JP2015515953A - Container with improved load carrying capacity - Google Patents

Abstract

A container with improved load bearing capability is provided. In a general embodiment, the present disclosure provides a container having at least one chamfer at a location where the side wall meets the bottom wall. In another embodiment, the container includes a bottom wall and at least four side walls, the side walls forming a corner where adjacent side walls meet. The corner portion has a chamfered shape at a position where the corner portion meets the bottom wall. The container of the present disclosure has approximately the same axial load and compression resistance capability as a similar container having a larger wall thickness without at least one chamfer. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  [0001] The present disclosure relates generally to containers. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to containers with improved load bearing capability.

  [0002] Currently, the market includes containers of many different shapes and sizes that can contain consumable products. The shape and size of the container may depend on, among other things, the amount of product to be contained within, the type of product to be contained within, consumer demand, desired aesthetics, cost considerations, or structural requirements . For example, it may be important to provide a consumable product container that can be manufactured inexpensively when the final product is made available to consumers at a competitive price.

  [0003] Alternatively, wear with structural integrity that improves structural and aesthetic features by preventing compression of the container with pressure generally associated with product packaging, transport, storage, and display It may be important to provide product containers. One example of this type of pressure includes a top load force. In this regard, containers may be stacked one on top of the other during packaging, shipping, and display. Accordingly, the container must be manufactured to withstand, without buckling, the compressive force applied by one or more filled containers placed at the top of the container. Accordingly, there is a need for a consumable product container with improved structural features that results in an affordable structurally robust container.

  [0004] The present disclosure relates to a load-bearing container for containing consumable products. In a general embodiment, the present disclosure provides a container that includes at least one chamfer at a location where the side wall meets the bottom wall. The container has approximately the same axial load and compression resistance as a similar container having a larger wall thickness without at least one chamfer.

  [0005] In another embodiment, a container is provided, the container comprising an interior formed by a bottom and a wall, at least one chamfered portion where the wall meets the bottom, and at least one chamfered portion. It includes a similar container with a greater wall thickness without it and approximately the same axial load and compression capacity.

  [0006] In yet another embodiment, a container is provided, the container including a bottom wall and at least four side walls. The side wall forms a corner where adjacent side walls meet each other, and the corner has a chamfered shape at a position where the corner meets the bottom wall.

  [0007] In one embodiment, a similar container is formed from a sheet having a thickness of about 52 mils.

  [0008] In one embodiment, the axial load capacity is about 50 ft-pounds.

  [0009] In one embodiment, the container comprises at least two chamfers, or at least three chamfers, or at least four chamfers.

  [0010] In one embodiment, the chamfer is about 10 ° to about 60 °, or about 20 ° to about 50 °, or about 30 ° to about 40 °, or about 10 °, or About 15 ° or about 20 ° or about 25 ° or about 30 ° or about 35 ° or about 40 ° or about 45 ° or about 50 ° or about 55 Or an angle of about 60 °.

  [0011] In one embodiment, the container includes a flange portion extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sidewall. The flange may have a flat upper end surface.

  [0012] In one embodiment, the container includes a boundary along the upper end of the container. The boundary may include texture features such as a plurality of ridges, for example. The texture feature can help to improve the grip of the container by the consumer or the accumulation of the container.

  [0013] In one embodiment, the container further comprises a lid. The lid may be formed from a material selected from the group consisting of plastic, cardboard, card stock, paperboard, expanded styrene, or combinations thereof.

  [0014] In one embodiment, the container is from about 1.0 ounces to about 10.0 ounces, or from about 2.0 ounces to about 9.0 ounces, or from about 3.0 ounces to about 8.0 ounces. Or a volume ranging from about 4.0 ounces to about 7.0 ounces, or from about 5.0 ounces to about 6.0 ounces.

  [0015] In one embodiment, the container is configured to contain a consumable product selected from the group consisting of a solid, semi-solid, liquid, gel, or combinations thereof.

