BE1019366A5 - CONTAINER FOR LIQUIDS. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a container 1 for liquids, in particular drinks, comprising an inner container formed by a bottle 2 in one single piece of plastic material comprising a body 3, a neck 4 and a neck 5, and a rigid shell surrounding the bottom. minus the body of the bottle and attached to said neck 4.

Description

"Container for liquids"

The present invention relates to a container for liquids, particularly drinks, as well as to a method of assembling a container for liquids.

In beverage distribution, especially for communities, there is a demand for larger and larger containers. However, as the volume, and therefore the weight of liquid in the containers increases with the cube of container dimensions, it is necessary to increase the strength of the container, normally with an increase in the thickness of the walls of the container. This has several disadvantages, such as, for example, higher material cost, more difficult production, and greater environmental impact of empty containers.

Faced with these drawbacks, a solution that has been adopted is that of flexible bags. Not having to maintain its shape against the pressure of the liquid, they can be lighter and easily manufactured than a rigid container. However such large pockets are generally impractical in everyday use.

Faced with this drawback, it has been proposed to surround such flexible pockets with a substantially rigid shell facilitating its handling. As the hull must not directly withstand the pressure of the liquid nor be impermeable, it may be lighter than a rigid container directly containing the liquid.

An example of such a container is disclosed in US Patent 6,142,344. This container has a flexible inner pocket having a body, and a collar, and a rigid shell surrounding at least the body of the bottle and attached to said neck.

However, the manufacture of such flexible pouches is more expensive than those of conventional plastic bottles. In particular, as the collar must normally be rigid for attachment to the shell and for closure with a cap, it must be produced as a separate part in a different material, and joined to the flexible membranes forming the body of the flexible bag. This complicates both the manufacture and the subsequent recycling of these pockets.

In order to meet this disadvantage of the state of the art, in at least one embodiment of the present invention, said inner container is a one-piece bottle of plastic material. As the outer shape of the container is held by the rigid shell, this bottle does not require a particularly thick wall, and can be produced by conventional methods of producing plastic bottles. Stretch blow molding, already widely used by manufacturers of plastic beverage bottles, and producing bottles with a body with substantially thinner walls than the neck, is particularly suitable for this application.

Advantageously, in order to fix the shell to the neck of the bottle, the shell may comprise at least two elements joined radially around the neck. This creates a reliable connection between the shell and the bottle and can immobilize the neck of the bottle both radially and axially relative to the shell. In particular, if the bottle has a radial collar interposed between the neck and the neck, such as that common in bottles produced by stretch-blow molding and used to axially fix the preform in the mold during the production of the bottle, both elements joined radially around the neck can cooperate with said flange to axially fix the bottle relative to the shell.

Advantageously, to prevent unauthorized opening of the shell, it can be closed around the bottle by at least one connection adapted to be open only with at least one specific tool.

Advantageously, in order to facilitate the use of the container, in particular when it is a container of large dimensions that can not be easily inclined to pour its contents, it may further comprise a stopper valve fixed on the neck from the bottle. A particularly simple and advantageous form of tap plug that can be used comprises a flexible conduit, for example silicone, and a clamping device of said flexible conduit. The free end of the flexible conduit may be closed to form a sanitary seal to be cut prior to use.

Advantageously, in order to facilitate the flow of the liquid when it is poured from the bottle, and to prevent the so-called "sniffing" phenomenon, the bottle may be pressurized with a substantially inert gas, such as, for example, 'nitrogen. In particular, this gas can be poured into the bottle in the liquid state before it is closed. In this way, the evaporation of the gas in the closed bottle will pressurize it.

Advantageously, both the body of the bottle and the shell may have non-round sections so as to limit rotation of the bottle in the shell.

Advantageously, filling the bottle with the liquid is done after the step of attaching at least a portion of the shell to the neck and around the body of the bottle, so that the shell takes up the effort caused by the weight and pressure of the liquid.

Particularly advantageous materials for the bottle and the shell are, respectively, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and HDPE (high density polyethylene).

Details of the invention are described below with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 illustrates an exploded perspective view of a container for liquids according to one embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 illustrates a detail view of the liquid container of Figure 1.

Figure 3 illustrates a method of assembling the liquid container of Figure 1.

