The present invention relates to a receptacle having an inner vessel assembly, specifically it is related to a receptacle having an inner vessel assembly to engage a liner.
Receptacles, in general, mostly are used with disposable flexible liners such as a paper, cloth, or plastic bag, for easy and sanitary disposal of trash, which is thrown therein. Often times, the liner used for a receptacle interior is provided with extra length to enable an upper portion of the liner to be draped over the top rim of the trashcan and to extend downwardly along a portion of an exterior surface of the trash can. However, if such a liner is left loosely draped over the top rim of the receptacle, the liner can easily slip into the interior of the receptacle when trash is placed in the receptacle.
One way to solve this problem is to have a tightening mechanism attached to the receptacle liner, but it is not practical to design said liner for every size and type of receptacle. Therefore a securing mechanism is needed so as to have the flexible receptacle liner remain conformed to the side and top rim of the receptacle so that the receptacle liner will not slip into the bottom of the receptacle when trash is placed in it.
Many liner engagement means have been disclosed in the art. However, most of them allow the drape over portion of the flexible liner to be dangling on the outside of the receptacle. It is one object of the present invention to provide a liner engagement means that the drape over portion of the flexible liner is tightly disposed on the interior of a receptacle and is not visible from the outside of the receptacle. The present invention provides a receptacle wherein the hang over portion of the flexible liner is hidden in an aesthetically pleasing housing.
The present invention discloses a receptacle comprising a receptacle housing and an inner vessel assembly. The receptacle housing comprises a bottom, a peripheral wall extending upwardly from said bottom, and a top rim of said peripheral wall defining an opening of the receptacle housing. The inner vessel assembly, configured to be placed inside the receptacle housing, can be set up into either a rejection position or an acceptance position. In the rejection position, a flexible liner is placed in the inner vessel assembly allowing a top portion of the flexible liner to fold over a top rim of the inner vessel assembly. In the acceptance state, the hang over portion of the flexible liner is secured in place between the top portion of the inner vessel assembly and the top portion of the receptacle. The acceptance position and rejection position are interchanged by turning an insertion member 90 degrees or less with respect to a base member of the inner vessel assembly.
The inner vessel assembly, configured to be placed inside the receptacle housing, comprises a base member and an insertion member. The base member is situated directly on top of the bottom of the receptacle housing, bearing a first feature. The insertion member, which is an enclosure having a body including a bottom and a peripheral wall extending upwardly from said the bottom of the insertion member, and a top rim of said peripheral wall of the insertion member defining an opening of the insertion member. And the insertion member is moveable inside the receptacle housing and bears a second feature. The second feature of the insertion member is complementary to the first feature of the base member. The second feature is configured to allow the insertion member be placed on top of the base member and supported by the base member either in a rejection position, having the first and second features not aligned or an acceptance position, having the first and second features aligned; and when the insertion member is assembled in the acceptance position with regard to the base member, the receptacle assembly is configured to engage a second liner by sandwiching the flexible liner between the insertion member and the receptacle housing.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the first feature of the base member has a plurality of protrusions.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the second feature of the insertion member is on the exterior surface of the peripheral walls of the body of the insertion member, near the bottom of the insertion member. In one example, the second feature of the insertion member has a plurality of grooves.
Optionally, the receptacle housing further comprises a lid.
Optionally, the receptacle housing further comprises a foot-operated pedal to open and dose the lid.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings in which:
For purposes of summarizing the invention and the advantages achieved over the prior art, certain advantages 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 particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize that 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.
All of these embodiments are intended to be within the scope of the invention herein disclosed. These and other embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments having reference to the attached figures, the invention not being limited to any particular preferred embodiment disclosed.
In the scope of the present invention, a receptacle is referred in general to a container. In one example, it is a trashcan for residential use. In another example, it is a diaper pale. In the scope of the present invention, when the receptacle is a trashcan, the inner vessel assembly can also be referred to as an inner trashcan.
In the scope of the present invention, the inner vessel assembly can adopt any of the following positions, including an acceptance position, a rejection position, a projected acceptance position and a projected rejection position. Acceptance position means the insertion member is accepted by the base member, wherein a top rim of the insertion member is substantially at the same height of a top rim of the receptacle housing, a lid for the receptacle can be reasonably comfortably closed, and the inner vessel assembly is placed inside the receptacle. Rejection position means the insertion member is supported by the base member in a rejection position, wherein the top rim of the insertion member is positioned higher than the top rim of the receptacle housing, and the lid for the receptacle can not be reasonably comfortably closed. Projected acceptance position is that the insertion member is placed above the base member separated by a space, in a configuration that the insertion member would have been accepted by the base member if the space between the two is eliminated and the insertion member and the base member is in direct contact. Projected rejection position is that the insertion member is placed above the base member separated by a space, in a configuration that the insertion member would have been rejected by the base member if the space between the two is eliminated and the insertion member and the base member is in direct contact. In both the projected acceptance position and projected rejection position, the insertion member of the inner vessel assembly has a first half outside of the receptacle housing and a second half inside of the receptacle housing.
In the scope of the present invention, the receptacle disclosed herein includes a receptacle housing and an inner vessel assembly. The receptacle housing, which comprises a base member and a peripheral wall extending upwardly from said base member, a top rim of said peripheral wall defining an opening of the receptacle body, wherein the top rim of peripheral wall is opposite to the base member of the receptacle body. The receptacle housing may further comprise a lid, which covers the top of the outer receptacle housing.
