Plastic container with stacking recesses

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6588612
  • Patent Number
    6,588,612
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, May 2, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, July 8, 2003
    20 years ago
Abstract
Stackable plastic container including side portions having at least one of protrusions and depressions which nest with one of matching protrusions and depressions of a second container, and with the bottom portion including depressions which nest with the pouring spout and handle of a second container.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Plastic containers are widely used commercially for a variety of products. These include plastic containers of widely varying sizes depending on the particular product and the commercial needs. For example, it is not uncommon to have plastic containers having a capacity of one gallon, two gallons, or more.




It is highly desirable to provide a plastic container which is stackable while at the same time providing desirable commercial characteristics, such as convenience in use and handling, reusability and desirable aesthetic characteristics. Also, the container must be able to be securely stacked as on a pallet in multiple tiers without requiring intermediate stacking pallets. Secure stackability is particularly important for hazardous liquids. Moreover, bulky or large size plastic containers present a particularly difficult problem for stackability in view of their often flexible walls.




Accordingly, it is a principal objective of the present invention to provide a plastic container which is stackable.




It is a further object of the present invention to provide a stackable, plastic container as aforesaid which has desirable commercial characteristics, such as reusability and pleasing aesthetic features.




It is a still further objective of the present invention to provide a stackable container as aforesaid which can readily be stacked in multiple tiers and which can be prepared in a variety of container sizes.




Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinbelow.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objects and advantages are readily obtained.




The plastic container of the present invention comprises:




a blow molded plastic bottle having side portions thereof, a bottom portion thereof connected to said side portions, and a top portion connected to said side portions, wherein said side portions extend downwardly from said top portion and interconnect the top portion to the bottom portion;




a pouring spout on the top portion thereof;




a handle on the top portion thereof;




wherein said side portions each include one of (1) at least one protrusion, (2) at least one depression, and (3) combinations thereof, which nest with one of matching protrusions and depressions of a second blow molded container; and




wherein said bottom portion includes depressions which nest with the pouring spout and handle of a second blow molded container.




Desirably, the container is characterized by each side portion including at least one protrusion and at least one depression spaced from each other.




Preferably, the container includes four of the side portions to provide an essentially square container.




In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the protrusions and depressions extend laterally across each of the side wall portions, and preferably continuously extend across at least fifty (50) percent of each side wall portion.




Further features of the present invention will appear hereinbelow.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The present invention will be more readily understandable from a consideration of the following illustrative drawings, wherein:





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of one embodiment of the container of the present invention;





FIG. 2A

is a front elevation view of the container of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 2B

is a left side elevation view of the container of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 2C

is a rear elevation view of the container of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 2D

is a right side elevation view of the container of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is a top view of the container of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 4

is a bottom view of the container of

FIG. 1

;





FIGS. 5A and 5B

are perspective views showing two embodiments of the containers of the present invention in partially stacked configurations; and





FIG. 6

is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the container of the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Referring to the drawings,

FIG. 1

shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a container of the present invention. As shown in

FIGS. 1-4

, the container


10


is a blow molded plastic container having a top portion


12


(see FIG.


3


), a bottom portion


14


(see

FIG. 4

) and four side wall portions, namely, a left side portion


16


(see FIG.


2


B), a right side portion


18


(see FIG.


2


D), a front side portion


20


(see FIG.


2


A), and a rear side portion


22


(see FIG.


2


C). As clearly shown in the drawings, bottom portion


14


is connected to side wall portions


16


,


18


,


20


and


22


, and top portion


12


is also connected to side wall portions


16


,


18


,


20


and


22


. Moreover, the side portions extend downwardly from the top portion and interconnect the top portion to the bottom portion to provide a container


10


with an essentially square configuration.




In addition, top portion


12


is provided with a pouring spout


24


, a handle


26


and an upstanding shoulder portion


28


, wherein the handle


26


extends between the pouring spout and shoulder portion


28


. Space


30


beneath handle


26


provides an


141


easy and convenient means to grasp the container


10


. Pouring spout


24


may conveniently be provided with external threads


32


for receiving a screw-on cap.




