STABLE STACKED MULTIPACK ASSEMBLY INCLUDING STACKABLE PACKING UNITS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING SAME

Abstract

A stackable packaging unit includes a pack having a length and a width. The pack also includes a plurality of individual use containers positioned in the pack. The individual use containers include a base having a base center axis, a body and an offset top load support surface having an offset center axis. The base center axis and the offset center axis are spaced apart and extend substantially parallel to each other. The offset top load support surfaces of the containers adjacent to an outside periphery of the pack along the length and width of the pack are positioned in the pack such that the offset center axis is closer in proximity to the outside periphery of the pack than the base center axis. The configuration of containers in the packs provides an increased stability of the pack when placed in a stacked configuration.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to packaging and methods relating to packaging, for shipping, storage, or otherwise, for providing strength, stability, and accessibility to multipack shipping units.

BACKGROUND

It is often desirable to load multiple individual use containers into a pack for shipment. It is also desirable to stack the packs of multiple individual use containers for space efficiency in storage and transport either amongst themselves or mixed with other packs. During shipment, it is known that cargo, such as packs of multiple individual use containers, experience lateral as well as vertical movement. These lateral and vertical movements create forces that may cause instability of the stacked packs and, for example, lead to tipping of the stacked packs causing damage to the individual use containers and thus making them unmarketable or causing a reduction in value.

Packagers, carriers, or manufacturers may employ the use of additional support structures within the pack to prevent lateral forces from tipping individual items, such as containers, packs of multiple containers or other shippable goods during shipment. These support structures within the pack help to ensure that the containers or other such shippable goods reach their destinations intact or otherwise remain undamaged when shipped in a stacked position. For example, such additional support structures have taken the form of additional cardboard layers inserted or folded between or among the containers or other shippable goods. Such layers are designed to reinforce or provide additional support to the packaging of the containers or other shippable goods, thereby allowing them to better withstand horizontal or vertical loads experienced during shipping or otherwise. In addition, other materials such as “bubble wrap” or “foam” may be inserted between or among the containers or other shippable goods to decrease the movement or impact between or among the containers during transit or otherwise. However, while such additional support structures can decrease damage or destruction experienced during shipping, such structures add an additional process in the manufacture of the goods, and add expense to the overall cost to ship or otherwise store the containers or shippable goods.

It is often economical for the individual use containers to support at least part of this stacking load, consisting of vertical and/or lateral forces, when arranged in packs that are stacked on top of one another. One example of an individual use container has an off-center top surface, with respect to the container's base. Often it is most economical to configure the individual use containers facing the same direction in the pack when using mechanical means to load the containers into the pack. This process simplifies loading the containers into the packs and avoids turning individual use containers in multiple directions. If loaded manually, this process avoids configuring the individual use containers in the packs in random orientation.

However, when individual use containers having an off-centered top surface carry the load of packs and/or cargo stacked above and are configured to face the same direction or are randomly oriented in the pack for shipment, the collective off-center top surfaces do not provide a balanced top load support surface configuration for packs or other cargo stacked on top of a given layer of individual use containers or across the outside dimensions of the stacked packs. These stacked pack and cargo configurations cause or increase the moment arm, or torque, on the vertically and/or laterally loaded top surfaces of some of the individual use containers. This increases damage risk to those higher loaded containers from disproportionate vertical or lateral forces during shipment of the packs.

In some instances individual use containers are displayed and sold from the pack in which they are shipped. The pack in some instances has vertical side walls approximately as tall as the containers. If individual use containers having off-center top surfaces or necks are configured in the same, or random, orientation in a pack having vertical side walls approximately as tall as the use container, it is difficult for a consumer to locate and grasp the individual use container from the pack. This is due to the container's handle(s) or other gripping surfaces, for example, being located against the vertical side walls of the pack.

