GB2279065A - Carrier for bottles or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

A carrier for packaging and conveying a plurality of bottles, cans, cylinders and the like, while preventing contact between the bottles, etc., comprises a planar base 12 to support the bottles in side-by-side relation and two upwardly directed retaining sections 20, 30 which extend from opposing edges of the base 12. At least one of the retaining sections includes at least a first, a second and a third portion 21, 23, 25, which are disposed in oblique, zig-zag orientation with respect to the plane of the base 12. Each portion 21, 23, 25 has an aperture for passage of at least one of the bottles therethrough. The configuration allows the labels on the bottles to be fully visible when packed, and offers a stable presentation of the bottles both upright and when on their sides. A carrying handle 40 includes a locking mechanism to close the package. <IMAGE>

Description

BOTTLE CARRIER The present invention relates to the packaging of bottles and similar shaped items such as cans and cylinders and the like into convenient packages which may be used for the holding, carrying and stacking of a plurality of bottles.

Articles such as wine bottles may be transported commercially in crates or boxes which have dividers therein to effectively compartmentalize each bottle, thereby avoiding collision of glass with glass. Such boxes require a relatively complex manufacturing process including gluing and/or stapling, and the use of a number of component parts. For conveyance of smaller numbers of bottles, for example four or six, such packaging is not so convenient, or economically viable and is awkward to carry.

Typically, after the point of sale of bottles to a consumer, the bottles are simply placed in plastic or paper bags. These offer little or no protection to the bottles from impact from outside of the bag, or from the other bottles in the bag. A further disadvantage is that such an arrangement generally permits individual bottles to topple over when the bag is set down.

Thus, at retail outlets such as off-licences and supermarkets where the customer is likely to purchase several bottles, or where it is desirable to market and sell the product in multipacks containing, for example, four bottles, it would be desirable to have a bottle carrier offering a robust form of protection to the bottles both from one another and from other objects.

Preferably, the bottle carrier will have a convenient means by which it may be held in carrier-bag like fashion.

Preferably, the bottle carrier will be simple in construction employing no use of glued or stapled joints or the like, and may be simply loaded with the bottles by the manufacturer, retailer or user.

Preferably, the bottle carrier will hold the bottles secure in any orientation, and will offer a stable support to reduce the likelihood of bottles toppling over.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention there is provided a carrier for a bottle comprising: a substantially planar base and an upwardly directed retaining section extending from one edge of the base; the retaining section including at least a first, a second and a third portion, each of the first, second and third portions being disposed in oblique orientation to the plane of the base and each having an aperture adapted to receive a bottle.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a bottle carrier according to the present invention, loaded with bottles, and, in dotted outline, a superimposed exploded view prior to loading with bottles; Figure 2 shows a plan view of a pre-formed sheet for construction of the bottle carrier of figure 1; Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the pre-formed sheet of figure 2 illustrating the fold lines provided therein; Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a portion of the carrier of figure 1, with bottles removed to illustrate handle closure detail; Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the carrier of figure 1 in an alternative orientation; and Figure 6 shows a perspective view of a bottle carrier in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention.

With reference to figure 1, a bottle carrier 10 in accordance with one presently preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in perspective view. The carrier 10 comprises a base portion 12 which provides a substantially planar platform on which the bottles stand.

Extending from opposing lateral edges 13,14 of the base portion 12 are two oppositely disposed, upwardly directed retaining sections 20,30. Each retaining section 20,30 comprises a number of portions separated by fold lines.

In the preferred embodiment, the first retaining section 20 includes a first portion 21 extending upward from and obliquely inward over the base portion 12, having an upper edge 22 which lies approximately over a centre line of the base. A second portion 23 extends further upward from the edge 22, and obliquely outward over the base portion 12, having an upper edge 24 which lies approximately over the lateral edge 13 of the base 12. A third portion 25 extends further upward from the edge 24, and obliquely inward over the base portion 12, having an upper edge 26 which lies approximately over the centre line of the base 12.

In the preferred embodiment shown, a handle portion 40 is also provided extending upward from the edge 26, to be described in detail hereinafter.

