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(11) | EP 2 380 825 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Stackable waste container |
| (57) A waste container (1) comprises a containment body (2) having the shape of a tapered
solid and an edge (5) bounding an open end (4) of the containment body (2) and projecting
from the lateral outside surface of the body (2). The containment body (2) has side
walls with obliqueness angles (a) and thicknesses (d) such that upon inserting a first
container (1) into a second, identical container (1), the lateral surface of the containment
body (2) of the first container (1) is divided into two sections (10,11), of which
a first section (10), distal from the edge (5), comes face to face with a corresponding
section (10) of the inside lateral surface of the second container (1), the second
section (11), proximal to the edge (5) of the first container (1) being outside the
second container (1) and adapted to support at least one accessory element (65) of
the first container (1) in a condition such as not to interfere with the stacking
of the first and second containers (1).
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[0002] Modular waste containers of known type have containment bodies in the shape of tapered geometrical solids - such as, for example, truncated pyramids or truncated cones - delimited by lateral surfaces comprising one or more oblique walls which meet at a vertex of the solid.
[0003] The tapered shapes of the containment bodies have small obliqueness angles which allow the containers, when empty, to be stacked by interpenetration. The part of one container that penetrates into the other in the direction of insertion is relatively extended and covers practically the entire lateral surface of the containment body.
[0004] Stacking by inserting the containers into each other obviously serves the function of saving space, to make storage and collective transportation of the containers as economical as possible.
[0005] According to the current state of the art, the obliqueness angles and usual thickness of the walls of the containment bodies are such as to allow the containment body of one container to be inserted almost completely into another in an axial direction, with the exception of the wheels, which are normally disassembled from the container for transportation, and with the exception of the top edges of the container, which, on the outside of the containment body, normally have handles, lid hinges and lifter combs, which, being moulded as one with, or monolithically attached to, the container, are the only parts of each container - contained inside another - that remain on the outside of, and protrude from its containment body after it has penetrated into the containment body of the other container - the one containing it.
[0006] The basic disadvantage of containers made in this way is that they cannot be provided with any accessories other than the above mentioned parts without limiting the possibility of stacking them for storage purposes.
[0007] These geometrically regular containers are stackable for storage purposes only if there are no extraneous elements protruding from the outside lateral surfaces of the container bodies. Moreover, another disadvantage lies in the fact that the parts disassembled from the container bodies must be transported in separate packaging and assembled when the containers reach their destination.
[0008] In addition to the stated disadvantage of transporting parts separately and assembling them on site, which in any case involves handling and packaging costs, stacking by deep penetration of one container into another, as known in the prior art, has the additional disadvantage of creating unused empty spaces between the bases of two consecutive containers in the stack, these empty spaces being in practice unsuitable for use to hold the parts of the containers, such as the wheels for example, which must inevitably be disassembled to allow the containers to be stacked.
[0009] This invention therefore has for an aim to overcome the above mentioned disadvantages by providing a container which can be furnished on the outside of it with diverse accessories without in any way thereby reducing or limiting its stacking features.
[0010] It is accordingly provided a waste container, of the type comprising a containment body having the shape of a tapered solid, and an edge bounding an open end of the containment body and projecting from the lateral outside surface of the containment body, the container being characterized in that the containment body has side walls with obliqueness angles and thicknesses such that upon inserting a first container into a second, identical container, the lateral surface of the containment body of the first container is divided into two sections, of which a first section, distal from the edge, comes face to face with a corresponding section of the inside lateral surface of the second container, the second section, proximal to the edge of the first container being outside the second container and adapted to support at least one accessory element of the first container in a condition such as not to interfere with the stacking of the first and second containers.
[0011] These and other innovative aspects of the invention are set out in the appended claims and its technical features and advantages are apparent from the detailed description which follows of a preferred, advantageous embodiment of it, which must be considered purely as a non-limiting example the description being made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
- Figures 1 and 2 are perspective assembly views showing some containers according to the invention stacked inside each other and viewed from different angles;
- Figures 3, 4 and 5 are perspective views of the containers of the preceding figures, with some stacking features highlighted;
- Figures 6, 7 and 8 illustrate a second type of container in stacks substantially similar to the stack of Figure 1;
- Figures 9, 10 and 11 illustrate stacks of the second type of container in representations similar to those of Figures 3-5;
- Figure 12 is a perspective assembly view of a single container of the type illustrated in Figures 6 to 12.
[0012] With reference to Figures 1 and 2, the numeral 1 denotes in their entirety stackable modular waste collection containers of plastic material.
[0013] The containers 1 have the shape of an elongate, tapered geometrical solid, basically comprising: a containment body 2 which is substantially in the shape of a truncated pyramid with a closed, quadrilateral base 6 at the bottom of it and which is elongate along a longitudinal direction 3 transversal to the base 6 and comprises an upper edge 5 bounding the outer lateral surface of the body 2 and projecting outwards from the lateral outside surface itself, at a wide, open top 4.
[0014] Customary wheels, not illustrated, are applicable to the base 6 of the containment body 2, which is closed to form the bottom of the container 1, in order to facilitate movement of the container 1.
[0015] A lid can be associated with the open top end 4 of the containment body 2, the lid not being illustrated in the drawings since it is of a totally customary type and outside the scope of this invention.
[0016] The edge 5 of the large upper end 4 of the container 1 - being well known in shape - externally circumscribes the end 4 and is shaped in such a way as to integrate: tubular cylindrical handles 7 for holding the container 1; hinges 8 for connecting the lid; and a depressed protrusion 9 lateral to the edge 5 - also known as lifter comb - to facilitate tipping of the container 1.
