Top and bottom inserts for bottle shipping system

Abstract

Disclosed are systems and methods for an improved bottle packaging system and shipping container, and more particularly to a container wherein conical top inserts and improved bottom inserts are employed to stabilize the bottle(s) and to provide impact resistant cushioning during shipment of liquids and the like. For a 4-bottle (quad) pack embodiment the improved insert designs include a fiber-molded bottom insert placed on the bottom of the carton for receiving the bottoms of a plurality of bottles and conical top insert fitting over the caps, necks and shoulders of bottles placed into the carton.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A packaging system for a plurality of bottles, comprising:
 a carton having paper board panels defining a space, the panels meeting to define a plurality of interior corners as well as a carton bottom, a carton top and carton sides;   a bottom insert for receiving bottoms of the plurality of bottles and supporting the bottles in a spaced-apart and padded relationship with one another and with the carton bottom, sides and interior corners of the carton, said bottom insert including a generally planar upper surface extending to a skirt along the edges thereof in contact with said carton, said bottom insert having a plurality of wells formed therein, one well for each bottle bottom, where each of said wells includes a well wall, where the wall includes a plurality of pairs of opposed primary ribs extending from the upper surface to a bottom of the well; and   a top insert for maintaining the position of and cushioning each of the plurality of bottles relative to one another and to the carton top, said top insert including a planar surface having a plurality of recesses protruding therefrom, one for each bottle, said recesses each contacting a top shoulder of a bottle about a generally continuous ring, said recesses each having a generally conical interior shape with a plurality of pillar-like supports spaced about the interior periphery of each recess, said pillar-like supports extending toward the planar surface to contact the top shoulder of the bottle to form a continuous structure between the top shoulder of the bottle and the top of the carton in order to absorb force and hold the bottle in place and avoid damage in the event of contact to the carton top.   
     
     
         2 . The packaging system according to  claim 1 , where in each conical recess there is at least one pillar-like support in each quadrant. 
     
     
         3 . The packaging system according to  claim 1 , where in each conical recess there are at least two pillar-like supports in each quadrant. 
     
     
         4 . The packaging system according to  claim 1 , wherein each pillar-like support is tilted at an angle so as to be generally parallel with the slope of the conical recess. 
     
     
         5 . The packaging system according to  claim 1 , wherein said top insert further includes a cutout on at least two edges of the planar surface. 
     
     
         6 . The packaging system according to  claim 1  where said well wall further includes at least one minor vertical rib located between two primary ribs. 
     
     
         7 . The packaging system according to  claim 6  where at least one minor vertical rib extends from the bottom of the well to a point only partially along the well wall. 
     
     
         8 . The packaging system according to  claim 6  where said opposed primary ribs are oriented along axes that are on or parallel to diagonal axes of the carton bottom. 
     
     
         9 . The packaging system according to  claim 1  where said well wall further includes a plurality of minor vertical ribs, the minor vertical ribs are parallel to and between the primary ribs. 
     
     
         10 . A packaging system for a plurality of bottles, the system retaining the bottles in a spaced-apart and padded relationship with one another and with the top, sides and interior corners of a carton, the system comprising:
 a generally planar lower surface;   a plurality of conical recesses, one for each bottle, said recesses each contacting a top shoulder of a bottle about a generally continuous ring; and   a plurality of pillar-like supports spaced about an inner surface of said recesses, each of said recesses having spaced about the interior periphery of each conical recess, said pillar-like supports further contacting the top shoulder of the bottle to form a continuous structure between the top shoulder of the bottle and the top of the carton in order to absorb force and hold the bottle in place and avoid damage in the event of contact to the carton top.   
     
     
         11 . The packaging system according to  claim 10 , wherein said pillar-like supports extend toward the planar surface to contact the top shoulder of a respective bottle. 
     
     
         12 . The packaging system according to  claim 10 , where in each conical recess there is at least one pillar-like support in each quadrant. 
     
     
         13 . The packaging system according to  claim 10 , where in each conical recess there are at least two pillar-like supports in each quadrant. 
     
     
         14 . The packaging system according to  claim 10 , wherein each pillar-like support is tilted at an angle so as to be generally parallel with the slope of the conical recess. 
     
     
         15 . The packaging system according to  claim 10 , wherein said top insert further includes a cutout on at least two edges of the planar surface. 
     
     
         16 . The packaging system according to  claim 10 , further including a bottom insert for receiving bottoms of the plurality of bottles and supporting the bottoms in a spaced-apart and padded relationship with one another and with the bottom, sides and interior corners of the carton, said bottom insert including a generally planar upper surface extending to a skirt along the edges thereof in contact with said carton sides, said bottom insert having a plurality of wells formed therein, one well for each bottle bottom, where each of said wells includes a well wall, where the wall includes a plurality of pairs of opposed primary ribs extending from the upper surface to a bottom of the well. 
     
     
         17 . The packaging system according to  claim 16  where said well wall further includes at least one minor rib located between two vertical ribs.