Trash receptacle vacuum release vent
A composite vent has an elongated rectangular central panel with two narrower longitudinal rectangular side panels hingeably attached or detachably connected thereto, such that the side panels form a range of obtuse angles with the central panel. The reverse sides of the side panels contain one or more adhesive strips, such that the vent can be securely attached across the corner or side of a trash receptacle regardless of the size or shape of the receptacle or the angle at which the side walls of the receptacle meet to form a corner. The composite vent creates a vertical airway along the corner of side of the trash receptacle, such that air can enter at the top of the panel and flow down the sides of the receptacle and into the bottom below the liner bag. To prevent obstruction of the airway by the liner, the vent panel can be perforated at intervals along its length, and/or it contain a vent opening at its lower edge.
The current invention relates to the field of trash receptacles, and more particularly to trash receptacles that incorporate a means of releasing the vacuum typically created between the liner bag and the inner walls and bottom of the receptacle.
Trash receptacles come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are commonly used in domestic, commercial and industrial applications. In order to avoid contamination of the interior of such receptacles, a plastically deformable liner bag is usually inserted into the receptacle, such that the liner covers the side walls and bottom of the receptacle and extends around the perimeter of the receptacle opening. As the liner bag is filled with trash, it is compressed against the sides and bottom of the receptacle. This compression forces the air out of the spaces between the liner and the interior of the receptacle, thereby creating a partial vacuum, which offers strong resistance to removal of the liner when the receptacle is full. Such resistance often compels a person to hold down the receptacle with one hand while lifting the liner bag with the other hand. Consequently, the simple task of removing a trash bag from its receptacle is rendered difficult and awkward.
The prior art has addressed this problem in various ways.
In the patent applications of Herndon (US 2009/0255934) and Wentz et al. (US 2007/0210088) and the patent to Tidrick (U.S. Pat. No. 7,438,199), bag venting systems are integrally formed as part of the trash receptacle. In the patent to Joseph (U.S. Pat. No. 6,736,281), a series of integral pre-fabricated air baffles project orthogonally from the walls and bottom of the trash receptacle. These receptacles with built-iv venting have the disadvantages of not being adaptable to retrofitting an ordinary trash receptacle with a vacuum release mechanism. Moreover, integral vents and baffles inside a trash receptacle create spaces that are difficult to clean and afford potential paths by which vermin can gain access to the receptacle's interior. Specially fabricated trash receptacles are more expensive than ordinary receptacles to fabricate, and may not be available in the ranges of sizes and shapes to meet all needs.
The patents to Bard (U.S. Pat. No. 4,294,379) Jones (U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,518) and Kulasik (U.S. Pat. No. 7,578,409) teach the use of insertable hollow conduits which attach to the side of the receptacle. Each of these conduits has a self-enclosed, rigid cross-sectional configuration, which is triangular (Bard), tubular (Jones), or trapezoidal (Kulasik). These rigid conduit configurations are not adaptable to various sizes and shapes of trash receptacles. For example, the Bard conduit will fit only into a square or rectangular receptacle with right-angled corners. Moreover, since the self-enclosed conduits taught by Jones and Kulasik protrude from the side of the receptacle, they are apt to snag and rip the liner bag as it's being removed from the receptacle.
Another type of insertable vent panel is described in the patent to Poliquin (U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,063). But the Poliquin vent has a rigid shape which is adaptable only to square or rectangular receptacles.
The patent to Barnett et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,241) teaches a multi-panel vent with adhesive attachment means on the side panels. But the side panels extend at acute angles behind the central panel, and they are rigidly, not hingeably, attached to the central panel. This again limits the application of the vent to a square/rectangular shaped receptacle.
Therefore, there exists a need, as yet unfulfilled by the prior art, for a vacuum release vent that can be inserted into an ordinary trash receptacle of virtually any size and shape. The present invention meets this need by providing a composite multi-panel vent configuration. In one version of the multi-panel vent, two side panels are hingeably attached to a central panel and are adjustable through a range of oblique angles so as to conform to the interior shape of the receptacle. Alternately, the two side panels are detachably connected to the central panel and, after detachment from the central panel, serve as dual tracks by which the central panel can slide in and out of the trash receptacle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention comprises a composite vent having an elongated rectangular central panel with two narrower longitudinal rectangular side panels. The reverse sides of the side panels contain one or more adhesive strips, such that the vent can be securely attached across the corner or side of a trash receptacle regardless of the size or shape of the receptacle or the angle at which the side walls of the receptacle meet to form a corner.
The composite vent creates a vertical airway along the corner of side of the trash receptacle, such that air can enter at the top of the panel and flow down the sides of the receptacle and into the bottom below the liner bag. To prevent obstruction of the airway by the liner, the vent panel can be perforated at intervals along its length, and/or it contain one or more vent openings along its lower edge.
In the first embodiment of the present invention, the side panels are hingeably attached to the side panels, such that the side panels form a range of obtuse angles with the central panel. In this version, the composite vent is inserted into the trash receptacle as an integral unit and, after being secured to the receptacle's interior walls by the adhesive strips on the back of the side panels, the vent functions as an integral unit thereafter. In the second embodiment, the side panels overlap the central panel, to which they are flexibly connected by one or more detachable connector means. In this version, after the composite vent has been inserted into the trash receptacle as a single unit and the side panels are secured to the interior walls, the detachable connector means are removed, and the central panel is free to slide up and down behind the dual tracks formed by the two side panels.
