DE9014808U1 - Bottle holder - Google Patents

Description

Bottle holding device

The invention relates to a bottle receiving device according to the preamble of claim 1.

The well-known bottle crates for reusable bottles have a grid structure for holding the bottles separately. In standard beer crates, the grid structure consists of three longitudinal and four transverse bars, which define a total of twenty compartments for the bottles. The disadvantage is that the conventional bottle crate is heavy and unwieldy. Transporting the crate is extremely difficult, especially for older people.

The conventional bottle crate represents a very inflexible reusable system for the customer. The customer is forced to use an unwieldy large crate as a transport container even if he actually only intends to buy a few bottles. For these reasons, customers often resort to disposable bottles. The disposable bottles are

Telephone: (02 21) 131041 Telex: &THgr;88 2307 dopa d Fax: (02 21) 134297 (02 21)134881 Telegram: Dompatent Köln

Accounts:

GaI. Oppenheimjr, &Cie., Cologne (bank code 37030200) Account no. 10760 Deutsche Bank AG. Cologne (bank code 37O7OO6O) Account no. 1165018 Postgiro Cologne (bank code 370100 50) Account no. 654-500

Available in stores in an easy-to-transport container that contains six bottles. The cardboard container is intended for single use. To remove the bottles, the container must generally be torn open and thrown away together with the empty disposable bottles. For environmental reasons, however, bottles and packaging should be used several times in order to avoid unnecessary waste and thus save raw materials. 10

The invention is based on the object of creating a bottle holding device of the type specified in the preamble of claim 1, which can be used universally as a reusable system and offers a high degree of flexibility for the customer.

This object is achieved according to the invention with the features specified in the characterizing part of claim 1.
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The bottle holder device according to the invention provides several bottle carriers, each of which can be inserted into one of the compartments of the bottle crate, whereby the bottle carriers each hold several bottles. The bottle holder device, which is to be equipped with reusable bottles, represents a universal reusable system. Depending on requirements, one or more bottle carriers can be removed from the bottle holder device, which are easy to transport on their own. The customer can also buy a complete bottle crate in which all bottle carriers are inserted. The bottle holder device not only allows the removal of smaller units, namely the removal of individual bottle carriers with several bottles, but also the purchase of a larger unit, namely the complete crate with all

Bottle carriers. Since the bottle crate with the bottle carriers is not intended for single use, unnecessary packaging waste is avoided.

The bottle carriers can be inserted into the compartments of the box and fill the compartments completely, resulting in a small overall volume of the bottle box and a high packing density of the bottles in the carriers.
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Advantageously, the compartments of the box are delimited by separators. The separators secure the bottle carriers that are inserted into the compartments to prevent them from slipping sideways. Partitions or bars that divide the interior of the box can be provided as separators, for example.

The dividers are preferably arranged crosswise and divide the box into four storage compartments. For example, if the bottle box has a capacity of twenty-four bottles, then if it is divided into four storage compartments of the same size, six bottles can be placed in each of the bottle carriers.

Each bottle carrier advantageously consists of a container divided into several bottle compartments, into which the bottles can be placed. The container can be designed as a box enclosing the bottles or can consist of a loose container with numerous openings in which the individual bottles are held together.

The bottle crate and bottle carrier are conveniently made of plastic and can be used again and again as a reusable system. The two plastic parts can be manufactured cost-effectively using the injection molding process.

A conventional bottle crate is filled with bottles, emptied and then rinsed in the filling stations of the beverage manufacturers using fully automatic machines, whereby the bottle crates are subjected to relatively high mechanical stress. During automatic cleaning of the crate, the crate is moved upside down and rinsed from below with a water jet. Since the bottle crate according to the invention has locking devices for holding the bottle carriers, the bottle holding device can be moved like a conventional crate with a fixed latticework. The bottle carriers are securely fixed in the crate according to the invention. The bottles can be inserted into the bottle crate or removed from the crate using conventional machines. Even when rinsing the crates, there is no risk of individual bottle carriers falling out of the crate that has been moved upside down for rinsing. Additional investments for a possible conversion of the machines for filling and rinsing the crates are not required on the part of the beverage manufacturers.

