Patent Publication Number: US-2011067790-A1

Title: Garbage Cover

Description:
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/245,519, filed Sep. 24, 2009. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a cover arranged to span a plurality of filled household garbage bags in which a base of the cover is flexible between a working position surrounding the plurality of garbage bags and a storage position collapsed in relation to the working position. 
     BACKGROUND 
     When placing household garbage in garbage bags at a curb for collection, a known problem occurs when pests including birds or various scavenging animals attempt to access the contents of the garbage bags causing considerable mess at the curb. Various solutions are proposed in the prior art including U.S. patent application publications 2007/0098306 by King and 2007/0020303 by Taniguchi. In each instance a net is provided for covering a group of garbage bags. The net is not well suited to be secured against the ground so that animals can still readily access the garbage under the bottom edges of the cover. Furthermore the disorganized structure of the cover does not permit ready deployment as the cover must be awkwardly placed over the bags. Similarly it is awkward to store the cover without time consuming folding of the cover in a time consuming manner. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a garbage cover for covering at least one filled household garbage bag, the cover comprising: 
     a base hoop comprising a continuous band in an endless loop; 
     the base hoop being flexible between a working position in which the band forms a single loop which is generally circular in shape and a storage position in which the band forms a plurality of interconnected loops of similar diameter adjacent one another; 
     the base hoop being formed of a resilient material having a shape memory arranged to bias the base hoop into the single loop which is generally circular in shape of the working position; and 
     a domed enclosure joined with the base hoop about a full circumference of the base hoop such that an interior of the domed enclosure is only accessible through the base hoop; 
     the domed enclosure being formed of a sheeted material which is flexible so as to be movable together with the base hoop between the working position and the storage position. 
     By providing a base hoop which is biased into an open working position, the attached enclosure is readily deployed over top of a group of garbage bags while the base hoop acts to retain all of the edges of the enclosure in close proximity to the ground to prevent access by animals beneath the cover. The flexible nature of the base hoop which can be resiliently displaced into the storage position also permits a quick and organized storage of the enclosure when not in use. 
     The base hoop may comprise a continuous spring steel band. 
     There may be provided a plurality of weighted members coupled to the base hoop so as to be supported on the base hoop at diametrically opposed positions. 
     The base hoop and the domed enclosure are preferably arranged to surround three filled household garbage bags in the working position. 
     A height of the domed enclosure from the base hoop may be approximately equal to a diameter of the domed enclosure. 
     The sheeted material forming the domed enclosure preferably comprises mesh material. 
     There may be provided a handle member mounted on the domed enclosure opposite the base hoop in which the handle member is centered on a top end of the domed enclosure relative to the base hoop. 
     The sheeted material may comprise a generally cylindrical wall portion having a bottom end joined to the base hoop and which is enclosed at a top end opposite the bottom end. Diametrically opposed sides of the cylindrical wall may be joined with one another at the top end by a seam extending diametrically across the top end of the domed enclosure. In this instance, the handle member may be coupled to the seam extending diametrically across the top end of the domed enclosure. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the domed enclosure comprises a single rectangular sheet having two opposing side edges extending between two opposing end edges in which the end edges are joined with one another such that the sheet defines a generally cylindrical wall extending upwardly from one of the side edges to the other side edge. In this instance, the lowermost side edge of the sheet are preferably joined to the base hoop about the full circumference thereof while the other one of the side edges is located at the top end of the domed enclosure. Furthermore in this instance, diametrically opposing positions of the side edges are preferably joined with one another at the top end by a seam extending diametrically across the top end. 
     In some embodiments, the continuous band of the base hoop may form two interconnected loops of similar diameter directly adjacent one another in the storage position. Alternatively, the continuous band may form three or more interconnected loops of similar diameter directly adjacent one another in the storage position. 
     When the cover is provided in combination with a storage pouch having an internal dimension which is less than half a diameter of the base hoop in the working position, the cover may be received in the pouch in the storage position of the base hoop. 
     In a preferred use, the cover is usable with a plurality of filled household garbage bags supported on the ground such that the base hoop is arranged to surround the bags at ground level and the domed enclosure is arranged to extend over the bags such that the bags are fully covered by the domed enclosure. 
