Patent ID: 8770531

Claim:
A bag-supporting frame apparatus for mounting on an edge portion of a substantially horizontal panel portion of a substrate, the apparatus comprising: a gripping portion for contacting the substrate and holding the apparatus in place on the substrate; a bag-supporting portion configured to support an open end portion of a flexible plastic bag of a predetermined size thereon, the bag-supporting portion comprising: a substantially horizontally-extending outer loop portion which is unobstructed around a periphery thereof to receive said bag thereon; and a downwardly-extending short portion integrally attached to and extending downwardly from the outer loop portion at each end thereof, where a projecting catch is defined by a catch angle formed between the outer loop portion and the downwardly extending short portion at each end of the outer loop portion, and where the outer loop portion is sized and configured to support the open end portion of the flexible plastic bag thereon and to maintain the plastic bag in an open-mouth condition when the open end portion is stretched thereover; and a connecting portion disposed between and interconnecting the bag-supporting portion and the gripping portion; wherein a lower end of each downwardly-extending short portion is disposed below a corresponding end of the outer loop portion to which the downwardly-extending short portion is attached; wherein the connecting portion extends upwardly from a portion of the frame apparatus proximate the lower ends of the downwardly-extending short portion, and wherein the frame apparatus is configured such that the bag-supporting portion is suspended at a level below the gripping portion.