TRASH BAG SUPPORTING DEVICE

Abstract

A device for holding open the mouth of a drawstring trash bag is disclosed. The device rests on top of the partially closed mouth of the trash bag and is secured in place by the bag's drawstrings. Ideally, the bag will be hanging to create the necessary tension in the drawstrings to keep the device in place. The device comprises a rigid plate with a hole, and notches for receiving the drawstrings. The hole is sized to receive disposable beverage cans or other similar waste. A portion of the upper surface of the plate may be dedicated to the display of promotional indicia. A holder for hanging the trash bag by its drawstrings is also disclosed. The holder may be mounted to the rear bumper of an automobile or other similar location.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the field of waste disposal, and more particularly to a device that can be used to hold open the mouth of a drawstring trash bag to receive waste in situations where the trash bag is used without a trash can.

2. Background & Description of the Related Art

When people engage in outdoor recreational activities away from their home, they frequently do not have access to a trashcan or other waste receptacle when needing to dispose of waste. To address this problem, people commonly use drawstring trash bags for waste disposal during such activities. One benefit of using a drawstring trash bag is that, when the bag is not in use, the mouth may be easily closed by cinching the drawstrings. This allows the bag and its contents to be easily transported to a permanent waste receptacle without fear of trash spilling out of the bag. Another benefit is that the bag may be hung by its drawstrings in a visible and easily accessible location, while keeping it elevated and away from obstacles on the ground.

It can be difficult, however, to use a drawstring trash bag in the manner described above because the mouth of the bag tends to close when the bag is hanging. The weight of the bag and its contents often has a tendency to cinch the drawstrings thus causing the mouth of the bag to close when the bag is hanging by its drawstrings.

What is needed is a device that will allow the bag to hang by its drawstrings in a convenient location and at the same time keep the mouth of the bag open so that the bag is always ready to receive waste. Other devices have attempted to do this by creating a rigid support rim around the perimeter of the mouth of the trash bag. None, however, have been as compact, portable, and easy to use as the current invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a flat, rigid plate with a trash receiving hole or opening extending therethrough. The rigid plate can be placed on top of a drawstring trash bag to keep the mouth of the bag open an amount sufficient to accept small waste such as disposable beverage cans and bottles which first pass through the hole in the plate. The rigid plate rests on top of the mouth of the bag and is held in place by the trash bag drawstrings. The plate has a plurality of receivers formed in and extending inward from a periphery of the rigid plate for receiving the drawstrings. A hook or holder from which the bag can hang from its drawstrings may also be used in combination with the rigid plate.

The weight of the hanging bag and its contents creates a downward force on the drawstrings. This downward force tends to move the drawstrings closer together and creates a cinching motion which closes the mouth of the trash bag. The motion of the drawstrings coming together as the trash bag mouth closes creates a force that is applied to the plate by the drawstrings within the receivers, thus keeping the plate from moving. Abutment of the drawstrings against the plate, within the receivers, prevents the drawstrings from cinching the opening or mouth of the bag smaller than the trash receiving opening or hole through the plate thereby keeping the mouth of the bag open an amount sufficient to allow waste dropped through the opening in the plate to pass through the mouth of the bag.

The plate also provides a nominal amount of weight to the bag thus allowing it to hang vertically and minimizing horizontal movement of the bag that may be caused by wind or drafts. The flat upper surface of the plate may be used for the printing of logos or other promotional indicia thereon. This feature allows businesses, sports teams, or other such entities to advertise in a place that is regularly seen by individuals using the trash bag opening plate.

The holder for hanging the trash bag may be temporarily mounted to the rear bumper of an automobile, the sidewall of a pick-up truck or another similar mounting surface that is likely to be present at outdoor activities away from the home.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the preferred embodiment of the invention comprising a rigid plate installed on a drawstring trash bag for the primary purpose of keeping the bag open to accept waste in combination with a hook for supporting the trash bag from the drawstrings.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the rigid plate from FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged and fragmentary cross-sectional view of the rigid plate and trash bag taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a second embodiment of the rigid plate.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a third embodiment of the rigid plate.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a fourth embodiment of the rigid plate.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a fifth embodiment of the rigid plate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As required, detail embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. The term “rectangular” as used in this patent is meant to include both square and non-square rectangular shapes.

