Abstract:
A series of carriers mount on a vertical shaft. Each carrier has one or more receptacles that can hold a bottle. The shaft mounts to a wall. The mounting of the carrier to the shaft allows the carriers to pivot about the axis of the shaft. The user can orient the receptacles to the right, left or other positions for a pleasing grouping of the bottles.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention is an apparatus for displaying and storing bottles, especially wine bottles.  
         [0003]     2. General Background and State of the Art  
         [0004]     Wine bottles typically are stored horizontally so that the wine remains in contact with the cork. When bottles are stored upright so that corks are out of contact with the wine, the cork can dry out, which can allow air to enter the bottle. Any air spoils the wine.  
         [0005]     Horizontal storage of bottles takes many forms. In a simple form, bottles remain in their cardboard or wood cases. After removing the top of the case, the case is placed on one side so that the bottles are horizontal. The cases may be on shelves or merely stacked. Most cases have internal cells that separate each bottle from adjacent ones and prevent the bottles from rolling inside the case.  
         [0006]     Bottles also may be removed from the cases and placed on flat, solid or wire shelves. To prevent bottles from rolling, the shelves may have indentations or separators.  
         [0007]     Slightly more complex are storage systems divided into cells. Each cell may hold one or multiple bottles. In one cell-based apparatus, each cell is formed by four, horizontal lateral supports that will be aligned with the bottle. Short posts at the front and rear of each lateral support attach the support to adjacent lateral supports. The posts that extend horizontally between two adjacent and horizontally spaced lateral supports carry the front and rear of the bottle. The posts that extend vertically between two adjacent and vertically spaced lateral supports form the sides of the cells. The cells are square and wide and tall enough to receive a bottle.  
         [0008]     Cells in another storage system are square but large enough to hold more than one bottle. The walls of the cell are at 45° to vertical. The first bottle placed in the cell rests at the bottom apex of the cell, and the remaining bottles are stacked above bottles already placed in the cell. Vertical or horizontal walls or posts may subdivide the cells. Storage devices with cells that hold several bottles are particularly useful with people or restaurants with large wine collections. Each cell can hold wines of a vintage of the same variety from one winery or wine of particular classifications (e.g., Zinfandel wine from San Luis Obispo County, California).  
         [0009]     Bottles, particularly wine bottles, can be quite attractive. One must remove the bottle from the previously mentioned storage devices to see the bottle. Bottles also may look particularly attractive when multiple bottles are visible in an attractive storage device.  
       INVENTION SUMMARY  
       [0010]     It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that stores and displays bottles attractively. Another object is to provide a device that holds bottles in positions that users can change so that the device with bottles can take on multiple orientations. Another object is to provide a device that stores and displays bottles while occupying little floor space.  
         [0011]     The bottle display and storage apparatus of the present invention includes a base, which may mount to a wall or sit on the floor. The apparatus includes a series of carriers aligned with each other along an axis through each carrier and above the base. The bottom carrier is adjacent to the base and can pivot relative to the base. The carriers above the bottom carrier pivot relative to each other about the axis.  
         [0012]     Each carrier includes a support about the axis and a receptacle attached to and projecting from the support. The receptacle is angled upward and has an open end to receive a bottle. The inside of the receptacle may have a foam insert for cushioning the bottle. Because the carriers pivot about the axis, the user may orient them as he or she wishes. Some carriers may extend to the right, other to the left and others at intermediate positions.  
         [0013]     For embodiments that mount the base to the wall, a header attaches to the upper carrier to hold the top of the device to the wall. Normally, the mounting is such that the carriers cannot pivot toward the wall but would extend toward the right, left and forward of the axis.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the bottle storage and display apparatus of the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a perspective and cutaway view of one carrier of the present invention and associated structure.  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a sectional view taken through plane  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 .  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a sectional view taken through place  4 - 4  of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the bottle storage and display apparatus of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]     The present invention stores and displays bottles, primarily wine or other attractive bottles. Bottles  2  (shown in phantom in  FIGS. 1 and 5 ) may take many different shapes, but they normally have a wider, cylindrical bottom section and a narrower, upper neck. These elements vary considerably. For example, some Chianti bottles have almost spherical lower portions with flat bases. Basket material often covers the lower portion. Bordeaux style bottles have cylindrical lower portions and relatively short necks while Burgundy style bottles have shorter lower portions and a longer and tapering neck.  
