U.S. patent application number 10/405152 was filed with the patent office on 2004-05-13 for bottled products storage, transportation and display apparatus and method.
Invention is credited to Gangloff, Rodney W..
Application Number | 20040089621 10/405152 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32233173 |
Filed Date | 2004-05-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040089621 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gangloff, Rodney W. |
May 13, 2004 |
Bottled products storage, transportation and display apparatus and
method
Abstract
A device and method for storing, transporting and displaying
bottled products in a generally inverted position. Bottled products
are placed within a device which either totally inverts or
substantially inverts a bottled product in a holder. The bottled
product holder can be used for storing bottled products, for the
transportation of bottled products in a generally inverted manner,
or for the display a of bottled products at the point of sale.
Various embodiments made from an assortment of materials comprise
stands and holders which capture the top and neck portion of
bottled products to hold the products in a generally inverted
position.
Inventors: |
Gangloff, Rodney W.;
(Joshua, TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
POLSTER, LIEDER, WOODRUFF & LUCCHESI
763 SOUTH NEW BALLAS ROAD
ST. LOUIS
MO
63141-8750
US
|
Family ID: |
32233173 |
Appl. No.: |
10/405152 |
Filed: |
April 2, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60368939 |
Apr 2, 2002 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
211/74 ;
248/311.3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 73/004 20130101;
A47F 7/283 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
211/074 ;
248/311.3 |
International
Class: |
A47B 073/00 |
Claims
What I claim is:
1. A bottled product holder comprising a base having a plurality of
openings sized, shaped, and located to hold a plurality of bottled
products in a generally inverted position.
2. The bottled product holder of claim 1 wherein the base comprises
an upper surface and the plurality of openings are located in the
upper surface.
3. The bottled product holder of claim 2 wherein the plurality of
openings are generally cylindrical.
4. The bottled product holder of claim 3 wherein the plurality of
openings retain the bottled product in a generally vertical
position through contact of an interior surface of the plurality of
openings with a neck portion of the bottled product.
5. The bottled product holder of claim 4 wherein the plurality of
openings retain the bottled products at an angle of from about 30
degrees to about 90 degrees to the upper surface.
6. The bottled product holder of claim 1 wherein the base further
comprises a plurality of neck tubes to support the bottled products
in a generally inverted position.
7. The bottled product holder of claim 6 wherein the plurality of
neck tubes retain the bottled products at an angle of from about 30
degrees to about 90 degrees to the upper surface.
8. The bottled product holder of claim 1 wherein the base further
comprises a plurality of rings located within the plurality of
openings.
9. The bottled product holder of claim 1 wherein the base further
comprises a plurality of retention devices located within the
plurality of openings, the retention devices being made from an
elastometric material which will allow a top of the bottled product
to be inserted into each of the plurality of openings while still
being capable of retaining the bottled product in a generally
inverted position.
10. The bottled product holder of claim 9 wherein the retention
devices are held within the plurality of openings by an
adhesive.
11. The bottled product holder of claim 10 wherein the plurality of
openings include a slot for insertion of the retention devices.
12. The bottled product holder of claim 1 wherein the base is made
from a deformable material, and wherein the plurality of openings
are sized and shaped to accept a neck of a bottled product and some
portion of a main body of the bottled product.
13. The bottled product holder of claim 12 wherein the base is made
from a plastic material and the plurality of openings are formed
into the plastic material.
14. The bottled product holder of claim 13 wherein the bottled
product is supported in a generally inverted manner by surface
contact between an inner surface of the plurality of openings in
the base and portions of the bottled product.
15. The bottled product holder of claim 12 wherein the base is made
from a polystyrene-like material and the plurality of openings are
formed into the polystyrene-like material.
16. A bottled product holder comprising: a base having an upper
surface; a plurality of openings in the upper surface of the base,
wherein the plurality of openings are sized, shaped, and located to
hold a plurality of bottled products in a generally inverted
position; and means for attaching the base to a mounting
surface.
17. The bottled product holder of claim 16 wherein the means for
attaching the base to a mounting surface includes at least one
opening in the base into which a fastener is placed and wherein the
fastener connects to the mounting surface to captivate the base
between the fastener and the mounting surface.
18. The bottled product holder of claim 16 wherein the means for
attaching the base to a mounting surface includes an adhesive to
attach the base to the mounting surface.
19. A bottled product holder comprising: a plurality of bases, each
base having an upper surface; an opening in the upper surface of
each of the plurality of bases; a neck tube located in the opening
in each of the plurality of bases wherein the neck tubes are sized
and shaped to retain a bottled product in a generally inverted
position; and a hold down device for capturing the plurality of
bases between the hold down device and a mounting surface.
