Abstract:
A package for individual wine bottles includes a box shaped lower portion having a top side defining a first cutout for receiving a bottom portion of a bottle and a flat handle portion joined to and extending vertically from the top side of the box shaped lower portion. The handle porting defines a second cutout for accommodating the bottle. The box shaped lower portion and the flat handle portion are formed by folding a single corrugated cardboard sheet that has been cut into a predefined shape. Packaging wine bottles using this package is done in two stages. First, collapsible half-formed packages are manufactured by cutting corrugated cardboard sheets into the predefined shape and folding the sheets. Second, the half-formed packages are collapsed and transported to another facility such as a winery, where bottles of wine are packaged using the half-formed packages.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a packaging and carrier for wine bottles or bottles of other spirits formed of a cardboard sheet. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     An existing packaging method for packaging individual bottles of wine is to use a blister pack, which includes a plastic enclosure (the blister) for housing the wine bottles, where the blister has a flat wing around its peripheral which is held between two flat boards (typically cardboard sheets). The packaged bottles (typically one or more bottles) can be displayed in club stores (e.g. on tray displays), or as gift baskets which can be easily carried and presented. In this kind of packaging, large size plastic enclosure must be used to house the wine bottles. Plastic packaging materials are not environmentally friendly because they are typically made from petroleum polymers and are not recyclable or biodegradable. Also, the blister pack needs to be packaged at a packaging facility with sealing machines and other machines. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a package and packaging method for packaging individual bottle or bottles of wine that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art. 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a package and packaging method for packaging individual bottle(s) of wine that significantly reduces the use of plastic materials. 
     Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the descriptions that follow and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims thereof as well as the appended drawings. 
     To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, the present invention provides a package for bottles, which includes: a box shaped lower portion having a top side defining a first cutout for receiving a bottom portion of a bottle; and a flat handle portion joined to and extending vertically from the top side of the box shaped lower portion, the handle porting defining a second cutout for accommodating the bottle when the bottom portion of the bottle is disposed inside the box shaped lower portion, wherein the box shaped lower portion and the handle portion are formed from one or more corrugated cardboard sheets. 
     In another aspect, the present invention provides a corrugated cardboard sheet cut into a pre-defined shape for folding into the above package for bottles. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a wine carrier with a wine bottle packaged therein according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a cardboard sheet cut into shape for forming the wine carrier of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a side view illustrating the positions of the various sections of the cardboard sheet in a formed or half-formed wine carrier of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a side view illustrating a half-formed wine carrier of  FIG. 1  in a collapsed state without a wine bottle. 
         FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the half-formed wine carrier in the collapsed state without a wine bottle. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the wine carrier with a wine bottle in a nearly completed state with some folding tabs unfolded. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the retaining cap of the wine carrier of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a wine carrier packaging two wine bottles according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a wine carrier  10  with a wine bottle  100  packaged therein. The wine carrier  10  has a rectangular box shaped lower portion  11  and a flat handle portion  12  joined to and extending vertically upwards from the top of the box portion  11 . The box portion  11  is formed of single-sheet cardboard walls, except for the bottom panel and the folding tabs as will be described later; the handle portion  12  is formed of two overlapping cardboard sheets adhered to each other. The box portion  11  has a circular cutout  11   a  at its top so that a bottom portion of the wine bottle  100  pass through the cutout  11   a  and sits inside of the box portion  11 . The handle portion  12  has a cutout  12   a  through which the body of the wine bottle  100  passes. Preferably, the handle portion  12  has another cutout  12   b , located above the cutout  12   a , which can be used to hold the carrier  10  by hand. 
