Bagging station

Abstract

A bagging station is disclosed in which a number of plastic bags on a bag roll can be dispensed from the station in a manner in which enables the bags to be easily opened and filled with various items on the station. The bags are held on the roll within a bag mounting portion on the device and are drawn vertically upwardly into a bag filling portion. The bag is oriented and held in an opened configuration in the bag filling portion to enable to a number of items to be positioned within the bag and maintained on the bag filling portion. Once the bag is filled, the bag can be closed and drawn upwardly out of the bag filling portion, which operates to pull a subsequent bag off of the roll from the bag mounting portion into the bag filling portion prior to separating the filled bag from the subsequent bag, such that the subsequent bag is available for immediate use for filling with other items.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to plastic bag dispensers for dispensing individual plastic bags from a roll of plastic bags, and more specifically, to an apparatus or device that enables the bag to be dispensed and filled prior to separating the bag from the remainder of the roll.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When shopping at a store, often times the items that are purchased by an individual are not packaged when purchased, such as items of produce. Thus, these items are usually selected by the individual and placed within a plastic bag for holding the unpackaged items until it is desired to remove the items from the bag, such as when the individual reaches the their home. The bags are supplied from a roll of the bags which are wound on a tubular core. The bags are integrally formed from a strip or tube of a plastic material that is sealed to form separate bags along the length of the tube. Successive bags are wound around the core and are separated from one another by perforation lines formed between successive bags that allow the bags to be torn off the roll when a sufficient tearing force is applied.

In order to provide and dispense these bags within the stores, a number of different types of devices and mechanisms have been developed. One type of device designed for this purpose supports a roll of plastic bags in a manner such that the bags can be individually removed from the roll for use in holding and transporting items that are placed therein. Some examples of devices of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,556,019; 5,573,168; 5,813,5851; 6,488,222; and 6,685,075. These mechanisms allow a shaft or core supporting a roll of separable plastic bags to be rotatably mounted to the device in a removable manner. As each bag is pulled off of the roll, the bag is engaged with a separation tongue that operates to engage the perforation line between the bags and disengage the bag from the remainder of the roll, such that the bag can be utilized to hold selected items.

One significant shortcoming with each of these prior art bag dispensing devices is that the devices do not enable the bag to be held in an open position for filling by an individual utilizing the bag. Thus, even though the bags are easily dispensed from these prior art devices, due to the properties of the plastic material holding the bags, namely the tendency of the plastic material to attract and stick to itself, preventing easy opening of the bags, it is desirable to develop a device that not only dispenses the plastic bags from a roll for use by an individual, but also assists in the opening and filling of the bags. It is also desirable that the device be capable of being utilized with the existing rolls of plastic bags used with other devices, such that the bag rolls utilized in those prior art devices and mechanism can also be utilized in this device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a primary aspect of the present invention, a bagging station is provided that enables plastic bags on a conventional roll to be drawn off of the roll, opened utilizing the bagging station, and filled and separated from the remainder of the roll. The bagging station includes a bag roll mounting portion on which a conventional roll of plastic bags can be rotatably mounted. A bag filling portion is mounted to the bag roll mounting portion and is utilized to enable plastic bags being dispensed from the roll to be held in a generally open configuration to allow placement of selected items therein. The filling portion includes an opening at a lower end through which the bags from the bag roll can be drawn upwardly from the bag roll mounting portion into the filling portion and placed in the open configuration. After the bag has been filled with the desired type and number of items, the bag can be closed utilizing any suitable mechanism, such as a heat scaling device or a clip disposed on the bagging station, and subsequently pulled upwardly out of the filling portion. As the filled bag is moved out of the filling portion, a bag separating member engaged with the subsequent bag being drawn off of the roll, separates the filled bag from the subsequent bag. After separation, the subsequent bag is left in a position partially within the bag filling portion to enable the subsequent bag to be readily grasped and utilized in the same manner as the previously filled bag.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the bagging station can be secured to any desired support in order to hold the bag mounting portion and filling portion of the device at a level that is easily utilizable by an individual. The bag mounting portion can be attached to a bracket that can be attached to a wall or to a vertical stand that can support the bagging station above a horizontal surface.

Numerous other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be made apparent from following detailed description taken together with the drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings illustrate the best mode currently contemplated as practicing the present invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a isometric view of a bagging station constructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a bag separating member utilized in the bagging station of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a clip used to secure the bags dispensed from the bagging station.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawing figures in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the disclosure, a bagging station constructed according the present invention is illustrated generally at 10 in FIG. 1. The bagging station 10 includes a bag roll mounting portion 12 to which is secured a bag filling portion 14 and a support 16.

The bag mounting portion 12 is formed of any suitably rigid material, such as a metal or plastic material, and can have any suitable shape of a sufficient size to accommodate a conventional roll of plastic bags 24. The roll 24 includes a central hollow core 26 around which are wound a number of folded plastic bags 28 secured together in an elongated strip and separated along the length of the strip by perforation lines 29.

