Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02295462 2000-O1-06
TITLE: Portable Bag Container
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a portable bag container of the type that can be
used to
retain a roll of disposable bags such as would typically be used as litter
bags for
containing and disposing of dog or animal droppings.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many towns, cities and municipalities have by-laws that require the owners of
dogs
and other animals to pick up and dispose of feces that are dropped by their
animals
on public property. Accordingly, animal owners who walk their animals or allow
them to run freely on public property must typically carry with them devices
or
objects which can be used to scoop and contain animal droppings. By far the
most
common method of picking up after pets is for owners to carry with them
plastic
bags or gloves that may be used to pick up and retain the droppings until such
time
as they may be properly disposed of.
Unfortunately, it is commonly the case that individuals either forget to carry
with
them plastic bags, gloves or other devices that may be used to pick up
droppings
from their animals, or fail to carry with them a sufficient number of bags or
devices
when they are walking their animals on public streets and property. There is
therefore a need for a device that can be readily carried by, or attached to,
either an
individual or a dog or pet within which a number of disposable bags can be
carried
such that the owner is never without a means to clean up after his or her
animal.
There is also a need for such a device having a relatively compact size and
the ability
to be replenished with bags as they are used up.
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CA 02295462 2000-O1-06
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention therefore provides a portable bag container that may be readily
carried
by an individual or that may be attached to a garment or lcey chain, or that
may
alternatively be attached to the leash, collar or harness of a pet, and which
will hold
and dispense a number of disposal bags such that an individual has a constant
supply
of bags with which to clean up pet droppings.
Accordingly, in one of its aspects the invention provides a portable bag
container to
hold and dispense disposal bags, the container comprising a housing having a
generally hollow interior, said hollow interior capable of releasably storing
a
plurality of disposable bags and including an opening therethrough to allow
the
disposable bags to be removed therefrom; an axle member positioned within said
housing and capable of receiving a plurality of disposable bags wrapped
thereon to
form a continuous roll of disposable bags joined at their ends by way of
perforated
transitions, said axle member rotatable within said housing such that as one
disposable bag is withdrawn from said interior of said housing through said
opening
said axle member revolves within said housing thereby unrolling a subsequent
disposable bag from the roll; and, a hanger attached to said housing and
providing
a means to releasably secure said housing to an object, said hanger including
a pair
of clip members connected by a bridge portion and having a pair of inwardly
extending arms for attaching said clip members to said housing, said inwardly
extending arms engaging the ends of said axle member such that said axle
member
revolves about said arms when a disposable bag is withdrawn through said
opening
in said housing.
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Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the
following description taken together with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show more clearly
how
it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example,
to the
accompanying drawings which show the preferred embodiments of the present
invention in which:
Figure 1 is an upper side perspective view of the portable bag container of
the
present invention;
Figure 2 is an upper side perspective view of the portable bag container of
Figure 1
having a disposal bag extending therefrom;
Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 1; and,
Figure 4 is a side view of the device in Figure 1 with a portion shown in
cross-
section in order to depict its features.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The invention may be embodied in a number of different forms. However, the
specification and drawings that follow describe and disclose only some of the
specific
forms of the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the
invention as
defined in the claims that follow herein.
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In the attached drawings the portable bag container according to the present
invention
is noted generally by the reference numeral 1. Portable bag container 1 is
designed
to hold and dispense disposable bags and is generally comprised of a housing
2, a
hanger 3 and an axle member 4. In the preferred embodiment housing 2 is a
generally cylindrical hollow shell having a pair of ends 23 and 24, a side
surface 25
and having axle member 4 positioned at its central axis. Housing 2 further
includes
an opening 6 through its exterior surface. Preferably opening 6 is located in
a side
surface of housing 2. Housing 2 is thus capable of receiving and storing a
number
of disposable bags which may be withdrawn from within hollow interior 5
through
opening 6.
It will be appreciated that the disposable bags that may be stored within
hollow
interior 5 may take one of a variety of different forms. The bags are
preferably made
from plastic but may also be made from paper or other material and may be of a
variety of different shapes and sizes. They may also be formed in the shape of
a
glove that can be placed over an individual's hand. It will also be
appreciated that
the bags may be stored within housing 2 in a number of different ways,
including
packing the bags randomly within hollow interior 5, folding the bags and
placing
them with the housing or winding them on a roll. In the preferred embodiment,
and
as shown in Figures 2 through 4, the disposable bags (generally noted by
reference
numeral 7) are in the form of plastic bags that are joined together end to end
in a
single strand and wound around axle member 4, thereby creating a continuous
roll
8 of bags. Preferably each individual bag has an open upper end 10 and a
sealed
lower end 11. Adjacent bags on the roll are separated by a perforated
transition 9
such that an individual bag may be detached from the roll by merely applying a
tensile force along the perforations and effectively tearing the bag from the
roll.
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CA 02295462 2000-O1-06
To enhance the portability of bag container 1, disposable bags 7 are
preferably folded
prior to being wound upon axle member 4. In this manner the width of roll 8
can
remain relatively narrow. While it will be appreciated that different sizes of
disposable bags 7 could be used for different applications, where portable bag
container 1 is to be used for purposes of picking up after pets it is
contemplated that
the size of bag that would be utilized would be similar to a standard sandwich
bag
commonly used to store and retain the freshness of a sandwich. That being the
case,
in one embodiment of the invention, prior to rolling the bags upon axle member
4
they are folded longitudinally such that the width of roll 8 is in the range
of
approximately 1/2" to 1 ". Forming roll 8 in this manner will enable a
reasonable
number of bags to be retained within housing 2 while at the same time minimize
the
size of the housing in order to maintain the overall portability of the
device.
