RU2080274C1 - Stackable box for bottles - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: packing and transportation of bottles. SUBSTANCE: box has number of cells separated from each other by division members. Each cell has rigid or flexibly widening or deformable at inner side by means of which bottle placed into cell is held either in zone of its shoulder or in zone of passage from bottle body to its neck. Bottles are reliably fixed in cells both, in vertical and horizontal positions, when box is turned through 90 degrees and loading holes are at side. EFFECT: improved storage and transportation. 16 cl, 12 dwg

Description

 The invention relates to a stackable bottle box according to the preamble of claim 1.

 A box of this kind is used, for example, in the manufacture of beverages for storage and for transporting bottles of beverages and is made in the vast majority of cases from plastic or wood. However, the currently usual crates, depending on the size or contents of the bottles, as well as on the number of bottles installed in them, have different external dimensions and different designs. This leads to the fact that boxes for different types of drinks or for bottles of various sizes cannot be stacked with each other, which is negative in particular with regard to economical storage both in the production of drinks and for companies involved in the transportation of boxes, as for boxes of several different types of drinks and / or different sizes of bottles there is a relatively large need for storage facilities.

In a private household, i.e. for the so-called end-users, corresponding problems arise. Since in private apartments (dwellings), usually because of the limited representation of the area, it is impossible to install all boxes with different types of drinks next to each other, they are often installed vertically on top of each other or one above the other. However, due to the different designs of the boxes, the mutual fixation of the boxes and thereby the sufficient stability of the structure are not guaranteed, so that the risk of an accident due to falling boxes is significantly increased. In addition, such vertical stacking of various (types) of boxes is associated with the disadvantage that in the case when the user would like to take out a bottle of a drink of the same sort, the box with which is located in the lower zone of the stack, he must first disassemble the entire stack and remove it from side to side removed boxes before he can get the bottle he wants. After that, he must again put the removed boxes on top of each other in a stack. This course of action is very difficult and in addition to this requires a lot of labor and time. Therefore, it would be desirable if the bottles could be removed from the box and inserted into the box in a 90 ^° state of the box in which the loading side (s) of the box is located on the side. In commonly used boxes, this is, however, impossible, since there is a danger that in this condition (box) the bottles will fall out of it.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a stackable bottle crate of an initially named type that can reliably receive many different types of bottles rotated 90 ^° , with the loading opening (s) of the crate being positioned (s) on the side and the bottles held securely and not can slip out of the holes.

 This problem is solved by the invention using the features of the distinctive part of paragraph I.

 The stackable bottle crate has a plurality of cavities, each of which, respectively, can have one bottle. The cavities are separated from each other by separating elements, for example, in the form of walls, ribs, bulkheads or rods, and the separating elements in a known manner serve to laterally fix the position of the bottles. According to the invention, each cavity on the side of the inner wall has an elastically expandable narrowing. When installing the bottle in the cavity, this constriction should be expanded, due to which a holding force will act on the bottle in the form of a reaction to the deformation of the constriction, due to which the bottle is firmly fixed in the cavity. Based on the elastically expandable narrowing, a cavity above this can be used for various types of bottles, since the narrowing is coordinated in its width according to the size of the inserted bottle. Thanks to the use of a single type of bottle crate of various sizes, on the one hand, good stackability is guaranteed, as well as high stability of this type of stack and, on the other hand, optimal use of storage space is possible, which makes efficient storage possible and storage costs can be reduced. .

 Also, when transporting the boxes, the bottles due to the elastically expandable narrowing are reliably fixed, and the undesirable occurrence of noise due to the clicking of the bottles on the walls is additionally avoided. If the user moves the box, i.e. carries out the so-called manual transportation, the narrowing forms a transport safety device, with which the bottles are protected from falling out of the box.

If a box is used or stacked in a state rotated 90 ^° in which the filler opening of the box is on the side, then due to the location of the narrowing in the neck area of the inserted bottle, and also due to the narrowing in such a way that it is wider in the bottom area than the bottom of the inserted bottles, it can be ensured that the bottle is automatically set obliquely due to its own weight, thereby eliminating the risk of the bottle falling out.

Stacking the drawers in a 90 ^° rotated state with loading holes located on the side allows the shelving (of drawers) to be made according to the modular principle, and with the help of the mutual fixation of the drawers sufficient stability and stability can be achieved.

 Elastically expandable narrowing can be made in the form of many design options. On the one hand, it is possible to make dividing elements themselves elastic, i.e. walls, ribs, bulkheads or mandrels by the fact that they can be made, for example, of plastic, and, on the other hand, it is possible to ensure the deformability of the separating elements by fixing them, for example, by the fact that the mandrels can be made as inserted into the bottom of the console drawer, which is easily deformable at its free, non-inserted (non-fixed) end.

