Patent ID: 7743968

Claim:
A carton blank comprising: a top panel, a first side panel, a bottom panel, and a second side panel respectively joined along a plurality of fold lines, the top panel including handle openings defining a handle; a reinforcing panel contiguous with the second side panel, the reinforcing panel including a pair of opposed reinforcing openings dimensioned to align with the handle openings, wherein a reinforcing handle is defined between the reinforcing openings in the reinforcing panel, and each reinforcing opening comprises a length that extends between opposite first and second tapered ends of the reinforcing opening, so that the length extends from the first tapered end of the reinforcing opening to the second tapered end of the reinforcing opening, and a width positioned between and located distant from the tapered ends, wherein the width extends across, and is smaller than, the length; a first elongate extension cut out extending from the first tapered end of a first reinforcing opening of the reinforcing openings; a second elongate extension cut out extending from the second tapered end of the first reinforcing opening; a third elongate extension cut out extending from the first tapered end of a second reinforcing opening of the reinforcing openings; and a fourth elongate extension cut out extending from the second tapered end of the second reinforcing opening, wherein each of the first, second, third and fourth elongate extension cut outs is in the reinforcing panel, each of the first, second, third and fourth elongate extension cut outs is wider than a slit, and for each elongate extension cut out of the first, second, third and fourth elongate extension cut outs, the elongate extension cut out has a length that extends from the respective tapered end to an opposite end of the elongate extension cut out, and a width that is smaller than both the length of the elongate extension cut out, and the width of the reinforcing opening from which the elongate extension cut extends.