EP0452751A1 - Bottle crate - Google Patents

Abstract

In a bottle crate (1) with partitioning (6) which exhibits at least one compartment (7) for a bottle, whereby each compartment exhibits a base (22) and compartment walls (21), which extend over part of the bottle placed in each compartment, and the base is provided with devices to centrally position the bottles, secure positioning of the bottles in the compartment is achieved in that the devices are designed as a graduated support (24,27,28) on their side facing the inside of the compartment, and exhibit at least two ledges (31,35) to take the bottoms of the bottles. In this way bottles of differing diameters can be stored in the crate. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a bottle crate with at least one compartment having compartments, each compartment having a bottom and compartment walls which extend over part of the bottles placed in each compartment, and the bottom is provided with means for centrally receiving the bottles.

Bottles, especially wine bottles, are generally sold lying down and packed in boxes, for example, or sold upright in bottle crates. With bottles packed in boxes, there is a risk that the bottles will be damaged when they are transported because they touch each other. In addition, the stacking height of such boxes is limited due to the weight of the full boxes and the resulting pressure on the bottles in the lower boxes. Such problems do not occur with bottles placed in bottle crates, since they do not touch one another in closed storage compartments in the bottle crate and are not stressed when the bottle crates are stacked on top of one another. The stack height for bottle crates is primarily determined by the stability of the bottle crates.

Bottle crates are usually designed for one type of bottle, that is to say on bottles of either the same height or the same diameter, so that the compartments in the compartment have a shape adapted to the bottles. For the different bottle types, bottle crates with appropriately designed compartments are required. However, this has the disadvantage that, on the one hand, the manufacturer has to keep the bottle crates suitable for the bottles, on the other hand, non-negligible logistical problems arise for the middleman, since he has to cope with increased storage costs due to the different bottle crates and incompatible bottle crates. Even the end user is faced with a complex inventory process with the bottle crates specially tailored to the different types of bottles.

The invention is therefore based on the object of designing a bottle crate of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that the transport and long-term storage of bottles of different designs is made possible, and it is ensured that the bottles are held centrally in the respective compartments of the bottle crate. In addition, bottles should also be held securely which have a diameter slightly different from the standard diameter.

This object is achieved in that the means are formed on their side facing the inside of the adjustment compartment as a step-shaped support and have at least two shoulders receiving the bottle bottoms.

This bottle crate designed according to the invention now enables the setting of bottles of different designs. For example, 1 liter and 0.75 liter bottles can be placed in the bottle crate, ensuring that each bottle is centered precisely in the setting compartment and held in a vertical position. This is achieved in that the bottle with the larger diameter, for example a 1 liter bottle, is arranged in the setting compartment in such a way that its bottle bottom is received in the first paragraph of the step-shaped support of the bottom of the setting compartment. A bottle with a smaller diameter, for example a 0.75 liter bottle, is held securely in an identically designed setting compartment by the bottle bottom engaging in a second shoulder of the support, this second paragraph being provided within the first paragraph. This ensures that even with this bottle with a smaller diameter, the bottle axis runs in the direction of the axis of the setting compartment, which means that this bottle is also received vertically in the setting compartment. Because of the two shoulders of each support, bottles of two types of bottle, that is to say with different diameters, can thus be transported with the same bottle crate. Bottles of different heights can also be e.g. B. Bottles of the 310 or 330 version can be placed in the bottle crate. The support can also be provided with more than two shoulders, which has the advantage that an even greater variety of bottles can be transported with the same bottle crate. The paragraphs are preferably arranged point-symmetrically to the axis of the setting compartment.

The supports advantageously engage laterally on the bottles and are held only by the heels. Furthermore, the supports are designed as compartment walls. Finally, the shelf is advantageously closed in the center of each storage compartment. This turns the bottle upside down e.g. protected from contamination or damage.

In a preferred embodiment, it is provided that the support is designed as webs, in particular arranged crosswise. These webs can either be placed on a floor, but they can also form the bottom of the adjustment compartment itself. The bottle crate is then largely open at the bottom, which makes thorough cleaning of the bottle crate much easier. The webs are either arranged diagonally at the lower end of the setting compartment, where they intersect in the axis of the compartment, in another embodiment, the webs extend from one compartment wall to the opposite and are each connected to the compartment walls in the middle of the compartment. In another embodiment it is provided that the supports are designed as concentric rings, the next inner ring being arranged slightly lower. Instead of rings, ring elements or partial rings are also conceivable as supports for the bottle bottom.

In a development of the invention it is provided that the shoulders are arranged descending from the compartment wall of the setting compartment towards the center of the compartment. This configuration permits the central arrangement of bottles with different diameters, the bottles with smaller diameters being inserted in the shoulders located in the direction of the center of the compartment and lower in relation to the outer shoulders.

