ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 13 -- United States Patent no. 12,522,412, issued on Jan. 13, was assigned to Illinois Tool Works Inc. (Glenview, Ill.).
"Container carrier" was invented by Michael P. Czarnecki Jr. (Bensenville, Ill.) and Christopher J. Samaras (Tinley Park, Ill.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A container carrier forming a package of unitized containers includes a network of molded ribs forming a plurality of container receiving openings formed in a plane. An arrangement of inwardly extending tabs are formed in each container receiving opening toward a center of each container receiving opening. A plurality of discrete handles are formed along one edge of the container carrier. The cont...