GB1584759A

GB1584759A - Container

Info

Publication number: GB1584759A
Application number: GB42508/77A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Henkel AG and Co KGaA
Current assignee: Henkel AG and Co KGaA
Priority date: 1976-10-21
Filing date: 1977-10-12
Publication date: 1981-02-18
Also published as: BE859934A; FR2368411A1; ES231525U; IT1086906B; DK145288B; FR2368411B1; ES463440A1; DK433577A; NL7710744A; AT359854B; NO773347L; CA1094963A; SE7711001L; LU78345A1; DE2647607A1; NO147410C; NO147410B; CH623790A5; DK145288C; ES231525Y

Abstract

The container consists of a jacket (3) which is shaped from individual segments (1, 2) and mechanically stabilises the package. The inner hollow body (4) lines the jacket in a liquid-tight manner. The segments (1, 2) abut one another at the separation plane (5). The entire container, constructed as a bottle, is held together by a coherent connection between the surface of the inner hollow body (4) and the inside of the jacket (3). <IMAGE>

Description

(54) CONTAINER (71) We, HENKEL KOMMANDITGESSELL SCHAFT AUF AKTIEN, of Henkelstrasse 67, 4000 Düsseldorf 1, Federal Republic of Germany, a company organised under the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention relates to a container and to a process for the production of a container.

When containers of synthetic material are not to be deformable, an example being containers filled with milk, the wall thick ness must be such that the container in the filled state has a certain outer shape as well as rigidity. The effective weight of the container material and thus the quantity of synthetic material used is dependent, inter alia, on the weight of the product in the container, the size of the container, the forces to be experienced by the container during transit and the manner in which it is handled by the consumer. Containers are therefore mostly used, in which the wall thickness thereof is greater by a multiple than would be required if only liquid tightness mattered. For reduction of material expenditure, there have been attempts to produce containers of stable shape from compound material.

In the production of known containers, thermoplastics material which has been rendered plastic or nearly liquid by heat is usually introduced into a respective moulding tool. After moulding-in, a certain time must elapse until the container has hardened sufficiently for the moulding tool to be opened and the finished container pushed out. The operation of such a plant, for example a blowing machine, depends upon how rapidly cooling can take place.

Occasionally, liquid carbon dioxide or even liquid nitrogen is used for cooling the moulding tools. Obviously, the greater the wall thickness of the container, the more cooling that is required. Known containers of stable shape of synthetic material thus require an appreciable amount of valuable synthetic material. Also production is expensive, especially in so far as the cooling of the moulding tools is concerned.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a self-supporting container comprising a shell made from two halves which together constitute the shell, the shell being shaped out of material comprising at least one of cellulose, cardboard, a foamed plastics material and glass fibres, the shell being lined internally with and keyed to a lining made of plastics material impermeable to liquid, the shell having an opening, the lining projecting through the opening and being provided with a self-supporting end region, which projects through the opening and which is provided with inlet means co-operable with a closure member to close the opening in the lining.

The requirements of liquid impermeability and self supportingness are respectively attained by the lining and the shell.

For a container constructed for example as a bottle, the amount of plastics material required can be reduced to less than a quarter compared with known containers.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of making a container as defined in the first aspect of the present invention, comprising introducing two co-operable container shell halves which together consitute the container shell into shaping tool members which each have a contour corresponding to outer surface portions of each respective part of the shell, bringing the shell halves together, and applying a plastics material at a temperature above ambient and in a free state to the inner surface of the shell halves to provide the internal surface of the wall of the shell with a lining which is impermeable to liquid and intimately keyed to the shell when the container is at ambient temeprature.

The container can be pushed out of the shaping tool members almost immediately after the application of the lining to the engaging halves of the shell, because the shape stability is no longer given by the plastics material, which is plastic because it is still hot, but by the shell. The hitherto, as a rule indispensable, cooling of the shaping tool members is no longer required. Therefore, not only the rate of production is increased, but also the energy expenditure reduced.

The self supporting region of the lining may be provided with a screw thread, for example, in the case of a bottle and may be disposed at the boundary of shell halves. The production of a container with such reinforced plastics material regions present no difficulties, since the machine on which the containers are made can be programmed for the delivery of the plastics material.

An embodiment of the present invention and a method of making the embodiment will now be more particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figs. 1 to 3 show different sections and views of a container in the form of a bottle, and Figs. 4 to 6 show different stages of the production process of the container shown in Figs. 1 to 3.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a longitudinal section, Fig. 2 a cross-section and Fig. 3 an external view of a container. The container comprises a shell 3, mechanically stabilizing the container and formed of halves 1 and 2, and a liquidtight lining 4, comprising for example polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene lining the shell. The halves 1 and 2 abut one another at a separating plane 5, the entire container being held together by a keying connection between the surface of the lining 4 and the inside of the shell 3.

The lining 4 has a self supporting neck 6, which is provided with a screw thread 7. The shell 3 has reinforced regions 8 at its lower part, which are likewise keyed to the lining 4.

Figs. 4 and 5 show in cross-section, in an open and closed position respectively, shaping tool members comprising moulding members for the production of the container shown in Figs. 1 to 3. A longitudinal cross-section of the same moulding members in a blow-moulding machine is shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 4 shows the moulding members 10 separated from one another. Loosely laid into the moulding members are the halves 1 and 2 of the shell 3 of the container.

