Abstract:
A handle structure for cartons has a handle body and two symmetrical fastening pairs disposed at two ends of the handle body. Each fastening pair includes an inside L frame, an outside L frame, and a flexible ligament connecting the inside L frame and the outside L frame. While the locations of the inside L frame and the outside L frame are shifted through the flexible ligament, the inside fastening strip of the inside L frame and the outside fastening strip of the outside L frame can adjoin closely. Moreover, the inside unfolded strip of inside L frame and the outside unfolded strip of the outside L frame are led to a status as two wings spanned in parallel at both sides of the flexible ligament.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    (1) Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The invention relates to handle structures of cartons, specifically to such a handle structure with an all-in-one configuration and easily being assembled. 
         [0003]    (2) Description of the Prior Art 
         [0004]    As to conventional methods of carrying cartons (normally for the cartons accommodating lighter things), the popular ways are bound with ropes, carried by another bag, or held by the handle provided by cartons themselves. Here, the more convenient way is using the handle provided by carton itself. The object of the present invention relates to the carrying tool of the type of handles provided by cartons themselves. 
         [0005]    Please refer to  FIG. 9 , showing a schematic section view of joining a conventional handle structure  20  on the top  101  of a carton. Normally, the handle  20  is a symmetric structure of all-in-one module and each of its two ends have a respective hook  202 , so that, after the handle  20  has been assembled at a corresponding opening  103  on the carton, a lift force F can block the handle  20  under the top  101  of the carton and lead to an effective structure for a handle of carton. 
         [0006]    However, in conventional structures, when the lift force F is applied to the handle  20 , because of the configuration of the handle  20 , the contact with carton normally occurred at the two anti-force points, PA, as shown in the figure. Furthermore, the factor that anti-force is concentrated and the strength of carton is limited (particularly, the intensity for bending near opening  103 ) makes the whole structure strength of joining carbon and handle insufficient, thereby the opening  103  of carton is prone to chronic deformation. As time elapses, either the opening  103  breaks or the end of the handle  20  is slipped off the opening  103  because the opening  103  is gradually deformed. 
         [0007]    Hence, in conventional handle structures for cartons, the maximum lift force F (proportional to weight accommodated in the carton) will decrease gradually day by day. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The main goal of the present invention is to provide a handle structure for cartons, which uses the active joint structure of handle ends to distribute the exerted force uniformly over the whole end after the handle is assembled on the carton. Thereby, the integrity of the opening structure can be formed and a maximum load for the carton can be guaranteed. 
         [0009]    The handle structure of the carton in the present invention comprises a handle body, two symmetrical fastening pairs disposed at two ends of the handle body. 
         [0010]    The handle body of the present invention is a longitudinal strip, or a structure like a band. 
         [0011]    Each fastening pair of the present invention can include an inside L frame, an outside L frame, and a flexible ligament flexibly connecting the inside L frame and the outside L frame. 
         [0012]    The inside L frame is a two-arm structure in L shape where one arm is an inside fastening strip connected to the handle body while the other is an inside unfolded strip connected to the inside fastening strip. In addition, the inside fastening strip has at least one inside fastening part, and the junction of the inside fastening strip and the inside unfolded strip is defined an inside edge of frame corner (i.e., the outside edge of the corner at the center of the inside L frame). 
         [0013]    The outside L frame is a two-arm structure in L shape, a mapped form from the inside L frame where one arm is an outside fastening strip and the other is an outside unfolded strip connected to the outside fastening strip. In addition, the outside fastening strip has at least one outside fastening part and the junction of the outside fastening strip and the outside unfolded strip is defined an outside edge of frame corner (i.e., the outside edge of the corner at the center of the inside L frame). 
         [0014]    The flexible ligament of the present invention, connecting the inside edge of frame corner on the inside L frame and the outside edge of frame corner on the outside L frame, makes the outside L frame swingable to the inside edge of frame corner through the joint, a flexible ligament. 
         [0015]    In the present invention, when the positions of the inside L frame and the outside L frame are shifted through the flexible ligament, the inside fastening part on the inside fastening strip and the corresponding outside fastening part on the outside joining strip fasten and fix. At the same time the outside fastening strip and the inside fastening strip meet and fit closely, while the inside unfolded strip and the outside unfolded strip extend as two parallel spanning wings at both sides of the flexible ligament. 
         [0016]    In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the inside fastening part on the inside fastening strip and the outside fastening part on the outside fastening strip can be configured as a projective pin button and a hole for being passed by a projective pin button, respectively. 
         [0017]    In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the inside fastening part on the inside fastening strip and the outside fastening part on the outside fastening strip can be configured as a hole and a projective pin button passing the hole to appear a fixed status. 
