Abstract:
The present invention is an improved trash container having a plastic trash bag liner mounted on a tiltable shuttle having three sides so that, when the trash container door is opened, the shuttle can be tilted causing the full trash bag liner to be removable from the open panel of the shuttle without having to lift the full trash bag up and out of the container. The shuttle can also be mounted on a movable dolly so that periodically the entire shuttle and dolly can be removed from the container for cleaning purposes.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/086,692, filed on May 26, 1998. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The field of the invention is an improved trash container having a plastic trash bag liner with an improved means for supporting and removing the plastic trash bag liner. The trash container is typically used in public areas such as parks and fast-food restaurants. 
     2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     Trash containers are well known in the prior art and have a number of names such as trash cans, garbage cans, rubbage bins, and refuse containers. 
     Traditionally, trash containers are rectangular in shape, having an opening at their top to receive trash. A plastic trash bag liner is typically inserted within the trash container and supported within the trash container. Trash is deposited into the plastic trash bag liner and, once full, the bag must be lifted out of the trash container and replaced with a new plastic trash bag liner. The words “bag,” “bag liner” and “plastic trash bag” are interchangeable as used herein. 
     Bray, U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,921, issued on Jan. 17, 1995, discloses Refuse Containers. The Bray trash container has a front panel that opens forward and downwardly on a hinge at the bottom of the container. At the top of the front panel, a supporting frame holds a trash bag liner. To use the Bray trash container, the front panel is opened, a trash bag is loaded onto a supporting frame, the front panel is closed, and trash is loaded from the top. Once full, the front panel is leaned forward. Then, the trash bag is removed by lifting it up and through the supporting frame. The Bray trash container requires that the trash bag must be lifted out of the trash container. A full trash bag can weigh a significant amount and would be difficult to lift. This weight may cause the trash bag to tear under its own weight when lifted. In addition, a lifter may injure themselves while lifting the full trash bag. 
     Gladwin, U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,211, issued Apr. 10, 1973, discloses a trash compactor having a trash bag on a movable dolly, supported by a U-shaped bag support frame. However, to remove the trash bag liner, it is necessary to first unlatch a front door, remove the dolly from the trash compactor/container and then tilt the support frame on the movable dolly rearward back towards the trash compactor. It is thus not possible to remove the trash bag liner without first moving the dolly supporting the trash bag liner. Further, a complex tilting and latching system is used. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is a trash or refuse container having there within a U-shaped bag support frame shuttle that is hinged at its forward bottom edge so as to tilt forward, away from the container, to swing an attached trash bag liner forward from the shuttle&#39;s open side for easy removal of the liner by detaching it from the shuttle without having to lift the trash bag liner out of the trash bag support frame. 
     The exterior of the trash container is a closed rectangular box-like structure having a front door, a rear wall and two side walls. The front door swings open on a vertical hinge attached to the right side of the container. This front door is approximately the same height as the enclosed shuttle. Above and flush with the front door is a swinging door hinged from the front top edge of the trash container. Trash is inserted into the trash container through the swinging door. The swinging door also can swing forward to provide additional clearance when the shuttle is tipped forward. Alternatively, the swinging door can be held in a rearward position by placement of a magnet on the swinging door to magnetically attach to the top of the container, to be returned to its original position after removal of the trash. 
     When the front door is opened, the shuttle located in the trash container is exposed. The shuttle is a U-shaped box-like structure having a bottom panel, a back wall, a right wall, and a left wall. The shuttle has a supporting frame with four generally horizontal sections around the entire top edge of the shuttle to support a trash bag that would be folded over the supporting frame. The shuttle has no front wall or top panel. The shuttle fits within the trash container. 
     In one embodiment, the bottom front edge of the open end of the shuttle attaches to the inside front bottom edge of the container by a hinge. The hinge allows the shuttle to pivot forward. A lateral restraint runs from the back of the shuttle to the back interior of the rectangular box. The lateral restraint limits the distance the shuttle can be leaned forward. The lateral restraint is long enough to allow the entire supporting frame to be in front of the rectangular box when the shuttle is tilted forward. 
