GB2401092A

GB2401092A - A collapsible free-standing bag holder

Info

Publication number: GB2401092A
Application number: GB0310225A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William Ayerst
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-05-02
Filing date: 2003-05-02
Publication date: 2004-11-03
Also published as: GB0310225D0

Abstract

A collapsible free-standing bag holder designed for use with varying types of refuse bags including domestic dustbin bags, builders rubble sacks and garden refuse sacks. The holder is made of plastic or other inexpensive material and when inserted into the open end of the bag provides easy access and support and maybe retained in position by the use of bag slots 1. The bag holder folds flat for storage and incorporates two handles 4 for easy removal and storage. When in use, the holder forms a four-sided (A, B, C, D) tube open at both ends. The sides may be made of cardboard and/or plastics sheets and may fold down the middle of two opposed sides A, C at line 3.

Description

2401 092 - 1 Collapsible Flexible Container Holder This invention relates

to a collapsible self supporting free standing holder for flexible containers, and in particular to a bag or sack holder.

Background

There are numerous bag holders and aids for filling flexible containers such as refuse sacks and rubbish bags. These systems normally consist of either a metal or plastic frame which supports the bag in an open position. One problem with these aids is that they are both complex and time consuming to assemble. A further problem is that known aids are heavy, bulky, expensive and cumbersome in their use. A final problem is that the design of known aids allows little opportunity for the presentation of promotional, advertising or graphical information.

Summary of the Invention

This invention provides a collapsible free-standing holder for supporting a flexible container, the holder comprising; four planar sides linked for relative pivotal movement of adjacent sides and arranged to define a tube having two open ends; and securing means for securing a flexible container to the holder when the holder is at least partially located within the container, the holder being foldable substantially flat when not in use.

Accordingly this invention is both simple and quick to use and provides support for a variety of refuse sacks or bags negating the need for an additional user to support the bag or sack.

The device, when not in use, folds flat for ease of storage or display. 2

Preferably, the holder also has an additional facility for hanging upright and tidy as required.

The four flat surfaces of the holder provide on ideal opportunity for presenting advertising or other graphic information.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying diagramatic figures, in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a holder according to the invention in its open position; Figure 2 shows the elevation of the holder in the open position from the direction of side A; Figure 3 shows another view of the elevation of the holder in the open position from the direction of side B; Figure 4 shows a plan view of the holder from above in the open position; Figure 5 shows the plan of the holder partially collapsed; and Figure 6 shows the plan of the holder fully collapsed, showing its flat pack nature for alternative storage or display purposes.

As shown in Figure 1, the collapsible holder according to the invention is formed by four flat sides A to D which are pivotally linked along their joined edges 2 to allow relative pivoting movement of adjacent sides. In the opened out condition the holder forms an open ended box with a rectangular cross section. Handles 4 and integral bag slots 1 are formed by apertures or cut-outs in upwardly extending sections of the opposed parallel sides B and D. The slots allow securing of a flexible container such as a bag or refuse sack as necessary. The four sides of the device A, B. C and D are identified in this and the subsequent illustrations. - 3

The holder has folding or hinged opposed sides A and C. These sides can be folded along their respective centre lines, allowing the holder to be collapsed into a flat-pack state by use of the hinged edges 2 and hinged centre folds 3.

Figure 2 is an elevation of the holder showing the folding side A. Folding side C is identical.

The holder is constructed to allow the each of the folding sides A and C to be folded inwards along the respective fold at its centre. The hinged edges 2 and hinged centre lines 3 allow the device to collapse into a flat pack position shown in figure 6.

Figure 3 shows the elevation of the holder showing the side B. Opposed side D is identical.

Figure 3 shows the cut out handle 4. A bag securing slot 1 is formed at the base of each of the cut-out handles 4. This allows a flexible container to be retained on the holder as necessary by passing a part of the flexible container through the or each slotl. The cut-out handles 4 also provide the facility for display or storage by suspending the holder by the handles 4.

Figure 4 shows the plan of the holder in its fully open position. The hinged edges 2 and hinged centre 3 of the folding sides A and C allow the device to be maintained its box section or rectangular cross section state.

Figure 5 shows the plan of the holder in the semi-closed position. The hinged edges2 and the folding sides A and C facilitate the collapse of the holder from its open state shown in figure 4.

