IE912704A1 - Plastic bottle for containing both under-pressure and non¹under-pressure liquids - Google Patents

Abstract

Essentially cy1indrica11y Shaped plastic bottle, the bearing base of which is formed by a petaloid made up by a plurality of bulges (7), where the separation between contiguous bulges is created by the presence of corresponding arcuate ribs (9) that are arranged radially from the centre of said bearing base along respective vertical planes, and where the outer sides (8) of said bulges (9) are essentially vertical and extending down to reach the bearing plane. Said bottle further has on its outer surface a plurality of similar recesses (1) that are orderly arranged at the same height and preferably separated by respective vertical ribs (2) recti1inear 1y connecting the upper portion (3) with the lower portion (4), with respect to said recesses, of the bottle.

Description

The technique which is most used currently for holding, packaging, transporting and distributing liquid food products on the marketplace, in particular soft carbonated and non-car donated beverages, consists in filling such liquids into plastic, usually clear and bottle-like packages, which are then piled upon each other into multi-tier arrangements in sufficiently robust pre-formed containers cr in palletized loads wrapped by means of heat-shrinking plastic film.

Thanks to their widely known and, therefore, not further described characteristics , these plastic bottles are particularly well suited to the above mentioned application as far as a number of peculiar merits are concerned, such as the good storage conditions provided for the beverage, the possibility of immediately identifying the beverage in the bottle, the excellent impact strength and the particularly light weight that prove quite advantageous during transport and handling operations, and, above all, their being fully utilizable by the consumers as well as their not imposing the necessity of a recovery in consideration of their absolutely modest cost.

This type of bottles ensures wide safety margins against mechanical damages as well as excellent transportabi1ity. However, it has a number of drawbacks that quite frequently lead to practical complications in the utilization and extra charges in the production of the bottles . Ρ 1 a t i c bottles can be grouped into two distinct categories, ie. for carbonated beverages and norcarbonated beverages.

The bottles intended for containing non-carbonated beverages are filled without the support of a gas being under pressure, and can be provided with an outer surface showing one or mere horizontal grooves, with a height cf up to several centimeters, which make it more convenient for the user to seize and hold the bottle.

While they also contribute to improving the mechanical strength of the bottle when it is subject to a vertical load, ie. a condition that arises when the bottles are full and piled upon each other in multi-tier arrangements, said grooves however have a serious drawback in that they do not allow the related bottles to be filled with carbonated beverages or, at any rate, to be used with an inner pressure in excess of 2 to 3 bar.

As a matter cf fact, such an inner' pressure would inevitably cause the plastic grooves to become stretched and, ultimately, the bottles to become longer, even b^ several millimeters.

When these bottles are then piled upon each other in multi-tier arrangements, said elongation sums up cor responding 1y, which thing is by no means acceptable considering the strict dimensional constraints put by the final bottle containers.

In order to avoid this drawback, plastic bottles with a plainly smooth or almost smooth surface are in fact being used to contain carbonated or, anyway, under-pressure beverages .

However, while it eliminates the problem of the elongation of the bottles due the the internal pressure, this measure does not fail to bring about a new problem: due to the thin wa11-thickness of the plastic bottle and its characteristics of great flexibility under bending load, a normal plastic bottle of the above described type ? proves very inconvenient to handle owing to both the fact that it lacks any suitable grip, which thing does not allow sma11-handed persons, eg. children, to seize and handle the bottle with a single hand, and the fact that, even if the bottle has been properly seized with a single hand, it can quite easily occur, when pouring the contents of the bottle, that the bottle is bent or deflected accidentally by a simple pressure of the hand; this usually causes the pouring opening of the bottle to bend sidewards and the liquid to be spilled.

It is of course possible to increase the wall thickness of the bottle, but this would lead to a considerable increase in costs since such bottles are normally massproduced in very large quantities, ie. up to several thousands per hour for each plant.

Apart from this consideration, it is quite apparent that it still is most suitable to provide for the use of two distinct, different types of bottles, but this obviously puts an easily understandable additional burden in terms of both management and organization complexity and manufacturing-related complications.

Furthermore, both above described types of bottles have two further drawbacks: 1) the bottom of the bottles is formed by the extension of the side cylindrical wall which is divided into a plurality of regular, similar bulges that are arranged orderly in a circle and are oriented downwards.

The side external contour of said bulges is inscribed in the geometric half-sphere that closes the bottle in its lower section and that has, as its great circle, the same lower section of the cylinder forming the bottle.