 In order to maintain a certain position of the narrowing, it can also be formed in the form of inwardly directed protrusions made on the walls, ribs, bulkheads or mandrels, so that no other or additional details will be needed to obtain a narrowing, thereby reducing the structural cost of manufacturing the box.

 In the event that a certain restraining force acting on the inserted bottle is to be provided, it may be rational to narrow down using spring elements located on the interior walls of the cavity. In this case, the spring elements are mainly made of plastic and have the form of leaf springs, so that they do not interfere with the insertion and removal of the bottles.

 If the dividing elements are made in the form of mandrels, then in order to obtain a holding force approximately evenly distributed around the circumference of the bottle, it is rational to arrange the mandrels around the cavity with their uniform distribution, i.e. under the same, mutual angular distance. It turned out that when using four mandrels, the bottle can be reliably and accurately fixed in its position in the cavity. Rational designs of the invented box represent the subject of other additional points.

In FIG. 1 shows a partial section of a box cavity according to a first embodiment; in FIG. 2 is a plan view of a drawer in FIG. one; in FIG. 3 shows the position of the bottle in the box of FIG. 1 when it is rotated by 90 ^o installation; in FIG. 4 is a partial cross-section of a box cavity according to another embodiment; in FIG. 5 drawer, top view of FIG. 4; in FIG. 6 the position of the bottle in the box of FIG. 4 when it is rotated by 90 ^o installation; in FIG. 7 an additional embodiment of the mandrels in the box of FIG. one; in FIG. 8 side views, with the side wall removed, of two stackable boxes with vertically standing bottles; in FIG. 9 is a side view of two drawers according to FIG. 8 after turning or tipping boxes 90 ^o in stackable on top of each other position; in FIG. 10 and 11 are two inserts inserted into a standard box and corresponding to the internal dimensions of the box with a different number of receiving cavities for bottles in a perspective image; in FIG. 12 is a standard (known) box in a perspective view.

 In FIG. 1 and 2, a stackable box 10 is shown with a pull-out, having a plurality of respectively receiving a separate bottle 12 of cavities 14, of which, however, only one is represented. On the bottom 18 of the box 10, several dividing elements protruding vertically upward in the form of mandrels 16 defining the cavities 14. As shown in FIG. 2, in this example, four mandrels 16 are evenly distributed around each cavity 14, however, the restriction of the cavity 14 can also be carried out by a different number of mandrels. The mandrels 16 in their cross section continuously increase, starting from their fixing point on the bottom 18 of the box 10 upwards, so that the mandrels are in the shape of pins or clubs. In the area of their maximum cross-section or bulges 17, facing inward, form mandrels 16 in interaction with each other, narrowing 19 of cavity 14, the width of which is less than the width of the bottle body.

 If the bottle 12 should be inserted into the cavity 14 bounded by the mandrels 16, then the narrowing 19 should be expanded. This occurs directly with the bottle 12, and it is rational when the cross section of the mandrel 16 of FIG. 1 above the narrowing 19 is again reduced, so that a conically expanding guide is formed which facilitates the insertion or insertion of the bottle 12. When the bottle 12 is inserted, it extrudes the mandrels 16 a small amount outward, and they rotate around their fixing point on the bottom 18 of the box 10. The elasticity of the mandrels 16 in this case depends on the geometric configuration, in particular on the execution of their cross section, as well as on the properties of the material used. Advantageously, the crates 10 and the mandrels 16 should be made of plastic, which makes it possible to precisely match production, for example by pressing.

 However, it is also possible that when the bottle is inserted into the cavity 14, it does not force the mandrels 16 out and that the mandrels 16 are deformed in the narrowing zone 19, basically maintaining their position, due to which a holding or spring force also acts on the bottle 12. Deformation of this type for mandrels 16 can be achieved when, for example, they are hollow of thin-walled plastic. The same effect can be achieved if the mandrels 16 are made continuous of easily elastically deformable material.

 Due to the holding or springing force exerted by the mandrels 16 in the narrowing zone 19 on the bottle 12, as well as due to friction between at least the bottom of the bottle 12 and the bottom of the cavity 14, the clutch bottle 12 can be held firmly in the cavity 14. Also, during transportation of the box, the bottles are protected from falling out of the box, the reason for the appearance of noise due to the impact of bottles on the walls is largely eliminated.

