Patent Publication Number: US-11659904-B2

Title: Umbrella with pet waste bag dispenser

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to an umbrella with a pet waste bag disperser, and more particularly to a pet waste bag dispenser deployed in a handle of an umbrella. 
     BACKGROUND 
     It is known in the art to modify conventional umbrellas for various purposes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,835 discloses a folding umbrella having a water collecting handle and a sheath such that water on a rain dampened umbrella drips into the water collecting handle. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 8,297,295 is directed to a multi-fold umbrella combined with a writing implement or cosmetic case such that the umbrella can be stored in its own handle. U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,064 is also directed to a combination of an umbrella and a rain cover storage system and discloses an umbrella having pockets for storing leggings. U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,555 is directed to an umbrella with a compartment adapted to hold a planar sheet of material for covering an individual&#39;s back. Most recently, U.S. Pat. No. 9,655,415 is directed to a rain protection system with an umbrella and a stored rain gear. 
     Pet owners often have to walk dogs in a park. It is good manners and often required by law to clean up dog waste after the dogs, which is often much trouble, particularly on a rainy day since the pet owners may also be carrying an umbrella. 
     Thus, there is a need for an apparatus or device allowing us to carry pet waste bags with an umbrella and dispense them with ease even on a rainy day. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an umbrella including a canopy mounted to a post, a handle at a lower end of the post, and a bag module having a plurality of bags. The handle includes a first end attached to the post and a second end having a cap member which is a removably attachable on an open bottom of the second end. The handle further defines a cavity therein and an opening formed on a side of the handle. The plurality of bags are in a rolled-up configuration and positionable within the cavity. Each bag of the bag module is accessible through the opening when the bag module is positioned within the cavity. 
     In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a bag dispensing system deployed with an umbrella. The bag dispensing system includes a container, an opening forded on a side of the handle for exposing a portion of the container to outside and dispensing each of a plurality of bags, and a cap member. The container is provided in a hollow cavity of a handle of the umbrella for storing a bag module having the plurality of bags. The cap member is removably attachable on an open bottom end of the handle. 
     In still other aspect of the present disclosure, there is a bag module storing in a casing. The bag module includes a plurality of bags in a rolled-up configuration and positionable within a hollow cavity of a umbrella handle. 
     In some embodiments, the cap member includes a supporting member provided along with an axial direction of the cap member, and a structure of the supporting member is adapted to mate with a corresponding structure of the bag module to support and hold the bag module. 
     In some embodiments, the supporting member protrudes from an inner surface of a bottom end of a base of the cap member toward an open top end of the base. 
     In some embodiments, the umbrella further includes the bag module. The bag module has a ring post with a hollow cavity, and a portion of the protrusion of the supporting member is coupled to the hollow cavity of the ring post of the bag module. 
     In some embodiments, the bag module is stored in a casing made of a tearable material. 
     In some embodiments, the handle further includes: a cover configured to be closed or open by a user to prevent the opening of the handle from being exposed, upon the cover being closed. 
     In some embodiments, the plurality of bags comprise one or more pet waste bags. 
     In some embodiments, the supporting member has a sectional shape selected from a group consisting of: a circular shape, a cross shape and a quadrilateral shape. 
     In some embodiments, the base includes a thread formed along a perimeter of a surface of the base to be adapted to mate with a corresponding thread formed on a surface of the cavity of the handle. 
     In some embodiments, the casing is made of a thin polymeric plastic material. 
     In some embodiments, the casing is made of a transparent material. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The figures depict embodiments for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles described herein, wherein: 
         FIG.  1    is an exploded perspective view of an example umbrella with a dog waste bag dispenser according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is an exploded perspective view of an example umbrella showing a coupling of a dog waste bag module with a cap at a bottom end of the umbrella according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG.  3    is an exploded perspective view of an example umbrella illustrating a dog waste bag module being inserted to a handle of the umbrella according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description and drawings are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, in certain instances, well known or conventional details are not described in order to avoid obscuring the description. 
     Reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “some embodiments” or the like means that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, advantage or benefit described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure, but may not be exhibited by other embodiments. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not for other embodiments. The specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense. Various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope as set forth in the claims. 
     The term “bag(s)” used herein may refer to any type of bags which are disposable such as plastic bags, dog waste bags, or the like. Similarly, the term “bag module” used herein may refer to a roll of such bag(s), as defined above. Optionally, the bag module may further contain a casing (e.g., casing) for housing the bag(s). 
     Referring now to  FIG.  1   , the present disclosure describes an umbrella  1  having a dog waste dispenser deployed therein. 
     More particularly, the umbrella  1  can be for example, any type of typically used umbrella such as a traditional umbrella (i.e., a stick umbrella optionally with a telescopic shaft or post), pop-up or collapsible folding umbrella such as those which may fit into a handbag or carry case. The umbrella  1  includes an openable canopy  10  mounted to a post  50  (see  FIG.  3   ). The hollow handle  20  at the bottom end of the post  50  is preferably cylindrical in shape and has a top wall, sidewall(s) and an open bottom so as to define axial hollow inner cavity  28  having sufficient space for storing one or more dog waste bag modules  30 . Each dog waste bag module  30  may be provided to have at least one roll of dog waste bags. 
     The hollow handle  20  may alternatively have an oval or polygonal cross section. The handle  20  can be fabricated from any material suitable for the use described herein such as, for example a rigid plastic material. 
