WO1995008488A1

WO1995008488A1 - Bottle carrier

Info

Publication number: WO1995008488A1
Application number: PCT/NO1994/000143
Authority: WO
Inventors: Veijo Aikio
Original assignee: Dynoplast As
Priority date: 1993-09-21
Filing date: 1994-08-31
Publication date: 1995-03-30

Abstract

The invention relates to a bottle carrier comprising a generally flat plate (1) with openings (2), and means (4, 6) associated therewith allowing the cap and/or neck portion of the bottles to be pushed through the opening (2) in one direction, but preventing the bottles from being pushed through the opening in the opposite direction to such an extent that the bottles can be carried by means of the plate (1). In order to achieve a carrier which is simple but reliable and can be easily detached from the bottle, the means for locking the bottle into the carrier comprise a supporting ring (4) of flexible material for each opening (2), said supporting ring having at least one cut-out (5) and being supported to the edges (3) of the opening (2) to be spaced apart from the level of the plate (1).

Description

Bottle carrier

The present invention relates to a bottle car¬ rier comprising a generally flat plate with openings, and means associated therewith allowing the cap and/or neck portion of the bottles to be pushed through the opening in one direction, but preventing the bottles from being pushed through the opening in the opposite direction to such an extent that the bottles can be carried by means of the plate.

Attempts have been made to achieve carriers of the kind described above, so-called MultiPac carriers, to ease carrying various kinds of bottles. Carriers have been made from cardboard and plastic materials. Most of the conventional carriers like those described above have the problem that removal of the bottles from the carrier is often difficult, and it is actually necessary to break the carrier in order to remove a bottle. On the other hand, most carriers of the conventional type are not suitable for being used together with other types of packages. An example of such a package intended par¬ ticularly for RefPET bottles (plastic returnable bottles) is the package described in Finnish Patent Ap¬ plication 924 377, in which the bottles are placed in several superposed layers by fitting special base plates between them. It would be most preferable if a carrier suitable for carrying some bottles, typically 2-6 bottles, could be used together with the transport pack¬ ages in which the bottles are transported to the store. It is an object of the present invention to provide a carrier which, on the one hand, eliminates the above mentioned problems of conventional carriers, and on the other hand achieves the above object of the usability of the carrier together with other types of packages. This object is achieved with a carrier accord- ing to the invention, which is characterized in that the bottle supporting means comprise a supporting ring of flexible material for each opening, said supporting ring having at least one cut-out and being supported to the edges of the opening to be spaced apart from the level of the plate.

Thus the starting point for the carrier accord¬ ing to the invention is a plate-like blank, which has an opening conforming to the shape of the neck portion of the bottle, perhaps most generally a circular open¬ ing, on which a supporting ring, made of flexible ma¬ terial and having at least one cut-out, bears. When the cap and/or neck portion of the bottle is now pushed through the opening and further also through the flex- ible supporting ring, the supporting ring closes beneath a bead-like protuberance under the cap or for example the collar in RefPET bottles and thus prevents the bottle from becoming detached from the plate. Only spreading out the ring or turning the bottle so that its neck is detached from the supporting ring enables removal of the bottle from the plate.

Most preferably the bottle supporting means define a body of revolution generally frusto-conical in shape, which has been cut by a plane parallel to the central axis of the truncated cone. It is also possible that the supporting ring has two cut-outs, in which case the supporting means define a body of revolution gen¬ erally frusto-conical in shape, cut by two planes which are parallel to each other and to the central axis of the truncated cone and which are disposed symmetrically on the different sides of the central axis.

In a case of a carrier for two bottles, with two openings, the cut-outs in the supporting rings asso¬ ciated with the openings are most preferably disposed on opposite sides of the longitudinal central axis of the plate. Thus the bottles in the carrier tend to swing in opposite directions, and the structure of the carrier also in other ways resists an accidental detachment of the bottles. In the following, the carrier according to the invention will be described in more detail with refer¬ ence to the accompanying drawing, in which

Figure 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a carrier according to the invention as a perspective drawing,

