Stackable low depth bottle case

A stackable low depth case for retaining and transporting bottles comprising:

• a plurality of outer side walls forming an outer shell having a low depth, said outer shell being rectangular and having a longer length than width and having the ratio of the length to the width of said outer shell being substantially equal to the ratio of the number of bottles said case holds in a length-wise direction to the number of bottles the case holds in a widthwise direction, at least two of said outer side walls including a lower side wall portion and a plurality of spaced side members extending above an upper surface of said lower side wall portion, at least two of said outer side walls including a handle structure;
• a bottom portion attached to said side walls;
• a plurality of spaced central members generally disposed within said side walls defining, in combination with said bottom portion and said outer side walls, at least some of said central members having a portion thereof which extends above a top surface of said lower side wall portions and below a top surface of the retained bottles;
• and
• said bottom portion includes:
• an upper surface;
• and
• resting and guiding means for resting said bottom portion on closures of bottles on which said case is stacked and for guiding the closures relative to said bottle retaining pockets, said resting and guiding means including a rib formation having a longitudinal centerline offset from the centerline of said bottle retaining pockets to guide closures of bottles into a central region of said bottle retaining pockets;
• wherein said case is empty, said spaced members of said case interlock with an upper case when said cases are stacked, and when a subjacent case is loaded, the closures of bottles disposed in the subjacent case abut said bottom portion resting and guiding means when said cases are stacked bottom to top.

A stackable low depth case for retaining and transporting bottles comprising:

• a plurality of outer side walls forming an outer shell having a low depth, said outer shell being rectangular and having a longer length than width and having the ratio of the length to the width of said outer shell being substantially equal to the ratio of the number of bottles said case holds in a length-wise direction to the number of bottles the case holds in a widthwise direction, at least two of said outer side walls including a lower side wall portion and a plurality of spaced side members extending above an upper surface of said lower side wall portion;
• a bottom portion attached to said side walls;
• a plurality of spaced central members generally disposed within said side walls defining, in combination with said bottom portion and said outer side walls, a plurality of bottle retaining pockets with at least one central member per pocket, at least some of said central members having a portion thereof which extends above a top surface of said lower side wall portions and below a top surface of the retained bottles;
• and
• said bottom portion includes:
• an upper surface;
• and
• resting and guiding means for resting said bottom portion on closures of bottles on which said case is stacked and for guiding the closures into a central region said bottle retaining pockets, said resting and guiding means including a rib formation having a longitudinal centerline offset from the centerline of said bottle retaining pockets;
• wherein when said case is empty, said spaced members of said case interlock with an upper case when said cases are stacked, and when a subjacent case is loaded, the closures of bottles disposed in the subjacent case abut said bottom portion resting and guiding means when said cases are stacked bottom to top;
• and
• wherein said rib formation comprises a cloverleaf shape.

In a stackable low depth case for retaining and transporting bottles comprising opposing side walls and opposing end walls forming an outer shell having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis;

• a case bottom attached to said outer shell;
• said improvement comprising:
• said case bottom including opposing sides and first and second opposing ends;
• wherein said opposing sides of said case bottom connect said case bottom to said side walls;
• and
• wherein said first and second opposing ends of said case bottom are spaced a predetermined distance from said end walls such that there is no structural connection therebetween.

In a stackable low depth case for retaining and transporting bottles comprising opposing side walls and opposing end walls forming an outer shell having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis;

• a case bottom attached to said outer shell;
• said improvement comprising:
• said outer shell including four corner members defining four corners of said case;
• said case bottom including a plurality of bottle supporting areas;
• said end walls each comprising an integrally molded handle structure having interior and exterior surfaces suspended between an upper portion of adjacent said corner members, a generally open area being defined below said interior and exterior surfaces of said handle structure and between said interior surface of said handle structure and at least one of said bottle supporting areas such that said handle structure may be freely grasped about substantially the entire periphery thereof.