The present invention relates to a spacer tray used when transporting bottles, preferably bottles manufactured of a polymeric material, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyalkylene terephthalates (f. ex. PET). The spacer tray can with advantage, in addition to the use as transport spacer tray, also be used for storing and arranging bottles, including empty bottles, for example in sales premises, stores and the like.

Bottles of different types are normally transported and stored in so called bottle crates. These bottle crates are normally intended for, and adapted to, different types of standardized returnable and disposable glass bottles. Bottle crates are in most cases designed in such a way that the sides give protection to the bottles transported or stored therein. Those designs make the crates bulky both with and without bottles. Furthermore usually bottle crates, especially partitioned ones, do not permit so called multi-pack, a name for two or more bottles packed or put together with cardboard or shrink foil, to be transported or stored there in.

The increased use of bottles manufactured of different polymeric materials, primarily returnable but also disposable bottles, and an increased use of multi-pack, results in a need for alternative and/or replacing transport and storage solutions instead of bottle crates. One, on the market existing, alternative to bottle crates is flat disposable sheets or bottle trays consisting of cardboard or the like. This solution has however the disadvantage to be unstable both concerning the material and the setting up of bottles therein. Therefore solutions thereto such as wrapping with shrink foil and the like, have been necessary to introduce. Different types of spacer trays of plastic material in which or, on which, the bottles is placed with a relative sideways shifting so that a bottle neck in a lower layer is placed between the bottoms of the bottles in the layer above has been tried out and is in use. This type of spacer tray does not allow that multi-pack is transported or stored therein, or thereon.

According to the present invention a concept for spacer trays for transport and storage of bottles, including empty bottles, has been obtained, in which the spacer tray gives stability to the bottles put thereon, without the aid of wrapping foils or the like. Multi-packs can be placed, on the spacer tray without further restrictions than the number of bottles that can be accommodated on the spacer tray. Preferably the spacer tray has got a rectangular or square shape.

The spacer tray concept can be adapted to different bottle sizes and is foremost intended for returnable and disposable bottles of polymeric material, such as polyvinyl chloride and polyalkylene terephthalates, which bottles are provided with a protrusion, support ring or collar around the bottle neck below the cap. Such a protrusion, support ring or collar is standardized on all returnable bottles, and also on most disposable bottles. The spacer tray comprises on its top side a number of p completely or partially recessed cups placed in n rows between two opposite sides and in m rows between the two remaining sides. The cups or the like are adapted to receive the bottom part of a bottle. The above number of p is equal to n x m where n and m independable of each other are an integer between 2 and 200, preferably between 4 and 20. The spacer tray includes on its under side p shapes, such as cylinder-shaped sleeves, rings, through-holes or the like, each intended to receive a cap of one bottle. A spacer tray will rest on a bulge or a supporting ring formed on the neck or upper part of the bottles. The cylinder shaped sleeves or the like principally coincide with the middle section of the cups. Bottles placed in two or more bottle layers on top of each other and, separated by a spacer tray, are situated in a straight line over respectively under each other The cups are mutually placed in such a manner that all bottles placed in one or more rows are always situated in a straight line, related to each other, and to circumscribing sides of the spacer tray.

In different embodiments of the spacer tray according to the invention, the bottom surface of the cups seen from above is convex or conical and therefore adapted to a corresponding bottle bottom.

Embodiments where p is 48, whereby n is 6 and m is 8, are especially intended for 1.5 litre bottles while embodiments where p is 96, whereby n is 8 and m is 12, are especially intended for bottles with a volume of 0.5 litres. The spacer tray has suitably a width of 40 to 160 cm and a length of 60 to 240 cm. Preferably the surface of the spacer trays has a size corresponding to the multiples of a standardized pallet size, such as the so called Euro pallet with a size of 120 x 80 cm, in which the sizes of the spacer tray will be 60 x 40 cm, 80 x 60 cm or 120 x 80 cm.

In special embodiments the spacer tray can be provided with organs facilitating handling of the tray with a transport mean. The under side and/or the side surfaces of the tray can be shaped in such a way that the spacer tray can be transported on a hauling track, such as a roll conveyor, a chain conveyor or the like.

The spacer tray is in its different embodiments advantageously manufactured by injection moulding of a polymeric material, such as polyethylene or polypropylene. Other suitable materials for the manufacturing of the spacer tray is for example polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyamide, polycarbonate, polyurethane, fenolic resins, amino resins and the like. Also materials such as wood, chipboard, cardboard and laminated cardboard are possible manufacturing materials. Furthermore to save weight and material the spacer tray can be manufactured with a latticed frame pattern or the like.

