This invention relates broadly to vapour emission devices for refuse containers. The invention is particularly concerned with such devices which are designed for attachment to wheeled refuse bins, particularly domestic wheeled refuse bins.

In recent years the use of wheeled bins for the collection of domestic and garden waste has become widespread. These bins have a hinged lid, and, being normally closed, are subject to the build-up of obnoxious smells, especially during hot weather. On lifting the lid to deposit further rubbish the user is then subjected to the odour of rotting waste material. Also, problems can arise with flies and other insects, particularly with certain types of refuse.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vapour emission device which can be affixed to a refuse container to emit a fragrant smell and/or insect repellent and/or insect killer within the interior of the refuse container.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a vapour emission device for a refuse container, e.g. a wheeled container, in which the device incorporates a removable component which can be taken from the device and replaced by a new component for renewal of the contents when the previous source is exhausted.

Wheeled refuse containers have alternative designs of lip around the top of the container, depending upon the source of manufacture. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vapour emission device which can be used with any of the existing types of container or bin, regardless of their configuration.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a vapour emission device for refuse containers, the device comprising fastening means for attaching the device to the upper rim of a refuse container, and a component which emits a fragrance and/or insect repellent and/or insect killer and which in use is positioned within the container.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a vapour emission device to be fitted to an upper rim of a refuse container, the device comprising a first part which is adapted to be positioned over an upstanding lip of the container and depends into the container, a second part externally of the container and cooperative with the first part and with the container to enable the first part to be affixed to the container, and a third part carried by the first part within the container and arranged to emit a fragrance and/or insect repellent and/or insect killer. in one embodiment, the third part is pivotally movable relative to the first part. The vapour-emitting means may comprise a cassette which slides into and out of a holder. The cassette can incorporate a pad which is impregnated with a fragrance oil and/or insect repellent and/or insect killer.

The device of the present invention may incorporate a fly or insect repellent or fly or insect killer either alone or, preferably, in combination with a fragrance-emitting product. Preferably, the device will use a combination of a fragrance oil with a fly repellent. The fly repellent may be present in a proportion of for example 15% to 25% of the total liquid which impregnates the pad or other holder which forms part of the device. in other words, wherever reference is made

hereinafter to a fragrance oil or other fragrance- emitting product, the present invention envisages substituting for that either a combination of fragrance oil with insect repellent or insect killer, or the substitution of that fragrance oil by an insect repellent or insect killer.

The first part preferably includes an elongate tongue which extends down into the container in contact with the inside surface thereof and which has a hooked portion at its upper end for positioning over the lip of the container.

In another embodiment, the first part comprises a tongue which is a loose fit over the container lip and extends downwards outside the container, said second part comprises a spacer extending between the lower end of the tongue and the outside surface of the container, and the securement together of said first and second parts generates a biassing force tending to maintain the device in place on the container.

The vapour emission device is preferably affixed to the back lip of the wheeled container. In this way the third part, if pivotable, can, if not hindered by waste material, move away from the side of the bin and pivot further out of the direct passage of the waste material as it is emptied from the inverted container.

It is a particular advantage of the device of the present invention that the unit is a permanent fixing to the container and that it is only necessary to replace a removable vapour-emitting means, for example a cassette, in order to restore the fragrance and/or insect repellent, etc., when renewal is necessary. if the means emitting vapour is a cassette.

it preferably comprises engageable front and back portions with an impregnated pad therebetween.

Preferably, the front and/or back portions of the cassette is/are provided with cut-outs to encourage the movement of air through the impregnated pad.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, a number of presently preferred embodiments of vapour emission device in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of vapour emission device fixed to the back of a wheeled bin; Fig. 2 shows a modified device having an alternative fixing arrangement;

Fig. 3 is a plan view, from the back, of the pivotable portion of the device of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the pivotable part shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view of one side of the removable cassette;

Fig. 6 is a view of the other side of the removable cassette; Fig. 7 is an end view showing the cassette mounted within the pivotable holder;

Fig. 8 is a partial schematic side view of a second embodiment of vapour emission device shown fitted to a container; Fig. 9 shows a third embodiment of vapour emission device;

Fig. 10 shows a fourth embodiment of vapour emission device; and.

