Patent Publication Number: US-6701571-B2

Title: Carrying handle

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable. 
     STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to handles for carrying items, such as packages, bags, cartons or other containers, and more particularly, to adhesively applied handles. 
     2. Discussion of the Prior Art 
     It is well-known that handles can be attached to items to facilitate carrying. Handles can be attached directly to objects designed to be carried or to the containers or packaging housing the items, for example, cardboard boxes and paper and plastic bags. These containers can have separate handles attached to the container in some way or they can be a unitary part of the container, formed as appendages or hand-receiving openings. 
     A common problem with handles made of the same material as the product packaging is that they are prone to tearing or breaking under the weight of the product unless the entire packaging is made of high-strength materials, which is disadvantageous for reasons of cost. To overcome this problem, the present invention provides adhesively attachable handles, made of relatively high strength materials. In this way, stronger, more costly materials need only be used at the handle where the stresses are the greatest. It also makes opening the package easier for the consumer, since the package doesn&#39;t need to be made out of the same high strength material as the handle. 
     Also, some bag or box styles do not include or can&#39;t be made to include a handle. Therefore, an attachable handle can be used with these styles of packages. 
     Known adhered handles have suffered from drawbacks such the means of attaching the handle, complex structure and difficult assembly or application. 
     Accordingly, a need exists for an improved adhered carrying handle. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a high-strength adhered carrying handle that, among other things, can be adhered to bags, cartons and packages of any shape and are formed flat to be compactly stored and readily assembled, or provided on a continuous web and automatically applied. 
     Specifically, the invention is a handle for carrying a bag, container, package or the like formed into a structure secured to a release liner. The handle has first, second and third panels. The first panel has contiguous first and second panel parts. The first panel part has an outer edge and a first cut line defining a first hand receiving opening. The second panel extends in a plane substantially parallel with the first panel part from the outer edge of the first panel part to an inner edge adjacent to the junction between the first and second parts of the first panel. The second panel has a second cut line defining a second hand receiving opening at least partially in registration with the first hand receiving opening. The third panel is substantially coplanar with the second panel part and has an inner edge extending from the inner edge of the second panel. Undersides of the second panel part and the third panel are releasably adhered to the release liner. 
     In a preferred form, the handle is a single sheet of material folded flat to form the first, second and third panels. Fold lines form the outer edges of the first panel part and the second panel and the inner edges of the second and third panels. The second and third panels are releasably joined by a dry release adhesive to maintain a flat profile of the handle on the release liner and on the package, until the handle is used by a user. 
     The invention can provide a spool or a fan-folded stack of handles on a continuous web or strip of release liner. The release liner is releasably adhered to a plurality of handles for use in automated assembly of the handles to product packaging. The plurality of handles are preferably spaced from each other in alignment as needed depending on the size of the package and the rate it is traveling when the handle is being assembled. The folds of the handle are preferably parallel to the machine direction of application of the handles. 
     The handle can be attached automatically or manually via the adhesive at the underside of the second panel part and the third panel to a package at a single upper surface or multiple side (and/or top) surfaces. 
     The sheet material forming the panels is preferably a high-strength plastic film, the grade and gauge of which is selected according to the size and weight of the item to be contained in the package. Also, the first panel part and the second panel preferably include two arcuate slits at the ends of their respective cut lines forming the hand-receiving openings. These arcuate slits increase the stresses that the handle can withstand at the sides of a person&#39;s hand holding the handle. 
     In a method of making a series of handles of the invention from a continuous web, for each series of handles to be made in the web, a series of sets of two hand holes are cut for each handle, each set of two hand holes being spaced apart in a machine direction from the next set of two hand holes. The two hand holes of each set are formed opposite from one another on opposite sides of an outer edge of a first panel part of each handle. Two spaced apart and parallel folds are made in the web parallel to the machine direction such that the first fold corresponds to the outer edge of the first panel part and the second fold corresponds to the inner edge of a second panel which overlaps the first panel part of the first panel. The first panel extends beyond the second fold and the second fold also corresponds to the inner edge of a third panel which overlaps the second panel, so as to provide the web in a generally flat state. 
     The second panel may be releasably adhered to the third panel to hold them flat together, and cuts may be made perpendicular to the machine direction between each set of two hand holes to separate individual handles from one another. In addition, the folded web may be releasably adhered to a release liner before cutting the web into individual handles, and the release liner may be rolled up, fan folded or cut apart into individual units. 
