Patent Application
20180362251
The present invention relates to containers, and more particularly to those for the collection of solids such as waste, trash, and or other materials.
Containers for the collection of refuse, trash, and other articles are commonly used in home, work, and other settings. The plethora of different designs reflects the diverse needs of the materials being contained. A number of these incorporate a lid to hide the contents of the receptacle. Some use hands-free means to open or raise the lid. This offers both convenience and enhanced hygiene if the user's hands are dirty or contaminated. Most people are familiar with a foot-pedal operated trash can with a top cover that opens. Stepping on the pedal raises this lid to receive discarded materials. Releasing the foot pedal allows the lid to return to its lowered position. These are produced by a variety of manufacturers in a multitude of designs.
It is helpful for such a receptacle to have some type of lining which may be removed to facilitate cleaning and/or to contain and transfer of the contents. This also enhances hygiene and container cleanliness by separating it from dirty or contaminated materials. A trash bag or sack is commonly used as a liner to contain refuse and allows convenient transport of contents for disposal elsewhere. Unfortunately, placement of the opening of such a bag around the opening of the receptacle frequently covers and impinges upon the lifting mechanism and interferes with lid opening. Many designs have a lid that is hinged at the back and raised by an elevating vertical shaft that is also at the back. The open end/mouth of the bag often covers the vertical shaft that provides the upward force that raises the lid. It can impair the lid motion and interfere with seating the lid on the hinge such that it may fall off. This inventor has personally experienced frustration with this issue which prompted the current proposed design. Excess foot pressure is often needed to overcome excess resistance due to this and may result in the lid slamming open and even flying off the container.
Many designs allow collection of items in bags for easy transport and disposal.
Several simply keep the neck of a sack open and hold it in a position for convenient use. Some designs are mounted to the wall or inside a door, and the bag hangs from it. (Yount 1914, Seifert 1965). Others have a cylindrical (or other shape) container that secure the liner at its upper opening. (Cornell 1975, Koda 1990, Hall 1997, Corbitt 2016) The 1997 patent of Hall supports sacks with two loop type handles to the right and left sides of the container opening. (Hall, 1997) Some even have means to store multiple bags for sequential use as they become filled. (Kellams 1998, Stevens 2008) One has a dispensable sack and a method of compacting trash after it has been inserted and the lid closed. (O'Brien 1995) Another patent has means to close off the neck of the bag with a twisting motion when the lid is lowered. (Sumanis 1992)
A multitude of designs has been produced and/or patented. These are typically cylindrical or rectangular boxes with a bottom and an open upper end to accept materials. Some incorporate solid or sack-type inner linings while others do not. Many of these have covers and often have some type of lid-lifting mechanisms. Below is a review of these relevant patents.
A large number of different patents have been issued for receptacles incorporating a lid to hide their contents. An equally great variety of mechanisms have been used to accomplish opening of this cover. (Hansen 1917, Losoncy 1918, Owen 1923, Banes 1924, Zifferer 1924, Suddendorf 1926, Raster 1930, Buschman 1931, LeSauvage 1931, Padelford 1932, Geibel 1933, Carola 1934, Geibel 1934, Von Elm 1934, Abele 1935, Geibel 1936, Brandstrom 1937, Flanagan 1937, Wright 1937, Packer 1940, Geibel 1941, Burlin 1944, Hodson 1946, Pope 1947, Rogers 1948, Snider 1948, Solomon 1948, Brownell 1949, Moore, 1949, Hermani 1950, Brownell 1951, Nystrom 1951, Belsky 1952, Hamilton 1952, James 1952, Reinecke 1955, Ritter 1956, Press 1957, Hodgson 1959, Knapp 1960, Garner 1961 (two citations), Dyer 1965, Clerk 1969, Raftery 1976, Draggonet 1978, Dumas 1978, Anderson 1979, Anderson 1981, Brazis 1981, Kubic 1984, Gebhard 1987, Miller 1988, Koda 1989, Craft 1990, Koda 1990, Knoedler 1992, Samson 1992, Sumanis 1992, Delmerico 1993, Gallagher 1993, Gillispie 1993, Patey 1994, Liu 1995, O'Brien 1995, Asbach 1996, Kellam 1998, Liu 1999, Jaros 2000, Wang 2000, Yang 2001, Lin 2002, Lin 2005).
