Detachable handle for cylindrical containers

Claim 2

A detachable handle for cylindrical containers, of the beer can type having projecting rims at each opposite end which outline a cylinder of greater diameter than the diameter of the cylindrical wall of said can, said handle comprising: a one-piece body of low-cost, limp, disposable, normally flat material, said body having: a pair of substantially identical, integral, annular elements, each having a circular inner edge, each encircling said cylindrical container at a spaced distance from the other and each distorted into a hollow, cylindrical loop sleeved around, and closely fitting around said container to extend in parallelism with said can wall entirely within the confines of the cylinder outlined by said can rims, and a limp, crushable handgrip element integrally formed of said material and connecting said annular elements, said handgrip element normally forming a limp, downward-hanging loop spaced from said container but being freely and non-resiliently compressible against said container to permit adjacent containers to touch in storage or shipment.

Claim 3

A detachable handle as specified in claim 1, wherein: said integral handgrip element is an annular element identical with said pair of annular elements and forming a pair of spaced-apart handle loops each curved away from the other and adapted to receive the fingers of the human hand while yieldably conforming to the configuration thereof without cutting or chafing the skin.

Claim 4

A detachable handle as specified in claim 1, wherein: said body is formed of sheet material and normally lies in a plane but said annular elements are distorted from said plane to each assume a hollow, cylindrical configuration normal to said plane, in parallelism with and in intimate frictional engagement with, and substantially sleeved around the cylindrical wall of said container and the inside diameter of said distorted, hollow, cylindrical, annular elements is substantially equal to the outside diameter of said cylindrical can wall.

Claim 5

A detachable handle as specified in claim 1, wherein: the material of said body is a limp, non-self-supporting, elongated strand, and said annular elements are integral, closed circular loops of said strand, each of predetermined diameter relative to the diameter of said container, to be attachable over any projecting rims on said container while supporting said container against ''''fall-through'''' while in parallelism by an angular snubbing tension from the direction of the handgrip element of said body.

Claim 6

A detachable handle as specified in claim 1, wherein: said body is formed of stretchable retractivE material, and said annular elements are hollow, cylindrical in configuration with a normal diameter substantially equal to the reduced diameter of said wall, but stretchable for application over said rims.

Claim 7

A detachable handle as specified in claim 1, wherein: said integral upper and lower annular elements of said handle snugly encompass the cylindrical wall of said container, flatwise thereagainst, and said handgrip element normally hangs limply therebetween but extends outwardly from said annular elements to exert a horizontal pull on said annular elements when serving as a handgrip, whereby said handgrip, when under tension, tends to bind said annular elements in position to prevent accidental downward movement of the container within said handle.

Claim 8

In combination with a beverage container of the type having an upper and lower projecting circular rim of predetermined diameter outlining a cylinder of said diameter therebetween separated by a generally cylindrical side wall of reduced diameter; a detachable, crushable handle formed of a single piece of normally flat planar, low-cost, limp, disposable material; said handle having integral upper and lower annular portions each having a circular inner edge, each encircling said cylindrical side wall, between said rims, and each distorted from said flat planar body into a hollow cylindrical sleeve substantially equal in diameter to the said reduced diameter of said side wall and in parallelism therewith wholly within the confines of the said cylinder outlined by said projecting rims, and said handle having an integral, limp, portion connecting said annular portions and spaced from said side wall, said limp portion normally hanging limply but being extensible to form a handgrip for supporting said container as a drinking cup, and being freely crushable and yieldable against said side wall for storage and shipment.

Claim 9

In combination with a beverage container of the type having an upper and lower projecting circular rim of predetermined diameter outlining a cylinder of said diameter therebetween separated by a generally cylindrical side wall of reduced diameter; a detachable, crushable handle formed of a single piece of normally flat planar, low-cost, limp, disposable material; said handle having integral upper and lower annular portions each having a circular inner edge, each encircling said cylindrical side wall, between said rims, and each distorted from said flat planar body into a hollow cylindrical sleeve substantially equal in diameter to the said reduced diameter of said side wall and in parallelism therewith wholly within the confines of the said cylinder outlined by said projecting rims, and said handle having an integral, limp, portion connecting said annular portions and spaced from said side wall, said limp portion normally hanging limply but being extensible to form a handgrip for supporting said container as a drinking cup, and being freely crushable and yieldable against said side wall for storage and shipment.

Claim 10

In combination with a beverage container of the type having a projecting upper and lower circular rim outlining a cylinder of predetermined diameter separated by a generally cylindrical side wall of reduced diameter a detachable handle formed of a single piece of low-cost, disposable material which normally lies in a plane; said handle having at least one integral, substantially annular portion having a circular inner edge, distorted from said plane into a cylindrical sleeve encircling said cylindrical side wall, between said rims and in parallelism therewith, and supporting said container therein, said sleeve having an inside diameter and an outside diameter less than the diameter of said rims and entirely within the confines of said cylinder outlined by said rims; said handle having at least one integral, limp handgrip portion connected to said annular portion and normally hanging limply downwardly therefrom, said limp portion being adapted to form a handgrip for supporting said container as a drinking cup, but being freely crushable against said side wall for storage and shipment.

Claim 11

In combination with a beverage container of the type having a projecting upper and lower circular rim outlining a cylinder of predetermined diameter separated by a generally cylindrical side wall of reduced diameter a detachable handle formed of a single piece of low-cost, disposable material which normally lies in a plane; said handle having at least one integral, substantially annular portion having a circular inner edge, distorted from said plane into a cylindrical sleeve encircling said cylindrical side wall, between said rims and in parallelism therewith, and supporting said container therein, said sleeve having an inside diameter and an outside diameter less than the diameter of said rims and entirely within the confines of said cylinder outlined by said rims; said handle having at least one integral, limp handgrip portion connected to said annular portion and normally hanging limply downwardly therefrom, said limp portion being adapted to form a handgrip for supporting said container as a drinking cup, but being freely crushable against said side wall for storage and shipment.