GB2455912A

GB2455912A - Bag dispensing unit

Info

Publication number: GB2455912A
Application number: GB0823389A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Brian Melvin Driver
Original assignee: MDC Exports Ltd
Current assignee: MDC Exports Ltd
Priority date: 2007-12-28
Filing date: 2008-12-23
Publication date: 2009-07-01
Anticipated expiration: 2028-12-23
Also published as: GB2455912B; GB0725295D0; GB0823389D0

Abstract

A container dispensing device/unit comprising an elongate main housing (2) able to accommodate a supply of bags/containers for successive dispensing therefrom, a cover (12) mountable to the main housing for displacement between a position which allows access to the interior of the main housing and a closed position in which it covers-in the interior of the main housing and any container content therein, means (27) for retaining the cover (12) in its closed position, and an elongate slot (32) extending lengthways of the device/unit through which bags/containers can be successively withdrawn from the device/unit. The main housing and cover may be trough-like, and the cover may be hinged to the main housing. A sliding locking member (31) may engage lugs (29) and (28) to lock the device in the closed position, and the ends of the main housing may be belled outwards to provide a bearing surface for a wound rod/roll of bags.

Description

1_. -1-2455912 CONTAINER/BAG DISPENSER DEVICE/UNIT This invention relates to dispensing containers such as plastics bags.

It is known to provide plastic bags in bag dispensing devices in which a plurality of bags are connected together at their closed end regions for connection with a support such that the bags can be pulled from the support as and when required.

With such dispensing devices the support can include a box open at one end and adapted to be suspended from a hook or the like so that the bags hang downwards with the open ends of the bags lowermost, and such as to be readily removable from the box.

1 0 These known dispensing devices! units are such that when a person seeks to extract a bag from such dispensing devices/units frequently more than a single bag is removed..

A further problem arises in that the action of extracting a bag from such a dispenser device/unit frequently results in several bags being simultaneously dispensed as a result of the action of grasping a bag for the purposes of its removal from the pack.

Furthermore, the dispensing devices/units as above mentioned are essentially suitable only for use at locations that are under cover thereby imposing restrictions as to where it is appropriate to site such bag dispensers..

As a result of present day health requirements persons who walk' animals such as dogs are obliged to retrieve any animal waste material deposited in public places by any animal that they are walking'...

This requirement implies that the animal walking person should conveniently have ready access to a container i.e., bag into which any retrieved material can be deposited.

Thus, in practice, bags/packages containing such waste material are usually intended either to be carried for disposal to a person's home or otherwise transferred to a waste material bin conveniently located in the vicinity of routes where animals are regularly walked' Hence, in practice waste material bins for receiving such waste materials are often provided at places such as public parks, roadside grass verges etc., where it is a common local practice to walk' an animal.

Whilst the provision of such bins has become a common practice, there still remains the problem that not infrequently the animal walker fails to have readily available a suitable collection bag or other possible packaging for the waste material.

1 5 It it is an object of the invention to facilitate the provision of waste material handling bags in such public places by providing a container dispensing devices/units that are suitable for installation in the vicinity of locations where animals are walked'.

Broadly according to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a container dispensing device/unit comprising an elongate main housing section able to accommodate a supply of containers for successive dispensing therefrom, a cover mountable to the main housing for displacement between a position which allows access to the interior of the main housing and a closed position in which it covers-in the interior of. the main housing and any container content therein, means for retaining the cover in its closed position, and an elongate slot extending lengthways of the device/unit through containers can be successively withdrawn from the device/unit.

Broadly, according to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a bag/container dispensing device/unit, including a trough-like main section, closed at each end and a trough like cover forming section hingably connectable to the main section to form with the main section when closed a tubular container for receiving plurality of bags formed into a roll rotatable within the device/unit and there being a bag dispensing opening extending lengthways of the device/unit.

Preferably, releasable means are provided for locking the lid and main sections together when in their closed position.

In a preferred arrangement the releasing means includes a plurality of spaced apart lugs projecting from the longer edge of the main section remote from the hinging region of the section, a plurality of spaced apart lugs projecting from the longer edge of the lid section that co-operates with said longer edge of the base section, these lugs being so positioned as to be engageable in the spaces between the projections of the main section, a shidable locking member mounted to and arranged for lengthways displacement of the longer edge of the lid section that engages with said longer edge of the main section, the slidable member being provided with hook like projections so spaced as to be enterable in the spaces defined between the lugs on the main section, the arrangement being such that the shidable member is displaceable between a locking position in which the hook-like projections lockingly engage with the lugs on the main section and a release position in which the hook-like projections align with the spaces between the main section projections.

