Dual purpose low depth nestable tray

A low depth tray for holding either bottles or cans and adapted to be nested with other trays when empty of the bottles or cans and stacked with other trays when loaded with the bottles or cans, said tray comprising:

• a low depth wall structure comprising a band extending around the periphery of said tray for preventing the bottles or cans from tipping during transport;
• a floor structure comprising,
• a floor top surface comprising a plurality of support areas for supporting the bottles or cans thereon, and at least one nub disposed on said floor top surface, and
• a floor bottom surface comprising a plurality of upward recesses generally centered below said support areas, a plurality of spaced downward redoubts generally disposed between said support areas and adapted to be positioned between the bottles or cans in another tray therebeneath in order to block the low depth tray from free sliding when in a loaded and stacked position, and a nub support surface centered below each said nub;
• and
• a plurality of columns along each side of said wall structure, said columns interconnecting said band and said floor structure, at least one of said columns along each side of said wall structure, including an inwardly projecting nesting ledge equal in height to said nub, said nesting ledge projecting inward from said column between said support areas, the outside of said column with said nesting ledge having a vertical rib equal in height to said nesting ledge, said plurality of columns configured to nest deeply with columns of another empty tray;
• wherein said nub support surface and said vertical ribs are adapted to be supported by the nub and the nesting ledges, respectively, of another tray when the low depth tray is empty and nested with another tray therebeneath, and to support the weight of any trays nested above the low depth tray, to thereby prevent fraying of said wall structure of the low depth tray.

A low depth tray for holding bottles adapted to be nested with other trays when empty of the bottles and stacked with other trays when loaded with the bottles, said tray comprising:

• a low depth wall structure comprising a band extending around the periphery of said tray for preventing the bottles from tipping during transport;
• a floor structure comprising,
• a floor top surface comprising a plurality of support areas for supporting the bottles thereon, and at least one nub disposed on said floor top surface, and
• a floor bottom surface comprising a plurality of upward recesses generally centered below said support areas, said upward recesses having beveled surfaces around their peripheries so as to loosely contain the tops of the bottles in another tray therebeneath to prevent excess movement of the bottles from their respective support areas, and a nub support surface centered below each said nub;
• and
• a plurality of columns along each side of said wall structure, said columns interconnecting said band and said floor structure, at least one of said columns along each side of said wall structure, including an inwardly projecting nesting ledge equal in height to said nub, said nesting ledge projecting inward from said column between said support areas, the outside of said column with said nesting ledge having a vertical rib equal in height to said nesting ledge, said plurality of columns configured to nest deeply with columns of another empty tray;
• wherein said nub support surface and said vertical ribs are adapted to be supported by the nub and the nesting ledges, respectively, of another tray when the low depth tray is empty and nested with another tray therebeneath, and to support the weight of any trays nested above the low depth tray, to thereby prevent fraying of said wall structure of the low depth tray.

A low depth tray for holding cans adapted to be nested with other trays when empty of the cans and stacked with other trays when loaded with the cans, said tray comprising:

• a low depth wall structure comprising a band extending around the periphery of said tray for preventing the cans from tipping during transport;
• a floor structure comprising,
• a floor top surface comprising a plurality of support areas for supporting the cans thereon, each said support area including a relatively shallow circular groove for engaging the bottoms of the cans, and at least one nub disposed on said floor top surface, and
• a floor bottom surface comprising a plurality of spaced downward redoubts generally disposed between said support areas and adapted to be positioned between the cans in another tray therebeneath in order to block the low depth tray from free sliding when in a loaded and stacked position, and a nub support surface centered below each said nub;
• and
• a plurality of columns along each side of said wall structure, said columns interconnecting said band and said floor structure, at least one of said columns along each side of said wall structure, including an inwardly projecting nesting ledge equal in height to said nub, said nesting ledge projecting inward from said column between said support areas, the outside of said column with said nesting ledge having a vertical rib equal in height to said nesting ledge, said plurality of columns configured to nest deeply with columns of another empty tray;
• wherein said nub support surface and said vertical ribs are adapted to be supported by the nub and the nesting ledges, respectively, of another tray when the low depth tray is empty and nested with another tray therebeneath, and to support the weight of any trays nested above the low depth tray, to thereby prevent fraying of said wall structure of the low depth tray.

A low depth tray for cylindrical containers adapted to be nested with other trays when empty of the containers and stacked with other trays when loaded with the containers, said tray comprising:

• a low depth wall structure comprising a band extending around the periphery of said tray for preventing the cylindrical containers from tipping during transport;
• a floor structure comprising,
• a floor top surface comprising a plurality of support areas for supporting the containers thereon, and at least one nub disposed on said floor top surface, and
• a floor bottom surface comprising a plurality of upward recesses generally centered below said support areas, a plurality of spaced downward redoubts generally disposed between said support areas and adapted to be positioned between the containers in another tray therebeneath in order to block the low depth tray from free sliding when in a loaded and stacked position, and a nub support surface centered below each said nub;
• and
• a plurality of columns along each side of said wall structure, said columns interconnecting said band and said floor structure, said plurality of columns configured to nest deeply with columns of another empty tray;
• wherein said nub support surface is adapted to be supported by the nub, of another tray when the low depth tray is empty and nested with another tray therebeneath, and to support the weight of any trays nested above the low depth tray, to thereby prevent fraying of said wall structure of the low depth tray.

A low depth tray for cylindrical containers adapted to be nested with other trays when empty of the containers and stacked with other trays when loaded with the containers, said tray comprising:

• a low depth watt structure comprising a band extending around the periphery of said tray for preventing the cylindrical containers from tipping during transport;
• a floor structure comprising,
• a floor top surface comprising a plurality of support areas for supporting the containers thereon, and
• a floor bottom surface comprising a plurality of upward recesses generally centered below said support areas, a plurality of spaced downward redoubts generally disposed between said support areas and adapted to be positioned between the containers in another tray therebeneath in order to block the low depth tray from free sliding when in a loaded and stacked position;
• and
• a plurality of columns along each side of said wall structure, said columns interconnecting said band and said floor structure, at least one of said columns along each side of said wall structure, including an inwardly projecting nesting ledge, said nesting ledge projecting inward from said column between said support areas, the outside of said column with said nesting ledge having a vertical rib equal in height to said nesting ledge, said plurality of columns configured to nest deeply with columns of another empty tray;
• wherein said vertical ribs are adapted to be supported by the nesting ledges of another tray when the low depth tray is empty and nested with another tray therebeneath, and to support the weight of any trays nested above the low depth tray, to thereby prevent fraying of said wall structure of the low depth tray.