     A cylindrical shaped retaining cap  13 , preferably made of thin clear plastic, is disposed near the top of the cutout  12   a . The retainer cap has a structure similar to a blister container in a conventional blister package. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the retaining cap  13  has a hollow cylindrical body  13   b  and a flange  13   a  extending outwardly from the cylindrical body  13   b  and disposed in a plane that passes through an axis of the cylindrical body  13   b . The retaining cap  13  is located near the top of the cutout  12   b ; the flange  13   a  is trapped between the two cardboard sheets that form the handle portion  12 , and the cylindrical body  13   b  protrudes from both sides of the plane of the flat handle portion  12 . The cylindrical body  13   b  is open at its bottom (see  13   c  in  FIG. 7 ), and the neck of the wine bottle  100  is inserted into the cylindrical body  13   b.    
     The retaining cap  13  may be made as one piece, e.g. using injection molding. Alternatively, it may be made as two pieces, e.g., using vacuum forming, each piece being the shape of a half cylinder with a flange. The two pieces are put against each other with the flanges overlapping each other to form the cylindrical shaped retaining cap  13 . 
     The retaining cap  13  may be securely trapped between the two cardboard sheets of the handle  12  in various ways. The flange  13   a  may be glued to the cardboard sheets by an adhesive. Alternatively, a small protrusion  13   d  is provided on the flange  13   a , for example above the top of the cylindrical body  13   b , and a corresponding small cutout is formed in one of the cardboard sheets of the handle  12 . This cutout is not shown in  FIG. 1 , but is shown in  FIG. 2  as cutout L as described later. The protrusion  13   d  is pressed to protrude from this cutout to prevent the retaining cap  13  from sliding while sandwiched between the two cardboard sheets. 
     The width of the cutout  12   a  is sufficiently large to accommodate the diameter of typical wine bottles. The height and the shape of the shoulder of the cutout  12   a  are such that the cutout  12   a , taking into consideration the height of the box portion  11 , can accommodate typical wine bottles. An empty space may be left at the top of the retaining cap  13  when a relatively short bottle is packaged. The cutout  12   a  may also be cut into a custom shape for a particular wine bottle. 
     The box portion  11  and the handle portion  12  of the carrier  10  are formed from a single sheet of cardboard by folding. The type of cardboard sheet used is of suitable thickness. For example, a 200 to 275 test cardboard sheet may be used for heavier bottles, ad E flute or F flute corrugated sheet may be used for lighter bottles. Paper board sheets without corrugation may also be used for lighter weight items.  FIG. 2  illustrates a single corrugated cardboard sheet  20  cut into a shape that includes sections A through H as shown. Fold lines indicated by dashed lines are pre-formed at locations between adjacent sections of A through H. Sections A, B, C, F, G and H will form the box portion  11  and sections D and E will form the handle portion  12  of the carrier  10 . Cutouts J through O are formed into various sections as shown, where cutout J is located in sections A and B, cutout K is located in sections C and D, cutouts L and M are located in section C, cutout N is located in section D, and cutout O is located in sections E and F. Cutouts M and N correspond to the cutout  12   b  of the handle  12 . Cutout L is for passing the small protrusion  13   d  of the retainer cap  13 . The parts of cutouts K and O located respectively within sections D and E correspond to the cutout  12   a  of the handle  12 . The semi-circular parts K 1  and O 1  of cutouts K and O located respectively within sections C and F jointly correspond to the top cutout  11   a  of the box portion  11 . 
     Within sections A, B, C, F and G, pre-formed fold lines are provided to divide these sections into various subsections which will function as side walls or folding tabs to form the box  11 . Some of the folding tabs (A 1 , A 2 , B 1 , C 1 , C 2 , F 1 , F 2  and G 1 ) are labeled in  FIG. 2  for future reference. In addition, four slit cuts I are made in section A as shown, which will be used for inserting folding tabs into when forming the box  11 . 
       FIG. 3  is a side view illustrating the positions of the various sections A through H in the formed wine carrier  10  (for clarity, the folding tabs and some side walls are not shown). As shown in  FIG. 3 , sections H and A are overlapped with each other to form the bottom panel of the box  11 ; sections G and B form two side walls of the box  11 ; sections F and C jointly form the top side of the box  11 ; and sections E and D form the handle  12 . 