Referring to the drawings in more detail, the reference numeral 1 refers to a trash bag opening device 1 for keeping a drawstring trash bag 2 sufficiently open to allow trash, such as a disposable metal beverage can 3, to be deposited into the bag 2 when the bag is hanging by a drawstring 4. The bag 2 may be suspended from a hook 8 with the drawstring 4 supported by the hook 8. The hook 8 is sized and adapted to be mounted on the rear bumper of an automobile or on the side wall of a pick-up truck.

A drawstring trash bag 2 of the type with which the rigid plate 1 may be used is shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The trash bag 2 is formed from a thin plastic sheet or film with an upper portion of the plastic sheet material forming the bag 2 rolled over on itself to form a sleeve 11 surrounding a mouth 12 of the bag 2 around an upper edge 13 of the bag 2. The draw string 4 is positioned within the sleeve 11. In a typical draw string trash bag 2 the drawstring 4 extends around the entire mouth 12 within the sleeve 11. The drawstring 4 is generally continuous, but may be formed from two elongated plastic strands welded together at their ends and to the material forming the bag 2 and sleeve 11 at welds 16 formed along the outer edges of the bag 2. Welds 16 act as anchor points between the body of the trash bag and the drawstring 4.

Outlet openings or exit openings 17 are formed in the sleeve 11 to allow portions of the draw string 4 to be withdrawn therethrough. In a typical draw string trash bag 2, there are two such outlet openings 17, each located midway between both anchor points or welds 16 securing the drawstring 4 to the bag 2 along the edges. Portions or strands 21 and 22 of the drawstring 4 are pulled out of the sleeve 11 through the drawstring outlet openings 17 and pulled upward relative to the rest of the bag 2. Drawing the strands 21 and 22 while holding the bag down manually or through the weight of trash in the bag 2 draws the mouth 12 of trash bag 2 inward, decreasing its size until the bag is sufficiently closed. When the strands 21 and 22 of the drawstring 4 are drawn from the bag 2, two segments or legs 21a and 21b and 22a and 22b are generally formed along each strand 21 and 22 respectively.

Referring back to FIGS. 1-3 a preferred embodiment of the trash bag opening device 1 and is shown installed on a drawstring trash bag 2 in FIGS. 1 and 3. The device 1 is formed from a square shaped rigid plate or panel 24 which rests on top of an upper edge of the sleeve 11 or mouth 12 of trash bag 2. The rigid plate 24 may be formed of any suitable material, including a rigid plastic, resin impregnated fiberglass, metal or composite material and includes opposed planar surfaces 26 and 27 and a peripheral edge 29. The rigid plate 24 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is generally square in shape with a width and height of approximately five to seven inches.

A trash receiving hole 31 extends through the center of the rigid plate 24 between the opposed planar surfaces 26 and 27 to allow trash to pass therethrough and into the bag 2 as described in more detail hereafter. Hole 31 is sized to accept trash at least as wide as a conventional twelve ounce disposable aluminum beverage, such as can 3, or a disposable water bottle, or sports drink bottle or the like. Such a can 3 is approximately two and one half inches in diameter. The hole 31, which may be round, preferably has a diameter or width of between approximately two and three quarter inches to four inches so that a can 3 may be dropped axially through the hole 31. It is foreseen that hole 31 may be larger or smaller depending on the type of trash being disposed. For example, the hole 31 may be sized larger to allow bottles for sports drinks to pass therethrough and which tend to have a larger diameter. It is also foreseen that hole 31 may be shaped in a variety of geometries, however circular and square will likely perform best.

