CARRIER BAG DISPENSERS, CARRIER BAG DISPENSER CAROUSEL, HOLD MEMBER FOR HOLDING AND RETAINING A MULTITUDE OF PAIRS OF STRAPS CONNECTED TO RESPECTIVE CARRIER BAGS AND KIT-OF-PARTS CARRIER BAG DISPENSER FOR HOLDING A STACK OF CARRIER BAGS

Abstract

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.

Claims

1-35. (canceled)

36. 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 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 rear side of the retaining section comprises a multitude of grooves extending from one side edge to the opposing side edge.

37. The hold member according to claim 36, wherein said hold member represents a dispenser adapter for transforming a T-shirt bag dispenser having two spaced apart, essentially similarly or identically oriented or orientable holding struts into a carrier bag dispenser having a front side and a rear side 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 therefrom.

38. The hold member according to claim 36, wherein the retaining section and the fastening section of the hold member are separate elements and are resiliently connected.

39. The hold member according to claim 36, wherein the retaining section and the fastening section of the hold member are resiliently connected by at least one spring screw.

40. The hold member according to claim 36, wherein the rear side of the retaining section comprises two, three, four, five or six grooves that extend from one side edge to the opposing side edge.

41. The hold member according to claim 36, wherein at least one groove of the multitude of grooves in cross-sectional view, in use, is tilted upwards.

42. The hold member according to claim 36, wherein the retaining section and the support section are forming an angle in the range from 60 to 120.

43. The hold member according to claim 39, wherein the at least one spring screw is located on the front side of the retaining section and wherein the fastening section comprises at least one corresponding screw thread.

44. The hold member according to claim 43, wherein that section of the spring screw being positioned in the screw thread is additionally fixed to the screw thread by use of glue.

45. The hold member according to claim 39, wherein the at least one spring screw is located in the lower part of the retaining section.

46. The hold member according to claim 36, wherein the support section and the fastening section are formed in one piece and resiliently connected to the separate retaining section.

47. The hold member according to claim 46, wherein the transition from the fastening section to the support section on the front side is rounded.

48. The hold member according to claim 47, wherein the resilient connection located in the upper part of the fastening section is positioned below or at the level of the support section.

49. The hold member according to claim 39, wherein the at least one spring screw has a lesser extension in the direction away from the front side as the at least one screw which fastens the fastening section to the carrier element.

50-53. (canceled)

54. The hold member according to claim 36, wherein the retaining section and the fastening section of the hold member are in one piece.

55. The hold member according to claim 39, wherein the at least one screw thread is located in the upper part of the fastening section.

56. The hold member according to claim 46, wherein the transition from the retaining section to the support section on the front side is rounded.

57. The hold member according to claim 47, wherein the resilient connection located in the upper part of the fastening section is positioned above the level of the support section.

58. The hold member according to claim 36, wherein the fastening section has a rear side, and a groove is provided in an upper part of the rear side of the fastening section.

59. The hold member of claim 58, wherein said groove of the fastening section is configured to engage with an edge or a tube or a wire of a dispenser carousel or a bag dispenser unit.

60. The hold member of claim 58, wherein said groove of the fastening section extends from one side of the fastening section to the opposite side of the fastening section.

61. The hold member of claim 58, wherein said groove of the fastening section has a rounded cross-sectional shape.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] Further features and advantages of the present disclosure are presented in the description below, in which preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are explained as examples with reference to schematic drawings, in which:

[0054] FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective side view of a first embodiment of the hold member of the present disclosure,

[0055] FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective side view of a second embodiment of the hold member of the present disclosure, and

[0056] FIG. 3 shows a schematic perspective front side view of the carrier bag dispenser of the first variant of the present disclosure

DETAILED EMBODIMENTS

[0057] According to at least one suitable embodiment, with the carrier bag dispenser according to the second variant, the hold member is made in one piece. Also with respect to the second variant, a carrier bag dispenser of the present disclosure has been found to be rather advantageous in that 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. This can, according to one embodiment, be accomplished by forming the support section and the fastening section in one piece and resiliently connect the separate retaining section, in most cases the lower part of said retaining section, to the fastening section, in most cases the upper part of said fastening section. Here, regularly the rear side of the retaining section is joined to the front side of the fastening section. According to another embodiment, this can be accomplished by forming the support section and the retaining section in one piece and resiliently attaching the separate fastening section, in most cases the upper part of said fastening section, to the retaining section, most cases the lower part of the retaining section. Here, regularly the rear side of the fastening section is joined to the front side of the retaining section.

