CA2255699C

CA2255699C - Nestable display crate for bottle carriers

Info

Publication number: CA2255699C
Application number: CA002255699A
Authority: CA
Inventors: William P. Apps
Original assignee: Rehrig Pacific Co Inc
Current assignee: Rehrig Pacific Co Inc
Priority date: 1997-03-20
Filing date: 1997-09-19
Publication date: 2006-10-24
Anticipated expiration: 2017-09-19
Also published as: AU4492997A; CA2255699A1; WO1998041453A1; BR9709257A; PE104198A1

Abstract

A nestable display crate (10) for bottle carriers having a floor (16) and a wall structure with that is designed to reveal the labels on the bottle carriers. The wall structure is of double thickness and comprises a lower wall portion (12) adjacent the floor (16) and a plurality of integrally formed contoured upper wall portions (14) extending upward fro m the lower wall portion. The wall structure is hollow throughout allowing the contoured upper wall portions (14) to be received within the lower wall (12) portion of a crate nested thereabove. The contoured upper wall portions (14) are tapered to be smaller in cross section at the top and larger near the lower wall portion to enable easy nesting and to avoid nested crates from becoming wedged together due to interference.

Description

1 NESTABLE DISPLAY CRATE FOR BOTTLE CA,ItRTERS

BACKGROUND OF TAE INVENTION
6 The present invention relates to a nestable display crate for transporting and storing bottle 7 carriers, more particutatty, the present invention relates to crates that combine nestability and high 8 strength with high visibility for mufti-packs of bottles.
9 Bottles, particx~larfy for soft drinks and other beverages, are often stored aad transported during the d>st~ution stages thereof in cxates or trays. The term "crate" or "tray" as used herein 11 includes crates, trays and similar containers having a floor bottom and peripheral sidewall 12 structure. These crates generally are configured to be stacked on top of each other when loaded 13 with bottles, and nested together when empty of bottles. The plastic crates pmvide advantages 14 such as conservation of storage space and e~aent, easy handling and recyclability. In order to minicni~ethe~storage space ofthe when nested and to reduce cost and weight, many crates 16 today are made with a shallow peripheral sidewall structure. These generally are referred to as 17 "low depth" crates in which the bottles bear most of the load of above-stacked crates. Crates 18 having a higher peripheral sidewall, approximately the same height as the bottles generally are 19 referred to as "full depth" crates in which the crates themselves bear most of the load of above-stacked crates.
21 Low depth castes are generally less expensive and lighter in weight than full depth crates.
22 Thus, low depth crates are used extensively. Generally, it is desirable to design low depth crates.
23 with a wall stricture that provides lateral support for the bottles while also allowing the bottles 24 to be visible.

1 with a wall structure that provides lateral support for the bottles while also allowing the bottles 2 to be visible.
3 An example of a known low depth bottle crate for bottles of single serve capacity is 4 disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent No. 5,060,819, the disclosure of which may be referred to for further details. The bottle crate of the '819 patent has a sidewall 6 stcucauewithupright adjacent panels, alternating ones of which are raised such that their lower 7 surfaces are spaced above the floor. The top and bottom edges ofthe sidewall thereby have an 8 undulating configuration such that empty trays can nest together.
9 Crates for single serve bottles are customarily stacked on top of each other. One way of handling the loaded cxates is to stack the cases on pallets which can be lifted and moved about ~y 11 fork-lift trucks. A technique for interconnecting loaded crates is called cross-stacking, and is 12 often used to improve stability of a stack of crates for transport or for display purposes by a 13 retailer. An aspect of crate design is to provide the structural features which faalitate handling 14 of stacked and cxoss-stacked loaded crates to enhance the stability of stacked crates, while providing maximum visibility of the bottles or bottle can ier, especially in a retail setting.
16 One of the problems associated with previous nestable crates, particularly, those for single 17 serve bottles, has been lack of strength when used in some settings. The tray of the '819 patent, 18 for instance, has a sidewall which may not stand up to very rough handling over time.
19 Accordingly there has been a need for reusable nestable crates having the requisite strength and rigidity to withstand repeated or rough handling.
21 Another problem experienced with previous nestable crates has been somewhat limited 22 visibility of the bottle or container labels. Although the sidewall of the tray in the '819 patent 23 does allow for some of the bottle labels to be displayed, the wall obstructs the view of the 24 containers to some degree. The obscumd visibility problem has been more pronounced when the bottles are grouped together in a cardboard carrier or otherwise bundled because present crates 26 are not designed to show the labels on the carriers or shrink wrap. There is a need for a nestable 27 display crate which has improved and structural strength and provides bottle carrier visibility.