Several boxes 10 of FIG. 1 and 2 of the embodiment can not only be stacked on top of each other, but it is also possible to stack the boxes in the state when they are rotated (tipped) 90 ^o , and the boxes are stabilized by mutual fixation. Thus, the implementation of the rack can be achieved in a modular fashion, with cavities on the side accessible and, thus, the possibility of simple and quick insertion and removal of bottles.

When the boxes are used or stacked in a 90 ^° rotated state in which the loading opening of the box is on the side, care must be taken that the bottles do not fall out of the cavity. As shown in FIG. 1, cavity 14 for this purpose in the area of its bottom, i.e. in FIG. 1 - the lower zone, has a larger width than the inserted bottle 12, and the narrowing is in the neck area of the inserted bottle 12. This ensures that the bottle 12, due to its own weight, rotates around the narrowing zone acting as the center of rotation or turns over and enters the contact with its lower one in FIG. 3 end with the cavity wall. Because of this shown in FIG. 3 of the inclined position of the bottle 12, it is reliably protected from falling out of the cavity 14. When the box 10 is tipped over or turned 90 ^° into the direction shown in FIG. 3 and 6, the bottle is in the position or the bottles are on their own due to the gravity shown in FIG. 3 and 6 position.

 In the embodiment of FIG. 1 to 3 exemplary embodiment, the separating elements are formed by mandrels 16. However, it is equally possible that the separating elements are formed by partitions, and the contraction can expand earlier as mentioned either by zonal elastic deformation of the material of the partition or by deflecting the partition as a whole. The following embodiment is shown in FIG. 4 and 6.

 In FIG. 4, the box 10 is provided with a grid of vertical partitions 22 orthogonal to each other, so that cavities 14 are formed for receiving respectively one bottle 12 each. Spring elements 20 are made on each inner wall of the cavity 14, with the help of which an elastically expandable narrowing 19 is formed. The spring element 20 is made primarily of plastic and has the form of a leaf spring. In FIG. 4, the spring elements 20 of the cavity 14 are formed by integrally formed cup-shaped plug-in parts, however, it is also possible to design each spring element as a separate part. Due to the bowl-shaped insertion part, the cavity 14 has the form already explained in connection with FIG. 1, with a narrowing in the neck area of the bottle 12, as well as an expansion of the bottom zone of the cavity 14 with respect to the bottom of the bottle 12.

 The operation of this embodiment corresponds mainly to the embodiment explained with reference to FIG. 1 3, so there is no need to stop here again. Also in this second embodiment, it is achieved that the bottle 12, due to its own weight, rotates around the narrowing zone, which acts as the center of rotation and therefore, shown in FIG. 6 inclined position, reliably protected from falling out of the cavity 14.

 Only some examples of the invention have been explained above. However, one skilled in the art will appreciate that innumerable changes can be made without going beyond the scope and basis of the inventive concept. For example, to change the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4 to 6, it is also possible to obtain a constriction 19 by means of a cross-sectional shape of the partitions, by the fact that they, for example, as in the embodiment of FIG. 1 3, made in the shape of a bowling pin. Then, the cross-sectional shape of the mandrel of the first embodiment is not limited to that shown in FIG. 2 with a circular cross section, and also possibly as shown in FIG. 7, make a mandrel with an angular or square cross section.

In FIG. 8 shows two stackable bins 10, 10 ^′ , of which each box is made in accordance with FIG. 4 in a normal position in which the bottles are mounted vertically. In the inserted state, the mandrels formed at the bottom of the box 10 are gripped, pins or otherwise made locking protrusions 50 in the upper marginal region near the side walls of the box, so that in the inserted state both boxes 10, 10 ^{′ are} stably connected to each other. Thanks to this, it is possible to stack many boxes on top of each other. Then all the boxes are in themselves a solid and stable unit. As shown in FIG. In the 8th position, the boxes are mainly transported.

For use in the household, in hotels or the like. crates 10, 10 ^' with their bottles are tipped over or rotated 90 ^° , so that then crates 10, 10 ^' occupy the one shown in FIG. 9 position and in this position can be stacked on top of each other. In order to obtain a strong stack of several drawers, each box 10, 10 ^'is provided, along with the locking protrusions 50 at the bottom of the box, additionally with locking protrusions 51, 51 ^' on the sides of the box, the locking protrusions 51 on the side walls respectively lying at the top with respect to the locking protrusions 51 ^' respectively of the lower lying side walls of the drawers 10, 10 ^{' are} so offset from each other that the locking protrusions 51 ^{'of the} lower side wall of the box 10 will be between the locking protrusions 51' of the upper side wall of the box 10 '' and next to them, so that two or more boxes stacked on top of each other form a strong, stable and in itself stable stack, in which bottles can be removed from the side without difficulty. Thus, from several drawers, bottle receivers are created in the form of a quasi-rack, which can be used, for example, instead of bottle cabinets for wine cellars, etc.

