Patent Publication Number: US-2013232923-A1

Title: Bag recycler and holder

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to, and the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/608,706, entitled “BAG HOLDER,” filed on Mar. 9, 2012, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates to an apparatus for recycling and holding bags, and in particular relates to an apparatus particularly adapted to hold plastic bags in a compact easily-accessible location until use, and then hold open a selected bag for reuse, thus facilitating reuse and recycling of the bags. The apparatus is particularly adapted for use with loop-handled polymeric bags such as are commonly used to carry groceries and retail or clothing items. 
     Lightweight loop-handled plastic bags are widely used to carry consumer products, such as groceries, clothing, and other items purchased in retail stores. There is a tremendous waste created when consumers do not reuse these polymeric bags. An efficient, effective, and aesthetically-pleasing apparatus is desired that is easy and intuitive to use, but that also has sufficient aesthetic appeal to encourage consumers to reuse and recycle “previously-used” bags. Further, improvement is desired in such apparatus to maximize functionality (e.g. ease of use and convenience), minimize material cost, minimize assembly cost, make its attachment intuitive including its positioning in locations for use, and doing so while maintaining optimal aesthetics. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     In one aspect of the present invention, a bag storage apparatus for storing collapsed plastic bags with handle loops and for holding one of the plastic bags in an open position to receive items placed therein, includes a body forming a tubular shape to define a main storage cavity and a secondary panel forming a curvilinear shape and attached to a front of the body to define a storage location for collapsed bags in front of the main storage cavity. The body includes upper side wing sections protruding upwardly and defining crevices therebelow adapted to receivingly engage the handle loops when an associated one of the plastic bags is held in the open position in the main storage cavity. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, a bag storage apparatus is provided for holding a plastic bag in an open position to receive items placed therein. The apparatus comprises a body forming a tubular shape defining a main storage cavity and defining side wing sections on the body protruding upwardly and defining crevices therebelow adapted to receivingly engage the handle loops when the plastic bag is held in the open position in the main storage cavity, the body including a rear wall with an apertured flange forming a finger-receiving handle and having vertically-open slits on opposite sides of the handle for frictionally engaging and tensioning an upper edge of the plastic bag across the apertured flange. 
     These and other aspects, objects, and features of the present invention will be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art upon studying the following specification, claims, and appended drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an apparatus embodying the present invention as installed on a kitchen under-sink cupboard door. 
         FIGS. 2-3  are a perspective and exploded perspective view of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIGS. 4-7  are front, side, rear, and top views of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of  FIG. 1  showing a crumpled bag being pulled from the storage pocket. 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of  FIG. 1  showing the bag being supported for use with its loop handles being secured to notches in sides of the main bag cavity to hold the bag open. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present apparatus  20  ( FIGS. 1-9 ) is a recycling system for plastic bags that leads to efficient storage and reuse, and also which saves the consumer money. The present apparatus  20  includes a primary body  21  (also called a “primary shell” herein) forming a large bag-holding tubular cavity for holding a bag  22  open to receive trash and/or other material, and a smaller secondary panel  23  (also called a “secondary shell”) attached to a front of the body  21  in a curvilinear shape that forms a smaller bag-holding storage cavity for holding wadded/crumpled bags  22 . The apparatus  20  can function as a stand-alone unit, but is particularly adapted for releasable mounting to a hinged cabinet door  25 , such as under a kitchen sink ( FIG. 1 ). The apparatus  20  is aesthetically pleasing, but also easy to access and use. By this arrangement, a user can load bags  22  into the holding cavity of secondary shell  23  until needed, and then can easily withdraw individual bags  22  for use in the primary bag-holding cavity of shell  21 . It is noted that bags  22  are of the type often used by grocery stores and retail stores, and which are normally thrown away by the end user. By using the present apparatus  20 , these bags  22  will be effectively stored until they are used/recycled, thus providing a green and environmentally friendly economic system, and at the same time saving the consumer considerable expense by eliminating the need to purchase specialty garbage bags. 
     The present apparatus  20  includes an injection molded primary compartment-defining shell/body  21 . The shell  21  can be formed by different means, but preferably is injection molded to form an aesthetically pleasing oval with flat-back or obround side wall with integral bottom. The top end of the cavity formed by shell  21  is slight larger than its bottom for aesthetics and functionality. Two wing sections  28  are integrally formed at a top or sides of the body  21 , with a notch or side-located crevice  32  formed under the wing sections  28 . The wing sections  28  and side-located crevices  32  are shaped to receive and positively/frictionally hold the handle loops  30  of the bags  22  in a manner keeping the bag  22  open in the body  21  with an upper edge of the bag  22  draped over the upper edge of the body  21 . A flange  35  extends along an upper edge of a rear of the body  21 , and includes an aperture  35 A forming a finger handle for conveniently carrying the apparatus  20 , and includes spaced-apart back crevices  35 B for retaining the bag  22  in the open body  21 , as described below. 