20. The bottled product holder of claim 19 wherein the hold down
device allows the plurality of bases to slide between the hold down
device and the mounting surface.
21. The bottled product holder of claim 20 wherein the hold down
device includes two parallel bars attached to the mounting surface
such that the plurality of bases are capable of sliding on the
mounting surface und beneath the two parallel bars.
22. The process of providing a bottled product holder comprising
the steps of: providing a base with an upper surface; and providing
means for retaining bottled products in a generally vertical
position in relation to the upper surface.
23. The process of claim 22 wherein the means for retaining bottled
products in a generally vertical position in relation to the upper
surface includes providing a plurality of openings in the upper
surface.
24. The process of claim 23 wherein the base is made from a plastic
material into which the plurality of openings have been formed.
25. A bottled product holder comprising: a base made from plastic
material and having an upper surface and a lower surface; a
plurality of openings located in the upper surface, each of the
plurality of openings being sized, shaped, and located to generally
match the shape of a bottle and being capable of holding the bottle
in an inverted position within each of the plurality of
openings.
26. The bottled product holder of claim 25 wherein the plurality of
openings are formed into the plastic material by a vacuum forming
process.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of provisional
application Serial No. 60/368,939 filed Apr. 2, 2002.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] 1. Field of the Invention
[0004] This invention relates in general to wine bottle handling,
and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for the storage,
transportation, and display of bottled products in a generally
inverted position.
[0005] 2. Description of Related Art
[0006] A wide range of products are currently packaged and sold in
various styles and shapes of bottled containers. Although
carbonated beverages and wine are perhaps the most prevalent items
packaged in bottles, other items such as condiments and automotive
supplies are also packaged in bottles. Despite this wide range of
products, there is a common need to store, transport, and display
each of these bottled products.
[0007] Certain types of products have unique problems associated
with their storage, transportation, and display. This is
particularly true of wine bottles. The integrity of the taste of a
wine is almost always dependant upon the ability of the wine to
ferment and cure properly within its bottle. A large majority of
these wine bottles use a cork to seal the top of the bottle after
the wine has been placed within the bottle. While cork seals are
generally good for sealing wine bottle, the ability of the cork
seal to remain operable depends in great part upon the moisture
content of the cork seal. For example, if a wine bottle with a cork
seal is stored for extended periods in an upright position with the
cork seal at the top of the bottle and the bottom of the bottle
resting on flat surface, the cork seal will dry out after a certain
period of time. Once the cork seal becomes dry, the sealing ability
of the cork seal may be compromised resulting in wine becoming less
tasteful and in some cases completely unpalatable. Wine
connoisseurs are well aware of this effect and take care to buy
wine in bottles that appear to have maintained their sealed
condition.
[0008] There are a number of variations on the style of wine racks
which have been developed and invented. U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,731
issued to Dardashti discloses one type of wine rack which
acknowledges the need to place bottles in a position to keep the
cork seal moist. That invention consists of a wine rack made from a
wire frame that can be shipped to an end user in a disassembled
state. However, the wine rack is unable to be used for
transportation of wine bottles and is generally unsuitable for
display of wine at a point of sale location.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,072 issued to Sauer also discloses a
wine storage device in which the wine bottles are transported in an
inverted position. However, this invention has very limited
capacity and is able to transport only two bottles of wine.
Additionally, the device is unsuitable for either long term storage
or display of wine at the point of sale.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,936 issued to Lamoureaux discloses a
wine rack for use in storing or displaying wine bottles. However,
the invention does not incorporate the ability to store or display
the wine bottles in a manner which would ensure the cork seal will
be kept moist by remaining in contact with the contents of the wine
bottle. The invention has no capability for transportation of the
wine bottles. As a result, the invention is not suitable for
storing or transportation of wine bottles or other bottled
products.
[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,110 issued to Regan shows a shipping
with the ability of holding two tier of necked bottles. The lower
tier is placed in an upright position, while the upper tier is
placed in an inverted position. While the invention may be suitable
for shipping and possibly storing bottled products, the device has
no capability to display the bottled products.
[0012] Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,209 issued to Todd discloses a
device to hold bottles in an inverted position to allow the
remnants of bottle's contents to move toward the top of the bottle.
The invention requires an adjustment mechanism to allow for the
storage of various bottle shapes and sizes. However, the device is
unsuitable for either shipping or display of large numbers of
bottled products at retail points of sale.
