NL2004080C2

NL2004080C2 - Wine bottle separator.

Info

Publication number: NL2004080C2
Application number: NL2004080A
Authority: NL
Inventors: Franciscus Adrianus Hendrikus Cornelis Doormalen; Rudolf Ernst Stadler
Original assignee: Depron Bv
Priority date: 2010-01-08
Filing date: 2010-01-08
Publication date: 2011-07-11

Description

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WINE BOTTLE SEPARATOR

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention 5 [0001] The invention relates generally to packaging of bottles, in particular to separators for stacking, supporting and spacing wine bottles during packaging and transport. The invention further relates to a box comprising bottles supported by separators.

2. Description of the Related Art 10 [0002] Wine is a worldwide commodity that is produced in enormous volumes. Production figures vary but it is believed that around 3 billion cases (12 bottles) are presently produced annually. The manner in which wine is packaged varies greatly. The present invention relates only to that part that is bottled, generally in 75 cl glass bottles.

[0003] For shipping and transport of wine bottles, they may be packed into boxes or cases, 15 usually containing 6 or 12 bottles each. Depending on the quality of the wine and the destination market, the sort of case will vary. Although distinctions may be made between cases and boxes, in the following these words are used interchangeably and, unless otherwise stated, are not intended to be in any way limiting on the material used.

[0004] The highest qualities of wine are generally still packaged in traditional wooden cases. 20 Such cases give the product added value and are even in themselves collectable. In order to prevent the individual bottles from moving within the case, wooden separators are provided. These separators have complementary shaped recesses, matching the dimensions of the base and neck of the bottles. The separators slot into grooves in the wall of the case in order to remain in position. A wooden case of this type is in itself an expensive item to produce and 25 assemble.

[0005] Other wine bottles may be packaged in cardboard boxes. In this case, spacers or separators are still required between the bottles to prevent damage during transport. One commonly used separator is the pulp tray. Such trays may be manufactured from recycled paper and card materials and are relatively cheap to produce. Pulp trays are also used as 30 separators in wooden cases. An example of a pulp tray is shown in US 1967026. Another pulp -2- tray is shown in US 6820743 which has a two-sided configuration allowing stacking of wine bottles in multiple layers. In US 5950829, a shell is formed of first and second parts which engage together with a recess between to receive the wine bottle.

[0006] Alternatives to pulp trays have also been proposed. According to US 2004/0031711 5 there is shown a support for wine bottles in the form of a recessed tray made of PET material.

It is stated that the strength of pulp trays may degrade if they become wet. Furthermore, that expanded polystyrene is too rigid and brittle and non-stackable. The proposed PET tray is indicated as offering considerable improvements.

[0007] A characteristic of most conventional trays, whether from pulp as in US 1967026 or 10 plastics materials as in US 2004/0031711, is that they generally extend over the whole area of the case i.e. over the full length of the bottle. This may not always be necessary and may thus lead to excess use of materials. Furthermore, the presence of a complete tray prevents the bottles in a lower layer from being visible. This may be a disadvantage from the point of view of inspection and also in terms of presentation.

15 [0008] A device for maintaining only the necks and bases of bottles in position within a case is disclosed in US 3572534. The arrangement requires inner walls having recesses for the necks and bases and appears to rely substantially on the structural integrity of the case. Another arrangement that supports only the necks and bases of the bottles is shown in FR2387163. In that case, a folded plate of cardboard receives the base and neck respectively 20 of a plurality of bottles. The bottles are placed alternately in opposing directions and can be stacked in multiple layers. Nevertheless, the plate obscures lower layers in the same manner as the trays mentioned above.

[0009] Thus, there is a particular need for an improved bottle separator that overcomes at least some of the above-mentioned inconveniences.

