WO2011010055A1

WO2011010055A1 - Method for storing bottles

Info

Publication number: WO2011010055A1
Application number: PCT/FR2010/051516
Authority: WO
Inventors: Frédéric Lefebvre
Original assignee: Soufflet Vigne
Priority date: 2009-07-20
Filing date: 2010-07-19
Publication date: 2011-01-27
Also published as: FR2948105A1; FR2948105B1; ES2569507T3; EP2456678A1; EP2456678B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for storing bottles in a palletizable packaging, including a packaging (10) arranged on the surfaces of a parallelepiped rectangle and including bottles (21 to 26), each of which has an axis of symmetry (X21, X22, X23, X24, X25,; X26), wherein the axis of each bottle is arranged in one plane of the bottles, parallel to a bottom (11) of the packaging, the bottom being arranged on a first surface of the parallelepiped, wherein the axes of the bottles are parallel to each other, and wherein the bottles are oriented head to foot, characterized in that the number of bottles (21 to 26) is even, in that the axes (X21 to X26) of the bottles are inclined relative to one edge (13) of packaging (10), the edge being arranged on a second surface that is perpendicular to the first surface, in that the axes of the bottles are brought together in the plane of the bottles in order to store the bottles in a minimized space of the packaging, in that it includes a means (32) of retaining the bottles in said space in relation to the packaging, and in that the bottles are champagne bottles (21 to 26).

Description

BOTTLE STORAGE METHOD

The present invention relates to the field of storage of bottles in a palletizable packaging.

More particularly, the invention relates to space-saving storage of champagne bottles in parallelepiped-shaped cartons, in a single layer of bottles and the maintenance of these bottles stored in the carton during transport.

Champagne or Champagne-type bottles are in a particular way envelopes in revolving glasses around an axis and having a hole for a cork, which are suitable for containing champagne wine. In a general manner, the champagne bottles admit an axis of symmetry, and have in consideration of the surface of their section along this axis and perpendicular to this axis, two distinct parts, a first portion of substantially constant section or barrel, and a second portion or neck, whose section is essentially decreasing along the axis to a hole for a stopper, between a section of the neck equal to that of the barrel and a section of the neck equal to that of the hole for the stopper, the neck can be seen as a connecting pipe tightening between the barrel and the hole for the cap of the bottle, whose diameter is smaller than the barrel. The section of the barrel farthest from the plug or foot of the bottle is also in contact with a portion usually entering the bottle or sting.

The invention is suitable for champagne bottles and more generally for bottles having an axis of symmetry.

The storage of champagne bottles consists in packing them in a minimum volume, in order to reduce the size of the package that contains them or increase the number of bottles in a package of given dimensions. Packing is carried out in a package by a bottle holding means in place, in a stowed position, compatible with the transport of bottles and in particular, avoiding impacts between bottles during this one.

A palletizable packaging is a packaging whose size is determined not in consideration of the dimensions of the Champagne bottle but in consideration of pallets on which the packages must be stacked without loss of space to be adapted to a type of transport, in particular by truck, by train or plane, to geographical areas.

In palletized packaging, the maximum number of bottles that can be packed in a package depends on the method of storage.

Increasing the number of bottles in a single package by one unit is usually a difficult problem.

The prior art thus known for palletized packaging in which the champagne bottles are stored on a single layer, that is to say whose depth above a bottom is close to the barrel diameter of the bottles to be stored in packaging, a method of storage in which the bottles are arranged "head-to-tail", the axes of bottles being arranged parallel to each other in a storage plane and perpendicular to a settlement direction located in the storage plan, and opposite direction two by two, a conventional direction on the axis of a bottle that can be that of the outlet for its content or the direction of decay of the section of the neck.

In the prior art, it is possible for a first bottle and a second bottle to be stacked upside down, to slide the second bottle parallel to itself and along the first bottle to a position in which the neck of the bottle first is in contact with the neck of the second in the storage plan. In this position it is possible to bring the axes and bottles together to gain space between the barrels of the bottles. By adapting the sliding of the second bottle to all the space available in the package, it is possible to push this method to the maximum to save space for the storage of bottles.

The method of storage head-to-tail with distribution in the available height seems to correspond to a maximum for an arbitrary number of bottles, in the prior art.

