Handle access flap

Claim 1

A box comprising a top wall, bottom wall, side wall, a central partition, a hand hole formed in said partition adjacent said top wall, an access flap formed in said top wall to provide access to said hand hole in said partition, said access flap comprising a main panel adjacent to but positioned on one side of said hand hole, a first fold line connecting the main panel to three spaced apart connecting panels, each of which is foldably connected to said top wall by a connecting fold line, said connecting fold lines being in axial alignment and substantially parallel to said first fold line and to said partition, two tabs projecting from said top wall toward a hand hole one between each pair of adjacent said connecting panels terminating in a free end edge, contacting edges on said main panel adjacent to said free edges, said tabs positioned to immediately overlie a pair of adjacent bottle tops when said box is filled with bottles, said contacting edges being positioned between said tops and said partition, the spacing between said contacting edges and said tops being sufficient to permit said main panel to move into said box by an amount limited by contact of said bottles by said main panel and into a position wherein said main panel protects a hand extending through an access hole formed in said top wall by movement of said access flap from engagement with said tops.