Patent ID: 8875881

Claim:
A container for collecting sharps, said container comprising a body portion including an opening configured and dimensioned to receive sharps in a substantially vertical orientation, an interior region located beneath the opening for collecting sharps received through the opening, and a deflector pivotally mounted beneath the opening at a pivot member, the deflector being positioned to guide sharps between the opening and the interior region, said deflector comprising a first ramp surface and a second ramp surface, said first and second ramp surfaces being interconnected and fixed with respect to one another, said first and second ramp surfaces being arranged symmetrically beneath the opening and extending from a position proximal the opening toward the interior region of the container and diverging away from one another as the ramp surfaces extend into the container, the first ramp surface forming a first drop chute adapted to pass sharps from the opening and into the container, the second ramp surface forming a second drop chute adapted to pass sharps from the opening and into the container, each of said first and second ramp surfaces being positioned for engaging the sharps received through the opening such that the deflector pivots to facilitate reorientation of the sharps from the substantially vertical orientation to an arrangement in which the sharps are positioned substantially parallel to one another, wherein said first ramp surface has a concave face extending into the interior region of the body portion from the opening, such that engagement of the sharps with the concave face of the first ramp surface slows the vertical velocity of the sharps.