# Patent

## Title
Beverage crate with constant-diameter pockets

## Abstract

A nestable crate or container for holding bottles. The crate has a floor portion substantially in a first plane having a plurality of bottle seating areas, with each bottle seating area being adapted to receive a lower portion of a bottle. The crate also includes a peripheral wall surrounding the floor portion and extending upward from the floor portion, a plurality of central columns extending upward from the floor portion and oriented proximate to a longitudinal centerline of the crate, and a plurality of pylons extending upward from the floor portion along the periphery of the crate. Each central column includes at least one first bottle-contacting surface and each pylon includes at least one second bottle-contacting surface. Both the first and second bottle contacting surfaces are substantially orthogonal to the first plane.

## Background
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stackable crate for holding beverage bottles. Particularly, the present invention is directed to a stackable crate that includes constant diameter pockets for receiving and securely holding beverage bottles.
2. Description of Related Art
Beverages such as soft drinks are typically packaged in plastic bottles. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a favored material for such bottles due to its high strength, flexibility, and low cost. Conventional PET bottles, when filled with a beverage, can bear high compressive loads up to many times the total weight of the bottle and beverage, provided that the load is distributed along the symmetry axis of the bottle and provided that the bottle is maintained in a sufficiently upright position. However, when an off-axis compressive load is applied to the bottles, they have a tendency to buckle.
A variety of cases used for shipping and storing beverage bottles are known in the art. Typically, the cases are stacked on top of each other on pallets where they can then be loaded onto trucks or other means of transportation and shipped to a bottler. The bottler then loads each case with several bottles and then stacks the cases one on top of the other so that the cases can be shipped to retailers. Conventional bottle cases are typically low depth cases with four side walls, a flat bottom portion, and a number of upwardly projecting columns. The columns, walls, and bottom portion define a bottle-retaining pocket. Typically, the columns of conventional cases are hollow, angled toward the interior of the crate, and tapered to be smaller in cross section at the top and larger near the bottom, which facilitates stacking of the cases. These conventional cases generally have been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose.
However, these conventional low depth cases with tapered columns may not provide sufficient support to the bottles to allow the cases to be stacked in a stable and secure manner. There remains a need in the art for a beverage case that is capable of securely holding a wide variety of bottles so that the cases can be stacked and shipped safely. The present invention provides a solution to these problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Advantages of the present invention will be set forth in and become apparent from the description that follows. Additional advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the beverage crate particularly pointed out in the written description and claims, as well as from the appended drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied herein, the invention includes a nestable crate or container for holding bottles. The crate has a floor portion substantially in a first plane having a plurality of bottle seating areas, with each bottle seating area being adapted to receive a lower portion of a bottle. The crate also includes a peripheral wall surrounding the floor portion and extending upward from the floor portion, a plurality of central columns extending upward from the floor portion and oriented proximate to a longitudinal centerline of the crate, and a plurality of pylons extending upward from the floor portion along the periphery of the crate. At least one central column includes at least one first bottle-contacting surface and at least one pylon includes at least one second bottle-contacting surface. Both the first and second bottle contacting surfaces are substantially orthogonal to the first plane.
The crate may also be cross-stackable. The cross-stackable crate includes a floor portion having a plurality of bottle seating areas, each bottle seating area having a substantially flat portion being adapted to receive a lower portion of a bottle. A top surface of the flat portion of each bottle seating area lies in a first plane. A peripheral wall surrounds the floor portion and extends upward from the floor portion. The peripheral wall includes a top portion forming a ledge for receiving a lower portion of a peripheral wall of a second crate. The crate also includes a plurality of hollow central columns oriented along a longitudinal centerline of the container and extending upward from the floor portion with each central column including a plurality of first bottle-contacting surfaces orthogonal to the first plane. A plurality of hollow pylons extend upward from the floor portion along the periphery of the container, the pylons including an inwardly angled exterior surface and a second bottle-contacting surface. The second bottle-contacting surface is orthogonal to the first plane and comprises a rib extending along a portion of the axial length of the pylon. The rib is surrounded by a plurality of grooves. The crate also includes a plurality of circular pockets for securely receiving a bottle, with the pockets being defined by at least one first bottle contacting surface on a central column and at least one second bottle contacting surface on a pylon. The circular pocket has a substantially constant diameter. A channel extends across the width of the container in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline and bisects the container into two substantially identical portions.
The foregoing summary of the invention and the following detailed description are exemplary and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention claimed. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute part of this specification, are included to illustrate and provide further understanding of the invention. Together with the description, the drawings serve to explain principles of the invention.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an exemplary embodiment of the beverage crate of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the beverage crate of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the beverage crate shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a side view along the longitudinal axis of the beverage crate of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a side view along the transverse axis of the beverage crate of FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 2.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line B-B in FIG. 2.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line C-C in FIG. 2.



DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
The beverage crate described in this disclosure may be used for securely holding a predetermined number of beverage bottles during transport or storage. The present invention is particularly suited for securely holding contoured beverage bottles.
An exemplary embodiment of a beverage crate in accordance with the invention is shown in FIGS. 1 through 8 and is designated generally by reference character 10.
As shown in FIG. 1, crate 10 is preferably integrally molded from a single piece of plastic and includes a floor portion 12, a plurality of central columns 14, and a plurality of pylons 16. The central columns extend upward from floor portion 12 and are positioned along a longitudinal axis or centerline 18 of the crate, which divides the crate into two substantially equal halves. Pylons 16 extend upward from floor portion 12 along the periphery of crate 10. Crate 10 is substantially symmetrical about longitudinal axis 18 as well as about a transverse axis 19. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, central columns 14 and pylons 16 are substantially hollow to allow the respective columns and pylons of an identical crate 10 to nest within the columns and pylons when the empty crates are stacked one on top of the other.
As shown in FIGS. 1-3, central columns 14 and pylons 16 include a plurality of bottle contacting surfaces. Preferably, each central column 14 has at least one first bottle contacting surface 32, and each pylon 16 has at least one second bottle contacting surface 33. Central columns 14 may be octagonal in shape while pylons 16 may be trapezoidal or triangular in shape. Octagonal central columns 14 include four bottle contacting surfaces 32, the trapezoidal pylons 16 include two bottle contacting surfaces 33, and the triangular pylons, located on the corners of crate 10, have only one bottle contacting surface 33.
As shown in FIG. 2, floor portion 12, together with bottle contacting surfaces 32, 33 of central columns 14 and pylons 16 form a plurality of pockets 20 for securely holding bottles, for example, commercially available plastic beverage bottles. Floor portion 12 includes a plurality of bottle seating areas 22 adapted to receive a lower portion of a bottle. Bottle seating areas 22 may be of any shape, and preferable are configured to match the geometry of the bottles that crate 10 is intended to hold. Each bottle seating area 22 as shown is generally dish-shaped, with a substantially flat portion 24 surrounded by an upwardly concaved portion 26, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. Bottle seating areas 22 may also be generally circular in shape. Crate 10 may include a plurality of recesses 28 and apertures 30 formed in one or more of the bottle seating areas 22. Each bottle seating area 22 may be circular in shape, with a central aperture 31 in the center of each bottle seating area. Central aperture 31 may be surrounded by a plurality of recessed portions 28. Recessed portions 28 may be disposed in flat portion 24 of bottle seating area 22 and arranged radially around central aperture 31. Additional apertures 30 may be present in either the flat portion 24 or the upwardly concaved portion 26 of bottle seating areas 22. The additional apertures may be of any suitable shape.
As shown in FIG. 2, apertures 30 may include a plurality of circular apertures disposed in flat portion 24 of bottle seating area 22 and radially spaced in a symmetric manner around central aperture 31. Apertures 30 may also include a plurality of rectangular apertures disposed in upwardly concaved portion 26 of bottle seating area 22. The dish-like shape of bottle seating areas 22 allows crate 10 to accommodate a wide variety of bottle shapes, including bottles having a relatively planar bottom surface as well as bottles having a petaloid bottom surface. The dish-like shape of bottle seating areas 22 provides greater stability when compared with other designs with only a flat surface for receiving the bottom portion of a bottle.
As illustrated in FIG. 8, each pocket 20 for holding bottles is defined by one of the bottle seating areas 22, at least one central column 14, and at least one peripheral pylon 16. Each bottle contacting surface 32, 33 may be a continuous wall, or may be a series of discrete surfaces. Each pocket 20 may be formed by a bottle seating area 22 and any combination of first and second bottle contacting surfaces 32, 33. For example, as shown FIG. 1, pocket 20 may be defined by one first bottle contacting surface 32 located on a central column 14, and three second bottle contacting surfaces 33, with each bottle contacting surface 33 being located on a separate pylon 16. Bottle contacting surfaces 32, 33 function to securely hold the sides of a bottle in place while a bottom portion of the bottle rests on bottle seating area 22.
The flat portions 24 of bottle seating areas 22 are substantially coplanar—that is, the top surface of the flat portions 24 of bottle seating areas 22 are located in the same plane 34 as the other flat portions 24. When crate 10 sits on a flat, level surface such as a floor, flat portions 24 will be substantially parallel to the floor.
Each bottle contacting surface 32, 33 is preferably orthogonal to plane 34, that is, bottle contacting surfaces 32, 33 are oriented at a 90 degree angle with respect to the flat portions 24 of the bottle seating areas 22. Bottle contacting surfaces 32, 33 are orthogonal to plane 34 throughout the axial length of the bottle contacting surface. Bottle contacting surfaces 32, 33 may also be substantially orthogonal to plane 34. Substantially orthogonal means that the bottle contacting surfaces are oriented at approximately a 90° angle (plus or minus about two degrees) with respect to plane 34. Because the bottle contacting surfaces 32 are oriented at a 90° angle with respect to plane 34, pockets 20 formed by bottle contacting surfaces 32 have a constant diameter D (as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 8) throughout their axial length, the axial length being measured in a direction perpendicular to plane 34. Conventional beverage crates have columns that are drafted, that is, angled either inwardly or outwardly, so that the diameter at the top of a beverage pocket differs substantially from the diameter at the bottom of the pocket.