In an advantageous embodiment it is provided that the sections separating the shoulders from one another in the direction of the floor and the center of the compartment have slanted guide surfaces. In the case of a bottle placed in the adjustment compartment, the side edge of the bottle bottom lies against the guide surfaces, as a result of which the bottle is held securely on the shoulders of the supports. This prevents the bottle from slipping within the adjustment compartment. Furthermore, the guide surfaces have the advantage that a bottle inserted obliquely into the setting compartment is automatically aligned vertically in that the bottle base is directed onto the associated shoulders via the guide surfaces. If a bottle jumps out of the support due to improper handling of the bottle crate, the guide surfaces ensure that the bottle bottom gradually slides back to its original position. In this stable position, several guide surfaces then encompass the side edge of the bottle base.

The heels are advantageously designed in the manner of a step and the sections in the manner of a riser. The riser is advantageously arranged slightly inclined to the vertical. The paragraphs are preferably flat or slight formed obliquely in the direction of the shelf and the middle of the compartment, which supports the automatic centering of the bottle within the setting compartment.

In a preferred embodiment it is provided that the support is provided with central holders for receiving one bottle mouth each of bottles standing on the mouth and placed in the storage compartments. With this configuration of the support, the possibility is created not only of placing the bottles upright, but also overhead, that is to say with the bottle mouth facing downward, into the compartments of the bottle crate. In this position, the bottle body is supported on the inside of the compartment walls and the bottle mouth lies in the central holder of the support. The central support of the support is provided so that it receives the bottle mouth and projects over a certain area. This ensures that the bottle mouth of a bottle placed overhead in the setting compartment does not slip on the bottom of the setting compartment. The bottle is also aligned vertically in this position. The brackets are preferably designed as recesses. These recesses now form the lowest point of the shelf.

The brackets are advantageously connected to the closest section via inclined sections. The inclined sections ensure that a bottle inserted obliquely into the setting compartment is automatically aligned vertically, the bottle mouth automatically sliding into the central holder. In the area of the shelf, means are advantageously provided which prevent an obliquely inserted one Bottle whose bottle mouth reaches through the bottom of the box.

A secure mounting of the bottles in the individual compartments is ensured in that the compartment walls extend at least over the cylindrical part of each set bottle. This measure ensures that, even due to improper handling of the bottle crate in the setting compartment, bottles cannot tip against each other and can tilt back into their vertical position after being deflected. The height of the compartment walls is at least so high that the center of gravity of a tilted bottle lying against the compartment wall is always between the center of the bottle bottom and the tipping point, both in the filled and in the empty state. The tilting back of the bottle and the always central location within the setting compartment ensures that the bottles can be removed or reinserted into the setting compartments without problems by means of automatic packers, the lateral deflection of which is limited. It is also ensured that bottles with different heights, such as. B. in the 0.75 liter bottle the 310 and 330 version with a length of 310 mm and 330 mm can be transported in the bottle crate according to the invention.

The compartment walls advantageously have an opening extending to the floor in the region of their longitudinal central axis. The opening is advantageously designed such that when the bottle crate is lying on the side, a bottle inserted into the setting compartment at least partially passes through the opening. This ensures that when the bottle crate is lying on its side, the bottles cannot slide out of the adjustment compartment. This is prevented by the bottle is displaced in the setting compartment in such a way that the bottle belly reaches through the opening at least partially, slightly engaging in the adjoining setting compartment below. As a result, the bottle assumes an inclined position within the setting compartment, its longitudinal axis being inclined to the axis of the setting compartment in such a way that it rises in the direction of the bottle neck. This prevents the bottle from sliding out when the bottle crate is lying on its side.

The invention also relates to an insert for a bottle crate according to the design described above, the insert being attachable to the bottom of the adjustment compartment and having the means for centrally receiving the bottles. With this insert, conventionally designed bottle crates can be converted in a simple manner so that bottles of different bottle types, in particular of different diameters and different heights, can now be adjusted equally well.

Fig. 1

eine perspektivische Ansicht eines erfindungsgemäßen Flaschenkastens mit sechs Einstellfächern;

Fig. 2

eine schematische Wiedergabe eines Einstellfaches;

Fig. 3a - 3c

einen Schnitt III-III gemäß Fig. 2 in vergrößerter Wiedergabe, wobei in das Einstellfach eine Flasche mit großem Durchmesser, mit kleinem Durchmesser, jeweils in aufrechter Stellung, und eine Flasche mit der Mündung nach unten eingestellt sind.

