Bottle crate

Abstract

The invention relates to a bottle crate (10) with a crate base (28) and surrounding side walls (12a, 12b) and with an interior enclosed by the side walls (12a, 12b) and the crate base (28) for receiving individual bottles and / or bottle bundles (70), wherein at least one quill (16) is arranged in the interior of the bottle crate (10), which extends from the crate base (28) into the interior. The quill (16) is provided to have a main body (32) extending from the crate base (28) and, at its upper end, a ribbed attachment (50) adjoining the main body (32), which is designed to pierce the bottle bundle (70) from the bottom when the bottle crate (10) is loaded with a bottle bundle (70).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a bottle crate with a base, surrounding side walls, and at least one quill. The invention also relates to a sales unit comprising a bottle crate and at least one bottle container. STATE OF THE ART

[0002] Bottle packs, also referred to as "multipacks," are very popular with consumers because they facilitate the transport of small quantities of bottles. Six-bottle packs are well-known, but packs of two, four, eight, and ten bottles are also widespread. Many bottle packs come in so-called "wrap-around" cartons. The cardboard is wrapped once around the bottles, so that the bottles rest on their bases against the cardboard.

[0003] Bottle crates with internal compartments for defining bottle positions are not suitable for transporting bottle sets with wrap-around cardboard boxes. The cardboard box would have to be completely slit, and the bottle sets could not be transported individually.

[0004] Bottle crates with quills, also referred to as quill crates, allow for the transport of bottle packs in wrap-around cardboard boxes. These boxes have perforations on their underside through which the quills are inserted, for example, in the middle of groups of four bottles. With bottle crates featuring quills, the separation of the bottle compartments is therefore at least partially eliminated. The cardboard boxes of the bottle packs have ribs at these points, which contribute to stability during transport. The slots in the cardboard boxes of the bottle packs must not be too deep, i.e., too wide or too long, as this would compromise the stability of the multipack.

[0005] Pinion boxes have been extensively optimized for adaptability to different container sizes. For example, AT 510 666 A2 discloses a bottle box that offers increased flexibility in the design of multipacks. This is achieved by using pinions with different cross-sections and in asymmetrical positions relative to the side walls of the bottle box.

[0006] German patent DE 20 2023 101 504 U1 describes a bottle crate which, in combination with a specially designed six-pack insert, is suitable for transporting bottles safely and quietly, preventing breakage. The crate is designed with so-called crown pins, which have a special design with thin wings and pointed tips on the top. The folding insert of the six-pack insert has standard cutouts to accommodate the pins.

[0007] German patent DE 92 080 39 U1 discloses a blank for a six-pack bottle, which has cutouts with insertion slots in the edge area. Extending from the insertion slots, a tear line in the form of a bridged cutout is formed on the longitudinal axis, extending to the edge of a bottom flap of the blank facing away from the bottom. After tearing the tear line, the central section breaks into two halves. The bottle crate itself comprises diamond-shaped pins with tapers at their upper ends. TASK OF INVENTION

[0008] Due to the size of the cutouts in the standard folding cutouts for bottle crates, certain minimum material thicknesses, usually cardboard thickness, are necessary. The bottle crates must be suitable for safely carrying the bottle carrier when full of bottles. On the other hand, the possibility of saving material by reducing the wall thickness of the bottle crates is desirable. Therefore, there is a need for improvements to bottle crates that allow for greater design flexibility in the folding cutout of the bottle crates.

[0009] The invention aims to provide a bottle crate and a sales unit that gives the manufacturer of bottle containers more design freedom in the layout of the folding blanks. REVELATION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] In a bottle crate according to the invention, comprising a base and surrounding side walls and an interior space surrounded by the side walls and the base for receiving individual bottles and / or bottle bundles, in which at least one quill is arranged in the interior of the bottle crate, extending from the base into the interior of the bottle crate, it is provided that the quill has a main body extending from the base and at its upper end a ribbed attachment adjoining the main body, which is designed to pierce the bottle bundle on the bottom side when the bottle crate is loaded with a bottle bundle.

[0011] The invention makes it possible to insert bottle containers, which are formed with full material thickness throughout the bottom area or with perforation lines, preferably following a cross-sectional shape of the rib attachment, into the bottle crate, since the bottle container is torn open in the piercing area of ​​the quill by the rib attachment.

[0012] The rib attachment comprises a number of ribs that extend from the main body into the interior of the bottle crate, thus forming the head of the quill. A "rib" is defined as a structural element with a linear cross-section.

