Cabinet door mounted grocery bag holder

Abstract

A bracket designed for mounting (hanging) over kitchen cabinet doors or to be held by hand while suspending open a plastic shopping/grocery bag. The bracket comprises of a handle sized to receive the top of most commercially available kitchen cabinet doors and a base with two extensions protruding horizontally away from the base, each fitted with two slots to hold a plastic shopping/grocery bag suspended open by its handles.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to the field of bag holders, and more specifically to the cabinet door mounted holders.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Cabinet mounted trash bag holding devices or other similar holders have been proposed in various United States patents. Illustrative arrangements are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,652, Malik, February 1985; U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,689, Jones, June 1987; U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,478, April 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,695, Greenhouse, June 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,385, Breitenstein, February, 1992; U.S. Pat. No. U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,219, Navarro, August 1992; U.S. Pat. No 5,154,378, Plum, October 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,645, Caruso, November 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,553, Bergaila, November 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,212, Monahan, October, 2001; U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,716, Chan, May 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,717, Stanfield, August 2003; U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,241, Kyte, December 2002; D326752, Griggs, June 1992; and D510166, Kitchens, April 2001.

The arrangements in the above-referenced documents are designed to hold open trash bags for trash collection. However, they target the use of trash bags and fail to efficiently utilize plastic shopping/grocery bags with integral handles dispensed freely to the consumer when buying groceries or shopping at discount stores and other shopping outlets. In addition, many utilize hardware attachments to mount the device on the inside of cabinet doors.

As consumers continue to acquire plastic shopping bags, provided freely with other item purchases from discount or grocery stores, there arises a need to usefully utilize these bags by the consumers.

This bag holder allows the consumer to utilize unused plastic shopping/grocery bags for depositing and collection household trash before disposing into large trash containers. The advantage this invention provides is the simplicity of use while providing savings to the consumer by reducing the need for store purchased trash bags.

This invention has advantages over referenced patents in that it can be freely mounted to the outside of the cabinet door, to the inside of the cabinet door, or can be carried by hand while supporting open plastic shopping/grocery bags looped through the handles and used for household trash collections, or for outdoor collections of objectionable matter such as animal feces.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a bag holder that can be freely hung over the top of a kitchen-under-counter-cabinet door to keep a plastic shopping/grocery bag provided with integral looped handles open for depositing trash produced in the kitchen, or can be held by hand and used for depositing animal feces collected from yards by pet owners.

The bag holder of the present invention comprises a base with a handle for hanging on top of cabinet doors, two mirror image extensions or arms designed with holding slots and spaced a suitable distance to allow the mouth of the attached plastic shopping/grocery bag to remain open providing a sufficient opening for users to deposit household produced trash into the bag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings constitute a part of the specification for this invention and will become more fully apparent as this description proceeds with greater detail as referenced in the accompanying embodiments.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a bag holder according to the invention, the bag holder including a handle, a base and two extensions with holding slots.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C, respectively, are a front elevation, a top plan view looking down, and a side elevation view of the bag holder shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective views of the bag holder hanging on the front and the inside of a cabinet door respectively.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the holder with the opposed handles of a plastic shopping/grocery bag looped through the holding slots in the extension arms of the bag holder.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the holder being held for the purpose of collecting animal feces or outdoor trash.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a bag holder according to this invention, generally indicated by the reference number 10. The bag holder 10 is intended to hang a conventional plastic bag (see FIGS. 5 and 6), generally indicated by the reference numeral 12, atop a standard door, generally indicated by the reference numeral 14. As contemplated, the bag 12 is the type of shopping and/or grocery bag conventionally used by stores to enable shoppers to carry purchased items. Such plastic bags are limp, lightweight but strong, and easily openable.

As shown best in FIGS. 5 and 6, the plastic bag 12 has an upper edge 12a provided with two looped handles 18 and 20. The bag is upwardly openable to form an opening 12b leading to a receptacle 16.

The bag holder 10 is comprised of a one-piece design including a base 22 having two extensions or beams 24 and 26 and a hanging handle 28 formed onto the base and perpendicular to the two extensions. The base 22 and extensions 24 and 26 are generally coplanar with one another with the extensions 22 and 24 being laterally separated (i.e., spaced apart) a distance sufficient to form with the base 22 a U-shaped space 29 for positioning and supporting the openable end portion of the bag in an upwardly open position.

Each bag support arm or extension 24 and 26 has, respectively, a lateral side 30 and 32, a rearward slot or hook 34 and 36 formed in the lateral side 30 and 32 proximate to the handle 28, and a forward slot or hook 38 and 40 formed in a distal end 42 and 44. The rearward slots 34 and 36 form an L-shaped hook. The forward slots 38 and 40 form a keyhole shape. The handles or loops 18 and 20 are received in the respective sets of slots or hooks, whereupon the extensions 24 and 26 hold the upper end of the bag in an open position and the lower end of the bag hangs vertically downwardly.

The attachment of the bag 12 to the bag holder 10 is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, wherein the looped handle 18 is received in the rearward and forward slots 34 and 38 of the bag support arm or extension 24, and the looped handle 20 is received in the rearward and forward slots 36 and 40 of the bag support arm or extension 26. The slots in the extension are designed for easy insertion and removal of the integral looped handles 18 and 20 supplied with the plastic shopping/grocery bags.

The keyhole shaped slots or hooks 38 and 40 have a narrowed inlet at the forward or distal end 42 and 44 of the respective extension 24 and 26 to permit easy axial insertion of the bag handle 18 and 20 into an enlarged rearward chamber of the slot, and captivation therein.

