Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02578459 2007-02-14
STACKING CONTAINERS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to containers and, more particularly to stacking
containers.
Synthetic resin containers are widely employed for various types of products.
Those which carry liquids are frequently called bottles. Many containers have
configuration to facilitate handling and spouts to facilitate pouring larger
containers
frequently have carrying handles formed as a part thereof. Moroever, such
containers may
employ body portions having a variety of cross sectional configurations.
To conserve volume in cartons in which the containers are placed, they may
have
top and bottom portions which are configured to permit stacking such as a
recess in the
bottom portion to seat the handle and spout of a container therebelow such as
shown in
Maynard, Jr. Patent No. 4,351,454 and Srokose et al Patent No. 6,029,858.
Other merely
provide flat surfaces on the top and bottom such as Soehnlen et al Patent
4,650,455.
Unfortunately, if the containers of the stack are able to move horizontally,
this
produces unstable misalignment of the containers and stacks of the containers
in a point of
purchase displays can collapse.
It is an object of the present invention to provide novel stacking containers
which
are economical to form and stable when stacked.
It is also an object to provide such containers which employ a relatively
small space.
Another object is to provide a stacking container which is easily stacked and
is
relatively stable and able to limit relative horizontal movement.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has now been found that the foregoing and related objects are readily
attained in a
stacking bottle having a bifurcated base portion providing a pair of legs
defining a channel
therebetween, a body portion having a generally rectangular cross section and
a top portion
providing an inverted U-shaped handle and a spout which are configured and
dimensioned
to seat in the channel of the base portion of a second bottle of like
dimension and
configuration. The adjacent side surfaces of the top and base portions have
interfitting
projections and recesses to limit relative horizontal movement of the stacked
bottles.
Preferably, the side surfaces of the legs of the base portion have the
projections and
the side surfaces of one of the handle and spout have the recesses. The
projections and
recesses are oriented vertically.
Desirably, the rectangular cross section is substantially square, and the axis
of the
channel extends perpendicularly relative to the axis of the handle. The legs
have a cross
section in which the inwardly oriented opposing side surfaces of each of the
legs defining
the channel converge to the interfitting projections and the handles have the
cooperating
recesses.
The spout and handle portions lie along a common horizontal axis and the side
walls
of the legs defining the channel are inclined inwardly. The side of surfaces
of the handle
are inclined inwardly to cooperate with the side surfaces of the legs defining
the channel,
and the legs of the base portion have a horizontal bottom surface. The
projections have
opposed surfaces which are inclined inwardly and the recesses are
cooperatively
configured.
Most conveniently the recesses are on the side surfaces of the handle.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a stackable bottle embodying the
present
invention;
Figure 2 is a side elevational view thereof;
Figure 3 is a top plan view thereof;
Figure 4 is a bottom view thereof;
Figure 5 is an illustration of a stacked pair of bottles;
Figure 6 is a similar view with the pair rotated 180 ; and
Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing the engagement of
the projections on the side walls of the recess seated in the recesses of the
handle.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Turning first to Figures 1-4 of the attached drawings, a bottle A embodying
the
present invention has a base portion generally designated by the numeral 10, a
body portion
generally designated by the numeral 12 and a top portion generally designated
by the
numeral 14. Containers embodying the present invention can be stacked as seen
in Figures
and 7.
Turning first to the base portion 10, it has a pair of legs 16 which are
spaced apart
diagonally so as to define a channel 18 therebetween. The general cross
section of the
bottle is that of a square and the legs 16 are located at diagonal corners of
the square
configuration. Each of the legs 16 has two outer substantially vertical faces
20,22 which
are perpendicular to each other and two substantially vertical inner faces
21,23 which
converge inwardly and a projection 28 extends along the upper portion of the
converging
sides surfaces. The bottom surfaces 30 of the legs 16 lie in a common plane so
that the
bottle A can be stably seated on a support surface (not shown).
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The surfaces 21,23 slope upwardly and inwardly as does the projection 28. The
body portion 12 is essentially square with rounded corners and can be of any
desired
length. Recesses (not shown) can be provided on one or more of the outer
surfaces of the
body portion for labels and the like.
Turning next to the top portion 14, it has a relatively planar top wa1132 and
at one
of the corners, is a spout 34 with a pour opening 36. Extending therefrom to
the diagonally
opposite corner is a inverted generally U-shaped handle 38 which has recesses
40 formed
on the sides thereof to seat the projections 28 formed on the side surfaces of
the legs 16 in
the base portion 10. The side surfaces of supporting legs of the handle 38
slope inwardly
and upwardly as seen in Figure 2.
As seen in Figures 5-7, the bottle A of the present design is seated on the
support
surface and a like configured bottle B is placed thereon with the handle 38
and spout fitting
into the bottom channel 18 in the base portion 10. As indicated previously and
as best seen
in Figure 7, the projections 28 on the side surfaces of the legs 16 defining
the channel 18
seat in the recesses 40 formed in the side of the handle 28. The legs 16 of
the superposed
bottle B seat on flat surfaces of the top wall 32 and the projections 28 seat
in the recesses
40 to substantially preclude movement in a horizontal plane.
It will be appreciated that the inwardly sloping side surfaces on the legs and
handle
allows these surfaces to abut and limit movement. The sloping surfaces on the
legs of the
handle extend oppositely to the cooperating surfaces of the legs so that the
projections on
the legs slide easily downwardly into the recesses on the handle. Once seated,
relative
horizontal motion is substantially precluded.
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As will be readily appreciated, the cross section of the bottle may vary but
rectangular, and preferably square, to facilitate close packing, particularly
in cartons and on
pallets. The spout may have a simple cap or include other elements.
Thus, it can be seen from the foregoing detailed description and the attached
drawings that the containers of the present invention stack easily and are
essentially
precluded from horizontal movement, thus providing a more stable stack. The
containers
are readily fabricated and easily stacked.
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