FR2721912A1 - DEVICE FOR LOCKING THE LID OF A CONTAINER FOR TIPPING EMPTY - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for locking the lid of a container intended to be used upright and emptied by tilting about a substantially horizontal axis, comprising a pivoting part between a locking position in which it maintains the lid in position. closed and an unlocking position in which it releases the cover, and a maneuverable cam allowing the positioning of the pivoting part when the container is placed upright, said pivoting part comprising retaining means capable of cooperating with attachment means integral with the The pivoting part (8) is mounted around an axis (9) perpendicular to the tilting axis of the tank and comprises a counterweight (17), made in one piece with said part (8) which, when the container is placed upright, tends to return the pivoting part (8) to the locked position, and, when the container is tilted, rotates the pivoting part (8) in position n unlocking.

Description

The present invention relates to a cover locking device

  a container intended to be emptied by tilting, such as a container for

waste collection.

  We know that the bins for the collection of waste are brought to periodically stay on the public highway to be emptied by

  tipping in a collection truck.

  The bins are then left unattended and it is not excluded that they may thus be the subject of searches, which may

  be dangerous depending on the nature of the waste in the bins.

  In addition, free access to the interior of the bins can allow third parties to fill them with inappropriate waste, which can distort their content for selective collection, or generate an additional cost for

  the user in the event of billing for the collection.

  Locking devices have already been proposed for

solve these problems.

  These known devices make it possible to fulfill three functions, namely locking and unlocking, using a key, the cover of the container when the latter is standing in the normal position of use, and systematically unlocking the cover during the tilting of the bac,

  whether or not it has been locked using the key.

  By way of example, the applicant company has already described in FR-A-2 675 478 a device comprising a part pivotally mounted between a locking position in which it maintains the cover of the container in the closed position and an unlocking position in which it releases said cover, as well as a cam, which can be actuated by hand, allowing

  the positioning of the pivoting part when the container is placed upright.

  These known devices have the major drawback of being

very bulky.

  In addition, being made up of a large number of parts which cooperate with one another to achieve the functions described above, they pose problems of operating reliability and manufacturing cost. The present invention provides a compact device for locking the lid of a container which is simple and economical and does not

  does not have the drawbacks of the prior art.

  The present invention relates to a device for locking the lid of a container intended to be used upright and emptied by tilting about a substantially horizontal axis, comprising a pivoting part between a locking position in which it maintains the lid -2 - In the closed position and an unlocking position in which it releases the cover, and a maneuverable cam allowing the positioning of the pivoting part when the container is placed upright, said pivoting part comprising retaining means capable of cooperating with means of hooking secured to the cover, characterized in that the pivoting part is mounted around an axis perpendicular to the tilting axis of the container and comprises a counterweight, produced integrally with said part, which, when the container is placed upright, tends to return the pivoting part to the locked position and, when the container is tilted, makes

  pivot the pivoting part to the unlocked position.

  We understand that the device according to the invention has a small footprint insofar as it contains only two parts, namely the

swivel piece and cam.

  Advantageously, the device according to the invention can be placed in the middle of the upper part of the panel of the container opposite to the hinges of the cover, which corresponds, for reasons of symmetry, to the location

the most suitable device.

  According to the invention, the retaining means and the counterweight are made in one piece with the pivoting part, which facilitates the

realization of the device.

  In addition, the device according to the invention does not comprise any elastic member liable to wear out, the positioning of the pivoting part

  being ensured by the only action of gravity on the flyweight.

  Thus, the device according to the invention, in addition to being

  particularly compact, has great reliability.

  In a first embodiment of the invention, the part

  pivoting is mounted around its axis with a substantially vertical clearance.

  The effect of such a clearance is to facilitate the release of the retaining means in order to allow the release of the cover during the tilting of the

bac.

  In a second embodiment of the invention, the counterweight, which is made in one piece with the pivoting part, is constituted by a hollow cavity formed in this pivoting part, and by a ballast

  housed in said cavity and movable substantially vertically.

  During the tilting of the tank, the ballast strikes the upper partition of the cavity in which it is housed, which has the effect of causing a jerk on the pivoting part and facilitating the release of

his means of restraint.

  - 3- These two embodiments are particularly useful in the case where the container is so filled that its cover is closed by force, so that the attachment means integral with the lid exert a permanent traction on the retaining means integral with the pivoting part. In order to better understand the invention we will now describe an embodiment given by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: - Figure 1 is a front view and in elevation of a bin for collecting waste provided with a locking device according to the invention, - Figure 2 shows the locking device according to the invention, - Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 after actuation of the cam, - Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 after tilting the tray, - Figures 5, 6 and 7 are views similar to Figures 2, 3

  and 4 showing a variant of the locking device.

  The tray shown in Figure 1 has a cover 2 and a

tank 3.

  A locking device 4 according to the invention is housed inside the tank 3, in the middle of the upper part of the panel of the

  tank 3 opposite the hinges (not shown) of the cover 2.

  A tab 5, integral with the cover 2, constitutes the attachment means which allow the locking of this cover in the closed position. In Figures 2 to 4, there is shown the interior of the locking device 4, which comprises a housing 6, provided with an opening 7 for

  the passage of the latch 5 of the cover.

