Patent ID: 8052011

Claim:
A device for dispensing a bag from a stack of bags, the device comprising: a plate mounted on a frame, said plate defining a planar bag-supporting surface and an opposite planar surface; a rotatable shaft coupled to said frame; at least one roller non-rotatably affixed to said shaft and arranged to engage a bag of the stack of bags nearmost said planar bag-supporting surface; means for rotating said shaft whereby said nearmost bag is shifted over said at least one roller; a bag detector coupled to the means for rotating said shaft, such that when the bag detector detects the presence of a bag, the rotatable shaft stops rotating, wherein the stack of bags is held against said planar bag-supporting surface, and when said rotatable shaft rotates, said nearmost bag is thereby dispensed to said opposite planar surface side of said plate, said plate being disposed between said dispensed nearmost bag and the stack of bags, and wherein said rotatable shaft is mounted on said frame, and the device further comprises a bag retaining element coupled to said plate for pressing the stack of bags against said at least one roller, said bag retaining element having a first end and a second end, said first end of said bag retaining element being pivotally connected to said plate.