AU2008200939B2 - Bin Latch - Google Patents

Abstract

The specification discloses a latch (10) for a bin having a lid hinged to the bin and normally closing an upper access opening, the latch (10) being movable between an engaged position in which an activating arm structure (28) is engaged with a latch portion (22) connected to the lid of the bin whereby the lid is prevented from moving relative to the bin, and a disengaged position in which the activating arm structure (28) is disengaged from the latch portion (22) freeing the lid for hinging movement relative to the bin, the activating arm structure (28) being pivotable about a pivot axis defined by pivots (34) between the engaged and disengaged positions, the latch (10) further including an internal activation means (28, 30, 40) and an external actuation means (42, 44, 46, 48), the external actuation means (44, 46, 48) including an actuator (48) external of the bin whereby a user externally manipulating the actuator (48) is able to pivot the activating arm structure (28), the internal activation means (28, 30, 40) providing the activating arm structure (28) with a centre of gravity passing over the pivot axis defined by the pivots (34) when the bin, in use, is tilted forward through an actuation angle of less than 90*, thus causing the activating arm structure to move to the disengaged position. fig1 fig2 32-- 32 -2 30 -- 30 -- -- 40 38f 3 fig3

Description

Pool Section 29 Regulation 3.2(2) AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Application Number: Lodged: Invention Title: Bin latch The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: 1 BIN LATCH FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a latch for a container, such as a latch for a pivotal lid used to close a refuse bin. It is particularly suitable for use with a 5 commercial or industrial refuse bin with a large capacity, such as an industrial 3m 3 refuse bin, and will be described largely with reference to such bins. It will be appreciated, however, that the latch arrangement described may be used with other bins and containers. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION 10 It is known for commercial and industrial establishments to use large external refuse bins for the collection of materials prior to eventual disposal. Such bins may have a capacity in the order of 3m 3 , and are thus designed to accept a large volume of refuse and to support a large weight. A specialised collection vehicle is employed to collect refuse from a filled 15 bin. The collection vehicle has the ability to tip the bin forward, typically through about 1200, allowing the refuse to empty into the collection vehicle under the action of gravity. Industrial and commercial bins of this type typically have a lid hinged at a rear of an upper access mouth or opening of the bin. Once the bin is tilted 20 through 90*, the lid begins to swing away from the bin mouth. When the bin is tilted though 120*, for instance, the lid will tend to hang vertically and thus open a gap of about 30* through which refuse can be emptied. It is frequently desirable to lock the lid of the bin in a closed position, to prevent unauthorised access to the bin. This may be simply to prevent the 25 addition of waste from unauthorised sources, or may be to prevent retrieval of items from the bin. It will be appreciated, however, that a locked bin can not be readily emptied into a collection vehicle. It is generally both impractical and time consuming to unlock the bin at the time of refuse collection. It is thus desirable to provide a lock for a bin lid which selectively permits 30 access to the bin when the bin is in its normal upright position, but which does not prevent the swinging open of the lid when the bin is tilted through more than 900. It will be appreciated that bins of this type are relatively heavy, and thus there is 2 little prospect of an unauthorised user being able to tilt the bin in order to gain access. Attempts have been made to provide a bin lock which achieves this purpose. Bin locks for this purpose generally are opened either by external 5 means, such as a key, during normal operation, or by the action of gravity during tipping. These bin locks, however, have shown a tendency to jam or stick depending on the volume and nature of material contained in the bin. It has now been realised that a primary cause of this deficiency is that, during tipping of the bin, the refuse pushes against the lid of bin from relatively early in the tipping 10 process. The extent of the pushing force on the bin lid varies according to the volume and nature of material in the bin, but if it reaches a certain threshold before the lock disengages then the resultant forces on the lock can hold the lock in a closed position even when gravity is urging the lock open. The present invention aims at providing a latch for a lid hinged to a 15 container opening or mouth that will overcome, at least in part, some of the above discussed disadvantages of prior bin locks. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with a first aspect of this invention, there is provided a latch for a container, the container having a hinged lid, the latch being moveable 20 between an engaged position in which the lid is prevented from moving relative to the container and a disengaged position in which the lid is permitted to move relative to the container, wherein the latch includes an external actuation means and an internal actuation means, the external actuation means including an actuator external to the container, manipulation of the actuator by a user causing 25 the latch to move between the engaged and disengaged positions, and the internal actuation means moving the latch into the disengaged position when container is tilted forward through an activation angle, the activation angle being less than 900. Preferably the activation angle is in the range of 100 to 450. In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is 30 provided a latch for a bin having a hinged bin lid and a bin front wall, said hinged bin lid opening away from said bin front wall, said latch including a latch engaging portion connectable, in use, to an inner zone of said bin lid and a latch portion having an actuating arm structure connectable, in use, to an inner zone of said 3 bin front wall whereby the activating arm structure is pivotable about a pivot axis toward and away from said bin front wall, said latch portion being