     One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the garbage cover surrounding a plurality of garbage bags. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the garbage cover in the storage position for insertion into a storage pouch. 
         FIG. 3  is a front elevational view of the garbage cover. 
         FIG. 4  is a side elevational view of the garbage cover. In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to the accompanying figures there is illustrated a garbage cover generally indicated by reference numeral  10 . The cover  10  is particularly well suited for covering a plurality of filled household garbage bags to protect the garbage bags from scavenging animals when the bags are placed at a curb for collection by garbage collection services. 
     The cover  10  generally comprises a base hoop  12  onto which a domed enclosure  14  is anchored. The base hoop comprises a continuous band of resilient material, for example spring steel, which is an endless loop so as to be annular in shape. In a working position, the base hoop forms a single circular loop lying in a flat plane with a circumference of approximately 10 feet so as to be well sized for surrounding three regulation household garbage bags which are grouped together. The resilient material forming the base hoop has a suitable memory such that even when the base hoop is flexed into other configurations, the material of the base hoop biases the base hoop back into the working position forming a single generally circular loop. 
     The domed enclosure  14  comprises a sheeted mesh material having a fine mesh spacing which is sufficiently small to prevent access by scavenging birds and the like. The domed enclosure  14  is joined with the hoop about the full circumference of the hoop to define a generally cylindrical wall portion  16  which extends generally vertically upward about the full circumference of the hoop to a top portion  18  which is enclosed. The resulting interior of the domed enclosure  14  is suitably sized to receive the three household garbage bags therein such that the three bags are surrounded by the enclosure. The interior of the enclosure is arranged to only be accessible and open through the base hoop at the bottom of the cover. 
     The domed enclosure  14  is formed of a single rectangular sheet of material having two side edges  20  extending parallel and spaced apart from one another between two opposed end edges  22 . The two end edges  22  are joined with one another along the full length thereof so that the single sheet of material forms a generally cylindrical structure which defines the cylindrical wall portion  16  of the domed enclosure. One of the side edges  20  along the bottom of the resulting domed structure is joined about the full circumference to the base hoop  12 . The other side edge at the top of the domed enclosure is enclosed by joining two diametrically opposed side portions with one another along a single seam  24  extending diametrically across the full width of the enclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, the two end edges are joined at a vertical seam  26  extending upwardly from the base hoop to one end of the top seam  24 . In this instance the side edge of the single sheet of material at the top of the enclosure is simply folded in half to join the two opposed portions of the top with one another along the top seam  24 . 
     A handle member  28  is mounted onto the domed enclosure at the top end thereof so as to be centered on the top seam  24  and centered relative to the hoop therebelow. The handle member is suitable sized for grasping with one hand of a user. 
     The base hoop  12  is sufficiently resilient that the base hoop can be twisted from the working position of  FIG. 1  to the storage position of  FIG. 2  in which the continuous band of material forming the base hoop is twisted to form three loops of identical diameter which are interconnected and positioned directly adjacent one another so as to be coaxial and lying in respective planes which are parallel and adjacent one another. The flexible nature of the sheeted material forming the domed enclosure readily permits the enclosure to be flexed with the base hoop from the working position to the storage position. 
     In alternate configurations, the base hoop may be twisted to form only two loops of identical diameter which are interconnected and adjacent one another, or many more loops may be formed to considerably reduce the overall diameter of the cover in the storage position. 
     A pouch  30  is provided for retaining the cover in the storage position by arranging an internal dimension of the pouch that receives the cover therein to have a dimension which is less than half of the diameter of the hoop in the working position, or more particularly the internal dimension of the pouch corresponds to the diameter of the loops in the storage position. Accordingly once the base hoop  12  in the storage position is inserted into the pouch, the pouch serves to retain the cover in the storage position despite the base hoop being biased to return to the working position. 
     In the working position, a plurality of weights  32  are provided to assist in retaining the base hoop in close proximity against the ground in use. Each of the weights  32  has a greater mass than the base hoop. In the illustrated embodiment two weights are provided at diametrically opposed locations on the base hoop. The weights  32  are typically elongate in a circumferential direction and are mounted on the base hoop so as not to interfere with flexing movement of the base hoop between the working and storage positions. In this manner the weights  32  can remain attached to the base hoop as the base hoop is collapsed into the storage position. 
     Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.