Fig. 11 shows a more detailed view of part of the vapour emission device of Fig. 10.

In the different embodiments the respective same reference numerals have been used to denote the same or equivalent parts of the vapour emission device. Referring first to Fig. 1 there is shown a part of a wheeled refuse container or bin 10. In Fig. 1 the back of the container or bin is indicated at 11. Around the top of the bin is a projecting rib 12 which is of generally rectangular cross-section. Around the upper opening of the bin is an upstanding lip 13 which encircles the opening. The bin is provided with a hinged cover or lid (not shown) .

The vapour emission device of the present invention is arranged to be seated on the upstanding lip 13, as shown. The vapour emission device comprises a first part 14 which has a generally rectangular flat tongue 15 which is positioned flat against the inside face of the bin and which at the top is curved over in the form of a hook 16 which can locate on the lip 13. Projecting from the outside of the hook portion 16 is a further tongue 17 which has serrated edges.

A second part of the vapour emission device is indicated generally at 18 and is a shaped moulding of plastics material. The upper outside face of this second part 18 is provided with two bars 19 through which the tongue 17 can be pushed or drawn in order to provide a latching mechanism. The lower end of the second part 18 is turned back on itself to define an inner leg 20 which is of a resilient nature. With the first part 14 hooked over the upstanding lip 13 and with the second part 18 having its inner leg 20 positioned against the outside of the encircling rib 12, pulling of the tongue 17 through the latching bars 19 will cause the two parts 14 and 18 to be drawn into tight contact with the bin. The first part 14 carries a pivotally mounted

housing 21. The depending tongue 15 is provided on each side with lugs and pins which provide a mounting for arms 22 of the housing 21. The housing is shown most clearly in Figs. 3 and 4. The housing has a front portion 23 and a back portion 24, with the front portion having an open face and the back portion providing the two hinged arms 22. The front and back portions 23, 24 of the housing are snapped together during production. The housing 21 acts as a holder for a cassette which is indicated generally at 26. The cassette 26 is designed to be slidable into and out of the housing 21 by manual gripping of the finger portion 27. The cassette 26 is shown most clearly in Figs. 5 and 6. The edge of the cassette opposite the finger portion 27 is provided with a small recess 28 which acts as a locating means engageable with a locating pin which is provided in the moulded housing 21. The front face of the cassette, as shown in Fig. 5, has a pattern of cut-outs 29. The back of the cassette, as shown in Fig. 6, is open but is provided with four supporting loops 30 which act as retainers for an impregnated pad 31 which is located between the loops and the front portion of the cassette. The pad 31 can be impregnated with any suitable oil or other fragrance-emitting product, and/or with an insect repellent and/or with an insect killer. The cassette, incorporating the pad 31, would normally be sold as a complete unit to the consumer, for simple insertion into the housing 21.

In use, the vapour emission device is secured to the rear of the wheeled bin with the housing holding the cassette positioned within the interior of the bin. Normally the pivotable housing 21 will hang down in the bin. The open rear of the cassette 26 and the apertured front of the cassette enable air to pass around the impregnated pad and for the vapour from the

pad to circulate within the bin. If the bin is so filled with waste material that the waste reaches the level of the cassette then the cassette can be pivoted upwards and then lowered into place on top of the waste material. It will thus continue to exercise its function even when the bin is substantially full. When the bin is emptied into a collecting vehicle, the bin is positioned so that the front edge of the bin is towards the rear of the vehicle and the bin is lifted so that the hinged bin lid drops forward. By siting the vapour emission device on the rear edge of the bin and by making the housing 21 pivotable, the waste material can fall from the bin into the vehicle, passing the vapour emission device without damaging it. When the pad 31 in the cassette 26 is exhausted, one can simply remove the cassette from the housing by drawing it vertically upwards and then one can slide a new cassette into place.