Accordingly, the present disclosure seeks to overcome these limitations and drawbacks, and to provide new features not heretofore available. A full discussion of the features and advantages of the present invention is deferred to the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes a stackable packaging unit that provides increased stability when placed in a stacked configuration that includes a pack having a length and a width and a plurality of individual use containers. Each container has a base having a base center axis extending therethrough, a body and an offset top load support surface having an offset center axis extending therethrough. The base center axis and the offset center axis are spaced apart and extend substantially parallel to each other. The containers adjacent to an outside periphery of the pack that are along one of the length and width of the pack are positioned in the pack such that the offset top load support surfaces of these containers are adjacent to an outside periphery of the pack. In this position, the offset center axis is in closer proximity to the outside periphery than the base center axis. This configuration provides increased stability of the stackable packing unit when placed in a stacked configuration.

In another aspect, each individual use container of the stackable packaging unit further includes a gripping feature, the gripping feature of the containers adjacent to the outside periphery of the pack along the respective one of the length and width is positioned away from the outside periphery of the pack when the container is placed in the pack. In a further aspect, each container includes a neck that includes the offset top load support surface. In a further aspect, a plurality of the stackable packaging units are stacked with respect to one another.

In a still further aspect, the pack comprises a shrink film for holding the containers together. In yet another aspect, the pack comprises a bottom wall and side walls, the side walls formed at and extending from a perimeter of the bottom wall. The individual use containers are positioned on the bottom wall of the pack. The containers are also positioned adjacent to the outside periphery of the pack along the respective one of the length and width and configured such that the offset top load support surfaces are adjacent to at least one side wall of the pack thereby positioning the offset center axis in closer proximity to the side wall than the base center axis. This configuration provides increased stability of the stackable packing unit when placed in a stacked configuration. In one aspect, the side walls of the stackable packaging unit may extend to about the same position as the offset top load support surfaces of the individual use containers. At least one of the side walls may include an opening therethrough. In a further aspect, the side walls of the stackable packaging unit extend to a position substantially below the offset center top load support surfaces of the individual use containers.

In another embodiment, a multipack assembly includes a first pack having a length and a width and a plurality of individual use containers positioned in the first pack. Each container includes a base having a base center axis extending therethrough, a body and an offset top load support surface having an offset center axis extending therethrough. The base center axis and the offset center axis are spaced apart and extend substantially parallel to each other. The multipack assembly further includes a second pack having a length and a width and a plurality of the individual use containers positioned in the second pack, which is stacked on top of the first pack. The containers adjacent to an outside periphery of a respective pack are positioned in each respective pack along one of the length and width such that the offset top load support surfaces of these containers are adjacent to the outside periphery of each respective pack. This configuration positions the offset center axis in closer proximity to the outside periphery of the pack than the base center axis, which provides increased stability when the second pack is stacked on top of the first pack.

In a further aspect, each individual use container of the multipack assembly has a gripping feature, the gripping feature of the containers adjacent to the outside periphery of each respective pack along the respective one of the length and width are positioned away from the outside periphery of the respective pack of the multipack assembly when the container is placed in the respective pack. In another aspect, each container includes a neck that includes the offset top load support surface. In yet another aspect, the first and/or second pack includes shrink wrap film for holding the containers together in the pack.

In one aspect, the first pack and/or the second pack has a bottom wall and side walls formed at and extending from a perimeter of the bottom wall. The first pack and/or the second pack each include a plurality of the individual use containers positioned on the bottom wall of each respective pack. The individual use containers are configured such that the offset top load support surfaces of the containers adjacent to the outside periphery of each respective pack along the respective one of the length and width are adjacent to at least one side wall of the first pack and/or second pack thereby positioning the offset center axis in closer proximity to the side wall than the base center axis. In yet another aspect, the side walls of the first pack and/or second pack extend to about the same position as the offset top load support surface of the individual use containers in the multipack assembly. At least one side wall of the first and/or second pack may include an opening formed therethrough. In another aspect, the side walls of the first pack and/or second pack extend to a position substantially below the offset center top load support surfaces of the individual use containers.

