Receptacle, in particular storage box

The invention relates to the field of a receptacle, in particu- lar of a storage box.

Typically, when sweeping up debris, dust, garden waste or the like there is a need for a dustpan and the person doing the cleaning sweeps the sweepings onto the collecting surface of the dustpan for a removal, particularly dumping it into a trash can. In many cases, however, in particular when performing domestic home cleaning activities, the person doing the cleaning is not able to guickly find or grasp the dustpan, even more when the cleaning worker is not well-organized and, therefore, does not have a special place where such items as dustpan, brush or trash receptacle are stored.

In order to support persons doing the cleaning, especially those ones who are not well-organized in storing all necessary clean- ing items at one and the same place, storage receptacles, in particular trash containers, had been proposed which provide at ^¬ tachment means for dustpans, and, moreover, in that making the dustpan as a functional part of the storage receptacle, e. g. allotting the dustpan the function of a lid or cover element on the storage receptacle.

The US patent application 2001/0045371 Al discloses a portable waste receptacle having a container with bottom, front, rear and side walls, thus being designed as an approximately parallelepi- ped-shaped box with an opening on the top. The opening may be covered by a lid which is hingedly connected to the container in removable manner at the upper edge of the rear wall. When re ^¬ moved from the container, the lid serves as a dustpan after it has been turned upside down. Another waste receptacle with a removable lid, which may serve as a dustpan, is shown in the Korean patent KR1387964B1. In its arrangement when acting as a dustpan, the lid comprises a first wall forming a receiving surface for waste or the like which first wall is positioned in parallel with the front wall of the receptacle when it is covered by the lid. The lid further com ^¬ prises a second wall arranged in parallel with the first wall which is positioned in parallel with the rear wall of the recep- tacle when the lid covers the receptacle. An L-shaped handle is attached to the second wall oriented in opposite direction with the first and second walls.

All known combinations of receptacles with removable lids which may also serve as a dustpan when removed from the receptacle disclose components of the combination manufactured with rigid material preventing the lid from supporting the person doing the cleaning to perform a complete collection of the sweepings, including small particles, from uneven grounds.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to develop further the lid or dustpan, respectively, in order to enable a collection of the complete sweepings, also from not fully even grounds .

A receptacle according to the invention comprises a base body and a removable cover element, e. g. a lid, which cover element is adapted to cover, in upright position of the receptacle, an open top side of the base body. The base body is provided with a bottom wall, a front wall, a rear wall and two side walls ar ^¬ ranged oppositely, preferably in a substantial parallel align ^¬ ment, to each other, wherein its corner sections could be curved. The cover element comprises at least a first wall serv ^¬ ing as a top wall of the receptacle when the cover element co- vers the base body and a second wall which is arranged orthogo ^¬ nally to the first wall. The second wall partially overlaps one of the front, rear or side walls of the base body in its ar ^¬ rangement covering the base body. In this arrangement, a first edge of the second wall of the cover element, which first edge is arranged distantly from the first wall, faces or may touch the outer surface of the respective wall of the base body. Ac ^¬ cording to one aspect of the invention the rear wall of the base body comprises a gripping area that allows a user to hold the base body. Thus the user of the receptacle will be able to move the base body around and for example conveniently can move it to the actual working area or place it aside not hindering himself.

It is of particular advantage if this gripping area does not protrude from the rear wall, thus keeping the receptacle as nar ^¬ row as possible, not using up any additional space that would be needed for any gripping area that else while would stick out .

In one possible embodiment the gripping area comprises a bail having an undercut. This significantly eases the usage of the gripping area as it stays with the users hands (that is its fin ^¬ gers) much better. In particular the bail could be manufactured integral with the rear wall. As such rear wall and bail could be manufactured in one go, for example using injection molding. Al- ternatively the bail could be fixed to the rear wall using screws or the like, or could be glued on the rear wall.

