Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02359378 2001-10-19
PORTABLE BAG HANDLE
FIELD
The invention relates to a portable bag handle which
protects the hands of a user from injury and discomfort while
carrying a bag.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Bag handles, in particular, shopping bag handles, are
usually made of thin and narrow loops. 'These bag loops have
a tendency to cut into the user's hands when the user is
carrying a heavy load, thereby causing great discomfort to
the user. Many different types of portable bag handles have
been developed to alleviate the effects of shopping bag or
plastic bag handles.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,717,411, issued to Taipale, discloses a
detachable, generally cylindrical bag handle with an
elongated top opening. The two lips of the opening are
curled inwardly parallel to each other toward the bottom to
form two chambers and to prevent escape of the retained loops
when the handle is rotated. While largely avoiding
inadvertent removal, deliberate removal :is awkward as it
requires careful alignment of the shopping bag handles with
the opening all the way along its length. At the bottom of
the cylindrical handle, Taipale further discloses an
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elongated spacer with a width greater than the width of the
space between the two lips.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,190, issued to Torres, discloses a
plastic handguard of tear-drop shaped cross-section with a
rigid hinge at the top end of the handguard biasing the
handguard to a closed position. The hand.guard has a
elongated side opening near the bottom of one side. The
hinge may loosen in time decreasing the life span of the
handguard. Moreover, the handguard is relatively large
taking as much storage space as a wallet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,355, issued to Schulten, discloses a
cylindrical hand grip with an elongated trop opening. The
hand grip has gripping elements in the bottom interior of the
cylinder for engaging an associated hand:Le or loops and
gripping elements on the bottom exterior for user comfort.
Alignment of bag loops for insertion is :required and no
mechanism is provided to prevent escape of the retained
handle or loops when the portable handle is rotated.
U.S. Pat No. 3,800,361, issued to Stauffer, discloses a
solid, semi-cylindrical hand saver made of flexible resilient
material like foam to provide a cushioning effect between the
loops of a bag and a user's hand. The hand saver has a large
top groove and has two side slits extending from the bottom
of the groove into which bag loops are inserted. Ensuring
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that the loops are correctly positioned for insertion into
the side slits requires considerable care.
U S. Pat. No. 2,519,186, issued to Herbert et al.,
discloses a semi-cylindrical handle with a flat top having an
elongated opening that is at an acute angle with the
longitudinal axis of the handle. The opening is of a width
greater than the diameter of the loop. At the ends however,
the opening is constricted having a width. that is less than
the diameter of the loop that has to be inserted through it.
As with Stauffer's handsaver, inserting a.nd removing bag
loops into and out of the handle is time consuming.
Other prior art discloses portable Yiandles for bails and
packages. U.S. Pat. No. 1,781,583, issued to Hodgson,
disclose a cylindrical handle grip for pails. U.S. Pat. No.
1,028,489, issued to Priddat, discloses a cylindrical package
carrier. U.S. Pat. No. 967,531, issued t:o Leuschner,
discloses a solid cylindrical parcel-handle. U.S. Pat. No.
887,411, issued to Miller, discloses a basket with a
cylindrical metal holder with a side opening. U.S. Pat. No.
736,632, issued to Priddat, discloses a cylindrical package
carrier with a side opening.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 384,279, issued to Hepworth,
discloses a carrier handle design of a semi-cylindrical shape
having an opening on the top with two lips. The bottom of
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the handle is grooved to allow for a bettf~r hand grip. The
lips only extend in the central portion of the opening and
taper away at the ends and do not prevent the escape of the
retained bag loops when the portable handle is rotated. U.S.
Design Pat No. 374, 621, issued to Salazar Jr., discloses a
tubular plastic bag handle with two walls jutting from the
ends of a semi-circular tube and sloping towards each other
to form an opening. The bottom of the plastic bag handle has
four grooves for a better hand grip. There is no mechanism
to prevent the escape of the retained bag loops when the
portable handle is rotated.
Accordingly, despite the number of patented bag handles,
there is still a need for a simple, inexpensive bag handle
that prevents discomfort to the user. There is a need for a
bag handle that prevents bag loops from accidentally slipping
out when the handle is rotated. It is the object of the
invention to provide a simple and inexpensive detachable bag
handle that satisfies these needs.
