US20130119004A1

US20130119004A1 - Bottle rack

Info

Publication number: US20130119004A1
Application number: US13/811,420
Authority: US
Inventors: Frank Lange
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-07-23
Filing date: 2011-07-20
Publication date: 2013-05-16
Also published as: CN103118569A; WO2012010643A1; EP2595503A1; CN103118569B; DE102010032008B4; EP2595503B1; JP2013535252A; DE102010032008A1; KR20130095736A

Abstract

The invention relates to a bottle rack (1), which comprises a base element (2) and a cover element (7) arranged above the base element. A receiving unit (37) for a neck of a bottle is arranged on the cover element (7) such that the receiving unit (37) is arranged between the base element (2) and the cover element (7). The base element (2) comprises two support units (38, 39) for a bottom of a bottle which are arranged parallel to each other. Additionally, further modules (42 to 45) can be arranged between the base element (2) and the cover element (7).

Description

The invention relates to a bottle rack according to the preamble of patent claim 1 and according to the preamble of patent claim 8.
Bottle racks serve for the purpose of disposing as many bottles as possible such that they are visible and save space.
Known is a wine rack which can be filled from four sides (AU 2003100491 A4). This wine rack is rotatably disposed on a base enabling rotating the wine rack about 360°.
Known further is a wine rack which comprises several arrangements one above the other for storing wine bottles (U.S. Pat. No. D 591,569 S). On each of these arrangements several wine bottles can be disposed. Each of these arrangements is comprised of a center disposed in the middle of a circular margin section. The circular margin section is connected with the center via several rod-shaped elements. Since the center is disposed above the margin section, the arrangement has substantially the form of a roof.
The present invention addresses the problem of providing a bottle rack that is accessible from different sides and in which several bottles can be stored in such a manner that they save space and are readily visible so that the bottle labels of the bottles are clearly readable.
This problem is resolved according to the features of patent claim 1 as well as of patent claim 8.
The invention consequently relates to a bottlerack comprising a bottom element and a cover element disposed thereabove. Bottom element and cover element are connected with one another via webs. On the cover element a receiving device for a bottle neck of a bottle is disposed such that the receiving device is disposed between the bottom element and the cover element. The bottom element comprises herein two parallel disposed support units for a bottle bottom of a bottle. Between the bottom element and the cover element additionally further modules can be disposed.
The bottle rack thus comprises at least one storage unit in which several bottles can be disposed. The bottle rack can herein be filled with bottles from several sides. Of advantage is that the bottles can be stored in oblique position. This oblique position is obtained thereby that the bottle rack comprises support units for a bottle bottom of a bottle, which are vertically offset with respect to the receiving units for the bottle neck of this bottle. Through this oblique position is attained that approximately two thirds of the closure of bottles disposed here is moistened. This is especially important if the bottles are bottles filled with wine since it is essential to avoid that the cork dries out. Of advantage is further that through the oblique position of the bottles the bottle label of the bottles is clearly visible and readable. It is further advantageous that the bottles can be stored in the bottle rack independently of the length of their bottle necks.

An embodiment example is depicted in the Figures and will be described in further detail in the following. In the drawing depict:

FIG. 1 a perspective depiction of a bottle rack;

FIG. 2 a perspective depiction of the bottle rack depicted in FIG. 1 in which some bottles are disposed;

FIG. 3 a storage unit of the bottle rack depicted in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 an enlarged segment of the bottle rack depicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 a section A-A through the bottle rack depicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 a view from above onto the bottle rack depicted in FIG. 1 according to section B-B;

FIG. 7 a further view of the bottle rack depicted in FIG. 6, with four bottles being disposed in the bottle rack;

FIG. 8 a segment of the view of the bottle rack depicted in FIG. 6 according to section C-C;

FIG. 9 a segment of the view of the bottle rack depicted in FIG. 7 according to section D-D.