Figure 6 shows the plan of the holder in the closed position displaying the flat pack nature of the collapsed holder. The hinged edges 2 and the folding sides A and C allow the collapse of the holder from its open state shown in figure 4 through the semi-closed position of figure 5 to the fully closed position of figure 6, or vice-versa.

The holder is preferably made from cardboard. Further, it is preferred, but not essential, that the cardboard be at least partially plastics coated to allow it to be easily cleaned and to provide improved resistance to water damage. Alternatively, the holder can be made of plastics sheet or other inexpensive material in the shape of a thin walled box section. depending on the materials used the dimensions, such as the thickness of the sides, can be determined as required.

It is advantageous to provide handles to allow the user to easily maintain a good grip on the holder. However, this is not essential and it may be sufficient for the user to simply grasp the holder sides. Even where there are no handles, it is preferred for the upwardly extending sections of sides B and D to be retained to provide a convenient gripping point. The use of cut-out handles and slots to retain the bag is preferred. However, other forms of handle and bag retaining means may be used if necessary.

In use, the holder is inserted within a refuse bag and the bag is secured to the holder by inserting respective parts of the side of the bag into the bag slots 1. The holder then holds the bag upright and holds the neck of the bag open to aid filling. Once the bag has been suitably filled the respective bag parts are removed from the slots 1 and the holder is withdrawn. The bag can then be closed and the bag contents disposed of as necessary.

The holder may be inserted into the open end of the refuse bag with the upwardly extending sections of sides B and D having the handle cut-outs projecting from the open end of the bag in its open position. However, it will often be more convenient for the holder to be inserted into the bag in the partially or fully collapsed position and opened up when inside the bag.

The bag and holder are then placed on the ground with the open end uppermost.

The open lip of the bag is then drawn through the handle cut-outs 4 and pushed into the slots 1 to retain the bag in the upright position on the holder. The holder is then filled with refuse to the appropriate level dependent upon the weight of the refuse and the strength of the bag. It should be noted that when the bag and holder are partially filled, the refuse within the holder will tend to stabilise the holder in the open position. - 5

On completion of the filling process the bag is unhooked from the retaining slots 1 and the holder removed utilising the cut-out handles 4. Once the holder has been removed the bag and refuse may be disposed as required.

The holder is then collapsed by gently pressing on the hinged sides A and C, enabling the holder to be returned to its fully collapsed flat pack mode and stored as required.

In the above description, the use of the holder with a rubbish bag is described by way of example. Holders according to the invention can be used with any type of open ended flexible container such as a garden refuse sack, builders rubble sack, bin liner or the like. The size of the holder can be varied as required by different sized flexible containers The described embodiment has four sides arranged to open into a square or rectangular cross section. This is the simplest arrangement, and will usually be the most stable and effective.

However, further sides could be added if desired. In this case the holder could be arranged to open out into a more complex shape, for example a hexagon or octagon. - 6

Claims

Claims 1. A collapsible free-standing holder for supporting a flexible

container, the holder comprising; four planar sides linked for relative pivotal movement of adjacent sides and arranged to define a tube having two open ends; and securing means for securing a flexible container to the holder when the holder is at least partially located within the container, the holder being foldable substantially flat when not in use.
2. A holder as claimed in claim 1, in which two opposed sides of the holder are foldable so that the holder can be folded substantially flat when not in use.
3. A holder as claimed in claim 2, in which handles are formed on at least two of the sides.
4. A holder as claimed in claim 3, in which the handles are formed by apertures through the two opposed sides of the holder which are not said foldable sides.
5. A holder as claimed in claim 4, in which the securing means is formed by slots extending from the edges of each aperture.
6. A holder as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4, in which the handles are arranged so that when the holder is folded flat it can hang from one or both handles.
7. A holder as claimed in any preceding claim in which the sides are cardboard.
8. A holder as claimed in claim 7 in which at least part of the cardboard has a plastics coating.
9. A holder as claimed in any one of claim 1 to 6 in which the sides are formed of plastics sheets. - 7
10. A holder as claimed in any preceding claim in which the sides define a parallel sided open ended tube having a rectangular cross section.
A holder as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 and having additional sides.
12. A collapsible free standing holder for supporting a flexible container, substantially as shown in or as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.