Further advantages, features and details of the invention result from the following description, in which a particularly preferred exemplary embodiment is described in detail with reference to the drawing. Show:

Fig. 1

a perspective view of a bottle crate according to the invention with six compartments;

Fig. 2

a schematic representation of an adjustment compartment;

3a-3c

a section III-III of FIG. 2 in an enlarged representation, wherein a bottle with a large diameter, with a small diameter, in each case in the upright position, and a bottle with the mouth down are set in the setting compartment.

In the embodiment of a bottle crate 1 according to the invention shown in FIG. 1, 2 denotes a front side wall and 3 a rear side wall. The two side walls 2 and 3 together with side walls 4 and 5 form a compartment 6, which is divided into six compartments 7 in this embodiment. The side walls 2 to 5 have openings 8 to 15, the openings 8 and 10 being provided on the front and rear side walls 2 and 3 and the openings 9 and 11 on the side walls 4 and 5 in the upper region thereof. These openings 8 to 11 form engagement openings so that the bottle crate 1 can be gripped and carried on the frame 16 to 19. The label of a bottle placed in the adjustment compartments 7 (as shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b) can be seen through the openings 12 to 15. The openings 12 to 15 thus allow the contents of the box to be recognized without the bottles having to be removed from the insertion compartments 7 for this purpose.

In addition, knobs 20 are provided on the front side wall in the region of the corners, which protrude slightly above the surface of the side wall 2. Knobs are correspondingly arranged on the rear side wall 3 in the region of the corners. The knobs 20 have the task of preventing two bottle crates lying on top of one another from slipping when they are either on their front side wall 2 or on their rear side wall 3 lie. In this position, the knobs 20 of one side wall of the one bottle crate engage between the knobs 20 of the other side wall of the other bottle crate, as a result of which the two bottle crates get caught. Aurf of this type can be used to construct a shelf from the bottle crates 1 according to the invention.

In the section of the compartment 6 shown in FIG. 2, an adjustment compartment 7 is shown, which has compartment walls 21 and is provided with a bottom 22. The compartment walls 21 are provided with openings 23 which extend along the center line of the compartment walls 21 and extend to the bottom 22 of the adjustment compartment 7. The openings 23 have a greater width in the region of the bottom 22 than at the upper end of the adjustment compartment 7. It can also be seen that the bottom 22 of the adjustment compartment 7 consists of a support 24 which is arranged in the form of two webs 25 and 26 diagonally at the lower end of the adjustment compartment 7 such that the webs 25 and 26 connect opposite corners. The two webs 25 and 26 intersect in the central longitudinal axis of the adjustment compartment 7. In addition, further supports 27 and 28 of adjacent adjustment compartments or partial sections of these supports can be seen through the openings 23. In another embodiment, not shown, the webs 25 and 26, which form the support 24, are placed on a floor, so that the adjustment compartment 7 is closed in the direction of the floor.

The design of the support 24 is explained in more detail with reference to the illustrations in FIGS. 3a to 3c, in which the section III-III according to FIG. 2 is shown, in which the web 25 is shown with a bottle 29 inserted in the adjustment compartment 7. The bottle 29 has a diameter which is essentially the distance between two opposing compartment walls 21. The bottle base 30 of this bottle 29 sits on two shoulders 31 which are provided in the support 24. At their end facing the compartment wall 21, the shoulders 31 have a guide surface 32 which, starting from the heel 31, slopes slightly outwards and extends upwards. This guide surface 32 lies against the lateral bottom edge of the bottle 29 and thereby prevents the bottle 29 from slipping on the support 24. In addition, it can be seen that the compartment wall 21 extends over the cylindrical part of the bottle 29, so that the bottle 29 is largely protected in the Storage compartment 7 is housed.
In the arrangement shown in FIG. 3b, a bottle 33 with a smaller diameter than the bottle 29 is inserted in the adjustment compartment 7. The shape of the bottle 33 corresponds, for example, to a 0.75 liter bottle, which can have a height of 310 mm or 330 mm, whereas the bottle 29 corresponds to a 1 liter bottle. Since the bottle 33 has a smaller diameter, its bottom 34, which consequently also has a smaller diameter, is inserted in the support 24 in paragraphs 35. These shoulders 35 are located radially within the shoulders 31 and are arranged axially below the shoulders 31. Between the paragraphs 31 and 35 there are again guide surfaces 36, which also run slightly obliquely from paragraph 31 to paragraph 35. These guide surfaces 36 also rest against the circumferential edge of the bottle base 34 and thus ensure a secure hold of the bottle 33 in the support 24. Another advantage of the guide surfaces 36 and the guide surfaces 32 is that, for example, with a bottle 33 inserted obliquely into the adjustment compartment 7 the guide surfaces 32 and 36 cause the bottle base 34 to slide gradually in the direction of the shoulders 35. This slipping will supported by slight vibrations of the bottle crate 1, for example during transport. Finally, if the bottle bottom 34 is located in the shoulders 35, it has its stable position there. The compartment walls 21 also have a height in this arrangement which essentially corresponds to the height of the cylindrical part of the bottle 33. This has the advantage that when the bottle 33 is pivoted, which is possible in this case, since the value of the diameter of the bottle 33 is less than the distance between the two compartment walls 21, adjacent bottles 33 are prevented from colliding. In addition, the height of the compartment walls 21 is chosen so that the center of gravity of both a full and an empty bottle 33 is always above the bottom 34, so that the bottle 33 automatically tilts back into its stable starting position, in which it is coaxial to the axis of the Adjustment compartment 7 is aligned.

