NL1015774C2 - Plastic bottle carrier has central hand grip integrally connected with plastic carrier body and is made from injection moulded plastic in suitable matrix - Google Patents

Abstract

The plastic bottle carrier (1) has a central handgrip (2) integrally connected with a plastic carrier body (3) and is made from injection moulded plastic in a suitable matrix. The carrier body has an oval, outermost peripheral wall (4) and the horizontal dimension of its outer contour measured along the length axis of the oval shape amounts to approximately 40 centimeters whilst along the short axis is approximately 30 centimeters.

Description

Short indication: Plastic bottle carrier with a central handle.

The present invention relates to a plastic bottle carrier with a central handle for transporting and storing a number of bottles, for example glass (beer) bottles with a capacity of 30 cl.

Bottle carriers according to the preamble of claim 1 are known, for example, from US 4 040 517 and US 4 204 596. These known bottle carriers are provided with six compartments in a rectangular ring arrangement around the central handle. With the known bottle carriers it is further provided that, when stacking bottle carriers filled with bottles, the caps of the bottles in the underlying bottle carrier protrude into a ring wall formed on the underside of the bottom.

A first drawback of these known bottle carriers is the small number of bottles that can be accommodated therein. This plays a role in particular if it is desired to distribute relatively small bottles, for example with a capacity of 30 or 50 cl, with such a bottle carrier.

A second drawback is that the stability of a stack of known bottle carrier stacked on top of one another with bottles included therein is not entirely satisfactory.

A further drawback is that when a stack of these known bottle carriers is placed in a shop, the outer peripheral wall of the bottle carrier is so high that only the neck of the bottles is visible and the label on the bottle and possibly the contents of the bottle are not be visible to the shopping public. Of course, that problem could partly be solved by providing the outer peripheral wall with viewing openings. When placing stacks of bottle carriers according to the preamble and possibly conventional rectangular bottle crates next to each other along a path in a store, the known bottle carrier and the bottles placed therein still remain relatively unobtrusive.

; 7 4 - 2

It is an object of the present invention to provide a plastic bottle carrier according to a first purpose thereof, which is suitable for receiving a considerable number of bottles.

The present invention has for its object to provide a plastic bottle carrier according to a second object thereof, which can be stacked stably in the filled state.

Another object of the invention is to design the bottle carrier in such a way that it has great wearing comfort when the bottle carrier is carried by means of the central handle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a plastic bottle carrier, which provides an attractive and eye-catching arrangement of the bottles, in particular if several bottle carriers are stacked on top of each other.

The present invention achieves the first object by providing a plastic bottle carrier according to the preamble of claim 1, characterized in that the carrier body is embodied such that the compartments for the bottles are in several, more or less concentric rings around the central handle prepared.

To achieve the second object of the invention, it is then preferably provided for the bottoms of the compartments in an inner ring to be higher than the bottoms in an outer ring surrounding it. When stacking filled bottle carriers according to the invention, the bottles then in fact protrude into the inner ring of the underlying bottle carrier inwardly on the underside of the bottle carrier stacked thereon. This results in a very stable stacking and it is almost impossible to accidentally slide a bottle carrier from the stack, which is possible with the known bottle carrier.

The difference in height between the bottoms of the compartments in adjacent rings is preferably between 4 centimeters and 8 centimeters, in a practically advantageous embodiment approximately 5.5 centimeters.

It is provided with particular preference that the rings in which the compartments for the bottles are arranged are substantially oval. This offers the possibility of effective use of the space occupied by the bottle carrier and an attractive arrangement of the bottles in the bottle carrier is thus achieved.

Advantageously it is provided that the outer peripheral wall 5 of the carrier body is oval, the compartments in the outer ring then being arranged along the oval peripheral wall. The oval shape of the circumferential wall considerably increases the wearing comfort compared to the known rectangular shape, in particular with regard to the passage of the leg of the person carrying it along the bottle carrier when walking with a full bottle carrier.

In a practically very advantageous embodiment it is provided that the horizontal dimension of the outer contour of the oval carrier body measured along the long axis of the oval shape is approximately 40 centimeters and along the short axis of the oval shape approximately 30 centimeters. These dimensions expediently make it possible to transport and store the bottle carrier, to display it in situations where frequent use is also made of conventional rectangular bottle crates of a standard size of 40 centimeters by 30 centimeters.

In a preferred embodiment - in particular for bottles with a diameter of approximately six centimeters - it is provided that the carrier body forms an inner ring with eight compartments for bottles and around it an outer ring with fourteen compartments for bottles.

Preferably, the handle is in the plane of the long axis of the oval shape of the carrier body. This arrangement ensures that the filled bottle carrier is stable in the hand when worn.

In view of the visibility of the bottles in the carrier, it is preferable that the outer peripheral wall extends from an imaginary lower boundary surface of the carrier over a height that is considerably lower than that of the bottles to be received, preferably at most one third of the height of the bottles to be included.

In a practically advantageous embodiment, the circumferential wall is approximately 5 centimeters high.