  [0016] In one embodiment, the container is configured to contain a consumable product selected from the group consisting of infant food, infant food, or combinations thereof.

  [0017] In one embodiment, the container is made from a material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, low density polyethylene, high density polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyethylene terephthalate, or combinations thereof.

  [0018] In one embodiment, the container has a shape selected from the group consisting of a cube, a cuboid, a cylinder, a prism, or a combination thereof.

  [0019] In yet another embodiment, a method is provided for reducing vessel wall thickness while maintaining vessel axial compression load capability. The method includes forming a container having one bottom wall and at least four side walls, the side walls forming a corner where adjacent side walls meet, and the corner is a bottom where the corner is the bottom. It has a chamfered shape at the position where it meets the wall.

  [0020] In one embodiment, the container is configured to maintain an axial load compression resistance capability while having a reduced wall thickness compared to a similar container that does not have at least one chamfer.

  [0021] In another embodiment, a method is provided for reducing the cost of manufacturing a container. The method includes forming a container with at least one chamfer at a location where the side wall meets the bottom wall, the container being substantially similar to a similar container having a larger wall thickness without at least one chamfer. Has the same axial load compression resistance. Cost is reduced by forming the container from a preform that is thinner than the preform used to form a similar container.

  [0022] In yet another embodiment, a method is provided for reducing the amount of raw material needed to manufacture. The method includes forming a container with at least one chamfer at a location where the side wall meets the bottom wall, the container being substantially similar to a similar container having a larger wall thickness without at least one chamfer. Has the same axial load compression resistance. The amount of raw material is reduced by forming the container from a preform that is thinner than the preform used to form a similar container.

  [0023] In yet another embodiment, a method is provided for reducing waste material from a container. The method includes forming a container with at least one chamfer at a location where the side wall meets the bottom wall, the container being substantially similar to a similar container having a larger wall thickness without at least one chamfer. Has the same axial load compression resistance. Waste material is reduced by forming the container from a preform that is thinner than the preform used to form a similar container.

  [0024] An advantage of the present disclosure is to provide an improved container.

  [0025] Another advantage of the present disclosure is to provide a container with improved load bearing capability.

  [0026] Yet another advantage of the present disclosure is to provide a container having chamfered corners to distribute axial compression loads.

  [0027] Yet another advantage of the present disclosure is to provide a container constructed and constructed to prevent buckling under compressive loads generally associated with manufacturing, packaging, and retail delivery. .

  [0028] Yet another advantage of the present disclosure is to provide a container that is manufactured using fewer raw materials while maintaining axial compressive load bearing capacity.

  [0029] Additional features and advantages are described herein and will be apparent from the following detailed description and drawings.

[0030] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a container according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [0031] FIG. 3 shows a side view of the container of FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [0032] FIG. 6 shows a side view of a container according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [0033] FIG. 8 illustrates a control container as described in the examples of the present disclosure. [0034] FIG. 6 illustrates a step bottom container described in an embodiment of the present disclosure. [0035] FIG. 8 shows the thickness region of a control vessel used in the finite element analysis described in the examples of the present disclosure. [0036] FIG. 9 shows a graph illustrating the force (N) / displacement (mm) response of a control container, a stepped bottom container, and a chamfered container according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [0037] FIG. 6 illustrates a thickness region of a chamfered container according to an embodiment of the present disclosure used in the finite element analysis described in the examples of the present disclosure. [0038] FIG. 6 shows a graph illustrating the force (N) / displacement (mm) response of a chamfered container having various thicknesses according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

  [0039] The present disclosure relates to load bearing containers for providing consumable products. The container is constructed and constructed to maintain load bearing properties while limiting the amount of material required for manufacturing the container.

