U.S. patent application number 11/624680 was filed with the patent office on 2007-05-24 for stackable bottle system.
Invention is credited to Dean V. Lane.
Application Number | 20070114200 11/624680 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38563067 |
Filed Date | 2007-05-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070114200 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lane; Dean V. |
May 24, 2007 |
STACKABLE BOTTLE SYSTEM
Abstract
A bottle having a storage chamber defined by spaced upper and
lower surfaces and planar sidewalls; a conical ceiling in said
upper surface having an opening at the top thereof; a conical
convex recess in said lower surface for receiving the conical
ceiling of the next adjacent bottle when stacking said bottles, and
means for interlocking the sides and upper and lower surfaces of
the bottles when stacked.
Inventors: |
Lane; Dean V.; (Vancouver,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STEPHEN R. BURRI
MILLER THOMSON LLP
1000 - 840 HOWE STREET
VANCOUVER
BC
V6Z 2M1
CA
|
Family ID: |
38563067 |
Appl. No.: |
11/624680 |
Filed: |
January 18, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10981719 |
Nov 5, 2004 |
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11624680 |
Jan 18, 2007 |
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60789142 |
Apr 5, 2006 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
215/10 ; 206/503;
206/504; 206/508; 206/509 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 21/0231 20130101;
B65D 71/08 20130101; B65D 2501/0027 20130101; B65D 2501/0081
20130101; B65D 71/0096 20130101; B65D 23/102 20130101; B65D 71/063
20130101; B65D 2501/0036 20130101; B65D 21/0202 20130101; B65D
1/023 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
215/010 ;
206/509; 206/504; 206/503; 206/508 |
International
Class: |
B65D 21/00 20060101
B65D021/00; B65D 85/62 20060101 B65D085/62 |
Claims
1. A system of interlocking storage bottles comprising: (a) a
plurality of storage bottles, each bottle having a storage chamber
with an upper surface, a lower surface and at least four generally
planar side walls; (b) a central conical ceiling extending upwardly
from the upper surface; (c) a cylindrical neck extending from the
center of the ceiling having an opening at its top end and
protrusions for attachment thereto of a cap; (d) a conical recess
in the lower surface of a size sufficient to envelop the ceiling,
neck, and a cap of another storage bottle insertable therein; (e)
vertical interlocking means for releasably connecting each side
wall to the side wall of another storage bottle stackable adjacent
thereto; (f) horizontal interlocking means for releasably
connecting the upper surface to the lower surface of another
storage bottle disposable thereabove. (g) at least one indentation
to form a handle
2. The system of interlocking storage bottles of claim 1 wherein
each storage bottle may be stacked in an upright position above,
below or beside another upright storage bottle to for a stable
bottle stack.
3. The system of interlocking storage bottles of claim 1 further
comprising at least one indentation in each of at least two
adjacent side walls to form a handle.
4. The system of interlocking storage bottles of claim 1 further
comprising a recess in at least one side wall for application
thereto of a label.
5. The system of interlocking storage bottles of claim 1 wherein
each of the storage bottles is manufactured of a PET plastic
material.
6. The system of interlocking storage bottles of claim 1 wherein
the vertical interlocking means comprises at least one recess on
the side wall for engaging a corresponding protrusion on the side
wall of another storage bottle.
7. The system of interlocking storage bottles of claim 1 wherein
the horizontal interlocking means comprises at least one recess in
the lower surface for engaging a corresponding protrusion on the
upper surface of another storage bottle.
8. The system of interlocking storage bottles of claim 1 wherein
the bottles in the stack of bottles are fillable with a consumable
material.
9. The system of interlocking storage bottles of claim 1 wherein
the bottles in the stack of bottles further comprises ribs in the
conical ceiling to improve bottle strength.
10. The system of interlocking storage bottles of claim 1 wherein
the bottles in the stack of bottles further comprises ribs in the
conical ceiling and in the conical recess to improve bottle
strength.
11. A consumables storage bottle having a storage chamber, a
conical ceiling in an upper surface, a lower surface, and at least
four generally planar side walls comprising: (a) a cylindrical neck
extending upwardly from the center of the conical ceiling and
having an opening at its top end and protrusions for attachment
thereto of a cap; (b) a conical recess extending upwardly from the
lower surface of a size sufficient to envelop the ceiling, neck and
a cap of another storage bottle insertable therein; (c) vertical
interlocking means for releasably connecting each side wall to the
side wall of another storage bottle stackable adjacent thereto; (d)
horizontal interlocking means for releasably connecting the upper
surface to the lower surface of another storage bottle disposable
thereabove.
12. The storage bottle of claim 11 further comprising at least one
indentation in each of two adjacent side walls to form a
handle.