In FIG. 1 is shown a perspective view of a bottle rack 1. The bottle rack 1 comprises a bottom element 2 connected across four webs 3 to 6 to a cover element 7. The cover element 7 and bottom element 2 are disposed parallel to one another. The bottom element 2 as well as the cover element 7 have substantially the same shape and size as is depicted in FIG. 1. The bottom element 2 comprises a bottom 9 encompassed by a wall 8. The wall 8 is comprised of four sections 10 to 13 which are at least partially disposed above the bottom 9 and consequently form a margin section 14. This bottom 9 has a substantially square area wherewith the bottom 9 comprises four corners 16 to 19. The cover element 7 includes a cover 15 located opposite to the bottom 9. It is understood that the bottom element 2 as well as the cover element 7 can also have a different form, for example a round form.
Each of the four webs 3 to 6 is disposed in the corners 16 to 19 of bottom 9 of the bottom element 2 respectively in the corners of cover 15 of cover element 7. The corners of cover 15 are not visible in FIG. 1. Each web 3 to 6 is connected with the two webs located nearest to the corresponding web via several support units 20, 21, 21′, 22, 23, 23, onto which at least one bottle can be placed with its bottle bottom. Thereby two support units each are located parallel and oppositely, wherein those support units which are opposite the support units 20, 22 are not shown for the sake of clarity. For the sake of clarity a bottle is also not depicted in FIG. 1.
Beneath the support units 20, 21, 21′, 22, 23, 23′ oppositely located to one another [sic], in each instance one receiving device 24 to 27 is disposed. In these receiving devices 24 to 27 a bottle neck of at least one bottle can be stored. The support units 20, 21, 21′, 22, 23, 23′ are at least partially disposed in the webs 3 to 6. Moreover, a further receiving device 37 for a bottle neck of a bottle can be seen which is connected via webs 28 to 31 with the cover element 7.
Through the disposition of the support units 20, 21, 21′, 22, 23, 23′ for a bottle bottom, which are vertically offset with respect to the receiving devices 24 to 27 and 37 for a bottom neck of this bottle, the bottles stored in the bottle rack 1 can be disposed in oblique position. This makes the bottle labels of the bottles readily readable. In order to move the bottles still further into oblique positions, the support units 20, 21, 21′, 22, 23, 23′ can be inclined with respect to the plane in which they are disposed, as is depicted in FIG. 1.
The receiving devices 24 to 27 and 37 can be implemented as a single piece or, as is the case in FIG. 1, in two parts. As can be seen in FIG. 1, each receiving device 24 to 27 and 37 is comprised of two parallel disposed receiving arrangements 32, 32′, 33, 33′, 34, 34′, 35, 35′, 36, 36′.
In FIG. 1 can also be seen several modules 42 to 45. Each module 42 to 45 is comprised of two parallel disposed support units as well as the corresponding receiving unit [sic: device] which connects the two support units with one another.
The particular modules 42 to 45 are disposed in the bottle rack 1 such that each module 42 to 45 is rotated with respect to the subjacent or the superjacent module by 90° with respect to a rotational axis C. Therewith the first and the third module 42, 44 as well as the second and the fourth module 43, 45 are congruently disposed one above the other.
Several storage units 46 to 50 can also be seen. In these storage units 46 to 50 the corresponding receiving devices 24 to 27, 37 are each located above the particular two opposing support units 20, 21, 21′, 22, 23, 23′ for a bottle bottom, which means that in the storage units 46 to 50 the support units 20, 21, 21′, 22, 23, 23′ are located in a first plane and the receiving devices 24 to 27, 37 in a second plane, wherein the second plane is located directly above the first plane. A person of skill in the art thus recognizes also that two opposing sides 51 and 52 of the margin section 14 together with the bottom 9 form one support unit 39 respectively 38 for a bottle bottom of a bottle. These support units 38, 39 can herein also have the form of an indentation sunk into bottom 9 in which the bottle bottom of the bottle can be disposed. However, this is not depicted in FIG. 1.
The particular storage units 46 to 50 are disposed one above the other such that each storage unit 46 to 50 is rotated with respect to the subjacent or the superjacent storage unit by 90° with respect to a rotational axis C. Therewith the first and the third storage unit 46, 48 as well as the second and the fourth storage unit 47, 49 are congruently superjacent with respect to one another.
In FIG. 1 thus the storage unit 46 forms the lowest storage unit of the bottle rack 1. It is comprised of the two support units 38 and 39 as well as the directly superjacent receiving device 24. The two support units 38 and 39 are disposed in a first plane which is located beneath the second plane in which the receiving device 24 is disposed.
The storage unit 47 superjacent to the storage unit 46 is comprised of two support units disposed parallel to one another as well as the receiving device 25, with only the support unit 20 being depicted in FIG. 2. The support unit located oppositely to the support unit 20 is not depicted for the sake of clarity.
