WO1998019926A1

WO1998019926A1 - Handle for a bottle

Info

Publication number: WO1998019926A1
Application number: PCT/US1997/019605
Authority: WO
Inventors: Philippe Le Bras
Original assignee: The Mead Corporation
Priority date: 1996-11-01
Filing date: 1997-10-24
Publication date: 1998-05-14
Also published as: GB9622828D0; ZA979774B; AU5004197A

Abstract

A handle device for facilitating pouring the contents from a bottle (A) or like container which handle comprises a sleeve (C) to be received over a neck portion of the bottle and a handle part (H) by which the device can be grasped to hold the bottle during pouring and wherein an upper aperture (104) of the sleeve is defined by edges which engage neck parts of the bottle to hold the sleeve in place when in use.

Description

HANDLE FOR A BOTTLE

The invention relates to a handle to facilitate pouring the contents of a bottle or like container.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is a handle device for facilitating pouring the contents from a bottle or like container which handle comprises a sleeve to be received over a neck portion of the bottle and a handle part by which the device can be grasped to hold the bottle during pouring and wherein an upper aperture of the sleeve is defined by edges which engage neck parts of the bottle to hold the sleeve in place when in use.

According to a feature of this aspect of the invention, the sleeve may comprise a series of hinged panels adapted to change the shape of said upper aperture so as to receive the neck part of the bottle and then to grasp said neck part.

According to another feature of this aspect of the invention, a tab may be attached to and in vertical alignment with said handle part, said tab being adapted to support and upper portion of said article.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is a blank for forming an article carrier comprising handle panel, a pair of article support panels connected to said hand and being adapted to be placed around an article, in a set up condition, a handle support panel and a tab connected to said handle support panel being in a proximate relationship with said handle panel such that when said article carrier is in a set up condition the tab supports an upper portion of said article.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a carton blank according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of an erect carton formed from a blank as shown in Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a carton blank 10 formed from paperboard or like sheet material for providing a detachable handle for a bottle. The blank 10 comprises a series of support panels 12, 14, 20, 22, 24 and handle panels 16, 18 hinged one to the next. Thus, outer interconnecting panel 12, side panel 14, handle panel 16, handle panel 18, side panel 20, side panel 22 and inner interconnecting panel 24 are hingably connected one to the next along fold lines 30, 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40 respectively. The blank is symmetrical about the central fold line 34.

Aperture 42 is formed in a portion of side panel 14 with one of its edges in alignment with fold line 32. Likewise, aperture 44 is formed in side panel 20 being in a symmetrically opposite position about central fold line 34 as aperture 42 with one of its edges in alignment with fold line 36.

Handle flap 46 is struck from handle panel 16 being connected along fold line 47. The free edge of flap 46 forms one edge of aperture 42. Likewise, handle flap 48 is struck from handle panel 18 and is connected to handle panel 18 along fold line 49. The free edge of flap 48 forms one edge of aperture 44.

Handle reinforcing panels 50, 52 are foldably connected together along their common fold line 34 and hinged to handle means 16, 18 respectively along fold line 54. Handle reinforcing panels 56, 58 are foldably connected together along their common fold line 54 and connected to handle panels 16, 18 respectively along fold line 60. Handle reinforcing panels 50, 56 and 52, 58 are sized to avoid interference with flaps 44 and 46 respectively.

Support tab 62 is hingably connected to side edge of handle support panel 50 along fold line 64. One side of support tab 62 is positioned adjacent to but separated from an upper edge of support panel 14 by cut line 66. Similarly, support tab 68 is hingably connected to one side edge of handle support panel 52 along fold line 70. One edge of support tab 68 is positioned adjacent to but separated from side panel 20 by cut line 72.

Optionally, elongate apertures 74, 76 are struck from the common edges of reinforcing panels 50, 52 and 56, 58 respectively, thereby interrupting fold line 54 to make the folding easier during carton set up process (described in greater detail below) . In this embodiment, apertures 78 and 80 are also struck from intersecting portions of 16, 18, 50, 52 and 16, 18, 56, 58 respectively to round-off the outer corners of the handle panels 16, 18.

A carton C shown in Figure 2 is formed from the blank by folding panel 24 into overlapping relationship with panel 22 and causing the reinforcing panels 50, 52; 56, 58 to be folded about fold lines 54 and 60 respectively and adhered into face to face relationship with handle panels 16, 18 respectively and after applying adhesive to the exposed faces of the reinforcing panels and of panel 24 the blank is folded about its centre line fold 34 in order to form a multiply handle and an integral generally fustro-conical sleeve .

The carton is in a set up condition as illustrated in Figure 2 and bottle A has its neck portion through aperture 102 formed from the lower edges the sleeve C and protruding through a square shaped aperture 104 which engages with the underside of neck flange of bottle A. The square shaped aperture is defined by the upper edges e_x to e₄ of the panels 12, 14, 20 and 22 as shown in Figure 1. The aperture can change shape by virtue of the articulated connections between those panels. Thus, relative movement of the panels allows the aperture to adapt as necessary in order to by slide fitted over a bottle top so that a bottle neck is received therein but also to adopt a shape whereby some or all the edges e to e₄ abut under the bottle neck flange to secure the sleeve and handle to the bottle so that it can be lifted to pour out the contents. Tab 62, 68 extend inwardly away from said handle panels 16, 18 and are adapted to provide extra locking engagement to the underside of the bottle neck flange when the article A is being poured.

Handle flaps 46, 48 can be folded out of alignment to provide additional support for handle panel 16, 18 thereby increasing the area of apertures 42, 44 so that a user's fingers can be received through these apertures .

The present invention and its preferred embodiment relates to a handle device which is shaped to provide satisfactory strength to hold a bottle securely but with a degree of flexibility so that the load transferred to the handle is absorbed by the device. The shape of the blank minimises the amount of paperboard required. The device can be applied to a bottle by hand or automatic machinery. It is anticipated that the invention applied to a variety of carriers and not limited to those of the top gripping sort .

Claims

1. A handle device for facilitating pouring the contents from a bottle or like container which handle comprises a sleeve to be received over a neck portion of the bottle and a handle part by which the device can be grasped to hold the bottle during pouring and wherein an upper aperture of the sleeve is defined by edges which engage neck parts of the bottle to hold the sleeve in place when in use .

2 • A handle device according to claim 1 wherein the sleeve comprises a series of hinged panels adapted to change the shape of said upper aperture so as to receive the neck portion of the bottle and then to grasp said neck part .

3. A handle device according to claim 1 or claim 2 further comprising a tab attached to and in vertical alignment with said handle part, said tab being adapted to support an upper portion of said article.

4. A blank for forming a handle device comprising handle panel, a pair of article support panels connected to said handle panel and being adapted to be placed around an article in a set up condition, a handle support panel and a tab connected to said handle support panel being in a proximate relationship with said handle panel such that when said article carrier is in a set up condition the tab supports an upper portion of said article.