In the preferred embodiment, in order to facilitate the rotation of axle
member 4
within hollow interior 5, axle member 4 is comprised of a hollow tube that
extends
through ends 23 and 24 of housing 2. As is more particularly shown in Figure
3,
hanger 3, is comprised of a pair of clip members 12 and a bridge portion 22.
Each
clip member 12 includes an inwardly extending arm 13 that serves as a means to
attach the clip to housing 2 through the engagement of arms 13 with the ends
of axle
member 4. As shown in Figure 3, arms 13 generally comprise rod members that
are
releasably received within the ends of the hollow tube that comprises axle
member
4. In this manner clip members 12 and bridge 22 serve as a means to both hang
and
secure housing 2 to another object, and also provide a mechanism to securely
hold
axle member 4 in position. Arms 13 further provide an axis about which axle
member 4 may freely rotate. As a disposable bag is withdrawn from hollow
interior
5 through opening 6, the roll of bags contained within the hollow interior is
thus free
to rotate, together with axle member 4, about the ends of arms 13.
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So as to enhance the versatility of device l, clip member 12 is comprised of a
resilient material, such as metal or plastic, so that arms 13 may be displaced
outwardly from one another to a point where they no longer engage either
housing
2 or axle member 4. In this manner when the supply of disposable bags within
hollow interior 5 has been exhausted clip 12 may be in effect "opened" to
allow for
housing 2 to be removed such that the supply of bags within it can be
replenished or
a new housing, having a fresh supply of bags, inserted between arms 13. To
indicate
that fine supply of bags within hollow interior 5 is nearly exhausted the
first two or
three bags that are wound around axle member 4 contain markings that provide a
visual indicator to an individual using portable bag container 1 that a fresh
supply of
bags will soon be needed. That is, as the supply of bags is gradually used up
the
final bags that are dispensed will contain visual markings alerting the user
that there
are only two or three bags left. These markings may take the form of coloured
markings on the bags themselves or stickers or labels that have been applied
to the
bags.
In the preferred embodiment housing 2 is comprised of two shell portions 14
and 15.
During manufacturing a roll of disposable bags 7 may be placed between shell
portions 14 and 15 with the respective shell portions thereafter being glued
or
fastened together. When the supply of bags within hollow interior 5 is
exhausted clip
members 12 may be sprung open to release housing 2 such that it may be
disposed
and a new housing filled with bags inserted and replaced. Alternatively, shell
portions 14 and 15 may be constructed such that their edges abut against one
another
and are held tightly together through the resiliency of clip members 12. When
the
supply of bags is exhausted clip members 12 may be "opened" such that housing
2
can be removed. The shell portions 14 and 15 may then be separated, a fresh
roll of
bags inserted, and the housing thereafter reassembled upon clip members 12.
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Referring now specifically to Figures 2 and 4, portable bag container 1
further
includes a retainer 16 that is secured to the exterior surface of housing 2.
Retainer
16 has a lower end 17 and an upper end 18, with lower end 17 attached to
housing
2 by way of a fastener 19. Fastener 19 is located at a position along side
surface 25
such that the retainer extends across and spans opening 6 with upper end 18
positioned on the opposite side of opening 6 from lower end 17. It will be
appreciated that retainer 16 will thus be able to help to securely hold a
disposable bag
7 against the exterior of housing 2 and thereby help to prevent the end of the
roll of
bags from slipping backwardly through opening 6 and into hollow interior 5. To
this
end retainer 16 is preferably biased against the exterior surface of housing 2
such that
bags that extend through opening 6 may be positioned between the exterior of
side
surface 25 and upper end 18 of retainer 16, with upper end 18 holding a bag
tightly
against the housing.
To assist in the ability of retainer 16 to securely hold bags against the
surface of the
housing, upper end 18 is preferably serrated. In a similar fashion, opening 6
may
also contain a serrated edge 20 to help prevent bags from slipping backwardly
into
housing 2. In the embodiment of the invention shown in the attached drawings,
retainer 16 is comprised of a resilient metal strip that is formed in an
arched
configuration so that upper end 18 is biased against the exterior of housing 2
when
at rest. In addition, a single fastener 19 is preferably used to secure lower
end 17 to
housing 2. If necessary retainer 16 can then be rotated about fastener 19 to
provide
full and compete access to opening 6 should a bag become entangled within the
opening.
To enhance the portability of device 1 and its ability to be attached to
another object,
hanger 3 may also include a clasp 21. Where portable bag container 1 is used
to
dispense bags for use by individuals walking dogs or pets, clasp 2 enables the
device
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CA 02295462 2000-O1-06
to be releasably secured to a dog collar or leash. Due to the relatively
compact size
of the device and the nature in which bags are folded and held in a tight and
compact
roll, portable bag container 1 will neither hinder the movement nor activities
of the
animal or its owner.
It is to be understood that have been described are the preferred embodiments
of the
invention and that it may be possible to make variations to these embodiments
while
staying within the broad scope of the invention. Some of these variations have
been
discussed while others will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.
For
example, while housing 2 has been described as generally cylindrical in shape,
it will
be appreciated that it may equally take a variety of other shapes while
staying within
the scope and intent of the invention.
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