It is also known from the prior art, by the French patent No. 1376629 of 4

September 1963, a bottle separator device in packing cases which increases the crush resistance of said boxes, serving as a spacer between the necks of the bottles and the walls of the boxes, in which the bottle axes are inclined by relative to the edges of the boxes and which reduces the internal volume of said boxes for packaging and transport of a given number of bottles. However, this document does not clearly and unambiguously mention the champagne bottles and does not reveal a space-saving storage function of an even number of these bottles, obtained by inclining the axis of the bottles with respect to the crates, for increase the number of Champagne bottles in a given package. This document explicitly specifies that its device is applicable for six bottles but also for a number of bottles lower or higher than six, thus including bottles in even or odd numbers.

In this context, the present invention is a device for storing bottles in a palletizable packaging, comprising a package disposed on the faces of a rectangular parallelepiped and comprising bottles each having an axis of symmetry, in which the axis of each bottle is disposed in a plane of the bottles, parallel to a bottom of the package, the bottom being disposed on a first face of the parallelepiped, in which the axes of the bottles are parallel to each other, in which the bottles are oriented head to tail, in wherein the number of bottles is even, the axes of the bottles are inclined with respect to an edge of the package, the edge being disposed on a second face perpendicular to the first face, the axes of the bottles are brought together in the plane of the bottles for storing the bottles in a minimized volume of the package, which includes means for holding the bottles in this volume relative to the packaging and in which the bottles are champagne bottles.

In variants of the invention:

the holding means is a flap inserted between the bottles

- The flap is all in one with the packaging, pre-cut in this package and raised to be inserted between the bottles remaining attached to said packaging - the flap is inserted between the bottles as a hold, the bottles are stored in a stable position mechanically compared to the packaging

the holding means is an imprint of the shape of the bottles

- the imprint is a mold of the shape of the bottles

- the mold is inserted between the bottles and the packaging

- The mold is all-in-one with the packaging, built into this package

- The holding means is a folding conforming to the shape of the bottles, inserted between the bottles and the packaging

the packaging and the holding means are made of cardboard

- The holding means is the package itself.

The invention also relates to a storage method with space saving of two Champagne bottles comprising the following steps:

- Extend head-to-tail two champenoises bottles on a flat bottom,

- Make the barrels of bottles parallel,

- Closing the bottles between two walls parallel to the drums and perpendicular to the flat bottom,

- Tighten the walls parallel to themselves. The invention also relates to an application of the previous method to the storage of 6 bottles champenoises, in a single layer, in a carton of dimensions 400mm by 400mm by 100mm.

The invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows, given solely by way of example and with reference to the drawings in which:

- Figure 1 is a schematic elevational view of an example of a storage device according to the invention; and

- Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the device of Figure 1, wherein the bottles of the latter are not repeated.

The invention is described in its application to champagne bottles.

It is possible to describe the external dimensions of a champagne bottle as being typically the following: a drum with a diameter of about 87.5 mm and a neck of diameter 30 mm in its narrowest part and 35 mm in its reinforced part by a rim to the right of the hole of the bottle cap; the bottle is 32 cm high with the cap for 30 cm without the cap and the barrel is about 12 cm high, the neck making a difference of 20 cm. Note that unlike Bordeaux bottles, the ratio of the height along the axis of symmetry of the bottle, the barrel to that of the neck is less than 1 and has the value 0.6. This form factor is typical of a champagne bottle. The invention having no effect for drums without neck whose shape factor is infinite, and being inefficient for Bordeaux bottles for which the form factor is greater than 1, this form factor seems to be a criterion of Applicability of the invention to other types of bottles, the value of 1 for the report was / neck seems to be an empirical rule for the field of application of the invention in terms of bottles. However, an experimental set-up will be presented below which will make it easy to determine whether this criterion is relevant and if so, whether the value of 1 of the coefficient is well adapted.