         [0020]     A label usually covers at least part of the lower portion, and many bottles have neck labels too. Wine labels may be very decorative. Also, to wine connoisseurs, a label of an exclusive winery may evoke beauty even if the label itself is not particularly aesthetic. A cork in the neck seals the wine or other liquid inside the bottle. Today, many wine bottles do not use cork material but use plastic as a substitute. Some bottles have foil at the end of the neck over the cork. Others have no foil.  
         [0021]     Bottles for other liquids exist. In addition, some people or businesses modify bottles, For example, they may personalize a bottle by adding colored artwork and words such as poetry to the bottle.  
         [0022]     The present invention may display other types of bottles, containers or other items. Many liquor bottles are interesting looking. One also may want to display containers holding non-beverage items such as olive oil and vinegar. Some people may display containers related to a hobby or industry. For example, a person interested in automobiles or an automotive business may want to display containers holding motor oil, other automotive fluids or even non-fluid parts.  
         [0023]     The present invention stores and displays these and other type of bottles. It includes a series of carriers aligned with each other along an axis through each carrier. The exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 1  has eight carriers  10 - 17  aligned along an axis. The carriers extend upward from a base  20  ( FIGS. 1 and 4 ) or base  90  ( FIG. 5 ). The  FIG. 5  embodiment is discussed later. Each carrier can pivot about the axis relative to its adjacent carrier, and bottom carrier  17  pivots relative to the base.  
         [0024]     In the exemplary embodiment, exposed parts of the carriers are metal such as anodized aluminum. It does not corrode easily and is available in different shades and textures. Stainless steel is an acceptable choice, but it is heavier and more costly than aluminum. Brass, nickel, chrome-plated steel, other metals and plastic or wood also may be used. In addition, the different parts of the carrier could be different materials.  
         [0025]     Each carrier includes a support member and at least one receptacle. In the exemplary embodiments, each carrier, e.g., carrier  14  ( FIG. 2 ), has a single receptacle  40 , which attaches to central support  22 . The support is elongated and cylindrical with a hollow center bore  24 .  FIGS. 2 and 3 .  
         [0026]     The inside diameter of the bore is sized to accommodate post  60 . Each end  26  and  28  of the support member receives a bushing  30  or  32 . The ends of the support members may be counter-bored to receive the heads  34  of the bushings. The bushings allow the support members to pivot about the post easily. The bushings also assist sliding of the ends of the support members relative to the end of the adjacent support member when one support pivots as the adjacent support remains stationary. A light lubricant or a non-stick coating may be used.  
         [0027]     In the exemplary embodiment, the receptacle  40  for each carrier is cylindrical and has an inside diameter sized to accommodate a bottle. Similarly, the receptacle is sufficiently deep to receive at least a portion of a bottle. Non-cylindrical shapes (i.e., non-circular cross-sections such as a squares or hexagons) are possible. Insofar as those shapes have inside dimensions, the corresponding dimension to a cylinder diameter is still referred to as the inside diameter. Alternatively, the outside of the receptacle may have a shape different from the inside shape. For example, the inside could remain a cylinder, but the outside could be polygonal.  
         [0028]     Each carrier of the exemplary embodiment has only one receptacle, but two or possibly more receptacles per carrier are possible. Multiple receptacles could be spaced annularly, stacked or both spaced annularly and horizontally.  
