Patent Publication Number: US-8984847-B1

Title: Liner sealing garbage container

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Field of the Disclosure 
     The disclosure relates to garbage disposal devices and more particularly pertains to a new garbage disposal device for sealing garbage in a container liner prior to removing the garbage from the container. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a housing having a bottom and a perimeter wall extending upwardly from the bottom. The perimeter wall has an upper edge forming a top opening in the housing. A shelf is coupled to the perimeter wall and extends inwardly from the perimeter wall. The shelf has a central aperture. An annular liner cartridge is positioned on the shelf and a liner extends from the liner cartridge through the central aperture of the shelf. A sealing assembly having opposed sealing members is positioned in the housing. The liner extends between the sealing members and the sealing members are movable to compress and seal the liner between the sealing members. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure 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. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The disclosure 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: 
         FIG. 1  is a top front side perspective view of a liner sealing garbage container according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a partially exploded view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure taken along line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS. 1 through 7  thereof, a new garbage disposal device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 7 , the liner sealing garbage container  10  generally comprises a housing  12  having a bottom  14  and a perimeter wall  16  extending upwardly from the bottom  14 . The perimeter wall  16  has an upper edge  18  forming a top opening  20  in the housing  12 . A shelf  22  is coupled to the perimeter wall  16 . The shelf  22  extends inwardly from the perimeter wall  16 . The shelf  22  has a central aperture  24  and a lip  26  extending upwardly around the central aperture  24 . The shelf  22  also includes a conical medial portion  28  extending between the lip  26  around the central aperture  24  and a connection band  30  abutting an interior face  32  of the perimeter wall  16 . An annular liner cartridge  34  may be positioned on the shelf  22 . The cartridge  34  may have a bottom  36  that angles inwardly and upwardly from on outer edge  38  for resting on the conical medial portion  28  of the shelf  22 . A liner  40  is compacted in and extends from the liner cartridge  34 . The liner  40  is further extendable down through the central aperture  24  of the shelf  22 . 
     A sealing assembly  42  is coupled to the housing  12 . The sealing assembly  42  includes a pair of opposed sealing members  44   a ,  44   b . The liner  40  extends between the sealing members  44   a ,  44   b . The sealing members  44   a ,  44   b  are movable to compress and seal the liner  40  between the sealing members  44   a ,  44   b . The sealing members  44   a ,  44   b  have complimentary shaped opposing faces  46   a ,  46   b  to enhance engagement and sealing of the liner  40  between the opposing faces  46   a ,  46   b  of the sealing members  44   a ,  44   b . A tongue  102  extends from one of the sealing members  44   a . A groove  104  extends into another of the sealing members  44   b . The groove  104  is complementary in shape to the tongue  102  and positioned facing the tongue  102 . Thus, the tongue  102  is received in the groove  104  when the sealing members  44   a ,  44   b  are moved together to compress and seal the liner  40 . The sealing of the liner  40  may be achieved by heat sealing, compression, or another conventional known method of sealing the liner  40 . 
     The sealing assembly  42  further includes a pair of opposed tracks  52  positioned in the housing  12  and coupled to the perimeter wall  16 . The sealing assembly  42  further includes a first pair of scissor arms  48  pivotally coupled to each other. The first pair of scissor arms  48  has upper ends  50  coupled to the sealing members  44   a ,  44   b  such that pivoting the first pair of scissor arms  48  moves the sealing members  44   a ,  44   b  in the opposed tracks  52 . Each of the sealing members  44   a ,  44   b  has end rollers  54  engaged to the opposed tracks  52  such that the sealing members  44   a ,  44   b  extend between the opposed tracks  52 . 
     A tray  56  may be positioned in the housing  12  beneath the shelf  22 . The tray  56  has an upwardly turned outer perimeter edge  58  to assist in holding the liner  40  within the housing  12 . A biasing member  60  is positioned below the tray  56  for urging the tray  56  upwardly towards the shelf  22 . Thus, the tray  56  is configured to support varying amounts of garbage disposed into the liner  40  through the central aperture  24  of the shelf  22 . As the weight of the disposed garbage increases, the tray  56  is biased downwardly supported on the biasing member  60 . Multiple biasing members  60  may be arranged to bias the tray  56  upwardly as desired. 
     A first motor  62  and transformer  110  are positioned in the housing  12 . A power plug  112  is electronically coupled to the transformer and positioned at the end  114  of a power cord  116  extending out of the housing  12 . A first screw rod  64  is also positioned in the housing  12 . The first screw rod  64  has a threaded upper end  66  and a lower end  68  operationally engaged to the first motor  62  to rotate the first screw rod  64 . A first threaded collar  70  is engaged to the threaded upper end  66  of the first screw rod  64  and the first pair of scissor arms  48  so that rotation of the first screw rod  64  urges the first threaded collar  70  to pivot, the first pair of scissor arms  48 . A second motor  72  may also be positioned in the housing  12 . A second screw rod  76  is positioned in the housing  12  having a threaded upper end  78  and a lower end  80  that is operationally engaged to the second motor  72  to rotate the second screw rod  76 . A second threaded collar  82  is engaged to the threaded upper end  78  of the second screw rod  76  and a second pair of scissor arms  84 . The second pair of scissor arms  84  is spaced from the first scissor arms  48 . Rotation of the second screw rod  76  urges the second threaded collar  82  to pivot the second pair of scissor arms  84 . A power source for the first motor  62  and second motor  72  may also be operationally coupled to the sealing members  44  to permit heat sealing of the liner  40 . The first motor  62  and second motor  72  may be activated by a conventional trigger mechanism such as a power button or switch. 
     A door  86  is pivotally coupled to the perimeter wall  16  by hinges  100 . The perimeter wall  16  may have a plurality of corners  106  forming a polygonal transverse cross-sectional shape such as a hexagon. The hinges may be positioned along one of the corners  106 . The perimeter wall  16  has an opening  88  that may extend from between corners  106  of the perimeter wall  16 . The door  86  may also be structured to include planar sections  108  for selectively covering the opening  88  in a manner that provides an appearance consistent with the polygonal transverse cross-sectional shape of the perimeter wall  16 . The opening  88  is configured to facilitate removal of the filled and sealed liner  40  from the housing  12 . 
     A cover  90  has a planar top portion  92  and a sidewall  94  extending from a perimeter edge  96  of the top portion  92 . The top portion  92  has a central hole  98 . The hole  98  is aligned with the central aperture  24  when the cover  90  is positioned on the housing  12  such that the liner  40  is configured for receiving refuse deposited into the liner  40  through the hole  98  and the central aperture  24 . 
     In use, the liner cartridge  34  is positioned on the shelf  22  and the liner  40  is positioned to extend down into the housing  12 . The liner  40  may be tied off or sealed to form the base of a refuse bag in the housing  12 . Refuse is inserted into the liner  18  and sealed by activation of the first motor  62  and second motor  72  to compress the liner  40  between the sealing members  44   a ,  44   b . The refuse is supported by the biased tray  56  to facilitate sealing the liner  44   a ,  44   b  adjacent to the contained refuse to minimize waste of the liner  40 . The door  86  is opened to remove the sealed liner  40  as desired. The liner  40  may be sealed frequently or infrequently as desired without wasting the liner  40 . The liner  40  may also be periodically sealed to inhibit odors. 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, 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 an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure 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 disclosure.