When the cover element is placed on the base body to close the receptacle it is of advantage if it cooperates with the gripping area of the base body and thus safely allows the carriage of the complete receptacle. Thereby the lid top wall of the cover mem ^¬ ber can be without any further area fixing the hand off a user (as for example shown with figure 1) or may exhibit an indent for at least one finger, in particular for a thumb. The indent may be even formed as a recess for at least one finger of a user, which in particular adapted to serve as a recessed grip.

The undercut below the bail might make the gripping section hol- low and thus allows water entering from above into the undercut to flow towards the outer side of wall. In this respect the recess that might be formed in the cover might also embody one or more openings towards its lower part, that allows water that entered the recess to flow off.

According to one embodiment of the invention the second wall of the cover element comprises a zone at least in the area of the first edge which is composed of a flexible material. As a result of that a zone at the first edge with a flexible characteristic, the first edge is in a position of being adaptable to be pressed against uneven grounds, following its shape and thus providing a smooth passage for waste particles from the ground to the dust ^¬ pan surface, i.e. the second wall of the cover element. It is obvious that the zone does not have to comprise all of the area of the first edge, but as well could just comprise a part of it. The zone at the first edge may be a soft lip which is fixed or connected to a portion of the second wall that is composed of a rigid material. The rigid material may be any kind of metal or plastic material, in particular it is a type of reinforced plas- tic material or any injection moldable material. As flexible ma ^¬ terial, e. g. for the soft lip, the use of silicone, rubber or another type of an elastomer may be considered; in particular TPE (thermo plastics elastomere) material. The soft lip may be attached to the portion of the second wall which is composed of rigid material by means of fixing means, the fixing means may be designed to allow a removal or replacement of the soft lip.

Preferably, the soft lip and the portion of the second wall is injection molded, in that providing a captive combination of flexible and rigid material. In particular a 2-component injec- tion molding process (2K process) may be use when manufacturing the cover element and thus to join the soft lip with the rigid material of the cover.

In order to further improve the sweeping and collection of the waste particles, the first edge of the second wall of the cover element preferably passes into a conic slope of the zone and the tapered end edge of the zone may serve as a drip edge for rain or other kind of overhead irrigation when the cover element is positioned on top of the base body in its lid function. Specifi- cally, the conic slope passes into the inner surface of the sec ^¬ ond wall which also serves as a dustpan surface, thereby at least part of it crosses a protrusion or a superelevation which is preferably arranged in parallel with an end edge of the zone. The angle of inclination of the conic slope may be smaller than that one of the decline at the rear side of the protrusion or superelevation, thus allowing an easy passage of the waste particles in sweeping direction but furnishing a sort of barrier for already collected waste making it difficult for these parti ^¬ cles to pass over in opposite direction. The superelevation may be designed by a conic slope having its highest point at a level above the surface of the second wall. In that, the cross section of the zone at the first edge of the second wall may be designed as a saw tooth with a smooth front face and a steep rear face. In a possible embodiment the superelevation might not be uniform in structure but have at least two different shapes that might also serve different purposes. That is, one part might show a more shallow superelevation serving a sealing function when placed at the base body and an improved sweeping function when removed. The other shape might consist of a superelevation that protrudes much higher and that coincides with the shape of the base body at that position (for example a significantly rectan ^¬ gular shape) and thus serves a sealing function as well as a fas ^¬ tening function fastening the cover with the base body. An embodiment of the receptacle may be a storage box, in partic ^¬ ular a balcony box, for storing tools, e. g. gardening tools such like secateurs, garden shovels, etc.. The storage box may also comprise a compartment receiving collected garden or bal- cony waste. Such storage boxes are best designed when they are watertight in order to protect the stored tools from environmen ^¬ tal stress. In particular, for such types of storage boxes it is favorable when a sealing element is arranged in the overlapping area of the second wall of the cover element and the respective wall of the base body. Said sealing element tightens the space between the second wall of the cover element and the allocated wall of the base body, so that water splashes are prevented from entering the inside of the storage box. The sealing element may have a sufficient flexibility which compensates any warpage both at the second wall of the cover element and at the respective wall of the base body.

