This invention relates to retail store fixtures, and, more specifically, to a bagging station that couples to a shopping cart.
A bagging station is a fixture located in a retail store that holds a stack of shopping bags, often plastic shopping bags, and dispenses these bags as they are filled with products a customer has purchased. The shopping bags are held in a manner and position such that it is easy and convenient for a person to open one bag at a time, place purchased items in the bag, and then remove the bag and the enclosed products from the bagging station. Bagging stations have traditionally been located at checkout stations where customers pay for their products, because that is where the products have traditionally been transferred from a shopping cart to the shopping bags. With the advent of electronic purchasing and self-checkout, however, customers are now able to pay for and bag their products as they shop, and these actions can occur at locations besides checkout stations. There is a need for bagging stations in locations in retail stores besides at the checkout station.
Accordingly, what is needed is a bagging station that can be mounted in a shopping cart, so that customers can bag their purchases as they shop.
Disclosed herein are embodiments of an invention related to retail store fixtures, and, more specifically, to a bagging station that couples to a shopping cart. The disclosed shopping cart bagging station can be used by customers to bag their purchases as they shop. The shopping cart bagging station can be made from recyclable materials and is lightweight and portable. The disclosed shopping cart bagging station is formed of elements that are each cut from a sheet of rigid material such as cardboard. The shopping cart bagging station can be supplied as a kit, where the kit includes the sheet of rigid material, with each of the shopping cart elements outlined with perforated lines in the sheet of rigid material. The shopping cart bagging station is constructed by separating the shopping cart bagging station elements from the sheet of rigid material by separating the perforated lines, and then fitting the shopping cart bagging station elements together to form the shopping cart bagging station. The shopping cart bagging station elements fit together with slot joints formed by coupling slots in the elements. The shopping cart bagging station can be provided to the customer in kit form. The customer can separate the shopping cart bagging station elements and construct the shopping cart bagging station themselves.
The disclosed shopping cart bagging station includes a support bar, a first and a second mounting structure, and a bag holder hook. The shopping cart bagging station couples to a shopping cart, holds a plurality of shopping bags, and dispenses the shopping bags one at a time as products are placed in a shopping bag. The first and the second mounting structure couple to the support bar, and are configured to couple the shopping cart bagging station to a shopping cart. The bag holder hook extends from the support bar, and holds the plurality of shopping bags. The first and second shopping cart mounting structures include a first and a second shopping bag handle arm, where each of the first and the second shopping bag handle arms hold a handle of a shopping bag so the shopping bag is held open and items can be placed in the shopping bag. The shopping cart bagging station can be mounted in various locations on a shopping cart, making it easy and convenient for a customer to carry and load a plurality of shopping bags as they shop. The shopping cart bagging station can be provided by the retail store for customer use, much like the use of the shopping cart. Or, in some embodiments, the shopping cart bagging station is brought into the store by the customer. The disclosed shopping cart bagging station provides a means for a customer to load purchases into bags as they shop, instead of having to bag their purchases at a checkout station.
Disclosed herein is a shopping cart bagging station that includes a means to hold a plurality of shopping bags, and a means to removeably couple the means to hold a plurality of shopping bags to a shopping cart. The shopping cart bagging station also includes a means to hold one of the plurality of shopping bags open for insertion of items into the shopping bag. In some embodiments, the means to hold the plurality of shopping bags and the means to removeably couple the means to hold the plurality of shopping bags to a shopping cart are each stamped from a single rigid sheet of material. In some embodiments, the means to hold a plurality of shopping bags and the means to hold one of the plurality of shopping bags open for insertion of items are outlined with perforated lines in the sheet of rigid material. The material can be cardboard, plastic, wood, or other lightweight material, and recyclable so the shopping cart bagging station is lightweight, easily carried, and can be recycled at its end of life. The means to hold the plurality of shopping bags, the means to hold one of the shopping bags open, and the means to removeably couple the means to hold the plurality of shopping bags to a shopping cart can take many different forms. The examples shown and described in this document are not meant to be limiting, and many other variations are possible in light of the teachings in this document.
Shopping cart bagging station 610 couples to a shopping cart 618 as shown in
Shopping cart bagging station 610 is formed of and includes a plurality of individual shopping cart bagging station elements 684 (see
Shopping cart bagging station 610 holds and dispenses a plurality of shopping bags, often plastic shopping bags. Bag holder hook 648 holds the plurality of shopping bags. A first and a second shopping bag handle holder arm 650 and 652 as shown in
Referring to
Shopping cart bagging station 610 includes bag holder hook 648.
