AU2006100038B4 - Bottle - Google Patents

Description

P/00/009A Section 29

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 INNOVATION PATENT SPECIFICATION Invention Title: BOTTLE Applicant: ACI OPERATIONS PTY LTD The invention is described in the following statement: r 1

BOTTLE

c The present application is a divisional application from Australian patent Sapplication number 2004203314, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

00oo CField of the Invention

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The present invention relates to packaging containers, in particular to polymeric hot fill or warm fill bottles. It will be convenient to describe the invention with reference to bottles for filling with beverages although it will be appreciated that the invention may have wider application.

Background of the Invention Polymeric bottles suitable for hot or warm filling with beverages have been used for many years. The term "hot fill" generally refers to filling of a container with a liquid at 800C or above and the term "warm filling" generally refers to filling a container with a liquid at about 600C to about 800C. For convenience in this description where the term "hot fill" or "hot filling" is used, this will equally apply to warm filling.

Beverages such as non-carbonated sports drinks, juices and waters in particular may be hot filled or warm filled in bottles to ensure the sterility of the beverage. Once filled, the bottle is then sealed with a closure and cooling to ambient temperature then takes place.

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During cooling, the liquid will contract and creates a partial vacuum Ninside the bottle. It is known in the art that it is desirable to design panels in the bottle which can absorb at least some of the vacuum so as to avoid bottle distortion which is both aesthetically displeasing and/or functionally renders the 5 bottle unusable. Distortion of a bottle will generally be seen by consumers as oO 0undesirable and may suggest a defect in the product.

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The most commonly used polymer for manufacturing such bottles is a polyester such as polyethylene terephthalate and it is desirable to use the minimum possible amount of material in each bottle for many reasons including weight and cost. The imperative to minimise material in each bottle comes at the expense of bottle strength so bottle design may be critical in balancing these two competing requirements.

Beverage manufacturers may prefer that some of their products, particularly sports drinks or waters, are packaged in a bottle that can be squeezed by the consumer to deliver the beverage in a "dose" rather than sipped or poured from the bottle. This is especially desirable with sports drinks because the consumer may be drinking the beverage during physical exercise, perhaps even during competition, and cannot stop that activity to consume the beverage.

In order to suggest to the consumer that the bottle is squeezable, finger grip recesses may be provided in the sidewalls of the bottle. It is also known for the sidewalls of bottles to be concave in side elevation to facilitate holding by \ernnVmps~speciesacR752379 final- 1701 6.doc r the consumer. Vacuum absorbing panels may be incorporated in such N sidewalls.

It is also desirable to be able to provide bottles to beverage 5 manufacturers with new choices of places on which to locate their label and/or oO with the facility to design in distinctive aesthetic features which may help to differentiate their product from other competing products at the point of purchase. It is also desirable to provide substantially cylindrical surfaces to bear a product label. If the outside surface of a bottle to which a label is to be applied is substantially cylindrical, a wrap around label may be used. This type of label is preferred because the label can simply be printed then wrapped around the container and fixed by adhesive. In contrast, if the surface of the bottle to which the label is to be applied is substantially concave convex, or otherwise not cylindrical, a shrink sleeve label is conventionally used. Such labels are more expensive and difficult to use for a number of reasons. First, because the label must be shrunk once positioned on the bottle by heat, this adds to the energy requirements and hence expense of the packaging process.

Secondly, shrinking of the label may result in distortion of the printed matter appearing on the label due to non-uniform shrinkage across the entire label.

Such distortion may reduce consumer appeal.

It would be desirable to provide a container structure which provides stability of the overall container with flexibility of certain panels of the container.

It would further be desirable to provide a bottle incorporating panel structures which may facilitate easy gripping by a consumer and may be squeezable without jeopardising the structural integrity of the container. It would further be w\ehn\mpsspecesac752379 final 170106.doc desirable to provide a bottle which presents greater options for labelling C and/or aesthetic using wrap around labels.

0Summary of the Invention 00 In one aspect of the invention there is provided a polymeric hot/warm fill container having a longitudinal axis and including: Sa neck finish a base a panel region therebetween, the panel region comprising a pair of opposite vacuum absorbing panels which absorb vacuum by moving radially inwardly and a pair of opposite reinforcing panels having therein a plurality of finger recesses, the vacuum absorbing panels and reinforcing panels being radially and alternately spaced around the panel region and which provide a shape to the panel region and whereby said vacuum absorbing panels and reinforcing panels may move radially inwardly or outwardly, four ribs, each rib being located between each vacuum absorbing panel and the finger recesses of each adjacent reinforcing panel and extending substantially vertically in the panel region, such that upon movement of said vacuum absorbing panels and reinforcing panels said ribs substantially maintain the axial symmetry of the bottle about the longitudinal axis.

