Bottle carrier

March 19, 1935.

G. S. EVERHART

BOTTLE CARRIER Filed Nov. 12, 1931

1,995,280

Sheets-Sheet 1

<img file="US1995280A_D0001.tif" />

March 19, 1935.

1,995,280

G. S. EVERHART

BOTTLE CARRIER

Filed Nov. 12, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2

<img file="US1995280A_D0002.tif" />

Patented Mar. 19, 1935

1,995,280

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

1,995,280

BOTTLE CARRIER

George S. Everhart, Terre Haute, Ind.

Application November 12,1931, Serial No. 574,486 4 Claims. (Cl. 224—45)

This invention relates to improvements in bottle carriers; and consists in the novel construction hereinafter disclosed.

An object of the invention is to provide a car5 rier adapted to support and protect a plurality of bottles or similar containers wherein the bottles may be inserted when the carrier is in extended position and then the carrier adjusted to support the bottles from displacement in the case or body 10 section of the carrier, and said carrier being provided with a foldable handle engageable by the hand of toe user for carrying toe bottles thus contained in toe body portion of the carrier.

, Another object of the invention is to equip a 15 carrier of toe general class described with means for supporting the lower portion of the bottles against lateral displacement.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in a device of the class mentioned, a foldable sec20 tion of the bottom wall of the carrier that is adapted to be elevated when the carrier is brought to closed adjustment to form an abutment at each end of toe bottom section of the carrier.

Another object of the invention is to equip a 25 device of toe class described with foldable handle sections haying a flap adapted to fold under the handle sections to provide a handle to be engaged by the user which is free from raw edges or abrading surfaces, so that the carrier may be con30 veniently transported.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carrier formed from a single elongated rectangular sheet of corrugated cardboard or the like having an intermediate bottom wall and side walls 35 extending therefrom, together with an upper retaining flap adapted to fit over the necks of the bottles when the device is in extended position and to hold toe bottles against lateral displacement when brought to closed position.

Another object of the invention is to equip a device of the class described with a retaining device adapted to fit over the necks of a pair of bottles laterally disposed in the carrier and there45 by hold the carrier in closed adjustment, said retaining^ device being equipped to serve as a crown cap bottle opener.

Additional advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed ' 50 description thereof, taken in connection with ' the accompanying drawings, in which__ ·

Fig. 1 is an exterior plan view of the carrier i blanked out, extended and unfolded. ₍

Fig. 2 is an interior plan view of the carrier ex- 1 55 tended with the hand-holds folded and with toe 1

- bottles indicated in a position assumed in loading • toe carrier.

Fig. 3 is a, side elevation.

‘ ,. is a longitudinal section taken substan- ' tially on the line 4—4 of Fig. 5. _t > Fig. 5 Is a cross-section taken substantially on i the line 5—5 of Fig. 3.

; Fig. 6 is a detailed perspective view of the re’ taining device for holding the carrier in closed adjustment. _ω

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated > in the drawings, the device is shown as mada from an elongated substantially rectangular blank of corrugated paper board, although it should be understood that the material of which 15 the carrier is made is not restricted to corrugated paper board but may be of any material suitable for the purpose. The elongated rectangular blank of material is stamped and scored to provide toe several parts and features hereinafter 20 referred to.

The ends of the blank are rounded at toe external corners to form the hand-holds 1 of the handle member, said hand-holds being separated from the connecting members of the handles by 25 transverse score lines 2. The section of the blank inwardly from each end is cut out, forming flaps 3 shown in extended position in Fig. 1 and in folded position in Fig. 2. These flaps are separated from the transverse portion of the hand- 30 holds of the handle by score lines 4 that run parallel with the end edges of the carrier blank The flaps 3 are adapted to be folded inwardly, as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and held in toe folded position by staples, the heads 5 of which 35 seat in the outer face of the members 1 and toe prongs 6 thereof extending inwardly through toe flaps 3, thereby holding the flaps in folded position, affording a rounded internal edge for the hand-hold portion of the handle members. 40

