Shopping cart bagging station

• US 10,173,708 B1
• Filed: 08/02/2018
• Issued: 01/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Inventors: Bacallao, Yurgis Mauro
• Primary Examiner(s): Skurdal, Corey N
• Application Number:
  US16/053,248
• Time in Patent Office: 159 Days
• Field of Search: 224411, 224925, 248690, 248692, 248 95
• CPC Class Codes: B62B 2202/26 Handbags, e.g. shopping bags
• CPC Class Codes: B62B 3/146 Lockers, hooks, e.g. for personal belongings
• CPC Class Codes: B62B 3/1464 Bags or containers specially adapted to the baskets
• CPC Class Codes: B62B 3/1472 Supports for specific articles B62B3/1468 takes precedence

Abstract

Described is a shopping cart bagging station can be used by customers to bag their purchases as they shop. The disclosed shopping cart bagging station includes a box front portion and a back plate that couple together to form a rectangular enclosure for shopping bags. The box front portion has a bag holder hook inside the enclosure that shopping bags are hung from. An opening in the box front portion allows access to the shopping bags hanging from the bag holder hook. At least one cart coupling hook is coupled to the back plate to couple the shopping cart bagging station to a shopping cart. A customer hangs the shopping cart bagging station, with shopping bags hung from the bag holder hook, on the side of a shopping cart, and uses the shopping cart bagging station to provide shopping bags while they shop.

Claims

1. A shopping cart bagging station comprising:

a box front portion comprising;

a front plate;

a top plate having at least one top clip slot;

a bottom plate, wherein the bottom plate comprises at least one bottom clip slot and wherein the top plate is smaller than the bottom plate;

a first side plate having a first side curved edge; and

a second side plate having a second side curved edge;

a back plate removeably coupled to the box front portion, wherein the back plate comprises at least one locking clip coupled to a back plate inner surface;

an opening in the box front portion configured for removing at least one shopping bag from the shopping cart bagging station;

at least one bag holder hook coupled to a top plate inner surface, wherein the at least one bag holder hook holds the at least one shopping bag, and wherein the at least one bag holder hook extends towards the back plate; and

at least one cart coupling hook coupled to a back plate outer surface, wherein the at least one cart coupling hook couples the shopping cart bagging station to a shopping cart.

2. The shopping cart bagging station of claim 1, wherein the front plate, top plate, bottom plate, first side plate, and second side plate are formed as an integral structure.

3. The shopping cart bagging station of claim 1, wherein:

the top plate comprises three top clip slots;

the back plate comprises three top locking clips coupled to the back plate inner surface adjacent a back plate top edge; and

each of the three top locking clips couple to one of the three top clip slots, thereby coupling the back plate to the top plate.

4. The shopping cart bagging station of claim 3, wherein the three top locking clips extend through the top plate from the top plate inner surface to a top plate outer surface.

5. The shopping cart bagging station of claim 1, wherein:

the bottom plate comprises three bottom clip slots;

the back plate comprises three bottom locking clips coupled to a back plate inner surface adjacent a back plate bottom edge; and

each of the three bottom locking clips couple to one of the three bottom clip slots, thereby coupling the back plate to the bottom plate.

6. The shopping cart bagging station of claim 5, wherein the three bottom locking clips extend through the bottom plate from a bottom plate inner surface to a bottom plate outer surface.

7. The shopping cart bagging station of claim 1, wherein the shopping cart bagging station comprises two handle holder hooks coupled to the top plate inner surface on either side of the at least one bag holder hook.

8. The shopping cart bagging station of claim 7, wherein the at least one bag holder hook and the two handle holder hooks are J-hooks, and wherein the at least one bag holder hook and the two handle holder hooks all face the back plate.

9. The shopping cart bagging station of claim 7, wherein the at least one bag holder hook and the two handle holder hooks are J-hooks, and wherein the at least one bag holder hook faces the back plate, and the two handle holder hooks each face the front plate.

10. The shopping cart bagging station of claim 1, wherein the cart coupling hook faces towards the bottom plate.

11. The shopping cart bagging station of claim 1, further comprising a stabilizer bar extending from the back plate outer surface in a direction perpendicular to the back plate.

12. The shopping cart bagging station of claim 11, further comprising a connecting bar extending between the cart coupling hook and the stabilizer bar.

13. The shopping cart bagging station of claim 1, wherein the opening is larger than the front plate.

14. The shopping cart bagging station of claim 1, wherein the first side curved edge extends between a top plate front edge and a front plate top edge.

15. A method of assembling a shopping cart bagging station, the method comprising:

coupling a front plate, a top plate having three top clip slots, a bottom plate having three bottom clip slots, a first side plate, and a second side plate together to form a box front portion having an opening;

removeably coupling a back plate to the box front portion, wherein the back plate comprises three top locking clips that extend through the three top clip slots, and three bottom locking clips that extend through the three bottom clip slots;

coupling a bag holder hook to a top plate inner surface, wherein the bag holder hook extends towards the back plate; and

coupling a cart coupling hook to a back plate outer surface, wherein the cart coupling hook is configured to be coupled to a shopping cart, and wherein the cart coupling hook faces towards the bottom plate.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising coupling a first and a second handle holder hook to the top plate inner surface on either side of the bag holder hook.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the bag holder hook, the first and the second handle holder hook all face towards the back plate.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the bag holder hook faces toward the back plate, and wherein the first and the second handle holder hook face toward the front plate.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising coupling at least one stabilizer bar having a stabilizer bar hole to the back plate outer surface.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein:

the top plate is smaller than the bottom plate;

the first side plate has a first side curved edge; and

the second side plate has a second side curved edge.