GB2470422A

GB2470422A - Pouch for holding bags

Info

Publication number: GB2470422A
Application number: GB0908966A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jacqueline Iola Cunningham
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-05-23
Filing date: 2009-05-23
Publication date: 2010-11-24
Anticipated expiration: 2029-05-23
Also published as: GB0908966D0; GB2470422B

Abstract

A pouch for holding at least one bag comprises a spherical shell 100 with a circular hole 102 disposed on said shell. The pouch preferably comprises a key ring 108 attached to said shell 100 and is preferably flexible and constructed from silicone rubber. The pouch may have a logo or brand 110 displayed on it. The bags may be carrier bags or bags for collecting dog waste, a method of collection of dog excrement is also disclosed.

Description

Patent application of Jacqueline lola Cunningham for Pouch for holding carrier bags

Background of the Invention

[1] The present invention relates to apparatus for storing and transporting disposable bags, in particular plastic carrier bags commonly dispensed at a supermarket, and dog waste bags.

[2] Reusable bags which can be folded or stuffed into a pouch on a key ring are known in the art.

[3] FR 2919788 to Hamdani, for example, discloses a storage device for storing a shopping bag, keys, a loyalty card and a shopping trolley token. The device comprises pockets sized to accommodate such a bag, card and token, into which the items are introduced. Flaps then close over the pockets. A key carrying ring is affixed outside a pocket. The device is rectangular, measuring 2.5cm x 10cm x 5cm, and requires a bag to be folded into a rectangular shape to fit inside with optimal use of space inside the device.

[4] As a further example, GB 2454020 to Eilers discloses a reusable bag apparatus comprising a flexible casing that is attached to the key ring of a bunch of keys, the flexible casing holding a multi-purpose carrier bag. Both the flexible casing and the multi-purpose carrier bag are preferably be made of materials that can be recycled. The flexible casing may be similar to a tennis ball but of a smaller diameter and may have a section in the shape of a domes that can be removed. Using the thumb the flexible casing can be turned inside out allowing easy release of the multi-purpose carrier bag. The device is supplied with a flexible carrier bag made of strong but lightweight fabric, the aim of the invention being to reduce use of plastic carrier bags for environmental and cost purposes.

[5] FR 2892273 to Michel discloses a similar device wherein a pouch has a resistant and flexible pocket suspended at a key fob and containing a canvas bag folded and compressed in the pocket, where the pocket is detached from the key fob. The pocket is turned inside out to release the bag. The bag may be separate from or integrated into the pocket. The pocket is closed by a zip fastener and may be leather or resistant thermoplastic material.

The bag is canvas material or a net bag.

[61 Means for carrying bags for disposing of dog waste while walking a dog are known in the art.

[7] US 7073462 to Layman discloses an organizer for assisting a user when taking a dog for a walk. The organizer has an adjustable belt with an interlocking buckle and an attached pouch. The pouch has a top lid and front, left and right surfaces. The lid closes by means of a top zipper. A hook for tethering the dog is permanently affixed to the left surface. The user can insert a box of plastic bags in a bag compartment inside a side zipper in the left surface and dispense the bags through an elongated slot in the front surface to collect dog waste. The pouch has separate compartments for a leash and other accessories. A solar energy panel is located on the lid and is in communication with a light-emitting diode. The diode can either be activated by opening the lid or via a switch mounted onto the right surface.

[8] CA 2394421 to St John et. al. discloses a pet waste scoop including: a rim defining a scoop; the rim having an aperture sized to receive a disposable pet waste bag fitted thereon; a handle coupled to the rim; and, a disposable pet waste bag dispenser incorporated in the handle for dispensing bags. The bag dispenser is incorporated into the handle of the scoop. The dispenser is a cylinder for containing and dispensing a roll of plastic bags, and may or may not have an axle to assist rotation of the roll of bags.

Brief Simitnary of the Invention [9] It would be advantageous to have an apparatus for transporting supermarket-type plastic carrier bags. It would be further advantageous to be able to purchase such an apparatus without the purchase of a bag, since bags are provided commonly for free by supermarkets.