Fig. 2 shows a modified embodiment of vapour emission device in which the device is held in place by the use of a webbing strap 32. This is attached to a bar 33 provided on the outside face of the hook 16 of the first part 14 of the moulding. The strap 32 is provided with an adjustable buckle and clip indicated generally at 34 which in use is sited so as to hook under the peripheral rib 12 of the bin. When the strap is tightened the top hook 16 is pulled down onto the lip 13 of the bin.

In a further embodiment of the invention the hinge mechanism of the device is omitted and the unit effectively becomes a tongue hanging down inside the refuse container. The tongue 15 in Figs. 1 and 2 is omitted and the housing 21 then lies flush against the inside of the container wall, with a clip or other fastening at the top. The housing still carries a

removable cassette 26 or the equivalent.

In Fig. 8 the upper portion of the wheeled refuse container again terminates at the top in a projecting upstanding lip 13 and has a circumferential, outwardly projecting flange 12. The flange 12 is of generally inverted L-shaped configuration in the illustrated embodiment. The housing of the vapour emission device which holds the cassette is indicated generally at 21. The construction of the cassette portion of the device may be as described above in relation to Figs. 1 to 7. Here, the upper margin of the cassette is provided with a tongue, indicated generally at 38. The tongue comprises a first arcuate portion 39 which is a loose fit over the upstanding lip 13 of the container. The tongue then has a generally horizontally extending portion 40, a generally downwardly extending portion 41 and a return portion 42. The tongue 38 can be made for example of polypropylene, for example of 2mm thickness. The plastics material from which the tongue 38 is made has "memory" properties, such that the downward portion 41 and return portion 42 of the tongue normally tend to move towards the cassette. These portions of the tongue 38 are forced outwards by a spacer, indicated generally at 43, which extends between the return portion 42 and the container itself. The spacer 43 comprises an inclined leg 44 which terminates at the bottom in a foot 45 and which terminates at the opposite end in a plate 46 which has upwardly and downwardly extending portions from the leg 44. The upwardly extending portion of the plate 46 has an outwardly curved outer end which lies beneath the underside of the container flange 12. The foot 45 of the spacer 43 is preferably provided with a plurality of studs 47 which fit into corresponding holes in the

return portion 42 of the tongue 38.

When the spacer 43 is assembled to the tongue 38 and the device is fitted in place on the container, as shown in Fig. 8, the spacer 43 will extend between the tongue and the container and the memory properties of the tongue will cause the spacer 43 to be biassed into contact with the container and thus to generate a holding force which will maintain the vapour emission device in place on the container. With the fastening arrangement described above the cassette housing 21 will remain flush against the inside face of the container and is not pivotable relative thereto.

The means for securing the spacer 43 to the tongue 38 need not consist of interfitting studs 47 and holes. Any alternative method of securement may be used, for example by having one part arranged to slide relative to the other into a fixing location. Other ways of achieving this object will be apparent to those skilled in this art. The securement of the spacer 43 to the tongue 38 may be temporary, i.e. dismantlable, or permanent.

Fig. 9 shows an alternative arrangement in which the outwardly projecting flange 12 on the container or bin is much smaller and in which the upstanding lip 13 is longer. Here again the general configuration of the securing mechanism for the vapour emission device is as shown in Fig. 8, comprising a tongue 38 and a spacer 43. Here however the relative dimensions of the arm portions of the plate 46 differ slightly from those of Fig. 8, in order to adapt them to the configuration of the particular container.

Fig. 10 shows yet a further alternative structure, where again the relative dimensions of the parts of the spacer 43 are varied somewhat, but still with the same object of maintaining a biassing force

place on the container. Fig. 11 shows in more detail the shape of the spacer 43, and in particular the use of studs 47 on the underside of the foot 45.

Other methods of securing the vapour emission device to the upper margin of a wheeled refuse container will be evident to those skilled in this art and are intended to be included within the scope of this invention.