Patent Application
20200189842
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application: Application Number 62679809 filed Jun. 2, 2018 by Kevin A. Haugan, Co-Inventor.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
This invention relates to trash receptacles, specifically to vacuum alleviation vents for trash receptacles.
When lifting trash can liners from trash cans in order to empty them, negative results are often encountered. When filled, the liners are usually snug against the walls of the can and form a seal. Upon lifting, the seal creates a vacuum at the bottom of the can. When upward pull is increased to overcome the vacuum, the liner is often torn, leading to what is usually an unpleasant scenario. This vacuum also causes the cans to be lifted during trash removal, requiring one hand to lift a heavy liner and the other to secure the can. Besides inconvenience, this also creates an unnecessary difficulty frail or infirm individuals.
Several solutions have been proposed that allow atmospheric pressure to reach below the liner to equalize the vacuum. Some manufacturers have designed cans with built-in channels, which are often little more than open grooves. In certain scenarios where the liner extends into or blocks the groove, the benefit is negated. Other cans, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,247 to Boover (1997), provide simple ports near the bottom of the can. This design, while alleviating vacuum, also allows vermin to enter the can and liquids to escape. U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,717 to LeVasseur (1995) also teaches ports near the bottom of the can, but places a grill over the apertures. Although keeping large animals from entering the can, the trash can liner rests against the grill, thus making the liner accessible to the claws and teeth of various animals. In addition, it does nothing to contain liquids in the can, and allows smaller insects to pass through the grill.
Some inventions in this field may be installed into cans having no prior provisions for venting. U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,063 to Poliquin (2000) is a molded device designed to hang from a can's rim and into a can. When lifting a full trash can liner from the can it is easily pulled out of the can along with the liner and dropped. Its rigid construction is also incapable of size compaction. U.S. Pat. No. 4,294,379 to Bard, (1981) teaches rigid conduits either molded into a can, or molded separately and then inserted into and adhered inside a trash can. Because Bard's conduit profile is tubular, its effective area is increased by the volume of air it surrounds. With its rigid shape, it is incapable of size compaction, so its shipping size is considerably larger than necessary. In addition, because its profile is closed, or tubular, its use of natural resources to manufacture in relation to planar or to semi-tubular channel profiles is greater than necessary.
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present invention are to provide a vacuum alleviation vent for trash cans
In accordance with the present invention a vent tape comprises a flat, elongated body having a plurality of longitudinal grooves, a plurality of regions on which pressure-sensitive adhesive has been applied; and a plurality of non-stick strips with which to cover the regions of pressure-sensitive adhesive in order to prevent premature adhesion.
In the drawings, closely related figures have the same number but different alphabetic suffixes.
A ribbon of polymeric material, or tape 10 having a planar, or flat profile 11 as viewed if
A section of vent tape 10 is first unrolled from roll 18 (
In
Vent tape 20 is identical in construction to the preferred embodiment tape 10, except that it has three longitudinal grooves, two on one side and one groove in the center of the opposite side as shown, so that tape 20 may be creased into a profile similar to that of
Alternative embodiment vent tape 20 is cut, formed, and applied in identical fashion as the preferred embodiment tape 10.
Vent tape 30 is identical in construction to the preferred tape 10, except that it has two grooves on one side of tape 30, as shown, so that it may be creased into a profile approximating that of
Tape 30 is cut, formed, and applied in identical fashion as the preferred tape 10.
Thus, the reader will see that the vacuum alleviation vent of the present invention provides an efficient, lightweight, and economical device that is easily applied to trash receptacles having no prior venting provisions. Additionally, our vent reduces the use of natural resources, and may be configured into a compact form that minimizes shipping space requirements and maximizes shipping options.
While our above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as an exemplification of one preferred embodiment thereof. Many other variations are possible. For example, materials other than polymeric may be used for all tape embodiments if desired results are attainable. Also, a specific number of hinge members, or grooves is used in the above embodiments to obtain the desired shapes of tapes 10, 20, 30 and 40. Any number and position of longitudinal grooves and the resultant configurable shapes is possible.
Additionally, the hinge motion required to attain the desired profile of the above embodiments is facilitated, as noted, by longitudinal grooves 12. Longitudinal scores, perforations, or means other than grooves 12 may be used.
Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
