Stacking tray for bottles

Abstract: This invention relates to a bottle package, for placing said bottles in a plurality of superposed layers in which the bottles (1) are upright and comprising base plates (2) to be laid at least between the bottle layers. The base plates (2) incorporating on one surface thereof seats (3) the inner surfaces of which bear, for at least a portion thereof, on the mouth or neck portion (5) of the bottles (1), as on said annular shoulder (14), when the base plate (2) is disposed on the bottle layer, and on the other surface thereof cup-like seats (4) remaining between said seats (3) and being inverse to said seats, the dimensions and shape of said cup-like seats substantially conforming to the generally circular shape of the bottom (6) of the bottles (1). According to the invention the cup-like seats (4) comprise a generally tapered protuberance (10) projecting centrally from the bottom of the seat, the dimensions and shape of said protuberance conforming to the dimensions and shape of the socket (11) provided in the bottom (6) of the bottle (1) for providing support to the bottle in order to support it in an upright position.

Description: This invention relates to a bottle package comprising bottles in a plurality of superposed layers in which the bottles are upright, said bottles comprising a bottom portion with a generally circular shape and a dome-shaped central socket, a middle portion and a neck portion with a projecting annular shoulder, and base plates to be laid at least between the bottle layers, said base plates incorporating on one surface thereof seats the inner surfaces of which bear, for at least a portion thereof, on the mouth or neck portion of the bottles, as on said annular shoulder, when the base plate is disposed on the bottle layer, and on the other surface thereof cup-like seats remaining between said seats and being inverse to said seats, the dimensions and shape of said cup-like seats substantially conforming to the generally circular shape of the bottom of the bottles. A package substantially as described above is known from European published application 0 324 699. In that application, however, in distinction to the above, the seats reserved for the bottle mouth are openings, and thus the upper base plate bears on the neck portions of the lower bottle layer in the package. An obvious result from this is wedging of the base plate to the tapered bottle necks, which substantially impedes the use of the package. Further, the supports provided for the bottle bottoms are rather small, and thus the bottles cannot stand very rigidly on the base plate after the upper base plate covering said bottle layer is removed. The package is a relatively stable entity, but this stability is based specifically on the wedging of the base plates relative to the bottle necks and thereby presents a considerable problem when the package is taken apart. A package substantially as described above is known also from document WO-A-91 06487. This document discloses a separator plate for bottle packaging in which plate the necks of the bottles are shrouded in cap portions high enough to incorporate the necks until the shoulders of the bottles. For the bottoms of the bottles the plate comprises places with flat bottoms and resilient laterally extending protuberances clamping on the vertical side surfaces of the lower parts of the bottles. The resilient protuberances allow some variation in the diameters of the bottles. In order to reliably support in uptight position even higher bottles having their centre of gravity relatively high the protuberances also have to extend relatively high. A separator plate for bottles to be placed in a plurality of superposed layers is also known from document EP-A-0 227 559. This document discloses a flat plate with resilient round places for the bottles. When such a resilient place is placed over a bottle the mouth of the bottle deforms the place causing a frusto-conical protuberance to be formed on the upper side of the plate. This protuberance can be used to center and wedge a bottle in an upper bottle layer if the bottom of the bottle is equipped with a suitable cavity. This arrangement does, however, not give any remarkable support for the bottle against tilting. It is an object of the present invention to provide a package which does not involve the problems of the above packages but has the same advantages, that is, the package is stable and space-saving and the bottles are substantially visible, which is thought to be of significance in attempting to influence consumer choirs. The above objects are achieved with a package according to the invention, which is characterized in that said cup-like seats comprise a generally tapered protuberance projecting centrally from the bottom of the seat, the dimensions and shape of said protuberance conforming to the dimensions and shape of the socket provided in the bottom of the bottle for providing support to the bottle in order to support it