[0058] With the present disclosure, it is also possible to make use of the support section as a separate element which can be connected to the fastening section or the retaining section. In some cases it is also sufficient to bring such separate support section in close proximity to the rear side of the retaining section or the fastening section.

[0059] With the carrier bag dispensers according to the present disclosure, the rear side of the retaining section may comprise, in a rather suitable embodiment, two, three, four, five, or six grooves that extend from one side edge to the opposing side edge.

[0060] Advantageous results are also obtained in case at least one groove, in most cases at least one groove of the multitude of grooves, or according to another embodiment all grooves of the multitude of grooves are tilted upwards in cross-sectional view when the carrier bag dispenser is in use, i.e., regular use.

[0061] Moreover, in use, i.e., regular use, the retaining section is usually oriented essentially vertically. In such a manner said retaining section can function as a hook and holds back the carrying straps of the carrier bags. In some cases, the carrier straps have a width in the range from 0.5 cm to 5 cm and in some other cases from 1 cm to 4 cm, for example about 3 cm. With a pair of carrier straps, a first strap is regularly joined, e.g. glued or welded, to the inner side of the front wall of the carrier bag and the second strap is regularly joined, e.g., glued or welded, to the inner side of the rear wall of the carrier bag.

[0062] It has been found to be advantageous to employ a retaining section having a breadth in the range of 1 to 5 cm, in some cases in the range from 2 to 4 cm, for example of about 3 cm. In some pragmatic embodiments, the breadth of the fastening section and the breadth of the support section are choosing to be essentially identical to the breadth of the retaining section. The length of the retaining section is usually in the range from 4 cm to 12 cm, and in some other cases in the range from 6 to 10 cm. Further, the length of the support section can, in some embodiments, be in the range from 3 cm to 10 cm and in some further cases in the range from 4 cm to 8 cm, for example 5 cm. And, the length of the fastening section can, in some cases, be in the range from 4 cm to 12 cm, and in some other cases in the range from 6 to 10 cm.

[0063] In some cases it is rather beneficial to make use of a rounded top edge of the retaining section.

[0064] According to another embodiment, is also possible that the retaining section and the support section form an angle in the range from 60 to 120. In some embodiments, the angle formed between the retaining section and the support section of the hold member is about 90.

[0065] With some rather advantageous embodiments of the carrier bag dispensers according to the present disclosure, the at least one spring screw is located on the front side of the retaining section. Said at least one spring screw can be screwed into the at least one corresponding screw thread in the fastening section.

[0066] The at least one spring screw is, in some rather advantageous embodiments, located in the lower part of the retaining section. It has been found to represent a pragmatic solution to locate the at least one screw thread in the upper part of the fastening section.

[0067] Reliable results are also obtained with embodiments of the carrier bag dispensers according to the present disclosure, wherein that section of the spring screw being positioned in the screw thread is additionally fixed to the screw thread by use of glue. Here, glues can be used which are able to join metal parts.

[0068] In some embodiments the fastening section and the support section of the hold member of the carrier bag dispensers according to the present disclosure can be formed in one piece.

[0069] Rather advantageous results in terms of a sufficient degree of flexibility of the retaining section can be obtained with those embodiments of the carrier bag dispensers according to the present disclosure in which the transition from the fastening section to the support section on the front side is rounded and wherein the at least one screw thread located in the upper part of the fastening section is positioned below the support section.

[0070] The fastening section can, in one embodiment, be fastened to the carrier element by at least one screw or by gluing or welding. In case of fastening the fastening section to the carry element by use of at least one screw, a rather pragmatic solution provides that the at least one spring screw has a lesser extension in the direction away from the front side as the at least one screw which fastens the fastening section to the carrier element.

[0071] According to another embodiment, the carrier bag dispensers according to the present disclosure further comprise 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 bags, wherein the pair of struts is placed in the respective pair of spaced apart holes and the pairs of carrying straps are held by the hold member.