     The cardboard sheet  20 , including the pre-formed folding lines, cutouts and slits, is typically made from a larger cardboard sheet by a cardboard sheet manufacturer. The process of packaging wine bottles using the cardboard sheets  20  is done in two stages. In the first stage, the cut sheets  20  are formed into half-formed carriers. This stage, which does not involve handling any wine bottles, is typically performed at a packaging facility that employs sealing machines. The half-formed carriers are then transported to a location where wine bottle are stored to perform the second stage of packaging. In the second stage, wine bottles are packaged into the half-formed carriers to form the final packaged product. This stage involves putting the wine bottles into the half-formed carriers and performing additional folding to form the carriers into the desired shape; it can be done by hand without requiring any packaging machines. 
     Such a two-stage packaging process has many advantages. Conventionally, packaging wine bottles in carriers requires the wine maker to ship the wine bottles to the packaging facility which employs sealing machines and other machines, where the wine bottles are packaged. Using the wine carrier and packaging process according to embodiments of the present invention, the wine maker does not need to ship the wine to the packaging facility, thereby eliminating associated shipping cost. Further, the packaging facility does not need to handle any wine, thereby eliminating any license requirement that may be imposed by governments for handling alcohol. 
     The two stage packaging process is described in more detail below. 
     In the first stage, the cardboard sheet  20  shown in  FIG. 2  is folded along the pre-formed folding line between sections D and E so that sections D and E overlap with each other. The flange  13   a  of the retaining cap  13  is inserted between sections D and E at the top of the cutouts O and K, and sections D and E are sealed together with an appropriate adhesive, securing the retaining cap  13  in place. Folding is performed along additional folding lines between adjacent sections A through H to bring the sections A and H to overlap with each other as shown in  FIG. 3  or  FIG. 4 . Sections A and H are sealed together with an appropriate adhesive. The sealing of the sections A and H and sections E and D are typically done using a sealing machine of the packaging facility. At this time, the subsections within sections A, B, C, F, G and H (i.e. the folding tabs) are not folded, and the wine carrier  10  is in a half-formed state. 
     When sealing the cardboard sections D and E together to form the handle  12 , a sealing technique using heat and pressure described in commonly owned U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. No. 2007/0062836 may be used. Using such technique, the peripheral portion of the handle, and preferably the peripheral portion around the cutout  12   b  as well, are crushed to reduce the air gaps in the corrugations. The crushed peripheral portions are not illustrated in  FIG. 1 , but are illustrated in  FIG. 8  by dashed lines. 
     The half-formed carrier  10  can be in a fully erect shape as shown in  FIG. 3 , or a fully collapsed shape as shown in  FIG. 4 , or a shape in between. It should be appreciated that from the erect state of  FIG. 3 , the side wall sections G and B can also be pushed in a counterclockwise direction to collapse the carrier  10 . Similarly, the handle  12  (sections D and E) can be pushed in either direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) from the state shown in  FIG. 3  to collapse the carrier. The carrier  10  in a collapsed state is substantially planner without bulk empty volume enclosed therein. 
       FIG. 5  shows a top plan view of the collapsed half-formed carrier  10  corresponding to the state shown in  FIG. 4 . As seen in  FIG. 5 , the cutout portions O 1  and K 1  (refer to  FIG. 2 ) jointly form the circular top cutout  11   a  of the box  11 . In addition, in this collapsed state, the circular cutout J in sections A and B (refer to  FIG. 2 ) is aligned with the cutout  11   a  formed by cutouts O 1  and K 1 . Further, section H has a cut shape P which aligns with the part of the cutout J that lies in section A. As a result, a through hole is formed in the half-formed carrier  10  in the collapsed state. 