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BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The present invention addresses these problems by providing a wine bottle separator for supporting and spacing a plurality of wine bottles, each bottle having a neck portion and a bottom portion. The bottle separator comprises an elongate body having a base, an upper 30 surface and a generally prismatic cross section, the body having a length sufficient to receive a -3- plurality of bottles lying side by side, a maximum height between the base and upper surface of about half the width of the bottle and a width at the base at least equal to the height while being less than half of the total length of a bottle. The upper surface comprises a plurality of locating depressions, each locating depression being configured to receive either the neck or 5 the bottom portion of a single bottle. As a result of these dimensions, the separator is configured to stand stably on its base, unlike the wooden separators used in cases, which must be retained by a slot in the wall of the case. This makes assembly of a package simpler, since a number of separators may be initially placed prior to the bottles being laid on top of them. Furthermore, since the separators are of limited width, being less than half the length of a 10 bottle, they do not obscure sight of other bottles in the box. Wine bottles are of largely standard sizes and the skilled person would know the correct dimensions required to receive a bottle of Bordeaux wine or Loire wine. For the avoidance of doubt, for bottles of diameters of from about 5 cm to 8 cm, a separator for three bottles may have dimensions of from 15 cm to 26 cm in length, from 3 cm to 5 cm in height and from 4 cm to up to 12 cm in width. For 15 receiving six bottles in a layer, the separator would be approximately twice the length and would have the same width and height dimensions.

[0011] According to a preferred embodiment, the wine bottle separator comprises at least two bottle separators joined together to form a unit. Between the two bottle separators a foldable and/or breakable separation line may be provided. Advantageously, by forming the 20 bottle separators together in a single unit, they can be more easily produced and handled in bulk. At the point of use, the separators may be broken apart from one another or folded as will be described further below.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment the locating depressions are curved in cross section, each locating depression being either of a neck portion size, or of a bottom portion size. The skilled 25 person would also know the correct diameter and curvature required to receive a given sort of bottle. In general, the neck portion size is a semi-cylindrical recess of approximately 3 cm in diameter while the bottom portion size is curved to a diameter of about 8 cm. In certain embodiments, it may be desirable for the neck locating depression to be flared in order to locate at least part of the shoulder of the bottle. It may also be desirable for the bottom 30 locating depression to have a step in order to better locate the bottom edge of the bottle.

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[0013] Preferably, the locating depressions are arranged on the upper surface alternately of neck portion size and bottom portion size. This allows the bottles to be positioned in the final package in alternate relationship. Although this arrangement is preferred for most wine packages, alternative arrangements may also be provided in which e.g. the wine bottles are all 5 oriented in the same direction. For that case, an alternative embodiment of separator may be provided wherein all the locating depressions are either of neck portion size or bottom portion size.

[0014] In a still further preferred embodiment two complementary bottle separators are provided, a first separator and a second separator. The complementary separators may be 10 joined together as a unit as described above. In use, by folding the separators along their separation line a back-to-back configuration may be achieved which can be located between adjacent layers of bottles in a wine package. Alternatively, the separators may be broken apart at the separation line and used individually at either end of a single layer.

[0015] The locating depressions with neck portion size on a first separator of a unit are 15 preferably opposed to the locating depressions with bottom portion size on the second separator. Furthermore the locating depressions with bottom portion size on the first separator may then be opposed to the locating depressions with neck portion size on the second separator.

[0016] According to a preferred construction, the wine bottle separator is formed to have a 20 body with a hollow structure, having an open base. Such a structure requires relatively less material and also allows two or more separators to be stackable together in a nesting arrangement. It is however also understood that generally solid constructions may alternatively be preferred for greater strength or rigidity. In this context, a solid structure is intended to include structures having air incorporated therein including e.g. foamed materials.

25 [0017] Most preferably, the wine bottle separator is formed of a material which is substantially resistant to liquids and is not degraded or weakened by moisture. Such materials may include various appropriate plastics materials but may also include pulp materials that have been appropriately handled. A preferred material is a thermoplastic foam material. Such materials have been found to offer excellent cushioning and protection of bottles in transit.

30 Such materials may also avoid the tendency to leave fibres and particles on the bottles, as may -5- be the case with conventional pulp and expanded polystyrene. Most preferably extruded foam thermoplastic materials are used which offer increased strength in the final product.

