CA1085751A - Plastics containers - Google Patents

Plastics containers

Info

Publication number
CA1085751A
CA1085751A CA281,799A CA281799A CA1085751A CA 1085751 A CA1085751 A CA 1085751A CA 281799 A CA281799 A CA 281799A CA 1085751 A CA1085751 A CA 1085751A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
container
containers
side wall
container according
nested
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA281,799A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Peter A. Compton
John G. Wood
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Mars Ltd
Original Assignee
Mars Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Mars Ltd filed Critical Mars Ltd
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1085751A publication Critical patent/CA1085751A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65DCONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D1/00Containers having bodies formed in one piece, e.g. by casting metallic material, by moulding plastics, by blowing vitreous material, by throwing ceramic material, by moulding pulped fibrous material, by deep-drawing operations performed on sheet material
    • B65D1/22Boxes or like containers with side walls of substantial depth for enclosing contents
    • B65D1/26Thin-walled containers, e.g. formed by deep-drawing operations
    • B65D1/265Drinking cups

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Ceramic Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Stackable Containers (AREA)
  • Containers Having Bodies Formed In One Piece (AREA)
  • Details Of Rigid Or Semi-Rigid Containers (AREA)
  • Table Devices Or Equipment (AREA)
  • Rigid Containers With Two Or More Constituent Elements (AREA)
  • Packaging Frangible Articles (AREA)

Abstract

A B S T R A C T

A nestable container in which identical containers are held together in a stack by holding means. The holding means comprise axially extending ribs on the outside of the container which engage a cylindrical surface on the inside of the container to hold the container together in the stack by friction.