Above the storage unit 47 is located the storage unit 48 comprised of the two support units 21 and 21′ as well as the receiving device 26. The storage units 47 and 49 are consequently located congruently one above the other, whereas the storage unit 47 with respect to the two storage units 46 and 48 is rotated about 90° with respect to the rotational axis C.
In addition, on the cover element 7 or on the bottom 9 light sources can be provided with which the bottles disposed in the bottle rack can be illuminated from above or from below. It is also feasible to provide on webs 3 to 6 light sources, for example in the form of light emitting diodes, with which the bottles located in the bottle rack can be illuminated from the side. However, light sources are not shown in FIG. 1.
It is understood that the bottom element 2 as well as the cover element 7 can be omitted. In this case the webs 3 to 6 would exclusively be stabilized through the individual modules 42 to 45 which connect the webs 3 to 6 with one another. In order, however, to be able to dispose bottles in such a bottle rack 1, at least two modules disposed one above the other must be provided which are rotated with respect to one another by 90° with respect to the rotational axis C.
On the webs 3 to 6, moreover, rail systems can also be disposed on which the individual modules 42 to 45 can be shifted along the webs 3 to 6, that is in the vertical direction. The spacing of the individual modules 42 to 45 can thereby be varied with respect to one another. Therewith it becomes also feasible to omit disposing the support units 20, 21, 21′, 22, 23, 23′ at an incline with respect to the plane in which they are disposed. The oblique position of the bottles in this case is obtained exclusively thereby that the spacing of the individual modules 42 to 45 with respect to one another is varied by moving the modules 42 to 45 along the rail systems disposed on webs 3 to 6 toward or away from one another in the vertical direction. Such rail systems disposed on webs 3 to 6 are, however, not shown in FIG. 1.
In addition to moving the modules 42 to 45 alongwebs 3 to 6, the individual receiving arrangements 32, 32′, 33, 33′, 34, 34′, 35, 35′, 36, 36′ of the corresponding receiving devices 24 to 27, 37 can also be moved toward or away from one another, that is in the horizontal plane. In order to vary the spacing of these receiving arrangements 32, 32′, 33, 33′, 34, 34′, 35, 35′, beneath the corresponding support units 20, 21, 21′, 22, 23, 23′, for example, a rail system could also be disposed along which the receiving arrangements 32, 32′, 33, 33′, 34, 34′, 35, 35′ can be moved.
In order to be able to move the receiving arrangements 36 and 36′ toward or away from one another, the corresponding rail system can be disposed in the cover element 7. However, these rail systems are not shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 2 shows a perspective depiction of the bottle rack 1 depicted in FIG. 1 with the storage units 46 to 50. Each storage unit 46 to 50 forms herein an imaginary equilateral prism. The support units opposite the support units 20 and 22 are again not shown in FIG. 2.
In the bottle rack 1 there are also several bottles 54, 55, 56, with the bottle 54 being disposed in the storage unit 49 and the bottle 55 in the storage unit 50. These bottles 54 to 56 can be, for example, wine bottles wherewith the bottle rack 1 would serve as a wine rack.
The bottles 54 to 56 are herein disposed in the particular storage units 46 to 50 with their neck in a receiving device 27 and 40, respectively, and with their bottle bottom at least partially on the corresponding support unit 22 and 23′, respectively. Thereby that in the storage units 48 to 50 the support units 22, 23′, on which the bottle bottom of the corresponding bottles 54 to 56 is stored, are disposed beneath the receiving devices 27 and 40, respectively, the bottles 54 to 56 have an oblique position in the storage units 48 to 50. The oblique position is preferably 18° such that the bottle labels of the bottles 54 to 56 are disposed easily readable. Of special advantage is such an oblique position of 18° in the case of wine bottles since thereby approximately two thirds of the bottle cork of the corresponding wine bottle is moistened.
The receiving devices 24 to 27, 37, 40 for a bottle neck are herein implemented as two parallel receiving arrangements. The example of receiving device 27 shows that both receiving arrangements 35 and 35′ of the receiving device 27 include several support faces. Of the receiving arrangement 35 the support faces 57 to 60 are visible, wherein in the support face 60 the bottle neck of bottle 54 is disposed. Of the receiving arrangement 35′ only the support faces 61 to 63 are evident. The support faces 57 to 60 of receiving arrangement 35 are disposed offset with respect to the support faces 61 to 63 of receiving arrangement 35′ such that the support faces 61 to 63 of receiving arrangement 35′ are disposed obliquely with respect to the support faces 57 to 60 of the receiving arrangement 35.
Of advantage in this bottle rack 1 is that the bottle bottom is disposed in the direction toward a person standing in front of the wine rack. Consequently through the oblique position of the bottles the label can be disposed such that it is readily visible and readable.
FIG. 3 shows a segment of the bottle rack 1 depicted in FIG. 2, wherein only the storage unit 50 in which the bottle 55 is disposed is shown. The dashed lines indicate very clearly that the storage unit 50 has the form of an imaginary equilateral prism.