In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the bag mounting portion 12 includes a bottom wall 30 and a pair of upwardly extending sidewalls 32 positioned on opposite sides of the bottom wall 30 that can be joined by a top wall (not shown) disposed opposite the bottom wall 30. A bag roll mounting member 34 is releasably secured in the roll mounting portion 12 between the sidewalls 32. In a preferred embodiment, the mounting member 34 takes the form of a cylindrical rod 36 that is insertable through the central core 26 of a plastic bag roll 24 in order to rotatably support the roll 24 thereon. The rod 36 is secured at each end within a pair of aligned openings 38 in the opposed sidewalls 32 of the bag roll mounting portion 12. The rod 36 is releasably secured within the openings 38 to enable the rod 36 to be removed from the bag roll mounting portion 12 when the bag roll 24 has dispensed all of the bags positioned thereon. Another roll 24 can then be mounted to the rod 36, and rod 36 and roll 24 can be remounted to the bag roll mounting portion 12 for continued use of the device 10. Alternatively, the bag roll mounting portion 12 can include other structures, such as brackets or clips, among others that can engage the rod 36 or the core 26 and allow the roll 24 to rotate with respect to the bag roll mounting portion 12. Alternatively, the top wall can be omitted, with the bag filling portion 14 secured to and forming the top wall for the bag mounting portion 12.

Bags 28 from the roll 24 are drawn vertically through an opening or slot (not shown) in the top wall of the roll mounting member 12 into an aperture 40 formed in a narrow, bottom end 42 of the bag filling portion 14. The bag filling portion 14 can be formed from a suitably rigid material similarly to the bag roll mounting portion 12 and can be formed integrally or separately from the bag roll mounting portion 12. The filling portion 14 can have any desired shape, but in the preferred embodiment in FIG. 1 is preferably bowl-shaped in order to enable the bag filling portion 14 to easily hold and retain a number of items (not shown) that are positioned within the bag 28 dispensed from the bag roll 24.

When in use, the bag 28, while still connected to the remainder of the bag roll 24 through the aperture 40, has the open end (not shown) of the bag 28 positioned around and optionally releasably secured to the periphery 43 of a wide, top end 44 of the bag filling portion 14 in order to place the bag 28 in opened configuration. The items to be positioned within the bag 28 can then be placed within the bag 28 on top of the bag filling portion 14, which maintains the items in the bag 28 within the bag filling portion 14. Once the desired number and type of items have been positioned within the bag 28, the bag 28 can be drawn closed around the items and secured utilizing any suitable means. In one preferred embodiment, the bag 28 is secured in a closed position by a plastic clip 45, shown in FIG. 3. The clips 45 define a pair of openings 46 within which the open end of the bag 28 can be secured to effectively close the open end of the bag 28. The openings 46 can also be positioned around a clip holding member 48 positioned on the station 10 to hold the clips 45 on the device 10 until they are used.

Alternatively, in another preferred embodiment, a bag sealing device 100 can be provided on the station 10 to seal, such as by heat sealing, the open end of the bag 28. The sealing device 100 forms a slot 102 extending through the device 100 with a pair of sealing rollers 104 disposed on each side of the slot 102. To seal a bag 28, the rollers 104 can be rotated and heated using power from a supply (not shown) to which a cord 106 is connected, to consequently melt and seal the material forming the bag that passes between the preheated rollers 104. Further, the device 100 can include a suitable detector, such as an infrared detector, located at the entrance to the slot 102. The detector, when sensing the presence of a bag 28 in the slot 102, operates to rotate the rollers 104 and allow the bag 28 to be sealed using the roller 102. When the bag 28 moves out of the slot 102, the detector operates to cease rotation of the rollers 104 until another bag 28 is sensed by the detector.

After the bag 28 has been filled and closed, the filled bag 28 is drawn upwardly out of the bag filling portion 14. Due to the attachment of the closed end of the bag 28 to the remainder of the bag roll 24 by the perforation lines 29, the movement of the bag 28 out of the bag filling portion 14 consequently draws a subsequent bag 28 off of the roll 24 and partially upwardly through the central aperture 40 in the bag filling portion 14. To assist in detaching the filled bag 28 from the remainder of the roll 24, the central aperture 40 includes a bag separating member 50. The bag separating member 50 is positioned within the aperture 40 and operates to allow the bags 28 to move sequentially off of the roll 24 from the bag roll mounting portion 12 into the bag filling portion 14, but also operates to separate a filled bag 28 from the remainder of the bags 28 secured to the bag roll 24 along the perforation lines 29. In a preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the bag separating member 50 has an outer periphery 52 that is shaped complimentary to the shape of the central aperture 40 and also defines an inner opening 54 positioned at the center of the bag separating member 50. The bags 28 drawn from the roll 24 into the bag filling portion 14 are directed through the inner opening 54 of the bag separating member 50. Between the inner opening 54 and the outer periphery 52, the bag separating member 50 includes a number of bag separating flanges 56 that operate to engage and pull downwardly on the bag 28 on the bag roll 24 being drawn upwardly into the bag filling portion 14. The bag separating member 50, as well as the separating flanges 56, are preferably formed of a deformable plastic material that creates friction between the flanges 56 and the bag 28 drawn upwardly through the inner opening 54. When a filled bag 28 is lifted out of the filling portion 14, this exerts a sufficient force on the subsequent bag 28 to separate the filled bag 28 from the subsequent bag 28 being drawn into the bag filling portion 14 along the perforation line formed between the bags 28. In addition, the diameter of the inner opening 54 is dimensioned such that the bag 28 being drawn from the roll 24 through inner opening 54 is ensured of being engaged by a number of the separating flanges 56 to provide a sufficient separating force on the subsequent bag 28.

