GB2482034A

GB2482034A - Hand-held pick-up device for animal excrement

Info

Publication number: GB2482034A
Application number: GB201012045A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jon Frank Ross Whyte
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-07-17
Filing date: 2010-07-17
Publication date: 2012-01-18
Also published as: GB201012045D0

Abstract

The pick-up device 10 comprises a pair of tongs 11 defining jaws 12 and bag retaining element 14 for retaining a bag 21 arranged with a bottom part thereof turned inside out and inserted into the tongs from the direction of the jaws, the jaws being openable by the tongs to admit an object into the inside-out part of a retained bag and closable to pick up the object. The bag retaining element comprises a gripping portion 16, 20 for gripping the inside-out part of the bag at a point spaced from the jaws, the gripping portion defining an opening which is openable against a bias 20 to permit movement of the bag by itself or together with an object received therein through the opening. Once an object has passed through the opening, the gripping portion closes and a further object can be picked up.

Description

HAND-HELD PICK-UP DEVICE

The present invention relates to a hand-held pick-up device.

Handheld pick-up devices are in use for a wide variety of purposes particularly in circumstances where it is not desirable for the user to come into direct contact with objects to be picked up for reasons connected with contamination of the objects, for example foodstuffs, or potential harm to or discomfort for the user. In the latter category are devices used for picking up deposited waste material such as animal faeces, particularly that of dogs. Removal of deposited dog faeces from public locations is mandatory for accompanying dog owners and currently the most commonly used implement for this task is a scoop in association with a storage bag. Other devices designed for this purpose tend to be too large to be conveniently carried in a pocket or else require use of a fresh storage bag each time an object is picked up. A pick-up device disclosed in US 4 056 278, on the other hand, requires a specially manufactured disposable container, which significantly increases the cost to the end user.

It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide a hand-held pick-up device which can be used in a simple and convenient manner to pick up an object and to store it in a bag associated with the device, especially a bag of a proprietary kind.

A further object of the invention is to enable picking up, by such a device, of objects on several occasions and storage of the objects in the same bag.

A supplementary object is provision of a hand-held pick-up device which can be of such a size that it can be carried in, for example, the pocket of a garment.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following

description.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a hand-held pick-up device comprising a pair of tongs defining jaws, and bag retaining means for retaining a bag arranged with a bottom part thereof turned inside out relative to the rest of the bag and inserted into the tongs from the direction of the jaws, the jaws being openable by the tongs to admit an object into the inside-out part of a retained bag and closable to pick up the object, and the bag retaining means comprising gripping means for gripping the inside-out part of the bag at a point spaced from the jaws) the gripping means defining an opening which is openable against a bias to permit movement of the inside-out part of the bag by itself or together with an object received therein through the opening.

Such a device allows a user to conveniently pick up objects without coming into contact with the objects, tongs being a simple form of implement easy to use and manipulate with one hand. The construction of the device allows a bag which is partly turned inside out to be fitted to the device with the inside-out part gripped by gripping means at a point spaced from the jaws. The inside-out part of the bag thus forms a receptacle for an object picked up by he tongs. However) in order to allow use of the device to pick up a further object without loss of a previously picked-up object from the bag when the jaws of the tongs are re-opened the gripping means has an opening which is openable against a bias so that the previously picked-up object and the part of the bag in which it is contained can be pulled through the opening, i.e. in a direction away from the jaws of the tongs. The opening will then be automatically closed by the bias, so that the section of the bag containing the previously picked-up object is stored in a closed compartment within the bag. The device is then able to be operated to pick-up a further object, the process being repeatable until the bag is full, If animal faeces are being collected in this manner, the bag can be discarded. A special design of bag is not necessary. Accordingly, not only can the device itself be of inexpensive construction, but also the bags to be fitted to it can be of a proprietary kind, including bags of kinds commonly dispensed by retailers of foodstuffs and other commodities. The tongs can be of compact construction so that the device can be carried in a pocket until needed.

Preferably, the gripping means comprises flexible material and the opening is formed by a passage bounded by the material. The flexible material can be, for example, sheet material, such as polyethylene) extending between arms of the tongs. The biascan be provided by, for example, at least one spring clip acting to close the opening or by a resilient edging of the opening itself, particularly if the flexible material is a stiff sheet material having a degree of shape memory. Alternatively, the flexible material can be resilient material and the bias provided by the resilience of the material, for example a rubber membrane connected to and loosely extending between the arms of the tongs, the membrane having a slot forming the opening. The use of flexible material to form the opening has the result that regardless of the size of the opening the material can be folded or otherwise deformed so that the size of the device as a whole can be effectively reduced to just the size of the tongs.

