Patent Publication Number: US-7906921-B2

Title: Induction actuated container

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The present invention relates to a container, and more particularly to an induction actuated container comprising a door panel which can be swung open through a sideward movement thereof for minimizing an accessible-height restriction of the container. 
     2. Description of Related Arts 
     A conventional container, such as an automatic trash can, usually comprises a container body having a storage cavity, a cover seat having a trash opening provided on top of the container body, and an automated actuation system typically comprising an actuation unit and a cover panel operatively communicated with the actuation unit for being moved between an opened position and a closed position, wherein in the opened position, the cover panel is pivotally and upwardly moved to expose the trash opening to an exterior of the container so as to allow a user to dispose trash into the storage cavity, wherein in the closed position, the cover panel is pivotally and downwardly moved to completely cover the trash opening so as to block access between the storage cavity and an exterior thereof. The actuation unit usually comprises a power device, such as a motor operatively connected to the cover panel, and a sensor positioned on the cover seat in such a manner that when the sensor detects an object or a physical movement above the cover seat, the sensor will send a signal to actuate the power device for moving the cover panel from the closed position to the opened position. 
     This kind of conventional container suffers from a number of disadvantages. First, in order to move from the closed position to the opened position, the cover panel is usually designed to be moved pivotally and upwardly from the cover seat. This requires substantial space right above the cover seat for it to be pivotally and upwardly driven for allowing exposure of the trash opening. In other words, the conventional container cannot be stored in a compartment having a height less than that of the container when the cover panel is at the opened position. This requirement substantially reduces the number of suitable places available for storing such a conventional container. 
     Second, since the cover panel is required to move from the closed position to the opened position by the pivotal upward movement, the user must allow the cover panel to have moved upwardly before he or she can dispose the trash into the storage cavity. This impart substantial inconvenience to the user in that he or she has to hold the trash (at a distance from the cover seat) and wait the cover panel to complete the upward pivotal movement every time he or she wishes to dispose the trash into the storage cavity. 
     Third, the majority of automatic trash cans described above are pre-programmed to allow opening of the trash opening for a predetermined period of time. In other words, the storage cavity will only be opened for receiving trash for a predetermined and limited period of time and the cover panel will be driven to move back to the closed position when that predetermined period of time lapses. Thus, there is no way for the user to adjust that predetermined period of time in order to allow the cover panel to stay at the opened position for an extended or an optimal period of time. This also impart substantial inconvenience to the user, especially when he or she is doing something (such as cleaning his or her house) which requires that the trash opening to be opened for an extended period of time. Whenever the cover panel has moved back to the closed position, the user has to restart the sensing process and wait for the cover panel to be driven to move to the opened position again. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     A main object of the present invention is to provide an induction actuated container comprising a door panel which can be promptly and conveniently swung open through a sideward movement thereof for minimizing an accessible-height restriction of the container. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide an induction actuated container comprising an induction actuation arrangement for controlling a swinging movement of the door panel, wherein the door panel will remain open when the induction actuation arrangement is continuously detecting the presence of a user within a detection area. In other words, it is possible for the user to get an extended period of opening period of the door panel. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide an induction actuated container which can be embodied as a wide variety of container types so that the present invention manufactured for different purposes and can be used in a wide variety of circumstances. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide an induction actuated container which does not involve complicated and expensive mechanical or electrical components so as to minimize the manufacturing cost of the present invention. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide an induction actuated container which is easy and convenient to use so as to facilitate a widespread application of the present invention. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide an induction actuated container which comprises a door panel arranged to swing sidewardly for opening and closing a container cavity so as to minimize the electrical energy necessary for operating the door panel. Specifically, the present invention does not require that portion of electrical energy which is used to overcome a gravitational force of an otherwise upwardly moving door panel as equipped in a conventional container. 
     Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a container, comprising: 
     a container body having a container cavity and a top opening communicating with the container cavity; and 
     a container cover which comprises: 
     a cover seat being sat at the top opening of the container body, wherein the cover seat has an accessing window communicating with the container cavity; 
     a door panel pivotally coupling with the cover seat to move between a closed position and an opened position, wherein at the closed position, the door panel is retained to cover the accessing window to enclose the container cavity of the container body, and at the opened position, the door panel is pivotally and sidewardly swung to expose the accessing window for communicating with the container cavity so as to minimize an accessible-height restriction of the container cover for the door panel to be actuated; and 
     an induction actuation arrangement which comprises an induction unit supported by the cover seat for detecting a presence of an object approaching the cover seat within a detection area of the induction unit, and an actuation unit driving the door panel between the closed position and the opened position. 
