WO1996004183A1

WO1996004183A1 - A system for transportation, handling, storing and display of bottles

Info

Publication number: WO1996004183A1
Application number: PCT/NO1995/000134
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bjarne Lerum; Georg Osbakk
Original assignee: Bjarne Lerum; Georg Osbakk
Priority date: 1994-08-03
Filing date: 1995-07-26
Publication date: 1996-02-15
Also published as: AU3232395A; NO942887D0; NO942887L; NO180039B

Abstract

System for transportation, storing and display of bottles, especially containing refreshing drinks, comprising a container having a container foot (1), two side strings (2, 3) which are releasably connected to the container foot, a number of trays (5), adapted to receive a specific number of vertically standing bottles (6) on the upper side and adapted to rest stable on bottles standing on a tray (5) arranged under the first tray, and a cover (4) adapted to be secured to the two corner posts of the two side strings (2, 3), above an upper tray (5) securing the upper bottles.

Description

A System for Transportation, Handling. Storing and Display of Bottles

5 The present invention is related to a system for transportation, handling, storing and display of bottles.

Transportation of cases with bottles for mineral water, soft drinks, juice etc. as well as the return of empty bottles and cases increase with the sale, especially in the months of the 0 summer season. Today the bottles in many stores must be lifted out of the cases to be placed in shelves or such for exposure in the shops. This manual handling is time consuming and therefore expensive. Furthermore such display occupies space in the shelves. Additionally the emptied cases create a large volume s which must be stored in the shop until the return bottles are received from the user. Frequently empty cases must be transpor¬ ted back to the supplier due to too many empty cases in the shop and in some cases empty cases must be transported to the shop to place empty bottles in the cases, depending on the amount of o empty cases and empty bottles coming in. These unfortunate operations are made due to the huge volume occupied by empty cases when stored in shops and stores. Empty cases are as such a well known problem for shops as well as for supplier and manufacturers due to the large volumes involved. 5 The transportation case design of today for mineral water and such substantially is a result of previously used bottles of glass: Such bottles had a completely different weight in relation to the content than the plastic bottles of today. To a large extent the old case system still is used today even for 0 the new bottles of plastics. Even the new plastic bottles are transported back to the factory and recycled several times, until taken out of the cycle due to age or damage.

By the return of such plastic bottles in bags or such, the outer wearing of the plastic bottles is so big that the 5 principal of the return system as such probably will not be economically feasible. It therefore is an advantage and a presupposition that the bottles do not contact each other or in any case contact each other as little as possible as during their life time in the recycle system. After a certain, specified amount of cycles the bottles are taken out of the system. Codes on each bottle give information as to production date and recycling.

Based on the transportation system for bottles accor- ding to the present invention, substantial advantages are achieved in most links from the factory via the distributor to the shops or stores and back to the factory. Especially the time consuming handling of single bottles in the shops is avoided and substantial space savings are achieved in connection with storing of containers both with filled and empty bottles in relation to the systems existing today.

The drawing discloses in figure 1 schematically a container ready for display, figure 2 discloses a vertical section through a bottle including an upper and a lower tray, figure 3 discloses a front view of the container, figure 4 discloses a ground view of the cover and figure 5 discloses a ground view of a part of a tray.

The container comprises a container foot 1 with a floor lifted up from the ground, adapted for the use of a fork lift and lifting trolley. The four corners 8 of the container foot 1 are adjusted for guidance and load transfer for stacking several containers above each other.

Side strings 2 and 3 are releasably connected with the container foot 1. On the upper edge of the side strings are guidings 7 arranged.

A cover 4 may be arranged on the guidings 7 whereby the side strings are kept in place. As disclosed in figure 3, the cover 4 may be secured in different heights, depending of the total height of the bottles which are placed in the container. The cover 4 may be locked in desired height by means of a spring lock 10.

