IL102890A - Shopping bag accessory - Google Patents

Description

SHOPPING BAG ACCESSORY SHOPPING BAG ACCESSORY The present invention relates to a shopping bag accessory, and particularly to an accessory facilitating hand-carrying shopping bags .

Articles purchased in food markets and the like are commonly brought home in shopping bags having a handle which is hand-gripped by the person carrying the shopping bag. The handle, which is usually relatively thin, concentrates the force along a line on the holder's hand. This concentrated force can be quite uncomfortable, or even painful if the shopping bag contents are heavy. This discomfort is particularly present where a plurality of shopping bags are grasped at the same time, since the handl of each concentrates the force along the line engaged by the respective handle.

An object of the present invention is to provide an accessory to facilitate hand-carrying shopping bags.

According to the present invention, there is provided an accessory to facilitate hand-carrying shopping bags having a handle at the upper end of the shopping bag which is to be hand-gripped by the person carrying the shopping bag, comprising: a strip of foldable sheet material dimensioned to be insertable between the shopping bag and its handle and to be folded so as to extend on opposite sides of the handle with the upper face of a mid-portion of the strip engaging the underface of the handle; and retainer means at the opposite ends of the stri for retaining the strip in its folded condition such that the mid-portion of the strip covers the underface of the handle and thus distributes the force applied by the weight of the shopping bag over a larger surface of the carrier's hand than would be the case when the accessory is not used in hand-carrying shopping bags; the retainer means comprising a first slit at one end of the strip and extending transversely of the strip from a first edge, but terminating short of a second edge; and a second slit at the opposite end of the strip and extending transversely of the strip from the second edge but terminating short of the first edge.

According to still further features in the described preferred embodiment, the strip is formed with a transversely-extending fold line at the intermediate portion thereof. The fold line extends obliquely to the longitudinal axis of the strip, such as to facilitate initially folding the strip with the open ends of the two slits aligned with and facing each other.

The strip may be of flexible cardboard sheet material or plastic sheet material, which can be produced in volume and at low cost. Moreover, such a strip can carry advertising matter, so that in many cases it could be supplied freely to the purchaser.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description below.

The invention is herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 illustrates one form of accessory, in the form of a flat strip, constructed in accordance with the present invention; Figs. 2a-2d illustrate the manner of folding the flat strip of Fig. 1 when used to hand-carry a shopping bag; Figs. 3a and 3b illustrate the manner of applying the accessory to the shopping bag when it is to be used; and Fig. 4 illustrates the manner of applying the accessory to a plurality of shopping bags.

With reference to Fig. 1, illustrating the accessory illustrated in its flattened condition, it will be seen that the accessory Is constituted of a strip of foldable sheet material, generally designated 2, e.g., of cardboard or plastic sheet material. It is dimensioned so as to be insertable between the shopping bag 4 (Figs. 3a, 3b) and its handle 6 at the upper end of the shopping bag.

Strip 2 is of generally rectangular configuration and is formed with ends 21 , 22 of semi-circular configuration. Strip 2 is further formed with a first slit 23 adjacent end 21 of the strip, and with a second slit 24 adjacent the opposite end 22. Both slits 23, 24 extend transversely of the strip from one edge and terminate short of the opposite edge. Thus, slit 23 extends transversely of the strip from edge 25 and terminates at the midline 26.

Slit 24 at the opposite end extends from edge 27 and also terminates at the midline 26.

Strip 2 is further formed with a transversely-extending fold line 28 at an intermedite portion of the strip. Fold line 28 extends obliquely to the longitudinal axis (midline 26) of the strip. Thus, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, fold line 28 is formed obliquely such that its starting point 28a on edge 25 is closer to slit 24, and its ending point 28b on edge 27 is closer to slit 23. As shown in Figs. 2a-2d, when the fold line 28 is so formed, it initially facilitates folding the strip with the open ends of the two slits 23, 24 aligned with and facing each other (e.g., Fig. 2b), thereby permitting the two ends of the strip to be moved together, as shown in Figs. 2c and 2d, such that the two slits retain the ends of the strip in its folded condition.

The manner of using the strip 2 to facilitate hand-carrying shopping bags is more particularly illustrated in Figs. 3a and 3b.

As shown in Fig. 3a, the strip 2 is inserted between the handle 6 and the upper end of the shopping bag 4, and is then folded along the fold line 28, so as to extend on opposite sides of the handle. The strip is retained in its folded condition by the two slits 23 and 24 as described above with respect to Figs. 2a-2d. When the strip is thus applied to the handle 6 of the shopping bag, the upper face of a mid-portion of the strip 2 engages the underface of the handle 6, and thus distributes the force applied by the weight of the shopping bag over a larger surface of the carrier's handle than would be the case when the accessory is not used for hand-carrying shopping bags.

Fig. 4 illustrates the strip 2 applied to the handles 6 of a plurality of shopping bags 4. It will be seen that the strip here even more widely distributes the force applied by the weight of the shopping bags to the carrier's hand, thereby facilitating carrying the plurality of shopping bags .

The fold line 28 may be merely a line marked on the strip, or may actually be a fold applied to the strip.

It will be appreciated that the accessory illustrated in the drawings, being of a simple strip of sheet material, can be produced in volume and at low cost. In addition, the strip can carry advertising material which, in many cases, would pay for the production costs thereby permitting the accessories to be freely distributed.

While the invention has been described with respect to one preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated that many other variations may be made. For example, pressure-sensitive adhesive may be used as the retainer means for retaining the strips in its folded condition, rather than the slits 23, 24. Also, the fold line 28 may be omitted. Many other modifications and applications of the invention will be apparent.

Claims (9)

102890/2 WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An accessory to facilitate hand-carrying shopping bags having a handle at the upper end of the shopping bag which is to be hand-gripped by the person carrying the shopping bag, comprising: a strip of foldable sheet material dimensioned to be insertable between the shopping bag and its handle and to be folded so as to extend on opposite sides of the handle with the upper face of a mid-portion of the strip engaging the underface of the handle; and retainer means at the opposite ends of the strip for retaining the strip in its folded condition such that said mid-portion of the strip covers the underface of the handle and thus distributes the force applied by the weight of the shopping bag over a larger surface of the carrier's hand than would be the case when the accessory is not used in hand-carrying shopping bags; said retainer means comprising: a first slit at one end of the strip and extending transversely of the strip from a first edge but terminating short of a second edge; and a second slit at the opposite end of the strip and extending transversely of the strip from said second edge but terminating short of said first edge.

2. The accessory according to Claim 1 , wherein each of said slits extends substantially one-half the width of the strip. 102890/2 - 7

3. The accessory according to Claim 2, wherein said strip is formed with a transversely-extending fold line at said intermediate portion thereof.

4. The accessory according to Claim 3, wherein said fold line extends obliquely to the longitudinal axis of the strip, such as to facilitate initially folding the strip with the open ends of the two slits aligned with and facing each other.

5. The accessory according to any one of Claims 1-4, wherein the strip is of rectangular configuration with the opposite ends of the strip being of semi-circular configuration.

6. The accessory according to any one of Claims 1-5, wherein said strip is of flexible cardboard sheet material .

7. The accessory according to any one of Claims 1-5, wherein said strip is of flexible plastic sheet material .

8. The accessory according to any one of Claims 1-7, wherein said strip has advertising information printed thereon .

9. An accessory according to any one of Claims 1-8, to facilitate hand-carrying shopping bags, substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. orney Tel-Aviv 61 230