International Container Systems, Inc.

Other

Pierre J deLarosiere

A plastic bottle 4 for beverage or other liquid has a liquid container 6, a top closure 10, and a base cup 8. The base cup 8 includes an interlock band 12 surrounding it to permit two bottles to interlock. The base cup also includes a bottle stacking support 30 to permit a first bottle 4 to rest upon the top closure 10 of a second bottle 4. A rectangular array of such bottles can be surrounded laterally by a binding such as a sheath of plastic shrink-wrap film 5 to form a readily transportable bundle 2. The bundles 2 can be stacked in multitiered structures for warehousing.

Interlocking stackable bottles

A case for unsupported-base multipacks of bottles has an outer wall, a base grid comprising a plurality of interconnected ribs, and partitioning to divide the case into a plurality of multipack receptacles. Each multipack receptacle has a generally hollow supporting pillar projecting from the base grid of the receptacle. The supporting pillar can fit within a space between four bottles of a multipack placed within the receptacle and urge against a side portion of each of the bottles to stabilize the multipack. Empty cases of the invention can nest one on top of the other with each supporting pillar of a lower case extending into the hollow interior of a corresponding supporting pillar of the next higher case. A case rest surface of the base grid of the case has plurality of indentations in it which define closure-locating dimples. Cases of the invention loaded with multipacks of bottles can be arranged in multilayered stacked and cross-stacked structures with the closures of bottles of lower cases being located within the closure-locating dimples of cases immediately above.

Case for multipacks of bottles

A reusable case 2 for bottles 4 has a plurality of pockets 64 for receiving base portions of the bottles. Each pocket 64 is equipped with a bottle side-wall gripper 15 and a bottle base support 70 for supporting the bottle 4 and orienting it so that a symmetry axis of the bottle 4 substantially coincides with a centerline of the pocket 64. Substantially coaxial with the pocket centerline is a stacking/cross-stacking case-rest 76. The cases 4 are dimensioned and the pockets 64 positioned so that cases of bottles can be arranged in layers in cross-stacked structure with the bottles 4 in each lower layer being oriented and positioned to locate closures 6 of the bottles 4 within the stacking/cross-stacking case rests 76 of the cases 2 of the next higher layer.

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Lisbon, Portugal

Pierre J deLarosiere