  [0040] During packaging, shipping, and retail storage, containers can be exposed to a wide range of forces resulting from factors such as temperature and pressure changes, container stacking, container dropping, and the like. Containers may also be exposed to consumer imposed forces including, for example, container stacking, gripping pressure, and compressive force (eg, for recycling) to collapse the containers. Thus, it is desirable to produce a consumable product container that can withstand a desired amount of force but is manufactured using a smaller amount of material (eg, for cost and recycling purposes).

  [0041] Applicants have surprisingly developed containers that can optimize container performance by increasing the top load acting on the container, thereby giving the potential to reduce the thickness of the material. The improved container structure includes chamfered corners that help to eliminate breakage points that occur at the corners of the bottom of the containers in containers currently on the market. Thus, the improved container structure may also allow the material to be more evenly distributed throughout the container. Similarly, applicants can reduce the occurrence of damaged products that cannot be sold and, on the contrary, have to be discarded, by improving the axial compression load capability. By reducing the number of containers that cannot be sold, and by manufacturing containers that use less raw materials, applicants can dramatically reduce the cost of manufacturing containers.

  [0042] The containers of the present disclosure may be configured to contain any type of consumable product, including solids, semi-solids, liquids, gels, and the like. In one embodiment, the container is configured to contain a solid or semi-solid consumable product, such as infant food or infant food.

  [0043] Materials suitable for manufacturing containers of the present disclosure can include, for example, polymeric materials. Specifically, the materials for producing the bottles of the present disclosure include polyethylene (“PE”), low density polyethylene (“LDPE”), high density polyethylene (“HDPE”), polypropylene (“PP”), Polystyrene ("PS") and polyethylene terephthalate ("PET") can be mentioned but are not limited to these. The containers of the present disclosure can also be manufactured using any suitable manufacturing process such as, for example, thermoforming, conventional extrusion blow molding, stretch blow molding, injection stretch blow molding, and the like. .

  [0044] The containers of the present disclosure may be manufactured using a flat sheet of raw material. The sheet of material can be, for example, about 45 mils, or about 46 mils, or about 47 mils, or about 48 mils, or about 49 mils, or about 50 mils, or about 51 mils, or about It may be any thickness including 52 mils, or about 53 mils, or about 54 mils, or about 55 mils. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a “mil” is a unit of length equal to 1 / 1000th of an inch (0.0254 millimeter).

  [0045] The container may be, for example, from about 1 ounce to about 10 ounces, or from about 2 ounces to about 9 ounces, or from about 3 ounces to about 8 ounces, or from about 4 ounces to about 7 ounces, or about 5 ounces. Ounces to about 6 ounces, or any suitable volume such as about 2.0 ounces, 2.5 ounces, 3.0 ounces, 3.5 ounces, 4.0 ounces, 4.5 ounces, 5.0 ounces, etc. May be dimensioned.

  [0046] Similarly, the container maintains an axial compressive load, but has a flat bottom and chamfered edges to allow for a reduction in the amount of material used to manufacture the container. It may have any suitable shape that can be included. For example, the container may have a shape such as a cube, a rectangular parallelepiped, a cylinder, and a prism. Thus, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the current figure shows a generally cubic or cuboid container, although other shapes having the structural features described herein may be fabricated.

  [0047] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a container 10, which includes a sidewall 12 that meets at a corner 14, a bottom wall 16, and an upper end of the container 10. Part flange 18. The corner 14 includes a chamfer 20 at the bottom of the container 10 where the corner 14 meets the bottom wall 16. However, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, in embodiments where the container 10 has a shape that does not include corners (eg, cylindrical, oval, etc.), the chamfered portion of the container is where the side wall meets the bottom wall. It may be arranged.

  In one embodiment, the container 10 also includes a boundary 22 between the sidewall 12 and the flange 18. The boundary 22 may have a circumference measurement that is slightly shorter or slightly longer than the circumference measurement formed by the sidewall 12. In addition, the boundary 22 may include texture or structural features that help the consumer to grasp the container 10 or improve the integration of the container 10. For example, the boundary portion 22 may include a ridge 24 that protrudes toward the inside of the container 10 and includes an indentation portion outside the container 10. The ridges 24 can improve the grip of the container 10 by the consumer, or can serve to stack empty containers on top of each other.

