Bag holder and opening apparatus

Claim 1

Apparatus for successively dispensing paper-like bags each having opposite side walls and opposite end walls connected by a bottom wall and being foldable between an open condition and a collapsed condition with the end walls folded between the side walls and the bottom wall folded against one of the side walls, said apparatus comprising a box-like cabinet having a rectangular front opening and means for supporting a stack of substantially vertical collapsed bags with the upper end portion of said one side wall of the front bag in the stack exposed for manual gripping, means adjacent the sides of the front opening for restraining the other side wall of the front bag when said one side wall is pulled from said supporting means, at least one resilient rubber-like gripping member disposed adjacent the bottom of said front opening and having a gripping surface, said gripping surface extending above the lower folded edge of the front bag and engaging and gripping the bottom surface of the folded bottom wall of the front bag, a pressure member supported within said cabinet in back of the stack of bags for movement towards said front opening and cooperating with said gripping member to cause said gripping surface to press the folded bottom wall of the front bag against the adjacent side wall of the bag, and said gripping surface having a coefficient of friction sufficient to restrain and pull downwardly on the bottom wall of the front bag when said top end portion of said one side wall is pulled from the stack to cause unfolding of the bottom wall and automatic opening of the bag as the bag is remOved from the stack.