Wastebasket With Floor Anchor

Abstract

An anchoring device for a wastebasket includes a locking plate that adheres to a hard surface (e.g. a floor) using Command™ adhesive strips or other comparable means of adhesion. The locking plate includes a tongue and a rail. A bottom outer surface of the wastebasket includes a corresponding groove and track into which the tongue and rail of the locking plate are inserted, allowing the wastebasket to be anchored to the locking plate and the easy removal of trash liners, without having the wastebasket lift off the floor. A second embodiment includes a base to which the wastebasket is attached by a pivot mechanism. The bottom surface of the base has the corresponding groove and track that anchors to the locking plate in an identical manner, allowing a full trash liner to be removed from the wastebasket while in the tilted orientation without lifting the wastebasket from the underlying surface.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/465,792, filed Mar. 23, 2011.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a wastebasket that can be removably attached to a hard surface and which may optionally be pivotally mounted to a base, thereby allowing the wastebasket to tilt to its side while the base remains attached to the underlying surface.

Plastic liners or trash bags are typically used in wastebaskets for convenience and cleanliness. However, when the liner is full, a lot of friction is created along the inner walls of the wastebasket, which usually causes the wastebasket to lift up along with the liner during removal. This makes emptying the trash extremely clumsy and awkward, especially without a second person to hold down the wastebasket. Additionally, many wastebaskets that are stored in cabinets or openings which do not leave much room above the wastebasket are very difficult to open because they must be removed from the cabinet or opening before the trash bag (i.e., liner) can be lifted out of the wastebasket.

Additionally, pet owners often have pets that try to gain access to the discarded food in the wastebasket, which leads to the trash being knocked over by the pet, causing a mess for the pet owner and potential health dangers to the pet. Pet owners who experience this problem with their pets utilize different remedies to prevent pets from entering the wastebaskets, many being costly, ineffective and/or causing inconvenience to the pet owner.

In view of the shortcomings associated with standard wastebaskets, there remains a need for a wastebasket that can be anchored to a hard underlying surface so that full trash liners may be removed easily from the wastebasket without the wastebasket being lifted with the liner. Additionally, there remains a need for wastebasket that can be anchored to a hard underlying surface, which would prevent pets from knocking over wastebaskets and gaining access to discarded food.

Considering the foregoing, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a wastebasket that can be adhered to a hard surface using Command™ adhesive strips or other similar adhesive mechanism.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a wastebasket, as described above, which may optionally be mounted pivotally to a base that is adhered to a hard surface using Command™ adhesive strips or other similar mechanisms.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a wastebasket, as described above, which may be configured to pivot and tilt in a variety of directions according on the user's specific needs.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a wastebasket, as described above, in which the shape, size, color , and all other attributes of the wastebasket may be changed according to demand and desired style.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a wastebasket, as described above, which can be emptied by pulling the trash bag directly upwards or by tilting the wastebasket at an angle and then pulling the trash bag outwards at that angle while the wastebasket remains anchored to the underlying surface.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a wastebasket, as described above, which can be stored in small spaces (e.g. in cabinets, under counters, desks, tables, etc.) and that can be emptied without needing to be removed from those small spaces.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a wastebasket, as described above, which can be manufactured at an affordable cost to be similarly priced to alternative, competing wastebaskets.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a wastebasket, as described above, which can be configured to have any of the features that other alternative wastebaskets provide, while still retaining the adhesion to hard surfaces and the optional rotatable mounting to a base.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are more readily apparent with reference to the detailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a wastebasket that allows for easy removal of full plastic liners without the wastebasket lifting from the floor or other underlying surface. In addition, the present invention is directed to a wastebasket that deters pets from knocking over and/or allowing pets to gain access to contents of the wastebasket. The present invention exists in multiple embodiments. The first embodiment of the present invention consists of a wastebasket and a locking plate. The wastebasket has a locking mechanism (groove) molded into or attached to its outer, lower surface (i.e., facing the hard surface that the wastebasket will be adhered to) which corresponds to the mechanism (tongue) of the locking plate. The locking plate is specifically manufactured to be used with one or more Command™ adhesive strips or similarly functioning adhesive mechanisms. The wastebasket is secured to the locking plate through the tongue and groove mechanism, after which trash may be emptied by pulling a trash bag (i.e., liners) out of the wastebasket directly upwards. In doing so, the locking plate keeps the wastebasket secured to the hard surface while the trash bag is removed. In addition, when the wastebasket is secured to locking plate through tongue and groove mechanism, pets will not be able to move and/or knock over the wastebasket to gain access to contents of wastebasket.