[0013] Preferably, the rib attachment has at least two intersecting ribs. This allows for a seamless connection to, for example, a typical diamond-shaped base structure of the main body of the quill.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the ribbed attachment has a linear structure in a cross-section parallel to the bottom of the crate. Preferably, the ribbed attachment has no enclosed area in the horizontal cross-section. The ribs can be tapered or slightly rounded on their upper surface, i.e., at their top edge, to prevent injury to the user when handling the crate. The tapered or curved upper edge of the ribs ensures that the bottle container makes contact with the quill at a single point, thus simplifying the piercing process. Alternatively, flat upper edges for the ribs are possible and covered by the invention.

[0015] Preferably, the ribbed attachment is curved or tapered in height. It is further preferred that the highest point of the quill is located at its spatial center. This allows for even easier piercing of bottle containers, as the pressure upon initial contact is distributed over the smallest possible area.

[0016] The rib attachment preferably makes up to 10%, preferably up to 5%, of the height of the quill.

[0017] The main body of the quill can be solid, but is preferably hollow. The main body of the quill can, for example, extend from the bottom of the crate into the interior of the bottle crate in a cylindrical or upward-tapering shape, particularly pyramidal or pointed.

[0018] Preferably, the main body includes a hole in its horizontal cross-section.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment, the main body has a closed curve in cross-section parallel to the bottom of the box, which can be, for example, star-shaped or square. Diamond-shaped, especially square or pointed diamond-shaped, curves are particularly preferred. The curve is not formed with straight sides, but rather with odd, arcuate, and especially convex, side edges in order to conform to the shape of the bottle body.

[0020] Preferably, the rib attachment in the horizontal cross-section is formed from intersecting lines and the main body in the horizontal cross-section is formed from a closed curve star.

[0021] To further prevent bottles from clanging against each other during the return transport of empty containers, the main body preferably has two first wings and two second wings, which preferably extend outwards in a cross shape, with each pair of first wings and two second wings preferably arranged opposite each other. The spatial extent of the wings can be designed such that the placed bottles do not touch each other during empty transport, i.e., they cannot clang against each other.

[0022] In one embodiment of the invention, the bottle crate comprises a partition wall which preferably, but not necessarily limitingly, extends over the entire length of a first side wall and divides the bottle crate into two halves. The partition wall is preferably, but not necessarily limitingly, arranged centrally with respect to the second side wall. Preferably, the first side wall is the longer side wall and the second side wall is the shorter side wall, particularly in the case of a module dimension for the bottle crate of, for example, 300 mm x 400 mm.

[0023] The bottle crate is preferably made of plastic and manufactured in one piece using injection molding. The bottle crate is preferably suitable for holding bottle packs, in particular packs of two, four, six, eight and / or ten bottles, and is also designed for the return transport of the empty bottle packs.

[0024] The invention is particularly suitable for bottle crates with matrix-like compartments for bottles, for example 4 x 5, 4 x 6 or the like. However, a multitude of embodiments to which the invention applies are known to those skilled in the art.

[0025] In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, two rows of four or five similarly designed quills as described above are provided.

[0026] According to a further aspect of the invention, a sales unit is proposed comprising one of the bottle crates described above and at least one bottle container for holding a number of bottles, in particular 4, 6, 8 or 10 bottles, wherein the bottle container with the bottles contained therein can be inserted into the bottle crate such that the quill pierces the bottle container at the bottom. It is provided that the bottle container is formed from a folded blank, which comprises at least a bottom area and at least one side wall area, and which preferably has the full material thickness in the bottom area in the quill penetration area or has perforation lines, which preferably correspond to a cross-sectional shape of the ribbed attachment.

[0027] Simply by using perforations instead of die-cuts, energy can be saved in the production of folded blanks, as less material needs to be cut. Furthermore, over-dimensioning the recesses in the folded blank intended for the quills can be reliably avoided. The folded blank can thus be produced with a significantly thinner material.

[0028] The invention is not limited to "wrap-around" bottle containers. A variety of other forms of bottle containers are known to those skilled in the art, e.g., so-called "open-basket" bottle containers, in which the container carrier is a box-shaped, open-topped container carrier which also has end walls and a central partition parallel to its longitudinal walls.

[0029] Another aspect of the invention relates to the use of a folded blank in one of the described sales units. The folded blank is preferably made of cardboard, but can also be made of a composite material or plastic.

[0030] According to a further aspect of the invention, a method for loading one of the bottle crates described above with a bottle container is proposed, wherein the bottle container comprises at least a bottom area and at least one side wall area, wherein the bottom area is formed in the full material thickness throughout in the piercing area of ​​the quill or has individual perforation lines in the piercing area of ​​the quill, wherein when the bottle container is first inserted into the bottle crate, the rib attachment tears open the perforation lines provided on the underside in the bottom area of ​​the bottle container or, in the case of uniform material thickness, the piercing area.

