WO1984001938A1

WO1984001938A1 - Containers having stacking and pouring features

Info

Publication number: WO1984001938A1
Application number: PCT/US1983/001798
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jerry W Mair
Original assignee: Jerry W Mair
Priority date: 1982-11-17
Filing date: 1983-11-17
Publication date: 1984-05-24
Also published as: EP0126150A1

Abstract

Liquid containers that can be nested or stacked with one another. The problem associated with containers is the amount of space they take-up when being transported or stored. The present invention provides a plurality of containers having a generally square base and a beveled side wall surface such that when one container is inverted the surfaces of each container will mate with one another. The nestable container (11) has a base (13), a cylindrical neck (15) and side walls (17, 35, 37 and 39). Side wall (35) is beveled and has a concave depression (33) therein extending to the base (13). Side wall (35), depression (33) and neck (15) of one container (11) will correspondingly mate with side wall (35), neck (15) and depression (33) of an inverted second container (11). Also, opposing protuberances (110) and depressions (111) may be provided on the side walls (35) of containers (11) to aid in the interfit between the containers (11).

Description

CONTAINERS HAVING STACKING AND POURING FEATURES

DESCRIPTION This application is a continuation-in-part of my prior application, Serial No. 06/442,427 filed Nov. 17, 1982.

Technical Field

This invention relates to containers for holding pourable materials, especially liquids but also particulate solids, in a manner which eases the pouring removal of the contents from the container. The invention includes the nesting or stacking of the containers with one another to allow a greater volume of material to be stored or shipped in a given space. Background Art The increasing cost of transporting goods has focused greater attention in recent times upon conserving packaging space so that a larger quantity of goods will fit into a smaller space. Various designs have been suggested for nestable or stackable containers having surfaces that allow one container to be inverted and mate with another container. Certain of the prior designs have featured the concept of a nestable container having a neck and a body with a base for supporting the container on a support surface, the body having a recess adjacent the base for receiving the neck of an identical inverted container. This is shown in Fritz U. S. Des. Pat. No. 256,218 issued Aug. 5, 1980. While such designs conserved space during shipment, the designs were restricted in the amount of liquid which could be held within the container, and had other undesirable features.

More particularly, the Fritz disclosure presents a triangular design for a nestable container, but this container is too tall and thin, and this limits the amount of material within the container at the same time that it increases the shelf headroom needed to hold the container and reduces the dimensional stability of the container (it is easily knocked over). The capacity of the Fritz containers to be combined with one another to improve storage is, however, an important asset, and it is desired to take advantage of this asset in a more practical container construction.

Prior containers having relatively small diameter necks (most bottles have small necks to ease the task of opening and closing them) are hard to empty. Liquids come out in spurts, so it is difficult to withdraw small or exact amounts of material, especially when the container is full. There is also a tendency for the withdrawn liquid to spatter, and it is hard to pour into receptacles having narrow openings. The significance of these difficulties becomes more important as the value of the contents increases, and as the hazard of the contents increases. Some materials are corrosive, like acids and bases, some are skin irritants, and some are poisonous. These difficulties also increase with the size of the container, many chemicals being commonly sold and transported in 55 gallon drums from which pouring is so difficult one would normally transfer to a smaller container before attempting to place a measured amount in the final desired receptacle. Indeed, pumps and/or funnels are normally used. These auxiliary devices must be cleaned, and contamination of materials is frequently encountered. It is also difficult to fully empty and clean the conventional drums, and proper disposal of chem al wastes is always difficult. Some of the wastes in industry today is created by unused expensive chemicals left behind in "empty" drums.

Another important feature of this invention is the pouring of viscous liquids. The accurate and easy removal of viscous ketchup from the bottles in which it is commonly sold is a problem well known to most. The significance of losing a "ketchup race" may be apparent to some, but it is little comfort when the ketchup either won't come out of the bottle, or when it spurts out in an unwanted amount. It is particularly desired to combine improved pourability with a container which can be transported and stored in a nested or stacked interfitted relationship, as in the Fritz patent. It is also desired to improve the stackability of the containers, which slide over one another when stacked, as in Fritz. When the Fritz containers are vertically stacked, the inverted container has its cap or closure in contact with a supporting surface where vibrations can damage or loosen the closure or its seal with the container. It is desired to avoid this potential difficulty which could be troublesome with some closure selections.