According to one embodiment of the invention, at least four of the cylinder-shaped sleeves or the like, placed on the under side of the spacer tray, includes an upper sleeve intended to receive the cap of a bottle and a number of support points, or a lower support sleeve intended to receive the support ring, collar or the like of a bottle. Thereby the possibility of a bottle to turn over is prevented as the support ring or the like, at tilting, will rest against one of the support points or against one side wall of the lower support sleeve and the cap will rest against the opposite side wall of the upper sleeve.

Preferably the support points or the lower support sleeve and the upper sleeve prevents the bottle from assuming a tilting angle greater than 20° compared to the vertical plane.

It is suitable that the clearance between the side edge of the support ring or the like of the bottle and the nearest side walls of the lower support sleeve or the support points doesn't exceed 3 mm, and that the clearance between the sides of the cap of the bottle and the nearest side walls of the upper sleeve doesn't exceed 5 mm.

It is suitable that the lower support sleeves or the support points are placed at least on the sleeves or the like, placed along the sides of the spacer tray. Preferably all sleeves on the under side of the spacer tray are equipped with such lower support sleeves or support points.

The invention is explained further in connection to the enclosed figures 1 - 6, of which two embodiments of a spacer tray according to the invention are schematically shown in section (figures 1 and 2) and a third embodiment is shown straight from above (figure 3). The figures 4 - 6 show a fourth embodiment of a spacer tray according to the invention Figure 4 then shows schematically, in section, parts of three spacer trays with bottles stacked on each other The figures 5 and 6 show, in section, part of a spacer tray receiving the upper parts of a bottle

Figure 1 shows a bottle 2 placed between two, one upper 1 and one lower 1 ', spacer trays according to an embodiment of the invention The spacer trays 1 , 1 ' are shown in section and in such a manner that it is evident how a bottle 2 is placed Further bottles are placed the same way The bottle 2 has been placed in a lower spacer tray 1 ' so that its bottom 5 has been received by a recessed cup 4 in the spacer tray 1 ' The cup 4, represents a part of the upper side 3 of the spacer tray 1 ' The bottom surface of the cup 4 is convex and coincides with the middle section 12 of the cup On the under side 6 of the spacer trays 1 , 1' there is a shaping 7 in the form of a cylinder-shaped sleeve The shaping 7 of the upper spacer tray 1 has received the cap 9 of the bottle 2, whereby the upper spacer tray 1 rests on a, bulge or supporting ring 1 1 above the shoulder part of the bottle 2 The ring 1 1 constitutes a part of the bottle neck 10

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of a spacer tray 1 , which embodiment is almost analogous to that shown in figure 1 Between two spacer trays 1 , 1 ' two layers 13, 13' of bottles 2, have been placed The shown parts and the shown sections otherwise correspond to figure 1 , as well as the placing of the bottles

Figure 3 shows an upper side 3 of an embodiment of a spacer tray 1 according to the present invention The spacer tray 1 has 8 x 12 rows with cups 4 and thereby 8 x 12 coincident shapings 7 The shapings 7 consist of through-going cylinder-shaped holes in the middle part 12 (figure 1 and 2) of the cups 4 The relative position between the cups 4 is such that all bottles 2 placed in one or more rows are always positioned in a straight line towards each other and towards the sides 14, 15 of the spacer tray 1

The figures 4 - 6 show one embodiment that is similar to the one according to figure 3 The shapings 7 accordingly includes cylinder-shaped sleeves with through-going holes in the middle section of the cups When the spacer trays are stacked on each other, the bottles in the different spacer trays will be placed in a straight line above each other

Figure 5 illustrates how a bottle 2 is placed in a normal position in a cylinder shaped sleeve 7 on the under side of a spacer tray 1. The sleeve 7 consists of an upper sleeve 16 and a lower sleeve 18. The bottle 2 is provided with a cap 9 and, with a support ring 1 1 integrated with the bottle 2. The upper sleeve 16 has an inner wall 20 and the lower sleeve 18 has a inner wall 19.

Instead of the lower sleeve 18 a number of support points 17 can be arranged.

The upper sleeve 16 is intended to receive the cap 9.

All sleeves 7 on the spacer trays are shaped according to the above.

In figure 6 it is shown how a bottle tilted a bit. As evident from the figure the bottle 2 is prevented from turning over completely. At tilting the support ring 1 1 of the bottle will namely rest against one side of the wall 19 of the lower sleeve 18. Simultaneously one side of the cap 9 will rest against the opposite side wall 20 of the upper sleeve 16.

According to the embodiment shown in the figures 4 - 6 a better stability is achieved in a stack of spacer trays containing bottles.

The invention is not limited by the shown embodiments since they can be modified in different ways within the field of the invention.