29 Accordingly, the present invention seeks to provide a low depth display crate for bottle carriers or mufti-packs which is nestable with other similar crates when empty to 1 conserve space, and which is stackable and cross-stackable with other similar crates when loaded 2 with bottles for storing, displaying and transporting the mufti-packs.
3 Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a low depth, nestable crate which 4 has sufficient structural strength to withstand epeated and rough handling.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a sturdy low depth, nestable crate which also provides maximum visibility of the bottle carriers for display purposes.
7 Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide a low depth, nestable crate 8 which makes efficient use of space both when loaded and stacked and when empty and nested. When loaded and stacked, the present invention also has structural figures which securely engage the tops of variously sized bottle tops.
11 Accordingly, a new low depth, nestable display crate for bottle 12 carriers is herein provided. The preferred configuration is for four six-pack carriers of bottles.
13 It wiil be understood that while the preferred embodiment of the present invention is configured I4 for retaining six-pack bottle carriers, the crate may be used to store or transport any type of container and differently grouped mufti-packs. This crate is formed by integrally molding from 16 plastic, two basic components -- a floor and a wall structure extending up from the floor and 17 extending around the periphery of the floor.
18 The wall structure comprises a wall of double thickness with a lower wall portion adjacent 19 the floor and a plurality of integrally formed contoured upper wall portions extending upward from the lower wall portion. The wall structure is hollow throughout allowing the contoured 21 upper wall portions to be received within the lower wall portion of a crate nested thereabove.
22 The contoured upper wall portions are tapered to be smaller in cross section at the top and larger 23 near the lower watt portion to enable easy nesting and to avoid nested crates from becoming 24 wedged together due to interference.
The contoured upper wall portions are preferably arranged along the opposing sidewalk 26 of the sate and the endwalls. The upper waU portions along the sidewalls are positioned so that 27 they are between six-pack carriers when the crate is loaded, and the space in between the upper 28 wall portions is a window that allows for a bottle carrier to be visible.
The endwalls of the crate 29 comprise integrally molded handles which are configured to allow for palm-up or palm-down gripping. The crate of the present invention combines the advantages of a nesting crate with 1 su~cient strength afforded by its double-walled construction with maximum, unobstructed 2 visibility of bottle carriers.
3 The floor preferably has an open lattice design which not only allows unwanted fluids to 4 drain out of the crate, but also requires less material and thus is lighter than a solid floor design The floor also has bottle carrier support areas, preferably uv an array.
6 The floor of the crate has an outer or bottom surface which is configured for 7 accommodating the tops of bottles in a similar crate underneath. The floor bottom surface 8 preferably has upwardly recessed receiving areas disposed to receive the tops of bottles contained 9 in a similar crate therebeneath. The bottle top receiving areas aid in retaining the bottles vertically IO upright which enhances the stability of stacked loaded crates.
11 These and other features and advantages of the invention may be more completely 12 understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodunnents of the invention 13 with reference to the accompanying drawings.
I4 BRIEF DESCR~TION OF THE~p~~G_S
FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a crate in accordance with the present invention;
16 FIG. Z is a bottom perspective view of the crate of FIG. 1;
17 FIG. 3 is an elevational view of a sidewall of the crate of FIG. 1;
I8 FIG. 4 is an elevational view of an endwall of the crate of FIG. 1;
19 FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the crate of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the crate of FIG. 1;
21 FIG 7 is a side elevational view of the cxate of FIG.1 shown loaded with six pack carriers 22 of bottles;
23 FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the crate taken along line 8-8 of FIG.

