Stackable, thin-walled containers

Abstract

A liquid container for a comestible product such as milk or juice includes a base having a substantially planar region, a top surface having a substantially planar region parallel to the substantially planar region of the base and having a pour spout. A sidewall is integrally formed with and extends between the base and top surface, and includes a structural load distributing feature that transfers loads from the top surface to the base. A handle is interposed between the base and top surface and integrally formed with the base, top surface, and sidewall. The containers can be arrayed into units and stacked on top of one another. A first flexible material such as a shrink wrap holds the individual containers together and a second flexible material maintains the stacked array of containers together so that cases that typically hold the containers can be eliminated.

Having thus described the invention, it is now claimed:  
     
         1 . A container used in caseless shipping of a product, such as milk or juice, the container comprising: 
 a base having a substantially planar region;    a top surface having a substantially planar region parallel to the substantially planar region of the base and having a pour spout formed therein;    a sidewall integrally formed with and extending between the base and top surface, the sidewall enclosing an internal cavity in communication with the pour spout; and    a handle extending from the sidewall and defining a finger receiving region, the handle interposed between the base and top surface and integrally formed with the base, top surface, and sidewall.    
     
     
         2 . The container of  claim 1  further comprising a structural load distributing feature formed therein for conveying bearing loads from the top surface to the base.  
     
     
         3 . The container of  claim 2  wherein the structural load distributing feature includes at least one rib formed in the sidewall and extending between the top surface and the base.  
     
     
         4 . The container of  claim 3  wherein the structural load distributing feature extends in a continuous fashion along the planar region of the top surface and the sidewall.  
     
     
         5 . The container of  claim 4  wherein the structural load distributing feature is disposed between the pour spout and the handle.  
     
     
         6 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the sidewall includes a series of sidewalls and selected ones of the sidewalls include substantially planar regions for abutting against substantially planar regions of sidewalls of like containers.  
     
     
         7 . The container of  claim 1  further comprising a rounded region along an edge portion of the base beneath the pour spout to facilitate pouring.  
     
     
         8 . The container of  claim 1  further comprising a structural load distributing feature formed therein for conveying bearing loads from the top surface to the base, the handle extending downwardly from the top surface toward the base and the structural load distributing feature substantially aligned with the handle for transferring loads from the handle to the base.  
     
     
         9 . The container of  claim 1  further comprising a resealable lid operatively associated with the pour spout.  
     
     
         10 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the container is a thin-walled plastic material.  
     
     
         11 . The container of  claim 10  wherein the container has a weight to volume ratio of approximately 55 to 70 grams per gallon (approximately 18 to 24 grams per liter).  
     
     
         12 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the pour spout includes an air opening disposed in spaced relation to a pour opening.  
     
     
         13 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the center of gravity of the container is disposed closer to the pour spout than to the handle to facilitate pouring of liquid from the container.  
     
     
         14 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the pour spout is disposed opposite the handle adjacent an edge of the container.  
     
     
         15 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the container is formed at least in part of plastic.  
     
     
         16 . A handling system comprising: 
 plural similarly configured containers, each including a substantially planar top surface, a substantially planar base and a sidewall interconnecting the top surface and the base;    a preselected number of containers being disposed in contiguous relationship and held together as a unit with a first flexible wrapping material; and    container units being grouped together and stacked on top of one another for transport, the container units being held in grouped and stacked array by a second flexible wrapping material.    
     
     
         17 . The handling system of  claim 16  wherein the containers each include a handle defining a finger receiving region.  
     
     
         18 . The handling system of  claim 17  wherein at least two handles of contiguous containers are disposed adjacent one another to facilitate handling of the unit of containers.  
     
     
         19 . The handling system of  claim 17  wherein the handles are disposed at outer corner regions of the unit to facilitate handling thereof.  
     
     
         20 . The handling system of  claim 16  wherein the containers hold a liquid.  
     
     
         21 . The handling system of  claim 16  wherein each container is formed at least in part of a thin walled plastic material.  
     
     
         22 . The handling system of  claim 16  wherein the sidewall includes plural sidewalls.  
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 16  wherein at least one of the sidewalls of each container includes a structural load distributing feature formed therein and extending between the top surface and base for adding strength thereto for stacking purposes.  
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 16  further comprising a tear strip associated with the second wrapping material for selectively separating the container units from the grouped and stacked array.  
     
     
         25 . The container system of  claim 16  wherein each container includes a pour spout disposed opposite the handle and adjacent the juncture of contiguous sidewalls, the containers that form a unit arranged so that the pour spouts are disposed inwardly of the group of containers and the handles of each container are disposed along a periphery of the unit.  
     
     
         26 . The container system of  claim 16  wherein the units of containers are stacked at least five levels high.  
     
     
         27 . The container of  claim 16  further comprising wherein the units of containers are oriented in different arrays along each level.