Cell tray, use thereof and method for handling containers

Abstract

The present invention provides a novel cell tray for transporting a plurality of containers in a diagonal loading pattern and a method for handling containers. The cell tray includes a rectangular frame and a loading surface which is defined by the frame and is configured to support container bottoms in a number of bottle positions such that a number of bottle positions is arranged to accommodate a different number of containers on the tray in a loading pattern. The number of bottle positions is at least twice as large as the number of containers in the loading pattern. The bottle positions are also arranged in a matrix-like pattern, whereby a diagonal pattern can be loaded onto the tray without a specific orientation thereof.

1 - 10 . (canceled) 
     
     
         11 . Cell tray for transporting a plurality of containers in a diagonal loading pattern, the tray comprising:
 a rectangular frame   a loading surface which is defined by the frame and which loading surface is configured to support container bottoms in a number of bottle positions such that the number of bottle positions is arranged to accommodate a number of containers on the tray in a loading pattern,   wherein the number of bottle positions is at least twice as large as the number of containers in the loading pattern, and   wherein the bottle positions are arranged in a matrix-like pattern.   
     
     
         12 . Cell tray according to  claim 11 , wherein the containers are bottles. 
     
     
         13 . Cell tray according to  claim 12 , wherein the tray comprises apertures provided through the loading surface in each bottle position for receiving the top portion of a container in a lower tray. 
     
     
         14 . Cell tray according to  claim 13 , wherein the top portion is a bottleneck. 
     
     
         15 . Cell tray according to  claim 11 , wherein the lower terminal end of the aperture is provided with a chamfer configured to engage with a bottle shoulder. 
     
     
         16 . Cell tray according to  claim 11 , wherein the loading surface is essentially flat. 
     
     
         17 . Cell tray according to  claim 12 , wherein the lower terminal end of the aperture is provided with a chamfer configured to engage with a bottle shoulder. 
     
     
         18 . Cell tray according to  claim 13 , wherein the lower terminal end of the aperture is provided with a chamfer configured to engage with a bottle shoulder. 
     
     
         19 . Cell tray according to  claim 14 , wherein the lower terminal end of the aperture is provided with a chamfer configured to engage with a bottle shoulder. 
     
     
         20 . Cell tray according to  claim 15 , wherein the lower terminal end of the aperture is provided with a chamfer configured to engage with a bottle shoulder. 
     
     
         21 . Cell tray according to  claim 12 , wherein the loading surface is essentially flat. 
     
     
         22 . Cell tray according to  claim 13 , wherein the loading surface is essentially flat. 
     
     
         23 . Cell tray according to  claim 14 , wherein the loading surface is essentially flat. 
     
     
         24 . Cell tray according to  claim 15 , wherein the loading surface is essentially flat. 
     
     
         25 . Cell tray according to  claim 16 , wherein the loading surface is essentially flat. 
     
     
         26 . Cell tray according to  claim 11 , wherein the frame protrudes from the loading surface. 
     
     
         27 . Cell tray according to  claim 26 , wherein the inner surfaces of the frame have a series of outwardly extending bulges so as to provide outward recesses for receiving the bottom outer jacket surfaces of the bottles loaded onto the tray. 
     
     
         28 . Method for handling containers, the method comprising the steps of:
 taking a cell tray having a number of bottle positions, and   loading containers onto the cell tray in a diagonal pattern,   loading a number of containers in a diagonal pattern to a tray having a matrix-like arrangement of bottle positions, the number of which being at least double the number of containers in the pattern, whereby containers can be loaded without a specific orientation of the tray.   
     
     
         29 . Method according to  claim 28 , wherein the containers are bottles.