This is a national stage application under 35 U.S.C. 371 of PCT/US03/16472.
This invention relates to a tray for holding cans, and particularly beverage and soft drink cans.
Trays used to hold cans, such as soft drink or beer cans, typically include an open floor and side walls having a continuous band around the top in order to retain the cans within the tray during storage and transport. An example of such can tray is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,172. However, can trays of this type often do not provide adequate visibility into the tray in order to view its contents, or to read the label of the can held therein. Present can trays are also typically single walled structures, which while durable, may not be capable of providing enhanced torsion and bending strength which may be desired under certain circumstances. These trays also may not provide sufficient nesting with like trays during storage and transport.
Accordingly, a can tray is desired which provides visibility into the crate and the capability of reading the label of the cans stored therein, as well as providing enhanced strength and enhanced nestability when not in use.
A tray for supporting cans is provided, which has a floor member and a wall structure. The wall structure includes a plurality of support members around the periphery to the tray and windows between adjacent support members for providing visibility into the tray. The floor area includes upstanding projections extending upwardly therefrom. The support members and projections define a plurality of can receiving areas in which the cans are supported. The tray is capable of nesting with a similar tray. In one embodiment, the tray includes a handle bar member extending between two support members on the end wall, defining an opening thereunder by which a user may grasp the handle bar and manipulate the tray. In another embodiment, upstanding rib members are provided on the floor in order to impede the flow of liquid from the tray. In yet another embodiment, a cutout is provided on the outer surface of the support members for handling the tray. And in still another embodiment, the support members extend fully around the periphery of the tray.
Other advantages of the present invention can be understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
As shown in
As illustrated in this embodiment, tray 10 also includes a handle bar 28 that extends between adjacent support members 27 on the short side of the tray. Thus, handle bar 28, support members 27, and floor member 12 define an opening 42 below handle bar 28 that allows a user to grasp the tray 10 and manipulate the tray. Wall structure 22 also includes between adjacent side members 24 a relatively short connection member 30 extending between side members 24 and disposed beneath window 26. Connection member 30 serves to provide additional strength to tray 10 while not blocking the visibility into the crate or the can label in accordance of the goals of the present invention.
Support members 24 have a generally flat, planar outer surface 32, and an inner surface having two opposed can contact surfaces 34, 36 which extend into the interior of tray 10 and form can retaining pockets 14 along with projections 18 and/or 20. An opening 33 is disposed below outer surface 32 for ease of nesting. However, note that corner support members 29 of course, have only a single can retaining surface 38. Also, floor member 12 includes a relatively short peripheral projection 40 along the longitudinal centerline adjacent the handle bar 28 for providing lower support for cans disposed adjacent thereto.
A second embodiment of the can tray according to the present invention is shown in
Each of the tray embodiments shown herein is generally symmetrical about its centerlines. Preferably the trays disclosed herein are integrally formed of injection molded plastic to form a unitary construction. It is understood that the term “can label” is used herein to generically define a printed can, whether there is a separate label attached thereto, or not. While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/US03/16472 | 5/22/2003 | WO | 00 | 7/25/2005 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO03/099665 | 12/4/2003 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20050269239 A1 | Dec 2005 | US |