Dispensing Container for Bag Roll Having Bags with Handle Holes

Abstract

A dispensing container is designed for dispensing bags from plastic bag rolls, especially bags having lower handle holes that are reverse-rolled for dispensing bottom-end first. The container has a top surface with an opening configured for withdrawing a bag from a roll enclosed therein. A handle hole arresting tab projects inwardly across the opening to catch and arrest an inner adjacent bag when an outermost bag is withdrawn, to facilitate separation of the bags at a perforated junction. A plastic bag dispensing system is also disclosed and includes the dispensing container and reverse-rolled bags equipped with lower handle holes. The system exposes a bottom end of an outermost bag of the roll through the opening while enclosing a top end of the outermost bag within the roll.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 61/693,175 filed on Sep. 21, 2012, which is fully incorporated herein by reference. This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/176,737 filed Jul. 5, 2011 and to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/601,924 filed Aug. 31, 2012, both of which are fully incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to dispensing containers, and more specifically to dispensing containers for plastic bags such as plastic trash bags sold in rolls.

2. Description of Related Art

Plastic bags such as trash bags are typically manufactured from plastic sheet material and sold in a roll that is contained in a cardboard box. The roll may be scored with perforated lines at regular intervals, where the length of each interval defines the length of a single bag. As each bag is removed from the roll, a consumer can detach the bag from the roll by tearing the bag along a perforated line. Alternatively, the bags may be interleaved within the roll, such that no two bags are physically attached. An interleaved roll is designed so that removal of one bag from the end of the roll lifts the end of the next bag a short way out of the roll to prepare the next bag for subsequent removal.

Whether the bag roll is perforated or interleaved, its bags are susceptible to being overwithdrawn, in which case too many bags exit the container, leaving the consumer with a bit of a mess. Perforated rolls are perhaps less susceptible to being overwithdrawn than interleaved rolls; however, perforated rolls are not well-suited for use with heavy-duty bags that require the application of greater tearing force when separating individual bags from the roll. To remove a perforated heavy duty bag is typically a two-handed operation, in which the consumer must use one hand to hold the roll, and the other hand to tear the bag.

What is needed is a specialized dispenser for plastic bag rolls that enables a consumer to remove the bags more easily without overwithdrawing them.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an engineered design for a trash bag dispenser for use with plastic bag rolls having bags with handle holes. The invention enhances a conventional container by adding a structural dispensing feature to the opening of the container. The structural dispensing feature uses the handle hole to anchor the roll to enable detachment of a perforated bag while preventing overwithdrawal of the roll.

In one embodiment, a dispensing container for a roll of plastic bags having handle holes comprises an enclosure for enclosing the roll, and has top, bottom, and side surfaces. The top surface has an opening configured for withdrawing a bag from the roll and at least one handle hole arresting tab projecting inwardly across the opening. The dispensing container may include two handle hole arresting tabs opposite one another, and one or both of the handle hole arresting tabs may be an integral part of the top surface. The handle hole arresting tabs may each extend part way into the opening, or they may be flexible and meet halfway across the opening. The width of any arresting tab is ideally less than the width of the handle holes to ensure that an inner adjacent bag gets caught and arrested by the tab when an outermost bag is withdrawn from the container and detached from the roll.

The dispensing container may be formed from a single sheet of material such as cardboard or rigid, flexible plastic. In various embodiments, the dispensing container may be configured so that the opening, or the arresting tabs, or both, are centrally located within borders of the top surface. The handle hole arresting tab may be configured in a trapezoidal shape so that its innermost width is less than its outermost width to help prevent damage to withdrawn bags.

The invention also provides a plastic bag dispensing system. The system includes a roll of plastic bags that are reverse-rolled bottom-to-top, wherein each plastic bag within the roll has a handle hole located on its bottom end that is bordered by heat-welded seams. Each plastic bag within the roll is attached at its top end to a bottom end of an inner adjacent bag by a separable transverse perforation. An enclosure encloses the roll within top, bottom, and side surfaces. The top surface has an opening configured for withdrawing a bag from the roll and one or more handle hole arresting tabs projecting inwardly across the opening. The system is configured to expose a bottom end of an outermost bag of the roll through the opening while enclosing a top end of the outermost bag within the roll.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims. Component parts shown in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, and may be exaggerated to better illustrate the important features of the invention. Dimensions shown are exemplary only. In the drawings, like reference numerals may designate like parts throughout the different views, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of one embodiment according to the invention of a dispensing container for a roll of plastic bags having handle holes.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the dispensing container of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the dispensing container of FIG. 1, showing a roll of plastic bags contained therein.

