Abstract:
The invention generally relates to a trash receptacle holder for use on an outdoor grill that includes an upper retaining member capable of circumferentially receiving a trash receptacle; a lower retaining including a platform adapted to support a trash receptacle when said trash receptacle holder is in an erect position; an extension arm operatively connected to said upper and lower retaining members and allowing said upper and lower retaining members to be rotated into said collapsed position where said upper and lower retaining members are in a position that is generally perpendicular to the ground and an erect position where said upper lower retaining members are in a position that is generally parallel to the ground and a trash receptacle may be placed on said lower retaining member and circumferentially received by said upper retaining member.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from provisional application No. 61/215,319 that was filed on May 4, 2009 and has the same title as the present application. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    When cooking outdoors, it is often advantageous to have a trash receptacle for disposing of garbage and other refuse. It is also advantageous to have the trash receptacle out of sight and portable. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a trash receptacle that is disposed within the housing of the outdoor grill. 
         [0003]    Because the interior space defined by the grill housing is small and typically contains the fuel tank, it is advantageous to provide a trash receptacle holder that is collapsible so that when not in use, the receptacle may be placed in a compact, collapsed position. 
         [0004]    Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a trash receptacle holder that allows the placement of a removable trash receptacle when the holder is disposed in the interior of the outdoor grill housing. 
     
    
     
         [0005]    The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein an example of the invention is shown and wherein: 
           [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the invention in its collapsed position; 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the invention in its fully erected position; 
           [0008]      FIG. 3A  is a side planer view of the invention being placed into an erected position; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3B  is a side planer view of the invention being placed into an erected position; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3C  is a side planer view of the invention being placed into an erected position; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3D  is a side planer view of the invention being placed into an erected position; 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    Referring now in more detail to the drawings, the invention will now be described in more detail. 
         [0013]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , the invention is generally shown as A. The invention comprises an upper retaining member  10  that is pivotally connected to the interior of a grill door, generally shown as  12 . The invention also includes a base retaining member  14  that is pivotally connected to the interior of a grill door and an extension arm, generally shown as  16  that pivotally interconnects the upper retaining member  10  and the base retaining member  14 . 
         [0014]    In one embodiment, base  14  includes two substantially identical and opposing side frames  14   a  and  14   b  that are interconnected by a plurality of cross bars  14   c, d  and  e.  These side frames and cross bars provide the base retaining member  14  a generally rectangular shape adapted to receive the bottom of a paper bag. When the trash receptacle holder is in the fully erect position, the base retaining member supports the weight of the bag and any refuse in the bag and therefore, acts as a support member. The base retaining member also includes a rear frame  14   f  that is pivotally connected to the grill door  12  by means of two fasteners  18   a  and  b.  Rear frame  14   f  is pivotally connected to the grill door  12  and is generally positioned parallel to cross bars  14   c - e.  However, two sections of rear frame  15   a &amp; b  are positioned substantially perpendicular to cross bars  14   c - e  to provide horizontal spacing between cross bars  14   c - e  and rear frame  14   f  when the receptacle holder is in a collapsed position. As will be discussed more fully below, the horizontal spacing of rear frame allows rear frame to act as a stop that prevents base retaining member  14  to rotate more than 90 degrees with respect to the interior of the grill door when the receptacle holder is placed in an erect position. 
         [0015]    Cross bar  14   c  is pivotally connected to a first end of the extension arm  16 , which interconnects the base retaining member  14  with the upper retaining member  10 . The upper retaining member is pivotally connected to the door via two fasteners  20   a  and  b  and is also pivotally connected to an upper end of the extension arm  16 . The upper retaining member has a first side retaining member  10   a  and a second side retaining member  10   b  opposing the first side retaining member. The upper retaining member also has a front side retaining member  10   c  interconnecting both side retaining members  10   a &amp; b.  These retaining members give the upper retaining member  10  a shape generally adapted to receive and enclose the circumference of a paper bag. 
         [0016]    As can be seen in  FIG. 1 , when in the fully collapsed position, the extension arm  16  lays substantially flat against the interior of the grill door  12 , which in turn causes the upper retaining member  10  and the lower retaining member to lay substantially flat against the interior of the door. This collapsed configuration allows the receptacle holder to fold up into a very compact area so as to leave as much of the storage space in the interior of the grill housing available for other items when the receptacle holder is not in use. 
         [0017]    As can be seen in  FIG. 2 , the extension arm, generally shown as  16 , comprises a first arm, generally shown as  22 , that is pivotally connected to a second arm, generally shown as  24 . When in the fully erect position, the trash bag receptacle holder provides a sturdy base, generally shown as  14 , that is capable of carrying a substantial amount of weight due to the contact between the door, generally shown as  12 , and the rear frame  14   f  of the base retention member. This contact prevents the base retention member  14  from rotating past a position that is generally perpendicular to the door when in the fully erect position. Similarly, the lower extension arm  24  and the upper extension arm  22  vertically support the upper retaining member  10  to maintain it in a generally perpendicular position to the door. When in the fully erect position, the two extension arms  22  and  24  act as a frontal retention bar, keeping the trash bag from bulging through the front of the space between the upper and lower retaining members. 
         [0018]    The bottom retaining member  14  has a generally rectangular shape to support the bottom of a typical paper bag and the upper retaining member has a shape that is adapted to circumferentially receive the paper bag. Therefore, when the paper bag is lowered into the upper retaining member until the bottom of the bag comes in contact with the lower retaining member  14 , the invention provides a bottom support by means of the bottom retaining member  14 , side supports by way of the upper retaining member  10  which encloses the circumference of the upper portion of the paper bag and a front support which is created by the upper extension arm  22  and the lower extension arm  24 . 
