Patent ID: 8596518

Claim:
A carton, comprising: a plurality of panels including at least one lifting panel, a front panel, a rear panel, a bottom panel and two facing side panels, each side panel adjoining the lifting panel, at least one of the front, rear, side and bottom panels being an alternate lifting panel, each panel having interior and exterior surfaces, the panels collectively defining an interior space for receiving articles to be contained in the carton; a first primary hand hole formed in the lifting panel and a second primary hand hole formed in one of the lifting panel and the alternate lifting panel, each primary hand hole defining in its panel a rim and a grasping zone adjacent the hand hole, the grasping zone being opposite a user's fingers extending through the primary hand hole into the interior space and wrapping about the rim of the primary hand hole to face the interior surface of the panel in which the primary hand hole is formed; first and second adapters for reinforcing at least a portion of the grasping zone adjacent the first and second primary hand holes, respectively, each of the adapters having a mating plate which when the adapter is installed extends in a plane parallel to the interior surface of the panel in which the primary hand hole is formed and is adjacent at least a portion of the grasping zone of said primary hand hole; at least one first retention member supported by each of said side panels adjacent the lifting panel and engageable with the first adapter to support it adjacent the first primary hand hole; and at least one second retention member supported by at least one of said plurality of panels and engageable with the second adapter to support it adjacent the second primary hand hole.