[0013] There is thus a need for a device and method which can be
used to store or display inverted bottled products.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] This invention is a device for storing, shipping, and
displaying bottled products, including wine and carbonated
beverages, in an inverted position. The invention generally
comprises a base portion with a number of openings designed to
captivate the top and upper neck portion of bottles. Other
components of the invention assist the base in retaining the
bottles in either a perpendicular inverted position or in an angled
position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the
present invention.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a side view of the first embodiment of the present
invention.
[0017] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the
present invention.
[0018] FIG. 4 is a side view of the second embodiment of the
present invention.
[0019] FIG. 5 is a section view of a third embodiment of the
present invention.
[0020] FIG. 5A is a partial top view of the third embodiment of the
present invention.
[0021] FIG. 6 is a section view of a fourth embodiment of the
present invention.
[0022] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of one type of installation of
the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 8 is a second perspective view showing one type of
installation of the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of one type of manufacturing
style for making the base of the present invention.
[0025] FIG. 10 is a section view of one type of manufacturing style
for making the base of the present invention.
[0026] FIG. 11 is a section view of a fifth embodiment of the
present invention.
[0027] FIG. 12 is a top view of a sixth embodiment of the present
invention.
[0028] FIG. 13 is a section view of the sixth embodiment of the
present invention.
[0029] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a seventh embodiment of the
present invention.
[0030] FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a seventh embodiment of the
present invention shown without the bottled products.
[0031] FIG. 16 is a section view of the present invention wherein
the base is made from a polystyrene product.
[0032] FIG. 17 is a section view of the present invention wherein
the base is made from a formed plastic product.
[0033] FIG. 18 is a section view of the present invention showing
possible sizes and shapes of the plurality of openings.
[0034] Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding
parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0035] Referring now to FIG. 1, one embodiment of the present
invention is shown. A bottled product holder A comprises a base 1
having a top surface 2 and a bottom surface 3. A plurality of
openings 4 are generally cylindrical and are located in the base
such that the openings are in the top surface 3 of the base 1. In
one embodiment of the present invention, all of the plurality of
openings 4 are the same size and there is an equal distance between
the axes of any two adjacent openings. The horizontal distance
between each of the plurality of openings is adjusted to allow for
the inverted placement of a bottle in the hole and is adjusted to
match the diameter and shape of the bottle to be placed into the
plurality of openings. The axes of all of the plurality of openings
is perpendicular to the top surface 2 of the base 1.
[0036] The base 1 may be made of any material as long as the
material is capable of supporting a bottle in an inverted position.
Examples of suitable materials would be wood, solid plastic,
plastic which has been formed by injection molding or thermal
vacuum forming, or any rigid metal. Additionally, the base 1 may be
hollow or solid as long as the base has the ability to retain the
bottles in an inverted position.
[0037] In operation, a plurality of bottles 5 are placed into the
plurality of openings 4 in the top surface 3 of the base 1.
Although FIG. 1 shows all of the bottles being the same size and
shape, it will be understood that the plurality of openings 4 may
be adjusted in diameter and location to accommodate a variety of
different sizes and shapes of bottles.
[0038] In an alternative embodiment, the base 1 may have the
ability for attachment to a shelf or other supporting means. For
example, FIG. 1 shows a base 1 having a proximal end 6 and a distal
end 7, with a mounting slots 8 located near the proximal end 6 and
the distal ends 7 of the base 1. The slots 8 allow for the
attachment of the base 1 to another flat surface to prevent the
tipping or sliding of the base in relation to the flat surface. In
other embodiments, the base 1 may be attached to the flat surface
with adhesives or fastening devices.
[0039] FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention.
This embodiment is identical to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 with
the exception that that the plurality of openings 10 are not
perpendicular to the top surface 11 of the base 12, but are instead
at an angle .theta. other than ninety degrees to the top surface
11. The angle .theta. is dependent upon the size and shape of the
bottle 9 to be placed within the plurality of openings 10. In most
cases, the angle .theta. will be between 30 degrees and 90
degrees.
[0040] FIG. 3 shows an alternative embodiment of the present
invention. The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is the same in all
respects as the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 except for
the design of the base 13 in FIG. 3. The base 13 is thinner than
the base 1 in FIG. 1 and the base 12 in FIG. 2. While the bottles
are still inverted, the plurality of openings 14 in the base 13 do
not act to completely support the bottles in an inverted position.
Instead, a plurality of neck tubes 15 are installed into each of
the plurality of openings 14 and the upper rim 16 of the neck tubes
15 contact the neck of the bottle to support the bottle in the
inverted position. As shown in FIG. 4, the neck tubes 15 may be
installed to the base 13 at an angle between 30 degrees and 90
degrees to the base similar to the embodiment in FIG. 2.