     A trash bag liner is inserted into the shuttle with the top of the bag folded over the top of the shuttle&#39;s supporting frame. The supporting frame and the shuttle holds and supports the trash bag there within. The top of the supporting frame fits as close as possible against the interior front wall of the container to prevent trash from falling outside the trash bag. 
     When the trash bag liner is full or ready to be emptied, the shuttle is tilted forward, causing the full bag to move forward, outward and downward through the open front portion of the shuttle. The trash bag liner is removed from the shuttle supporting frame and the full bag is disposed. The full trash bag is removed from the trash container without lifting the bag above the supporting frame. The present invention thus eliminates lifting of a full trash bag and eases unloading of a full trash bag liner from a container. 
     Thereafter, a new trash bag liner is then inserted into the shuttle and folded over the supporting frame. The shuttle is tilted back into the rectangular body and the front panel is closed. Once full, the trash container is again emptied as heretofore described. 
     An alternate embodiment of the present invention includes a movable dolly to support the shuttle. It has been found that, in addition to removing the bag liner on a regular basis, it is desirable to periodically clean the interior of the entire trash container. Thus, by placing the shuttle on a movable dolly, after removal of the full trash bag liner from the container, the shuttle and its dolly can be removed from the container providing full access to clean the interior of the container, as well as the shuttle and dolly. The alternate embodiment can easily be used to retrofit an older trash container to use the present invention. It requires only that a guide be added to the interior of an existing trash container. 
     Additionally, it may be desirable to have additional shuttles with more dollies than the number of trash containers. In this manner, it is possible to first remove a shuttle on a dolly having a full trash bag liner from a full container, second replace the shuttle with another shuttle having an empty trash bag liner, and third move the full shuttle or shuttles into another area for unloading the full trash bag or bags, and then reload these shuttles with empty trash bags. Each time this is done, a shuttle on a dolly with an empty trash bag is immediately placed into the container, thus providing continuous service for each said container. 
     The shuttle system can be adapted for use with most trash containers having a front door that opens regardless of the type of top that is used on the container. For example, the shuttle system can be used with trash containers having a swinging door at their top to receive trash. Another configuration might involve a frame having a roof that allows trash to be received from all sides. In addition, trash containers having an open top can be used with the shuttle system. The top of the trash container only needs to allow the trash container to have a front door that opens to allows the shuttle to lean forward, and the shuttle to be in close proximity to the side walls of the trash container. 
     It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a trash container using disposable trash bag liners that can be easily removed from the container without lifting the trash bag out of a frame. 
     It is another object of this invention to be able to easily remove the trash bag support to clean the inside of the container and the trash bag support. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide movable, interchangeable shuttles that can be removed from the trash container quickly and easily, replaced with a shuttle having an empty trash bag and remove the trash bags in another location. 
     It is another object of the present invention to be able to easily and inexpensively retrofit an existing trash container with the present invention. 
     It is an object of the present invention to have an inexpensive, easy to manufacture, and easy to use trash removal system. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of a typical trash container having a front door, shown in a closed position, and a swinging door above the front door for receiving the trash. 
     FIG. 2 is a front view of the trash container of FIG. 1 with the front door in an open position showing the hinged shuttle. 
     FIG. 3 is a view of the left side of the trash container of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a left side, cutaway view of the trash container with the front door in an open position, showing the shuttle in a tilted position and a full trash bag liner in phantom supported by a support frame. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the three-sided shuttle, the front open portion of the shuttle, the trash bag supporting frame and the horizontal hinge attached to the front portion of the shuttle. 
     FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of a trash container for an alternate embodiment of the present invention. Note, the numbers used in FIG. 6-9 will be the same, where applicable, as in the previous embodiment, but will use a prime indication. 