In terms of packaging, the choice of a package for exposing the invention is perfectly empirical; the invention always provides space saving on an even number of bottles but this space saving can be fractional, ie less than one bottle. In this case, the effect of the invention is latent. However, the effect of the invention is revealed in its application to a "standard" cardboard packaging, within the meaning of the present application, whose dimensions are 400 mm by 400 mm by 100 mm, that is to say to say a square-bottomed rectangular carton allowing to fill its interior volume with a single layer of 6 bottles champenoises or on one level for these bottles. The bottom of the standard carton has dimensions equal to or close to a sub-multiple of the dimensions of a pallet corresponding to the usual "Europe" format for stacking cartons and whose pallet dimensions are 800 mm by 1200 mm or 1000 mm. by 1200 mm. It is palatable.

For a single-storey packaging, a method of storing bottles and in space, can be reduced to the arrangement of the projections of these bottles orthogonally at the bottom and on this bottom. By convention, the same names will be given to the elements of a bottle corresponding in space and in projection, in the present application.

The problem of storing any number of champagne bottles in a standard single-storey box comes down to arranging the bottles on the bottom, in projection, so that they do not overlap, but are at most in contact, that is to say, contiguous, and fit in the perimeter of the bottom, square in the chosen case, maximizing the number of possible bottles.

The application of any method of storing bottles to a palletizable bottle storage device, requires maintaining this storage by stalling means in a package during transport or pallet stacking. The wedging means may be separation wedges made in particular of cardboard, bonded or not to the bottom of the package, or an imprint of the position of the rows of bottles made by molding, bound or not to the bottom, or by folding from a sheet made in particular of cardboard, this impression being disposed between the package and the bottles. These shims must be thick enough to avoid shocks between bottles that can break during transport. Bottles separated by these holds will also be considered contiguous within the meaning of the present application.

The wedging means may alternatively be flaps not secured to the bottom and used as shims, the bottles having a mechanically stable shape; pre-cut flaps in the carton or packaging, so-called "all-in-one" with the packaging, which are therefore integrated into the package; a mold reproducing the shape or impression of the bottles and separate from the cardboard, or a mold made in one face of the package, especially cardboard; a folding able to marry the shape of champagne bottles.

A first method of storage in a standard carton of bottles champenoises, or basic method, known from the prior art then consists of storing the bottles, ground-level, contiguous, parallel to each other and in the same direction and aligned with the carton , that is to say in directions parallel to the height of the cardboard, the feet of the bottles being, moreover, aligned with each other.

In the basic method applied to standard cardboard, the number of champagne bottles that the basic storage can reach is equal, if the thickness of the holds is neglected, to the entire part of the storage width divided by the diameter of the drum or of his projection. For a storage width of 400 mm of the standard carton, it is possible to store 4 bottles occupying 34 cm in width.

A second method of storage, known from the prior art, consists of storing the bottles in the standard single-storey carton, contiguous, aligned with the cardboard and head-to-tail, that is to say in parallel directions between they are in opposite directions, the neck of one bottle facing the foot of another bottle, side by side, that is to say, beside it, and the axes of bottles situated side by side being brought together to make the bottles contiguous. In this case, each bottle from the second saves about 1 cm on the basic method and for 4 bottles, it is possible to gain 3 cm to hold 4 bottles in 31 cm over a storage distance of 400 mm and a height of 320 mm, it is thus possible to store theoretically 5 bottles holding in 39.5 cm. The need to add spacers between the bottles however makes this possibility impractical 4 shims to make a total of 5 mm, which is too low in practice to protect the bottles.

It is still possible to gain space on this second method, by sliding one bottle out of two along its axis to occupy all the available height of storage or by maximizing the distance between the feet of bottles located side by side from a head-to-tail position, on the one hand, and holding the bottles contiguous, bringing the axes of cylinders side by side, on the other hand. For the standard carton of 400 mm of bottle coating height, it is possible to earn 1.5 cm per bottle from the second on the basic method and hold 5 bottles in 38 cm. This solution leaves 2 cm to insert 4 elements of support, that is to say 0,5 cm of thickness by element, which is easily practicable.

It is practically possible with the second improved method to store 5 bottles in a standard carton.

However, in view of the prior art, the storage of 6 champenoise bottles in a standard carton with a bottom of 400 mm by 400 mm thus seems a difficult problem with known storage methods.

Before applying the invention to the standard carton, it is useful to the invention the advantage provided in compactness for two bottles. The invention being limited to an even number of bottles, a fractional gain for two bottles can immediately be transposed to an even number by multiplying the fractional gain expressed in number of bottles.

