Bottle carrier

A plastic bottle carrier for six beverage bottles, with the six bottles being arranged in two rows of three bottles each, comprising:

• (a) a rectangular base having a receptor area for supporting each of the six bottles, with the six receptor areas being arranged in two longitudinal rows of three areas each, and the rows being parallel and adjacent each other;
• (b) a longitudinal plane extending vertically between the two rows of receptor areas and centered therebetween;
• (c) a pair of transverse planes extending perpendicularly to said longitudinal plane, with one transverse plane being positioned between a first grouping of four of the six bottles, and the other transverse plane being positioned between a different grouping of four bottles;
• (d) a pair of hollow pillars fixed to and extending upwardly from the base, with one pillar being positioned at each of the intersections of the longitudinal plane with the two transverse planes;
• and
• (e) a handle extending between the two pillars in a direction generally parallel to the base.

A molded plastic bottle carrier, comprising:

• (a) a generally horizontal base upon which a plurality of bottles may be erectly positioned, and the base having a width which is only very slightly greater than the total width of two bottles which the carrier is designed to carry;
• (b) a pair of spaced and generally tubular posts which are affixed to and extend vertically above the base;
• (c) a handle extending between the two tubular posts near the tops thereof;
• and
• (d) means for maintaining the bottles erect on the base if the base is tilted.

A one-piece, integrally molded plastic carton which is adapted for carrying six beverage bottles, and which is sized so that it may replace a cardboard carton, comprising:

• (a) a base having a generally rectangular shape of essentially minimum dimensions for supporting six vertical bottles of uniform size in two parallel rows of three bottles each, and said base having a central aperture through which the handle of a second empty carton may be inserted when it is desired to stack a plurality of empty cartons in order to consume a minimum amount of space;
• (b) a handle adapted to be gripped for carrying the carton, and said handle being generally horizontal and extending longitudinally of the carton above the base;
• and
• (c) a pair of non-planar supports for said handle, with each support being integrally molded to both the base and the handle, with the breadth dimension of said supports being at least 50% as wide as the width dimension of said supports, with the breadth being measured in a direction perpendicular to the width and both being measured in a plane parallel to the base, whereby the handle supports have a substantial moment of inertia about any axis which is parallel to the base of the carton.

A carrier adapted for carrying six beverage bottles, comprising:

• (a) a base having a generally rectangular shape and being generally flat for vertically supporting six bottles in two parallel rows of three bottles each;
• (b) an upstanding wall integrally molded with the base at the periphery of said base, and said upstanding wall having a height of several inches so as to readily support bottles as large as those which contain as much as one liter of liquid;
• (c) a pair of hollow pillars integrally molded with and extending upwardly from the base, with said pair of pillars being on a longitudinal plane which extends centrally of the carrier between the two rows of bottles, and each of the pillars lying respectively in a transverse plane which extends between adjacent pairs of the bottles in a given row, and the height of said hollow pillars being substantially the same as the height of the peripheral upstanding wall;
• (d) a plurality of web members extending between respective ones of the hollow pillars and the peripheral wall;
• (e) a pair of structural members integrally molded with said hollow pillars and extending upwardly above said hollow pillars for a length of at least three inches, with each of said structural members having a T-shaped cross section with the top part of each T being parallel to each other and the base part of each T being co-planar and extending in opposite directions;
• and
• (f) a handle integrally molded to the upper ends of each of the two structural members, and said handle having a generally concave cross section as measured in a transverse direction, with the open part of the concave handle facing upwardly, whereby the closed portion of the handle is oriented downwardly such that a rounded gripping surface is provided for a person who lifts the carrier.

A molded plastic carton adapted for carrying six bottles which are arranged in two parallel rows of three bottles each, comprising:

• (a) a base having a generally rectangular shape with a longitudinal axis, and being relatively flat so that it may vertically support six bottles in two parallel rows of three bottles each;
• (b) an upstanding wall integrally molded with the base at the periphery of said base, and including two end wall sections and two side wall sections;
• (c) a pair of integrally molded handle supports which extend upwardly and terminate at locations which are slightly lower than the height of the bottles to be carried by said carton, and said handle supports being generally planar and oriented in two spaced and parallel planes which are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said base, with said handle supports being separated by a distance which is approximately the same as the diameter of a bottle to be carried in said carton;
• (d) a set of web members associated with and extending radially outwardly from each of said handle supports and connecting a respective handle support with the peripheral wall of said carton, with said webs being effective to preclude the end bottles from contacting both each other and the two central bottles;
• (e) a pair of gusset plates, each of which is integrally molded with one of said handle supports and each lying in the longitudinal plane of the carton, with said gusset plates forming vertical extensions of the respective webs which join the handle supports to the two end wall sections, and each of said gusset plates intersecting a handle support adjacent the center line thereof so as to form a T-shaped structure for supporting a handle;
• (f) a pair of integrally molded ribs associated with each of the handle supports, and said pairs of ribs facing one another and extending into the low region between the two central bottles for a distance which is sufficient to maintain the central bottles in an upright mode, whereby one central bottle cannot lean toward and make physical contact with the other central bottle;
• and
• (g) a handle extending between the tops of the two handle supports.