13. The storage bottle of claim 11 wherein the vertical
interlocking means comprises at least one recess on the side wall
for engaging a corresponding protrusion on the side wall of another
storage bottle.
14. The storage bottle of claim 11 wherein the horizontal
interlocking means comprises at least one recess in the lower
surface for engaging a corresponding protrusion on the upper
surface of another storage bottle.
15. The storage bottle of claim 11 wherein each of the bottles is
blow-moulded.
16. A bottle as claimed in claim 11 further comprising ribs to
improve bottle strength and allow the bottle to be collapsible at
the end of the life cycle.
17. A bottle as claimed in claim 16 wherein the ribs are located
within the conical ceiling and the conical recess.
18. An assembly comprising a plurality of the bottles of claim 16,
wherein only the side walls of each bottle are adjacent each other
bottle, to form a generally quadrilateral assembly.
19. The assembly of claim 18, further comprising at least one band
of a flexible wrapping material encircling the exposed side walls
of the assembly.
20. The assembly of claim 19, further comprising a strap of a
flexible material extending between opposed sides of the assembly,
each end of the strap connected to the band to form a handle for
the assembly.
Description
RELATIONSHIP OT PENDING US PATENT APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of pending United
States non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 10/981,719 filed
Nov. 5, 2004 by Dean Vincent Lane.
[0002] This application claims the benefit of domestic priority
from U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/789,142 filed Apr.
5, 2006 by Dean V. Lane.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention relates generally to containers, and
more particularly to a system of stackable bottles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] It is known to provide a storage bottle which permits
stacking of bottles on the bottles' sides. Examples of such bottles
include U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,207 to Cullis entitled: "Bottled Water
Container", U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,199 to Frahm entitled: "Stackable
Bottle", U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,955 to Schieser et al. entitled:
"Interfitting, Stackable Bottles"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3, 889, 834 to
Harris entitled: "Container Construction". Such stackable bottles
are not ideal as the sideways stacking of bottles may increase the
likelihood that the contents of the bottles will leak out of the
bottles, particularly where the bottle contents are liquid.
[0005] It is also known to provide stackable bottles which permit
the nesting of the neck of one bottle into a recess in the bottom
of another bottle. Examples of such bottles include those described
in U.S. Pat. No. 1,042,998 to Climalene entitled: "Improvements in
Stackable Containers", U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,469 to Mehta et al.
entitled: "Stackable Bottle", U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,793 to Brandt et
al. entitled: "Stackable Bottle", U.S. Design Pat. No. D466.413 to
Justice entitled: "Stackable, Nesting Beverage Container" and PCT
Patent Application No. PCT/AU93/00380 to Preston entitled:
"Stackable Water Bottles". These nesting, stackable bottles do not
include means for interlocking the sides or tops and bottoms of the
bottles to provide stability to a stack of such bottles. In
addition, nesting bottles often do not provide sufficient strength
to withstand collapse under the pressure exerted by bottles stacked
above.
[0006] In addition, stackable bottles are known which incorporate a
nesting neck and interlocking means to connect their top and bottom
surfaces. Examples of such bottles include U.S. Pat. No. 3,474,843
to Maris entitled: "Blow-Molded Containers" and U.S. Pat. No.
2,641,374 to Der Yuen entitled: "Container". Such bottles, however,
do not include means for interlocking their side walls.
[0007] Other bottles are known which incorporate a nesting neck and
interlocking means to connect the sides of the bottles, including
U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,612 to Dorn et al. entitled: "Plastic Container
with Stacking Recesses" and U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,658 to Hasselmann
entitled: "Portable Container Transport Unit". These bottles,
however, do not include means for interlocking their top and bottom
surfaces.
[0008] In the bottle described in U.S. Design Pat. No. D407,020 to
Doty entitled: "Stackable Polymeric Container for Liquids", a
stackable bottle is described in which the handles of the bottle
are components of the horizontal interlocking means. Such a
structure is less than ideal in that the handles of the bottle will
not be accessible when the bottle is in a stack.
[0009] In PCT Patent Publication No. WO/03055756 to Clark entitled:
"Modular Bottle", a bottle is described which permits snug nesting
of the neck of one bottle into a recess in the bottom of another,
as well as side interlocking means. The bottle is intended for use
as a construction toy after consumption of the beverage contained
therein. The bottle does not provide a planar top and bottom
support surface for stable vertical stacking of bottles containing
consumables.
[0010] Existing systems for packaging and shipping stackable
bottles require cardboard or other firm support structures to
enclose the packaged bottles.