The effect of the invention can be obtained surprisingly and measured by the following simple experimental device: two champagne bottles or two bottles having only one axis of symmetry, are elongated head to tail on a flat bottom with a selected distance between them. feet, and the directions of their drums are made parallel, one of the bottles is then rolled towards the other until touching it without moving it or translated parallel to itself if it does not roll. The two bottles are then sandwiched between two walls parallel to the drums and perpendicular to the flat bottom, without moving them. Finally, the walls are tightened parallel to themselves and if the invention saves space, the bottles move surprisingly relative to each other and tilt relative to the walls. The effect of the invention can then be easily measured as the difference between the distance between the planes just enclosing the bottles and the distance between the planes after tightening the bottles.

It is therefore possible for an experimenter to easily determine with the above experimental device, the gain provided by the invention for different types of bottle and different starting configurations of these bottles in "head-to-tail" position. Then having determined the gain for two bottles in a configuration, the experimenter can deduce the gain for an even number of arbitrary bottles in the same two by two configuration, by multiplying the gain for two bottles in the configuration by half the number of bottles desired. In this way, the general means of the invention which is the inclination of the axis of the bottles with respect to an edge of a storage box to reduce their bulk, can be completely explored in all its branches and variants, for example. simple and routine operations.

The invention is now described in its application to a standard carton.

To quantify the advantage of the invention, the starting position is that of two bottles champenoises head-to-tail in a carton, the direction of the axes of symmetry of the bottles being parallel to one of the edges of 400 mm of the standard carton, bottles being as close together as possible and the bottles being slid on their axes of symmetry to occupy different heights and the entire width of the carton. The head-to-tail position in question is understood by sliding and bringing together two contiguous bottles in positions for which typically, the neck of a bottle is located in projection orthogonal to the axis of the other bottle and on this axis, between the neck and the foot of the other bottle.

The effect of the invention can be conveniently obtained by tilting the bottles by spreading their necks from one another and bringing the axes of the bottles in the plane of these axes to compact the bottles by enclosing and tightening them. between two planes as indicated in the experimental device previously described. This effect can be measured for different starting distances or offset between the feet of the bottles or base of their drums.

Thus, noting H the offset height of the legs and L the minimum storage width for two bottles turned according to the invention, we obtain:

For H = 32cm L = 15.5 cm is a gain G = 1, 5 cm on the basic method of parallel storage joined and not head-to-tail.

For H = 35 cm L = 14.5 cm is a gain G = 2.5 cm

For H = 40 cm L = 12.5 cm is a gain G = 4.5 cm

For 1-1 = 45 cm L = 12 cm is a gain G = 5 cm

For H = 50 cm L = 10 cm is a gain G = 7 cm

The latent gain on the head-to-tail method is therefore fully revealed for a carton of 40 cm or standard side for this request, since the method allows to store 6 bottles in 3x12.5 cm or 37.5 cm, which makes it possible to store and maintain easily by shims of 0.5 cm in number of 5 in the remaining 2.5 cm, one bottle more than the head-to-tail method using the full height.

The advantage of the invention is therefore obvious for a standard carton.

Thus, in FIG. 1, is shown by way of non-limiting illustration of the invention, a parallelepipedal carton 10, whose square bottom of 400 mm by 400 mm is referenced 1 1 and whose four edges, perpendicular to the bottom 1 1 and perpendicular two to two, are respectively referenced 12, 13, 14 and 15.

Six champagne bottles 21 to 26 are arranged on one level and in the same manner as in this carton 10, with their respective axes X21, X22, X23, X24, X25,

X26 both parallel to the bottom 1 1 and parallel to each other. The barrels and the necks of the bottles 21 to 26 are turned, along the axis of the bottles, towards the opposite edges 12 and 14, while the two other edges 13 and 15 respectively extend along the two end bottles 21 and 26. , all the way up these bottles. As clearly visible in FIG. 1, the axes X21 to X26 are not rigorously parallel to the opposite edges 13 and 15, but are inclined with respect to these edges 13 and 15, forming a non-zero angle α strictly less than 90 °. which in practice is worth a few degrees. Similarly, each of the axes X21 to X26 forms with the edge 12 or the edge 14 a close angle but different from 90 ° .In Figure 1 are also reported references H and L which have been defined above, thus applied to the example of bottles 25 and 26 arranged in the carton 10.

To keep the bottles in place in the stowed position, several embodiments of holding means can be envisaged.

Once the 6 bottles are placed in the carton, it is possible to insert cardboard shims between the bottles, for example wedges cut in a cardboard ribbon 100 mm wide cut into sufficiently long strips. In this case, the wedges are used for a mechanically stable bottle structure in a stowed position.

It is also possible for the packaging carton to have pre-cuts in tongues, making it possible to raise these tongues or flaps to form shims integral with the packaging which can directly position the bottles in the stowed position by the method of the invention. during a manual operation. In this case, the integrated flaps allow an "all-in-one" configuration in which the invention is integrated with the existing packaging.

Thus, by way of example, the carton 10 considered above is provided with such cutouts in tongues, as shown in FIG. 2 on which these cutouts, of which there are eight, are referenced 31. As explained above, each of these cuts 31 is made in the bottom 1 1 so as to form a flap 32 which, while remaining integral with the bottom 1 1, can be raised protruding from the bottom, to be interposed as a wedge between two of the bottles 21 to 26 rows in the carton 10, as shown in Figure 1. Note that, for reasons of visibility, in Figure 2, the flaps 32 are not all raised in the same configuration protruding from the bottom 1 1.

It is possible to use an impression of the shape of the bottles that is a mold, either reported as an independent piece, made of cardboard, or integrated into the package in all-in-one mode.

Finally, a folding can be performed on an independent piece whose folding crests are not parallel to the edges of the package, that is to say to the walls perpendicular to its bottom, but inclined, from a material as carton, this constitutes a definition of "tilting" for the present application. When the folding material is sufficiently deformable to be folded and to match the shape of the bottles it receives, a holding means easy to achieve can thus be obtained for the invention.

The invention is susceptible of industrial application in the field of storage of champagne bottles in a palletizable packaging.

Claims

1.- Device for storing bottles in a palletizable packaging, comprising a package (10) disposed on the faces of a rectangular parallelepiped and comprising bottles (21 to 26) each having an axis of symmetry (X21, X22,

X23, X24, X25, X26), wherein the axis of each bottle is arranged in a plane of the bottles, parallel to a bottom (1 1) of the package, the bottom being disposed on a first face of the parallelepiped, in which the axes of the bottles are parallel to each other, in which the bottles are oriented head to tail, characterized in that the number of bottles (21 to 26) is even, in that the axes (X21 to X26) of the bottles are inclined relative to an edge (13) of the package (10), the edge being disposed on a second face perpendicular to the first face, in that the axes of the bottles are brought together in the plane of the bottles to store the bottles in a minimized volume of the packaging, in that it comprises a means (32) for holding the bottles in this volume, and in that the bottles are champagne bottles (21 to 26).

2.- Device according to claim 1 wherein the holding means is a flap (32) inserted between the bottles.

3.- Device according to claim 2 wherein the flap (32) is all in one with the package (10), pre-cut in this package and raised to be inserted between the bottles remaining integral with said packaging.

4.- Device according to claim 2 wherein the flap (32) is inserted between the bottles as a hold, the bottles being stored in a mechanically stable position relative to the package.

5.- Device according to claim 1 wherein the holding means is an imprint of the shape of the bottles.

6.- Device according to claim 5 wherein the imprint is a mold of the shape of the bottles.

7.- Device according to claim 6 wherein the mold is inserted between the bottles and the package.

8.- Device according to claim 6 wherein the mold is all-in-one with the package integrated in this package.

9.- Device according to claim 1 wherein the holding means is a folding conforming to the shape of the bottles, inserted between the bottles and the packaging.

10.- Device according to any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein the package (10) and the holding means (32) are cardboard.

1 1.- Device according to claim 1 wherein the holding means is the package itself.

12.- storage method with space saving of two Champagne bottles characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

- Extend head-to-tail two champenoises bottles on a flat bottom,

- Make the barrels of bottles parallel,

- Tighten the walls parallel to themselves.

13.- Application of the method according to claim 12 for the storage of 6 bottles champenoises, in a single layer, in a carton (10) of dimensions 400 mm by 400 mm per 100 mm.