The vacuum absorbing and reinforcing panels may be alternately and regularly spaced around the panel region. The panel region is preferably substantially circular in transverse section. Between each adjacent vacuum absorbing panel w\enn\mps\speesaaA752379 response (909 8 doc IDand the finger recesses of each adjacent reinforcing panel 00 w:enVn~spees.cA752379 responwe 090606 dac Sthere is a rib which extends substantially vertically in the panel region. Thus, c there are four ribs, each being located between each adjacent vacuum absorbing panel and the finger recesses of each adjacent reinforcing panel.

The rib may have any suitable cross-section shape such as a shape substantially resembling a U, C, V or L, or compound shapes or variants of oo Cthese such as an S, Z, W or box-section that can be formed in a blown bottle which offers high strength but occupies only a small angular extent (as defined

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Sbelow) of the bottle. In a preferred embodiment, the rib includes a longitudinal base section and two sidewalls. For example when the rib is U-shaped in transverse section, the bottom of the U is the base, and the two sides of the U are the side walls. Thus, the base of the rib may be substantially vertical and running parallel with the axis of the container. In this embodiment, both sidewalls have a proximal side joined to the base section. One of the sidewalls has a distal edge which joins with a peripheral edge of a vacuum absorbing panel and the other sidewall has a distal edge which joins with a peripheral edge of the adjacent reinforcing panel.

Preferably each rib is U or C-shaped in transverse section and is outwardly convex of the bottle, although the rib may be concave of the bottle and may function adequately. In this specification the rib may equally be described as a "column" or a "beam". The ribs preferably extend over the panel region substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis, and are in the form of U or C-shaped beams. By creating U or C-shaped beams or columns in the panel region, the strength of the ribs can be significant and adequate to stabilize the bottle against distortion when the vacuum is absorbed by the vacuum absorbing panels, yet only extending across a relatively small angular extent of the bottle.

w:\erin-mps specesac752379 final- 170106.doc SThe term "angular extent" in the specification refers to the arc described by the c feature in a transverse section of the bottle. Preferably, the angular extent of Seach rib is between about 60 and about 250, more preferably between about and about 150.

00 oO SIn a preferred embodiment the base and/or sidewalls of the rib are flexible, i.e. the rib is flexible along its axis so that, when viewed in transverse

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section, the U-shape or C-shape can be opened or closed somewhat by forces created upon the vacuum absorbing panels or the reinforcing panels.

Preferably, the junction of each sidewall with its respective panel constitutes a hinge. In this embodiment radial or circumferential movement of any of the panels can thus be somewhat absorbed by the rib, either by hinging about the junctions with the adjacent panels, and/or by opening or closing along its axis, i.e. by opening or closing the U or C shape when viewed in transverse section.

By reducing the angular extent of the ribs without reducing their strength, the corresponding angular extent of the reinforcing panels can be increased and the angular extent of the vacuum absorbing panels may be decreased.

Preferably the angular extent of the reinforcing panels is between about 400 to above 1400, more preferably between about 900 to about 1400, and even more preferably between about 1100 and 1300 The angular extent of the vacuum absorbing panels is preferably between about 300 to about 900, more preferably between about 300 to about 500, and even more preferably between about 400 and 500. By increasing the angular extent of the reinforcing panels the w:\erin~npsspeces\ac752379 final 170106.doc Ssqueezability of those panels, i.e. the ease with which they can be squeezed to c deliver a "dose" of fluid from the bottle is enhanced.

The reinforcing panels may include a plurality of finger recesses. The reinforcing panels may include other aesthetic features which may act to assist 00 in the rigidity of the panel. The reinforcing panels may be relatively inflexible when compared to the vacuum panels. Due to the presence and geometry of

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the finger recesses, the reinforcing panels may be relatively rigid when compared to the vacuum panels. The reinforcing panels may include more polymeric material in their walls as a result of the presence of the finger recesses.

The two vacuum absorbing panels are capable of absorbing at least the major proportion of the vacuum created in the container upon cooling of the hot or warm filled product. The vacuum panels may be of a type known in the art.

Preferably the vacuum panels are vertically disposed at opposite sides of the container 1800 from each other. The vacuum panels preferably absorb the vacuum by deforming from a convex shape to a flat or concave shape, although other vacuum absorbing panel arrangements such as rigid panels that retain their shape but move inwardly about peripheral hinges may also be suitable.

Similarly, the vacuum panels may absorb vacuum by moving from i) a deep convex to a shallow convex shape ii) a convex to a flat shape iii) a flat shape to a concave shape, or iv) a shallow concave to a deep concave shape.

w:\erin\mps\specIes\aC752379 final 170106.doc r Similarly, the vacuum panel may adequately absorb the vacuum by Cdeforming in a non-uniform manner across its surface.