The locking devices advantageously have locking elements that engage in recesses in the bottle carrier. The locking elements enable the bottle carriers to be easily removed and inserted into the box and also hold the bottle carriers securely in the compartments.

of the box. The box of the bottle holder can be tipped during transport or thrown when stacking empties.

The locking devices can advantageously also be designed as a magnetic holder. The magnetic elements that attract each other are arranged in the base and/or the side walls of the bottle carrier or bottle crate. A magnetic granulate can be used as the magnetic element, which is melted into the walls of the bottle carrier or bottle crate, which is advantageously made of plastic.

To make handling the bottle carrier easier, the carrier has a handle.

In the following, an embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail with reference to the drawings.
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Show it:

Fig. 1 the bottle box of the bottle receiving device in a perspective, partially sectioned view,

Fig. 2 the view of the bottle crate from the direction of arrow II of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 the bottle crate of Fig. 1 with a bottle carrier inserted into the crate’s compartment in a perspective, partially sectioned view,

Fig. 4 the bottle carrier in perspective view,

Fig. 5 the view of the bottle carrier from the direction of arrow V of Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 a first embodiment of a locking device for securing the bottle carrier in the receiving compartments of the box with a gripping into the bottom of the bottle carrier

the snap edge,

Fig. 7 a locking device with a bulge engaging in a trough-shaped recess of the bottle carrier,

Fig. 8 a locking device with mutually wedging knobs and

Fig. 9 a locking device designed as a magnetic holder.

The bottle holder device consists of a bottle crate and several bottle carriers that can be adjusted into the crate. Fig. 1 shows the bottle crate 1 of the bottle holder device in a perspective, partially sectioned view. The bottle crate 1, which is an injection-molded part made of impact-resistant plastic, has a base 3 and four side walls 5. The bottle crate 1 has the standardized dimensions of a standard beer crate. The side walls 5 of the crate each have a rectangular opening 7 that can be reached through when carrying the crate. A stepped shoulder 9 is provided on the upper edge of the side walls 5, so that

several boxes can be stacked inside each other.

Above the bottom of the bottle crate 1, there are storage compartments 11 for storing the bottle carriers, which will be described with reference to Figs. 3-5. The storage compartments 11 are delimited by two separating devices 13 running at right angles to each other, which divide the interior of the open-topped crate into four compartments of the same size when viewed from above. The separating devices 13 are formed by two plastic walls arranged crosswise, which are an integral part of the bottle crate and have a height that corresponds approximately to the height of the side walls of the bottle carriers to be stored.

Fig. 3 shows the box 1 equipped with a bottle carrier 15. One, two, three or four bottle carriers 15 can be placed in the bottle box 1, which are secured against falling out of the receiving compartments 11 of the box by locking devices not shown in Figs. 1-3.

Fig. 4 shows the bottle carrier 15 in perspective. The bottle carrier 15 consists of a box-shaped container divided into bottle compartments 17. The bottle carrier 15 made of impact-resistant plastic has a base 19 and four side walls 21 and is dimensioned such that it can be inserted from above into one of the compartments 11 of the bottle box and is fixed in place in the receiving compartment 11 of the box. The bottle compartments 17 of the bottle carrier 15 are delimited by a partition wall 2 3 that extends beyond the side walls 21 of the carrier and two plastic webs 25 that are at right angles to it and that form a type of

Form a latticework. Partition 23 and plastic bars 25 are an integral part of the bottle carrier 15 and divide the interior of the carrier into six bottle compartments 17 of the same size. The size of the compartments 17 corresponds to the dimensions of standard beer bottles, so that the bottles can be positioned appropriately. The part of the partition 23 that protrudes beyond the side walls 21 forms the handle 29 of the bottle carrier 15 with an elongated opening 27. The fully automatic filling and emptying of the bottle carrier 15 inserted into the box 1 is not hindered by the handle 29, since no protruding handle parts protrude into the bottle compartments 17 of the carrier. Instead of a fixed handle 29, a pull-out handle can also be attached to the bottle carrier.

The bottle crate 1 and the bottle carriers 15 are reusable plastic parts and the bottles to be placed in the carriers can be reusable glass bottles.

The latticework of all bottle carriers 15 inserted into the crate 1, which makes up twenty-four compartments 17, has the same dimensions as the latticework of a standard beer crate, so that the automatic insertion and removal of the bottles can be carried out using the same machines that are used for conventional bottle crates.

