Abstract:
A trashcan liner that includes a bag that affixes to the inner upper portion of a trash receptacle and is not visible from the outside of the trashcan liner is more aesthetically pleasing than existing liners that fold over the top of a trash receptacle. The present invention is also less likely to get caught or snagged on the trash receptacle, which causes spillage of the contents of the trash receptacle. The loops with tab indicators assist the user in pulling the bag to a closed position while pulling the bag out of the trash receptacle with ease.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a trashcan liner for use in connection with lining trash receptacles. The trashcan liner has particular utility in connection with affixing the trashcan liner to an inner portion of the trash receptacle.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     The present invention provides an improved trashcan liner, and overcomes the disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved trashcan liner and method for using a liner with a trash receptacle comprising attaching the liner to the interior of the trash receptacle, the liner including a bag, a fastener on the bag for fastening the liner, and a tab on the bag; and detaching the bag from the interior of the trash receptacle by pulling the tab when the bag is full so as to remove the liner, which has all the advantages of the prior art and many novel features that result in a trashcan liner which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by the prior art, either alone or in any combination thereof.  
         [0004]     To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a disposable liner for a trash receptacle, comprising a bag; a fastener on the bag, the fastener attachable to an interior of the trash receptacle; and at least one tab on the bag wherein when the tab is pulled, the bag detaches from the interior of the trash receptacle. The fastener can comprise an adhesive on the bag, a snap, Velcro, or hooks. The bag can be transparent.  
         [0005]     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.  
         [0006]     The invention may also include tabs attached to a loop threaded through a top of the bag, wherein when the tab is pulled, the bag gathers to a close, and the loop becomes handles for the bag. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached.  
         [0007]     Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In this respect, before explaining the current embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting.  
         [0008]     As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.  
         [0009]     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved trashcan liner that has all of the advantages of the prior art trashcan liners and none of the disadvantages.  
         [0010]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved trashcan liner that may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.  
         [0011]     An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved trashcan liner that has a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such trashcan liner economically available to the buying public.  
         [0012]     Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new trashcan liner that provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.  
         [0013]     Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a trashcan liner for lining trash receptacles with a liner that affixes to the inner upper portion of the trash receptacle. This allows an aesthetically pleasing trashcan wherein the liner is not visible. The present invention also prevents the liner from being caught or snagged by the trash receptacle which can lead to spillage of the contents of the trash receptacle, since the bag is not folded over the top of the trash receptacle.  
         [0014]     Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method for using a liner with a trash receptacle comprising attaching the liner to the interior of the trash receptacle, the liner including a bag, a fastener on the bag for fastening the liner, and a tab on the bag; and detaching the bag from the interior of the trash receptacle by pulling the tab when the bag is full so as to remove the liner.  
         [0015]     These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty that characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]     The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:  
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a frontal view of the preferred embodiment of the trashcan liner with adhesive constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is a frontal view of the trashcan liner with snaps of the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a frontal view of the trashcan liner with Velcro of the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is a frontal view of the transparent trashcan liner of the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIGS. 5, 6 ,  7 ,  8 , and  9  are frontal views of the trashcan liner with loops which are threaded through the top two inches of the bag and include tabs on the sides with indicators for pulling of the present invention.  
     
    
       [0022]     The same reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the various figures.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0023]     Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to  FIGS. 1-9 , a preferred embodiment of the trashcan liner bag of the present invention is shown and generally designated by the reference numeral  10 .  
         [0024]     In  FIG. 1 , a new and improved trashcan liner bag  10  of the present invention for lining a trash receptacle is illustrated and will be described. More particularly, the bag  10  has a fastener  15  on the bag, the fastener  15  attachable to an interior of the trash receptacle, and a tab  20  on the bag wherein when the tab is pulled, the bag detaches from the interior of the trash receptacle. The fastener  15  on the bag further comprises an adhesive  25  on the bag located on top two inches of an exterior of the bag, allowing it to adhere to a top of the trash receptacle.  
         [0025]      FIG. 1  shows an aesthetically pleasing disposable liner for a trash receptacle, since the bag  10  attaches to the inner upper portion of the trash receptacle. The tabs  20  on the bag offer the user an easy way to detach the bag from the trash receptacle when the bag is full or needs replacing.  