Four draw string receivers 34 are formed in the rigid plate 2. The receivers 34 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3 are formed as slots 38 extending inward into the plate 2 from its peripheral edge 29 near corners thereof. Each of the slots 38 includes a relatively narrow channel 44 and a rounded inner end 46. A first pair of the slots 38a and 38b are formed in spaced relation in one side of the rigid plate 24 and a second pair of the slots 38c and 38d are formed in spaced relation in a second, opposite side of the rigid plate 24. Channels 44 of slots 38a and 38b curve toward each other from the peripheral edge 29 of the plate 24 toward the inner ends 46 of the slots 38a and 38b. Similarly, channels 44 of slots 38c and 38d curve toward each other from the peripheral edge 29 of the plate 24 toward the inner ends 46 of the slots 38c and 38d. The slots 38a-d are approximately one half inch to one inch long and the channels are approximately a sixteenth of an inch wide with the rounded inner ends 46 approximately a quarter inch in diameter.

The rigid plate 24 is secured in place on top of the trash bag 2 by inserting the segments 21a, 21b, 22a and 22b of drawstring 2 in slots 38a-d. With the drawstring strands 21 and 22 supported on the hook 8, the weight of trash in the bag 2, pulls the drawstring segments 21a-b and 22a-b inward under tension, exerting pressure inward against the rigid plate 24 within the slots 38a-d. The tension on the strand segments 21a-b and 22a-b produces both normal and tangential forces exerted by the segments 21a-b and 22a-b on the respective drawstring receivers 34 securing the rigid plate 24 in place. All of the edges of the plate that may come into contact with the drawstring 2 are preferably beveled or rounded to deduce damage to the drawstring 2.

Rigid plate 24 prevents the mouth 12 of trash bag 2 from fully closing. Because the drawstring receiving slots 38a-d forming receivers 34 are spaced outward from the trash receiving hole 31, the drawstring receivers 34 maintain a minimum distance between the drawstring segments 21a-b and 22a-b received therein sufficient to keep the mouth 12 open wider than the trash receiving hole 31.

As noted previously, the trash bag 2 can hang by drawstrings 4 from trash bag hook 8. Trash bag hook 8 includes a downwardly opening, hooked mounting end 51 sized to mount on or over a sidewall of a truck or a bumper. Trash bag hook 8 further includes an upwardly opening, hooked support end 52 sized to receive and support said drawstring strands 21 and 22 therein. Drawstring strands 21 and 22 may be placed in the inverted hooked support end such that the trash bag 2 hangs therebelow from the drawstring strands 21 and 22.

As discussed previously, it is foreseen that trash receiving hole 31 through plate 24 may be of varying geometries and sizes. It is also foreseen that the periphery of plate 24 may be of varying geometries and sizes. FIGS. 4 through 7 are illustrative of some of the contemplated variations of the trash bag opening device 1 showing varying geometries.

FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of a rigid plate 61 forming the trash bag opening device 1. Rigid plate 61 is generally formed as a square plate, but instead of forming the drawstring receivers as slots, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the receivers are formed as cut-outs or notches 63a-d formed in each corner of the plate 61. The drawstring segments 21a-b and 22a-b are then received in notches 63a-d respectively generally supported against an inner corner 65 of each notch 63a-d. The same forces caused by tension in the drawstring segments 21a-b and 22a-b that are present in the first disclosed embodiment are also present in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. These forces are exerted on the notch corners 65 thus keeping the rigid plate 61 in place. It is also noted that rigid plate 61 includes a trash receiving hole 67 extending through the plate 61 that is square. The width and height of the square are preferably sized to be at least slightly larger than the diameter of a conventional twelve ounce beverage can or a disposable water bottle or sports drink bottle.

FIG. 5 shows a rigid plate 71 forming the trash bag opening device 1 that is similar in construction to rigid plate 24 shown in FIG. 2 except that rigid plate 71 is of circular in shape instead of square. As shown in FIG. 5, indicia 75 such as text or trademarks including team names, product names and logos may be printed on either or both of the opposed planar surfaces 26 and 27 of the plate 71 generally in the area between the trash receiving opening extending therethrough and the outer periphery of the plate 71.

FIG. 6 shows a rigid plate 81 forming the trash bag opening device 1 that is similar in construction to the rigid plate 71 shown in FIG. 5 except that the trash receiving hole 83 of rigid plate 81 is square instead of round.

FIG. 7 shows a rigid plate 91 forming the trash bag opening device 1 that similar in construction to the rigid plate 61 shown in FIG. 4 except that rigid plate 91 is circular in shape instead of square and the trash receiving hole 93 is of round instead of square.

