CA2667215A1 - Vessel, mainly a bottle, of a thermoplastic material - Google Patents

Abstract

Container (1), in particular a bottle, made of thermoplastic material manufactured by blow-molding or stretch-blow molding of a heated preform, this container having a bottom (2) and a neck (3) connected to a body (4), characterized in that the body (4) comprises an axially central portion (5) surrounded by an axially lower portion (6) and an axially upper part (7) forming a connection zone respectively with the bottom (2) and the neck (3), the axially central portion (5) being substantially rigid and the axially upper and lower portions (6, 7) being substantially deformable with shape memory, so that they return to their original shape under the hydrostatic pressure of the liquid content.

Description

WO 2008/05311

2 PCT / FR2007 / 052251 CONTAINER, IN PARTICULAR BOTTLE, THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL
The subject of the invention is a container, in particular of the type bottle, made of thermoplastic material, obtained by blow molding of a plastic blank, either by thermal conditioning, then blowing or stretching and blowing preforms previously injected, either by extrusion then blowing a parison.

In the case of storage and packaging of liquids, such as water, it is common practice to containers made of thermoplastic material, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP) or HDPE (high density polyethylene). But the price of these thermoplastics, and in particular PET, believes consistently important.

A solution to reduce the production costs of containers is to reduce as much as possible the amount of thermoplastic material used for their production.

Thus, the current trend is to reduce the weight of containers and, consequently, to reduce the amount of thermoplastic material required for realization of a container, that is to say we share blanks (preforms or gobs) more and more light.

WO 03/033361 discloses a container for fluid product with thin wall deformable material thermoplastic. However, the body of this recipe does not has no means of seizure and this known container is primarily intended for use in recumbent positron as a fountain.

It is also known from document EP 1 468 930 of semi-thin PET containers crystalline with a thickness of less than 0.1 mm having a central portion of narrowed diameter.
However, this container may not, once opened, be seized without causing a serious crash cause a spill of the liquid product contained in.

Thus, the thin-walled containers according to the prior art are not arranged in such a way that they can be seized correctly without causing a crash of the body of the container that leads to a spill of the liquid product contained in the container, once the container has been opened.
In addition, the containers according to the prior art are sensitive to shocks or crashes that result in lines of whitish creases, scratches or traces that are likely to appear on the walls in case of shocks. These defects are not necessarily acceptable, because the container could not be offered for sale, customers buying preferentially containers without any defect vi.suel that containers with a defect. he would be particularly interesting to realize a a container with a thin wall and being able to undergo shocks on its walls without causing the appearance of marks, scratches or white lines.

The present invention aims to remedy disadvantages of the containers according to the prior art in supplying a liquid product container which, for a same interior volume, requires less material thermoplastic than a conventional container while still being able be entered manually at his body level without

3 result in crushing his body likely to cause a spill of the liquid product contained in after unclogging the container and can also suffer shocks at its lower parts and higher.

The present invention relates to a container, in particular bottle, made of thermoplastic material manufactured by blowing or stretch-blow molding a heated preform, this container having a bottom and a neck connected to a body, the neck and the bottom being substantially rigid and the body comprising an axially central portion surrounded by an axially lower part and by a part axially upper forming connection areas respectively with the bottom and the neck, the container being characterized in that the axially central portion is substantially rigid and the axially upper parts and lower are substantially deformable memory of form, so that they return to their original form under the hydrostatic pressure of the liquid content without undergo irreversible deformations, such as cracks, scratches, traces of whitish folds or indentations, when the user grasps the closed container with a liquid content occupying substantially the entire internal volume of the container, in that said parts lower and upper have stiffened areas by alternate relief with areas not stiffened by relief, so that areas not stiffened by relief constitute zones of articulation with respect to the zones stiffened by relief, and in that the thickness of said Axially central part is larger than the thickness axially upper and lower parts.

4 It is thus obtained a container having parts lower and upper flexible and therefore not requiring not as much thermoplastic material, with some rigid central that can be entered manually without risk of crushing the container which could lead to the spill of the liquid product contained in the container once the container has been opened. It is also got lower and upper parts able to be deformed in non-rigidified areas by relief, constituting in this case zones articulations, alternating with zones stiffened by relief, which constitute zones of reinforcement of the constituent wall of these lower and higher.

Advantageously, the axially central portion comprises reinforcement means in the form of at least one annular groove.

To reduce the amount of thermoplastic material necessary for the formation of the container according to the invention, the thickness of the lower and upper parts is substantially less than 0.12 mm, the material thermoplastic being PET.

