Claims
- 1. A pair of holders for manually carrying one or more handled plastic grocery bags and for supporting one of such bags within a container of the type having flat, thin, vertical side walls and an open top with a relatively wide horizontal rim which has a predetermined cross-sectional area and which forms an overhanging ledge above the sides of said container,
- said holders each being made of a sheet of elastic material which is formed to have a generally U-shaped configuration when seen from an end thereof in a given direction normal to the plane of said "U",
- said holders each being elongated in said given direction for about the width of an adult human hand and so that when placed over opposite sides of said container with the handles of a plastic grocery placed thereunder, respectively, said handles will each be spread enough to hold said bag open,
- the legs and bight portion of each of said holders having a relatively small thickness, when measured in directions perpendicular to said direction of elongation, in relation to the length of the legs of said "U" and in relation to the length of said "U" in said given direction,
- said legs of each said holders being spaced apart at least as far as the width of said widened top rim of said container,
- said legs of each of said holders having free ends which are bent inwardly toward each other so that said free ends are spaced apart less than the width of said widened top rim,
- each of said holders being shaped so that
- (a) when its legs are spread apart with said "U" upside down and said holder is placed over said widened top rim and pressed down as far as possible, with one said legs on the inside of said container, and said legs are allowed to spring back, sufficient space will exist between the inside of said side wall of said container and said one leg to accommodate a handle of said plastic grocery bag,
- (b) the free end of said one leg will contact and press against the inside of said side wall, and
- (c) said handle of said plastic grocery bag, when placed in said space, will be retained in said space and will not fall out of said space unless pulled down with a force in excess of a predetermined value.
- 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein each of said holders has a generally rectangular configuration when seen from a direction parallel to the plane of said "U" and is at least 8 centimeters long in said given direction.
- 3. The invention of claim 1 wherein the free ends of the legs of each of said holders is bent to flare outwardly at portions thereof beyond the portions thereof which are bent inwardly, thereby to form facing convex edges.
- 4. The invention of claim 3 wherein said facing convex edges touch when said holders are in their free state.
- 5. The invention of claim 1 wherein the bight portion of each of said holders comprises two generally-right-angled bends and a generally flat section interconnecting said legs of said holder.
- 6. The invention of claim 1 wherein said legs of each of said holders are long enough to fit over a stiffening rib of a predetermined length which extends down an outside surface of said container from said widened rim thereof.
- 7. The invention of claim 1 wherein one leg of each of said holders is narrowed from the bight portion of said holder so as to form a narrow leg which is dimensioned to fit between a pair of stiffening ribs which extend down from said widened rim of said container and which are spaced apart by a predetermined amount.
- 8. The invention of claim 1 wherein said one leg of each of said holders which is narrowed is substantially longer than the other leg thereof.
- 9. The invention of claim 1 wherein the free end of one leg of each of said holders is bent around and back toward the bight portion of said holder so as to provide a 180-degree bend which forms a hook portion so as also to be able to hold a handle of said plastic grocery bag outside the U-shaped portion of said holder.
- 10. The invention of claim 1 wherein one leg of each of said holders has a flap which extends from a portion of a leg of said holder intermediate the bight portion thereof and the free end thereof toward the bight portion of said holder and is spaced from said one leg of said holder so as to form a hook portion for also holding a handle of said plastic bag outside the U-shaped portion of said holder.
- 11. The invention of claim 1 wherein each of said holders has advertising symbols thereon.