[0018] Preferred plastics materials that may be foamed include polyolefins, such as polyethylene (HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE), chlorinated polyethylene, polypropylene (PP), 5 polypropylene copolymers (PPC), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA), halogenated polyolefins; styropolymers, such as polystyrene (PS), polystyrene copolymers (PSC), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers (ABS), styrene-maleic anhydride, toughened polystyrenes (SPS); polyesters, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polylactic acid (PLA), polyethylene-glycol terephthalate (PETP), polybutylene terephthalate (PPT); ethylene-10 propylene polymer, polyvinylchloride (PVC) and/or polyphenylene oxide. Furthermore, the plastic may include copolymers or blends of thermoplastic polymers, of polymers, copolymers or blends of thermoplastic polymers and/or copolymers. According to a most preferred embodiment, the separator comprises extruded closed cell polystyrene foam. This material has been shown to have significant benefits in easy forming and good stability. Another preferred 15 material may comprises PLA based foam, as this can be produced from renewable resources and may be biodegraded in a composting system.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment of a plastics material based wine bottle separator, the body is formed by thermo-forming of sheet material. Such a procedure is relatively quick and can take place on the basis of e.g. an extruded sheet of the plastics material. Thermo-forming 20 also allows the hollow structure and nesting that has been mentioned above. Other moulding procedures may also be considered including injection moulding, blow moulding, vacuum forming and combinations thereof.

[0020] A particular advantageous material is one that enhances the presentation of the wine bottles. For this reason, the material may be chosen to have a particular colour or surface 25 finish. It may even be provided, during or after manufacture, with a decorative surface. In addition to making the product more appealing it may also allow for advertising or other publicity. The material may be formed in various colours e.g. in the case of an extruded material, by the addition of colorants to the extrudate. As an example, black coloured materials are often associated with elegance in the presentation of bottles. In addition to 30 colorants and decoration, additional arrangements may be provided to make the product more -6- attractive. Suitable fragrances, anti-bacterial agents and the like may be introduced into the material during manufacture or prior to use to create an impression on the purchaser or to improve storage.

[0021] Most preferably, the material chosen for the wine bottle separator is such that it may 5 be easily disposable. The skilled person will be well aware of materials that offer useful advantages over conventional pulp and are nevertheless disposable, renewable resource based and biologically compostable.

[0022] The invention also relates to a box comprising a plurality of wine bottles and a plurality of wine bottle separators as described above. The wine bottles can be aligned in a first 10 direction within the box in a plurality of layers and the separators located in the box between the wine bottles with the elongate body aligned in a second direction generally perpendicular to the first direction wherein beneath each layer of wine bottles there are provided first and second wine bottle separators, spaced from each other in the first direction. The resulting package comprises wine bottles having cross-wise located separators at their tops and 15 bottoms. The label area of the bottles is generally free and on opening the box, the viewer may look through an upper layer to see wine bottles in a layer beneath.

[0023] Preferably, the box comprises two layers of wine bottles, two single wine bottle separators beneath the first layer, two double bottle separators between the first layer and the second layer, and two single bottle separators above the second layer. Most preferably, each 20 layer has either six or three bottles lying in alternate relation to one another. The box may be formed of cardboard or wood or any other appropriate material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The features and advantages of the invention will be appreciated upon reference to 25 the following drawings, in which:

[0025] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of two wine bottle separators forming a unit according to the invention;

[0026] FIG. IB is a perspective view of the unit of FIG. 1A in a partially folded state;

[0027] FIG. 1C is a perspective view of the unit of FIG. 1C in the folded state; 30 [0028] FIG. 2 is a front view of a second embodiment of a folded separator unit; -7-

[0029] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the separators of FIG. 1A after being separated;

[0030] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of six wine bottles as packed with the wine bottle separators according to the invention;

[0031] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the wine bottle separators of FIG. 2 along line 5-5; 5 and

[0032] FIGS. 6A - C are top views of possible configurations of wine bottle separators according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS 10 [0033] The following is a description of an embodiment of the invention, given by way of example only and with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 1 A, a wine bottle separator unit 1 is shown in perspective view. The unit 1 comprises two wine bottles separators, a first bottle separator la and a second bottle separator lb, joined together along a separation line 2. Each bottle separator has a respective elongated body 4a, 4b having a base 15 5a, 5b and an upper surface 6a, 6b. The elongated body has a length 1 of approximately 235 mm, a width w at the base of approximately 75 mm and a maximum height h between the respective base 5a, 5b and upper surface 6a, 6b of approximately 40 mm.

[0034] The upper surfaces 6a, 6b of each bottle separator la, lb are provided with several locating depressions defined as neck locating depressions 8 and bottom locating depressions 20 10, each of them shaped to support either the neck or the bottom portion of a wine bottle. In the wine bottle separator 1 of FIG. 1A, the first separator la has two neck locating depressions 8 arranged on either side of one bottom locating depression 10. The second separator lb has one neck locating depression 8 between two bottom locating depressions 10. The locating depressions 8, 10 are partial cylindrical sections having an axis X lying 25 transversely to the length direction of the elongate bodies 4a, 4b.