It is also known to employ a tube extending from the neck of a bottle to a point near the bottom to help air enter the bottle as the contents pour out. This very old idea is rarely used because one must tilt the bottle in the right direction, and the structure of the bottle does not determine which pouring direction is correct. Also, a tube tends to unduly obstruct the neck when it is large enough to have enough cross-section to be adequately useful. One problem here is that too little cross-section can create a spurt when the bottle is suddenly returned to a vertical position. Disclosure of Invention

In accordance with one aspect of this invention, a container is formed with a base having outer edges, a cylindrical neck having an open end spaced above the base, and sidewalls connecting the outer edges of the base with the cylindrical neck to define an enclosed body for the container. A partition is employed to divide the neck into two laterally separated portions, this partition extending from the open end of the neck to a point proximate to but spaced above the base. The partition extends across the neck and across the space between two of the sidewalls and the side edges of the partition are sealed along their lengths to create an air passage of relatively uniform cross-section from the exterior of the container to the base of the enclosed container body to assist in pouring the contents of the container out of the same. A relatively uniform crosssectional area is needed to prevent the contents from spurting out of the air passage when the tilted container is returned to a vertical position.

The partition is preferably vertically positioned. In this aspect of the invention, the container comprises a base having outer edges, a cylindrical neck spaced above the base, and sidewalls connecting the outer edges of the base with the cylindrical neck to define an enclosed body for the container. However, the cylindrical neck is positioned above an edge of the base and the sidewalls include two vertical sidewalls which are tangent to the neck. The partition can now extend across the space between the vertical sidewalls and be vertically disposed, and the air passage so-created will be substantially uniform in cross-section along its length. The partition does not significantly obstruct the neck, even though it is preferred to have the upper end of the partition flush with the upper end of the neck. Also, one always pours from this container by tilting it away from the corner where the neck is, so one need not wonder which way to tilt the container with respect to some hard to see tube within it.

By using two vertical walls which are tangent to the off-center neck it is easy to seal the sides of a rectangular partition to these walls and to the neck even when the partition is not molded to be integral with the side walls. Injection molding and blow molding are both available for producing the subject containers. While one could employ a partition extending across the neck remote from the diagonally positioned edge of the base and parallel to that edge, as shown herein, in the prior triangular Fritz container, it has already been pointed out that the Fritz structure is too tall and narrow for a given volume enclosed within the container. Many currently used bottles have these defects. In another aspect of this invention, the triangular Fritz construction is abandoned in favor of a generally square construction in which the base is five-sided.

These five sides include two vertical sides intersecting at the exterior of the off-center neck, two tapered slanting sides extending from the periphery of the base to the neck, and a fifth slanting side extending upwardly from a beveled corner of the base which is positioned opposite to the corner of the base over which the neck is positioned.

It will be seen that this five-sided construction provides a wider base which can hold more material in a shorter container, and the result is a container which can be stored on a shelf with less headroom and which is harder to knock over. With a vertical partition, this superior container has an enhanced capacity for the pouring removal of its contents. With an arcuate cut-out in the slanting fifth side, a neck rest for an inverted container of the same construction is provided, and now two of the containers of the same structure can be stacked neck-to-base to provide a cubical composite in which the slanting sides remote from the off-center neck are in contact with one another.

In still another aspect of this invention, the slanting side remote from the off-center neck is formed with at least one protuberance and at least one depression arranged so that with two containers stacked neckto-base, as above described, the protuberance in each side interfits with the depression in the other side, and this prevents the two containers from sliding with respect to one another. When the two containers are now banded together, they cannot come apart without removing the band. This locking action is not obtained without the protuberances unless banding in several directions is employed, while only horizontal banding is obviously easier to handle. Moreover, the protuberances and depressions are positioned to mate while the neck of one container is positioned short of the base of the other container, and now the closure which seals the neck on the inverted container is protected in the stacked combination.

A handle can also be attached to the neck and extend to the side or above the neck so as not to interfere with stacking, and this helps one to maneuver the containers when they are large, or to carry them when they are of intermediate size.

The invention will be more fully understood from the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a nestable or stackable container constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the container of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a top view of the container of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a side elevation, partially in section, of the container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 shows two pairs of containers of the type shown in FIG. 1 stacked in base-to-neck fashion; FIG. 6 is a cross-section, similar to FIG. 4, and showing the container tilted to pour material therefrom; and

FIG. 7 is a side view of two modified containers stacked and banded together, the modification serving to lock the two containers together until the bands are removed. Detailed Description of the Invention