- 12. A method for supporting plastic grocery bags within a container, comprising:
- (a) providing a container of the type having flat, relatively thin, substantially vertical side walls of a predetermined thickness and an open top with a relatively wide, substantially horizontal rim of a predetermined thickness, said rim having a predetermined cross-sectional area and forming an overhanging ledge above the sides of said container,
- (b) providing a pair of holders, each of which:
- is formed of an elastic material which has a generally U-shaped configuration when seen from an end thereof in a given direction normal to the plane of the "U",
- is elongated in said given direction for about the width of an adult human hand and so that when placed over opposite sides of said container with the handles of a plastic grocery bag placed thereunder, respectively, said handles will each be spread enough to hold said bag open,
- has a pair of legs and bight portion of a relatively small thickness, when measured perpendicular to said direction of elongation, in relation to the length of the legs of said holder and in relation to the depth of said holder in said given direction,
- has legs which are spaced apart at least as far as the width of said widened top rim of said trash container, and
- has legs which have free ends which are bent inwardly toward each other so that said free ends are spaced apart less than the width of said widened top rim,
- is shaped so that
- (1) when said legs of said holder are spread apart with said holder upside down and said legs are placed over said widened top rim, and said holder is pressed down as far as possible, with one of its legs on the inside of said container, and said legs are allowed to spring back, sufficient space will be provided between the inside of said side wall of said container and said one leg to accommodate a handle of said plastic grocery bag and so that the free end of said one leg will contact and press against the inside of said side wall so that said handle of said plastic grocery bag will be retained in said space and will not fall out of said space unless pulled down with a force in excess of a predetermined value, and
- (2) the area inside said holder will be greater than said cross sectional area encompassed by said relatively wide rim of said container, so that sufficient excess area will be provided within said holder to accommodate said handle of said plastic grocery bag,
- (c) spreading apart the legs of each of said plurality of said holders, and, with said holders upside down, placing each of said holders over said widened top rim of said trash container, at opposite sides thereof, pressing down each of said holders as far as possible, and allowing the legs of said holder to spring back, and
- (d) placing a plastic grocery bag within said container and inserting the handles of said plastic grocery bag up into the space between said one of said legs of each of said holders which is inside said container and the side wall of said container so that each of said handles of said plastic grocery bag will be retained in a respective one of said spaces.
- 13. A pair of holders for supporting plastic bags in an open condition within a container of the type having flat thin, substantially vertical side walls and an open top with a wide, horizontal rim having a predetermined cross-sectional area which forms an overhanging ledge above the sides of said container,
- each of said holders of said pair being made of an elastic material and having a flat center portion and two flat legs extending at generally right angles to said center portion,
- the free ends of said legs being bent inwardly toward each other,
- each of said holders being elongated in a direction perpendicular to said center portion and said legs for at least width of an adult human hand and so that when placed over opposite sides of said container with the handles of a plastic grocery bag placed thereunder, respectively, said handles will each be spread enough to hold said bag open,
- said center portion and said legs being shaped and dimensioned so that
- (a) if said holder is positioned over a said container with said "U" upside down and said legs spread apart, and said holder is pressed down as far as possible, said legs will grasp a side wall of said container and a space will be provided between the one of said legs which is inside of said container and said side wall of said container which is straddled by said holder so that the handle of a plastic grocery bag, when placed within said space, will be held within said space and cannot be withdrawn unless pulled out of said space with greater than a predetermined force, and
- (b) the area inside said legs and said center portion will be greater than said cross sectional area encompassed by said relatively wide rim of said container, so that sufficient excess area will be provided within said holder to accommodate said handle of said plastic grocery bag.
- 14. The invention of claim 13 wherein said center portion of each of said holders and each of said legs thereof has a generally rectangular configuration and each of said holders is at least 8 centimeters long in said given direction.
- 15. The invention of claim 13 wherein the free ends of the legs of said holder are bent to flare outwardly at portions thereof beyond the portions thereof which are bent inwardly, thereby to form facing convex edges.
- 16. The invention of claim 15 wherein said facing convex edges touch when each of said holders is in its free state.
- 17. The invention of claim 13 wherein said legs of each of said holders are long enough to fit over a stiffening rib of a predetermined length which extends down a side of said container from said widened rim thereof.
- 18. The invention of claim 13 wherein one leg of each of said holders is narrowed from said center portion of said holder so as to form a narrow leg which is dimensioned to fit between a pair of stiffening ribs which extend down from said widened rim of said container and which are spaced apart a predetermined amount.
- 19. The invention of claim 13 wherein the free end of one leg of each of said holders is bent around and back toward said center portion to have a 180-degree bend so as to form a hook portion for holding a handle of said plastic grocery bag outside the legs of said holder.
- 20. The invention of claim 13 wherein one leg of each of said holders has a flap which extends from a portion of one of said legs intermediate said center portion and the free end thereof toward said center portion of said holder and is spaced from said one leg to form a hook portion for holding a handle of said plastic bag outside the legs of said holder.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 06/724,910 filed Apr. 19, 1985, and now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (26)
Foreign Referenced Citations (5)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2725481 |
Dec 1978 |
DEX |
527100 |
Oct 1921 |
FRX |
220459 |
Aug 1924 |
GBX |
355745 |
Aug 1931 |
GBX |
2078497 |
Jan 1982 |
GBX |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
724910 |
Apr 1985 |
|