Referring to
The two side panels 12 are hingeably attached along the two longitudinal sides 13 of the central panel 11. The length of the side panels 12 is equal to the length of the longitudinal sides 13 of the central panel 11, while the width of each side panel 12 is preferably in the range of one-quarter to one-half of the width of the lateral sides 14 of the central panel 11. In the junctures between the side panels 12 and the longitudinal sides 13 of the central panel 11, there are one or more hinge means 15. Preferably, the hinge means 15 comprises one continuous strip of plastically deformable material that is formed by scoring the back of a single plastic panel or impressing a series of molded relief points on the back of a single plastic panel to hingeably divide the side panels 12 from the central panel 11, so as to form the composite vent 10 of the present invention. Alternately, the hinge means 15 can comprise one or more of the type of hinge mechanisms that are known in the art, such as continuous plastic hinges, barrel hinges, piano hinges, and strap hinges.
Preferably, the composite vent 10 is formed out of an integral panel of a rigid or semi-rigid plastic material by longitudinally scoring or molding the back of the panel so as to create the juncture between the side panels 12 and the longitudinal sides 13 of the central panel 11. Alternately, the composite vent 10 can be formed by attaching two separate side panels 12 to the longitudinal sides 13 of a separate central panel 11 by one or more separate hinge means 15. In the latter case, the separate panels 11/12 can consist of any rigid or semi-rigid material, such as plastic, metal, cardboard, or wood. The hinge means 15 allow each of the side panels 12 to swivel outward so as to form an oblique angle with the central panel 11.
Referring again to
Referring now to
Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many additions, modifications and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the accompanying claims.
Claims
1. A composite vacuum release vent, attachable to an interior of a trash receptacle, comprising:
- (a) an elongated rectangular central panel having two longitudinal sides and two lateral sides;
- (b) two elongated rectangular side panels, which are hingeably attached to the central panel along the longitudinal sides and are aligned with the lateral sides;
- (c) one or more hinge means, by means of which the side panels are hingeably attached to the central panel; and
- (d) one or more attachment means, by which the side panels are secured to the interior of the trash receptacle, such that, when a liner bag is inserted into the interior of the trash receptacle, the composite vacuum release vent maintains an open airway between the liner bag and the interior of the receptacle, so as to prevent the creation of a partial vacuum as the liner bag expands upon filling.
2. The composite vacuum release vent according to claim 1, wherein the side panels have a reverse surface upon which the attachment means are located.
3. The composite vacuum release vent according to claim 2, wherein the hinge means enables the side panels to pivot with respect to the central panel through a range of oblique angles so as to cause the attachment means to conformably engage the interior of the trash receptacle.
4. The composite vacuum release vent according to claim 3, wherein the central panel has one or more apertures that enable air to flow through the central panel.
5. The composite vacuum release vent according to claim 4, wherein the central panel has a bottom lateral side that is contoured or notched to provide an opening for air to flow beneath the liner bag.
6. A composite vacuum release vent, attachable to an interior of a trash receptacle, comprising:
- (a) an elongated rectangular central panel having two longitudinal sides and two lateral sides, and having an obverse face and a reverse face;
- (b) two elongated rectangular side panels, each of which has an inner longitudinal edge an outer longitudinal edge, wherein the inner longitudinal edge of each side panel overlaps one of the longitudinal sides of the central panel and extends over a portion of the obverse face of the central panel so as to form a panel overlap along each of the longitudinal sides of the central panel, and wherein the side panels are detachably connected to the central panel along the panel overlaps;
- (c) one or more detachable connector means, by means of which the side panels are detachably connected to the central panel; and
- (d) one or more attachment means, by means of which the side panels are secured to the interior of the trash receptacle, such that, when the detachable connector means are removed, the two side panels become two retaining tracks behind which the central panel can slide up and down along the interior of the trash receptacle, and such that, when a liner bag is inserted into the interior of the trash receptacle, the composite vacuum release vent maintains an open airway between the liner bag and the interior of the receptacle, so as to prevent the creation of a partial vacuum as the liner bag expands upon filling.
7. The composite vacuum release vent according to claim 6, wherein the side panels have a reverse surface upon which the attachment means are located.
8. The composite vacuum release vent according to claim 7, wherein the detachable connector means enables the side panels to pivot with respect to the central panel through a range of oblique angles so as to cause the attachment means to conformably engage the interior of the trash receptacle.
9. The composite vacuum release vent according to claim 8, wherein the central panel has one or more apertures that enable air to flow through the central panel.
10. The composite vacuum release vent according to claim 9, wherein the central panel has a bottom lateral side that is contoured or notched to provide an opening for air to flow beneath the liner bag.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 16, 2010
Publication Date: Oct 20, 2011
Inventor: David Kastner (Stanhope, NJ)
Application Number: 12/662,419
International Classification: B65D 25/14 (20060101);