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Apparatus for collecting and handling yard debris utilizing a reusable receptable

a technology for receptacles and yard debris, which is applied in the field of apparatus for collecting and handling yard debris utilizing a reusable receptacles, can solve the problems of time-consuming and laborious bagging of leaves and debris, backbreaking and dirty, and difficult filling of bags, so as to facilitate the transferring of debris, easy to empty the contents of bags, and minimal lifting and manipulation

Inactive Publication Date: 2010-09-23
ROMERO MELANIE
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]Embodiments of the present invention described and claimed herein address at least some of the foregoing limitations and problems by an apparatus that supports a flexible, reusable receptacle in an open configuration for collecting and handling yard debris. The receptacle can have a hatch for easily transferring the debris to another receptacle or location and depositing the debris without having to flip the apparatus over. In one embodiment, an apparatus has a frame for supporting a flexible, reusable receptacle, the frame having a shape that defines an opening through which the flexible receptacle may be draped, at least one straight member defining an opening for receiving the receptacle, and a flexible, closed-loop member for securing the receptacle to the frame. The frame also has a plurality of retaining surfaces extending from the frame for retaining the flexible, closed-loop member. The closed-loop member holds the reusable receptacle on the frame. The reusable receptacle is generally bag-shaped and has a mouth that attaches to the frame. The receptacle can taper from the mouth at its top towards its bottom and it has a quick-empty hatch that can be opened at the bottom and / or along the side for easy transfer of debris. The taper helps to funnel the debris to effect a clean fill of a dumpster, compost bin, paper bag, barrel, etc. or to deposit the debris in another location. The hatch eliminates the need to flip the receptacle over in order to empty its contents quickly and cleanly with minimal lifting and manipulation due to the receptacle's built-in quick-empty hatch.

Problems solved by technology

Whereas raking is relatively straight-forward, bagging the leaves and debris is the part of the process that is time-consuming, back-breaking and dirty.
Plastic, or other flexible bags, generally will not support themselves in an open configuration, making such bags awkward to use and difficult to fill.
Although the '135 apparatus performs admirably with plastic bags, it can be difficult to use with paper bags.
Emptying plastic bags filled with yard debris into compost bins, burn-barrels, paper bags, dumpsters, or other receptacles without ripping, damaging, or depositing the plastic bag in the receptacle with the yard debris can be difficult.

Method used

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  • Apparatus for collecting and handling yard debris utilizing a reusable receptable

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Embodiment Construction

[0020]In the following discussion, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be practiced without such specific details.

[0021]The apparatus for collecting and handling yard debris utilizing a reusable receptacle is designed to give the user an eco-friendly solution to handling their leaves and / or debris so that they are not limited to just putting the debris in plastic bags. The receptacle can be a reusable bag made of rip-stop polyester (e.g., tent material), nylon (e.g., kite material) or any other suitably tough and flexible material and it fits onto the frame in a similar manner as plastic bags. However, unlike plastic bags, the receptacle is tough, and extremely difficult to tear or puncture. Thus, it is ideal for handling sticks, leaves, thorns, and other yard debris. In addition to being extremely rugged, the receptacle has another disti...

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PUM

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Abstract

An apparatus for collecting and handling yard debris supports a flexible, reusable receptacle in an open configuration. The apparatus has a frame for supporting the receptacle, the frame having a shape that defines an opening through which the receptacle is draped, at least one straight member defining an opening for receiving the flexible receptacle, and a flexible, closed-loop member for securing the mouth of the receptacle to the frame. The frame also has at least two retaining surfaces extending from the frame for retaining the flexible, closed-loop member. The apparatus can be used as a tool to collect leaves or other yard debris directly. The receptacle has a hatch that can be opened to deposit the collected debris into another receptacle or other location.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part of, and claims the benefit of, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12 / 723,935 entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COLLECTING YARD DEBRIS, filed Mar. 15, 2010, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12 / 118,988 entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COLLECTING YARD DEBRIS, filed May 12, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,708,236, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 403,571 entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COLLECTING YARD DEBRIS, filed Apr. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,374,135; this application also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 217,018 entitled REUSABLE BAG FOR AN APPARATUS FOR COLLECTING YARD DEBRIS, filed May 26, 2009.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]This invention relates generally to the field of lawn and garden tools and, more particularly, to an apparatus for collecting and handling yard debris utilizing a reusable receptacle for easy ...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): B65B67/12B65B67/04B65D33/16B65D33/28
CPCB65B67/12
Inventor ROMERO, MELANIE
Owner ROMERO MELANIE
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