Comfort grip for bag handles

Abstract

A thin walled tube has a slit though which a bag handle can be inserted to reduce the pressure against the hand of the pressure against the hand of the carrier of the bag. The tube may be a cardboard tube rolled from a flat sheet into a cylinder and may have indentation at its opposite ends to locate the side edges of the handle. The outer surface of the cylinder may be decorated or carry printed advertizing or the like.

1 . A comfort grip for a thin handle of an object to be manually carried; said comfort grip comprising a hollow tube having a length about equal to or greater than the width of a users hand and a diameter substantially greater than the thickness of the handle in any transverse dimension; said tube having a thickness greater than about 1 mm; said tube having a longitudinal slit along its full length to enable the insertion of said thin handle through said slit and against a line along the interior surface of said tube and opposite to said slit. 
   
   
       2 . The comfort grip of  claim 1 , wherein said object to be carried is a shopping bag. 
   
   
       3 . The comfort grip of  claim 1 , wherein said carrying handle is a thin member of generally circular cross-section. 
   
   
       4 . The comfort grip of  claim 1 , wherein said carrying handle is a narrow strap. 
   
   
       5 . The comfort grip of  claim 1 , wherein said hollow tube has a length equal to or greater than about the width of a user's hand and a diameter substantially greater than the maximum thickness of said handle. 
   
   
       6 . The comfort grip of  claim 5 , wherein said tube has a length greater than about 6 cm and a diameter greater than about 2 cm. 
   
   
       7 . The comfort grip of  claim 1 , wherein the edges of said slit in said tube overlap one another. 
   
   
       8 . The comfort grip of  claim 1 , wherein first and second notches are formed in the opposite respective ends of said tube which are diametrically opposite to the respective ends of said slit to receive and locate the handle in locations where the handle exits from said tube. 
   
   
       9 . The comfort grip of  claim 1 , wherein said tube is formed from a thin flat sheet of material having a memory which tends to hold it in a cylindrical form after the slit is spread open to receive said handle. 
   
   
       10 . The comfort grip of  claim 9 , wherein said sheet is a cardboard or plastic sheet having a thickness greater than about 1 mm. 
   
   
       11 . The comfort grip of  claim 1 , wherein the exterior surface of said tube has printing thereon. 
   
   
       12 . The comfort tube of  claim 1 , wherein said slit is parallel to the axis of said slit. 
   
   
       13 . The comfort grip of  claim 2 , wherein said tube has a length greater than about 6 cm and a diameter greater than about 2 cm. 
   
   
       14 . The comfort grip of  claim 13 , wherein first and second notches are formed in the opposite respective ends of said tube which are diametrically opposite to the respective ends of said slit to receive and locate the handle in locations where the handle exits from said tube. 
   
   
       15 . The comfort grip of  claim 14 , wherein said tube is formed from a thin flat sheet of material having a memory which tends to hold it in a cylindrical form after the slit is spread open to receive said handle. 
   
   
       16 . The comfort grip of  claim 15 , wherein said sheet is cardboard or plastic having a thickness greater than about 1 mm. 
   
   
       17 . The comfort grip of  claim 16 , wherein the exterior surface of said tube has printed indicia thereon such as advertizing.