ES2309665T3 - VERY LIGHT CONTAINER FOR DRINKS. - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a container (1) for a liquid or viscous product, comprising a sub

Description

Very light container for drinks.

The present invention relates to a container Very light for drinks.

Very light containers for drinks are known in the art which are manufactured for example of semi-crystalline ethylene polyterephthalate (PET) for good transparency and processability properties. The containers of these types are typically blown from a preform injected

Such very light containers may have a wall thickness, at least in the area of half the height of the container body, less than or equal to 100 µm. Such containers have been developed to be manufactured with a substantially less amount of plastic material compared to containers of similar volume content manufactured to start from "classic" processes. These lightweight containers they are therefore cheaper to manufacture and are also particularly ecological

Containers of this kind of very light weight of the prior art, described for example in applications for International Patent WO 03/033361 A1 or WO 2005/047120 A1, are known being globally ovoid or spherical which It provides a good ratio of volume to weight.

However, containers of this type they have several disadvantages: they are difficult to label, they are difficult to store and stack on pallets for transportation.

More importantly, due to its shape globally ovoid, the body sides of such vessels are very flexible and there is a risk that once the container, the content splashes out when the consumer holds the sides of said container. If the content is a product dairy, such a splash can be particularly inconvenient for the consumer.

Therefore, there is a need for a Very light weight container that solves the disadvantages previously mentioned.

The present invention addresses the problems established above with respect to a container for a product liquid or viscous, comprising a container body substantially ovoid or spherical provided with a diameter D1 and a neck provided with a diameter D2, said neck comprising a distribution hole and means to allow closure means be fixed thereto, D1 being greater than D2, said container being made of semi-crystalline PET, the walls of said body of the container being provided with a thickness less than or equal to 100 um at least in the area half the height of said container.

In accordance with the present invention, the body of the container comprises at least two flat surfaces or in relief.

By "flat or embossed" is meant that the surfaces are both completely flat and are slightly convex or concave.

The invention is characterized in that the body of the container comprises at least two opposite surfaces substantially vertical flat and a flat surface substantially horizontal that forms the bottom side.

In a preferred embodiment, the neck is placed on the surface symmetrically opposite to the bottom surface.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the container body comprises four substantially vertical flat surfaces that are opposite each other in pairs.

Also preferably, said surfaces Vertical are discs.

Adjacent flat vertical surfaces preferably they are in contact with each other at least one point or the vertical flat surfaces are preferably in contact with said flat side of the bottom.

In a preferred embodiment, the Vertical and horizontal flat surfaces have the same area.

Advantageously, the ratio D1 / D2 is between 1.2 and 15, preferably 2 to 5.

Also preferably, the flat side of the bottom It comprises ribs or reinforcement grooves.

The contained product can be selected at from the group that contains products from water or dairy products.

Finally, the container according to the present invention preferably has a weight less than or equal to 5 g, preferably 3 g and a volume of the total content of at least minus 25 cl.

The closing means of the container can be a tear-off membrane sealed over the upper end of the neck, or a screw cap with threads that cooperate with the threads corresponding neck.

Additional features and advantages of the The present invention will be described and will be clearly set forth in manifest from the description of the embodiments currently preferred which are set forth later in this document with reference to the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the bottom of a container according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view from above similar to figure 1;

Figure 3 is a bottom view of a container of the invention;

Figure 4 is a side view thereof container;

Figure 5 is a top view thereof. container.

As shown in Figure 1, the container of very light weight 1 according to the invention comprises a body of the substantially spherical container 2 provided with a diameter D1

Additionally it comprises a neck 3 and has a diameter D2, said neck 3 comprising a hole of distribution 4 and means 5 to allow fixing the same means of close 6.

As shown in Figure 2, the means 5 they comprise a flat horizontal flange at the top of the neck 3. This flange 5 is adapted to receive a membrane of tear-off closure (not shown in the drawings).

As can be seen in figures 1 and 2, the diameter D1 of the body of the container 2 is larger than the diameter D2 of the neck 3. The D1 / D2 ratio is approximately 4.