For preference, the bag retaining means further comprises flexible guide means connected with the tongs and defining in the vicinity of the jaws a mouth openable and closable by the tongs for admission of an object into and retention of the admitted object in a retained bag.

The provision of a mouth associated with the jaws provides a defined intake which can, in effect, be lined by the inserted inside-out part of a bag. In that case, the mouth preferably extends laterally of the jaws to bound an entrance greater in area than that between the jaws when open. A mouth wider than the jaws thus results, but the flexible nature of the guide means defining the mouth has the advantage that the size of the device can be reduced to essentially just that of the tongs when the device is to be carried in a pocket or similar. The widened mouth assists the picking up of objects which are wider than the jaws per se and the flexibility of the guide means in this area provides a degree of cushioning in the case of contact with, for example, sharp edges in the vicinity of an object to be picked up.

For preference, the guide means, which can be of flexible sheet material, also defines a bag guide shaft extending between the mouth and the opening of the gripping means. In that case, the flexible guide means can be conveniently integrated with the gripping means, i.e. the bag guide shaft can be formed from flexible sheet material which at one end of the shaft defines the mouth associated with the jaws and at the other end of the shaft defines the opening closable by the bias. The bag retaining means preferably also comprises bag support means extending outwardly of the tongs to support a part of a bag surrounding the tongs, for example wing-shaped supports formed by extensions of the sheet material so that a bag associated with the tongs is held in an extended state.

The jaws of the tongs are, for preference, resiliently urged into a closed state, in which case in one embodiment the tongs comprise arms which are constructed integra'ly with one another and which are connected together by a resilient connector integral therewith and urging the jaws into a closed setting. This represents a particularly economic form of construction of the tongs, for example as a single injection-moulded plastics material component. In another embodiment the tongs comprise arms which are constructed separately from one another and which are connected together by a separately constructed resilient connector urging the jaws into a closed setting. In that case, production cost can be minimised if the arms are substantially identical.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a hand-held pick-up device and bag combination, comprising a device according to the first aspect and a bag receiving the device with the jaws of the tongs towards the bottom of the bag, a bottom part of the bag being turned inside out relative to the rest of the bag and inserted into the tongs and the inside-out part of the bag being gripped by the gripping means.

This combination thus represents a ready-for-use implement for picking up and storing objects. The bag itself can include closure means, for example a tie or bag handles capable of being tied together, for closing the bag opening.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of using a device according to the first aspect of the invention, comprising fitting a bag to the device by the steps of placing the device in the bag with the jaws of the tongs towards the bottom of the bag, operating the tongs to open the jaws, turning a bottom part of the bag inside out while inserting it into the tongs from the direction of the jaws, and drawing the bottom of the bag through the opening of the gripping means. However, according to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided an alternative method of using such a device, comprising fitting a bag to the device by the steps of operating the tongs to open the jaws, inserting a bottom part of the bag into the tongs from the direction of the jaws, drawing the bottom of the bag through the opening of the gripping means and turning the rest of the bag inside out while drawing it over the device. Either method can comprise a further procedure of picking up an object by the device and storing it in the fitted bag by the steps of operating the tongs to open the jaws over the object and admit the object into the part of the bag inserted into the tongs, closing the jaws so as to pick up the object, drawing a further part of the bag together with the object through the opening of the gripping means, and allowing the opening to close behind the object so that the object becomes trapped in the bag and the device can be used to pick up and store further objects by repeating the picking up and storing steps. A final step in use of the device can then comprises removal of the bag together with any object or objects stored therein from the device by drawing a final part of the bag through the opening.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be more particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig.1 is a perspective view of a hand-held pick-up device embodying the invention, an entry mouth of the device being shown open; Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a bag fitted to the device; Fig. 3 is a front view of the device and bag of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a cross-section, to enlarged scale, on the line IV-IV of Fig. 3; and Figs. 5(a)-(f) are schematic views illustrating six phases of use of the device to fit a bag and to pick up and store an object.

Referring now to the drawings there is shown a hand-held pick-up device 10 comprising a pair of tongs 11 defining jaws 12, the tongs being formed by an integral injection-moulded plastics material component including a resilient bridge 13 coupling the arms of the tongs.