[0035] According to FIG. IB, the two separators la, lb are shown partially folded along the separation line 2. The separation line 2 comprises a portion of reduced thickness that can act as a living hinge as will be described below. In FIG. 1C the separators la, lb are completely folded to a back-to-back position whereby the base 5a of the first bottle separator la is in 30 contact with the base 5b of the second bottle separator lb. The neck locating depressions 8 in -8- the first bottle separator la are directly opposed to the bottom locating depressions 10 in the second bottle separator lb and vice versa.

[0036] FIG. 2 shows a side elevation of a second embodiment of a folded separator unit 101 similar to that of FIG. 1 in which like reference numerals preceded by 100 are used to 5 designate similar features. According to the second embodiment, a first separator 101a and a second separator 101b are joined together along a separation line 102 formed along the width w rather than along the length 1. An advantage of such an arrangement is that in its unfolded state, the separator unit 101 may be used to support six bottles lying side by side. In its folded state, the separator unit 101 operates in the same way as the separator unit 1 of FIG. 1.

10 [0037] In FIG. 3 a further perspective view of the unit 1 of FIG. 1A is shown in which the first separator la and the second separator lb have been broken apart along the separation line 2.

[0038] According to FIG. 4 a box 20 of wine according to an embodiment of the invention is shown in exploded perspective view. The box 20 is a generally conventional wooden case 15 comprising four sides 22 and a lower surface 24. In use, a first separator la and second separator lb are broken apart as shown in FIG. 3 and placed on the lower surface 24 in spaced apart relation. A first layer 26 of wine bottles 28 is placed onto the separators la, lb whereby the necks 30 are received in the neck locating depressions 10 and the bottoms 32 are received in the bottom locating depressions. Two further units 1 are provided and folded in back-to-20 back configuration according to FIG. 1C. The two further units 1 are placed onto the first layer 26 at locations adjacent to the previously placed separators la, lb. A second layer 34 of wine bottles 28 may then be placed onto the further units 1. It will be noted that the bottles 28 in the second layer 34 are oriented in the opposite direction to the bottles 28 in the first layer 26. A fourth wine separator unit 1 is taken and broken along the separation line 2 to provide 25 two further separators la, lb that may be placed on top of the second layer 34. The lid 36 of the box 20 may then be closed, holding the bottles and separators 1 firmly in position. Due to the resilience of the foamed polystyrene material, the bottles are well protected from shock and movement and the soft foam based material protects the labels from damage e.g. due to abrasion.

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[0039] FIG. 5 shows a transverse cross-section through the separator unit 101 of FIG. 2 along line 5-5. As can be seen, bodies 104a, 104b have a generally prismatic cross section, varying from approximately triangular at the highest points of the upper surfaces 106a, 106b to trapezium shaped in the depressions 108, 110. The bodies 104a, 104b are also hollow 5 having an interior space 138a, 138b respectively which may also be seen in FIG. 4.

[0040] The separators la, lb, 101a, 101b are formed from a layer of foamed polystyrene of the closed cell type. The layer has a thickness t of around 5 mm. The skilled person will be aware that many other similar materials may be employed to achieve a similar result. Manufacture of the separator unit 1 takes place by extrusion of a granular mix of polystyrene 10 and a nucleating agent. A preferred nucleating agent is talc in an amount of up to about 3% by weight, although chalk, sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and/or citric acid may also be used. The mixture is initially melted by heating to a temperature of up to about 300 °C.

During the extrusion step, the plastic melt is treated with a blowing agent via a blowing agent injector. The blowing agent is preferably butane, propane, CO2 or mixtures thereof in an 15 amount of up to about 6% by weight. The skilled person in this art will understand that the amounts by weight of the individual components can be varied according to the desired result. At this point the plastic foam sheet may be coloured by the addition of suitable colourant masterbatches during the extrusion. Similarly, it is possible to co-extrude the plastic foam sheet together with a coloured outer layer of the same or different material as the plastic foam 20 sheet in a co- extrusion line.

[0041] In order to form the layer into the desired shape of the separator unit 1, the flat sheet is thermoformed in a mould of a thermoforming unit with the aid of a vacuum on one or both sides at a temperature of 120 - 130 °C for around 10 seconds. The shaped unit 1 is then held at room temperature for a holding period of around 4 seconds. The skilled person will 25 understand that the above process conditions are not limiting and may be varied according to the result required.