The container is made of PET semi-crystalline The walls of the container body have a thickness less than or equal to 100 µm at least in the area of the half the height 7 of said container. This container 1 is manufactured by blowing a PET preform, which, itself, is manufactured by an injection training process.

In accordance with the present invention and as depicted in figures 1 and 2, the body of the container globally spherical 2 additionally comprises four surfaces substantially vertical flat 8-shaped discs each other in pairs. Additionally it comprises a flat surface substantially horizontal 9 placed opposite neck 3 and that form the bottom side. The flat side of the bottom 9 comprises grooves of reinforcement 10 to improve its rigidity, represented in the figures 1 and 3

As depicted in figures 3, 4, 5 adjacent flat vertical surfaces 8 are preferably in contact with each other along a contact line 11. Said vertical flat surfaces are also in contact with said flat side of the bottom in contact lines 12. The surfaces Vertical flat 8 and horizontal 9 have the same area.

The contained product can be selected from the group comprising products from water or products dairy products.

Finally, the container according to the The present invention has a weight of 2.9 g and a volume of the content total of 25 cl.

A splash test was carried out to compare the stiffness of the side walls of the container according to the present invention and a similar container provided with an ovoid shape.

The test consisted in the application of a transverse load in the handling area of the bottle (full but not closed) and then the measurement of the level increase liquid. All measured vessels had the same volume of content.

For a content volume of 25 cl and the same transverse load, the average increase results of the level measured were the following:

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48 mm for a classic ovoid bottle;

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35 mm for the container according to the invention.

These results illustrate how surfaces flat in the container of the invention improve resistance to transverse load, similar to the pressure that is applied by the hands of a consumer holding said container.

In addition, it was found that water containers PET allowed water to pass through its walls. Such Water losses generally lead to greater flexibility of the walls of the container as time passes. If of the present invention, water losses are maintained same as in a conventional lightweight PET container, without However, the reinforcement of cross stiffness with surfaces flat compensates for this increase in flexibility, which is obviously very convenient for the consumer, and, additionally, It helps prevent splashing when the container is opened.

One of the advantages achieved by this invention is that it also allows easy labeling on a computer normal labeling due to the flatness of at least one side of the container body

It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described in this document will be evident to those experts in the technique Such changes and modifications can be made without get out of the spirit or the scope of the present invention and without that reduce their auxiliary advantages. Therefore it is intended that such changes and modifications are covered by the attached claims.

Claims (11)

1. A container for a liquid or viscous product, comprising a substantially ovoid or spherical container body provided with a diameter D1 and a neck provided with a diameter D2, said neck comprising a distribution hole and means for allowing closure means be fixed thereto, D1 being greater than D2, said container being made of semi-crystalline PET, the walls of said body of the container being provided with a thickness less than or equal to 100 µm at least in the area of half the height of said container, the body of the container comprising at least two flat or embossed surfaces, characterized in that said body of the container comprises at least two substantially vertical opposite flat surfaces and a substantially horizontal flat surface that forms the bottom side. 2. A container according to claim 1 in the that said neck is placed symmetrically opposite the side of the horizontal background 3. A container according to claims 1 or 2 wherein said container body comprises four surfaces substantially vertical planes that are opposite each other by peers 4. A container according to claims 1 to 3 in which said vertical flat surfaces are discs. 5. A container according to claim 1 or 4 in which the adjacent flat vertical surfaces are in contact each other in at least one point. 6. A container according to claims 1 to 5 in which the vertical flat surfaces are in contact with said flat side of the bottom. 7. A container according to any of the claims 1 to 6 wherein said flat surfaces Vertical and horizontal have equal area. 8. A container according to any of the previous claims wherein the ratio D1 / D2 is between 1.2 and 15, preferably 2 to 5. 9. A container according to any of the previous claims wherein said flat bottom side It comprises ribs or reinforcement grooves. 10. A container according to any of the previous claims wherein said product is selected to from the group that contains products from water or products dairy products. 11. A container according to any of the previous claims which has a weight less than or equal to 5 g, preferably 3 g and a volume of the total content of at least minus 25 cl.