Always to reduce the amount of material thermoplastic to container formation while allowing the stiffening of the manual input area of the container, the thickness of the axially central part is substantially less than 0.15 mm, the material thermoplastic being PET.

In order to allow automated labeling of the central part of the container for affixing a label and also to allow manual entry of the container, the axially central part is suitable for resist radially to a force substantially less than 1.5 daN with a deflection significantly lower than 3 mm.

In an implementation, so as to define visually the catch area of the container, the axially central has a substantially transverse dimension less than the transverse dimension of the parts axially upper and lower. It is however necessary to note that the axially central part, by its position, is naturally considered as a zone of entered by the user.

The present invention is now described at examples only illustrative and not limiting of the scope of the present invention, from the illustrations attached, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a container according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the upper part of a second form of embodiment of a container according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the upper part of a third form of embodiment of a container according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a container according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of a fifth embodiment of a container according to the invention;

6 FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a sixth embodiment of a container according to the invention.

FIG. 1 represents a perspective view of a first embodiment of a container 1 according to the invention.

The container 1, in particular of the bottle type, is in thermoplastic material manufactured by blowing or stretch blow molding of a heated preform, this container 1 having a bottom 2, substantially rigid, and a neck 3, substantially rigid, connected to a body 4.

The body 4 comprises an axially central portion 5 surrounded by an axially lower part 6 and by a part 7 axially upper forming connection areas respectively with the bottom 2 and the neck 3.

In order to allow a capture without crushing the container, the axially central part 5 is substantially rigid and the parts 6, 7 axially upper and lower are substantially flexible.

It is understood by soft zone a deforming zone more, for the same given pressure, a zone rigid.

The axially central portion 5 comprises means 8 of reinforcement in the form of at least one groove 9 annular.

The lower and upper parts 6, 7 have zones 10 stiffened by relief alternating with zones 11 not rigidified by relief.

7 It is understood by areas stiffened by relief areas with both indentations and indentations in the constituent wall of the container 1 that zones in protrusion or protrusion of this wall.

Due to the alternation of zones 10 stiffened by relief with areas 11 not rigidified by relief, it is obtained a stiffening of all parts 6, 7 lower and upper, resulting in a distortion shape memory of these two parts 6, 7, plus especially in the presence of a liquid content in the Recipi.ent 1. Thus, in case of pressure on these parts 6, 7 lower and upper, non-rigid zones 11 by relief constitute areas of articulation by relative to zones 10 stiffened by relief.

The parts 6, 7 axially lower and upper are elastically deformable shape memory, so that they return to their original form under pressure hydrostatic liquid content or, in other words, that presence of content occupying substantially the entire internal volume of the container, the hydrostatic pressure equalizes the external pressure. In this way, in the where the container 1 is closed with occupying content substantially the entire internal volume of the container and the user enters the container 1 by one of the parts 6, 7 axially lower and upper, the wall constituent parts 6, 7 axially lower and superior can not undergo irreversible deformations and it does not appear cracks, scratches, traces of whitish folds or recesses in the wall.

Part 5 axially central is able to withstand radially at a force substantially less than 1.5 daN

8 with a deflection substantially less than 3 mm. Of more generally, the axially central part 5 is parameterized so that it is possible to enter the container 1 by this part 5 without training crushing the container 1. Part 5 axially therefore, the plant has sufficient rigidity to allow the user to grab the container 1 and use it without risking spilling the liquid product out of the inner volume of the container 1. In addition, the 5 must have sufficient rigidity to allow a label to be affixed by a labeller before, to do this, press this part 5 Central.

Advantageously, the central part has a transversal dimension significantly less than the transversal dimension of parts 6, 7 lower and higher.

The thickness of the axially central part 5 is more large than the thickness of the parts 6, 7 axially lower and upper.

In the case where the thermoplastic material used for form the container is PET, the thickness of the parts 6, 7 lower and upper is substantially less than 0.12 mm, and the thickness of the axially central portion 5 is substantially less than 0.15 mm.

According to the different embodiments illustrated in Figures 1 to 6, parts 6, 7 lower and superior are of revolution sensibly cylindrical, the lower and upper parts 6, 7 having their maximum diameter greater than or equal to the diameter of the part 5 axially central.

9 According to the first embodiment illustrated on the Figure 1, the height of the lower part 6 is substantially equal to the height of the upper part 7.
Nevertheless, it is also possible to predict that the height of the lower part 6 is smaller than the height of the upper part 7 (see Figure 4) or that the height of the lower part 6 is larger than the height of the upper part 7 (see Figure 6).