Shopping cart bagging station 610 also includes first and second shopping cart mounting structures 614 and 616, as shown in
First shopping cart mounting structure 614 includes a first mounting structure slot 615, first handle holder arm 650, first cart coupling hook 632, and first post 660, as can best be seen in
Second shopping cart mounting structure 616 includes a second mounting structure slot 617, second handle holder arm 652, second cart coupling hook 634, and second post 662, as can be best seen in
First post 660, second post 662, and third post 661 each have a hole 606 (
With cart coupling hooks 604, 632 and 634 coupling shopping cart bagging station 610 to shopping cart 618, shopping cart bagging station 610 can be used by a customer to dispense bags as needed while the customer shops. Shopping cart bagging station 610 can be coupled to any location of shopping cart 618.
Disclosed is a method of forming a shopping cart bagging station that includes perforating a plurality of lines in a sheet of rigid material, wherein each one of the plurality of lines defines one of a plurality of shopping cart bagging station elements, and wherein the plurality of shopping cart bagging station elements fit together to form the shopping cart bagging station once the plurality of perforated lines are separated. In some embodiments the method includes separating the plurality of shopping cart bagging station elements from the sheet of rigid material. In some embodiments the method includes separating by hand the plurality of shopping cart bagging station elements from the sheet of rigid material. In some embodiments the method includes assembling the plurality of shopping cart bagging station elements into the shopping cart bagging station. In some embodiments the method includes assembling by hand the plurality of shopping cart bagging station elements into the shopping cart bagging station.
In some embodiments, the method includes designing a shopping cart bagging station comprising a plurality of shopping cart bagging station elements, wherein each one of the plurality of shopping cart bagging station elements is configured to be cut from a sheet of rigid material. In some embodiments, the plurality of shopping car bagging station elements includes no more than four elements. In some embodiments, the shopping cart bagging station elements include a support bar, a bag holder hook, a first shopping cart mounting structure, and a second shopping cart mounting structure. In some embodiments, the method includes designing a plurality of shopping cart bagging station elements that fit together using a plurality of slot joints.
Disclosed is a method of forming a shopping cart bagging station kit that includes perforating a plurality of lines in a sheet of rigid material, wherein each one of the plurality of lines defines one of a plurality of shopping cart bagging station elements. The plurality of shopping cart bagging station elements fit together to form a shopping cart bagging station once the plurality of perforated lines are separated. In some embodiments, the method includes designing a shopping cart bagging station comprising a plurality of shopping cart bagging station elements, wherein each one of the plurality of shopping cart bagging station elements is configured to be cut from a sheet of rigid material. In some embodiments, the plurality of shopping car bagging station elements includes no more than four elements. In some embodiments, the shopping cart bagging station elements include a support bar, a bag holder hook, a first shopping cart mounting structure, and a second shopping cart mounting structure. In some embodiments, the method includes designing a plurality of shopping cart bagging station elements that fit together using a plurality of slot joints.
The embodiments and examples set forth herein were presented in order to best explain the present invention and its practical application and to thereby enable those of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the foregoing description and examples have been presented for the purposes of illustration and example only. The description as set forth is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the teachings above.
This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/383,170, filed Dec. 19, 2016 to Applicant Walmart Apollo, LLC, and entitled “Shopping Cart Bagging Station and Method of Forming the Same,” which claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/270,785, filed Dec. 22, 2015 to Applicant Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and entitled “Shopping Cart Bagging Station and Method of Forming the Same”, U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/270,813, filed Dec. 22, 2015 to Applicant Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and entitled “Shopping Cart Bagging Station and Method of Forming the Same”, U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/270,827, filed Dec. 22, 2015 to Applicant Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and entitled “Shopping Cart Bagging Station and Method of Forming the Same”, U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/298,011, filed Feb. 22, 2016 to Applicant Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and entitled “Shopping Cart Bagging Station and Method of Forming the Same”, U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/298,017, filed Feb. 22, 2016 to Applicant Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and entitled “Shopping Cart Bagging Station and Method of Forming the Same”, U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/377,135, filed Aug. 19, 2016 to Applicant Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and entitled “Shopping Cart Bagging Station and Method of Forming the Same”, U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/377,143, filed Aug. 19, 2016 to Applicant Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and entitled “Shopping Cart Bagging Station and Method of Forming the Same”, and U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/402,475, filed Sep. 30, 2016 to Applicant Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and entitled “Shopping Cart Bagging Station and Method of Forming the Same”, which are included entirely herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62270827 | Dec 2015 | US | |
62270785 | Dec 2015 | US | |
62270873 | Dec 2015 | US | |
62298017 | Feb 2016 | US | |
62298011 | Feb 2016 | US | |
62377135 | Aug 2016 | US | |
62377143 | Aug 2016 | US | |
62402475 | Sep 2016 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15383170 | Dec 2016 | US |
Child | 16238705 | US |