in an upright position. Since the package of the invention is primarily, although not solely, intended for plastic recyclable bottles, i.e. what may be called RefPET bottles, in which the bottom of the bottle has a generally circular shape consequent on the bottle material, but which necessarily also have a socket centrally of the bottom, a very balanced upright position is achieved for the bottle by means of a base construction as described above. If the bottom of the seat did not have a generally tapered protuberance, the bottle would rotate like a ball bearing in its cup-like seat. Preferably the protuberance in the bottom of the cup-like seats is generally frusto-conical in shape. Furthermore, it is preferable in view of the manageability of the base plate in other respects and also in view of lightness and cleaning that an opening is provided in the middle of said generally frusto-conical protuberance. In the package of the invention, the bottle layers bear on one another so rigidly that especially if the number of bottle layers is maintained within reasonable bounds, the package does not even need an outer covering. The package can, however, be easily encased with an outer covering of fluted board or plastic shrink film, for instance, and such an outer covering will reliably secure the integrity of the package even in rough handling, and prevent the bottles from becoming dusty during transport and storage. In order that a maximum number of bottles may be accommodated between the base plates, it is preferred that the wall of the first-mentioned seat concurs with the wall of said cup-like seats at least at points where it bears on the mouth or neck portion of the bottle. The base plate of the invention can be developed further, if so desired, in a variety of ways with an aim to secure the bottles as effectively as possible between the base plates. In particular, such securing arrangements come into question for the mouth or neck portion of the bottle, since it is not self-evident that dimensionally accurate seats are inherently produced for them in the base plate, as is the case with the cup-like seats for the bottoms of the bottles. As one such securing arrangement, an alternative construction can be mentioned in which the first-mentioned seats have a flat bottom the dimensions and shape of which conform to the upper surface of the cap of the bottles to be used in association with the base plate. Such an arrangement, in which possibly rather shallow seats are provided for the bottle caps, is quite useful in the sense that for instance the diameters of caps used in association with one-litre bottles are dimensionally very similar. This arrangement does not, however, necessarily guarantee the securing of empty recycled bottles between the base plates. In the following, the package of the invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 shows a cross-section of part of a package according to the invention, Figure 2 is a top view of a base plate included in the package of Figure 1, Figure 3 shows in more detail the securing of a bottle between two base plates in the package of the invention, and Figure 4 shows part of two superimposed base plates. Figure 1, and Figure 3 in more detail, shows the accommodation of bottle layers comprising upright bottles 1 between base plates 2. These bottles 1 comprise a bottom portion 6, middle portion 9 and neck portion 5 terminating into cap 8. Conventionally, the bottom portion 6 in the bottles is cup-like and tapers somewhat towards the bottom. Particularly in plastic recyclable bottles, i.e. what may be called RefPET bottles, the bottom is circular but comprises an inverse generally tapered or dome-shaped central indentation. In plastic bottles, this inverse indentation is indispensable for preventing the pressure in the bottle from bulging the bottle bottom out into a rounded shape. The neck portion 5 in turn is generally tapered and further comprises, in plastic bottles 1, a projecting annular shoulder 14 substantially at the point where the threaded portion of the bottle neck starts. For the cup-like bottom portion 6 of the bottles 1, cup-like seats 4 are provided in the base plate 2, the dimensions and shape of said cup-like seats substantially conforming to the shape of the cup-like bottom portions 6 of the bottles. As is particularly to be seen from Figure 3, the bottom of the cup-like seat 4 incorporates a frusto-conical protuberance 10 which is of great significance for the balanced upright standing of the bottle 1. Since the diameter and shape of the protuberance 10 conform to the dimensions and shape of the socket 11 provided in the bottom of the bottle 1, it is not possible for the bottle 1 to tilt unless it simultaneously emerges above the protuberance 10. Since the bottle 1 is relatively heavy when filled, the protuberance 10 very effectively prevents tilting of the bottle. The significance of the protuberance 10 is still greater when the bottles are empty and are being returned to the