The petaloid formed by said bulges only extends to a certain extent downwards, ie. down to a certain depth, so that it can form the bearing perimeter of the bottle.

The partial hemisphere-like curvature of the petaloid has the purpose of letting the bulges take on the slightest possible deformation due to the combined, but antagonistic effect of the superimposed loaa and tne internal pressure.

However, the bearing base of the bottle is in this way reduced to a considerable extent, with the consequence of the obvious, undesired effects on the stability of the bottle itself, particularly if it is uncapped, which may be brought about by even the slightest impact or push.

In order to do away with that particular drawback, special plastic bases having a circular, cover-like shape have been developed, which, when attached externally to the bottom of the bottle, are instrumental in increasing the bearing perimeter of the bottle itself. However, it is quite apparent how this measure brings about the inevitable complication of an additional manufacturing operation and the addition of the related mate ri a 1 and manufacturing costs. 2) The second drawback derives from the fact that paper labels which usually are applied onto the outer surface of the bottle, following rubbing against adjacent bottles or the walls of holding or guiding/conveying means during handling, are quite likely to become damaged or torn off, giving in this way rise to clear inconveniences for the consumer, to a certain loss of image of the contents of the bottles, as well as to the necessity of sorting out the damaged bottles in view of re-applying the missing or damaged labels.

It would therefore be quite desirable, and it actually is the purpose of the present invention, to provide a single type of plastic blottle which may be mass-produced on an industrial basis to very large quantities; which can be advantageously used to contain both carbonated, ie. under pressure, and non-carbonated beverages; which will not imply any increase in the amount of material used to obtain the same geometric shape and inner volume; which is able to preserve adequate mechanical characteristics for practical indeformabi1ity under the combined stress produced by a superimposed load and an inner pressure; which proves very convenient to seize and handle; and which finally ensures an improved stability.

This aim is reached in a type of bottle which is hereinafter further described by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: - Figure 1 is the view of a vertical section of a bottle according to the invention; - Figures 2a and 2b are a vertical and plan view, respectively, of the cross-section of the bottom portion of one of said bottles according to the invention; - Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 show some other possible embodiments of the bottle according to Figure 1.

The characteristics of the invention are better defined in the appended claims.

Referring now to the above cited Figures, it is possible to pinpoint following features: 1) recesses arranged circularly on the outer cylindrical surface of the bottle, 2) vertical ribs separating said adjacent recesses from one another, 3) outer surfaces having the greatest radius of the bottle, 4) outer surface having the intermediate radius of the bottle in correspondence of the area intended for attachment of the label, ) appropriately radiused fillets between the surfaces 4 and 5 , 6) label 7) lower bearing bulges, 8) external side of the bulges, 9) semi-circular, mechanically strengthening ribs between said bulges, ) point of attachment of the outer ends of said ribs, 11) junction element for the internal ends of the ribs 9. 12) horizontally running groove obtained on the outer surface , 13) side parallel flanks of the ribs 9, , 15) arcuate interruption surfaces for the groove 12. In view of making it easier tc describe the above elements and features, which at any rate are almost selfexplaining when looking at the Figures, suffice it to say that the present invention is based on the construction of a bearing structure of the bottle, which is embodied by allowing the whole cylindrical surface 3 of the bottle, except for some defined lengths occupied by a plurality of semi-circular ribs 9, to essentially reach fully down to the bearing plane of the bottle.

Said semi-circular ribs 9 are injection or blow molded integrally from the same material forming the bottle and are arranged with their outer point of attachment 10 all along the perimetral surface at a height above the bearing plane of the bottle which is slightly smaller than the radius of the bearing base itself^ The internal end of each one of said ribs blends into a common element 11, which is slightly concave in its shape and is provided to shut off and relieve the mutual, opposing stresses induced by said ribs 9.

Closure between adjacent ribs is ensured by the bulges 7, onto which the inner pressure is released and which are in turn retained by the ribs 9.

Said ribs constitute therefore a stiffening means capping the bottom of the bottle and, having such a stiffening means a half-spherical shape owing to the length, shape and arrangement of said ribs, the utmost strength and, as a consequence, the slightest possible distortion is ensured, with the practical possibility, therefore, of allowing the outer, circularly shaped sides 8 of the bulges 7 to reach fully down to the bearing plane. It is in this way possible, in other words, to achieve an adequately large bearing base without any risk of appreciable distortion, any increase of the amount of material used, or any addition of separately applied bases or socles.

