Bag Rack and Method of Using Same
AssigneeInno-Pak, LLC
InventorEdward Von Doersten
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A bag rack for packaging and dispensing items. The bag rack may include a base portion including a substantially horizontal base plate; and a hanger portion projecting upwardly from the base portion. The hanger portion may include a substantially vertical plate having a lower end coupled to the base plate and an upper end; and a substantially horizontal plate coupled to the upper end of the vertical plate in a substantially orthogonal configuration, the horizontal plate may be configured to support a plurality of storage bags hung thereon, wherein the horizontal plate may extend out over and may be substantially parallel to the base plate.
Claims15
A bag rack for packaging and dispensing items, comprising:
- a base portion comprising a substantially horizontal base plate;
- and
- a hanger portion projecting upwardly from the base portion, the hanger portion comprising:
- a substantially vertical plate having a lower end coupled to the base plate and an upper end;
- and
- a substantially horizontal plate coupled to the upper end of the vertical plate in a substantially orthogonal configuration, the horizontal plate configured to support a plurality of storage bags hung thereon, wherein the horizontal plate extends out over and is substantially parallel to the base plate.
The bag rack of claim 8, wherein the plurality of support member attachment points each comprise a support member opening configured to receive a portion of a corresponding support member. The bag rack of claim 9, wherein each support member opening comprising a wide portion intersecting with a narrow portion, the wide portion configured to initially receive an upper latch portion of the corresponding support member and the narrow portion configured to receive and lock a neck portion of the corresponding support member therein.
The bag rack of claim 6, wherein the plurality of support members comprise suction cup foot members. The bag rack of claim 11, wherein each suction cup foot member comprises an upper latch portion connected to a suction cup portion via a neck portion.
A method of packaging items using a bag rack, the method comprising:
- providing a bag rack comprising a base portion and a hanger portion projecting upwardly from the base portion, the hanger portion comprising a substantially vertical plate having a lower end coupled to the base plate and an upper end;
- and a substantially horizontal plate coupled to the upper end of the vertical plate in a substantially orthogonal configuration, wherein the substantially horizontal plate is configured to support a plurality of storage bags hung thereon;
- hanging one or more storage bags on the hanger portion of the bag rack by engaging a handle cutout of each storage bag with the horizontal plate of the hanger portion;
- opening a frontmost storage bag of the one or more storage bags hung on the bag rack;
- placing one or more items into the frontmost storage bag while the frontmost storage bag is hanging on the bag rack;
- and
- removing the filled storage bag from the hanger portion of the bag rack. The method of claim 13, further comprising closing a resealable opening of the filled storage bag after removing the filled storage bag from the bag rack.
The method of claim 16, wherein securing the plurality of support members comprises:
- inserting an upper latch portion of each support member through a wide portion of a corresponding support member opening in the base plate;
- and
- sliding a neck portion of each support member laterally into a narrow portion of the corresponding support member opening to lock each support member to the base plate.
The method of claim 20, wherein the plurality of support members comprise suction cup foot members, and wherein positioning the assembled bag rack on the work surface comprises engaging suction cups of the suction cup foot members with the work surface to stabilize the bag rack during packaging operations.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.