Abstract:
A self-closing bag holder for a flexible bag. The bag holder has a pair of resilient arms for supporting the bag and a pair of resilient handles. Each arm is joined with a handle by a rocker, which provides a fixed angle between the arm and the handle. The other ends of the arms are releasably hinged together. The other ends of the handles are joined together such that they bow away from each other because of the fixed angle rockers. The rockers are pivotally joined together, such that upon compressing the handles, the rockers will pivot to cause the arms to expand and bow away from each other, thus opening the flexible bag. Upon release of the handles, the arms will retract toward each other, thus closing the bag, while the handle will regain its originally bowed shape. The self-closing feature of the bag holder allows an operator to open and close the bag without having to touch the bag itself Also, when no pressure is exerted on the handles, the arms and thus the bag will remain closed.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to apparatus for supporting flexible bags so that they can be expanded to receive articles or refuse, and more particularly to a self-closing holder and assembly for flexible bags. 
     ART BACKGROUND 
     Flexible bags, such as those made of plastic material, have been in widespread use for collecting a variety of articles, including wastepaper, food scraps, trash and other disposable items which are commonly found in the kitchens, bathrooms, nurseries, workshops and offices. A typical plastic bag generally requires both hands of a user to handle the bag while collecting the articles, since the plastic bag cannot stand by itself with its mouth open. While it may be inconvenient, requiring both hands to handle the bag during collection will not be as undesirable if the items are not unsanitary. 
     In some scenarios, having to handle the flexible bag with even one hand poses a health risk, if the hand is now forced to make contact with unsanitary articles. For example, flight attendants on commercial airlines are often seen picking up dirty towels or trash from passengers in the cabin, using a plastic bag. While most flight attendants exercise great care, some will inadvertently touch the filthy articles with their hands, which are subsequently used to prepare food or drinks for the passengers. Even if the flight attendants use their hands only to hold the plastic bags open, for the passengers to toss in their trash, the flight attendants inevitably will have to tie the plastic bag up with their hands, using a plastic or metal tie strap. In a situation like this, the conventional flexible bag presents a serious health risk, since the flight attendants, and the passengers as well, can now be affected by the contact with the filthy articles. 
     Other than the airlines, healthcare professionals using flexible bags in medical clinics and hospitals are also vulnerable. While there are some self-closing trash cans already in use, such as those with a lid or push-door mechanism, someone will eventually have to tie up the bag when the bag has to be removed from the container for disposal. The situation is more dire for those trash cans without a lid, since the trash bag is now exposed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that opens and closes a flexible bag with single-hand operation, without the user having to touch the bag. 
     It is also an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that closes the flexible bag without the user having to touch the bag. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that closes the flexible bag and naturally maintains such closed position for eventual disposal. 
     It is further an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that can be securely mounted to a rigid container or to the side of a furniture. 
     A self-closing bag holder for a flexible bag is disclosed. The bag holder is conveniently suitable for single-handed operation to open and close the bag holder and a flexible bag. The entire bag holder and bag assembly also allows convenient placement to the side of a furniture or to the wall. The bag holder has a pair of resilient arms for supporting the bag and a pair of resilient handles. Each arm is joined with a handle by a rocker, which provides a generally fixed angle between the arm and the handle. The other ends of the arms are releasably hinged together. The other ends of the handles are also joined together such that they naturally bow away from each other by virtue of the fixed-angle rockers. The rockers are pivotally joined together, such that upon compressing the handles, the rockers will pivot to cause the arms to expand and bow away from each other, thus opening the flexible bag. Upon release of the handles, the resilient arms will retract toward each other, thus closing the bag, while the handle will regain its originally bowed shape. The self-closing feature of the bag holder allows an operator to open and close the bag by squeezing the handles and without having to touch the bag itself Also, when no pressure is exerted on the handles, the arms, and thus the bag, will close and remain closed. 
     In another embodiment of the present invention, the resilient arms have locks implemented thereon to provide tight closure of the arms. The arms also have retaining hooks to prevent the bag from sliding back and forth on the arms. 
     In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the bag holder and bag assembly is mounted at the opening of a collection container. An operator squeezes the handles to open the arms and the bag for deposits, and releases the handles to close the bag. When the bag is full, the whole bag holder and bag assembly may be disposed of with ease. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a bag holder and bag assembly, which can be mounted to the side of a piece of furniture, or to the wall. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIGS.  1 ( a ) and ( b ) illustrate an exemplary self-closing bag holder in one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary self-closing bag holder with a bag in an opened position. 
