Patent Application
20180319588
The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present disclosure. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art nor material to the presently described or claimed inventions, nor that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
The present invention relates generally to the field of trash bags and more specifically relates to functional decorative trash bags.
It is common to provide a liner, such as a disposable bag in a receptacle, such as a trash basket. Typically, such a liner is a plastic bag which is placed inside of the receptacle to protect it against soiling of its interior and to facilitate disposal of trash. The disposable bags are typically only available in two colors: black and white. Boring black and white trash bags can take away from the look and ambience of a party theme and it may be difficult to identify as to which party the trash belongs to. Birthday parties, baby showers, and other events outfitted with plain black and white trash bags may be undesirable and look out of place. People may feel disappointed with how their party decor looks with plain trash bags. A suitable solution is desired.
U.S. Pub. No. 2001/0041024 to Jean Tobin Zawlocki relates to a decorative waste receptacle liner. The described decorative waste receptacle liner includes a waste receptacle liner having a decorative pattern 30 printed on both the inside surface and outside surface 16 of the liner and the method and process for making same.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known trash bags art, the present disclosure provides a novel functional decorative trash bag. The general purpose of the present disclosure, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a decorative trash bag for matching a theme of a party to help in organization.
A waste-receptacle liner is disclosed herein. The waste-receptacle liner includes a bag-body which may include an inner-volume defined by an outer-shell. Further, the bag-body may include a bottom-edge and an open-top opposite the bottom-edge and relative to the waste-receptacle when installed. The inner-volume may include a bag-capacity greater than the receptacle-capacity. In addition, the outer-shell of the bag-body may include at least one functional decorative-indicium thereon.
A method of using waste-receptacle liner is also disclosed herein. The method of using waste-receptacle liner may comprise the steps of: providing the waste receptacle liner as above; choosing a desired at least one functional decorative-indicium; selecting an ink-type; positioning the outer-shell of the bag-body for printing; and printing the desired at least one decorative-indicium onto the outer-shell of the bag-body via a printing-means.
For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein. The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and detailed description.
The figures which accompany the written portion of this specification illustrate embodiments and methods of use for the present disclosure, functional decorative trash bags, constructed and operative according to the teachings of the present disclosure.
The various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements.
As discussed above, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a trash bags and more particularly to functional decorative trash bags as used to improve the function and use of trash bags.
Generally, disclosed are themed trash bags designed to match party décor. Further, the disclosure may include a party theme kit fitted with the garbage bags, cups, plates, utensils, balloons, tablecloths, and other desired party items. This may ensure all decorations at a party are coordinated and maintain a desired, stylish look. The trash bags may conveniently fit into 13-gallon and 30-gallon trash receptacles, allowing users to simply remove the bag and tie it off for disposal. The party can be organized and maintained by ready identification of all of the garbage bags, cups, plates, utensils, balloons, tablecloths and the like for attendees and maintenance personnel alike.
The trash bags may be decorative (functionally) and capable of being included in a themed party kit for birthdays, anniversaries, and more. The trash bags may be intended to match other party décor such as cups, plates, tablecloths, and the like, each outfitted with a specific logo, design, and/or color to aid in ready identification. The trash bags may be designed to replace plain black and white trash bags in order to maintain the desired look of a party or event as serve to differentiate from other parties that may be occurring. The bags may be available in the kit or in packages of two.
The trash bags may be constructed using durable, flexible plastic. Each bag can be customized and designed with virtually any type of indicia or color. The bags may be available in 13-gallon and 30-gallon sizes for additional convenience. Exact size, measurement, construction, and design specifications may vary upon manufacturing.
Referring now more specifically to the drawings by numerals of reference, there is shown in
Referring now to
In the preferred embodiment, the at least one functional decorative-indicium 120 may be ink 122. In this embodiment, the ink 122 may be powdered-ink, liquid-ink, etc. The ink 122 may be chosen and formulated to reduce a risk of potential static or ink pick-off. Further, the ink 122 may include an ink film-thickness of 0.3 mil. Other thicknesses are contemplated, however, it should be appreciated that the ink-film may consist of a thickness 114 that minimizes a tendency for the bag-body 110 to curl or pucker. In an embodiment with liquid-ink 122, the ink 122 may be water-based and may minimize distortion. A further example may include ultraviolet-cured screen ink.
The at least one functional decorative-indicium 120 may be applied to the outer-shell 113 of the bag-body 110 via a printing-means 130. Examples of printing-means 130 may be silk-screen printing, screen-process printing, flexographic printing, etc. A wide variety of printing-means 130 are contemplated. Corona treatment may be used on the bag-body 110 prior to application of the ink 122. This may be particularly useful when using silk-screen printing as the printing-means 130 as the corona treatment may increase bonding characteristics of the bag-body 110, thus helping the at least one functional decorative-indicia 120 adhere to the bag-body 110.
Further, the supply-kit 140 may include at least one tablecloth 146 configured for removable installation over a table and including the at least one functional decorative-indicium 120 thereon; at least one bowl 148 configured to hold the food-item and including the at least one functional decorative-indicium 120 thereon; and at least one cutlery-item 149 configured for picking up the food-item and including the at least one functional decorative-indicium 120 thereon. The at least one cutlery-item 149 may be a knife, fork, spoon, etc.
Referring now to
It should be noted that the steps described in the method of use can be carried out in many different orders according to user preference. The use of “step of” should not be interpreted as “step for”, in the claims herein and is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). It should also be noted that, under appropriate circumstances, considering such issues as design preference, user preferences, marketing preferences, cost, structural requirements, available materials, technological advances, etc., other methods for waste-receptacle liner 100 (e.g., different step orders within above-mentioned list, elimination or addition of certain steps, including or excluding certain maintenance steps, etc.), are taught herein.
The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application.
The present application is related to and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/502,101 filed May 5, 2017, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62502101 | May 2017 | US |
