for a better understanding of the present invention , together with other and further features and advantages thereof , reference is made to the following description , taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings , and the scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims . it will be readily understood that the components of the present invention , as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein , may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations . thus , the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the apparatus , system , and method of the present invention , as represented in fig1 through 6 , is not intended to limit the scope of the invention , as claimed , but is merely representative of selected embodiments of the invention . reference throughout this specification to “ one embodiment ” or “ an embodiment ” ( or the like ) means that a particular feature , structure , or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention . thus , appearances of the phrases “ in one embodiment ” or “ in an embodiment ” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment . the illustrated embodiments of the invention will be best understood by reference to the drawings , wherein like parts are designated by like numerals or other labels throughout . the following description is intended only by way of example , and simply illustrates certain selected embodiments of devices , systems , and processes that are consistent with the invention as claimed herein . fig1 - 6 show a bag carrier , or loose / disparate item consolidator , in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention , in various views . reference may be made to all of these figures simultaneously as needed . fig1 is a perspective view of a bag carrier and loose / disparate item consolidator 100 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . ( hereinafter , the terms “ carrier ” and “ consolidator ” may be considered to be interchangeable .) carrier 100 , as shown , may have a generally c - shaped cross - section . fig2 shows the carrier / consolidator of fig1 in a side elevational view . when viewed elevationally as in fig2 , the cross - section is even reminiscent of a human eye shape , but for a small gap ( 106 ) intended to accommodate items in a manner now to be described more fully . as shown , carrier 100 preferably includes an upper portion or half that itself includes a long arm 102 , a stub arm 104 and a gap 106 that separates these arms 102 / 104 from one another . long arm 102 and stub arm 104 each preferably extend from an entire lower portion or half 108 . the upper portion 102 / 104 and lower portion 108 define a large opening 110 therebetween as shown . as shown , lower portion 108 is preferably gently curved and is symmetrical about a central transverse axis f - f . the upper portion 102 / 104 is nearly a mirror image of lower portion 108 except , in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , for some dimensional differences to be described herebelow and for the introduction of gap 106 between long arm 102 and stub arm 104 . preferably , carrier 100 may be formed from a strong molded plastic or polymeric material that is sufficient for supporting about lower portion 108 a number of filled plastic shopping bags . preferably , then , gap 106 is sufficiently large to permit the introduction therethrough of looped shopping plastic bag handles to allow the ensemble of the carrier 100 and shopping bags hung thereon to be sufficiently supported and carried . preferably , the carrier 100 will be held in the hand like an egg , such that a user grips around a lower surface ( or underside ) of lower portion 108 . as such , if there are looped handles of shopping bags ( or other looped items ) disposed about lower portion 108 , the user &# 39 ; s fingers may be interspersed between , or may flank , such looped handles or items . as such , carrier 100 is preferably sufficiently large as to permit at least four fingers ( i . e ., all fingers but the thumb ) of an average human hand to grip about its entirety ; for instance , four fingers may preferably wrap around the underside of lower portion 108 as just described , while the thumb may go elsewhere for additional stabilization or support ( e . g ., on an upper side of long arm 102 ). at the same time , space 110 is preferably sufficiently large to accommodate several looped plastic shopping bag handles therewithin which will hang about lower portion 108 . in the context of exemplary dimensions to be described herebelow , it is indeed possible for carrier 100 to support up to four or five completely full plastic shopping bags from a grocery store or supermarket . while fig3 shows the carrier / consolidator of fig1 in plan view , fig4 is an elevational cross - sectional view of the carrier / consolidator shown in fig2 , taken along line f - f ; both of these figures help impart an even further appreciation of the relative dimensions of various components of carrier 100 that permit the degree of strength and support just described . on the other hand , fig5 is an end elevational view of the carrier / consolidator of fig1 while fig6 is an elevational cross - sectional view of the carrier / consolidator shown in fig3 , taken along line e - e . these two figures show sample dimensions ( in inches ), wholly illustrative and non - restrictive , that nonetheless give an indication of an eminently workable implementation that has been found to yield impressive results . dimensions proportionate or nearly proportionate to those shown will of course be just as viable . as shown in fig5 , an overall width of carrier 100 could be about 0 . 