EP0511596B1 - Collapsible bottle - Google Patents

Abstract

In a foldable bottle, two lines of the outer surface located opposite one another are provided as folding lines. Each of these folding lines intersects a bead-type lower folding line, running round transversely to the folding line, at a point of intersection, and intersects a bead-type upper folding line, running round transversely to the folding line, at a point of intersection. Below the point of intersection, each folding line branches into two bead-type folding lines which are arranged in a V-shape and continue from the lower portion of the bottle down to the bottom surface. Above the point of intersection, each folding line branches into two bead-type folding lines which are arranged in a V-shape and extend in the upper portion of the bottle up to the top surface. When the outer surface is folded flat between the folding lines to form a two-ply layer, the upper portion an the lower portion can be folded flat simultaneously on the principle of a folding bottom, as with paper bags. Subsequently, the upper and lower portions can be folded over through 90 DEG and placed against the other bottle parts which have been folded flat.

Description

The invention relates to a foldable bottle according to the preamble of patent claim 1.

Known bottles are made, for example, of plastic, possibly by blowing, and are used to hold liquid or granular substances. With the design as foldable bottles, it is achieved that they can be folded flat when empty and therefore take up little space, whether in waste containers or during transport to a filling system for reuse or to a recycling or disposal point.

A folding bottle having the features in the preamble of claim 1 is known from US-A-3,595,441. It is a disposable container that is compressed to dispense the pasty contents. The opposing walls of the outer surface of the container with fold lines running in a V-shape in the lower and upper sections and a fold line in the middle section parallel to the bottle center axis are folded inwards in order to ensure that the compressed container also stands stable on its standing surface.

A foldable bottle known from EP-A-0 408 929 has a substantially rectangular cross section above its base part. An indentation in the form of an inverted V is provided in the bottom part, the upper edge of which forms a fold edge running horizontally when the bottle is standing. The two ends of this horizontal folding edge meet with a folding edge that runs vertically when the bottle is standing and runs on opposite bottle walls, so that the empty bottle can be folded into an approximately flat configuration essentially along the three folding edges. The V-like indentation merges on both sides transversely to the horizontal folding edge in rounded transitions into two narrow, strip-shaped shelves parallel to the horizontal folding line and further into two opposite bottle walls that have no folding edges. This V-type indentation divides the bottom bottle section into two rooms that only communicate when the level of the bottle content is higher than the top edge of the indentation.

A disadvantage of this bottle is that its stability is very poor, for the following reasons: Even when filled, this bottle does not have a flat bottom surface, but only the two parallel strip-shaped shelves, which merge into the vertical bottle walls; this reduces the stability. In an almost empty state, it is possible that the surface area is only in one of the two rooms of the lower section of the bottle, so that the bottle is very unstable. The V-shaped indentation also reduces the volume of the bottle, so that such a bottle must be higher than a bottle of the same content with a flat bottom, which also has a negative effect on the stability.

Another disadvantage of this bottle is that in order to fold it completely flat, the material has to be bent in places by applying pressure, because there are not enough prefabricated folded edges.

The present invention is therefore based on the object of providing a bottle of the type mentioned at the outset, which has good stability when used in its fully and partially filled state and which can be brought into a flat shape by simple folding without additional pressure being exerted.

This object is achieved according to the invention in the case of a bottle of the type mentioned at the outset by the features of the characterizing part of patent claim 1. Further refinements and preferred exemplary embodiments are defined by the characterizing parts of the dependent claims.

The new bottle is characterized by its good stability, both full and empty, since it has a large footprint, because at least the outer edge area of the bottom surface serves as a footprint. The bottom surface is flat or slightly curved upwards or inwards in its central zone, so that the new bottle is no higher than another bottle of the same content, which also contributes to its stability. It can also be easily folded into a flat shape, as a bottom bottle part encompassing the bottom area and an upper bottle part encompassing the pouring area can be bent 90 ° lengthways, with the bottle standing upright, so that they can be folded against the flat-folded and therefore superimposed bottle walls come to lie.

