AU2005203774A1

AU2005203774A1 - Reusable garbage bag

Info

Publication number: AU2005203774A1
Application number: AU2005203774A
Authority: AU
Original assignee: Jones Tracy Leigh
Current assignee: Jones Tracy Leigh
Priority date: 2005-08-22
Filing date: 2005-08-22
Publication date: 2007-03-08

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION NAME OF APPLICANT(S):: Tracy Leigh Jones ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: DAVIES COLLISON CAVE Patent Attorneys Level 10, 10 Barrack Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 2000 INVENTION TITLE: Reusable garbage bag The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- 5102 P:\WPDOCSCASpm\Trwcy JONES\12588691_AU wmplc 'RmsabIc garbae b.8ec-22108/05 -1- REUSABLE GARBAGE BAG Field of the Invention The present invention relates to reusable garbage bags, in particular those used in lining kitchen garbage containers. Although it will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention with reference to this application, it is to be understood that this is not to be taken as a limitation of the scope of the invention.

Background to the Invention It is known that plastic bags are adding to landfill volumes and remain in the earth for an extended period, if they break down at all. Plastic bags are currently used to line kitchen bins. They often leak, are easily torn, and use many resources to construct and destroy.

The present invention seeks to ameliorate one or more of the abovementioned disadvantages.

Summary of the Invention According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a reusable garbage bag assembly suitable for lining garbage containers, the reusable garbage bag including: a reusable bag element including an opening at an upper end through which garbage may be passed, into a void; the reusable garbage bag assembly further including an absorbent element integral P:\WPDOCS\CABSpe\TracyJONES\1258869IAU complte Rsable gbage bag'.dox-22/08/05 -2with or attached to a base region of the void, for absorbing waste fluids which may exude from the garbage.

Preferably the reusable garbage bag is constructed from cotton, or calico, however any other suitable machine washable material such as for example polyester or any other textile may be used.

Preferably the absorbent element is a washable element such as for example a cotton pad having an increased surface area for improving absorption of fluid, such as for example a terry towelling pad, doubled or tripled in thickness. Of course, the absorbent element may be constructed from any suitable absorbent material, such as a semipermeable membrane pouch filled with water absorbent crystals such as for example polyacrylate or propylene oxide-ethylene oxide block polymer, polyethylene polypropylene glycol and the like.

The absorbent element may be sewn into its base position or held in place removably by a hook or hook-and-loop fasteners or other suitable fastener. The absorbent element may be held in a suitable pocket sewn into a base region so as to be replaced at regular intervals if necessary.

A mounting means may be provided on a wall of the reusable garbage bag, to mount a quantity of deodoriser or antibacterial cleaning agent adjacent the bag, either internal to the void or external to the void.

Preferably the mounting means is in the form of one or more pockets for storing the deodoriser or disinfectant agent.

Preferably handles are provided in order to facilitate transfer of the bag to a larger garbage container such as for example a so-called wheelie-bin, or a 240 to 600 litre plastic receptacle or skip. Preferably the handles are connected to the opening.

P:\WPDOCS\CA\Spem\Tracy JONES\2588691 AU coiplete Reusabi garbage bag.doc-2208/05 -3- Preferably a second handle is provided at the base region of the reusable garbage bag, so as to facilitate emptying of the bag into the skip. The second handles are preferably disposed on the outside of the base region of the bag.

Preferably engagement means are provided to engage the garbage bag onto the garbage container for ease of filling, and maintaining the opening in an open position for ease of access by garbage into the void. In one embodiment there is an upper region of the bag being folded over a lip of the canister.

Description of the Drawings In order to enable a clearer understanding, the invention will hereinafter be described with reference to drawings and description of preferred embodiments. In the drawings: Figure 1 is an isometric view of a reusable garbage bag liner according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 2 is an isometric view of Figure 1 from a slightly different angle so that a base interior region is visible.

Description of a Preferred Embodiment Referring to the drawings, there is shown a reusable garbage bag 10 suitable for use in lining garbage containers (not shown). The bag 10 has an opening 12 at an upper region 14 and a void 16 so that garbage may be placed through the opening 12 and temporarily stored in the void 16. An absorbent element 18 is disposed within a base region 20 inside the void 16. The absorbent element 18 is in the form of a terry towelling panel 19 and, in this example embodiment, held underneath a base panel 22 for appearance and reducing damage to panel 19 and retained by sewing at a base wall 24 edges (not shown) so as to P:\WPDOCS\CAB\Spm\Tacy JONES\12588691_AU conipletc RcR ble grbage bag.doc-22/08/O5 -4facilitate absorption across the base wall 24. The absorbent element 18 may of course be a pouch of polyacrylate or polyethylene polypropylene glycol and the like, in a semipermeable membrane, held under an accessible panel, or any suitable protective arrangement, or any suitable combination to absorb fluids across base wall 24.

