CONTAINER FOR THE COLLECTION OF URBAN WASTE

Abstract

A container for the collection of urban waste, constituted by an aluminium supporting structure which houses and protects a cardboard container, comprising: a supporting structure comprised of an external enveloping skeleton which is U-shaped when viewed from the side, with a removable upper hoop which closes the upper part of the envelope; a removable lid which folds with regard to the hoop which closes the skeleton assembly; a pedal located at the lower part and which operates the folding lid; and a tray which collects the leachates coming from a cardboard container, and which is a removable tray located upon the base; and a container, formed by folding a sheet of cardboard, resting upon the tray of the structure, and where the upper part of the container is held closed by the upper hoop of the structure.

Claims

1. A container for the collection of urban waste constituted by an aluminium supporting structure which houses and protects a cardboard container, wherein the container comprises: a supporting structure comprising: an external enveloping skeleton constituted by a front wall, a base, and a rear wall, which is U-shaped when viewed from the side; a removable upper hoop which closes the upper part of the envelope; a removable lid which folds with regard to the hoop which closes the skeleton assembly; a pedal located at the lower front part of the base, in connection with a lever running along the base and along the rear wall of the envelope, and which operates the folding lid; and a tray which collects the leachates coming from a cardboard container, and which is a removable tray located upon the base; and a container formed by folding a sheet of cardboard with planar faces forming a regular parallelepiped open at the upper part thereof, wherein the container rests on the tray of the structure, and wherein the upper part of the container is held closed by the upper hoop of the structure; and wherein the geometric shape of the base of the container coincides with that of the tray.

2. The container for the collection of urban waste according to claim 1, wherein the geometric shape of the base of the container, the tray, and the upper hoop is hexagonal.

3. The container for the collection of urban waste according to claim 1, wherein the geometric shape of the base of the container and the tray is rectangular; and the upper hoop is hexagonal.

4. The container for the collection of urban waste according to claim 1, wherein the lid has a circular shape.

5. The container for the collection of urban waste according to claim 1, wherein the lid comprises a handle.

6. The container for the collection of urban waste according to claim 1, wherein the lid is attached to the hoop of the structure by means of a spring hinge.

7. The container for the collection of urban waste according to claim 1, wherein the lever protrudes from the upper hoop by means of a flange.

8. The container for the collection of urban waste according to claim 1, wherein the front wall comprises a bar for lifting the container.

9. The container for the collection of urban waste according to claim 1, wherein the upper hoop comprises protruding side rods for lifting the container, fixed to both sides of the hoop.

10. The container for the collection of urban waste according to claim 1, wherein the supporting structure comprises wheels in the lower part thereof.

11. The container for the collection of urban waste according to claim 1, wherein the rear wall comprises at least one handle or knob.

12. The container for the collection of urban waste according to claim 1, wherein the supporting structure comprises legs in the lower part thereof.

13. The container for the collection of urban waste according to claim 12, wherein the legs comprise a non-slip surface.

Description

[0028] In order to complete the description and to help a better understanding of the features of the invention, a set of figures and drawings is presented wherein the following is represented by way of illustration and not limitation:

[0029] FIG. 1 is a free perspective view of the assembly of the container object of the present invention in which the lid is open and allows waste to be introduced in the cardboard container.

[0030] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the assembly of the preceding figure in which the lid closes the supporting structure which houses the cardboard container.

[0031] FIG. 3 is a side view of the assembly of the container in which the lid is open.

[0032] FIG. 4 is a side view of the assembly of the container in which the lid has been removed.

[0033] FIG. 5 is a free perspective view of the assembly of the preceding figure in which the lid has been removed and waste can be directly thrown into the container.

[0034] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the removable tray located upon the base of the enveloping structure of the container and the purpose of which is to collect possible leachates leaking from the container.

[0035] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the assembly of the container comprising side rods to enable the lifting thereof by means of a rear or side loading system.

[0036] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an assembly of containers which are stacked and stored in a small space.

[0037] FIG. 9 is a side view according to the preceding figure in which an assembly of stacked and stored containers is seen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES OF THE INVENTION

[0038] FIGS. 1-7 show that the invention consists of a container comprising a supporting structure and an envelope, and a cardboard container fitted in the supporting structure. Although it cannot be seen in said figures, this container is entirely constituted by reusable materials, both in terms of the structure which is preferably made of aluminium, and in terms of the container which is made of cardboard. An aspect that is indeed depicted in said figures is that all its elements are removable, which in turn constitutes an advantage for the stacking and storage thereof. In this sense, an example of the storage of different containers can be seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, for which the different elements comprised in the containers must essentially be removable.

