Carriers made from cardboard or similar materials

Claim 1

A BLANK OF SHEET MATERIAL FOR MAKING A CARRIER INTENDED FOR PACKAGING ARTICLES HAVING A LEAST UPPER PARTS OF CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION SAID BLANK BEING DIVIDED INTO A PLURALITY OF END TO-END CONNECTED PANELS BY FOLDING LINES DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID BLANK, ONE OF SAID PANELS COMPRISING A STRAP HANDLE DEFINED BY TWO SPACED APART STRAP-DEFINING SLIT MEANS SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF A CONTINUOUS SLIT, A LINE OF INTERRUPTED SLITS AND A LINE OF PERFORATIONS, WHICH ARE FORMED IN SAID ONE PANEL AND WHICH ARE CONTINUED BY EXTENSION SLIT MEANS, SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF A CONTINUOUS SLIT, A LINE OF INTERRUPTED SLITS AND A LINE OF PERFORATIONS, FORMED IN A PAIR OF PANELS DISPOSED ONE ON EITHER SIDE OF, AND CONNECTED BY A PAIR OF FOLDING LINES TO, SAID ONE PANEL, THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE LIFTING STRAP BEING DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY CENTRALLY BETWEEN TWO ADJACENT ARTICLES POSITIONING MEANS FORMED AT ONE FOLDING LINE OF SAID PAIR OF FOLDING LINES AND TWO ADJACENT ARTICLE POSITIONING MEANS FORMED AT THE OTHER FOLDING LINE OF SAID PAIR OF FOLDING LINES, THESE FOUR ARTICLE POSITIONING MEANS BEING ARRANGED SUBSTANTIALLY SYMMETRICALLY WITH RESPECT TO SAID LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID BLANK AND PERMITTING LATERAL MOVEMENT OF SAID PARTS OF SAID ARTICLES ADJACENT TO SAID ARTICLE POSITIONING MEANS WHEN SAID ARTICLES ARE PACKAGED IN SAID CARRIER FORMED FROM SAID BLANK.