FIG. 4 is a top view of another embodiment according to the invention for a dispensing container for a roll of plastic bags having handle holes.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the dispensing container of FIG. 1, showing an outermost plastic bag being dispensed from the roll.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the dispensing container of FIG. 1, showing an arresting tab of the dispensing container catching an adjacent inner plastic bag through its handle hole.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the dispensing container of FIG. 1, showing the outermost plastic bag being removed from a bag roll while the adjacent inner plastic bag is caught on the arresting tab.

FIG. 8 is a top view of a portion of a roll of plastic bags according to one embodiment of the invention, showing two adjacent bags connected bottom-to-top by a separable perforation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following disclosure presents exemplary embodiments for a dispensing container according to the invention that is specially designed for use with a roll of plastic bags having handle holes. The dispensing container facilitates removal of a top-most bag from the roll of bags by catching the next bag by its handle hole as the top-most bag is being withdrawn from the container. This arrests withdrawal to allow the top-most bag to be more easily separated from the roll by tearing along a perforated border between the bags. Although this disclosure refers throughout to plastic bags and to plastic bag rolls, the invention is equally applicable to bag rolls in general, such as those made from paper products or from any other rollable bag material.

FIG. 1 shows a top view of one embodiment according to the invention of a dispensing container 10 for a roll of plastic bags having handle holes. In this exemplary embodiment, the dispensing container 10 defines and encloses a rectangular volume, which is sized appropriately to accommodate a roll of dispensable plastic bags. Through a top surface 11 of the dispensing container 10, an opening 12 is defined. The opening 12 is sized to allow for withdrawal of a bag from the roll. For example, opening 12 has a longitudinal width roughly equivalent to the width of the bag roll or to the width of a single bag, and it has a height with ample room to allow a consumer to grasp the end of an outermost bag of the bag roll and draw it out through the top surface 11. In one embodiment, the opening 12 is approximately centrally located within the borders of the top surface 11, as shown. As will become more apparent after reading further on, the opening 12 is designed to allow the consumer to grasp the outermost bag by its handle hole at the bottom of the bag and withdraw the bag bottom-first.

The dispensing container 10 is characterized, at least in part, by a handle hole arresting tab 14 that projects inwardly across the opening 12. In one embodiment, the arresting tab 14 is integrally formed with, or comprises an integral part of, the top surface 11. In other embodiments, the arresting tab 14 may be a separate part that is fixed to the top surface. The size and shape of the arresting tab 14 is determined according to the dimensions of the handle hole that is provided on each of the plastic bags that are contained within the plastic bag roll. More specifically, the handle hole arresting tab 14 is configured to catch a plastic bag by its handle hole as the bag is being withdrawn from the dispensing container 10 through the opening 12.

With reference to FIG. 1, a longitudinal width of the dispensing container 10 is observed extending from left to right. Therefore, in one embodiment of the invention, the handle hole arresting tab 14 is configured such that it has a maximum longitudinal width that is less than a maximum longitudinal width of any of the handle holes of the plastic bags that are contained within the dispensing container. In addition, the transverse width of the arresting tab 14 must be sufficient to extend through the handle hole of a bag as it is being withdrawn. In one embodiment, the transverse width of the arresting tab 14 extends anywhere from about one-fourth of the way to halfway across the opening 12. In another embodiment, the handle hole arresting tab 14 is substantially longitudinally centrally located with respect to the longitudinal width of the top surface 11, as shown. The foregoing dimensional features ensure that the handle hole of each plastic bag will catch on the arresting tab 14 during withdrawal.

Many configurations of handle hole arresting tabs are possible within the scope of the invention. On dispensing container 10, each of the arresting tabs 14 is shown having a generally trapezoidal shape. In this example, the trapezoid that comprises each tab 14 is oriented such that the innermost longitudinal width of the tab is less than the outermost longitudinal width of the tab. This geometry helps to simplify manufacturing, and to prevent damage to bags by providing angled edges rather than sharp corners. Other shapes for the arresting tabs are possible, for example, rectangular or half-circular or elliptical shapes may also be used. However, rounded corners or edges should be provided on the innermost edge of the arresting tabs 14 to prevent puncturing or weakening plastic bags during withdrawal from the container 10.

The container 10 may be formed from any rigid or slightly flexible material, such as metal (e.g. steel or aluminum) or wood, but preferably from plastic or strong cardboard. In one embodiment, the container 10 is formed from cardboard that is at least or about ⅛ inches thick. In another embodiment, the container 10 is formed from sheet plastic that is at least or about ⅙ inches thick. In another embodiment, the container 10 is formed from a single sheet of any of the foregoing materials. For example, the top, bottom and side surfaces of the container may be cut from a cardboard sheet in a pattern that allows the surfaces to interlock when folded together.