Fig. 1

eine erste Ausführungsform der Flasche in einer Breitseiten-Ansicht;

Fig. 2

die in Fig. 1 dargestellte Flasche in einer Schmalseiten-Ansicht;

Fig. 3

die in den Fig. 1 und 2 dargestellte Flasche in einer Ansicht von oben;

Fig. 4

die in den Fig. 1 bis 3 dargestellte Flasche ausschnittweise in einem Schnitt längs der Linie 1 - 1 der Fig. 1;

Fig. 5

die in den Fig. 1 - 4 dargestellte Flasche ausschnittweise in einem Schnitt längs der Linie 2 - 2 der Fig. 2;

Fig. 6

die in den Fig. 1 - 5 dargestellte Flasche in einem Schaubild vor dem Zusammenfalten;

Fig. 7

die in den Fig. 1 - 6 dargestellte Flasche in einem Schaubild nach einem ersten Schritt des Zusammenfaltungsvorgangs;

Fig. 8

die in den Fig. 1 - 7 dargestellte Flasche in einem Schaubild nach dem vollständigen Zusammenfalten;

Fig. 9

eine zweite Ausführungsform der erfindungsgemässen Flasche in einer ersten Seitenansicht;

Fig. 10

die in der Fig. 9 dargestellte Flasche in einer zweiten Seitenansicht senkrecht zur ersten Seitenansicht der Fig. 9;

Fig. 11

die in den Fig. 9 und 10 dargestellte Flasche in einer Ansicht von oben;

Fig. 12

die in den Fig. 9 bis 11 dargestellte Flasche in einer Ansicht von unten;

Fig. 13

die in den Fig. 9 - 12 dargestellte Flasche ausschnittweise in einem Schnitt längs der Linie 9 - 9 der Fig. 9;

Fig. 14

die in den Fig. 9 - 13 dargestellte Flasche ausschnittweise in einem Schnitt längs der Linie 10 - 10 der Fig. 10;

Fig. 15

eine dritte Ausführungsform der erfindungsgemässen Flasche in einer Breitseiten-Ansicht;

Fig. 16

die in der Fig. 15 dargestellte Flasche in einer Schmalseiten-Ansicht;

Fig. 17

die in den Fig. 15 und 16 dargestellte Flasche in einer Ansicht von oben;

Fig. 18

die in den Fig. 15 - 17 dargestellte Flasche in einer Ansicht von unten;

Fig. 19

die in den Fig. 15 - 18 dargestellte Flasche ausschnittweise in einem Schnitt längs der Linie 15 - 15 der Fig. 15;

Fig. 20

die in den Fig. 15 - 19 dargestellte Flasche ausschnittweise in einem Schnitt längs der Linie 16 - 16 der Fig. 16;

Fig. 21

eine vierte Ausführungsform der erfindungsgemässen Flasche in einer ersten Seitenansicht;

Fig. 22

die in der Fig. 21 dargestellte Flasche in einer zweiten Seitenansicht senkrecht zur ersten Seitenansicht der Fig. 21;

Fig. 23

die in den Fig. 21 und 22 dargestellte Flasche mit einer teilweisen Umhüllung in der gleichen Seitenansicht wie Fig. 22

Fig. 24

die in den Fig. 21 - 23 dargestellte Flasche in einer Ansicht von oben;

Fig. 25

die in den Fig. 21 bis 24 dargestellte Flasche in einem Schnitt längs der Linie 22 - 22 der Fig. 22;

Fig. 26

die in den Fig. 21 bis 25 dargestellte Flasche in einer Ansicht von unten; und

Fig.27

die in den Fig. 21 bis 26 dargestellte Flasche ausschnittweise in einem Schnitt längs der Linie 24 - 24 der Fig. 24.