10 1 * 77 t - 4

The carrier body preferably has an approximately conical top wall, in which the openings are formed on the top of the compartments, which top wall connects at its outer circumference to the top edge of the outer peripheral wall of the carrier body and has a top near the central handle. The conical top wall gives the carrier body a high degree of strength. Furthermore, the cone shape in combination with the height-staggered placement of the bottles in the concentric rings yields an attractive image.

When stacking an empty bottle carrier, the conical shape of the upper wall in combination with the preferably provided conical shape on the underside of the container ensures great stability.

In a practically advantageous embodiment it is provided that at each compartment a circumferential wall of the compartment directed downwardly from the top wall and optionally provided with openings extends, wherein the bottom of the compartment concerned is molded on the underside of the circumferential wall.

For the stability of the stacking of filled bottle holders, it is preferably provided that the underside of each bottom of a compartment is provided with a downwardly projecting ring wall with an inner diameter which is substantially matched to the diameter of the cap of the bottles to take.

For the stacking of an empty bottle carrier it is advantageous if the total height is small. This can be achieved, for example, in that the handle is lower than the top of the bottles accommodated in the bottle carrier. Alternatively, an up and down movable handle may be provided.

The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing. It shows:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the bottle carrier according to the invention filled with bottles,

FIG. 2 the bottle carrier of figure 1 filled with bottles in top view, 4 - 5

FIG. 3 shows the filled bottle carrier of figure 1 in side view,

FIG. 4 shows the filled bottle carrier of figure 1 in another side view,

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of two filled 5 bottle carriers stacked on top of each other according to Figure 1,

FIG. 6 the stack of figure 5 in side view,

FIG. 7a in side view two empty bottle carriers of figure 1 stacked on top of each other,

FIG. 7b shows the stack of figure 7a in section, FIG. 8 the stack of figure 7a in perspective,

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the bottle carrier of FIG. 1, and FIG. 10 shows the bottom side of the bottle carrier of figure 1 in perspective.

In the drawing a plastic bottle carrier 1 is shown with a central handle 2 for lifting and carrying the bottle carrier 1 in hand.

The bottle carrier 1 has a plastic carrier body 3 integrally connected to the central handle 2. The bottle carrier 1 is manufactured by injection molding suitable plastic material into a suitable mold, so that both the carrier body 3 and the handle 2 are made of plastic.

The carrier body 3 has an oval outer peripheral wall 4, the horizontal dimension of the outer contour of the oval carrier body 3 measured about the long axis of the oval shape being about 40 centimeters and about the short axis of the oval shape about 30 centimeters. The handle 2 to be explained in more detail lies in the plane of the long axis of the oval shape of the carrier body 3.

The outer circumferential wall 4 extends from an imaginary lower boundary surface - the underside being open - of the carrier 1 over a height that is considerably smaller than that of the bottles to be received 5. In this example, the height of the circumferential wall is about 5 to 35 centimeters. Furthermore, the circumferential wall 4 is directed obliquely inwards with a slight angle of inclination.

Γ 'Λ.

! ; 4 - 6

The carrier body 3 forms compartments 6, each of which is intended for receiving the lower part of a bottle, the compartments 6 having a depth such that the bottles 5 placed in bottle carrier 1 protrude above the upper side of the 5 compartments. The bottle 5 here is of a generally known embodiment with a capacity of approximately 30 cl.

In particular, the belly portion of the bottles 5 protrudes above the top wall, so that a label is clearly visible on those bottles as well as the content if the bottles are transparent.

The compartments 6 for the bottles are arranged here in two, more or less concentric oval rings around the central handle 2, i.e. in an inner ring and an outer ring.

Eight compartments 6 for 15 bottles are present in the inner ring and fourteen compartments 6 for bottles in the outer ring, the inner diameter of a compartment being approximately 6 centimeters.

In the inner ring two compartments are arranged on either side next to the central handle 2 and in each case two compartments at one end of the handle 2, which latter compartments lie close to each other on either side of the long axis of the oval shape of the carrier body 3. .

In the outer ring, at each end of the long axis of the oval form, a compartment 6 is present on that long axis, and at each end of the short axis of the oval form, two compartments are arranged side by side on either side of the short axis.

The carrier body 3 further has an approximately conical top wall 7, in which the openings on the top of the compartments 6 are formed. The upper wall 7 connects at its outer circumference to the upper edge of the outer peripheral wall 4 of the carrier body 3 and has a top near the central handle 2. The upper wall 7 is provided with an opening 8 at the handle 2, whereby along the inner edge of said opening 8 is provided with a reinforcing edge 9. The top of the top wall 7. lies

• X

7 here approximately 17 centimeters above the lower boundary surface of the carrier 1.

At each compartment 6, the carrier body 3 is provided with a peripheral wall 11 of the compartment 6, which is directed downwardly from the top wall 7 and possibly with openings 5, a bottom 12 of the respective compartment 6 is formed on the underside of said peripheral wall 11.