The container for liquids 1 illustrated in Figure 1 comprises a bottle 2 of large capacity, produced in one piece of PET by stretch blow molding. This bottle 2 comprises a body 3 with thin walls, such that the bottle 2 can be deformed substantially under the pressure of the liquid, a neck 4 and a neck 5 substantially thicker and stiff, and a radial flange 6 between said neck 4 and neck 5. The neck 5 is threaded so as to receive a stopper 7 having a flexible conduit 8 of silicone and a device 9 for clamping the device. The free end 10 of the conduit 8 is closed, so as to constitute a hygienic seal. When this seal is opened by cutting the end 10, the clamping device 9 serves to open and close the liquid passage through the flexible conduit 8. In order to avoid the "snorting" of the bottle 2 at the exit of the liquid, it can be pressurized with nitrogen.

The bottle 2 is surrounded by a shell formed by three elements 11, 12, 13. A lower element 11 closes the access to the plug 7, and has tabs 14 for supporting the container 1 in the vertical position. Two upper elements 12,13, separated by a longitudinal joint of the shell, are attached to the neck 4 of the bottle 2 as illustrated in detail in FIG. 2.

As can be seen in this Figure 2, the elements 12, 13 have radial retaining walls closing radially on the neck 4 when the elements 12, 13 are fixed to one another. Thus, the bottle 2 is retained both radially and axially relative to the shell.

To also prevent the rotation of the bottle 2 in the shell, both the body 3 of the bottle 2 that the shell have sections-non-round.

The elements 11, 12 and 13 are joined together by connections that can be separated only with specific tools. Thus, the container 1 may be a deposit container, which is returned empty to an approved recycling center, in which the elements 11, 12 and 13 will be removed for reuse, and the empty bottle 2 extracted for recycling its material.

During the assembly of the container 1, illustrated in FIG. 3, the two upper elements 12 and 13 are closed again on the body 3 and the neck 4 of the bottle 2. Then, the liquid 2 is poured into the inverted bottle 2, through the neck 5, accompanied by an injection of liquid nitrogen for the pressurization of the bottle 2. The cap 7 is then screwed onto the neck 5, and in a last step, the lower element 11 of the shell is attached to the two upper elements 12,13.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to examples of specific embodiments, it will be apparent that various changes and modifications can be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader scope of the invention set out in the claims. Therefore, the description and drawings should be considered in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Claims (18)

A container for liquids, in particular beverages, comprising: an inner container having a body, a neck and a neck, and a rigid shell surrounding at least the body of the container and attached to said neck, and characterized in that said inner container is a one-piece bottle made of plastic, and in that said rigid shell has at least two radially joined elements around the neck for fixing said shell to the neck. 2. Container for liquids according to claim 1 wherein the rigid shell is closed around the bottle by at least one connection adapted to be open only with at least one specific tool. The liquid container of claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising a spigot cap attached to the neck of the bottle. The liquid container according to claim 3, wherein the tap plug comprises a flexible conduit, and a clamping device of said flexible conduit. The liquid container according to claim 4, wherein a free end of said flexible conduit is closed. The liquid container of any one of claims 4 or 5, wherein said flexible conduit is at least partially silicone. The liquid container of any preceding claim, wherein said bottle is a bottle produced by stretch blow molding. The liquids container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said bottle is pressurized with a substantially inert gas, such as, for example, nitrogen. The liquid container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said inner bottle is at least partially made of polyethylene terephthalate. The liquid container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said rigid shell is at least partially of high density polyethylene. A liquid container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein both the bottle body and the shell have non-round sections so as to limit rotation of the bottle in the shell. 12. A method of assembling a container for liquids, wherein: a rigid shell surrounding at least one body of a plastic bottle in one piece is attached to a neck of this bottle and at least two elements of said rigid shell are closed radially around said neck to secure the shell to the neck. The assembly method of claim 12, further comprising a step wherein said bottle is substantially filled with liquid and then closed. 14. The assembly method according to claim 13, wherein said bottle is pressurized with a substantially inert gas, such as for example nitrogen. 15. The assembly method according to claim 14, wherein said gas is introduced in liquid form into the bottle before closing it. 16. An assembly method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the filling of the bottle is made after fixing at least a portion of the rigid shell to the neck and around the body of the bottle. The assembly method of any one of claims 12 to 16, wherein said bottle is first produced by stretch blow molding. 18. A method of recovering a container for liquids according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the rigid shell is opened for reuse and the bottle is extracted for the recycling of its material.