     FIG. 7 is a bottom view of a trash container also showing the bottom view of a dolly. 
     FIG. 8 is a partial front sectional view of the trash container of FIG. 6 showing a dolly frame without its shuttle. The section is made behind the hinge and, thus, the front plate and hinge of the dolly are not seen. 
     FIG. 9 shows a partial side view of the container of FIG. 6 with the shuttle in a tilted position showing the trash bag liner in a vertical position ready to be removed from the shuttle without lifting. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Trash container  10  includes a rectangular shaped box-like structure  50  and a U-shaped sheet metal support frame shuttle  21 . Container box  50  is a closed rectangular box having a front door  51 , a rear wall  52 , a right wall  53 , a left wall  54 , a top panel  55 , and a floor or bottom support  56  resting on a floor, the ground or other support surface, said bottom support may or may not be integral with box  50 . As to the latter, bottom support would be sufficiently heavy to support shuttle  21  in a tilted position. Walls  53  and  54  include interior supports  53 A and  54 A, respectively. A swinging door  57  is also located on the front wall of container  50 . Front door  51  extends upward from its lower end covering bottom support  56  to its upper end above the height of shuttle  21 . 
     The right edge  58  of front door  51  is attached by vertical hinge  23  to the front edge  59  of right wall  53 . Vertical hinge  23  allows front door  51  to open and close to allow access to the interior of container box  50  and shuttle  21 . Above front door  51  is a swinging door  57  which hangs from a top edge  20  of container box  50 . Swinging door  57  hangs vertically flush with front panel  51  and swings inward and outward on pivot  20 A. Door  57  can also have a magnet (not shown) on the inside face of door  57  which would attach to top panel  55  to hold said door  57  out of the way when removing shuttle  21 . This requires at least a portion of panel  55  to be of metal. 
     Trash (not shown) is inserted in trash container  10  through said swinging door  57 . Swinging door  57  swings rearward when trash is inserted and swings forward to provide extra clearance when shuttle  21  is tilted forward (see FIG.  4 ). 
     Shuttle  21 , FIG. 5, is a preferably U-shaped sheet metal bag support frame, having a bottom panel  30 , left panel  31 , right panel  32 , and rear panel  33 . Shuttle  21  can also be made of other materials, such as plastic or rubber. Said panels are permanently joined to each other or folded at their adjacent edges. Shuttle  21  will have a frontal opening, but does not require all left, right and rear panels. Shuttle  21  is less than the height of front door  51 . Four-sided bag support frame  60  is at the top of shuttle  21  having a front bar  61 , right bar  62 , rear bar  63 , and left bar  64 , wherein each bar attaches to the adjacent bars at their ends to form a frame. Supporting frame  60  is an integral part of shuttle  21  or is connected to shuttle  21  by adhesives or by overlaying the top edges of shuttle  21 , such that left bar  64  is attached to left panel  31 , rear bar  63  is attached to rear panel  33  and right bar  62  is attached to right panel  32 . Front bar  61  spans the open gap between the forward top edges of left panel  31  and right panel  32 . In use, a plastic trash bag liner  40  is placed through supporting frame  60  and the top edge of the plastic trash bag liner  40  is folded over bag support frame  60 , such that empty bag  40  drapes within shuttle  21 . Thus, bag support frame  60  and shuttle  21  hold, contain and support plastic trash bag liner  40 . 
     Shuttle  21  rests on and is supported on bottom support  56 . A horizontal hinge  24  is attached on one side  25  along the frontal edge of shuttle bottom panel  30  and the other side  26  along the upper frontal edge of bottom support  56 . Horizontal hinge  24  extends the approximate entire width of shuttle  21 . 
