Abstract:
A crate includes a bottom wall including a plurality of dividers defining a plurality of container pockets and a peripheral wall extending upward from a periphery of the bottom wall. The bottom wall and peripheral wall are thermoformed from a single sheet of plastic, such as recycled PET bottles. Optional features include stabilizing feet, a peripheral lip that prevents shingling and flexible retainers protruding into the pockets to provide a tighter fit with bottles.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates generally to a crate for use in retaining and transporting beverage bottles or other containers. 
   Plastic soft drink bottles, such as two-liter PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles, are often packaged in crates for storage and shipment to the stores. The crates of bottles are often stacked during transportation and display at the store. Typical crates are injection molded with ribs reinforcing a bottom wall and double walls around the periphery of the bottom wall. These crates are relatively stiff and strong to improve the stackability of the loaded crates. These crates are also durable enough to be returned, washed and reused multiple times. Eventually, damaged or worn crates are recyclable. However, it is not practical for the empty crates to be returned in stores where the customers carry the bottles from the store in the crates. 
   Another common packaging for soft drink bottles is corrugated cardboard, with or without plastic wrap securing the bottles to the cardboard. The cardboard is light and inexpensive, but it is not reusable and often not recycled. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides a crate that is less expensive, lighter and smaller than the current reusable crates, but unlike the cardboard packaging, is also recyclable and can be made from 100% recycled beverage bottle materials. 
   The crate includes a single sheet that may be thermoformed to include pockets for receiving two-liter bottles. The crate is not sufficiently strong and stiff by itself to independently support the bottles when stacked. Rather, tight tolerances between bottles and the walls of the pockets and the interaction of the hoop strength of the peripheral wall with the bottles makes the crate and bottles as a unit sufficiently strong and stiff for stacking, carrying and shipping. 
   In a first feature of the crate disclosed herein, the pockets are formed with outwardly flared portions defining stabilizing feet, which stabilize the crate laterally (i.e., against tipping over its long side). 
   In a second feature of the crate disclosed herein, the crate includes a peripheral lip protruding outwardly from the peripheral wall of the crate and then downwardly at least one-third the height of the crate. This prevents the lip of one crate from “shingling” onto the wall of an adjacent crate during shipping. By extending the lip sufficiently downwardly, the lip will be much less likely to slide onto the wall of an adjacent crate. 
   In a third feature, the walls of the pockets of the crate include flexible retainer portions that protrude into the pocket. Bottles inserted into the pockets deflect the flexible retainer portions outwardly, creating a tighter fit between the crate and the bottles. 
   Because the crate lacks the reinforcement of the known reusable crates, it is lighter and less expensive. However, the crate is also recyclable and can be molded from 100% recycled materials, such as recycled PET bottles. The crate can be thermoformed, which means that several versions can be made on the same tooling. For example, by using thermoformable sheets of higher thicknesses, a reusable crate may be formed. Thinner sheets can be formed into single-use crates. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other advantages of the present invention can be understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the crate according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a top view of the crate of the  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a side view of the crate of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4  is a front view of the crate of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 5  is a section view taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 6  is a section view taken along line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 7  is a front view of the crate of  FIG. 1  with a similar crate adjacent thereto. 
       FIG. 8  is a bottom view of the crate of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the crate loaded with bottles. 
       FIG. 10  is a section view taken along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 9   
       FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a crate according to a second embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 12  is a top view of the crate of  FIG. 11 . 
       FIG. 13  is a side view of the crate of  FIG. 11 . 
       FIG. 14  is a portion of a section view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 13 . 
       FIG. 15  is a view similar to  FIG. 14  with the bottles in place. 
       FIG. 16  is a section view of one of the crates being thermoformed on a mold. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   A crate  10  according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . The crate  10  is a single thermoformed sheet having a plurality of bottle-receiving pockets  12  each defined by a bottom wall  14 , an annular lower wall  15  and a generally curved annular pocket wall  16 . The pockets  12  are separated by a plurality of lateral dividers  18  and a longitudinal divider  20  in a two-by-four arrangement. Although other arrangements may be utilized, the two-by-four arrangement has been generally found to be convenient for two-liter bottles. 
   The crate  10  further includes alternating first upper side walls  22  and second upper side walls  23 . The first upper side walls  22  are generally flat and extend upward and outward from the lateral dividers  18 . The second upper side walls  23  are generally concave and further define the pockets  12 . 
