Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02911771 2015-11-09
BEVERAGE CRATE
DESCRIPTION
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present invention claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application
No. 14/926,882
filed October 29, 2015 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/077,455
filed November
10, 2014, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[00021 N/A
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention generally relates to a crate for carrying a
plurality of beverage
bottles or cans.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
100041 A large variety of plastic beverage crates have been developed for
transporting and
storing beverages contained in bottles or metal cans. The industry is
constantly striving to
improve the design of such crates.
[0005] The present invention provides an improved beverage crate for
transporting beverage
bottles or cans.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
100061 The present invention provides a plastic beverage crate having a
generally rectangular
bottom portion and an upper band connected to the bottom portion by a
plurality of columns.
The upper band is completely outward of a perimeter of the bottom portion.
That is, no portion
of the upper band extends inward past the perimeter of the bottom portion
(i.e., none of the upper
band extends into the interior of the crate as defined or outlined by the
bottom portion). Each of
the columns extends from the upper band to the bottom portion. Unlike the
upper band, each
column includes a portion inward of the perimeter of the bottom portion. The
upper band
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includes a plurality of inwardly facing flat surfaces and a plurality of
inwardly facing concave
surfaces.
100071 In accordance with one embodiment, a beverage crate comprises a
bottom portion
having an upper surface for supporting beverages having a generally
rectangular outer perimeter.
An upper band is positioned above the bottom portion and entirely outward from
the outer
perimeter of the bottom portion. A plurality of columns connects the upper
band to the bottom
portion. Each of the plurality of columns includes a portion extending into an
interior portion of
the outer perimeter.
100081 The upper band can include a plurality of inwardly facing flat
surfaces. The inwardly
facing flat surfaces can include a taper away from the interior of the crate
(i.e., from the bottom
of the flat surface to the top of the flat surface), or alternatively can be
substantially
perpendicular to the bottom portion. If perpendicular, the crate might not be
able to interstack
vvith existing crates.
100091 The upper band can include a plurality of inwardly concave surfaces
that are
generally perpendicular to the bottom surface. The inwardly concave surfaces
can alternate with
the inwardly facing flat surfaces.
[0010] The beverage crate can further include a first end having a first
handle portion and a
second end having a second handle portion. The handle portion can extend
outward from the
bottom portion. The bottom portion can include a slight upwardly curving
portion at the first
end. The upwardly curving portion extends to an edge. The upwardly curving
portion can
include a first concave section and a second concave section.
[0011] The upper band can include a plurality of outwardly facing flat
surfaces. Each of the
outwardly facing flat surfaces can be connected to one of the inwardly facing
flat surfaces at a
top portion. This makes the upper band double walled in the areas having the
inwardly and
outwardly facing flat surfaces.
100121 The upper band of the beverage crate can also include a plurality of
outwardly facing
convex portions. The convex portions are the outer surface of the inwardly
facing concave
portions.
100131 The beverage crate can be a plastic material. The crate can be
formed in a molding
operation.
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100141 Further aspects of the invention are disclosed in the Figures, and
are described herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[00151 To understand the present invention, it will now be described by way
of example,
with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
10016] FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of our ornamental
design of a
beverage crate;
100171 FIGURE 2 is a side plan view of a first side of the ornamental
design of the beverage
crate of FIGURE 1;
100181 FIGURE 3 is an end plan view of a first end of the ornamental design
of the beverage
crate of FIGURE 1;
100191 FIGURE 4 is a side plan view of a second side of the ornamental
design of the
beverage crate of FIGURE 1;
100201 FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the ornamental design of the beverage
crate of
FIGURE 1;
100211 FlGli RI', 6 is an end plan view of a second end of the ornamental
design of the
beverage crate of FIGURE 1;
100221 FIGURE 7 is a bottom plan view of the ornamental design of the
beverage crate of
FIGURE 1;
100231 FIGURE 8 a cross-sectional view of the beverage crate of FIGURE 1
from one end to
the other end of the beverage crate;
100241 FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of the exterior of the beverage crate
of FIGURE 1;
and,
100251 FIGURE 10 is a cross-sectional view of the beverage crate of FIGURE
1 from one
side to the other side of the beverage crate.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
100261 While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different
forms, there is
shown in the drawings, and will herein be described in detail preferred
embodiments of the
invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be
considered as an
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exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to
limit the broad aspect of
the invention to the embodiments illustrated.
[0027] Figure 1 illustrates a beverage crate 10 having a generally
rectangular bottom 12. An
upper band 14 having a first side 16, a second side 18, a first end 20, and a
second end 22
surrounds the periphery of the bottom 12.
[0028] The upper band is supported above the bottom 12 by a plurality of
columns 24 spaced
about the first side 16, second side 18, first end 20 and second end 22 of the
upper band 14. The
columns 24 extend inward (i.e., toward the interior of the crate) from the
upper band 14.
[0029] The upper band 14 includes a plurality of flat surfaces 26 facing
the interior of the
crate. fhe flat surfaces 26 are substantially perpendicular to the top surface
28 of the bottom 12,
or can have a slight taper away from the interior (from the bottom of the flat
surface 26 toward
the top of the flat surface 26). The flat surfaces 26 are at the edge of the
perimeter of the bottom
12 and (while facing the interior) do not extend into the interior of the
beverage crate 10 as
defined by the bottom 12. A plurality of inwardly concave surfaces 30 are
formed between the
flat surfaces 26. The inwardly concave surfaces 30 extend outward (i.e., away
from the interior
of the crate) from the flat surfaces 26.
[0030] Each column 24 includes a first support bottle contacting surface 32
and a second
bottle contacting surface 34. The contacting surfaces 32, 34 are separated by
a connecting
surface 36 as shown in Figure 8. An angled portion 38 (slanting away from the
interior of the
crate 10 from a bottom portion to a top portion) connects the column 24 to one
of the flat
surfaces 26 of the upper band 14.
[0031] From an outer view, the columns 24 are concave as shown in Figure 9.
The base of
each column forms a cutaway portion 40 in the bottom 12.
100321 Each end 20, 22 of the beverage crate 10, includes a handle bar or
strip 42 extending
over an opening 44. The handle bar 42 allows one to grab and hold the crate.
The bottom
portion 12 includes an upward, slightly raised arching portion 45 under the
handle bar 42. The
upward arching portion 45 ends at an edge slightly above the relatively flat
interior surface of the
bottom portion 12. The upward arching portion can included a plurality of
curved surfaces
designed to contact a bottom portion of bottles positioned in the crate.
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100331 Referring to Figure 9, the outer surface of the side 16 of the
upper band 14 includes a
plurality of flat surfaces 46. The flat surfaces 46 alternate with a plurality
of convex surfaces 48.
The convex surfaces 48 are the other side of the inwardly facing concave
surfaces 30.
100341 The outer flat surfaces 46 are positioned on the other side of
the inner flat surfaces 26.
However, as shown in Figure 10, the outer flat surface 46 and the inner flat
surface 26 are part of
a double wall structure wherein the two surfaces 46, 26 are connected by a V
or U-shaped (in
cross-section) top portion 50.
100351 Many modifications and variations of the present invention are
possible in light of the
above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood within the scope of the
appended claims the
invention may be protected otherwise than as specifically described.
