AU2016100331A4 - Plastic containers with plastic straps as handles - Google Patents

Abstract

PLASTIC CONTAINERS WITH PLASTIC STRAPS AS Plastic containers with open top or wide mouth having flexible plastic straps serving as handles fixed to plastic containers by ultrasonic welding is disclosed. Single or multiple plastic straps are taken from a roll and are fixed to container body longitudinally or transversely by ultrasonic welding. /-,- 'Ill . " \ ,. ------ , /,---------ll\l--ll / / i [. . ... \\\\\\ ... * * * * -. . : :: -s , ,, ,- s t ': - ,,,,- - -,,,,,-', * *

Description

1 TITLE OF INVENTION: PLASTIC CONTAINERS WITH PLASTIC STRAPS AS HANDLES FIELD OF INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to plastic containers with integral flexible straps as carrying/holding devices fixed to the container body by ultrasonic welding. BACK GROUND OF INVENTION [0002] Plastic containers with open top; with or without lids; all around the world are used for packing, storing and carrying the commodities in all forms. Except very small or large in size, almost all containers are provided with carrying/holding devices such as handles for facilitating handling of the containers. These include containers in all shapes such as rectangular, round or any other shapes; stackable or otherwise. As for example, plastic buckets for packing paints, chemicals etc, pails for storing honey and syrups, baskets used for various purposes. All such containers are provided with handles made out of plastic or metal and are attached to the containers by fitting the same into specially built-in forms protruding out of the body of the container. Handles are made separately using dies and are rigid and thick and solid in nature. [0003] It has been observed that protrusions extending out of the container body for fitment of handles serve no other specific purpose except for fitment of handles. These protruded built-in shapes not only require relatively complex and costly dies, these also require extra material. [0004] Handles also require additional dies, relatively larger quantity of material and manual fitting to the containers. Further specific handles are required for specific containers. Not only this, these handles occupy extra space forcing the use of larger size of packing cartons increasing their costs as well costs of logistics It is also observed that most of these containers have a relatively very small life and are discarded in a matter of few days. These extra quantities used in the form of (a) 2 protruded parts of container body, (b) heavier rigid handles and (c) larger cartons not only wastes unnecessarily resources as well as add to carbon foot prints first while manufacturing and then pose avoidable extra burden of handling and recycling waste. [0005] It has also been observed that in certain cases containers are not provided with handles to avoid costs of handles though extremely necessary. Such as in the case of take away plastic food containers, these are offered without handles though the containers are quiet hot due to hot food packed and are difficult to hold. Similarly ice cream offered in containers without handles though extremely cold to handle. [0006] it is also observed that while transporting empty stackable containers with handles require extra space and packing material due to extra volume consumed by handles projecting outside container body significantly. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION [0007] Object of the invention is to provide open top plastic containers with low cost carrying fitments/handles which will curtail unnecessary expenditure and cost by i. Avoiding dies for making handles ii. Allowing less complex dies for manufacturing containers iii. Reduction in the quantity of material used for making handles iv. Eliminating quantities of material used for fixtures in container body for fitment of handles. v. Elimination of waste generated during manufacturing of handles 3 vi. Reduction in the size of packing cartons for empty as well as filled-up containers vii. Reduction in inventory by avoidance of specific handles for specific containers viii. Reduction in waste by reducing quantity of material consumed in containers and handles ix. Providing low cost handles for low cost take away containers SUMMARY [0008] In a broader form of the invention, plastic containers with open tops; with or without lids; with fixed/un-detachable, flexible fitment/s to facilitate carrying/holding the containers; in the form of strap/s welded ultrasonically with the container body are disclosed; the strap/s being of compatible but preferably of same plastic material. Rolls of straps used for the purpose are available as regular consumable product for strapping/packing cartons thus avoiding need of specifically manufactured handles. Straps of suitable length and strength according to geometry and weight of commodity in the container, taken from a strap roll are welded ultrasonically to the walls of container just below the extent of lid if any. This innovation of using flexible plastic straps welded ultrasonically to plastic containers offers many advantages such as simplification of container dies and moulds, avoidance of dies for handles, lesser material consumption, lesser wastage, smaller size of packing cartons and more. DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0009] Referring to figure 1 of drawing 1/4, '1' denotes a straight plastic bucket, '2' denotes a flexible plastic strap welded to container body at position '3'.

