Patent ID: 7604122

Claim:
A low-depth nestable crate for holding bottles, said crate having a low-depth wall structure having sidewalls and end walls, said crate comprising: a floor member having a floor top surface and a floor bottom surface; a band extending around the periphery of the crate and spaced above the floor member for preventing the bottles from tipping, the band further having spaced-apart interior projections, inner surfaces of which define a first plane, the band further defining a lower ledge on an exterior of the crate; and a pair of columns disposed along at least one of the sidewalls for connecting the band and the floor member, the columns being spaced apart and having a nesting window disposed therebetween, the columns having an interior surface and an exterior surface, the columns aligned with the interior projections and projecting inwardly of the interior projections to form an angled ledge therebetween, each adjacent pair of columns defining a bottle receiving area for containing one of the bottles therein, the interior surface of each column having a pair of opposed surfaces meeting at a centrally disposed surface which defines a second plane offset from the first plane, the exterior surface of the column having a recess to matingly receive corresponding interior projections from a similar crate nested therebelow.