Patent Publication Number: US-3879079-A

Title: Solid waste container

Description:
D United States Patent 1191 1111 3,879,079  
 Nicholas Apr. 22, 1975 15 SOLID WASTE CONTAINER 1.250.365 12/1917 Seldcn 294/118 4 2 [76] inventor: William Nicholas, 1415 w. 1mm l -1 Chicago 60626 2.1961 16 4/1940 Johnson 3.328.066 6/1967 J0hnst0n..-..v 1972 3.560.039 2/1971 Grubcr 294/16 [2]] App]. No.: 270,582  
  Primary hmminer-James B. Marbert [52] U.S. Cl. 294/118; 294/19 R Assistant E.\&#39;aminer--Johnny D. Cherry [51] Int. Cl. A47f 13/06 [58] Field of Search 294/1 R. l6. 19 R. 50.8  
 294/509, 26.5, 55. 118; 15/104.8 257.1. [57] ABSTRACT 119/] R ASPIIQ waste removmg and carrymgeontamer cempr1s1ng&#39; lever connected adhesive res1stant contamer [56] References Cited sections. each pivotallyimovable remotely by hand and easy to keep container clean without hand cleaning. UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 906.626 12/1908 Hensley 56/333 11 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PATENTEUAPRZZISIS 3879, 079 sum 2 l3 3 SOLID WASTE CONTAINER SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an article of manufacture for use by individuals in reducing the solid waste contamination and nuisance of park areas. gardens. lawns. sidewalks. stores and curbs committed by pets.  
  It has been increasingly evident that with the increase in population and particularly the increase in population density in cities and suburban areas. the problem of pet contamination and nuisance is becoming acute. In many cities it has become increasingly more difficult for pedestrians to walk or traverse on areas without stepping into and tracking pet contamination into stores. autos. offices. homes and public places. There is danger in that the waste material is slippery and can induce falls by the unsuspecting walker possibly causing injury. In addition. these deposits.. when committed and allowed to age on laws and park areas. tend to destroy the grass and foliage underneath as the chemicals in the waste material become highly concentrated and tend to burn out grass and foliage. The worst and possibly most devastating problem of the hugh amounts of the pet contamination in the aggregate is that chemicals and disease germs in waste material deposited in human living areas runs off with the rains into the soil or into storm drains. Thus the huge amount of the contamination into the water shed ultimately could have a marked effect on the quality of our diminishing supply of drinking water. increase the susceptibility of people to diseases. and as a definite factor in contributing to ecological difficulties.  
  The prob em has become so acute that in some cities and suburban areas laws have been passed and are now being acted upon to make pet owners and walkers responsible for removing and disposing of pet wastes deposited by pcts. This is a very disagreeable job for a pet walker. Responsible pet walkers walk their pet with pan or box and small broom in hand. When the waste is committed by the pet. the pet walker has the most disagreeable task of scrapping up the waste and disposing of it. This could be throwing it into a garbage can, storm sewer. toilet. or on his own property. He then has an additional disagreeable job to clean up the container and broom or shovel. The best and proper disposition of this waste is through the sanitary sewer disposal system as this is, at present. the only effective control&#39;by communities. Other means of disposal reduce the nuisance, but create new problems of solid waste removal.  
  This invention addresses itself particularly to an article which will make it easier and more agreeable for the pet owner or walker to collect the solid waste of pets, dispose of the waste through the regular sewage system (flushing toilets) and simultaneously cleaning the container. In addition, with the proper use of this article, when the waste material is actually picked up, the waste material is screened from view of the pet owner or walker or other persons nearby. Thus, the carrying of the waste to a proper sewage disposal will not be disagreeable to the walker and to others and will thereby induce proper disposal of pet wastes.  
  The advantages of the invention will be seen more clearly by reference to the drawings in which:  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section. of the article in closed position containing solid pet waste,  
 with phantom position of pusher cover in open position: I  
  FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section. of the article in open position ready to receive some solid pet waste:  
  FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of FIG. 1, showing the article in unlocked position;  
  FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of FIG. 1, showing the article in locked position:  
  FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 3 along the lines 55 showing the construction of the handles and handle locking system.  
