EP0550431A1

EP0550431A1 - A bottle package.

Info

Publication number: EP0550431A1
Application number: EP90915415A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jesper Donne
Original assignee: DON PLAST AS
Current assignee: DON PLAST AS
Priority date: 1989-04-04
Filing date: 1990-10-03
Publication date: 1993-07-14
Anticipated expiration: 2010-10-03
Also published as: DK161389D0; WO1992006016A1; DK162711C; DE69020585D1; DK161389A; EP0550431B1; DK162711B

Abstract

Un emballage (1) pour bouteilles sert à regrouper un nombre réduit de bouteilles et à les transporter ensemble. L'emballage comprend un matériau mince, de préférence plat, dans lequel sont façonnées une pluralité de zones de transport (9, 10) essentiellement annulaires qui portent les bouteilles en accrochant une moulure (11) du col de la bouteille et/ou le capuchon (12) de la bouteille. L'emballage (1) a essentiellement la forme d'un couvercle ouvert vers le bas avec une jupe (2) tournée vers le bas qui renferme, pendant son utilisation, au moins la partie supérieure du groupe de bouteilles, et avec un fond (4) qui contient les zones de transport (9, 10). Les zones de transport sont agencées de manière à porter, pendant le transport des bouteilles dans l'emballage (1), le poids des bouteilles sur la face intérieure (15) du matériau plat dont l'emballage est composé, tel que de préférence une matière plastique élastique appropriée. Etant donné que chaque zone de transport (9, 10) comprend des ondulations axiales (17), elles peuvent se dilater suffisamment pour que le col d'une bouteille puisse y pénétrer ou en sortir sans déformer de manière permanente les régions (9, 10). On peut ainsi réutiliser une ou plusieurs fois l'emballage afin d'emballer et de transporter des bouteilles pleines ainsi que des bouteilles vides consignées, ce qui présente des avantages considérables du point de vue économique et de l'environnement.A bottle container (1) is used to bundle a small number of bottles and transport them together. The packaging comprises a thin, preferably flat material, in which are formed a plurality of essentially annular transport zones (9, 10) which carry the bottles by hooking a molding (11) of the neck of the bottle and/or the cap (12) of the bottle. The package (1) essentially has the shape of an open lid at the bottom with a skirt (2) turned downwards which encloses, during its use, at least the upper part of the group of bottles, and with a bottom ( 4) which contains the transport zones (9, 10). The transport zones are arranged in such a way as to carry, during the transport of the bottles in the packaging (1), the weight of the bottles on the inner face (15) of the flat material of which the packaging is made, such as preferably a suitable elastic plastic material. Since each transport zone (9, 10) includes axial corrugations (17), they can expand sufficiently for the neck of a bottle to enter or exit without permanently deforming the regions (9, 10 ). It is thus possible to reuse the packaging one or more times in order to package and transport full bottles as well as returnable empty bottles, which has considerable advantages from an economic and environmental point of view.

Description

A bottle package

The invention concerns a bottle package for holding and carrying a group of bottles and consisting of a preferably thin plate-shaped material having a plurality of substan¬ tially ring-shaped carrier regions each carrying a bottle by means of engagement with a radially protruding projec¬ tion on the bottle neck or a cap on it.

Packages of this type serving to transport a small number, e.g. three or six bottles of beer or other beverage, are known. These packages normally have four sides which are folded from a single piece of cardboard or a similar ma- terial. The lower one of these sides is formed with guide openings for the bottles, and the upper carrier opening is formed with punched serrations or flaps permitting the bottle neck with applied cap to be inserted through the respective carrier opening, but not out again since the serrations or the flaps then jump inwardly like a kind of barbs and lock below the downwardly facing edge of a cap. To remove the bottles, the package therefore has to be torn apart, and it can therefore only be used once. Consi¬ dering the very large package amounts used this is of course a considerable problem both economically and envi¬ ronmentally, and the user, who now just has the destroyed package at his disposal, is then left with the problem, not insignificant in itself, of how to handle and return the empty returnable bottles, which could so conveniently be transported home in the robust cardboard package.

The object of the invention is to provide a package of the type stated in the opening paragraph, which is inexpensive and easy to mass-produce, and which can be used repeatedly for carrying filled bottles with applied cap as well as empty bottles without. This is achieved in that the bottle package of the inven¬ tion is characterized in that it substantially has the shape of a downwardly open cap with a downwardly facing skirt enclosing, in use, at any rate the upper part of the group of bottles, and a bottom containing the carrier re¬ gions, and that these are so adapted that, when the bottles are carried by the package, they take up the bottle weight via the inner side of their plate material. A detachable engagement is hereby obtained, which can also carry the bottle in the bead on its neck during transport so that the package can be used repeatedly for filled as well as empty bottles.

To ensure that the package is not permanently deformed during the repeated insertions and removals of the bottle neck, each carrier region, according to the invention, is adapted to be expanded from a rest position where the clear of the region is smaller than the outside diameter of the projection, and an expanded state where the clear is at least just as great as said diameter.

