Interleaved Produce Bag Dispensing for Single-Handed Separation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing produce bag dispensing system is inefficient, requiring both hands to separate bags, often resulting in waste and contamination, as a single-handed attempt to pull a bag can cause the entire roll to unroll, leading to bag wastage and dirtiness.
Innovation Solution
The produce bags are manufactured with interleaved ends and rolled in an overlapping configuration, with a constricted container opening that uses friction to ensure only one bag is removed at a time, allowing single-handed use and reducing waste while maintaining sanitary conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If bags are rolled in a conventional non-overlapping configuration, then bags can be easily unrolled, but single-handed removal causes the entire roll to unroll resulting in waste and contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies nesting by placing each bag inside the overlapping portion of the previous bag, creating a nested configuration where bags are contained within one another. This nesting structure prevents the entire roll from unrolling when a single bag is removed, as each bag is individually accessible through the overlapping sections rather than requiring unrolling of the entire roll.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the continuous roll into individually accessible bags through overlapping sections. Each overlapping portion creates a discrete access point for removing a single bag without affecting the integrity or position of other bags in the roll, enabling controlled single-handed removal.
2Weight of moving object
If bags are made of lighter material for produce weighing, then produce can be weighed in the bag, but friction between bags is insufficient preventing proper separation and causing waste
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating localized friction zones in the overlapping sections of adjacent bags. While the overall bag material remains lightweight for produce weighing, the overlapping portions are designed to provide sufficient friction to prevent unintended separation and ensure controlled individual bag removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent prepares the bags in advance by creating overlapping configurations with controlled friction characteristics during manufacturing. This preliminary arrangement ensures that when a consumer removes a bag, the friction in the overlapping sections naturally controls the separation process, preventing premature unrolling while allowing clean separation at the intended perforation points.
3Productivity
If bags are separated during manufacturing and rolled conventionally, then bags are individually accessible, but rapid pulling to separate bags causes unrolling and contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The nesting configuration allows consumers to quickly access and remove individual bags by simply pulling on the overlapping section, eliminating the need for rapid jerking motions. The nested structure naturally guides the removal process, enabling fast dispensing without the risk of the entire roll unrolling and contaminating the produce.
4Loss of substance
If a constricted opening is provided in the container, then only one bag can be removed at a time, but bag removal becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The nested configuration with overlapping sections allows bags to be fed through the constricted opening in a controlled manner. The overlapping portions act as guides that naturally align the bags with the opening, reducing the effort required to remove individual bags while maintaining the constraint that prevents multiple bags from being removed at once.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables convenient, single-handed dispensing of produce bags, reducing waste and maintaining their cleanliness by ensuring only one bag is removed at a time, with enhanced frictional contact between bags to prevent roll unrolling and contamination.
Implementation Method 1
Friction between overlapped portions of each bag is controlled to draw a subsequent bag in the roll partway through the constricted opening upon extraction of a previous bag through the opening by a user
Data Source
AI summary
Produce bags are delivered with less waste and in more sanitary condition through a container holding a roll of bags having overlapping but separate ends. Adhesion between the bags and ultimate separation of the bags may be flexibly controlled with an interfolding of the bags and control of an orifice which applies drag to the bags and compression as they are removed.