In the arrangement example of FIG. 3c, a bottle 37 is inserted with its bottle mouth 38 down into the setting compartment 7. The bottle mouth 38 engages in a further recess 39 of the support 24. Here too, the recess 39 is surrounded on both sides by guide surfaces 40 which laterally overlap the bottle mouth. As a result, the bottle mouth 38 is held securely in the recess 39. The guide surfaces 40 are also formed slightly obliquely in accordance with the guide surfaces 36 and 32. The recess 39 and the guide surfaces 40 accordingly form a holder for the bottle mouth 38. This configuration also ensures that when a bottle 37 is inserted obliquely into the adjustment compartment 7, the bottle mouth 38 automatically via the guide surfaces 32, 36 and 40 into the recess 39 slides. Are not shown are advantageous Means are provided which prevent the bottle mouth 38 from slipping off the web 25 or 26.

In Figures 3a to 3c it can be seen that the support 24 is designed such that the paragraphs 31 and 35 and the recess 39 with the guide surfaces 36 and 40 provided in between are stepped, the paragraphs 31 and 35 and the recess 39 in are arranged substantially flat or slightly inclined towards the center of the compartment and each form a step. The guide surfaces 32, 36 and 40, which also have a slight inclination with respect to the vertical, form the risers. Bottle crates 1 with a base 22 designed in this way can accommodate bottles 29 and 33 with two different diameters in the embodiment of the support 24 shown in the figures. However, supports are also conceivable that have a larger number of shoulders, so that the variety of bottle types of the adjustable bottles can be increased. In addition, the support 24 can instead of crossing webs 25 and 26, which are either arranged diagonally in the compartment 7, or parallel to the compartment walls on the bottom 22 of the compartment 7, for example by concentric rings, the tops of which shoulders 31 and 35 as well as form the recess 39.

The high compartment 6 also has the advantage that the label of the bottles in the compartments 7 is not damaged.

Claims (10)

Bottle crate with a compartment (6) having at least one insertion compartment (7), each insertion compartment (7) having a bottom (22) and compartment walls (21) which extend over part of the bottle placed in each insertion compartment (7), and the bottom (22) is provided with means for centrally receiving the bottle, characterized in that the means on its side facing the inside of the adjustment compartment (7) are designed as step-like supports (24, 27 and 28) and at least two the bottle bottoms have receiving paragraphs (31 and 35). Bottle crate according to claim 1, characterized in that the support (24) is in the form of webs (25, 26) arranged in a crosswise manner. Bottle crate according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the shoulders (31, 35) are arranged descending from the compartment wall (21) of the setting compartment (7) in the direction of the center of the compartment and in particular are flat or slightly oblique in the direction of the bottom and the center of the compartment . Bottle crate according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sections (31, 35), which in particular are designed in the manner of a step, separate and in particular are designed in the manner of a riser in the direction of the bottom (22) and the center of the compartment , 36 or 40). Bottle crate according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support (24) is formed from concentric rings or partial rings and has a central holder for receiving a bottle mouth (38) of a bottle standing on the mouth and placed in the setting compartment (7) ( 37) is provided. Bottle crate according to claim 5, characterized in that the holder is designed as a recess (39). Bottle crate according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the compartment walls (21) extend at least over the cylindrical part of an inserted bottle and, in particular in the region of their longitudinal central axis, have an opening (23) extending to the bottom (22). Bottle crate according to claim 7, characterized in that the opening (23) is designed such that when the bottle crate (1) is lying on the side, a bottle inserted into the setting compartment (7) at least partially passes through the opening (23). Bottle crate according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the shelf (22) is closed in the center of each adjustment compartment (7). Insert for a bottle crate (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the insert can be fastened to the bottom (22) of the adjustment compartment (7) and has the means for centrally receiving the bottles.

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