         [0018]    In order to let committee members may have a further understanding and approval of the present invention, a detailed description along with figures is illustrated as follows. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the handle structure of a carton in accordance with the present invention along with the carton before being joined. 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of the handle structure in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  shows a section view of an operating state (first of the four continuous states) for assembling the handle on the carton. 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  shows a section view of another operating state (the second of four continuous states) for assembling the handle on a carton. 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  shows a section view of a further operating state (the third of four continuous states) for assembling the handle on a carton. 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  shows a section view of a completed operating state (the fourth of four continuous states) for assembling the handle on a carton. 
           [0025]      FIG. 7  shows a section view of one side of the fastening pair for another embodiment of the handle structure for the carton of the present invention. 
           [0026]      FIG. 8  shows a section view of one side of the fastening pair for the other embodiment of the handle structure for the carton of the present invention. 
           [0027]      FIG. 9  shows a section view of one side of the conventional handle structure for the carton. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0028]    In the following description, for the consistency of technical explanation in the present invention, if in different embodiments there exist parts with same function but minor different in shape, they are named with the same terms and reference numerals. 
         [0029]    Please refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , showing respectively a perspective view before a preferred handle structure  11  is joined to a cartoon  1 , and a perspective view of the handle structure in  FIG. 1 . The handle structure  11  in  FIG. 1  and in  FIG. 2  is under different states. 
         [0030]    The handle structure  11  of the present invention, disposed on the carton  1  as a carrying tool for the carton  1 , comprises a handle body  11 , two symmetrical fastening pairs  112  at two ends of the handle body  110 . 
         [0031]    The handle body  110  formed as a longitudinal strip or a band structure is the portion of the handle structure  11  for a lifting force to be applied. 
         [0032]    The fastening pair  112 , disposed at the corresponding opening  103  for assembly on the top surface  101  of the carton  1 , is used for the handle structure  11  to be fixed on the frame structure of the carton  1 . Each fastening pair  112  can include an inside L frame  112   a , an outside L frame  112   b , and a flexible ligament  112  connecting the inside L frame  112   a  and the outside L frame  112   b.    
         [0033]    As to the inside L frame  112   a , a preferred one is a two-arm body structure in L shape, where one arm is an inside fastening strip  1121  connecting to the handle body  110  and the other is an inside unfolded strip  1123  connecting to the inside fastening strip  1121  (or an extension of the inside fastening strip  1121  in perpendicular). The fastening strip  1121  has at least one inside fastening part  1127  (as shown in the figure, an inside fastening part  1127 ). In addition, the junction between the inside fastening strip  1121  and the inside unfolded strip  1123  (i.e., the outside edge of corner at the center of the inside L frame  112   a ) is defined as an inside edge of the frame corner  1125 . 
         [0034]    The outside L frame  112   b  is an two-arm structure in L shape mapped from the inside L frame  112   a , where one arm is an outside fastening strip  1122  and the other is an outside unfolded strip  1124  fixedly connecting to the outside fastening strip  1122  (or perpendicularly extending from the outside fastening strip). Here, the outside fastening strip  1122  may be equipped at least one outside fastening part  1128  (as shown in the figure is an inside fastening part  1127 ) and the junction between the outside fastening strip  1122  and the outside unfolded strip  1124  (i.e., the outside edge of the corner at the center of the outside L frame  112   b ) is defined as an outside edge of the frame corner  1126 . 
         [0035]    The flexible ligament  112   c  of the present invention, connecting the inside edge of the frame corner  1125  on the inside L frame  112   a  and the outside edge of the frame corner  1126  on the outside frame L  112   b , based on the feature of its flexibility, makes the outside frame L  112   b  swingable to the inside edge of the frame corner  1125  (similar to a pivotal motion or a joint motion). In  FIG. 2 , the fastening pairs  112  at both ends of the handle structure  2  represents a different state of rotation angle from that of the fastening pairs  112  in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0036]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , when the inside unfolded strip  1123  of the inside frame L  112   a  and the outside unfolded strip  1124  of the outside frame L  112   b  fit closely, two outside fastening strips  1122  and two inside fastening strips  1121  of the handle structure and handle body  110  represent an analogous state of a continuous connection plane. 
         [0037]    When the positions between the inside frame L  112   a  and the outside frame L  112   b  shift through the flexible ligament  112   c , the inside fastening part  1127  at the inside fastening strips  1121  is matched and joined to its corresponding outside fastening part  1128  at the outside fastening strip  1122 . At present, the outside fastening strip  1122  and the inside fastening strip  1127  fit closely and the inside unfolded strip  1123  and the outside unfolded strip  1124  extend as two parallel spanning wings at two sides of the flexible ligament  112   c.    
         [0038]    In the embodiment as shown in the figure, the inside fastening part  1127  on the inside fastening strip  1121  and the outside fastening part  1128  on the outside fastening strip  1122  can be a projective pin button and a hole for being passed by the projective pin button. 