The sealing element and the zone composed of a flexible material are preferably designed integrally. The sealing element may be a protrusion or superelevation of a conic slope of the zone and, when the cover element closes the receptacle, the protrusion or superelevation touches the outer surface of the respective wall of the base body. A further specific embodiment of the present invention is char ^¬ acterized by a cover element having in addition to the first and second walls a third wall which is arranged particularly orthog ^¬ onally to the first wall and in parallel with the second wall and, furthermore, two particularly parallel fourth walls ar- ranged orthogonally to both the first wall and the second wall and the third wall. In one embodiment each of the second, third and fourth walls overlaps a respective one of the front, rear and side walls of the base body when the cover element takes its covering function on top of the base body. With such circumferential overlapping, the storage box already provides an adeguate protection against entrance of rain drops .

However, a further improvement of protection against humidity is indicated by a sealing element that is circumferentially ar ^¬ ranged in the space, i. e. the overlapping zone, between the second, third and fourth walls of the cover element and the front, rear and side walls of the base body. Such an all-around sealing provides notably good conditions for stored tool pro ^¬ tected against environmental impact .

The fact of providing an all-around overlapping of the walls of the cover element and the walls of the base body might cause a cumbersome handling when the cover element is put on the base body. Therefore, each of the second, third and fourth walls of the cover element and/or the front, rear and side walls of the base body are preferably designed with a conic slope at their free end edges. Such conic slopes act as inclined insertion sur- face and enable a relieved fitting.

For a better control of the collected sweepings, the dustpan may be constructed as to offer the person doing the cleaning an improved insight from above. This target may be met by a height of the third wall of the cover element which is smaller than the height of the second wall. Such a construction does not only provide an improved insight, but it also facilitates the move ^¬ ment of the brush when sweeping the waste particles onto the dustpan surface. Preferably, the fourth walls that are connect- ing the second and third walls at their lateral edges are com ^¬ pensating the height difference by having a sloping upper edge.

The handling of the dustpan, m particular during the sweeping activity, may be further enhanced by a handle element which is arranged at the third wall, thus providing a grip for moving t dustpan to the desired position. In one embodiment the handle element is preferably an elongated bar which is arranged in par ^¬ allel with the second wall. Such elongated bar can be easily en ^¬ compassed by the cleaning person and both collecting the sweep- ings and emptying the dustpan is enabled in an ergonomic way. The handle element may be fixed to a free end edge of the third wall, extending from there in straight prosecution.

The cover element with a handle element may be characterized by a groove or a tunnel arranged at the rear wall of the base body, which groove or tunnel is designed to receive and/or guide the handle element when the cover element is put on or removed from the base body. Such an arrangement further improves the cover element handling when serving as a lid for the base body, nota- bly in the situation of the cover element to position at and slide onto the base body.

In a embodiment the cover element provides a different solution to the elongated handle element. According to this alternative solution a handle element is arranged at the first wall of the cover element, which handle element may be a recess in the first wall. Such recessed grip may work as a pocket for introducing the fingers of a hand, while the thumb touches the second or third wall of the cover element, in a manner of a pinch. It is of advantage if the handle element is arranged in a central area of the first wall.

Another alternative embodiment proposes an arrangement of the cover element at the base body by way of a pivoting connection. For that reason, the cover element and/or the base body com ^¬ prise (s) hinge parts for establishing such a pivoting connec ^¬ tion. In the closed position of the receptacle the sealing ele ^¬ ment is pushed against the respective wall of the base body, thereby compensating any warpages and establishing a watertight arrangement . In one embodiment the placement of the cover onto the base body can be eased by indentions that are formed in at least in one wall of the forth walls of the cover and with mate with corre ^¬ sponding embossments placed on the base body. If is understood that the one or more indentations also could be formed on the base body then mating with respective embossments on the cover.