     These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a first perspective view of a container according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is first schematic view of the container according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is second schematic view of the container according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a first sectional side view of the container according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a first exploded perspective view of the container according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6A  and  FIG. 6B  are second schematic views of the container according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a second exploded perspective view of the container according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a third schematic view of the container according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a second sectional side view of the container according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a method of controlling an operation of the container cover according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  is a first schematic diagram of an alternative mode of the container cover according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 12  is a second schematic diagram of an alternative mode of the container cover according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 13  is a third schematic diagram of an alternative mode of the container cover according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view of the container cover according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 15  is a fourth schematic diagram of an alternative mode of the container cover according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 16  is a fifth schematic diagram of an alternative mode of the container cover according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 17  is a sixth schematic diagram of an alternative mode of the container cover according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 18  is a seventh schematic diagram of an alternative mode of the container cover according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 19A  and  FIG. 19B  are eighth and ninth schematic diagrams of an alternative mode of the container cover according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 5 ,  FIG. 6A ,  FIG. 6B , and  FIG. 7  to  FIG. 9  of the drawings, a container according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, in which the container comprises a container body  1 , and a container cover  20 . The container is for storing trash or light personal accessories and is suitable for use in a wide variety of circumstances, such as a typical domestic environment. 
     The container body  1  has a container cavity  11  and a top opening  12  communicating with the container cavity  11 . 
     The container cover  20  comprises a cover seat  2 , a door panel  26  and an induction actuation arrangement  24 . The cover seat  2  is sat at the top opening  12  of the container body  1 , wherein the cover seat  2  has a surrounding rim  211  and an accessing window  21  defined by the surrounding rim  211  for communicating with the container cavity  11 . 
     The door panel  26  is pivotally coupling with the cover seat  2  to move between a closed position and an opened position, wherein at the closed position, the door panel  26  is retained to cover the accessing window  21  to enclose the container cavity  11  of the container body  1 , and at the opened position, the door panel  26  is pivotally and sidewardly swung to expose the accessing window  21  for communicating with the container cavity  11  so as to minimize an accessible-height restriction of the container cover  20  for the door panel  26  to be actuated. 
     The induction actuation arrangement  24  comprises an induction unit  233  supported by the surrounding rim  211  of the cover seat  2  for detecting a presence of an object approaching the cover seat  2  within a detection area of the induction unit  231 , and an actuation unit  232  driving the door panel  26  between the closed position and the opened position. 
     According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the container body  1  has a predetermined cross section and depth for storing the trash or the personal accessories within the container cavity  11 . The container body  1  has a curved cross section forming an indention at a rear portion thereof, wherein the indention is sized and shaped to fittedly engage with the container cover  20 . In other words, the container body  1  further has a rear compartment  13  indently formed at a rear wall  14  of the container body  1  at the top opening  12  thereof to separate the rear compartment  13  from the container cavity  11  via the rear wall  14 , wherein the container cover  20  is supported in the rear compartment  13  of the container body  1  when the container cover  20  is sat at the container body  1 . 
     On the other hand, the door panel  26  of the container cover  20  comprises two swinging doors  22  pivotally coupling with the cover seat  2  at the accessing window  21 , wherein at the closed position, the swinging doors  22  are pivotally and concurrently slid towards each other to enclose the accessing window  21  and at the opened position, the swinging doors  22  are pivotally and concurrently slid away from each other to expose the accessing window  21  so that a user may dispose thrash or personal accessories to the container cavity  11  via the accessing window  21 . Alternatively, the user is also able to retrieve the personal accessories from the accessing window  21  when the swinging doors  22  are pivotally and outwardly slid to expose the accessing window  21  to an exterior of the container. Each of the swinging doors  22  preferably has a semi-circular shape and an outer curved edge  2211  and an inner longitudinal edge  2212  that when the swinging doors  22  are pivotally slid to enclose the accessing window  21 , the inner longitudinal edges  2212  of the swinging doors  22  are biased against each other in a side-by-side manner so as to completely enclose the accessing window  21  for blocking entry to the container cavity  11  from an exterior of the container. 
     Moreover, the cover seat  2  further comprises a retention rim  212  protruded around the accessing window  21  to restrict the swinging doors  22  sliding between the closed position and the opened position, wherein at the closed position, the outer curved edges  2211  of the swinging doors  22  are blocked by the retention rim  212  to ensure the accessing window  21  being enclosed by the swinging doors  22 , and at the opened position, the inner longitudinal edges  2212  of the swinging doors  22  are blocked by the retention rim  212  for preventing a further outward sliding movement of each of the swinging doors  22 . 
     Each of the swinging doors  22  has a blocking shoulder  2213  provided at the inner longitudinal edge  2212  thereof to define a guiding edge portion positioned above the retention rim  212  and a blocking edge portion positioned below the retention rim  212 , wherein each of the swinging doors  22  is pivotally swung until the blocking shoulder  2213  of the swinging door is blocked by the retention rim  212 . Moreover, In order to prevent excessive noise being produced by the present invention when the swinging doors  22  move from the closed position to the opened position, the cover seat  2  further comprises a plurality of vibration absorption elements  224  provided on the cover seat  2  to align with the blocking shoulder  2213  in such a manner that when the swinging doors  22  is moved from the opened position to the closed position, the blocking shoulders  2213  is arranged to bias against the vibration absorption elements  224  respectively so as to minimize the noise produced by the impact between the blocking shoulder  2213  and the retention rim  212  when the swinging doors  22  are at the closed position. 
