CH617142A5 - Bottle crate - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a crate (Harras) for bottles, in particular wine bottles, with a compartment subdivision for receiving one bottle in each compartment.

The transportation and storage of bottles filled with wine on the way from the bottling plant to the customer is associated with high costs, which is due not least to the fact that the wine bottle must be stored horizontally (cork-moist) if it is stored for a long time. After filling in the bottling plant, the bottles are placed horizontally for storage, which is usually done by hand. When they are dispatched, the bottles are removed from the warehouse and mostly packed by hand in boxes or crates. The bottles are unpacked at the wine dealer or end user and stored - again mostly by hand - horizontally on bottle racks. The greater the number of stations between the producer and the end user, the greater the manual effort between storage, transportation and storage. A similar effort arises when returning the empties from the consumer to the producer.

Containers or crates for beer or other beverages are known which, on the one hand, represent means of transport and, on the other hand, storage means at the same time. The bottled bottles are packed in the crates or crates at the producer's plant and reach the end consumer or retailer without leaving them. The trays are usually made of a stable material, in particular plastic, and are designed so that a large number can be stacked on top of one another, so that the storage volume available in bearings or transport vehicles can be optimally used. For the reasons mentioned above, this handling cannot be transferred to wine bottles. The wine, as mentioned, must be stored horizontally, which is not possible with the help of the well-known crates and rather takes place on expensive shelves.

The invention has for its object to provide a crate for bottles, especially wine bottles, in which the bottles can be accommodated both standing and lying.

In the case of a crate of the type mentioned at the outset, this object is achieved in that each compartment has clamping means in order to hold a bottle clamped laterally, and in that the crates on the underside and on the upper edge and on at least two opposite side walls have support surfaces for support on one flat surface or for holding a crate stacked over it.

In the case of the invention, it has been recognized that the disadvantages described above with the packaging and transport of bottled wine can be eliminated if, on the one hand, a box or a crate can be used from the bottling plant to the consumer without the bottles having to be removed or be used again, while at the same time ensuring that the special storage conditions for wine can be taken into account (horizontal position of the bottles). In the invention, a tray is provided which has means that the bottle can not only be placed on the bottom, but also laterally, that is offset by 90 ° from the bottom. Several crates stacked in this way result in a storage rack. The clamping means assigned to the individual compartments ensure that the bottle is held sufficiently in the associated compartment so that it cannot slip in a horizontal position. Conventional crates, for example for beer bottles or other drinks, are not suitable for the task of inventing. This is because they neither provide options for holding the bottles more or less tightly nor can they be placed on the side walls.

The bottles can be clamped in the crate according to the invention in any suitable manner, but in this regard a compromise must be made between sufficient anchoring and unhindered removal of the bottles. In one embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the clamping means have lamellar webs made of elastically deformable material, which are intended to engage radially with the bottle wall at circumferential intervals. Appropriate dimensioning of the lamellar webs 5

10th

15

20th

25th

30th

35

40

45

50

55

80

65

3rd

617 142

Visible material thickness and radial length, the desired holding force can be set in a satisfactory manner.

Another embodiment of the invention for the clamping means is that they have arcuate wall segments made of elastically deformable material, which are intended to engage the bottle wall at circumferential intervals. They preferably have approximately the same radius as the outside of the bottles. When a bottle is inserted, there is a limited elastic deformation of the wall segments, which then lie more or less firmly on the circumference of the bottle body and hold it securely even when it is received lying down.

The clamping means or wall segments can also be brush-shaped, i.e. consist of a plurality of deformable individual elements, whereby a good adaptation to bottles with different diameters is achieved.

In conventional crates for beer bottles or other beverages, there is considerable slack between the partition walls and the bottle body, which not least makes the packaging of the bottle much easier, also with the aid of mechanical devices. In the case of the invention, however, the bottle should be firmly accommodated in the compartment. In order nevertheless to ensure that packaging is as simple as possible, a further embodiment of the invention provides that the distances between the clamping surfaces of the webs or the wall segments in the area lying towards the filling opening increase continuously. This results in a funnel-shaped expansion of the compartments upwards or in the direction of the filling opening, so that the bottles can be filled without difficulty. Depending on the dimensioning of the clamping means, the weight of the bottle plus the content may be sufficient to place the bottle in the corresponding compartment. With slightly higher clamping forces, it is necessary to press in the bottle with more or less high pressure. Incidentally, the crate according to the invention can also be easily packed with the aid of mechanical packaging devices.

The tray according to the invention is not only stackable as usual, for example as in beer crates, but also can be stacked horizontally in such a way that the filling opening lies horizontally. The supporting means to be provided on the sides for this purpose can otherwise be designed in the same way as is the case with the conventional supporting means with vertical stacking. This means that moving stacked crates, which can cause a stack to collapse, must be avoided. In this context, a further embodiment of the invention provides that the tray is provided with locking means on the sides provided with supporting surfaces, by means of which a shifting of stacked trays is prevented. According to a further embodiment of the invention, these latching means can be formed by latching projections which cooperate with latching recesses. In particular if the tray according to the invention is box-shaped and it is preferably formed in one piece from plastic material, support surfaces can be molded in with locking means without difficulty. In contrast to conventional boxes or crates, however, it is necessary that the side walls also have sufficient rigidity in order to ensure adequate stackability even in a lying arrangement.