[0072] The present disclosure also provides a hold member for holding and retaining a multitude of pairs of straps connected to respective carrier bags. 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. Here, the retaining section and the fastening section of the hold member can, according to one embodiment, be separate elements which are resiliently connected, in some cases by at least one spring screw. According to another embodiment, the retaining section and the fastening section of the hold member are either formed as separate elements or in one piece and wherein the rear side of the retaining section comprises at least one groove, and in some advantageous cases a multitude of grooves, extending from one side edge to the opposing side edge.

[0073] Said hold member can be considered to represent a dispenser adapter for transforming a T-shirt bag dispenser having two spaced apart, essentially similarly or identically oriented or orientable holding struts, into a carrier bag dispenser having a front side and a rear side 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 therefrom. It has been found to be rather advantageous if, with the hold member, the retaining section and the fastening section of the hold member are separate elements which are resiliently connected by two spring screws. Those hold members according to the present disclosure are most suited in which the rear side of the retaining section comprises two, three, four, five, or six grooves that extend from one side edge to the opposing side edge.

[0074] And, advantageously at least one groove, and in most cases at least one groove of the multitude of grooves, or in some cases all grooves of the multitude of grooves, in cross-sectional view, in regular use, are tilted upwards.

[0075] In some rather pragmatic embodiments, the retaining section and the support section are forming an angle in the range from 60 to 120 with the hold member according to the present disclosure.

[0076] In order to resiliently fasten the fastening section to the retaining section the at least one spring screw is advantageously located on the front side of the retaining section. It is, then, rather pragmatic to provide in the fastening section at least one corresponding screw thread.

[0077] Also with the hold member according to the present disclosure, the at least one spring screw is, in one embodiment, located in the lower part of the retaining section. In addition, it can be provided that the at least one screw thread is located in the upper part of the fastening section.

[0078] In order to strengthen the connection between the retaining section and the fastening section, that part of the spring screw being positioned within the screw thread can additionally fixed to the screw thread by use of glue.

[0079] In a very advantageous embodiment of the hold member of the present disclosure, the transition from the fastening section to the support section on the front side is rounded. Here, it is also possible that the at least one screw thread can be located in the upper part of the fastening section is positioned below the support section.

[0080] The handling of carrier bags can be facilitated with those embodiments in which the at least one spring screw has a lesser extension in the direction away from the front side as the at least one screw which fastens the fastening section to the carrier element.

[0081] The present disclosure also 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. Said kit of parts carrier bag dispenser comprises a) a T-shirt bag dispenser having a front side and a rear side for holding a stack of T-shirt bags comprising two spaced apart, essentially similarly or identically oriented or orientable holding struts for holding bags, a hook member having a front side and a rear side and arranged between the struts of the pair of holding struts for holding the carrying straps and a carrier element to which the holdings struts of the pair of holding struts and the hook member are connected, as well as b) a hold member according to the present disclosure.

[0082] With the kit-of-parts carrier bag dispenser according to the present disclosure, the fastening section of the hold member can be fastened to the hook member of the T-shirt bag dispenser via at least one screw or via welding.

[0083] It has been found to be rather advantageous to make use of a hook member which comprises or is formed of a bent wire defining a passage opening. In such a manner the fastening section of the hold member can be fastened to the hook member by passing a screw through the passage opening.

[0084] In order to safely and reliably join the hook member and the fastening section of the hold member, these are in one embodiment bent outwardly towards the front side in a matching manner at least in sections.

[0085] Due to the features of the embodiments of the present disclosure as described above, it is possible to easily and reliably modify a T-shirt bag dispenser into a carrier bag dispenser for a multitude of carrier bags each being equipped with a pair of carrying straps. In such a manner it is not necessary to design newly dimensioned carrier bags being equipped with carrying straps. Rather, conventional carrier bags having such carrying straps can be used with the carrier bag dispenser of the present disclosure. A multitude of carrier bags in the meaning of the present disclosure in one embodiment comprises in the range from 2 to 100 carrier bags, in some cases from 10 to 80 carrier bags, and in some other cases from 20 to 70 carrier bags. It comes without saying that the carrier bag dispensers of the present disclosure as well as the hold member of the present disclosure can also be used with a single carrier bag.