According to the embodiments illustrated in the FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, the zones 10 stiffened by relief present in the form of grooves.

More specifically, according to the first embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1, each zone 10 rigidified by relief is in the form of a star 12 with a central point 13 which radiates a plurality of branches 14.

The zones 11 not rigidified by relief are presented, as for them, in the form of a smooth wall.

According to one embodiment, the stiffened zones 10 by relief are in the form of a plurality of grains, articulated with each other by zones no stiffened by relief. Thus, the constituent wall of walls 6, 7 lower and upper has the shape of a granular textured wall.

According to the second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the zones 10 stiffened by relief present in the form of connected vertical grooves between them by grooves 16 inclined, so as to forming zones 11 not stiffened by shape relief substantially trapezoidal.

According to the third embodiment illustrated in 3, each area 10 stiffened by relief is presented 5 in the form of an elliptical footprint. The 17 elliptical footprints have major axes and small axes of different dimensions, so as to ability to cover substantially the entire area of parts 6, 7 lower and upper. Alternately,

10 the zones 10 stiffened by relief are imprints Circulars of different diameters and depths.
According to the fourth embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the zones 10 stiffened by relief present in the form of footprints 18 regularly spread over the lower and upper parts 6, 7, defining a plurality of rows and columns fingerprints 18 regularly spaced and aligned.

As an Alternative to the Fourth Embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, two columns of footprints 18 immediately adjacent are vertically offset one on the other, so that the respective fingerprints 18 the two columns are not facing each other.
the other on the same line substantially horizontal.
Each zone 10 stiffened by relief can occur in the form of a pyramidal imprint. Nevertheless, he is possible to predict any type and any form footprint 18 in parts 6, 7 lower and higher.

According to the fifth embodiment illustrated in 5, each area 10 stiffened by relief is presented

11 in the form of a plurality of circular projections 19 concentric.

According to the sixth embodiment of the container according to the invention illustrated in FIG. 6, each of the parts 6, 7 lower and upper has areas 10 stiffened by relief in the form of at least one cylindrical groove 20 of substantially sinusoidal shape and at least one groove 21, 22 substantially vertical, pointing to either a top or a bottom, from that to less a cylindrical groove 20 of substantially sinusoidal.

It can thus be provided vertical grooves 22 on the lower part 6 and starting from the bottom 2 of the container 1.
Alternatively, the zones 10 stiffened by relief may include branched grooves, corrugated grooves with substantially axial orientation, intersecting grooves or at least two grooves parallel traversed by inclined grooves, such that areas not rigidified by relief define triangular areas.

According to the preferred embodiment, the container 1 according to the invention is closed by a plug 23 to snap commonly referred to as snap on.

Claims (6)

1. Container (1), in particular bottle, of material thermoplastic manufactured by blowing or drawing blowing a heated preform, this container having a bottom (2) and a neck (3) connected to a body (4), the collar (3) and the bottom (2) being substantially rigid and the body (4) comprising an axially central portion (5) surrounded by an axially lower part (6) and a part (7) axially upper forming connection zones respectively with the bottom (2) and the neck (3), characterized in that the axially upper parts (6, 7) and lower are substantially cylindrical of revolution;
in that the axially central part (5) is substantially rigid and the parts (6, 7) axially upper and lower are deformable memory shape, thanks to what, when the container is closed with a liquid content occupying substantially all of its internal volume, said parts (6, 7) axially lower and upper, having been deformed under.
the action of an external pressure, take their form initial under the hydrostatic pressure of the liquid content without suffering irreversible deformations;
in that said axially lower portions (6, 7) and upper regions (10) stiffened by alternate relief with areas (11) not stiffened by relief, areas (11) not rigidified by relief constituting zones of articulation with respect to the zones (10) rigidified by relief; and in that the thickness of said portion (5) axially central is greater than the thickness of those parts (6, 7) axially upper and lower. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that said axially central portion (5) comprises reinforcement means (8) in the form of at least one annular groove (9). Container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the thermoplastic material is PET and in that the thickness of said parts (6, 7) lower and upper is significantly lower at 0.12 mm. 4. Container according to any one of the claims previous ones, characterized in that the material thermoplastic is PET and in that the thickness of said axially central portion (5) is substantially less than 0.15 mm. Container according to any one of the claims preceding, characterized in that the part (5) axially central is able to withstand radially a force substantially less than 1.5 daN with a deflection substantially less than 3 mm. Container according to any one of the claims preceding, characterized in that the part (5) axially central has a dimension substantially less than the dimension transverse parts (6, 7) axially higher and lower.