From the lateral edge 14, opposite to the lateral edge 13, there is a second retaining section 30 which corresponds to retaining section 20, having first, second and third portions 31,33,35 and edges 32,34,36 all of which correspond to the like features 21-26 already described in connection with the first retaining section 20. The reference numerals for the second retaining section are, however, shown on the unfolded, dotted profile in the illustration.

The upper edges 26,36 are brought together in locking engagement once the carrier is loaded. The handle portion 40 and a corresponding handle portion 50 on retaining section 30 may include some form of closure mechanism to achieve this locking engagement, to be described hereinafter.

Each of the first, second and third portions includes a number of apertures 27,28,29 for the passage of bottles therethrough. In the four-bottle example illustrated, each portion has corresponding apertures for two bottles, but it will be understood that a carrier may be adapted to carry more or fewer bottles, with corresponding changes to the number of apertures 27-29 provided.

Each aperture 27 in the first portion 21 is adapted to correspond to the diameter of the lower portion of a bottle; each aperture 28 in the second portion 23 is adapted to correspond to the diameter of the mid-section of the bottle; and each aperture 29 in the third portion 25 is adapted to correspond to the diameter of the neck of the bottle. It will be understood that the apertures 27,28,29 will preferably be elliptical to compensate for the oblique angle between the axis of the bottle and the first, second and third portions.

In the second retaining section 30, similarly arranged apertures 37,38,39 (fig. 2) are provided in the first, second and third portions 31,33,35 respectively in analogous manner.

In the preferred embodiment, it will also be noted that the small size of the aperture 29, corresponding to the neck of the bottle, effectively prevents the bottles from falling out of the carrier, particularly when upper edges 26,36 are locked together. However, where uniformly cylindrical objects are packaged, the aperture 29 will need to be sized appropriately.

In order to provide a single carrier design with versatile accommodation of various bottle sizes, some or all of the apertures 27-29 and 37-39 are provided with teeth 60 around the circumference to grip the bottle and to absorb any mismatch in bottle and aperture dimensions.

The carrier is preferably manufactured from a single piece of stiff cardlike material, corrugated or otherwise, from which a single die impression may be made to form all of the required cut-outs and fold lines. Such a card 70 is shown in figure 2. Each cut line is shown in solid form, and each score or fold line is shown in dotted form.

In figure 2, the detail of a handle locking mechanism is also shown.

Handle portion 40 includes a cut line 41 extending around a handle aperture.

However, the cut line 41 only extends around the aperture as far as its intersection with the fold line 26: thus the piece 42 remains attached to the card 70 and forms a locking tab 42.

At the other end of the card 70, handle portion 50 is formed with a cut line 51 which corresponds to cut line 41, but, in this case, does extend right around the handle aperture 52 and includes a cut line along upper edge 36.

Thus the card formerly occupying the aperture 52 will fall away. Additionally, there is provided in third portion 35 an engagement means comprising three cut lines 53, 54, 55 which are positioned such that, upon assembly of the carrier with bottles installed, regions 43, 44 and 45 of locking tab 42 may be passed through aperture 52 and slid under the corresponding slots defined by cut lines 53,54,55.

It will be appreciated that many different forms of locking mechanism may be provided by the use of folding tabs and other arrangements well known in the art of packaging. It will also be apparent that where handles 40 and 50 are generally provided, simple holding of the two handles together by the person holding the carrier will serve to hold the carrier closed, although stability of the carrier when set down will be compromised.

With reference to figure 3, the operation of loading the carrier will be described. Folds are made along the fold lines as shown, and the base of a bottle passed horizontally through aperture 28, then 27, and past fold 13 far enough for the bottle neck then to be passed through aperture 29 by movement of the bottle in the opposite horizontal direction. The whole retaining portion may then be brought to an upright orientation, the base of the bottle being brought into contact with base 12.

Unloading, or partial loading of the carrier can be achieved in the reverse manner.

With reference to figure 4, closure of the handle locking mechanism is shown. Locking tab 42, coupled to handle portion 40 (behind handle portion 50) is passed through aperture 52 and tucked beneath third portion 35 where permitted by cut lines 53, 54, and 55.

