Bag dispensing assembly
A bag dispensing assembly includes a mounting structure, such as a box with an opening formed therein, an attachment device that attaches the mounting structure to a surface, and a plurality of bags. The bags preferably number in a range of about 5 bags to about 30 bags, and preferably are not attached to or interleaved with each other. Indicia provided on the mounting structure may suggest a preferred orientation of the mounting structure, such as with the opening positioned downward.
Latest Patents:
This invention relates to dispensing bags.
Many people spend a comparatively large amount of time in relatively small or confined areas, such as automobiles, workplace cubicles or the like. Most of these people desire to keep these areas clean, organized and free of trash. However, because these spaces are often small and/or odd-shaped, especially in the case of an automobile interior, a conventional garbage can may not be practical as a trash receptacle. Some individuals periodically take a trash bag to the area to collect trash, but this is inconvenient and does not solve the problem of consolidating trash on a continual basis. Other individuals hang a trash bag from an automobile console knob or the like to provide an always-present trash receptacle, but when the bag is full and is discarded, the individuals often forget to take another trash bag to the area. Furthermore, because such confined areas often have extremely limited storage space, the individuals may be reluctant or unable to store replacement bags in the area itself. For example, there may not be room in the glove compartment of an automobile to store extra bags.
SUMMARYThis invention provides a compact bag dispensing assembly that preferably may be conveniently mounted on a mounting surface. Each bag may be folded upon itself one or more times so as to fit within a mounting structure of smaller dimensions than the bag dimensions. A user may periodically take out a bag for trash collection or any other purpose, and still have a supply of bags available for future uses.
These and other objects, advantages and features are described in or are apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe invention will be described with reference to the drawings, in which like numerals indicate like parts, and in which:
This invention provides a compact bag dispensing assembly that may be conveniently mounted on a surface.
Not all embodiments necessarily use a box as the mounting structure 10. For example, some embodiments may use a flexible pouch as the mounting structure 10. However, some advantages of using the box as the mounting structure 10, as opposed to a flexible pouch or the like, are that (1) a box can look more neat and attractive, especially when placed in a visible location, and thus contribute to a feeling of better organization; (2) manufacturing of bag dispensing assemblies using boxes can be easier and/or cheaper than using flexible pouches or the like; and (3) a box is less likely to become lost in a purse, handbag or the like, compared to a flexible pouch.
Indicia 18 (in this example, the word “BAGS”) are preferably printed on the mounting structure 10. The orientation of the indicia 18 preferably is such that it directly or indirectly suggests a preferred orientation of the opening 12. In this example, the preferred orientation is with the opening 12 positioned downward. An example of a direct suggestion would be the indicia “THIS END UP,” printed on the end of the mounting structure that is intended to be positioned upward, or the indicia “THIS END DOWN,” printed on the end of the mounting structure that is intended to be positioned downward. An example of an indirect suggestion is the depicted word “BAGS,” because a user will naturally position the mounting structure 10 such that the indicia are readable in a left-to-right manner, resulting in proper positioning of the opening 12 in the downward position even though there are no explicit instructions to place the opening 12 in the downward position. An advantage of placing the opening 12 in the downward position is that dust or the like does not tend to settle into folds of the bags 20, or into the spaces between the bags 20, as could happen if the opening 12 were positioned upward.
As shown in
As also shown in
As shown in
Preferably, the bags 20 are folded one or more times, and preferably at least two times, so that a bag 20 of a given size may fit within the mounting structure 10 having a smaller outline than a largest outline of the bag 20. Preferably, at least about five bags are contained within the mounting structure 10 in its initial state, e.g., at the time the bag dispensing assembly is sold and/or before the opening 12 has been opened, but no more than about 30 bags are contained within the mounting structure 10. Having fewer than about five bags in the original bag dispensing assembly goes against the purpose of having a convenient supply of bags ready for dispensing, and having more than about 30 bags goes against the purpose of having a small, compact container suitable for placement in confined areas, because the mounting structure 10 may have to be made undesirably large to accommodate more than about 30 bags. Although other numbers of bags are possible, the number of bags in the range of about 5 to about 30 is preferable, such as about 10, about 12, about 15, about 20 or about 25.