[0011] Ideally, a stackable bottle for use in a system of stackable
bottles should have a neck and floor recess which generally are of
a size to fit with corresponding necks and recesses in other
stackable bottles of the system. Such bottles should provide
interlocking means for connecting the sides of adjacent bottles and
interlocking means for connecting the top of one bottle to the
bottom of another. The overall geometry of the bottles should be
generally planar along the sides to optimize stacking volume. Each
such bottle should include at least one handle which is accessible
when the bottle is incorporated into a stack of such bottles. Such
a bottle should be strong enough to permit vertical stacking
without collapsing the lower bottles. An assembly of such bottles
should be packageable without a cardboard or other firm material
support.
[0012] While the prior an contains some of these elements, none of
the prior at bottles incorporate all of the desired characteristics
of a stackable bottle and system of stackable bottles according to
the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] In one of its aspects, the invention comprises a stackable
storage bottle and a system of interlocking stackable storage
bottles, each bottle having a storage chamber with an upper
surface, a conical ceiling extending upwardly from the upper
surface, a lower surface, and at least four generally planar side
walls; a cylindrical neck extending from the center of the conical
ceiling and having an opening at its top end; a conical recess in
the lower surface of a size sufficient to envelop the ceiling, neck
and cap of another storage bottle insertable therein; an
indentation in at least one side wall to form a handle; vertical
interlocking means for releasably connecting each side wall to the
side wall of another storage bottle stackable adjacent thereto; and
horizontal interlocking means for releasably connecting the upper
surface to the lower surface of another storage bottle stacked
thereabove.
[0014] In another aspect, each storage bottle may be stacked in an
upright position above, below or beside another upright storage
bottle to form a stable bottle stack.
[0015] In a further aspect, each bottle may have a recess in at
least one of the side walls for application thereto of a label. In
yet another aspect, the storage bottles may be manufactured of a
PET plastic material.
[0016] In still a further aspect, the vertical interlocking means
may comprise at least one recess on the side wall for engaging a
corresponding protrusion on the side wall of another storage bottle
and the horizontal interlocking means may comprise at least one
recess in the lower surface for engaging a corresponding protrusion
on the upper surface of another storage bottle.
[0017] In yet a further aspect, the neck of each bottle may further
comprise an external thread or protrusions for attachment thereto
of a screw cap or snap cap.
[0018] In still a further aspect, ribs may be incorporated on the
conical ceiling, the conical recess, or the sidewalls to make the
bottle stronger and increase the top load capability. The said ribs
also improve collapsibility of the bottle when empty to reduce
volume at the end of the life cycle.
[0019] In a further aspect, the invention provides an assembly of a
plurality of stackable bottles wherein only the side walls of each
bottle are adjacent each other bottle, to form a quadrilateral
having opposed lateral sides. The assembly may have at least one
band of a flexible wrapping material encircling the exposed side
walls of the assembly, and a strap of a flexible material extending
between opposed sides of the assembly, each end of the strap
connected to the band to form a handle for the assembly.
[0020] Other aspects of the invention will be appreciated by
reference to the description of the preferred embodiment which
follows and the drawings thereof and to the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] The invention will be described by reference to the
preferred embodiment and the drawings thereof in which:
[0022] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a stackable bottle, depicting
a label recess and one handle indentation, according to the
invention;
[0023] FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a stackable bottle, depicting
two handle indentations and a cap, according to the invention;
[0024] FIG. 3 is a perspective bottom view of a stackable bottle,
according to the invention;
[0025] FIG. 4 is a cross-section of two stackable bottles,
demonstrating the nesting of the neck portion of one bottle with
the floor recess of the other bottle, according to the
invention.
[0026] FIG. 5 is an isometric view of an assembly of four stackable
bottles, according to the invention; and
[0027] FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a stack of bottles on a
pallet, according to the system of the invention
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE BEST MODE AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF
THE INVENTION
[0028] Referring first to FIGS. 1 to 3, a stackable bottle 2
according to the present invention comprises a storage compartment
having an upper surface 4 with a conical ceiling 6, a centrally
disposed neck 8 extending from the conical ceiling with an opening
10 therein, and a lower surface 42. The bottle has four side walls
12, 14, 16, 18, vertical interlocking means comprising side wall
protrusions 20, 22 corresponding to side wall recesses 24, 26, and
horizontal interlocking means comprising at least one upper surface
protrusion 28 corresponding to at least one lower surface recess
46.
[0029] The side wall protrusions are of a size, relative to the
size of the side wall recesses, which permits a releasable
locational transition fit engagement of the protrusions into the
recesses. Similarly, the upper surface protrusions are of a size,
relative to the size of the lower surface recesses, which permits a
releasable locational transition fit engagement of the protrusions
into the recesses. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower surface 42 of the
bottle incorporates a centrally disposed conical recess 44 and at
least one peripheral recess 46 for engagement with an upper surface
protrusion 28.