   Each end of the crate  10  further includes a generally flat first upper end wall  24  extending upward and outward from the longitudinal divider  20  and generally concave second upper end walls  25  on either side of the first upper end wall  24  to further define the pockets  12 . 
   A peripheral lip  26  protrudes outwardly and then downwardly from the uppermost edge of the peripheral wall (formed by the first upper side walls  22  and second upper side walls  23 ) of the crate  10 . 
   Each of the annular pocket walls  16  includes a flared foot portion  40  continuous with a flared portion  42  of the bottom wall  14 . The flared foot portion  40  projects from the long side of the crate  10 . This helps prevent the crate  10  from tipping over the long side of the crate  10  when loaded with bottles, while still maintaining snug contact between the pocket walls  16  and the bottles. 
   Each of the first upper side walls  22  and second upper side walls  23  includes a plurality of vertical ribs  46  protruding into the pocket  12 . The ribs  46  assist in maintaining snug contact between the walls  22 ,  23  and the bottle in the pocket  12 . 
   The center divider  18 A includes a substantially horizontal upper surface  60  that includes two narrow portions  62  and a wide center portion  64 . The center portion  64  is divided by a longitudinal channel  66  defined by substantially vertical walls  68  continuous with the upper surface  60  of the center divider  18 A, and a bottom wall  70  continuous with the vertical walls  68 . The substantially vertical walls  68  provide even more reinforcement to the crate  10  against pivoting about the axis of the center divider  18 A. The wide portion  64  of the center divider  18 A provides increased contact of the center divider  18 A with the bottles in the adjacent pockets  12  and permits the substantially vertical walls  68  to be longer. It should be noted that the thin ribs that are common in injection-molded beverage container crates are very difficult in a thermoformed crate  10 . Instead, the longitudinal channel  66 , the lateral dividers  18  and the longitudinal divider  20  provide reinforcement to the thermoformed crate  10 . 
   A pair of recesses  72  are formed in the outer portions of the upper surface  60  of the center divider  18 A. These recesses  72  each include substantially vertical peripheral walls  74 . The peripheral walls  74  provide further reinforcement to the crate  10  against bending about the axis of the center divider  18 A. The peripheral walls extend downward to a substantially horizontal bottom wall  76 , which is shown better in  FIG. 2 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 2 , the longitudinal divider  20  extends from one first upper end wall  24  to the other. The lateral dividers  18  each extend from one of the first upper side walls  22  to an opposite first upper side wall  22 . The four non-corner pockets  12  are defined by the respective bottom wall  14 , the pocket wall  16  extending upward from the periphery of the bottom wall  14  and the second upper side wall  23  extending upward from a portion of the pocket wall  16 . The four corner pockets  12  are additionally defined by the second upper end wall  25  extending upward from a portion of the pocket wall  16  and contiguous with the second upper side wall  23 . 
   The diamond shaped intersection  48  between the lateral dividers  18  and the longitudinal dividers  20  each include a diamond shaped recess  50 . The diamond shaped recess  50  includes substantially vertical interior peripheral walls  52  connected to a substantially horizontal bottom wall  54 . The peripheral walls  52  resist bending of the crate  10  about the axis of the lateral dividers  18  and the longitudinal dividers  20 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the generally annular pocket walls  16  are curved and taper down to the lower annular wall  15 , which then connects to the bottom wall  14  for each pocket  12 . The peripheral lip  26  protrudes outward and then downward more than a third of the height of the crate  10 . 
     FIG. 5  is a section view taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 2 . As shown, the vertical interior peripheral walls  52  of the diamond shaped recesses  50  are not perfectly vertical, due to the thermoforming process, but are sufficiently vertical to increase rigidity in this area. The peripheral lip  26  extends outwardly from the second upper end walls  25  and then downwardly more than a third of the height of the crate  10 . 
   Similarly, referring to  FIG. 6 , which is a section view taken along line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 2 , the peripheral walls  74  of the recesses  72  and the vertical walls  68  of the longitudinal channel  66  are not perfectly vertical, but sufficiently so to increase rigidity. The peripheral lip  26  extends outwardly from the second upper side walls  23  and then downwardly more than a third of the height of the crate  10 . 
     FIG. 7  illustrates the crate  10  adjacent a similar crate  10 ′. Because the peripheral lips  26 ,  26 ′ extend downwardly more than a third of the height of the crates  10 ,  10 ′, the crates  10 ,  10 ′ would not “shingle” (one peripheral lip  26 ,  26 ′ sliding over the other) unless one crate  10 ,  10 ′ were lifted more than one-third of its height, which is unlikely in normal use and would possibly result in the crate  10 ,  10 ′ tipping. 