[0039] As can be seen in said figures, the container comprises: [0040] a supporting structure which is a skeleton which houses and protects a container (5), and wherein the supporting structure comprises: [0041] an external enveloping skeleton constituted by a front wall (1), a base (2), and a rear wall (1′), which is therefore U-shaped when viewed from the side; [0042] a removable upper hoop (3) which closes the upper part of the envelope; [0043] a removable lid (4) which folds with regard to the hoop (3) which closes the skeleton assembly; [0044] a pedal (6) located at the lower front part of the base (2) of the structure which, together with a lever (16) running along both the base and the rear wall of the envelope, operates the folding lid (4); and [0045] a removable tray (14) located upon the base (2) of the envelope for collecting the leachates coming from the cardboard container (5); and [0046] a cardboard container (5) which is housed and supported by the supporting structure; which is formed from a sheet of cardboard with folded planar faces forming a regular parallelepiped open at the upper part thereof, with a base and an upper part having an identical geometric shape; and wherein the container (5) rests on the tray (14) of the structure, and wherein the upper part of the container is held closed by the upper hoop (3) of the structure.

[0047] As can be seen in FIGS. 1-7, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the tray (14), the hoop (3), as well as the base and the upper part of the container (5) are hexagonal; nevertheless, there are other embodiments in which the tray and the base are rectangular, whereas the hoop is hexagonal. Similarly, the lid (4) preferably has a circular section with a handle (13) which allows it to be manually lifted. This lid (4) is attached to the hoop of the enveloping structure by means of a spring hinge (11) which allows a smooth and adjustable closure.

[0048] Among the different lifting means of the invention, it can be seen in said figures that there is arranged in the front wall (1) a bar (7) for trucks or other mechanical collection means to lift the container from the front. Furthermore, it can be seen in FIG. 7 that the invention may further comprise protruding side rods (15), fixed to both sides of the upper hoop (3), such that it allows the container to be lifted by means of a rear or side loading system.

[0049] Another aspect of the invention is that a pedal (6) which allows opening the lid (4) by pushing it with the foot is arranged in the outer front part of the base (2).

[0050] FIG. 1 or 3 shows how the pedal is operated and therefore the lid (4) is open; however, for example, FIG. 2 or 7 shows that the pedal (6) is not operated and therefore the lid (4) is closed. The pedal (6) is in connection with a lever (16) running along the lower portion of the base (2) and the inside of the rear wall (1′) and protruding from the upper hoop (3) by way of a flange (12), such that it is entirely concealed from view and such that the lid (4) is pushed when the pedal (6) is operated.

[0051] As can be seen in said figures, the container contacts the ground by means of wheels (9) which allow the container to be readily moved. There is at least one handle or knob (8) arranged in the rear wall (T) for handling the container in all directions in a safe and comfortable manner. Additionally, the invention comprises in the front part of the structure legs (10), which can be in multiple shapes, which allow the fixing of the assembly, and may comprise a non-slip surface that prevents the container from sliding on slopes.

[0052] Another particularity of the invention shown in the figures is that the invention allows the container (5) to be used for advertising, promotional, or information purposes. The container (5) is formed by a folded sheet of cardboard, such that any type of advertising, promotional, or information message can be reproduced on the outer faces of said cardboard. In this sense, the outer side faces of the container are visible given that there are no obstructions of the structure.

[0053] Lastly, it can be seen in FIGS. 8 and 9 that one of the advantages of this invention lies in the fact that these containers are readily stackable and storable. This is an advantage in terms of their distribution and storage. To that end and as set forth above, the structure of the container comprises a U-shaped side configuration which allows the front walls (1), rear walls (1′), and bases (2) to be stacked with two containers facing each other. Given that both the upper hoops (3) and the lids (4) are removable, these elements and any other element of the structure can be stored between the front and rear faces of two stacked containers. Similarly, the rest of the elements, such as the trays (14) or the containers (5), can be stored independently given that they are removable with respect to the structure. This allows taking advantage of and optimising storage space, such that two disassembled containers can be stored in the space for an assembled container.