Claims
- 1. A substantially triangular shaped container bottom comprising a bottom wall with a concave surface.
- 2. The substantially triangular shaped container bottom of claim 1, wherein the concave surface has a center of curvature located on a geometric central axis of the container bottom.
- 3. The substantially triangular shaped container bottom of claim 1, wherein the concave surface is defined by a function rotated about a vertical axis.
- 4. The substantially triangular shaped container bottom of claim 3, wherein the vertical axis is a geometric central axis of the container bottom.
- 5. The substantially triangular shaped container bottom of claim 3, wherein the concave surface is spherically concave.
- 6. The substantially triangular shaped container bottom of claim 1, wherein the concave surface is defined by a function rotated about a horizontal axis.
- 7. The substantially triangular shaped container bottom of claim 6, wherein the horizontal axis intersects a geometric central axis of the container bottom.
- 8. The substantially triangular shaped container bottom of claim 6, wherein the concave surface is circularly cylindrically concave.
- 9. A container comprising:
a) a container body defining an interior chamber; and b) a container bottom attached to the container body, wherein the container bottom includes a central surface area that is inwardly concave towards the interior chamber.
- 10. The container of claim 9, wherein the container bottom includes an inner wall, an outer wall, and a bottom wall including the central surface area, wherein the inner wall is attached to the bottom wall and wherein the outer wall is attached to the container body, and wherein the inner wall and outer wall define a lateral cavity in fluid communication with the interior chamber.
- 11. The container of claim 10, wherein the container bottom includes a geometric central axis, and wherein at least a portion of the lateral cavity extends a greater radial distance from a geometric central axis along a first radial line extending perpendicular from the geometric central axis than a maximum radial distance between the container body and the central axis along a second radial line parallel to the first radial line.
- 12. The container of claim 9, wherein the container body has a first maximum cross-sectional width taken along an imaginary plane that is perpendicular to a geometric central axis of the container bottom, and wherein the container bottom has a second maximum cross-sectional width taken along another imaginary plane that is perpendicular to the geometric central axis, wherein the second maximum cross-sectional width is larger than the first maximum cross-sectional width.
- 13. The container of claim 9, wherein the concave surface is defined by a function rotated about a vertical axis.
- 14. The container of claim 13, wherein the vertical axis is a geometric central axis of the container bottom.
- 15. The container of claim 13, wherein the concave surface is spherically concave.
- 16. The container of claim 9, wherein the concave surface is defined by a function rotated about a horizontal axis.
- 17. The container of claim 16, wherein the horizontal axis is perpendicular to a geometric central axis of the container bottom.
- 18. The container of claim 16, wherein the concave surface is circularly cylindrically concave.
- 19. The container of claim 9, wherein a portion of the container is substantially triangular shaped.
- 20. The container of claim 9, wherein the central surface area includes a geometric center of the container bottom.
- 21. The container of claim 9, wherein a geometric central axis extends from a geometric center of the container bottom, a maximum radial length is defined between the container body and the geometric central axis of the container body along a direction perpendicular to the geometric central axis, and wherein an inwardly concave portion of the central surface area is located from the geometric central axis within 85% of the maximum radial length.
- 22. The container of claim 21, wherein the inwardly concave portion of the central surface area is located from the geometric central axis within 25% of the maximum radial length.
- 23. A combination comprising:
a) a container including a container body defining an interior chamber and a container bottom attached to the container body, wherein the container bottom includes a central surface area that is inwardly concave towards the interior chamber; and b) a plurality of articles disposed in a nested stack in the interior chamber of the container, wherein the article adjacent the container bottom includes a convex surface engaging the concave surface of the container bottom.
- 24. A method of loading a plurality of articles in a container comprising the steps of:
a) providing a container defining an interior chamber, the container comprising a bottom wall including an inner surface; b) providing a stack of articles; c) inserting the stack of articles at least partially into the interior chamber until a surface portion of the leading article of the stack of articles contacts the inner surface of the bottom wall with an Angle Between Tangents of less than or equal to about 45°; and d) reorienting the leading article by forcing the leading article against the inner surface.
- 25. The method of claim 24, further comprising the step of rotating the container to change the orientation of the container with respect to a vertical axis.
- 26. The method of claim 24, wherein the stack of articles are inserted in a substantially horizontal direction.
- 27. The method of claim 24, wherein the inner surface is flat.
- 28. The method of claim 24, wherein the inner surface is concave towards the interior chamber.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/851,040, filed May 8, 2001, which claims the benefit U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/202,394, filed May 8, 2000. The application also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 60/248,103 and 60/248,340, each filed Nov. 13, 2000. Each application is entirely incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (3)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60202394 |
May 2000 |
US |
|
60248103 |
Nov 2000 |
US |
|
60248340 |
Nov 2000 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09851040 |
May 2001 |
US |
Child |
10011112 |
Nov 2001 |
US |