Bag holder

A bag holder for holding the mouth of a bag open comprises a member defining an opening adapted to be received in the mouth of a bag and a flexible, resilient, elongate loop adapted for location around the exterior of the bag and the member to retain the bag on the member and hold the mouth of the bag open. The holder may be provided in the form of a kit of parts, the member being formed of elongate first and second parts of thin and flat edge overall, the first part being relatively rigid and the second part more flexible and longer than the first part. The free ends of the second part are adapted for engaging respective end portions of the first part to form the parts into a bow-shaped configuration defining an opening.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a bag holder for holding the mouth of a bag open, 
and also to a kit of parts for forming such a bag holder. 
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
Various forms of holders for holding the mouth of a plastic garbage bag 
open are known. Such holders conventionally comprise a stiff bow-shaped 
member defining an opening, a straight portion of the member being adapted 
for mounting to a vertical surface. The top of the bag is located in the 
opening and the end of the bag folded over the member. A bow-shaped rod or 
band is often provided to hold the bag in place and is typically pivoted 
to the rear of the straight portion of the member and is moveable to a 
position where the rod frictionally engages the bag between the rod and 
the exterior of the member. Such holders tend to be of relatively heavy 
construction and consequently are difficult to transport, handle and 
mount. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a 
bag holder for holding the mouth of a bag open, comprising a first member 
defining an opening and adapted to be received in the mouth of a bag and a 
flexible, resilient, elongate loop adapted for location around the 
exterior of the bag and the first member to retain the bag on the first 
member and hold the mouth of the bag open. 
Preferably, the member defines a bow-shape and includes a substantially 
straight first portion and a curved second portion. 
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a 
kit of parts for forming a bag holder, comprising elongate first and 
second members of thin and flat shape overall, the first member being 
relatively rigid and the second member more flexible and longer than the 
first member, the free ends of the second member being adapted for 
engaging respective end portions of the first member to form the second 
member into a bow-shaped configuration and, with the first member, define 
an opening, and a flexible, resilient, elongate loop for location around 
the exterior of the first and second members and adapted to retain a bag 
mouth open on the exterior of the first and second members.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Reference is made first to FIG. 1 of the drawings, which shows a bag holder 
10 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The 
holder 10 comprises a bow-shaped member 12 which defines a complementary 
bow-shaped opening and a flexible resilient elongate continuous loop 14 
for location around the exterior of the member. In use, the member 12 is 
placed within the mouth of a garbage bag and the loop 14 then located 
around the outside of the bag and the member 12 to retain the bag on the 
member 12 and also hold the mouth of the bag open. FIG. 2 of the drawings 
illustrates a typical section of the loop 14 retaining a bag 15 on the 
member 12. 
The member 12 is formed of a plastic material and comprises a first portion 
16, which forms the straight side of the bow, and a second portion 18, 
which forms the curved side of the bow. 
For a more detailed description of the various parts of the bag holder 10, 
reference is now also made to FIG. 3 of the drawings, which shows a kit of 
parts which may be assembled to form the holder shown in FIG. 1. The 
second portion 18 of the member 12 is formed of two parts 20, 22, shown 
separated in FIG. 3. The parts 20, 22 are of substantially similar length 
to the first portion 16 and are joined to each other, end-to-end, at 
complementary respective flanges 24, 26 which extend normally to the 
respective parts 20, 22 and are provided with strengthening webs 28, 30 
extending from the flanges 24, 26 to the respective parts 20, 22. Each 
flange 24, 26 is apertured to receive a pair of bolts 32 which are held in 
place by respective nuts 36, as is illustrated in FIG. 4 of the drawings. 
From FIG. 3 it will be noted that the parts 20, 22 of the second portion 
18, which are flexible, naturally assume a substantially straight 
configuration, and must therefore be deformed to achieve the bow-shape 
shown in FIG. 1. Engagement means are provided to retain the free ends of 
the second portion in the respective ends of the first portion 16. If 
reference is made to the part 22 of the second portion 18 illustrated in 
FIG. 3, it will be noted that the end of the part 22 is provided with a 
flange 40 and webs 42 (only one shown) similar to the arrangement for 
joining the parts 20, 22 to one another. However, the flange 40 is 
provided with three projections 46 which extend normally to the flange 40 
for engaging complementary apertures 48 in the end of the first portion 
16. The apertures 48 are formed in the first portion 16 at areas where the 
surface of the first portion 16 is inclined outwardly. 
The majority of the inner surface of the first portion 16 is planar, though 
the leading edge 50 of the portion 16 tapers to facilitate the sweeping of 
material from a surface over the first portion and into a bag. Various 
stiffening webs and ribs (not shown) are provided on the outer surface of 
the portion such that the first portion 16 will retain its straight 
configuration when the bag holder is in use. 
To locate the loop 14 on the exterior of the member 12, and facilitate 
retention of the bag on the holder, a groove 52 is provided on the 
exterior of the parts 20, 22 of the second portion and complementary 
notches 54, 56 are provided in the ends of the first portion 16. The loop 
14, which is formed of spring steel, is slightly shorter than the distance 
around the member 12 such that it must be extended when it is positioned 
over the bag and the member. In addition to retaining the bag on the 
member 12, the loop 14 also serves to retain the projections 46 in the 
ends of the parts 20, 22 of the second portion 18 in the apertures 48 in 
the ends of the first portion 16. 
In use, the bag holder 10 may be used in conjunction with, for example, a 
brush for sweeping up material from a floor, in which case the tapered 
leading edge 50 of the first portion 16 is laid on the floor, the taper 
facilitating the sweeping of material into the opening defined by the 
member 12, and thus into the garbage bag. Alternatively, the member 12 may 
be mounted on the vertical surface by means of a screw 58 (FIG. 3) driven 
into the surface, leaving a sufficient length extending from the surface 
to engage a necked aperture 60 in the first portion 16. The aperture 60 is 
located above the location of the loop 14 as it passes along the rear of 
the first portion 16 so that the member 12 may be mounted on the surface 
without affecting the positioning of the garbage bag. 
Thus it will be seen that the bag holder described above provides a simple 
and convenient means for holding the mouth of a bag open. Also, the kit of 
parts which are assembled to form the bag holder are configured and sized 
for easy transportation and storage when the holder is disassembled. 
It will be clear to those skilled in the art that the above description is 
merely exemplary, and that various modifications and improvements may be 
made to the illustrated bag holder without departing from the scope of the 
invention.