Moreover, according to the invention, each carrier region and the plate areas immediately adjoining it may extend in preferably softly bent curves in axial section whose tan- gents are nowhere at right angles to the axis of the re¬ gion, whereby the acute angle of the tangents with the axis may moreover be less than 80^c, preferably less than 60° and in particular less than 45°. This is advantageous for reasons of production and also involve safe holding of the bottle neck and moreover entails that the said bottle neck can be engaged and disengaged from the package with¬ out damaging it.

A particularly favourable elastic expansion of the carrier regions is obtained in an advantageous embodiment of the invention in that each of said carrier regions and/or the plate areas immediately adjoining these are formed with a plurality of substantially axially extending waves and/or slots.

Further, according to the invention, each carrier region may be adapted to engage simultanesouly with both a bead on the bottle neck and a cap on it, so as to provide a dual and therefore additionally sturdy engagement with the somewhat heavier, filled bottles which are provided with caps.

The package moreover consists of an elastic material, such as elastic plastics, which can be integrally formed to a unitary member by means of moulding, pressure or vacuum forming. This provides easy and inexpensive production and entails that, in contrast to cardboard, the material can be subjected to considerable non-permanent deformations, thereby making it possible to re-use the package. There¬ fore, the package is normally recycled with the returnable bottles to the beverage producer, who can use the package again or return it to the package manufacturer if it should have been damaged e.g. in transport. Finally, the package manufacturer may then repaint the used plastics package and thereby produce a product which may be used for moulding new plastics objects. Thus, considerable eco¬ nomic as well as environmental advantages are obtained.

According to the invention, the bottom of the cap-shaped package may moreover be pulled upwardly at each carrier region in a downwardly open tubular part, which contains the respective carrier region and is preferably closed upwardly, and a guide for each of the bottles may be pro¬ vided in the downwardly facing skirt in continuation of the tubular part. The bottles are hereby duly held in po- sition in the package during storage as well as during transport, and the packaged groups of bottles will more- over be stackable since each group can stably stand on the bottom of the subjacent package between its tubular parts, which at the same time accommodate the upper part of the bottle necks so that the total stack height will be smaller than is the case when using the known cardboard packages.

Further, according to the invention, the bottom of the cap-shaped package may be formed with at least one finger hole for carrying the packaged group of bottles.

Additionally, according to the invention, the package skirt may downwardly be provided with a peripherally ex¬ tending edge reinforcement in the form of a protruding flange or rib in order to stiffen the package.

The invention will be explained more fully below with re¬ ference to the drawing, in which

fig. 1 is a perspective and oblique top view of a bottle package according to the invention with a group of six bottles in all, drawn in dotted line,

fig. 2 is a perspective oblique bottom view of the package shown in fig. 1,

fig. 3 shows the same, but seen straight from below,

fig. 4 shows a package according to the invention, seen from the end with the right side in section and with a bottle neck drawn in dotted line,

fig. 5 shows the same, but in another embodiment,

fig. 6 is a fraction of a vertical section through a package according to the invention with a bottle neck drawn in solid line,

fig. 7 is a section along the line VII-VII in fig. 6,

fig. 8 is a side view of a package according to the inven¬ tion,

fig. 9 is a fraction of a longitudinal section through the package shown in fig. 8, where the punching for the left finger opening is visible, and

fig. 10 is a section corresponding to fig. 9, where the right finger opening is visible, the free-punched flap being opened.

The shown bottle package, which is generally indicated by 1, is made of a relatively thin plate-shaped material, e.g. elastic plastics, which may be transparent or co¬ loured and, as desired, additionally be provided with prints to indicate the nature and brand of the bottle contents.

Fig. 1 shows a package for a total of six bottles drawn in dotted line. The package is formed in a single piece by means of known manufacturing techniques, such as moulding, pressing or vacuum forming. As will be described more fully below, the package may be used repeatedly, but if it nevertheless eventually has to be rejected, e.g. because of damage in transport, the plastics material may be re- painted and be used again for moulding new objects, so that altogether the package involves considerable economic and environmental advantages.

In the shown embodiment, the package 1 is vacuum formed in hot state from a stiff and elastic plastics sheet to a form resembling a downwardly open cap which has a down- wardly facing skirt 2, which is downwardly stiffened with a flange 3, and a bottom 4 with finger holes 5 in which the package can be held when it is to be carried. The package surrounds the neck region of the total group of bottles with its skirt 4 and moreover guides the bottles by means of guides 6 provided in the skirt 2 with a shape corresponding to the bottle necks. In continuation of these guides 6, tubular parts 7 are drawn upwardly above the level of the bottom 4, said parts 7 being downwardly open and closed upwardly with a top 8 in which a further opening may optionally be provided.

As shown best in the right half of figs. 4, 5 and 6, the plastics sheet of the tubular parts 7 are formed with ring-shaped carrier regions 9, 10 to hold the bottles by means of engagement with a bead 11 on the bottle neck or cap 12 on it. Figs. 4 and 6 show a first embodiment 9 of such a carrier region, where a single engagement takes place with the neck bead 11. In contrast to the known cardboard packages, the group of bottles may thus be carried by means of the package of the invention, irres¬ pective of whether the bottles are provided with caps or not, and the package is therefore useful for filled bottles as well as for empty returnable bottles.