With reference to Figs. 6-9, various embodiments of a locking device for securing the bottle carrier 15 against falling out are described below.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic representation of a locking device 33 with in the bottom 19 of the

Bottle carrier 15 has locking elements 35. The locking elements are designed as snap edges that are arranged on the separating device 13 and/or on the opposite side walls 5 of the bottle crate in the area of the crate bottom. On the bottom 19 of the bottle carrier 15, there are essentially wedge-shaped recesses 37 opposite the locking elements 35, in which the snap edges engage and secure the bottle carriers 15 against slipping out. The dimensions of the snap edges or the depth of the wedge-shaped recesses 37 are such that the bottle carriers 15 can be inserted into the bottle crate 1 without great effort and are securely clamped in the compartments 13 of the crate.

Fig. 7 shows a further embodiment of a locking device 33. On the side walls 5 of the bottle crate 1, longitudinal bulges are provided as locking elements 35 in the area of the crate bottom, which engage in recesses 37 in the form of trough-shaped, longitudinal depressions on the long sides of the bottle carriers 15. In order to ensure that the bottle carriers 15 are held firmly in the compartments 13, additional bulges can be provided on both sides of the separating devices 13 of the bottle crate 1, which engage in corresponding recesses 37 on the adjacent side walls 21 of the bottle carriers. Instead of locking elements 35 in the form of longitudinal bulges, for example, hemispherical wall thickenings can also be provided, which engage in semicircular troughs.

The locking elements 35 can, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, be an integral part of the

Side walls or the separating devices 13 of the bottle crate. Alternatively, it is also possible to provide the locking elements 35 on additional spring elements, so that the locking elements 35 are pre-tensioned into the recesses 37 by spring force. To lock the bottle carriers 15, manually operated locking devices can also be provided, which can be moved between a release and a locking position by actuating elements.

Fig. 8 shows a locking device with knobs that wedge against each other. Longitudinal grooves and bulges are provided on the side walls 19 of the bottle carrier 15 and on the side walls 3 of the bottle crate, which form a kind of knob-like structure. The grooves can also be provided on the separating devices 13 of the crate 1. In the area of the crate bottom, the side wall 5 of the bottle crate 1 thickens, with its thickness increasing towards the bottom of the crate. When the bottle carriers 15 are placed in the crate 1, the side walls 21 of the carriers 15 wedge themselves with those of the crate. The knob-like structure of the walls prevents the bottle carriers 15 from accidentally falling out of the crate's receiving compartments 11.

A magnet holder is shown in Fig. 9. Flat magnets 41 are inserted into the base 3 of the bottle crate 1 in the area of the compartments 11 for the bottle carriers 15, while iron granules 43 are provided in the base 19 of each bottle carrier 15, which are attracted by the magnets 41. The strength of the magnets 41 is such that the bottle carriers 15 are securely

Instead of magnets, magnetic granules can also be placed in the bottom of the bottle crate.

Claims (9)

EXPECTATIONS 1. Bottle holder with a box divided into compartments, characterized in that bottle carriers (15) are provided for holding several bottles each, which can each be inserted into one of the receiving compartments (11) of the box (1). 2. Bottle receiving device according to claim 1, characterized in that the receiving compartments (11) are delimited by separating devices (13). 3. Bottle receiving device according to claim 2, characterized in that the separating devices (13) are arranged crosswise and divide the box into four receiving compartments (11). 4. Bottle receiving device according to one of claims 1-3, characterized in that each bottle carrier (15) consists of a container divided into bottle compartments (17). 5. Bottle receiving device according to one of claims 1-4, characterized in that the box (1) and the bottle carriers (15) are made of plastic. 6. Bottle receiving device according to one of claims 1-5, characterized in that the box (1) has locking devices (33) for holding the bottle carriers (15). 7. Bottle receiving device according to claim 6, characterized in that the locking devices (33) have locking elements (35) engaging in recesses (37) of the bottle carrier (15). 8. Bottle receiving device according to claim 6, characterized in that the locking devices (33) in the base (19) and/or the side walls (21) of the bottle carrier (15) and in the base (3) and/or the side walls (5) of the box (1) have mutually attractive magnetic elements (41,43). 9. Bottle receiving device according to one of claims 1-8, characterized in that each bottle carrier (15) has a handle (29).