[0030] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the neck 8 may have protrusions 30
for attachment of a snap cap 9. Alternatively, the neck 8 may have
an external thread for attachment of a screw cap (not shown). At
least one indentation may be provided in a side wall to act as a
handle. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, indentations 34,
36 are provided in the vicinity of a corner and adapted to be
grasped by the thumb and index finger of one hand; although other
manipulations are possible. For example, a user may engage one
indentation 34 with one hand and another indentation 36 with the
other hand to lift the bottle. A pair of indentations 34, (not
shown) between adjacent side walls 12, 14 may form a first handle
at one of the side edges or corners of the bottle. A second pair of
indentations 36, (not shown) may be formed between the remaining
side walls 16, 18. As shown in FIG. 1, the bottle may include one
or more shallow recesses 40 in the side wall surfaces for
application of labels or other marking devices.
[0031] FIGS. 1 to 3 show ribs 31, 33, 35 incorporated on the bottle
to withstand higher top load forces when stored together in a
stack. For example, ribs may be located on the conical ceiling 31,
the side wall 33 or the conical recess 35. The ribs also improve
collapsibility when the bottle is empty at the end of its life
cycle.
[0032] In FIG. 4, two bottles are shown in stacked configuration
demonstrating the planar construction optimal for stable stacking
which optimizes stack volume. The neck 8 and conical ceiling 6 of
the upper surface of the lower bottle 50 are dimensioned to fit
within the recess 44 in the lower surface of the upper bottle 52.
The fit permits stacking of bottles without causing damage to
labels or seals disposed over the mouth of the bottle. The side
walls of the upper bottle 52 are fully supported by the side walls
of the lower bottle 50 aligned below. As well as providing a
stability function, the horizontal interlocking means provides an
alignment function to ensure stack stability.
[0033] As shown in FIG. 4 the stacked bottles are vertically
disposed about an axis defined through the stacked necks 8. The
recess 44 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 presents a convex
surface 51 which deflects the bottle towards the axis when the
recess 44 of a bottle is mounted over the neck 8 of the bottle
below. In other words, there is a self-centering aspect to the
invention when stacking the bottles together which becomes useful
especially when the bottles are filled with liquid. When a bottle
is filled with liquid it is difficult to accurately center the
bottles when stacking and accordingly the convex surface 51 of the
recess 44 will tend to deflect the bottle being mounted over the
next adjacent bottle towards the center of the axis.
[0034] FIG. 5 demonstrates the assembly of the invention, showing
an assembly of four stackable bottles 2. Bottles are aligned and
interlocked horizontally. The horizontally interlocked bottles may
be wrapped in a flexible wrapping material 54, such as a flexible
plastic, for packaging and shipping. A flexible strap 55 may extend
between opposed sides of the assembly to form a central handle
above the upper surfaces of the bottles. The strap may instead be
oriented above the side walls of one side of the assembly of
bottles. The assembly of the invention permits packaging of the
bottles without the use of paper or other firm packaging support
material, thereby reducing packaging costs.
[0035] FIG. 6 demonstrates the system of the invention, showing a
stack 56 of a plurality of stackable bottles 2 stacked on a pallet.
Bottles are aligned and interlocked vertically as well as
horizontally. Bottles may be grouped into assemblies of four or
more bottles wrapped in a flexible wrapping material for ease of
handling.
[0036] Furthermore the stacked bottles as shown in FIG. 6 are
locked or interlocked in three dimensions, namely, along two
dimensions as the side walls of the bottles have recesses as well
as protrusions; as well as a third dimension, namely, axially as
the bottoms and tops of the bottles interlock with the top
protrusions and bottom recesses of the bottles. Such three
dimensional interlock resists separation of the bottles in transit
as well as concentrating the density of the stored materials packed
in the manner described.
[0037] The system of the invention permits stacking of bottles in
an upright position to discourage leakage and spillage during
storage and transport. Even where a seal fails, spillage will be
much less than would be the case were the bottles stacked with the
neck in a horizontal position. One of the handles composed of
indentations 34, 36 of each bottle on the periphery of the stack is
accessible to a handler, once wrapping material is removed. No rack
is necessary to hold the bottles, as the vertical and horizontal
interlocking means provide stability to the stack.
[0038] The bottles of the invention may be stacked in both empty
and filled conditions. Bottles may be stacked during filling,
transportation, storage prior to use, consumption of the consumable
materials, and storage after use prior to recycling, in the life
cycle of the bottles.
[0039] The bottles of the invention may also incorporate means for
identifying the contents of the storage bottles. Such
identification means may include colour coding, distinguishing
structural features, or other identifying features for content
identification purposes. Ideally, the material used for the
manufacture of the bottles is transparent to permit visual
identification of the bottle contents.
[0040] A number of methods known in the art can be utilized to
manufacture the bottles previously described.
[0041] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that
other variations of the preferred embodiment may also be practiced
without departing from the scope of the invention.
* * * * *