The storage unit 50 includes the two support units 23 and 23′ which are disposed parallel to one another and are located in a first plane E1. The support units 23, 23′ are herein inclined. In a second plane E2 located directly above the first plane E1 is located the receiving device 40. The receiving device 40 is comprised of two parallel receiving arrangements 70, 70′, each of which includes four support faces 80 to 83 and 84 to 87, respectively. On the support face 85 of receiving arrangement 70′ rests the bottle neck of bottle 55. The bottle 55 is herein disposed on a face 41 of the imaginary equilateral prism.
The support faces 80 to 83 of the receiving arrangement 70 are herein disposed offset with respect to the support faces 84 to 87 of the receiving arrangement 70′. This has the advantage that, if there are eight bottles disposal in the storage unit 50, the bottle necks of the opposing bottles cannot come into contact with one another. Therewith in the storage unit 50 bottles can be disposed which have bottle necks of different lengths.
In FIG. 4 is depicted an enlarged segment of the bottle rack 1 shown in FIG. 1. This Figure is intended to demonstrate the manner in which the support units are disposed in webs 3 to 6 of bottle rack 1. This segment shows the web 5 on which the two support units 22 and 23′ are disposed. Both support units 22 and 23′, respectively, include each a support bar 71 and 72′, respectively, on which a bottle bottom of a bottle can at least partially be stored. However, a bottle is not shown in FIG. 4 for the sake of clarity.
On each of the particular support bars 71 and 72′ one backing element 73 and 74′, respectively, is disposed which prevents a bottle disposed on the support bar 71 and 72′, respectively, from falling from the support unit 22 and 23′, respectively.
In FIG. 4 can also be seen the manner in which the support units 22 and 23′ can be disposed in the web 5. The web 5 includes two milled slots 75 and 76, respectively, in which the corresponding support bar 71 and 72′, respectively, is at least partially disposed. The support units 22 and 23′ are thereby fixedly anchored in the web 5 under form closure. The support bars of the particular support units are introduced at an angle α obliquely from below into the corresponding web 5. This angle α is preferably 18° wherewith the bottles disposed in the bottle rack 1 also have an oblique position of 18°. Herein the surfaces of the support bars 71 and 72′ are directed outwardly. Precisely when wine bottles are stored in the bottle rack 1, an angle α of 18° is preferred since in this case the wine bottles have an oblique position in which two thirds of the bottle cork is covered with wine and consequently is kept moist.
In the configuration shown in FIG. 4 the bottle rack 1 therewith comprises no rail system on webs 3 to 6 on which the individual modules can be moved in the vertical direction, which means along webs 3 to 5, since the support bars are fixedly anchored in webs 3 to 6, as can be seen in the support bars 71, 72′ which are fixedly connected with web 5.
FIG. 5 shows a section A-A through the bottle rack 1 depicted in FIG. 1. The two rear webs 3 and 6 connect the bottom 2 with the cover element 7. Between the webs 3 and 6 the support units 20′ and 22′ can be seen which are located opposite the support units 20 and 22. The support units 20 and 22, however, cannot be seen in FIG. 5. Each of these support units 20′ to 22′ includes a support bar 88, 89 disposed between the two webs 3 and 6 and which is at least partially connected with these webs 3 to 6.
These support bars 88, 89 of the support units 20′, 22′ can be connected with the webs 3 to 6 in the manner shown in FIG. 4. Thus, the webs 3 to 6 can include milled slots in which the support bars 88, 89 are at least partially disposed. These milled slots, however, are not shown in FIG. 5.
However, it is also feasible for the individual webs of the bottle rack 1 to comprise rail systems. Along these rail systems the individual modules can subsequently be moved in the vertical direction whereby the spacing of the modules with respect to one another can be varied. The rail systems of the two webs 3, 6 are, however, not shown in FIG. 5. For the sake of clarity, the modules do not carry any reference numbers.
On each of these support bars 88, 89 a backing element 90, 91 is disposed by which bottles disposed on the support units 20′, 22′ are prevented from slipping and falling off the bottle rack 1. Beneath the particular support bars 88, 89 of the support units 20′, 22′ are disposed the corresponding receiving devices 24, 26. These receiving devices 24, 26 are connected with the support units 20, 20′, 22, 22′ opposing one another which, in turn, are comprised of a support bar with a backing element disposed thereon. Evident is also that the receiving arrangements 25 to 27 are connected with the support units 21, 21′, 23, 23′ via the undersides of the support bars.
In the interior of the bottom element 2 the bottle rack 1 comprises a rotary arrangement 93. This rotary arrangement 93 comprises a rotary plate 94 connected across connection elements, for example webs, with the bottom element 2. Only the connection elements 95 and 96 are evident in FIG. 5. Evident are also two ball bearings 97, 98 between which the rotary plate 94 is disposed. Using this rotary arrangement 93 makes it feasible to rotate the bottle rack 1 about the rotational axis C.