However, the invention is not limited to box-shaped crates. It can also be used as a tray-shaped insert for storage in conventional folding boxes, wooden boxes or the like. For this purpose, the base of the crate is chosen to be approximately equal to the inner base of the box, so that the box can in turn be placed vertically or horizontally, depending on whether a transport or storage is carried out. In addition, the crate can be removed from the box and, for example at the dealer or at the consumer, can be formed into a storage rack by stacking one on top of the other. In addition, it should be noted that the crates and the clamping means for this can either be formed in one or more parts.

With the help of the invention, the storage and transport costs per bottle are significantly reduced. In addition, the crate according to the invention, when assembled as a bottle rack, offers considerable space savings compared to conventional rack designs. If the trays according to the invention are stacked directly one above the other, however, there is no possibility of easily removing a separate tray from the middle or in the lower region. As an alternative to this construction, a further embodiment of the invention therefore provides that channel-shaped recesses are provided on two opposite sides, which interact with suitable projections of shelf supports. For this purpose, additional vertical supports have to be set up at a predetermined horizontal distance from each other in order to produce a shelf, into which the trays are then horizontally “pushed” with a small vertical distance from one another, so that a single desired tray can be removed at any desired location (Variety selection). Instead of the desired positive engagement between the shelf support and the crate according to the invention, it can alternatively be provided to equip vertical rack supports with brackets or similar means which support the crates from below when they are pushed horizontally onto the brackets. The brackets can be formed, for example, by angle rails or angle pieces which are attached to the shelf supports.

Basically, similar to beer crates or the like, it is not necessary to provide a cover on the filling side. If necessary, however, lids, flaps or other lid constructions can be used to close the filling side of the crate according to the invention, for example during transport. The cover plate can be hooked in, clamped in or otherwise locked in a suitable manner.

Embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a side view of two stacked trays according to the invention.

Fig. 2 shows a section through the arrangement of FIG. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a side view of two vertically stacked trays according to the invention.

4 shows a bottle rack assembled from the crate according to the invention.

5 shows two crates arranged one above the other in connection with a shelf.

Fig. 6 shows schematically the route of a wine bottle from the bottling plant to the consumer according to a conventional system.

Fig. 7 shows the route of a wine bottle from the bottling plant to the consumer with a crate according to the invention.

8 shows a top view of a crate according to the invention in another embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows a section through the crate according to FIG. 8.

1 to 5 boxes or crates 10 are shown, which are formed in one piece from plastic material. They have a crate bottom 11 which is broken through in the illustration according to FIG. 1 and is designed differently on the left half of FIG. 1 than on the right half. In the latter embodiment, vertical webs 12, 13 are provided as well as partitions 14, 15 which form individual square compartments 16 for receiving wine 5

10th

15

20th

25th

30th

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

617 142

bottles, which are shown in Fig. 1 in dashed lines at 17 in their scope. Starting from the corners, each compartment 16 has lamella-like clamping webs 18 lying on the diagonals, the clamping surfaces 19 of which lie approximately on the circle of the circumference 17. As can be seen in particular from FIG. 2, the clamping webs 18 extend over a substantial area of the bottle body, namely up to an area of the bottles in which the tapering begins at the top. As can also be seen from FIG. 2, the clamping webs 18 are chamfered at 19. The intermediate walls 14, as can also be seen from FIG. 2, have the same height as the clamping webs 18. The clamping webs 18 grip the bottle body radially with their clamping surfaces 19, being deformed somewhat when the bottles are inserted, so that the bottles 20 are secure are held in the associated compartment 16, so that even when the bottles 20 are in a horizontal position, they are prevented from falling out.

In the embodiment on the left half according to FIG. 1, compartments 21 are provided, which are delimited by arcuate wall segments 22, which in turn lie approximately on the circle defined by the bottle circumference 17. The tray floor is formed by diagonally extending webs 23 and 24, again perpendicular to one another. The wall segments of adjacent compartments 16 are connected to one another via connecting webs 25. The connecting webs 25 are in turn stiffened against one another via transverse webs 26. The connecting webs 25 and the transverse webs 26 are preferably arranged at the same height as the arcuate wall segments 22. The latter in turn grip the bottle body in a non-positive manner by means of elastic deformation. The structure of the side sections 25 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Apart from a handle opening 28, they are fully designed and provided with stiffening ribs 29. The upper end of the walls 27 forms a support surface 30 for crates to be stacked on top. For this purpose, the border 31 of the base 11 is displaced so far inwards that it comes to lie within the crate and cooperates laterally with the inside of the walls 27 as a stop. Thereby, stacked crates are secured against lateral shifting. The ribs 29 and the lateral border 32 of the side walls 27 form support surfaces for crates stacked horizontally one above the other (see FIG. 1). They also have recesses 33, 34 on one side above and below and projections 35, 36 on the other side, as can also be seen from FIG. 1. The projections 35, 36 cooperate with the recesses 33, 34 in order to prevent displacing horizontally stacked crates, as can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2.