S

The embodiment shown is suitable to be emptied and subsequently washed in a washing machine.

Terry towelling panel 19 is selected so as to improve absorption by having an increased surface area (not shown) in the form of villi (upstanding fibres) spread across the surface of the panel 19.

A mounting means 25 in the form of pocket 27 is provided on a side wall 29 of the reusable bag 10. The mounting means 25 is suitable for mounting deodorant 29 or disinfectant 31 within interior 33 of pocket 27.

Handles 35 are provided to facilitate transport from bin container to skip (not shown) for emptying. A base handle (not shown) in the form of a strap (not shown) facilitates full emptying by enabling holding by base wall 24 over a skip opening.

The bag 10 is constructed from calico 40 so as to facilitate easy washing and cleaning by machine. The calico 40 also provides an assurance to a consumer of natural product, not harmful to the earth's environment.

In operation the bag 10 is loaded into a garbage canister (not shown) in a kitchen having its top portion 14 folded over a lip of the canister, just like a normal bag, then filled with rubbish, then emptied, and thrown into the washing machine for washing and reuse.

The absorbent panel 18 absorbs fluids exuding from the garbage, and reduces mess in the garbage container. The reusable garbage bag 10 reduces usage of plastic bags thus reducing landfill.

P;\WPDOCS\CAB\Spec\Trcy JONES\12588691AU compltc 'Resable garbag bag'.doc-22/08/05 Finally, it is to be understood that the inventive concept in any of its aspects can be incorporated in many different constructions so that the generality of the preceding description is not to be superseded by the particularity of the attached drawings. Various alterations, modifications and/or additions may be incorporated into the various constructions and arrangements of parts without departing from the spirit or ambit of the invention.

Claims

1. A reusable garbage bag assembly suitable for lining garbage containers, the reusable garbage bag including: a bag element including an opening at an upper end through which garbage may be passed, into a void; the reusable garbage bag assembly further including an absorbent element integral with or attached to a base region of the void, for absorbing waste fluids which may exude from the garbage.

2. A reusable garbage bag assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein the bag element is constructed from machine washable textile.

3. A reusable garbage bag assembly as defined in claim 2 wherein the machine washable textile is cotton or calico.

4. A reusable garbage bag assembly as defined in any previous claim wherein the absorbent element is a a pad having an increased surface area thereon for improving absorption of fluid.

A reusable garbage bag assembly as defined in claim 4 wherein the pad is constructed from cotton.

6. A reusable garbage bag assembly as defined in any previous claim wherein the absorbent element is disposed under a base panel and sewn into its base position so as to facilitate absorption across the base region, and so as to be maintained at the base wall over many washes.. PAWPDOCSABSpm\Trcy IONES\1258&691_AU completeRNu ble gubage ba.doc22/O81O5 -7-

7. A reusable garbage bag assembly according to any previous claim wherein a mounting means is provided on a wall of the reusable garbage bag element, to mount a quantity of deodoriser or antibacterial cleaning agent adjacent the bag, either internal to the void or external to the void.

8. A reusable garbage bag assembly according to claim 7 wherein the mounting means is in the form of one or more pockets for storing the deodoriser or disinfectant agent.

9. A reusable garbage bag assembly according to any previous claim wherein handles are provided in order to facilitate transfer of the bag to a larger garbage container.

A reusable garbage bag assembly according to claim 9 wherein the handles are connected to the opening.

11. A reusable garbage bag assembly according to any previous claim wherein a base handle is provided at the base region of the reusable garbage bag, so as to facilitate emptying of the bag into a skip.

12. A reusable garbage bag assembly according to any previous claim wherein engagement means are provided to engage the garbage bag onto the garbage container for ease of filling, and maintaining the opening in an open position for ease of access by garbage into the void.

13. A reusable garbage bag assembly according to any previous claim wherein the absorbent element is a permeable membrane-coated pouch with water absorbent material in the form of polyacrylate, propylene oxide-ethylene oxide black polymer, or polyethylene polypropylene glycol. P:\WPDOCS\CAB\Sp\Tracy JONES\]12588691_AU compleeuRmsable gbage bagdoc22/8/05 -8-

14. A reusable garbage bag assembly according to any previous claim wherein the absorbent element is removable by being disposed within a base pocket or removably held with hook fasteners.

15. A reusable garbage bag assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 2 2 nd day of August 2005. Tracy Leigh JONES By Her Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CAVE