Patent Application
20070039836
Six-pack or multiple bottle carriers which hold bottles or containers by their necks to allow them to be carried are well known. The bottles typically have labels to advertise their contents. A common type of commercially available prior art carrier is fabricated from thin gauge sheets of plastic. The thin planar sheet is die-cut to provide holes for engaging the necks of the containers and holes for grasping the carrier, and is thermo-formed into a three dimensional shape to provide structural integrity to the carrier. There are several problems with this carrier. First, the thermo-formed plastic sheet shrouds the container, obscuring visibility of the product and product labels. Second, the thin gauge of the plastic material makes the carrier uncomfortable to carry. Further, the thin gauge material requires a substantial amount of structural surface area to support the containers. This tends to further hide the product in the containers and advertising on the labels.
Another carrier design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,962. It has keyhole-shaped neck retainers and sharp edges on both the neck retainers and the finger holes. This carrier is also uncomfortable to carry due to its sharp edges. In addition, the rigid keyhole-shaped neck retainers are difficult to fit over the neck flanges of the containers, and likewise it is difficult to remove the containers from the carrier due to the rigid key hole-shaped neck retainers.
Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,397 discloses a six pack carrier design that overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art. However, that carrier design allows the outboard containers to sag a bit due to inadequate support for them when the loaded carrier is lifted by the carrier's handholds.
What is needed is a carrier that is comfortable to carry, allows for excellent visibility of the product in the containers and the labels on the containers, allows for easy application and removal of the containers from the carrier, and provides good balance in carrying and handling containers.
There are essentially two aspects to the present invention, both of which comprise an integrally-molded carrier for carrying multiple containers by their necks by grasping a pair of opposing finger loops.
In a first aspect, the carrier has a substantially planar web defining a pair of centrally located annular support openings. Each support opening has a finger loop disposed therein with the two finger loops in substantial mirrored alignment. Each finger loop is attached to the annular opening at two points tangent to the two outermost container neck-engaging structures. The carrier has a plurality of annular neck-engaging structures integral with the web and arranged around the periphery of the support openings. Each of the neck-engaging structures has a respective circumferential rib and a plurality of flanges projecting inwardly from the circumferential rib for releasably engaging the necks of the containers.
In a second aspect, there is provided a plurality of the same type of neck-engaging structures as noted above, the neck-engaging structures being secured together by smaller gap-bridging elements and having a pair of centrally disposed larger gaps that accommodate a pair of finger loops in substantial mirrored alignment.
Referring to the drawings, wherein like numerals generally refer to the same elements, there is shown in
A plurality of identical annular neck-engaging structures 20 are integral with the web 12 and are arranged around the periphery of the support openings 14. Each neck-engaging structure 20 has a respective circumferential rib 22. Each circumferential rib 22 has a radiused upper and lower surface 22a and 22b, respectively. Each neck-engaging structure 20 further has a plurality of flanges 24 projecting inwardly from circumferential rib 22 for releasably engaging the necks 26 of the containers 28. The flanges 24 are oriented upwardly and comprise sections of a truncated cone. The inner edges 25 of flanges 24 form a circle and engage the necks 26 of the containers 28, allowing carrier 10 to secure and support the containers.
Interconnecting each of the neck-engaging structures 20 are external ribs 30. External ribs 30, like support ribs 16 and circumferential ribs 22, have radiused upper and lower surfaces. These interconnecting ribs add dimensional support to the carrier, much like I beams in a framed structure.
In a preferred embodiment, the thickness of flanges 24 is 20-25 mils, the thickness of ribs 16, 22 and 30 and web 12 is 60 mils each, and the height of ribs 16, 22 and 30 is 180 mils. Support ribs 16 surrounding the support openings 14 and external ribs 30 interconnecting the neck engaging structures 20 preferably have the same radius.
In a second embodiment, there is shown in
The carrier is manufactured using high pressure injection molding of heated and liquified polymer into a three-dimensional cavity, and is preferably made of a flexible material such as a polyolefin. In a most preferred embodiment, the polyolefin is high density polyethylene (HDPE) that has a tensile strength from about 4000 to about 5000 psi, and a brittleness temperature of less than −30° C. This material is readily recyclable, in contrast to the material used to make conventional die-cut thermo-formed carriers.
The carrier of the present invention concentrates structure into three-dimensional ribs, thereby reducing the surface area required to support containers. At the same time, this minimal surface area provides for a quality appearance while utilizing less material. The carrier is essentially planar and so does not obscure the container or product therein or labels, but instead provides high product and label visibility.
In addition, the thick ribs and radiused edges of the ribs and pair of opposing finger loops provide outboard points of attachment for superior comfort for lifting and carrying the carrier, and superior balance for carrying and handling containers. The carrier also provides superior release of the containers. The circumferential ribs around the angled, thin conical flanges provide support for the containers. The thin flanges easily flex to allow the containers to be removed by either lifting the carrier relative to the container or pulling the container down and away from the carrier.
Carriers of substantially the same designs shown in
The so-fabricated carriers were easily and quickly secured over the annular flanges of six 12-ounce bottles (
The same basic neck-engaging structures with opposing finger loops may be incorporated into other multiple container carriers, such as carriers for fewer or more than six containers.
The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow.
