AU2001100652A4 - A bag housing - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION PETTY PATENT Invention Title: A BAG HOUSING Name of Applicant: MR PETER SARCASMO r o The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 2 A BAG HOUSING FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to bag housings and in particular to bag housings for releasably retaining garbage bags.

The invention has been developed primarily for use with garbage bags and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular field of use.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Domestic garbage bins are adapted to either receive rubbish directly, or receive a shopping bag, or purpose made bag, for receiving household waste. These methods of garbage disposal are potentially unhygienic. This is because the user typically must directly handle a bag full of household waste in order to, for example tie a knot in the end of the bag, or tie a tying means such as a cable S"tie or rubber band around the top of the bag to seal it.

This method of sealing the bag can result in the bag being torn and therefore potentially allowing for spillage of 25 garbage and also the person sealing the bag being soiled by garbage.

Furthermore, it can be difficult for a person to remove a full garbage bag from a garbage bin.

Furthermore, installing fresh garbage bags into a garbage bin can be cumbersome, inconvenient and frustrating to the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a bag housing for supporting a bag in an open position and defining an open top through which articles may be passed into the bag, the housing including a member for receiving a cartridge of bags, that is arranged at the 41588 3 member to allow a leading edge of a bag to be moved from the cartridge and releasably retained at an opposing element of the housing, wherein a trailing edge of the bag is retained at the cartridge such that the bag is then maintained in an open position in the housing.

Preferably, the bag housing includes a door coupled the bag support means, the opening of which allows access to the bag.

Preferably, a sealing mechanism is provided for sealing the bag in the housing when the bag is in the open position. Preferably the sealing mechanism includes a device for applying a metal, plastic or elastic clip, tie or ring around a top portion of the bag, to seal the bag.

Alternatively, the sealing mechanism may include a heat 15 sealer for heat sealing an upper portion of the bag.

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Alternatively, the sealing mechanism is an adhesive strip located on an upper interior wall of the bag.

Preferably, the housing includes a deodoriser for deodorising air around the housing.

Preferably, the housing includes an antibacterial system for substantially reducing levels of bacteria in o and around the housing. Typically, such bacteria include any known harmful bacteria associated with household waste.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the bag is a garbage bag, typically of plastic.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a bag housing for supporting a bag in an open position and defining an open top through which articles may be passed into the bag, the housing including a door coupled thereto, the opening of which allows access to the bag.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a bag housing for supporting a bag in an open position and defining an open top through which articles may be passed into the bag, and a sealing mechanism that enables sealing of the bag in the housing when in the open position.

41588 4 According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a bag cartridge housing a plurality of bags, the cartridge for use in a bag housing according to any one of the first, second or third aspects of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a bag housing according to the invention; Figure 2 is a cross sectional side elevation of the bag housing illustrated in Figure 1 taken on line 2-2; Figure 3 is a cross sectional side elevation of the 15 bag housing illustrated in Figure 1 taken on line 2-2, S• illustrating a bag in open position; S* Figure 4 is a cross sectional side elevation of the "bag housing illustrated in Figure 1 taken on line 2-2, showing a sealed garbage bag; oo Figure 5 is another cross sectional side elevation of a bag housing illustrated in Figure 1 taken on line 2-2; oeeeo: and Figure 6 is a front elevation of a bag cartridge support means according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to Figures 1 to 5, a preferred embodiment of the invention is a bag housing in the form of a garbage bin 10. It is envisaged that the garbage bin 10 would be a domestic or personal garbage bin for use in a kitchen, office, laundry, garden, caravan etc. However, the garbage bin 10 can also be increased in size to be used as a 240L garbage bin, or larger commercial waste bin, etc.

The garbage bin 10 includes a holding clip 12 and side walls 14. In an alternative embodiment, the side walls comprise an open framework structure.

The bin further includes a door 16 which is hingedly coupled along edge 18 to a base 20. The side walls 14 and 41588 5 door 16 define an open top 22 through which articles, eg rubbish, may be passed into an open bag 24 in the bin.

The garbage bin 10 also includes a guiding element 26 and track 28 for receiving and releaseably retaining a cartridge 30 holding a plurality of empty bags 24. The guiding element 26 helps to retain the cartridge 30 toward a rear portion 32 of the garbage bin 10, while the track 28 is provided to aid in the movement of a next successive garbage bag from the cartridge 30 to an open position.

Each garbage bag 24 includes a frame 34, an embodiment of which is illustrated in Figure 6, to aid in the movement of the bag along the track 28. When the frame 34 is moved along the track 28 to allow the bag 24 to be moved to an open position, a leading edge 36 of the garbage bag 24 is secured on holding clip 12. The trailing edge 38 (Figure 3) of the bag 24 remains adjacent a S* the cartridge The garbage bin 10 also includes a sealing mechanism in the form of a clip employing arm 40 (Figure The clip employing arm fits a clip, typically of plastic, though alternatively of metal or an elastic material, to •eeoc: seal the bag closed. The clip closes the bag by tightly and securably surrounding a top portion 41 of the bag.