[0031] In one embodiment, the initial placement of the bottle container into the bottle crate is achieved not only with the weight of the bottles, but also with additional pressure.

[0032] Further advantages and embodiments of the invention are illustrated by the following description of the figures. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that the figures only schematically represent the subject matter of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0033] They show: Fig. 1 a bottle crate according to an embodiment of the invention in perspective view, Fig. 2 the bottle box Fig. 1 and a schematically represented bottle container when positioned in a perspective changed by 90°, Fig. 3 a close-up of an area of ​​the bottle crate made of Fig. 2 from a slightly different perspective, Fig. 4 a view of an area of ​​the bottle crate Fig. 2 from a slightly different perspective, Fig. 5 a section of a box bottom with a quill according to an embodiment of the invention, Fig. 6 a quill in a corner area of ​​the bottle crate in Fig.1 from a changed perspective and Fig. 7 a bottle crate according to a further embodiment of the invention in perspective view. FORMS OF EXECUTION OF THE INVENTION

[0034] Fig.1 shows a bottle box 10 according to an embodiment of the invention in a perspective view.

[0035] The bottle crate 10 has a first side wall 12a and a second side wall 12b, wherein the first side wall 12a is longer than the second side wall 12b. The bottle crate 10 is, for example, a crate for 24 bottles, with the compartments 18 for the bottles arranged in a 4 x 6 matrix, which, however, is not a limitation of the invention. The crate base 28 (see figure) Fig. 4 ) of the bottle box 10 can be understood as having a stacking rim which, in a known manner, dips into a lower bottle box 10 in the stack of similar bottle boxes 10 (not shown).

[0036] In the illustrated embodiment, the bottle box 10 comprises, by way of example but not limiting to the invention, two rows of five pins 16 each and a partition 20 which extends over the entire length of the first side wall 12a and is arranged centrally with respect to the second side wall 12b.

[0037] The bottle crate 10 is also equipped in a known manner with load-bearing stacking columns 24 on the side walls 12b in the stack of similar bottle crates 10, as well as with display openings 26 which are limited on the upper side by handles 22, wherein such a design is not limiting for the invention and typically represents a design option for the person skilled in the art.

[0038] According to the invention, the pins 16 have a ribbed attachment 50 at their upper end, which is designed to prevent the bottle crate 10 from being loaded with a bottle container 70 (cf. Fig. 2 and ff.) to pierce the bottom of the bottle container 70.

[0039] Fig. 2 shows bottle crate 10 from Fig. 1 and a schematic representation of a bottle container 70 when inserted into the bottle crate 10.

[0040] The bottle container 70 comprises a bottom area 72, which in the present embodiment has two penetration areas 78 through which a quill 16 with its ribbed attachment 50 penetrates.

[0041] The bottle container 70 comprises two side wall sections 74, which are arranged opposite each other and, for example, connect to the base section 72 via two folds 76 each. The side wall sections 74 are angled at 90° relative to the base section 72. The bottle container 70 is designed here, for example, as a so-called "wrap-around" carton.

[0042] In Fig. 3 is the situation out Fig. 2 The image is shown enlarged and from a slightly modified perspective. The two penetration areas 78 are clearly visible. Two pins 16 protrude with their ribbed attachments 50 through the base area 72 of the bottle container 70. In the illustrated embodiment, the bottle container 70 has two intersecting perforation lines 80 in the penetration area 78, which are aligned with the position of the ribs of the ribbed attachment 50. The folded blank of the bottle container 70 is provided with the perforation lines 80. Upon initial insertion, the perforation lines 80 tear open due to the action of the ribbed attachment 50.

[0043] Fig. 4 The situation shows Fig. 3 from a slightly different perspective. When the perforation lines 80 tear open, bulges 82 of the material of the bottle container 70 occur in the puncture area 78.

[0044] The invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment. Rather, the bottle container 70 can be equipped without perforation lines 80, the material thickness being adapted to the shape of the ribbed attachment 50 such that, due to pressure during insertion, a tear occurs in the puncture area 78. In embodiments with perforation lines 80, the tearing of the bottle container 70 occurs in a controlled manner.

[0045] Fig. 5 Figure 1 shows a quill 16 according to an embodiment of the invention in a perspective view. The quill 16 extends from the bottom of the box 28 into the interior of the bottle box 10.