As noted above, it is unhygienic to allow contents to soil the inside of the vessel. This can result in odor, attraction of pests, and necessitate the cumbersome duty of frequently cleaning the container's interior. For this reason, many designs use a solid or sack type internal lining to contain material and separate it from the external vessel of the receptacle. (Geibel 1933, 1934, 1936, Wright 1937, Packer 1940, Geibel 1941, Hodson 1946, Solomon 1948, Hermani 1950, Belsky 1952, Hamilton 1952, Hodgson 1959, Knapp 1960, Garner 1961 (two citations), Raftery 1976, Draggonet 1978, Kubic 1984, Koda 1990, Sumanis 1992, Gallagher 1993, Patey 1994, Liu 1995, O'Brien 1995, Asbach 1996, Baker 1996, Kellam 1998, Liu 1999, Wang 2000, Lin 2002). A trash bag is often employed even when a solid internal container is present to enhance convenience for refuse disposal and avoid the need for regularly washing the inside of the internal receptacle.
One may recognize that several of the above patents resemble commercially-available trash receptacles. (Brazis 1981, Craft 1990, Delmerico 1993) These commonly have a hinged lid attached at the back that can be removed. A foot pedal activates and elevates a vertical shaft at the rear of the vessel which exerts upward force on the undersurface of the lid which is thereby opened. A standard garbage sack is secured around the mouth of the container to stabilize the bag and prevent it from falling inward. Unfortunately, the opening to the bag is often stretched across the upper end of the shaft and interferes with contact between the shaft and the lid. This can impair lid elevation. Also, the sack may impede seating of the cover such that it will fall off of the vessel.
Patent Designs that Seek to Avoid Bag Interference with Lifting Mechanisms
Cornell (1975) patented a ring type device to hold the sack in place and keeping it from falling into the container. The design of Corbitt (2016) employs a ring/collar that is placed into the trash can and keeps the bag fully on the inside. Neither is germane as both lack a cover or lid lifting mechanism. Koda (1989, 1990) designed a, “wastebasket having lid hinge and actuating mechanism protector.” These incorporate a hinged flange mating to the top of the rectangular receptacle to hold the bag in position but prevent interference with a typical lid-lifting structures. Several problems occur with this approach:
The present invention provides a simple and easily manufactured retaining feature to prevent the mouth of a sack liner from interfering with a receptacle's lid-lifting mechanism. It incorporates a flange or other protrusion(s) inside the back of the container that pull the mouth of the bag downward and away from the area of the lifting mechanism. This can be used in receptacles of any shape. It provides a reliable, economical means to avoid the frustration of the seating and function of the cover. This invention may be used with many lid-lifting mechanisms. For this reason, the exact design of the lifting mechanism is not described as it is not germane to the bag retraction function of the present invention.
In comparison to previous approaches, the present design offers a number of advantages:
The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.
Broadly, embodiments of the present invention provide a system, a method, and apparatus for securing an internal lining sack inside a receptacle or vessel to contain refuse or other material in such a manner that the lining does not interfere with the function of its mechanical features (particularly a lid lifting mechanism). The present invention provides a simple and economic design that may be produced by existing manufacturing art already in practice for production of waste and other receptacles. Moreover, the receptacle may be produced with different shapes, dimensions, and modification of various components to accomplish the goal of positioning and holding the lining or bag. The external receptacle for trash or other material will be similar in shape and design to those commonly envisioned and produced in the past and present. It may be produced from a variety of materials.
Use of this current design is very similar to use of currently available trash cans. The lid is either opened or removed. A lining sack is placed into the vessel with its open mouth extending above and wrapped around the top opening of the container. The mouth of the sack is pulled beneath the protrusions to retract it downward and clear of the lid lifting mechanism. The lid is then either replaced and/or lowered into its resting position for subsequent use.
The described design can be applied to a variety of vessels of any shape. Although the above drawings and description incorporate the commonly available central rear lifting shaft, the means to prevent interference with a lifting mechanism could be positioned anywhere as necessitated by a particular placement of the lifting mechanism.
The above particular descriptions provide sample embodiment example though should not be considered limiting the scope of the invention. The refuse container could exist in a multitude of shapes such as round, ovoid, or other cross sectional designs. The described retaining feature could be used with any number of lid-activating mechanisms. The scope should be determined by the appended claims and not the specifics of the above embodiments.
This application claims the benefits of provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/406,930 filed Oct. 11, 2016.