550 inch , while as shown in fig6 there are several varied dimensions that when combined can yield favorable results . as shown , an overall maximum length of carrier 100 , end to end , could be about 3 . 691 inches ( or in the general neighborhood of 3 . 75 inches ). an overall maximum length of opening 110 , on the other hand , could be about 2 . 332 inches , thus yielding a maximum longitudinal thickness of carrier 100 ( defined in a horizontal direction with respect to fig6 ) of about 0 . 680 inch . a significant thickness dimension such as this , it will be appreciated , will help ensure a strong connection between long arm 102 and lower portion 108 . opening 110 , as shown , may have a maximum transverse dimension defined in a vertical direction with respect to fig6 ) of about 0 . 813 inch . generally , a near 3 : 1 ratio between the longitudinal and transverse dimensions of opening 110 will help ensure considerable space for looped items to be disposed therewithin ( which will hang about lower portion 108 ) while still allowing significant structural integrity of the entire carrier 100 . in other words , the opening 110 will as such be sufficiently large to accommodate a variety of items therewithin but not so large as to compromise the overall structural integrity of carrier 100 . also , in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention , lower portion 108 will generally be thicker than long arm 102 . sample dimensions shown are an apical thickness ( i . e ., a thickness defined at a central transverse axis of carrier 100 ) of about 0 . 250 inch for lower portion 108 and about 0 . 188 inch for long arm 102 . it will be appreciated that the greater thickness of lower portion 108 will help provide even stronger support for shopping bags looped thereabout . furthermore , with a lesser thickness long arm 102 will present a degree of elastic flexibility that will permit , to some limited degree , a selective widening and narrowing of gap 106 ( i . e ., by pulling long arm 102 away from stub arm 104 and / or pushing it towards stub arm 104 ). by way of other relative dimensions or considerations relating thereto , stub arm 104 need only be of minimal length as compared to long arm 102 . it will be appreciated that this will be helpful in terms of permitting a reasonable degree of flexibility for long arm 102 as just described . while reference has been made hereinabove primarily to an application in which plastic shopping bag loop handles may be introduced through gap 106 so as to be looped about lower portion 108 , there are numerous conceivable uses for a carrier 100 as broadly contemplated herein . for instance , carrier 100 could be used to gather up loops of wire or other elongated material to better consolidate or unify such material . other ways in which loose or disparate items could be consolidated or unified by an arrangement such as carrier 100 include , but of course are by no means limited to , the use of carrier 100 as : a “ clip ” to unite loose / disparate items such as documents , invoices and envelopes , to hold or mount one or more items against a mounting medium ( e . g ., to clip sunglasses to a sun visor in a car ); an “ organizer ” or “ consolidator ” to gather or bunch up elongated items such as cords , wires or string ; a “ support ” or “ carrier ” to hang or support one or more items such as clothes hangers or dog leashes . the uses for an item such as carrier 100 are , in general , quite varied and numerous and merely serve to demonstrate the extremely wide versatility of a medium such as carrier 100 . carrier 100 could alternatively be formed from metal ; even here , relative dimensions such as those discussed hereinabove should still preferably ensure that long arm 102 has a degree of elastic flexibility as discussed further above . if not otherwise stated herein , it is to be assumed that all patents , patent applications , patent publications and other publications ( including web - based publications ) mentioned and cited herein are hereby fully incorporated by reference herein as if set forth in their entirety herein . although illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments , and that various other changes and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention .
an organizer for facilitating the arrangement and organization of plastic shopping bags in a shopping trip , also lending itself to the general organization and cohesion of items that are difficult to consolidate or unify . included are a first elongated member and a second elongated member extending from the first elongated member . the first and second elongated members combine to define therewithin a space for accommodating at least portions of items , the first elongated member acting to accommodate a plurality of looped items thereabout , the second elongated member at an introduction gap for introducing looped items therethrough to the accommodating space . further , the second elongated member is elastically deformable to alter a width of the introduction gap .