Abstract:
A crate includes a base, a pair of opposed side walls extending upward from the sides of the base and a pair of end walls extending upward from ends of the base. The end walls each include a pair of spaced apart end columns that act as partial spacers between the three adjacent bottles at that end. The handles are aligned offset from the center of the end wall. The handles are each aligned with one of the end columns so they can be aligned (e.g. centered) between adjacent bottles to provide more space for a user&#39;s hand. The handles may extend from one end column, over the other end column to the corner column. In the embodiment shown, the handles may be each offset toward a different side wall to provide better balance of the weight of the crate.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to crates and more particularly to crates for carrying beverage containers, such as bottles. 
         [0002]    Many designs for crates for carrying beverage containers are known. Some crates include a base having a pair of opposed side walls and a pair of opposed end walls extending upwardly from the periphery of the base. For crates carrying smaller containers, e.g., approximately 16 to 24 ounce bottles, the bottles are typically arranged in a 4×6 arrangement, with four bottles arranged along each end wall. In this arrangement, the center of the handle is aligned between two of the bottles, thus providing sufficient room for the fingers of the user&#39;s hand grasping the handle. However, with bottles arranged with an odd number of bottles (e.g. three bottles) along each end wall, one of the bottles is aligned with the center of the handle, thus reducing the amount of space for the user&#39;s fingers. This is more typically done with larger bottles, such as 28 oz, 32 oz, 1 liter or 1.25 liter bottles, or larger. 
         [0003]    Therefore, with an odd number of bottles along the end wall, the handle is moved outward from the bottle to increase the space for the user&#39;s fingers; however, this has drawbacks. First, the overall footprint of the crate is increased in that dimension. Second, if the crate is intended to be capable of cross-stacking, a certain ratio of length-to-width of the crate must be maintained. Therefore, the width of the crate must be increased as a result of moving the handle outward, further increasing the footprint. As another result of the increased width of the crate, bottle capture areas (recesses) on the bottom of the crate must be eliminated or opened up in order to accept the bottle caps of bottles of a crate cross-stacked therebelow. The bottle capture recesses may not fully capture the caps of the bottles and thus not provide stacking that is as stable as fully-captured bottles. 
         [0004]    This problem is even more difficult with a high-band beverage crate having a band at the upper edges of columns In a high-band crate, the base of the crate must be able to nest into an identical crate below, so base has a smaller footprint than the upper edges of the band, leaving even less room for bottle capture on the bottom of the crate. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    A crate according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a base, a pair of opposed side walls extending upward from the sides of the base and a pair of end walls extending upward from ends of the base. The end walls each include a pair of spaced apart end columns that act as partial spacers between the three adjacent bottles at that end. The handles are aligned off the center of the end wall. The handles are each aligned with one of the end columns so they can be aligned (e.g. centered) between adjacent bottles to provide more space for a user&#39;s hand. The handles may extend from one end column, over the other end column to the corner column In the embodiment shown, the handles may be each offset toward a different side wall to provide better balance of the weight of the crate. 
         [0006]    The height of each handle may be aligned with a portion of the bottle having a reduced diameter. For example, some bottles have a tapered or contoured middle portion to facilitate grasping the bottle. By aligning the height of the handle with the taper or contour, the space for the user&#39;s hand may be further increased. 
         [0007]    The arrangement of the handles off-center allows the handle to be moved inward, which reduces the overall length of the crate. The reduced length of the crate then permits a reduced width of the crate per the required ratio for cross-stacking. The reduced width then permits a full bottle capture on the bottom surface of the crate. 
         [0008]    These and other features of the application can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a crate according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a bottom perspective view of the crate of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the crate of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the crate of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is an end view of the crate of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a side view of the crate of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the crate nested with an identical crate. 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  is a side view of the crates of  FIG. 7 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  is an end view of the crates of  FIG. 7 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  illustrates the crate of  FIG. 1  loaded with bottles. 
           [0019]      FIG. 11  illustrates a user&#39;s hand grasping one of the handles of the crate of  FIG. 10 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 12  is an end perspective view of the crate and bottles of  FIG. 10 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 13  is an end view of the crate and bottles of  FIG. 10 . 
           [0022]      FIG. 14  is a side view of the crate and bottles of  FIG. 10 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 15  is a top view of the crate and bottles of  FIG. 10 . 
