AU710948B2

AU710948B2 - A crate

Info

Publication number: AU710948B2
Application number: AU12201/97A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Michael James Warwick
Original assignee: Metal Box South Africa Ltd
Current assignee: Nampak Products Ltd
Priority date: 1996-01-18
Filing date: 1997-01-16
Publication date: 1999-09-30
Anticipated expiration: 2017-01-16
Also published as: UY24441A1; EP0785135A1; NZ314071A; CA2195137A1; BR9700720A; AU1220197A; JPH09193938A; NO970224D0; NO970224L

Description

THIS INVENTION relates to a crate. More particularly, the invention relates to a bottle crate.

According to the invention, there is provided a bottle crate which includes a body portion which defines a plurality of primary sockets in each of which a lower portion of a bottle is receivable; a base portion, detachably attached to a bottom region of the body portion, the base portion defining a plurality of secondary sockets in each of which an upper portion of a bottle is receivable; and complementary attaching formations carried by the body portion and the base portion to facilitate the detachable attaching of the base portion to the body portion.

The base portion may include a plurality of secondary socket defining members, each of which defines one of the secondary sockets, the arrangement being such that, when the base portion is attached to the body portion, the secondary socket defining members of the base portion are aligned with and in register with the primary sockets of the body portion.

3 The attaching formations of the base portion may comprise clip-like elements arranged at an operatively upper end of each of at least certain of the secondary socket defining members. The bottom region of the body portion may define a floor of each of the primary sockets, the attaching formations of the body portion then comprising receiving formations defined in the floors of at least certain of the primary sockets, the receiving formations receiving and holding the clip-like elements therein. The receiving formations may be recessed below an upper surface of the floor of said primary sockets.

Further, the base portion may have side walls which carry engaging elements which engage complementary engageable formations in the bottom region of the body portion. The engaging elements may be in the form of clips which engage complementary ribs in the bottom region of the body portion.

S:The floor of each primary socket may be annular and may have a raised inner periphery, the receiving formations of said primary sockets being arranged in the raised inner periphery and being recessed with respect to an upper surface of said raised inner periphery. Thus, the clip-like elements may be shaped to be received in said receiving formations without protruding above the upper surface of the floor of said primary sockets.

The crate, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, is intended particularly for use in the transportation of softdrink bottles, more specifically, non-return type softdrink bottles made of a synthetic plastics material. Certain types of such bottles have a base region which carries a plurality of protrusions thereon rendering such base region non-f lat. Hence, due to the slightly dished annular shape of the floor, the protrusions of the bottles can be received outwardly of the inner periphery on a substantially planer region of the floor. in so doing, improved stability is imparted to a bottle received in the primary socket.

The floor of each primar:y socket, being annular, may have a central opening def ined therein, the opening being shaped and dimensioned to receive a closure member of a bottle in a subjacent crate at least partially therein when the base portion is not attached to the body portion. To facilitate insertion of the closure member into the opening, guiding formations may be defined in a bottom surface of the floor of each primary socket about the opening. The guiding formations may extend radially outwardly from the opening.

.~.The ouiding focrmations may be gusset-plate like and may have an angled portion extending towards the opening to guide the closure member of the bottle into the opening and to bear against a bottle ring arranged below the closure member of the bottle.

An entrance to each secondary socket may define a bearing surface which bears against a neck of the bottle, below a closure member of the bottle, in a subjacent crate, in use.

The bearing surface may comprise an angled region in a bottom of the base portion, the bearing surface having an angle corresponding to an angle of the neck of the bottle in the subjacent crate to seat on said neck to effect neck-loading of the bottles in the subjacent crate when the base portion is attached to the body portion.

A length of each secondary socket may be such that, in use, when the neck of the bottle is received in the secondary socket, the closure member of such bottle is spaced from the floor of a primary socket above it.

Embodiments of the invention are now described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic 'i drawings.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a three dimensional view of a bottle e crate, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows a plan view of a body portion of the crate; Figure 3 shows a bottom view of the body portion of the crate; Figure 4 shows a part-sectional view of the body portion of the crate taken along line IV IV in Figure 2; Figure 5 shows a sectional view of the body portion of the crate taken along line V V in Figure 2; Figure 6 shows a three dimensional view of a base portion of the crate; Figure 7 shows a plan view of the base portion of the crate; Figure 8 shows a bottom view of the base portion of the -Crate; Figure 9 shows a side view of the base portion of the crate; Figure 10 shows a part-sectional view of the base portion of the crate taken along line X X in Figure 7; and Figure 11 shows a detailed, sectional side view of the clipping together of the base portion and the body portion of the crate.