Turning to FIG. 1, there is shown a nestable or stackable container constructed in accordance with this invention, this container being designated generally as 11. The nestable container 11 has a base 13 for supporting the container on any available supporting surface. A cylindrical neck 15 is spaced above the base 13 and a plurality of sidewalls 17 connect the outer edges of the base 13 with the cylindrical neck 15. As shown in FIG. 1, the sidewalls 17 are tapered from a region of greater width 19 adjacent the base 13 to a region of lesser relative width 21 adjacent the neck 15 where the sidewalls 17 converge toward the cylindrical neck 15 to define an enclosed body for the container 11. The base 13 has upper and lower surfaces 23 and 25, respectively, and outer edges 27. As best seen in FIG. 5, the base is formed generally in the shape of a square with one beveled corner 29. The edge of the base formed by the beveled corner 29 has an arcuate, semi-circular recess 31 formed therein which is selectively sized to receive the cylindrical neck 15 of a mating inverted nestable container 11, as shown in FIG. 5. The length of a radius "r" used to draw the arcuate, semi-circular recess 31 in the base 13 is less than one-half of the diameter of the cylindrical neck 15. As seen in FIG. 1, the recess 31 in base 13 is extended upwardly to form a concave depression 33 in the front sidewall 35 of container 11. The height of the concave depression 33 is approximately equal to the longitudinal extent of the cylindrical neck 15 of the container.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the sidewalls 37, 39 of the container 11 connecting the corner 41 opposite the beveled corner 29 with the cylindrical neck 15 extend upwardly from the base 13 approximately normal thereto. These sidewalls are thus vertically disposed and the neck 15 overlies the corner 41. The remaining sidewalls 43, 35, 45 (see FIG. 1) all angle inwardly from the base 13 at some point along the lengths thereof to converge on the cylindrical neck 15. In the preferred construction shown, the angled sidewalls 35, 43 and 45, extend inwardly at an acute angle α with respect to the base 13 to converge with the neck 15 in an unbroken plane. Where even greater holding capacity is needed, however, the angled sidewalls 35, 43 and 45 could extend upwardly at a right angle with respect to the base for a portion of the sidewall length and then angle inwardly with respect to the base 13 to converge with the neck 15.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cylindrical neck 15 has interior and exterior walls 47, 49 and an open end 51 which communicates with the enclosed body of the container 11. The normal or vertical sidewalls 37, 39 of the container 11 lie in a plane parallel to the plane of the neck walls 47, 49 and the remaining container sidewalls 35, 43 and 45 lie in planes which intersect the plane of the neck walls 47, 49.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the container 11 has an interior partition 53 within the enclosed body 55, the partition 53 having a top end 57, a base end 59, and side edges 61, 63 (see FIG. 3). The partition 53 is arranged to run from a point flush with the open end 51 of the cylindrical neck 15 to a point proximate to but spaced from the base upper surface 23 (see FIG. 4). The interior partition 53, as shown in FIG. 2, is arranged in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis 65 of the thru bore 67 of the cylindrical neck 15. The partition edges 61, 63 intersect the circumference of the neck open end 51 to cut a sector 69 (see FIG. 3) thru the cylindrical bore 67. The partition 53 extends across the neck 15 at a position spaced from one interior point on the neck of from 5% to 30% of the internal diameter of the neck open end 51. The space which is created between the interior partition base end 59 and the base upper surface 23 creates an air passage of uniform cross-sectional area from the exterior of the container 11 to the base of the enclosed container body 55 to assist in pouring the contents of the container from the container 11.

The stacking of the container of the present invention will be described by referring to FIG. 5. The container of the invention can be conveniently stacked in base-to-neck fashion with an identical mating container by inserting the container neck 15 into the respective arcuate, semicircular recess 31 of the mating container by inserting the container neck 15 into the respective arcuate, semicircular recess 31 of the mating container while allowing the respective front angled sidewalls 35 (shown as dotted lines in FIG. 5) to rest against each other. As shown in FIG. 5, pairs of mating containers arranged base-to-neck can be placed side-byside to conserve space during shipment.

It will be observed that the generally square-based stackable container of this invention provides greater holding capacity at any given container height, and simultaneously provides a broader base to provide greater resistance to being knocked over, while still providing a container which stacks in the same way shown in the Fritz design patent. Also, the interior partition provides an air passage which enhances the capacity to remove viscous liquids from the container and which enables liquids to flow smoothly so that precise amounts of liquid can be removed with increased safety. because the danger of spurting and spattering is diminished.

The removal of liquid from the container is shown with particular clarity in FIG. 6 which shows the container 100 being tilted about the edge 101 which defines the intersection between the base 102 and the sloping sidewall 103 which interconnects the neck 104 with the beveled corner of the base 102. As will be seen, the partition 105 is positioned to parallel the beveled corner of the base 102 and is further positioned to extend across the neck 104 at a point remote from the beveled corner.