As shown in the drawings, each of the side portions include at least one of protrusions and depressions or combinations thereof. Therefore, each side portion can have one or more protrusions or one or more depressions, or a mix of one or more protrusions and one or more depressions. Thus, referring to

FIG. 1

, left side portion


16


and rear side portion


22


each include upper depressions


34


and lower protrusions


36


. The depressions and protrusions on each side wall are desirably spaced from each other and extend laterally across the respective portions. Thus, left side portion


16


includes an upper depression


34


which is continuous and which extends across at least 50% of the left side portion. The left side portion also includes a lower protrusion


36


which is also continuous and which also extends across at least 50% of the left side portion. Rear side portion


22


includes a corresponding continuous upper depression


34


and a continuous lower protrusion.




On the other hand, front portion


20


(

FIG. 2A

) and right side portion


18


(

FIG. 2D

) each include upper protrusions


36


and lower depressions


34


. The depressions and protrusions are similarly spaced from each other as on rear portion


22


and left side portion


16


and similarly extend laterally across the respective portions. Thus, front portion


20


includes an upper protrusion


36


which is continuous and which extends across at least 50% of the front portion. The front portion


20


also includes a lower depression


34


which is also continuous and which also extends across at least 50% of the front portion. Right side portion


18


includes a corresponding continuous upper protrusion


36


and a continuous lower depression


34


.




Thus, in the nested configuration partially shown in

FIG. 5A

, the upper protrusions on one container match with and nest in the upper depressions on adjacent containers, and the lower protrusions on said container match with and nest in the lower depressions on an adjacent container, to provide a firm, nested side-to-side container arrangement as shown.




Referring to

FIGS. 3 and 4

, top portion


12


includes a pouring spout


24


, handle


26


and shoulder


28


, as described above. Handle


26


is centrally located on top portion


12


, and the top portion includes depressed areas


38


and


40


on either side of the handle. Bottom portion


14


includes a first depression


42


which nests with shoulder portion


28


of a second container, a second depression


44


which nests with the handle


26


of a second container, and a third depression


46


which nests with the pouring spout


24


of a second container. In addition, bottom portion


14


includes protrusions


48


,


50


which nest with depressed areas


38


,


40


, respectively. Thus, as clearly shown in

FIG. 5A

, the containers are also nested top to bottom in addition to side-to-side to provide a firm, stable nested engagement.





FIG. 5B

shows an alternate stacking arrangement for the container


10


of

FIG. 1

, wherein the containers are rotated 90° side-by-side to provide a stable, stacked arrangement. Alternatively, one can alter the location of the protrusions and depressions to enable the containers to be rotated 180° with respect to the side-by-side adjacent container, also to provide a stable, stacked arrangement. Thus, the location of protrusions and depressions provide considerable versatility to possible stacking arrangements. Thus, for example, a front-to-back stacking arrangement can be obtained by providing one container with protrusions and depressions as shown in FIG.


1


and reversing the protrusions and depressions in alternate containers. Thus, sides


16


and


22


in the alternate containers would have upper protrusions and lower depressions, and sides


18


and


20


would have upper depressions and lower protrusions, enabling front-to-back stacking of alternate containers.




The container of the present invention can be any convenient and desirable size, although the configuration is particularly convenient for large size containers, as 1 to 5 gallon containers. Naturally, the smaller the container, as for example, those less than one gallon, the higher one can stack the containers. For example, for 2 to 5 gallon containers, it may be desirable to stack no more than 3 or 4 containers high. Naturally the containers can be readily and conveniently stacked on pallets and transported thereon. Advantageously, a single pallet can be used for a stack of containers.




Each of the left and right side, front and rear portions should be provided with at least one of the depressions or protrusions, although two or more of the depressions or protrusions or combinations thereof are preferred for stability, especially for the larger containers. A preferred configuration is for each of the four sides having a continuous, laterally extending protrusion and depression as shown in

FIGS. 1-4

, although one could readily have two or more protrusions on two sides and two or more depressions on two sides. Alternatively, each of the four sides may have three or more of the protrusions and/or depressions or combinations thereof. One could provide any desired and convenient mix of protrusions and depressions on each of the four sides. Of course, one should insure that the protrusions and depressions nest with appropriately similarly configured depressions and protrusions on adjacent containers.




Especially for the larger size plastic containers, the asides may include at least one rib


52


extending laterally across each side, generally and preferably parallel to the protrusions and depressions. The rib is desirably an inward depression as shown, but an outward projection can-also be used. Two such ribs are shown on each side in

FIGS. 1-5

, but a larger number can readily be used on each side as desired. The ribs provide structural support and are particularly desirable for the larger size plastic containers. Also, they are desirable for smaller, light weight plastic containers.




