GB2268922A

GB2268922A - Containers with handles.

Info

Publication number: GB2268922A
Application number: GB9303290A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Meei-Fwu Jiang
Original assignee: Pan Asian Plastics Corp
Current assignee: Pan Asian Plastics Corp
Priority date: 1992-07-20
Filing date: 1993-02-18
Publication date: 1994-01-26
Also published as: CN2135537Y; GB9303290D0

Abstract

A container 1 and a handle 2 both of which are formed separately of plastics, are secureable together: the handle 2, comprising a skirt 21, a plurality of protuberances 26 extending inwardly from the skirt, and a handgrip 22 extending outwardly from the skirt; and the container 1 comprising a neck having a guard ring 14, and the guard ring having a plurality of notches 17, notches being associated with a guide block 18 and a stopper 19 which extend downwardly from the guard ring. During assembly, the handle is lowered around the container to allow the protuberances 26 on the skirt 21 to pass through the aligned notches 17 in the guard ring 14, and then the handle is turned about the container to allow the protuberances 26 to be retained in the spaces between the guide blocks 18 and the stoppers 19. Annular shoulders 16 and 27 (fig 5) may be provided, below the protuberances and guard ring, that abut as the handle is lowered. The skirt 21 may have a double wall, the handgrip 22 and shoulder (27 fig 5) formed on the outer wall, the protuberances on the inner. The guide blocks may have sloping cam surfaces and bevelled faces to aid handle removal. The container may be blow moulded and the handle injection moulded. The neck preferably includes a thread 13 above the guard ring for reception of a closure cap. <IMAGE>

Description

CONTAINERS WITH HANDLES The present invention relates to containers with handles and more especially but not exclusively to containers formed by blow moulding and handles formed by injection moulding.

It is known to be difficult for a container of hollow construction to be integrally formed with a handle of solid construction. It has therefore already been proposed for the hollow container to be formed separately from the solid handle, by blow moulding and injection moulding respectively, and for the solid handle to be subsequently fitted to the hollow container by the application of considerable force. It has proved to be awkward both to produce the complicated mouldings and to assemble the complicated mouldings.

According to the present invention, however, there is provided an assembly of a container and a handle, which are securable together to allow the handle to be used in lifting the container, wherein: the handle, formed of plastics material, comprises a skirt, a plurality of circumferentially spaced protuberances extending inwardly from an inner surface of the skirt, and a handgrip extending outwardly and downwardly from an outer surface of the skirt; and the container, formed of plastics material, comprises a body having a neck surrounding a mouth, the neck having a guard ring, and the guard ring have a plurality of circumferentially spaced notches, the notches being at least equal in circumferential width and position to the protuberances, and each of the notches being associated with a respective guide block and a respective stopper which extend downwardly from the guard ring, with the guide blocks being located between their associated stoppers and notches and being separated from their associated stoppers by spaces which are again at least equal in circumferential width and position to the protuberances;; whereby, during assembly, the handle is lowered around the container to allow the protuberances on the skirt to pass through aligned ones of the notches in the guard ring, and then the handle is turned about the container to allow the protuberances to be retained in the spaces between the guide blocks and the stoppers.

Both the container and the handle can be easily produced, avoiding undesirable undercuts in the handle, and can be firmly secured together by a simple rotation through a small angle.

Preferably, the container is formed with an annular shoulder at a predetermined distance below a lower surface of the guide ring, and the handle is formed with an annular shoulder at substantially the same predetermined distance below upper surfaces of the protuberances, with the result that the protuberances need to be forced past the guide blocks when the handle is secured to the container.

The guide blocks may be formed with respective cam surfaces which slope away from the guide ring with increased distance from their associated notches.

Preferably, the skirt is formed with double walls separated by a downwardly open inner groove, the protuberances being formed on the inner wall of said double walls and their associated annular shoulder being formed on the outer wall of said double walls.

In a particularly preferred assembly, the handle is releasably securable to the container.

The container may be formed with a thread on the neck above the guard ring for allowing the mouth to be closed by a cap.

The container may be of a hollow construction formed by blow moulding. A blank which is to be blow moulded may be pre-formed with the guard ring by injection moulding.

The handle may be of a solid construction formed by injection moulding.

The present invention will best be understood from the following description to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an assembly of a container and a handle of the present invention in the exploded condition; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the assembly of Fig.

1 in the connected condition; Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the guard ring and adjacent structure as shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 4 is a side view of the guard ring and adjacent structure as shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a partly sectioned view of the assembly of Fig. 1 in the connected condition; and Fig. 6 is a partly sectioned view of a modified assembly embodying the present invention.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 5, the assembly of the present invention comprises a bottle 1 made of plastics material such as PET, PVC, etc. by blow moulding and a handle 2 fitted on a neck of the bottle 1 and made by injection moulding of a different plastics material.

The bottle 1 has a hollow body, on the upper part of which is a neck 12 having a mouth 11. On the neck 12 of the bottle is formed, in order from top to bottom, a male thread portion 13 for fixing a cap (not shown), a guard ring 14 having a large diameter for fastening the handle 2, a neck portion 15 having a diameter smaller than the guard ring 14, and an annular shoulder 16 having a diameter larger than the guard ring 14. The guard ring 14, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, is provided around the circumference thereof with at least two (where in the present embodiment there are four) notches 17 equispacedapart along the circumference. On the bottom of the guard ring 14 are guide blocks 18 each located closely adjacent to one end of a respective notch 17.Each of the guide blocks 18 has a cam surface which slopes away from the guard ring 14 with increasing distance from its associated notch 17. Also on the bottom of the guard ring 14 are stoppers 19 each associated with a respective notch 17 but separated therefrom by a respective guide block 18.