It is to be understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangement of the parts described and shown.

Claims

1. A device for holding a mouth of a drawstring trash bag in an open position to allow trash to be dropped into the drawstring trash bag, the drawstring trash bag having a drawstring positioned within a sleeve extending around the mouth of the drawstring trash bag with portions of said drawstring withdrawable through at least two outlets from said sleeve; said device comprising: a rigid panel sized to be positioned over the mouth of the drawstring trash bag and between segments of the drawstring withdrawn from said outlets in said sleeve; said rigid panel having a trash receiving hole extending therethrough sized wide enough to allow at least a conventionally sized twelve ounce can to pass axially therethrough; said rigid panel having at least four receivers formed therein and extending inward from an outer periphery thereof, each said receiver sized and shaped to receive a segment of the drawstring withdrawn from said outlets in the sleeve of the drawstring trash bag, said receivers spaced outward from said trash receiving hole such that when the segments of the drawstring are positioned within said receivers with said rigid plate positioned in closely spaced relation above the mouth of the drawstring trash bag, the mouth is held open an amount sufficient to allow trash passing through the trash receiving hole in said rigid plate to pass through the mouth of the drawstring trash bag.

2. The device as in claim 1, wherein said receivers are slots.

3. The device as in claim 1 wherein said receivers comprise two pairs of slots, each pair of slots extending inward from a peripheral edge of said rigid panel on opposite sides of said rigid panel.

4. The device as in claim 1 wherein said receivers comprise two pairs of slots, each slot extending inward from a peripheral edge of said rigid panel and each slot in each pair of slots curving toward the other slot in said pair of slots.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein said receivers are notches.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the outer periphery of said panel is circular.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the outer periphery of said panel is square.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein said trash receiving hole is circular.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein said trash receiving hole is square.

10. The device of claim 1, further comprising a holder for supporting the drawstring trash bag, said holder comprising: an inverted U-shaped bracket for mounting over the top of a supporting surface, a hook shaped arm attached to and extending away from said inverted U-shaped bracket where said arm is sized to receive drawstrings from a trash bag and support the trash bag in a hanging position.

11. The device as in claim 1 having promotional indicia printed on a planar surface of said rigid panel.

12. The device as in claim 1 in combination with the drawstring trash bag.

13. A device for holding a mouth of a drawstring trash bag in an open position to allow trash to be dropped into the drawstring trash bag, the drawstring trash bag having a drawstring positioned within a sleeve extending around the mouth of the drawstring trash bag with portions of said drawstring withdrawable through at least two outlets from said sleeve; said device comprising: a rigid panel sized to be positioned over the mouth of the drawstring trash bag and between segments of the drawstring withdrawn from said outlets in said sleeve; said rigid panel having a trash receiving hole extending therethrough sized wide enough to allow at least a conventionally sized individual beverage container to pass axially therethrough; said rigid panel having two pairs of slots formed therein and extending inward from an outer periphery of said rigid panel with each slot in each pair of slots curving toward the other slot in said pair of slots, each said slot sized to receive a segment of the drawstring withdrawn from said outlets in the sleeve of the drawstring trash bag, said slots spaced outward from said trash receiving hole such that when the segments of the drawstring are positioned within said receivers with said rigid plate positioned in closely spaced relation above the mouth of the drawstring trash bag, the mouth is held open an amount sufficient to allow trash passing through the trash receiving hole in said rigid plate to pass through the mouth of the drawstring trash bag; said device further comprising a holder for supporting the drawstring trash bag comprising an inverted U-shaped bracket for mounting over the top of a supporting surface and a hook shaped arm attached to and extending away from said inverted U-shaped bracket, said arm is sized to receive said drawstrings from said trash bag and support said trash bag in a hanging position.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the outer periphery of said panel is circular.

15. The device of claim 13, wherein the outer periphery of said panel is square.

16. The device of claim 13, wherein said trash receiving hole is circular.

17. The device of claim 13, wherein said trash receiving hole is square.

18. The device as in claim 13 having promotional indicia printed on a planar surface of said rigid panel.