BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to low depth, nestable trays for transporting and storing beverage containers, such as twelve-ounce aluminum cans and two-liter plastic bottles.

Cans for soft drinks, beer and other beverages are often stored and transported during the distribution stages thereof in short-walled cardboard trays or boxes. These cardboard trays are generally not rug¬ ged enough for reuse and therefore must be discarded by the retailer at his expense. They are flimsy and can collapse when wet. They also are unattractive and do not permit the full display, merchandising and advertising of the cans held therein. Thus, there has been a need for a returnable and reusable tray for storing and transporting cans and the like. This tray should be light weight, easy to manipulate and carry, and economically constructed. An example of a relatively recent, returnable and reusable tray particularly adapted for handling twenty- four twelve ounce, pull-top aluminum cans is that disclosed in copending U.S. application Serial No. 07/272,039 of the present assignee. The entire contents of that application are hereby incorpo¬ rated by re erence.

When empty the reusable plastic trays of the '039 application are nestable one within the other so as to occupy less storage space and to be more easily handled. The trays are nestable only to a small extent, perhaps one-quarter of their total height. In other words, each addi¬ tional tray adds about three-quarters of the total tray height to the stack of empty trays. A large amount of storage space is thus needed for the empty trays, and the stack of trays can be rather tall and cum¬ bersome to handle. The sides of that tray are solid around their perim¬ eter, and thus the lower portions of the cans or other containers held therein, especially when the loaded trays are stacked, are not exposed.

This prevents the containers therein from being readily seen to both determine how full the trays are and also the container brand from its label.

Reusable plastic cases have also been developed for transporting and storing bottles such as two-liter beverage bottles. An example of a recent plastic, nesting and stacking storage container is that of U.S. Patent 4,823,955 of the present assignee. These cases often have a height which is greater than the height of the bottles contained therein such that when stacked the cases do not rest on top of the bottles in the lower case. Rather, the sides of the cases bear the loads of the upper cases and their contents. These cases are expensive to manu ac¬ ture, to ship and to store empty as they are relative large and occupy a great deal of space. Since they totally surround their bottles, they pre¬ vent them from being fully displayed.

Plastic low depth cases have thus been developed wherein the side walls are lower than the height of the stored bottles. The bottles contained in a lower case thereby support the weight of the other cases stacked on top of them. Today's plastic, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), bottles have become particularly popular because of their trans¬ parency, light weight and low cost. Even though they are flexible, their walls are strong in tension and thus can safely contain the pres¬ sure of carbonated beverages. Their flexible walls can bear surprisingly high compressive loads as well, provided that these loads are axially applied. Thus, it is important that the bottles do not tip in their cases or trays, as the loads thereon when stacked would then not be along the longitudinal axes of the bottles, and the loaded bottles can be caused to buckle. This is particularly true for the larger capacity PET bottles, such as the two-liter bottles widely used for soft drinks. Thus, some of the prior art cases require additional structure therein to hold the bot¬ tles stable. Others have handles which must be removed in order to stack the empty cases, which is an inconvenient and time consuming step. Some of these low depth cases also have higher walls which reduce their display capabilities.

One design of the stackable low depth cases particular suitable for the two-liter PET bottles is the "Castle Crate" design of the present

assignee, such as is disclosed in copending U.S. application Serial No. 07/186,140, whose entire contents are hereby incorporated by refer¬ ence. For this genre of cases a plurality of columns project upwardly from the bottom case portion and together with the side walls help define a plurality of bottle retaining pockets. This case with its inter¬ nal columns when empty resembles a medieval castle. These columns are hollow to permit empty crates to stack top to bottom. These low profile crates also have spaced side columns to provide added strength and yet still expose the containers therein. This design though requires a certain registration of the empty crates for nesting purposes making the procedure a slight bit more cumbersome and time consuming than desirable.

Beverages in the twelve or sixteen ounce sizes are often sold loose or individually, that is, not in an attached six-pack arrangement, especially in convenience stores. To remove the bottles or cans from their six-pack (secondary) packaging, whether a shrink wrap, a card¬ board enveloping carton, or a interconnected plastic ring arrangement, is a labor intensive procedure.