5;
24 FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the crate taken along line 9-9 of FIG.
5;
FIG. 10 is a cmss-sectional view of the crate taken along line 10-10 of FIG.
5;
26 FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the crate taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 5; and Z7 FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the crate taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 5.
28 DETAILED DESf,~tfPTION OF f73E PREFE~E~D ~MBODIlI~IENT
29 Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, crate 10 of the preferred embodiment comprises a wall structure with a lower wall portion 12, an upper wall portion 14 and a floor 16. Crate 10 is 1 preferably rectangular and the wall stricture comprises sidewalls and endwalls. Although a 2 rectangular crate is shown and described, the present invention is not limited thereto and may 3 comprise sidewalls and endwalls of equal length resulting in a square crate.
4 The wall structure is of double-thickness and defines the periphery of crate 10 with S opposing sidewalls and opposing end walls. Lower wall portion 12 includes a plurality of interior 6 panels 18 which are connected to floor 16, and an exterior surface 20 which forms an 7 uninterrupted band along each of the sidewalls. Upper wall portion 14 comprises a plurality of 8 trapezoid or rectangular shaped sidewall teeth 22 resembling gear teeth spaced along the sidewall, 9 FIG. 3. Two endwall teeth 24 on each of the endwalls provide the supports for a handle 26, FIG.
4.
11 The exterior surfaces of the lower wall portion and teeth of the upper wall portion are 12 integral and include a contoured step 28 where the teeth are inwardly directed and extend above 13 the lower wall portioa Step 28 is integral with top surfaces 30 of the lower wall portion that are 14 arranged between teeth Step 28 and top surfaces 30 form a shoulder which generally defines the the portion of a cxate that will be visible when crates are nested together.
At the endwalls, handle 16 26 is supported on tech 24 and protrudes outward slightly so that the exterior surface of handle 17 26 is flush with the lower wall portion.
18 As best seen in FIGS.1 and 8-11, the interior surfaces of the wall structure include interior 19 teeth panels 32 which are connected to interior lower panels 18 of the lower wall portions.
Interior teeth panels 32 provide upper lateral supports for bottle carriers, and interior lower panels 21 18 provide lower lateral supports for the bottle carriers. Interior lower panels 18 are arranged 22 along the periphery of the floor and alternate with cut-outs 34 which reduce the amount of 23 material making the crate lighter in weight. Since the interior panels 18 are connected to the 24 floor, free edges of the floor extend across cut-outs 34 in between panels 18. Viewed from the inside of the cxate, these panels are arranged in alternating zig-zag fashion.
The surfaces of these 26 panels are flat to support the flat cardboard walls of carriers loaded with bottles.
27 The ea~erior surface of lower wall portion 12 has a central flat label portion 36 which can 28 be used for molded in information, logos, advertisements and the like.
29 Teeth 22 and 24 are provided with internal ribs 23 and 25 respectively which bear against the tops of corresponding teeth in a similar crate when the crates are nested together. These 1 ne,~ting supports ensure that the weight of a column of nested crates is borne by sufficiently strong 2 elements of the cxate to provide stability and ensure that the wall structures do not fray from 3 repeated use. These internal ribs 23 and 25 are integrally formed in the hollow spaces inside teeth 4 22 and 24. Ribs 23 and 25 are shown in FIG. 6 and in cross-section in FIGS.
8 and 9. Ribs 23 and 25 preferably are located in the upper part of teeth 22 and 24, and hidden from view by the 6 interior and exterior surfaces of the teeth. FIG. 6 best illustrates how ribs 23 and 25 span 7 the inside of teeth 22 and 24, bridging their interior and exterior surfaces.
8 In the preferred embod'iznent of crate 10, teeth 22 along the sidewalls are specifically 9 configured to provide openings that make the labels of cardboard bottle carrier visible. This is best seen in FIG. 7 which illustrates cardboard carriers C loaded with bottles B with the having 11 a label L on their long sides. Labels L are visible through the openings defined between teeth 22 12 due to the configuration of teeth 22. This visibility is important in a retail setting for identification 13 and aesthetic purposes. For maximum exposure of labels L while providing su~cient support to 14 the carriers, the center tooth is slightly larger to support portions of both carriers.
Hamiles 26 on the endwalls of crate 10 are integrally molded with the lower wall portion 16 but extend upward so that the tops of the handles are flush with the tops of endwall teeth 24.
17 Relatively large handle cut-outs 38 are provided to the outside so handles 26 are bar-like in 18 construction in that there is complete clearance both above and below the handles for a user's 19 hands to grasp the crate in either the palm up or palm-down positions.
Also, since the handles are spaced slightly outwardly from endwall teeth 24, more space is provided between the bottle 21 carriers loaded in the crate and the handles.