It is understood that the rotary arrangement 93 can also have another structure, provided that with it the bottle rack can be rotated about its own axis.
In FIG. 5 can be seen that the support units 21, 21′, 23, 23′ are inclined with respect to the plane in which they are disposed. The support units 21, 21′, 23, 23′ have thereby a certain angle of inclination. If bottles are now stored with their bottle bottom on these support units 21, 21′, 23, 23′, these bottles have also an oblique position which corresponds to the angle of inclination of the support units 21, 21′, 23, 23′. However, it should be understood that an oblique position of the bottles can also be obtained in different ways.
The oblique position can also be obtained thereby that, for example, not the support units 21, 21′, 23, 23′ are inclined but rather that the receiving arrangements are displaceable along the planes, which means vertically. For that purpose, for example, beneath the corresponding support bars of the support units a rail system can be disposed on which the receiving arrangements can be displaced.
The example of the two receiving arrangements 34 and 34′ intends to illustrate this. These receiving arrangements 34, 34′ are disposed parallel to one another beneath two opposing support bars, wherein in FIG. 5 only the support bar 89 of support unit 22′ is depicted. The two opposing support bars herein comprise on their underside one rail system each, on which the receiving arrangements 34 and 34′ are disposal. Along these rail systems the receiving arrangements 34 and 34′ can be moved. When the two receiving arrangements 34 and 34′ are spaced further apart from each other, the oblique position of the bottles increases. When, on the other hand, the two receiving arrangements 34 and 34′ are disposed directly next to one another, the oblique position of the bottles decreases correspondingly. If the receiving arrangements can be displaced in the bottle rack 1, a further advantage consists in being able to store bottles of different sizes in the bottle rack 1.
It is understood that the oblique position of the bottles can also be set thereby that the support units can be inclined as well as also the spacing of the parallel disposed receiving arrangements can be varied.
It is also conceivable for the individual modules 42 to 45 to be moved along a rail system disposed on webs 3 to 6 in the vertical direction, which means along webs 3 to 6. Therewith the spacing of the individual modules 42 to 45 with respect to one another can be varied, whereby also the oblique position of the bottles can be set. However, the modules do not carry any reference numbers in FIG. 5 since these modules are only partially shown.
The bottle rack 1 can be comprised of any desired material, for example of wood, metal or synthetic material. However, it is preferred for the bottle rack 1 to be comprised of wood, for example of coniferous wood.
FIG. 6 depicts the bottle rack 1 shown in FIG. 1 according to section B-B. On the bottom element 2 are seated the four webs 3 to 6. Between the webs 4 and 5 is disposed the support unit 22 which opposes the support unit 22′. The support unit 22′ is herein seated between the webs 3 and 6. The two support units 22, 22′ are connected with one another across the receiving device 26. The receiving device 26 is comprised of the two receiving arrangements 34 and 34′. Above the receiving device 26 is disposed the receiving device 27 which connects the two opposing support units 23 and 23′ for a bottle bottom of a bottle. The receiving arrangements of the corresponding receiving devices are connected with the, in each instance, opposing support units with a connection means, such as for example bolts or an adhesive agent.
The receiving device 27 is also comprised of two receiving arrangements 35 and 35′ disposed parallel to one another. The receiving arrangement 35 includes support faces 57 to 60 which are offset with respect to the support faces 61 to 63, 53 of the receiving arrangement 35′. The support faces of the two receiving arrangements 34 and 34′ are also disposed offset with respect to one another. However, the support faces of the two receiving arrangements 34, 34′ do not carry any reference numbers. In each of these support faces one bottle neck each of a bottle can be disposed.
FIG. 7 shows a further view of the bottle rack 1 depicted in FIG. 6, wherein four bottles 64 to 67 are disposed in the bottle rack 1.
The bottle 65 rests with its bottle bottom on the support unit 22′ and with the bottle neck in the support face 53 of the receiving arrangement 35′. The bottle bottom of the bottle 65 rests on the support bar 71′ and is at least partially disposed on the backing element 73′. The backing element 73′ prevents the bottle 65 from sliding from the support bar 71′ and thus from being able to fall from bottle rack 1. On the other hand, the bottle 64 disposed opposite bottle 65 rests with its bottle bottom on support unit 22. The backing element 73 prevents here also the bottle 64 from falling off bottle rack 1. Bottle 64 rests with its bottle neck on the support face 60 of the receiving arrangement 35. Since the support faces 57 to 60 of the receiving arrangement 35 are disposed such that they are offset with respect to the support faces 61 to 63 and 53 of the receiving arrangement 35′, they cannot come into contact with the bottle necks of the two bottles 64 and 65. The bottle necks of the bottles that can be disposed in the storage unit 49, can consequently also have bottle necks of different lengths without the bottle necks of the bottles disposed here coming into contact.