   Further, in use, the crates  10 ,  10 ′ are less likely to tip because the flared foot portions  40 ,  40 ′ increase the stability of the crates  10 ,  10 ′. In use, the loaded crates  10 ,  10 ′ travel down a line with the long side of the crates  10 ,  10 ′ leading. Because the loaded crates are top heavy and the bottles are taller than the width of the crate, the moment arm is very large compared to the support area in that dimension. The flared foot portions  40 ,  40 ′ increase the contact area with the floor outward of the bottles themselves, increasing the width of the crates  10 ,  10  and decreasing the moment arm that would tend to tip the loaded crates  10 ,  10 ′. Also, the lower annular wall  15  of each pocket  12  further increases the contact area with the floor, compared to a pocket that simply matches the contours of the bottom of the bottles, which are fairly rounded, like curved annular pocket walls  16 . 
     FIG. 8  is a bottom view of the crate  10 , illustrating that the crate  10  is thermoformed from a single thermoplastic sheet. 
     FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the crate  10  loaded with bottles  80 , which in this example are two-liter PET bottles  80 . The bottles  80  fit snugly in the pockets  12  of the crate  10  and contact one another in the crate  10 . Preferably, the bottles  80  each contact at least two other bottles  80 . The bottles  80  are in contact with one another and are in contact with upper portions of the second upper side walls  23 , particularly adjacent the portion of the second upper side wall  23  from which the peripheral lip  26  extends. The snug fit of the bottles  80  inside the crate  10  gives the crate  10  and bottles  80  as a unit the necessary stiffness for handling and stacking. 
     FIG. 10  is a section view taken along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 9 . The contours of the second upper side wall  23  and the pocket wall  16  match the walls of the bottles  80 . The bottles  80  contact one another over the divider  20  (over the later dividers  18  also). The bottles  80  also contact the upper portions of the walls adjacent the peripheral lip  26 . The bottom wall  14  includes an upward generally conical projection  81  that protrudes upwardly into a recess  82  in the bottom of the bottle  80 . The conical projection  81  preferably mates with the recess  82  in the bottom of the bottle  80  closely to reduce the stress that would be acting on the bottom wall  14  from the pulling (stretching) when the crate  10  is resting on a bottle cap of a bottle below. 
     FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a crate  110  according to a second embodiment of the invention. The crate  110  is similar to the crate  10  of  FIGS. 1-10  except as explained below or shown in the drawings. For example, the crate  110  does not include the foot portions  40  of the crate  10  ( FIG. 1 ); however, these could optionally be included in the crate  110  as well. In particular, upper side walls  123 ,  125  of the crate  110  include a plurality of flexible retainers  146  protruding into the pockets  112 . 
     FIG. 12  is a top view of the crate  110 . The flexible retainers  146  protrude into the pockets  112  such that they provide a tighter fit with bottles in the pockets  112 . 
     FIG. 13  is a side view of the crate  110 .  FIG. 14  is a portion of a section view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 13 . Referring to  FIG. 14 , the flexible retainers  146  are corrugated portions of the upper side portions  123 ,  125  that protrude into the pockets  112 . 
     FIG. 15  is a view similar to  FIG. 14  with the bottles  80  in the pockets  112 . With the bottles  80  in the pockets  112 , the bottles  80  deflect the flexible retainers  146  outwardly, providing a tighter fit between the bottles  80  and the upper side walls  123 ,  125 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 16 , both embodiments of the crate  10 ,  110  may be formed from recycled PET bottles  80  or other plastic material. The crates  10 ,  110  may be thermoformed on the same thermoforming form  301  from sheets  300  that are of varying thicknesses, depending on how the crates  10 ,  110  will be used (whether the crates will be reused, the degree of stacking, etc), such as 0.040″, 0.050″ or 0.060″. Thicker sheets  300  could be used to create a stiffer, reusable crate capable of higher stacking. As is known generally in thermoforming, the plastic sheet  300  is heated and then placed on the form  301 . A vacuum may be used to draw the sheet  300  against the form  301 . The formed sheet  300  is then removed (and trimmed, if necessary) to form the crate  10 ,  110 . 
   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. Alphanumeric identifiers on method steps are for convenient reference in dependent claims and do not signify a required sequence of performance unless otherwise indicated in the claims.