The second embodiment of the present invention consists of a wastebasket, a base, and a locking plate. The wastebasket attaches pivotally to the base using any conventional pivot means, such as pins and holes. The base has a locking mechanism (groove) molded or attached to its outer, lower surface (i.e., facing the hard surface that the wastebasket will be adhered to) which corresponds to the mechanism (tongue) of the locking plate. The locking plate is specifically manufactured to be used with one or more Command™ adhesive strips or similarly functioning adhesive mechanisms. The wastebasket is attached to the base through the pin and hole interactions (or other suitable, conventional pivot connection means) after or before the base is secured to the locking plate. In this embodiment, the wastebasket may be emptied by pulling a trash bag out of the wastebasket directly upwards, or by first tilting the wastebasket to its side and then pulling a trash bag directly from the wastebasket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the groove mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the tongue mechanism of the locking plate.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the present invention in which the wastebasket is tilted.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the present invention in which the wastebasket is being emptied while tilted.

Like reference numerals refer to the like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Described herein are several views and embodiments of the present invention. Figures illustrating a particular orientation (e.g. FIG. 5) only show one potential orientation of one possible embodiment of the present invention and are meant only as an example, not as limitations.

Referring to FIG. 1, a first embodiment 10 of the present invention is shown. A wastebasket 20 with an outer, bottom surface 22 is adhered to a solid, hard surface 100 (e.g. floor). The mechanisms for adhering to the surface 100 are shown more clearly in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 2, the outer bottom surface 22 of wastebasket 20 (from FIG. 1) is shown. The outer bottom surface 22 includes and opening 24, a groove 26, and a track 28. The dotted line indicates a portion of the groove 26 that that is hidden from view.

Referring to FIG. 3, a locking plate 30 is shown. The locking plate 30 includes a tongue 32 and a rail 34. The dotted line indicates a portion of the rail 34 that is hidden from view. The bottom surface of the locking plate 30 includes one or more Command™ adhesive strips 36 which adhere to the locking plate 30 to the hard underlying surface 100 (shown in FIG. 1). The locking plate 30 attaches to the wastebasket 20 (shown in FIG. 1) by inserting the tongue 32 into the opening 24 and then the corresponding groove 26. Additional reinforcement is provided by the insertion of rail 34 into track 28. Because of this particular mechanism, the wastebasket 20 may be emptied while anchored to the floor 100, however it may also be removed easily (by simply detached the tongue 32 from the groove 26 through horizontal sliding) if the need arises.

Referring to FIG. 4, a second embodiment 40 of the present invention is shown. The difference between the second embodiment 40 and the first embodiment 10 is the inclusion of a base 50. In this embodiment 40, the wastebasket 20 is attached to the base 50 through a pivoting pin/hole mechanism 52 that allows the wastebasket 20 to either rest in a vertical orientation (shown here in FIG. 4) or tilt an angled orientation (example shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6). The base 50 includes an outer, bottom surface 54 which, for all intensive purposes, is exactly identical to the bottom surface 22 of the wastebasket 20 of the first embodiment 10 (shown FIG. 1. The bottom surface 54 is more clearly illustrated in FIG. 2 (indicated as 22) and therefore interacts with the locking plate 30 in the exact same mechanism (i.e. tongue/groove and rail/track interactions lock the base 50 with the locking plate 30).

Referring to FIG. 5, the second embodiment 40 of the present invention is shown in which the wastebasket 20 is tilted so that it is on an angle. The wastebasket 20 may be held temporarily in this position or it may be locked in this position through any conventional means. The second embodiment 40 of the invention is particularly useful for placement of the wastebasket in a cabinet, under the sink, or under a counter, desk or table.

Referring to FIG. 6, the second embodiment 40 of the present invention is shown in which the wastebasket 20 has a trash liner 60 being removed while the wastebasket remains anchored to the underlying surface and tilted in the angled position. This allows the full liner 60 to be removed and a new liner to be replaced without having to remove the wastebasket from its anchored position below a counter or within a cabinet, etc.

While the present invention has been shown in accordance with the preferred and practical embodiments, it is recognized that departures from the instant disclosure are fully contemplated within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An anchoring device for a wastebasket comprising:

a locking plate that adheres to hard surface using one or more adhesive strips;

said locking plate including a tongue and a rail; and

a groove and a track on a bottom of the wastebasket for locking receipt of the tongue and the rail of the locking plate therein.