22 In handling a loaded crate, the palm-up position refers to the position of a user's hands 23 when the fingers are inserted below handle 26 from the outside of the crate such that the palms 24 generally face up and inward. The palm-down position refers to the position of a user's hands when the fingers are inserted below handle 26 from the inside of the crate such that the backs of 26 the hands are facing each other and the palms are generally facing down andlor outward. The 27 height of handles 26 and their length, ensure that a user's hands have su~cient clearance to grasp 28 the handle in either the palm-up or palm-down positions. Providing a user with the option of 29 handling the crate in either hand position helps alleviate fatigue and prevent hand-wrist injuries since a natural grasping motion can be used. The importance of this feature can be appreciated 1 when the crate is loaded with bottles. The handles on prior crates or trays may have been too 2 constricting on some user's hands, and may have required awkward and harmful hand/wrist 3 positions, particularly when lifting and handling heavy loaded crates.
4 Crate profile views, FIGS. 3 and 4 show that exterior of lower wall portion 12 is preferably not quite flush with the floor bottom surface so that the floor bottom surface is left 6 exposed somewhat in profile. Leaving lower wall portion 12 slightly higher than the floor bottom 7 surface facilitates handling by allowing hand trucks to slide easily under the crate, and prevents 8 the exterior lower wall portion from fraying and catching on bottle tops in stacked columns of 9 crates.
The crate of the present invention combines the features of nestability, strength and 11 visbility. In constructing the crate, many design parameters must be determined with the goal of 12 enhancing the above mentioned characteristics without unduly sacrificing any of them. Visibility 13 is important both for permitting attractive display of the carriers, and the present invention 14 provides maximum visibility for its size without sacrificing strength and nestability.
Floor 16 preferably has a lattice-like configuration having a pattern of open spaces as best 16 seen in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6. The floor comprises a system of grid-like longitudinal and lateral struts 17 traversing the floor in perpendicular relation to one another and connecting circular lattice 18 elements together. A plurality of circular lattice elements define the locations of bottle tops in a 19 loaded crate stacked therebeneath, and curved lattice members generally surround the circular elements to define bottle top location areas. Interstitial circular members are provided between 21 bottle tops areas as well. The open floor design provides a Light weight crate, and is practical for 22 allowing any liquids to drain through floor 16. The floor is generally flat and open so as not to 23 interfere with the bottle carriers.
24 Floor 16 has an upper or top surface 40 which is generally flat and includes a plurality of support areas for supporting bottle carriers thereon. Arranged along the sidewalls and endwalls 26 adjacent interior panels 18, are solid floor surfaces 42 which ensure that a strong connection 27 between the wall structure and floor.
28 The support areas are arranged in rows and columns to thereby define an array. In the 29 preferred embodiment, crate 10 is designed to hold four six-packs of bottles in cardboard carriers.
The support areas are configured so that bottles in an array are retained in relatively close relation 1 so as to prevent jostling of the bottles during handling. Excess movement of the bottles is to be 2 avoided in order to ensure that the bottles remain in a vertically upright position to most 3 advantageously bear the load of bottles stacked or cross-stacked thereabove.
4 Floor 16 has a bottom surface 44 which has distinctive structural features.
Floor bottom surface 44 is configured to allow for stacking and cross-stacking of loaded crates. Cross-stacking 6 is done by rotating a top crate 90 degrees about a vertical axis and lowering onto a bottom crate 7 or sates. During shipping and handling crates may be moved by machines and it is advantageous 8 to use sates which can be stably stacked or cross-stacked. Additionally, when the crates are used 9 to display the containers in a retail setting, the retailer may wish to cross-stack the crates for display or space reasons.
11 Floor bottom surface 44 has a plurality of bottle top location areas defined by curved 12 lattice elements 46, best seen in FIGS. 2 and 6. The positions of curved lattice elements 46 are 13 determined to provide a range within which the bottle tops in a loaded crate therebeneath may 14 reside and still provide safe stacking and cross-stacking. The bottoms of curved lattice elements 46 extend downward slightly from the bottom of the rest of the floor bottom surface. The 16 receiving areas help retain bottles in vertically upright positions to bear the load of bottles stacked 17 or cross-stacked thereabove.
18 From the foregoing detailed description, it will be evident that there are a number of 19 changes, adaptations, and modifications of the present invention which come within the province of those skilled in the art. However, it is intended that all such variations not departing from the 21 spirit of the invention be considered as within the scope thereof as limited solely only by the claims 22 appended hereto.
T

