Waste container assembly
A waste container having an exterior box-shaped frame having an open top, two front compartments defined therein, and a rearward compartment defined therein. Each of the two front compartments are designed to house interior containment units which are inserted into each of the two front compartments, whereby food waste may be disposed of in one compartment, and plastics, paper and tissue products disposed of in another compartment. Cardboard products may be disposed of in the rearward compartment. Lids are affixed to an upper surface of the exterior frame for covering the two front compartments, and can each be separately opened by a foot pedal assembly. Rear portions of the lids are angled, so that when any of the lids is in an opened position, it will not interfere or block the placement or storage of any cardboard type material in the rearward compartment. The foot pedal assembly, which includes a lift arm mechanism, is angled to extend upwardly from a front of the exterior frame to a rear of the exterior frame so as to permit additional leverage in opening the lids farther to assist in use of the waste container.
The present invention relates to a waste container receptacle and assembly, and, more specifically, a waste container receptacle and assembly having multiple hygienic compartments for the disposal of differing types of waste products.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ARTWaste containers are commonly used in residential refuse collection systems. Waste containers of this type generally have a well known construction comprising an open top container for receiving the refuse and a lid for closing the top of the container. The lid is typically hingedly mounted to a portion of the container, often to a handle mounted on the container. Canadian Patent No. 2,072,292 is an example of such a device. Further, waste containers of the type which have a cover hinged to a base container portion the operation of a foot pedal to rotate the cover on the hinge are also well known in the art. Typical of such containers are those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,972,966; 4,865,214 and 4,785,964. These particular containers are all of the type which require two separate foot operations, that is, one depression of the pedal is required to open the container followed by a second depression of the pedal to close the container.
However, waste containers of the above-noted types do not provide for a waste container having separate compartments for the hygienic storing and disposal of each type of waste product, whereby food waste may be disposed of in one compartment, plastics, paper and tissue products in another compartment, and cardboard products may be disposed in a still further compartment. Accordingly, with today's growing need for essential separation of food by-products and non-perishable products that are not bio-degradable, there is a need to provide an environmentally friendly waste container whereby waste products can be easily separated from each other for storage and disposal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention seeks to overcome the above-noted problem by providing an improved waste container which is hygienic, easy to use, and whereby food waste may be disposed of in one compartment, plastics, paper and tissue products in another compartment, and cardboard products may be disposed in a still further compartment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved, environmentally friendly waste container which allows for essential separation and disposal of food by-products and non-perishable products that are not bio-degradable.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a waste container, said waste container comprising an exterior frame portion, the exterior frame having an open top and defining therein at least two front compartments and a rearward compartment; at least two interior containment units, the at least two interior containment units being placed within the least two front compartments of the exterior frame; at least two lids for covering the open top of the at least two front compartments, the at least two lids being affixed to an upper surface of the exterior frame; and a foot pedal assembly for opening and closing the lids, the foot pedal assembly being placed within the exterior frame and being connected at an upper end to an underside of the lids, wherein a bottom portion of the foot pedal assembly extends outwardly from the exterior frame whereby a user can activate the foot pedal assembly to open and close the lids.
The advantage of the present invention is that it provides a simple and effective waste container which is hygienic, easy to use, and whereby food waste may be disposed of in one compartment, plastics, paper and tissue products in another compartment, and cardboard products may be disposed in a still further compartment.
A further advantage of the present invention is that it provides an an improved, environmentally friendly waste container which allows for essential separation and disposal of food by-products and non-perishable products that are not bio-degradable.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSA preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
In the preferred embodiment, and as shown in
Preferably, the first opening 5 and the second opening 7 in the exterior frame 3 are placed side by side, and are separated from one another by a separation piece 11 (as seen in
Interior containment units 13,15 in
Interior containment units 13,15 also feature a finger pull tab 23 on each unit, which is preferably molded directly into the containment unit on an exterior side of the interior containment unit, so as to permit easy removal and insertion of the containment unit. In a preferred embodiment, the finger pull tab 23 is positioned so as to be centered in the middle side portion of the containment unit, as seen in
The exterior frame 3 also defines a containment unit 9 therein, at a rear portion of the exterior frame 3, as can be seen with reference to
The first opening 5 and second opening 7 on the exterior frame 3 are to be covered with two separate lids 25,27, which work independently of one another, so as to prevent experiencing the odour of any food disposed of in one of the compartments, as previously described herein. Each rear section of each of the lids 25,27 will be angular in shape, as seen with reference to
With reference to
Each of the lids will be able to be separately and independently opened by a foot pedal 33,35, which is positioned at a front section of a bottom portion of the exterior frame 3, as can be seen in
Preferably, each of the foot pedals 33,35 are made of metal or plastic, and have a foot pad covering (not shown) having ridges affixed to an upper surface of the pedal, to enable better manipulation of the pedal when depressed by a bare or covered foot. Each of the foot pedals will, in a preferred embodiment, extend further than conventional foot pedals and shall have 2 inches in length protruding beyond the exterior frame 3. The foot pedals 33,35 are each affixed, at a rear portion of the pedals, to a foot pedal assembly, which connects the foot pedals to each of the lids, and which will be hereinafter described.