Description

The present invention relates to plastics containers for use in vending machines and particularly to containers which can be nested, one inside another to form a stack in which the bottom walls of each pair of adjacent containers are spaced apart and the spaces between adjacent bottom walls contain dry ingredients for a beverage and are sealed by abutment of parts of the respective containers.
Such containers may be used in automatic vending machines where the containers are separated individually from a stack and automatically filled with water to make a beverage when the machine is operated. They may also be used in the home where they are separated and filled with water by hand.
In known containers of this kind the wall of the container is provided on its inside with an annular projection and on its outside with an annular groove, the groove being disposed below the projection. When the containers are fitted together in a stack, the annular projection of each container interlocks with the annular groove of the container next above it so as to secure the containers to one another. When such contain-ers are brought together to form a stack and when they are separated, the walls of the containers are deflected radially to allow the annular project-ion to pass over the wall of the container adjacent the groove.
The present invention is concerned to provide an alternativearrangement for holding the cups together in the stack.
According to the present invention there is provided a nestable container at least partially of resilient plastics material comprising: a bottom wallj a side wall having an outside and an inside surface and diverg-ing generally upwardly from the bottom wall; stop and seal surfaces to limit the extent to which identical containers can be nested one inside another and
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1085~51 form a sealed space between the bottom walls of nested containers; holding means for releasably holding identical containers together when nested, the holding means comprising axially extending ribs disposed on one surface of the side wall and a substantially cylindrical surface on the other surface of the side wall, the axially extending ribs being so arranged to engage the substantially cylindrical part of the side wall of an identical container when the containers are nested to hold the containers together by frictional engagement, the axially extending ribs having crests which are substantially the same distance from the axis of the container throughout a significant part of their axial length.
By suitable choice of the thickness, height and number of ribs the frictional force be~ween the containers when the containers are nested can be adjusted to provide sufficient friction to hold the containers firmly together and yet allow the containers to be easily separated intentionally by an axial force. The ribs may be sufficiently thin and high to be flexed ~ '!
in the vertical direction when the containers are nested. By making the containers of a resilient plastics material such as polypropylene which does not "relax" when maintained under deformation the ribs will maintain a con-stant frictional force against the surface o the adjacent container.
Preferably the ribs are formed on the outside of the side wall of the container. By placing sufficient ribs in a suitable position towards the top of the containers they may also serve to provide additional insulation where the container is gripped by the user so that the container is more comfortable to hold when it contains a very hot beverage.
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, 1~8S7~1 The stops and the seals may be formed by the same surfaces. For example they may be provided by a continuous internal shoulder on the side wall of the container near its bottom which abuts a continuous foot extending around the periphery of the bottom wall formed by a downwards extension of the side wall of an identical container.or a shoulder formed at the periphery of the bottom of the container where it meets the sidewall. Abutment of the foot or shoulder with the internal shoulder serves both to limit the axial extent to which identical containers can be nested one inside the other and to serve as a seal for the space between the bottom walls of the containers.
Alternatively the stops and the seals may be provided by different surfaces. For example the stops may be provided by a series of internal projections distributed around the inside of the container near its bottom and either a shoulder formed at the periphery of the bottom where it meets the sidewall or a foot formed by a downward extension of the sidewalls beyond the bottom wall of the container. The sealing surfaces may be provided by an outer surface of the sidewall of the container and an inner surface of the sidewall of an identical container which make wiping contact when the con-tainers are nested together.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figure 1 is a side elevation of a container according to the invention;
Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical cross section showing three con-tainers nested one inside another; and Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross section on the line III-III in Figure 2.
Referring to the drawings, these show a cup 11 formed of polypropy-lene by injection moulding. The cup 11 comprises a bottom wall 12 which is bowed upwardly, and a side wall 13. The sidewall 13 diverges from the bottom to the top where it terminates in a lip 14 which is curved outwardly and down-wardly. A downwardly projecting extension of the side wall below the bottom
- 4 -, . . . .
,-1~85751 wall provides a foot 15 on which the cup stands. The lower portion o the sidewall increases in thickness from the bottom wall 12 up to a shoulder 16.
When an identical cup llt is nested inside the cup 11, the foot 151 abuts the shoulder 16 to limit the extent to which the cups can be nested together and to seal the space 18 between the adjacent bottom walls 12 and 12' of the cups.
Above the shoulder 16 the sidewall 13 of the cup continues upwardly and outwardly to a cylindrical region 19. Above the region 19 is a region 20 of the sidewall which extends upwardly and outwardlyO A region 21 above the region 20 and below the lip 14 is also cylindrical. A small internal bead extending around the internal periphery of the cup may be formed in the region of the lip 14 to provide a slight undercut so that when the moulds are separated after forming the cup the cup remains on the male mould member.
On the outside of the cup in the region 19 are axially extending ribs 22. The crests of the ribs extend parallel to the axis of the cup so that they are a uniform distance from the axis of the cup throughout their length.
The outside diameter of the ribs is slightly greater than the internal diameter of the cup in the cylindrical region 210 When the cup 11' is nested inside the cup 11 and the foot 15 is abutting the stops 17 the ribs 22' engage the inside of the region 21 of the cup 11. The height, thickness and number of ribs 22' is such that the frictional forces between the ribs 22~ and the sidewall of the cup 11 in the region 21 are sufficient to hold the cups to-gether.
An alternativewayo increasing the force that has to be applied to separate the cups is to provide between each alternate pair of adjacent ribs, a pair of projections which extend from the ribs circumferentially towards one another. ~n the inside of the cup wall is a row of studs. The width of the studs is slightly greater than the gap between the two projections of each ~ -pair so that when the cups are nested the studs pass up between the ribs, flexing the ribs circumferentially as the studs pass through the gaps between the projections, and engaging behind the projections to assist in holding the
- 5 -1~85751 cups together in a nested configuration. To facilitate removal of the cups from the mould, the projections may be provided only on the ribs in two diametrically opposite zones of the cup. The parts of the mould which form these zones may then be retractable to allow the undercuts on the cups, formed by the projection, to clear the mould wall.