The same applies correspondingly also to the two bottles 66 and 67. In this case the support faces of the receiving arrangements 34 and 34′ are here also obliquely opposite to one another since the support faces are disposed offset with respect to each other. Through this disposition of the support faces of the two receiving arrangements 34 and 34′ with respect to one another, the bottle necks of the two bottles 66, 67 are prevented from coming into contact with one another.
FIG. 8 shows a segment of the view of bottle rack 1 depicted in FIG. 6 according to section C-C. In this view the storage unit 49 is depicted which is comprised of the two opposing support units 22 and 22′ as well as the receiving device 27 which is disposed above the two support units 22 and 22′. The support units 22 and 22′ are consequently located in the first plane E1 and the superjacent receiving device 27 in the second plane E2. Both support units 22 and 22′ are comprised of a support bar 71 and 71′, respectively, on which one backing element 73 and 73′, respectively, is disposed. Both support bars 71 and 71′ are connected with one another across the receiving arrangement 34′ of the receiving device 26. Thus, in FIG. 8 a portion of module 44 is depicted which is comprised of the receiving arrangement 26 and the two opposing support units 22 and 22′. The receiving arrangement 34′ is herein disposed beneath the support bars 71, 71′. With respect to plane E1, which means to the first plane of the storage unit 49, the support bars 71, 71′ are inclined at an angle α. In the second plane E2 the two opposing receiving arrangements 35, 35′ of the receiving unit [sic: device] 27 can be seen. Evident is also a portion of the support face 62 on which can be disposed a bottle neck of a bottle when this bottle rests with the bottle bottom on the support unit 22′.
In FIG. 9 is depicted a segment of the view of bottle rack 1 shown in FIG. 7 according to section D-D, wherein only the two bottles 64 and 65 are shown. These bottles 64 and 65 are disposed in the storage unit 49. The bottle neck of bottle 65 rests on the support face 53 of receiving arrangement 35′. The support face 53, however, is not visible in FIG. 9. The bottle bottom of bottle 65 herein rests on the support bar 71′ of support unit 22′. Since with respect to plane E1 the support unit 22′ is inclined at an angle α, bottle 65 is also inclined at the angle α. Through this oblique position of the bottle the bottle closure is at least partially moistened. This is especially important if a wine bottle is involved since it is important in the case of wine bottles that the cork is always moistened. The backing element 73′ disposed on the support bar 71′ prevents the bottle 65 fom sliding from the bottle rack 1.
Bottle 64 is disposed with its bottle neck on a support face 60 of the receiving arrangement 36, wherein the support face 60 is not visible since the support face 60 in this view is disposed behind the support face 62. Bottle 65, consequently, in this view is disposed behind bottle 64.
Bottle 64 rests with its bottle bottom on the support unit 22, wherein the support unit 22 is also inclined at an angle α with respect to plane E1, which means with respect to the receiving device 26. The backing element 73 disposed on the support bar 71 of the support unit 22 prevents the bottle 64 from falling off the bottle rack 1.
The angle α is preferably 18° since at this angle the bottle has an oblique position that ensures that approximately two thirds of the bottle closure is moistened. This is especially important if the bottle is a bottle filled with wine. In this case approximately two thirds of the cork is always in contact with the wine.
Of advantage in this bottle rack 1 is that the bottle bottom is disposed in the direction toward a person standing in front of the wine rack. Through the oblique position of the bottles 64, 65 consequently the label of bottles 64, 65 can be disposed such that it is easily visible and readable.
However, the angle α can also be set thereby that not the support units are inclined but rather that the receiving arrangements are displaceable along the planes, which means horizontally. For this purpose beneath the corresponding support bars of the support units a rail system can be disposed on which the receiving arrangements can be displaced. If, for example, the two receiving arrangements 35 and 35′ in FIG. 9 are spaced further apart from one another, the angle α is increased. If, in contrast, the two receiving arrangements 35 and 35′ are disposed directly next to one another, the angle α is decreased. A further advantage, if the receiving arrangements in the bottle rack 1 could be displaced, comprises that bottles of different sizes could be stored in the bottle rack 1. It can be useful for this purpose to dispose the modules also such that they are movable on the webs of the bottle rack 1. If, for example, the module 44 depicted in FIG. 9 is moved downwardly, which means further away from the receiving device 27, then angle α is increased.
Angle α, and therewith the oblique position of the bottles, can thus be set as follows:

