EP1912874B1 - Container, in particular bottle, made of thermoplastic material - Google Patents

Abstract

A thermoplastic container (1) having a body (2) provided with at least one groove (6) that forms a closed loop and that extends perpendicularly to the axis of the body; the groove having a depth (p) that lies in the range 3 mm to 6 mm; in right section, the groove comprises: an bottom (8) that is rounded, having a small radius of curvature (R1) in the range 0.2 mm to 1.5 mm; two faces (9) that are plane and that flare apart from each other on either side of the bottom (8) at an angle (α) in the range 50° to 90°; and two faces (10) that are curvilinear, and that extend away from the respective plane faces (9) at an angle (β) that is less than 180°, and that are connected thereto by respective rounded walls (11) of small radius of curvature (R2) that does not exceed 1.5 mm, and that are connected tangentially to the wall (12) of the body (2). Such a groove (6) is deformable with a capacity to pinch axially in the presence of an axial force applied to the container.

Description

The present invention relates generally to the field of containers, according to the preamble of claim 1, in particular bottles, made of thermoplastic material such as PET, and more specifically relates to improvements made to those containers which comprise a body provided with at least one groove of peripheral extent closed on itself.

Containers of the specified kind have, when filled, a high rigidity which prevents them from being able to withstand external or internal forces, even if relatively limited.

Thus, the application of an external force axially on the neck of a container of this type (for example when too many containers are stacked on top of each other - typically packages of bottles stacked on pallets -) can cause a fold of the wall of plastic material at the shoulder of the container, under the neck; As a result, the neck returns partially in the shoulder, generally on one side of the container, so that the neck is then strongly inclined relative to the axis of the container. Often, there is no rupture of the wall and therefore no leakage of liquid, and the contents of the container can be used. However, the customer systematically rejects damaged containers that are no longer marketable.

Moreover and above all, when a container of the type in question is filled with a hot liquid and then closed, the air which remains trapped in the container, while cooling, reduces slightly of volume. It is typically the case of containers which are filled in high speed filling plants, in which the containers are closed well before the hot poured liquid has cooled to room temperature. As a result, the volume shrinkage of the air during cooling places the interior volume of the container under a vacuum condition.

So that the container can withstand this depression without deformation, it must have sufficient mechanical rigidity, which means for example that it has thick walls; in other words, such a container requires an increased amount of raw material and is therefore more expensive, which is not accepted by producers of packaged liquids. Admittedly, it is known to manufacture containers whose body is specially configured (panel body) to be able to withstand this depression without apparent deformation. However, these containers of special shapes are substantially more expensive, too, than traditional containers.

By cons, if the container is insufficiently resistant, it deforms uncontrollably and, again, its poor appearance makes it difficult to market.

The document US5908128 A describes a container according to the preamble of claim 1. There is therefore an urgent demand for containers of traditional shapes, typically for cylinders with generally cylindrical general shape, but able to withstand, to some extent, efforts without significant uncontrolled deformation, especially in the case of filling with a hot liquid, and without significant additional cost of the container.

The purpose of the invention is precisely to meet these expectations and to propose an improved container which can withstand efforts, whether for example external forces applied in particular on the neck or especially internal forces due to depression of the container, especially after filling with a hot liquid.

• un fond sensiblement arrondi à relativement petit rayon de courbure compris entre 0,2 et 1,5 mm,
• deux faces sensiblement planes s'écartant de part et d'autre dudit fond en formant entre elles un angle compris entre environ 50° et 90°, et
• deux faces curvilignes, notamment en arc de cercle, qui, d'un côté, s'écartent des faces planes respectives sous un angle sensiblement inférieur à 180° et se raccordent avec celles-ci par un arrondi de relativement petit rayon de courbure n'excédant pas 1,5 mm et qui, de l'autre côté, se raccordent sensiblement tangentiellement à la paroi du corps.

For these purposes, the invention provides a container, in particular a bottle, made of a thermoplastic material such as PET, comprising a body provided with at least one groove of peripheral extent closed on itself and extending in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of the body, which container being arranged according to the invention, is characterized in that the groove has a depth of between about 3 and 6 mm and in that, in cross section, the groove comprises:

• a substantially rounded bottom with a relatively small radius of curvature of between 0.2 and 1.5 mm,
• two substantially flat faces deviating on either side of said bottom forming between them an angle of between about 50 ° and 90 °, and
• two curvilinear faces, in particular in an arc of a circle, which, on one side, deviate from the respective flat faces at an angle substantially less than 180 ° and are connected thereto by a rounding of relatively small radius of curvature n ' exceeding 1.5 mm and which, on the other side, are substantially tangentially connected to the body wall.

