Abstract:
A bottle carrier includes a plurality of walls. At least one of the walls includes a recess on an exterior surface for retaining a bottle thereon, when the carrier is in a horizontal orientation and the bottle is in a horizontal orientation partially disposed in the recess. The carrier may be stackable and connectable to similar carriers to form display or storage racks. At least one of the walls includes a plurality of feet extending therefrom. The feet are interlockable with feet on a similar carrier. When similar carriers are stacked, the feet interlock to improve the stability of the stacked carriers. Adjacent carriers may be connected via corks or other connectors inserted into adjacent walls of the carriers.

Description:
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/677,197, filed May 2, 2005. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates generally to a case for carrying bottles and more particularly to a reusable carrier that can be connected to similar carriers to form display racks or storage racks.  
         [0002]     Wine bottles are typically shipped in cardboard boxes to stores. At the store the bottles are removed from the boxes and arranged on shelves for display to customers. The wine bottles are also often displayed for sale in the store in the boxes. However, this arrangement makes it difficult for customers to see the products.  
         [0003]     Consumers who purchase a case of wine carry the bottles home in the cardboard boxes. If the wine has been removed for display purposes the cardboard boxes must be repacked. These boxes are typically not sturdy and may be subject to damage from water, the environment, etc. These boxes are typically not reused or returned to the store.  
         [0004]     It is therefore desirable to develop and design an improved bottle carrier for storing and displaying bottles.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     A bottle carrier includes at least one base wall and a plurality of walls connected to the base and extending upward. At least one of the walls includes a recess on an exterior surface for holding a bottle. When the carrier is in a horizontal orientation, a bottle in a horizontal orientation can be partially disposed in the recess. The recess may include a plurality of concave portions formed in ribs projected from the wall.  
         [0006]     The carrier may be stackable and connectable to similar carriers to form display or storage racks. At least one of the walls includes a plurality of feet extending therefrom. The feet are interlockable with feet on a similar carrier. When similar carriers are stacked, the feet interlock to improve the stability of the stacked carriers.  
         [0007]     Adjacent carriers may be connected by corks or other cylindrical connectors inserted into apertures through walls in each of the carriers.  
         [0008]     These and other features of the present invention 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 an example bottle carrier according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0010]      FIG. 1   a  is an enlarged perspective view of one of the second feet.  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is an end view of the carrier.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2   a  is a side view of the carrier.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is a bottom perspective view of the carrier.  
         [0014]      FIG. 3   a  is a bottom view of the carrier.  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is a top view of the carrier.  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the carrier loaded with a plurality of bottles.  
         [0017]      FIG. 6  is a view similar to  FIG. 5 , with one of the bottles removed.  
         [0018]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of two carriers stacked together.  
         [0019]      FIG. 8  is a side view of the carriers of  FIG. 7 .  
         [0020]      FIG. 9  is an enlarged view of a portion of a section through line  9 - 9  of  FIG. 8 .  
         [0021]      FIG. 10  is a front perspective view of the carrier in a horizontal position loaded with a plurality of bottles and supporting a bottle thereon.  
         [0022]      FIG. 11  is a front perspective view of the carrier and bottles of  FIG. 10  connected to another loaded carrier.  
         [0023]      FIG. 12  is a front perspective view of several of the example carriers stacked together to form a larger display rack. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0024]     A bottle carrier  10  according to one example embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . The carrier  10  includes a pair of opposed side walls  14  and a pair of opposed end walls  16  extending upwardly. The carrier  10  is preferably integrally molded of polypropylene, HDPE, polycarbonate or other suitable material via injection molding or other suitable process.  
         [0025]     Each of the side walls  14  includes a pair of first feet  18  arranged at diagonally opposite corners and a pair of second feet  20  arranged at the other diagonally opposite corners. Each of the first feet  18  includes a U-shaped outer rib  22  and a generally oval inner wall  24 , nested within the outer rib  22 . The outer rib  22  is substantially shorter than the inner wall  24 . Each of the second feet  20  includes a generally oval outer wall  26  and a generally cylindrical oblong inner wall  28  nested therein. The inner wall  28  is substantially shorter than the outer wall  26 . The inner walls  24  of the first feet  18  are sized to interlock within the outer walls  26  of the second feet  20  when similar bottle carriers  10  are stacked, as will be explained further below.  
         [0026]     Each side wall  14  includes an upper band comprising a plurality (three in this example) of horizontal upper ribs  30  protruding outwardly from the side wall  14 . The outer edges of the upper ribs  30  include a plurality (three in this example) of concave sections  32 . Each side wall  14  further includes a label area defined by an elliptical rib  36 . The elliptical rib  36  includes a plurality of concave portions  38 .  
         [0027]     Each side wall  14  further includes horizontal middle ribs  40 , each having a plurality of concave portions  42 . Corner fins  19  extend vertically in each corner just outward of each of the first feet  18  and the second feet  20 . The corner fins  19  connect the upper ribs  30  and middle ribs  40 .  
         [0028]     Each side wall  14  further includes a plurality of logo ribs  46  that each define a logo (in this case, an “S” shape) and extend about the periphery of an opening through the side wall  14 . Each of the logo ribs  46  includes a plurality of concave portions  48 . Each side wall  14  further includes a plurality of horizontal lower ribs  50 , each having a plurality of concave portions  52 . The concave portions  32 ,  42 ,  48 ,  52  of the ribs  30 ,  40 ,  46 ,  50  are aligned along a vertical axis (in  FIG. 1 ) with one another to form bottle-receiving recesses on the outer surface of the side wall  14 . A horizontal bottom rib  54  protrudes outwardly from the side wall  14  and does not include concave portions.  