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A low depth nestable display crate for bottle carriers each suitable for carrying multiple bottles comprising:
a floor for supporting the bottle carriers; and a doubled thickness wall structure having endwalls and sidewalls extending around the periphery of said floor and comprising:
a lower wall portion including a solid including a solid exterior surface along said sidewalls with ribs extending inwardly from the exterior surface to interior bottle carrier support surfaces connected to said floor;
an upper wall portion comprising spaced tooth members extending upward from said lower wall portion and defining display openings between said tooth members along said sidewalls, wherein said display openings are sized to reveal labels on the bottle carriers for displaying the bottle carriers in a loaded crate;
a bar-like handle bar integrally molded with said tooth members along said endwalls having sufficient clearance between said handle bar and the bottle carriers loaded in said crate to enable a user's hand to completely encircle said handle bar.

2. The crate of claim 1, comprising interior teeth panels provided on the interior side of said tooth members, said teeth panels being flat to provide lateral support to the bottle carriers loaded in said crate.

3. The crate of claim 1, wherein said interior surface of said lower wall portion includes an alternating arrangement of interior panels connected to said floor and cut-outs.

4. The crate of claim 1, wherein said tooth members extend above and inwardly from said lower wall portion to form a shoulder therebetween.

5. The crate of claim 1, further comprising nesting ribs provided within at least one of said tooth members to bear against a top surface of a corresponding tooth member in a crate nested therebelow.

6. The crate of claim 1, wherein said lower wall portion defining a cut-out, said cut-out providing substantially unimpeded access to said handle bar from below.

7. A low depth nestable display crate for bottle carriers each suitable for carrying multiple bottles comprising:
a floor for supporting the bottle carriers; and a wall structure having endwalls and sidewalls extending around the periphery of said floor and comprising a lower wall portion including an exterior surface along said sidewalls, the lower wall portion further including interior bottle carrier support surfaces connected to said floor, a upper wall portion comprising spaced tooth members extending upward from said lower wall portion and defining display openings between said tooth members along said sidewalls, wherein said display openings are sized to reveal labels on the bottle carriers in a loaded crate, the tooth members having interior surface defining portions, exterior surface defining portions and members extending between the interior and exterior surface defining portions; and a handle bar integrally molded with said tooth members along said endwalls to enable a user's hand to encircle said handle bar and said lower wall portion defining a cut-out, said cut-out providing said handle bar complete clearance below said handle bar, and complete clearance above said handle bar from a crate nested thereabove.

8. The crate of claim 7, where the interior surface defining portions comprising interior teeth panels provided on the interior side of said tooth members, said teeth panels being flat to provide lateral support to the bottle carriers loaded in said crate.

9. The crate of claim 7, wherein said interior bottle carrier support surfaces of said lower wall portion have openings disposed therebetween.

10. The crate of claim 7, wherein said tooth members extend above and inwardly from said lower wall portion to form a shoulder therebetween.

11. The crate of claim 7, wherein the members include a nesting rib provided within at least one of said tooth members to bear against a top surface of a corresponding tooth member in a crate nested therebelow.

12. The crate of claim 7, wherein the spaced tooth members extending along said sidewalls have a trapezoidal shape.

13. The crate of claim 7, wherein the spaced tooth members extending along said sidewalls are upwardly tapered.

14. The crate of claim 7, wherein the lower wall portion along the sidewalls between the spaced tooth members has a flat interior surface.

15. The crate of claim 7, wherein the lower wall portion along the sidewalls between the spaced tooth members includes an exterior wall member having an outer surface and an inner surface, the outer surface defined by said exterior surface, and the inner surface having a plurality of ribs extending perpendicularly therefrom.

16. The crate of claim 7, wherein the lower wall portion between the spaced tooth members has a top surface extending between the exterior surface and the interior surface.

17. The crate of claim 16, wherein the top surface is generally flat.

18. The crate of claim 7, wherein the tooth members have an upper portion and a bottom portion, the bottom portion having a relatively greater width than the upper portion.

19. The crate of claim 7, wherein the exterior surface of the lower wall portion is solid.

20. The crate of claim 7, wherein said interior surface defining portions being panels generally co-planar with the interior bottle carrier support surfaces.

