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.

A dispensing system for mailing and other bags comprises a plurality of bags (10) arranged as a stack, each bag being frangibly connected along their upper side edge at (15) to a header (16), and a fastener (18) extending through the header (16) of each bag for securing the bags (10) together into an assembly, the system further comprising hanger (24) for supporting the bag assembly, the hanger (24) comprising a formation (26) arranged to engage a complimentary formation (20) on the rear of the fastener (18). The hanger (24) can be permanently fixed to a support structure and the assembly of bag (10) is then fitted to the hanger by engaging the formation (20) on the fastener with the complimentary formation (26) on the hanger (24). The bags (10) then hang from the hanger (24) in such a way that they can easily and singlehandedly be opened and detached by pulling them away from their header (16).

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.

Described is a retractable bagging station for use in a retail store. The bagging station includes a frame and a bag dispenser retractably coupled to the frame. The bag dispenser holds and dispenses shopping bags. The bag dispenser is retractably coupled to the frame such that the bag dispenser extends out of and retracts into the frame. The bagging station is retractable into the frame so that the bagging station can be stored in a retracted position under a counter, for example, when the bagging station is not needed. When the bagging station is needed, it can be extended out from the frame to be used. The bagging station can be mounted under a counter of a checkout station, for example, so the bagging station can be used at the checkout station when needed.

A transport bag (15) for transporting and/or storing articles comprises a front wall (21b) and a back wall (21a) that are flexibly connected to one another via a bottom section (21c) so as to be movable back and forth between a first configuration in which the front wall and back wall form an upwardly open bag that can be filled from above, and a second configuration in which the front wall and back wall lie closely alongside one another and form a bag that is folded together, wherein the back wall (21a) is extended upward above and beyond the height of the front wall (21b) with a support section (15a) for fastening the transport bag (15) to a transport device (10.2). Easy filling and emptying of the transport bag (15) is achieved by providing an opening (16, 19, 20) that automatically brings the transport bag (15) into the first configuration and keeps the transport bag there, and allows a deliberate shift from the first configuration into the second configuration.

Examples of the disclosure provide a system and method for autonomously opening bags using a mechanical arm. The mechanical arm includes actuators that move the mechanical arm in response to a trigger, a gripping component that attracts a portion of the bag in response to contact with the bag using a static electric charge, a nozzle that provides an introduction of compressed air into an environment relative to the opening of the bag, and a trigger mechanism that provides the trigger to the mechanical arm such that the mechanical arm brings the gripping component into contact with the bag using the one or more actuators and provides an expulsion of a portion of the compressed air via the nozzle to open the bag.

Described is a cabinet for holding paper bags at a bagging station in a retail store, and a bag retaining fixture mounted inside the cabinet. The cabinet holds a stack of paper bags, and the bag retaining fixture secures the stack of paper bags inside the cabinet. The cabinet housing can be mounted to or near the bagging station. The bag retaining fixture is coupled to an inner surface of the cabinet. The bag retaining fixture includes a plate and an elongate wire coupled to the plate. The elongate wire puts pressure on the stack of paper bags to hold them in place as individual paper bags are removed for filling. The cabinet for holding paper bags and the bag retaining fixture keep the stack of paper bags from being scattered as the paper bags are stored and dispensed.

A bagging station for filling paper-type bags is disclosed. Described is a bagging station that includes a base and a center piece. The center piece has a cavity for storing a stack of paper or paper-type bags. The center piece rests on top of the base. The base is used to support one or more open paper bags while the paper bags are being filled. The base can include a carousel that rotates, where the center piece sets on the carousel. The center piece has a bag storage cavity for storing a stack of paper bags. The center piece also includes one or more paper bag upper edge holders, where each paper bag upper edge holder grasps the upper edge of an open paper bag in order to hold the bag open and in place while items are placed in the paper bag.