MXPA06006481A - Plastic container and preform - Google Patents

Abstract

The improved plastic container and preform is light weight and includes a base, a cylindrical sidewall projecting upwardly from the base, and a neck finish projecting upwardly from the sidewall and having an opening to the inside of the container. The neck finish includes an inwardly oriented stepped area adjacent the opening.

Description

CONTAINER AND PLASTIC PREFORM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is highly desirable to provide a light weight plastic container and preform to form the same. Conventionally, the neck-shaped termination in plastic containers, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), has a threaded area or. of pressurized closure with an intermediate support flange, extending outwards. The support flange is used as a feature to enable one to transfer preforms into a blow mold and to allow one to remove the blown container out of the blow mold, for example, in a two-stage blow molding machine, high speed. However, this neck-shaped finish requires 3 to 4 grams of plastic and adds considerably to the total weight of the preform and the final container. It would be highly desirable to simplify and lighten the weight of those structures, especially with an improved configuration that allows simpler and more convenient handling throughout the entire process cycle. It would also be advantageous to provide a light weight container and preform that would allow for faster cycle times and cost reduction. In addition, it would be advantageous to provide a container that is recyclable. Additional objects of the present invention will appear later.

THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention the above objects and advantages are easily achieved. The improved container of the present invention comprises: a blow molded plastic container having a circular base, a cylindrical side wall projecting upwardly from the base, a neck-shaped termination projecting upwards from the side wall and having an opening towards the interior of the container; where the neck-shaped termination includes an inclined area, oriented inward, adjacent to the opening. The inclined area desirably includes an upper, outwardly extending flange, which borders the opening and extends beyond the outward extension of the neck-shaped termination. In the preferred embodiment the neck-shaped termination includes the upper, outwardly extending rim, having an outer surface and an inner surface, a rim extending downward, extending downward from the inner surface of the rim which extends outwards and which has a top portion connected to the inner surface of the outwardly extending flange and a lower portion opposite the upper portion, and a lower flange extending inwardly connected to the lower portion of the flange which it extends downward and extends inwardly of the flange extending downward. The opening can be closed by a thin sheet metal cover and / or a cover. The side wall preferably includes a plurality of continuous, spaced circumferential grooves extending around the side wall, eg, at least five grooves. The grooves are separated by generally flat, raised areas. The base preferably has a plurality of outwardly extending struts and a central recessed area. The preform of the present invention comprises: a base, a cylindrical side wall projecting upwards from the base, a neck-shaped termination projecting upwards from the side wall and having an opening towards the inside of the preform; and wherein the neck-shaped termination includes an inclined, inward-facing area adjacent to the opening. The neck-shaped termination has the same configuration as in the blow-molded container. The side wall of the preform is substantially straight and projects into the neck-shaped termination. The base of the preform, in cross section, is semicircular. Although the present invention can be easily used with any plastic material, it is particularly suitable for PET. Additional features and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will be more readily understandable from a consideration of the accompanying illustrative drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a side view of one embodiment of the container of the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the container of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a bottom view of the base of the container of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a detailed view of the neck-shaped termination of the container of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a side view of an alternative embodiment of the container of the present invention; Figure 6 is a perspective view of the container of Figure 5; and Figure 7 is a sectional view of the preform of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, Figures 1 and 2 show one embodiment of the container of the present invention, the container 10, a 200 ml juice container, which is a blow molded container having a base circular 12, a cylindrical side wall 14 projecting upwards from the circular base 12, a neck-shaped termination 16 projecting upwards from the side wall 14 and having an opening 18 towards the interior of the container. The neck-shaped termination is shown in greater detail in Figure 4 and the base is shown in greater detail in Figure-3, both of which are discussed in more detail here below. The side wall 14 advantageously includes a plurality of separate, continuous circumferential grooves 20, each of which extends completely around the side wall and is separated by generally flat, raised areas 22. For example, in the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, five slots 20 and four flat areas 22. Slots and flat areas advantageously provide stiffness to the side wall, but the exact number will depend on the size and shape of the container. The flat labeling panels 24 extends above and below the circumferential grooves for the placement of a label thereon. The area of the flange 26 is provided at the upper end of the side wall and above the upper labeling panel, between the uppermost circumferential groove and the neck-shaped termination. Base 12, shown in greater detail in the Figure 3 includes, desirably, a recessed central area 28 and a plurality of outwardly extending struts 30 having a curved cross section. In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, five struts 30a extend from the edge 32 of the base 12 towards the recessed central area 28, and five shorter struts 30b extend from the edge 32 towards the recessed area 28. Also, in the embodiment of Figure 3 the arrangement of the struts is that the shorter struts 30b alternate with the longer struts 30a. The struts form stable legs 34 and can be clearly seen in Figure 2, and provide stability to the base. The finished neck-shaped area 16 is shown in greater detail in Figure 4. As can be clearly seen in Figure 4, the neck-shaped termination 16 includes an inclined area oriented inwardly adjacent to the opening 18. The sloped area it includes a more upper flange, extending outwardly 36, which borders the opening 18. As can be seen in Figure 1, the upper flange 36 extends outwardly beyond the outward extension of the neck-shaped termination. 