FR2661660A3 - Container made of flexible material for transporting bottles - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical sector of packages and containers of the flexible bag type made of polypropylene or the like. According to the invention, after shaping or opening out, the container is capable of receiving several bottles separately and of transporting them conveniently without risk of breakage or damage.

Description

 Container made of flexible material for the transport of bottles.

 The subject of the invention relates to the technical sector of packaging and receptacles of the flexible polypropylene or similar bag type.

 The transport of glass or plastic bottles intended to contain various drinks poses certain problems for traders and customers.

 In general, most of these bottles are stored on shelves in cartons or in racks at the point of sale. Customers must then take the bottles purchased either in the flexible bags provided by the store, or in rigid or semi-rigid baskets made for this purpose, or even in boxes or crates.

 It is understood that these modes of transport have certain drawbacks. Indeed, the traditional plastic bags receive loose items and are therefore not suitable for the specific transport of bottles which can collide, fall from the bags and roll in the trunks of vehicles at the risk of breaking.

 Users with bottle baskets should remember to bring them with them; moreover, they are as bulky empty as full. Finally, boxes or cases are not always available in stores.

 This is why we wanted to make available to traders (wine merchants, grocers, winegrowers, retailers, supermarkets ...) containers made of flexible materials which are perfectly suited for the transport of bottles, practical to use, very space-saving to empty, inexpensive to manufacture so that it can be supplied free of charge by the seller, who can then personalize them by advertising his business and possibly reusable several times by the buyer, as is the case with current flexible bags.

 For this and according to a first characteristic, a container made of flexible material has been produced presented flat in bundles or individually and in superposition, or detachable from rolls at the point of sale, said container after shaping or deployment being able to receive several bottles separately and transport them conveniently and without risk of breakage or damage.

 According to another characteristic, the flexible container has several at least partial housings for the bottles, said housings being separated by one or more partitions arranged to at least absorb the shocks of the bottles between them.

 According to other characteristics, the partition (s) for separating and isolating the bottles from each other are obtained by welding, gluing, sewing so as to delimit between the bottle housings intermediate zones which can be reinforced by a filling material or by from the air.

 These characteristics and others will emerge from the description which follows.

To fix the subject of the invention without however limiting it, in the appended drawings:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a first embodiment of a container according to the invention shown in the transport position,
FIG. 2 is a perspective view on a larger scale of the container according to FIG. 1 shown shaped,
- Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3.3. of figure 2,
FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating a container according to FIG. 2 shown flat,
FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 illustrating a container with lateral bellows,
FIG. 6 is a sectional view schematically illustrating an embodiment of the container with four reinforced housings,
FIGS. 7 and 8 are views schematically illustrating an embodiment of the container with four housings separated by spacers,
- Figures 9 and 10 are views illustrating an embodiment of the container with six housings separated by spacers.

 In order to make the object of the invention more concrete, it is now described in nonlimiting embodiments illustrated in the figures of the drawings.

 The various containers according to the invention illustrated are made of polypropylene like the bags currently used in supermarkets and other places of sale, but they can be made of other plastics or of strong paper.

 One of the main aims of the invention is to partition a container made of flexible material in order to separate each bottle, attenuate or even eliminate the shocks between them and ensure the stability of the container.

 For this, various solutions can be implemented in the same inventive concept. Some of them have been illustrated in the figures of the drawings.

 For example, according to Figures 1 to 5, the container (A) has two housings (A1-A2) of bottles separated by a middle partition (A3). According to Figure 6, the container (B) has four housings (B1, B2, B3, B4) interconnected by partitions welds, seams or bonding areas (B5).

 According to Figures 7 and 8, the container (C) has four housings (C1, C2, C3, C4) between which are interposed separation and isolation means (C5).

 According to Figures 9 and 10, the container (D) comprises an envelope (D1) of the classic bag type in which are fixed by welding, gluing, sewing (D2) tubular sheaths (D3) constituting the bottle housings which are separated by independent intermediate means (D4-D5).

 The partition walls (A3) and (B5) can be produced simply by spacing the seams, gluing or welding or else reinforced by filling the space with a suitable material (M) such as cardboard, foam, granules, rubber, polyethylene, or by trapped air (Figures 3, 4, 5) forming a rod.

 The bottles can be isolated from one another by the sole reinforcement of the housings as illustrated in FIG. 6 where a flexible interior coating (B6) is fixed by any means against the four flexible envelopes used to form the container.

 According to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, the container (C) is formed by four flexible envelopes (C1 to C4) superimposed and separated by intermediate strips (C5) fixed to said envelopes; the open ends of the envelopes being connected by welding, sewing or gluing (Figure 7) so that after deployment, a stable container is obtained (Figure 8) with housings isolated from each other.

The means of separation (D4-D5) of the housings (D3) illustrated on the container of FIGS. 9 and 10 are for example sheets of cardboard, polyethylene, foam, arranged with slots (D6) to interpenetrate in order to constitute the anti-shock and stabilization inserts, these inserts being separated and superimposed between the series of housings for the flat presentation of the container
Of course, the containers thus produced can have lateral bellows (S) for each housing to facilitate the introduction of bottles of different sizes.

 On the other hand, as illustrated in broken lines in Figure 2, the bottom of each housing can receive a washer (R) removable or foldable reinforcement.

 The thickness of the envelopes can be variable depending on the desired resistance, the shape and dimensions also variable depending on the desired capacity and aesthetics. The container is obviously equipped with carrying handles (A4) cut out of the material according to determined zones to ensure the balance of the container in suspension or else attached handles (D7) and fixed by gluing, welding, sewing, riveting.

 Finally, the container can be easily colored, printed and personalized to serve as an advertising medium for the merchant.

 The advantages are apparent from the description. We also emphasize the rational transport of bottles without the risk of breakage or unexpected movements; the possibility of storing the containers flat, in bundles or individually or in rolls, their small footprint and low cost, their appeal to sellers of drinks as original advertising medium and to buyers who no longer have to provide baskets bulky and often forgotten at home.

Claims (11)

-1- Container made of flexible material for the transport of bottles, of the type presented flat in bundles or individually and superimposed or detachable from rollers, characterized in that after shaping or deployment, the container is capable of receiving several bottles separately and transport them conveniently and without risk of breakage or damage. -2- Container according to claim 1, characterized in that it has several at least partial housings for the bottles, said housings being separated by one or more partitions arranged to at least absorb the shocks of the bottles between them. -3-Container according to claim 2, characterized in that the partition or partitions are produced in the form of spaces (A3) between sewing, welding, gluing lines. -4- Container according to claim 3, characterized in that the spaces constituting the partitions are filled with an anti-shock material (M). -5- Container according to claim 3, characterized in that the spaces constituting the partitions are filled with air to form a tube. -6- Container according to claim 2, characterized in that the housings are reinforced by a flexible coating (B6) fixed inside each housing. -7-Container according to claim 2, characterized in that the partition walls are made in the form of plates (C5) of suitable material fixed between two envelopes (C1, C2, C3, C4 ...) adjacent. -8- Container according to claim 2, characterized in that it is made from a general envelope (D1) in which are fixed tubular sheaths (D3) constituting the bottle housings which are separated by independent intermediate means (D4-D5). -9- Container according to claim 2, characterized in that it is arranged with cut handles (A4) or attached (D7) arranged so as to ensure the stability of the container in suspension.  -10- Container according to claim 2, characterized in that the bottom of each bottle housing is reinforced by a washer (R) removable or foldable. -11- Container according to claim 2, characterized in that each bottle housing has a lateral bellows (S) facilitating the introduction of bottles of different sizes.