21. A low depth nestable display crate for bottle carriers, each suitable for carrying multiple bottles, comprising:
a floor having an upper surface for supporting the bottle carriers, and a lower surface; and a pair of opposed endwalls and a pair of opposed sidewalls extending around the periphery of said floor, the sidewalls comprising a sidewall lower wall portion having an exterior surface and further having interior bottle carrier support surfaces connected to said floor, the sidewall further comprising a double walled upper wall portion including spaced-apart sidewall tooth members extending upwardly from said sidewall lower wall portion and defining display openings between said sidewall tooth members, wherein said display openings are sized to reveal labels on the bottle carriers for displaying the bottle carriers in a loaded crate, the endwalls comprising a handle bar integrally molded with endwall tooth members and an endwall lower wall portion including a cut-out, and said cut-out providing said handle bar clearance below said handle bar, and the handle bar being off set to provide sufficient clearance between said handle bar and the bottle carriers loaded in said crate, the clearances enabling a user's hand to completely encircle said handle bar.

22. The crate of claim 21, wherein said tooth members include interior teeth panels provided on the interior side thereof, said teeth panels being flat to provide lateral support to the bottle carriers loaded in said crate.

23. The crate of claim 21, wherein said tooth members include interior teeth panels provided on the interior side thereof, the interior teeth panels being generally co-planar with the interior bottle carrier support surfaces.

24. The crate of claim 21, wherein said interior surfaces of said sidewall lower wall portion have openings disposed therebetween.

25. The crate of claim 21, wherein said tooth members along the sidewalls extend above and inwardly from said sidewall lower portion to form a shoulder therebetween.

26. The crate of claim 21, further comprising nesting ribs provided within at least one of said tooth members to bear against a top surface of a corresponding tooth member in a crate nested therebelow.

27. The crate of claim 21, wherein the spaced tooth members extending along said sidewalls have a trapezoidal shape.

28. The crate of claim 21, wherein the spaced tooth members extending along said sidewalls have an upper edge with at least one rounded portion.

29. The crate of claim 21, wherein the sidewall lower wall portion between the spaced tooth members has a top surface extending between the exterior surface and the interior surface.

30. The crate of claim 29, wherein the top surface is generally flat.

31. The crate of claim 21, wherein the tooth members have an upper portion, and a bottom portion having a relatively greater width than the upper portion.

32. The crate of claim 21, wherein the interior bottle carrier support surfaces are defined by flat panels.

33. The crate of claim 21, wherein the sidewall lower wall portion between the spaced tooth members includes an outer wall member having an outer surface and an inner surface, the outer surface defined by said exterior surface, and the inner surface having a plurality of ribs extending inwardly perpendicular therefrom.

34. A low depth nestable display crate for bottle carriers, each suitable for carrying multiple bottles, comprising:
a floor having an upper surface for supporting the bottle carriers, and a lower surface; and a wall structure having endwalls and sidewalls extending around the periphery of said floor and comprising a lower wall portion including an exterior surface along said sidewalls and interior portions connected to said floor upper, surface, wherein the exterior surface and the interior portions are connected by at least one member extending therebetween, a double thickness upper wall portion comprising spaced tooth members extending upwardly from said lower wall portion and defining display openings between said tooth members along said sidewalls, wherein said display openings are sized to reveal labels on the bottle carriers for displaying the bottle carriers in a loaded crate, and a handle bar integrally molded with said tooth members along said endwalls and said lower wall portion defining a cut-out, said cut-out providing said handle bar with complete clearance below said handle bar, and when nested with an identical crate complete clearance above said handle bar from the crate nested thereabove, and with clearance between said handle bar and the bottle carriers loaded in said crate to enable a user's hand to encircle said handle bar.

35. The crate of claim 34, wherein the at least one member extending between the exterior surface and the interior portions is a lower wall top surface.

36. The crate of claim 35, wherein the lower wall top surface is generally flat.

37. The crate of claim 35, wherein the lower wall portion along the sidewalls between the spaced tooth members includes an exterior wall member having an outer surface and an inner surface, the outer surface defined by said exterior surface, and the inner surface having a plurality of ribs extending perpendicularly therefrom.

38. The crate of claim 35, wherein the exterior surface along the sidewalls is solid.

39. The crate of claim 35, comprising interior teeth panels provided on the interior side of said tooth members, said teeth panels being flat to provide lateral support to the bottle carriers loaded in said crate.

40. The crate of claim 35, comprising interior teeth panels provided on the interior side of said tooth members, and having a cut-out disposed below the interior teeth panels.

