Patent Application
20240076124
The disclosure relates to waste bin covers and more particularly pertains to a new waste bin cover for protecting a waste bin from interference from freezing water.
The prior art relates to waste bin covers, including several which use flexible fabric such as a tarpaulin to cover a waste bin. However, the prior art does not disclose a flexible, water-impermeable cover for a waste bin which has a pair of flaps which may be secured together in front of the waste bin to secure the cover to the waste bin and which may be moved away from the waste bin to access and partially open a lid to the waste bin without removing the cover from the waste bin completely.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a waste bin having a rim at a top end of the waste bin defining an aperture and a lid for opening and closing the aperture. The waste bin has a front side adjacent the rim and a back side opposite the front side. The waste bin has a pair of opposing lateral sides extending between the front side and the back side.
A cover is constructed of a flexible, water impermeable material and is securable in a deployed position such that the cover surrounds the lid and the rim of the waste bin, wherein the lid is closed in the deployed configuration. The cover comprises a top sheet being arcuate and defining a cavity for receiving the lid and the rim therethrough. A belt strap is coupled to a bottom edge of the top sheet and wraps around the back side and the pair of opposing lateral sides of the waste bin when in the deployed configuration. A pair of belt flaps is coupled to and extends from a pair of ends of said belt strap. The pair of belt flaps is positionable on the front side of the waste bin and removably securable together such that the cover is secured to the waste bin.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The lid panel 30 has a front end 32 and a back end 34 and a pair of lateral side edges 36 extending between the front end 32 and the back end 34. The lid panel 30 is positioned atop the lid 20 when in the deployed configuration 66, wherein the lid panel 30 extends downward from the lid 20 along the back side 22 of the waste bin 12 such that the back end 34 of the lid panel 30 is positioned adjacent the back side 22 and the front end 32 is positioned proximate a front portion 38 of the rim 14. The lid flap 40 is coupled to and extends from the front end 32 of the lid panel 30 and extends downward from the lid 20 along the front side 24 of the waste bin 12 when in the deployed configuration 66.
Each rim panel 42 is coupled to each of the lateral side edges 36 of the lid panel 30, covering a pair of lateral portions 44 of the rim 14 and extending between the front side 24 and the back side 22 of the waste bin 12 when in the deployed configuration 66. Each rim panel 42 forms a pleat 46 wherein a first portion 50 of a bottom edge 48 of the rim panel 42 is folded over a second portion 52 of the bottom edge 48 and coupled to a third portion 54 of the bottom edge 48. The pleat 46 is partially unfoldable at a top end 56 of the pleat 46 such that the lid 20 fits between the pair of rim panels 42 when the bottom edge 48 of each rim panel 42 abuts a respective opposing lateral side 26 of the waste bin 12.
The belt strap 58 has a pair of ends 60 and a top edge 62 extending between the pair of ends 60. The belt strap 58 is coupled to each rim panel 42 and the back end 34 of the lid panel 30 along the top edge 62 and wraps around the back side 22 and the pair of opposing lateral sides 26 of the waste bin 12 when in the deployed configuration 66. Each belt flap 64 is coupled to and extends from an associated end 60 of the pair of ends 60 of the belt strap 58. The pair of belt flaps 64 is positioned adjacent the lid flap 40 when in the deployed configuration 66 such that the lid flap 40 is positioned between the pair of belt flaps 64 and the front side 24 of the waste bin 12, one of the pair of belt flaps 64 overlapping another of the pair of belt flaps 64 in the deployed configuration 66.
The hook-and-loop fastener comprises a hook portion 72 and a loop portion 74 removably couplable to the hook portion 72. Each of the hook portion 72 and the loop portion 74 is coupled to an associated one of the pair of belt flaps 64 such that the one belt flap 64 is removably couplable to another belt flap 64 of said pair of belt flaps 64, thereby securing the lid flap 40 between the pair of belt flaps 64 and the waste bin 12 and securing the cover 28 to the waste bin 12 in the deployed configuration 66. The cover 28 may have a snap fastener, a drawstring, or like fastener instead of the hook-and-loop fastener to secure the pair of belt flaps 64 together and the cover 28 to the waste bin 12. The snap fastener would have a female portion and a male portion for inserting into the female portion, each of the female portion and the male portion being attached to an associated belt flap 64. The drawstring would be insertable through each belt flap 64 such that it can be tied to secure the pair of belt flaps 64 together.
The cover 28 is also positionable in a flattened configuration 68 wherein each belt flap 64 and the lid flap 40 extend in a same direction from the belt strap 58 and the front end 32 of the lid panel 30 respectively.
In use, the cover 28 is placed onto the waste bin 12 to protect it from weather elements. When the cover 28 is positioned in the deployed configuration 66, water will not penetrate the cover 28 and freeze, causing the lid 20 to stick to the rim 14. The waste bin 12 may have a lid latching mechanism 76 on or near the lid 20 which will also be protected from freezing water that may incapacitate the lid latching mechanism 76. The pair of belt flaps 64 may be moved away from each other and the lid flap 40 lifted to access the lid 20 of the waste bin 12 without completely removing the cover 28 from off the lid 20, facilitating opening the lid 20 at least partially so that a waste item may be placed into the waste bin 12.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