[0046] The quill 16 has a main body 32, which is typically dome-shaped with a hollow profile. In the center of the main body 32, below the intersecting ribs 52, 54 of the rib attachment 50, there is a through-opening 36.

[0047] The main body 32 tapers slightly towards the top in a dome shape, which makes it easier to insert the bottles and bottle containers 70.

[0048] Starting from the main body 32 of the quill 16, two first wings 30 and two second wings 40 extend outwards in a cross shape. The first wings 30 and the second wings 40 are arranged opposite each other.

[0049] The pins 16, together with their first and second wings 30, 40, together with the side walls 12a, 12b and the partition 20, define the positions for bottles in compartments 18.

[0050] The first wings 30 each have a first wing web section 31 and a first wing end section 33, which are formed in one piece and adjoin each other. The first wing end section 33 is narrower than the first wing web section 31 to avoid unnecessarily pinching the bottles. The first wing 30 preferably extends over half of a compartment 18. Two bottles placed side by side are therefore prevented by the first wing 30 from colliding with each other.

[0051] The second wings 40 each comprise a second wing web section 42 and a second wing end section 44, the second wing end section 44 being equipped with a hammerhead 46. The second wing web section 42 is thus narrower than the second wing end section 44, so that the hammerhead 46 forms a T-shaped end of the second wing 40. Bottles arranged between two quills 16 are held apart from each other by means of two second wings 40 of the respective two quills 16. The hammerheads 46 prevent the bottles from colliding. For this purpose, a first distance between two adjacent quills 16 is designed as a distance between two second wings 40 of the adjacent quills 16 less than 1 / 3 of a compartment size in this direction, which is not a limitation of the invention.

[0052] Furthermore, a second distance between a quill 16 and a partition 20 is defined by a distance of a first wing 30 to the partition 20 and, in the illustrated embodiment, but not limiting to the invention, is formed to be less than 1 / 2 of a compartment size in this direction.

[0053] The hammerheads 46 have chamfers 48 on their upper surface and reach approximately the same material thickness at the tip as the second rib 54. The chamfer 48 can also be described as arrowhead-shaped.

[0054] In the illustrated embodiment, the rib attachment 50 is formed by two intersecting ribs 52, 54. The ribs rest on the wings 30, 40 and, for example, but not limiting to the invention, join the wings 30, 40 integrally with respect to their material thickness without a step in a transition area 34.

[0055] The first rib 52 intersects the second rib 54 at the spatial center of the quill 16 (relative to a top view). The first rib 52 and the second rib 54 are curved, so that the highest point of the quill 16 is located at its center. At their upper edges, the ribs 52 and 54 of the rib attachment 50 can be smooth, slightly rounded, or pointed, as shown.

[0056] The arc-shaped structure of the ribs 52, 54 can, for example, but not in a way that restricts the invention, be approximately Gaussian in shape. The upper edges of the ribs 52, 54 can each, for example, have a curve approximately resembling a Gaussian curve. This is particularly advantageous because the bottle container 70 is pierced at a point, making it easy to apply the force required to tear open the puncture area 78.

[0057] Fig. 6 shows another corner of the in Fig. 1 The illustrated bottle crate 10 has a quill 16 arranged on the crate base 28. Opposite the second wing 40 is the stacking column 24. To prevent the bottles from colliding, a pair of ribs 84 is provided on the stacking column 24, which is integrally molded onto the stacking column 24. Below the handle 22, in the area of ​​the display opening 26, a crossbar 86 is provided, which divides the display opening 26 into two parts. This allows the partition 20 to be connected to the side wall 12b by means of a connecting bend 88. The partition 20 can have a wave-shaped profile on its upper side to give the bottle crate 10 more stability and to facilitate the placement of the bottles and bottle containers 70.

[0058] Fig.7 shows a bottle box 10 according to a further embodiment of the invention in perspective view.

[0059] Bottle box 10 is essentially designed like the one in Fig. 1 A repeated description of identical or similar features can be omitted in the following. The pins 16 have a ribbed attachment 50 at their upper end, which is designed to pierce the bottom of the bottle container 70 when it is loaded into the bottle crate 10.

[0060] Unlike the bottle crate of 10 in Figur 1 extend into the Fig. 7 In the illustrated embodiment, two first wings 30 and two second wings 40 extend crosswise outwards from the main body 32 of the quill 16, the first wings 30 being as shown in Figur 1 are trained and the second wings 40 are not equipped with a hammerhead 46.

