Patent Publication Number: US-9428321-B2

Title: Beverage crate with constant-diameter pockets

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of and claims priority from U.S. application Ser. No. 12/856,085, which was filed on Aug. 13, 2010, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/141,582, which was filed on Jun. 18, 2008, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,793,783. 
    
    
     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.