     FIG. 3 illustrates a simplified diagram of an exemplary bag holder in another embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary bag holder  40  in another embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary locking mechanism on the holder&#39;s arms. 
     FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary wall-mounted hook for the bag holder and bag assembly of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A self-closing bag holder for flexible bags and combination are disclosed. The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating general principles of embodiments of the invention. The scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims. In certain instances, detailed descriptions of well-known devices and mechanisms are omitted so as to not obscure the description of the present invention with unnecessary detail. Although the description makes reference to flexible bags and plastic bags, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the terms are used interchangeably. Therefore, they are used for illustrative, not limiting, purposes in the description. 
     Reference is to FIGS.  1 ( a ) and ( b ), where an exemplary self-closing bag holder in one embodiment of the present invention is shown. FIG.  1 ( a ) shows bag holder  10  in a closed position, while FIG.  1 ( b ) shows bag holder  10  in an opened position. Referring to FIGS.  1 ( a ) and  1 ( b ) generally, bag holder  10  has bag support arms  101  and handle arms  102 . Bag support arms  101  and handle arms  102  are pairs of resilient members, which are preferably made of a flexible material, such as nylon, plastic or metal strips. Bag support arms  101  may also be tapered thereby diminishing in thickness from the rockers to the far end point. Currently, the support arms and handle arms are constructed so that they are capable of supporting up to 5 lbs of load. However, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the bag holder can readily be constructed for different load requirements or using different flexible material, provided that they follow mechanical and elasticity requirements. 
     A member of support arm  101  and a member of handle arm  102  are joined by rocker  105 , which provides a substantially fixed angle between the members of support arm  101  and handle arm  102 , as bag holder  10  is opened and closed. Both rockers  105  may be engaged by a hinge to allow rockers  105  to pivot, as handle arms  102  are compressed and support arms  101  are expanded. Alternatively, both rockers  105  may be joined by a thin connector, such as nylon, which is integrally formed along with the whole bag holder  10 . It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the angle of rocker  105  is related to how wide the bag can be opened. The larger the angle, the larger the flexible support arms will open. Currently, the preferred angle is approximately between 150° and 185°. 
     Referring first to support arms  101 , both members of support arms  101  are releasably engaged at the other end by hinge  107 , which is formed by snapping the complementary ends of the support members together. By “complementary,” it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the tip of one support arm  101  may have a pair of “ears” implemented (shown in FIG. 4,  440 ), while the tip of the other support arm  101  may have a “tab” implemented (shown in FIG. 4,  430 ). When both tips are snapped into place, hinge  107  is formed to allow end points of the members of support arms  101  to rotate about a common axis of hinge  107 . This “snap-on” engagement feature allows a flexible bag (not shown) to be fitted along both members of support arms  101 , if the flexible bag is constructed to have a sleeve around the bag&#39;s opening. 
     Referring now to handle arms  102 , handle arms  102  are preferably a “closed” loop for a better grip. Both members of handle arms  102  may be joined together by coupler  106  at their ends, which may be a hinge, or a thin, e.g. a thickness of 0.1 mm, nylon connector integrally formed along with bag holder  10 . Handle arm  102  is preferably shorter than support arm  101  such that given the fixed angle between support arms  101  and handle arms  102  dictated by rockers  105 , both members of shorter handle arms  102  will tend to naturally bow outwardly away from each other, since they are relatively more flexible, in comparison to the longer members of support arms  101 . 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that handle arms  102  may be made “open loop” without its members joining at the end to form a closed loop. In this case, handle arms  102  may need to be enlarged and padded to provide a better and comfortable grip for the users. However, a closed-loop of handle arms  102  provides better load bearing so that the stress on the hinge is reduced. 
     The operation of bag holder  10  is now described with reference to FIG.  2 . In operation, flexible bag  20  can be fitted through support arms  101  by opening and closing releasable hinge  107  of support arms  101 . In a natural state, support arms  101  are closed and handle arms  102  are kept expanded, largely due the fixed angle provided by rockers  105 . When trash is to be collected, the user presses and squeezes handle arms  102 , thus causing rockers  105  to pivot around its axis to expand support arms  101 , thereby opening flexible bag  20 . Upon release of handle arms  102  by the user, the energy stored in the expanded support arms  101  forces its own closure and transfers energy back to handle arms  102 , thus pivoting rockers  105 . When bag  20  is full, the whole bag holder  10  and the bag  20  can be properly disposed of, all with bag  20  remaining closed. More importantly, the user never has to touch the bag to open and to close it. The bag is opened by the user&#39;s squeezing of handle arms  102 . The bag will remain naturally closed when pressure is released on handle arms  102 . 