movable between an engaged position in which the activating arm structure of the latch is engaged with the latch engaging portion and the bin lid is prevented from moving 5 from a closed position towards an open position, and a disengaged position in which the activating arm structure is disengaged from the latch engaging portion and the bin lid is permitted to open away from said bin front wall, said latch including an external actuation means accessible, in use, from an outer zone of said bin front wall, and an internal actuation means acting in response to said bin 10 being tipped forwardly towards said front wall, said internal actuation means including a weighted member forming part of the activating arm structure whereby tipping of said bin towards said front wall through an activation angle of less than 900 causes the latch portion to move to said disengaged position by pivoting towards said bin front wall. Preferably, the activation angle in this aspect is less 15 than 900 and conveniently between 100 and 450. Conveniently, the centre of gravity of said latch portion in said engaged position, in use, is located inwardly of said pivot axis relative to the bin front wall. Preferably said centre of gravity passes over said pivot axis towards said bin front wall as the bin is tipped through said activation angle, thus causing pivoting of the 20 activating arm structure into the disengaged position. The external actuation means may include an actuator external to the bin front wall, manipulation of the actuator by a user causing pivoting of the activating arm structure selectably between said engaged position and said disengaged position. 25 Preferably the latch includes externally activated lock means selectively preventing external operation of the actuator located external of the bin. In a possible alternative the latch may include means enabling access to said actuator located external of the bin to be selectively prevented. This may allow a lock such as a padlock or similar to provide a lockable means that may prevent access 30 to the actuator. Conveniently the activating arm structure includes a weighted member, the weighted member being repositionable to vary said activation angle. Preferably the weighted member may be movable relatively radially towards or away from 3a the pivot axis of the activating arm structure to vary the activation angle. Alternatively or in addition thereto, the weighted member may be movable in a circumferential arc relative to the activating arm structure to vary the activation angle. Once positioned, the weighted member may be fixed in the desired 5 position or alternatively, it may remain adjustable in position to adjust the activation angle. In a preferred arrangement the activating arm structure may include at least one arm member having a hook portion at one end engageable with an opening in said latch engaging portion, the or each said arm member being 10 configured whereby the hook portion, in the engaged position, is located further away from the bin front wall to which the latch is connected, in use, than is the pivot axis. The activating arm structure may include two spaced apart said arm 4 members disposed substantially parallel to one another. Conveniently the weighted member is located between the aforesaid arm members. A housing may be provided enclosing the latch in use within a bin. The preferred activation angle being in the range of less than 90* and 5 between 100 to 450 ensures the latch is disengaged during the tipping process well before the container's contents provide a significant pushing force on the lid. Means may be provided to calibrate the activation angle to a desired point. The means for calibrating the activation angle may include an applied weight which is moveable between a number of positions, or may include an 10 eccentric weight which can be rotated through a number of positions. Preferably the external actuation means translates rotation of the actuator into pivoting of the activation arm structure. It may achieve this by engagement of the activating arm structure with a cam. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 15 It will be convenient to further describe the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the latch according to the present invention. Other embodiments are possible, and consequently, the particularity of the accompanying drawings is not to be understood as superseding the generality of the preceding description of the 20 invention. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective of a latch in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a cutaway perspective of the latch of Figure 1, shown attached to a bin in a disengaged position; 25 Figure 3 is a cutaway front view of the latch of Figure 1, shown in an engaged position; Figure 4 is a side cross section of the latch of Figure 1, shown attached to a bin in an engaged position; Figure 5 is a side cross section of the latch of Figure 1, shown attached to 30 a bin in a disengaged position; Figure 6 is a side cross section of the latch of Figure 1, shown attached to a bin which has been tilted through an activation angle. Figure 7 is an external view of a bin fitted with the latch of Figure 1; and 5 Figure 8 is an external view of the bin of Figure 7 with a separate lock fitted to the latch. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a latch 10 for a container such as a 5 bin (not shown). The latch 10 comprises a latch body 12 arranged for attachment by any suitable means to a front wall 14 of the bin, and a latch engaging portion 16 arranged for attachment by any suitable means to a hinged lid 18 of the bin. The latch engaging portion 16 comprises a base plate 20 for attachment to the lid 18, and two depending members 22 each carrying a slot 60 extending 10 downwardly, in use from the lid 18. The latch body 12 includes an upper edge 24 having two apertures 26 arranged to receive the slotted members 22 when the lid 18 of the bin is closed. In Figures 2 to 6 the latch body 12 has not been illustrated to show the internal parts of the latch 10, however it will be recognized that the latch body 12, 15 in use, surrounds and protects the internal parts from refuse stored in the bin. Internally of the latch body 12, the latch 10 includes an activating arm structure 28. The activating arm structure 28 comprises two substantially parallel activating arm portions 30, each of which has a rearwardly facing hook 