4 [0010] Referring to figure 2 of drawing 2/4, '4' denotes a stackable, square deep plastic container. '5' refers to strap taken from a strap roll used for packaging, welded to the containers body at position '6' just below the lid line '7' [0011] Referring to figure 3 of drawing 3/4, '8' represents a plastic container normally used as a take away container or a plastic basket. '9' represents plastic flexible straps taken from a packing strap roll. '10' denotes part of plastic straps welded to container body at positions '10" of container sides below lid line '11' [0012] Fig.4 of drawing 4/4 shows another rectangular plastic container '12' with flexible plastic strap '13' welded ultrasonically longitudinally at positions '14' below lid line '15'. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0013] The following statement is the full description of the invention including the best method of performing it known to the applicant. [0014] Invention concerns in particular open top plastic containers with or without lids, used in our daily life as a device to hold, store, carry and handle any commodity. Handles are provided to these containers for ease to carry and handle the containers. These handles are manufactured separately and purposely and are fitted in to especially built-in fixtures in the container body. In some taper bodied containers, a ring type fixture on which handle has been fitted is worn to the container body from the bottom side of container. This sort of handles poses problems as explained in the 'BACK GROUND OF INVENTION' above. Further, some low cost containers such as take-away containers and fruit baskets etc are not provided handles at all to keep the costs low. [0015] Object of the invention is to circumvent the problems explained in the "BACK GROUND OF INVENTION" by eliminating the causes of problems. It has been observed that the purpose of handles can be served fully well if instead of providing rigid handles fitted in to the fixtures of container body, flexible straps are 5 jointed to the container body such that joints as well as the straps are strong enough not to give away by the weight of contents of the container. Ultrasonic welding provides joints that are extremely strong. Though the ultrasonic welding can be achieved between some compatible plastics, however best strengths of ultrasonic joints are obtained if similar plastics are welded. Thus polypropylene flexible straps can be welded ultrasonically to polypropylene containers to serve as handles and similarly for other plastic materials. These straps can be welded directly to the container body without providing and special fixture in the container body. These straps can be used as sort of generic handles for containers of different sizes and shapes without the need of manufacturing special sized handles for different sized containers. The said straps in the form of rolls are readily available in the market that are used for packing or other purposes or can be manufactured as a generic product specifying breaking strength of the strap as per size and thickness of the strap to be used as handles for containers. [0016] Detailed and preferred embodiment of the invention will now be explained with the help of drawings of some differently shaped plastic containers but not limited to these shapes only. i. Fig.1 of drawing 1/3 shows a round straight plastic bucket '1' to which flexible plastic strap '2' has been welded ultrasonically at places '3' to serve as handle. Thus there is no need to form any special shaped fixture to hold the handle and the said handle is directly welded to container. Weight carrying capacity of the container decides the dimensions of strap and area of ultrasonic weld joint. Strap is welded to container at some distance from top of the container so that a lid can be placed without hindered by the strap and joint. ii. Fig. 2 of drawing 2/3 shows a square stackable container '4' to which is welded ultrasonically flexible plastic strap '5' at places '6' which also indicates the geometry of joint; and is just below line '7' which indicates the limit of lid when placed over the container '4'. It is evident that there is no need of any special fixture to which handle could be fixed and it could be welded direct to the container. It is further evident that stacking of container is extremely compact and there is no wastage of space or increase in stacked volume due to either any fixture on container or due handle/strap as strap/handle is extremely thin of the order of less than 0.5 mm and that too is adjusted due to flexibility of container walls.

6 lii. Fig. 3 of drawing 3/3 shows a rectangular stackable plastic container '8' to which two flexible plastic straps '9' have been welded ultrasonically at positions '10" of the walls of container; '10' indicating the part of said straps welded to the container. Welding has been done just below the line '11' which indicates the extent of lid if fitted to the container, avoiding any interaction of lid and said straps/handles. Two straps have been provided to balance the geometry of the container as well as to provide extra carrying capacity to the said straps/handles if the containers carry extra heavy loads. It is hereby emphasized that each strap has been fixed on the same side of container as the preferred embodiment as it provides welding of two joints simultaneously and easily instead of welding straps on opposite sides of the container which would require extra effort or more complicated welding equipment to attain the same manufacturing speeds. Otherwise straps can always be fixed on the opposite sides as in the case of containers with single straps welded as handle. Iv. Fig. 4 of drawing 4/4 shows a rectangular stackable plastic container '12' to which a plastic flexible strap '13' has been welded longitudinally at positions '14' below lid line '15'. This shows only another way of positioning the said strap/handle. [0017] It is hereby stressed that though the drawings depicts certain shapes and designs of innovative plastic containers with innovative handles, however the present innovation is applicable to all sorts and designs of plastic containers with open top and wide mouths. [0018] From the ongoing description it is evident that many advantages are offered by the present innovation. Some of the major advantages are listed below: i. Since straps serving as handles are directly welded to the container body, there is no need of any special fixtures on the container body to work as holder/receptor of handle thereby simplifying mould design of container body as also saving material consumed in the said receptor of handle. ii. The straps used as handles are a generic product and there is no need to manufacture handles specially thus saving on moulds and time and energy to manufacture special handles. Further weight/material consumed in straps as handles is much less as compared to handles manufactured specially thus saving on material also.

7 iii. It can be seen that the said straps used as handles, their thickness being a small fraction of a millimeter almost totally flush with the container body without any perceptible protrusion/projection out of container body as in contradiction to specially manufactured handles which project/protrude considerably out of container body thereby necessitating using larger cartons to pack the containers. Thus this innovation also saves on carton sizes as also in logistics of the smaller carton size. iv. It is obvious that the costing of straps as handles is quite less and affordable as compared to specially manufactured handles, more so in case of small size plastic containers such as takeaway containers as in that case much thinner and less wide straps can be used , thus making provision of handles to the take away containers much viable cost wise providing comfort and ease to handle the hot and cold take away containers. [0019] Apart from the above listed advantages other major advantage is reducing the carbon foot prints. Straps used as handles consume much less plastic material as compared to conventional specially manufactured plastic handles. Australia consumes a large quantity of plastics in the form of plastic containers with handles. Value of plastic containers used in Australia amounts to 1-1.5% of national GDP. Using plastic straps as handles of plastic containers will reduce the carbon foot prints first by using lesser quantity of plastic material and secondly by producing lesser plastic material to be recycled.

Claims (5)

1. Open top and/or wide mouthed plastic containers with plastic flexible straps serving as handles fixed to the said containers by process of ultrasonic welding.

2. Handles of plastic straps of claim 1 above taken from a continuous roll of plastic strap.

3. Plastic containers of claim 1 above having single or multiple flexible plastic straps serving as handles.

4. Plastic containers of claim 3 having handle/s fixed longitudinally or transversely.

5. Flexible plastic straps serving as handles fixed to plastic containers by ultrasonic welding.