Plastic paint bucket handle

Abstract

A plastic handle for a paint bucket has a unitary elongated hard plastic body terminating at opposed ends. Located at each end are respective outwardly-biased, inwardly-bendable clip areas that together establish a resilient clip for engaging a hub of a paint bucket. An alternate clip may he a single unitary arrow-shaped structure. Surrounding each clip is a respective raised hub cover with opposed chamfered sides configured for conveniently fitting in a paint shaker machine. Wider portions of the body extend inwardly from each end and merge with a central narrower portion that has finger bumps formed on it for gripping. Owing to the small width of the central narrow portion, the handle is disposed very close to the paint bucket in a stowed position in which the handle is moved down against the bucket, to facilitate convenient close stowage of multiple buckets.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . Assembly comprising:
 an elongated plastic handle for a paint bucket, the handle including:
 a unitary elongated plastic body terminating at opposed ends; 
 respective outwardly-biased inwardly-bendable clip arms located at each end that together establish a resilient clip for engaging a hub of a paint bucket; 
 a respective raised hub cover surrounding each clip, each hub cover formed with opposed chambered edges configured for engagement with a paint shaker machine; 
 wider portions of the body extending inwardly from each end and merging with a central narrower portion, wherein owing to the relatively smaller width of the central narrow portion, the handle is disposed close to the paint bucket in a stowed position in which the handle is moved down against the bucket, to facilitate close stowage of multiple buckets. 
   
     
     
         2 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the body is made of hard plastic that is transversely flexible. 
     
     
         3 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the central narrower portion has finger bumps formed on it for gripping. 
     
     
         4 . The assembly of  claim 1 , Wherein the central narrower portion has a middle part and two end parts narrower than the middle part. 
     
     
         5 . The assembly of  claim 4 , wherein the middle part is formed with finger bumps for gripping and the two end parts are not formed with finger bumps. 
     
     
         6 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein each clip arm is formed with an outer surface tapering outwardly from a free end of the clip arm and then at an inflection point extending hack inwardly such that when the clip is advanced into a receptacle of the bucket hub free ends first, the clip arms ride against a periphery of the receptacle, which urges the clip arms toward each other, until the inflection point clears the periphery, which causes the clip arms to move away from each other under the influence of material bias, trapping the clip in the receptacle. 
     
     
         7 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the opposed chambered edges of each hub cover are straight and parallel to each other, 
     
     
         8 . The assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the opposed chambered edges define a distance between each other of three quarters of an inch. 
     
     
         9 . Plastic handle for a paint container comprising:
 elongated plastic body having opposed clip ends formed with respective clips configured for engaging respective receptacles of a paint container; and   a respective hub cover surrounding each clip and defining a non-circular periphery.   
     
     
         10 . The handle of  claim 9 , wherein the body and hub covers are unitarily made with each other. 
     
     
         11 . The handle of  claim 10 , comprising a pair of respective outwardly-biased, inwardly-bendable clip arms located a respective clip end, a pair of clip arms together establishing one of the clips. 
     
     
         12 . The handle of  claim 11 , wherein each huh cover is formed with opposed chambered edges configured for engagement with a paint shaker machine. 
     
     
         13 . The handle of  claim 12 , wherein wider portions of the body extend inwardly from each clip end and merge with a central narrower portion, wherein owing to the relatively smaller width of the central narrow portion, the handle is disposed close to the paint container in a stowed position in which the handle is moved down against the container, to facilitate close stowage of multiple containers. 
     
     
         14 . The handle of  claim 13 , wherein the central narrower portion has finger bumps formed on it for gripping. 
     
     
         15 . The handle of  claim 13 , wherein the central narrower portion has a middle part and two end parts narrower than the middle part. 
     
     
         16 . The handle of  claim 15 , wherein the middle part is formed with finger bumps for gripping and the two end parts are not formed with finger bumps. 
     
     
         17 . The handle of Claim  11 , wherein each clip arm is formed with an outer surface tapering outwardly from a free end of the clip arm and then at an inflection point extending back inwardly such that when the clip is advanced into a receptacle of the container free ends first, the clip arms ride against a periphery of the receptacle, which urges the clips arms toward each other, until the inflection point clears the periphery, which causes the clip arms to move away from each other under the influence of material bias, trapping the clip in the receptacle. 
     
     
         18 . The assembly of  claim 12 , wherein the opposed chambered edges of each hub cover are straight and parallel to each other. 
     
     
         19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . Method comprising:
 engaging opposed ends of an elongated plastic handle to a plastic paint container; and   providing the container with handle for carrying the container, the handle having end portions wider than a middle portion to facilitate laying the middle portion close to the container in a stowed position to promote close stowage of multiple containers, the handle having a huh cover formed with opposed chambered edges configured for engagement with a paint shaker machine.