Package handle

Package handles, or carriers, are used to help people use packaging. They are designed to simplify and to improve the ergonomics of lifting and carrying packages.[1][2][3] Handles on consumer packages add convenience and help facilitate use and pouring. The effect of handles on package material costs and the packaging line efficiencies are also critical. A handle can be defined as “an accessory attached to a container or part for the purpose of holding or carrying.”[4] Sometimes a handle can be used to hang a package for dispensing or use.

Paint can with bail handle

Handles can be built into a package, sometimes in the form of hand holes or hand holds. They can also be attached to a finished complete package after filling and closing, or even at the point of purchase.

The performance and design criteria for handles are often detailed in a contract or specification. For example handles for some US government containers are specified in Mil-Std-648.[5]

History

People have long seen a need to have package forms which are easy for people to carry and to use. Some of these, such as amphora,[6] date from the Neolithic period.

  • Amphora with built in handles
  • Man carrying a wooden box or chest, 1625
  • Man carrying a jug, Portugal, 1950
  • Jerrycans of fuel. 1941
  • Handles on metal milk churns allow easy carrying
  • Stoneware jug

Boxes

Wooden boxes often have metal handles nailed or otherwise attached to the ends to facilitate handling. Steel boxes also frequently have attached handles or hinged bails.

Corrugated boxes can have hand holes die-cut into the ends to assist material handling tasks.[7] Several designs are in use.[8][9] Care must also be taken for the hand holes not to weaken the strength of the box.[10][11][12]

Depending on the contents and the degree of handling required, reinforcement is sometimes needed to prevent tearing. Reinforcing tapes, whether pressure -sensitive or heat-activated, can be applied to boxes in the vicinity of hand holes.[13][14]

Separate plastic or composite fitments are also available for corrugated boxes.[15][16]

  • Telescope box used for bananas. Note hand holes and ventilation holes
  • Partial overlap box; minor flaps fold down to provide double thickness of corrugated board
  • Handles on a metal ammunition box
  • Boxes of Greek laundry detergent with handles
  • Corrugated tray of tomatoes at a farmers market
  • Box wine with a plastic handle inserted into holes in the top of the corrugated box

Plastic bottles

Many plastic containers have built in handles. Plastic shipping containers and storage tubs often have handles moulded into them. Consumer blow moulded containers often have integral handles or are shaped to facilitate grasping.[17][18]

  • Bottle of antifreeze
  • bulk soy sauce
  • Blow molded plastic bottle of milk with indentations for a handle
  • HDPE plastic bottle of milk
  • large plastic bottles of water
  • Drain cleaner

Separate handles are sometimes added to a bottle, usually around the neck at the closure. Several methods have been developed.[19] [20] [21] [22] [23]

  • apple juice
  • water
  • Clip used to join two spray bottles and to provide a handle

Bags

Many types of bags have handles to assist in carrying them.

  • Reusable fabric shopping bag with handles
  • Kraft paper bags with handles
  • A blue reusable shopping bag
  • Plastic bag of water softener salt; handle die-cut through the thick plastic to allow carrying
  • FIBC: bulk bag with lifting straps

Multi-packs of beverage containers

Shrink wrapped Multi-packs often have open ends (bulls eyes) which can be used as handles. Methods are available to reinforce the film, if needed.[24][25] Handles are often used on beverage carriers.

  • Shrink wrapped pack of bottles with ends (bulls eyes) as handles
  • Six pack rings for beverage cans
  • Paperboard basket
  • Plastic six-pack carrier

Tape handle
Six water bottles with tape handle. Transparent tape and red foam applied to shrink film prior to application and shrink tunnel.

Pressure sensitive tape is often used as a handle: filament tape or strong film backed tapes (polypropylene or polyester). A loop can be applied over a package with paper or film used to cover the adhesive in the center portion. Another example with a shrink film package is for a tape to be applied to a film with slits cut in the film on either side of the tape. When the film shrinks, the tape does not and a handle is formed.[26] PSA tape handles can be built into the package structure or can also be added after package completion.[27] Specialized application machinery is sometimes available.[28]

Bail handle
Main article: Bail handle

A bail handle consists of an open loop with ends attached to the item or package, sometimes to fixed mounts or ears. Several designs are available: bails are typically made of metal (wire) or plastic. It is a type of package handle which may be used for carrying or hanging items such as cans, pails, or jars.

Testing

Several package testing options are available to packaging engineers to help determine the suitability of package handles.