With this arrangement, the groove is a groove which is axially elastically deformable and which has an axial clamping capacity in the presence of an axial force applied to the container, in particular under the effect of a volume shrinkage during cooling a hot poured liquid in the container and / or under the action of a force applied approximately axially on the container (case of stacked containers for example). Because the groove has a uniform shape over the entire periphery of the container body, its nip occurs identically over its entire extent so that the body of the container deforms remaining coaxial with itself and without curvature of its external generators. In other words, the container retains a generally identical shape, without curvature, and its deformation (axial settlement) remains barely perceptible, so that the commercial losses previously caused by the deformation of containers are now avoided. A container thus arranged meets the expectations of the practice.

Preferably, the depth of the deformable groove is about 4 mm.

Also preferably, the bottom of the deformable groove has a radius of curvature of about 0.5 mm.

Advantageously, the flat faces of the deformable groove form between them an angle of about 60 ° to 80 °, preferably about 70 °.

Advantageously also, the rounding between the flat faces and the substantially curvilinear faces has a radius of curvature of between about 0.8 and 1.2 mm, preferably about 1 mm.

The implementation of the provisions of the invention can give rise to various configurations of the container body.

In particular, in one possible embodiment, the container may comprise a plurality of deformable grooves spaced apart axially from each other, the number of these grooves being determined as a function of the extent of the axial deformation provided, which, in the case more particularly considered a filling with a hot liquid, is dependent on the temperature of the filling liquid and / or the dimensions of the container body, in particular its transverse dimensions. By way of example, provision may be made for two or three splines in the case of filling with a liquid at a relatively low temperature (for example of the order of 80 ° C.), whereas it may be three to five in the case of the case of filling with a liquid at a very high temperature (for example of the order of 90 ° C).

It can also be ensured that at least some deformable grooves are arranged one after the other or, alternatively, between at least some of the deformable grooves is interposed at least one non-deformable groove; in particular, it can be provided in this case that the deformable grooves alternate with non-deformable grooves. It is also conceivable that the body of the container is equipped with a small number of deformable grooves at any location (bottom, top, middle), the remainder of the body remaining free of any groove (eg for marking or affixing of label).

An application more particularly targeted by the provisions according to the invention, without this being exclusive, relates to a container of the bottle type arranged as indicated above and which has a substantially cylindrical section body.

It is of course possible to apply the invention to all types of containers, whatever the shape of their sections. Thus, it becomes possible to strengthen a container of polygonal section, for example triangular; it is still possible to strengthen square section containers or rectangular, or square or rectangular with rounded corners.

Thanks to the arrangements just described, the container equipped in accordance with the invention has a significant capacity for axial deformation without substantially affecting its general shape. Typically, to fix the ideas, it is possible to make a bottle of 0.5 1 capable of presenting, following a filling with a liquid at high temperature (for example 90-92 ° C), a reduction of volume of the order of 15 ml, resulting in a reduction in height of the order of 4 mm, a settlement of the body of about 3.15%.

Moreover, and this is an advantage that is far from being negligible, the containers made in accordance with the invention can, while having the improved characteristics described above, be significantly reduced compared to previous containers. Thus, typically, instead of a front container of a capacity of 0.5 1 having a panel body and having a weight of 28-29 gr, it is possible to design containers of the same capacity having a weight of the order of 26 gr, even even lighter containers with a weight of the order of 22-23 gr.

• les figures 1 à 3 sont des vues de côté de respectivement trois récipients du type bouteille équipés d'au moins une cannelure conforme à l'invention,
• la figure 4 est une vue schématique de la section droite d'une cannelure conforme à l'invention prévue sur les récipients des figures 1 à 3, et
• les figures 5A et 5B sont des vues de côté de respectivement deux autres récipients du type bouteille équipés d'au moins une cannelure conforme à l'invention.

