Apparatus For Holding A Bag

The present invention relates to apparatus for holding a bag, particularly, but not exclusively a plastic trash bag.

A person working alone trying to bag leaves or trash will be aware of the problems trying to hold the flimsy bag open whilst trying to shovel leaves, trash, etc. into the bag, especially in windy conditions. The bag tends to flop around and often closes just prior to shovelling in the trash, which is clearly undesirable. Often more trash falls outside the bag than in. An alternative to this is to use two people to fill the bag; one shovelling and the other holding the bag; however, this is also clearly undesirable when a person is only able to work on their own.

Known trash bag holders generally consist of a stand having a rigid collar where one has to slip the bag inside the collar of the stand and wrap the top of the bag over the top of the collar. The bag is then held in place by securing means such as pegs, metal hoops or elastic straps secured around the top of the bag such that the bag is sandwiched between the securing means and the collar. This is very inconvenient if e.g. you have various piles of trash placed in different places around a garden. To carry such stands around the garden is impractical.

According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for holding a bag, the apparatus comprising a resilient hoop provided with actuating means capable of actuating the hoop between a contracted configuration and a dilated configuration, the dimension of the hoop in the contracted configuration being less than that of the unsupported bag mouth such that the contracted hoop may be positioned inside the unsupported open bag mouth, and the dimension of the hoop in the dilated configuration being

greater than or equal to the unsupported bag mouth such that when positioned in the bag mouth the outer edges of the dilated hoop are urged against the inner wall of the bag mouth in order to secure the hoop to the open bag.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the attached claims and the following description.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings, in which:-

Fig. 1 A is a schematic plan view of a first embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention;

Fig. 1 B is a schematic side view of the apparatus of Fig. 1 ; Fig. 2A is a partially exploded side view of a ratchet mechanism according to a second embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2B is a more detailed side view of the ratchet track of Fig. 2A; Fig. 3A is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention showing a pair of compression handles and spring members provided on the hoop;

Fig. 3B is a plan view of the apparatus of Fig. 3A; Fig. 3C is a partially exploded plan view of the apparatus of Fig. 3A; and Fig. 4 is a schematic illustration of the apparatus attached to a bag, holding the mouth of the bag open.

A number of different embodiments of the invention are described subsequently. In order to minimise repetition, similar features of the different embodiments have been numbered with a common two-digit reference numeral and have been differentiated by a third digit placed

before the two common digits. Such features are structured similarly, operate similarly, and/or have similar functions unless otherwise indicated.

The apparatus in the form of an oval trash bag hoop can be any suitable shape; however, an oval shape, as shown in Fig. 1A may be preferable since it will hold most sizes of bag and provides an aperture ideally shaped for receiving e.g. a shovel when open. The apparatus may also be provided with a stand, allowing the bag to be filled whilst on the stand or carried around from place to place whilst remaining in the open configuration. Whilst on such a stand, the tops of the stand legs hold the hoop in place.

As shown in Fig. 1. the apparatus 10 has a first D-shaped planar member 12 and a second D-shaped planar member 14. The members 12 and 14 slide alongside each other to provide a resilient oval hoop, the largest dimension D of which can be adjusted. Alternatively, the first and second members may be C-shaped in order to provide a resilient circular hoop (not shown). The parts 12, 14 are preferably made from a resilient plastics material such as PVC; however, other resilient materials could alternatively be used.

A number of frictional members in the form of silicon compound blocks 16 are provided around the outer edges of the hoops 12, 14 and a holding grip in the form of handle member 18 is provided at the intersection between each section 12, 14. The surfaces of the silicon compound blocks 16 are soft such that they provide a high degree of friction when in contact with the bag as discussed subsequently.

Second hoop section 14 is provided with actuation means in the form of a locking channel 20 (Fig. 2A) which corresponds with a protrusion on a

locking member (not shown) provided on the corresponding end of the first hoop section 12. The extent by which the protrusion extends from the locking member may be adjusted in order to adjust the fhctional force required to telescopically move the first hoop section 12 with respect to the second hoop section 14 to adjust the hoop diameter D.

In use, when the user wishes to use the hoop on a bag he simply pushes the first and second sections together to contract the dimension D such that the apparatus 10 may be placed in the mouth of the bag. He then quickly and sharply pulls the first and second hoop sections 212, 214 away from one another to increase (dilate) the dimensions D of the hoop, thereby abutting the outer edges of the hoop against the inner wall of the, previously unsupported, bag. Due to the engagement between the locking member and the locking channel, the hoop will remain in this dilated configuration and hence hold the bag. The high degree of friction between the silicon compound blocks 16 and the bag also serves to discourage the wall of the bag slipping off the hoop, which is particularly useful once the bag has been filled with trash.