     As shown in  FIG. 14  of the drawings, the cover seat  2  further has a plurality of pivot slots  27  formed on thereon, wherein each of the pivot slots  27  has a mid-circular portion  271  and at least one radially extending portion  272  radially extended therefrom. Accordingly, each of the swinging doors  22  further comprises a pivot pin  222  having a central portion  2221  and a transversely extending portion  2222  radially extended from the central portion  2221 , wherein each of the pivot pins  222  is arranged to fittedly inserted into the corresponding pivot slots  27  so that when the pivot pins  222  are driven to rotate, the pivot pins  222  are arranged to effectively drive the swinging doors  22  to swing sidewardly. 
     The cover seat  20  further comprises a rear actuation housing  23  receiving the induction actuation arrangement  24  in a hidden manner to protect the operation of the induction actuation arrangement  24 . More specifically, the induction unit  233  of the induction actuation arrangement  24  comprises an induction sensor  4  upwardly protruded from the cover seat  20 , and a control circuitry  2312  which is concealed in the rear actuation housing  23  to electrically couple with the induction sensor  4  and is arranged to control the door panel  26  via the actuation unit  232 , wherein the door panel  26  is swung to the opened position when the induction sensor  4  detects a presence of the object within the detection area, and the door panel  26  is swung back to the closed position after the object is left from the detection area. It is worth mentioning that the rear actuation housing  23  has an engagement surface  231  fittedly engaged with the rear wall  14  of the container body  1 . 
     As a result, the actuation unit  232  comprises a motor device  2321  having an output terminal driving the door panel  26  between the closed position and the opened position via a driving shaft  221 , and a power supply  2322  electrically coupling with the induction unit  233  to actuate the motor device  2321  for driving the swinging doors  22  to move between the closed position and the opened position. Preferably, the actuation unit  232  further comprises a gear unit  31  operatively connected between the motor device  2321  and the driving shaft  221  so as to optimally control the rotational speed of the driving shaft  221  so as to control the speed of the swinging movement of the door panel  26  when it is moved from the closed position to the opened position or vice versa. 
     Referring to  FIG. 15  to  FIG. 18 ,  FIG. 19A  and  FIG. 19B  of the drawings, it is worth mentioning that as the alternative mode of the present invention, the induction sensor  4  can be pivotally moved so as to be adjustable for allowing the induction sensor  4  to sense the presence of the user at a distance or from an elevated height with respective to the container body  1 . Thus, the induction sensor  4  can be mounted in a sensor housing  41  which is pivotally connected to the container cover  20  for allowing the induction sensor  4  to be pivotally adjustable so as to sense objects of varying heights. 
     Referring to  FIG. 10  of the drawings, a method of controlling an operation of an induction actuated container cover  20  for a container body  1  having a container cavity  11 , wherein the method comprises the steps of: 
     (a) normally retaining a door panel  26  of the container cover  20  in a closed position to enclose the container cavity  11  of the container body  1 ; 
     (b) detecting a presence of an object approaching the container cover within a detection area; 
     (c) generating a first actuating signal to an actuation unit  232 ; 
     (d) generating an actuation output from the actuation unit  232  to the door panel  26 ; 
     (e) pivotally and sidewardly swinging the door panel  26  at an opened position to expose the container cavity  11  to minimize an accessible-height restriction of the container cover  20  for the door panel  26  to be actuated; and 
     (f) generating a second actuating signal to pivotally swing the door panel  26  back to the closed position once the object is left from the detection area. 
     According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, step (e) further comprises a step of pivotally and concurrently sliding two swinging doors  22  of the door panel  26  away from each other to expose the container cavity  11 , wherein each of the swinging doors  22 , having a semi-circular shape, has an outer curved edge  2211  and an inner longitudinal edge  2212  that when the swinging doors  22  are pivotally slid to enclose the container cavity  11 , the inner longitudinal edges  2212  of the swinging doors  22  are biased against each other in a side-by-side manner. 
     Moreover, as described above, the swinging doors  22  of the door panel  26  are guided to swing between the opened position and the closed position via a retention rim  212 , wherein at the closed position, the outer curved edges  2211  of the swinging doors  22  are blocked by the retention rim  212  to ensure the container cavity  11  being enclosed by the swinging doors  22 , and at the opened position, the inner longitudinal edges  2212  of the swinging doors  22  are blocked by the retention rim  212  for preventing a further outward sliding movement of each of the swinging doors  22 . 
     As an alternative of the present invention, as shown in  FIG. 11  to  FIG. 13  of the drawings, the container body  1  of the present invention can be embodied as having a substantial height so as to form a trash can. 
     One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting. 
     It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. The embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.