AU669871B2 - Container carrier - Google Patents

Description

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AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COM.PLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Applicant(s): GEOFFREY FOXCROFT THEODOROS TSANDEFSKIS Invention Title: CONTAINER CARRIER S. S S a

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The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 2 CONTAINER CARRIER This invention relates to a container carrier for supporting and enabling a plurality of containers to be carried. Such carriers are conventionally used in conjunction with drink cans such as soft drink cans and beer cans.

The invention provides a container carrier including: a carrier body; a plurality of cavities formed in said carrier body, each cavity having a side wall, an open bottom and an upper surface; and wherein each side wall includes an engaging portion for engaging a portion of the container and enabling the portion of the container to be supported in 15 one of the cavities to thereby releasably secure the container to the container carrier, and further including; a handle portion at a side of the carrier body, the handle portion having a cut out for forming a finger grip, and the ha dle portion being foldable from a position 20 generally in the plane of the carrier body to a position transverse to said plane.

*o• o o stafaonlkootpec3301 93 FOXCROFT 1 27 2 3 enabling the portion of the container to ported in one of the cavities to t releasably secure the contain e container carrier.

Preferably the container carrier includes six cavities for enabling six containers to be supported and carried by the container carrier.

Preferably the upper surface has retaining means for retaining containers so the carriers including containers can be stacked one on top of another.

Preferably the retaining means comprises a shallow recess defined by each upper surface and the periphery of each cavity.

Preferably the recesses are cylindrical and the engaging portion comprises an inwardly tapering wall portion and an outwardly protruding bead section of each side wall.

Preferably the container carrier is made from

PET.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a container carrier according to the preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the carrier of figure 1; and Figure 3 is a detailed view of part of the carrier of figures 1 and 2.

With reference to figure i, the carrier comprises a body portion 12 in which a plurality of cavities 14 are integrally moulded. In the embodiment shown in the drawings six cavities are provided. Each cavity has an annular side wall 16 an open bottom portion 18 and an upper surface The body 12 also has a handle portion 21 having a cut out 22 which forms a hand grip.

The cylindrical side wall 16 has an inwardly tapering portion 16a which extends from the open bottom 18 to a position adjacent but spaced from the upper surface i'q~eN '8 JL 4 The tapering portion 16a is joined to the upper surface 20 by an outwardly protruding bead portion 16b.

In order to retain a container such as a drink can, one of which is labelled C and shown in dotted lines in figure 1, the can C is inserted into the cavity 16 so that its upper lip C1 engages in the bead portion 16b in a snap locking manner to securely retain the container C within the cavity 16, The top of the container C is covered by the upper surface 20 of the cavity.

The handle portion 21 can be folded to a position adjacent the containers as is shown by the dash dotted line 21' in figure 1 so that the six pack of containers can be stacked and packaged without the handle portion 21 taking o oD up any space.

The upper surface 20 of the cavity provides a seal over the top of the container C to increase hygiene o and prevent the upper portion of the container C from becoming contaminated with dirt or the like during handling and transportation of the containers.

Since the upper portion 20 covers the top of the can, a can can be removed from the container carrier and a person can drink direct from the can with less fear that the upper portion of the can has become contaminated during *0 transportation and handling. The container carrier according to the preferred embodiment of the invention can be reused because cans C can be easily inserted into the cavity and locked in position by the snap lock action of the tapered wall 16a and outwardly protruding bead 16b.

Furthermore, the container carrier of the preferred embodiment can be recycled if required.

With reference to figure 3, this embodiment has a shallow recess 50 formed by the periphery of the cavity 14 and in particular the bead 16b and the upper surface The recess 50 enables carriers which are loaded with cans to be stacked one above the other and respectively lock together so that they do not slip relative to one another.

As shown in figure 3, the bottom of a can C' sits into the shallow recess 20 so that when one carrier is stacked on 5 top of another the cans supported by the upper carrier sit in the shallow recesses 50 of the cavities of the carrier upon which they are stacked. Since the cans C' sit in a shallow recess 50 the carrier will not tend to slip and slide when stacked and are securely held in place.

In other forms of the invention, not shown, the upper surface 20 could be provided with a dome which projects into the bottom recess of a can in order to retain the can or the cavities 14 could be provided with other retaining devices in order to secure a can in position when carriers are stacked on on top of another.

Since modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention may readily be effected by persons skilled within the art, it is to be understood that this invention 1*g1 is not limited to the particular embodiment described by way of example hereinabove.

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Claims (3)

1. 2. The carrier of claim 1 wherein, the container carrier includes six cavities for enabling six containers to be supported and carried by the container carrier. 20 3. The carrier of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the .upper surface has retaining means for retaining containers o* so the carriers including containers can be stacked one on top of another. I 4. The carrier of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the retaining means comprises a shallow recess defined by each upper surface and the periphery of each cavity. The carrier of any one of the claims 1 to 4 wherein the recesses are cylindrical and the engaging portion comprises an inwardly tapering wall portion and an outwardly protruding bead section of each side wall. staft'aerikoop.spec*J33OO1 93 FOXCROFPT1 272 7
2. 6. The carrier of any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the container carrier is made from PET.
3. 7. The container carrier substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 27th day of February 1996 GEOFFREY FOXCROFT AND THEODOROS TSANDEFSKIS By Their Patent Attorneys: GRIFFITH HACK CO. Fellows Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia. *B B a B T stafverekeeplspoJ33001 93 FOXCROFT 1 27 2 8 ABSTRACT A container carrier is disclosed particularly suitable for carrying soft drink cans or beer cans. The carrier comprises a body (12) which has a plurality of cavities (14) integrally moulded into it. The cavities (14) have an annular side wall an open bottom portion (18) and anr upper surface The side wall (16) has an inwardly tapering portion (16a) which matches the taper of a top of a container and a bead portion (16b) for receiving the lip of the container to lock the container in the cavity so F that it can be carried by the carrier. A handle (21) is formed integral with the body (12). S f