[10] It would be further advantageous for such apparatus to be lightweight, easy to remove bags from and put bags in, adaptable for a multiplicity of shapes and sizes of bags, convenient to carry, small and readily available to a user when at a supermarket check-out.

[11] In the present invention, a pouch is disclosed for holding at least one carrier bag, the pouch comprising a spherical shell with a circular hole disposed on said shell. The pouch preferably comprises a key ring attached to said shell and is preferably constructed from silicone rubber. The pouch may be branded.

[121 An advantage of the present invention is that it can contain and transport supermarket-type plastic carrier bags. A further advantage is that it can be purchased without the purchase of a bag.

[131 A yet further advantage is that the pouch is lightweight and flexible, being small and constructed from silicone rubber. As a further advantage, the flexibility makes it easy to store and remove bags from the pouch. As a yet further advantage, the spherical shape reflects roughly the shape a plastic carrier bag takes on when crushed into its smallest possible size, eliminating a need to fold the bagn any particular way and speeding up the process of storing a bag in the pouch. This shape also makes the pouch adaptable for a multiplicity of shapes and sizes of bags.

[14] Another advantage of the pouch is that the addition of a key ring makes it convenient to carry and readily available to a user when at a supermarket check-out, since it will be attached to the user's keys which a user normally keeps on his or her person when away from home.

[15] A further advantage of the invention is that it enables bags to be re-used, which helps the environment, saves money for the store, and assists the user when visiting a store which does not provide bags without the need to purchase a canvas shopping bag or the like.

[16] A yet further advantage of the invention is that it provides a way for dog walkers to store plastic bags in which to collect dog excrement.

Brief Description of the Several Views of the Drawing [17] The invention can be better understood with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: [181 Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the pouch.

Detailed Description of the Invention

[191 In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a pouch is disclosed for holding at least one carrier bag. In this application, the term carrier bag' is used to refer to supermarket-type carrier bags, of the type commonly distributed for free by supermarkets and other stores.

[20] Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the invention in which the pouch comprises a spherical shell 100, with a circular hole 102 disposed on said shell. The edge 104 may be slightly thicker than the rest of the shell for added reinforcement. A key ring 108 is preferably attached to said shell via a ioop 106 or a hole or other key ring attachment means as known in the art. The key ring may be any key ring known in the art, for example a split ring, a carabiner, etc, and may further comprise a key chain. An advantage of having a key ring is that the key ring makes it convenient to carry and readily available to a user when at a supermarket check-out, since it will be attached to the user's keys which a user normally keeps on his or her person when away from home. Logo 110 is shown disposed on the shell.

[211 Said hole is preferably sized to admit two fingers, since this is required to easily remove bags. In particular, said hole is preferably of the order of 30mm in diameter since this is a size slightly larger than two average fingers, to allow ease of use for the average user.

[22] Said shell is preferably flexible. An advantage of this is that it can be more easily accommodated in a bag or pocket.

More preferably, said shell is preferably constructed from silicone rubber. An advantage of this is that it is a readily available and inexpensive material which is stiff enough to hold the shape of a sphere while being flexible enough for the advantage described above.

[23] Preferably, said shell is sized to contain 2-3 carrier bags. An advantage of this is that it enables a user to carry a reasonable amount of shopping while being small enough to be accommodated in a handbag or pocket. In particular, said shell is preferably of the order of 50mm in diameter since this will contain 2-3 carrier bags while fitting in a bag or pocket.

[24] In variations of the invention, the shell may be branded, for example by a supermarket or any organization, for example to distribute to shoppers for free advertising. To this end a brand logo or brand name may be disposed on the shell. The shell may be styled to appeal to different users, for example different colours, pictures, patterns, textures, characters, photographs or any emblem or style may be disposed on the shell.

The shell may be styled to look like other spherical objects such as a face, sports ball, Comic Relief-style red nose, globe, etc. This list is for example only and is not intended to be limiting.

In particular, the word Baggee' may be disposed on the shell.

Words, logos, etc may be embossed, printed, or disposed on the shell by any means known in the art. The styling may cause the shell to have a slightly non-spherical shape, for example having small protrusions, indentations, ribbing or texture necessary for the design, and this is included in the scope of the invention.