The neck finish and base may be of any suitable configuration known in 5 the art. It will be appreciated by the skilled addressee that the term "neck finish" oo 0 refers in the art to the portion of the container surrounding the container opening which may accommodate a closure, and that the term "base" refers to the bottom of the container upon which the container stands in an upright position.

The panel region may extend all or part of the way from the neck finish to the base. Preferably it extends a portion of the way between the neck finish and the base and an additional cylindrical upper shoulder or lower trunk region is included. Such shoulder or trunk regions may be large enough to accept a wrap around label. The shoulder or trunk region may include one or more reinforcing hoops in the cylindrical surface which are of a size and depth so as not to disturb the surface's ability to accept a wrap around label.

It will now be convenient to describe the invention with particular reference to the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a bottle of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the bottle of Figure 1 rotated 900 to the right.

Figure 3 is a transverse section along the line A-A of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a transverse section along the line B-B of Figure 1.

w:erinmpsspeiesac\752379 final 170106.doc r U Figure 5 is a part of the transverse section shown in Figure 4 when a c vacuum panel is in an outwardly convex shape.

SFigure 6 is a part of the transverse section shown in Figure 4 after the vacuum panel moves to a flat shape.

00 5 Figure 7 is a part of the transverse section shown in Figure 4 after the vacuum panel moves to a concave shape.

SIn Figure 1 and Figure 2, bottle 1 comprises a threaded neck finish 3, a bottle base 5 and a body 7 extending therebetween. The neck finish 3 may be any conventional neck finish known in the art capable of receiving a closure (not shown). Similarly, the bottle base 5 may be any base known in the art suitable for use in blown polymeric containers.

Panel region 9 extends from bottle base 5 to shoulder region 11 and includes finger recesses 13 a-d. On either side of panel region 9 are vacuum absorbing panels 31 and 32 which absorb most of the vacuum created inside the sealed bottle when the liquid contents cool to ambient temperature.

Shoulder region 11 includes two reinforcing hoops 22 and 24 and a waist hoop 26, and above bottle base 5 there is a base hoop 28 which may all assist in maintaining the regular shape of the bottle 1 when a vacuum is created inside bottle 1. The shoulder region 11 includes a label surface 30 below rounded shoulders 333. Label surface has a substantially cylindrical surface to which a label (not shown) can be applied. Because the label surface 30 is cylindrical, the more preferred type of label namely a wrap around label can be applied, although optionally a shrink-wrap label may be applied to shoulder region 11 extending beyond the cylindrical surface.

w \eMrnpsspeies\aci752379 final 1701086.doc c The overall shape of panel region 9 is substantially cylindrical in transverse section and as can be seen from Figures 3 and 4 the general crosssection shape of the bottle 1 in this region is substantially round. Vacuum absorbing panels 31 and 32 are substantially parallel and even if vacuum 0 absorbing panels 31 and 32 change to a concave shape upon absorption of the vacuum the general cross-section shape will remain substantially round.

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Reinforcing panels 15 and 16 are spaced on either side of the bottle in the panel region 9. Each reinforcing panel shown typically with panel 15 has a peripheral border 17 consisting of sides 19 and 21 which are adjacent to ribs 34 and 36, and lower part 27 adjacent to waist hoop 28 and top part 29 adjacent to shoulder region 11.

The bottle has four ribs 33-36 between each adjacent vacuum absorbing panel and the finger recess of each reinforcing panel 15, 16. Each rib is substantially U-shaped in cross section, and the ribs act to provide structural integrity to the bottle, i.e. to support the shape of the panel region 9 by preventing distortion of the bottle 1 when the vacuum absorbing panels 31 and 32 absorb a vacuum, or when reinforcing panels 15 and 16 may be squeezed by a consumer to deliver the beverage contents of the bottle. The ribsact as Ushaped beams which extend from the bottle base 5 to the shoulder region 11.

The ribs are designed to be of the smallest angular extent possible to give the bottle the desired strength. As can be seen in Figure 4 and Figure 5, the angular extent of the ribs is about 9.50, while the angular extent of the reinforcing panels is about 1190. By increasing the angular extent of the w:A\edn~mpsspeesac,752379 final 170106.doc reinforcing panels as much as possible, the ability of these panels to facilitate C the squeezing action is enhanced. It is therefore desirable to also reduce the angular extent of the vacuum panels as much as possible; in Figure 3 this is shown to be about 420. It has been found that the smaller the angular extent of oo 5 the reinforcing panels, the "stiffer" such bottles feel and thus the squeezability of 0 such bottles is inferior to those of the present invention having a large angular extent.