Optionally, the receptacle housing may further comprise a mechanism to open and close the lid for the receptacle. In one example, the receptacle housing comprises a foot-operated pedal to open and close the receptacle lid. In another example, the receptacle comprises an automatic mechanism to open and close the receptacle lid. Further, the lid open and close mechanism comprises a damping motion.
The receptacle housing in accordance with the aspects of the present invention can be of any shape, including but not limited to cylinder and cubic shaped, or variations thereof. Referring to
The inner vessel assembly, referring to
The base member 102 can either be permanently fixed onto the interior surface of the bottom of the receptacle housing or detachable from the inner surface of the bottom of the receptacle housing. The base member 102 comprises a first feature 104 and a holding member 105, wherein the holding member 105 holds the first feature 104 in desired location. In one embodiment the first feature 104 is a plurality of protrusions. In one example, the protrusions are leaf or pedal shaped as shown in
In accordance with the aspects of the present invention, the insertion member 103 is a container or an enclosure, having a body including a bottom and a peripheral wall extending upwardly from said bottom of the insertion member, and a top rim of said peripheral wall of the insertion member defining an opening of the insertion member. Further, the insertion member 103 bears a second feature 106. The second feature is configured to allow the insertion member 103 to be placed on top of the base member 102 and supported by the base member either in a rejection position or acceptance position. In the rejection position, the top rim of the insertion member is positioned higher than the top rim of the receptacle housing, whereas in the acceptance position, the top rim of the insertion member is substantially level with the top rim of the receptacle housing.
In one aspect of the present invention, in one embodiment, the second feature is complementary to the first feature of the base member. In one example, when the first feature is a plurality of protrusions, the second feature is a plurality of grooves. In another example, when the first feature is a plurality of female joints, then the second feature is a plurality of male joints, or vice versa.
In another aspect of the present invention, in one embodiment, when the insertion member and the base member are in the rejection position, the second feature of the insertion member and first feature of the base member are not aligned, and when the insertion member and the base member take an acceptance position, the second feature of the insertion member and first feature of the base member are aligned. In another embodiment, when the insertion member bears female joint and the base member bears a male joint, insertion member and the base member take a rejection position, the second feature of the insertion member and the first feature of the base member are not properly connected to allow the male joint to be placed inside the female joint, and when the insertion member and the base member take an acceptance position, the second feature of the insertion member and the first feature of the base member are properly connected to allow the male joint to be placed inside the female joint.
In a third aspect of the present invention, in one embodiment, the second feature of the insertion member is disposed on the peripheral wall of the insertion member and the first feature of the base member is disposed along the circumference of the ring-like holding member. In an alternative embodiment, the second feature of the insertion member is disposed on the bottom of the insertion member and the first feature of the base member is disposed between the circumference and the center of the ring-like holding member.
In a fourth aspect of the present invention, in one embodiment, when the insertion member is supported by the base member and the injection member and the base member take a rejection position, the insertion member is raised up so that the top rim of the insertion member is above the top rim of the exterior receptacle housing. When a flexible liner is placed inside the insertion member, a top portion of the flexible liner can freely hang over the top rim of the insertion member. When the insertion member is acceptably supported by the base member (injection member and the base member take a rejection position), the insertion member is comfortably fitted so that the top rim of the insertion member is level with the top rim of the exterior receptacle housing, that is the top rim of the insertion member and the top rim of the exterior receptacle housing are substantially at the same height. The hang over portion of the flexible liner can be sandwiched or squeezed in between the exterior surface of the top portion of the insertion member and interior surface of the top portion of the receptacle housing.
The present invention also discloses a method of using a receptacle having an inner vessel assembly. The method comprises the steps as illustrated in
Then, the insertion member inside the receptacle housing is lifted up to adopt a projected acceptance position (
Subsequently, the insertion member is turned either clockwise or counter-clock wise between 0-180 degrees to adopt a projected rejection position (
Further the insertion member is moved downwardly so that the insertion member is rested and supported by the base member in a rejection position.
As desired, a flexible liner of choice is placed inside of the insertion member, having an extra portion folded over the top rim of the insertion member. Further, as illustrated in
After the liner is fixed as shown in
Lastly, the insertion member is moved downward to the inside of the receptacle housing. The flexible liner moves along with insertion member and the hang over portion of the flexible liner is secured in place between the exterior surface of the top of the insertion member and the interior surface of the top of the receptacle housing, and not movable when trash is receive in the receptacle.
It will be appreciated by those of skilled in the art that a new and useful receptacle having a inner vessel assembly for liner engagement has been described herein. In view of the many possible embodiments, however, it should be recognized that the embodiments described herein with respect to the drawing figures are meant to be illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of what is claimed. Those of skill in the art will recognize that the illustrated embodiments can be modified in arrangement and detail. Therefore, the systems and methods as described herein contemplate all such embodiments as may come within the scope of the following claims and equivalents thereof. In the claims, only elements denoted by the words “means for” are intended to be interpreted as means plus function claims under 35 U.S.C. §112, the sixth paragraph.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20160236863 A1 | Aug 2016 | US |