Any desired plastic material can be used, but polyethylene is preferred.




The edge portions


54


of the container between the four side portions desirably include recessed portions


56


which aid in preventing bulging of the plastic containers. These edge recesses provide additional structural support. Naturally, the exact configuration thereof can vary as desired.




In the alternate embodiment of

FIG. 6

, container


100


is shown with each side portion including discontinuous depressions and protrusions across each side with the total length of both on each side in end-to-end relationship being at least 50% of each side portion. Thus, left side portion


116


includes upper depression


134


and upper protrusion


136


in end-to-end relationship, each extending part way across the left side portion, and lower protrusion


136


and lower depression


134


also in end-to-end relationship, each extending part way across the left side portion. Rear side portion


122


also includes a combination of discontinuous protrusions and depressions, with rear side upper protrusion


136


being oriented adjacent to left side upper protrusion


136


, and rear side lower depression


134


being oriented adjacent to left side lower depression


134


. Also, as shown in

FIG. 6

, either the protrusions and/or the depressions can extend onto the edge portions


154


, if desired. Containers


100


may be advantageously set up in a nested configuration as shown in FIG.


5


. Naturally, different arrangements and different orientations of the discontinuous protrusions and depressions can be readily provided.




Thus, the present invention provides a plastic container having desirable aesthetic characteristics, while enabling nesting in a convenient and structurally sound configuration.




It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the illustrations described and shown herein, which are deemed to be merely illustrative of the best modes of carrying out the invention, and which are susceptible of modification of form, size, arrangement of parts and details of operation. The invention rather is intended to encompass all such modifications which are within its spirit and scope as defined by the claims.



Claims
  • 1. A plastic container, comprising:a blow molded plastic bottle having side portions thereof, a bottom portion thereof connected to said side portions, and a top portion thereof connected to said side portions, wherein said side portions extend downwardly from said top portion and interconnect the top portion to the bottom portion; a pouring spout on the top portion thereof; a handle on the top portion thereof; wherein said top portion includes a shoulder portion, and wherein said handle extends between said pouring spout and shoulder portion; wherein said side portions each include one of (1) at least one protrusion, (2) at least one depression, and (3) combinations thereof, which nest with one of matching protrusions and depressions of a second blow molded container of similar configuration; and wherein said bottom portion includes depressions which nest with the pouring spout, handle and shoulder portion of a second blow molded container of similar configuration.
  • 2. A plastic container according to claim 1, wherein each side portion includes at least one protrusion and depression spaced from each other.
  • 3. A plastic container according to claim 1, including four of said side portions to provide an essentially square container.
  • 4. A plastic container according to claim 3, wherein each of said side portions include at least one protrusion and at least one depression spaced from each other.
  • 5. A plastic container according to claim 1, wherein said protrusions and depressions extend laterally across said side portions.
  • 6. A plastic container according to claim 5, wherein said protrusions and depressions are continuous and extend across at least 50% of each side portion.
  • 7. A plastic container according to claim 5, wherein said protrusions and depressions are discontinuous and in combination extend across at least 50% of each side portion.
  • 8. A plastic container according to claim 5, wherein said protrusions and depressions are discontinuous and extend across said side portions in end-to-end relationship.
  • 9. A container according to claim 1, including at least one strengthening rib on each side portion.
  • 10. A container according to claim 9, wherein said at least one rib extends laterally across each side portion.
  • 11. A container according to claim 10, including two of said ribs on each side portion.
  • 12. A container according to claim 1, including edge portions separating said side portions, with at least one longitudinally extending edge recess in each edge portion.
  • 13. A plastic container according to claim 1, wherein said shoulder portion is an upstanding shoulder portion which runs perpendicular to said handle.
  • 14. A plastic container according to claim 13, wherein said shoulder portion runs parallel to one side portion.
  • 15. A plastic container according to claim 14, including a single pouring spout adjacent one of said side portions, a single shoulder portion adjacent a side portion opposed to the side portion adjacent the pouring spout, wherein the handle is a single handle running between the pouring spout and shoulder portion.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation-In-Part of copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/154,168 for CONTAINER BODY PORTION, filed Jan. 17, 2002, and copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/155,115 for CONTAINER BODY PORTION, filed Feb. 4, 2002.

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Continuation in Parts (2)
Number Date Country
Parent 29/155115 Feb 2002 US
Child 10/138134 US
Parent 29/154168 Jan 2002 US
Child 29/155115 US