In contrast to conventional beverage crates, the configuration of crate 10 advantageously allows bottle contacting surfaces to maintain contact with the bottle throughout the axial length of the bottle, allowing the bottles to be more securely held within beverage crate 10. This configuration also makes crate 10 suitable for carrying bottles having a wide variety of shapes, since bottle contacting surfaces 32 engage and securely hold the bottle at both the bottom and the top of the bottle. For example, crate 10 is ideally suited for holding bottles that are contoured, with a waist portion that is smaller in diameter than both a top potion and a bottom portion of the bottle.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, bottle contacting surfaces 32 may include an upper portion 36 and a lower portion 38. Upper portion 36 may be curved about a central axis extending upward from the center of pocket 20 to correspond to the diameter of the bottle that is to be held within pocket 20. Lower portion 38 may also be curved and may have a width, as measured along the diameter of pocket 20, that is greater than the width of upper portion 36. Lower portion 38 may be substantially open, that is, lower portion 38 may have an aperture to reduce the weight and material costs of crate 10. Upper portion 36 may include a rib 40 extending along a portion of the axial length of the column 14 or pylon 16. Rib 40 may be surrounded by grooves 42 having variable depths. For example, grooves 42 may have a depth that gradually decreases along the axial length of upper portion 36 of bottle contacting surface 32, 33, as shown in FIG. 8.
Upper portion 36 and lower portion 38 correspond to upper and lower portions on columns 14 and pylons 16. The transition between upper portion of the columns and lower portion of the columns includes a stepped surface 44. Stepped surface 44 is angled with respect to plane 34. For example, stepped surface 44 may be at an angle of approximately 45° with respect to plane 34.
Crate 10 also includes a peripheral wall 46 surrounding floor portion 12 and extending upward from the floor portion. Pylons 16 may form part of peripheral wall 46. Peripheral wall 46 may include a plurality of notches 48 formed between adjacent pylons 16. Notches 48 decrease the material needed to form crate 10, thus decreasing weight and cost. In addition, notches 48 provide for increased product visibility for display purposes. Notches 48 may be of any suitable shape, including u-shaped or v-shaped.
As shown in FIG. 5, crate 10 may also include a plurality of handle apertures 50 formed on opposing lateral sides of peripheral wall 46. Handle apertures 50 may be formed on opposite ends of the longitudinal axis 18 of crate 10. Handle apertures 50 may be molded to fit the contours of a hand to facilitate grip.
Crate 10 may be of any suitable shape and size. As illustrated in FIGS. 1-5, crate 10 may be rectangular in shape with a length measured along longitudinal axis 18 and a depth measured along transverse axis 19. Crate 10 may be substantially symmetrical about both the longitudinal axis 18 and transverse axis 19. As shown in FIG. 3, the width W of crate 10, as measured along transverse axis 19, is equal to about one half of the length L of the crate, as measured along the longitudinal axis 18.
Crate 10 also includes a central channel 56 that extends along transverse axis 19 of the crate and divides the crate into two substantially identical portions. Advantageously, this allows a plurality of crates 10 to be stacked directly on top of one another or to be cross-stacked. Cross-stacking generally involves stacking rectangular crates in a layered structure, with each layer having crates oriented parallel to each other and with the crates in adjacent layers being oriented at right angles to one another. This configuration helps prevent lateral movement during transport of the empty crates and thus enhances stability. Peripheral wall 46 of crate 10 may include a top surface that forms a ledge 52 for receiving a lower portion 54 of peripheral wall 46 of an identical crate 10 in either a stacked or a cross-stacked configuration. In a cross-stacked configuration, central channel 56 accommodates abutting peripheral walls 46 of additional crates 10, allowing a plurality of crates to be stacked in such a way that the longitudinal axes of the respective crates are oriented at right angles to each other.
The height of central columns 14 and pylons 16 is generally greater than the height of similar structures in conventional beverage crates. The higher columns and pylons increase the stability of crate 10 by providing increased support to the beverage bottles held within the crate. Although the height of columns 14 and 16 are greater than those of conventional crates, the nesting interval remains unchanged. This is accomplished by allowing the columns 14 and pylons 16 to nest deeper within the hollow columns 14 and pylons 16 of a stacked crate. As a result, crate 10 provides for greater stability and safety without increasing the amount of space needed to store and/or transport the crates, either empty or full of product.
Crate 10 can have an overall height of approximately 5.12 inches, with the height of peripheral wall 46 being approximately 3 inches and the height that columns 14 and pylons 16 extend above peripheral wall 46 being approximately 2.12 inches. Crate 10 can have a nesting interval of 3 inches, since stacking a plurality of crates 10 one on top of the other would increase the overall height of the stack by only 3 inches for each additional crate in the stack.
The present invention, as described above and shown in the drawings, provides for a nestable and cross-stackable beverage bottle crate capable of securely holding beverage bottles of varying sizes and shapes. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the disclosed invention without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims and their equivalents.

