U.S. patent application number 10/883439 was filed with the patent office on 2006-01-05 for stackable bottle.
Invention is credited to Kenneth M. Sigur.
Application Number | 20060000740 10/883439 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35512790 |
Filed Date | 2006-01-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060000740 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sigur; Kenneth M. |
January 5, 2006 |
Stackable bottle
Abstract
A bottle or container for liquids is vertically stackable with
geometrically similar containers. Each bottle or container has a
unitary body that is circular in plan cross-section and that has a
contoured bottom portion adapted to receive, in bearing
arrangement, the shoulder and neck portions of a geometrically
similar bottle or container.
Inventors: |
Sigur; Kenneth M.; (St.
Bernard, LA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Michael D. Carbo
Suite 700
228 St. Charles Avenue
New Orleans
LA
70130
US
|
Family ID: |
35512790 |
Appl. No.: |
10/883439 |
Filed: |
July 1, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/509 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 21/0231
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/509 |
International
Class: |
B65D 21/00 20060101
B65D021/00 |
Claims
1. A container which is vertically stackable with geometrically
similar containers, each container comprising a unitary body having
a bottom surface, a circular sidewall, and a top surface including
a shoulder portion, a neck portion projecting upwardly from and
centrally disposed on the shoulder portion and having a mouth on
the top of the neck portion, the bottom surface being contoured to
receive therein the neck and shoulder portions of a geometrically
similar container when one container is stacked on another
container in a vertical bottom-to-top arrangement.
2. The container according to claim 1, wherein the neck portion has
a contoured shape that substantially mates with the contoured
bottom surface.
3. The container according to claim 1, wherein the container
comprises polycarbonate or plastic.
4. The container according to claim 2, wherein the container
comprises polycarbonate of plastic.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] Not applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not applicable
REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX
[0003] Not applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The field of the invention is that of bottles or containers
and particularly bottles or containers which may be made of
polycarbonate or other plastic substances and which may be stacked
one upon another.
[0005] Bottles have been used for thousands of years to contain,
transport, and dispense fluids, including water. The terms bottle
is used herein to mean containers for holding fluids. Although
plastic bottles have been used for many years to package different
types of fluids, until the 1980's large containers for water were
typically glass bottles having a round or circular cross-section.
Such glass bottles were relatively fragile and heavy, and were also
susceptible to fracture into dangerous sharp fragments when
mishandled. The round or circular shape of such bottles required
the use of a packaging case or an equivalent thereto for each
bottle in order to stack the bottles for storage or shipment.
Moreover, such round or circular cross-section glass bottles could
not be effectively stacked vertically top to bottom because the
relatively small mouth could not accommodate a relatively large
bottom. Such bottles, when stacked, were easily tipped over and
broken.
[0006] Since the 1980's, bottles used to contain, transport, and
dispense liquids have been made from polycarbonate and other
plastics. Such bottles are inexpensive, light, and safe in that
they do not break into dangerous shards when dropped. Similar to
glass bottles, polycarbonate bottles and other plastic bottles do
not contaminate or taint liquids that they contain. In the main,
plastic bottles have also been round or circular in cross-section
because that shape presents the fewest number of stress points at
which leaks might occur. U.S. Pat. Des. 326,608 to Frahm discloses
such a round bottle. For practical reasons, plastic bottles have
been relatively thin-walled with corrugations or ribs formed
therein or thereon to provide strength and rigidity. Again, such
round or circular cross-section plastic bottles could not be
effectively stacked end-to-end on top of each other because of the
propensity to tip when stacked.
[0007] Glass water bottles as well as plastic bottles have been
designed with a rectangular cross-section and with parallel,
relatively flat sides intended to mate with one another. U.S. Pat.
No. 2,641,374 to Der Yuen discloses a one-piece, stackable
container having a substantially square cross-section plan
configuration.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,955 to Schieser, et al. discloses an
example of a plastic, rectangular-cross-section, parallel-sided
plastic or polycarbonate bottle intended to transport and store
water. This bottle has horizontal reinforcing ribs and grooves
formed in its sides. Additionally, it has a tenon projecting from
one of the parallel sides and a mortise formed in the mating
parallel side. When such bottles are stacked on their sides one
above the other, the tenon of one bottle can be inserted into the
mortise of an immediately adjacent bottle so that the bottles
interlock and form a stack.
[0009] The interfitting stackable bottles of Schieser, et al. have
exhibited certain shortcomings. The horizontal pattern of the ribs
and grooves, which extend toward the bottom of the bottle, and the
raised rib that surrounds the mortise in the female face of the
bottle have been found to present stress points where cracks occur
during use with resulting breakage. Also, the bottles of Schieser,
et al. and of Der Yuen cannot be rolled on their sides to move them
without lifting or sliding.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,199 to Frahm discloses an improved
lightweight, liquid-containing stackable bottle made of plastic
such as polycarbonate. This bottle has a rectangular cross-section
and parallel, oppositely-disposed mating sides. Complementary
projections and receptacles are formed in the mating sides of the
bottle to permit interlocking of the bottles when they are stacked
on their mating sidewalls.
[0011] Other stackable bottles and containers include: U.S. Pat.
No. 4,805,793 to Brandt, et al., which discloses a sidewall
comprising four generally rectangular panels smoothly joined to
adjacent rectangular panels to form a belt-like sidewall which
extends completely around the container; U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,101 to
Richter, et al, which discloses a five-gallon nestable plastic
syrup container having a substantially rectangular cross-section;
and U.S. Pat. Des. 407,020 to Doty discloses stackable polymeric
container for liquids having a rectangular cross-section.