Further details and advantages result from the following description and the drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the foldable bottle according to the invention are shown purely by way of example. It shows:

Fig. 1

a first embodiment of the bottle in a broadside view;

Fig. 2

the bottle shown in Figure 1 in a narrow side view.

Fig. 3

the bottle shown in Figures 1 and 2 in a view from above.

Fig. 4

the bottle shown in Figures 1 to 3 in sections in a section along the line 1-1 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5

the bottle shown in Figures 1 - 4 in sections in a section along the line 2 - 2 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6

the bottle shown in Figures 1-5 in a diagram before folding;

Fig. 7

the bottle shown in Figures 1-6 in a diagram after a first step of the folding process;

Fig. 8

the bottle shown in Figures 1-7 in a diagram after the complete folding.

Fig. 9

a second embodiment of the bottle according to the invention in a first side view;

Fig. 10

9 in a second side view perpendicular to the first side view of FIG. 9;

Fig. 11

the bottle shown in Figures 9 and 10 in a view from above.

Fig. 12

the bottle shown in Figures 9 to 11 in a view from below.

Fig. 13

the bottle shown in Figures 9-12 in sections in a section along the line 9-9 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 14

the bottle shown in Figures 9-13 in sections in a section along the line 10-10 of Fig. 10;

Fig. 15

a third embodiment of the bottle according to the invention in a broadside view;

Fig. 16

the bottle shown in Figure 15 in a narrow side view.

Fig. 17

the bottle shown in Figures 15 and 16 in a view from above.

Fig. 18

the bottle shown in Figures 15-17 in a view from below;

Fig. 19

the bottle shown in Figures 15-18 in sections in a section along the line 15-15 of Fig. 15 .;

Fig. 20

the bottle shown in Figures 15-19 in sections in a section along the line 16-16 of Fig. 16;

Fig. 21

a fourth embodiment of the bottle according to the invention in a first side view;

Fig. 22

21 in a second side view perpendicular to the first side view of FIG. 21;

Fig. 23

21 and 22 with a partial covering in the same side view as FIG. 22

Fig. 24

the bottle shown in Figures 21-23 in a view from above;

Fig. 25

the bottle shown in Figures 21 to 24 in a section along the line 22-22 of Fig. 22.

Fig. 26

the bottle shown in Figures 21 to 25 in a view from below. and

Fig. 27

the bottle shown in FIGS. 21 to 26 in sections in a section along the line 24-24 of FIG. 24.

According to FIGS. 1 to 8, the first embodiment of the foldable bottle has an essentially rectangular cross section with narrow sides that are curved slightly outwards. The bottle body 1 comprises a lateral surface 2 which extends between a bottom surface 3 and an upper head surface 4 with a pouring part 5 arranged thereon. In its central zone, the bottom surface 3 is curved slightly into the inside of the bottle without significantly reducing the volume of the bottle. The footprint, which is supported on a base when the bottle is standing, is formed by the edge area of the bottom surface. The pouring part 5 can be closed by a closure, not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, such as a screw closure. The outer surface 2 has bead-like fold lines 6 on the two narrow sides of the bottle, in the middle of these narrow sides and diametrically opposite one another, which run vertically or along outer surface lines and each between a fold line 7 running horizontally at a distance from the base surface 3 and one extend at a distance from the top surface 4 horizontally circumferential fold line 8. The fold lines 7 and 8 thus run across and cross the fold lines 6. From a lower crossing point 9 and an upper crossing point 10 close quasi in extension of the fold lines 6 but branching in a V-shape further folding lines 11 in the lower bottle section and further folding lines 12 in the upper bottle section on the folding lines 6. These fold lines 11 and 12 form an angle with the transverse or horizontal fold lines 8 and 9, which in the present exemplary embodiment is 45 °, but which can also assume other values.