     Shuttle  21  is also connected to container box  50  by a lateral restraint chain  22  limiting the distance that shuttle  21  can lean or tilt forward. Lateral restraint  22  is long enough such that shuttle  21  leans forward at an angle so that supporting frame  60  is entirely forward of rectangular body  50  (see FIG.  4 ), in order to fully expose bag  40  for easy removal. Chain  22  is attached at one end to the rear wall  52  of container  10  and at its other end to a bracket  22 A on the rear of shuttle  21 . 
     Refuse container  10  is typically used by opening front panel  51  of container box  50 , tilting shuttle  21  forward, inserting an empty trash bag liner  40  through supporting frame  60  and within shuttle  21 , folding the top edges of trash bag liner  40  over the edges of supporting frame  60 , returning shuttle  21  to a horizontal, at rest position, and closing front panel  51 . When the trash container is to be emptied, the user opens front panel  51  once trash bag  40  is full, tilting shuttle  21  forward, allowing trash bag  40  to slide forward on bottom  30  to be suspended by supporting frame  60 , and removing trash bag  40  from supporting frame  60  thereby dropping it to the ground for disposal without ever having to lift plastic trash bag  40  through supporting frame  60 . 
     An alternate embodiment of the present invention places the shuttle on a mobile dolly. When referring to this alternate embodiment, the same numbering system will be used to indicate similar parts and pieces; however, where applicable, a prime number indication will be used, e.g., in the alternate embodiment, reference to container box will be  50 ′. 
     In this alternate embodiment shown in FIGS. 6-9, shuttle  21 ′ is attached to a movable dolly  70 . As in the previous embodiment, a trash bag liner  40  is supported by a bag support frame  60 . Shuttle  21 ′ and dolly  70  can be removed from container box  50 ′ to provide complete access to clean the inside of trash container  10 ′ or to clean shuttle  21  and its dolly  70 . 
     A guide  71  is located on the lower inside walls of container box  50 ′. The top of guide  71  is approximately 2⅝ inches above the ground level. Guide  71  is a continuous angled flange having three sections, located on the inside of container box  51 ′, a first section  71 A attached to right wall  53 ′ of container box  50 ′, a second section  71 B attached to rear wall  52 ′ and a third section  71 C attached to left wall  54 ′. The top of guide  71  is approximately the same height as the top of dolly  70 , providing an even, flat surface for supporting the bottom  30 ′ of shuttle  21 ′. There is approximately ⅛ inch clearance between guide  71  and dolly  70 . 
     Dolly  70  is made of sheet metal with three sides folded over, each forming a one inch lip perpendicular to the larger flat floor  70 A portion of dolly  70 . There is a front lip  72 , right lip  73  and left lip  74 . Rear side  75  of dolly  70  remains flat with no folded lip. These one inch lips  72 ,  73  and  74  are joined at their common ends providing structural rigidity to dolly  70 . 
     The bottom of dolly  70  includes four wheel assemblies,  76 ,  77 ,  78  and  79 . Each said wheel assembly includes a U-shaped bracket attached to the bottom of dolly  70  at one end and an axle at the other end supporting a wheel. Said wheels and brackets may be pivotable, either all of them or two of them. 
     As seen in FIG. 7, guide  71  includes two integral opposed latches,  80  and  81 , one on each side of said guide  71 , displaced different distances from the front of container  51 ′. Dolly  70  further includes a pivoted lever arm  82 , having a handle portion  83  at one end and a pivot  84  set back from the opposite end. Two rods  85  and  86  are pivotally connected to said arm  82  at pivot points  87  and  88 , which are equal distances from pivot  84 . Each rod extends laterally in opposite directions and generally perpendicular to arm  82 . Each rod  86  and  85  is held in place by slides  89  and  90 , respectively. Arm  82  is held in tension by spring  94  which is connected to a base  95  at one end and to arm  82  at its other end. Rod  85  extends outwardly through opening  91  of fold  73 , such that tip  85 A of rod  85  extends a sufficient distance to engage latch  81  preventing dolly  70  from moving towards the open end of container box  50 ′. Likewise, rod  86  extends outwardly through opening  92  of fold  74 , such that tip  86 A extends a sufficient distance to engage latch  80  preventing dolly  70  from moving towards the open end of container box  50 ′. Thus, in a rest position, spring  94  exerts tension on arm  82  causing rods  85  and  86  to remain in an extended position with tips  85 A and  86 A extended to engage latches  81  and  80 , such that dolly  70  cannot be removed from container  50 ′. 