During blowing of the lining 4, for example, tubing 13 of plastics material, extending from an extruder 11 by way of a feed stub 12, and which becomes at least softly plastic on heating is, during the closing of the moulding members introduced into the moulding members (Fig.

6). After closing the moulding members 10 (Fig. 5), the part of the plastics material tubing 13 disposed in it is so blown out by compressed air that it lays itself on all sides against the internal wall of the halves 1 and 2 of the shell 3. This state is shown in Fig. 5.

In known methods of production of plastics material containers, a cooling phase would now have to follow until the shaped container is sufficiently hard to be pushed out of the moulding members without becoming deformed. In the illustrated example of the method according to the present invention, the freshly blown lining 4 however is surrounded by a rigid shell 3.

The moulding members can thus be opened immediately after the moulding of the lining 4 and the container can be pushed out. With cooling starting when the container is still in the mould and continuing after pushing-out of the container, a keying and possibly also shape-locking connection forms between the lining 4 and the shell 3 comprising the halves 1 and 2, in such a manner that the container, consisting of the thin-walled, liquid-impervious lining and the originally individual parts, becomes a single formation of stable shape.

Apart from the extrusion-blowing, the lining 4 can also be produced by injectionblowing or spraying etc. The halves forming the shell may likewise by formed by pressing, injection-moulding, deep-drawing or casting. It may be desirable to provide the halves of the shell with decoration before introducing them into the shaping tool members for the production of the container.

The above described embodiment of the present invention has the following advantages: Without its mechanical rigidity suffering, the container can be produced with less plastics material than known containers.

The stability of its shape is produced by other substances. By choosing the material of the shell, the container can be made substantially more compatible with the environment than was the case with known containers. Also rubbish disposal, for example in the household, is facilitated, since the container, if its shell consists of for example carton or cardboard, is easily compressible after emptying.

The shaping tool members do not have to be specially cooled. By letting the shaping tool members cool down gradually in air, the keying connection between shell and the plastics material lining is improved Since cooling is dispensed with, the rate of production of containers can be increased.

Stabilizing elements, such as stiffening ribs, which are not visible from the outside can be incorporated in the shell or in the halves thereof.

The actual weight of a container can without difficulty be made less than that of a known full synthetic material container.

A further advantage of the exemplary method disclosed above is that the keying and, in a given case, shape-locking con neetion between the plastics material of the lining, which is plastic during moulding and for a certain time thereafter, and the shell develops without any assistance during cooling and rigidification of the plastics material. The energy content of the plastics material heated up to softening, which heretofore had to be carried away by an energy-expensive cooling of the moulding tools, is utilized to produce the keying connection.

When producing a container embodying the present invention, material accumulations or reductions can be provided at any desired location of the halves, so that the internal wall of the halves can be so developed that an optimum wall thickness of the moulded material is attainable.

Also, reinforcing ribs, which are not to be seen from outside the container, can for example be provided on the internal wall of the shell halves.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A self-supporting container comprising a shell made from two halves which together constitute the shell, the shell being shaped out of material comprising at least one of cellulose, cardboard, a foamed elastics material and glass fibres, the shell being lined internally with and keyed to a lining made of plastics material impermeable to liquid, the shell having an opening, the lining projecting through the opening and being provided with a selfsupporting end region, which projects through the opening and which is provided with inlet means co-operable with a closure member to close the opening in the lining.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lining comprises polyvinylchloride.

3. A container as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the lining comprises polyethylene.

4. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the shell is provided internally thereof with reinforcing means.

5. A container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to iFgures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.

6. A method of making a container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising introducing the two co-operable shell halves which together constitute the container shell into shaping tool members which each have a contuor corresponding to outer surface portions of each respective part of the shell. bringing the shell halves together, and applying a plastics material at a temperature above ambient and in a free state to the inner surface of the shell halves to provide the internal surface of the wall of the shell with a lining which is impermeable to liquid and intimately keyed to the shell when the container is at ambient temperature.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the plastics material is applied by blowing.

8. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the plastics material is applied by injection-blowing.

9. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the plastics material is applied by spraying.

10. A method as claimed in any one of claims 6 to 10, wherein the parts of the shell are decorated prior to introduction into the shaping tool members.

11. A method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 4 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. can be incorporated in the shell or in the halves thereof. The actual weight of a container can without difficulty be made less than that of a known full synthetic material container. A further advantage of the exemplary method disclosed above is that the keying and, in a given case, shape-locking con neetion between the plastics material of the lining, which is plastic during moulding and for a certain time thereafter, and the shell develops without any assistance during cooling and rigidification of the plastics material. The energy content of the plastics material heated up to softening, which heretofore had to be carried away by an energy-expensive cooling of the moulding tools, is utilized to produce the keying connection. When producing a container embodying the present invention, material accumulations or reductions can be provided at any desired location of the halves, so that the internal wall of the halves can be so developed that an optimum wall thickness of the moulded material is attainable. Also, reinforcing ribs, which are not to be seen from outside the container, can for example be provided on the internal wall of the shell halves. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A self-supporting container comprising a shell made from two halves which together constitute the shell, the shell being shaped out of material comprising at least one of cellulose, cardboard, a foamed elastics material and glass fibres, the shell being lined internally with and keyed to a lining made of plastics material impermeable to liquid, the shell having an opening, the lining projecting through the opening and being provided with a selfsupporting end region, which projects through the opening and which is provided with inlet means co-operable with a closure member to close the opening in the lining.