[0041] FIG. 5 and FIG. 5A show another embodiment of the present
invention. This embodiment is the same as the embodiment shown FIG.
3 with the exception of the difference in the number of openings
and the manner of attachment of the base 16 to a flat surface 19.
In this embodiment, each of a plurality of bases 16 have a neck
tube 24 and the bases 16 are held in a sliding arrangement between
a hold down device 18 and a flat surface 19. Each of the bases have
the ability to slide to various locations beneath the hold down
device 18.
[0042] The base 16 has a single opening 17 rather than the FIG. 1
embodiment which shows a plurality of openings 4. The base 16 is
attached to a flat surface by a hold down device 18. The hold down
device 18 comprises two parallel bars 20 and two end bars 21. The
spacing between the two parallel bars 20 is adjusted and determined
by the size and shape of the bottle to be placed in the base 16.
The two end bars 21 attach to the flat surface 19 by installing
fasteners 22 through the mounting holes 23 in each of the two end
bars 21. It will be understood while FIG. 5 shows screw type
fasteners 22 to attach the hold down device 18 to the flat surface
19, other fastening means such as rivets, adhesives, and hold down
clips may also be used to attach the hold down device 18 to the
flat surface 19. It will also be understood that while FIG. 5 shows
only three bases 16, any number of bases 16 may be located beneath
the hold down device 18.
[0043] As shown in FIG. 6, the neck tubes 24 may be installed at an
angle to the base, similar to the neck tubes 15 shown in FIG. 4. In
most cases, the angle .theta. will again be between 30 degrees and
90 degrees.
[0044] FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 show one manner of grouping a number of
bottled product holders A onto a shelf 26 to display a number of
bottled products in an inverted position. In this application, each
of the bottled product holders A are placed side by side and are
attached to the shelf 26. As previously indicated, bolts screws,
rivets, or adhesives may be used to attach the bottled product
holders A to the shelf 26. While the bottled product holders A are
shown mounted perpendicular to the longitudinal length of the shelf
26, it will be appreciated that the bottled product holders may
also be mounted parallel to the longitudinal length of the shelf 26
or in any combination of both perpendicular or parallel
arrangement.
[0045] In each of the above embodiments, the base of the bottled
product holder A is configured to retain a bottle in an inverted
position. It is important to note that the manner of manufacturing
the base may be varied in anyway so long as the characteristics
described in the previous embodiments are retained. For example,
FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 show how the base 27 may be manufactured using a
plastic injection process. The base 27 is generally hollow and has
four sides 28 which attach to a top surface 29. The top surface 29
has a plurality of openings 30 which have been formed into the top
surface 29. The diameter, depth, spacing, and shape of the
plurality of openings 30 are adjusted as needed to match the size
and shape of the bottle to be inserted into the plurality of
openings 30. The base 27 may be attached to a flat surface by
screws, bolts, rivets, latches, clips, connectors, or adhesive. The
base 27 may also be manufactured using a thermal vacuum process and
is generally similar in all other respects to the base 27 in FIG.
9.
[0046] In each of the above embodiments which do not use neck
tubes, the plurality of openings in the base do not require that an
insert be placed into the plurality of openings into which the top
and neck of the bottle is placed. However, in some circumstances,
it may be desirable to protect the surface of the bottle with a
soft material which reduces the chance that the bottle surface may
be damaged or scratched. In that situation, a soft plastic ring 33
as shown in FIG. 11 may be inserted into each of the plurality of
openings 34 in the base 35. When the bottle is inserted into one of
the openings 34, the top rim 36 of the bottle and the neck 37 of
the bottle contact the soft plastic ring 33.
[0047] In the alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13,
at least three retention devices 38 are inserted into the plurality
of openings 39 in the base 40. The retention pads 38 are made from
a soft material such as rubber and protrude into one of the
plurality of openings 39. The amount of protrusion of the retaining
pads 38 into the opening is such that the top of the bottle 41 to
be placed into the opening will be able to slip past the retention
pads 38 when installing the bottle 41 into the opening 39, but will
nevertheless be gripped by the retention pads 38 once the top of
the bottle 41 reaches the bottom 42 of the opening 39. The gap G
between the bottom of the retention pads 38 and the bottom 42 of
the opening 39 is sized to be just enough to hold the top rim 43 of
the bottle 41 between the bottom of the retention pad 38 and the
bottom 42 of the opening 39. The retention pads 38 may be attached
to the base 40 by adhesives alone or by placing slots 44 at
intervals within the opening 39 which allow the retention pad 38 to
slide into the slot 44. Adhesives may or may not be used to keep
the retention pad within the slot 44.
