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US 6,142,300 AGranted
Bottled water shipping rack
AssigneeDaniel Kelly
InventorsDaniel Kelly, Emerson B. Donnell, Jr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A stackable crate and modular rack system for horizontally retaining large bottles such as used in the bottled water industry. The individual crates may be adapted to retain multiple bottles held in various configurations. The individual crates may be formed of multiple components. The crates are designed to provide stability when stacked on top of one another to form a modular rack system. The individual crates include an alignment feature, and a locking feature which also provides for sliding one stacked crate over another.
Claims28
A stackable crate, comprising:
- a top portion defining an upper plane having four corners;
- a bottom portion defining a lower plane having four corners;
- two opposite end portions forming a front and a rear, said front and said rear being separated by a distance defining a length;
- two opposite side portions;
- and
- at least one hollow retaining member for holding at least one bottle, said member including a retaining wall having an inner surface, an outer surface and including a plurality of supporting beams connected to said outer surface of said retaining wall, each of said beams extending to at least one of said top portion and said bottom portion, and a front opening formed on said front of said crate;
- wherein each retaining member is positioned to retain said at least one bottle in a horizontal orientation.
4 more elements
A stackable crate, comprising:
- a top portion defining an upper plane having four corners;
- a bottom portion defining a lower plane having four corners;
- two opposite end portions forming a front and a rear, said front and said rear being separated by a distance defining a length;
- two opposite side portions;
- at least one hollow retaining member for holding at least one bottle, said member including an inner boundary formed of a discontinuous surface defined by edges of a plurality of supporting beams, each of said beams extending to at least one of said top portion and said bottom portion, and a front opening formed on said front of said crate;
- and
- a peripheral wall generally extending from said upper plane to said lower plane and having a plurality of vertical support ribs protruding inwardly from and extending along said peripheral wall;
- wherein each retaining member is positioned to retain said at least one bottle in a horizontal orientation.
5 more elements
A modular rack system comprising a plurality of stacked crates, each of said crates comprising:
- a top portion defining an upper plane having four corners;
- a bottom portion defining a lower plane having four corners;
- two opposite end portions forming a front and a rear, said front and said rear being separated by a distance defining a length;
- two opposite side portions;
- at least one hollow retaining member for holding at least one bottle, said member including a retaining wall having an inner surface, an outer surface and including a plurality of supporting beams connected to said outer surface or to said retaining wall, each of said beams extending to at least one of said top portion and said bottom portion, a front opening formed on said front of said crate;
- and
- a peripheral wall generally extending from said upper plane to said lower plane and having a plurality of vertical support ribs protruding inwardly from and extending along said peripheral wall;
- wherein said at least one hollow retaining member is positioned to retain said at least one bottle in a horizontal orientation and along a common axis;
- and
- external fastening means to releasably secure said stacked crates together.
7 more elements
A stackable crate component comprising:
- a top portion defining an upper plane having four corners;
- a bottom portion defining a lower plane having four corners;
- two opposite end portions forming a front and a rear, said front and said rear separated by a distance defining a length;
- two opposite side portions;
- at least one horizontal cavity member extending from said front to said rear, said cavity member including a retaining wall having an inner surface, an outer surface and including a plurality of supporting beams connected to said outer surface of said retaining wall, each of said beams extending to at least one of said top portion and said bottom portion, and a front opening formed on said front of said crate;
- and
- a peripheral wall generally extending from said upper plane to said lower plane and having a plurality of vertical support ribs protruding inwardly from and extending along said peripheral wall;
- wherein said at least one horizontal cavity member includes an open section which extends to said bottom portion, and
- wherein said crate component is configured to be secured to a further crate component, the combination of said crate component and said further crate component forming a stackable crate, said stackable crate including at least one enclosed horizontal retaining member.
6 more elements
A stackable crate, comprising:
- a top portion defining an upper plane having four corners;
- a bottom portion defining a lower plane having four corners;
- two opposite end portions forming a front and a rear, said front and said rear being separated by a distance defining a length;
- two opposite side portions, each side portion formed of a vertical plane defined by a plurality of edges of vertical support ribs, said edges adjoining said vertical plane and said vertical support ribs extending inwardly, and at least one longitudinal support rib extending along said plurality of edges;
- and
- at least one hollow retaining member for holding at least one bottle, said member including an inner boundary formed of a discontinuous surface defined by edges of a plurality of supporting beams, each of said beams extending to at least one of said top portion and said bottom portion, and a front opening formed on said front of said crate,
- wherein each retaining member is positioned to retain said at least one bottle in a horizontal orientation.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.