Arrangement for Transporting Bottles, Drinks Containers and/or Multipacks

Abstract

An arrangement for transporting bottles and/or a plurality of handling units combined to form multipacks made up of a plurality of bottles. The arrangement comprises a tray of rectangular shape having a top side and an underside. The top side and underside of the tray position such multipacks and allow trays to be stacked one upon the other and also allow the insertion of individual bottles. The top side of the tray has first supporting contours, which the foot region of a plurality of multipacks arranged one beside the other accommodate second supporting contours and accommodate the head region of a plurality of individual bottles inserted one beside the other. The underside of the tray has third supporting contours, support the head region of the multipacks and fourth supporting contours, accommodate the foot region of a plurality of individual bottles inserted one beside the other.

1 . An arrangement for transporting drinks containers, in particular bottles and/or a plurality of handling units combined to form multipacks comprising a plurality of drinks containers or bottles, for example a four-pack or a six-pack, the drinks containers and/or handling units being held tightly together by means of a retaining element, for example by means of a shrink film or similar film packaging, to form a single handling unit of preferably square or rectangular basic shape, the arrangement comprising a tray of essentially rectangular basic shape, and the tray having a top side and an underside, wherein the top side of the tray
 has first supporting contours which are adapted to the foot region of the multipacks and serve for accommodating the foot region of a plurality of multipacks arranged one beside the other,   has second supporting contours which are adapted to the head region of individual containers or individual bottles and serve for accommodating the head region of a plurality of individual containers or individual bottles inserted one beside the other,   the underside of the tray   has third supporting contours which are adapted, for example, to the film-covered head region of the multipacks and serve for supporting purposes on the head region of the multipacks,   has fourth supporting contours which are adapted to the foot region of individual containers or individual bottles and serve for accommodating the foot region of a plurality of individual containers or individual bottles inserted one beside the other,   that, preferably for accommodating multipacks, a plurality of trays can be arranged one above the other and the multipacks are positioned between the trays, the foot region of the multipacks being placed on the top side of the trays and the underside of the following tray being stacked on the head region of the multipacks, or   that, preferably for accommodating individual containers or individual bottles, the trays are placed in the position in which they are turned through 180°, with the underside oriented upwards and the top side oriented downwards, and individual containers or individual bottles are positioned between the trays, the trays accommodating the foot region by way of the underside and being stacked on the head region of the individual containers or individual bottles by way of the top side of the following tray,   it being the case that a stack of trays and multipacks and/or of trays and individual containers or individual bottles is preferably formed in each case.   
     
     
         2 . The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the stack formed from bottles and trays or from multipacks and trays is held together by a strapping means. 
     
     
         3 . The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the first supporting contours are formed by an all-round undulating supporting border, on which the outer multipack contours formed by the bottles of the multipack are supported, and/or by supporting protrusions, which project from the standing surface of the top side of the tray, this standing surface being formed by crosspieces, and engage in the narrowed regions between adjacent multipacks. 
     
     
         4 . The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the second supporting contours are formed by annular contours or hollow-cylindrical contours which are formed in the standing surface of the top side of the tray and into which the head of the individual bottles is respectively inserted, it being the case that, with individual bottles with a neck ring at the tapered head end, the neck ring is supported on the contours and/or it being the case that for accommodating sealed and/or unsealed crown sealed bottles the annular contours or hollow-cylindrical contours comprise radially inwardly extending tongues which are bent towards an axial direction such that they may either abut onto a crown cork of a sealed bottle or engage in a self-centering manner with the opening of unsealed bottles. 
     
     
         5 . The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the third supporting contours are formed by hollows in the underside of the tray surface, the head regions of the bottles of a respective multipack being positioned in these hollows. 
     
     
         6 . The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the fourth supporting contours are formed by an undulating border, which encloses the set-down surface of the tray and of which the undulating shape is adapted to the bottles inserted in the vicinity of the border, and/or by supporting parts, which are arranged in the crossover region of an area in which groups of preferably four bottles are inserted in each case and have concave supporting surfaces adapted to the bottles. 
     