The bottoms 12 of the compartments in the inner ring are higher than the bottoms 12 in the outer ring. In this example, the height difference is 5.5 centimeters.

The underside of each bottom 12 of a compartment is provided with a ring wall 13 projecting downwards with an inner diameter which is substantially matched to the diameter of the cap of the bottles to be received. In a stack of 15 bottle carriers 1 filled with bottles 5, an upper bottle carrier 1 rests on the caps of the bottles.

The handle 2 is lower than the upper side of the bottles 5 received in the inner ring of the bottle carrier 1, in this example about 3 centimeters lower.

The handle 2 has substantially the shape of an inverted U, the legs of which are formed at the bottom on the upper wall 7.

The bottle carrier is open at the bottom, so that the bottom of the carrier body 3 is substantially bounded by the outer peripheral wall 4 of the carrier body 3 and the bottoms 12 of the compartments 6.

1015774

Claims (22)

A plastic bottle carrier with a central handle, which carrier has a carrier body 5 connected to the central handle and having an outer peripheral wall, which carrier body forms a plurality of compartments arranged around the central handle in a ring arrangement, each of which is intended for receiving a bottle, wherein the carrier body at each top delimits an opening at the top and below it a bottom, which bottom serves to support the bottom of a bottle placed in the compartment, the compartments having a bottom. have such depth that the bottles placed in bottle carrier partially protrude above the upper side of the compartments, and wherein the outer peripheral wall has a height such that the bottles placed in the compartments protrude partly above said outer peripheral wall, characterized in that the carrier body is designed such that the compartments for the bottles are arranged in several, more or less concentric rings around the central handle. 2. Bottle carrier according to claim 1, wherein the bottoms of the compartments in an inner ring are higher than the bottoms in an outer ring surrounding it. 3. Bottle carrier according to claim 2, wherein the difference in height between the bottoms of the compartments in adjacent rings is between 4 centimeters and 8 centimeters, preferably about 5.5 centimeters. A bottle carrier according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the rings are substantially oval. 35 The bottle carrier according to claim 4, wherein the outer peripheral wall of the carrier body is oval. 1 (1 C 7, 1 - 9 The bottle carrier according to claim 5, wherein the horizontal dimension of the outer contour of the oval carrier body measured along the long axis of the oval shape is approximately 40 centimeters and along the short axis of the oval shape 5 approximately 30 centimeters. 7. Bottle carrier as claimed in claim 6, wherein the carrier body forms an inner ring with eight compartments for bottles and around it an outer ring with fourteen compartments for bottles. The bottle carrier according to one or more of claims 5-7, wherein the handle is in the plane of the long axis of the oval shape of the carrier body. 15 9. Bottle carrier as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims 5-8, wherein in the inner ring in each case two compartments are arranged on either side next to the central handle and in each case two compartments at one end of the handle, the latter compartments being close to each other on either side of the long axis of the oval shape of the carrier body. 10. Bottle carrier as claimed in claim 9, wherein in outer ring at each end of the long axis of the oval shape is a compartment on that long axis and wherein at each end of the short axis of the oval shape two compartments are arranged next to each other on on both sides of the short axis. 11. Bottle carrier according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the outer peripheral wall extends from an imaginary lower boundary surface of the carrier over a height that is considerably smaller than that of the bottles to be received, preferably at a third part 35 of the height of the bottles to be included. - 10 - The bottle carrier according to claim 11, wherein the circumferential wall is approximately 5 centimeters high. 13. Bottle carrier according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the peripheral wall is directed upwards obliquely inwards. 14. Bottle carrier as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, wherein the carrier body has an approximately conical top wall, wherein the openings are formed on the upper side of the compartments, which upper wall connects at its outer circumference to the upper edge of the outer peripheral wall of the carrier body and has a tip near the central handle. 15 15. Bottle carrier as claimed in claim 14, wherein the carrier body at each compartment forms a circumferential wall of the compartment directed downwards from the top wall and possibly provided with openings, wherein the bottom of the compartment concerned is molded on the bottom side of the circumferential wall. 16. Bottle carrier as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, wherein the underside of each bottom of a compartment is provided with a downwardly projecting ring wall with an inner diameter which is substantially matched to the diameter of the cap of the bottles to be received . 17. Bottle carrier as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, wherein the handle is lower than the top of the bottles accommodated in the bottle carrier. 18. A bottle carrier according to claim 14, wherein the handle is substantially in the form of an inverted U, the legs of which are formed at the bottom on the upper wall. - 11 - 19. A bottle carrier according to claim 18, wherein the upper wall at the handle is provided with an opening, wherein a reinforcing edge is provided along the inner edge of said opening. A bottle carrier according to claim 14, wherein the top of the upper wall is approximately 17 centimeters above the lower boundary surface of the carrier. 21. Bottle carrier according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the inside diameter of a compartment is approximately 6 centimeters. 22. Bottle carrier according to one or more of the preceding claim, wherein the underside of the bottle carrier is open, so that the bottom side of the carrier body is substantially bounded by the outer peripheral wall of the carrier body and the bottoms of the compartments.