The L-shaped slots or hooks 34 and 36 open on the oppositely facing lateral sides 30 and 32 of the extensions 24 and 26. These L-shaped slots are at the rearward end of the extension, proximate to the base member 22, and include a first portion that is transverse to the keyhole slot at the forward end of the extension, and a second portion that extends forwardly. The L-shaped slots or hooks 34 and 36 allow easy installation and inhibit unwanted withdrawal of the bag handles therefrom.

The hanging handle 28 comprises an inverted squared U-shaped cradle formed by a generally planar first plate 48, attached to and disposed at a right angle to the base 22 and associated bag supports or extensions 24 and 26, a second plate 50, parallel and spaced from the plate 48, and an intermediate plate 52 The handle 28 is adapted to sit atop the top lateral surface 15 of the door 14 in a manner that the plates 48 and 50 are juxtaposed with the interior and exterior surfaces 14a and 14b of the door 14 and the intermediate plate 52 seats atop the door.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the dual hanging capability of the bag holder 10. Referring to FIG. 3, the handle or bracket 12 of the bag holder 10 is shown freely hanging from the top of an under-kitchen-counter-cabinet door with the bag facing the outer side 14a of the cabinet door.

Referring to FIG. 4, the cradle positions the bag 12 to face the inside surface 14b of the cabinet door. When the cabinet door 14 is closed, the bag holder 10 and the bag 12 suspended therefrom are hidden and out of view.

When the bag holder 10 is mounted atop the door 14, the base and associated bag supports 24 and 26 are substantially perpendicular to the vertical surfaces 14a and 14b of the door and disposed in a horizontal plane. In this regard, the plate 48 is supported against a vertical surface of the door, depending on whether the holder is intended for interior or exterior placement relative to the under the cabinet door.

Referring to FIG. 5, a preferred embodiment of the manner and use of the present invention bag holder 10 is illustrated. A person will attach the handles 18 and 20 of the grocery/shopping bag onto the extension arms 24 and 26 without the use of a tie or other holding aids by inserting the handle 18 into the rearward and forward slots 34 and 38 of the bag support arm or extension 24 and the handle 20 into the slots 36 and 40 of the bag support arm or extension 26. The extension arms 24 and 26 will provide sufficient tension to keep the mouth of the bag open for trash deposits.

FIG. 6 illustrates the manner in which this invention can be used for picking up animal feces. A person will loop the plastic shopping/grocery bag handles through the slots in the extension arms and use the handle to carry the holder and the open bag.

The open position of the mouth of the bag provides an opportunity for a person to pick up pet feces in one hand and deposit into the bag for later disposal.

While the invention has been described in detail on ways of using the bag holder, the use of the bag holder is not limited to these actions as described by the inventor.

Accordingly, various other uses can be embodied by the user as deemed appropriate and still lie within the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth in the claims.

This invention has advantages over referenced patents in that it can be freely mounted to the outside of the cabinet door, to the inside of the cabinet door, or can be carried by hand while supporting open a plastic shopping/grocery bag looped through the handles and used for household trash collections, or for outdoor collections of animal feces.

Claims

1. A holder for supporting a conventional shopping/grocery bag in an open position, the bag being formed of a limp plastic material and provided with opposite loops for handles, the holder comprising two extensions for suspending, and holding the bag in the open position, and means for fixedly connecting the extensions together in generally parallel laterally spaced coplanar relation with one another, the extensions being axially elongated and each having a pair of spaced-apart hooks that attach to a respective loop of the plastic shopping/grocery bag.

2. The holder as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a bracket in the form of an inverted U-shape for mounting over the top of standard door, and said means for fixedly connecting includes a base member that is coplanar with the extensions and at a right angle to said bracket, said mounting of the bracket positioning the extensions in a horizontal plane and the bag to be upwardly open and to extend vertically downward from the extensions.

3. The holder as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a bracket of inverted U-shape, said bracket being fixedly connected to said extensions and forming a hand-grippable handle for carrying the bag in an upwardly open position to enable portability for picking up remote refuse such as animal feces and the like for deposit in the open bag, or for mounting the bag atop a cabinet door, with the bag hanging in a generally vertical direction from the extensions.

4. A bag holder for supporting and holding open a flexible bag of the type having a pair of loop handles disposed on opposing sides of the bag and adjacent to an opening formed at an upper portion of the bag, comprising, a handle for hanging on top of a cabinet door, a base fixedly connected to the handle, and two mirror image arms fixedly connected to the base, the arms being generally coplanar with one another and, in use, generally horizontally disposed with the arms each provided with a pair of holding slots to engage a respective loop handle and laterally spaced a suitable distance to hold the mouth of the flexible bag open for users to deposit household produced trash into the bag.

5. An article adapted for use in holding atop and against the flat surface of a vertically disposed mounting member, by its loops and in a substantially open position, an upwardly openable bag having at least two loops at or near the openable top, said article comprising:

a bag-supporting member, said bag-supporting member including a base member and two axially elongated bag-supporting extensions, the extensions and base member being generally coplanar and the extensions disposed substantially parallel to one another and extending outwardly and away from said base member at opposite respective lateral ends of said base member, and

an inverted handle for mounting said bag supporting member to said mounting member in a manner that the bag-supporting member is substantially perpendicular to a vertical surface of said mounting member and each of said base member and extensions are in a plane disposed substantially horizontally,

each of said bag-supporting extensions including at their opposite respective rearward and forward end portions a like-shaped loop-engaging first and second hook, the first hook at each respective forward end portion extending axially inward from the forward end and the second hook at each respective rearward end portion being L-shaped and, at least in part, transverse to the first hook at the forward end,

said bag-supporting extensions being spaced apart a distance sufficient to form a U-shaped space for nesting and supporting the openable end portion of the bag and holding said bag open when the two loops on said bag are engaged with the respective hooks in the bag-supporting extensions.