A bag rack and dispensing system and method of packaging and dispensing items, such as food. The bag rack and dispensing system includes a rack that is formed of a base assembly and a hanger assembly on which multiple storage bags can be hung. A method of using the bag rack and dispensing system for packaging and dispensing food items includes, but is not limited to, the steps of hanging the storage bags on the rack of the bag rack and dispensing system, opening the frontmost storage bag, holding open or propping open the storage bag using a hooking device, placing the food item(s) or any other types of item(s) into the storage bag, removing the hooking device, if used, closing the storage bag, and removing the filled storage bag from the rack of the bag rack and dispensing system.

The present disclosure provides a checkout system and bagging structure. The bagging structure includes a body, a platform positioned on the body, and a power source disposed within the body. The platform defines a plurality of cavities arranged in a grid. A first cavity of the plurality of cavities receives a first mechanical rod. The power source provides electric power through the first cavity and to the first mechanical rod.

Disclosed is a shopping cart bagging station that couples to a shopping cart, and can be used by customers to bag their purchases as they shop. The shopping cart bagging station can be made from recyclable materials and is lightweight and portable. The shopping cart bagging station can be supplied as a kit, where the kit includes a sheet of rigid material, with each of the shopping cart elements outlined with perforated lines in the sheet of rigid material. The shopping cart bagging station is constructed by separating elements along the perforated lines, and then fitting the shopping cart bagging station elements together to form the shopping cart bagging station. The shopping cart bagging station elements fit together with slot joints formed by connecting slots in the elements. The customer can separate the shopping cart bagging station elements and construct the shopping cart bagging station themselves.

Described is a bagging station system for dispensing shopping bags. The bagging station system includes a bracket and a bagging station. The bracket is coupled to a wall. The bagging station is hung from the bracket. The bracket includes a support plate and at least one hook rail coupled to the support plate. The support plate has a first and a second slot opening in the support plate. The hook rail has at least one pin that extends through one of the first or the second slot opening to couple the hook rail to the support plate. With the support plate coupled to a wall, one or more hook rail coupled to the support plate, and the bagging station coupled to the one or more hook rail, the bagging station is available to dispense shopping bags to employees or customers of a retail store.

Disclosed is a bagging clip that couples to a bag holder hook of a shopping bag bagging station. The bagging clip helps to keep shopping bags hung from the bag holder hook in place as one of the shopping bags is opened, filled and removed. The bagging clip includes a plate with at least one slot in the plate. The slot is a cutout in the plate extending from a front surface to a back surface of the plate. The slot is configured to couple with a rail of the bag holder hook of the bag holder, in order to couple the bagging clip to the bag holder hook. Once the bagging clip is coupled to the bag holder hook, shopping bags hung from the bag holder hook will stay in place as individual shopping bags are filled and removed from the bag holder hook.

The present disclosure provides a carrier bag dispenser comprising a hold member arranged between a pair of struts for holding the carrying straps of a multitude of carrier bags, wherein said hold member has a support section, a fastening section and a separate retaining section, the latter two of which are resiliently connected, in some cases by at least one spring screw. The present disclosure further provides a carrier bag dispenser comprising a hold member arranged between a pair of struts for holding the carrying straps of a multitude of carrier bags, wherein said hold member has a support section, a fastening section and a retaining section having a front and a rear side wherein said rear side comprises a multitude of grooves extending from one side edge to the opposing side edge thereof. And, the present disclosure provides a carrier bag dispenser carousel comprising a multitude of carrier bag dispensers according to the present disclosure. Moreover, the present disclosure provides a hold member for holding and retaining a multitude of pairs of straps connected to respective carrier bags, wherein said hold member comprises a fastening section for fastening the hold member to a bag dispenser, a retaining section located, in regular use, above the fastening section having a front and a rear side and opposing side edges and a support section for the carrying straps located on the rear side of the hold member, wherein the retaining section and the fastening section of the hold member are separate elements which are resiliently connected, in some cases by at least one spring screw, or wherein the retaining section and the fastening section of the hold member are separate elements or are in one piece and wherein the rear side of the retaining section comprises a multitude of grooves extending from one side edge to the opposing side edge. Furthermore, the present disclosure provides a kit-of-parts carrier bag dispenser for holding a stack of carrier bags each having a pair of carrying straps and a pair of spaced apart holes in the upper region of the bag as well as for dispensing individual carrier bags comprising a T-shirt bag dispenser and a hold member according to the present disclosure.

Described is a bagging station that uses a bag retaining fixture. The bag retaining fixture holds paper bags open at the bagging station so the paper bags can be filled without the bag moving or falling off the bagging station. The bag retaining fixture includes a plate and an elongate rod. The plate is coupled to the bagging station. The elongate rod is coupled to the plate such that the elongate rod captures a side of a paper bag between the elongate rod and a side wall of the bagging station. The bagging station can have a number of bag retaining fixtures coupled to it, so that a number of paper bags can be held open at a time, and filled with purchased items.

Aspects described herein include an apparatus for retaining a bag, and a related checkout system. The apparatus comprises a base portion that is positionable, by a user, at any of a plurality of positions along a surface. The base portion comprises one or more attachment members operable by the user to removably attach the base portion to the surface at a selected position of the plurality of positions. The apparatus further comprises a support portion projecting upwardly from the base portion, and one or more arms projecting outwardly from the support portion. The one or more arms are dimensioned to receive one or more handles of the bag.

A self-checkout system comprises a register belt station; an itemization station downstream from the register belt station; and a bagging station downstream from the itemization station. The register belt station, an itemization station, and bagging station are each modular and removably coupled to each other.

A bag container dispenser includes a bag container. The container is formed of resilient material and has a bottom, a top, first and second sides, a front, a back and a removable access panel. The access panel has a top segment that includes a portion of the top and a connected front segment. The front segment has a height that extends from the bottom to the top. Stacked bags are sized and shaped to fit within the bag container. Each of the bags has a front wall, a back wall, an open top and a closure mechanism. The bags are dispensable from the container through an opening provided by removal of the access panel which may have a removable cover. A dispenser rack has a horizontal platform sized and shaped to support the bag container. Peripheral guards extend upward from the platform and constrain movement of the container during dispensing.