     Flexible bag  20  can be constructed with a sleeve formed around its opening, which is commonly used by plastic bags with pull-up strings through the sleeve. Two slits on each side of the sleeve allows one of support arms  101  to pass through to form hinge  107  with the other arm. Those skilled in the art can of course implement their own bag attachment mechanisms based on the teaching of the present invention, such as a latch, clasp, fastener, Velcro, adhesive or simple elastic rubber band. 
     The bag holder in accordance with the present invention can also be used in conjunction with a trash container. Reference is now to FIG. 3, where a simplified diagram of an exemplary bag holder in another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. Bag holder  10  is placed on top of a container, such as a generally rectangular-shaped trash can  300 . The shape of the container, of course, is not as material as the rim it has in order to support the bag holder. Container  300  may be mounted on a wall or be placed on the floor, depending upon the particular application. Container  300  and bag holder  10  are preferably engaged at two locations, at far-end  305  and mid-end  315  of bag holder  10 . At far-end  305 , a coupler on the rim, such as a male/female lock  310  can keep bag holder secured to container  300 , without obstructing bag holder&#39;s movement for placement and removal. At mid-end  315 , container  300  has a pair of protrusions or pegs  320 , on its rim, to keep bag holder  10  also from horizontal movement. 
     In FIG. 3, far-end  305  is shown engaging to container  300  through the extended tip of one end of the support arm. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other ways of engaging the bag holder to the container, such as those based on the principles of contact, elastic padding or friction, can be readily devised based on the teaching of the present invention. 
     When in use, bag holder  10  with a flexible bag can be placed on the rim of container  300  for collecting trash. When an article is to be disposed of, the user opens the support arms of bag holder  10  by compressing the handle arms. After the article is deposited into the bag, the support arms will naturally close after the handle arms are released by the user. When the bag is full, the whole assembly of bag holder  10  and bag, which remains closed, can be disposed of, and a new assembly replaced. The user does not have to touch the bag, thus avoiding the aforementioned health risks. 
     FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary bag holder  40  in another embodiment of the present invention. To ensure better closure of the bag, bag holder  40  in this embodiment is implemented with locks ( 410 ,  420 ) on the holder&#39;s arms. Here, on one arm of bag holder  40  is hole  420 , while the other arm has a peg  410 , which can be pressed and locked into hole  420  by virtue of its slightly larger rim of peg  410 . A simplified diagram of peg  410  and hole  420  is illustrated in FIG.  5 . Note that the end point  515  of peg  410  is sloped and slightly larger than the diameter of hole  420  such that easy entry and engagement can be achieved. Further, to provide better locking engagement, peg  410  enters hole  420  at a non-perpendicular angle, with respect to the surface  540  on which hole  420  is located. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other forms of locking mechanism, e.g. by latch, clasp, fastener, or elastic band, are readily available to ensure the bag holder is secured closed. 
     Reference is still to FIG. 4. A hinge can be formed by snapping ears  440  and tab  430  from each support arm into place. To increase engagement, the top and bottom tips of tab  430  may also have an enlarged and sloped rim, similar to peg  410 . Further, to achieve tighter closure of the support arms, the centers of tab  430  and ear  440  are preferably aligned with the length projection of each support arm  40 , respectively. As such, when the arms of bag holder  40  are closed, the closure is made tighter. Additionally, to prevent the flexible bag from sliding back and forth on the support arms of bag holder  40 , retaining locks  450  are implemented, which are of a hook-shape to engage the plastic bag. It should be pointed out that those skilled in the art can readily devise alternative modes of retaining lock, e.g. through a latch, an elastic band or an adhesive, to keep the rim of the bag adequately spread out throughout the support arms. 
     The bag holder and bag assembly in accordance with the present invention may be supported by a pair of vertically-mounted hooks on the wall or on the side of a furniture, e.g. bedside stand. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary wall-mounted hook  60 . Vertical plates  620 ,  630  and slot  610  formed in-between together support the arm of the bag holder. To provide better balance and. positioning of the arm of the bag holder, the spacing between vertical plates  620 ,  630  may be such that it is narrow at the top and a little wider at the bottom. Additionally, to provide better hold of the arm, vertical plates  620 ,  630  may be made of resilient material and be separated by a spacing that is narrower than the thickness of the arm. Notch  640  is for positioning peg  410  (FIGS. 4 and 5) and its width provides a secured position for the body of peg  410 . 
     While the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. The accompanying claims are intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the true scope and spirit of the present invention.