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When the beverage is to be consumed, the consumer will generally grasp the panel region 9 of the bottle 1 with their fingers locating in finger recesses 13 a-d on one side of the bottle 1, and the thumb locating in a convenient finger recess on the other side of the bottle. If squeezing grip pressure is then applied by the consumer and the closure (not shown), preferably a "push-pull" closure, is opened, the beverage contents may be expelled. Preferably the entire reinforcing panel will be sufficiently rigid so that it moves in unison within peripheral border 17 without significant distortion in shape. The reinforcing panels may also act to absorb a minor portion of the vacuum, although it is not essential that they do this.

The U-shaped ribs 33-36 have an outwardly facing longitudinal base 37 a-d, (more clearly seen in Figures 3 and 4) i.e. they are outwardly convex in order that they resist inward deformation by action of the vacuum. A typical rib 36 and its junctions with adjacent reinforcing panel 16 and vacuum absorbing panel 32 is shown in Figure 4. The U-shaped rib 36 has in cross-section a base 37a and sides 38 and 39. The intersection of side 39 with reinforcing panel 16 is a hinge line 41 which allows relative movement between the panel 16 and rib w\edn'mps\species\acf752379 final 170106.doc r 36 without jeopardizing the strength of the rib 36. Similarly, the side 38 and C vacuum panel 32 join at a hinge line 40 which acts in a similar way. The particular U-shaped section of the rib 36 therefore allows it to have a high strength with a small angular extent, allowing the angular extent of the reinforcing panels to be increased significantly to enhance the squeezability of 0the bottle. In addition the structural member is flexible as can be seen in Figures 5, 6 and 7 by virtue of the base 37a and/or sides 38 and 39 being

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capable of flexing. In Figure 5 vacuum absorbing panel 32 is shown its convex shape, as would be the case if no vacuum is applied to the inside of the bottle 1.

When a vacuum is applied to the inside of the bottle 1, vacuum absorbing panel 32 is drawn inwardly and, as shown in Figure 6, may at some point adopt a substantially flat shape in transverse section. Its length measured between hinge lines 40 and 40a will be the same as when it is in the arcuate shape shown in Figure 5, but because it is now flat in transverse section hinge lines 40 and 40a will be moved slightly apart. If hinge lines 41 and 41a are maintained substantially in the same position by virtue of the rigidity of reinforcing panels 15 and 16, the movement is absorbed by flexing of ribs and 36 (detailed typically with rib 36). Either base 37a or sides 41 or 40, or all three may change shape so that rib 36 adopts a more shaped cross section.

In the process of such shape change, rib 36 may become more strengthened against axial failure due to the enhanced load bearing capacity when in a more c' shape.

When further vacuum is applied, the vacuum absorbing panel 32 may move to a concave shape, and ribs 35 and 36 may then adopt a shape similar \erinVnmpsspeces\aci752379 final 170106.doc

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to their original shape. Thus, ribs 35 and 36 themselves provide a hinging Cfunction in addition to hinge lines 40 and 41.

It will be appreciated that even if the ribs are of a different shape to those 5 shown in the drawing, or if the vacuum absorbing panel changes shape in a oO different way in the course of absorbing the vacuum, or if the reinforcing panels move during the course of the vacuum being absorbed, the principle that the

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cross-sectional shape of the rib changes to account for the changing geometry of the vacuum panel equally applies. The same principle may also apply if the reinforcing panels are being squeezed to dispense product.

It will be appreciated that a wide variety of design features can be incorporated into either vacuum absorbing panels or reinforcing panels of the present invention. For example, brand names or other material having trademark significance may be incorporated into the vacuum panels or in parts of the reinforcing panels. The reinforcing panels may be designed in a distinctive manner so that they serve both functional and decorative purposes.

Bottles of the present invention may be made from any suitable material known in the art but is preferably a thermoplastic polymer such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene or the like. Preferably bottles of the invention are made by blow moulding. Bottles of the present invention may be filled, sealed and labelled using known processing methods.

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Finally it is to be understood that various additions, modifications and/or 0 ci alterations may be made without departing from the spirit or ambit of the present invention.

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Claims (2)

1. 2. A polymeric hot/warm fill container according to claim 1 wherein each of the ribs are located at the junction of each respective adjacent vacuum absorbing panel and reinforcing panel.
2. 3. A polymeric hot/warm fill container according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the angular extent of each reinforcing panel is between 1100 and 1400. enn mpspecles\3cX752379 response 0060 doc S4. A polymeric hot/warm fill container according to any one of claims 1 to 3 0 wherein the angular extent of each vacuum absorbing panel is between 300 and 00 0 5. A polymeric hot/warm fill container according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein said reinforcing panels absorb a minor portion of the vacuum. (N Date: 9 June, 2006 PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK Attorneys For: ACI OPERATIONS PTY LTD w \ennnim5spe0es\acA752379 response 090606.doc