- 1. through the angle of inclination of the support units disposed parallel to one another and/or
- 2. by varying the spacing of the receiving arrangements disposed parallel to one another and/or
- 3. by varying the spacing of the modules with respect to one another.

Although in FIG. 1 the bottle rack 1 comprises ten storage units 46 to 50, it is conceivable to provide a bottle rack with only one storage unit or even more than ten units. A bottle rack with only one storage unit can be obtained thereby that in the bottle rack 1 the cover element 7 with the receiving device 37 disposed thereon is disposed directly above the bottom element 2. Modules 42 to 45 are consequently omitted in this variant.
The smallest bottle rack with the simplest structure can consequently be structured as follows.

- 1. The bottle rack 1 comprises the bottom element 2 and the cover element 7 disposed superjacently thereto, wherein on the cover element 7 the receiving device 37 is disposed such that the receiving device 37 is located between the bottom element 2 and the cover element 7. The bottom element 2 is herein connected with the cover element 7 across webs 3 to 6.
- 2. The bottle rack 1 comprises webs 3 to 6, wherein the webs 3 to 6 are connected with one another, and consequently also stabilized, across two modules 42 to 45 disposed one above the other. The modules are herein disposed such that they are vertically offset by 90° with respect to one another referred to a common rotational axis C.

If the bottle rack is to be expanded, it is only necessary to dispose additional modules 42 to 45 between the cover element 7 and the bottom element 2. Such a module 42 to 45 is comprised of two opposing support units for a bottle bottom as well as the receiving unit [sic: device] connecting the two opposing support units with one another. For each additional module 42 to 45 that is added, a further storage unit is obtained.
Of advantage in this bottle rack is further that the bottle rack can simultaneously be filled with bottles from four sides. Of advantage in this bottle rack is also that the bottles can be disposed obliquely in the storage unit. Through this oblique position is attained that approximately two thirds of the closure of the bottle is moistened. This is especially important if the bottle is a bottle filled with wine since the bottle cork must be prevented from drying out. It is furthermore of advantage that through the oblique position of the bottles the bottle label is disposed such that it is readily visible and readable. Advantageous is also that in the bottle rack bottles can be disposed independently of the length of their bottle necks.
Of advantage is further that the bottles are disposed conveniently and clearly visible in the bottle rack. Since the bottle rack comprises a rotary plate, the bottles can be placed simply into the bottle rack and removed from it.
Although the embodiment examples of the invention have been described above in detail, the invention is not limited to these embodiment examples. A person of skill in the art understands that the invention also comprises several different variants with which the same result is obtained as with the embodiment examples described here. It is therefore obvious to the person of skill in the art that with the embodiment examples described here the scope of the protection of the claims is not restricted and that there are further variants, modifications and alternatives which fall within the protective scope of the claims.

