Bag holder and dispenser

July 8, 1969 m. v. dinges 3,454,166

BAG HOLDER AND DISPENSER

Filed May 15, 1967

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United States Patent Office Patented July 8, 1969

3,454,166

BAG HOLDER AND DISPENSER

Margaret V. Dinges, Leawood, Kans., assignor to Polymar, Incorporated, Leawood, Kans., a corporation of Kansas

Filed May 15,1967, Ser. No. 638,465

Int. Cl. A47f 7/00, 7/28; B65h 75/02

U.S. CI. 211—57 3 Claims

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

The spaced, parallel Iges of a U-shaped bracket are received through a pair of spaced holes in the normally uppermost marginal edge of each of a plurality of 15 stacked bags presenting a sheaf of the latter. An annular, resilient spacer element is slidably received on each leg in frictional engagement therewith for holding the sheaf of bags against the bight of said bracket.

A pair of spaced eyelet screws are mounted on a wall 20 in a position for receiving the legs of the bracket downwardly therethrough so that the bight of the latter and the normally uppermost marginal edge of the bags are disposed thereabove. The bags and the bracket may be handled as a single unit and after insertion of the legs 25 through the eyelets, the bags may be efficiently dispensed one at a time as the need therefor arises.

This invention relates to devices for holding and dispensing bags and the like, and particularly to a baghanging device which permits ready handling of a sheaf of bags as well as efficient storage of the same coupled with rapid dispensing of the bags one at a time from the 35 device.

It is the primary object of the instant invention to provide a bag holder and dispenser wherein is included structure operable for maintaining a plurality of individual bags in substantially stacked relationship to present 40 a sheaf of bags which may be readily handled as a unit and for hanging the sheaf in a disposition to permit efficient dispensing of the bags one at a time.

A very important object of the invention is the provision of such bag-hanging structure wherein the same is 45 configured for hanging a sheaf of bags of various sizes in a position such that a bag of any of the sizes may be selectively dispensed at any given time.

Another very important object of the present invention is to provide such a bag holder including a bracket 50 configured for clamping the stack of bags together to present a sheaf of bags and wall fixture means adapted for receiving the bracket while the same remains in clamping relationship to the sheaf of bags whereby the latter may be handled with ease and deposited in a dis- 55 pensing position with a minimum of effort. In this respect, it is to be particularly appreciated that the instant invention provides a hanger for bags of the type often utilized by housewives and thus convenience of handling is desirable, especially in view of the difficulty of han- 60 dling a loose stack of bags constructed of polyethylene or the like which have extremely slippery surfaces.

Yet another important object of the invention is the provision of such a bracket which is configured to permit packaging of the same with the sheaf of bags clamped 65 thereby so that the bags and the bracket may be merchandized as a unit.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a front perspective view of a bag hanger embodying the principles and concepts of the instant in- 70 vention and a sheaf of bags held in a dispensing position thereby;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, enlarged, front elevational view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3—3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a sheaf of bags in a folded, merchandizing condition;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the sheaf in an unfolded condition; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of one of the bags of the sheaf.

A bag holder and dispensing device in the nature of a bag hanger 10 is utilized for holding a sheaf 12 of bags in a position permitting dispensing of the bags one at a time. Hanger 10 includes a U-shaped bracket having a pair of spaced-apart, generally parallel legs 16 and a bight 18 interconnecting the legs 16.

Sheaf 12 comprises a plurality of individual bags 20 which may be formed from polyethylene or the like, each of which, as illustrated in FIG. 6, includes a sheet 22 having a normally uppermost marginal edge 24 and a sheet· 26 disposed in partially overlapping relationship with respect to sheet 22 to present a pocket 28 therebetween. Thus, it is to be understood that bags 20 are of the type which are often utilized by housewives for the storing of vegetables, packing of sandwiches, etc. Each bag 20 also has a pair of spaced openings 30 in the marginal edge 24 thereof, and a slit 32 (see FIG. 1) adjacent each opening 30 presenting a line of weakness extending from the outer periphery of edge 24 toward the corresponding opening 30. Sheaf 12 may include bags of different sizes, for example, large bags 20α and smaller bags 20h.

Hanger 10 also includes wall fixture means in the nature of a pair of spaced screws 34, each having a threaded shank 35 adapted for being threadably connected to an upright wall 36 and an eyelet 38 presenting an opening 40. Only one of the screws 34 is illustrated in the drawing; however, it is to be appreciated that the same are identical in construction and the openings 40 thereof are spaced apart a distance equal to the spacing between legs 16 of bracket 14.

Hanger 10 further includes structure in the nature of spacer means comprising a resilient, annular element for each leg 16. Elements 42 have an aperture 44 therethrough adapting the same for being slidably received on its leg 16 in frictional engagement therewith. Thus, elements 42 are disposed for holding the normally uppermost marginal edge 24 of the sheaf 12 against bight 18.

The legs 16 are received through corresponding openings 40 of the screws 34 as best illustrated in FIG. 3 and, therefore, screws 34 support sheaf 12 which, in turn, supports bracket 14 by the interaction between the uppermost edge 24 and bight 18. It is to be particularly noted that elements 42 are disposed between and in engagement with wall 36 and sheaf 12 for maintaining the sheaf spaced from the wall beneath screws 34. Elements 42 also cause a bend 46 to be presented in sheaf 12 whereby a downward pull on one of the bags results in a pulling force thereon at the openings 30 and slits 32 thereof which is in a lateral direction of the legs 16 to thereby orient the pulling forces to cause the bag to quickly tear across the shortest distance between openings 30 and slits 32. Elements 42 also extend outwardly from wall 36 farther than screws 34 and thereby hold the sheaf 12 out of engagement with leg 16 beneath elements 42.

For ease in handling, sheaf 12 may be stored or packaged for merchandizing with the bracket 14 and the elements 42 attached thereto. In this connection, a flexible guard 48 may be provided for covering legs 16 to prevent the same from damaging the bags of the sheaf 12. Guard 48 may be formed from cardboard or the like and

3,454,166 ³ has a line of fold 50 (FIG. 5) permitting the same to be folded over the top of legs 16, whereby the sheaf 12 may be folded into the configuration illustrated in FIG. 4. Thus, the folded sheaf 12 may be packaged for convenient storage or merchandizing thereof.