Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – Material guides or supply with receiver supports
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-03
2001-03-20
Douglas, Steven O. (Department: 3751)
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
Material guides or supply with receiver supports
C294S001200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06202718
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of collecting yard debris in flexible containers, and more particularly to a new and useful method and means of collecting and transporting yard debris for disposal in plastic trash bags.
The conventional plastic trash bag, normally formed of thin, flexible plastic such as low density polyethylene, is commonly used for a variety of trash receptacle functions around the home. The widespread acceptance and use of such flexible plastic trash bags evidence their basic practicality notwithstanding the difficulty of filling the flexible and flaccid trash bags with trash.
One of the more common uses of trash bags, particularly in larger sizes, is the collection of leaves, lawn and garden clippings, or the like (“yard debris”). The flexibility of the trash bags is sometimes a hindrance in such uses, and the prior art has seen the development of may types of holding devices for retaining the bags, and particularly the mouths thereof, open in order to receive the debris to be put therein.
Many designs have been proposed for supporting trash bags, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,778 to Boyle; U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,200 to Sawyer et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,547 to Hoerner. While these designs may support the trash bag itself, and may facilitate the routing of the yard debris into the trash bag, both with varying degrees of success, they do not make the task of collecting the yard debris and carrying it to a remotely-located trash bag any easier. Thus, these designs have not proven completely satisfactory.
Other designs have been proposed for collection devices that incorporate a trash bag, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,087 to Alexander; U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,043 to Wilsford; U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,011 to Rylander; U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,982 to Cooke; U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,603 to Simpson; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,965 to Aulabaugh. However, these devices have proven difficult to use in some circumstances. For instance, it may be desirable to leave the trash bag at a certain location, such as curbside, while allowing the yard debris to be separately collected and conveniently transported to the location of the trash bag. The combined devices are obviously incapable of operating in such a fashion.
As such, there remains a need for an improved yard debris transport device and a method of using the same. Such a device should preferably allow the yard debris to be collected at one location and thereafter carried to another location and deposited in a conventional plastic or paper trash bag.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The improved yard debris transportation device of the present invention utilizes a multi-panel assembly that is moveable between a collection configuration and a transport configuration. One preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a panel assembly having at least first, second, third, and fourth panel sections that are hingeably connected in series. In the collection configuration, the panel sections are open and substantially flat, such as laying against the ground. After yard debris is placed thereon, the panel assembly is changed to the transport configuration, forming a shell about a cavity having the yard debris therein. The end panel sections overlap in the transport configuration so that cutouts on the end panel sections overlay one another, thereby forming at least one gripping hole. The user uses the gripping hole as a handle to carry the panel assembly with the yard debris trapped therein from the collection location to the remote dumping location. In preferred embodiments, only one gripping hole is used during transport, allowing the panel assembly with the yard debris trapped therein to be transported with only one hand, leaving the user's other hand free for other activities. The panel assembly is inserted into a trash bag and the gripping hole released. Because the yard debris is under compression within the cavity formed by the panel assembly, the yard debris supplies a biasing action to open the panel assembly when the user releases their grip thereon. With the panel assembly at least partially opened from the transport position, the user pulls the panel assembly up and out of the trash bag, with the yard debris flowing out the lower opening of the panel assembly and into the trash bag. In some embodiments, the panel assembly may further be partially pistoned in and out of the trash bag to compact the yard debris adjacent the trash bag's inner surface. The panel assembly may then be easily carried to the same collection site or a new collection site. Thus, the present invention supplies a yard debris transport device that may be used to simplify the yard debris collection process.
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Coats & Bennett P.L.L.C.
de Vore Peter
Douglas Steven O.
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