On the floor of the container, a first tray 5 is placed. The tray comprises, as disclosed in figures 2 and 3, recesses for receipt of the underside of the bottles and simultaneously a centric guidance for receipt of the top of the bottles in the underside of the tray. To receive different sizes of bottles, correspondingly adjusted trays 5 must be manufac¬ tured. A container suitably may receive a certain number of trays for one type of bottles and a certain amount of trays for at least one other type of bottles, where the trays comprise different number of bottles.

Empty trays may be stacked into each other as the shoulders 9 restrain any tendency of the trays to stick to each s other. Thereby is secured that the trays are not locked into each other which possibly would make an automatic lifting of one tray from the stack very difficult, for placing the tray in the container.

The trays 5 furthermore are provided with recesses 11 o in the corners, adjusted to receive the corner posts of the side strings 2 and 3. In this way the trays 5 are kept safely in place in the container. One container having an upper tray which is fixed by means of the cover 4 and locked with the spring lock 10, provides a very compact unit which secures that the single s bottles do not touch each other during transportation. By means of a very simple hand grip, the cover may be released. The cover 4 as such may be placed vertically on top of the rear side strings 2 in such a way that the bottles 6 are displayed in the shops and the side strings are kept in place. o At the manufacturer, a container foot 1 is used, where upon a first tray 5 is arranged mechanically or automatically on the container foot and here is clamped by a lock 12. Thereafter the lower tray is filled with bottles in a likewise mechanical process. After a first tray has been filled with bottles, a new 5 tray is handled from the stack to be placed on top of the bottles. Further bottles and trays are thereafter put in place whereafter the cover 4 is placed and locked to the side strings

2, 3 and the container thereafter is ready for transportation.

The container may be transported directly in place in o the shop, where the bottles very easy are displayed simply by removing the cover 4 which thereafter is clamping the sides strings 2 and 3. The cover 4 suitably may used to disclose a logo or a commercial with its strategic arrangement on the top of the container. 5 The rest of the bottles from the last container may be placed on top of the upper tray in the new container. Thereby is avoided, a tendency with the existing systems for single bottles, namely that the lower bottles are not replaced and must be returned to the manufacturer because they are too old. Single trays 5 are thereafter removed and used to receive empty bottles in another container before this is transported back to the manufacturer. For the shop or store only one storing place in the shop as such is used for a container having filled bottles and possibly a container for empty bottles on another place.

The transportation system comprises the container foot 1, side strings 2, 3, a number of trays 5 depending on the bottle size, and the cover 4. The container may be erected with the manufacturer when it is filled up with full bottles, provides a very compact unit which is very well suited for transportation and storing and provides furthermore, after removing of the cover 4 which may be arranged vertically on the two rear strings, a very attractive exposing device for bottles. After filling with empty bottles, the container is transported back to the manufac¬ turer. With simple hand grips, the container may be dismantled for transportation without bottles, for example to be filled up with empty bottles or for return without bottles to the manufac¬ turer.

Claims

P a t e n t C l a i m s

1. System for transportation, storing and display of 5 bottles, especially containing refreshing drinks, CHARACTERIZED

IN a container comprising a container foot (1), two side strings (2, 3) which are releasably connected to the container foot, a number of trays (5), adapted to receive a specific number of vertically standing bottles (6) on the upper side and adapted to o rest stable on bottles standing on a tray (5) arranged under the first tray, and a cover (4) adapted to be secured to the two corner posts of the two side strings (2, 3), above an upper tray (5) securing the upper bottles.

2. System according to preceding claim, CHARACTERIZED s IN the trays (5) being provided with a number of cups adapted for receipt of the bottom of the bottles, whereby the underside is adapted to focus and receive the top of bottles standing on trays below, the number of cups in one tray thereby being depending on the bottle size. o 3. System according to preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED

IN the trays being provided with a number of inner shoulders (9) securing that trays (5), when stacked into each other, always have a certain distance from each other thereby enabling mechanised lifting of the upper tray (5) as jamming is avoided. 5 4. System according to preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED

IN the container foot (1) comprising guidings to facilitate arrangement of containers on each other.

5. System according to preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED IN the cover (4) being adapted to be locked to the corner posts o at elected heights, for adjustment to different bottle heights.