The tongs 11 can be operated with one hand by pressing together the ends of the arms remote from the jaws 12 against the resilience of the bridge 13. The bridge resilience accordingly urges the jaws into a closed setting whenthe pressure is released. The illustrated tongs construction is by way of example only\n other constructions with an equivalent or a similar functional capability are equally possible.

The device 10 further comprises bag retaining means 14 made of stiff, but flexible, plastics sheet material defining an entry mouth 15 in the vicinity of the jaws, an exit opening 16 at a spacing from the jaws, a bag guide shaft 17 extending between the mouth 15 and opening 16 and wing-like bag supports 18 disposed laterally outwardly of the mouth on each side, the functions of these features being explained further below. The mouth 15 and shaft 17 together constitute bag guide means and the opening 16, which is closable by a resilient bias, provides bag gripping means.

The flexible sheet material of the bag retaining means 14 comprises a double-walled element associated with each arm of the tongs and extending some distance laterally of the arm in opposite directions as shown in Fig. 3. The walls of each element are heat-sealed together to form a pocket which receives part of the respective arm, including the jaw of that arm. Each arm is fixedly attached to the associated element by adhesive tape or any other suitable fastening means and is thus captive in the pocket. At a short spacing from the jaw each element is folded inwardly along a line parallel to the jaw edge to form a respective one of two sides 19 of the guide shaft 17, the two sides being welded together by heat-seating to form a closed circumference of the shaft. The shaft 17 thus terminates at one end in the entry mouth 15 and at the other end in the exit opening 16. The mouth is openable and closable in company with the jaws 12, thus by operation of the tongs.

The two folded elements of the sheet material are additionally heat-sealed together by seams outboard of the mouth 15. The resulting interconnected four plies of sheet material on either side of the mouth form the bag supports 18.

The resilient bias responsible for closing the opening 16 is provided, in the case of this embodiment, by two spring clips 20, preferably of plastics material, acting on the double-walled sheet material forming the shaft 17, in particular adjacent to the opening 16. The clips resiliently yield to allow movement through the opening 16, but otherwise keep the opening closed.

The device 10 thus constructed can be reduced in overall size simply by wrapping or folding the flexible sheet material forming the mouth 15, shaft 17, opening 16 and bag supports 18 around the tongs 11, the clips 20 also being positionable against the tongs. In this collapsed state the device 10 is sufficiently compact, assuming a typical tongs length of about 150 to 250 millimetres, to be carried in the pocket of a garment.

Figs, 1 to 4 show the device 10 in combination with a bag 21 of flexible plastics sheet material, the bag having a closed bottom, an open top and two handles 22 which can be tied together to close off the opening. To fit the bag 21 to the device, the tongs 11 are operated to open the jaws 12 and therewith the mouth 15. A bottom part of the bag is then inserted, while being turned inside-out in relation to the rest of the bag, through the mouth and into the shaft 17. The end of the inserted part of the bag can be pulled a short distance through the opening 16. The spring clips 20 press the sides 19 of the shaft 17 together with part of the bag between them, so that the bag is held in the shaft and thus retained by the device. In this state, the combination of device and bag is ready for use to pick up and store objects.

Stages in fitting the bag 21 to the device 10 and picking up objects are illustrated in Figs. 5(a) to 5(f), in which the bias exerted by the spring clips 20 to close the opening 16 is represented by two opposed arrows. In Fig. 5(a) the tongs 11 are shown in relaxed state, i.e. with the jaws 12 closed, and extending into the bag 21. The tongs are then operated to open the jaws 12 and the bottom part of the bag 21 is inserted, while being turned inside-out, into the mouth 15 and through the shaft and drawn partly out of the opening 16, as shown in Fig. 5(b). The tongs can be released to close the jaws 12 and the device and bag combination can be carried in this form.

To pick up an object 23, the jaws 12 are opened to admit the object into the mouth 15, more specifically into the inside-out part of the bag 21 lining the mouth 15 and shaft 17, as shown in Fig. 5(c). The tongs are then released so that the jaws close behind the object 23 as shown in Fig. 5(d). The object is thus stored in the inside-out part of the bag 23 within the shaft 17, thus between the mouth 15 and the opening 16.