The invention will be described more fully in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a balcony box in closed condi ^¬ tion showing in particular a front side thereof;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the balcony box of Fig. 1 in particular a rear side thereof;

Figs .

3a, b are perspective views of a box lid and of a box base of the balcony box of Fig. 1, both components separated from each other;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the balcony box components of

Figs . 3a, b, but in a condition when the box lid is lifted from the box base for opening or approaching the box base for closure;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of the detail of Fig. 3a

along the line V - V; and

Fig. 6a, b are the cover and the base body of an alternative em ^¬ bodiment of the balcony box.

Fig. 7a, b, c are detailed cuts of the balcony box of figures 6, Fig. 8a, b show an exemplary embodiment of a base body with a gripping area (including its cross sectional view) .

Fig. 9 shows a closed receptacle allowing its cover to inter- act with the respective base section

Fig. 10a, b show possible embodiments of useful covers.

Referring to the drawings where is shown a specific embodiment of a box with a functioning cover element which is a balcony box 1 for storing items, in particular gardening tools 3, e. g. secateurs or the like. In particular with figures 8 to 10 exemplary embodiments are shown that embodies a gripping area on the box or parts of it.

As can be seen in Fig. 1, the balcony box 1 is a box-shaped container and may have a height of 260 mm, a length of 200 mm and a depth of 100 mm and it is manufactured using an injection molda- ble plastic material

The balcony box 1 comprises two components which are a box base 5 and a box lid 7. Both components 5, 7 are separate elements of the balcony box 1, they are not fixedly interconnected but may be put together to add up to the closed box as shown in Figures 1 and 2. In order to provide a stable positioning of the balcony box 1, it may be hang-up at a wall, e. g. a house wall. To this end, two suspension eyes 9 are provided at a rear wall 11 of the box base 5. When separated from the box base 5 in a vertical movement, as shown in Fig. 4, the box lid 7 uncovers the interior of the box base 5. As can be seen in Fig. 3b, the interior is separated into several compartments 13 of different width for separating the stored items from each other, thereby allowing the owner of the balcony box 1 to remain well organized. The box lid 7, when removed from the box base as shown in Fig. 3a, enables the owner to make use of its second function. With the outer surface 15a of its front wall 15 directed towards the floor or ground, the box lid 7 can be used as a dustpan for col ^¬ lecting and removing swept waste particles. In this second func ^¬ tion, the inner surface 15b of the front wall 15 works as col ^¬ lecting surface for the waste. For an ergonomic handling of the dustpan 7 a handle 17 is provided, which handle 17 is shaped as an elongated bar of rectangular cross section. The handle 17 is arranged in parallel with the inner surface 15b of the front wall 15 of the box lid 7 and constitutes a continuation of a box lid rear wall 19. In order to provide a better insight onto the collecting surface of the dustpan 7 for a person doing the cleaning and also to enable an unhindered sweeping movement, the rear wall 19 of the box lid 7 is of distinct small height com ^¬ pared to the height of its front wall 15, rather, according to Fig. 3a, the rear wall 19 is merely a small strip. Beside the front wall 15 and the rear wall 19, the box lid 7 further comprises two side walls 21, 21' completing its box-like structure. Each of the side walls 21, 21' connects a lateral edge of the front wall 15 with a lateral edge of the rear wall 19. Due to the different heights of front 15 and rear 19 walls, there is no parallel alignment of the upper edges of the side walls 21, 21' with their lower edges, instead, the heights of the side walls 21, 21' are continuously decreasing from the front wall 15 to the rear wall 19. In the embodiment of Fig. 3a the upper edges of the side walls 21, 21' picture a concave curve, however, other embodiments may provide straight-lined or convex upper edges instead.

