GB2261366A

GB2261366A - Grip for carrying bags

Info

Publication number: GB2261366A
Application number: GB9223962A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony Wellesley Houghton
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-11-14
Filing date: 1992-11-16
Publication date: 1993-05-19
Also published as: GB9223962D0

Abstract

A grip which cushions the hands from the high pressure lines of strip material handles of carrying bags, comprises a body 11 with an upper longitudinal groove 15 for the sheet material handles and finger receiving grooves 13 on the underside 12 of the body. The body may be formed from sheet material formed with the finger recesses and parts of the groove, the sheet material then being formed into a tube by butt joining its opposite ends. The tube of sheet material so formed is closed by end plates and may be further reinforced by internal supports. The body may have a transverse hole to receive a tie strip for attachment to a user. <IMAGE>

Description

GRIP FOR CARRYING BAGS This invention relates to a grip, by which is meant a device for holding within the channel formed by the crooked fingers of one hand, to assist the carrying of articles which might otherwise be uncomfortable to carry. It is known that a pad of corrugated paper to wrap around a piece of glass prevents the carrier's hand being cut and preformed paper mache channels have also been formed for the same purpose.

The old-fashioned shopping basket had a comfortable handle, so that there was no problem even with a heavy load of purchases. Now that plastics bags are generally used, whose handles are each formed by one or two strips of plastics material, the relatively thin material exerts a very much greater pressure on the carrier's hand which may cause impediment of the blood supply and considerable discomfort.

A device has been proposed with a body formed with a series of hooks and a handle extending in a loop over the body.

The plastics bags are then hung by their handles over the hooks and the whole assembly is lifted by means of the handle. The disadvantage of this arrangement is that the device is bulky, its hooks may catch in clothing and so the device is difficult to carry to have available when required.

GB-A-2 254 544 which was published after but filed before the priority date of this application discloses a similar device for this purpose which is of generally U-shape but the longitudinal edges of the "U" has enlarged portions to prevent the device slipping off the handles of the plastics bags when these are placed in the central groove. The enlarged portions define a groove which is wider at its base than at its mouth. The base of the U-shape is thin relative to the enlarged portion which means that it must be made of strong material if it is to distribute the pressure of the handles of the plastics bags over a wide area of the user's hands. The base of the U-shape is of uniform section, and its underside is smooth. Furthermore, the device's side elevation has an arcuate shape which indicates that it must be moulded rather than extruded.

The device is solid.

According to the present invention there is provided a grip comprising a body to be carried in the crooked fingers of the user's hand, the body being formed on its upper side with a longitudinal groove for receiving strip articles to be carried and on its underside with recesses for receiving the user's fingers.

The minimum body length should be that of the width of the hand; a small hand would require a minimum length of, say, 6 cm whereas a large hand would require a longer body, of 8 or even 10 cm.

The finger recesses are preferably arranged symmetrically along the length of the device so that the device is not handed. The inner two finger recesses are preferably narrower than the outer two.

An example of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a grip, and Figure 2 is a transverse section through the grip of Figure 1.

In Figure 1, the grip 11 is generally of cylindrical shape, of about 3 cm diameter. The underside 12 is formed with transverse grooves 13 to fit the fingers of the user when the grip is carried in the crooked fingers of one hand. The grooves are arranged symmetrically along the length of the grip, the inner grooves being 2 cm wide and the outer grooves being 2.5 cm. The ends of the grip are plane in this example, although they could be curved or domed.

The upper side 14 of the grip is formed with a longitudinal groove 15 of generally uniform rectangular section and smooth sided. Right angle shoulders 17 define the mouth of the groove 16 which has right angle corners 18 defining its base. The groove 15 could depart from the uniform section and be splayed out at the longitudinal ends of the grip to avoid any sharp edges cutting into the plastics handles laid in the groove. The top surface of the grip on either side of the groove is gently curved so that there is a smooth transition from the outer side surface of the grip over the top to the mouth of the groove. The transverse grooves may extend beyond the underside of the grip up the side surfaces of the grip as well, extending over the whole of the continuous curve from one side of the groove mouth to the other.

When a heavy plastics bag has to be carried, the device would be brought out and the strip handles of the plastics bags are laid in the longitudinal groove 15. The carrier would then loop the fingers around the underside of the body into the grooves 13 and lift the bag, which would be considerably more comfortable than lifting the bag directly by its plastics handles.

The device 11 could be made available at points of saie to be offered with plastics bags and might carry an advertising slogan, although the compact nature of the device makes it easy for a user to carry one or two in a pocket or handbag for use when required. A transverse hole 16 might be formed for passage of a tie strip by which the body could be attached to the user's wrist to save the device becoming lost if dropped into a bag or on the ground. The hole is preferably arranged along the length of the grip aligned with a division between two finger grooves so that the tie does not obstruct a finger when the device is in use.

Although the device could be solid, in which case it could be moulded from plastics material or even carved from wood, the preferred method of manufacture is from sheet plastics material, as is apparent from the section of Figure 2. A 2 mm sheet is vacuum formed with the finger recesses and the shoulders along the top of the device and at the bottom of the groove. The vacuum formed sheet is then bent into a loop of 1.5 cm external diameter and its opposite ends butt jointed along the centre of the base of the groove. End plates are fitted into the ends of the tube to give it a measure of rigidity and the inherent flexibility of the sheet material will cushion the user's fingers from the weight of the strips carried in the longitudinal groove.

For added strength additional supports would be fitted inside the tube, as transverse bulkheads, longitudinal support under the groove base or as horizontal or vertical pillars. The longitudinal support and the pillars may be formed in the initial sheet forming process before the loop formation.

The groove base is preferably below the centre of the device for stability; it is preferably located between the centre and 0.2 of the radius below the centre and in this example is shown at 1.6 cm below the top of the device, ie about 0.1 of the radius below the centre. When the device is solid, this gives a good thickness of material below the base of the groove to distribute the localised forces from the strip material in the groove over a wide area of the user's fingers.

Claims

1. A grip comprising a body to be carried in the crooked fingers of the user's hand, the body being formed on its upper side with a longitudinal groove for receiving strip articles to be carried and on its underside with recesses for receiving the user's fingers.

2. A grip as claimed in claim 1 wherein the side surfaces of the grip are formed with extensions of the finger recesses.

3. A grip as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the end finger recesses are wider than the intermediate recesses.

4. A grip as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the finger recesses are arranged symmetrically along the length of the body.

5. A grip as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 comprising means for attaching a handle to the body.

6. A grip as claimed in claim 5 wherein the means comprises a hole formed in the body through which a handle loop can pass.

7. A grip as claimed in claim 6 wherein the hole is in the same transverse plane as a division between two finger recesses.

8. A grip as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the depth of the groove does not exceed 0.6 of the depth of the device.

9. A method of forming a grip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims comprising forming a sheet with said finger grooves and the top and bottom edges of the longitudinal groove, and butt joining opposite edges of the sheet to form a loop.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein the butt join is within the groove.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the butt join is at the centre of the base of the groove.

12. A method as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 11 comprising providing an additional support within the tube between the groove and the base of the body.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12 comprising forming said support in the sheet forming step.

14. A grip substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

15. A method of forming a grip substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.