Trash can assembly with locking lid
Patent No. US7086550 (titled "Trash can assembly with locking lid") on Apr 19, 2004. The application was issued on Aug 8, 2006.
What is this patent about?
’550 is related to the field of household waste containers, specifically foot-pedal operated trash cans. It addresses the common frustration where a user must maintain constant pressure on a pedal to keep a lid open, which is inconvenient when performing tasks like changing a liner or scraping multiple plates.
The underlying idea behind ’550 is to integrate a gravity-actuated pivoting bar directly into the hinge mechanism that can prop the lid open. By utilizing the existing motion of the foot pedal and the link rod, the invention provides a secondary mechanical stop that the user can engage to bypass the spring-back or gravity-close nature of the lid.
The claims of ’550 focus on a trash can assembly featuring a shell, a lid, and a foot pedal connected via a link rod, where a pivoting lock is secured to the lid and coupled to that same link rod. The independent claims specifically require that this lock is housed entirely inside the shell when the lid is closed and engages a support frame or ridge at the top of the shell to hold the lid open.
In practice, when the user steps on the pedal, the link rod pushes the lid up and simultaneously moves the lock. The user can then manually flip the lock so its end rests against a stationary ridge on the upper frame. This creates a mechanical bridge that resists the weight of the lid, keeping it stationary without further foot pressure.
This design differs from prior solutions by hiding the locking hardware within the shell's interior when not in use, maintaining a clean aesthetic. Furthermore, the system is designed for automatic disengagement; by simply pressing the foot pedal again, the link rod lifts the lid slightly, allowing the lock to lose its footing and fall back into the shell via gravity, permitting the lid to close normally.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical Landscape
In the mid-2000s when ’550 was filed, refuse container design was characterized by a reliance on mechanical foot-pedal linkages to facilitate hands-free operation at a time when lid actuation was typically implemented using a direct vertical rod assembly. While these systems effectively isolated the user from contact with the container, they commonly relied on continuous physical pressure from the user's foot to maintain an open state rather than incorporating secondary mechanical retention features. In this era, the integration of multi-state positioning within a standard kinetic linkage was non-trivial due to the engineering constraints of maintaining a simple, durable, and low-cost mechanical path between the base and the hinge.
Prosecution Position
The disclosed invention addresses the technical limitation of momentary-only lid actuation by introducing a dedicated locking mechanism that interfaces between the lid and the shell. This architectural shift moves beyond simple pedal-driven linkages by providing a secondary mechanical engagement that can bypass the default closing force of the hinge assembly. The technical effect is the ability to maintain the container in a static open position without continuous external force, overcoming the constraint of user immobility during extended tasks such as liner replacement or waste sorting. By integrating a removable lock directly into the lid-to-shell interface, the system achieves a dual-mode functionality that supports both transient and sustained access to the container interior.
Claims
The patent contains a total of 12 claims, with claims 1, 9, and 12 serving as the independent claims. These independent claims focus on a trash can assembly featuring a foot-pedal-operated lid and a pivoting lock mechanism that engages with the shell or a support frame to hold the lid open, ensuring the lock remains inside the assembly when the lid is closed. The dependent claims serve to further define the structural components of the locking mechanism, such as the use of brackets, ridges, and specific positioning of the lock relative to the shell interior during operation.
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US7086550
- Application Number
- US10828067A
- Filing Date
- Apr 19, 2004
- Publication Date
- Aug 8, 2006
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO , Google Patents