Some of the known trays do not continually hold their beverage containers in a spaced relation so that the containers rub against one another or against crate structure while in transport. This action can rub off the container labels or scratch the containers, and is a particu¬ lar problem for metal soft drink and beer cans. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved nestable, low depth tray for storing and transport¬ ing containers such as beverage cans and bottles.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved low depth, nestable container tray design which occupies less space both when in a loaded stacked relation and when in an empty nested relation.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an improved low depth, nestable tray design which has an open side con¬ figuration thereby allowing the containers loaded therein to be readily and more fully seen, counted and identi ied.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved low depth, nestable tray design which can be readily stacked in a deeply nested relation when empty without requiring any extra manipulation of one tray relative to another.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved low depth, nestable tray which can hold loose cans therein in a compact array while preventing them from rubbing against one another during transport.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a plastic low depth, nestable tray which is light weight, economical to manufacture, and attractive.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved reusable tray which can transport and store loose containers as well as those connected and held securely in six-pack arrangements.

Directed to achieving these objects, a novel low depth, nestable tray for beverage containers is herein provided. This tray is formed by integrally molding from plastic three basic components, namely, a floor, an upper rail and a plurality of generally conical columns. The floor has on its top surface a plurality of fluid container support areas, each for supporting thereon a separate fluid container. The bottom floor surface in turn has a number of receiving areas for receiving thereon the tops of similar fluid containers in a layer in a similar tray beneath the floor. The rail is formed by an upright band having verti¬ cal inner and outer surfaces and a lip at the top thereof projecting out¬ wardly a slight distance. The rail is positioned generally parallel to and above the floor so as to be below the tops of the fluid containers when resting on the floor but high enough relative to them to prevent them from tipping. The columns extend between, interconnect and merge with the floor and the rail. They are spaced around the outside of the floor and between adjacent support areas. Each of them has a gener¬ ally truncated conical shape and defines a longitudinal slot disposed outwardly relative to the floor and extending generally from the bot¬ tom of the floor up to the lip. The slots taper upwardly, are inclined inwardly towards the floor, and are configured to slidingly receive therein the inner surfaces of similar columns in a similar tray such that

the floor fits within the open rail when the trays are in an empty nested relation. The areas between the adjacent columns and between the rail and floor and along both sides and ends are open providing a light weight design which allows more complete visualization of the containers held in the tray. The floor preferably has an open grid-work design which not only is attractive but also requires less plastic mate¬ rial and therefore is lighter and cheaper than a more solid floor design. Stability corner posts extending downwardly and inwardly from the rail to the floor corner support areas can also be provided.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those persons having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a top perspective view of a first tray of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the first tray.

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the first tray.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the first tray.

Figure 5 is an end elevational view of the first tray.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Figure 2.

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Figure 2.

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 of Figure 4.

Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 of Figure 5.

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 10-10 of Figure 2.

-Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 11-11 of Figure 2.

Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 12-12 of Figure 2.

Figure 13 is a side elevational view, with portions thereof broken away, of the first tray in an empty and nested position.

Figure 14 is an end elevational view, with portions thereof bro¬ ken away, of the first tray in a loaded and stacked position.

Figure 15 is a top perspective view of a second tray of the present invention.

Figure 16 is a top plan view of the second tray.

Figure 17 is a bottom plan view of the second tray.

Figure 18 is a side elevational view of the second tray.

Figure 19 is an end elevational view of the second tray.

Figure 20 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 20-20 of Figure 15.

Figure 21 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 21-21 of Figure 15.

Figure 22 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 22-22 of Figure 16.

Figure 23 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 23-23 of Figure 16.

Figure 24 is a top perspective view of the second tray shown in an empty and nested position.

Figure 25 is a top perspective view of the second tray shown in a loaded and stacked position.

Figure 26 is a top perspective view of a third tray of the present invention.

Figure 27 is a top plan view of the third tray.

Figure 28 is a bottom plan view of the third tray.

Figure 29 is a side elevational view of the third tray.

Figure 30 is an end elevational view of the third tray.

Figure 31 is a top perspective view of a fourth tray of the present invention.

Figure 32 is a top plan view of the fourth tray.

Figure 33 is a bottom plan view of the fourth tray.

Figure 34 is a side elevational view of the fourth tray.

Figure 35 is an end elevational view of the fourth tray.

Figure 36 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 36-36 of Fig¬ ure 32.

Figure 37 is a side elevational view, with portions thereof broken away, of the fourth tray shown in an empty and nested position.

Figure 38 is a side elevational view, with portions thereof broken away, of the fourth tray in a loaded and stacked position.

Figure 39 is a top perspective view of a fifth tray of the present invention.

Figure 40 is top plan view of the fifth tray.

Figure 41 is a bottom plan view of the fifth tray.

Figure 42 is a side elevational view of the fifth tray.

