Institutional Refuse Container with Locked Inner Receptacle
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Solution Overview
Problem
Institutions dealing with mental illness and incarceration face challenges in preventing access to plastic refuse bags, which can be used for harmful activities, leading to discontinuation of their use and subsequent contamination or waste disposal issues.
Innovation Solution
A refuse container design featuring a locked door, a curved ramp, and a three-dimensional internal removable container with a sleeve that prevents external access to the plastic bag, ensuring only authorized removal by unlocking the door and sliding out the internal container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If plastic refuse bags are made accessible for refuse collection and disposal, then cleanliness and waste disposal effectiveness are improved, but the risk of harmful activities (suicide, self-harm, choking) increases
Solution Approach 1:
The refuse container is divided into multiple segments: an outer container, an inner removable receptacle, and a cover sleeve. The plastic bag is contained within the inner receptacle, which can be removed and replaced without opening the outer container. This segmentation allows the plastic bag to remain accessible for its intended function while preventing direct access to the outer container where harmful activities could occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested structure where the plastic bag is nested within the inner receptacle, which is nested within the outer container, and the cover sleeve is nested over the inner receptacle opening. This multi-layer nesting creates barriers that prevent access to the plastic bag while maintaining its functionality for refuse collection.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If plastic bags are removed from institutional use to prevent harmful activities, then safety is improved, but contamination and waste disposal problems worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The inner removable receptacle acts as an intermediary between the plastic bag and the external environment. It allows the plastic bag to perform its waste collection function while the receptacle itself serves as a barrier that prevents direct access. The receptacle can be removed and replaced as a unit, maintaining safety while enabling proper waste disposal.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a locked door and curved ramp design are implemented to prevent access, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a curved ramp design within the container opening that prevents linear access to the inner receptacle. The curved geometry naturally deflects attempts to reach through the opening while still allowing refuse to be deposited into the container. This curved design provides passive security without requiring active locking mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided herein is a disclosure of a refuse container including a typical plastic refuse bag article therein that is inaccessible without opening the container itself. Such a refuse container is provided with a locked door component that leads to a removable inner receptacle with a top-placed cover sleeve. Such an inner receptacle slides into place under above-extended structures that under which the cover sleeve is positioned, the above-extended structures including an opening that leads to the positioned sleeve with a like-shaped opening therein. Additionally, the refuse container includes an outer opening along a side portion thereof that leads to a curved ramp itself leading to the opening aligned with the cover sleeve and inner receptacle. With this overall design, a plastic bag and cannot be removed without sliding the inner receptacle with the locked door opened.