         [0029]     The cylindrical wall  50  of receptacle  40  for each carrier (e.g., carrier  14 ) has an open distal end and proximal base  42  with a central bore  44  through the base. The bore fits over projection  36  extending outward at an angle a from support  22 . In the exemplary embodiment, the projection is integral with the remainder of the support ( FIG. 3 ), but the projection could be formed as a separate part and attached to the support. A fastener in the form of bolt  46  with external threads  48  extends through bore  44  and treads into internal threads  38  in projection  36 . Bore  44  is press fit onto the outside the projection to secure the receptacle in a particular orientation relative to the projection. In addition, the bore and projection may have other structure (e.g., threads or a bayonet fitting) to secure the receptacle in a desired orientation. Bolt head  52  has a sufficient diameter to prevent movement of the receptacle relative to the support.  
         [0030]     The projection is angled upward to angle the receptacle upward. The receptacles are angled at about 45° in the exemplary embodiment, but other angles are acceptable. Thought friction may hold a bottle in the receptacle, especially if the receptacle has a foam insert  54  (see below), some angle a ( FIG. 3 ) above the horizontal likely is better. The lower limit of angle a occurs when the receptacle contacts the support member.  
         [0031]     The inside of receptacle wall  50  may receive a soft sleeve  54  of foam plastic or other soft material. The optional sleeve allows receptacles to accommodate bottles of different sizes and shapes. It also provides friction between the glass bottle and metal receptacle to help retain the bottle in the receptacle.  
         [0032]     Base  20  attaches to a wall or other vertical surface. The base of the exemplary embodiment is triangular and curved ( FIGS. 1 and 4 ) although other shapes may be acceptable. The base may be decorative also. Three screws  72 ,  74  and  76  secure the base to the wall  78  ( FIG. 4 ). The top of the base has an opening  62  that receives the bottom of shaft  50 . Setscrew  64  engages the shaft and prevents removal of the shaft from the base.  
         [0033]     As  FIG. 4  shows, the bottom carrier  17  rests on the top surface  66  of base  20 . That carrier can pivot about the shaft on the base. The remaining carriers pivot with respect to the adjacent carrier.  
         [0034]     Shaft  60  may be one piece or it may be of two of more sections connected together. Having the shaft divided into separate sections allows shipping the parts of the shaft in a shorter package. Having the sections connect together might not be necessary if each ends toward the middle of a support member  22 . In such an arrangement the support member may prevent the column of shaft sections from buckling.  
         [0035]     Header  80  ( FIG. 1 ) is similar to base  20 . The header is adjacent top carrier  10 , and holds the top of shaft  60 . The base and header hold the shaft spaced from and parallel to the wall such that the outside of the support member is spaced a distance  64  from wall  78 . The spacing allows the carriers to be rotated about the shaft without interference from the wall. If the distance  64  is too small, the carriers&#39; angular pivoting is limited from wall contact by the receptacles. In fact, if space  64  is sufficiently large, the carriers could be rotated a full 360° about the axis.  
         [0036]     Users can rotate the carriers to desired positions. In the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the receptacles  40  of top carrier  10 , intermediate carriers  12 ,  13  and  14  and bottom carrier  17  face toward the left. The other receptacles for carriers  11 ,  15  and  16  face toward the right. None faces forward in  FIG. 1 , but the receptacles can be in any orientation, not just the full left or right positions shown in  FIG. 1 . Positions can be changed easily simply by pushing or pulling the receptacle or other part of a carrier.  
         [0037]     Though the device is positioned so that its axis is vertical in  FIG. 1 , other orientations may be acceptable. Maintaining the carriers in desired orientations may be more difficult in non-vertical orientations, however.  
         [0038]     A floor-mounted version also is possible. A floor stand base  90  ( FIG. 5 ) may support the shaft and carriers. The base must have a sufficiently wide area to prevent the device from tipping over, especially if all the receptacles containing full bottles are aligned on one side of the device. Instead of the header of  FIG. 1 , the  FIG. 5  embodiment has a different header  92 , which is secured to the top of the shaft.  
         [0039]     While the specification describes particular embodiments of the present invention, those of ordinary skill can devise variations of the present invention without departing from the inventive concept.