[0017] The container 1 is stackable with other containers 1 identical to it in shape and size, to minimize the storage space requirement, as shown by way of example in Figures 3, 4 and 5, as well as in Figures 9, 10 and 11, which show another type of container 51, different in shape from the container 1, but otherwise similar in concept, as will become clearer as this description continues.
[0018] Returning to Figures 3, 4 and 5, with reference to stacking for storing a set of containers 1, it should be noticed that the containment body 2 of the container 1 is shaped in such a way that its lateral, or peripheral, walls 2p are oblique and inclined by obliqueness angles "a" and with a wall thickness "d" such that when two identical containers 1 are stacked, a first container 1 (the contained one) penetrates into a second container 1 (the containing one), contiguous to it in the stack, for a length "I" such that the lateral surface of the first container 1 - the one contained - is divided into two distinct sections 10 and 11.
[0019] A first section 11, distal from the edge 5 of the container 1 it belongs to, is face to face with a corresponding inside lateral surface of the second container 1. The second section 10, on the other hand, proximal to the edge 5 of the first container 1, is embodied by a boundary region which is permanently outside the second container 1 (the containing one) and is adapted to support accessories for the first container 1 in a manner such as not to interfere with the stacking of the first and second containers inside one another.
[0020] The accessories applicable to the boundary region may be of any kind and used, for example, to enhance the functionality and possibilities of use of the container 1.
[0021] By way of non-limiting example, for purely illustrative purposes, one such accessory might be embodied by a key lock device designed to be associated with the container 51, illustrated schematically in Figure 12 where it is denoted by the numeral 65.
[0022] Thanks to the shape features described above, when the containers 1 according to the invention are stacked inside each other, the bases 6 of every two consecutive containers 1 in the stack are positioned to delimit empty spaces 12 having a containment capacity which can advantageously be used to hold disassembled components of the containers 1, such as, for example, the wheels and/or the respective accessories. This not only has the advantage of optimizing the use of all the stacking space but also offers the advantage of not having to provide separate packaging for disassembled component parts and/or the respective accessories and miscellaneous fastening means such as screws, bolts and so on.
[0023] Figures 6 to 12 show a modular container 51, also having a containment body 52 in the shape of a truncated pyramid with quadrangular base, but differing basically in that it has a stouter shape and a larger containing capacity.
[0024] Leaving aside the specific constructional shape and dimensional proportions between the different parts of the container 51, the latter's basic design in terms of stacking features is similar in all respects to that of the container 1 illustrated in Figures 1-5.
[0025] This is evident even if a detailed description of the container 51 has been omitted to avoid making the description unnecessarily lengthy. It is indeed sufficient to observe that the reference numbers used to denote the parts of the second container 51 in Figures 6 to 12 are obtained by systematically adding 50 to the reference numbers used to denote the corresponding parts of the container 1.
[0026] The containers 1 and 51 described above fully achieve the above mentioned aims and have the added advantage of allowing the possibility of applying accessories - if desired - to the surface of the first section 10 and 60 from the very origin of the container 1, 51.
[0027] This not only does not reduce the stackability of the container but also makes its construction more convenient and simple and, moreover, makes management and handling of the product and its component parts simpler and more economical.
[0028] Furthermore, since all the spaces within the stacks can be used to hold additional disassembled components without increasing the storage space requirement, use of internal space is optimized and has the added advantage of reducing freight costs.
[0029] As illustrated and described above, the bounding edge 5, 55 is in the form of a lip protruding peripherally from one or more side walls 2p of the container and the second zone or section 11, 61, which is adapted to support the accessory element, is under the protruding lip 5, 55.
[0030] More specifically, as illustrated, the protruding lip 5, 55 extends peripherally towards the outside of the container and bounds the side walls 2p of the container.
[0031] As illustrated, the side walls 2p of each container have smooth inside and outside surfaces, thus facilitating the interpenetration of the containers.
1. A waste container, of the type comprising a containment body (2;52) having the shape
of a tapered solid, and an edge (5;55) bounding an open end (4;54) of the containment
body (2;52) and projecting from the lateral outside surface of the body (2;52), the
container (1;51) being characterized in that the containment body (2;52) has side walls with obliqueness angles (a) and thicknesses
(d) such that upon inserting a first container (1;51) into a second, identical container
(1,51), the lateral surface of the containment body (2;52) of the first container
(1;51) is divided into two sections (10,11;60,61), of which a first section (10;60),
distal from the edge (5;55), comes face to face with a corresponding section (10;60)
of the inside lateral surface of the second container (1;51), the second section (11;61),
proximal to the edge (5;55) of the first container (1;51) being outside the second
container (1;51) and adapted to support at least one accessory element (65) of the
first container (1;51) in a condition such as not to interfere with the stacking of
the first and second containers (1;51).
2. The container according to claim 1, characterized in that the accessory element (65) is in the form of a closing means or lock.
3. The container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the containment body (2) has the shape of a truncated pyramid with a quadrilateral
base (6), and is elongate in the direction (3) transversal to the base (6).
4. The container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the container (51) has the shape of a stout truncated pyramid.
5. The container according to any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that it comprises, when stacked inside a second container (1;51) identical to it, a volume
(12;62), delimited by its own base (6;56) and the base (6;56) of the second container
(1;51) which contains it, said volume (12;62) being designed to contain disassembled
parts of at least one of the containers (1;51).
6. The container according to claim 5, characterized in that the volume (12;62), delimited by its own base (6;56) and the base (6;56) of the second
container (1;51) which contains it, is designed to contain the wheels and/or the respective
accessories of the container.
7. The container according to any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the bounding edge is in the form of a lip (5, 55) protruding peripherally from one
or more side walls (2p) of the container, the second zone or section (11, 61) adapted
to support the accessory element being under the protruding lip (5, 55).
8. The container according to any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the outside and inside surfaces of the respective side wall (2p) are smooth.