The mounting structure 10 may have any desired dimensions, but when the bag dispensing assembly is used in a small area such as an automobile interior, where space is limited, a smaller mounting structure is preferable. Thus, for small-area applications, the mounting structure preferably has a maximum dimension in any given direction of about 6″ or less, and more preferably about 4.5″ or less. One dimension of the mounting structure 10 is preferably about 1.5″ or less, and more preferably about 1″ or less. This dimension of 1.5″ or less is preferably the thickness dimension, or in other words, the dimensional in the vertical direction of
The bags 20 may be conventional bags, such as thin-walled plastic bags or the like, and/or may have a structure as described below, or any other desired structure.
The bag 20 may have handles 26, as shown, although handles are not necessary. As shown in
While the invention has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments described above, these embodiments are illustrative and not limiting. Various changes, substitutes, improvements or the like may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A bag dispensing assembly, comprising:
- a box comprising a front surface and a back surface, an opening being formed at or near one end of the front surface;
- a plurality of bags contained in the box;
- indicia provided on the box, the indicia suggesting a preferred orientation of the opening, the preferred orientation being with the opening positioned downward; and
- an attachment device that attaches the box to a mounting surface, the attachment device being fastened to the back surface of the box.
2. The bag dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the opening spans an edge of the box.
3. The bag dispensing assembly according to claim 2, the box further comprising one or more fold-in tabs that are folded in to close at least one side of the box, each fold-in tab being provided on a side of the box other than a side that includes the edge spanned by the opening.
4. The bag dispensing assembly according to claim 3, wherein each fold-in tab is taped or bonded to the box after being folded in to close a corresponding side of the box.
5. The bag dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the bags are not attached to or interleaved with each other.
6. The bag dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the attachment device comprises an adhesive layer.
7. The bag dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the box has a dimension in one direction of about 1.5″ or less.
8. The bag dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the box has a dimension in one direction of about 1″ or less.
9. The bag dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein a largest dimension of the box is about 6″ or less.
10. The bag dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein a largest dimension of the bag assembly is about 4.5″ or less.
11. The bag dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein each bag is folded upon itself at least one time.
12. A bag dispensing assembly, comprising:
- a plurality of bags arranged in a stack, the bags numbering in a range of about five bags to about 30 bags in an original state of the bag dispensing assembly, the bags not being attached to or interleaved with each other; and
- a box that holds the stack of bags.
13. The bag dispensing assembly according to claim 12, further comprising an attachment device that attaches the mounting structure to a mounting surface, the attachment device being fastened to a surface of the box.
14. The bag dispensing assembly according to claim 13, wherein the attachment device comprises an adhesive layer.
15. The bag dispensing assembly according to claim 12, wherein the bags number in a range of about 10 bags to about 15 bags.
16. The bag dispensing assembly according to claim 12, the bag assembly having a dimension in one direction of about 1.5″ or less.
17. The bag dispensing assembly according to claim 12, wherein a largest dimension of the bag assembly is about 6″ or less.
18. The bag dispensing assembly according to claim 12, wherein a largest dimension of the bag assembly is about 4.5″ or less.
19. The bag dispensing assembly according to claim 12, wherein each bag is folded upon itself at least one time.
20. A bag dispensing assembly, comprising:
- a box comprising a front surface and a back surface, an opening being formed at or near one end of the front surface, the box further comprising one or more fold-in tabs that are folded in to close at least one side of the box, each fold-in tab being provided on a side of the box other than a side that includes an edge spanned by the opening;
- a plurality of bags contained in the box, the bags numbering in a range of about 5 bags to about 30 bags in an original state of the bag dispensing assembly, the bags not being attached to or interleaved with each other, and each bag being folded upon itself at least one time;
- indicia provided on the box, the indicia suggesting a preferred orientation of the opening, the preferred orientation being with the opening positioned downward; and
- an attachment device that attaches the box to a mounting surface, the attachment device being fastened to the back surface of the box.
Type: Application
Filed: May 19, 2005
Publication Date: Nov 23, 2006
Applicant: (Signal Hill, CA)
Inventor: Ahmed Sadi (Signal Hill, CA)
Application Number: 11/132,339
International Classification: B65H 1/00 (20060101);