           [0024]      FIG. 16  is a perspective view of the crate of  FIG. 1  cross stacked on an identical crate loaded with bottles. 
           [0025]      FIG. 17  is a side view of the crates and bottles of  FIG. 16 . 
           [0026]      FIG. 18  is an end view of the crates and bottles of  FIG. 16 . 
           [0027]      FIG. 19  is a top view of the crates and bottles of  FIG. 16 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0028]    A crate  10  according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . The crate  10  includes a base  12 , which may include a plurality of interconnected ribs. The crate  10  further includes a pair of opposed side walls  14  extending upward from side edges of the base  12 . End walls  16  extend upward from end edges of the base  12 . The crate interior is defined between the side walls  14  and end walls  16 . The side walls  14  and end walls  16  include an upper band portion  18  and a lower wall portion  20 . 
         [0029]    A plurality of side columns  22  project upwardly from the base  12  to the upper band portion  18 . Upper side column portions  23  continue upward and project inward from the upper band portion  18 , aligned above the side columns  22 . Corner columns  24  project upwardly from the base  12  at the intersection of the end walls  16  and side walls  14 . 
         [0030]    End columns  26  and  28  project upwardly from the base  12 . In each end wall  16 . Each end column  26  is aligned below a handle opening  30  in each end wall  16 . A lower handle portion  32  extends from each end column  28  across the adjacent end column  26  and connects to the corner column  24 . The end columns  26 ,  28  are tapered toward the interior of the crate  10 . Upper column portions  29  project inward from the upper band portion  18 . 
         [0031]    This alignment maximizes space for the user&#39;s hand. By aligning the handle with the column  26 , the handle is aligned with the column  26  that is positioned between the bottles. The handles  30  may be offset relative to one another. The handles  30  may be offset off the center of each end wall  16 . As shown, the handles  30  may be offset toward opposite side walls to balance the load in the crate  10  when it is loaded and being lifted and carried by a user&#39;s two hands (one in each handle opening  30 ). 
         [0032]      FIG. 2  is a bottom perspective view of the crate  10 . As shown, the base  12  includes a plurality of bottle-receiving recesses  38  for receiving the cap of a bottle on which the crate  10  is stacked. Each bottle-receiving recess  38  is completely circumscribed by a capture rib  40 . In this embodiment, the bottle-receiving recesses  38  are arranged in three rows (i.e. with three bottle-receiving recesses  38  aligned adjacent each end wall), but the advantages of the invention would be useful for any odd number of rows). In this embodiment, the bottle-receiving recesses  38  are arranged in a 3×5 array on the underside of the base  12 . Each capture rib  40  captures a bottle cap of a bottle on which the crate  10  is stacked. Obviously, the capture rib  40  does not need to be completely continuous, as small breaks in the capture rib  40  would not affect its function. In the disclosed crate  10 , the capture rib  40  is able to include portions at the periphery of the crate  10  because of the minimal footprint of the crate  10  relative to the bottles themselves. The capture rib  40  does not have breaks along the periphery of the base  12  that are larger than the caps of the bottles to be received. 
         [0033]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the crate  10 . As shown, the handles  30  are positioned at the outer periphery of the footprint of the crate  10 . As is also shown in  FIG. 3  (which is to scale), the ratio of the length (end to end) of the footprint of the crate  10  relative to the width (side to side) is the same as the bottle ratio, in this example, 5×3. Other ratios could also be used (such as 4×3), but the benefit is primarily for an odd number of bottles along the end walls  16 . Again, one handle  30  is offset toward one side wall  14  while the other handle  30  is offset toward the opposite side wall  14 . 
         [0034]      FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the crate  10 . Again, the base  12  includes the bottle-receiving recess  38  which may be each completely circumscribed by one of the capture ribs  40 . 
         [0035]      FIG. 5  is an end view of the crate  10 . Each handle  30  includes an opening defined between the lower handle portion  32  and an upper handle portion  33 . The handle  30  is aligned with a valley  34  in the upper band portion  18 . The upper handle portion  33  includes a convex lower surface for increased user comfort. The curve in the lower surface of the upper handle portion  33  is similar to the curve in the uppermost surface of upper band portion  18  of the end wall  16  just above the handle  30 . The valley  34  in the upper band portion  18  moves the handle  30  downward to align to a narrower portion of the bottles, as described further below. 