     The wing sections  28  extend upwardly and slightly outwardly from the sides of the body  21  to provide a great modern and aesthetic appearance. Also, the side-located crevices  32  are elongated in a front-to-rear direction and include narrowed tips, thus providing functionality by causing the loop handles  30  of the bag  22  to creep/slide into tight engagement with edges of the body  21 , thus causing a top of the bag  22  to pull tight against the body  21 . This tends to eliminate gaps between the body  21  and the bag  22  where waste may undesirably fall. The back wall of body  21  also includes the aperture  35 A, which forms a convenient finger-receiving handle for carrying the present apparatus  20 , and further includes vertically-open back slits  35 B with narrowed bottom. The back slits  35 B are configured to frictionally retain and tension a rear upper edge of the bag  22 , keeping the bag  22  tight against the rear wall so that trash and debris does not fall in between a rear of the bag  22  and the holder  21 . 
     The secondary panel  23  is basically a curvilinear panel attached to a front side of the body  21  to form the secondary holding cavity. The illustrated secondary holding cavity of panel  23  is upwardly open and slightly frustoconically shaped, such that it generally mimics a shape of the body  21 . It is contemplated that the secondary panel  23  can include an open bottom as well. By making the secondary panel  23  have a frustoconical/truncate shape (i.e. slightly smaller at its bottom and larger at its top), the secondary panel  23  forms a holding cavity that naturally and securely holds collapsed/crumpled bags  22  in storage, while also making it easy to select and remove a top bag  22  (or bottom bag) for use. 
     As noted above, the body  21  is generally a “cylindrical” or tubular shape, with an open top and closed bottom, and with a slightly larger diameter top than bottom. The illustrated body  21  is molded as a one-piece formed part and includes a bottom/floor, but it is contemplated that it would be made by other means, such as by forming a flat panel into a cylindrical shape and welding to permanently fix that shape. It is noted that the present body&#39;s cylindrical shape is not perfectly “round,” but instead is curved or oval-shaped, with a flat back wall section. This results in structural/engineering/mechanical advantages that help the body  21  maintain its shape based in part on its oval/tubular shape. Also, it allows the body  21  to stably engage the cabinet door for mounting purposes. Because of the tubular shape, the body  21  as formed can have thinner walls while still providing the structural strength to form a solid semi-rigid structure acceptable to consumers. Notably, the cylindrical shape of body  21  allows some minor bending and flexure, which helps the body resist damage and also helps the body  21  perform its intended function of holding (or storing) bags. The illustrated cylindrical shape has a flat rear section  36  for stable engagement with the cabinet door  25 , and includes a pair of top keyholes  37  and a bottom keyhole  37  for engaging screws for attachment. It is contemplated that the body could be other shapes, such as square, rectangular, ellipse, tear drop, or other shape if desired, such as for a particular aesthetic look. 
     The illustrated wing sections  28  are integrally formed atop the sides of the body  21 , but it is contemplated that they could be separate curved wing parts attached such as by adhesive, sonic welding, fasteners, or other means. Their position and arcuate shape form the crevice  32  (i.e. elongated horizontal openings) below the sections  28 . The wing sections  28  and crevices  32  are configured to securely frictionally receive and hold handle-loops  30  of the bags  22  with a top of the bag  22  generally held taut, thus holding open the bag  22  tight against the side walls of the body during use in the primary cavity  21 . It is contemplated that a scope of the present invention includes wing sections  28  having different shapes and sizes. The illustrated wing sections  28  are rounded and curved to match the aesthetics of the body  21 , extending slightly outwardly as they extend above a main portion of the body  21 . 
     The ends of the side crevices  32  of the wing sections  28  extend to front and rear portions of the body and include narrowed front and rear tips that provide a more positive gripper for holding the handle loops of a bag  22  in the apparatus  20 . The illustrated wing sections  28  have an arcuate shape, which gives them increased stiffness and which adds to strength of the body  21 , thus allowing a thinner wall of material to be used. The curve around the back corner of the wing sections  28  is novel in that it is placed and angled specifically to draw the back edge of the bag tight against the cupboard door when the bag handles are pulled into the handle slots/crevices  32 . This also draws an upper front edge of the bag over the upper front edge of the shell  21 . This arrangement prevents bag gapping and prevents items from falling in between the bag  22  and the body  21  as shown in  FIGS. 1-2 . This same arrangement causes the same tight no-gap arrangement when the apparatus  20  is free standing. 