This holds the bag open as shown in Fig. 4, and allows the bag to be filled with ease, particularly because the dimension D is equal to the maximum dimension of the open bag and hence allows easy access to within the bag.

To detach the hoop from the bag once it has been filled with trash, the user simply quickly and sharply pushes the first and second sections together again, thereby reducing the dimension D of the hoop such that it no longer grips the bag and hence can be removed there from.

In a second embodiment of the invention, rather than the locking member and locking channel, the actuation means comprises a ratchet mechanism described subsequently with reference to Figs. 2A and 2B.

In this embodiment, the handle member comprises an upper handle member 118A and a lower handle member 118B. Sandwiched between these two handle members is a ratchet track 22 and a ratchet pin 24. A spring and washer arrangement is provided between the ratchet pin 24 and the upper handle member 118A to bias the pin into an active position against the ratchet track 22. The first hoop section 112 is fastened to the handle 118. The second hoop section 114 has the ratchet track 22 (having engagement teeth 23 thereon) moulded into the plastic. The ratchet pin 24 is releasable from its active position by a release button 26. This ratchet mechanism therefore allows the hoop to open into its dilated configuration but not to close into its contracted configuration until the release button 26 on the end of the ratchet pin 24 is pressed. To detach the bag from the apparatus, the user presses the ratchet release button 26 which disengages the ratchet pin 24 from the ratchet track 22 and enables the hoop to become smaller. The ratchet pin 24 springs back into the locked position after the release button 26 has been released.

In a third embodiment of the invention, the hoop sections 212 and 214 have a tubular form, wherein the tube diameter of the first section 212 is slightly larger than that of the second hoop section 214; thus allowing section 212 to telescopically slide snugly into section 214. In this embodiment, actuation means in the form of a pair of springs 213 and compression handles 215 is provided. As shown in Figs. 3A to 3C, the springs 213 force sections 212 and 214 apart from each other. Locking retaining channels 217 have two screws 219 which pass through section 212 into section 214 when constructed. The screws 219 then glide along

the channels 217 thus stopping the two sections 212 and 214 from conning apart due to the action of the springs 213. Spring stops 221 prevent the springs 213 from moving too far down the hollow tubing of section 212. The compression handles 215 that lock onto the two sections 212 and 214 are designed to loosen and tighten at the twist of the handle making storage and packaging easier. The handles are made up of four major parts, tightening handle, hollow gap section clamp, nut section where the bolt of the handle goes from the handle into the nut section. When turned clockwise the bolt of the handle section tightens with the nut in the hollow gap section allowing the clamp section to tighten against the two sections 212 and 214. Notice that, in use, the pressure from the springs 213 force apart the sections thereby pressing them hard against the inside of the bag.

The invention has numerous advantages. For example, it allows the bag to be easily controlled in windy conditions since the sides of the bag will not collapse in on each other as wind hits the side of the bag. Indeed when the apparatus according to the invention is used, the presence of wind is actually beneficial because the opening can be directed towards the wind in order to open up the mouth of the unsupported bag in order to make insertion of the apparatus into the interior rim of the bag more straightforward, and secondly the bag will "inflate" as the wind enters the interior of the bag, making it easier to encourage trash toward the bottom of the bag.

Furthermore, although the apparatus can be used with a stand, this is not necessary, and the apparatus can in fact be used very well without one. Indeed it allows use of a very simple filling technique whereby the apparatus connected to the bag is placed on the ground, then one or two shovels of trash can be placed over the hoop and open bag mouth. Then

by simply lifting the hoop, vertically, the trash falls to the bottom of the bag and the hoop is now raised off the ground according to the quantity of trash in the bag. This "lift and fill method" is particularly useful for users who do not have a lot of strength in their arms or if the trash placed in the bag is particularly heavy.

The invention therefore provides very light and portable apparatus which assists with filling of a bag with material such as trash. Furthermore, the apparatus is ideally suited to being used either together with a stand or independently on its own. The apparatus provides these advantages with very few components which has the further advantage of reducing cost of manufacture when compared to previous arrangements.

Modifications and improvements may be made to the foregoing without departing from the scope of the invention, for example:-

The dimensions of the apparatus may easily be altered during manufacture to suit trash bags of different sizes (which may be different in one country from another).