As noted above, at a rear of the foot pedals 33,35, the foot pedals are each hingedly affixed to a lift arm mechanism 41 (see “40”
In placing the foot pedal assembly within the exterior frame, the foot pedal assembly should preferably each be positioned closest to the middle right and middle left of the front surface of the exterior frame 3, as can be seen in
The present invention has been described herein with regard to preferred embodiments. However, it will be obvious to persons skilled in the art that a number of variations and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as described herein.
Claims
1. A waste container, said waste container comprising:
- an exterior frame portion, the exterior frame having an open top and defining therein at least two front compartments and a rearward compartment;
- at least two interior containment units, the at least two interior containment units being placed within the least two front compartments of the exterior frame;
- at least two lids for covering the open top of the at least two front compartments, the at least two lids being affixed to an upper surface of the exterior frame; and
- a foot pedal assembly for opening and closing the lids, the foot pedal assembly being placed within the exterior frame and being connected at an upper end to an underside of the lids, wherein a bottom portion of the foot pedal assembly extends outwardly from the exterior frame whereby a user can activate the foot pedal assembly to open and close the lids.
2. The waste container of claim 1, wherein the at least two front compartments are separated by a separation piece, the separation piece being placed on an upper end of the exterior frame portion, so as to divide the at least two front compartments into separate first and second container receptacles.
3. The waste container of claim 2, wherein the exterior frame portion has an open bottom.
4. The waste container of claim 3, wherein the exterior frame portion further comprises a first fused support bar and a second fused support bar, the first fused support bar being attached to a bottom end of the exterior frame to cover the open bottom of the first container receptacle and the second fused support bar being attached to the bottom end of the exterior frame to cover the open bottom of the second container receptacle.
5. The waste container of claim 4, wherein the first fused support bar is attached at a substantially middle portion of the open bottom of the first container receptacle.
6. The waste container of claim 4, wherein the second fused support bar is attached at a substantially middle portion of the open bottom of the second container receptacle.
7. The waste container of claim 2, wherein the first and the second container receptacles are arranged in side by side relationship.
8. The waste container of claim 2, wherein a width of a front portion of the separation piece is at least twice that of a width of a rear portion of the separation piece.
9. The waste container of claim 4, wherein the at least two interior containment units each have a support tab moulded on an upper edge of a interior side portion thereof, whereby when the at least two interior containment units are positioned in the first and the second container receptacles the support tabs rest upon the separation piece.
10. The waste container of claim 9, wherein when the at least two interior containment units are positioned in the first and the second container receptacles the at least two interior containment units rest upon the first fused support bar and the second fused support bar.
11. A waste container, said waste container comprising:
- an exterior frame portion, the exterior frame having an open top and an open bottom and defining therein separate first and second container receptacles and a rearward compartment;
- at least two interior containment units, the at least two interior containment units being placed within the first and second container receptacles of the exterior frame;
- at least two lids for covering the open top of the first and second container receptacles, the at least two lids being affixed to an upper surface of the exterior frame, the at least two lids having an angled rear surface thereof, whereby the at least two lids can be opened fully without an opening movement thereof being restricted by materials stored in the rearward compartment;
- a first fused support bar and a second fused support bar, the first fused support bar being attached to the bottom end of the exterior frame to cover a bottom of the first container receptacle and the second fused support bar being attached to the bottom end of the exterior frame to cover an open bottom of the second container receptacle; and
- a foot pedal assembly for opening and closing the lids, the foot pedal assembly being placed within the exterior frame and being connected at an upper end to an underside of the lids, wherein a bottom portion of the foot pedal assembly extends outwardly from the exterior frame whereby a user can activate the foot pedal assembly to open and close the lids.
12. The waste container of claim 11, wherein when the at least two interior containment units are positioned in the first and the second container receptacles the at least two interior containment units rest upon the first fused support bar and the second fused support bar.
13. The waste container of claim 12, wherein the at least two interior containment units each have a finger pull tab defined thereon, the finger pull tab of each of the at least two interior containment units being defined near a substantially upper edge of an exterior side portion thereof.
14. The waste container of claim 13, wherein the finger pull tab of each of the at least two interior containment units is positioned substantially near a middle of the exterior side portion.
15. The waste container of claim 13, wherein the at least two interior containment units are made of plastic.
16. The waste container of claim 13, wherein the exterior frame portion has a closed bottom.
17. The waste container of claim 11, wherein the at least two lids further comprise having a rubber lip portion attached to an underside thereof, so as to permit quiet closing of the lids and retain odours within the waste container.
18. The waste container of claim 1, wherein the rearward compartment is utilized for a storing for disposal of cardboard type material.
19. The waste container of claim 11, wherein the first and the second container receptacles are arranged in side by side relationship.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 12, 2006
Publication Date: Nov 2, 2006
Inventors: Maureen O'Brien (Scarborough), Deborah Memin (Scarborough)
Application Number: 11/403,217
International Classification: B65D 25/04 (20060101);