Figure 4 illustrates a bag 24 filled with rubbish which has been sealed at bag portion 44. Alternatively, the arm employs either a ring or tie to seal the top portion 41 0..of the bag.

a*:In an alternative embodiment, the sealing mechanism includes a heat sealer. The heat sealer employs a conventional heat sealing method to heat seal a garbage bag closed when the bag is ready to be removed from the garbage bin 10 for disposal.

In an alternative embodiment, the sealing mechanism includes an adhesive strip on an upper interior wall 42 of the bag 24. To seal the bag closed in this embodiment, a user removes a protective non-adhesive strip from the adhesive strip and then manually seals the bag by pressing an opposite wall of the garbage bag onto the adhesive 41588 6 strip to close the bag.

In alternative embodiments, the garbage bin 10 may include a deodoriser for deodorising the air adjacent the garbage bin 10. It may also include an antibacterial device for substantially reducing levels of bacteria, such as any known detrimental household bacteria, from the garbage bin, or the air adjacent the bin. The antibacterial device can include an atomiser to spray an antibacterial solution. The atomiser can activate on either the actuation of a button or switch, or when the door 16 is opened, for example.

Figures 2 to 5 illustrate several stages of the bin in use. For example, Figure 2 illustrates a cartridge inserted into the guiding elements 26 of the bin 10. A 15 first garbage bag 48 is moved into an in use position by first moving the leading edge 36 towards the holding clip 12, and at the same time sliding frame 34 along track 28.

S"As illustrated in Figure 3, the leading edge 36 is then placed in position by being secured on holding clip 12.

Once the garbage bag is filled with garbage to a desired level by a user, the user can seal the bag closed as illustrated in Figure 4. The desired level of filling the garbage bag is such that the bag can be sealed, with top portion 41 of the garbage bag 24 above the sealed bag portion 44 being of sufficient size to allow a user to manually grasp the top portion 41.

Once the bag 24 is sealed, the door 16 can then be manually opened by the user by grasping the door handle and sufficiently opening the door 16 to allow removal of the garbage bag 24 through the open door. Figure illustrates the door 16 sufficiently open to allow removal of the garbage bag 24. As will be appreciated by persons skilled in the relevant art, the provision of a door such as described herein allows easier and more convenient removal of a garbage bag 24 from a bin.

Once this first garbage bag 48 has been removed, the user then moves a second garbage bag 52 into an in use position by repeating the steps described above with 41588 7 respect to the first garbage bag 48. Once all the garbage bags in the cartridge 30 have been used, the user may replace the cartridge 30 with another cartridge.

In an alternative embodiment, the deployment of a garbage bag into an open position is automatically and mechanically controlled. In this embodiment, the user presses or guides a switch to activate an automatic mechanical device which moves the frame 34 along the track 28 and secures leading edge 36 onto the holding clip 12, making the first garbage bag 48 available for use by the user. Also in this embodiment, the sealing mechanism is automated, such that the user presses or guides a switch to activate the sealing mechanism, automatically moving the sealing arm 40 toward the garbage bag 24 to seal the 15 bag.

V* *0 Now that preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the bag housing has at least the following advantages: 9%ee 20 1 the cartridge allows for easy and rapid positioning of a next bag in the bin; e ee 2 when the bag is filled with articles to a desired level, the bag can be closed with a seal, thus improving personal hygiene associated with sealing garbage bags; and 3 the door of the bag housing improves the ergonomic nature of the bin allowing easy access to a used garbage bag.

Although the invention has been described with reference to particular examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms. For example, the invention may be used for hygienic storage of infrequently used clothing, soft toys and the like.

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Claims (4)

1. A bag housing for supporting a bag in an open position and defining an open top through which articles may be passed into the bag, the housing including: a member for receiving a cartridge of bags that is arranged at the member to allow a leading edge of a bag to be moved from the cartridge and releasably retained at an opposing element of the housing, wherein a trailing edge of the bag is retained at the cartridge such that the bag is then maintained in an open position in the housing.

2. A bag housing according to claim 1 including a door coupled thereto, the opening of which allows access to the bag.

3. A bag housing according to claim 1 or 2 including a sealing mechanism provided for sealing the bag in the S• housing when in the bag is in the open position. e

4. A bag housing for supporting a bag in an open position and defining an open top through which articles 20 may be passed into the bag, the housing including a door coupled thereto, the opening of which allows access to the e••oo bag. *Dated this 2 3 rd day of May 2001 25 Peter Sarcasmo 0060 By his Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK 0e 00 0 41588