Water bottle rack

Abstract

A water bottle rack for storing, for transporting by a delivery truck and for subsequently dispensing by gravity standard water plastic jugs having a narrow mouth, a relative flat bottom portion and two or more annular rims extending outwardly from the jug side wall. The rack comprises a rigid frame having a front, a rear, a bottom, a top, two sides and an interior. The rack is adapted to be installed on the floor, on a stand, on the deck within a conventional delivery truck loading area, or stacked on top of each other or moved by a fork-lift truck. A number of inclined guiding rails, paired transversally so as to form shelves, supporting conventional water bottles by two of their annular rims, or a number of inclined shelves configured so as to substantially conform to the contour of a conventional jug are secured to the frame in predetermined spaced relationship relative to each other allowing, at each higher side of shelf level the loading of jugs by the front of the back of the rack. The inclined shelves are being disposed alternely one over the other having at their lower side a throat section directly over the higher side of the shelf beneath it and therefore rolling down said jugs back and forth in the rack, back at one level and conversely forth at a lower level, and so, down the shelves until the jug reach the exit aperture.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive privilege or property is claimed are defined as follow:  
     
         1 . A water bottle rack for storing, for transporting by a delivery truck and for subsequently dispensing by gravity standard water plastic jugs, having a narrow mouth, a relative flat bottom portion and two or more annular rims extending outwardly from the jug side wall, the first of said annular rims being adjacent to the said flat bottom portion, the second of said annular rims being adjacent to the conic section, said conic section narrowing said side wall to said narrow mouth, said rack comprising a rigid frame having a front, a rear, a bottom, a top, two sides and an interior, said frame bottom configuration allowing said rack to be installed on a floor, or on a stand, or to be moved by a fork-lift truck, or to be stack on top of each other, or to be installed on the deck within a conventional delivery truck loading area, said interior having a number of inclined shelves secured to the frame in predetermined spaced relationship relative to each other so as to allow by gravity down rolling movement of said jug on said first and second annular rim onto the surface of said shelf, 
 said shelves being disposed alternately one over the other having at their lower side a throat section having substantially vertically throat guide directly over the higher side of the shelf beneath it therefore allowing said jug to roll down back and forth in said rack, back at one level and conversely forth at a lower level and so, down the shelves until said jug reach the exit aperture located in the said front adjacent said bottom.    
     
     
         2 . A water bottle rack as recited in  claim 1  wherein said front, rear, and two sides having each at least 4 transversal reinforcement rods proportionally and evenly distributed along the vertical axis each level forming a supporting component for supporting a shelf  
     
     
         3 . A water bottle rack as recited in  claim 2  wherein said shelves are configured so as to substantially conform to the outer contour of a conventional water jug and adapted to be rested on said corresponding reinforcement rods being said supporting component of said shelf perimeter.  
     
     
         4 . A water bottle rack as recited in  claim 3  wherein said shelves are made out of an integral piece of material  
     
     
         5 . A water bottle rack as recited in  claim 4  wherein said interior accommodates more than one transversal of said standard water jugs and relatively the same number of dispensing apertures in the said front, adjacent said bottom.  
     
     
         6 . A water bottle rack as recited in  claim 4  wherein said front and said rear rigid frame provide sufficient space opening to load directly each shelf level from said front and said rear.  
     
     
         7 . A water bottle rack as recited in  claim 1  wherein said shelves are constituted by an inclined set of guiding rails paired transversally so as to support said conventional jugs by said first and second annular rims, said guiding rails being secured to the frame in a predetermined spaced relationship relative to each other, said guiding rails forming a substantially wedge shapes configuration.  
     
     
         8 . A water bottle rack as recited in  claim 7  wherein said guiding rails have generally a “U”-shaped cross sectional configuration, said sectional configuration adapted to substantially conform to the configuration of said annular rims.  
     
     
         9 . A water bottle rack as recited in  claim 8  wherein said interior accommodates more than one transversal of said standard water jugs and consequently the same number of dispensing apertures in the said front, adjacent said bottom.  
     
     
         10 . A water bottle rack as recited in  claim 8  wherein said front and said rear rigid frame provide sufficient space opening to load directly each shelf level from said front and said rear.