As shown in FIG. 10 12 can be provided consisting of four side walls 101, 102, 103, 104 and the bottom 105, open at the top of the base (standard) boxes or containers 100 (Fig. 12) with inserts 60 or 70, each insert consisting of a number of intersecting dividing walls in the formation of individual cavities. Each cavity 14 thus formed is configured as shown in FIG. 1 of the box cavity, so that when the box provided with the insert 60 or 70 is tipped over or turned 90 ^{° by} 90 ^°, all the bottles located in the cavities occupy the position shown in FIG. 3. To prevent the inserts 60 or 70 in the drawer 100 from slipping out, the inserts made of wood, plastic or other suitable materials are fixed in the drawer 100. FIG. 10 shows an insert with 15 cavities for 15 bottles, and FIG. 11 is an insert with 25 cavities for 25 bottles, the number and size of the cavities for the bottles being determined by the size and internal dimensions of the box 100 and, in addition, by the size of the bottles to be installed. The inserts 60 or 70 may also be made of cardboard, papier-mâché or the like. moreover, forming a narrowing 19 and located on the inner walls of the bulge 17 is made of the material of the inserts 60 or 70 and in their manufacture are jointly formed or attached.

 The box 100 for inserts 60, 70 itself forms a stabilizing outer shell, and the box itself may be the supporting element. The inserts 60, 70 can be removed from the box and therefore can be replaced, so that the inserts 60, 70 with a different number of cavities can be interchanged, and the outer dimensions of the inserts 60, 70 are kept such that the inserts in the box are interchangeable. Thanks to the use of such inserts 60, 70, the following advantage is achieved: with the same external, quasistandard, thus, for sizes that are better stackable with each other, boxes can still accommodate many different (in size) bottles and make rational use of the available area.

 The narrowing 19 of each cavity can be performed and inelastically expandable. The narrowing 19 can be performed so that the bottle can be inserted into the cavity without changing the constriction of the side walls. The cavity portion 14a (FIG. 3), which receives the bottle body more than the constriction 9, always occupies the bottle shown in FIG. 3 and 6, the shoulder of the bottle resting on the narrowing lower side wall at point A, and thus occupying the accumulated position, which is why the bottle is in the box position in accordance with FIG. 3 and 6 cannot independently slip out of the box.

Claims (16)

 1. A stackable bottle box containing a bottom, side walls and bottle cells formed by dividing elements, characterized in that each cell on the inside has a narrowed part, made with the possibility of rigid or elastic expansion or deformation and serving to hold in the bottle cell in the area of her shoulder or an area transitional from the bottle body to its neck.  2. A box according to claim 1, characterized in that the dividing elements are made in the form of partitions or ribs.  3. The box under item 1, characterized in that the dividing elements are made in the form of spikes, vertically mounted on the bottom of the box.  4. The box under item 3, characterized in that the spikes are made in the form of pins or clubs.  5. Box according to one of paragraphs. 2 to 4, characterized in that the narrowed part of each cell is formed by the bulges of elastically deformable spikes or partitions made on the inner side of the cell.  6. Box according to one of paragraphs. 2 to 4, characterized in that the narrowed part of each cell is formed by spring elements located on its inner side.  7. The box under item 6, characterized in that the spring elements are made in the form of leaf springs.  8. A box according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the spring elements are made of plastic.  9. Box according to one of paragraphs. 1 to 8, characterized in that the narrowed part is made at a height corresponding to the area of the neck of the bottle placed in the cell.  10. Box according to one of paragraphs. 1 to 9, characterized in that the base area of each cell exceeds the bottom area of the bottle placed in the cell.  11. Box according to one of paragraphs. 1 to 10, characterized in that the separation elements are made of plastic.  12. Box according to one of paragraphs. 3 to 11, characterized in that each cell is formed by three or four spikes.  13. The box under item 12, characterized in that the spikes are equidistant from each other.  14. Box according to one of paragraphs. 3 to 13, characterized in that the cross section of each tenon has a circle shape.  15. Box according to paragraphs. 3 to 13, characterized in that the cross section of each spike has the shape of a polygon.  16. Box according to one of paragraphs. 1 to 15, characterized in that the separating elements are interconnected with the formation of inserts installed in the box removable with the possibility of replacement, and the separating elements in different inserts form a different number of cells to allow placement of bottles of different sizes in the box.

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