It must be pointed out here that the aforesaid guard ring 14 is pre-formed during the injection moulding of a test tube bottle blank whereas the other parts are blowformed in the succeeding blow moulding with at least the body being twin-shaft orientated.

The handle 2, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, comprises a stepped cylindrical skirt 21 and a handgrip 22 which are integrally formed by injection moulding of a hard plastics material. The handgrip 22 is connected to one side face of the skirt 21 and is slightly of a figure 2 shape extending downwardly to the body of the bottle 1. The smallerdiameter upper part 23 of the stepped cylindrical skirt 21 is separated from an inner wall 24 by a downwardly open inner groove 25. The inner wall 24 is annular and capable of some radially resilient deformation. The inner circumferential surface of the inner wall 24 is provided with protuberances 26 slightly below the upper end of the inner wall 24. The notches 17 are at least equal in circumferential width and position to the protuberances 26.

The circumferential width of a protuberance 26 may be slightly smaller than the width W of a notch 17 to ensure that the protuberance 26 is capable of insertion in the notch 17.

The handle 2 is also formed with an annular shoulder 27, as shown in Fig. 5, which is formed on the outer wall of the skirt 21 and is spaced below the upper surfaces of the protuberances 26 substantially at the same distance as the annular shoulder 16 on the bottle 1 is spaced below the lower surface of the guard ring 14.

When it is desired to unite the handle 2 with the bottle 1 to form a single body, the skirt 21 of the handle 2 must first be fitted around the mouth 11 onto the neck 12 of the bottle 1. While so doing, it is necessary that the protuberances 26 are aligned with the notches 17 and are pressed down into fitting with a little force. The annular shoulders 16 and 27 are here in abutment. Then, the handle 2 is turned a few degrees in a clockwise direction whereby the protuberances 26 are led by the cam surfaces of the guide blocks 18 to slip into the spaces formed between the stoppers 19 and the guide blocks 18. The protuberances 26 are retained in the spaces, and are limited in their circumferential movement by the stoppers 19 and the guide blocks 18, thereby making the handle 2 to be connected to the bottle body 1 as a single body.Moreover, the inner surface of each of the protuberances 26 is resiliently pressed against the outer wall of the neck portion 15. The lower end curved part of the handgrip 22 is pressed close to the upper part of the bottle 1 forming a firm connection, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5. When it is desired to remove the handle 2 from the bottle, this can be done by holding the handgrip 22 with one hand and turning the handle 2 a few degrees with a little force in the counterclockwise direction to allow the protuberances 26 to pass the guide blocks 18. To assist removal of the handle 2, the end face of each guide block 18 closer to its associated stopper 19 may be for example bevelled or chamfered.

In the foregoing embodiment, the skirt 21 of the handle 2 is formed as a stepped cylinder with the upper section being smaller and the lower section being larger.

However, it is equally possible for the upper and lower sections to be formed of the same outer diameter, as shown in Fig. 6.

From the foregoing, it will be evident that the present invention has provided a simple and easily dismountable device for connecting a handle to a container.

In particular, because the protuberances 26 retained on the lower side of the guard ring 14 are fitted closely against the neck portion 15, and closely between the guide blocks 18 and the stoppers 19, when a user grips the handle 2 to raise up the container 1, the handle 2 will not become loose or escape as a result of the weight of fluid contained in -the bottle 1. It will also be appreciated that it is possible to produce containers with handles in different styles and colours.

Claims

1. An assembly of a container and a handle, which are securable together to allow the handle to be used in lifting the container, wherein: the handle, formed of plastics material, comprises a skirt, a plurality of circumferentially spaced protuberances extending inwardly from an inner surface of the skirt, and a handgrip extending outwardly and downwardly from an outer surface of the skirt; and the container, formed of plastics material, comprises a body having a neck surrounding a mouth, the neck having a guard ring, and the guard ring have a plurality of circumferentially spaced notches, the notches being at least equal in circumferential width and position to the protuberances, and each of the notches being associated with a respective guide block and a respective stopper which extend downwardly from the guard ring, with the guide blocks being located between their associated stoppers and notches and being separated from their associated stoppers by spaces which are again at least equal in circumferential width and position to the protuberances;; whereby, during assembly, the handle is lowered around the container to allow the protuberances on the skirt to pass through aligned ones of the notches in the guard ring, and then the handle is turned about the container to allow the protuberances to be retained in the spaces between the guide blocks and the stoppers.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, in which the container is formed with an annular shoulder at a predetermined distance below a lower surface of the guide ring, and the handle is formed with an annular shoulder at substantially the same predetermined distance below upper surfaces of the protuberances, with the result that the protuberances need to be forced past the guide blocks when the handle is secured to the container.

3. An assembly according to claim 2, in which the guide blocks are formed with respective cam surfaces which slope away from the guide ring with increased distance from their associated notches.

4. An assembly according to claim 2 or claim 3, in which the skirt is formed with double walls separated by a downwardly open inner groove, the protuberances being formed on the inner wall of said double walls and their associated annular shoulder being formed on the outer wall of said double walls.

5. An assembly according to any preceding claim, in which the handle is releasably securable to the container.

6. An assembly according to any preceding claim, in which the container is formed with a thread on the neck above the guard ring for allowing the mouth to be closed by a cap.

7. An assembly according to any preceding claim, in which the container is of a hollow construction formed by blow moulding.

8. An assembly according to claim 7, in which a blank which is to be blow moulded is pre-formed with the guard ring by injection moulding.

9. An assembly according to any preceding claim, in which the handle is of a solid construction formed by injection moulding.

10. An assembly of a container and a handle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 5, or as modified by Figure 6, of the accompanying drawings.