To enable a notable sweeping by moving all waste particles across the front edge of the collecting surface of the dustpan 7, this front edge is provided with a soft lip 23 made of sili ^¬ cone performing high flexibility, thus allowing adjustment to uneven grounds. With such adjustment the number of waste parti ^¬ cles not transferred to the collection surface but pushed into a gap between dustpan front edge and the ground is limited to a high degree.

Following the specific shape of the box lid 7 with different heights of front 15 and rear 19 walls, the box base is designed in a reversed way, i. e. the front wall 25 of the box base 5 is of smaller height than its rear wall 11 and its side walls 27, 27' are adapted to the upper edge of the lid side walls 21, 21', in that providing an upper edge with a convex contour. In order to improve the stability of the closed balcony box 1, a rim 29 is arranged close to the upper edge of the side walls 27, 27' and the rear wall 11, with the upper side of the rim 29 being in parallel alignment with the upper edge of the upper edge of the side walls 27, 27' and the rear wall 11. With such a rim 29, a shoulder is provided for supporting the upper edges of the side walls 21, 21' and the rear wall 19 of the box lid 7. With such arrangement of a partial overlapping of the side walls 21, 21' of the box lid 7 and the side walls 27, 27' of the box base 5 as well as of the rear wall 19 of the box lid 7 and the rear wall 11 of the box base 5, a kind of labyrinth seal is provided which brings out a sufficient sealing against humidity. Of course, the sealing effect could be further increased with an implementation of a specific sealing element.

Fig. 4 also provides an explanation of the handling when the balcony box 1 shall be closed, e. g. after a sweeping operation with the aid of the box lid 7 as dustpan has been completed. During this closure procedure, the box lid 7 approaches the box base 5 from above downwardly in a vertical movement. In order to facilitate the closure movement, in particular with providing a centered approach, the handle 17 of the box lid 7 works as a centering means in cooperation with a respective groove 31 ar ^¬ ranged at the rear wall 11 of the box base 5. The cross-sec ^¬ tional area of the groove 31 shows slightly larger dimensions than the cross-sectional area of the handle 17 which allows a slipping of the handle 17 within the groove 31 nearly free of clearance .

With the cross-sectional view of Fig. 5 the silicone soft lip 23 shall be further explained. In order to further improve the sweeping effect, the soft lip 23 is tapered towards its front ^¬ line or end edge 33, therewith making an access ramp 23a for the waste particles available supplying a particularly small step for the sweepings. Such a tapering also increases the flexibil ^¬ ity of the soft lip 23 at its end edge 33. As can be also seen in Fig. 5, there is no flush crossover from the access ramp 23a to the inner surface 15b of the front wall 15, rather, a super ^¬ elevation 35 of the access ramp 23a is provided which is of higher level than the inner surface 15b. Said superelevation 35 performs a slight barrier for waste particles to return when they are already collected on the inner surface 15b or dustpan collection surface, respectively.

The superelevation 35, however, offers a second function: when the balcony box 1 is in its closed condition, the superelevation 35 is pressed against the box base front wall 25, thus serving as a sealing element . Thanks to the higher flexibility of the silicone material compared to the rigid box base 5 and box lid 7 material the superelevation 35 is enabled to compensate any warpage that might have arisen at the box base front wall 25 and/or at the box lid front wall 15.

In an embodiment (not shown) which is eguipped with increased sealing the soft lip 23 with the superelevation 35 is not only provided at the front wall 15 of the box lid but such sealing being a circumferential arrangement. Fig. 6a and 6b show the cover and the base body of an alterna ^¬ tive embodiment of the balcony box. While all other components thereof and also its twofold functionality is realized in the box lid of Fig. 6a and 6b in a similar manner, the handle 17 is different to the handle 17 of the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 5. First of all, the handle 17 is arranged at the bottom wall 14 of the box lid 7. Beyond that, the handle 17 is realized as a re ^¬ cess 37 in a central area of the top wall 14, i. e. it is adapted to serve as a recessed grip.