Inwardly from the flaps 3 are retaining members 7 for the upper portion of the bottles. These retaining members comprise a flap; indicated by 7, having a plurality of longitudinal alined circular openings 8 formed therein^ The members 45 7 are separated from the adjacent side wall portions of the container by a score line 9 which has extensions 10, said extensions 10 forming an adjustable portion of the handle of the container. Inwardly from the score line 9 and its extensions 50 10 is a relatively wide wall section 11 forming the side walls of the carrier, said side walls being defined from the intermediate bottom wall 12 of toe container by score lines 13. At either side of toe intermediate bottom wall 12 and .formed in ··

1,998,380 the adjacent side walls 11 are a series of cutout openings 14, the base of the openings resting against, the edge of the intermediate bottom wall 12 and developing upwardly into rounded apexes, 5 as clearly shown in plan in Figs. 1 and 2 and in vertical elevation in Fig. 3. The purpose of the openings 14 is to provide engagement for a segment of the rounded outwardly bulging edges of certain types of bottles so that, when the side 10 walls are brought to a vertical position, the bottles will be held against transverse or lateral displacement by the edges of the opening impinging against the segments that extend into the openings, as best indicated in Fig. 5 of the 15 drawings.

The ends of the bottom wall 12 are arranged to be elevated as an incident to closing the carrier, thereby forming flanges to prevent lateral displacement of the bottles loaded in the carrier, 2o and also to provide a protection for the lower bottle edges of the adjacent bottles so loaded in the carrier. To this end, the end sections 15 of the bottom wall are defined from the intermediate section thereof by a longitudinal score line 16 25 which is formed by pressing the material inwardly from the interior of the blank. The score lines 16 have formed in prolongation thereof and through the adjacent edges of the side walls outwardly inclined internally formed score lines 17.

Exteriorly of the blank are inwardly inclined score lines 18. This relationship of the score lines 16, 17 and 18 forms folds that move the sections 15 upwardly and inwardly when the side walls 11 are· raised from flat extended position to a vertical position in closing the carrier.

It will be recognized that, in certain types of bottles, the segments at the bottoms of the bottles will not extend into the openings 14; therefore, as an additional safety provision and to 40 prevent lateral displacement of the bottles loaded in the carrier, the abutments formed by the end sections 15 prevent the bottles from displacement from the carrier.

The manner in which the carrier is loaded is 45 indicated clearly in Fig. 2. A plurality of bottles 19 are adjusted in transverse rows against the inner face of the side walls 11 and with the bottom sections 20 of the bottles adjacent to the openings 14, so that segments thereof project 50 into respective ones of the adjacent openings 14.

The bottles are laid on the side walls so that the bottoms thereof lie along a score line 21 that defines the division between the bottom wall and the side walls. The flaps are folded Inwardly 55 and engage over the respective necks of the bottles adjacent thereto. The side walls are then elevated to a vertical position, carrying the bottles to vertical adjustment and bringing the outer edges of the flaps 7 into a substantially horizon60 tai plane. Incident to the folding in of the side walls 11, the ends of the bottom wall are brought to a vertical position because of the arrangement of the score lines 16, 17 and 18. When the carrier is thus adjusted, a retaining device, shown 65 in detail in Fig. 6 and comprising a plate 22 with openings 23 therein, is positioned so that the necks of the internal pair of bottles are engaged within the openings 23. It should be noted that the side edge of the retaining device 22 is 70 provided with a notch 24 so that the retaining device may also serve as a bottle opener. It is only necessary to provide a single retaining device engaging the intermediate pair of bottles to hold the carrier in closed adjustment. The han75 die structure extending from the side walls is adapted to be folded inwardly so that the upper portion of each section of the handle construction lies parallel with each other to form a readily engageable hand-hold protecting the hand of the user against strain due to the inwardly folded 5 flaps 3, thereby providing a four-ply hand-hold for the user. Since the sections of the handle construction are scored along the extending score lines 10, the handle structure may be folded downwardly against the top of the bottle caps, 10 and thereby provide a compact case so that the entire carrier may be conveniently packed.

It is obvious that, if desired, the handle structure may be made separate from the body portion of the carrier, although a unitary handle 15 structure has certain advantages over a separately attached handle.

From the foregoing description, it will be understood that the objects of the invention have been fully obtained and that a convenient read- 20 ily loadable and readily transportable protecting carrier for bottles has been provided.

It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the detailed construction described, but contemplates a breadth of novelty within the 25 appended claims.