Bagging station

Abstract

A bagging station is disclosed in which a number of plastic bags on a bag roll can be dispensed from the station in a manner in which enables the bags to be easily opened and filled with various items on the station. The bags are held on the roll within a bag mounting portion on the device and are drawn vertically upwardly into a bag filling portion. The bag is oriented and held in an opened configuration in the bag filling portion to enable to a number of items to be positioned within the bag and maintained on the bag filling portion. Once the bag is filled, the bag can be closed and drawn upwardly out of the bag filling portion, which operates to pull a subsequent bag off of the roll from the bag mounting portion into the bag filling portion prior to separating the filled bag from the subsequent bag, such that the subsequent bag is available for immediate use for filling with other items.

1 . A bag dispensing and filling device comprising: 
 a) a bag mounting portion adapted to hold a number of plastic bags; and    b) a bag filling portion secured to the bag mounting portion defining a generally rigid receptacle to which an unfilled bag can be releasably held in an open configuration and for supporting an exterior surface of the unfilled bags when items are placed within the bags.    
   
   
       2 . The device of  claim 1  further comprising a bag separating member positioned between the bag mounting portion and a bag filling portion, the bag separating member including a central aperture through which bags from the bag mounting portion can pass into the bag filling portion.  
   
   
       3 . The device of  claim 2  wherein the bag separating member is disposed within a central opening in a lower end of the bag filling portion.  
   
   
       4 . The device of  claim 3  wherein the bag separating member includes a number of gripping flanges disposed around the central aperture and engageable with a bag extending therethrough.  
   
   
       5 . The device of  claim 4  wherein the bag separating member is generally circular in shape with the gripping flanges extending radially outwardly from the central aperture.  
   
   
       6 . The device of  claim 4  wherein the separating member is formed from a deformable material  
   
   
       7 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the bag mounting portion includes at least one bag holding member mounted to the bag portion.  
   
   
       8 . The device of  claim 7  wherein the at least one bag holding member is mounted between a pair of opposed openings in the bag mounting portion.  
   
   
       9 . The device of  claim 8  wherein the at least one bag holding member is releasably mounted to the bag mounting portion.  
   
   
       10 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the bag mounting portion includes a support adapted to position the bag mounting portion above a surface.  
   
   
       11 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the bag filling portion has a narrow lower end and a wide upper end.  
   
   
       12 . The device of  claim 11  wherein the bag filling portion is bowl-shaped.  
   
   
       13 . The device of  claim 1  further comprising a bag closing mechanism disposed on the bag filling portion.  
   
   
       14 . The device of  claim 13  wherein the bag closing mechanism is a heat sealing mechanism.  
   
   
       15 . The device of  claim 13  wherein the bag closing mechanism is a mechanical closure.  
   
   
       16 . A method for dispensing and filling a bag, the method comprising the steps of: 
 a) providing a bag dispensing and filling device including a bag mounting portion holding a number of bags thereon, a bag filling portion secured to the bag mounting portion and defining a generally rigid receptacle on which an unfilled bag removed from the bag mounting portion can be releasably positioned in an open configuration and capable of supporting an exterior surface of the unfilled bag when items are placed within the bag, and a bag separating member positioned between the bag mounting portion and the bag filling portion, the bag separating member defining a central aperture through which bags pass from the bag mounting portion into the bag filling portion;    b) drawing a bag from the bag mounting portion into the bag filling portion.    c) engaging the bag with the bag separating member; and    d) filling the bag within the bag filling portion.    
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising the steps of: 
 a) removing the filled bag from the bag filling portion; and    b) drawing a subsequent bag from the bag mounting portion into the bag filling portion.    
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the steps of removing the filled bag and drawing the subsequent bag from the bag mounting portion into the filling portion occur simultaneously.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the steps of drawing the bag into the bag filling portion and engaging the bag with the bag separating member occur simultaneously.  
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising the step of replacing the number of bags on the bag mounting portion after the step of filling the bag.  
   
   
       21 . The device of  claim 1  further comprising a bag separating member positioned between the bag mounting portion and a bag filling portion, the bag separating member including a central aperture through which bags from the bag mounting portion can pass into the bag filling portion, wherein the bag separating member is entirely formed.