In a further embodiment, the present disclosure includes a method of providing a stable stacked multipack assembly. The method provides providing a first pack having a length and a width that includes a plurality of individual use containers positioned in the first pack. Each container includes a base having a base center axis extending therethrough and an offset center load support surface having an offset center axis extending therethrough. The base center axis and the offset center axis are spaced apart and extend substantially parallel to each other. The method further includes providing a second pack having a length and a width that includes a plurality of the individual use containers positioned in the second pack. The method also includes orienting the containers in the first pack and second pack such that the offset top load surfaces of the containers adjacent to an outside periphery of each respective pack along one of the length and width are adjacent to the outside periphery of each respective pack. The method orients the offset center axis of these containers in closer proximity to the outside periphery of each respective pack than the base center axis for providing increased stability when placed in a stacked configuration. The method further includes stacking the second pack on top of the first pack.

In another aspect of the present method, each individual use container includes a gripping feature, and the method includes the step of positioning the gripping feature of the containers adjacent to the outside periphery of each respective pack along the respective one of the length and width away from the outside periphery of a respective pack when placing the container in the respective pack. A further aspect of the stacking method includes each container having a neck that includes the offset top load support surface.

In one aspect, at least one of the first pack and second pack includes bottom wall and side walls, the side walls formed at and extending from a perimeter of the bottom wall. The step of orienting includes positioning each individual use container on the bottom wall of at least one of the first pack and second pack such that the offset top load support surfaces of the containers adjacent to the outside periphery of each respective pack along the respective one of the length and width are adjacent to at least one side wall of the respective packs thereby positioning the offset center axis in closer proximity to the side wall than the base center axis. The side walls of the first pack and the second pack, respectively, may extend to about the same position as the offset center top load support surfaces of the individual use containers and at least one of the side walls of the first pack and second pack may also include an opening therethrough. The side walls of each the first pack and the second pack, respectively, may also extend to a position below the offset center top load support surfaces of the individual use containers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To understand the present invention, it will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an embodiment of an exemplary individual use container;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an exemplary stackable packing unit including a plurality of individual use containers;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a stackable packing unit of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a top view of an exemplary pack configured in a 3×3 arrangement;

FIG. 5 is a top view of another exemplary pack configured in a 3×4 arrangement;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an embodiment of one layer of a multipack assembly comprised of the stackable packaging units of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of multiple layers of the multipack assemblies from FIG. 3 stacked with respect to one another.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to only the embodiments illustrated.

Referring now to the Figures, and specifically to FIG. 1, there is shown an individual use container 10. The individual use container 10 is generally adapted to hold liquids, such as drink mixtures, juice, milk, etc. One having ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that the individual use containers 10 could hold a wide variety of liquids, free-flowing aggregate materials, viscous substances, or the like. In addition, while individual use containers according to the present disclosure may take various forms, an exemplary and preferred individual use container 10 is shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the container 10 includes a base 12 that provides support for the container 10, allowing the container 10 to sit in an upright position and a body 16 extending from the base 12. The base 12, as shown in FIG. 1, is generally rectangular, but also may be square, circular, ovular, polygonal, or other suitable shape for providing support to container 10. The container 10 also includes a neck portion 14 that may generally extend from the body 16 of the container. As shown in FIG. 1, the base 12 has a base center axis 30 that extends through a center point of base 12. The neck 14 of the individual use container 10 is positioned to be offset from the base center axis 30. The neck 14 includes a top portion 15 that may receive a cap 20. The cap 20 includes a top support surface 22. The neck 14 and top support surface 22 are positioned substantially off center from the base center axis 30 such that an offset center axis 32 is formed extending through the neck 14 and top support surface. The offset center axis 32 is spaced apart from and substantially parallel to the base center axis 30. One skilled in the art would understand that the top support surface 22 need not be formed by cap 20 or on the neck 14 and, for example, that it could be formed on the body 16 at another location of the container 10.

The container 10 further includes a gripping feature 18, for example a handle, that projects from the container body 16 and connects to the neck 14, allowing an individual to grasp the container 10. As discussed above, in other examples (not shown) the gripping feature may extend from the container body 16 such that a top support surface may be formed by the gripping feature in addition to or as an alternative to the top support surface 22. The top support surface formed by the gripping feature may function in the same or similar way as the top support surface 22 shown in FIG. 1 and described herein. The gripping feature 18 is configured to allow an individual to access and grasp the container 10 from a pack 52 or to pour the contents out of the container 10. One skilled in the art would recognize that the gripping feature may take other forms, such as gripping surfaces, gripping features formed integral with the body 16 or other forms or configurations that are suitable for facilitating grasping and handling of the container 10.