16. The outwardly extending upper flange 36 has an outer surface 38 and an inner surface 40. A downwardly extending flange 42 extends downward from the inner surface 40 of the outwardly extending flange 36 and includes a upper portion 44 connected to the inner surface 40 of the flange 36 and a lower portion 46 opposite the upper portion 44. In addition, a lower flange, extending inward 48 is connected to the lower portion 46 and extends inwardly of the downwardly extending flange 42. Also, the inner surface 50 of the flange 48 includes an inward projection 52. The projection 52 is also present in the preform and facilitates the holding of the preform and container from the inside during the processing cycle. The alternative embodiment of Figures 5 and 6 shows a 250 ml juice container, the container 110. Similar to Figures 1 and 2, the container 110 is a blow molded container having a circular base 112, a wall cylindrical lateral 114 projecting upwards from the circular base 112, a neck-shaped termination 116 projecting upwards from the side wall 114, and having an opening 118 towards the interior of the container. The neck-shaped termination 116, the base 112 and the side wall 114 are similar to those shown in Figures 1-3, but the shape of the container 110 differs somewhat from the shape of the container 10. In Figure 2, the The opening adjacent the neck-shaped termination is covered by a thin sheet metal cover 54, which can be removed by the tongue 56. In Figure 6, the opening adjacent to the neck-shaped termination is covered by a cover. removable closure 158, which can be applied again to partially close the empty container. Alternatively, the container can be closed with a thin sheet of removable metal and a closure. Figure 7 shows a preform 210 for forming the containers of the present invention. The preform 210 has a base 212 which, in cross section, is semicircular as shown in Figure 7, and a cylindrical side wall 214 projecting upwardly from the base. The neck-shaped termination 216 projects upwardly from the side wall 214, and has an opening 218 towards the interior of the preform. The substantially straight side wall 214 may have a slight taper, and is positioned inwardly of the neck-shaped termination. The neck-shaped termination 216 in the preform 210 is the same neck-shaped termination 16 shown in detail in Figure 4 for the container, including the upper flange 236, the downwardly extending flange 242 and the lower flange 248 with the inward projection 252. Advantageously, the preform and the final container can be prepared with a very thin wall thickness to produce a rapid processing cycle. For example, the side wall of the preform can easily have a wall thickness of 1.27 to 1.52 millimeters (0.05 to 0.06 inches), which allows a fast cycle time. In addition, the weight of the neck-shaped termination of the present invention is, advantageously, less than the conventional neck-threaded or snap-on ends. The present invention provides a lightweight, advantageous preform and container, particularly suitable for water, juice and non-carbonated beverages. The neck-shaped termination is particularly advantageous in that it eliminates traditional threaded or snap-on layers that require at least 3 to 4 grams in the neck-shaped termination. The neck-shaped termination of the present invention will require less than one gram of plastic and can easily use a thin sheet metal seal and / or a light weight snap closure cap. The neck-shaped termination of the present invention, without a threaded partition for the traditionally closed screw-cap terminations or terminations, will allow approximately two times the number of cavities in the injection mold with the same block size mold. For example, a mold with cavities 96 could be passed to 192 cavities using the neck-shaped termination of the present invention. As well, the cost of the injection mold would be significantly reduced since conventionally used threaded partitions represent a complex part of manufacturing. For example, the cost of the typical screw divisions or separations are in the range of US $ 1000 each.; while, those can be replaced according to the present invention with a spacer ring that would cost less than 100 dollars Americans. Another highly advantageous feature of the present invention is that it allows one to remove the shoulder support flange in the form of an intermediate neck which is normally employed with conventional preforms if it is used as a feature to allow the transfer of the preforms to the blowing mold and to transfer the blown vessel out of the blow mold in blow molding machines of High speed PET, conventional. With the inwardly oriented, two-step neck-shaped termination of the present invention, the final weight can be significantly reduced and the preforms and containers may not be processed in conventional two-stage, high-speed blow molding equipment. . A transfer fastener that holds the preforms and containers of the present invention around the top flange to accomplish this can be easily provided. The container of the present invention is particularly suitable as a replacement for the box-shaped juice container and the bag-shaped container for children's drinks. Costs have always been an obstacle for blow-molded containers to compete in this market. ' The characteristic of the lightweight container and preform of the present invention now makes it possible to compete effectively in this market. The features of the present invention in the preform include a very thin wall thickness that provides a very fast injection molding cycle time. For example, the times of the injection molding cycle for the preform of the present invention are less than 7 seconds. This compares with the cycle times for traditional preforms from 10 to 15 seconds. In addition, with the thin wall thickness of the preform, fast injection molding speeds can be achieved without the use of a robotic extension plate that is used in traditional preform designs. This represents an additional cost reduction inherent in the present invention. An additional advantage of the container of the present invention is that a high speed filling equipment can be filled at speeds exceeding 1200 containers per minute. Current box and juice bags are limited to 600 containers per minute. In addition, the lightweight finish lowers the center of gravity and provides the container with greater stability in the high-speed filling lines. The combination of these characteristics provides a plastic container, particularly PET, which has a very low weight and can be filled and handled at very fast filling speeds, all of which provides the consumer with an advantageously low cost container. In addition, the container of the present invention is completely recyclable. The current juice boxes and bags are not recyclable. The present invention, therefore, will provide consumers with the option of purchasing an advantageous recyclable container in the market of water, juice and non-carbonated beverages. It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the illustrations described and shown here, which are considered merely illustrative of the best modes for carrying out the invention, and which are capable of modification of form, size, arrangement of parts and details of the invention. operation. In the invention instead it is intended to encompass all modifications that are within the spirit and scope as defined by the claims.