Claims (17)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A nestable container at least partially of resilient plastics material comprising:
a bottom wall;
a side wall having an outside and an inside surface and diverging generally upwardly from the bottom wall;
stop and seal surfaces to limit the extent to which identical containers can be nested one inside another and form a sealed space between the bottom walls of nested containers;
holding means for releasably holding identical containers together when nested, the holding means comprising axially extending ribs disposed on one surface of the side wall and a substantially cylindrical surface on the other surface of the side wall, the axially extending ribs being so arranged to engage the substantially cylindrical part of the side wall of an identical container when the containers are nested to hold the containers together by frictional engagement, the axially extending ribs having crests which are substantially the same distance from the axis of the container throughout a significant part of their axial length.
2. A container according to claim 1, wherein the ribs are formed on the outside surface of the side wall of the container.
3. A container according to claim 2 wherein the ribs are disposed on the upper half of the container.
4. A container according to claim 1, wherein the stop and seal surfaces are formed by the same surfaces.
5. A container according to claim 4, wherein the stop and seal surfaces comprise a continuous internal shoulder on the inside surface of the side wall of the container near its bottom wall and a continuous abutment surface disposed around the periphery of the bottom wall, the continuous abutment surface of one container abutting the internal shoulder of an identical container when the containers are nested.
6. A container according to claim 1, in which the stop and seal surfaces are provided by different surfaces.
7. A container according to claim 6, in which the stop surfaces are provided by a series of internal projections distributed about the inside of the container near its bottom and a continuous abutment surface on the outside of the container disposed around the periphery of the bottom wall of the container.
8. A container according to claim 6, in which the seal surfaces are provided by an outer surface of the side wall of the container and an inner surface of the side wall of an identical container which make wiping contact when the containers are nested together.
9. A container according to claim 1, in which the bottom and side walls are formed as a single-piece molding of plastics material.
10. A container according to claim 1, in which the container is formed by injection molding.
11. A container according to claim 1, in which the container is fabricat-ed of polypropylene.
12. A container according to claim 1, in which the container has an undercut on the inside adjacent the lip.
13. A container according to claim 5, including a shoulder formed at the periphery of the bottom wall where it meets the side wall, the shoulder comprising the continuous abutment surface.
14. A container according to claim 5, including a foot extending around the periphery of the bottom wall and formed by a downward extension of the side wall, the foot comprising the continuous abutment surface.
15. A container according to claim 7, including a shoulder formed at the periphery of the bottom wall where it meets the side wall, the shoulder comprising the continuous abutment surface.
16. A container according to claim 15, including a foot extending around the periphery of the bottom wall and formed as a downward extension of the side wall, the foot comprising the continuous abutment surface.
17. A stack of containers formed by nesting a plurality of containers each in accordance with claim 1, further comprising dry ingredients for a beverage in the spaces between the bottom walls of adjacent pairs of containers.
CA281,799A 1976-07-02 1977-06-30 Plastics containers Expired CA1085751A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB27695/76A GB1544223A (en) 1976-07-02 1976-07-02 Plastics containers
GB27695/76 1976-07-02

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1085751A true CA1085751A (en) 1980-09-16

Family

ID=10263799

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA281,799A Expired CA1085751A (en) 1976-07-02 1977-06-30 Plastics containers

Country Status (22)

Country Link
JP (1) JPS601217B2 (en)
AT (1) AT367700B (en)
AU (1) AU512118B2 (en)
BE (1) BE856321A (en)
BR (1) BR7704347A (en)
CA (1) CA1085751A (en)
CH (1) CH615875A5 (en)
DE (1) DE2730085C2 (en)
DK (1) DK153284C (en)
ES (1) ES238403Y (en)
FI (1) FI62029C (en)
FR (1) FR2356396A1 (en)
GB (1) GB1544223A (en)
IE (1) IE45103B1 (en)
IT (1) IT1077544B (en)
LU (1) LU77673A1 (en)
MX (1) MX144830A (en)
NL (1) NL7707407A (en)
NO (1) NO146901C (en)
PT (1) PT66738B (en)
SE (1) SE424954B (en)
ZA (1) ZA773961B (en)

