COMFORT GRIP FOR BAG HANDLES

Abstract

A thin walled tube has a slit though which a bag handle can be inserted to reduce the pressure against the hand of the pressure against the hand of the carrier of the bag. The tube may be a cardboard tube rolled from a flat sheet into a cylinder and may have indentation at its opposite ends to locate the side edges of the handle. The outer surface of the cylinder may be decorated or carry printed advertizing or the like.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/093,794, filed Sep. 3, 2008, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a bag handle adapter or comfort grip and more specifically to an inexpensive adapter to improve the users comfort in carrying a bag by its handle or straps.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Portable bags frequently have handles or straps or the like for conveniently carrying the bag with one hand. The bags can be of any material such as a flexible plastic bag which may have integral extending openings defining handles, paper bags which may have twine handles and bags of other materials with diverse handles secured to or integral with the bag.

When a bag is loaded and carried by its handle, the thin handle of twine, cardboard or plastic will press into the users hand with a force dependent on the weight of its contents. If the bag needs to be carried for any significant length of time, the handles pressing into ones hand can become increasingly uncomfortable. This is particularly true for older users or shoppers carrying such bags.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention a tubular adapter of any desired material, typically thin cardboard, has a single lengthwise slit which permits the handles of a users bag to be inserted into the tube. The round tube under the handle then provides an increased diameter under the handle which bears on the users hand over a larger area and distributes the pressure from the handle over a larger area for increased comfort.

The cylinder may be cardboard rolled to a tube, like the familiar toilet paper core tube and will preferably have“memory” and return to its tubular shape after being spread open at the longitudinal slit to assemble or fit it on the handle.

Materials other than cardboard can be used such as plastic, other paper products and the like.

Advertizing or other material can be printed on the exterior surface of the tube, and the tube is very inexpensive and disposable.

The side of the tube opposite the slit may have V-shaped or other indentations at the tube ends which receive the opposed sides of the handle to adapt the tube to different width handles and to locate the adapter on the handle.

The tube may be printed and stamped from a flat sheet and rolled to its cylindrical form.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is the top view of a thin sheet of cardboard which can be rolled to the tubular shape of the handle adapter or comfort grip of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view like FIG. 1, showing blunted point ends and preferred dimensions for a stamped-out blank which can be rolled to a comfort grip.

FIG. 3 shows an elevation view of one side of the blank of FIG. 2 after it is rolled to a tubular form.

FIG. 4 shows an elevation view of the opposite side of the rolled tube of FIG. 3, showing the longitudinal slit which enables its securement to a bag handle with the edges of the slit returning to a “memorized” condition, abutting one another or overlapping one another.

FIG. 5 is a top view of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a top view of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a thin cardboard blank 20 having triangular (or other shape) notches 21, 22 in its opposite edges.

The blank 20 has a thickness greater than about 1 mm, and is rolled to a cylinder as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, which cylinder will tend to memorize or keep its tubular shape. The cylinder preferably has a length greater than about 6 cm and diameter greater than about 2 cm.

The tube can be easily opened or spread at slit 30, to allow insertion of the handle of a bag into the tube to provide a “comfort grip” to a user. Slit 30 is preferably parallel to the axis of the tube, but it may have other orientations. The opposite sides of the handle will nest into slots 21, 22 which are at the opposite ends of the tube, on the side of the tube opposite to slit 30, to position the handle. The corners of the blank may be blunted at corners 41, 42, 43 and 44.

Advertising or other information may be printed on the outside surface of the tube of FIGS. 3 to 6.

In manufacture, a large flat sheet containing a large number of blanks 20 can be printed and stamped to shape in subsequent shearing or die cutting operations.

The handle which is received in the tube can be a handle for any object, usually a plastic or paper bag, and may be a part of a plastic sheet crushed into a round thin elongated shape, or may be a thin flat member. The tube diameter is considerably greater than the thickness of the handle.

Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein.

Claims

1. A comfort grip for a thin handle of an object to be manually carried; said comfort grip comprising a hollow tube having a length about equal to or greater than the width of a users hand and a diameter substantially greater than the thickness of the handle in any transverse dimension; said tube having a thickness greater than about 1 mm; said tube having a longitudinal slit along its full length to enable the insertion of said thin handle through said slit and against a line along the interior surface of said tube and opposite to said slit.

2. The comfort grip of claim 1, wherein said object to be carried is a shopping bag.

3. The comfort grip of claim 1, wherein said carrying handle is a thin member of generally circular cross-section.

4. The comfort grip of claim 1, wherein said carrying handle is a narrow strap.

5. The comfort grip of claim 1, wherein said hollow tube has a length equal to or greater than about the width of a user's hand and a diameter substantially greater than the maximum thickness of said handle.

6. The comfort grip of claim 5, wherein said tube has a length greater than about 6 cm and a diameter greater than about 2 cm.

7. The comfort grip of claim 1, wherein the edges of said slit in said tube overlap one another.

8. The comfort grip of claim 1, wherein first and second notches are formed in the opposite respective ends of said tube which are diametrically opposite to the respective ends of said slit to receive and locate the handle in locations where the handle exits from said tube.

9. The comfort grip of claim 1, wherein said tube is formed from a thin flat sheet of material having a memory which tends to hold it in a cylindrical form after the slit is spread open to receive said handle.

10. The comfort grip of claim 9, wherein said sheet is a cardboard or plastic sheet having a thickness greater than about 1 mm.

11. The comfort grip of claim 1, wherein the exterior surface of said tube has printing thereon.

12. The comfort tube of claim 1, wherein said slit is parallel to the axis of said slit.

13. The comfort grip of claim 2, wherein said tube has a length greater than about 6 cm and a diameter greater than about 2 cm.

14. The comfort grip of claim 13, wherein first and second notches are formed in the opposite respective ends of said tube which are diametrically opposite to the respective ends of said slit to receive and locate the handle in locations where the handle exits from said tube.

15. The comfort grip of claim 14, wherein said tube is formed from a thin flat sheet of material having a memory which tends to hold it in a cylindrical form after the slit is spread open to receive said handle.

16. The comfort grip of claim 15, wherein said sheet is cardboard or plastic having a thickness greater than about 1 mm.

17. The comfort grip of claim 16, wherein the exterior surface of said tube has printed indicia thereon such as advertizing.