GB1562464A - Waste bin - Google Patents

Description

(54) WASTE BIN (71) We, EVERSURE TEXTILES LIMITED, a British Company, of Eversure House, 19 Cumberland Street, Sheffield S1 4PU, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The invention relates to waste bins and has for its object to provide an improvement therein.

According to the invention, there is provided a waste bin including a container with upstanding sides and a flat bottom, and including also a cover made of a fabric material and decorated to simulate the face of an animal or insect, or cartoon character or the like, the cover being capable of being pulled over the container from its lower end and being provided at least at its upper end with an elasticated edge for retaining the cover in position on the container, the cover also being provided with a pair of attachments which simulate a pair of ears or antennae, as the case may be of the animal, or insect, or cartoon character, or the like and which serve as handles by means of which the waste bin can be lifted and carried.A pair of attachments which simulate the ears of an animal or cartoon character or the like may be made of a fabric material and may be attached to the cover at their upper ends only so that they normally hang down in the manner of a spaniel's ears. On the other hand, they may be attached to the cover at their upper and lower ends. In addition to attachments which simulate ears, the cover may be provided with further attachments which simulate legs or feet, said further attachments being attached to lower corner portions of the cover and being capable of projecting laterally from the upstanding sides of the bin so that they do not affect the stability of the bin.

In order that the invention may be fully understood and readily carried into effect, the same will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a waste bin embodying the invention, and Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a slightly different design of waste bin.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the waste bin there illustrated includes a container 10 made of tinplate, the container being of cylindrical shape with a flat bottom.

The bin also includes a cover 12 made of a fabric material and decorated (by means of buttons 14 representing eyes, a button 16 representing a nose and a smooth fabric patch 18 representing a mouth) to simulate the face of an animal or cartoon character or the like. The cover is shown to have been pulled over the container from its lower end.

The upper end of the cover is provided with an elasticated edge 20 and can be seen to overlie the upper edge of the cylindrical container so that the cover is thereby retained in position on the container.

The cover is also provided with a pair of attachments 22 which simulate a pair of ears, the attachments having been made from pieces of a fabric material similar to that from which the body of the cover has been made, the pieces of material having been formed into narrow tubes and attached to the cover by stitching at their upper and lower ends as shown, the arrangement being such that they serve as handles by means of which the waste bin can be lifted and carried.

The cover is provided with further attachments 24 which simulate legs, the further attachments having been made in the same way as the attachments 22 except that at their free ends they are provided with smooth fabric ends 26 which represent feet. Said further attachments are attached by stitching to lower corner portions of the cover so as to be capable of projecting laterally from the upstanding sides of the bin. In this way they do not affect the stability of the bin, which can rest on the floor or on any other horizontal surface.

It will be realised that a waste bin embodying the invention is intended primarily for a childs bedroom or playroom for the reception of waste such as scrap paper, sweet papers and the like (although naturally it may be used as a container for various articles such as sewing materials for example rather than for waste if preferred). On the other hand, the article is sufficiently decorative and pleasing to the eye to be used in any other part of a house.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the waste bin there illustrated is similar to that described above except that the attachments 23 which simulate ears are rather wider than those illustrated in Fig. 1 and they are attached to the cover at their upper ends only. Consequently they normally hang down in the manner of a spaniel's ears. A further difference is that instead of being provided with the further attachments 24 which were long and relatively slender it is provided with further attachments 25 which are quite short and represent small feet which appear to project from beneath the bin. In this way the article is even more representative of a small dog.

It will be understood that the appearance of the bin may be varied in numerous other ways by the different arrangement and design of the buttons and attachments which give it the likeness or character of an animate creature (and it will be realised that although we refer to such a creature being an animal or cartoon character it could just as easily represent an insect in which case it would be provdided with a multiplicity of attachments representing legs; the attachments which represent ears in the illustrated examples would in this case represent antenna, could be of correspondingly greater length and could extend upwards from the container, still being capable of being used as handles of course).

The fabric material which has been used for the manufacture of the cover has been a textile fabric made from man-made fibres and has had a somewhat fuzzy surface which has been appropriate for simulating the fur of the creature being represented. It will however be understood that a wide range of materials could be used. In particular, the attachments representing the ears and legs, (or feet) of the creature concerned could be made of leather or a synthetic plastics material. The container 10 - could of course be made of a synthetic plastics material rather than tinplate, and indeed could even be constituted by a length of stout cardboard tube so that the underside of the cover formed the bottom of the bin.