In one embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the neck 14 of the container 10 tapers to the top portion 15 upon which a cap 20 may be placed. The top portion 15 may be threaded, for example, and the cap 20 may be placed on the top portion 15 by rotating the cap 20 onto the top portion 15. In another embodiment, the top portion 15 may be configured to receive a snap-fit cap. One skilled in the art would appreciate various other embodiments in which the neck 14 of a container 10 includes a top portion having an opening that receives a cap 20 or other closing member, which closes the contents of the container 10 therein. The cap 20 may be a conventional one-piece plastic or metal cap, or be a “safety” cap conventionally fabricated of two or more parts whereby downward pressure must be applied with a rotary motion in order to remove the cap 20 from the top portion 15. One having ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that such individual use containers can be fashioned in a variety of shapes and sizes. Further, one having ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that the individual use containers can be formed with a variety of materials and methods, for example, molded or extruded plastic or other suitable polymeric materials.

FIG. 2 shows a preferred embodiment of a stackable packaging unit 50. FIG. 2 shows four individual use containers 10 arranged in a pack 52. The pack 52 is typically formed of cardboard, fiberboard, or other suitable shipping material, and is shaped of suitable dimension to hold the intended number of containers 10 (for example two or more containers 10). The pack 52 has a bottom wall 53 (not visible in FIG. 2) for receiving the bases 12 of the individual use containers 10 thereon, and side walls 54 that extend from the outside peripheral edges of the bottom wall 53 to surround or circumscribe the individual use containers 10 arranged in the pack 52. The pack 52 has a length 56 and a width 58.

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of the pack 52, where the side walls 54 rise to a height substantially equal to the top load support surfaces 22 and where at least one sidewall 54 has an opening therethrough. In a preferred example, the containers rise to height of about ⅛ to ¼ inches above the pack side walls 54. The opening provides accessibility of the containers 10 and their respective gripping features 18 as positioned in the pack 52. In another embodiment, the pack 52 may also take the form of a low-wall pack in which the side walls 54 extend to a height that is lower than the height of the containers 10. Although, one skilled in the art would recognize that the side walls 54 could be positioned at any height above or below the top load support surfaces 22 of the containers 10. In another embodiment, the pack may be formed as an enclosed box with a top portion that covers the individual use containers when placed inside the box. In yet another embodiment, the pack may be formed by providing a shrink wrap film around a plurality of individual use containers. The shrink wrap holds the containers together. In one example, the shrink wrap film alone holds the containers together to form the stackable packaging unit 50. In another example, the pack formed by shrink wrap also includes a planar bottom sheet of cardboard or other suitable material serving as a base upon which the containers may be placed. In yet another example, the pack 52 as shown in FIG. 2 or a low wall pack (now shown) may include a shrink wrap film surrounding the pack loaded with individual use containers to form the stackable packaging unit 50. The containers, preferably, would be placed on the pack 52, low-wall pack or planar bottom sheet prior to applying the shrink wrap to the plurality of containers.

As shown in FIG. 2, to provide stability to the packaging units 50 and packs 52 stacked one on top of the other without use of added support structures, the containers 10 are positioned within a pack 52 such that the off center necks 14, and therefore top support surfaces 22 (not shown), of the container are adjacent to at least one sidewall 54 of the pack 52 that is along the width 58 of the pack 52. This arrangement provides increased strength and stability to the stackable packaging units 50 when stacked together as compared with other arrangements. This is because, as shown in FIG. 3, the effective stackable surface area 60 of the stackable packaging unit 50 provided by the support surfaces 22 of the individual use containers is maximized with respect to load objects stacked above (e.g., a second stackable packaging unit 50). This allows the load force (e.g., from the above load object) experienced by the top load supports 22 of the containers 10 in a bottom stackable packing unit 50 to be more evenly distributed and thus more balanced across the surface area 60 of the packaging unit. An evenly distributed and more balanced load force allows for greater stability of the packaging units in the lateral direction by resisting deflection of the stacked packaging units when receiving vertical and lateral forces.