[0086] From FIG. 1, a schematic side view representation of a first embodiment of the hold member 1 according to the present disclosure can be derived. Said hold member 1 comprises a fastening section 2, a retaining section 4, and a support section 6. While the fastening section 2 and the support section 6 are formed in one piece in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, the retaining section 4 forms a separate component which is resiliently connected to the front side of the upper part of the fastening section 2 by use of spring screws 8. The retaining section 4 can be formed of a metal plate. In an advantageous embodiment as depicted in FIG. 1, said retaining section 4 is equipped with a multitude of grooves 10 on its rear side 12. Said grooves are spaced apart from each other and are extending from one side edge 14 to the opposite side edge 16 of the retaining section 4. In regular use, the retaining section 4 is usually vertically oriented. In this case the grooves 10 are tilted upwards, that is, the bottom 18 of said grooves is lying slightly above the entry 20 of said grooves. In this manner it has been found to be rather efficient to prevent carrying straps from slipping over the top 22 of the retaining section 4. In regular use, the carrying straps of a multitude of carrier bags are placed over the retaining section 4 and can rest on the support section 6. As can be derived from FIG. 1, the transition zone 24 between the support section 6 and the fastening section 2 is rounded. This design greatly facilitates resilient movement of the retaining section 4. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, the middle and lower part of the fastening section 2 is bent outwardly towards the front side 26, that is that side which is approached by the customer or the sales personnel to take a bag from the hold member 1. On the rear side 28 of the fastening section 2, groove 30 is provided in the upper part. Such groove can be used to engage with an edge or a tube or a wire of, for example, a dispenser carousel or of the bag dispenser unit to which the hold member 1 is fastened by use of the screw 32.

[0087] From FIG. 2, a schematic side view representation of a second embodiment of the hold member 1 according to the present disclosure can be derived. Said hold member 1 comprises a fastening section 2, a retaining section 4, and a support section 6. While the retaining section 4 and the support section 6 are formed in one piece in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the fastening section 2 forms a separate component which is resiliently connected to the front side of the lower part of the retaining section 4 by use of spring screws 8. The fastening section 2 can be formed of a metal plate. As with the embodiment of FIG. 1, the retaining section 4 is equipped with a multitude of grooves 10 on its rear side 12. As can be derived from FIG. 2, the transition zone 34 between the support section 6 and the retaining section 4 is rounded. This design also facilitates resilient movement of the retaining section 4.

[0088] In FIG. 3, an embodiment of the first variant of the carrier bag dispenser 100 of the present disclosure is depicted. Said carrier bag dispenser 100 comprises a pair of holding struts 102 and 104 which are movably connected to a carrier unit 106. Carrier bags having a pair of holes in the upper part of the bag can be used to place said carrier bags on said holding struts. Moreover, a hold member 1, as outlined above and shown in FIG. 1, is attached to the carrier unit 106 and is located centrally between the pair of struts. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3, a hook member 108 in the form of a bent wire is part of the carrier unit 106. Without the hold member 1, the carrier unit 106 containing the hook member 108 and the pair of holding struts 102, 104 form or are part of a T-shirt bag dispenser. For T-shirt bags equipped with a tab having a horizontal slit, said hook member 108 can be used for providing an additional temporary fastening means for the T-shirt bags in a stack of such bags. With the present disclosure, said hook member 108 is used for fastening the fastening section 2 of the hold member 1 thereto. The curvature of the middle and lower part of the fastening section 2 essentially corresponds to the curvature of the hook member 108. Here, the front side 26 of the fastening section 2 is placed against the rear side of the wire-like hook member 108. In that the holding struts are movable towards each other, also rather large stacks of carrier bags can be used with the carrier bag dispensers of the present disclosure. By turning the holding struts towards each other while holding a multitude of carrier bags, the carrying straps can even be more easily placed above the top edge 22 of the retaining section 4. This operation is also greatly assisted by said retaining section 4 being resiliently movable due to the spring screws 8 on the front side 26 of said retaining section 4. In FIG. 3, the carrier bag dispenser 110 of the present disclosure is equipped with supporting feet 110 and 112. These supporting feet are purely optional. For example, the carrier bag dispenser of the present disclosure may also be connected to or being part of a dispenser carousel. It just needs to be taken care of arranging the carrier bag dispenser of the present disclosure at a height which is convenient for the customer or sales personnel.

[0089] The features of the present disclosure disclosed in the above description, in the claims and in the drawings can be essential both individually and in any combination required for the realization of the present disclosure in its different embodiments.