Patent ID: 9573745
Date: 2017-02-21
CPC Classifications: B65D

Claim:
1. A carrier having a plurality of container receiving apertures for unitizing a plurality of containers, the containers having a shoulder diameter and a waist diameter, the carrier comprising: a series of interconnecting webs that define the plurality of container receiving apertures, the webs stretchable around the shoulder diameter of the container and recoverable around the waist diameter of the container, whereby the waist diameter is 23-30% smaller than the shoulder diameter; a weld extending longitudinally across the carrier between two longitudinal rows of the container receiving apertures, a center distance defined between the weld and an inner edge of each container receiving aperture, wherein the inner edge is a generally straight segment parallel to the weld; and a pair of oblique bands extending from the weld that define each container receiving aperture, wherein an oblique band width is wider than the center distance resulting in inner portions of the container receiving apertures stretching beyond an elastic state at an inside periphery of each container receiving aperture while the oblique bands accommodate the stretching and recovery without suffering neckdown in the interconnecting webs.