Referring again to FIG. 1, in order to properly position the roll mounting portion 12 and bag filling portion 14 at a level for easy use by an individual, the support 16 is mounted to the bag mounting portion 12 opposite the bag filling portion 14. The support 16, in a preferred embodiment, is formed as an elongated stand 58 that positions the bag filling portion 14 at a suitable height. The stand 58 can be formed of a rigid material, such as metal or hard plastic, and can be formed integrally with or separately from the bottom wall 30 of the roll mounting portion 12. The stand 58 is connected to a platform 60 opposite the bag mounting portion 12 that stably supports the stand 58, bag mounting portion 12 and bag filling portion 14 above a surface (not shown). In addition to the support 16 being formed with the stand 58 and platform 60, other alternative configurations for the support 16 are also contemplated, such as a bracket (not shown) that is attached to a vertical wall (not shown) or directly to a produce stand in order to secure the roll mounting portion 12 or the bag filling portion 14 of the bagging station 10 to the wall without the need for a separate stand 58 and platform 60, among others.

Various other features and embodiments of the present invention are considered to be within the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter regarded as the invention.

Claims

1. A bag dispensing and filling device comprising:

a) a bag mounting portion adapted to hold a number of plastic bags; and

b) a bag filling portion secured to the bag mounting portion defining a generally rigid receptacle to which an unfilled bag can be releasably held in an open configuration and for supporting an exterior surface of the unfilled bags when items are placed within the bags.

2. The device of claim 1 further comprising a bag separating member positioned between the bag mounting portion and a bag filling portion, the bag separating member including a central aperture through which bags from the bag mounting portion can pass into the bag filling portion.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein the bag separating member is disposed within a central opening in a lower end of the bag filling portion.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein the bag separating member includes a number of gripping flanges disposed around the central aperture and engageable with a bag extending therethrough.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein the bag separating member is generally circular in shape with the gripping flanges extending radially outwardly from the central aperture.

6. The device of claim 4 wherein the separating member is formed from a deformable material

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the bag mounting portion includes at least one bag holding member mounted to the bag portion.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein the at least one bag holding member is mounted between a pair of opposed openings in the bag mounting portion.

9. The device of claim 8 wherein the at least one bag holding member is releasably mounted to the bag mounting portion.

10. The device of claim 1 wherein the bag mounting portion includes a support adapted to position the bag mounting portion above a surface.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein the bag filling portion has a narrow lower end and a wide upper end.

12. The device of claim 11 wherein the bag filling portion is bowl-shaped.

13. The device of claim 1 further comprising a bag closing mechanism disposed on the bag filling portion.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein the bag closing mechanism is a heat sealing mechanism.

15. The device of claim 13 wherein the bag closing mechanism is a mechanical closure.

16. A method for dispensing and filling a bag, the method comprising the steps of:

a) providing a bag dispensing and filling device including a bag mounting portion holding a number of bags thereon, a bag filling portion secured to the bag mounting portion and defining a generally rigid receptacle on which an unfilled bag removed from the bag mounting portion can be releasably positioned in an open configuration and capable of supporting an exterior surface of the unfilled bag when items are placed within the bag, and a bag separating member positioned between the bag mounting portion and the bag filling portion, the bag separating member defining a central aperture through which bags pass from the bag mounting portion into the bag filling portion;

b) drawing a bag from the bag mounting portion into the bag filling portion.

c) engaging the bag with the bag separating member; and

d) filling the bag within the bag filling portion.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising the steps of:

a) removing the filled bag from the bag filling portion; and

b) drawing a subsequent bag from the bag mounting portion into the bag filling portion.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the steps of removing the filled bag and drawing the subsequent bag from the bag mounting portion into the filling portion occur simultaneously.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the steps of drawing the bag into the bag filling portion and engaging the bag with the bag separating member occur simultaneously.

20. The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of replacing the number of bags on the bag mounting portion after the step of filling the bag.

21. The device of claim 1 further comprising a bag separating member positioned between the bag mounting portion and a bag filling portion, the bag separating member including a central aperture through which bags from the bag mounting portion can pass into the bag filling portion, wherein the bag separating member is entirely formed.