In an embodiment where the arresting tab 14 is separately formed, the arresting tab may also be formed from any of the aforementioned materials and fixed to the top surface of container 10 by any conventional means, such as adhesive bonding, welding, riveting, or fixing by means of threaded fasteners.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the dispensing container 10. FIG. 3 is a side view of the dispensing container 10. These views are provided to illustrate a preferred embodiment of the container 10 in which the container comprises a generally rectangular box. This configuration is exemplary only. Other shapes and sizes of a dispensing container 10 are possible within the limits of the present invention. FIG. 3 also shows, in phantom lines, a cross-sectional depiction of a roll of plastic bags 30 that is contained within the dispensing container 10.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the dispensing container 10 is equipped with two handle hole arresting tabs 14. These tabs are oriented opposite one another in a -image configuration. This configuration provides the consumer with added convenience whereby bags may be advantageously withdrawn from either side of the container with equal arrestive effectiveness. In one embodiment, the two arresting tabs 14 meet halfway across the opening 12, in which case each tab should be composed of a flexible and resilient material to allow passage of bags between them. In another embodiment, such as on dispensing container 10, the transverse widths of the arresting tabs 14 are sized to leave a gap between them.

FIG. 4 is a top view of another embodiment according to the invention for a dispensing container 20 for a roll of plastic bags having handle holes. In this second exemplary embodiment, the dispensing container 20 defines and encloses a rectangular volume, which is sized appropriately to accommodate a roll of dispensable plastic bags. An opening 22 runs longitudinally through a top surface 21 of the dispensing container 20. The opening 22 is sized to allow for withdrawal of a bag from the roll. In one example, the opening 22 has a longitudinal width roughly equivalent to the width of the bag roll or to the width of a single bag, and it has a height with ample room to allow a consumer to grasp the end of an outermost bag of the bag roll and draw it out through the top surface 21. In one embodiment, the opening 22 is approximately centrally located within the borders of the top surface 21, as shown. The opening 22 is designed to allow the consumer to grasp the outermost bag by its handle hole at the bottom of the bag and withdraw the bag bottom-first.

Dispensing container 20 is characterized as having a single handle hole arresting tab 24, as shown. The arresting tab 24 may have the same or similar configurations, and may be composed of any of the same materials, as described above with respect to the arresting tab 14.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the dispensing container 10 in a state of use in which an outermost plastic bag 15 is being dispensed from the roll 30. As illustrated in the figure, the dispensing container 10 is configured to allow a consumer to grasp the outermost bag 15 by its handle hole 18 and withdraw the bag 15 between the handle hole arresting tabs 14.

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the dispensing container 10 in a state of use in which the outermost bag 15 has been withdrawn until an arresting tab 14 catches an adjacent inner bag 17 through its handle hole 18. The outermost bag 15 is attached to the adjacent inner plastic bag 17 by a separable perforated junction 19. This perforation is designed not to separate under a normal load that occurs when bags are freely withdrawn between the arresting tabs 14 by a consumer manually pulling on the outermost bag.

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the dispensing container 10 in a state of use in which the outermost bag 15 is being separated from the adjacent inner bag 17 while the adjacent inner bag is caught by its handle hole 18 and arrested by one of the arresting tabs 14. With the adjacent inner bag 17 hung up on the arresting tab at location 21, the consumer is able to exert a tearing force along the perforated junction 19 to remove the outermost bag from the bag roll 30 without also withdrawing the adjacent inner bag. The perforated junction 19 is designed to separate under the tearing load, which may be manually imparted by a typical consumer. Depending on the container design, the consumer may need to brace the container 10 with one hand while tearing away the outermost bag with the other hand. Other embodiments may provide a dispensing container 10 or 20 with sufficient mass to allow the consumer to tear away the outermost bag using only one hand. Alternatively, the container itself may be anchored to a table or within a drawer to achieve the same result.

FIG. 8 shows a top view of a portion of a specialized reverse roll of plastic bags 30 in a system according to the invention. The portion 30 shows two adjacent bags 15 and 17 connected top-to-bottom (29-to-28) by a separable perforation 19. In this figure, bag 15 is an outermost bag and bag 17 is an adjacent inner bag. A novel characteristic of the roll 30 is that it is reverse-rolled in comparison to conventional bag rolls. That is, the roll 30 is rolled so that the top of each bag is interior with respect to the bottom of the same bag. In other words, when individual bags are withdrawn from the roll, they are drawn out from the bottom-end (28) first. This reverse-roll configuration is an advantageous feature enabled by a bag design that provides a lower handle formed by locating hole 18 near the bottom of the bag between heat-welded seams 31 and 33. At or near the lower seam 31, the separable transverse perforation 19 joins any two adjacent bags in the roll. This specialized configuration for a reversed plastic bag roll, and its many advantages, is more fully described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 13/176,737 and 13/601,924, both of which are fully incorporated herein by reference.

