Supports – Bag holders – Mouth holding frames
Reexamination Certificate
1997-12-29
2001-05-29
King, Anita M. (Department: 3632)
Supports
Bag holders
Mouth holding frames
C248S097000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06237878
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for holding a plastic bag, and more particularly to an improved stand for holding a plastic bag open for use, such as for loading trash or recycled materials therein.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
“Paper or plastic?” Customers are typically asked which type of bag they would like their purchased items put in at the grocery store checkout stand. Today, more and more customers are taking their items home in expendable/recyclable thermoplastic bags. The advantages of plastic bags are numerous. Handles on plastic bags, usually a pair of holes cut out on opposite sides of the mouth of the bag, make it easier to pick up and carry the bags, and to hold more bags at one time. Plastic bags take up far less room than paper bags in storage, during shipping, in the store, at home, and in landfills. Plastic bags cost about one sixth as much to produce as their paper counterparts. Plastic bags are also easily recyclable. Plastic bags offer better tear strength and moisture resistance. Because of the many advantages of plastic bags, the general trend of grocery and other retail stores is away from paper and toward the exclusive use of plastic.
One reason many customers still prefer the use of paper bags is that they are able to use them to line trash receptacles. A typical kitchen waste receptacle is designed to removably receive a paper grocery sac to line its interior. Plastic bags generally are not an acceptable substitute for this purpose because of their smaller depth, tapered sides, and lack of rigidity. If one does not use paper bags to line the typical receptacle, plastic trash bags of a size designed specifically for this use must be purchased. In other words, the customer is unable to reuse his or her grocery bags, and must pay for trash receptacle liners instead.
Special stands or supports have previously been designed for holding plastic grocery bags open for use as a trash or recycle containers. Examples are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,437,634, 4,802,647, 4,810,031, 4,921,193, 4,957,252, and 5,169,101. However, these devices have their drawbacks. Because of their lightweight wire-frame designs, many of these devices are not particularly stable, especially when carrying an empty plastic bag. Since plastic bags with handles are manufactured in a variety of sizes and styles, these prior art stands cannot work as well with some types of bags as with others. If a plastic bag develops a hole and leaks liquid from its contents, prior art stands do nothing to contain the spill. Plastic bags can also be difficult to remove from the prior art stands once the bags have been filled.
In order to allow retailers and consumers to fully exploit the many advantages of plastic bags, what is needed is a plastic bag holder that is lightweight but stable, low cost, easy to load and unload, accommodates various sizes of bags, and contains spills.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an apparatus for holding a plastic grocery bag open for loading, such as for containing trash or items to be recycled.
A bag holding stand constructed according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes: a generally rectangular and horizontal base having four corner portions and a recessed central portion; four generally vertical elongated legs, each leg having an upper and a lower end, each leg being attached at its lower end to one of the corner portions of the base member; and two generally horizontal elongated handle engaging members each spanning between the upper ends of two adjacent legs, each handle engaging member having two end portions, a middle offset portion, and two angled portions each connecting the middle offset portion to one of the end portions, the two angled portions forming a pair of outwardly facing opposing angled surfaces for engaging opposite ends of one of the bag handles and extending the handle open laterally with respect to the base member, the four angled surfaces cooperating to create a rectangular opening at the mouth of the bag over the base member by extending the opening of the bag substantially taut both laterally and longitudinally.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the base of the bag stand is provided with a central portion recessed from the base periphery for catching and retaining any liquids spilled from the plastic bag.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, four angled surfaces are provided to receive the handles of the plastic bag and spread each handle and the mouth of the bag open laterally, as well as spreading the two handles apart from each other to open the bag longitudinally. Because the surfaces that contact the bag handles are angled, a wide range of different bags having various sizes of handles can be accommodated. Bags having small handles contact the angled surfaces further out. Bags having larger handles contact the angled surfaces further in, but are still spread outward as far as possible by the angled surfaces rather than drooping inward and causing the opening of the bag to collapse.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, the base of the bag stand is large enough and the legs are stiff enough to allow the apparatus to be free standing in a stable fashion, even when holding an empty plastic bag.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, mounting means are provided to allow the apparatus to be mounted on a wall, inside a cabinet door, or the like.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the apparatus is designed to allow the legs to flex together a predetermined amount to facilitate the removal of a loaded plastic bag from the handle engaging members. Horizontal slots are also provided in the mounting means to allow the legs to flex even when the apparatus is mounted rather than freestanding.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the handle engaging members are located a predetermined height above the base to allow the bottom of most plastic bags to rest on the base rather than being fully suspended. This arrangement keeps the mouth of the bag wide open rather than having the weight of the bag contents tending to draw the mouth closed.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the entire apparatus is formed from injection molded plastic and each of the four legs and two handle engaging members is a beam having a generally rectangular cross-section. This arrangement allows the apparatus to be low cost, yet sturdy.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the base, legs, and handle engaging members are separate pieces which are removably attached together. Preferably, each connection consists of a pair of resilient barbed fingers formed on one member, and a socket formed on an adjoining member for releasably receiving the fingers. This arrangement allows the product to be compact for packaging and shipping, allows for simple snap-together construction to save assembly costs and/or time, and allows the unit to be broken down for compact storage when not in use.
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King Anita M.
Limbach & Limbach L.L.P.
Williams C
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