Families Citing this family (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS57194949A (en) * 1981-05-25 1982-11-30 Mono Konteinaazu Ltd Throwaway drink cup
GB2128469B (en) * 1982-10-14 1986-08-28 Gen Foods Ltd Interlocking containers
JPS59115729U (en) * 1983-01-26 1984-08-04 東名化学工業株式会社 cup-shaped container
AT394699B (en) * 1984-02-24 1992-05-25 Polarcup Gmbh Thin-walled plastic container
DE3606553A1 (en) * 1986-02-28 1987-09-03 Fernholz Gmbh & Co Kg W & H Stackable packaging beaker
GB8612537D0 (en) * 1986-05-22 1986-07-02 Gen Foods Ltd Containers
SE8701708L (en) * 1987-04-27 1988-10-28 Be Ch Medical Ab MEDICAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AND USE OF THE SAME
SE468540B (en) * 1989-10-06 1993-02-08 Lars Valdemarsson PROCEDURAL DEVICE FOR THE ALLOCATION OF MEDICINE
JP2869683B2 (en) * 1991-12-17 1999-03-10 三陽パックス株式会社 Synthetic resin cup
DE9219061U1 (en) * 1992-07-16 1997-05-28 Apotheker Fasching KG, 80335 München Push-in container box
DE4305556A1 (en) * 1993-02-24 1994-09-01 Berolina Kunststoff Rotary stacking container
US5267685A (en) * 1993-02-25 1993-12-07 Primtec Stackability of hollow products with conically contoured sidewalls having longitudinal folds
DE9311069U1 (en) * 1993-07-23 1994-04-21 Witten, Hans-Robert, 30519 Hannover Cup-shaped drinking vessel
JP2011117673A (en) * 2009-12-03 2011-06-16 Kyoritsu Air Tech Inc Supply opening for air conditioning

Family Cites Families (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE1798654U (en) * 1959-07-15 1959-10-22 Franz Siegel SHOPPING BASKET WITH STACKING LUGS.
US3169689A (en) * 1963-05-13 1965-02-16 Traders Leasing Ltd Thin walled container
GB1096451A (en) * 1964-03-26 1967-12-29 Mono Containers Ltd Drinking vessels and like containers
US3441173A (en) * 1967-08-09 1969-04-29 Illinois Tool Works Stackable container
US3437253A (en) * 1968-01-12 1969-04-08 Sweetheart Plastics Disposable plastic cup with stiff gripping section
US3443714A (en) * 1968-01-18 1969-05-13 Illinois Tool Works Double wall container
US3512677A (en) * 1968-07-03 1970-05-19 Illinois Tool Works Stackable container
US3495733A (en) * 1968-11-21 1970-02-17 Sweetheart Plastics Plastic containers
DE1965841A1 (en) * 1969-12-31 1971-07-08 Bellaplast Gmbh Stackable container
GB1366310A (en) * 1971-11-09 1974-09-11 Drg Packaging Ltd Heat insulating means for containers or holders
GB1395026A (en) * 1972-03-16 1975-05-21 Itw Ltd Cups for holding ingredients for drinks
CA959775A (en) * 1973-07-02 1974-12-24 Illinois Tool Works Inc. Stacking means for thermoformed products
IE42906B1 (en) * 1975-08-01 1980-11-05 Mars Ltd Nestable plastics containers

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
SE424954B (en) 1982-08-23
GB1544223A (en) 1979-04-19
ES238403U (en) 1979-01-01
FI772055A (en) 1978-01-03
FI62029C (en) 1982-11-10
IT1077544B (en) 1985-05-04
BE856321A (en) 1977-12-30
PT66738A (en) 1977-07-01
NO146901C (en) 1982-12-29
ZA773961B (en) 1978-05-30
IE45103B1 (en) 1982-06-16
CH615875A5 (en) 1980-02-29
BR7704347A (en) 1978-04-04
FR2356396A1 (en) 1978-01-27
ATA473177A (en) 1981-12-15
SE7707602L (en) 1978-01-03
DK295777A (en) 1978-01-03
JPS536176A (en) 1978-01-20
DK153284B (en) 1988-07-04
NL7707407A (en) 1978-01-04
FR2356396B1 (en) 1982-11-19
AU512118B2 (en) 1980-09-25
NO772344L (en) 1978-01-03
DE2730085C2 (en) 1986-04-17
DE2730085A1 (en) 1978-01-12
IE45103L (en) 1978-01-02
PT66738B (en) 1978-11-27
MX144830A (en) 1981-11-24
NO146901B (en) 1982-09-20
AT367700B (en) 1982-07-26
DK153284C (en) 1988-11-14
LU77673A1 (en) 1977-10-03
AU2672577A (en) 1979-01-11
ES238403Y (en) 1979-08-01
JPS601217B2 (en) 1985-01-12
FI62029B (en) 1982-07-30

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Legal Events

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MKEX Expiry