beverage manufacturer in packages. On account of the lightness of the bottles and the rounded shape of their bottoms, returning the bottles in upright position in their package would be totally impossible without the support provided by the protuberance 10. Furthermore, the central portion of the frusto-conical protuberance 10 has a circular opening 12 that makes the base plate lighter and facilitates its cleaning. This opening 12 also has another function, which will be reverted to hereinafter. Further, the lowermost point of the cuplike seats 4 may have one or more smallish openings (not shown), in order that washing water may not remain in the annular well around the protuberance 10 when the base plate is being washed. Figure 2 shows particularly the manner in which the cup-like seats 4 and the inverse seats 3 for the bottle necks 5 remaining between them are disposed in the generally rectangular base plate 2. Such a staggered compact disposition enables accommodation of a maximum number of bottles in the package. In such a case, the walls of the cup-like seats 4 concur at least partly with the walls of the inverse seats 3, as is also to be seen from Figures 1 and 3. Furthermore, the seats 3 and the cup-like seats 4 are so arrayed that two adjacent corners of the plate have seats 3 and the other two adjacent corners have seats 4. Thus only one kind of plates is needed for a package as shown in Figure 1, and said plates in superimposed layers are turned 180° relative to one another. Figure 1 also shows that by removing the bottles from the package, the plates 2 can be stacked as shown in Figure 4. Thus the protuberances 13 provided by the seats 3 on the other surface of the plate can partly project through the openings 12 located centrally in the bottoms of the cup-like seats. Thus the base plates can be stacked in a rigid and space-saving manner one on top of the other, yet so that they are not wedged within one another. As will be seen from Figures 1 and 3, the seats 3 are so dimensioned that the collar 14 in the neck portion of the bottle centers the bottle accurately relative to the seat 3. The seats 3 further have a flat bottom 7, the dimensions and shape thereof conforming to the upper surface of the cap 8 of the bottle 1. Thus also the bottle cap 8 will be reliably housed in its correct place. When the bottle is empty and without cap, the centering is performed by the collar 14. In the above, the invention has been described by means of only one exemplary embodiment. Thus it is to be understood that there are also a number of other ways obvious to a person skilled in the art for modifying the base plate described, yet without departing from the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims: A bottle package comprising bottles in a plurality of superposed layers in which the bottles (1) are upright, said bottles (1) comprising a bottom portion (6) with a generally circular shape and a dome-shaped central socket (11), a middle portion (9) and a neck portion (5) with a projecting annular shoulder (14), and base plates (2) laid at least between the bottle layers, said base plates (2) incorporating on one surface thereof seats (3) the inner surfaces of which bear, for at least a portion thereof, on the mouth or neck portion (5) of the bottles (1), as on said annular shoulder (14), when the base plate (2) is disposed on the bottle layer, and on the other surface thereof cup--like seats (4) remaining between said seats (3) and being inverse to said seats, the dimensions and shape of said cup-like seats substantially conforming to the generally circular shape of the bottom (6) of the bottles (1), characterized in that said cup-like seats (4) comprise a generally tapered protuberance (10) projecting centrally from the bottom of the seat, the dimensions and shape of said protuberance conforming to the dimensions and shape of the socket (11) provided in the bottom (6) of the bottle (1) for providing support to the bottle in order to support it in an upright position. A package as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the protuberance (11) in the bottom of the cup-like seats (4) is generally frusto-conical in shape. A package as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that an opening (12) is provided in the middle of said generally frusto-conical protuberance (11). A package as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the wall of the first-mentioned seat (3) concurs with the wall of said cup-like seats (4) at least at points where it bears on the mouth or neck portion (5) of the bottle. A package as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the first-mentioned seats (3) have a flat bottom (7) the dimensions and shape of which conform to the upper surface of the cap (8) of the bottles (1) to be used in association with the base plate (2).

Inventors: AIKIO VEIJO, AIKIO, VEIJO
Applicants: HARTWALL AB OY, OY HARTWALL AB
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B65D71
IPC codes: B65D71