Expander collar for bins

Abstract

An expander collar for increasing the storage capacity of bins including bins for holding bottled wine, featuring a collar body having a height that is sufficient to increase the volume of the bin as desired a length and width equal to those of the bin and snap fastening securement means having a projecting portion and a locking portion for fixedly securing the collar to the bin. The expander collar is adapted so that when the collar is mounted on a bin the projecting portion flexes laterally away from the collar body and is adapted to flex back into place and be received in a slot on the bin when the collar body is flush with the adjacent surface of the bin. The collar effectively lengthens the sidewalls of the bin to increase the interior storage provided by the bin.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A one-piece, thermoplastic, molded expander collar for increasing the volume of a bin having a predetermined length, width, and height, said bin having a rectilinear bottom, rectilinear sidewalls having a plurality of slots, and feet, said expander collar comprising:
 a collar body having a length and width that is substantially identical to the length and width of the bin;   snap fastening means for securing the collar to said first bin comprising a plurality of tabs each having a projecting portion which is dimensioned to extend from said collar body to said first bin and a locking portion which is dimensioned to extend from said projecting portion to a slot on said bin and dimensioned to be received in said slot;   wherein said projecting portion of the tabs has sufficient flexibility to permit the tabs to be laterally displaced when the expander collar is initially mounted on a bin and to return to its initial position when the projection is received in the slot on the bin;   wherein the collar body has a height that is sufficient to increase the volume of the bins for providing increased capacity.   corner gussets adapted to receive feet of a bin to allow the bin to be stacked on top of said expander collar.   
     
     
         2 . The expander collar of  claim 1  wherein said collar body has a height that is sufficient to allow a plurality of wine bottles to be stored vertically in the bin in a highly efficient manner.