Shipping and display container for bottles

A shipping container for bottles or other frangible articles, comprising:

• an insert formed by a pair of substantially identical, mating insert half sections each made from a respective single blank of paper material folded to have a bottom wall and tubular support structures at opposite sides thereof, and flaps on opposite ends of the bottom wall and opposite ends of the tubular support structures, some of said flaps on opposite ends of the bottom wall being foldable into interlocking relationship with some of said flaps on opposite ends of the tubular support structures to form end walls for the insert, and other of said flaps on opposite ends of the bottom wall and on opposite ends of the tubular support structures being foldable into and over opposite ends of the tubular support structures to rigidify the tubular support structures and hold them in erected condition, said tubular support structures forming outer side walls of the half section, said inserts being foldable or collapsible into a flattened condition for storage and shipment of the insert when it is empty, each support structure having recessed portions defining supports for nesting and supporting at least one article along three spatial axes and in spaced relationship to the bottom wall and outer side walls, said half sections placed together in registry with one another and with an article on opposite sides of the article to enclose it;
• and
• a box in which the insert is placed to hold the mating half sections together.

A shipping and display container for bottles, comprising:

• a pair of substantially identical, mating half sections each made from a respective single blank of paper material folded to define spaced apart recessed supports for supporting opposite ends of at least one elongate article along three spatial axes when the article is placed in the recessed supports of the half section, said half sections being configured so that one half section can support at least one article in a secure and visible orientation for display, and a pair of half sections can be placed together in mirror image registry with one another on opposite sides of at least one article to enclose said at least one article and define a shipping container for secure shipping of said at least one article, said elongate article having axially oriented opposite ends and a radial dimension, and each recessed support has an axial support element that engages a respective axially oriented opposite end of an article supported in said one half section to limit axial movement of the article, and a radial support element that engages approximately one half the radial dimension of the article at that support, whereby an article resting on said supports is nested up to approximately one half its radial dimension in one said half section, each half section having a bottom wall, opposite side walls and opposite end walls, and said support elements are spaced from the walls such that an article supported thereon is maintained in spaced relationship to said walls, said recessed supports in each half section being formed in quadrilateral structures at opposite sides of said half section, said quadrilateral structures each formed by a respective side wall and adjoining portion of the bottom wall of a half section, and by a top wall panel foldably joined to a top edge of the respective side wall and extending laterally inwardly therefrom over the back wall in parallel, spaced relationship thereto, and terminating at an inner edge thereof in an inner wall panel foldably joined to the inner edge of the top wall panel and extending downwardly in parallel, spaced relationship to the respective side wall, and terminating at a lower edge thereof in a lower panel lying flat against the back wall and extending toward the opposite side of the half section.