The cross section shown in detail in FIG. 5 through the lateral surface according to line 2-2 of FIG. 2 shows the shape of one of the fold lines 11, which is formed by a bead 13 that curves outwards in an arc shape. The wall thickness is somewhat reduced in the central area of the bead 13. The configuration of this fold line 11 is such that it tends to move outwards when the bottle is folded or folded flat. The fold lines 6 in the middle bottle section and the fold lines 12 in the upper bottle section are designed in the same way.

In contrast to fold lines 6, 11 and 12, transverse fold lines 7 and 8 tend to fold when the bottle is folded, i.e. when folding over the bottle sections delimited by them, to dodge inwards. In Fig. 4, the folding line 7 is shown on a larger scale in a cross section through the lateral surface along the line 1-1 of Fig. 1. The fold line 7 is formed by an inwardly curved bead 14. The wall thickness is somewhat reduced in the transition areas from the bead 14 to the adjoining outer surface.

7 and 8, due to the different design of the outward folding lines 6, 11 and 12 on the one hand and the inward folding lines 7 and 8 on the other hand, the bottle can be folded flat and an upper section 16 and a lower section 17 of the bottle 1 can be folded flat or folded over, according to the principle of a folding base, as is known from paper bags.

When the bottle is folded, which must not be closed, a pressure is exerted on the opposite halves of the bottle 1 free of fold lines according to arrows 20 in FIG. 6. 7, the lower section 16 and the upper section 17 are folded flat. Subsequently, sections 16 and 17 can be folded over or folded over by 90 ° according to arrows 21 and 22 in FIG. 7 and thereby placed against the flat-folded outer surface. Depending on the elasticity of the bottle material used, it may be useful to close the folded bottle again so that it does not unfold on its own.

On the pouring part 5, a groove 26 is provided below a circumferential collar 25, into which holding means engage when the bottles are filled mechanically, in order to guide the bottles at the upper end, so that the foldable bottle does not collapse during the filling process.

In the manufacture of such bottles by the blowing process, a central, transverse weld seam 27 is created in the head part and in the base part. In contrast to the previously known bottles, this weld seam does not impair the folding properties of the new bottle, which is a further advantage of the bottles according to the invention.

9 to 14 show another foldable bottle according to the invention. This bottle has an essentially round cross section, but is not designed to be centrally symmetrical. Otherwise, in particular with regard to its foldability, it is practically the same as the bottle shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 and described above.

The round bottle has a bottle body 101, a lateral surface 102, a flat bottom surface 103 and a top surface 104, to which a pouring part 105 is attached. A corrugated fold line 106 is provided on each of two diametrically opposed surface lines of the outer surface 106. A lower fold line 107 and an upper fold line 108 run transversely thereto; the lower fold line 107 defines a lower bottle section 117 and the upper fold line 108 defines an upper bottle section 116. Continuing each of the fold lines 106, the lower bottle section 117 has two pairs of V-shaped folding lines 111 starting from a lower crossing point 109 and the upper bottle section 118 has two pairs of V-shaped folding lines 112 starting from an upper crossing point 110. FIG. 13 shows a cross section of an inwardly curved bead 114, corresponding to the bead 14 of FIG. 4, as is formed for the fold lines 107 and 108. FIG. 14 shows a cross section of an outwardly curved bead 113, corresponding to the bead 13 of FIG. 5, as they are formed for the fold lines 106, 111 and 112.

The procedure for folding this round bottle is the same as for folding the rectangular bottle described first. When the closure is open, the bottle is first folded flat, and then the lower section 111 and the upper section 112 are folded over or folded over so that they abut the flat-folded outer surface.

15 to 20 show a further, similar bottle, in which the central section has a cross section which is referred to as rectangular-oval, which means that two opposite sides are formed by flat lateral surfaces 202a and the two other opposite sides are formed by cylindrical surfaces, for example circular cylindrical surfaces 202b.

