Stackable case for bottles

A stackable case for bottles, comprising:

• (a) a low depth tray to hold and separate bottles, said tray comprising:
• a pair of opposed side walls having bottom surfaces lying generally in a plane;
• a pair of opposed end walls having end portions and bottom surfaces lying generally in a plane, said end walls being integrally joined at said end portions with said side walls to define a tray rectangular structure;
• a floor structure secured to and positioned generally within said tray rectangular structure, said floor structure defining a support surface for a plurality of bottles positioned within said tray rectangular structure;
• said floor structure comprising a plurality of spaced, generally circularly-shaped members, a plurality of dividing walls between adjacent said circularly-shaped members thereby forming a plurality of separate bottle receiving pockets and preventing contact of adjacent bottles, and strut means interconnecting said circularly-shaped members and said dividing walls;
• and
• said circularly-shaped members having a bottom surface lying generally in a plane and said dividing walls having a bottom surface lying generally in a plane, said plane of said bottom surface of said dividing walls being spaced a distance below the plane of the bottom surface of said circularly-shaped members such that a plurality of generally circular depressions are thereby formed on a bottom surface of said floor structure;
• (b) a cover for said tray comprising:
• a pair of opposed side walls having bottom surfaces lying generally in a plane;
• a pair of opposed end walls having end portions and bottom surfaces lying generally in a plane, said end walls being integrally joined at said end portions with said side walls to define a cover rectangular structure;
• and
• a ceiling structure secured to and positioned generally within said cover rectangular structure, said ceiling structure defining a generally planar upper surface, said ceiling structure comprising a plurality of generally circular separator rings projecting downwards from said upper surface and a plurality of generally circular receiving caps projecting upwards from said upper surface, each of said separator rings being joined with one of said receiving caps thereby forming an opening through said upper surface for receiving the tops of bottles;
• and
• wherein said cover is disposed over the tops of bottles and inside of said side walls of said tray when said tray is loaded with bottles such that each of the bottle tops is engaged by one of said receiving caps of said cover and lateral movement of the bottles is thereby substantially prevented.

A cover for a tray of bottles, comprising:

• a pair of opposed side walls having bottom surfaces lying generally in a plane and having a height defining a cover height;
• a pair of opposed end walls having end portions and bottom surfaces lying generally in a plane and having a height substantially equal to said side walls, said end walls being integrally joined at said end portions with said side walls to define a cover rectangular structure;
• and
• a ceiling structure secured to and positioned generally within said cover rectangular structure, said ceiling structure defining a generally planar upper surface;
• wherein said ceiling structure comprises a plurality of generally circular separator rings projecting downwards from said upper surface and a plurality of generally circular receiving caps projecting upwards from said upper surface, each of said separator rings being joined with one of said receiving caps, to thereby form an opening through said upper surface for receiving the tops of bottles;
• wherein said cover height is generally greater than one half the height of bottles received by said receiving caps such that when said cover is disposed over a tray loaded with bottles, said cover extends downwards over and thereby covers more than half of each of the bottles therein;
• and
• wherein when said cover is disposed over a tray loaded with bottles each of the bottle tops is engaged by one of said receiving caps of said cover and lateral movement of the bottles is thereby substantially prevented.

A stackable bottle crate system comprising:

• a bottom first case including a first tray and a first tray cover;
• said first tray having a floor structure and upward walls connected thereto, said floor structure having a plurality of bottle support areas on an upper surface thereof and a plurality of upward recesses on a lower surface thereof;
• a plurality of bottles disposed on said bottle support areas of said first tray;
• said first tray cover being positionable in a covering position over said plurality of bottles supported on said support areas of said first tray, said first cover having a top structure including an upper surface and a lower surface, said upper surface of said tray cover having a plurality of protuberances;
• a top second case including a second tray and a second tray cover;
• said second tray having a floor structure and upward walls connected thereto, said floor structure having a plurality of bottle support areas on an upper surface thereof and a plurality of upward recesses on a lower surface thereof:
• a plurality of bottles disposed on said bottle support areas of said second tray;
• and
• said second tray cover being positionable in a covering position over said plurality of bottles supported on said support areas of said second tray, said second cover having a top structure including an upper surface and a lower surface, said upper surface of said second cover top structure having a plurality of protuberances, said protuberances being positioned to lockingly fit in said plurality of upward recesses on said lower surface of said first tray when said first tray is stacked on top of said second tray cover.