Referring to the drawings, a bottle crate, in accordance with the embodiment, is illustrated and is designated generally by the reference numeral 10. The crate 10 comprises a body portion 12 which defines a plurality of primary sockets 14 in each of which a lower portion of a bottle (not shown) is receivable. A base portion 16 is detachably attached to a bottom 18 of the body portion 12. The base portion 16 defines a plurality of secondary sockets 20 (Figures 6 to 10) in each of S which an upper portion of a bottle is receivable. The arrangement is such that, when the base portion 16 is attached to the body portion 12, the secondary sockets 20 lie below, and S in register with, the primary sockets 14.

o** As illustrated more clearly in Figure 1 of the drawings the body portion 12 comprises a pair of end panels 20, a pair of spaced side posts 22 on each side of the body portion 12 and a oair of spaced central posts 24. The end panels 20, side posts 22 and central post 24 define the primary sockets 14. As illustrated in the drawings, six such primary sockets 14 are defined in the body portion 12.

In addition, in respect of the end sockets 14, these are each partially defined by an end wall 25. The end walls are provided to improve the strength of the crates 10 and, hence, the stackability of empty crates 10. Thus, the end walls serve to inhibit buckling of the empty crates 10 when they are stacked.

Each primary socket 14 has a floor 26 which is annular and which is slightly dished, as illustrated more clearly in Figures 4 and 5 of the drawings, the floor 26 having a raised inner periphery 28 and a central opening 30. The floor 26 of each primary socket 14 is shaped to accommodate basal protrusions of a bottle thereon in a substantially stable manner with the raised periphery 28 of the floor 26 bearing against a central part of a bottom of the bottle.

V The base portion 16 is detachably attached to the body portion 12 via a plurality of complementary receiving formations 32 and clips 34 (Figures 6 to 10) carried on the body portion 12 and the base portion 16, respectively. The receiving formations 32 of the body portion 12 are in the form of stepped slots arranged in the raised periphery 28 of the floor 26 of each primary socket 14. The slots 32 are arranged in a circumferentially spaced relationship in the floor 26 of each primary socket 14.

Referring now to Figure 6 to 10 of the drawings, the base portion 16 of the crate 10 is described in greater detail.

8 The base portion 16 comprises a pair of opposed side walls 36 and a pair of opposed, bowed end walls 38. Cylindrical formations are arranged within the walls 36, 38, the formationls 40 being interconnected by webs 42. These cylindrical formations define the secondary sockets 20 of the base portion 16. The clips 34 of the base portion 16 are arranged at operatively upper ends of the cylindrical formations 40. It is to be noted that the clips 34 are so shaped that, when they engage the slots 32 of the body portion 12, they are recessed below the raised periphery 28 of the floor 26 of each primary socket 14.

Accordingly, the clips 34 do not adversely affect the stability of bottles received in the primary sockets 14.

x Additionally, slots 44 are defined at operatively upper ends of each cylindrical formation 40. These slots 44 receive reinforcing struts 46 (Figure 3) defined on an operatively outer :::sur-face 48 of the floor 26 of each primary socket 14.

The struts 46 also co-operate with locating formations carried by the webs 42 of the base portion 16 for locating the base portion 16 and the body portion 12 with respect to each other. To enhance the rigidity of the crate further, webs 62 are arranged on an outer side of each cylindrical formation Additionally, reinforcing posts 64 are defined in the webs 42.

Clips 52 are carried on each side wall 36 of the base portion 16. These clips 52 engage ribs 54 (Figure 3) in the bottom !8 of the body portion 12 to secure the base portion 16 to the body portion 12. To improve the stability of the crate further, reinforcing ribs 56 are carried on an inner surface of each side wall 36 of the base portion 16. Free ends of the ribs 56 bear against an inner surface of the bottom 18 of the body portion 12.

Referring now to Figure 10 of the drawings, it is to be noted that an entrance 58 to each secondary socket 20 has an angled shoulder 60. The angle of the shoulder 60 corres-ponds to an angle of a neck of the bottle received in the secondary socket so that the crate 10 is supported on the necks of the bottles of a subjacent crate 1.0 when loaded crates are stacked. Further, the length of each cylindrical formation 40 is such that, when the shoulder 60 bears on the neck of the bcttle, a closure of the bottle does -not protrude beyond the upper end of the cylindrical formation 40 and very little, if any, vertical loading is imparted to the closure o-f the bottle when the crates are stacked.