The bottle has a bottom surface 203 with a footprint 203a and a bulge 203b and a top surface 204 with a pouring part 205. Longitudinal fold lines 106 are arranged on the lateral surfaces 202b, furthermore on the lower section 217, i. H. below a crossing point 109, two pairs of V-shaped folding lines 211 and at the upper section 218, i. H. Above a crossing point 210, two pairs of fold lines 212 arranged in a V-shape are arranged. The lower section 217 is delimited by a transverse fold line 207 and the upper section 216 by a transverse fold line 208. This bottle also has fold lines 207 and 208 as shown in FIG. Fig. 19 as inwardly curved beads 214 and fold lines 206, 211 and 212 according to. Fig. 29 designed as outwardly curved beads 213.

The folding of this bottle is done in a similar way to the folding of the bottles already described.

21 to 26 a further bottle is shown, the middle section according to. 24 to 26 has a so-called square-round cross section. This bottle has four slightly outwardly curved outer surfaces 302, a bottom surface 303 with a standing surface 303a and an arch 303b, and a top surface 304 with a threaded spout 305, which according to FIG. 22 and 23 is closed with a screw cap 305a. This bottle also has longitudinal fold lines 306 on opposite lateral surfaces 302, and also on the lower section 317, ie below a crossing point 309 arranged, V-shaped folding lines 311 and at the upper section 316, ie above a crossing point 310 arranged V-shaped folding lines 312. The lower section 317 is delimited by a transverse folding line 307 and the upper section 316 by a transverse folding line 308 . All fold lines are arranged essentially identically and identically, ie as beads, like those of the bottles already described.

According to FIG. 27, the bottle cross sections of the regions of the middle section adjoining the fold lines are smaller at least over part of the circumference, in the corner parts in the present example, than the bottle cross sections of the regions of the lower section 317 or of the upper section 316 adjoining the fold lines , so that there the upper section 316 and the lower section 317 protrude beyond the middle section. This stop 19 forming shape is particularly suitable for attaching a label or sleeve 318, which does not have to be glued to the bottle and which, if it is made of a suitable material such as cardboard or hard plastic, serve as protection and take on a stiffening function for a given bottle design can.

Although this configuration option is described here with reference to the exemplary embodiment of the bottle shown in FIGS. 21 to 27, it can also be used in a corresponding manner for bottles with different cross sections.

Suitable materials for the new bottles are plastics such as polypropylene, polyethylene, PET and PVC, but also metals such as Aluminum and also composite materials.

Claims (7)

1. Foldable bottle having

   - an at least approximately plane bottom surface (3, 103, 203, 303), at least the edge region of which forms the standing surface,

   - a top surface (4, 104, 204, 304) having a closable pouring part (5, 105, 205, 305),

   - an outer surface (2, 102, 202, 302) extending between the bottom surface (3, 103, 203, 303) and the top surface (4, 104, 204, 304),

   - a lower portion (17, 117, 217, 317) which is bounded by a first folding line (7, 107, 207, 307) in the outer surface (2, 102, 202, 302) running round at a distance from the bottom surface (3, 103, 203, 303) and transversely to generatrices and which contains the bottom surface (3, 103, 203, 303),

   - an upper portion (16, 116, 216, 316) which is bounded by a second folding line (8, 108, 208, 308) in the outer surface (2, 102, 202, 302) running round at a distance from the top surface (4, 104, 204, 304) and transversely to generatrices and which contains the top surface (4, 104, 204, 304) with the pouring part (5, 105, 205, 305),

   - two folding lines (6, 106, 206, 306) which run along generatrices and connect the first folding line (7, 107, 207, 307) to the second folding line (8, 108, 208, 308) and which, in the central portion of the outer surface (2, 102, 202, 302) extending between the first folding line (7, 107, 207, 307) and the second folding line (8, 108, 208, 308), separate two at least approximately identical parts from one another, which central portion can be folded into a common plane by means of the folding lines (6, 106, 206, 306),

   - in each case two folding lines (11, 111, 211, 311) which extend in a V-shape from the intersection points (9, 109, 209, 309) of the two folding lines (6, 106, 206, 306) of the central portion with the first folding line (7, 107, 207, 307) as far as the bottom surface (3, 103, 203, 303) of the lower portion (17, 117, 217, 317), and

