Carrier for flanged articles

Claim 1

A carrier for an elongated flanged article comprising an elongated tubular structure having foldably joined top, bottom and side walls, said top and bottom walls having aligned apertures for receiving a part of the article in such manner that the flange is disposed immediately above said top wall to provide support for the article, a pair of handle panels immediately adjacent one pair of side walls which overlie a second pair of sidewalls respectively, said handle panels extending upwardly therefrom, a fold line formed in at least one of said handle panels in spaced relation to the bottom edge of said one handle panel to facilitate sidewise folding thereof into a position below the top of the article to accommodate stacking of one carrier atop another carrier, an aperture formed in each of said handle panels adjacent the aperture in said top wall for receiving the adjacent end of a packaged article and facilitating the sidewise folding thereof, the lower portions of said handle panels and the side walls being tapered inwardly to facilitate tightening of said apertures formed in said top wall and in said handle panels around said flange when upward pressure is applied to said handle panels, and wherein the transverse dimension of said top wall is less than the diameter of the flange.