  Inside the housing 6, are housed a pivoting part 8 which is mounted around a pivot axis 9, and a cam 10 which is

  actuated by hand via a lock not shown.

  The pivoting part 8 comprises, at one of its ends, retaining means 11 able to cooperate with the latching lug 5 of the

cover 2.

  To this end, the retaining means 11 comprise a projecting part 12, forming a bolt which penetrates into a corresponding groove 13

  forming a keeper formed in the lug 5.

  - 4 - It can be noted that, in the present case, the pivot axis 9 is located in alignment with the latching lug 5, which has the double advantage on the one hand of facilitating the release of the bolt 12 during the pivoting of the part 8, as indicated in FIG. 3, on the other hand to increase the pull-out resistance of the locking device. In fact, when the hooking lug 5 exerts traction FT in the direction of opening of the cover 2, most of the forces are transmitted to the pivot axis 9 in the form of a force FA directed towards the cover, while any residual forces may turn into a torque C exerted on the part

swivel 8.

  In the example shown in the drawing, surfaces 14 and 15

  mutual support of the bolt 12 and the groove 13 are flat.

  In addition, they are perpendicular to the FT force and

aligned with the latter.

  Therefore, in this case, no torque

  is not transmitted to the pivoting part.

  One could consider slightly shifting the surfaces 14 and 15 to the left with respect to FIG. 2, in which case there would be, when pulling the hooking lug 5, a torque C on the pivoting part 8 A fixed stop 14 then maintains the pivoting part 8 in the locking position by exerting on it a reaction force FR. In view of the fact that the distance which separates this force FR from the pivot axis 9 is much greater than the distance which separates the tensile force FT from the pivot axis 9, the torque

  applied to the pivoting part 8 is easily overcome by the stop 14.

  On the other hand, it is not recommended to shift surfaces 14 and 15 to the right with respect to Figure 2 because, in this case, the torque of

  rotation imposed on the pivoting part 8 would tend to unlock the cover.

  It is also not recommended to give surfaces 14 and 15 an inclination to the left with respect to FIG. 2, which would have the effect, in the event of traction exerted by the latch 5, of causing

  the release of the bolt 12 by rotation of the pivoting part.

  The end of the pivoting part 8 opposite the means of

  retainer 11 has a counterweight 17.

  This flyweight 17 has the function of permanently bringing the pivoting part 8 back into the locking position, as illustrated in FIG. 2,

  when the tray 1 is placed upright, as shown in Figure 1.

  To unlock the cover, the cam 10 is actuated, as illustrated in FIG. 3. The cam 10 then bears on the cam 17 to

  rotate the part 8 and release the bolt 12 from the groove 13.

  When emptying, the tray 1 is tilted around a horizontal axis 18 shown in Figure 1. Once the tray is tilted, the locking device 4

  found in the position shown in Figure 4.

  In this figure, it can be seen that the counterweight 17 has made the part 8 pivot in the unlocked position, regardless of the position of

cam 10.

  In other words, the tilting of the tray 1 systematically causes the lid to be unlocked, whether or not it has been locked. In FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 a variant of the

previously described device.

  In these figures, the same reference numbers have been used as

  previously to designate identical parts.

  In this variant, the pivoting part 8 ′ has a hole

  oblong 8a around the pivot axis 9.

  This oblong hole 8a allows a substantially vertical movement of the pivoting part 8 during its passage in the unlocked position, as

illustrated in figures 6 and 7.

  The counterweight 17 'is constituted here by a hollow cavity 19 formed in the pivoting part 8' and by a ballast 20 housed in said

cavity 19.

  The ballast 20 can move in the cavity 19 substantially vertically. The vertical play of the ballast 20 inside the cavity 19 facilitates the unlocking of the pivoting part 8 ′ when the tank 1 is tilted, as

illustrated in figure 7.

  Indeed, in this case, the ballast 20 acts like a hammer inside the cavity 19 and causes a jerk on the pivoting part 8, thus facilitating its release in the event that the cover 2 is

  closed by force, the tank 3 being filled with waste.

  It is understood that the embodiment which has just been described has no limiting character and that it can receive all

  desirable modifications without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (3)

  1. Locking device for the lid of a container intended to be used upright and emptied by tilting about a substantially horizontal axis, comprising a pivoting part between a locking position in which it maintains the lid in the closed position and a position of unlocking in which it releases the cover, and a maneuverable cam allowing the positioning of the pivoting part when the container is placed upright, said pivoting part comprising retaining means capable of cooperating with attachment means integral with the cover, characterized by fact that the pivoting part (8, 8 ') is mounted around an axis (9) perpendicular to the axis (18) of tilting of the tank (1) and comprises a counterweight (17, 17'), made of integral with said piece (8, 8 ') which, when the tray (1) is placed upright, tends to bring the pivoting piece (8, 8') in the locked position, and, when the tray (1) is tilted, swivels er the swivel piece (8, 8 ') in position unlocking.   2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the pivoting part (8 ') is mounted around its axis (9) with a substantially vertical clearance (8a).   3. Device according to any one of claims 1 and 2,   characterized by the fact that the counterweight (17) is constituted by a hollow cavity (19) formed in the pivoting part (8 ') and by a ballast (20) housed   in said cavity (19) and movable substantially vertically.