   - in each case two folding lines (12, 112, 212, 312) which extend in a V-shape from the intersection points (10, 110, 210, 310) of the two folding lines (6, 106, 206, 306) of the central portion with the second folding line (8, 108, 208, 308) as far as the top surface (4, 104, 204, 304) of the upper portion (16, 116, 216, 316),

   - it being possible, with the aid of the folding lines (7, 107, 207, 307, 8, 108, 208, 308, 11, 111, 211, 311, 12, 112, 212, 312), for the upper portion (16) and the lower portion (17) to be folded flat and to be folded over into the common plane of the outer surface (2) of the central portion,

   characterized in that

   - the bottle retains its shape during filling and during removal of the contents and, for the purpose of pressing the bottle flat in the empty state,

   - the first folding line (7, 107, 207, 307) and the second folding line (8, 108, 208, 308) are designed for folding inwards as beads (14, 114, 214, 314) which are curved inwards in a bow shape and

   - the two folding lines (6, 106, 206, 306) of the central portion as well as the folding lines (11, 111, 211, 311, 12, 112, 212, 312) branching in a V-shape in the lower and upper portion (16, 116, 216, 316, 17, 117, 217, 317) are designed for folding outwards as beads (13, 113, 213, 313) which are curved outwards in a bow shape in the outer surface (2, 102, 202, 302).
2. Bottle according to Claim 1, characterized in that at least the central portion of the outer surface (2, 102, 202, 302) has a cross-sectional shape which is at least approximately rectangular, at least approximately circular, rectangular/oval or square/round, and in that the lower portion (17, 117, 217, 317) is of tapered design towards the bottom surface (3, 103, 203, 303) and the upper portion (16, 116, 216, 316) is of tapered design towards the top surface (4, 104, 204, 304).
3. Bottle according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first and the second folding line (7, 107, 207, 307, 8, 108, 208, 308) run round parallel to the bottom surface (3, 103, 203, 303), and the folding lines (6, 106, 206, 306) of the central portion run parallel to the central axis of the bottle on diametrically opposite generatrices of the bottle (1, 101, 201, 301).
4. Bottle according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the beads (13, 113, 213, 313, 14, 114, 214, 314) are symmetrical in relation to their longitudinal central surface and in that the inwardly curved beads (14, 114, 214, 314) have a reduced wall thickness in the transition regions to the adjoining outer surface and the outwardly curved beads (13, 113, 213, 313) have a reduced wall thickness in the central region of the bead curve.
5. Bottle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer surface (2, 102, 202, 302) between the first circumferential folding line (7, 107, 207, 307) and the second circumferential folding line (8, 108, 208, 308) can be folded flat in two layers one onto the other, outer surface parts of an upper portion (16, 116, 216, 316) coming to rest against the top surface (4, 104, 204, 304) and outer surface parts of a lower portion (17, 117, 217, 317) coming to rest against the bottom surface (3, 103, 203, 303) simultaneously by folding inwards at the circumferential folding lines (7 & 8, 107 & 108, 207 & 208, 307 & 308), and in that the two last-mentioned portions which have been folded flat can each be folded over through 90° onto the outer surface (2, 102, 202, 302) which has been folded flat in two layers in order to form a bottle which has been folded completely flat.
6. Bottle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a circumferential groove is designed on the pouring part (5, 105, 205, 305), which groove serves for holding and guiding the bottle during filling for the purpose of preventing the collapse of the foldable bottle.
7. Bottle according to Claim 1, characterized in that the cross-section of the part of the upper portion (316) adjacent to the second folding line (308) and the cross-section of the part of the lower portion (317) adjacent to the first folding line (307) project beyond the cross-sections of the adjacent parts of the central portion, at least on one part of the circumference, to form stops (19) for a cover (318) surrounding the central portion.

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