If use of the device and bag combination to pick up and store a further object is required the part of the bag 21 containing the object 23 is pulled, together with the object, through the opening 16, the spring clips 20 yielding as shown in Fig. 5(e). After that part of the bag inclusive of the object has passed through the opening 16, thus exited the shaft 17, the spring clips automatically seek to close the opening as shown in Fig. 5(f). The object, with which the user does not come into direct contact, is now stored in the bag outside the shaft 17 and a further inside-out section of the bag has been drawn into the shaft, so that the tongs can be operated to open the jaws without risk of loss of the already stored object and to pick up and store a further object in the bag section in the shaft by the steps of Figs. 5(c) and 5(d). This procedure can be repeated, with indexing of the bag through the shaft on each occasion, until the bag is full.

The partially or completely filled bag 21 can be removed from the device 10 and, if the picked-up objects consist of waste material, the bag can be closed and disposed of safely.

If the picked up objects consist of goods, for example foodstuffs such as nuts or olives of different varieties, the bag can be closed and retained together with its content.

The user does not have any contact with the objects to be picked up and the objects can be picked up and bagged in one action, coupled with indexing of the bag to allow repeated use. The device thus provide a convenient and simple implement which can be used with proprietary bags of commonplace kinds and which is particularly suitable for the task of collecting deposited animal waste.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A hand-held pick-up device comprising a pair of tongs defining jaws, and bag retaining means for retaining a bag arranged with a bottom part thereof turned inside out relative to the rest of the bag and inserted into the tongs from the direction of the jaws, the jaws being openable by the tongs to admit an object into the inside-out part of a retained bag and closable to pick up the object, and the bag retaining means comprising gripping means for gripping the inside-out part of the bag at a point spaced from the jaws, the gripping means defining an opening which is openable against a bias to permit movement of the inside-out part of the bag by itself or together with an object received therein through the opening.
2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gripping means comprises flexible material and the opening is formed by a passage bounded by the material.
3. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the bias is provided by at least one spring clip.
4. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the bias is provided by a resilient edging of the opening.
5. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the flexible material is a resilient material and the bias is provided by the resilience of the material.
6. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bag retaining means further comprises flexible guide means connected with the tongs and defining in the vicinity of the jaws a mouth openable and closable by the tongs for admission of an object into and retention of the admitted object in a retained bag.
7. A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the mouth extends laterally of the jaws to bound an entrance greater in area than that between the jaws when open.
8. A device as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the guide means further defines a bag guide shaft extending between the mouth and the opening.
9. A device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the guide means is made of flexible sheet material.
10. A device as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the bag retaining means further comprises bag support means extending outwardly of the tongs to support a part of a bag surrounding the tongs.
11. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the jaws of the tongs are resiliently urged into a closed setting.
12. A device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the tongs comprise arms constructed integrally with one another and connected together by a resilient connector integral therewith and urging the jaws into a closed setting.
13. A device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the tongs comprise arms constructed separately from one another and connected together by a separately constructed resilient connector urging the jaws into a closed setting.
14. A device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the arms are substantially identical.
15. A hand-held pick-up device and bag combination, comprising a device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and a bag receiving the device with the jaws of the tongs towards the bottom of the bag, a bottom part of the bag being turned inside out relative to the rest of the bag and inserted into the tongs and the inside-out part of the bag being gripped by the gripping means.
16. A device and bag combination as claimed in claim 15, wherein the bag comprises closure means for closing the bag opening.
17. A method of using a device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, comprising fitting a bag to the device by the steps of placing the device in the bag with the jaws of the tongs towards the bottom of the bag, operating the tongs to open the jaws, turning a bottom part of the bag inside out while inserting it into the tongs from the direction of the jaws, and drawing the bottom of the bag through the opening of the gripping means.
18. A method of using a device as claimed in any one of claims I to 14, comprising fitting a bag to the device by the steps of operating the tongs to open the jaws, inserting a bottom part of the bag into the tongs from the direction of the jaws, drawing the bottom of the bag through the opening of the gripping means and turning the rest of the bag inside out while drawing it over the device.
19. A method as claimed in claim 17 or claim 18, comprising picking up an object by the device and storing it in the fitted bag by the steps of operating the tongs to open the jaws over the object and admit the object into the part of the bag inserted into the tongs, closing the jaws so as to pick up the object, drawing a further part of the bag together with the object through the opening of the gripping means, and allowing the opening to close behind the object so that the object becomes trapped in the bag and the device can be used to pick up and store further objeds by repeating the picking up and storing steps.
20. A method as claimed in claim 19, comprising removal of the bag together with any object or objects stored therein from the device by drawing a final part of the bag through the opening.