[0048] The bottle 41 in FIG. 13 is shown placed in a vertically
inverted position, however, as in the previous embodiments, the
opening 39 may be at an angle to the top surface 41 of the base 40
such as to display the bottles 41 in an inverted position which is
at an angle to the top surface 41 of the base 40 similar to FIG.
2.
[0049] In another embodiment as shown in FIG.'s 14, 15, 16, and 17,
the plurality of openings 46 in the base 47 are not just
cylindrical holes used to accept a top 49 of a bottle and a neck 50
of the bottle, but are instead sized and shaped to accept the top
of the bottle 49, the neck of the bottle 50, any upper rim of the
bottle, and at least some portion of the main body 52B of the
bottle 51. In the previous embodiments, the bottle 51 was retained
in its inverted position through contact of the top 49 of the
bottle 51 and the neck 50 of the bottle 51 with the bottom of the
opening, the side of the opening, and the upper edge of the opening
in the base. In the present alternative embodiment, the bottle 51
is generally supported through surface contact between some portion
of the main body 52B of the bottle 51 and the interior surface 53
of the openings 46 in the base 47. Because at least some of the
shape of the openings 46 conforms to the upper portion of the main
body 52B of the bottle 51, the bottle 51 is held in a generally
inverted position within the openings 46. The bottom of the
openings 46 may be either open or closed. Again, however, while
FIG. 's 14, 15, 16, and 17 show the bottles 51 inverted in a
perpendicular position, the openings 46 may be oriented such that
the bottles 51 are displayed in a generally inverted position, but
at some angle to the top surface 56 of the base 47. It is
understood that in the present embodiment, the base 47 may be
placed upon a shelf or upon a stand, and the bottled products are
then displayed by placing the inverted bottles into the formed
openings of the base 47.
[0050] It will be appreciated that the base 47 for this embodiment
may be manufactured in a number of ways. For example, the shape of
the neck of the bottle may be molded into a polystyrene-type
material as shown in FIG. 16. Or, the base 47 may be made from
molded plastic wherein the shape of the upper portion of the
bottled product to be displayed is formed into the molded plastic
as shown in FIG. 17. It is also appreciated that the design of the
base 47 may be varied as long as the base 47 comprises an upper
surface 57 and a plurality of openings 46 sized, shaped, and
located in the upper surface 57 such that shape of the plurality of
openings 46 are sufficient to hold the bottled products in a
generally inverted manner.
[0051] While this embodiment shows how the bottled product holder A
can be used for displaying bottles, the same concept is also
applicable to the storing and transporting of bottled products. In
that situation, the base 47 is placed within a shipping carton (not
shown) and the bottled products are placed within the plurality of
openings 46 in the base 47 in an inverted position. The shipping
carton may then be sealed and shipped to its retail destination.
Once at its destination, the retailer unseals the shipping carton
and then displays the bottled products in the bottom remaining
portion of the shipping carton.
[0052] When bottled products are displayed in the bottled product
holder A, the manufacturer of the bottled product can invert the
label or markings on the bottled product. In this manner, the
purchasing customer will be able to read the label or markings on
the bottle without removing the bottle from the bottled product
holder A. The inversion of the labels on the bottled product may be
used to enhance the fact that a wine producer is protecting the
integrity of the wine in the bottle, or the inversion may be a
unique marketing effect used to promote a particular aspect of
other products such as carbonated beverages. The bottles shown in
FIG. 18 show one example of placing inverted labels on bottles.
[0053] In each of the above inventions, information about the
bottled product being displayed in the bottled product holder A may
be provided by means of an information card 56 (FIG. 1 through FIG.
4) placed onto the base. The information included may be
characteristics regarding the contents of the bottled product or
may include other related information such as recipes, sales
promotions, contest, coupons, or other types of sales incentives
related to the bottled product being displayed. In all cases, the
information card 56 may be either permanently attached to the base
or may consist of a pad of multiple copies of the information card
56 which may be torn off and retained by the customer.
[0054] In all of the above embodiment, the plurality of openings in
each base are of only one size and shape. Nevertheless, the scope
of the present invention also includes a base wherein the size
shape and location of each of the plurality of openings may be
different as shown in FIG. 18.
[0055] While the above description describes various embodiments of
the present invention, it will be clear that the present invention
may be otherwise easily adapted to fit any configuration where a
device for storing, shipping or displaying a bottled product in a
generally inverted position may be utilized.
[0056] In view of the above, it will be seen that the several
objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous
results attained. As various changes could be made in the above
constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it
is intended that all matter contained in the above description or
shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as
illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
* * * * *