     The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description. In this description reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and in which there is shown by way of illustration preferred embodiments of the invention. Such embodiments do not necessarily represent the full scope of the invention, however, and reference must be made therefore to the claims for interpreting the scope of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a self-adhesive handle according to the present invention as it would appear when adhered to the top surface of an object or package; 
     FIG. 1B is a end view of the handle as it would appear attached to the sides of a bag; 
     FIG. 2A is spool of handles on a wound sheet of release liner; 
     FIG. 2B shows a stack of handles on a fan-folded release liner, with three handles per fold; 
     FIG. 3 is a front view of a single handle of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a right end view of the handle of FIG. 3; and 
     FIG. 5 is a front cross-sectional view taken along line  5 — 5  of FIG.  1 A. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention provides a high-strength adherable carrying handle that can be quickly adhered to one or more surfaces of a package, bag, carton (or other container) and any other object requiring one or more handles. FIG. 1A shows the handle in one configuration  10 A adhered to a top surface  12  of a package  14  and FIG. 1B shows the handle in another configuration  10 B adhered to upper portions of opposite sides  16  and  18  of a bag  20 . 
     The handle  10  is formed, for storage, sale and assembly before use, as a flat rectangular structure having an overall height of approximately three mils. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the handle  10  is formed of a single sheet  22  of high-strength film material folded into the shown configuration and preferably adhered to a conventional release liner  24  having a smooth release coating at the contacting surface. 
     Specifically, the sheet  22  is folded as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. A first ply of the folded sheet defines a first panel  26 , shown in FIG. 3 as having a generally rectangular outline, however, it could be cut to define any suitable curved or rectilinear shape. The first panel  26  is divided into first  28  and second  30  panel parts substantially along a junction  32 , which is approximately the centerline of the first panel  26 . The first panel part  28  is raised slightly from the second panel part  20  and extends from the junction  32  to an outer edge  34 . The first panel part  28  is die cut to include a first hand receiving opening  36  extending lengthwise at the middle of the first panel part  28 . The opening  36  is oblong and sized to accommodate the width of a person&#39;s fingers. The cut line defining the opening  36  has a generally flattened U-shape such that the sheet forms a flap  38  connected to the first panel part  28  at one edge. The cut line also defines two arcuate slits, shown as circular openings  40 , at the ends of the cut line. 
     The sheet  22  is folded over (clockwise as shown) at the outer edge  34  to define a second panel  42  extending in a plane substantially parallel with and overlapping the first panel part  28 . The second panel  42  extends from the shared outer edge  34 , where it is coterminous with the first panel part  28 , to an inner edge  44  adjacent to the junction  32  between the first and second parts of the first panel  26 . Like the first panel part  28 , the second panel  42  is die cut with a second hand receiving opening  46 . This opening  46  is identical to the first opening  36 , including the circular openings, and is positioned in the second panel  42  so as to be substantially aligned with the first opening  36  and define flap  48 . The facing surfaces of the first panel part  28  and the second panel  42  are not adhered and are free of adhesive. 
     The sheet  22  is folded over (counter-clockwise as shown) at the inner edge  44  to form a third ply defining a third panel  50  substantially parallel with and overlapping the second panel  42  and substantially coplanar with the second panel part  30  of the first panel  26 . The third panel  50  extends to an outer edge  52  outside of the outer edge  34  of the first panel part  28 . A bead of a low tack, dry release adhesive  54  is applied to the upper face of the third panel  50  to releasably secure to the second panel  42  and hold the sheet in this folded position. The undersides of the second panel part  30  and the third panel  50  are coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive  56  and are releasably adhered to the silicon surface of the release liner  24 . 
     In one preferred method, the handles  10  are manufactured using a continuous web of Valeron®, commercially available from Illinois Tool Works, Inc., of Glenview, Ill., which is a cross-laminated polyolefin film used in the packaging industry for its high strength and tear resistance. The web is wide enough to form the aforementioned three plies and is die cut and folded as described before, being mated with a continuous sheet of release liner. 