Figure 43 is an end elevational view of the fifth tray.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

A number of variations of the present invention are possible, and some of them are illustrated in the drawings. This invention as will be explained can be adapted to hold generally any type of (fluid) container and is especially adaptable for twelve-ounce metal cans and two-liter PET bottles. It can hold the containers (cans) in six packs or individually.

A first preferred tray embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figures 1-14 generally at 100. Tray 100 is especially adapted for holding twelve-ounce metal cans, such as are typically used for soft drinks and beer and shown for example in Figure 14 at 102. Tray 100 will be described in greater detail than the other trays, and the description thereof for corresponding parts can be referred to for the other later-described tray embodiments.

Tray 100 is integrally molded from a plastic, such as polyethelene, and comprises four basic components, namely, a floor 104, a rectangular rail 106 spaced above and generally parallel to the floor, a plurality of columns 108 extending between and interconnect¬ ing the floor 104 and the rail 106, and support posts 110 at each of the four corners of the tray 100 interconnecting the rail 106 and the floor 104 and providing additional corner support for the tray 100. These corner support posts 110 are, however, not required for this invention

as will be apparent from some of the other embodiments described later herein.

The floor 104 has an upper surface 112 defining a plurality (twenty-four) of fluid container support areas 114 for supporting thereon the fluid containers 102. Each support area 114 is generally 2.650 inch square. The floor bottom surface 116 has a plurality of receiving areas 118 for receiving thereon the tops of similar fluid con¬ tainers in a layer in a similar tray directly beneath the floor, as depicted in Figure 14 generally at 120 by a similar (identical) loaded tray. It is also within the scope of this invention to provide a plurality of beveled redoubt members positioned and spaced on and extending down from the floor bottom surface 116, such as are described in the previously-mentioned '039 application. These beveled redoubt members provide a sliding surface so that tray 100 when loaded can be easily slid along the lips of the can tops of a similar loaded tray 120 therebeneath without having to be lifted off therefrom thereby making it easier to handle the loaded and stacked trays.

The rail 106 is positioned by the columns 108 above the floor 104 a sufficient height to prevent the containers 102 held on the floor from tipping when the tray 100 is being transported. It is low enough, how¬ ever, in a "low depth" configuration so that the tops of the containers 102 on the floor 104 extend above it, and the containers themselves then directly support the weight of loaded trays thereabove, as can be understood from Figure 14. Unlike the earlier-mentioned "Castle Crate" design, there is no need for any additional structure extending up from the rail 106 or from the central portion of the floor 104. The rail 106 in turn comprises a band 124 having vertical inner and outer walls 126, 128 and a flange or lip 130 at the top thereof extending out a slight distance therefrom. The end corners of the band 124 and lip 130 are smoothly rounded. The vertical orientations of the inner and outer walls 126, 128 are shown in cross section in Figures 7, 10, 11, and 14. Since the outer wall 128 does not angle or flare, the overall dimensions of the tray 100 are kept to a minimum — about the same as that of a corrugated case. The tray 100 has a total height of 2.000 inches, a width (as viewed in Figure 2) of 10.750 inches, and a length of 16.125

inches. The band 124 has an undulating or curving configuration having cylindrical, smooth surfaces 132 on inner wall 126 adjacent to and above each fluid container support area 114 and corresponding to the rounded sides of the containers 102 to be supported on the areas. The floor 104 also has an undulated perimeter design curving outwardly at locations 134 at each outer fluid container support area 114 for con¬ forming generally to the cylindrical configuration of the bottom por¬ tions of the fluid containers 102.

The columns 108 extend upwardly from the floor 104 to the rail 106 and between each of the support areas 116 where the undulating perimeter curves in at location 136. These columns 108 are each formed as a generally truncated conical member defining a vertical slot 138 disposed outwardly relative to the floor 104. The inwardly disposed surfaces of the columns 108 have three faces, each of which angles upwardly and outwardly from the floor to the rail. The middle face 140 is flat, and the outer two faces 142, 144 are generally sidewardly ori¬ ented and have truncated conical configurations. The configuration of these faces can be seen, for example, in Figures 1, 6, 7, and 8. Surface face 142 as shown in Figure 7 is constructed from a cone having a base radius of 1.300 inches, an incline of ten degrees per side and a wall thickness of .100 inch. The inward surfaces of the columns 108 are thus generally conically shaped, angling towards the longitudinal center line thereof, and the cans 102, even when held loose, do not contact the immediately adjacent columns even during normal transport move¬ ment of the tray 100. The slots 138 are correspondingly configured to receive up thereinto the inner surfaces of columns of another tray as shown in Figure 13, to provide a deeply nested arrangement. Each additional empty tray 100 then adds only the narrow height of its rail 106 to the stack of empty nested trays, which additional height is only about three-quarters of an inch.