  The flange 18 is disposed at the upper end of the container 10 and may extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sidewall 12. The flange 18 may extend beyond the outer periphery defined by the side wall 12 and may allow easy stacking of the container 10 and a cover (not shown) may be placed over the top of the container 10. It may have a substantially flat upper end. Any suitable cover or lid may be used with the container 10, including, for example, a thin film, a snap lid, a friction lid, a glued lid, and the like. Thus, any cover or lid used with container 10 may be manufactured using any suitable material, including but not limited to plastic, cardboard, card stock, paperboard, expanded styrene, and the like.

  [0050] The chamfer 20 may have any suitable angle of inclination with respect to the bottom wall 16. For example, the chamfer 20 has a range of about 10 ° to about 60 °, or about 20 ° to about 50 °, or about 30 ° to about 40 °, or about 10 °, 15 °, 20 °, 25 You may have inclination | tilt angles (theta), such as (degree), 30 degrees, 35 degrees, 40 degrees, 45 degrees, 50 degrees, 55 degrees, 60 degrees. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the container 10 may have a chamfered corner 20 of about 20 °. However, in another embodiment, the container 10 may have a chamfered corner of about 45 °, as shown in FIG.

  [0051] As further described in the examples below, Applicants surprisingly provide a structural advantage when a container 10 having a chamfer 20 is compared to other similarly shaped containers. I found out. In order to clarify the structural advantages of the chamfer 20, the applicant has determined that the chamfered container shape as in FIG. 1, the contrast shape as in FIG. 4 and the step as in FIG. 5. Several experiments were performed comparing the bottom container. As described further below, Applicants have surprisingly found that less material can be used to produce the chamfered container 10 of the present disclosure, but still maintain the compressive load performance of the container.

  [0052] As described above, when the container 10 is mass produced for retail distribution, the containers are packaged, transported, stored, and / or displayed in a stacked state that exposes the container 10 to an upper end load. The However, Applicants have surprisingly found that certain structural features (eg, chamfered corners) can help improve the performance of the container when exposed to top loads or compressive loads.

  [0053] The structural features of the container described herein preferably allow the use of a low mass preform. The reduced use of resin in the container provides the advantages of lower cost per unit and increased holding power compared to containers without such structural features. Also, by producing a container of the present disclosure using a smaller amount of raw material, the container can reduce environmental and waste effects. With the same policy, the containers can be constructed to have less waste than other containers that are formed for similar applications.

  [0054] The containers of the present disclosure may also improve ease of use and handling by manufacturers, retail stores, and consumers. In this regard, the structural features described herein provide improved top end loads, thereby reducing the special handling required by the container for manufacturing, packaging, transportation, display, etc. The

  [0055] The following examples, which are not limiting as examples, are illustrative of various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0056] Examples
[0057] Example 1
[0058] Applicants use finite element analysis ("FEA") to investigate the load bearing capacity of various container structures and to investigate the potential for material reduction without loss of compressive load performance. Several experiments were conducted. The analysis included an evaluation of the container of the present disclosure shown in FIG. 1 as well as the control container shown in FIG. 4 and the stepped container shown in FIG. Unless otherwise indicated, the containers were manufactured using commercially available 52 mil sheets for thermoforming. The experiment will first correlate the baseline buckling mode of the control vessel structure under axial compression loading and then analyze the vessel structure of the present disclosure to predict its behavior using a valid FE model. Was formulated. Finally, experiments evaluated the potential for reducing the thickness of the material used to form a container with certain structural characteristics without affecting the compressive load performance of the container.