  FIG. 6 is a top elevational view of the main container element of the article;  
  FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of the main container element of the article;  
  FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 7 along the lines 8-8 showing construction of the main container element of the article;  
  FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the pusher-cover plate of the article:  
  FIG. 10 is a front elevational view of the pushercover plate of the article:  
  FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary cross section of a portion of the main container element or pushercover plate;  
  FIG. 12 is a view of the article as immersed in toilet for proper disposal of pet waste material;  
  FIG. I3 is an enlarged cross section of FIG. 3 along the lines 5--5 showing construction of an alternate locking pin; and  
  FIG. 14 is an elevational side view of FIG. 13 showing operation of the locking pin.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 5, waste device assembly 2 consists of main container 4 which is riveted to carrying post 6 which is flattened out at upper portion into main handle 8. Locking pin 10 is firmly riveted to handle 8. Locking pin hole 12 in cover plate handle 17 will register opposite to locking pin 10 when cover plate post 14, which has cover plate 16 riveted to the end of cover plate post 14, is in closed position as shown in FIG. 1. Cover plate post 14 pivots at pivot pin 18 with respect to carrying post 6. Cover plate post 14 angular motion is restricted in closed position by container stop 20 in main container 4 as in FIG. 1 and in open position by pivot stop 22 as in FIG. 2. Cover plate tip 24 and cover plate notch 25 is radially aligned with the bottom curve of main container fingers 26 by virtue of being at the same radius from pivot pin 18. In operation of the device (locking pin 10 is disengaged). cover plate post 14 is moved to open position as in FIG. 2, carrying post 6 is inclined by handle 8 so that waste 28 is in the proper path of cover plate 16. cover plate handle 17 is then moved so that cover plate 16 will move waste 28 into main container 4 and then into main container recess 30. Main container recess 30 will hold waste 28 in main container 4 as it is rocked back and forth in moving additional waste 28 into main container 4. When all waste 28 is moved into main container 4, cover handle 17 is moved to closed position as in FIGG. I. Just prior to reaching closed position.  
  locking pin hole I2 will register with locking pin 10. at I that time main handle 8 and cover plate handle I7 are moved together as in FIG. 4 and cover plate handle 17 moved so that locking pin hole I2 is slightly eccentric to locking pin I0. The spring action of carry post 6 and cover plate post I4 will keep the cover plate 16 in closed position as in FIG. I and prevent waste from falling out of the container and will screen the waste from direct view. At this time the device can be carried in the hand of the user until the waste 28 is disposed of.  
  Referring now to FIGS. 6 through 8, there is shown therein views of the main container 4. As shown in this construction. the container is formed of sheet metal into the shape as shown. Venting holes 32 are randomly placed throughout the container to insure adequate water flushing when immersed in toilet bowl 34.  
  Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 10. cover plate 16 also has venting holes 32. Cover plate tip 24 registers as close as possible with main container fingers 26 with minimum clearance all around. A most important fac tor in the invention is that both main container 4 and cover plate 16 are completely covered inside and out with an adhesive resisting coating such as teflon as shown in FIG. 11 in which base metal 36 is covered by teflon 38. This coating resists adherence of any material and when water is flushed as shown in toilet 34 as in FIG. 12 with cover plate 16 in open position. waste 28 will be flushed down the drain and the container 4 and cover plate 16 will be completely clean of waste material 28, without hand cleaning. In addition. the main container and cover plate can be sprayed or coated with the adhesive resisting material such as silicone. to increase the adhesive resistant effect of the tef- Ion coating. After placing waste device assembly 2 into flushing toilet 34 as shown in FIG. 12, the device can be removed and placed in a locked position to be carried and used again.  
  FIG. 13 shows an alternate construction of a stop with plunger pin 38 inserted into locking pin hole 12 anywhere on cover plate post 14 plunger pin is slidable is plunger housing 40 and is normally. urged into engagement by plunger spring 42. Plunger spring 42 is assembled and retained in plunger housing 40 by spring retainer 46. When disengaging lock. plunger pin 38 is retracted by grasping plunger knob 48 and pulled out. If lock is desired to be temporarily inoperative while collecting waste 28, plunger knob 48 is pulled out of engagement and turned slightly as shown in FIG. 14 so that knob recess 50 rests on top of housing retainer detent 52. Lock is placed back into operation when plunger knob is returned to original position as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14.  
