Trashcan assembly including bag engaging member
Patent No. US7404499 (titled "Trashcan assembly including bag engaging member") on Jun 19, 2006. The application was issued on Jul 29, 2008.
What is this patent about?
’499 is related to the field of waste management hardware, specifically focusing on secondary retention mechanisms for securing flexible liners within a rigid container. The invention addresses the common problem of trash bags slipping or collapsing into the container under the weight of discarded items, which often occurs when the bag is merely draped over the rim without a mechanical anchor.
The underlying idea behind ’499 is to utilize a localized, high-friction interface that captures a small bunch of the bag material to lock the liner in place. Rather than relying on the tension of the bag itself or a separate elastic band, the invention employs a star-shaped slit geometry that creates flexible, resilient fingers. These fingers deflect to allow the bag material to enter a central aperture but then exert lateral pressure to pinch and hold the material against the housing.
The claims of ’499 focus on a bag engaging member that is constructed as a separate housing or component attached to the peripheral wall of the container. This member features a front face with an aperture and a series of radial slots that define resiliently flexible sections. These sections are designed to frictionally secure a portion of the trash bag that has been pulled over the rim and pushed into the device, effectively anchoring the liner to the exterior or interior surface of the bin.
In practice, the invention is implemented as a box-like attachment or an integrated panel that sits generally parallel to the container wall. When a user installs a new liner, they pull the excess material at the mouth of the bag through the aperture. The deflecting fingers act as a one-way clutch, allowing the plastic to be stuffed into the housing while resisting the upward tension that would normally cause the bag to slide back over the rim and into the bin.
This approach differs from prior solutions, such as simple clips or bottom-loading bag rolls, by providing a dedicated, non-pointed gripping interface that is less likely to tear the thin plastic of a standard liner. By using a separate housing with an internal cavity, the invention also provides a space to tuck away excess bag material, maintaining a clean external appearance while ensuring the liner remains taut and secure during heavy use.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical Landscape
In the mid-2000s when ’499 was filed, waste management containers were typically implemented using rigid or semi-flexible molded plastic structures designed for manual liner insertion. At a time when securing a liner to a container commonly relied on the elastic tension of the bag itself or external mechanical clips, maintaining the position of the liner under heavy loads was a frequent engineering challenge. Hardware constraints in container design often made the integration of bag-retention features non-trivial, as systems frequently required separate, detachable components or complex multi-part rim assemblies to prevent the liner from slipping into the interior volume during use.
Prosecution Position
The disclosed invention represents a technical advancement through the integration of a bag-engaging member directly into the architecture of the container's peripheral wall. By utilizing an arrangement of radial slits or a star-configured aperture, the system enables a frictional securement mechanism that is generally coplanar with the container wall, overcoming the need for external hardware. This architectural shift allows a portion of the trash bag to be pushed through resiliently flexible sections into an interior space or housing, achieving a secure frictional lock. Furthermore, the integration of a dedicated liner dispensing compartment or plate near the bottom wall enables a continuous maintenance workflow, where replacement liners are stored and dispensed from within the same structural footprint as the primary container.
Claims
The patent contains a total of 22 claims, with claims 1, 10, 16, and 21 being independent. These independent claims focus on a trashcan assembly featuring a container and a bag-securing component mounted to the side wall, which utilizes an aperture and a series of flexible slots or slits to frictionally hold a portion of a trash bag in place. The dependent claims serve to further define the physical structure of the securing component, such as its box-like shape, internal spacing, and adhesive attachment methods, while also introducing additional features like secondary securing members, specific slit configurations, and integrated storage compartments for replacement bag liners.
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US7404499
- Application Number
- US11424942A
- Filing Date
- Jun 19, 2006
- Publication Date
- Jul 29, 2008
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO , Google Patents