     The secondary panel  23  includes attachment flanges  33  attached to the front of the body  21 . The flanges  33  are shaped to abuttingly engage the front surface of the body  21  and to aesthetically form the storage cavity of panel  23 . When installed, the illustrated secondary panel  23  defines an enlarged top opening and a slightly smaller bottom opening, both of which can be accessed to pull bags out of the storage cavity  23 . By forming the secondary panel  23  to a slightly truncated shape at a bottom of the storage cavity, the wadded bags  22  tend to compress and hold themselves within the storage cavity of panel  23  (rather than slip down and out under gravity). Alternatively, it is noted that the material of the secondary panel  23  can be such that it creates enough friction so it assists in retaining bags  22 . The material of the secondary panel  23  is preferably the same as for the body  21 . As illustrated, the panel  23  includes loops  40  ( FIG. 3 ) along its vertical edges that releasably engage upwardly-extending finger retainers  41  on the body  21 . This and the frustoconical/truncated overall shape allows for dense shipment of stacks of the apparatus  20 . Alternatively, the panel  23  can be attached by adhesive, sonic welding, fasteners (such as hidden rivets), keyhole and mating protrusion, or other means, or it can be integrally formed and/or permanently attached to the body  21 . 
     A preferred plastic is either polypropylene or polyethylene, and it is contemplated that it can be either virgin material or recycled material or a combination of the two materials. Colors can be as desired, such as white or black or other. Further, the finished product can be painted, printed on, or otherwise covered or coated, such as to provide a wood grain or other design. Material thickness will vary depending on the grade and type of plastic used and draft angle for molded side walls, but for example as illustrated is about 0.070 to 0.120 inches thickness. It is contemplated that preferred dimensions of the body  21  of the apparatus  20  are about 13″ high, 12″ wide, 6.5″ thick (deep) at the base, and 2″ depth for the pouch/secondary panel  23 . 
     It is noted that a modified design could form both body  21  and panel  23  from a single unitary sheet, such as by creating/forming the first cavity  21  from a first “two-thirds” of the sheet, and then folding a remainder of the single sheet reversely around the front to form the second cavity of panel  23  in front of the main cavity of body  21 . 
     The illustrated body  21  ( FIG. 3 ) includes an apertured attachment flange  35  along its top rear edge (and potentially a third flange along its bottom); the attachment flange  35  being located along a relatively flat rear section  36  of the body  21 . The flange  35  defines an aperture  35 A that can be used as a handle, and vertically-open slits  35 B that frictionally engage the bag  22  to hold it open when in the body  21 . The flange  35  includes two (or more) key-hole shaped slots  37  with a narrow top portion and wide bottom portion. If a bottom flange  35  is used, it can define an open inverted U-shape or inverted V-shape, so that the apparatus  20  can slip downward onto the bottom screw without having to be accurately aligned with a key-hole slot during installation. By this arrangement, an attachment bracket  38  with headed protrusions  39  (or alternatively screws) ( FIG. 3 ) can be attached to the cabinet door  25  (such as by screws or adhesive), or attached to any surface (e.g. any building wall or cabinet such as in a kitchen or garage, inside or outside, or in any work environment, such as to a bench, furniture, or other support portable or fixed structure). A head of the protrusions  39  is spaced away from the door  25  so that the keyhole slots  37  can be engaged with the headed protrusions  39 . The apparatus  20  can then be then lowered, so that a shaft of the protrusions  39  moves into the narrow top portion of the slots  37 , thus securely but releasably holding the apparatus  20  on the door  25 . The keyhole slots  37  can include a bump or narrowed throat for frictionally retaining the protrusions in the narrow end of the slot  37 , if desired. 
     The present protrusions  39  and slots  37  are designed to allow quick release of the apparatus  20 , so that it can be moved to different locations, such as to facilitate easy use for wiping off counters or gathering debris from any location. The aperture  35 A can act as a convenient handle when moving and carrying the apparatus  20 . Thereafter, the holder can again be quickly and easily reattached to its mounting bracket in a “home” location, such as to a cabinet wall or other vertical support structure. It is contemplated that other means can be used to attach and hold the apparatus  20  on the door  25 , such as direct screw-attachment, adhesive, tape, hooks, suction cups, magnets, and other means known in the art. Preferably, three attachments are used to mount the apparatus  20  for stability reasons. However other means can be used, depending on a particular application. For example, a suction cup or magnets could be used for mounting the apparatus  20  to a washer, dryer, refrigerator or tool box. Notably, the present apparatus  20  has a flat bottom, such that it can also be used as a free standing unit. 
     A shape of the body  21  and the side wing sections  28  causes the bag  22  in the primary cavity to be held open for easy use. Further, their radiused shape allows the apparatus  20  to be used even in tight locations and even if the apparatus  20  has to be positioned next to surface mounted hinges where it would otherwise interfere with that mounting location (such as if it had a rectangular shape of similar size). Still further, the shape of the side wing sections  28  and vertically-open crevices/slits  35 B allows for easy removal of a full bag  22  and easy replacement and reinstallation of a new bag  22 . 
     Notably, the present apparatus  20  can be used for recycling and reuse of plastic bags. However, it is not limited to just receiving trash. Instead, it can be used for any trash-receiving operation, as well as for any packaging operation (such as in a retail store). 
     It is to be understood that variations and modifications can be made on the aforementioned structure without departing from the concepts of the present invention, and further it is to be understood that such concepts are intended to be covered by the following claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.