REFUSE BIN BRACKET FOR HOUSEHOLD USE

EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION NO. EP 1 178 224 A2

NAME : KEVIN MCLAUGHLAN

ADDRESS : PARKVIEW
PANMURE GARDENS
POTTERTON
ABERDEENSHIRE
AB23 8UG

CONTACT NUMBER : 01358 742182 (Tel)
01224 572555 (Tel)
01224 571214 (Fax)
KEV parkview@aol.com (‘e’ mail)

REFUSE BIN BRACKET - CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

SECTION 1.0 THE PRODUCT

1.1 FEASIBILITY
1.2 PRICE

SECTION 2.0 NOVELTY

SECTION 3.0 MARKET POTENTIAL

SECTION 4.1 DETAIL OVERVIEW PICTURE

4.2 PRODUCT OVERVIEW PICTURE

SECTION 5.0 DESCRIPTION OF HOW TO FIX BRACKET

EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

REFUSE BIN BRACKET - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Whilst driving to my house in the outskirts of Aberdeen I happened to notice lots of wheelie bins laying by the roadside, all of which had been blown over by the wind, my own one included. There was rubbish everywhere.
On further inspection almost all the bins in the surrounding area and Aberdeen City had been blown over by the strong winds.
Myself being a Sheet metal worker I made a bracket to hold my wheelie bin to the wall.
After several different designs I came up with one, which works very well, so well in fact,
since installing it nearly a year ago my bin has never blown over. The position of the bracket
also allows for the lid to be fully opened and held in an upright position.
The bracket I have made is of course metal. A second prototype made out of nylon was
also constructed. This worked very well in all weather conditions and incorporates holes
for a padlock if required.

I did a search through the Internet and at the Patent Library looking at UK and US Patents to see
if such an item had been made and patented. I could find no trace of one but found there
Are currently 23 million bins in the UK so thought I would patent it myself.
I am now taking professional advice from Murgitroyd & Company regarding my patent application. This has been registered with the patent office. In the meantime the invention is protected under strict confidentiality agreements. I am also provided with a consultant regarding the commercialization of the idea through Grampian Enterprise.

I wrote to the BBC Best Inventions and was asked by the producer Christine Elliot if I would like some airtime on their road show at the Earls court in London. I jumped at the chance and flew to London. What I did not know was there are no wheelie bins in London yet, so I could not show the bracket in use. But I was encouraged to learn the producer’s mother has three wheelie bins in her home in Ireland and they are constantly blowing over.

I recently entered a competition run by channel 4 called Ideas factory for people who had a patentable idea and on the 5th of November 03 I received an invitation to the think design workshop weekend because I had madeit through to the last 14 in the country.
On this weekend was a guest speaker Mike Press-Prof.of design research at Sheffield Hallam University and chair of the European Academy of design and he in turn brought along Steve Walker from Grampian Police-Planning.
Between them they try to reduce crime at the design and planning stage. They said that there were a large number of house break-ins where wheelie bins had been placed under windows to gain access to the property and if the bin were locked in a secure place with the bin bracket and a padlock then this would eradicate this problem.

The invention is now available for license to the right manufacturer or distributor.
Enquiries should be made to Mr. Kevin McLaughlan at the above address

1.0 REFUSE BIN BRACKET - PRODUCT

1.1 FEASIBILITY

The bracket is produced from plastic and injection moulded. The initial
cost of this process are quite significant and vary from £8,000-£20,000
for the mould depending on how many extrusions there are.

PRICE

1.2

Cost Price £ 5.00 per unit up to 1,000 unit
£ 4.50 per unit over1,000 and up to 5,000 units
£ 4.00 per unit over and above 5,000 units
Recommended Retail Price £6.95

2.0 REFUSE BIN BRACKET - NOVELTY

1. Aberdeen Patent Library :- Global Pat 1971 - 1996

2. Searched the following sites :- http://www.taylor ch.uk
http://www.packaging.uk.com
http://www.ssi.schaefer.co.uk/htm

http://www./pages/contact.htm
http://www.wheeliebin.co.uk/ http://dips.patent.gov.uk/I/patentsUSpto.gov/esp@ce.net - The UK Patent Office

3. Searched Internet for products in my opinion this product is not covered by any previous patent protection and was not available on the market until now.

3.0 REFUSE BIN BRACKET - MARKET POTENTIAL

According to the Wheel Bin Cleaning Co. there was 23 million wheelie bins in the
UK in 1998. It is estimated that by 2003 there will be 25 million.

This product also fits in well with the current interest for DIY.

Assuming a 1% market penetration per year, then 1% x 25 million = 250,000 units
per year. Further assuming a retail price of £6.95 per unit then sales per year could
be £1,737,500.

4.1 DETAIL OVERVIEW PICTURE

4.2 PRODUCT OVERVIEW PICTURE

5.0 REFUSE BIN BRACKET - DESCRIPTION ON HOW TO FIX BRACKET

POSITION BIN ON LEVEL GROUND NEXT TO WALL OR FENCE.

PLACE BRACKET ON TOP OF BIN HANDLE, ANY SIDE WILL DO AS IN
PAGE 7.0 FIG 10.

MARK THROUGH FIXING HOLES.

REMOVE BIN AND FIX BRACKET.

REPLACE BIN BY TIPPING BACKWARDS AS IN PAGE 7.0 FIG 11
AND PUSH BOTTOM TOWARDS WALL OR FENCE TO A LEVEL
STANCE AS IN PAGE 7.0 FIG 10.

TO REMOVE BIN LIFT FRONT OF BIN UPWARD AND THE BOTTOM
WILL SLIDE OUT TOWARDS YOU AS IN PAGE 7.0 FIG 11. BUT
IN REVERSE.

James Aiken Sheetmetal Ltd, Email: Enquiries@jasm.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1224 572555 Fax: +44 (0)1224 571214