SHOPPING BAG AND TISSUE DISPENSER APPARATUS

Abstract

A bag having front and back walls, including an outlet opening covered by a hinged door. A pocket behind the opening for receipt of a tissue dispenser to positioned a tissue outlet in the opening.

Claims

1. A combination shopping bag and tissue dispenser apparatus for suspension for the wall of a shopping cart for comprising: a bag having top and bottom ends and including flexible front and back walls; a suspension bar at the top of the back wall; a hanger for hanging the suspension bar form the wall of the shopping cart; a storage pocket behind the front wall for receiving a packet of tissue to dispense through a packet outlet; and a door opening in the front wall to pass tissue dispensed from the packet outlet.

2. The combination shopping bag and tissue dispenser apparatus of claim 1 wherein: the door opening is spaced a selected distance from the bottom of the pocket; and the packet of tissue is configured with a bottom wall spaced the selected distance below the packet outlet.

3. The combination of claim 1 that includes: a doorframe surrounding the door opening; and a door hinged to one side to the frame for covering the doorway.

4. The combination of shopping bag and tissue dispenser of claim 3 that includes: a clasp for fasting the door in its closed position.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein: the front wall includes a reinforcing border surrounding the doorway.

6. The combination of claim 1 that includes: a fastener at the top of the pocket for closure thereof.

7. The combination of claim 1 wherein: the walls are constructed of oil cloth fabric.

8. The combination of claim 1 wherein: the walls are constructed of vinyl fabric.

9. Combination shopping bag and tissue dispenser apparatus for suspension from a wall of a shopping cart and comprising: a bag having top and bottom ends and including front and back walls; the front wall formed with a doorway; a suspension bar incorporated at the top of the back wall; a hanger for hanging the suspension bar from the wall of the shopping cart; a storage pocket behind the front wall for receiving a packet of tissue of the type having an outlet to be disposed confronting the doorway for dispensing of tissue; and a door hinged on one side to the front wall and the constructed to pivot between open and closed positions relative to the doorway.

10. The combination shopping bag and tissue dispenser apparatus of claim 9 wherein: the packet includes a transparent wall formed with a dispenser outlet.

11. The combination shopping bag and tissue dispenser apparatus of claim 9 that includes: a rigid frame surrounding the doorway; and the door is hingedly attached to the frame.

12. The combination shopping bag and tissue dispenser apparatus of claim 9 that includes: a rigid frame surrounding the doorway and formed with a peripheral, outwardly opening groove; and a door hingedly connected to the frame and formed with a flange to, when the door is closed, be received in the groove.

13. A tissue packet device comprising: an envelope to contain a supply of tissues, the envelope formed with an opening; a rigid frame surrounding the opening and formed with a doorway; a door hinged to the frame for covering and uncovering the opening.

14. The combination set forth in claim 13 wherein: the frame is formed with a peripheral edge; and the door includes a peripheral flange formed to, when the door is closed, frictionally engage the peripheral edge.

15. The combination set forth in claim 14 wherein: a portion of the peripheral flange is cut away to from an opening to be engaged by a user's fingers for purchase to open the door.

16.-18. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a reusable shopper bag hanger device incorporated in the present invention;

[0022] FIG. 2 is a front view thereof, partially cut away;

[0023] FIG. 3 is a top, side perspective view, in reduced scale, of the device of FIG. 1 suspended from a shopping cart;

[0024] FIG. 4 is a top perspective view, in an enlarged scale, of the device shown in FIG. 3;

[0025] FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of a second embodiment of the combination shopping bag and disinfectant wipes of the present invention;

[0026] FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken along the lines 66-67 of FIG. 5;

[0027] FIG. 7 is a front view, in reduced scale, showing the combination shopping bag and the sanitizing wipe dispenser of FIG. 5 suspended from a shopping cart;

[0028] FIG. 8 is a front view similar to FIG. 7 but in reduced scale and showing a top opening of an incorporated pocket; and

[0029] FIG. 9 is a front view similar to FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0030] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the reusable tote bag of the present invention includes a cart hanger device which may incorporate a clip device 21 at the top for clipping the top of the back wall to the side of a shopping cart 23 and an interior pocket 65 to hold a tissue packet 70.