People can be used directly in an evaluation. Several different people can carry (and even abuse) handle and package options for subjective ratings. These can be compiled in a report.[29]

More objective laboratory procedures are also used. Fixtured ‘’hands’’ of various designs are used to hold a handle (sometimes two handles for a box). ASTM International D6804, Standard Guide for Hand Hole Design in Corrugated Boxes, describes “jerk testing’’ by modified drop test procedures or use of the constant pull rates of a Universal testing machine. ASTM F852, Specification for Portable Gasoline, Kerosene, and Diesel Containers for Consumer Use, requires severe "jerk testing" of the handle. These test procedures are also used on other types of packages.[30][31] Other test procedures are conducted with a static force by hanging a heavily loaded package for an extended time or even using a centrifuge.

See also

References
  1. Ergonomic Guidelines for Manual Material Handling (PDF), California Department of Industrial Relations, 2007, p. 32, retrieved April 2, 2019
  2. Davis, K G (1998). "Reduction of spinal loading through the use of handles" (PDF). Ergonomics. 41 (8): 1155–1168. doi:10.1080/001401398186450. PMID 9715674. S2CID 35062317. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  3. Wang, Mao-Jiun J. (Winter 2000). "The Effect of Handle Angle on MAWL, Wrist Posture, RPE, and Heart Rate". Human Factors. 42 (4): 553–565. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.1000.7796. doi:10.1518/001872000779698079. PMID 11324850. S2CID 7243355.
  4. Soroka, W (2008). Glossary of Packaging Terminology. IoPP. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-930268-27-2.
  5. MIL-STD-648D, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DESIGN CRITERIA STANDARD, SPECIALIZED SHIPPING CONTAINERS (PDF), 10 April 2008, pp. section 4.17, retrieved 26 April 2018
  6. Twede, D (2002), "Commercial Amphoras: The Earliest Consumer Packages?", Journal of Macromarketing, 22 (1): 98–108, doi:10.1177/027467022001009, S2CID 154514559, retrieved 19 June 2019
  7. Nogueira, H C (2018). "Adding Handles to Optimize Manual Box Handling". BioMed Research International. 2018: 7315217. doi:10.1155/2018/7315217. PMC 6276528. PMID 30581864.
  8. ASTM D6804 Standard Guide for Hand Hole Design in Corrugated Boxes, ASTM International, 2015
  9. US3094268A, Swanson, "Carrying handle construction for cartons", published 1963
  10. Han, Jongkoo; Park (January 2007). "Finite element analysis of vent/hand hole designs for corrugated fibreboard boxes". Packaging Technology and Science. 20 (1): 39–47. doi:10.1002/pts.741.
  11. Singh, J (2008), "The Effect of Ventilation and Hand Holes on Loss of Compression Strength in Corrugated Boxes", J Applied Packaging Research, 2 (4): 227–238, retrieved 2 April 2018
  12. US4037777A, Maughan, "Handhole closure for containers", published 1977
  13. US4567070A, Karass, "Fibrous material reinforcing tape, method of making the same and containers reinforced by said tape", published 1986
  14. US4817866A, Wonnacott, "Packaging", published 1989
  15. US20040007612A1, Johansen, "Box hand hole reinforcement and method of use", published 2004
  16. US3774836A, Nunn, "Carton having tape handle", published 1973
  17. Birkby, David (May 2014). "PET bottle handle—N.A. success story". Canadian Packaging. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  18. Widiyati, Khusnun (2013). "The Ease of Grasping to Evaluate Aesthetically Pleasing PET Bottle Design". Journal of Advanced Mechanical Design, Systems, and Manufacturing. 7 (5): 849–861. doi:10.1299/jamdsm.7.849. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  19. EP0026557A1, Newman, "Combination of a carrier assembly and a pair of containers", published 1979
  20. US4509639A, Thompson, "Multi-container carrier package and a method of assembly therefor", published 1985
  21. US4093295A, Erickson, "Bottle carrier", published 1975
  22. US4257525A, Thompson, "Bottle with attached handle", published 1979
  23. US5788302A, Barrash, Ferguson, "Bottle carrier", published 1997
  24. US7775349B2, Walker, "Shrink-wrap packaging incorporating reinforced integral handle", published 2010
  25. US20070215504A1, Walker, "Shrink-wrap packaging incorporating reinforced integral handle", published 2007
  26. US4700528A, Bernard, "Heat shrink package handle", published 1987
  27. US6647649B2, Lawrence, "Pressure-sensitive adhesive tape handle construction", published 1962
  28. US5186542A, Siebold, "Tape handle for a container and method for construction thereof", published 1992
  29. Diringer, J. A. (2016). Evaluation of Durability of Nonwoven Polypropylene Grocery Bags Under Routine Use (MSc). Clemson University. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  30. US4269322A, Larson, "Flexible bail assembly", published 1980
  31. Diringer, J. A. (2016). Evaluation of Durability of Nonwoven Polypropylene Grocery Bags Under Routine Use (MSc). Clemson University. Retrieved April 2, 2019.

Further reading
  • Yam, K. L., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-08704-6
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