Fig. 5 shows another embodiment 10, where the carrier re¬ gion has a dual engagement for filled bottels, said region 10 having an upper region section 13 engaging with the cap 12, and a lower region section 14 which simultaneously en- gages with the bottle bead 11. During carrying, the package can hereby safely hold filled bottles which are extra heavy, while the empty and therefore lighter bottles are held by the lower region section 14 in the same manner as in the first embodiment. While the bottle weight in the known cardboard packages are taken up by the edges on the locked serrations or flaps during carrying in such a manner that it is neces¬ sary to tear the package apart in order to release the packaged bottles, the weight is taken up by the inner side of the plastics sheet of the carrier regions 9, 10 in the package of the invention. It is therefore possible to withdraw a packaged bottle without simultaneously destroy¬ ing the package, which can therefore be used again for re- turnable bottles or for new filled bottles.

For this process to proceed safely without the package being damaged, each carrier region may be expanded elasti- cally from a rest position in which the clear of the re- gion is smaller than the outside diameter of the bottle bead and/or the cap, to an expanded state in which the clear is at least just as great as said diameter, so that the bottle neck can be engaged and disengaged from the package without difficulty.

With a view to promoting the process further, each carrier region and the plate areas immediately adjoining it extend in preferably softly bent curves in axial section, whose tangents are nowhere at right angles to the axis of the region, whereby the acute angle of the tangents with the axis is less than 80°, preferably less than 60° and in particular less than 45°. This prevents the risk of e.g. sharp edges on the bottle cap digging into the material during the insertion or removal of the bottle neck in the respective carrier region.

The above-mentioned expansion of the carrier regions is relatively great and frequently considerably greater than the elasticity of the plastics material permits per se, and axially extending waves 16, 17 are therefore provided in or/and at the carrier regions in a particularly advan- tageous embodiment, the material being capable of elasti- cally bending so much that the necessary expansion of the carrier region can take place with certainty without per¬ manent deformations. Figs. 4, 6 and 7 show a first embodi¬ ment 16 of such waves, while fig. 5 shows another embodi¬ ment 17, where the waves 17 extend axially from a plate area below the lower region section 14 up to the upper re¬ gion section 13. Instead of waves, the sheet may be per¬ forated by slots likewise extending axially.

When the bottles are packaged in groups in the package of the invention, they may be stacked vertically on top of each other, since each group can stand on the bottom of the subjacent package between its tubular parts. Since these moreover accommodate the upper part of the bottle neck, the total height of the stacked bottles is reduced correspondingly with respect to bottles stacked by means of conventional cardboard packages.

Embodiments of the package of the invention are described above and showed in the drawing merely by way of example, since the structure of it may be varied in many ways with¬ in the scope of the invention.

Claims

P a t e n t C l a i m s :

1. A bottle package for holding and carrying a group of bottles and consisting of a preferably thin plate-shaped material having a plurality of substantially ring-shaped carrier regions each carrying a bottle by means of engage¬ ment with a radially protruding projection on the bottle neck or a cap on it, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the package substantially has the shape of a downwardly open cap with a downwardly facing skirt enclosing, in use, at any rate the upper part of the group of bottles, and a bottom containing the carrier regions, and that said carrier regions are so adapted that, when the bottles are carried in the package, they take up the bottle weight via the inner side of their plate material.

2. A bottle package according to claim 1, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that each carrier region is adapted to elastically expand from a rest position in which the clear of the region is smaller than the outside diameter of the projection, and an expanded state where the clear is at least just as great as said diameter.

3. A bottle package according to claim 1 or 2, c h a ¬ r a c t e r i z e d in that each carrier region and the plate areas immediately adjoining it extend preferably in softly bent curves in axial section, whose tangents are nowhere at right angles to the axis of the region.

4. A bottle package according to claim 3, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that the acute angle of the tangents with the axis is less than 80°, preferably less than 60° and in particular less than 45°.

5. A bottle package according to one or more of claims 1-

4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that a plurality of sub¬ stantially axially extending waves and/or slots are formed in each carrier region and/or the plate areas immediately adjoining it.

6. A bottle package according to one or more of claims 1-

5, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that each carrier region is adapted to engage simultaneously with both a bead of the bottle neck and a cap on it.

7. A bottle package according to one or more of claims 1-

6, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the package consists of an elastic material, such as elastic plastics, which is integrally formed to a single piece by means of moulding, pressing or vacuum forming.

8. A bottle package according to one or more of claims 1-

7, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the bottom of the cap-shaped package is pulled upwardly at each carrier re¬ gion in a downwardly open tubular part, which contains the respective carrier region and is preferably closed upward¬ ly, and that a guide for each of the bottles is formed in the downwardly facing skirt in continuation of the tubular part.

9. A bottle package according to one or more of claims 1-

8, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the bottom of the cap-shaped package is formed with at least one finger hole for carrying the packaged group of bottles.

10. A bottle package according to one or more of claims 1-9, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the skirt of the cap-shaped package is downwardly provided with a periphe- rally extending edge reinforcement in the form of a pro¬ truding flange or rib.