A further aspect of the present invention is shown in figure 5.

Typically, it is desirable to store wine bottles on their sides. This can readily be accomplished with the present carrier by ensuring that the long sides 71,72 of card 70 (figure 2) are cut straight. Thus the carrier as oriented in figure 5 remains stable, and depending on the design strength of the sides, could be stacked.

With reference to figure 6, it is noted that provision of the teeth 60 of previously described embodiments is not essential. Oversized apertures 27-29 could accommodate variations in bottle sides, and although some lateral movement of the bottles would be permitted, they would still be prevented from mutual contact.

It should also be noted that appropriate positioning of apertures 28,38 in second portions 23,33 results in the distance between fold lines 22,32 to respective apertures 28,38 defining the minimum distance of separation of the bottles. The carrier may be adapted so that edges 22,32 abut one another, or so that they overlap providing a slightly greater degree of torsional rigidity to the loaded carrier.

It will also be understood that the base, first, second and third portions may have additional portions separating them, these additional portions having a substantially vertical orientation when the carrier is assembled. For example, if a small display panel is required at the bottom of the package, two parallel fold lines could be provided at edge 13 in place of the single line of figures 1 and 2. Their spacing would define a vertical display area at the bottom of the pack. Similarly, two parallel fold lines at edge 24 could result in a similar vertical panel nearer the top of the pack.

It is noted that the present zig-zag arrangement of first, second, and third portions is preferred in its described "inward-outward-inward" configuration since this provides maximum visibility of the bottle labels when the bottles are in the package; it brings the top edges 26,36 together near the handle portions 40,50 without need of a further portion; and it maintains the base 12 in tension when under load. It will also be understood that upon lifting the package, a force is applied to the zig-zag portions in such a manner as to tighten any grip of the apertures on the bottles, thus reducing the overall load carried by the flat base.

Where the carrier is manufactured from a corrugated material, eg.

cardboard, it is preferred to arrange the line of the corrugation channels along the length of the card 70 of figure 2. Thus, the channels are bisected by the fold lines 21,31,23,33 etc, and the card direction which is most resistant to folding has any downward forces loaded across it.

The present invention may also be readily adapted to accommodate a single row of bottles. To achieve this, the first retaining section 20 could be as described in connection with figure 1, but the second retaining section 30 would be formed with a single vertically upstanding portion with a handle portion 50 at the top. In this case, the base 12 width between edges 13 and 14 would be halved.

Claims (11)

1. A carrier for a bottle comprising: a substantially planar base and an upwardly directed retaining section extending from one edge of the base; the retaining section including at least a first, a second and a third portion, each of the first, second and third portions being disposed in oblique orientation to the plane of the base and each having an aperture adapted to receive a bottle.

2. A carrier according to claim 1 further including a second retaining section extending upwardly from an opposing edge of the base to the first retaining section.

3. A carrier according to claim 2 wherein both retaining sections include first, second and third portions, the retaining sections being in generally opposed relationship to one another, and each adapted to receive at least one bottle.

4. A carrier for bottles according to claim 3 wherein the planar base is adapted to support more than two bottles in two rows having side-by-side relation, each of the first, second and third portions of each retaining section having an aperture for receiving every bottle in only one row.

5. A carrier according to claim 3 or claim 4 wherein each of the retaining sections further includes a handle portion extending upwardly from the upper edge of the third portion, the respective handle portions of the two retaining sections lying in side-by-side relation.

6. A carrier according to claim 5 wherein the handle portions include locking means for mutual engagement of one another.

7. A carrier according to any one of claims 1 to 6 further comprising teeth extending inwardly from the periphery of the apertures in at least one of the first, second or third portions.

8. A carrier according to any preceding claim formed from a single sheet of rigid material having folds separating each of the base, the first, the second and the third portions.

9. A carrier according to claim 5 formed from a single sheet of rigid material having folds separating each of the base, the first, the second, the third and the handle portions.

10. A carrier according to claim 8 or claim 9 wherein the rigid material is corrugated cardboard with its strong axis extending up the first, second and third portions.

11. A carrier substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.