It is not essential that the container should be of cylindrical shape; it could quite well be in the form of an open topped cube. The buttons which simulate the eyes and nose of the creature being represented may be made of metal or plastics.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A waste bin including a container with upstanding sides and a flat bottom, and including also a cover made of a fabric material and decorated to simulate the face of an animal or insect, or cartoon character or the like, the cover being capable of being pulled over the container from its lower end and being provided at least at its upper end with an elasticated edge for retaining the cover in position on the container, the cover also being provided with a pair of attachments which simulate a pair of ears or antennae, as the case may be of the animal, insect, or cartoon character, or the like and which serve as handles by means of which the waste bin can be lifted and carried.

2. A waste bin according to claim 1, in which the pair of attachments which simulate the ears or antennae, as the case may be, of the animal or insect or cartoon character or the like are made of a fabric material.

3. A waste bin according to either one of the preceding claims, in which attachments which simulate the ears of an animal or cartoon character or the like are attached to the cover at their upper ends only so that they normally hang down in the manner of a spaniel's ears.

4. A waste bin according to either one of claims 1 and 2, in which attachments which simulate the ears of an animal or cartoon character or the like are attached to the cover at their upper and lower ends.

5. A waste bin according to any one of the preceding claims, in which in addition to attachments which simulate ears or antennae, as the case may be, the cover is provided with further attachments which simulate legs or feet, said further attachments being attached to lower corner portions of the cover and being capable of projecting laterally from the upstanding sides of the bin so that they do not affect the stability of the bin.

6. A waste bin constructed, arranged and adapted to be used substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (6)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. It will be realised that a waste bin embodying the invention is intended primarily for a childs bedroom or playroom for the reception of waste such as scrap paper, sweet papers and the like (although naturally it may be used as a container for various articles such as sewing materials for example rather than for waste if preferred). On the other hand, the article is sufficiently decorative and pleasing to the eye to be used in any other part of a house. Referring now to Fig. 2, the waste bin there illustrated is similar to that described above except that the attachments 23 which simulate ears are rather wider than those illustrated in Fig. 1 and they are attached to the cover at their upper ends only. Consequently they normally hang down in the manner of a spaniel's ears. A further difference is that instead of being provided with the further attachments 24 which were long and relatively slender it is provided with further attachments 25 which are quite short and represent small feet which appear to project from beneath the bin. In this way the article is even more representative of a small dog. It will be understood that the appearance of the bin may be varied in numerous other ways by the different arrangement and design of the buttons and attachments which give it the likeness or character of an animate creature (and it will be realised that although we refer to such a creature being an animal or cartoon character it could just as easily represent an insect in which case it would be provdided with a multiplicity of attachments representing legs; the attachments which represent ears in the illustrated examples would in this case represent antenna, could be of correspondingly greater length and could extend upwards from the container, still being capable of being used as handles of course). The fabric material which has been used for the manufacture of the cover has been a textile fabric made from man-made fibres and has had a somewhat fuzzy surface which has been appropriate for simulating the fur of the creature being represented. It will however be understood that a wide range of materials could be used. In particular, the attachments representing the ears and legs, (or feet) of the creature concerned could be made of leather or a synthetic plastics material. The container 10 - could of course be made of a synthetic plastics material rather than tinplate, and indeed could even be constituted by a length of stout cardboard tube so that the underside of the cover formed the bottom of the bin. It is not essential that the container should be of cylindrical shape; it could quite well be in the form of an open topped cube. The buttons which simulate the eyes and nose of the creature being represented may be made of metal or plastics. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. A waste bin including a container with upstanding sides and a flat bottom, and including also a cover made of a fabric material and decorated to simulate the face of an animal or insect, or cartoon character or the like, the cover being capable of being pulled over the container from its lower end and being provided at least at its upper end with an elasticated edge for retaining the cover in position on the container, the cover also being provided with a pair of attachments which simulate a pair of ears or antennae, as the case may be of the animal, insect, or cartoon character, or the like and which serve as handles by means of which the waste bin can be lifted and carried.

2. A waste bin according to claim 1, in which the pair of attachments which simulate the ears or antennae, as the case may be, of the animal or insect or cartoon character or the like are made of a fabric material.

3. A waste bin according to either one of the preceding claims, in which attachments which simulate the ears of an animal or cartoon character or the like are attached to the cover at their upper ends only so that they normally hang down in the manner of a spaniel's ears.

4. A waste bin according to either one of claims 1 and 2, in which attachments which simulate the ears of an animal or cartoon character or the like are attached to the cover at their upper and lower ends.

5. A waste bin according to any one of the preceding claims, in which in addition to attachments which simulate ears or antennae, as the case may be, the cover is provided with further attachments which simulate legs or feet, said further attachments being attached to lower corner portions of the cover and being capable of projecting laterally from the upstanding sides of the bin so that they do not affect the stability of the bin.

6. A waste bin constructed, arranged and adapted to be used substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.