[0042] Thus, the invention has been described by reference to the embodiment discussed above. It will be recognized that this embodiment is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms well known to those of skill in the art. Although the invention has been 30 described in relation to a box for six bottles of wine it will thus be understood that the -10- separator may also be used in other configurations and may also be adapted for other bottles of various sizes.

[0043] FIG. 6A shows a configuration of the separator unit of the second embodiment used in boxes of 12 bottles. In this case, two identical separator units 101 are used without folding.

5 Each has a total of three neck locating depressions 108 and three bottom locating depressions 110.

[0044] In an alternative configuration shown in FIG. 6B, a separator unit 201 is adapted for use with bottles oriented in the same direction. In this case, a first separator 201a has three neck locating depressions 208. A second separator 201b has three bottom locating depressions 10 210. It will be understood that a unit can also be formed of two identical separators of the first type 201a or of the second type 201b.

[0045] A still further alternative configuration is shown in FIG. 6C in which bottles are arranged in separate rows. A first type of separator 301a has only neck locating depressions 308. These are present at a closer spacing to those of the separator 201a of FIG. 6B. A second 15 type of spacer 301 b has only bottom locating depressions 310.

[0046] Further modifications in addition to those described above may be made to the structures and techniques described herein without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, although specific embodiments have been described, these are examples only and are not limiting upon the scope of the invention.

Claims

A wine bottle separator for supporting and dismantling a plurality of wine bottles, each bottle having a neck portion and a bottom portion, the bottle separator comprising an elongate body having a base, an upper surface and a generally prismatic cross-section, wherein said body: has a length sufficient to receive a number of bottles side by side, has a height between the base and the upper surface that is approximately half the width of the bottle has a width at the base that is at least equal to the height and less than half the total length of a bottle such that the separating means can stand stably on its base; And wherein the upper surface comprises a plurality of locating depressions, each locating depression being designed to receive either the neck or the bottom portion of a single bottle.

2. Wine bottle separator according to claim 1, wherein at least two bottle separating means are combined to form a unit, and wherein a separating line is provided between the two bottle separating means, which separating line is foldable and / or breakable.

3. Wine bottle separator as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the locating depressions are bent in cross-section, each locating depression or: the size of a neck portion, wherein the size of the neck portion is half the size of the cross section of the approximate neck portion of the bottle; or 30 is the size of a bottom portion, the size of the bottom portion approaching half the cross-sectional size of the bottom portion of the bottle. -12-

Wine bottle separator according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the locating depressions on the upper surface are alternately the size of a neck portion and the size of a bottom portion. 5

A wine bottle separator according to claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein all locating depressions are the size of the neck portion or the size of the bottom portion.

A wine bottle separator according to claim 2, wherein the unit is formed from two complementary bottle separators, a first separator and a second separator joined together along a side or an end of the base.

A wine bottle separator according to claim 6, wherein the locating depressions the size of the neck portion on a first separating means are opposed to the locating depressions the size of the bottom portion on the second separating means; and / or the locating depressions the size of the bottom portion on the first separating means are opposite to the locating depressions the size of the neck portion on the second separating means.

Wine bottle separator according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the body has a hollow structure with an open base. 25

A wine bottle separator according to any of the preceding claims, formed from a material that is substantially impervious to liquids.

10. Wine bottle separator according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said bottle separator comprises substantially extruded thermoplastic foam material. -13-

A wine bottle separator according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the body is thermoformed.

12. Wine bottle separator according to any of the preceding claims, adapted to be disposable.

13. Separating means for wine bottles according to any of the preceding claims, wherein two or more separating means can be stacked consecutively.

A box comprising a number of wine bottles and a number of wine bottle separating means according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the wine bottles are aligned in a first direction in the box in a plurality of layers and the separating means are located in the box between the wine bottles with the elongated body aligned in a second direction generally perpendicular to the first direction, with first and second wine bottle separators provided below each layer of wine bottles, spaced apart from each other, in the first direction.

15. Box according to claim 14, comprising two layers of wine bottles, two single separating means for wine bottles below the first layer, two double separating means for bottles between the first layer and the second layer, and two single separating means for bottles above the second layer.