         [0026]      FIG. 2  shows an alternative embodiment wherein the fastener comprises snaps  30  located on top two inches of an exterior of the bag, allowing the bag  10  to affix to a top of the trash receptacle.  
         [0027]      FIG. 2  features snaps  30  as a way of temporarily attaching the bag  10  to the trash receptacle. The snaps  30  hold the bag  10  in place firmly while in use and are easily released when the tabs  20  of the bag are pulled. The fasteners can also be hooks located on the top two inches of the interior of the bag, allowing it to affix to the top of the trash receptacle. These hooks can be transparent. In another embodiment, hooks can be located on the top two inches of the exterior of the bag, allowing it to affix to corresponding eyes located on the top interior of the trash receptacle.  
         [0028]      FIG. 3  shows an additional embodiment wherein the fastener comprises Velcro  35  located on top two inches of an exterior of the bag  10 , allowing it to affix to a top of the trash receptacle.  
         [0029]      FIG. 3  features Velcro  35  as a way of temporarily attaching the bag  10  to the trash receptacle. The Velcro  35  holds the bag  10  in place firmly while in use and is easily released when the tabs  20  of the bag  10  are pulled.  
         [0030]      FIG. 4  shows a preferred embodiment wherein the bag is transparent  40 .  
         [0031]      FIG. 4  shows a transparent  40  bag, which causes the bag to be even less obvious while in use.  
         [0032]      FIG. 5  shows a preferred embodiment wherein one or more tabs  20  are attached to a loop  45  threaded through a top of the bag  10 .  
         [0033]      FIG. 5  shows the tabs  20  attached to the loop  45  and features the way in which the loop  45  is threaded through the top of the bag  10 .  
         [0034]      FIG. 6  shows a preferred embodiment wherein when the tabs  20  are pulled, the bag gathers to a close, and the loop  45  becomes handles  50  for the bag.  
         [0035]      FIG. 6  shows the way in which the bag  10  is gathered to a close when the tabs  20  connected to the loop  45  is pulled. The loop  45  then becomes handles for pulling the bag  10  to detach it from the trash receptacle. The loop  45  becomes handles  50  for carrying the bag  10 .  
         [0036]      FIG. 7  shows a preferred embodiment wherein the tabs  20  are a portion of a loop  45  threaded thru a top of the bag  10 .  
         [0037]      FIG. 7  shows the threading feature of the loop  45  through the top of the bag  10 , which serves the purpose of gathering the top of the bag  10  to a close when the user wants to detach the bag  10  from the trash receptacle.  
         [0038]      FIG. 8  shows a preferred embodiment wherein when the tab  20  is pulled, the bag  10  gathers to a close, and the loop  45  becomes handles  50  for the bag.  
         [0039]      FIG. 8  shows the gathering feature of the top of the bag  10 .  FIG. 8  also shows the way in which the loop  45  becomes handles  50  for the bag  10  for pulling the bag  10  from the trash receptacle and for carrying the bag  10 .  
         [0040]      FIG. 8  shows the importance of the gathering feature of the top of the bag  10 , causing the loop  45  to become handles  50  for the bag  10 .  
         [0041]      FIG. 9  shows a method for using a liner  10  with a trash receptacle  55  comprising attaching the liner  10  to the interior of the trash receptacle, the liner including a bag  10 , a fastener  15  on the bag  10  for fastening the liner  10 , and a tab  20  on the bag; and detaching the bag  10  from the interior of the trash receptacle by pulling the tab  20  when the bag  10  is full so as to remove the liner  10 . Once the tabs  20  are pulled, the loop  45  becomes handles  50  for disengaging the bag  10  from its trash receptacle while gathering the top of the bag  10  to a close and for carrying the bag  10 .  
         [0042]     While a preferred embodiment of the trashcan liner has been described in detail, it should be apparent that modifications and variations thereto are possible, all of which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. For example, any suitable sturdy material such as various plastics may be used. Also, the loops may be made of heavy-duty plastic, nylon, or similar material. And although lining trash receptacles have been described, it should be appreciated that the trashcan liner herein described is also suitable for lining other types of receptacles, such as laundry hampers or the like.  
         [0043]     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.