The corner support posts 110 are also angled inwardly and down¬ wardly and have conical outer and inner surfaces 145, 146 ( same as the columns— see Figure 9) to slide along and relative to one another when the trays are sliding into and out of their empty nested position which is depicted in Figure 13.

The upper floor surface 112 can be smooth and planar across its entire expanse. Alternatively, it can have indents or recessed areas at each of the support areas 114 for receiving therein the bottoms of each of the fluid containers 102; or it can have low height divider ribs on the surface thereof, separating the support areas 114 as will be explained later with reference to Figures 31-43.

A preferred design is to mold the floor 104 with a gridwork like configuration having a pattern of open spaces therethrough, as shown in Figures 1-3 (and 26-28), so that less plastic floor material is needed. The floor 104 is thereby made cheaper and lighter, and an attractive design is thereby presented. This gridwork like design preferably com¬ prises a plurality of circular members 148, one for each support area 114. Each of these circular members 148 is slightly smaller than the bottom of the fluid containers 102 to be supported thereon. A plurality of radial struts 149 extends radially out from each of the circular mem¬ bers 148 to suspend or support them. The circular members 148 are arranged in rows and columns to thereby define one or more arrays, as illustrated in Figure 2 for example. In the preferred design of Figures 1-14 (and 26-30) there are four two-by-three arrays to accommodate four six-packs of cans; in other words, there are twenty-four support areas 114 in a four-by-six arrangement. The circular members 148 form a strong support structure and make it relatively easy to count the number of support areas 114 in an empty tray 100 and also to posi¬ tion the fluid containers 102 on the floor 104.

The gridwork floor 104 also comprises a plurality of longitudinal and lateral struts 150, 152, extending (discontinuously) the full length and width, respectively, thereof and between the rows and columns of the circular members 148. The radial struts 149 then extend to or through these lateral and longitudinal struts. At the intersections of the longitudinal and lateral struts 150, 152 smaller circular members 154 are formed and are thereby positioned in the center of a square of the larger circular members 148 as can be seen in Figures 2 and 3, for example. One interesting pattern extends the central longitudinal strut 150 through each of the smaller circular members 154 except for the center one 156 (Figure 12) and the central lateral strut 152 through

the centers of each of the smaller circular members 154 except for the center one 156, and the remaining smaller circular members 154 then are fully open.

The floor bottom surface 116 is recessed upwardly at each receiving area 118 for receiving thereinto the tops of fluid containers 102 in a layer in a tray 120 beneath the floor 104 in a preferred design of this invention. These recessed receiving areas are shown for exam¬ ple in Figures 3, 7, and 13 and can be understood from comparing the tops of the bottom le t two cans with the right two cans in Figure 14. Each recess 158 is formed simply by having the bottom surfaces of radial struts 149 angling from locations 158 (Figures 3 and 7) spaced a slight distance from the larger circular members 148 to the larger cir¬ cular members and locations 160 (Figures 3, 6 and 12) spaced from cir¬ cular members 154. Any similar construction for holding the floor bot¬ tom surface 116 to the tops of a bottom container layer therebeneath, as would be apparent to those skilled in the art, to prevent ree sliding is within the scope of this invention.

Looking at the ends and sides of the tray 100, it is seen that the areas between adjacent columns 108 and the floor 104 and the rail 106 define open spaces 162. This design requires less plastic then a more solid design and thereby is lighter, cheaper and more attractive. It further allows the fluid containers 102 therein to be more completely seen, especially when loaded or partially loaded trays are stacked one on top of the other, as shown in Figure 14.

An alternative design of the present invention uses a "solid" floor configuration instead of the open gridwork-like design of tray 100. A solid design is illustrated by the tray shown generally at 200 of Figure 15, for example, wherein a plurality of circular recesses 202 is formed in the upper surface of the floor 204 for receiving therein the bottom edges of the fluid containers or metal beverage cans 206. When viewed from the top as in Figure 16 a plurality of rings is thereby defined. From the sides as shown in Figures 18 and 19, the perimeter of the floor 204 then is similar to the configuration of the floor 104 of tray 100 and comprises a series of arcuate surfaces 210. The bottom surface of the floor 204, as shown in Figures 17 and 22, has circular recesses

216 formed up thereinto for receiving therein the top rims of the cans 206 and thereby preventing free sliding of an upper loaded tray 200 on a similar bottom loaded tray as shown generally at 218 in Figure 25. Tray 200 similarly has a rail 220, and angled columns 224 between the arcuate surfaces 210 and defining outward slots 226. Although tray 200 does not have any corner support posts, it is within the scope of this invention to provide such support posts for the Figure 15 embodiment similar to those shown in Figure 1.