In practice, a configuration is in this way achieved, which is the exact opposite, or better the negative of the known solution, so that the characteristics o ' mechanical strength hitherto ensured by the halfspherical profile of the bulges, are in the embodiment according to this invention accomplished with far better results by the plurality of semi-circular, radially arranged ribs reciprocally relieving the stresses through the common element 11.

In order to improve the effectiveness of said ribs, it is preferable that these are achieved in the shape of arcuate strips having a finite, constant width, with the flanks 13 running parallel and ideally obtainable through simple bending without any torsion of the rectangle having the same width and length.

The mechanical compressive, flexural and elongation strength characteristics, as well as the possibility of conveniently seizing and handling the bottle, are achieved through a plurality of recesses 1 that are arranged according to a regular pattern on the outer surface, at the same height.

Said recesses can be achieved by starting from a horizontally running groove 12 obtained on the outer surface and interrupted by suitable structural elements extending vertically.

In a preferable way, said recesses are separated by vertical ribs 2 connecting the upper portion 3 with the lower portion 4 of the bottle.

The reasons why the above described embodiment is able to ensure excellent mechanical performances will by now be quite clear to any expert in the art. No further explanation will therefore be given hereinafter.

And it is just as apparent that the embodiments shown in the Figures from 3 through to 6 are only a few of the many possible variants according to this invention, among which it will be possible to also select based on the particular seizability and styling characteristics offered by each different embodiment.

The protection of the label 6 will be ensured by designing bottles having differentiated diameters along their vertical extension, ie. with a larger diameter in correspondence of the upper and lower portions 3 of the bottle, and a smaller diameter in correspondence of the intermediate portion 4 onto which the label has to be applied, as it is well-known in the state of the art.

The label will in this way be unable to come into contact with either tangential walls or other adjacent bottles of the same type.

The improvement consists in the fact that the junctions between the two different diameters of the bottle are carried out by means of suitably radiused, superimposed fillets 5, of which the upper fillet is a part of the afore mentioned groove 12.

It will be appreciated that what has been afore said and shown with reference to the accompanying drawings has only been set forth by mere way of example of the present invention and its improvements, and that it may therefore be the subject of any modifications considered to be appropriate without departing from the scopes of the invent i on .

Claims (10)

1. ) Plastic bottle with an essentially cylindrical shape, the bearing base of which being formed by a petaloid consisting in a plurality of bulges (7), characterized in that the separation between contiguous bulges is ensured by corresponding arcuate ribs (9) arranged radially from the centre of said bearing base along respective vertical planes, said ribs connecting corresponding points of attachment (10) on the outer lower surface of tne dottle with an element (11), of a preferably circular shape, arranged centrally in a position which is preferably at a distance with respect to the bearing plane.

2. ) Plastic bottle according to claim 1, characterized in that said ribs (9) have the shape of a quarter of a circlp, while their radius is equal to the radius of the bottle minus half the size of said flat element (11).

3. ) Plastic bottle according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that said ribs (9) are tangential to the surface of the bottle in the corresponding outer points of attachment (10).

4. ) Plastic bottle according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that each one of said ribs (9) is a surface that is fully extensible with the whole of its area over a single plane having a prolonged rectangular shape and a finite width.

5. ) Plastic bottle according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that the external sides (8) of said bulges (9) are essentially vertical extensions down to the bearing plane of the overlying cylindrical surface .

6. ) Plastic bottle with an essentially cylindrical shape, characterized in that it has on its outer surface a plurality of similar recesses (1) arranged in an orderly pattern and at the same height.

7. ) Plastic bottle according to claim 6, characterized in that said recesses (1) are separated by respective vertical ribs (2) recti1inear 1 y connecting the upper portion (3) of the bottle, with respect to said recesses, with the lower portion (4).

8. ) Plastic bottle according to claim 6, characterized in that said recesses (1) are formed by arcuate surfaces produced by a regular, preferably symmetrical groove (12) moulded in horizontally along the outer surface of the bottle and interrupted according to a regular pattern by a plurality of further arcuate surfaces (15, 16) having a vertical development.

9. ) Plastic bottle according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that its outer surface is provided with two circularly radiused, horizontal and parallel fillets (5) arranged at a different height on said outer surface, which delimit an inner portion (4) with respect to said fillets and an outer upper and lower portion (3), said inner portion (4) having a curvature radius which is constant and smaller than the radius of said outer portions (3).

10. ) Bottle according to claim 9, characterized in that the upper fillet (5) is positioned in corrispondence of the upper side of said groove (12).