BAG LOADER

Abstract

A bag loading assembly including a loading chute which provides a hands free means for holding open the mouth of a bag thereby allowing the user to utilize both hands when loading food into the bag.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

The subject invention relates to the field of bag loading devices utilized in grocery stores, delicatessens and the like to load food or other items into a bag.

BACKGROUND

It has long been known to utilize bags to carry out various types of food items from grocery stores, delicatessens, restaurants and the like. Typically the individuals loading the food items into the bag have had to hold the bag open with one hand while at the same time place the food items into the bag with the other hand. Depending upon the food item in question, at times this proved problematic due to the fact that the individual was essentially loading the food into bag with one hand. To facilitate the efficiency of loading food or other items into the bags, different bag holders or stands have been developed. However, these still suffer from the same shortcoming, namely, they still require the individual loading the bag to use one hand to keep the bag open.

What is needed is a device that holds open the mouth of a bag and allows the person placing items into the bag to utilize both hands.

SUMMARY

The subject invention provides a hands free bag loading apparatus which allows the user to use both hands to load the food items into the bag thereby avoiding the necessity of using one hand to hold the bag open.

A food loading chute is mounted atop a pedestal which in turn is mounted on a base unit. The food loading chute has a bottom center section or floor. Wings extend outwardly and upward from the bottom center section. At the front end of each wing flanges are provided which extend upwardly and inwardly from the wing. The loading chute is positioned at a slight downward angle from the back to front atop the pedestal.

In use a food to-go bag is opened up and slide over the front end of the loading chute. The wing flanges serve to hold open the mouth of the bag thereby freeing the hands of the user. The food items are then placed on the rear of the loading chute and guided down the chute and into the bag. Whereupon the bag can be removed from the chute and sealed.

In an alternate embodiment of the invention the base unit may include a cutting board. The cutting board allows the user to slice or cut the food items prior to loading them into the bag.

In yet another embodiment of the invention a support member is provided at the rear of the loading chute to support a rotisserie spit used to roast item such as chickens.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of the subject invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a second side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the subject invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the subject invention.

FIG. 8 is a top view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a front view of FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In today's busy society more and more people are choosing to shop for prepared food items for convenience and time saving. A popular prepared food item is roasted chickens. The consumer purchases a whole, ready-to-eat, roasted chicken and takes it home to be consumed. Typically, the chickens are roasted in a large oven with multiple chickens being mounted on a rotating spit. Once the chickens are cooked they must be removed from the spit and placed into bags to be ready to take home. The subject invention provides an apparatus to improve the efficiency of placing the roasted chickens into the bag.

An embodiment of the subject invention is shown in FIGS. 1-4. The bag loader 10 is comprised of a loading chute 12 mounted atop a pedestal 14. The pedestal is positioned on a base plate 16. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 the base plate 16 includes a cutting section 18 upon which food items may be sealed or cut into portions before being loaded into the bag.

A bag support plate 20 is provided at the front end of base plate 16 and is positioned at the front end of loading chute 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the bag support plate 20 supports a plurality of bags 22 at the front of loading chute 12. Also as shown in FIG. 3, the loading chute 12 is angled slightly downward from the rear of the chute towards the front. In a preferred embodiment the degree of angle is 5°, however, those skilled in the art will understand that angles other than 5° can be used.

The bag support plate 20 is held in place at the front of the base plate 16 by plate or bracket 23 which is removably mounted in slot 24 provided in the base plate 16. The bag support plate 20 includes a slot 26 in the upper portion of the plate. Bracket 23 is inserted through slot 26 in the bag support plate 20 and into slot 24 in base plate 16. A plurality of bags 22 is placed atop the bag support plate 20 with the handle openings in the bags being inserted over plate or bracket 23. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the upper end 25 of bracket 23 is curved forward towards the loading chute 12. Providing this curved portion helps to prevent the bags from unintentionally lifting off of the plate or bracket 23.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to assist the user in removing the roasted chickens off of the roasting spit and into the bag a support bracket 28 is provided at the rear of the loading chute 12. The support bracket 28 is u-shaped in configuration having a main or center wall 30 and two opposing side walls 32 and 34 extending rearwardly away from the loading chute 12. A mounting tab 36 extends downwardly from the center wall 30 and is positioned in slot 38 on base plate 16. A u-shaped recess 40 is provided at the top or upper end of center wall 30. As shown in FIG. 2 when roasted chickens are being loaded into the bag the roasting spit 42 is rested within u-shaped recess 40 which provides support for the roasting spit and the chickens mounted thereon. This allows the user to slide the roasted chicken off of the roasting spit, down the loading chute 12 and into the bag as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

As shown in FIG. 1 the loading chute 12 is removably mounted atop pedestal 14. Key hole slots 46 and 48 are provided in the upper surface of pedestal 14. Locking pins 50 and 52 are provided on the underside of loading chute 12 for engaging the keyhole slots 46 and 48. Thus, the loading chute 12 can be removed for cleaning or for ease of storage of the bag loader.

