Flexible carrier

Abstract

A flexible carrier for carrying a plurality of containers includes a flexible sheet and a plurality of container receiving apertures formed in the flexible sheet wherein the plurality of container receiving apertures are formed in a staggered array wherein each row within the array includes a different number, offset and/or geometry of container receiving apertures from each adjacent row.

1 . A package of substantially circular containers unitized with a flexible carrier, said package comprising:
 a flexible sheet having a plurality of container-receiving apertures formed therein; and   a plurality of containers each positioned within one of the container receiving apertures and each container substantially contacting at least two other containers in the plurality such that the points of contact are approximately 60 degrees apart relative to the center of the container.   
     
     
         2 . The package of  claim 1  wherein each container substantially contacts at least three other containers wherein at least two of such containers are 120 degrees apart. 
     
     
         3 . The package of  claim 1  comprising three rows of container receiving apertures. 
     
     
         4 . The package of  claim 1  further comprising a handle extending between container receiving apertures. 
     
     
         5 . The package of  claim 4  further comprising a pair of handles, a handle extending from between container receiving apertures. 
     
     
         6 . The package of  claim 3  wherein a first row comprises two container receiving apertures and a second row comprises three container receiving apertures. 
     
     
         7 . The package of  claim 3  wherein the container receiving apertures in a first row include a different geometry than the container receiving apertures in a second row. 
     
     
         8 . The package of  claim 3  further comprising a handle extending between the first row and the second row. 
     
     
         9 . The package of  claim 8  wherein the handle overlays one of the first row and the second row prior to application to the plurality of containers. 
     
     
         10 . A flexible carrier for carrying a plurality of containers, comprising a flexible sheet of polymer material and a plurality of container receiving apertures formed in the flexible sheet, each container receiving aperture for receiving a container, the flexible carrier comprising:
 a staggered array of container receiving apertures including a first row having three container receiving apertures;   a central, second row having two container receiving apertures;   a third row having three container receiving apertures, a central portion of each container receiving aperture in the first row and the third row generally aligned with an edge portion of each adjacent container receiving aperture in the second row, whereby following application of the flexible carrier to a plurality of containers, at least one container in the second row of the staggered array contacts at least two containers in the first row to form a generally hexagonal configuration.   
     
     
         11 . The flexible carrier of  claim 10  further comprising a handle extending between each row of container receiving apertures. 
     
     
         12 . The flexible carrier of  claim 10  wherein the staggered array of container apertures are applied to a corresponding plurality of containers so that each container substantially contacting at least two other containers in the plurality such that the points of contact are approximately 60 degrees apart relative to the center of the container. 
     
     
         13 . The flexible carrier of  claim 10  wherein the staggered array of container apertures are applied to a corresponding plurality of containers so that each container substantially contacts at least three other containers wherein at least two of such containers are 120 degrees apart. 
     
     
         14 . A flexible carrier for carrying a plurality of containers, comprising a flexible sheet and a plurality of container receiving apertures formed in the flexible sheet, each container receiving aperture for receiving a container, the flexible carrier comprising:
 a staggered array of the container receiving apertures extending longitudinally in three rows, a first row having an even number of container receiving apertures and a second row having an odd number of container receiving apertures and a third row having an even number of container receiving apertures, wherein at least one container of the plurality of containers in the second row contacts at least two containers of the plurality of containers in the first row and at least two containers of the plurality of containers in the third row following application of the flexible carrier to the plurality of containers thereby forming at least one hexagonal array of containers including six container receiving apertures extending radially around a center container receiving aperture.