The present invention relates to a manner of stacking crates, in particular nestable display crates for transporting and storing containers.
Bottles, particularly those for soft drinks and other beverages, are often stored and transported during the distribution stages in crates or trays. The term “crate” or “tray” as used herein includes crates, trays and similar containers having a bottom and peripheral side wall structure. These crates are generally configured to be stacked on top of each other loaded with bottles, and nested together when empty.
In order to minimize the storage space of the crates while nested and to reduce cost and waste, many crates today are made with a shallow peripheral side wall structure. These generally are referred to as “low depth” crates in which the bottles bear most of the load of above-stacked crates. Crates having a higher peripheral side wall, approximately the same height as the bottles, generally are referred to as “full depth” crates in which the crates themselves bear most of the load of above-stacked crates.
The assignee of the present invention has previously provided the low depth, nestable display crate 100 shown in
The present invention provides a nestable display crate that provides pylons having a different size (preferably taller) than the predecessor crate while maintaining nesting compatibility with the predecessor crates. Taller pylons are sometimes preferred for increased stability of the bottles in the crate and for increased stability of stacked crates of bottles, particularly with taller bottles.
Because pylons of the present crate are taller than the pylons of the predecessor crate, each pylon includes a slot in its upper surface substantially aligned with the rib in the pylon. In one embodiment, the depth of the slot is substantially equal to the height difference between the pylons in the crate of the present invention and the pylons in the predecessor crate. As a result, when one of the crates of the present invention is nested within one of the predecessor crates, the rib inside each pylon of the predecessor crate will be received within the slot of the upper surface of each pylon in the crate of the present invention, thus permitting the present crate and the predecessor crates to fully nest, thus reducing stacking height. At the same time, the taller pylons in the crate of the present invention provide increased stability of the bottles in the crate and increased stability of stacked crates of bottles.
In another feature of the crate of the present invention, each handle of the crate is provided at a height substantially equal to the lower surface of the slots in the pylons. This permits automated handling equipment configured for the predecessor crates 100 to operate on the present crate without modification.
The above objects and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the best mode for carrying out the invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.
Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood with reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
All of the drawings in the present application are to scale.
A nestable display crate 10 according to the present invention is illustrated in
Similarly, the pylons each comprise an inner wall 30 and an outer wall 32 joined by an upper surface 34. As can be seen in
Each corner pylon 20b includes an inner wall portion 30b having a label surface contact rib 49b and disposed above an aperture 40b. A handle 56 extends horizontally, generally parallel to the floor 12 between end pylons 20c.
The outer wall 26 of the lower wall portion 16 is substantially perpendicular to the floor 12. The outer wall 32 of the pylon 20 is offset inward of the outer wall 26 of the lower portion 16 and is slightly angled more than the outer surface 26 of the lower wall portion 16.
An upper surface 70 of each handle 56 is preferably substantially the same height as the rib support surfaces 68, 68c and 68b (not shown). As shown in FIG. 3, the upper surface 70 of each handle 56 is most preferably the same height as all of the rib support surfaces 68.
Additionally, in
As a result, the crate 10 of the present invention provides higher pylons 20, which increases bottle stability and the stability of stacked crates of bottles while still being fully nestable within the predecessor crates 100. This is demonstrated in
The pylons 20 are thus able to fully nest within the cavities of the pylons 108 of the predecessor crate 100, despite the increased height of the pylons 20.
Additionally, the floor 102 of the predecessor crate 100 rests on the ledge 48 of the present crate 10 and the overall height of the two stacked crates 10, 100 is minimized. Because the height of the handle 56 is the same as that of the handle 110 of the predecessor crate 100, automated handling equipment configured for the predecessor crates 100 will be able to operate on the present crate 10 without modification. Additionally, although not illustrated here, it should be recognized that the predecessor crate 100 can fully nest within the present crate 10.
The nestable crate 10 of the present invention is preferably formed in one piece of high density polyethylene via an injection molding process, but of course can be formed of any type of plastic applicable for the desired use. 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. There are many different configurations for nestable crates and many variations in design, many of which would benefit from the present invention.
This application is a continuation of application U.S. Ser. No. 10/346,825, filed on Jan. 17, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,966,442.
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Entry |
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Photos of Norseman Plastics Ltd crate, dated Jan. 2002. |
Arbitration Brief of Norseman Plastics Limited on Invalidity of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,899,247 and 6,966,442, Nov. 12, 2008. |
Norseman's Reply Brief Regarding Invalidity, Jan. 12, 2009. |
Declaration of Roger Nolan in Support of Norseman's Contention that U.S. Patent Nos. 6,996,442 and 6,899,247 are Invalid, Nov. 12, 2009. |
Rehrig's Arbitration Brief, Group B—Validity. |
Rehrig's Reply Brief, Group B—Validity. |
Declaration and Expert Report of William Patrick Apps, Dec. 22, 2008. |
Invalidity Claim Chart for U.S. Patent Nos. 6,966,442 and 6,899,247. |
Partial Award of Arbitrators, Mar. 12, 2009. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20060113210 A1 | Jun 2006 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10346825 | Jan 2003 | US |
Child | 11285768 | US |