## Claims

1. A nestable crate for holding bottles, comprising:
a floor portion substantially in a first plane and having a plurality of bottle seating areas, at least one bottle seating area being adapted to receive a lower portion of a bottle;
a peripheral wall surrounding the floor portion and extending upward from the floor portion;
a plurality of central columns oriented proximate to a longitudinal centerline of the crate and extending upward from the floor portion, at least one central column including at least one first bottle-contacting surface oriented to be substantially orthogonal to the first plane; and
a plurality of pylons extending upward from the floor portion along the periphery of the crate, at least one pylon including at least one second bottle-contacting surface substantially orthogonal to the first plane.

2. The crate of claim 1, wherein the plurality of pylons form part of the peripheral wall.

3. The crate of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of pockets for receiving bottles, at least one pocket having a lower portion formed from one of the bottle seating areas and a sidewall defined by at least one of the central columns and at least two of the pylons.

4. The crate of claim 2, wherein a first diameter of a portion of the pocket adjacent to the bottle seating area is substantially equal to a second diameter of a portion of the pocket adjacent to a top surface of the central column.

5. The crate of claim 1, wherein each of the first bottle-contacting surfaces comprises a rib extending along a portion of the axial length of the central column.

6. The crate of claim 1, wherein each of the central columns comprises an upper portion and a lower portion and wherein the lower portion of the central column is substantially open.

7. The crate of claim 6, further comprising a circular pocket for holding bottles, at least one pocket being defined by at least one first bottle contacting surface and at least one second bottle contacting surface, wherein the circular pocket has a substantially constant diameter.