[0012] Bottles having rectangular cross-sections cannot be easily
rolled on their sides, a significant consideration when five-gallon
bottles, when filled with water, weigh in excess of thirty-five
pounds. Stackable and nestable bottles and containers having
substantially rectangular cross-sections are not readily usable
with water dispensing stands and cabinets that accept round
bottles. Apparently, the prior art does not disclose round or
circular water containers that are stackable or nestable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] A substantial number of water dispensers accept five-gallon
water bottles. Conventional five-gallon water bottles typically are
unitary containers that have flat bottoms so that the bottles can
be placed upright on a flat surface, a side wall comprising a round
or circular plan cross-section so that the bottles can be rolled on
a flat surface; a rounded or circular, contoured and tapered neck
portion extending upward from the round side wall; and a relatively
small mouth, projecting upward from and disposed centrally on the
neck portion. Such bottles cannot be conveniently stacked
vertically end-to-end because the relatively wide bottom is not
stable when placed on top of the relatively small mouth.
[0014] The upward-projecting mouth of a conventional bottle cannot
conveniently be eliminated because it is useful for insertion into
a reservoir of a dispenser when the bottle is inverted and placed
thereon. The rounded neck-portion cannot conveniently be changed in
cross-sectional plan shape or in contour because most water
dispensers have rounded openings for receiving the neck portion in
a close-fitting, bearing arrangement whereby the dispenser acts as
a shoulder that the neck portion bears against.
[0015] The present invention comprises a stackable bottle for use
in dispensing fluids, such as water and the like. The bottle
according to the present invention is adapted for use with a
conventional water dispenser by inverting the bottle, inserting the
mouth thereof into a reservoir of the dispenser, and resting the
neck portion thereof onto a mating opening in the top of the
dispenser, all so that water or other fluids can be fed by gravity
into the reservoir. The bottom portion of the bottle is contoured
to receive the mouth portion of an adjacent bottle so that two or
more bottles can be stacked vertically bottom-on-mouth with a
reduced propensity to tip over as compared to conventional,
similarly stacked bottles.
[0016] In a preferred embodiment of a bottle according to the
present invention, the dimensions are selected so that the diameter
and the capacity of the bottle are substantially the same as that
of conventional five-gallon water bottles. The height of the bottle
is thereby increased as a consequence of the contouring of the
bottom portion of the bottle.
[0017] It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide a stackable or nestable bottle, having a round or circular
plan cross-section, for containing and transporting liquids, and
for dispensing liquids by means of gravity flow into dispensing
cabinets or containers. It is another object of the present
invention to provide a bottle having a round or circular plan
cross-section that can be stacked vertically bottom-to-top with
geometrically similar bottles and that minimizes tipping of such
stacked bottles. These and other objects and advantages and
features of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in
the art from the following detailed description of the preferred
embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0018] Reference will now be made to the drawing figures, wherein
like parts are designated by like numerals, and wherein
[0019] FIG. 1 is a side view of three bottles, in accordance the
invention, showing the bottles stacked one on top of another.
[0020] FIG. 2 is a top view of a bottle in accordance with a
preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a bottom view of a bottle in accordance with a
preferred embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0022] Turning to the drawing figures, FIG. 1 shows a side view of
three bottles in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the
invention stacked three high on a flat surface. The structure
provided for each bottle 1 of the present invention includes a
central body portion 2, a top end portion 4 comprising a shoulder
portion 6 and an upwardly-projecting neck portion 8, and a bottom
end portion 10. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, central body portion 2
is preferably circular in cross-section, that is, in plan
configuration, and may have ribs 12, either longitudinal or
transverse, molded therein or thereon for strength and rigidity.
Top end portion 4 and bottom end portion 10 are contoured and are
preferably made to correspond, that is, are made to seat one
against the other when containers are stacked end to end, as shown
in FIG. 1. The seating configuration can include a mating of a
portion of bottom end portion 10 with a portion of top end portion
4 or can alternatively be a substantially complete mating of the
contoured top end portion 4 with the contoured bottom end portion
10.
[0023] In the preferred form of the invention, as for example where
the bottle is made for handling water to be dispensed by inverting
the bottle and placing projected neck portion 8 of shoulder portion
6 into a conventional gravity-fed dispenser (not shown), it is
preferred that the neck portion be provided with a relatively
small-diameter, centrally-disposed, projecting mouth 14. Projecting
neck portion 8 can be substantially cylindrical or can be
tapered.
[0024] When stacked one on top of another, the recessed, contoured
bottom end portion of one bottle fits over the mouth and neck
portion and onto the shoulder portion of another bottle. The
contoured bottom and the contoured shoulder mate, thereby providing
a physical bearing surface that, due to the weight and shape of
stacked bottles, allows the stacked bottles to resist tipping.
[0025] Although the invention has been described in detail with
reference to the illustrated embodiment, variations and
modifications exist within the scope and spirit of the invention as
described and as defined in the following claims. For example, the
neck portion can contain exterior or interior threads that can
screw into mating threads in a mouth cap. The shoulder surface can
be roughened and the mating bottom surface can be roughened to help
prevent slippage when bottles are stacked. The contoured shoulder
can contain a lip at or near its outer periphery.
* * * * *