Thus, according to another embodiment of the invention, a plastic bag dispensing system includes the specialized bag roll 30 installed within a dispensing container 10 or 20. In a preferred embodiment, the system includes the roll 30 of adjacent plastic bags, each plastic bag (e.g. 15, 17) having a handle hole 18 located on or near a bottom end 28 of the plastic bag and bordered by heat-welded seams 31 and 33. In one embodiment, the heat-welded seams are designed to withstand a load of up to about 100 pounds of material contained within the bag (depending on the size of the bag) without separating. Each plastic bag is attached at its top end 29 to a bottom end 28 of an inner adjacent bag by a separable transverse perforation 19. The roll 30 is enclosed within an enclosure 10 or 20 having a top surface (11 or 21), a bottom surface, and a side surface or side surfaces. The top surface 11 or 21 has an opening 12 or 22 configured for withdrawing a bag from the roll, and is further configured with at least one handle hole arresting tab 14 or 24 that projects inwardly across the opening 12 or 22. And as shown throughout the figures herein, the system is configured to expose a bottom end 28 of an outermost bag of the roll through the opening 12 or 22 while enclosing a top end 29 of the outermost bag within the roll.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in an illustrative style. Accordingly, the terminology employed throughout should be read in a non-limiting manner. Although modifications to the teachings herein will occur to those well versed in the art, it shall be understood that what is intended to be circumscribed within the scope of the patent warranted hereon are all such embodiments that reasonably fall within the scope of the advancement to the art hereby contributed, and that that scope shall not be restricted, except in light of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A dispensing container for a roll of plastic bags having handle holes, comprising:

an enclosure for enclosing the roll, the enclosure having top, bottom, and side surfaces;

the top surface having an opening configured for withdrawing a bag from the roll and at least one handle hole arresting tab projecting inwardly across the opening.

2. The dispensing container of claim 1 wherein the handle hole arresting tab is integral to the top surface.

3. The dispensing container of claim 1 comprising two handle hole arresting tabs opposite one another.

4. The dispensing container of claim 3 wherein the two handle hole arresting tabs meet halfway across the opening.

5. The dispensing container of claim 1 wherein the handle hole arresting tab extends about halfway across the opening.

6. The dispensing container of claim 1 wherein the opening is centrally located within borders of the top surface.

7. The dispensing container of claim 1 wherein the handle hole arresting tab is transversely centrally located with respect to longitudinal width of the top surface.

8. The dispensing container of claim 1 wherein the handle hole arresting tab has a maximum longitudinal width less than a maximum longitudinal width of the handle holes.

9. The dispensing container of claim 1 wherein the handle hole arresting tab is trapezoidal.

10. The dispensing container of claim 9 wherein an innermost width of the handle hole arresting tab is less than an outermost width of the handle hole arresting tab.

11. The dispensing container of claim 1 wherein the top, bottom and side surfaces define a rectangular volume.

12. The dispensing container of claim 1 wherein the handle hole arresting tab comprises cardboard having at least ⅛ inch thickness.

13. The dispensing container of claim 1 wherein the handle hole arresting tab comprises rigid plastic having at least 1/16 inch thickness.

14. The dispensing container of claim 1 formed from a single sheet of material.

15. A plastic bag dispensing system, comprising:

a roll of adjacent plastic bags, each plastic bag having a handle hole located on a bottom end of the plastic bag and bordered by heat-welded seams, each plastic bag attached at its top end to a bottom end of an inner adjacent bag by a separable transverse perforation;

an enclosure enclosing the roll and having top, bottom, and side surfaces;

the top surface having an opening configured for withdrawing a bag from the roll and at least one handle hole arresting tab projecting inwardly across the opening; and

the system configured to expose a bottom end of an outermost bag of the roll through the opening while enclosing a top end of the outermost bag within the roll.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the handle hole arresting tab is integral to the top surface.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein the handle hole arresting tab extends about halfway across the opening.

18. The system of claim 15 wherein the handle hole arresting tab is longitudinally centrally located with respect to longitudinal width of the top surface.

19. The system of claim 15 wherein the handle hole arresting tab has a maximum longitudinal width less than a maximum longitudinal width of the handle holes.

20. The system of claim 15 wherein the handle hole arresting tab is generally trapezoidal such that an innermost width of the handle hole arresting tab is less than an outermost width of the handle hole arresting tab.