     Specifically, the web is fed beneath a die cutter to cut the two handle receiving openings for each handle at spaced intervals. A {fraction (3/16)}″ wide layer of a suitable quick drying release agent is applied to the upper surface of the web approximately ½″ in from one of its lengthwise edges (adjacent to edge  52 ). The leading end of the web is then folded lengthwise (in the machine direction) in the middle to form the outer edge  34  and then again toward the edge with the release agent to form the inner edge  44 . Such in-line folding techniques are well known in the art. The underside of the now folded web (in particular, the second panel part  30  and the third panel  50 ) is coated with a pressure sensitive hot melt adhesive, such as HL-2201 commercially available from H. B. Fuller Company of St. Paul, Minn. The sheet of release liner is passed beneath the web and an upper silicon coated surface of the liner is brought into contact with the bottom pressure sensitive adhesive surfaces of the web. A nozzle is inserted between the now second and third plies to lay a ¼″ bead  54  of a suitable low-tack preferably dry residue cold glue adhesive over the release agent. The web is then pulled through rollers which crease the folds ( 34  and  44 ) and bonds the second and third plies together and the release liner to the underside of the folded web. 
     Each handle then can be cut from the composite web/release liner to form individual handles, with spaces in between or not. If spaces are formed in between handles, the waste can be vacuumed up, a waste matrix can be formed by cutting all of the way around each handle so that it can be stripped off of the release liner, or the waste may be otherwise disposed of. The release liner can be cut to form individual handles, or it can be left in a single continuous strip that is either wound into a spool as shown in FIG. 2A or fan-folded into a stack as shown in FIG.  2 B. 
     It should also be noted that more than one width of handles-in-series could be made on a press, using a double, triple, quadruple, etc. wide web of handle material, with the individual strips of handles slitted apart into individual strips, or provided as multi-wide strips. 
     In any case, a plurality of handles can be used with a suitable automated process that strips off the release liner and applies the handles to the packages. Preferably, with the wound or fan-folded configurations, the handles are aligned in one or more rows and spaced from one another as needed according to the size and travel rate of the packages to which they are being applied. 
     To manually assemble the handle  10 , the release liner  24  is peeled by hand away from the adhesive second panel part  30  and the third panel  50 . These panels provide a pair of base portions of the handle that can extend at any angle to adhere to the package as needed. For example, these base portions can be kept in a generally coplanar position for adhering the handle  10  to a single surface of the package, such as the top of a carton or sealed plastic packaging, as shown in FIG.  1 A. Alternatively, the base portions can be straightened so that they are generally parallel to each other for attachment to opposite sides of a package, such as a bag as shown in FIG.  1 B. 
     Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, for use, the bond of the dry release adhesive  54  between the second  42  and third  50  panels can be broken by pulling the outer edge  34  upward. The first panel part  23  and the second panel  42  thus can form an upright portion of the handle  10  that is grasped by inserting one&#39;s fingers through the first and second hand receiving openings. Note that doing so will curl the flaps upward, and since the sheet is flexible, into one&#39;s hand. 
     The handles can be used in a number of ways. First, the handles can be applied directly to the product packaging by the product or product packaging manufacturer. This would likely be an automated assembly in which a plurality of handles were adhered to a continuous strip of release liner, however, a stack of individual handles with separate release liners may be fed into a stack feeder machine and automatically applied. Second, the handles may also be shipped to the retailer or distributor along with, but separate from, the products. Here, the handles could be separate or on a continuous folded or wound release liner, but would likely be applied manually by the sales outlet personnel or the end user. Third, the handles could be sold in retail outlets as the end product. Consumers could use the handles for carrying various items in the home, work, school or elsewhere. For example, the handles could be used for carrying books, lifting boxes for example when moving, replace torn bag handles or to lift any object without a suitable gripping area that would otherwise be awkward to carry. 
     While the preferred embodiment of the invention described herein has a hot melt adhesive that is designed to form a strong, permanent bond to the package or object being carried, it is within the scope of the invention to utilize an adhesive that can create a strong, but temporary bond to an object, such that the handle could be used to carry items to which one would not wish to have a permanently attached handle. 
     Thus, the present invention provides a adherable carrying handle that can be quickly and easily attached to a package. The handle can be made of a high strength plastic or other material and has stress relieving areas to prevent tearing at the handle openings. The handle is simply assembled by removing the release liner and pressing the base portions in contact with the one or two surfaces of the package by hand or a suitable automated process. The flat folded configuration also allows the handles to be stored, shipped and sold in bulk compactly. 
     Illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for the purpose of disclosing practical, operative structures whereby the invention may be practiced advantageously. However, this is intended to be illustrative only, and the novel characteristics of the invention may be incorporated in other structural forms without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, to apprise the public of the full scope of the invention, the following claims are made.