SUN~iARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, a porta'.ble bag handle for
carrying a bag with thin loops or strips of plastic attached
to the body of the bag comprises an elongated, hollow tubular
element with a top wall, a bottom wall, and first and second
side walls connecting the top and bottom walls. The first
side wall has an elongated opening proximate the top wall.
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Along the periphery closest to the bottom wall, the opening
is curled inwardly to form a lip which inhibits the loops and
strips of the bag from accidentally slipping out of the
opening when the handle is rotated.
The portable bag handle may be constructed from a semi-
rigid plastic with elastic memory.
Advantageously, the width of the side opening can be
increased by applying pressure on the first side wall. When
the pressure is released the width of the=. side opening
returns to the orignal width.
Preferably, the interior surface of the bottom wall is
concave. The exterior surface of the boi~tom wall may have
ridges forming finger grips.
Preferably, the handle has a curved longitudinal axis.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The novel features believed to characterize the
invention are set forth in the appended claims. The
invention, itself, however, as well as other features and
advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to
the detailed description which follows, read in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
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Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the portable bag
handle;
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the portable bag
handle;
Fig. 3 is a side view along section A-A';
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the: portable bag handle
with bag loops; and,
Fig. 5 is a side view of a second embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH REFERENCE TO DRAWINGS
It should be noted that identical reference numbers
refer to identical parts in different figures.
Referring to Fig. 1, 2, and 3, portable bag handle 10
comprises of an elongated, hollow, tubular element with
opposite open ends. Portable bag handle: 10 has a flat top
wall 12 and a curved bottom wall 14. Flat top wall 12 and
curved bottom wall 14 are joined by two side walls 21, 25.
Side wall 21 has an elongated, longitudinal side opening 26
proximate top wall 12 which divides side wall 21 into a top
portion 22 and a bottom portion 24. Side opening 26 has a
lip 18 along its bottom periphery on bottom portion 24 which
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curls inwardly. Because of the flexibility of side wall 21,
the width of side opening 26 can be increased temporarily for
insertion and removal of bag loops or strips of a range of
sizes. The exterior surface of bottom w;~.ll 14 may have
ridges forming finger grips to aid the u~;er in gripping
portable bag handle 10.
Portable bag handle 10 is preferably molded from semi-
rigid plastic with elastic memory. When pressure is applied
to portable bag handle 10, portable bag handle 10 is able to
bend and when the pressure is released, portable bag handle
10 is able to return to its original position.
Referring to Fig. 4, to permit eased of insertion, top
portion 22 of side wall 21 is inwardly depressed so that the
width of side opening 26 is larger than the diameter of loops
28 of bag 29. Loops 28 are then inserted through side
opening 26 to rest at interior bottom surface 16 of portable
bag handle 10. After insertion, pressure on top portion 22
of side wall 21 is released allowing side opening 26 to
return to its original width. When portable bag handle 10 is
rotated in a direction that moves loops 28 along side wall 24
containing lip 18, lip 18 prevents escape of the retained bag
loops 28. Moreover, as the shape of portable bag handle 10
is non-symmetric with respect to a horizontal plane, a user
would immediately perceive if portable bag handle 10 were
accidentally inverted.
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Loops 28 of bag 29 may be easily removed simply by
rotating portable bag handle 10 so that :Loops 28 contact top
wall 12 and then further rotating handle 10 so that loops 28
move towards side opening 26. The weight of bag 29 keeps
loops 28 contacting top wall 12 all the way along the length
of portable bag handle 1.0 so they stay aligned with side
opening 26 prior to exiting. The width of side opening 26
is then increased by inwardly depressing top portion 22 of
side wall 21 and loops 28 of bag 29 are taken out of
portable bag handle 10.
Instead of inwardly depressing top portion 22 of side
wall 21, bottom portion 24 of side wall 21 may be inwardly
depressed to increase the width of side opening 26.
Referring to Fig. 5, a variant of portable bag handle
10 has a curved tubular element. Portable bag handle 10 is
curved to more closely conform to the shape of bag loops 28
resting at interior bottom surface 16.
While the present invention has been described with
particularity, it should be understood that various
modifications and alterations may be mac~.e therein without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention set
forth in the appended claims.