     
         7 . The arrangement according to  claim 6 , wherein the supporting parts, which are arranged along the separating line between adjacent multipacks, project from the base supporting surface to a higher level than, for example to double the height of, the supporting parts, which are directed specifically between the individual elements of a multipack. 
     
     
         8 . The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the tray is enclosed all the way around the outside or only partially by a smooth border. 
     
     
         9 . The arrangement according to  claim 8 , wherein the smooth border is enclosed by a further, projecting border part which is at a lower level than the smooth border. 
     
     
         10 . The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein a marking for the use position is provided on the outside of the border part. 
     
     
         11 . The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the first supporting contours are formed by an all-round supporting border on which the outer multipack contours formed by the containers or bottles of the multipack are supported, and by supporting surfaces or edges which form the standing surface of the top side of the tray, and by supporting edges or rings which are arranged beneath a multipack, in the narrowed regions between adjacent containers or bottles of the multipack, and/or   the second supporting contours are formed by annular contours or hollow-cylindrical contours which are formed in the standing surface of the top side of the tray and into which the head of the individual containers or individual bottles is respectively inserted, it being the case that, with individual bottles with a neck ring at the tapered head end, the neck ring is supported on the supporting contours, and/or   the third supporting contours are formed by hollows in the underside of the tray surface, the head regions of the containers or bottles of a respective multipack being positioned in these hollows, and/or   the fourth supporting contours are formed by column-like protrusions of the tray which support the foot region of an inserted individual container or of an inserted individual bottle at least on two sides, and by means of which the individual containers arranged in groups of preferably two, three, four or six individual containers or individual bottles are kept pushed together in groups, and by supporting rings on which the foot regions of the individual containers or bottles can be set down.   
     
     
         12 . The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the top side of the supporting edges or rings and/or the supporting rings which form the fourth supporting contours and/or some side surfaces of the column-like protrusions which butt against the lateral surface of the inserted container and form the fourth supporting contours have an elastomeric or rubbery coating. 
     
     
         13 . The arrangement according to  claim 12 , wherein the column-like protrusions which form the fourth supporting contours have an elastomeric or rubbery coating in the form of an elastically deformable supporting lip. 
     
     
         14 . The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the column-like protrusions which form the fourth supporting contours taper conically from the set-down plane of the tray to their free end. 
     
     
         15 . The arrangement according to  claim 12 , wherein the elastomeric or rubbery coating which is provided at the lateral free end region of the column-like protrusions is connected integrally, preferably via a material bridge, to the coating of the supporting rings made of elastomeric or rubbery material. 
     
     
         16 . The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the all-round border of the tray is provided on the top side and/or underside with an elastic, friction-enhancing coating. 
     
     
         17 . The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the all-round border of the tray has a toothing formation on the top side and underside, teeth of the toothing formations engaging one inside the other when the trays are stacked directly one upon the other in the same direction. 
     
     
         18 . The arrangement according to  claim 17 , wherein the toothing formation along a respective peripheral edge is offset inwards or outwards over half the length of the peripheral edge, so that empty trays arranged in opposite directions can be stacked without any gaps between them, in which case the offset toothing rows of the lower and upper trays are located one beside the other in each case, or so that empty trays arranged in the same direction can be stacked without any gaps between them, in which case the teeth engage in tooth gaps in each case. 
     
     
         19 . The arrangement according to  claim 17 , wherein the teeth and/or tooth gaps of the trays of an identical system have the same shape and/or arrangement, trays of different systems having different shapes and/or arrangements, so that the trays of different systems have non-compatible toothing. 
     
     
         20 . The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the tray comprises two parts each forming half a tray, the two parts having push-in connecting parts and/or plug-in connecting parts which can be connected to one another at the separating plane, so that the tray can be dismantled into two equally sized pieces or can be assembled into a unit from these pieces. 
     
     
         21 - 46 . (canceled)