         [0019]    Referring now to  FIGS. 3A-D , the process by which the trash receptacle is placed into a fully erect position is shown. In  FIG. 3A , the unfolding of the extension arm can be more clearly seen. A first distal end  22   a  of the upper extension arm  22  is pivotally connected to the upper retaining member  10  and a second distal end  22   b  is pivotally connected to the lower extension arm  24 . The trash receptacle can be placed in a fully erect position by rotating the first distal end  22   a  of the upper extension arm upwardly from a position that is substantially parallel to the grill door  12  to a position that is generally perpendicular to the grill door. As first distal end  22   a  is rotated, the second distal end  22   b  pivots about the connection point  26  with extension arm  24 . The rounded shape of second distal end  22   b  allows the second end to guide the rotation so that the upper extension arm  22  can be rotated easily. As will be discussed more fully below, the shape of the second distal end also facilitates the collapsing the receptacle by ensuring smooth and proper rotation of the second distal end  22   b.    
         [0020]    Referring now to  FIG. 3B , the first distal end  22   a  of the upper extension arm is rotated about the pivotal joint  26  connecting the upper extension arm  22  and lower extension arm  24 , which causes the second distal end  22   b  to rotate about the pivotal connection  26 . The curved nature of the second distal end  22   b  facilitates the rotation of the upper extension arm  22  and causes the first distal end of the lower extension arm  24   a  to move away from the interior surface of the grill door  12 . The movement of the first distal end  24   a  of the lower extension arm causes the lower retaining member  14  to rotate in a clockwise direction about the pivotal fastener (shown in  FIG. 1  as  18   a ). Similarly, as the first distal end of the upper extension arm  22   a  is rotated about the pivotal joint  26 , the upper retaining member  10  is caused to rotate in a counterclockwise direction about the fastener  20   a.  The more that the first distal end  22   a  is rotated about the pivotal joint  26 , the further the first distal end  24   a  of the lower extension arm is distanced from the interior of the door  12  and the further the upper retaining member  10  and base retaining member  14  rotate with respect to the interior of the grill door  12 . 
         [0021]    As can be seen in  FIG. 3C , the upper extension arm  22  continues to be rotated in a counter clockwise direction, causing the lower extension arm  24  to continually rotate in a clockwise direction. The first distal end  22   a  of the upper extension arm is rotated until both retaining members  10  and  14  are placed in a generally perpendicular relation to the interior of the door  12 . The contact between rear frame  14   f  and the interior door  12  causes the base retaining member  14  to maintain its generally perpendicular position with respect to the interior of the door  12  as is shown in  FIG. 10 . The ends of the extension arms  22   b  and  24   b  continue to rotate about the joint  26  until the receptacle reaches the fully erect position shown in  FIG. 3D . Once the receptacle reaches the fully erect position, the extension arms cease to rotate and maintain their extended position. 
         [0022]    As can be seen more clearly in  FIG. 1 , the upper extension arm  22  is adapted to receive and enclose the lower extension arm when the apparatus is placed in a collapsed position. As discussed above the curved nature of the second distal end  22   b  facilitates the rotation of the extension arms  22  and  24 . However, the curved nature of the second distal end also determines the angle between the upper extension arm  22  and lower extension arm when the receptacle is placed in the fully erect position. As can be seen in  FIG. 1 , the second distal end generally shown as  22   b,  has a first curved side  23   a,  a second opposing and substantially identical curved side  23   b  and an angled top  23   c  interconnecting the two sides. As with the entire upper extension arm  22 , there is no base interconnecting the two opposing sides, allowing the upper extension arm to receive and enclose the lower extension arm  24  when in a collapsed position. 
         [0023]    As can be seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3D , when placed in a fully erect position, the angled top acts as a block and only allows the extension arms to rotate into an angled position with respect to one another that has an angle that is the same as the angled between the angled top  23   c  and the remainder of the extension arm  22 , thus maintaining the fully erect position. If the angled top were not included, the extension arms would be free to rotate nearly 360 degrees with respect to one another and the erect position could not be maintained. 
         [0024]    In alternate embodiments, the erect position may be maintained by a number of different locking mechanisms or a combination thereof. For example, the extended position may be maintained by the use of a pivotal hinge  26  having a locking mechanism that prevents the extension arms  22  and  24  from rotating past the fully erect position shown in  FIG. 3D . In other embodiments, there may be a locking mechanism included in the joint connecting the first distal end  22   a  of the upper extension arm and the upper retaining member  10  preventing over rotation of the upper extension arm past the fully erect position. Similarly, the joint interconnecting the distal end  24   a  of the lower extension arm and the base retaining member  14  may include a locking mechanism that prevents rotation of the lower extension arm past the fully erect position shown in  FIG. 12 . In alternate embodiments there may be a combination of locking mechanisms for maintaining the erect position. These locking mechanisms would likely be used only if the upper extension arm  22  did not include the angled top  23   c  to maintain the fully erect position. 
         [0025]    Further, it should be noted that the invention could be constructed so as to be integrally connected to the outdoor grill or could be constructed so that it could be attached to an outdoor grill as an aftermarket product. In this alternate embodiment where the invention could be attached to the outdoor grill, the connection means  20   a &amp;B and  18   a &amp; b  would not be welded or integrally attached to the outdoor grill but instead would be secured by means known in the art such as a screw, adhesive, solder or the like. In either embodiment, the invention would work as described above. 
         [0026]    While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described using specific terms, such description is for illustrative purposes only, and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims.