There has been an increased use of plastic grocery bags and shopping bags which have very narrow handles. In fact, the handles may be no more than two narrow straps of the bag material. Such handles make it possible to carry several bags in one hand by concentrating the entire weight of the bag along the narrow strip of material. However, this concentrated load is then transferred to a correspondingly narrow area of the hand carrying the bag, which soon leads to considerable discomfort.
Attempts have been made to alleviate problems associated with transporting loaded bags. One such attempt is depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,203, entitled BAG CARRIER, which discloses a bag carrier configuration that incorporates two hooks at either end to hold the bag handles. Flexible straps are used to restrain the handles on the hooks.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,894 discloses a C-shaped carrier member, wherein the legs of the "C" support the bag handles. However, the bag carrier does not provide any sort of cushioning to reduce hand discomfort associated with carrying the bags.
A need therefore exists for a bag carrier which provides a comfortable grip for carrying heavy bags with narrow handles, and which can be manufactured in an inexpensive manner. Since an inexpensive carrier is likely to be discarded after use, it would be a further advantage to have a carrier design which can be adapted as a visual advertising piece, such that it can be distributed at a subsidized low cost or as a free attachment to retail products in the grocery or bottle stores where such plastic bags are commonly used.