[0031] The clip device includes a clip 25 carrying a horizontally projecting rigid hanger rod 27 for suspension and spreading the back wall of a flexible shopping container bag 31. The bag 31 may itself contain a plurality of folded flexible reusable shopping bags 33 (FIG. 3) for ready access by a shopper. The back wall of the container bag is formed along its upper edge with a pair of spaced apart horizontal sleeves 44 (FIG. 4) for receiving the opposite lengths of the spreader rod

[0032] Grocery stores and the like have offered a supply of plastic bags of various configurations to group groceries purchased by customers. The appetite for discardable plastic bags has grown over the years Despite encouragement to do so, customers seldom retain shopping bags for reuse, particularly those of flimsy construction and prone to damage, ripping and failure. The demand for a device for carrying and deploying reusable shopping bags for ready use has long existed. Busy consumers on a grocery shopping trip have little time to locate and arrange shopping bags for ready use in a manner that will encourage reuse thereof. It is thus important that a device for carrying and dispensing reusable shopping bags to a busy shopper be convenient to use, efficient to load, and constructed for ready presentation and deployment of numerous shopping bags which might be needed during a grocery shopping trip. It is this objective to which the present invention is directed.

[0033] My bag itself may be contracted fabric, vinyl fabric, canvas, close -woven cotton duck, linen or any other fabric or plastic material well known in the art.

[0034] In my preferred embodiment, I incorporate a spring clip device 21 including an elongated split cylindrical spring barrel 41 open along one side to terminate in opposite longitudinal, confronting edges 43 which press radially inwardly against the medial outside surfaces of respective rectangular clamp plates 45 arranged in V-fashion to press the distal edges thereof together for clamping over an item such as the top bar 51 of a shopping cart 23 (FIG. 3). The plates 45 are affixed to the clip edges 43 by glue 42 (FIG. 1) or similar fastening material. The back edges 40 of the plates abut the back wall of the spring barrel to be partially supported thereby.

[0035] The barrel 41 is formed in its backside with cylindrically, radially spaced apart, parallel slots 61 through which respective elongated divergent ears 63 project to form pressure tabs 64 for access by the operator. The convergent ends of the ears 63 project through the radially spaced apart longitudinal slots 61 in the barrel 41 to engage confronting edges medially with the respective plates 45 for, upon relax of the barrel 41, press the distal edges of the plates together. In my preferred embodiment, I incorporate cushioning caps 48 on the opposite ends of the rod 27 (FIG. 1).

[0036] For my preferred embodiment, I selected the barrel, pressure plates, and rod all of ferromagnetic material and select magnets 46 (FIG. 2) with a rectangular construction to fit in the space outside the pressure plate 45 and within the confines of the barrel such that the magnet forms a magnetic field around the barrel, pressure plate, and rod thereby releasably maintaining the magnet and rod in their selected positions for convenient adjustment and support of reusable bags hung from the rod. My work has proven that the described construction is economical to manufacture and performs well in practice.

[0037] In operation, it will be appreciated that the shopper may conveniently carry the suspension device and the container bag 31 into the store to retrieve a shopping cart 23 and suspended the device over the top rail 51 of the cart 23 (FIG. 3). With the device so suspended and the opposite extremities of the rod 27 received in the respective bag sleeves 44(FIG. 4) the proximal wall of the bag 31 will be spread in a vertical plane along the sidewall of the cart 23 to allow the distal wall of such container bag to deploy outwardly and expose the folded bags 33 carried therein for ready access as the shopper moves about the store collecting items for purchase and deposit in the bags carried in the basket.

[0038] Grocery items selected may be selectively placed in the selected reusable bags and the loaded bags place in the hold of the shopping cart for presentation at the check-out counter. As the items are retrieved and checked by the cashier or by the customer, they may be placed back in the respective bags to be conveniently transported by a cart or otherwise to the shopper's automobile trunk or SUV passenger compartment. The bags may be then be placed in the trunk or backseat and the shopping cart returned to the return area.