When the container 100 is tilted over, liquid drains out of the air passage 106 formed by the partition 105, and this enables the contents of the container to have air behind it so that a smooth pouring action becomes possible. When the sloping sidewall is horizontal, the container 100 will be empty, and this is particularly important when the container is large and hard to lift. It also empties the container entirely so that it is easy to clean and no polluting materials are left behind to create a problem.

Referring to FIG. 7, it will be seen that the sloping sidewall in this modified form of the container is formed with a protuberance 110 and a depression 111 which interfit with one another when the containers are stacked base-to-neck, as pictured. One or more bands 112, which may be resilient or tightenable, are used to hold the stacked containers together. One band may be secured to each container, and adhesive or other means may be used to provide the desired securement. As will be seen in the drawing, the stacked containers are locked together when the bands are in place, and cannot be separated without removing the bands. A handle 113 may also be attached to the side of the neck at 114. A pivotal connection is preferred to allow the handle to pivot to the side or extend above the neck, as shown in phantom

It will be particularly noted that the protuberance 110 and the depression 111 are positioned so that the necks are positioned short of the bases in the stacked together containers, and this protects the closures which are not shown since they can be of any desired type .

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A container comprising a base having outer edges, a cylindrical neck having an open end spaced above said base, and sidewalls connecting the outer edges of said base with said cylindrical neck to define an enclosed body for said container, and a partition extending from the open end of the neck to a point proximate to but spaced above said base, said partition extending across said neck and across the space between two of said sidewalls and having its side edges secured along their lengths to create an air passage of relatively uniform cross-sectional area from the exterior of the container to the base of the enclosed container body to assist in pouring the contents of the container out of the container.

2. A container as recited in claim 1 in which said partition extends across said neck at a position at which its midpoint is spaced from the nearby interior of said neck a distance of 5% to 30% of the internal diameter of said neck open end.

3. A container as recited in claim 1 in which said partition is vertically positioned.

4. A container as recited in claim 1 in which said partition has an upper end flush with the upper open end of said cylindrical neck.

5. A container comprising a base having outer edges including at least one corner, a cylindrical neck having an open end spaced above said base and vertically overlying said corner, and sidewalls connecting the outer edges of said base with said cylindrical neck to define an enclosed body for said container, said sidewalls including two vertical sidewalls coming together beneath said neck at said corner of said base, and a planar vertical partition extending from the open end of said neck to a point proximate to but spaced above said base, said partition extending across said neck and across the space between said two vertical sidewalls and having its side edges secured along their lengths to create an air passage having a relatively uniform cross-sectional area along its length from the exterior of the container to the base of the enclosed container body to assist in pouring the contents of the container out of the container.

6. A container as recited in claim 5 in which said base includes a diagonally positioned outer edge remote from said corner over which said neck is positioned, said diagonal edge being joined to said neck by an angled sidewall, said diagonal edge defining a semicircular recess which is connected to said angled sidewall by a concave wall providing a neck-receiving recess, and said partition extends across said neck on the side of said neck open end remote from said diagonal outer edge and is aligned parallel to said diagonal outer edge.

7. A container adapted to be nested neck-to-base with another container of the same structure comprising: a base having outer edges having one beveled corner; a cylindrical neck smaller than said base and spaced above said base, said neck being positioned to overly a corner of said base opposite said beveled corner; a plurality of sidewalls connecting said outer edges of said base with said cylindrical neck to provide an enclosed body of said container, said sidewalls including two sidewalls extending upwardly approximately normal to said base and connecting said corner opposite said beveled corner with said cylindrical neck, and the remaining sidewalls of said container angling inwardly from said base to converge on said neck; and the edge of said base formed by said beveled corner having an arcuate, semi-circular recess therein sized to receive the cylindrical neck of a mating inverted nestable container, and a wall normal to said base interconnecting said recess with the angled sidewall which joins said beveled corner with said neck to form a neck-receiving concave depression; said angled sidewall being formed with a protuberance and a depression which mate when two of the containers are nested in neck-to-base relation.

8. A container as recited in claim 7 in which the protuberance and depression are positioned so that the neck of one container terminates short of the base of the container with which it is nested.

9. A container as recited in claim 7 in which the container is formed with a handle connected to the neck.

10. A container as recited in claim 7 in which said container has a strap connected thereto which is adapted to hold together a pair of said containers nested neck-to-base.