The invention will be better understood on reading the following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments given solely by way of non-limiting examples. In this description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

• the Figures 1 to 3 are side views of respectively three bottle-type containers equipped with at least one groove according to the invention,
• the figure 4 is a schematic view of the cross section of a groove according to the invention provided on the containers of Figures 1 to 3 , and
• the Figures 5A and 5B are side views of respectively two other bottle-type containers equipped with at least one groove according to the invention.

Referring first to the figure 1 , there is shown, in side view, a container 1, here in the form of a bottle, of thermoplastic material such as PET. The container 1 comprises a body 2, here shown with a substantially cylindrical general shape, which is connected superiorly to a neck 3 by a rounded portion or shoulder 4 and which is connected below a bottom of a container or seat 5. The body 2 is provided with at least one groove 6 of peripheral extent closed on itself and extending in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis 7 of the body 2.

• un fond 8 sensiblement arrondi à relativement petit rayon de courbure R1 compris entre 0,2 et 1,5 mm ;
• deux faces 9 sensiblement planes s'écartant de part et d'autre dudit fond 8 en formant entre elles un angle α compris entre environ 50° et 90°, et avantageusement compris entre 60° et 80° ;
• deux faces 10 curvilignes qui, d'un côté, s'écartent des faces 9 planes respectives sous un angle β sensiblement inférieur à 180° et se raccordent avec lesdites faces 9 planes par un arrondi 11 de relativement petit rayon de courbure R2 n'excédant pas 1,5 mm, avantageusement compris entre 0,8 et 1,2 mm, et qui, de l'autre côté, se raccordent sensiblement tangentiellement à la paroi 12 du corps 2.

To the figure 4 , the groove 6 is illustrated on a much larger scale. The groove 6 has a depth p of between about 3 and 6 mm. In cross section, the groove 6 comprises:

• a substantially rounded bottom 8 with a relatively small radius of curvature R1 of between 0.2 and 1.5 mm;
• two substantially planar faces 9 spaced apart on either side of said bottom 8 forming between them an angle α between about 50 ° and 90 °, and preferably between 60 ° and 80 °;
• two curvilinear faces 10 which, on one side, deviate from the respective planar faces 9 at an angle β substantially less than 180 ° and are connected with said planar faces 9 by a rounding 11 of relatively small radius of curvature R2 not exceeding 1.5 mm, advantageously between 0.8 and 1.2 mm, and which, on the other side, are connected substantially tangentially to the wall 12 of the body 2.

The bottom 8 of the groove 6 thus arranged constitutes a hinge thanks to which the two flat faces 9 can pivot relative to each other, the assembly forming a variable opening clamp according to the load applied to the one and / or to the other of these planar faces 9. The rounded 11 of small radius of curvature form articulations by means of which the curvilinear faces 10 can accompany the displacements of the planar faces 9. A groove arranged in such a manner has a large capacity for controlled deformation. To the figure 4 the outline of the deformed groove 6 is shown in broken lines.

In a typical embodiment relating to a PET bottle with a capacity of 0.5 1, the groove 6 has a depth of about 4 mm, its bottom 8 has a radius of curvature R1 of about 0.5 mm, its two substantially planar faces 9 form between them an angle α of the order of 70 °, the two curvilinear faces 10 are arcuate, and the rounded 11 has a radius of curvature R2 of about 1 mm.

The groove according to the invention can give rise to numerous implementation variants, depending on the degree of deformation desired for the container. Some of these possible variants are illustrated by way of example to Figures 1 to 3 .

A groove according to the invention can certainly be implemented, alone, in a container for which a low rate of axial deformation is desired.

However, in practice and this is particularly the case for containers intended to be filled with a hot liquid (typically 80 ° C to 90 ° C or more), wishes that the container can undergo a volume restriction of the order of a few tens of milliliters (for example of the order of 10 to 20 ml for a bottle of 0.5 l, a variation in height of the order of 4 mm). It is then necessary to provide a plurality of deformable grooves arranged according to the invention, these deformable splines may or may not be combined with standard not substantially deformable splines.

To the figure 1 , the container 1 in the form of a bottle is equipped exclusively with 6 deformable grooves arranged as described above, or in this particular example eight deformable grooves 6 distributed over approximately the entire height of the body 2 of a bottle of 0.5 1 For the sake of clarity, two consecutive grooves of this container are separated by an interval of about 12.7 mm and, for the two lower flutes, it has been measured that the displacement of one groove relative to the other assumed fixed was about 0.4 mm, a displacement of about 3.15%.