The tray as shown generally at 300 in Figures 26-30 is a hybrid of trays 100 and 200. It has the gridwork like floor 302 of tray 100 and like tray 200 does not have any corner support posts. Similar to trays 100 and 200 it has a rail 304 and angled columns 306 defining outwardly-disposed receiving slots 308. Thus, the tray 300 of Figure 26, for example, can receive therein loose (or packaged as with a thin plas¬ tic film or an upper plastic holder) cans or similar containers in an array, such as a four-by-six array, and hold them securely, preventing them from tipping or rubbing against each other even during the move¬ ments normally associated with the transport and handling thereof. The trays 300, when loaded, also securely stack one on top of another as can be understood from Figure 25. The trays 300 when empty can be nested one on top of the other for storage or transport, and similar to trays 100 and 200, each empty tray 300 adds only the narrow height of its rail 304 to the stack of empty trays when nested therein.

The general concept of this invention can be easily adapted for handling other containers of different sizes and shapes. An example is illustrated in Figures 31 through 43 for two-liter PET bottles, such as are shown at 400 in Figure 38, wherein two embodiments are illus¬ trated, the first shown generally at 402 in Figures 31 through 38 and the second shown generally at 404 in Figures 39 through 43. The only difference between them is the inclusion of the corner support posts 406 in the embodiment of Figure 31. The posts 406 serve a similar outer support function for the overhanging support area corners of the floor 407.

Longitudinal and lateral divider struts 408, 409 extend across and along the floor 407 to separate the individual support areas 410 from

each other to hold the bottles 400 better in place and to prevent them from tipping. The three lateral divider struts 409 are taller than the single longitudinal strut 408. This holding function is more important for the plastic bottles 400 than it is for the can trays 100, 200, 300 because of the greater likelihood that the tall, flexible bottles 400 will buckle if they tip when stacked. The trays (or carriers) 402, 404 of Figures 31 through 43 are designed to support and carry eight bottles 400. It is, of course, within the scope of the present invention to size the trays 402, 404 differently to carry either more or fewer bottles, or bottles of different sizes.

The bottom tray surfaces 411 are recessed in rounded configura¬ tions, such as is shown in Figures 37 and 38 by the recess areas 412, to receive up thereinto the caps 414 of the bottles 400 on a lower tray as shown generally at 416. This prevents the upper loaded tray 402 from freely sliding along the top of the bottles in a tray 416 beneath it and makes it less likely that the bottles in the lower tray 416 will tip. When in an empty nested arrangement, the upper tray fits into the lower tray so that the rail lip 418 of the lower tray is at the bottom of the rail or band 420 of the upper tray, as best shown in Figure 37. As can be appreciated from Figures 31 and 39, the area between adjacent columns 422 or columns 422 and adjacent posts 406 and between the floor 408 and the rail 420 define open spaces 424 for reasons discussed above relative to trays 100, 200 and 300 and allow the bottles 400 therein to be easily seen from the sides. The bottles 400 can thus be identified as to type and also easily and readily seen to determine whether the tray is fully loaded.

The columns of any of the trays 100, 200, 300, 402 or 404 can be understood or described in either of two ways. One way is that they extend only from the bottom surface of the floor, up to the lower edge of the rail or band, as can be best appreciated from an outside side view especially when in an empty nested arrangement. Thus, the band extends continuously the entire circumference of the tray and includes the upper extensions of the slots of the columns. Another way is that the columns themselves extend all the way to the top of the rails or to the lip, which is better appreciated when looking at the inside of the

trays such as shown in the empty perspective views. In the latter case the band can be considered to comprise a plurality of band segments extending between adjacent columns. Either way an improved sturdy compact tray which is inexpensive to manufacture and handle is defined. These trays when empty are easily and deeply nestable one within the other without any undue manipulation or orientation thereof. They have attractive and open designs allowing the containers therein to be more fully displayed.

From the foregoing detailed description, it will be evident that there are a number of changes, adaptations and modifications of the present invention which come within the province of those skilled in the art. However, it is intended that all such variations not departing from the spirit of the invention be considered as within the scope thereof as limited solely by the claims appended hereto.