32 at an upper end thereof. Each of the activating arm portions 30 is pivoted at a lower end thereof 20 about an individual pivot 34. The two pivots 34 lie along the same horizontal pivot axis 70 adjacent the front wall 14 of the bin at a lower end of the latch body 12. As can be best seen in Figure 4, the activating arm portions 30 are shaped to include an elongate portion 36 extending from the hook 32 along about 80% of the length of the activating arm portion, and a curved lower portion 38 extending 25 to the pivot 34. The elongate portion 36 is thus spaced from the front wall 14 when in an engaged position as shown in Figure 4, and described below. In this engaged position a weighted block 40 provides a centre of gravity 61 for the activating arm structure 28 that provides a gravitational force shown by directional arrow 62 which provides a force moment in the direction 63 about the pivot axis 30 70 to maintain the arm structure 28 in the engaged position illustrated. The weighted block 40 might be adjusted in position or varied as shown schematically by arrows 64, 65, 66 and 67 to vary the position of the centre of gravity 61 of the 6 arm structure 28 as desired. The weighted block 40 is located around a midpoint of the elongate portions 36. The latch 10 further includes an external actuation means 42 which has a rotatable cylinder 44 with a cam 46 mounted at a rear end thereof. The cylinder 5 44 extends through the front wall 14 of the bin, and ends in an actuator 48 external to the bin. The cylinder passes through the activating arm structure 28, between the lower portions 38 of the activating portions 30. The cam 46 is rotatable between a first position in which the cam 46 does not bear against the activating arm structure 28 and a second position in which 10 the cam 46 does bear against the activating arm structure 28, causing the structure arm 28 to pivot towards the front wall 14 of the bin as shown by directional arrow 68 in Figure 5. The actuator 48, in the embodiment of the drawings, is a triangular stub which can be engaged and turned by an elongate tool with a complementary 15 head. It will be appreciated that the actuator 48 could take many different forms whilst still performing its function. The actuator 48 is surrounded by a shroud 50 which includes two opposed holes 52 located in front on the actuator 48. If desired, a lockable member such as a padlock 54 may be placed through the holes 52 across the actuator 48, thus 20 preventing access to the actuator 48. This is shown in Figure 8. The use of the latch 10 will now be described. When the bin is upright, the lid 18 closed, and the cam 46 in the first position free of the arm structure 28, the weighted block 40 provides the activating arm structure 28 with a centre of gravity which acts downwardly past 25 the pivot 34 on the side away from the front wall 14. This urges the activating arm 28 away from the front wall 14 of the bin. Rotation of the activating arm 28 about the pivot 34 is limited by the engagement of the hooks 32 within the slots 60 of the slotted members 22 of the latch engaging portion 16. This engagement of the activating arm structure 28 with the latch engaging portion 16 prevents movement 30 of the lid 18 relative to body of the bin. This can be considered an engaged position of the latch 10, in which any access to the bin from the outside is prevented. This position is shown in Figure 4. In this position with the padlock 54 7 installed in the openings 52 as shown in Fig 8, unauthorised access to the bin is prevented. When an authorised user is required to access the bin, they will first remove the lock 54. Using an appropriate tool, the user can than manipulate the 5 actuator 48 by rotation. It will of course be recognized that if desired actuation of the cam 46 and locking of the cam 46 in a desired position may also be achieved by a key operated lock cylinder. Rotation of the actuator 48 causes the cam 46 to engage with the activating arm structure 28. Continued rotation causes the cam 46 to provide a force on the activating arm structure 28 towards the front wall 14. 10 The activating arm structure 28 is thus caused to pivot towards the front wall 14, moving the hooks 32 away from the latch engaging portion 16. The activating arm structure 28 and the latch thus move into a disengaged position, in which the lid 18 can be opened without restriction. This situation is shown in Figure 5. When the bin is tilted for emptying in direction 71 in Figure 6, the internal 15 actuation means 42 comes into play. One can define an activation angle a for the latch as being the angle made between a line passing vertically through the activating arm structure centre of gravity 61 and a vertical line 73 passing through the pivot axis 70 in the position shown in Figure 4 as the bin progressively tips in the direction 71. As the bin is tilted forwards by an angle equal to the activation 20 angle a, when the activation angle a reaches a predetermined level (eg about 30* as shown in Figure 6 the activating arm centre of gravity 61 moves directly above the pivot axis 70 and then beyond same. When the tilting passes through this predetermined activation angle, the centre of gravity 61 of the activating arm structure 28 passes beyond the pivot axis 70 and a force moment acts in direction 25 72 on the arm structure 28. The activating arm structure 28 is thus caused to rotate towards the front wall 14, moving into the disengaged position with the hooks 32 disengaged from the slotted member 22. Further tilting of the bin and opening of the lid 18 is thus not restricted by the latch 10. The precise activation angle can be determined by the placement of the 30 weighted block 40. It is anticipated that the weight block 40 may be moveable between a number of positions, resulting in an activation angle being chosen between about 100 and about 45*. Movement of the weight block 40 might be either in a radial direction towards or away from the pivots 34 or in a 8 circumferential arc relative to the arms 30. Movement in both these directions is also possible. The weighted block 40 might remain adjustable or it might be fixed in position when a desired location is established. It is also anticipated that the weighted block 40 may be replaced with a rotatable, eccentric weight, whereby 5 rotation of the weight will adjust the activation angle. Modifications and variations as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (17)

