Enclosed bottle carrier for returnable bottles

Claim 1

A bottle carrier comprising a bottom wall, side walls foldably joined to side edges of said bottom wall, a composite top wall formed of inner and outer overlapping panels foldably joined respectively to the upper edges of said side walls, end closure structure at each end of the carrier including end flaps foldably joined to each end edge of said bottom, side and top walls and folded inwardly and secured in position to close the carton ends, the side edge of said outer panel which is remote from the side wall to which said outer panel is foldably joined being secured in face contacting relation to the side edge of said inner panel which is adjacent the side wall to which said inner panel is foldably joined to form a bonded area therebetween, a bond inhibiting substance applied to a face contacting outer surface area of the inner one of said overlapping panels other than said bonded area to facilitate delamination thereof, a handle reinforcing panel foldably joined to the edge of said inner panel which is remote from the side wall to which said inner panel is foldably joined, said handle reinforcing panel being folded into flat face contacting relation with the inner surface of said inner panel to form a three ply handle, and a tear out section defined by a pair of transverse spaced apart tear lines formed in said outer panel and which extend into the top portions of both side walls and which communicate with an access slit formed in at least one of said side walls whereby removal of said tear out section includes removal of the outer ply of said three ply handle and exposes the remaining two plys thereof.