SHOPPING BAG HANDLE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field Of Tlze Invention The invention generally relates carrying devices and, more specifically, to a shopping bag handle.

Background of the Invention Paper bags commonly used in food shops and supermarkets have been supplanted in most establishments with plastic bags provided with opposing openings which form hand gripping portions or handles. However, while used almost universally, such plastic bags tend to have substantially smaller capacity than the paper variety and any significant purchase invariably results in multiple such bags being packed. Also, when heavy items, such as cans or bottles, are packed the handles gather and stretch to form relatively thin bands which apply substantial forces concentrated along narrow areas or regions of the hand, which can be painful when the bags are carried over for any period of time or distance.

In U. S. Patent No. 6,045, 019 a strap for carrying shopping bags by hand or on ashoulder is disclosed that is made of a relatively thin sheet of flat material that includes a central portion dimensioned to be gripped by the hand and a pair of opposing spaced hooks at each end of the central portion. The hooks and the central portion are essentially formed of the same thickness material all arranged in the same plane. Thus, when the bags at the opposite ends pull downwardly on the hooks the entire strap bends out of the plane into an arcuate shape. Such bending of the central portion renders the device difficult and uncomfortable to hold as it squeezes or presses on opposite sides of the hand. When very heavy bags are carried bending becomes excessive and the resulting compression of the hand can become painful.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide a strap for facilitating carrying shopping bags by hand.

It is another object of the invention to provide a strap as in the previous object which is simple in construction and economical to manufacture.

It is still another object of the invention to facilitate carrying of multiple filled plastic shopping bags with minimum effort and maximum comfort.

It is a further object to provide a strap of the type above suggested that can be used to carry plastic shopping bags, or the like, by hand without squeezing or compressing it while distributing the forces of the weight to minimize the discomfort or pain typically encountered when carrying such bags directly by hand.

It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a strap of the type under discussion that is particularly suitable for displaying one or more advertisements on one or both sides thereof either by being directly printed on the strap or by being printed on a transparent or opaque sleeve or sheet of material that wraps around the strap.

In order to achieve the above objects, as well as others which will become evident to those skilled in the art, a strap for carrying shopping bags or the like by hand is made of a relatively thin elongate sheet of material that defines a longitudinal axis and which is flexible at least along its length direction or axis. A central portion is dimensioned and configured to be gripped by the hand and extend to each side thereof. An end portion is provided at each end of the central portion and formed with gripping means for engaging and retaining the handle formed in a plastic shopping bag. In one form, the gripping portions comprise hook-like members having lateral openings or cutouts on each end portion that receive the shopping bag handles but resist their removal when supported bags on said end portions are pulled in opposite directions. An important feature of the invention is that a plastic hinge is provided between each end portion and the central portion, so that supporting heavy bags on each of the end portions or hooks deflects these out of the plane without materially bending the central portion. The central portion, therefore, remains substantially flat and easy to hold without squeezing the hand of the user. Also, a shrink wrap sleeve covering the central portion of the strap can be used to display one or more a advertisements. The sleeve is preferably pre- printed prior to application about the strap although it can be printed after it is placed on the strap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates the manner in which the strap of the invention is typically used to carry two plastic shopping bags.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a strap in accordance with the invention, illustrating the manner in which a handle of a plastic shopping bag is received and retained within one of the end gripping portions.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the strap shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of the strap shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is similar to Fig. 2 but shown with a shrink-wrapped sleeve suitable for displaying advertisements.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to Fig. 1, one embodiment of the shopping bag handle in accordance with the invention is generally designated by the reference numeral 10.

The handle 10 is made of a generally flat strip of material that defines a handle axis A (Figs. 3 and 4). The strip is shown to be generally rectangular in shape although the specific configuration is not critical. The handle 10 includes a central portion 12 configured to be comfortably held by a user. At axial ends of the central portion 12 there are provided depending members 14,16 that extend beyond the central portion and can be positioned in the plane of the central portion 12 or can be moved out of that plane, as shown in Fig. 1. This is achieved by providing a plastic hinge 18 at each axial end between the central portion 12 and a depending member 14,16 as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The strap 10 may be formed of any thin sheet of non-brittle and non-rigid material.

Although various materials may be used, as to be described, the material used should be sufficiently flexible at least along the length direction or in the direction of the axis A.

Polyethylene may be used for the straps, although other plastics or other suitable materials may also be used, with different degrees of advantage.

The strap 10 including the central portion 12 has lateral edges 12a, 12b which is dimensioned and configured to be gripped by the hand. The edges can be straight as shown or provided with arcuate recesses dimensioned to at least partially receive the fingers of the user.

In FIG. 2 the strap 10 is shown as it would normally be used to support at least two bags B. It will be noted that the strap 10 conforms, under the weight of the bags B, to bend or deflect the depending members 14,16 out of the plane of the central portion 12 to positions as shown in which the depending members can assume orientations as much as 90° to the central portion.

The axial length of the strap 10 is not critical although the length should be selected to position the bags being carried at a comfortable height at the front and rear of the user. It has been found, for example, that an overall length equal of about 8. 5" is suitable, although different lengths may be used to accommodate the size and/or height of the user. The central portion may be about 4. 5" long and ergonomically shaped to maximize comfort and minimize high stress concentrations on the hand.

In the broadest aspects of the invention the central portion is provided at each axial end thereof with gripping means for engaging and retaining a handle formed in a plastic shopping bag. Such gripping means can take any form which will suitably and selectively grip a shopping bag and retain it. Therefore, such gripping means may include clips or the like. However, in the presently preferred embodiments, such gripping means are in the form of a hook 20 defining a lateral cutout or passageway 22 on one side of the axis A, which receive the shopping bag handles within an opening 24 but resists their removal when supported bags on said depending members are pulled in opposite directions, as suggested in FIG. 1.

The facilitate the insertion of the bag handles into the openings 24 the hooks 20 are preferably provided with rounded corners 26,28. To enhance the rigidity of the central portion while minimizing the weight and the amount of material used there are preferably provided longitudinal ribs 30 on one or preferably both sides of the central portion 12 as shown in Fig. 2. The same is true of the depending members 14,16 which are provided with any suitable array of ribs 32. However, the surfaces of the hooks 20 may be solid and without ribs, as shown in Fig. 5.

To facilitate the insertion of the bag handles into the narrow passageway 22 an inclined edge is preferably provided which extends from the central portion 12, along the hinge 18 and the initial portion of the depending members 14,16. This assists to guide the bag handles to and through the narrow passageway 22 with minimal effort by the user.

Preferably, a slight radius 34 is provided where the hinges 18 meet the central portion 12 to strengthen the connection and resist the significant stresses that can result at such connection points when heavy bags are supported by the handle.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the invention.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, a feature of the invention is the placement of a slightly oversized elongate tubular sleeve to surround the central portion 12, after which the sleeve can be heated to shrink, in a well-known manner, to tightly secure the sleeve over the central portion so as to prevent relative movements thereof in relation to the handle in the direction of the axis A. The sleeve is preferably pre-printed with advertising text, graphics, logos, trademarks, service marks and the like in each sector S1-S4. Of course, larger ads can be imprinted over two or more sectors, and can be printed on one or both sides of the handle.