[0039] Upon arriving home, the respective bags 33 filled with groceries may be transported to the kitchen or pantry area for unloading. As the respective bags are unloaded, they may be again folded in accordion fashion and placed back in the container bag 31 to be stored for subsequent use in the next trip to the grocery store.

[0040] From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the reusable shopping bag apparatus for the present invention is economical to manufacture, convenient to use, and will serve to attract ready and convenient use by everyday shoppers to encourage.

[0041] Referring to FIGS. 5-9, a second embodiment of the present invention includes a shopping bag 61 having a front wall 63 with a pocket 65 formed there behind and including a zipper opening 67 at the top.

[0042] The pocket 65 includes a bottom wall 71 (FIG. 6) spaced a selected distance below the bottom edge of a window 73 in the front wall 63 and selectively covered by door 79 carried at the bottom by a hinge 81 and having a thumb tab 83 at the top end. The door includes a clasp 83 at the top for cooperating with a clasp element in the 82 at the top of the door 79. Referring FIGS. 7 and 8 in some embodiments the window 21 is surrounded by a rigid frame 80 to which the door is connected along is a bottom edge by a living, flexible plastic hinge 84. The frame is formed with rectangular a peripheral outwardly opening groove 90. The door is formed with a rectangular peripheral reinforcing flange 92 constructed for, when the door is closed, registering in the groove 90.

[0043] In this combination, the bag may be suspended from the side wall of a cart 91 (FIG. 7), the zipper opened for receipt of a tissue packet 95 to be supported in the pocket confronting the window for exposure of the packet and dispenser slot 96 for dispensing the tissue 98.

[0044] Thus, as the shopper is shopping he or she may wheel the cart 91 about the aisles of a grocery store or the like with the bag and tissue dispenser combination suspended from the sidewall by the clip 101 carrying the suspension rod 103 embedded at the top of the back wall of the shopping bag to maintain the top edge of the flexible shopping supported and draped from the rod 103 for convenient opening thereof to have access thereto. The top of the back wall is formed with sleeves 100 through which the rod 103 is threaded. Conveniently, the end walls of the bag are formed with a vertical centerfold line 111 which is weakened to form fold lines so that the bag may be folded in accordion fashion to collapse the front and back walls together for convenient compact storage thereof. In some embodiments, a number of such bags may be so collapsed and folded that a number thereof, for instance ten to fifteen folded bags, maybe received in one master bag 61 to provide for ready access to be individually displayed as the shopper maneuvers around the store. As the shopper continues to shop, the bags may be filled and supported in the shopping cart for presentation at the check-out counter. Conveniently, the thumb tab 83 may be accessed to open the door 79 to access the tissues carried in the tissue packet 70 for selective sequential dispensing thereof for sanitizing of the shopper's hands.

[0045] In some embodiments, a tether strap is supported on one end from the back wall with the free end having a patch of Velcro fastener which corporates with a fastener on the front wall for securing over the contents of the shopping to hold the items in place. This arrangement is helpful when the shopping bag is utilized for supporting a supply of shopping bags and might in some instances, be removed from the shopping cart and maneuvered about to transfer to the back seat or trunk of a user's automobile.

[0046] Referring to FIG. 8, in some embodiments the packet 70 is separate and includes a tissue compartment covered by a door 79 and which may be inserted in the pocket 65. The packet 70 is constructed with a transparent front wall 90 having a dispensing slit 96 formed therein. The packet is to be cooperatively received in the pocket 65 such that the door 79 is conveniently registered, with the window 121 in the front wall of the bag for ready access to the door 79 and thumb tab 84.

[0047] From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the combination bag and tissue dispenser of the present invention provides an important and convenient health measure to encourage sanitation and cleanliness of the user's hands to minimize the spread germs, viruses, and the like. The pocket holds the tissue packet exposed to the users field of view and work so that dispensing of the tissues is suggested as bags are retrieved and the hands may be easily sanitized with each retrieval. The apparatus is environmentally friendly, encouraging reuse of the bags.