8. The crate of claim 1, wherein at least one of the central columns comprises an upper portion and a lower portion and wherein the transition between the upper portion and the lower portion includes a stepped surface, the stepped surface being angled with respect to the first plane.

9. The crate of claim 1, wherein each of the second bottle-contacting surfaces comprises a rib extending along a portion of the axial length of the pylon.

10. The crate of claim 1, wherein at least one of the bottle seating areas comprises an upwardly concave portion to further support a lower portion of a bottle.

11. The crate of claim 10, further comprising a plurality of apertures formed in the upwardly concave portion.

12. The crate of claim 10, wherein a central area of said bottle seating area comprises a substantially flat portion.

13. The crate of claim 12, further comprising a plurality of apertures formed in the substantially flat portion.

14. The crate of claim 1, wherein the peripheral wall includes a top portion forming a ledge for receiving a lower portion of a peripheral wall of an identical crate.

15. The crate of claim 13, wherein the ratio of the overall container height to the pylon height is less than 2.5, wherein the overall container height and the pylon height are measured in a direction perpendicular to the first plane, and wherein the pylon height is measured from the shelf of the container to a top portion of the pylon.

16. The crate of claim 1, wherein the peripheral wall includes a plurality of notches formed between adjacent pylons.

17. The crate of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of connecting partitions, at least one partition connecting each central column to at least one of the pylons.

18. The crate of claim 1, further comprising a channel extending in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline and bisecting the container into two substantially identical portions to facilitate cross-stacking when the container is empty.

19. The crate of claim 1, further comprising two handle apertures formed on opposing lateral sides of the peripheral wall.

20. A cross-stackable crate, comprising
a floor portion having a plurality of bottle seating areas, each bottle seating area being adapted to receive a lower portion of a bottle, and having a substantially flat portion, wherein a top surface of the flat portion of each bottle seating area lies in a first plane;
a peripheral wall surrounding the floor portion and extending upward from the floor portion, the peripheral wall including a top portion forming a shelf for receiving a lower portion of a peripheral wall of a second crate;
a plurality of hollow central columns oriented along a longitudinal centerline of the crate and extending upward from the floor portion, each central column including a plurality of first bottle-contacting surfaces orthogonal to the first plane;
a plurality of hollow pylons extending upward from the floor portion along the periphery of the crate, each pylon including an inwardly angled exterior surface and a second bottle-contacting surface, the second bottle-contacting surface being orthogonal to the first plane and comprising a rib extending along a portion of the axial length of the pylon, the rib being surrounded by a plurality of grooves;
a plurality of circular pockets for securely receiving a bottle, each pocket being defined by at least one bottle contacting surface on a central column and at least one bottle contacting surface on a pylon, the circular pocket having a substantially constant diameter; and
a channel extending across the width of the crate in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline and bisecting the container into two substantially identical portions.

21. A nestable crate for holding bottles, comprising:
a floor portion substantially in a first plane and having a plurality of bottle seating areas, each bottle seating area being adapted to receive a lower portion of a bottle;
a peripheral wall surrounding the floor portion and extending upward from the floor portion;
a plurality of central columns oriented proximate to a longitudinal centerline of the crate and extending upward from the floor portion, each central column including at least one first bottle-contacting surface oriented to be substantially orthogonal to the first plane; and
a plurality of pylons extending upward from the floor portion along the periphery of the crate, each pylon including at least one second bottle-contacting surface substantially orthogonal to the first plane.

22. The crate of claim 21, further comprising a plurality of pockets for receiving bottles, each pocket having a lower portion formed from one of the bottle seating areas and a sidewall defined by at least one of the central columns and at least two of the pylons.

23. The crate of claim 21, further comprising a circular pocket for holding bottles, each pocket being defined by at least one first bottle contacting surface and at least one second bottle contacting surface, wherein the circular pocket has a substantially constant diameter.

24. The crate of claim 21, wherein each of the central columns comprises an upper portion and a lower portion and wherein the transition between the upper portion and the lower portion includes a stepped surface, the stepped surface being angled with respect to the first plane.

25. The crate of claim 21, further comprising a plurality of connecting partitions, each partition connecting at least one of the central column to at least one of the pylons.