         [0029]     A plurality of dividers  60  define a plurality of bottle-receiving pockets within the interior of the carrier  10 . Each end wall  16  includes a handle  62 , which as shown can be a large opening through the end wall  16 . Further, each end wall  16  includes a connection aperture  64  extending through the end wall  16  above the handle  62 . Each end wall  16  further includes a logo rib  68  both defining a logo (in this example, an “S” shape) and extending about the periphery of an opening into the interior of the carrier  10 .  
         [0030]     A plurality of corner ridges  70  extend upwardly from the upper edges of the corners where the side walls  14  and end walls  16  meet. The corner ridges  70  extend upwardly from the inner edge of the upper edge of each corner.  
         [0031]      FIG. 1   a  is a partial perspective view of the carrier  10 , enlarged to show one of the second feet  20  in more detail. The second feet  20  each include a plurality of vertical ribs  27  extending along an interior surface of the outer wall  26 . The ribs  27  extend from the outer wall  26  to the inner wall  28 . The ribs  27  also extend to an outer edge of the outer wall  26 .  
         [0032]      FIG. 2  is an end view of the carrier  10 . The connection aperture  64 , handle  62  and opening defined by logo rib  68  all extend through the end wall  16 . As can be seen in  FIG. 2 , the outer walls  26  of the second feet  20  protrude outwardly of a plane that defines the outer plane of the side wall  14 . Similarly, the inner walls  24  of the first feet  18  also protrude outwardly of the plane that defines the outer plane of the side wall  14 .  
         [0033]      FIG. 2   a  is a side view of the carrier  10 . The outer rib  24  of the first feet  18  include a pair of ribs  25  connected to the inner wall  24 .  
         [0034]      FIG. 3  is a bottom perspective view of the carrier  10  and  FIG. 3   a  is a bottom view of the carrier  10 . A base wall  71 , which in the illustrated example is generally circular, defines a bottom of each bottle receiving pocket. A plurality of radial ribs  72  on each base wall  71  define a bottle top receiving recess  74  aligned with the bottle-receiving pocket ( FIG. 1 ) in the interior of the carrier  10 . Tapered columns  75  with large side openings extend vertically upward between each of the base walls  71  and partial columns  75  extend between each of the base walls  71  and the side walls  14  and end walls  16 .  
         [0035]     Recesses  76  formed on the interior surface of the bottom rib  54  are complementary to and aligned with the corner ridges  70  ( FIG. 1 ) on the upper edge of the carrier  10 , such that the corner ridges  70  of one carrier  10  are received in the recesses  76  of a carrier stacked thereon to improved the stability of the stack (if the lower carrier  10  is empty or if the bottles in the carrier do not extend out above the upper edges of the lower carrier  10 ).  
         [0036]      FIG. 4  is a top view of the carrier  10 . As shown, the columns  75  extend upwardly between adjacent, perpendicular dividers  60  to further support a bottle in each bottle-receiving pocket.  
         [0037]      FIG. 5  is perspective view of a carrier  10  in which a plurality of bottles  80  have been inserted between the dividers  60 . Although other bottles or containers could be used, wine bottles  80 , each having a neck portion  82 , a transition portion  84  and a body portion  86 , are shown for purposes of illustration.  FIG. 6  is another perspective view of the carrier  10  holding a plurality of bottles  80  with one of the bottles  80  removed to show the column  75 .  
         [0038]     Referring to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , in order to create a wine display or storage rack, one carrier  10  can be stacked upon another similar or identical wine carrier  10 ′, with one side wall  14  resting upon the other side wall  14 ′. The second feet  20  of the upper carrier  10  are interlocked with the first feet  18 ′ of the carrier  10 ′, and vice versa.  
         [0039]      FIG. 9  is an enlarged area of a section through line  9 - 9  of  FIG. 8 . As can be seen in  FIG. 9 , the first foot  18  of the upper carrier  10  is stacked on and interlocked with a second foot  20 ′ of the lower carrier  10 ′. Interlocking is provided by the different, complementary heights of the ribs and walls  22 ,  24 ,  26 ′,  28 ′. The outer wall  26 ′ abuts the outer rib  22 , while the outermost edges of inner walls  24 ,  28 ′ abut one another.  
         [0040]     Referring to  FIG. 10 , the aligned bottle-receiving concave portions  38 ,  48 ,  52  of the ribs  36 ,  46 ,  50  on side wall  14  can retain a bottle  80   a  horizontally on the exterior of the carrier  10 . The bottom rib  54  prevents the bottle  80   a  from sliding past the rear of the carrier  10 . The concave portion  32  of the upper ribs  30  facilitates sliding the bottle  80   a  off the front of the carrier  10 , if the carrier  10  is high enough. The carrier  10  can also be stored on its end walls  16 .  
         [0041]     Referring to  FIG. 11 , the connection aperture  64  in each end wall  16  can be used for connecting adjacent carriers  10 ,  10 ′. A cork  90 , such as from the wine bottle  80 , or other cylindrical connector  90  is inserted into the connection apertures  64 ,  64 ′ in the adjacent end walls  16 ,  16 ′ of the carriers  10 ,  10 ′. The apertures  64 ,  64 ′ are sized and/or shaped so that the cork or other connector  90  will be wedged tightly into the apertures  64 ,  64 ′. Additional carriers could be connected to the carrier  10 ′ in a similar manner.  
         [0042]     By combining the stacking and horizontal connection features of  FIGS. 7 and 11 , one can begin to build a display or storage rack as shown in  FIG. 12 , where carriers  10 ,  10 ′ are connected horizontally and carriers  10 ,  10 ″ are stacked.  
         [0043]     While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.