It is clear in FIG. 4 that a larger number of crates arranged one above the other and next to one another, which are placed on a base 40, form a bottle shelf when the filling side of the crates 11 points to the side. While the crates shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are designed for twelve bottles, those shown in FIG. 5 are intended for eight bottles, but are otherwise constructed in the same way as those in FIG. 1, so that a more detailed description of the crate according to FIG 5 should not be given. In contrast to the crate described above, the channel-shaped recesses 42 according to FIG. 5 on the narrow side, which cooperate with projections 43 of shelf supports 44, so that the crates can be inserted horizontally and received by the supports 44. In this way, a distance 45 is created between individual trays and the latter can be removed individually from a larger shelf.

An alternative embodiment is shown on the left half of FIG. A shelf support 46 is provided with brackets 47 in the form of angle irons for the purpose of receiving crates in a lying position, likewise again for producing a desired distance 45.

The working diagrams according to FIGS. 6 and 7 show the savings in transport and storage costs compared to conventional methods. The drawings are self-explanatory, whereby the H in a circle should indicate that the bottles are handled individually in this station in order to store, pack or unpack them. 7 makes it clear that after bottling and packaging wine bottles in the crates described, further handling of individual bottles is no longer necessary.

Fig. 9 shows a view similar to Fig. 2, so that the same parts are provided with the same reference numerals. In addition, an intermediate floor in the form of a relatively thin plastic plate is provided, which is supported on the intermediate walls 14 downwards with the aid of support elements 51. Laterally, the intermediate floor 50 has flanges 52 for support on the side walls of the tray 10. The intermediate floor 50 can be made in one piece with the box or as a separate part and can be held in the box either loosely or with the aid of suitable connecting means. A possibly sufficient fastening can be achieved in that the intermediate floor 50 is inserted in a clamping manner between the walls and, in addition, the elements 51 are seated on the intermediate walls 14 in a clamping manner.

As can be clearly seen in particular from FIG. 8, the intermediate floor 50 has openings 53 which are aligned with the individual compartments between the intermediate walls 14. The diameter of the circular openings 53 corresponds approximately to that of a bottle neck in the lower region, as can be seen in FIG. 9. Slits 54 extending radially to the openings are formed in the base plate 50 and open into the openings 53 and thus form four edge segments which are sufficiently flexible to also allow the bottle body to pass through when it is inserted into a compartment, as is again shown in FIG. 9 is recognizable. Of course, other weakenings can also be provided in order to make the edge of the openings 53 sufficiently flexible, on the one hand to permit the insertion or removal of bottles, and on the other hand to sufficiently hold a bottle section of smaller diameter (bottle neck) laterally.

4th

5

10th

15

20th

25th

30th

35

40

45

50

V

5 sheets of drawings

Claims (12)

617 142 1. tray for bottles, in particular wine bottles, with a compartment subdivision for receiving one bottle in each compartment, characterized in that each compartment (16) has clamping means (19, 22) in order to keep a bottle (20) clamped laterally, and that the crates have support surfaces on the underside and on the upper edge and on at least two opposite side walls (27) for support on a flat surface or for receiving a crate stacked above them. 2. crate according to claim 1, characterized in that the clamping means have lamellar webs (18) made of elastically deformable material, which are intended to engage radially with the bottle wall at circumferential intervals. 2nd PATENT CLAIMS 3. crate according to claim 1, characterized in that the clamping means have arcuate wall segments (22) made of elastically deformable material, which are intended to engage with the bottle wall at circumferential intervals. 4. crate according to claim 2, characterized in that the distances between the clamping surfaces (19) of the webs (18) or the wall segments (22) in the area lying towards the filling opening increase continuously. 5. A crate according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the crate is provided on the sides provided with supporting surfaces with locking means (31, 33 to 36) by means of which a shifting of crates placed one above the other is avoided. 6. A crate according to claim 5, characterized in that the latching means are formed by latching projections (35, 36) which cooperate with latching recesses (33, 34). 7. crate according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the crate is box-shaped with substantially rigid side walls (27). 8. crate according to one of claims I to 7, characterized in that it is formed in one piece from plastic material. 9. A crate according to claim 7, characterized in that channel-shaped recesses (42) are provided on two opposite sides on the outer walls or on the box bottom, which cooperate with suitable projections (43), preferably hooks, tubes or profiles of shelf supports (44). 10. A crate according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the clamping means have a plate-shaped intermediate floor (50) which is arranged above the compartments (16) and has openings aligned therewith, the edge of which is designed to give elastically. 11. crate according to claim 10, characterized in that the resilience of the opening edges is reinforced by material weakening, preferably radial slots (54). 12. crate according to claim 11, characterized in that the intermediate floor (50) is supported on the webs (14) of the compartments (16), preferably via support members (51).