Flaccid bag having improved integrally formed carrying handle

Claim 1

A bag comprised of flaccid material and having an improved integrally formed carrying handle which supports the weight of a multiplicity of articles contained within said bag with minimal discomfort to the supporting portion of the user's body, said bag comprising a front wall and a back wall fabricated from said flaccid material, said bag having a vertical axis and being closed at its lowermost end and along its sides to form a cavity for housing said articles, the innermost surfaces of said front and back walls of said bag being horizontally secured to one another at a first area of horizontal securement located above said articles in said bag so as to totally enclose said articles, said front and back walls of said bag extending upwardly beyond said first area of horizontal securement to a second area of horizontal securement where said innermost surfaces of said front and back walls of said bag are again horizontally secured to one another, that portion of said front and back walls of said bag located between said first and second areas of horizontal securement forming an uppermost flap containing said improved integrally formed carrying handle, said improved integrally formed carrying handle comprising a pair of identical, superposed, continuous curvilinear slits in said front and said back walls of said flaccid bag, each of said continuous curvilinear slits having opposed end portions, each opposed end portion defined by an outermost inwardly open arc, each of said outermost inwardly open arcs being located on a common horizontal axis, the uppermost portions of said inwardly open arcs being inwardly and downwardly extended until they transition into a centrally located, upwardly concave arc connecting said outermost inwardly open arcs to one another, whereby insertion of the supporting portion of the user's body through said pair of continuous curvilinear slits causes a portion of said flap immediately above said upwardly concave arc and a portion of said flap immediately below said centrally located, upwardly concave arc to assume a substantially horizontal orientation before said handle is subjected to tension, the portion of said flap immediately below said centrally located, upwardly concave arc forming a lowermost fold with respect to said flap, said lowermost fold connecting opposing end points of each continuous curvilinear slit to one another, said lowermost fold of said flap tending to stiffen said flap in an area adjacent the supporting portion of the user's body and thereby helping to resist movement of said opposing end points of each of said continuous curvilinear slits closer toward one another when tension is applied to the portion of said flap immediately above said centrally located, upwardly concave arc, whereby the tendency of the supporting portion of the user's body to be laterally squeezed when said bag is lifted by said integrally formed carrying handle is minimized.