Claims (22)

1. CLAIMS 1. Container which comprises: a blow molded plastic container having a circular base, a cylindrical side wall projecting upwards from the base, a neck-shaped termination projecting upwards from the side wall and having an opening towards the interior of the container; wherein the neck-shaped termination includes an inclined area oriented inwardly adjacent to the opening. Container according to claim 1, wherein the inclined area includes an upper flange, which extends outwards, bordering the opening. 3. A container according to claim 2, wherein the upper flange extends outwardly beyond the outward extension of the shaped termination. neck. Container according to claim 3, wherein the neck-shaped termination includes: the outwardly extending upper rim, having an outer surface and an inner surface; a downwardly extending flange extending downward from the inner surface of the outwardly extending flange and having an upper portion connected to the inner surface of the outwardly extending flange, and a lower portion opposite to the portion that extends outwardly; higher; and a lower flange, extending inward, connected to the lower portion of the flange extending downward and extending inwardly of the flange extending downwardly. Container according to claim 4, wherein the inner surface of the flange extending inward includes an inward projection. 6. A container according to claim 5, wherein the inward projection is similar to a button. The container according to claim 1, wherein the side wall includes a plurality of circumferential, continuous, spaced grooves extending around the side wall. 8. Container according to claim 7, wherein the grooves are separated by raised areas. The container according to claim 7, which includes a flange-shaped area at the upper end of the side wall between the uppermost circumferential groove and the neck-shaped termination. The container according to claim 7, which includes a first flat area for mounting a label on top of the most circumferential groove and a second flat area for mounting a label under the lowermost circumferential groove. The container according to claim 1, wherein the opening is covered by a thin sheet metal cover. 12. A container according to claim 1, wherein the opening is covered by a lid. The container according to claim 7, including at least five of the separate slots. 14. Container according to claim 1, wherein the base includes a plurality of struts that extend outward and a recessed central area. 15. Preform for forming a blow molded container, comprising: a base, a cylindrical side wall projecting upwards from the base, a neck-shaped termination projecting upwardly from the side wall and having an opening into the interior of the preform; wherein the neck-shaped termination includes an inclined area oriented inwardly adjacent to the opening. 16. Preform according to claim 15, wherein the inclined area includes an upper flange, extending outward, which borders the opening. 17. Preform according to claim 16, wherein the top flange extends outwardly beyond the outward extension of the neck-shaped termination. The preform according to claim 17, wherein the neck-shaped termination includes: the upper flange extending outward and having an outer surface and an inner surface; a flange extending downward, extending downward from the inner surface of the outwardly extending flange and having an upper portion connected to the inner surface of the outwardly extending flange and a lower portion opposite to the higher; and a lower flange extending inwardly connected to the lower portion of the flange extending downward and extending inwardly of the flange extending downwardly. The preform according to claim 18, wherein the inner surface of the inwardly extending flange includes an inward projection. The preform according to claim 19, wherein the inward projection is similar to a pin. 21. Preform according to claim 15, wherein the side wall is substantially straight and projects into the neck-shaped termination. 22. Preform according to claim 15, wherein the cross section of the base is semicircular.