     Multiple such half-formed carriers  10  in the collapsed state are packed together and transported to a different location to perform the second stage of the packaging process. To package a wine bottle using the half-formed carrier in the collapsed state shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the wine bottle is inserted into the through hole (labeled “O 1 ,J,P” and K 1 ,J,P”) shown in  FIG. 5 . Then, the handle  12  (sections D and E) is pushed to the upright position, so that the retaining cap  13  (not shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 ) is located directly above the bottle. The bottle is inserted into the through hole fully (e.g. by pushing the carrier down) so that the neck of the bottle is located inside the retaining cap  13 . At this time, the bottom panel (sections H and A) and the side walls (sections G and B) of the carrier can be pushed downward and then sideways (to the right in the view of  FIG. 4 ), so that the bottom panel (sections H and A) slide beneath the bottom of the bottle, and the side walls (sections G and B) are upright. 
     Next, the folding tabs (subsections A 1 , A 2 , B 1 , C 1 , C 2 , F 1 , F 2 , G 1 , etc.) are folded to form the box  11 .  FIG. 6  shows the carrier  10  and the bottle  100 , where the folding tabs (A 1 , A 2 , B 1 , C 1 , C 2 , F 1 , F 2 , G 1 ) are unfolded. The corresponding folding tabs at the far end in  FIG. 6  have been folded. Side tabs G 1  and B 1  are first folded inwardly toward each other. Tabs A 2 /A 1  are folded upwardly so that tab A 2  is disposed vertically outside of tabs G 1  and B 1 , and tab A 1  is folded horizontally and inserted into a slit formed above the top edges of tabs G 1  and B 1  and below sections F and C. Lastly, tabs F 2 /F 1  and C 2 /C 1  are folded downwardly so that tabs F 2  and C 2  are disposed vertically outside of tab A 2 , and tabs F 1  and C 1  are folded horizontally and inserted into the pair of slits I (see  FIG. 2 ) located at the base of tab A 2 . The box  11 , after all tabs are folded, is shown in  FIG. 1 . This completes the second stage or packaging. The wine carrier  10  with the bottle  100  packaged therein is free standing, strong and stable. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  3  and  4 , the section H and section A of the cardboard sheet have approximately the same length so the bottom panel of the box  11  includes double layers of cardboard sheets. This provides more cushioning for the bottom of the wine bottle. Alternatively, section H can be shorter than section A so long as it can be adequately sealed with section A, resulting in a mostly single layered bottom panel for the box  11 . 
     Although the shapes of various sections of the cardboard sheet  20  are specifically shown in  FIG. 2 , the shapes of various sections can vary. For example, the height of the box  11  (determined by the size of sections B and G) can vary from that shown in  FIG. 2 . The lateral size of the box  11  (determined by the sizes of sections A, C, F and H) can also vary. In another example, the size and shape of the folding tabs A 1 , A 2 , B 1 , C 1 , C 2 , F 1 , F 2 , G 1 , etc. can vary from those shown in  FIG. 2 , so long as they can adequately close the box  11  and form a strong and stable box. 
     Further, although in the illustrated embodiment the bottom sections A and H are adhered together by an adhesive, the package can also be designed so that the box  11  is formed only by folding without adhering any sections together. 
     Still further, although the box  11  in the illustrated embodiment is rectangular in shape with vertical side walls, the box can also have the shape of a truncated pyramid, or an upside-down truncated pyramid, or other shapes, as long as it provides a stable shape. 
     The packaging design shown and described above can be used to make carriers for two or more wine bottles.  FIG. 8  shows a carrier for two bottles. 
     In addition, other relatively small items, such as a cork screw, may be packaged in the same carrier for the wine bottle(s). Such small items can be packaged using a conventional blister pack structure, where a cutout is provided on the cardboard sheet(s) forming the handle (e.g., in  FIG. 8 , in the space between the necks of the two bottles) and a blister chamber protrudes from the cardboard sheets to house the small item. 
     Although the description above uses wine bottles as an example, the package and the packaging method described above can be used to package bottles of other alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages or to package any similarly shaped products. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modification and variations can be made in the wine carrier of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations that come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.