To the figure 2 , the deformable grooves 6 are grouped in the lower part of the body 2 of the container 1 in the form of a bottle, while the upper part of the container is arranged in any desired manner; in the example illustrated, the body 2 is, in its upper part, equipped with standard grooves 13 not substantially deformable.

To the figure 3 , the body 2 of the container 1 in the form of a bottle is equipped, over substantially its entire height, an alternation of grooves 6 according to the invention and standard grooves 13 substantially non-deformable. Alternatively, one could provide alternating pairs of flutes of each type.

It should be emphasized that whatever the distribution of the deformable splines, the presence of standard, non-deformable grooves in the rest of the body of the container is not imperative; in addition, when localized, the deformable splines may be arranged in any desired location (bottom, top, middle) of the container body, the remainder of the body being shaped in any suitable manner (eg smooth, polygonal shape, ...), in particular for purposes of marking or affixing a label. For example, at the Figure 5A the body 2 of a receptacle in the form of a bottle is equipped with two deformable grooves 6 according to the invention which are located one after the other in the upper part of the body, the rest of the body being devoid of of grooves and smooth. To the Figure 5B , the body 2 of a container in the form of a bottle is provided with three deformable grooves 6 according to the invention which are located one after the other in the lower part of the body, the rest of the body being devoid of grooves and smooth.

Whatever the configuration chosen for the distribution of the deformable grooves 6, their number is chosen according to the amplitude of the axial deformation desired for the container. In particular, this amplitude is a function of the temperature of the hot filling liquid and / or the dimensions of the container body, in particular of its transverse dimensions. Thus, for a liquid at a relatively low temperature, for example of the order of 80 ° C, the number of deformable grooves 6 can be two or three; on the other hand, when the liquid is at a relatively high temperature, for example of the order of 90-92 ° C, the number of 6 deformable grooves must be higher, of the order of three to five.

Claims (12)

1. A container (1), in particular a bottle, made of thermoplastic material such as PET, including a body (2) provided with at least one peripheral closed-loop designed groove (6) and that extends in a plane that is substantially perpendicular to the axis (7) of the body, characterized in that the groove (6) has a depth (p) between about 3 mm and 6 mm, and in that, in a cross section, the groove (6) comprises:

   • a substantially rounded bottom (8) with a relatively small radius of curvature (R1) between 0.2 mm to 1.5 mm;

   • two substantially plane faces (9) that flare apart from each other on either side of said bottom (8), forming between them an angle (α) between about 50° and 90°; and

   • two curvilinear faces (10) that, at one end, extend away from the respective plane faces (9) at an angle (β) that is substantially less than 180°, and that connect thereto by roundnesses (11) of relatively small radius of curvature (R2) that does not exceed 1.5 mm, and that, at the other end, connect substantially tangentially to the wall (12) of the body (2);

   whereby the groove (6) is an axially deformable groove that has an axial pinching ability in the presence of an axial force applied to the container.
2. A container according to claim 1, characterized in that the depth (p) of the deformable groove (6) is about 4 mm.
3. A container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the bottom (8) of the deformable groove (6) has a radius of curvature (R1) of about 0.5 mm.
4. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the plane faces (9) of the deformable groove (6) form between them an angle (α) of about 60° to 80°.
5. A container according to claim 4, characterized in that the plane faces (9) of the deformable groove (6) form between them an angle (α) of about 70°.
6. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the roundness (11) between the plane faces (9) and the curvilinear faces (10) has a radius of curvature (R2) between about 0.8 mm and 1.2 mm.
7. A container according to claim 6, characterized in that the roundness (11) between the plane faces (9) and the curvilinear faces (10) has a radius of curvature (R2) of about 1 mm.
8. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it includes a plurality of deformable grooves (6) that are spaced apart axially from one another.
9. A container according to claim 8, characterized in that at least some of the deformable grooves (6) are disposed one after another.
10. A container according to claim 8, characterized in that at least one non-deformable groove (13) is interposed between at least some of the deformable grooves (6).
11. A container according to claim 10, characterized in that the deformable grooves (6) alternate with non-deformable grooves (13).
12. A container according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the deformable grooves (6) are in a small number and are grouped together in one portion of the body (2) of the container, and in that the remainder of the body (2) does not have grooves.

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