         [0036]      FIG. 6  is a side view of the crate  10 . The upper band portion  18  includes a wave shape including a center peak portion  42 , end peak portions  44  and valley portions  46  between the center peak portion  42  and each end peak portion  44 . The uppermost and lowermost edges of the upper band portion  18  follow this same path and define the wave shape of the upper band portion  18  on the side walls  14 . In this embodiment, the upper band portion  18  is 3.25″ tall from the upper edge to the lower edge, but taking into account the wave shape, it is 3.5″ from peak to peak. This provides an increased contact surface on the sides of the crate  10  for grasping with equipment (such as the Tygard Claw). The large upper band portion  18  reduces the height of the lower wall portion  20 . The taper on the lower wall portion  20  (due to mold constraints) causes the base  12  to get smaller as the lower wall portion  20  gets taller. Therefore, the large upper band portion  18  and the relatively short lower wall portion  20  further contribute to the full bottle cap capture on the base  12 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 7  shows the crate  10  nested with an identical crate  10 . The lower wall portion  20  of the upper crate  10  is received between the upper band portion  18  of the lower crate  10 . This reduces the overall stacking height of the empty crates  10 . The matched wave shapes of the upper band portions  18  of the crates fit together, such that peaks in the upper surface of the upper band portion  18  of the lower crate  10  are received in recesses in the lower most edge of the upper band portion  18  of the upper crate  10 .  FIG. 8  is a side view of the crates  10  of  FIG. 7 .  FIG. 9  is an end view of the crates  10  of  FIG. 7 . As shown in  FIGS. 7-9 , the lower wall portion  20  of the upper crate  10  nests completely within the upper band portion  18  of the lower crate  10 . 
         [0038]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the crate  10  with a plurality of bottles  50  stored therein. As shown, one of the bottles  50  abuts the end columns  26 . The bottles  50  in this example are 1 liter and include a body  52  having a middle portion of reduced diameter  58  ( FIG. 11 ) relative to portions of the body  52  below and above. The bottle  50  further includes a neck portion  54  on which is secured a bottle cap  56 . 
         [0039]    As shown in  FIG. 11 , the handle  30  is aligned (centered) between two of the three end bottles  50 , such that the user will have more room for their hand. The handle  30  of the crate  10  may also be vertically aligned with the portion of reduced diameter  58  of the bottle  50 . These factors permit the handle  30  to be moved inward toward the interior of the crate  10  and reduce the footprint of the crate  10 . There is a gap between the inner surface of upper handle portion  33  and the reduced portion  58  of the adjacent bottles  50  in which the user can place their fingers when grasping the handle  30 . 
         [0040]      FIG. 12  is an end perspective view of the crate  10  and bottles  50 . Because the upper band portion  18  dips down, the handle opening is positioned to permit a barcode scanner to read a barcode on one of the bottles  50  through the handle opening. 
         [0041]      FIG. 13  is an end view of the crate  10  and bottles  50 .  FIG. 14  is a side view of the crate  10  and bottles  50 .  FIG. 15  is a top view of the crate  10  and bottles  50 . 
         [0042]    The caps  56  of the bottles  50  of a crate  10  would be received within the capture ribs  40  of the crate  10  stacked or cross-stacked thereon. With a 3×5 arrangement, the cross-stacking is more complicated than a 2×4 arrangement, but the cross-stacking arrangements are known and are accommodated by the capture ribs  32  of the crate  10 . 
         [0043]      FIG. 16  is a perspective view of the crate  10  of  FIG. 1  cross stacked on an identical crate  10  loaded with bottles  50 .  FIG. 17  is a side view of the crates  10  and bottles  50  of  FIG. 16 .  FIG. 18  is an end view. The bottle caps  56  of the bottles  50  in the lower tray  10  are received in the bottle-receiving recesses  38  each within the capture ribs  40 .  FIG. 19  is a top view of the crates  10  and bottles  50  of  FIG. 19 . As can be seen in  FIG. 18 , the bottle caps  56  of the bottles  50  in the lower tray  10  are received in the bottle-receiving recesses  38  each within the capture ribs  40 . 
         [0044]    As is known, the crates  10  are injection molded as a single piece of a suitable plastic, such as polypropylene, polyethylene or other suitable material. 
         [0045]    In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes and jurisprudence, exemplary configurations described above are considered to represent a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it should be noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope.