Stackability of hollow products with conically contoured sidewalls having longitudinal folds

Abstract

A hollow stackable product including at least a section of a generally conically contoured sidewall having a number of longitudinal folds of alternating ridges and furrows. Each fold includes a first side strip laterally extending from the top of a ridge to the bottom of an adjacent furrow and a second side strip laterally extending from the bottom of the furrow to the top of the next adjacent ridge. The first side strip has a different lateral orientation than the second side strip. The first side strip has a greater wall thickness than the second side strip; and the first side strip also has a shorter lateral extent than the second side strip. When the product is stacked within a like product, a first product is placed inside a second like product so that the first side strips of the first product are positioned closely adjacent the first side strips of the second product and the second side strips of the first product are positioned closely adjacent the second side strips of the second product. Accordingly such products have a minimal stacking height.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.