In another example, layer sheets or tier sheets may be placed between each layer of stacked packaging units. For example, a layer sheet is placed on top of a packaging unit residing at the bottom prior to a second packaging unit being placed on top of the bottom packaging unit. The layer sheets may be of suitable dimension and configuration to cover the bottom packaging unit. Preferably, the layer sheets are relatively thin and cover an area as large or larger than the top of the stackable packaging unit. The layer sheets compensate for misalignment of the stacked layers of packaging units and prevent layers of packaging units on top from having the tendency to move away from the center of the pallet, for example, and falling. The layer sheets provide an added stability to the vertically oriented multipack assembly.

In comparison to other conventional arrangements, for example, in which offset necks of all the containers are oriented in the same direction in a package, the presently disclosed configuration provides a more stable configuration when a plurality of packaging units are stacked one on top of the other. In the conventional arrangement having offset top surfaces arranged in the same direction, the effective surface area formed by the tops of the containers is reduced, causing the tops and thus entire body of the containers further from the center of the package to experience increased torque as the weight of the objects stacked above (e.g., a further stacked package) increases and lateral forces applied during shipping and storage act upon the stacked packaging units. That is, as the weight of an object stacked above increases and lateral forces are applied to the stacked units, the vertical and lateral forces are distributed over a smaller area causing an uneven and thus unbalanced load distribution across the packaging unit. This leads to a greater tendency for higher stacked packs to deform and fail and thus tip over. As a result, the containers in a conventional package would be less stable and deform more when receiving lateral forces, which may result in damage or destruction of the containers during shipment.

In contrast, one preferred example of the presently disclosed configuration of containers 10 in packs 52 increases the support and stability of the packs when stacked. In this exemplary configuration, each container 10 is oriented with the top support surfaces 22 adjacent to the side walls 54 to position the support surfaces 22 to maximize the area between the surfaces. As shown in FIGS. 2-5, the containers adjacent an outer periphery of the pack 52 that are positioned along the width 58, are positioned such that the top support surfaces are adjacent to the outer periphery of the pack 52. This configuration positions the offset center axis 32 closer in proximity to the outer periphery of the pack 52 and side walls 54 of the pack than the base center axis 30, which results in a more balanced distribution of load forces across the widest possible area of the pack 52 for a given container. As a result, no one container 10 would experience increased torque with respect to the other containers 10 within a pack 52, and the pack withstands higher vertical and lateral forces from all directions and resists deformation of the individual use container caused by these forces. Thus, positioning the containers that are adjacent to the outer periphery of the pack and arranged along the length or width of the pack in a way that positions the top support surfaces 22 adjacent the outer periphery of the pack 52 provides increased support and stability of the pack and packs stacked on top. This arrangement functions to both prevent objects stacked above a bottom stackable packing unit 50 from tipping or turning around the top load supports 22 of the containers 10 therein and to more evenly balance the load force experienced by the top support surfaces 22 of containers 10 in a bottom stackable packing unit 50.

An additional advantage of the present disclosure is also shown in FIG. 2. When the individual use containers 10 are placed in the pack 52 with the necks 14 and top support surfaces 22 positioned adjacent to the outer periphery of the pack 52 and the side walls 54, the gripping features 18 are positioned away from the side walls 54 toward the center of the pack 52. This provides consumers, shipping and merchandising personnel, or other individuals easier access to the gripping feature than when the gripping feature 18 is obscured against a sidewall 54 of the pack 52. Accordingly, containers 10 may be more easily removed from the pack 52. This configuration is especially preferred when the pack 52 also serves as a display from which the containers are sold.