Figure 2 shows a carrier according to Figure 1 as seen from underneath and

Figure 3 shows a carrier according to Figure 1 as a side elevation. The figures show an embodiment of a carrier according to the invention intended for two bottles. The carrier is formed of a generally flat plate 1. Most pre¬ ferably press moulding has been employed to provide the required shape and means for fastening the bottles to the plate in such a way that the bottles can be carried by means of said plate. The plate 1 has two generally circular openings 2, and supporting rings 4 intended to support the bottles bear on the edges 3 of said open¬ ings. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the sup- porting ring 4 has one cut-out 5, but it is also pos¬ sible to provide two cut-outs, for example opposite each other. However, providing one cut-out makes the support¬ ing ring more rigid, more reliable in use and less sus¬ ceptible to damages. The supporting ring 4 bears on the edges 3 of the openings 2 by means of ribs 6, which render the supporting ring spaced apart from the level of the plate 1. The described embodiment has four such ribs 6, but their number can vary according to need. Actually the portion between the edges 3 of the opening and the sup- porting ring 4 could also be formed of a frusto-conical envelope surface, which has an opening as if the trun¬ cated cone had been cut by a plane in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the cone. It is essential that the supporting ring and the ribs or envelope surface supporting it have sufficient flexibility in order that the neck portion of the bottle with the cap and possibly a collar may be pushed through the supporting ring from the direction of the opening 2. Thus the supporting ring and the ribs are most preferably made of suitable plas¬ tic material as an integral piece with the plate 1 and formed in such a way that the structure is sufficiently flexible and yet sufficiently rigid, and unnecessary material consumption is also avoided. As appears from the figures, the cut-outs 5 of the supporting rings 4 are disposed on opposite edges of the plate. This arrangement has the advantage that the structure thus avoids a situation in which the plate would tilt, when the bottle carrier is being carried, in such a way that the neck of one of the bottles would push towards the cut-out of the supporting ring, in which case it might accidentally be detached.

The supporting ring 4 shown in the figures is primarily intended to bear on the lower surface of the collar or flange beneath the threaded portion in RefPET bottles. If the bottle does not have such a collar, the supporting ring 4 can also bear on the lower edge of the cap or perhaps most typically on the bead-like protuber¬ ance which is provided in most bottles at the lower edge of the threaded or mouth portion of the bottle.

In the above, the carrier according to the in¬ vention has been described by means of one exemplary embodiment only, and it is to be understood that it can be modified in many different ways, yet without depart- ing from the scope defined by the attached claims. The figures show a carrier intended for only two bottles. However, the carrier could be simply modified for carry¬ ing for example four bottles. In that case, plates such as those shown in Figure 2 would be disposed as if there were two of said plates crosswise one on top of the other, whereby the openings 2 would form a figure like a four-leaved clover. To ea«3 carrying, suitable open¬ ings for fingers may be provided in the middle of the plate. Naturally, almost any number of openings 2 for bottles may be provided in the same carrier, but in practice carriers for two and four bottles are probably the most common, especially in view of RefPET bottles, which typically have a volume of 1.5 litres.

The figures also illustrate only an embodiment having a supporting ring for each bottle, which support¬ ing ring has only one cut-out, but, as has been men¬ tioned above, two cut-outs may also be provided, in which case they are most preferably disposed opposite each other, or possibly even more cut-outs may be pro- vided.

In a modified embodiment, the cut-outs 5 of the shown supporting ring may face the same side of the plate 1, to increase the resistance to detachment in certain positions.

Claims

1. A bottle carrier comprising a generally flat plate (1) with openings (2), and means (4, 6) associated therewith allowing the cap and/or neck portion of the bottles to be pushed through the opening (2) in one dir¬ ection, but preventing the bottles from being pushed through the opening in the opposite direction to such an extent that the bottles can be carried by means of the plate (1), c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said means comprise a supporting ring (4) of flexible mater¬ ial for each opening (2), said supporting ring having at least one cut-out (5) and being supported to the edges (3) of the opening (2) to be spaced apart from the level of the plate (1).

2. A carrier according to Claim 1, c h a r ¬ a c t e r i z e d in that said means (4, 6) define a body of revolution generally frusto-conical in shape, which has been cut by a plane parallel to the central axis of the truncated cone.

3. A carrier according to Claim 1, c h a r ¬ a c t e r i z e d in that said means define a body of revolution generally frusto-conical in shape, cut by two planes which are parallel to each other and to the cent- ral axis of the truncated cone and which are disposed symmetrically on the different sides of the central axis.

4. A carrier according to Claim 1 or 2 with two openings (2), c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the cut-outs ( 5) in the supporting rings (4) associated with the openings (2) are disposed on opposite sides of the longitudinal central axis of the plate ( 1 ) .