*.In use, a dual purpose crate 10 is provided. By clipping the base portion 16 onto the bottom 18 of the body portion 12, the crates 10, with bottles therein, can be stacked in a neck-loading manner. Conversely, the base portion 60 can be removed from the body portion 12. In the latter case, a closure of a bottle in a subjacent crate is received in the opening 30 of the floor portion 26 of a primary socket 14 of the upper container and the crate 10, with bottles therein, can be stacked in a closure-loading manner of the bottles. The reinforcing struts 46, where they terminate at the openings are chamfered to bear against the closure and a ring of the bottle below the closure to stabilise the stacked, packed crates.

Hence, it is a particular advantage of the embodiment that a dual-purpose crate 10 is provided which can be used either in a closure-loading manner or a neck-loading manner.

Additionally, due to the configuration of the floor 26 of the primary sockets 14 of the body portion 12, bottles of various capacities can be packed in the crate 10 and the crate 10 is not restricted to use with bottles of one capacity or size only.

S

Q

11 NimoT THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1. A bottle crate which includes a body portion which defines a plurality of primary sockets in each of which a lower portion of a bottle is receivable; a base portion, detachably attached to a bottom region of the body portion, the base portion defining a plurality of secondary sockets in each of which an upper portion of a bottle is receivable; and complementary attaching formations carried by the body portion and the base portion to facilitate the detachable attaching of the base portion to the body portion.

2. The crate as claimed in Claim 1 in which the base portion includes a plurality of secondary socket defining members, each of which defines one of the secondary sockets, the arrangement being such that, when the base portion is attached to the body portion, the secondary socket defining members of the base portion are aligned with and in register with the primary sockets of the body portion.

3. The crate as claimed in Claim 2 in which the attaching formations of the base portion comprise clip-like elements arranged at an operatively upper end of each of at least certain of the secondary socket defining members.

Claims

4. The crate as claimed in Claim 3 in which the bottom region of the body portion defines a floor of each of the primary sockets, the attaching formations of the body portion comprising receiving formations defined in the floors of at least certain of the primary sockets, the receiving formations receiving and holding the clip-like elements therein. The crate as claimed in Claim 4 in which the receiving formations are recessed below an upper surface of the floor of said primary sockets.
6. The crate as claimed in Claim 5 in which the floor of "each primary socket is annular and has a raised inner periphery, *a the receiving formations of said primary sockets being arranged in the raised inner periphery and being recessed with respect to an upper surface of said raised inner periphery.
7. The crate as claimed in Claim 5 or Claim 6 in which the clip-like elements are shaped to be received in said receiving formations without protruding above the upper surface of the 99*o*o floor of said primary sockets.
8. The crate as claimed in any one of Claims 4 to 7 inclusive in which the floor of each primary socket has a central opening defined therein, the opening being shaped and dimensioned to receive a closure member of a bottle in a subjacent crate at least partially therein when the base portion is not attached to the body portion.
9. The crate as claimed in Claim 8 in which, to facilitate insertion of the closure member into the opening, guiding formations are defined in a bottom surface of the floor of each primary socket about the opening. The crate as claimed in Claim 9 in which the guiding formations extend radially outwardly from the opening.
11. The crate as claimed in Claim 9 or Claim 10 in which the guiding formations have an angled portion extending towards the opening to guide the closure member of the bottle into the opening and to bear against a bottle ring arranged below the closure member of the bottle.
12. The crate as claimed in any one of Claims 4 to 11 inclusive in which an entrance to each secondary socket defines a a bearing surface which bears against a neck of the bottle, below a closure member of the bottle, in a subjacent crate, in use.
13. The crate as claimed in Claim 12 in which the bearing surface comprises an angled region in a bottom of the base portion, the bearing surface having an angle corresponding to an angle of the neck of the bottle in the subjacent crate to seat on said neck to effect neck-loading of the bottles in the subjacent crate when the base portion is attached to the body portion. 14
14. The crate as claimed in Claim 13 in which a length of each secondary socket is such that, in use, when a neck of a bottle is received in the secondary socket, the closure raember of such bottle is spaced from the floor of a primary socket above it. A bottle crate substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings. 060006 6 *609 6 *000 00 0 ~0 00 0O 6 0~ *0 0**0*0 0 S S 0@ S DATED this 16th day of January 1997. METALL BOX SOUTH AFRICA LIMITED 8d'K WATERMARK PATENT TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS 290 BURWCOD ROAD HAWTHORN. VIC. 3122. S. 0 S S 005050 6 A' ABSTRACT A bottle crate includes a body portion which defines a plurality of primary sockets. A lower portion of a bottle is receivable in each primary socket. A base portion is detachably attached to a bottom region of the body portion. The base portion defines a plurality of secondary sockets in each of which an upper portion of a bottle is receivable. Complementary attaching formations are carried by the body portion and the base portion to facilitate the detachable attaching of the base portion to the body portion. 0* 4 6 0 6 4S