integrally formed with, or mounted to, the slide bar  92 . The shift sleeves  96  are aligned with one another and slidably receive the bar  90  of the lock frame  70 . As shown in  FIG. 12 , the bar  90  is attached to the lock frame  70  with at least one fastener  98 ; however, other attachment methods could also be used. 
     The shift sleeves  96  slide along the bar  90  to move the locking assembly  50  between first and second lock positions. The shift sleeves  96  also rotate relative to the bar  90  as the handle  94  is pivoted between a raised position ( FIG. 15 ) and a lowered position ( FIG. 11C ). The slide bar  92  is slid into the first lock position ( FIG. 13 ) which locks the first lid  22  in place, allowing the second lid  24  to be opened. When the slide bar  92  is slid into the second lock position, the bar  92  is moved to the right as indicated by arrow  100  in  FIG. 14  and slides out of sleeve  58  on lid  22  and slides into the sleeve  58  of lid  24  to lock lid  24  in place, which allows lid  22  to be opened. The shift sleeves  96  abut against the flanges  86  ( FIG. 13 ), which serve as stops, when moved into the first and second lock positions. When the slide bar  92  is in a middle or centrally located position, a third lock position is provided with one end of the slide bar  92  being received within the sleeve  58  of lid  22  and an opposite end of the slide bar  92  being received within sleeve  58  of lid  24 . In this position both lids  22 ,  24  are locked. 
     The divider  46  and apparatus for attaching the divider  46  within the dumpster  10  is shown in greater detail in  FIGS. 16-20 . The divider  46  is positioned to generally align with the split between the first  22  and second  24  lids. Two divider bottom supports  102  are mounted to the base wall  12  with a plurality of fasteners ( FIGS. 16 and 17B ). As shown in  FIG. 17C , each divider bottom support  102  has an L-shaped cross-section with a base leg  104  that lies generally flat with the base wall  12  and an upwardly extending leg  106 . The divider bottom supports  102  are mounted in the dumpster such that there is a slot  108  ( FIG. 17B ) formed between the upwardly extending legs  106 . A bottom edge of the divider  46  is then received within this slot  108 . Optionally, the bottom wall  12  of the dumpster  10  could be formed to have a molded slot to receive the bottom edge of the divider  46 . Further, as another option, the front  14  and rear  18  walls of the dumpster could have molded slots to receive edges of the divider  46 . 
     At least two divider support brackets  110  (only one is shown in  FIG. 16 ) are mounted to a mid-portion of the divider  46  to secure the divider to the dumpster  10 . In one example, one support bracket  110  is attached to the divider  46  and the rear wall  18  and one support bracket  110  is attached to the divider  46  and the front wall  14 . In another example, two support brackets  110  could be used at each of these locations. The support bracket  110  ( FIGS. 18A-18B ) comprises a 90 degree bracket having a first portion  112  fixed to the divider  46  and a second portion  114  that is fixed to the rear  18  or front  14  wall. The first  112  and second  114  portions are generally perpendicular to each other. Each portion includes at least one opening for a fastener attachment. While two brackets are shown, it should be understood that additional brackets could also be used if needed. 
     A divider top support  120  for the top edge of the divider  46  is shown in  FIGS. 19A-20 . The top support  120  includes a pair of attachment brackets  122  with a support body  124  extending between the brackets  122 . The support body  124  includes a groove  126  that receives the upper edge of the divider  46 . Each bracket  122  includes an upper first portion  128  that is fixed to the lip  40  and a lower second portion  130  that is fixed to the rear  18  or front  14  walls. The first  128  and second  130  portions are offset from each other due to the overhang of the lip  40  relative to the dumpster walls. Securing the divider  46  to the front  14  and rear  18  walls, as well as including a top support  120 , strengthens the structure of the dumpster. 
     In the illustrated embodiments, the dumpster  10 , apart from the lids  22 ,  24  and sleeves  28 , is rotomolded as a single piece. The lids  22 ,  24  and sleeves  28  are subsequently attached. Other manufacturing techniques could also conceivably be used instead or in addition to rotomolding. In one example, the lids  22 ,  24  are formed by using a blow molding process; however, the lids could be formed by using other methods, such as injection molding, for example. 
     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.