The stackable packaging units 50 may take the form of various configurations, for example, instead of housing four individual use containers, the stackable packaging units may house any number of containers. For example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the packaging units may house nine containers in a 3×3 configuration or 12 containers in a 4×3. The packaging units may also take the form of other suitable configurations, for example, 6×2, 4×4, or any other suitable configuration for packaging units which are shipped, stored and/or transported. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the containers positioned at locations in the pack 52 adjacent to the outside periphery of the pack 52 along the length or width of the pack 52 are oriented such that the top support surfaces 22 are adjacent to the outside periphery of the pack 52 to position the offset center axis in closer proximity to the outside periphery of the pack. This configuration provides an increased stability of packs which are stacked on top of one another. It will be understood that the principles of the present invention are applicable to any configuration of containers in packs. In such configurations, the effective surface area formed by the support surfaces is maximized to provide a more balanced configuration to withstand vertical and lateral forces from all directions and resist movement and tipping of the packs caused by these forces, as explained above. It will also be understood that in configurations in which a number of containers are positioned in a central row, column or position within the pack, these containers may be oriented in any suitable way to optimize the effective surface area formed by the support surfaces.

The stackable packaging units 50 may be stacked together or otherwise positioned with respect to one another for shipping or storage purposes. Such an arrangement is referred to as a “multipack assembly.” FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary layer of multipack assemblies 70 where the stackable packaging units 50 of FIG. 2 are positioned horizontally, three stackable packing units 50 by four stackable packing units, with respect to one another upon a conventional shipping pallet. FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary multipack assembly including four layers 80 of the multipack assemblies of FIG. 6 stacked with respect to one another. One skilled in the art would appreciate that other permutations or combinations of stacked stackable packaging units 50 are possible.

A method of providing the multipack assemblies 70 shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 includes providing first and second stackable packs 52 and positioning, either manually or mechanically, the individual containers 10 in each respective pack 52 such that the neck 14 of the containers 10 adjacent to an outside periphery of the pack 52 and along either the length or width of the pack are positioned adjacent to the outer periphery of the pack along the respective length or width of the respective pack 52 to maximize the effective area formed by the support surfaces of the containers 10. Where the container 10 includes a gripping feature 18, the method would further involves positioning each individual use container 10 such that the gripping feature 18 was oriented substantially away from the outer periphery of the respective pack 52. Having positioned the individual use containers 10 in the respective packs 52 according to the method, the method further includes stacking the newly embodied second stackable packaging unit 50 on top of the newly embodied first stackable packaging unit 50.

Several alternative embodiments and examples have been described and illustrated herein. A person of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate the features of the individual embodiments, and the possible combinations and variations of the components. A person of ordinary skill in the art would further appreciate that any of the embodiments could be provided in any combination with the other embodiments disclosed herein. Further, the term “plurality” as used herein indicates any number greater than one, either disjunctively or conjunctively, as necessary, up to an infinite number. Additionally, the term “having” as used herein in both the disclosure and claims, is utilized in an open-ended manner.

It will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or central characteristics thereof. The present examples and embodiments, therefore, are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein. Accordingly, while the specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications come to mind without significantly departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of protection is only limited by the scope of the accompanying Claims.

Claims

1. A stackable packaging unit for providing increased stability when placed in a stacked configuration comprising:

a pack having a length and a width, the pack comprising a plurality of individual use containers positioned in the pack, each container comprising a base having a base center axis extending therethrough, a body and an offset top load support surface having an offset center axis extending therethrough, wherein the base center axis and the offset center axis are spaced apart and extend substantially parallel to each other; and

wherein the containers adjacent to an outside periphery of the pack along one of the length and width are positioned in the pack such that the offset top load support surfaces of these containers are adjacent to the outside periphery of the pack thereby positioning the offset center axis in closer proximity to the outside periphery of the pack than the base center axis for providing increased stability of the stackable packing unit when placed in a stacked configuration.

2. The stackable packaging unit of claim 1, wherein each individual use container further comprises a gripping feature, the gripping feature of the containers adjacent to the outside periphery of the pack along the respective one of the length and width is positioned away from the outside periphery of the pack when the container is placed in the pack.

3. The stackable packaging unit of claim 1, wherein each container includes a neck that includes the offset top load support surface.

4. The stackable packaging unit of claim 1, wherein a plurality of packaging units are stacked with respect to one another.

5. The stackable packaging unit of claim 1, wherein the pack comprises a shrink film for holding the containers together.