         [0039]    Please refer to  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 5 , and  FIG. 6 , showing the section views for four sequential operations for assembling the handle structure  11  on the carton  1 . These four drawings illustrate how to install a fastening pair  112  in the opening  103  on a top surface  110  of the carton  1 . For a clear illustration, the fastening pair  112  at the left side of the handle structure  11  is taken as an example. 
         [0040]    In  FIG. 3 , the fastening pair  112  and the assembling opening  113  on the top surface  101  of the carton are separated without connecting. That is, the entire fastening pair  112  is at the outside  2000  of the top  101 . Now, the inside unfolded strip  1123  of the inside L frame  112   a  and the outside unfolded strip  1124  of the outside L frame  112   b  fit closely and point downwards to the opening  103  while the inside fastening strip  1121  on the inside L frame  112   a  and the outside fastening strip  1122  on the outside L frame L  112   b  form as two spanning wings in parallel at two sides of the flexible ligament  112   c.    
         [0041]    In  FIG. 4 , the fastening pair  112  is sent to have the inside unfolded  1123  and the outside unfolded  1124  entering the opening  103 . 
         [0042]    While the inside fastening strip  1121  and the outside fastening strip  1122  of the fastening pair  112  enter the opening  103  further, then the inside fastening strip  1121  and the outside fastening strip  1122  at both sides of the flexible ligament  112   c  can be lifted with a motion as if two wings are to be closed (such as the moving direction shown in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 ). This makes the middle bending part (the structure near flexible ligament  112   c ) of the inside L frame  112   a  and the outside L frame  112   b  smoothly move downwards and pass the assembling opening  103 , and leads the inside unfolding strip  1123  and the outside unfolding strip  1124  gradually and completely to the inside  3000  under the top  101  of the carton. 
         [0043]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , after the inside unfolding strip  1123  and the outside unfolding strip  1124  are completely disposed at the inside  3000  on the top  101  of carton, the inside fastening strip  1121  and outside fastening strip  1122  are closely overlapped by fixedly joining the inside fastening part  1127  and its corresponding outside fastening part  1128 . Then, the inside unfolding strip  1123  and the outside unfolding strip  1124  form two continuous strips disposed inside  3000  of the top  101 . 
         [0044]    After finishing the joining steps as shown from  FIG. 3  to  FIG. 6  for the fastening pair  112  at two ends of the handle structure  11 , the assembly of installing the handle structure  11  on the carton  1  has finished. Now, the inside fastening strip  1121  on the inside L frame  112   a  and the outside fastening strip  1122  on the outside L frame  112   b  fit closely and pass through the opening  103 , and the inside unfolding strip  1123  and the outside unfolding strip  1124  form a status of two continuous strips constrained to be disposed at the inside  3000  of the top  103  (that is, they are extended as the status of two parallel spanning wings at both sides of the flexible ligament  112   c ). 
         [0045]    Please refer to  FIG. 7 , a section view of the fastening pair  112  at one side of another embodiment for the handle structure  11  on the carton  1  of the present invention. The difference in the embodiment from earlier ones is that the inside fastening part  1127  on the inside fastening strip  1121  and the outside fastening part  1128  on the outside fastening strip  1122  are a hole and a projective inserting part passing through the hole with a fixedly joining status (merely contrary to the structure of the above embodiment), respectively. 
         [0046]    Please refer to  FIG. 8 , showing a section view of the fastening pair  112  at one side of another embodiment for the handle structure  11  of the carton  1  of the present invention. The difference in  FIG. 8  from that of the embodiment in  FIG. 7  is that two sets of the same combination of the inside fastening part  1127  and the outside fastening part  1128  in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0047]    In the present invention, the handle structure  11  is preferred to be adopted as an all-in-one structure. However, under certain situations, the inside unfolded strip  1123  and the outside unfolded strip  1124  can be fabricated separately, and then be fixedly joined when assembling the inside fastening strip  1121  and the outside fastening strip  1122 , respectively. Under this situation, the original design of a flexible ligament can be eliminated. 
         [0048]    With the structure of the fastening pair  112  at ends of the handle structure  11  of the present invention, after the handle  11  is assembled on the carton, lifting force can be distributed uniformly to the inside unfolded strip  1123  and outside unfolded strip  1124  at ends of the handle  11 . Thereby, this leads to not only holding the integrity of structure but also keeping the capability of bearing the maximum load for the carton for a longer time. 
         [0049]    The above description employing a preferred embodiment to illustrate the present invention in details, yet not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Those experts on this technology should realize that any equivalent embodiment or minor modification will not exempt from infringing the object of the present invention and should be included within the scope of this patent application. 
         [0050]    In summary, the substantiality performed in the present invention has followed regulations in the patent law. After the examination by committee members, this application is expected to be approved and patented.