REFERENCE SYMBOLS

1 Bottle rack
2 Bottom element
3 to 6 Web
7 Cover element
8 Wall
9 Bottom
10 to 13 Section of wall 8
14 Margin section
15 Cover
16 to 19 Corner of bottom 9
20, 20′ Support unit
21, 21′ Support unit
22, 22′ Support unit
23, 23′ Support unit
24 to 27 Receiving device
28 to 31 Web
32, 32′ Receiving arrangement
33, 33′ Receiving arrangement
34, 34′ Receiving arrangement
35, 35′ Receiving arrangement
36, 36′ Receiving arrangement
37 Receiving device
38 Support unit
39 Support unit
40 Receiving device
41 Face
42 to 45 Module
46 to 50 Storage unit
51 Side of 14
52 Side of 14
53 Support face
54 to 56 Bottles
57 to 63 Support face
64 to 67 Bottles
70, 70′ Receiving arrangement
71, 71′ Support bar
72, 72′ Support bar
73, 73′ Backing element
74, 74′ Backing element
75 Milled slot
76 Milled slot
80 to 87 Support faces
88, 89 Support bars
90, 91 Backing element
93 Rotary arrangement
94 Rotary plate
95, 96 Connection elements
97, 98 Ball bearing

Claims

1. Bottle rack (1) comprising a bottom element (2) and a cover element (7) disposed superjacently thereto, wherein the bottom element (2) is connected with the cover element (7) across webs (3-6) and wherein on the cover element (7) a receiving device (37) is disposed for a bottle neck of a bottle (54-56, 64-67) wherein the receiving device (37) is disposed between the bottom element (2) and the cover element (7), wherein between the bottom element (2) and the cover element (7) at least one module (42-45) is disposed and wherein at least one module (42-45) comprises two support units (20, 21, 21′, 22, 23, 23′) disposed parallel to one another which are connected with one another across a receiving device (24-27, 40).

2. Bottle rack as in claim 1, wherein the modules (42-45) are disposed one above the other, wherein each module (42-45) is rotated with respect to the subjacent module (42-45) by 90° about a rotational axis (C).

3. Bottle rack as in claim 1, wherein the receiving devices (24-27, 37, 40) are comprised of two receiving arrangements (32, 32′, 33, 33′, 34, 34′, 35, 35′, 36, 36′, 70, 70′) disposed parallel to one another.

4. Bottle rack as in claim 1, wherein the two receiving arrangements (36, 36′) disposed parallel to one another of the receiving device (37) are connected with the cover element (7) across webs (28-31).

5. Bottle rack as in claim 1, wherein the two support units (20, 20′, 21, 21′, 22, 22′, 23, 23′) disposed parallel to one another of module (42-45) are inclined at an angle α with respect to the receiving devices (24-27, 37, 40).

6. Bottle rack as in claim 3, wherein each receiving arrangement (32, 32′, 33, 33′, 34, 34′, 35, 35′, 36, 36′, 70, 70′) includes several support faces (53, 57-63, 80-87) for receiving a bottle neck of a bottle (54-56, 64-67).

7. Bottle rack as in claim 6, wherein the support faces (53, 57-63, 80-87) for receiving a bottle neck of a bottle (54-56, 64-67) at the two opposing receiving arrangements (32, 32′, 33, 33′, 34, 34′, 35, 35′, 36, 36′, 70, 70′) are disposed offset with respect to one another.

8. Bottle rack (1) comprising webs (3-6) which are connected with one another across at least two modules (42 -45) one disposed superjacently to the other, wherein the at least two modules (42-45) are disposed vertically offset with respect to one another by 90° referred to a rotational axis (C).

9. Bottle rack as in claim 8, wherein the module (42-45) comprises two support units (20, 20′, 21, 21′, 22, 22′, 23, 23′) disposed parallel to one another, which are connected with each other across a receiving device (24-27, 40).

10. Bottle rack as in claim 9, wherein the receiving devices (24-27, 40) are comprised of two receiving arrangements (32, 32′, 33, 33′, 34, 34′, 35, 35′, 36, 36′, 70, 70′) disposed parallel to one another.

11. Bottle rack as in claim 8, wherein the support units (20, 20′, 21, 21′, 22, 22′, 23, 23′) disposed parallel to one another of the module (42-45) are inclined at an angle α with respect to the receiving device (24-27, 40).

12. Bottle rack as in claim 10, wherein each receiving arrangement (32, 32′, 33, 33′, 34, 34′, 35, 35′, 36, 36′, 70, 70′) comprises several support faces (53, 57-63, 80-87) for receiving a bottle neck of a bottle (54-56, 64-67).

13. Bottle rack as in claim 12, wherein the support faces (53, 57-63, 80-87) for receiving a bottle neck of a bottle (54-56, 64-67) at the two opposing receiving arrangements (32, 32′, 33, 33′, 34, 34′, 35, 35′, [36, 36′,] 70, 70′) are offset with respect to one another.

14. Bottle rack as in claim 8, wherein on the webs (3-6) rail systems are provided on which the modules (42-45) can be moved in the vertical direction whereby the spacing of the individual modules (42-45) with respect to each other can be varied.

15. Bottle rack as in claim 14, wherein on the webs (3-6) further modules (42-45) are disposed, wherein each further module (42-45) is disposed with respect to the subjacent module (42-45) vertically offset by 90° referred to the rotational axis (C).