The configuration of loading chute 12 is shown in FIGS. 1, 4, 5 and 9. The chute has a flat center section 54 which is generally rectangular in shape. An opposing pair of side walls 56(a) and 56(b) are provided along the longitudinal axis of the chute 12. Side walls 56(a) and 56(b) are angled upwardly and outwardly. Flanges 58(a) and 58(b) are provided at the forward or front end of sidewalls 56(a) and 56(b). Flanges 58(a) and 58(b). As shown in FIG. 1, the sidewalls and flanges act to hold open the mouth of a bag allowing the user to utilize both hands in loading food into the bag.

The loading chute 12 is shown in more detail in FIG. 9. The flat center section 54 is flanked by opposing sidewalls 56(a) and 56(b). As shown in FIG. 9, in a preferred embodiment, the sidewalls extend outwardly and upwardly. Flanges 58(a) and 58(b) extend upwardly and inwardly at the front of sidewalls 56(a) and 56(b) serve to hold open the mouth of the bag when it is pulled up and over the front of the loading chute 12. In a preferred embodiment the center section 54 of loading chute 12 is approximately 3.6 inches wide and 11.00 inches deep. Similarly, the loading chute measures approximately 7.64 inches across from the outer edges of sidewalls 56(a) and 56(b).

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the dimensions of the loading chute may vary from those described herein. The loading chute simply must be of sufficient size to accommodate the roasted chickens or other types of food items intended to be loaded into the bag.

Although the subject invention has been described in connection with the loading of roasted chickens in a bag it is understood by those skilled in the art that the bag loader could be used for other applications. An example of this is shown in FIG. 6. As shown the user is using the cutting board portion 18 of the base plate 16 to cut citrus fruit and then is loading the sliced fruit into a bag via loading chute 12.

Another embodiment of the subject invention is shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. In this embodiment, the cutting board portion 18 of base plate 16 is omitted.

Additionally, the rear support bracket 28 is omitted. The remainder of the bag loader assembly remains the same. Loading chute 12 is removably mounted atop pedestal 14. Loading chute 12 has the same configuration as discussed in connection with FIGS. 1-4.

Although the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art undoubtedly will find alternative embodiments obvious from reading this disclosure. With this in mind, the following claims are intended to define the scope of the invention and art not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein but rather are to be constructed to cover equivalent constructions which would be known to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A bag loading device comprising:

a base plate;

a pedestal mounted atop said base plate;

a loading chute mounted atop said pedestal, said loading chute having a front edge and opposing rear edge.

2. The bag loading chute of claim 1, wherein the loading chute is angled downwardly from the rear edge to the front edge.

3. The bag loading chute of claim 1, wherein the loading chute includes a flat center section having opposing front and rear edges and opposing side edges, a pair of opposing sidewalls extending upwardly and outwardly from the side edges of the center section and further including a pair of flanges extending upwardly and inwardly from the front portions of said opposing sidewalls.

4. The bag loading device of claim 1, wherein the loading chute is removably mounted atop the pedestal.

5. The bag loading device of claim 4, wherein a pair of keyhole slots are provided in the top surface of the pedestal and a pair of locking pins are provided on the bottom surface of the loading chute for locking engagement with said keyhole slots.

6. The bag loading device of claim 1 further comprising a support bracket mounted on said base plate at the rear of said loading chute.

7. The bag loading device of claim 1 further comprising a bag support plate mounted on the base plate at the front of the loading chute.

8. A bag loading device comprising:

a base plate;

a pedestal mounted atop said base plate, said pedestal having a slanted upper surface and a pair of keyhole slots in the upper surface of said pedestal;

a loading chute having a front end and opposing rear end mounted atop said pedestal, said loading chute have a pair of locking pins extending from the bottom surface of said loading chute for engaging said keyhole slots;

a bag support plate mounted at the front of said base plate;

a support bracket mounted at the rear of the loading chute.

9. The bag loading device of claim 8, wherein the loading chute includes a flat center section having opposing front and rear edges and opposing side edges, a pair of opposing sidewalls extending upwardly and outwardly from the side edges of the center section and further including a pair of flanges extending upwardly and inwardly from the front portions of said opposing sidewalls.

10. The bag loading device of claim 8, wherein the loading chute is removably mounted atop the pedestal.

11. The bag loading device of claim 1, wherein the pedestal is removably mounted on the base plate.

12. The bag loading device of claim 8, wherein the pedestal is removably mounted on the base plate.