Sleeve for containers

Abstract

A sleeve is disclosed that wraps around containers to retain the containers therein, while also being configured to stably rest on a pair of horizontally extending bars with constrained horizontal movement. The sleeve includes slots or grooves on a bottom portion thereof that are configured to receive the bars therethrough. The slots are sized so that lateral movement of the sleeve is restricted while positioned on the bars. The slots can further be sized to provide sufficient clearance above and/or below the sleeve for convenient storage, display, and removal thereof. Further, the sleeve can be incorporated into a display configuration having an array of vertically stacked rows of multiple sleeves arranged to maximize display space utilization.

1 . A multi-panel sleeve for storing and displaying a plurality of containers, the multi-panel sleeve comprising:
 a bottom panel, a pair of side panels connected to opposing longitudinal side edges of the bottom panel, and a top panel extending between the pair of side panels, the top panel having a width substantially the same as or greater than the width of the bottom panel;   a pair of generally parallel elongate openings including a middle portion extending entirely across the width of the bottom panel generally transverse to the longitudinal side edges of the bottom panel and side portions extending partially into the pair of side panels about 30 percent or less of a height of the side panels, the pair of elongate openings defining grooves through a bottom portion of the sleeve configured to receive supports therethrough to support the sleeve in an upright configuration.   
     
     
         2 . The multi-panel sleeve of  claim 1  wherein the opening side portions include sidewalls tapering inwardly away from the longitudinal side edge to a support edge. 
     
     
         3 . The multi-panel sleeve of  claim 2  wherein the support edge extends generally parallel to the longitudinal side edge. 
     
     
         4 . The multi-panel sleeve of  claim 1  wherein the grooves are configured to receive a pair of horizontal support bars therethrough so that the sleeve is supported in the upright configuration thereby. 
     
     
         5 . The multi-panel sleeve of  claim 4  wherein the opening side portions include support edges extending generally parallel to the longitudinal side edge, the support edges configured to engage the pair of horizontal support bars to support the sleeve. 
     
     
         6 . The multi-panel sleeve of  claim 4  wherein the grooves have a depth such that the sleeve is configured to be forwardly removed from the pair of horizontal support bars with a headspace of 30 percent of a height of the sleeve or less. 
     
     
         7 . The multi-panel sleeve of  claim 4  wherein the grooves have a depth such that a center of mass of the containers is positioned above the opening side portions. 
     
     
         8 . The sleeve of  claim 1  in combination with a plurality of food containers therein. 
     
     
         9 . The sleeve with a plurality of food containers therein of  claim 8 , in combination with a display system comprising a plurality of supports positioned in a stacked relation, the supports each including a pair of horizontally extending bars and one or more sleeves configured to be received on the plurality of supports. 
     
     
         10 . The sleeve with a plurality of food containers therein and display system of  claim 9  wherein the pair of horizontally extending bars of the plurality of supports are connected at distal ends thereof by cross bars. 
     
     
         11 . The sleeve with a plurality of food containers therein and display system of  claim 10  wherein the one or more sleeves are configured such that the plurality of supports can be vertically spaced apart a distance between 105 percent and 135 percent of a height of the sleeve to provide for removal of the one or more sleeves from the plurality of supports. 
     
     
         12 . The sleeve with a plurality of food containers therein and display system of  claim 10  wherein the plurality of supports are vertically spaced apart a distance such that there is a headspace of about 30 percent of a height of one of the one or more sleeves received on one of the plurality of supports. 
     
     
         13 . The sleeve with a plurality of food containers therein and display system of  claim 9  wherein grooves are created by a pair of generally parallel elongate openings defined in the sleeve, the openings including a middle portion extending across the bottom panel generally transverse to longitudinal side edges thereof and side portions extending partially onto the pair of side panels. 
     
     
         14 . The sleeve with a plurality of food containers therein and display system of  claim 13  wherein the side portions of the openings include a support edge extending generally parallel to the longitudinal side edges, the support edge configured to engage the pair of horizontally extending bars of one of the plurality of supports. 
     
     
         15 . The sleeve with a plurality of food containers therein and display system of  claim 9  further comprising a row of containers received within the one or more sleeves, one of the row of containers being centered between the pair of grooves. 
     
     
         16 . The sleeve with a plurality of food containers therein and display system of  claim 15  wherein each of the pair of grooves has a depth such that a center of mass of the containers is positioned above the pair of horizontally extending bars with the one or more sleeves received thereon.