6. The stackable packaging unit of claim 1, wherein the pack comprises a bottom wall and side walls, the side walls formed at and extending from a perimeter of the bottom wall; and

wherein the individual use containers are positioned on the bottom wall and the containers adjacent to the outside periphery of the pack along the respective one of the length and width are configured such that the offset top load support surfaces are adjacent to at least one side wall of the pack thereby positioning the offset center axis in closer proximity to the side wall than the base center axis.

7. The stackable packaging unit of claim 6, wherein at least one side wall further comprises an opening therethrough.

8. A multipack assembly comprising:

a first pack having a length and a width, the first pack comprising a plurality of individual use containers positioned in the first pack, each container comprising a base having a base center axis extending therethrough, a body and an offset top load support surface having an offset center axis extending therethrough, wherein the base center axis and the offset center axis are spaced apart and extend substantially parallel to each other;

a second pack having a length and a width, the second pack stacked on top of the first pack and comprising a plurality of the individual use containers positioned in the second pack; and

wherein the containers adjacent to an outside periphery of a respective pack along one of the length and width are positioned in each respective pack such that the offset top load support surfaces of these containers are adjacent to the outside periphery of each respective pack thereby positioning the offset center axis in closer proximity to the periphery of each respective pack than the base center axis for providing increased stability when the second pack is stacked on top of the first pack.

9. The multipack assembly of claim 8, wherein each individual use container further comprises a gripping feature, the gripping feature of the containers adjacent to the outside periphery of each respective pack along the respective one of the length and width positioned away from the outside periphery of the respective pack when the container is placed in the respective pack.

10. The multipack assembly of claim 8, wherein each container includes a neck that includes the offset top load support surface.

11. The multipack assembly of claim 8, wherein at least one of the first pack and second pack comprises a bottom wall and side walls, the side walls formed at and extending from a perimeter of the bottom wall; and

wherein the individual use containers are positioned on the bottom wall of at least one of the first pack and second pack and configured such that the offset top load support surfaces of the containers adjacent to the outside periphery of each respective pack along the respective one of the length and width are adjacent to at least one side wall of the at least one the first pack and second pack thereby positioning the offset center axis in closer proximity to the side wall than the base center axis.

12. The stackable packaging unit of claim 11, wherein at least one side wall of the first pack and the second pack, respectively, further comprises an opening therethrough.

13. The multipack assembly of claim 8, wherein at least one of the first pack and second pack comprises a shrink film for holding the containers together.

14. A method of providing a stable stacked multipack assembly comprising the steps of:

providing a first pack having a length and a width, the first pack comprising a plurality of individual use containers positioned in the first pack, each container comprising a base having a base center axis extending therethrough, a body and an offset top load support surface having an offset center axis extending therethrough, wherein the base center axis and the offset center axis are spaced apart and extend substantially parallel to each other;

providing a second pack having a length and a width, the second pack comprising a plurality of the individual use containers positioned in the second pack;

orienting the containers in the first pack and second pack such that the offset top load surfaces of the containers adjacent to an outside periphery of each respective pack along one of the length and width are adjacent to the outside periphery of each respective pack thereby positioning the offset center axis in closer proximity to the outside periphery of the respective pack than the base center axis for providing increased stability of the first pack and second pack when placed in a stacked configuration; and

stacking the second pack in relation with the first pack.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein each individual use container further comprises a gripping feature, and further comprises the step of:

positioning the gripping feature of the containers adjacent to the outside periphery of each respective pack along the respective one of the length and width away from the outside periphery of a respective pack when placing the container in the respective pack.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein each container includes a neck that includes the offset top load support surface.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the first pack and second comprises a bottom wall and side walls, the side walls formed at and extending from a perimeter of the bottom wall; and

wherein the step of orienting the individual use containers comprises positioning each individual use container on the bottom wall of at least one of the first pack and second pack such that the offset top load support surfaces of the containers adjacent to the outside periphery of each respective pack along the respective one of the length and width are adjacent to at least one side wall of the respective packs thereby positioning the offset center axis in closer proximity to the side wall than the base center axis.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein at least one side wall of the first pack and the second pack, respectively, further comprises an opening therethrough.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the first pack and second pack comprises a shrink film holding the containers together.