41. The crate of claim 35, wherein said tooth members extend above and inwardly from said lower wall portion along the sidewalls to form a shoulder therebetween.

42. The crate of claim 35, further comprising nesting ribs provided within at least one of said tooth members to bear against a top surface of a corresponding tooth member in a crate nested therebelow.

43. The crate of claim 35, wherein the spaced tooth members extending along said sidewalls have a trapezoidal shape.

44. The crate of claim 35, wherein the spaced tooth members extending along said sidewalls have an upper edge with at least a portion thereof being rounded.

45. The crate of claim 35, wherein the tooth members have an upper portion, and a bottom portion having a relatively greater width than the upper portion.

46. A low depth nestable display crate for six-pack bottle carriers comprising:
a floor for supporting the bottle carriers; and a wall structure having endwalls and sidewall extending around the periphery of said floor and comprising a lower wall portion including an exterior wall member along said sidewalls, the exterior wall member having an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface having a plurality of rib members projecting inwardly therefrom, the lower wall portion further having interior portions for supporting bottle carriers, the interior portions connected to said floor, an upper wall portion comprising spaced tooth members extending upward from said lower wall portion and defining display openings between said tooth members along said sidewalls, wherein said display openings are sized to reveal labels on the bottle carriers for displaying the bottle carriers in a loaded crate, and a handle bar integrally molded with said tooth members along said endwalls and said lower wall portion defining a cut-out, said cut-out providing said handle bar clearance below said handle bar and clearance above said handle bar from a nested crate thereabove to enable a user's hand to encircle said handle bar.

47. The crate of claim 46, comprising interior teeth panels provided on the interior side of said tooth members, said teeth panels being flat to provide lateral support the bottle carriers loaded in said crate.

48. The crate of claim 46, wherein said interior portions of said lower wall portion have openings disposed therebetween.

49. The crate of claim 46, wherein said tooth members extend above and inwardly from said lower wall portion to form a shoulder therebetween.

50. The crate of claim 46, further comprising nesting ribs provided within at least one of said tooth members to bear against a top surface of a corresponding tooth member in a crate nested therebelow.

51. The crate of claim 46, wherein the spaced tooth members extending along said sidewalls have a trapezoidal shape.

52. The crate of claim 46, wherein the spaced tooth members extending along said sidewalls have an upper edge defined at least partially by a rounded surface.

53. The crate of claim 46, wherein the tooth members have an upper portion, and a bottom portion having a relatively greater width than the upper portion.

54. The crate of claim 46, wherein the exterior surface of the exterior wall member is solid.

55. The crate of claim 46, wherein the plurality of rib members connect the exterior wall member and the interior portions.

56. A low depth nestable display crate for six-pack bottle carriers comprising:
a floor for supporting the bottle carriers; and a double walled wall structure having endwalls and sidewalls extending around the periphery of said floor and comprising a lower wall portion including an exterior surface along said sidewalk, and further including interior bottle carrier support surfaces connected to said floor, an upper wall portion comprising spaced tooth members extending upward from said lower wall portion and defining display openings between said tooth members along said sidewalls, wherein said display openings are sized to reveal labels on the bottle carriers for displaying the bottle carriers in a loaded crate, and a handle bar integrally molded with said tooth members along said endwalls and said lower wall portion defining a cut-out, said cut-out providing said handle bar complete clearance below said handle bar and complete clearance above said handle bar from a nested crated thereabove, and provide sufficient clearance between said handle bar and the bottle carriers loaded in said crate to enable a user's hand to completely encircle said handle bar.

57. A low depth nestable display crate for bottle carriers comprising:
a floor for supporting the bottle carriers; and a wall structure having endwalls and sidewalls extending around the periphery of said floor and comprising a lower wall portion including an exterior surface along said sidewalls, the lower wall portion further including interior bottle carrier support surfaces connected to said floor, a double-walled upper wall portion comprising tooth members spaced apart from each other and extending upwardly from said lower wall portion, the tooth members having an upper surface with at least a portion thereof being rounded, the spaced apart tooth members defining display openings therebetween along said sidewalls, wherein said display openings are sized to reveal labels on the bottle carriers loaded in the crate and are larger than the bottles carried by the bottle carrier, and a handle bar integrally molded with said tooth members along said endwalls and said lower wall portion along the end walls including a cut-out for providing said handle bar complete clearance below said handle bar and complete clearance above said handle bar from a nested crate thereabove.