|Publication number||US7090272 B2|
|Application number||US 11/160,391|
|Publication date||Aug 15, 2006|
|Filing date||Jun 22, 2005|
|Priority date||Jun 25, 2004|
|Also published as||US20050285421, WO2006012175A1|
|Publication number||11160391, 160391, US 7090272 B2, US 7090272B2, US-B2-7090272, US7090272 B2, US7090272B2|
|Inventors||Jeffrey Paul Novakovich, John Emile Mosca, Ronald Wayne Riley|
|Original Assignee||Add-A-Handle, Inc.|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (22), Referenced by (4), Classifications (6), Legal Events (7)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/584,949, filed on Jun. 25, 2004, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The present invention relates to the field of handles and more particularly to a handle for a thin plastic consumer bag.
The use of plastic bags is prolific in our consumer driven economy. Plastic bags are so cheap to produce, sturdy, plentiful, easy to carry and store that they have captured at least 80 percent of the grocery and convenience store market since they were introduced a quarter century ago. First introduced in the 1970s, plastic bags now account for four out of every five bags handed out at the grocery store. Based upon data released by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2001 on U.S. plastic bag, sack, and wrap consumption, somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. Plastic bags have eclipsed the use of paper bags for carrying purchased consumer goods. It costs one cent for a standard plastic grocery sack, whereas a paper bag costs four cents to manufacture.
Plastic bags are made from either Type 2 plastic (high-density polyethylene film—HDPE) or Type 4 plastic (low density or linear-low density polyethylene film—LDPE/LLDPE), both of which can be recycled. These plastic bags include a pair of plastic handles that are formed as a contiguous part of the plastic bag.
From grocery stores to retail stores, merchants place purchased goods in these cheap and plentiful plastic bags. Consumers gather these plastic bags and place them by hand into their vehicles to transport home. The bumps, turns, and jostling of the vehicle while travelling home can cause the contents of the plastic bag to shift. Jars of spaghetti sauce and cartons of milk can roll around the trunk and break once free of the confines of the plastic bag. Once at home and the trunk is opened, the consumer will have to rebag the goods that fell out of the bag from the journey. Consequently, there is a need to develop a handle that can attach to the plastic handles of the plastic bag to keep the bag closed during transit, thereby keeping the goods contained therein secure.
Weight is an important factor with plastic bags. The consumer has to hand carry the good laden plastic bags when transporting the goods to and from their vehicle. Many consumers will attempt to hand carry multiple good laden plastic bags in each hand at one time. The handles of these plastic bags are comprised portions of the sheet plastic that form the bags. When these plastic bags are loaded with a heavy amount of goods, the plastic bag handles tend to bunch up into a thin strip that is not very ergonomic and can cause discomfort and even pain to the hand of the consumer. Consequently, stores attempt to redistribute heavy loads of goods across multiple bags, thereby making the load of goods easier to carry. Moreover, this requires the use of additional bags, which adds to the cost of doing business for the merchant. Consequently, there is a need to develop an ergonomic handle that can attach to the plastic bag enabling consumers to carry heavily laden bags comfortably. In addition, by enabling consumers to carry heavier bags more comfortably, merchants can use fewer bags, thereby reducing operating costs.
Attaching an additional handle to a plastic bag takes time. If the process of attaching a handle to a plastic bag takes too much time, any cost savings from using the handle is lost due to the additional labor cost. Consequently, it is highly desirable to develop a handle configuration that is simple and can attach to a plastic bag swiftly.
The ability to sell advertising space to others can greatly improve the bottom line of any merchant. It is therefore desirable to develop a handle that can also display visual advertisements.
The present invention is an ergonomic handle that attaches to a plastic bag. The ergonomic handle has at least two folds formed therein forming a flat bottom surface and a pair of side walls. The flat bottom surface rests comfortably in the consumers hand while the side walls provide additional ergonomic grip and comfort to the consumers palm and fingers. Lower portions of the side walls are formed into bag arms. These bag arms pivot along the folds formed in the ergonomic handle. Bending the side walls along the folds enable the bag arms to move between open and closed positions. When the side walls are bent into an open position, the plastic handles that are a contiguous portion of the plastic bag may be inserted through the ergonomic handle. Releasing the side walls from the open position allows the ergonomic handle to return to a closed position due to the elastic nature of the material that forms the ergonomic handle.
