Back to results
US 5,823,376 AGranted
Nestable crate for beverage bottles
AssigneeAlpha Holdings, Inc.
InventorPatrick James McGrath
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A nestable crate for bottles having an upright retainer wall surrounding a horizontally disposed floor. The retainer wall has an upper portion, a lower portion, a vertically disposed interior surface and an exterior surface. A plurality of tangency pads are integrally formed in the upper portion of the retainer wall of its interior surface. A nesting window is formed in the interior surface of the retainer wall below each tangency pad. The crate accommodates both single bottles placed in the crate separated as well as bottle-filled cartons.
Claims38
A nestable crate for bottles, said crate comprising:
- a. a horizontally disposed floor having a top surface and a bottom surface;
- b. a retainer wall integrally attached to the floor and extending along a periphery of said floor, said retainer wall having an upper portion, a lower portion, an interior surface and an exterior surface;
- c. means, formed in the interior surface of the upper portion of the retainer wall, for contacting each bottle adjacent the retainer wall at a tangency point and a line of contact between the bottles and the retainer wall that is substantially parallel to the interior surface of the retainer wall, wherein said bottle contact means includes a plurality of spaced-apart tangency pads integrally formed on the interior surface of said retainer wall;
- and
- d. a nesting window formed in the interior surface of the lower portion of said retainer wall below each tangency point.
2 more elements
A nestable crate for bottles, comprising:
- a. a horizontally disposed floor having a top surface and a bottom surface;
- b. a retainer wall integrally attached to the floor and extending along a periphery of said floor, said retainer wall having an upper portion and a lower portion, said a disposed interior surface and an exterior surface;
- c. a plurality of spaced-apart tangency pads integrally formed on the interior surface of said retainer wall, each said tangency pad contacting a bottle at a tangency point forming a line of contact with the bottles substantially parallel the interior surface;
- and,
- d. a nesting window in the lower portion of the retainer wall below each tangency pad;
- e. a wall section in the lower portion of the retainer wall between consecutive nesting windows, with wall sections and said tangency pads having coplanar vertically disposed surfaces.
3 more elements
A nestable crate for bottles, said crate comprising:
- a) a horizontally disposed floor having a top surface and a bottom surface;
- b) a retainer wall integrally attached to the floor and extending around the periphery of the floor, said wall having an upper portion, a lower portion, a vertically disposed interior surface and an exterior surface;
- c) means, formed in the upper portion of the retainer wall on the interior surface, for contacting the bottles at a tangency point on each bottle, and a line of contact between the bottles in the crate, said tangency point is a point in said line of contact, wherein said bottle contact means includes a plurality of spaced-apart tangency pads integrally formed on the interior surface of said retainer wall;
- and,
- d) a nesting window formed in the lower portion of the retainer wall interior surface below each point of contact between the retainer wall and bottle.
2 more elements
A nestable crate for bottles, comprising:
- (a) a horizontally disposed floor having a top surface and a bottom surface;
- (b) a retainer wall attached to the floor, said retainer wall having a double wall construction including an interior wall attached to the floor and an exterior wall attached to the interior wall, and said retainer wall having two end walls and two side walls, and said retainer wall having an upper portion and a lower portion, and said upper portion of the retainer wall having a plurality of vertically disposed surfaces on the interior wall for supporting bottles, and said vertically disposed surfaces are space apart along the respective side wall and end wall along which the vertically disposed surfaces extend, whereby said vertically disposed surfaces are coplanar along respective side walls and end walls and, wherein said lower portion of said retainer wall includes a wall section along the interior wall disposed between each consecutive pair of nesting windows, and each said wall section having a vertically disposed surface that is coplaner with a vertically disposed surface in the upper portion of the respective side wall or end wall within which a wall section is formed, and each said wall section is attached to the floor,
- (c) a plurality of nesting windows in the lower portion of the interior of the wall of the retainer wall, and each said nesting window is below a vertically disposed surface on the upper portion of the interior wall, wherein said crate further includes a nesting step formed on the retainer wall between consecutive vertically disposed surfaces on the upper portion of the interior wall.
A nestable crate for bottles, comprising:
- (a) a horizontally disposed floor having a top surface and a bottom surface;
- (b) a retainer wall attached to the floor, said retainer wall having a double wall construction including an interior wall attached to the floor and an exterior wall attached to the interior wall, and said retainer wall having two end walls and two side walls, and said retainer wall having an upper portion and a lower portion, and said lower portion of the retainer wall having a cross-sectional width greater than the cross-sectional width of the upper portion of the retainer wall, and said upper portion of the retainer wall having a plurality of vertically disposed surfaces on the interior wall for supporting bottles, and said vertically disposed surfaces are spaced apart along the respective side wall and end wall along which the vertically disposed surfaces extend, whereby said vertically disposed surfaces are coplanar along respective side walls and end walls;
- and,
- (c) a plurality of nesting windows in the lower portion of the interior of the wall of the retainer wall, and each said nesting window is below a vertically disposed surface on the upper portion of the interior wall, whereby the vertically disposed surfaces of a lower empty crate nests within the nesting window of an upper crate stacked on top of the lower crate;
- (d) a wall section on the lower portion of the interior wall disposed between each consecutive pair of nesting windows, and each said wall section having a vertically disposed surface that is coplanar with the vertically disposed surface in the upper portion of the respective side wall or end wall within which a wall section is formed, and each said wall section is attached to the floor;
- and,
- (e) a nesting step in the retainer wall between consecutive vertically disposed surfaces on the upper portion of the interior wall of the retainer wall, whereby the wall sections on said upper crate nests adjacent the nesting steps of the lower empty crate.
4 more elements
A nestable crate for bottles, comprising:
- (a) a horizontally disposed floor having a top surface and a bottom surface;
- (b) a retainer wall attached to the floor, said retainer wall having a double wall construction including an interior wall attached to the floor and an exterior wall integral with the interior wall, and said retainer wall having two end walls and two side walls, and the interior wall having an upper portion and a lower portion, and the exterior wall having an upper portion integral the upper portion of the interior wall, and said retainer wall having a plurality of vertically disposed surfaces on the upper portion of the interior wall for supporting bottles, and said vertically disposed surfaces are space apart along the respective side wall and end wall along which the vertically disposed surfaces extend, whereby said vertically disposed surfaces are coplanar along respective side walls and end walls;
- and, wherein said lower portion of said retainer wall includes a wall section along the interior wall disposed between each consecutive pair of nesting windows, and each said wall section having a vertically disposed surface that is coplaner with a vertically disposed surface in the upper portion of the respective side wall or end wall within which a wall section is formed, and each said wall section is attached to the floor,
- (c) a plurality of nesting windows in the lower portion of the interior wall of the retainer wall, and each said nesting window is below a vertically disposed surface in the upper portion of the interior wall, wherein said crate further includes a nesting step formed on the retainer wall between consecutive vertically disposed surfaces on the upper portion of the interior wall.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.