GB2298361A - Bag grip - Google Patents

Abstract

A bag grip in the form of a cardboard or plastics strip (10) has four parallel fold lines (12, 14, 15, 16) defining a tag (20) at one end, and a slot (18) through which the tag can be inserted to secure the grip around the handles of one or more carrier bags. Most preferably, at least part of the grip comprises or carries an item such as a voucher (28) of value or potential value.

Description

Ban Grip This invention relates to a bag grip.

When purchasing goods in supermarkets and similar stores, shoppers frequently load goods into a trolley. At the check-out desk where the goods are paid for, the goods are transfemed into a plurality of carrier bags, typically made of plastics or paper.

A purchaser having a number of filled carrier bags to deal with experiences difficulty accumulating the bags so that two or three can be carried in one or each hand. Moreover, if an accumulated set of bags is set out, they readily separate and one or more falls over or collapses. Even if only one bag is to be carried, the bag handles tend to deform into a string-like form which can be uncomfortable to carry.

One object of the present invention is to provide a solution to these problems.

According to the invention there is provided a bag grip comprising a flat strip which can be folded or bent around the handles of one or more carrier bags and which has means at or adjacent its opposite ends whereby the strip can be secured to itself to form a hand grip holding together and supporting the handles of the carrier bag or bags.

The bag grip may also be used by supermarkets and like stores to facilitate delivery to the customer of goods ordered by telephone, fax machine or modem.

Preferably, the strip for forming the bag grip has an item of value or potential value attached. This item may be a voucher, ticket or coupon forming an integral part of the strip, and the strip may be destroyed othen the item is separated. For convenience, the item of value or potential value is referred to hereinafter as a voucher, but it could be, for example, a product sample, such as a sachet of shampoo, a lottery ticket or scratch card, or a small booklet, such as a booklet of recipes.

For example, it is envisaged that a particular supermarket or store may freely provide a customer with a one-use bag grip in accordance with the invention, the grip having a voucher specific to the particular store or supermarket and which can be taken back to the same supermarket or store for redemption after it has been separated from the grip, thereby to encourage customer loyalty. The voucher may in itself be worth a cash discount, or it may be worth points which accumulate to provide a cash discount or prize.

The value of the voucher could be marked as a barcode, readable by the barcode reading machines commonly used in stores and supermarkets.

However, it is not essential for the bag grip to be an item intended for only a single use. If the bag grip is intended for a multiple use it may still have a valuable voucher attached, but this would be separable in a way that does not destroy the strip.

The strip which forms the bag grip may be made of cardboard or of plastics material.

In an embodiment made of cardboard the strip is subdivided by four transverse weakened lines for enabling folding, the fold lines separating a tag at one end, three portions which fold into a triangular formation for holding and supporting the carrier bag handles and an opposite end portion slotted at its fold line where it joins the main portion of the strip in order to receive the tag at the remote end of the strip. Conveniently, the said opposite end portion may constitute the voucher, so that it is readily separable through the slot. The slot is then destroyed so that the bag grip cannot be re-used.Obviously, however, a separable voucher portion could be provided detachment of which does not destroy the grip, for example as a portion adjoining the side of the strip or, more preferably, a portion beyond the opposite end portion above described, so that the said opposite end portion is an inner end portion and the voucher is an outer end portion.

A similar construction to the above-described cardboard arrangernent could be made of semi-rigid plastics material, also having weakened lines of thin plastics material to enable the plastics strip to be folded. However, other plastics constructions are possible, for example in which the strip bends into a suitable hand grip, two end regions of the strip having transverse slots extending from opposite side edges of the strip to enable the strip to be secured in the form of a hand grip. The central portion of the hand grip holding and supporting the carrier bag handles would then form a smooth curve convenient for holding by hand.

The invention is further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a cardboard blank in the form of a strip for folding to form a bag grip from the front; Figure 2 shows the strip from the back; and Figures 3a to 3c show the manner in which the cardboard blank is folded to produce the hand grip.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the cardboard blank comprises a strip 10 having four transverse lines of weakening constituting fold lines 12, 14, 15, 16, the lastmentioned fold line 16 being interrupted by a transverse slot 18.

End portion 20 beyond fold line 12 is shaped as an arrow-like trapezoid so as to constitute a tag. Intermediate portions 22, 24, 26, of which central portion 24 is narrower in the direction of the length of the strip, can be folded to produce a triangular formation the base of which can support the handles of up to say three plastics carrier bags, these carrier bag handles being held together by the two side walls of the triangular formation.

The blank can be fixed in its folded formation by inserting the tag 20 through the slot 18. Figures 3a to 3c illustrate the manner in which the cardboard blank is used to form the hand grip.

The end portion 28 beyond the slotted line 16, 18 is rnarked for use as a discount voucher or the like, which may be a discount at a particular store or supermarket or a manufacturer's discount. As indicated at 30, this end portion 28 carries a barcode representative of the discount. The central portions 22, 24, 26 carry markings which include instructions for use of the blank, whilst tag 20 may be marked to indicate that the hand grip is a free gift at the store or supermarket, if this is appropriate.

The hand grip enables a customer safely to carry up to three bags and also to set the bags down without them separating and falling over.

As above-described, when the discount voucher is torn off for redemption, the hand grip is destroyed, as the voucher is separated through the slotted fold line ]6, 18. The bag grip is thus for one use only. The customer will receive a new blank when next visiting the same store or supermarket.

However, whilst still carrying a discount voucher, the cardboard blank can readily be designed for re-use after the voucher has been detached, for example by providing the voucher as an additional portion beyond the portion 28.

When the bag grip is intended for re-use, it may be preferable for the blank to be formed of plastics material.

The means of securing the folded strip to itself in order to form the bag grip may also be modified. One possible alternative arrangement, more suitable for a plastics construction, may be two transverse slots extending partly across the width of the blank from opposite sides thereof, one at the position of the abovedescribed fold line 12 and one at the position of the above-described fold line 16.

Claims (14)

Claims

1. A bag grip comprising a flat strip which can be folded or bent around the handles of one or more carrier bags and which has means at or adjacent its opposite ends whereby the strip can be secured to itself to form a hand grip holding together and supporting the handles of the carrier bag or bags.

2. A bag grip according to claim 1, having an item of value or potential value attached.

3. A bag grip according to claim 2, in which the item is a voucher of value.

4. A bag grip according to claim 2, in which the item is a lottery card of potential value.

5. A bag grip according to claim 3, in which the voucher carries a bar code representing its value.

6. A bag grip according to any of claims 2 to 5, in which redemption of the item of value or potential value destroys the bag grip.

7. A bag grip according to any of claims 1 to 6, in which the bag grip can be undone, re-secured and re-used.

8. A bag grip according to any of claims 1 to 7, made of cardboard.

9. A bag grip according to any of claims 1 to 7, made of sheet plastics material.

10. A bag grip according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the strip is subdivided by four transverse weakened lines for enabling folding, the fold lines separating a tag at one end, three portions which fold into a triangular formation for holding and supporting the carrier bag handles and an opposite end portion slotted at its fo]d line where it joins the main portion of the strip in order to receive the tag at the remote end of the strip.

11. A bag grip acording to claim 10, in which the opposite end portion constitutes the item of value or potential value.

12. A bag grip according to claim 10, in which the voucher constitutes an additional portion of the strip removable without destroying the bag grip.

13. A bag grip according to claim 9, in which the plastics strip is bendable to form a hand grip.

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