     A flange  93  is attached to the rear portion of dolly  70  to engage the lower portion of guide  71 B to prevent the rear portion of dolly  70  from lifting and tilting upward when shuttle  21 ′ is tilted to remove the trash bag. 
     A slot  96  is in front fold  72  of dolly  70  providing an opening for arm  83  to extend through said fold  72 . Spring  94  is constructed and arranged to cause tension on lever arm  82 , such that rods  85  and  86  extend a sufficient distance through openings  91  and  92  to engage latches  80  and  81  when it is desired to remove dolly from container  50 ′, arm  82  is moved a sufficient distance towards wall  54 ′ to disengage rods  85  and  86  from contact with latches  80  and  81 , thus allowing dolly  70  to be moved or rolled out of container  50 ′. 
     In this alternate embodiment, trash can liner  40 ′ is placed within shuttle  21 ′ as in the prior embodiment. Said trash can liner is supported on frame  60  as in the prior embodiment. When the trash can liner  40 ′ becomes full and it is desirable to empty said liner, front door  51 ′ is opened fully and, as previously described in the prior embodiment, shuttle  21 ′ is tilted forward causing a sufficient distance in order that bag  40   will move forward along shuttle bottom  30 ′ through the opening of shuttle  21 ′ and extend out of shuttle  21 ′ a sufficient distance to clear said shuttle  21 ′ and approach or touch the ground surface outside container  50 ′. At this point, liner  40 ′ can be removed from frame  60  and the top of liner  40  can be tied in the typical manner which is outside the scope of this invention. As just described, it is not necessary to lift trash bag liner  40  out of shuttle  21 ′. As just described, shuttle  21 ′ tilts on its forward bottom edge at hinge  24 ′ where shuttle  21 ′ is connected to dolly  70  by said hinge  24 ′. Thereafter, a new bag  40 ′ would be placed, as before, on frame  60  either when shuttle  21 ′ is in the tilted position or in an upright position within container  50 ′. 
     In addition to emptying and replacing trash bag liner  40 ′, it is also possible to remove the entire shuttle and dolly from container  50 ′. This is done by first moving arm  82  by grasping handle  83  a sufficient distance toward side  54 ′ such that rods  85  and  86  are retracted a sufficient distance to clear latches  80  and  81 . While maintaining said rods  85  and  86  in a retracted position, dolly  70  can be pulled to remove dolly  70  and shuttle  21 ′ from their position within container  50 ′. Depending upon the height of shuttle  21 , door  57  may swing outward allowing sufficient clearance for shuttle  21 ′. After the interior of container  50 ′ is cleaned and/or the shuttle and dolly are cleaned, then dolly  70  and shuttle  21  can be returned to the position within container  50 ′. Latches  80  and  81  are constructed and arranged such that the angle of said latches  80  and  81  will cause rods  85  and  86 , now in an extended position, to retract until said rods clear the tips of latches  80  and  81 , and then said rods  85  and  86  will extend past said latches in order that dolly  70  cannot move out of trash bin  50 ′ until said rods  85  and  86  are retracted by moving arm  82  again. 
     Additionally, more dollies and shuttles can be used than containers  50  at a specific location such that a trash bag liner  40 ′ does not have to be removed from a shuttle  21  at the site of the trash container  51 ′. It would only be necessary to place a shuttle  21  with an empty bag  40 ′ within a trash bin  50  after the full bag  40  and shuttle  21  are removed. At such time, the full shuttle and bag  40  can be emptied at a remote location from the bin  51 ′.