Preferably the main section is provided at the region thereof remote from the edge with the lugs with means for enabling the unit to be mounted to support means, to facilitate dispensing of the bags In a particular construction the means for enabling the unit to be mounted includes keyhole shaped openings that enable the unit to be suspended from a support by way of elements engaging the key hole slots For a better understanding of the invention and to show how to carry the same into effect reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which; Figure 1 is an exploded view of the several components of an embodiment of dispenser device/unit of the invention and Figure 2, illustrates the assembled unit of Figure 1 when in its open position.

Refemng to the drawings the device/unit 1 shown therein comprises an elongate main section 2 which is of a trough like semicircular form with side walls 3 and 4 having elongate edges 5 and 6, and end walls 7 and 8 that are slightly belied outwards and have with free edges 9 and 10 The main section 2 is intended to house a roll of plastics containers/bags (not shown).

The main section 2 is provided adjacent each end thereof with a shaped projection 11 that provides a flat surface 12 adjacent each end wail 7 an 8 in which is provided a key hole slot 12A by means of which the main section 2 may be suspended in a horizontal position from an appropriate support.(not shown) The device/unit I includes a closure section 13 which is of a trough like form similar to that of the main section 2. Thus the closure section 13 is of a trough like slightly belied outwards end wails 18 and 19 with free edges 20 and 21.

The main Section 2 and the closure section 13 are so dimensioned that they can be arranged so that their respective elongate edges and the end edges can be arranged in face to face relationship.

Thus the shaping/profiling of the two sections 2 and 13 is such that when they are positioned face to face they effectively form a cylindrical tube closed at each end The longer edge 5 of the main section 2 is provided with three radially extending projections 22, respectively located one adjacent to each end of the longer edge 5 and the other mid way along the length thereof These projections 22 are tubular and are intended to receive a rod 23 ht serves as a hinge.

The longer edge 17 of the closure section is provided with a series of lengthways directed tubular projections 24 that are of such length and so positioned as to be 1 5 able engage between end and central projections 22 of the main section. These projections 22 and 24 are intended to be engaged by the rod 23. When the rod 23 engages both series of projections 22 and 24, the main and closure sections 2 and 13 are hinged to each other such that the closure section 13 can be closed upon the main section with their respective free edges positioned face to face.

With this arrangement main section can be pivoted about the pivot rod 23 so that the free edge thereof can be positioned in face to face relationship with the free edge of the other main section. This can conveniently be regarded as the closed position for the two main sections To ensure that the two sections are correctly positioned relative to each other the free edges 5, 7, and 8 are provided with an upstanding rib 25.

The rib 25 is intended to engage in a complementary shaped recess 26 provided in the corresponding free edges of the closure section. Thus when the closure section is in its closed position the rib 25 engages in the recess 26.

The two sections can be locked in the closed position by means of a locking arrangement. 27 This locking arrangement 27 includes a first series of spaced hook like projections 28 outwardly directed from the free edge 6 of the main section 2. These hook like projections 28 are regularly spaced one from the other along the associated free edge 6.

The locking arrangement 27 also includes a second series of hook like projections 29 outwardly directed from the free edge of the closure section 13.

These projections projections 29 are regularly spaced one from the other along 1 5 the associated free edge These two series of projections are so relatively positioned that the projections 29 engage within the spaces between the projections 28 when the closure section is in its closed position.

The locking arrangement includes a slide member 30 slidably mounted to the cover section, and provided with a series of projections 31 that are so shaped as to provide a hook like part that is able to latch with the hook like projections 28 and 29 of the main and closure sections when the closure section is in its closed position.

Thus when the slide member is in its position the closure section 13 can be be set to its closed position in which the two series of projections 28,29 are in face to face alignment whilst the slide member projections 31 are able to engage in the spaces between the inter-engaged projections 28 and 29.

In this position the slide member can be moved so that its projections 31 overlap the projections 28 and 29 of the main and closure section 2 and 13 and thereby lock the main and closure section projections together and thus prevent the closure section 13 from opening..

The closure section is provided with an elongate slot 32 through which containers housed within the device/unit may be withdrawn.