  While the drawings show separate pieces for main container 4 and cover plate 16, both being riveted to tubing. an alternate construction is to make the main container and carrying post out of one piece of material and still coat the main container section with teflon. The cover plate 16 and cover plate post 14 can also be made out of one piece of material coating the lower section with teflon.  
  The advantages of this device are obvious in that the person using the device finds that he is carrying a clean article for removing pet waste in which the waste is removed from a surface rapidly and screened from direct view afterward, the carrying container being readily inserted into a toilet bowl for flushing out the solid waste through the proper sewage disposal system and the adhesive resisting coating on the container allows the flushing action of the water in the toilet to clean the carrying container without disagreeable hand cleaning.  
 These advantages will make it easier for pet walkers to do their part for the ecology and in keeping areas free of contamination.  
 I claim:  
 I. A solid waste removing and carrying container comprising:  
 a pair of first and second elongated upright members spaced laterally from one another and pivotally connected intermediate their ends to one another to provide a scissorlike fore and aft movement with respect to one another.  
 said first member being a container member having an upper end container handle and an intermediate generally straight and vertically extending elongated container post and a lower container bowl having a generally vertically extending forward facing opening for receiving waste.  
 said bowl having a substantially flat bottom defining in part said opening to facilitate entry of the ground waste into the container.  
 said second member being a cover member and having an upper end cover plate handle and an intermediate generally vertically extending elongated cover post and a generally vertically and transversely extending lower cover plate releasably engageable with said bowl opening for completely encasing waste stored in said bowl with said container post being substantially laterally offset from said cover post and said cover plate being in substantially fore and aft alignment with said container bowl opening.  
 said plate having a substantially flat edge to conform and cooperate with said bowl bottom in sweeping the waste on the ground into the container and encasing the waste.  
 each of said posts having pivot means coupling said posts together in cross-over fashion for fore and aft independent movement of one post with respect to the other whereby in the open position said posts form an x shape and in the closed bowl position said posts are in generally vertical alignment with one another,  
 said container post being substantially laterally offset from the center of the bowl in one direction and said cover post being substantially laterally offset from the center of the cover plate in the opposite direction generally 80 from said one direction in overlapping relation of the bowl by the cover plate to provide for fore and aft closure alignment of the cover plate with said bowl. and  
 stop means on each container member and cover plate limiting the amount of fore and aft separation of the cover plate from the bowl in the open position.  
 2. The invention according to claim I, and  
 said stop means includes a stop abutment on one post and a stop abutment receiving surface on the other post engagingly receiving said stop abutment.  
 3. The invention according to claim 1, and  
 said cover post having an offset portion intermediate its upper and lower portions offsetting the lower cover post position and cover plate forwardly of the lower container post portion and bowl in the closed position of the container.  
 4. The invention according to claim 3, and  
 said offset portion extending generally horizontally and having a rear portion.  
 said pivot means coupling said rear portion with said container post.  
 5. The invention according to claim 1. and  
 said bowl having a base having an outer end portion forming part of said bowl opening and including generally horizontally positioned fingers extending toward said cover plate.  
 6. The invention according to claim 5. and  
 said cover plate having a lower edge being undulated presenting notches complementally interlacing with the fingers in the closed position of the container.  
 7. The invention according to claim 1. and  
 lock means on each of said handles locking said handles together in the closed position of the container.  
 8. The invention according to claim 1, and  
 said container bowl and cover plate each having antiadhesive surfacing preventing the clinging of any material to such surfacing.  
 9. The invention according to claim 8, and  
 said surfacing being composed of teflon.  
 10. The invention according to claim 1., and  
 lock means on each of said handles locking said handles together in the closed position of the consaid lock means on said one handle including a spring loaded plunger biased to the outwardly extending pin position and said other handle having an aperture for. receiving said pin, and  
 means on said bias pin retracting said pin inwardly of said one handle whereby said pin is pulled out of engagement so that said plunger is released from I said aperture so that one handle may move relative to the other handle.