[0061] The second wings 40 instead each have a second wing web section 41 and a second wing end section 43, which are formed in one piece and adjoin one another, the second wing end section 43 preferably being narrower than the second wing web section 41 in order to avoid unnecessarily pinching the bottles. The first distance between two adjacent pins 16, defined as the distance between two second wings 40 of the adjacent pins 16, is also, in the alternative embodiment, less than 1 / 3 of a compartment size in this direction, and this is not a limitation of the invention.

[0062] The invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments. Rather, a person skilled in the art will recognize a multitude of embodiments which fall within the scope of protection of the claims. REFERENCE MARK LIST

[0063] 10 Bottle crate; 12a, 12b Side wall; 16 Quill; 18 Compartment; 20 Partition; 22 Handle; 24 Stacking column; 26 Display opening; 28 Crate bottom; 30 First wing; 31 First wing web section; 32 Main body; 33 First wing end section; 34 Transition area; 36 Passage opening; 40 Second wing; 42 Second wing web section; 44 Second wing end section; 46 Hammerhead; 48 Bevel; 50 Rib attachment; 52 First rib; 54 Second rib; 70 Bottle pack; 72 Bottom area; 74 Side wall area; 76 Rebate; 78 Piercing area; 80 Perforation line; 82 Curvature; 84 Rib pair; 86 Crossbar; 88 Connecting bend

Claims

1. Bottle crate (10) with a crate base (28) and surrounding side walls (12a, 12b) and with an interior space enclosed by the side walls (12a, 12b) and the crate base (28) for receiving individual bottles and / or bottle sets (70), wherein at least one quill (16) is arranged in the interior space of the bottle crate (10), which extends from the crate base (28) into the interior space, characterized by the fact that the quill (16) has a main body (32) extending from the bottom of the box (28) and at its upper end a ribbed attachment (50) adjoining the main body (32), which is designed to pierce the bottle container (70) from the bottom when the bottle box (10) is loaded with a bottle container (70).

2. Bottle crate (10) according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the rib attachment (50) is formed from at least two intersecting ribs (52, 54).

3. Bottle crate (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact thatthe rib attachment (50) has a linear structure in a cross-section parallel to the box bottom (28).

4. Bottle crate (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that The rib attachment (50) is arched or tapered in height, with the highest point of the quill (16) preferably being located in the spatial center of the quill (16).

5. Bottle crate (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the main body (32) is designed as a solid body or a hollow body, preferably as a hollow body, which extends cylindrically or tapering upwards from the bottom of the box (28) into the interior.

6. Bottle crate (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact thatthe main body (32) comprises two first wings (30) and two second wings (40) which preferably extend outwards in a cross shape, wherein two first wings (30) and two second wings (40) are preferably arranged opposite each other.

7. Bottle crate (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the bottle box (10) has two rows of four or five similarly designed pins (16).

8. Bottle crate (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that The upper edges of the ribs (52, 54) exhibit a curve profile approximately in the form of a Gaussian curve.

9. Bottle crate (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the rib attachment (50) constitutes up to 10%, preferably up to 5% of the height of the quill (16).

10. Bottle crate (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that theThe rib attachment (50) is formed in the horizontal cross-section from intersecting lines and the main body (32) is formed in the horizontal cross-section from a closed curve star.

11. Bottle crate (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that The rib attachment has no enclosed area in the horizontal cross-section.

12. Bottle crate (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the main body (32) encloses a hole in the horizontal cross-section.

13. Sales unit comprising a bottle crate (10) according to one of the preceding claims and a bottle container (70) for holding a number of bottles, in particular 4, 6, 8 or 10 bottles, wherein the bottle container (70) with bottles held therein can be inserted into the bottle crate (10) such that the quill (16) pierces the bottle container (70) at the bottom, wherein the bottle container (70) is formed from a folded blank comprising at least a bottom area (72) and at least one side wall area (74), and wherein the bottom area (72) is formed in full material thickness in the piercing area (78) of the quill (16) or has perforation lines (80) in the piercing area (78) of the quill (16), which preferably correspond to a cross-sectional shape of the rib attachment (50).

14. Use of a folded blank in a sales unit according to claim 13.

15. Method for fitting a bottle crate (10) according to one of claims 1 to 12 with a bottle container (70) which comprises at least a bottom area (72) and at least one side wall area (74), wherein the bottom area (72) is formed in the full material thickness throughout in the piercing area (78) of the quill (16) or has individual perforation lines (80) in the piercing area (78) of the quill (16), characterized by the fact that When the bottle container (70) is first inserted into the bottle crate (10), the ribbed attachment (50) tears open the perforation lines (80) provided on the underside in the bottom area of ​​the bottle container (70) or, in the case of uniform material thickness, the piercing area (78).

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