Pop-up disposable bag

• US 20080056625A1
• Filed: 08/15/2006
• Published: 03/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Marketminds LLC
• Original Assignee: Marketminds LLC
• Inventors: Stanton, John William, Ong, Ronald Ghee Jin
• Granted Patent: US 7,815,372 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 383/104
• CPC Class Codes: B65F 1/0006 Flexible refuse receptables, e.g. bags, sacks
• CPC Class Codes: B65F 1/1415 for flexible receptables, e.g. bags, sacks
• CPC Class Codes: B65F 2220/106 Collapsible

Abstract

Pop-up disposable bag is formed of light-weight disposable bag assembly capable of self erecting and self-standing. It does not require any stakes, poles, ropes or additional supports or frame to support it. The entire bag assembly is flexible and can be folded to a compact form for packaging and sale and can easily be opened into a self-standing position by removing the retainer.

Claims

1. A collapsible pop-up disposable bag comprising:

a top formed of a circular hoop;

a bottom formed of a circular hoop;

a sidewall formed of a plurality of vertical members; and

a liner formed of a sheet or membrane;

whereby the top circular hoop and the bottom circular hoop are connected by said plurality of vertical members forming a flat bottom freestanding tubular frame of the disposable bag and wherein the tubular frame is covered by the liner forming an interior of the disposable bag having an opening at the top for filling the bag with disposable items.

2. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein each said vertical member forms an integral connection at the top and also forms an integral connection at the bottom thus forming an integral tubular frame which resists compression along the long axis of the vertical members.

3. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the top and bottom circular hoops and the vertical members are made of flexible plastic material that allow the frame to be collapsed multiple times to a smaller size for storage or packaging.

4. The disposable bag of claim 2, wherein the integral connection is formed of a multiple fold neck structure acting as a flexible spring hinge.

5. The disposable bag of claim 2, wherein the integral connection is more flexible than the circular or vertical members of the integral tubular frame.

6. The disposable bag of claim 4, wherein the integral connection is rigid enough to maintain the top hoop and the bottom hoop in a spaced apart freestanding position.

7. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the liner is directly attached to the frame using a low cost plastic heat stake manufacturing process.

8. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the liner is attached to a loop or a sleeve by plastic heat stake, whereby the loops or the sleeves slidably support the liner on the tubular frame.

9. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the liner is adapted to be slidably supported at the top.

10. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein a loop or a sleeve forms the slidably supported arrangement.

11. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the liner is made of a suitable recyclable material.

21. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the liner is made from an insect repellent material or treated with an insect repellent ingredient.

22. The bag of claim 1, wherein the liner is made from a completely biodegradable material that can be used for collecting and disposing of organic plant matter, and for production of compost in the bag itself.

23. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the liner is impregnated with odor absorbing ingredients such as baking soda, and/or has odor absorbing packets of ingredients such as baking soda disposed within the liner at the bottom of the bag which is activated when the bag is erected.

25. The disposable bag of claim 1, further including an integrated closing mechanism comprising a clip, clamp or cable tie for providing an air tight seal to minimize spreading odors.

26. The disposable bag of claim 25, wherein the integrated closing mechanism comprises a single-side drawstring with a clamp to ensure a tighter seal to restrict emission of odors.

27. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the top and bottom hoops have wider openings compared to the height of the vertical members as shown in FIG. 23 to form a tub-shaped bag suited for collecting leaves in the yard with a rake or other wide implements.

28. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the top and bottom hoops have wider openings compared to the height of the vertical members forming a water-tight bassinette or a tub suited for washing babies or pets.

12. A pop-up disposable bag comprising:

a frame comprised of a plurality of flexible members defining a circular hoop top;

a concentric circular hoop bottom and a sidewall formed of a plurality of vertical supporting members; and

a liner forming an interior of the disposable bag.

13. The disposable bag of claim 12, wherein said plurality of vertical supporting members each releasably attaches to the circular hoop top at one end and to the concentric circular hoop bottom at the other end thereby forming a freestanding tubular structure.

14. The disposable bag of claim 13, wherein the releasably attachable means comprise a pin hinge connection with a positional snap mechanism.

15. The disposable bag of claim 14, wherein the liner comprises a circular top, a circular bottom and a cylindrical sidewall and additionally the circular top having a plurality of cutouts formed therein.

16. The disposable bag of claim 12, wherein the liner forming the interior of the disposable bag is affixed to an inside surface of the circular hoop top.

17. The disposable bag of claim 16, wherein the cutouts formed in the circular top are aligned with the snap-on pin hinge connection whereby to allow for an un-encumbered movement.

18. The disposable bag of claim 12, wherein the disposable bag having an opening at the top which is configured and sized for filling the bag with garbage and waste.

24. The disposable bag of claim 16, wherein the circular top hoop includes optional integrated handles 24 as shown in FIG. 22 for easier carrying while collecting materials to be stored in the bag.

19. Method steps, as illustrated in FIGS. 9 thru 13, of collapsing the disposable bag structure into a compact form, comprising:

holding a top portion and a spaced apart bottom portion of the disposable bag;

twisting the top portion and the bottom portion including a plurality of connecting vertical members in an opposing direction;

forming a flat circular oval shaped structure; and

further holding the flat circular oval shaped structure at two ends and twisting them into forming two smaller equal circular shaped structures and further folding them into one smaller unit for packaging.

20. Method steps, as illustrated in FIGS. 14 thru 19, of opening the disposable bag structure into a freestanding form, comprising:

opening a box and removing a compact packet of the disposable bag structure and unfolding it into a larger circular shaped structure;

further, twisting the hoops of the circular shaped structure into opposing directions for forming into a freestanding structure.