Patent Application
20050006536
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to household items, and in particular, to a trash can assembly that allows for convenient and sanitary replacement of a trash bag from an internal liner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A major concern for both the home and the workplace is containing and holding wastes, refuse, and trash until permanent disposal. Trash cans act as containers for holding trash and other wastes that are produced in any typical home or office. Trash and garbage cans often employ lids and covers to contain the trash and its associated odor, to hide the trash from view, and to prevent the trash from contaminating areas beyond the lid.
Conventional trash cans have been improved over the years to make them more user-friendly, sanitary, and hygienic. For example, many trash cans are now provided with a foot pedal positioned adjacent the base of the trash can so that a user can step on the foot pedal to open the lid of the trash can, thereby freeing up the user's hands to toss trash, or to change the plastic liner or bag that is used to line the trash can. Other trash cans have even provided an internal metal or plastic liner that fits inside the trash can, and which can be removed to be washed. However, these conventional trash cans still suffer from a number of drawbacks.
A number of these drawbacks are associated with the internal liner. In conventional trash cans, a trash bag is fitted over the internal liner, and the user typically needs to raise the liner from the interior of the trash can to remove the trash bag. When the user raises the liner from the trash can, the user may need to grip portions of the trash bag on the interior of the liner, so that the user's fingers may come into contact with dirt, germs or trash items. In addition, the user often needs to remove the entire internal liner to replace the trash bag because there is no mechanism for maintaining the liner in a raised position with respect to the trash can when the user is replacing the trash bag. Unfortunately, the removal of the internal liner is not sanitary since this might result in the spillage or spread of waste material.
Thus, there remains a need for a trash can that facilitates the convenient and sanitary replacement of a trash bag from an internal liner.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a trash can assembly that allows the user to remove an internal liner in a sanitary manner.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a trash can assembly that facilitates the convenient and sanitary replacement of a trash bag from an internal liner.
In order to accomplish the objects of the present invention, there is provided a trash can assembly that has a shell, a liner fitted inside the shell, a lid fitted over the top end of the shell, a foot pedal positioned adjacent the bottom end of the shell, a link assembly coupling the foot pedal and the lid, and a support block provided adjacent the bottom end of the shell for supporting the liner in a raised position with respect to the shell.
In use, the user can fit a trash bag inside the liner, and then seat the liner inside the shell. To replace the trash bag, the user can raise the liner with respect to the interior of the shell, and support the liner on the support block in a raised position with respect to the shell while removing the trash bag.
The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating general principles of embodiments of the invention. The scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims. In certain instances, detailed descriptions of well-known devices and mechanisms are omitted so as to not obscure the description of the present invention with unnecessary detail.
A lid 32 is hingedly connected to the upper support frame 28 using hinged connections that are well-known in the art, and will not be described in greater detail herein. As one non-limiting example, the lid 32 can be hingedly connected to the shell 22 in the manner that is described in U.S. Publication No. US-2002-0079315-A1, published on Jun. 27, 2002 and entitled “Trash Can Assembly With Toe-Kick Recess”, whose entire disclosure is incorporated by this reference as though set forth fully herein. The shell 22 and its lid 32 can be made of a solid and stable material, such as a metal. The shell 22 has a base 34, and a foot pedal 36 is pivotably secured to the base 34.
Referring to
The base 34 of the shell 22 defines a generally annular and curved skirt or flange portion 42. In one embodiment of the present invention, the skirt 42 is formed in one plastic piece. The shell 22 can be attached to the top of the skirt 42 of the base. 34 by a groove snap-on, glue, welding, screws, and similar attachment mechanisms. A support block 44 is provided on the rear part of the base 34, adjacent the link assembly 38. The support block 44 can be embodied in the form of a plastic or metal block having a height that is, in one non-limiting embodiment, at least one inch, and through which the link assembly 38 can extend.
The upper support frame 28 has an annular recessed wall 46. One or more cut-outs or grooves 48 are spaced-apart about the wall 46. The grooves 48 allow the user to insert his or her fingers through the grooves 48 under the upper lip 50 of the internal liner 24 to lift the internal liner 24 from the interior of the shell 24 when the lid 32 is opened. This provides a convenient way for the user to remove the internal liner 24 from the shell 22, without requiring the user to place his or her hands inside the internal liner 24 to grip the internal liner 24.
Once the liner 24 has been raised, the user can tilt the bottom 58 of the liner 24 towards the link assembly 38 (i.e., towards the rear of the shell 22) so that the bottom 58 of the liner 24 is seated on top of the support block 44, as shown in
The above detailed description is for the best presently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating general principles of embodiments of the invention. The scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims. In certain instances, detailed descriptions of well-known devices, components, mechanisms and methods are omitted so as to not obscure the description of the present invention with unnecessary detail.
