Waste receptacle

Abstract

A dustpan configured to receive and contain debris includes a base and a wall. The base has a front edge over which debris can be swept when placed in contact with a surface. The wall extends upwardly from a portion of the base other than the front edge to contain the debris. A tooth assembly that includes a set of protrusions configured to remove debris from the bristles of a broom when the broom is swept across the protrusions. The tooth assembly can be at least partially disposed in a handle with an arcuate cross-section. The tooth assembly can define a channel configured to frictionally engage a broom handle. The tooth assembly can be moveable with respect to the dustpan. A handle coupled to the tooth assembly can allow a user to move the tooth assembly between a first configuration and a second configuration.

1 . An apparatus comprising:
 a dustpan configured to receive and contain debris, the dustpan including:
 a base configured to be placed in contact with a surface to be cleaned, the base having a front edge over which debris can be swept into the dustpan; and 
 a wall extending upwardly from at least a portion of the base other than the front edge, the wall at least partially configured to contain debris in the dustpan; 
   a handle having a substantially arcuate cross-section coupled to the wall of the dustpan and configured to allow a user to place the base in contact with the surface to be cleaned; and   a tooth assembly at least partially disposed in the arcuate cross-section of the handle, the tooth assembly having a plurality of protrusions extending from the wall and configured to remove debris from bristles of a broom when the broom is swept across the plurality of protrusions.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the handle extends away from the dustpan so that at least a portion of the handle is disposed approximately co-planar with the base. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the handle extends downwardly away from a top edge of the wall so that at least a portion of the handle is disposed approximately co-planar with the base. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the portion of the tooth assembly disposed in the arcuate cross-section of the handle defines a channel configured to frictionally engage a broom handle. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the tooth assembly is unitarily formed. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of protrusions has a taper from its base to its tip. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of protrusions are approximately equally spaced from each other. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of protrusions has a substantially triangular cross-section. 
     
     
         9 . An apparatus comprising:
 a dustpan configured to receive and contain debris, the dustpan including:
 a base configured to be placed in contact with a surface to be cleaned, the base having a front edge over which debris can be swept into the dustpan; and 
 a wall extending upwardly from at least a portion of the base other than the front edge, the wall at least partially configured to contain debris in the dustpan; 
   a handle having a substantially arcuate cross-section coupled to the wall of the dustpan and configured to allow a user to place the base in contact with the surface to be cleaned;   a tooth assembly coupled to at least one of the wall and the handle, the tooth assembly having a plurality of protrusions extending from the wall and configured to remove debris from bristles of a broom when the broom is swept across the plurality of protrusions; and   a portion of the tooth assembly disposed in the arcuate cross-section of the handle and defining a channel configured to frictionally engage a broom handle.   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the base includes a flexible material disposed on the front edge configured to reduce the debris that can fit between the front edge and the surface to be cleaned. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein each of the plurality of protrusions includes a substantially rounded tip at a distal end of each of the plurality of protrusions. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein each of the plurality of protrusions includes a substantially flat tip at a distal end of each of the plurality of protrusions. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of protrusions are rubber. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of protrusions are plastic. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein at least one protrusion of the plurality of protrusions is a different size than a second protrusion of the plurality of protrusions. 
     
     
         16 . An apparatus comprising:
 a dustpan defining an interior region configured to receive and contain debris, the dustpan including a base configured to be placed in contact with a surface to be cleaned, the base having a front edge over which debris can be swept into the dustpan;   a tooth assembly having a plurality of protrusions, the tooth assembly coupled to the dustpan for rotational movement relative to the dustpan between a first configuration such that the plurality of protrusions extend toward the front edge when the base is placed in contact with the surface to be cleaned, and a second configuration such that the plurality of protrusions extend into the interior region of the dustpan when the base is lifted away from the surface to be cleaned, the plurality of protrusions configured to remove debris from bristles of a broom when the broom is swept across the plurality of protrusions; and   a handle coupled to the tooth assembly and configured to allow a user to move the tooth assembly between the first configuration and the second configuration.   
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of protrusions are flexible. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of protrusions are substantially rigid. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 a coupling member configured to operably couple the tooth assembly and the handle to the dustpan.   
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the dustpan includes projections and the coupling member includes recesses configured to receive the projections, the coupling member configured to rotate about the projections between the first configuration and the second configuration.