1. A latch for a container, the container having a hinged lid, the latch being moveable between an engaged position in which the lid is prevented from moving relative to the container and a disengaged position in which the lid is permitted to 5 move relative to the container, wherein the latch includes an external actuation means and an internal actuation means, the external actuation means including an actuator external to the container, manipulation of the actuator by a user causing the latch to move between the engaged and disengaged positions, and the internal actuation means moving the latch into the disengaged position when 10 container is tilted forward through an activation angle, the activation angle being less than 900.

2. A latch as claimed in claim 1 wherein the activation angle is in the range of 100 to 450.

3. A latch for a bin having a hinged bin lid and a bin front wall, said hinged bin 15 lid opening away from said bin front wall, said latch including a latch engaging portion connectable, in use, to an inner zone of said bin lid and a latch portion having an actuating arm structure connectable, in use, to an inner zone of said bin front wall whereby the activating arm structure is pivotable about a pivot axis toward and away from said bin front wall, said latch portion being movable 20 between an engaged position in which the activating arm structure of the latch is engaged with the latch engaging portion and the bin lid is prevented from moving from a closed position towards an open position, and a disengaged position in which the activating arm structure is disengaged from the latch engaging portion and the bin lid is permitted to open away from said bin front wall, said latch 25 including an external actuation means accessible, in use, from an outer zone of said bin front wall, and an internal actuation means acting in response to said bin being tipped forwardly towards said front wall, said internal actuation means including a weighted member forming part of the activating arm structure whereby tipping of said bin towards said front wall through an activation angle of less than 10 900 causes the latch portion to move to said disengaged position by pivoting towards said bin front wall.

4. A latch according to claim 1 wherein the activation angle is in the range of 100 to 450.

5 5. A latch according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the centre of gravity of said latch portion in said engaged position, in use, is located inwardly of said pivot axis relative to the bin front wall.

6. A latch according to claim 3 wherein said centre of gravity passes over said pivot axis towards said bin front wall as the bin is tipped through said 10 activation angle, thus causing pivoting of the activating arm structure into the disengaged position.

7. A latch according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the external actuation means includes an actuator external to the bin front wall, manipulation of the actuator by a user causing pivoting of the activating arm structure 15 selectably between said engaged position and said disengaged position.

8. A latch as claimed in claim 5 further including externally activated lock means selectively preventing external operation of said actuator located external of the bin.

9. A latch as claimed in claim 5 further including means enabling access to 20 said actuator located external of the bin to be selectively prevented.

10. A latch as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein the weighted member is repositionable on said activation arm structure to vary said activation angle.

11. A latch as claimed in claim 10 wherein said weighted member is movable 25 relatively radially towards or away from the pivot axis of said activating arm structure to vary said activation angle. 11

12. A latch as claimed in claim 10 or claim 11 wherein said weighted member is movable in a circumferential arc relative to the activating arm structure to vary said activation angle.

13. A latch as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein the activating arm 5 structure includes at least one arm member having a hook portion at one end engageable with an opening in said latch engaging portion, the or each said arm member being configured whereby the hook portion, in the engaged position, is located further away from the bin front wall to which the latch is connected, in use, than is the pivot axis. 10

14. A latch as claimed in claim 11 wherein said hook portion is directed, in use, inwardly of said bin relative to said bin front wall.

15. A latch as claimed in claim 13 wherein the activating arm structure includes two spaced said arm members disposed substantially parallel to one another.

16. A latch as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13 further including a housing 15 shell enclosing the latch portion in use.

17. A latch and bin assembly including a latch according to any one of claims 1 to 16. LOCK FOCUS PTY LTD WATERMARK PATENT & TRADE MARKS ATTORNEYS P28377AU00