[25] Since stores are increasingly attempting to reduce costs by limiting the availability of free carrier bags, an advantage of the invention is that bags obtained for free can be stored and re-used in stores where none are available. For stores, and advantage is that shoppers are more likely to arrive with their own bags, reducing the demand for bags from the store.

A further advantage is that reducing demand for bags helps the environment.

[261 Further advantages of the invention are that the pouch can be purchased without the purchase of a bag, the pouch is lightweight and flexible, the spherical shape reflects roughly the shape a plastic carrier bag takes on when crushed into its smallest possible size, eliminating a need to fold the bag in any particular way and speeding up the process of storing a bag in the pouch, and the pouch is adaptable for a multiplicity of shapes and sizes of bags.

[27] In a second embodiment of the invention, the pouch is adapted to contain bags for collecting dog excrement when walking a dog.

[281 To this end, the pouch preferably has all features identical to those of the first embodiment with the following exceptions.

[29] The word Doggee' may be embossed or printed on the shell. Alternatively, dog-like designs or brands or logos of dog food or other dog-related companies may be embossed or printed on the shell. An advantage of this is that it will aid potential buyers in realizing the use of the invention.

[30] The shell may be sold with bags designed specifically for dog excrement collection. Such bags are known in the art and may be scented, may have easy tying mechanisms, and may be smaller than supermarket-style carrier bags. An advantage of this is that with bags designed for this use, more can be stored in the pouch at one time, odours can be reduced, and tying can be facilitated. Furthermore, buying the pouch and bags together is easier for a user than buying two separate items. Since the pouch is designed to be inexpensive, it may be possible to buy a new pouch each time the bags sold with the previous pouch are used up. This will increase sales for vendors and increase ease for dog walkers.

[31] In a third embodiment of the invention, a method is disclosed for collecting dog excrement when walking a dog comprising the steps of: [32] storing at least one plastic bag in a pouch, the pouch comprising: a spherical shell, a circular hole disposed on said shell, and a key ring; attaching said key ring to one selected from the list comprising: a user's person, a user's keys, a leash of a dog to be walked, a collar of a dog to be walked; walking said dog; removing a plastic bag from said pouch when required; collecting excrement of said dog in said plastic bag.

[331 Advantages of this method are that the bags can be carried without occupying a hand of a user. The bags can be stored on a user's keys which a user commonly takes out with him or her when leaving the house, and will therefore not be forgotten. The bag can be stored on a dog leash which is commonly taken with when walking a dog and will therefore not be forgotten. Many countries prohibit allowing a dog to foul a public area thus an advantage of the invention is that it facilitates the dog walker in walking the dog legally.

Furthermore, it enables public areas to be cleaner.

Claims

Claims 1. A pouch for holding at least one carrier bag comprising: a spherical shell; a circular hole disposed on said shell.
2. The pouch of claim 1 further comprising a key ring attached to said shell.
3. The pouch of claim 1 wherein said hole is sized to admit two fingers.
4. The pouch of claim 1 wherein said hole is of the order of 30mm in diameter.
5. The pouch of claim 1 wherein said shell is flexible.
6. The pouch of claim 1 wherein said shell is constructed from silicone rubber.
7. The pouch of claim 1 wherein said shell is sized to contain 2- 3 carrier bags.
8. The pouch of claim 1 wherein said shell is of the order of 50mm in diameter.
9. The pouch of claim 1 wherein disposed on said shell is at least one selected from the list comprising: a pattern, a colour, a brand logo, a brand name, the word Baggee', the
10. The pouch of claim 1 wherein said shell is adapted to hold bags for collecting dog excrement.
11. A method of collecting dog excrement when walking a dog comprising the steps of: storing at least one plastic bag in a pouch, the pouch comprising: a spherical shell, a circular hole disposed on said shell, and a key ring; attaching said key ring to one selected from the list comprising: a user's person, a user's keys, a leash of a dog to be walked, a collar of a dog to be walked; walking said dog; removing a plastic bag from said pouch when required; collecting excrement of said dog in said plastic bag.