Case for bottled beverages

Claim 1

A PLASTIC CASE FOR CARTONS HOLDING A PLURALITY OF ROWS OF UPRIGHT BOTTLES FITTED WITH CROWN CAPS, COMPRISING A ONE-PIECE CASE OF SEMI-RIGID PLASTIC HAVING A RECTANGULAR BOTTOM WALL, SIDE AND END WALLS AND INTERSECTING LENGTHWISE AND CROSSWISE PARTITIONS DIVIDING THE CASE INTO FOUR COMPARTMENTS EACH ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A SINGLE OF SAID CARTONS OF BOTTLES, VERTICAL INTERNAL RIBS ON SAID WALLS HAVING INNER EDGES THEREOF ENGAGING THE ADJACENT CARTON AND POSITIONING THE SAME INWARD FROM THE CORNERS OF THE CASE, FLEXIBLE VERTICAL CORNER SECTIONS RESPECTIVELY ADJOINING THE SIDE AND END WALLS AND EACH CORNER SECTION COMPRISING TWO VERTICAL WALLS HAVING INNER AND OUTER SURFACES OFFSET OUTWARDLY AND PROJECTING FROM SAID SIDE AND END WALLS TO PROVIDE FOR FLEXIBLE REINFORCEMENT OF THE CORNER SECTIONS AND WITH THE OUTER SURFACES OF THE END WALLS LYING IN VERTICAL PLANES PROVIDING SENSING SURFACES FOR AUTOMATIC BOTTLING EQUIPMENT, THE HEIGHT OF THE SIDE AND END WALLS BEING LESS THAN THE HEIGHT OF THE BOTTLES IN SAID CARTONS, AND THE BOTTOM WALL HAVING THEREON RIBS OUTSTANDING UPWARDLY THEREFROM AND EXTENDING ACROSS THE CASE FROM THE SIDE AND END WALLS AND INTERSECTING TO FORM A GRID OF POLYGONS EACH SMALLER THAN THE INDIVIDUAL CROWN CAPS OF SAID BOTTLES SO THAT WHEN THE CASES ARE STACKED ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER WITH THE WEIGHT OF THE UPPER CASES RESTING ON THE CAPS OF THE BOTTLES OF THE LOWER CASES EACH BOTTLE CAP IN A LOWER CASE UNDERLIES AT LEAST ONE INTERSECTION OF SAID RIBS TO PROVIDE A STABLE SUPPORT FOR THE UPPER CASES EVEN THOUGH THE CASES ARE NOT IN PRECISE ALIGNMENT AND EACH OF THE INTERSECTING RIBS BEING OF SUFFICIENT THICKNESS AS TO DISTRIBUTE THE STRESS OVER THE BOTTOM WALL FROM EACH BOTTLE CAP ON WHICH THE BOTTOM WALL RESTS.