The end walls 8 of the main section 2 are belled outwards to provide what may be regarded as a surface 33 that is intended to provide a support and bearing surface for the adjacent end of a rod (not shown) upon which the bags/containers to be dispensed are wound. With this arrangement the roll for the bags/containers to be dispensed axially aligned lengthways of the main section.

The lid/closure section 12 is provided with a shaped surface 34 similar in size and form to the surface 33 which, when the closure section 12 is in its closed position, overlies the surface 33 and in combination therewith effectively provides an annular bearing/location surface for a roll end.. With this arrangement when the closure section is closed the rod is effectively so held in position that as a container is being pulled out from the unit/device the rod (and the associated roll of bags/containers) is able freely to rotate within the device/unit without undesirable displacement of the rod relative to the device/unit which could result in the roll of containers without becoming jammed' within the device/unit.

In the case where the bags/containers to be housed within the device/unit include at each side of the mouth of the container a carrying or tie strip the end regions of the slot is enlarged as at 33 to accommodate the carlying or tie strips to allow those of the next bag to be dispensed to hang outside of the devise/unit I In use on loading the device/unit with the roll of containers the first container to be withdrawn is positioned such that its handles hang outside of the device/unit through the enlarged slot parts 31.

Claims

CLAll4S I A container dispensing device/unit comprising an elongate main housing section able to accommodate a supply of bags/containers for successive dispensing therefrom, a cover mountable to the main housing for displacement between a position which allows access to the interior of the main housing and a closed position in which it covers-in the interior of the main housing and any container content therein, means for retaining the cover in its closed position, and an elongate slot extending lengthways of the device/unit through which bags/containers can be successively withdrawn from the device/unit.
2. A bag/container dispensing device/unit, including a trough-like main section, closed at each end and a trough like cover forming section hingably connectable to the main section to form with the main section when closed a tubular container for receiving plurality of bags/containers formed into a rod/roll rotatable within the device/unit and there being a bag/container dispensing opening extending 1 5 lengthways of the device/unit.
3 A bag/container dispensing device/unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein releasable means are provided for locking the closure and main sections together when in their closed position.
4. A bag/container dispensing device/unit as claimed in claim 3, and wherein the releasing means includes a plurality of spaced apart lugs projecting from the longer edge of the main section remote from the hinging region of the section, a plurality of spaced apart lugs projecting from the longer edge of the closure section that co-operates with said longer edge of the main section, these lugs being so positioned as to be engageable in the spaces between the projections of the main section, and a slidable locking member mounted to and arranged for lengthways displacement of the longer edge of the closure section that engages with said longer edge of the main section, the slidable member being provided with hook like projections so spaced as to be enterable in the spaces defined between the lugs on the main section, the arrangement being such that the slidable member is displaceable between a locking position in which the hook-like projections lockingly engage with the lugs on the main section and a release position in which the hook-like projections align with the spaces between the main section projections.
A bag/container dispensing device/unit dispensing device/unit as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the end walls of the main section are belied outwards to provide a bearing surface for an adjacent end of a rod/roll upon which the bags/containers to be dispensed are wound, the arrangement being such as to axially align the rod/roll lengthways of the main section.
6. A bag/container dispensing device/unit as claimed in claim 5, and wherein wherein the end walls of closure section are belied outwards to provide a further bearing surface for an adjacent end of the rod/roll upon which the bags/containers to be dispensed are wound so positioned that when the closure section is in its closed position it overlies the support surface of the main section whereby when the closure section is in its closed position the rod/roll is effectively so positioned between the two surfaces that as a bag/container is being pulled out from the unit/device the rod/roll (and the associated rolled bags/containers) is able freely to rotate within the device/unit without undesirable displacement of the rod/roll relative to the device/unit which could result in the roll of containers without becoming jammed' within the device/unit.

7 A bag/container dispensing device/unit as claimed in claim 4, 5 or 6, and wherein the main section is provided at the region thereof remote from the edge with the spaced apart lugs with means for enabling the unit to be mounted to support means, to facilitate dispensing of the bags/containers.

8 A bag/container dispensing device/unit as claimed in claim 7, and wherein the means for enabling the device/unit to be mounted includes keyhole shaped openings that enable the device/unit to be suspended from a support by way of elements engaging the key hole slots.

9 A bag/ nutmercontamer dispensing device/unit as -claimed in any one of the preceding c1aims wherein. the mainand closure sectionsare.moukled.frornp1astics material.

A bag/container container dispensing devicetunit constructed and arrangedto operate substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.