As the side walls pivot along the folds back into a closed position, the bag arms close around the plastic bag handles that are a contiguous part of the plastic bag. When in a closed position, the bag arms and bottom surface define an opening in which the plastic bag handles are confined. When the plastic bag handles are confined in this opening, the plastic bag is held in a locked condition such that any goods contained therein cannot generally come out of the bag during transport.
Additional folds may be provided in the upper portions of the sidewalls to create at least one upper flat surface. This upper flat surface or surfaces provide additional ergonomic support for the thumb and fingers.
Referring to the Figures by characters of reference, a conventional thin sheet consumer plastic bag 40 is depicted in
Plastic bag 40 includes plastic bag handles 42 that are a contiguous part of the bag carrying portion 44, referred to herein as bag 44. Plastic bag 40 includes two of such plastic bag handles 42. When plastic bag handles 42 are held together, goods contained in bag 44 are generally not able to get out of bag 44 when plastic bag 40 experiences jostling as it is transported by a consumer.
Bag arms engage plastic handles 42 of plastic bag 40. Bag arms 60 and flat bottom surface 54 are formed such that together, when ergonomic handle 50 is in a closed position, an opening 62 is defined. Plastic handles 42 extend through both openings 62. Together, bag arms 60 and flat bottom surface 54 constrain both plastic handles 42 within opening 62, thereby holding plastic bag 40 in a closed, or “locked” configuration. When in this closed or locked configuration, goods contained within bag 44 are generally unable to fall out of the bag, thereby improving the ability of bag 44 to hold goods.
Ergonomic handle 50 is typically made out of a paper product such as cardboard. Folds 52 are generally formed in ergonomic handle 50 by creasing the cardboard. Cuts 58 are generally formed by cutting the cardboard. Other conventional processes for forming folds 52 and cuts 58 are well known of those skilled in the art. Alternatively, ergonomic handle 50 may be formed of a plastic, or other suitable material.
By making ergonomic handle 50 out of cardboard, it is easy to bend side walls 56 into the open position shown. By virtue of the elastic and flexible nature of cardboard, ergonomic handle 50 exhibits “memory,” whereby releasing side walls 56 from their open position allows the side walls to bend back along folds 52 into substantially the closed position illustrated in
When a consumer carries plastic bag 40 by placing their hand on ergonomic handle 50, their hand will bend ergonomic handle 50 into a substantially open configuration as shown in
When the consumer sets plastic bag 40 down and releases their hand from ergonomic handle 50, ergonomic handle 50 returns to a substantially closed position as illustrated in
When the consumer releases their hand from ergonomic handle 50, side walls 56 pivot along folds 52 back into a generally closed position. As side walls 56 pivot, bag arms 60 come closer together and begin to define opening 62 along with flat bottom surface 54. As bag arms 60 come together, plastic handles 42 are guided into position within defined opening 62, thereby constrain the movement of plastic handles 42.
Ergonomic handle 50 has the great advantage of being formed with flat surfaces that can support printed advertising.
Having fully described the invention with referred to the preferred embodiments illustrated in the attached drawing Figures, it will be really appreciated by those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the essence of the invention and without being included within the spirit and scope of the invention as is defined by the appended claims.
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|GB2253995A *||Title not available|
|Citing Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US8708384||Feb 14, 2013||Apr 29, 2014||Thomas Boland||Carrying handle|
|US8764292||Nov 20, 2008||Jul 1, 2014||Performance Seed||Article for holding product and methods|
|US8936174 *||Mar 12, 2013||Jan 20, 2015||Kurt R. Kramer||Plastic bag dispenser pipe|
|US20100124386 *||Nov 20, 2008||May 20, 2010||Sheldon Sturgis||Article for Holding Product and Methods|
|U.S. Classification||294/171, 294/137|
|Cooperative Classification||A45F5/1046, A45F2005/1073|
|Jun 28, 2005||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: ADD-A-HANDLE, INC., ARIZONA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:NOVAKOVICH, JEFFREY P.;MOSCA, JOHN E.;RILEY, RONALD W.;REEL/FRAME:016431/0796
Effective date: 20050110
|Mar 22, 2010||REMI||Maintenance fee reminder mailed|
|Aug 16, 2010||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4
|Aug 16, 2010||SULP||Surcharge for late payment|
|Mar 28, 2014||REMI||Maintenance fee reminder mailed|
|Aug 15, 2014||LAPS||Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees|
|Oct 7, 2014||FP||Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee|
Effective date: 20140815