     Referring now to  FIG.  1   , the handle  20  includes a cap member  21  which is adapted to close an open bottom portion  29  of the handle  20 . In one aspect, the cap member  21  may be attached to the bottom portion  29  of the handle  20  by any suitable manner to prevent loss of the cap member  21 , and preferably by an optional flexible loop  219  such as, for example, a cord fabricated from a polymeric material, such as nylon, or other suitable material. The cap member  21  can be constructed so as to attach to the open bottom portion  29  of the handle  20  by screw engagement, snap-fit engagement, or any other suitable mechanisms. For example, as illustrated in  FIG.  2   , the cap member  21  can have a rim  220   a  thereon, which is threaded along the perimeter for screw engagement, or is resiliently flexible for snap-fit engagement (not shown). The loop  219  may help the cap member  21  to be connected to the handle  20  to prevent loss of the cap member  21 . In one aspect, the loop  219  may be wrapped around a user&#39;s wrist to facilitate carrying and holding of the umbrella  1 . 
     Referring further to  FIG.  1   , the handle  20  has an opening  26  formed on a side thereof through which a portion of the hallow inner cavity s exposed to outside, such that a bag can be dispensed through the opening  26  upon being pulled out by a user. The shape or size of the opening  26  is not limited to a circle, as illustrated in  FIG.  1   . For example, the opening  26  may have an, oval, quadrilateral, slit shape, or the like with any size appropriate for a bag being pulled out therethrough. In some aspects, the opening  26  can be sealed by a separate cover or cap member (not shown). The cover may be open to pull out a dog waste bag by a user, and closed when the dog waste bag is not used, so the opening  26  could be prevented from being exposed to outside. 
     In some embodiments, the dog waste bag module  30  may optionally be stored in a casing  35  before the bag module  30  is inserted into the hollow inner cavity  28 , such that the dog waste bag module  30  can be secured without being unrolling. The casing  35  may be of a generally tubular (e.g., circular) configuration with one or both ends open. Prior to the bag module  30  being inserted into the hollow inner cavity  28 , the casing  35  may be removed. In one aspect, the casing  35  may be fabricated from a tearable thin polymeric plastic material to make it easier to be removed from the bag module  30 . In another aspect, the casing  35  may be fabricated from a transparent material to allow a user to visualize the bags contained therein and may also include indicia on a surface thereof such as a logo, text and the like. 
     Referring further to  FIG.  1   , the hollow inner cavity  28 , the opening  26 , the cap member  21  and the bag module  30  constitutes a dog waste bag dispenser. For example, the hollow inner cavity  28  may serve as a container of the dog waste bag dispenser. 
     Referring now to  FIG.  2   , illustrated is a perspective view of a portion of an example umbrella  1   a  showing a coupling of a dog waste bag module  30  with a cap member  21   a  at a bottom end of the umbrella  1   a  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     In some embodiments, the cap member  21   a  may be configured to include: a base  211   a  having a preferably cylindrical shape with a closed bottom end and an open top end; and a supporting member  212   a  formed on the bottom end (e.g., preferably at a center thereof) of the base  211   a . The base  211   a  may further have a thread (or rim)  222   a  formed along the perimeter of an inner (or outer) surface of the base to be adapted to mate with a corresponding thread  422  formed on an outer (or inner) surface of the hollow inner cavity  28  of the handle  20 , so that the cap member  21   a  can be coupled to the handle  20  of the umbrella  1   a.    
     The supporting member  212   a  is provided along with an axial direction of the cap member  21   a  and is adapted to mate with a corresponding structure at the center of the bag module  30  so as to support or hold the bag module  30 , thus preventing it from loosening or moving around. 
     In some embodiments, the supporting member  212   a  may be formed to protrude from the base  211   a  toward the handle  20  when the bag module  30  has a hollow cavity  303  at a center thereof, so that the protruding portion of the supporting member  212   a  is inserted into the hollow cavity  303  of the bag module  30 . The hollow cavity  303  may be an inner cavity of a cylindrical ring post, and the plurality of dog waste bags  301  may be rolled around the post  302 , as illustrated in  FIG.  2   . Alternatively, the bag module  30  may be provided without the post  302 . In another aspect, the post of the bag module  30  may be a cylindrical post having no hollow cavity therein (not shown), in this case the supporting member of the base  211   a  may be formed to cave in a portion of the cap member  21   a  to be adapted to mate with the post having no hollow cavity. 
     In some embodiments, the length of the supporting member  212   a  in a z-axis direction may sufficiently be long to secure supporting or holding the bag module  30 . The longest diameter of the supporting member  212   a  on a x-y plane may be smaller than or approximate to a diameter of the cylindrical post  302  to ensure that the coupling of the bag module  30  to the supporting member  212   a  is so tight that a dog waste bag is not pulled out well. 
     Although it is illustrated in  FIG.  2    that the supporting member  212   a  has a cross shape, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. For example, the sectional shape of the supporting member  212   a  may include a circle, oval, square shape, or the like. 
     In use, the cap member  21   a  may be uncapped to open the hollow inner cavity  28  of the handle  20 , and the bag module  30  may be inserted into the hollow inner cavity  28 . Prior to inserting the bag module  30  into the hollow inner cavity  28 , the bottom end of the bag module  30  may be coupled to the supporting member  212   a  of the cap member  21   a  to ensure that the bag module  30  is securely mounted on the cap member  21   a.    
     The dog waste bags and/or the casing  35  may be disposable so that each can be discarded after use. For example, a user may replace the dog waste bag module  30  by inserting a new refill module into the hollow inner cavity  28 . 
     Referring now to  FIG.  3   , illustrated is a perspective view of an example umbrella  1   a  showing a bag module  30  after the module  30  is inserted to the handle  20  of the umbrella  1   a  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It is illustrated in  FIG.  3    that a dog waste bag  301  is being pulled out through the opening  26  of the handle  20 . 
     It will be understood that various modifications can be made to the embodiments of the present disclosure herein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as limiting the disclosure, but merely as embodiments thereof. Those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.