The cover (7) situates the soft lip (23, 24) . The zone the soft lip (23) covers does not comprise all of the area of the first edge, but just comprise a part of it. With this embodiment the superelevation (35) of the soft lip (23) exhibits only the space between the soft lip's protrusions (24) . The soft lip (23) next to its protrusions (24) towards the inner surface (15b) of the cover (7) does not exhibit any superelevation (35) . In the cover (7) indentions (41) are formed on its side walls that mate with corresponding embossments (42) placed on the base body (5) . This particularly helps with placing the cover (7) on top of the base body (7) . As shown with figure 6a the recess (37) may exhibit one or more (here two) openings (here holes) that allow water that enters the recess (37) to flow downwards when the cover (7) is placed on the base body (5) . The two different parts which form the inner section of the soft lip (23) can best be seen from Fig. 7a, b and c. The first part is in general similar to the soft lip shown with the embod ^¬ iment of Fig. 1 to 5, exhibiting a superelevation (35) that results in a sealing function (when fixed to the base body (5)) and a collection function (when offset from the base body (5)) . The second part of the soft lip (23) shows two protrusions (24), that together with the indent section (28) of the base body (5) serve a locking function when fixed to it. Figures 8a show an exemplary embodiment of a base body (5) with a gripping area (51) . Figure 8b shows its cross sectional view. Here the rear wall (11) of the base body (5) comprises a grip ^¬ ping area (51) that allows a user to hold the base body (5) . In particular the gripping area (51) does not protrude from the rear wall (11) . The gripping area (51) comprises a bail (52) having an undercut (53) allowing the hand (or at least one fin ^¬ ger) of a user to carry and/or move the base body in a secure manner. It is of particular advantage when the cover element (7) when placed on the base body (5) cooperates with the gripping area (51) of the base body (5) . A similar embodiment of a recep ^¬ tacle is also shown with figure 2. Also here the handle (17) protrudes into an undercut (53) that is formed below a

bail (52) . Here the bail (52) as well as the respective under ^¬ cut (53) are formed narrower than in case of the embodiment shown with figure 8 it still will allow a user to hold and carry the base body (5) . In an advantageous manner the bail (52) is formed integral with the rear wall (11) .

As shown with figure 8b the undercut (53) below the bail (52) might make the gripping section (51) hollow and thus allows wa ^¬ ter entering from above into the undercut (52) to flow towards the outer side of wall (11) .

Fig. 9 shows a closed receptacle (1) having a base body (5) and a removable cover element (7), the cover element (7) adapted to cover an open top side of the base body (5) . This allows the cover element (7) to interact with the respective gripping por ^¬ tion (51) base body (5) . Here the overall receptacle (1) can easily be carried by a user without the risk of losing any part of it . Fig. 10a, b show possible embodiments of useful covers (7) . The cover (7) of figure 10a has an indent (54) towards the middle of the upper wall (14) of cover (7) . This ident fits at least one finger of a user, in particular its thumb, when cooperating with the gripping section (51) formed at the base body (5) . An alter ^¬ native embodiment of the cover (7) is shown with figure 10b. Here the gripping section (51) at the base body (5) cooperates with a recess (37) formed on the upper wall (14) of the

cover (7) . The recess (37) accommodates at least one finger of the user. In may also serve as a recessed grip when the

cover (7) is used as a shovel, as for example described with figure 6a.

List of reference numerals balcony box

gardening tool

base body / box base

cover element / box lid / dustpan suspension eyes

base rear wall

compartments

lid top wall

lid front wall

outer surface

inner surface

handle

box handle

lid rear wall

lid side walls

soft lip

access ramp

protrusion

base front wall

outer surface

base side walls

indent section

rim

groove

end edge

superelevation

recess

indentation

embossment

gripping section

bail

undercut

indent