  [0059] To build a model for FEA, Applicants divided the control container of FIG. 4 into 13 different thickness regions, as shown in FIG. The actual thickness measurements of the manufactured control containers were used to build the FEA model. The following assumptions were made for the purpose of model building. (I) Fixed and moving platens were modeled as rigid bodies, (ii) Displacement profiles were applied to the top plate for loading, (iii) Inertia effects were ignored due to the small mass of the cup (Iv) The strain rate effect was not considered.

  [0060] The control container of FIG. 4 used in the experiment has a volume of about 93.7 cc and the beveled container of FIG. 1 used in the experiment has a volume of 93.6 cc and is used in the experiment. The step bottom container of FIG. 5 had a volume of 93.77 cc. The initial compressive load of each of these containers suggests that the control container and the stepped bottom container buckle at the corners below the corner near the bottom of the container. On the other hand, the chamfered container structure of the present disclosure has moved the buckling position upward along the corner to the intermediate height position on the corner.

  [0061] Also, as shown in FIG. 7, the buckling load of the chamfered container of the present disclosure increased from about 116 N to about 142 N (an increase of about 22% over the buckling load of the control container). Also, as shown in FIG. 7, the buckling load of the stepped bottom container was increased from about 116N to about 131N (an increase of about 13% over the buckling load of the control container). More specifically, Applicants have an average peak top load (ft-pound) of about 40.3 for the control container, about 40.8 for the stepped bottom container, and about 57.6 for the chamfered container of the present disclosure. I found. Accordingly, Applicants have surprisingly found that the chamfered edge container of the present disclosure provides structural advantages over similarly dimensioned but differently shaped containers.

[0062] Example 2
[0063] In order to investigate the possibility that a container can be manufactured with less material but the compressive load performance of the container can be maintained, Applicants conduct an axial compressive load test using the control thickness chamfered container of the present disclosure. It was. Thereafter, Applicants conducted the same axial compression load test with the thickness of the chamfered container of the present disclosure reduced by about 5%. Finally, Applicants conducted the same axial compression load test with the thickness of the chamfered container of the present disclosure reduced by about 10%. In other words, the control thickness chamfered container was the same as the previously described container using a commercially available 52 mil sheet for thermoforming. A commercial sheet of about 49 mil was used to evaluate a 5% reduction in thickness and a commercial sheet of about 47 mil was used to evaluate a 10% reduction in thickness.

  [0064] Similar to the initial FEA described above, to build a model for the material thickness test FEA, Applicant applied the chamfered container of the present disclosure to 15 different thicknesses as shown in FIG. Divided into areas. The actual thickness measurements in the manufactured containers were used to build the material thickness inspection FEA model.

  [0065] As shown by FIG. 9, a 5% thickness reduction in the chamfered container of the present disclosure provides the same or similar buckling load (eg, 116 N) as the control container of FIG. A 10% thickness reduction in the chamfered container of the present disclosure provides a buckling load of about 103 N, which is a reduction of about 11% compared to the control container of FIG. More specifically, Applicants have found an average peak top load (ft-pound) of about 49.2 for the chamfered container of the present disclosure and an average peak top load (ft for the control container of about 32.7). -Pound).

  [0066] Accordingly, Applicants have surprisingly found that the corner thickness of the chamfered container of the present disclosure plays an important role in improving and / or maintaining the compressive load performance of the container. I found it. Applicants have also found that optimization of material distribution can further increase buckling load capability.

[0067] Example 3
[0068] After preliminary testing from previous Experiment 2 showed promising results for 49 mil sheets used to form the chamfered containers of the present disclosure, 30 samples of such containers were measured. It was. Applicants also conducted experiments to compare the 49 mil chamfered containers of the present disclosure with 49 mil control containers, 52 mil control containers, and 55 mil control containers. The structure of the control container is shown in FIG.

  [0069] After examining about 30 samples of each container, Applicants found an average peak load (ft-lb) of about 49.2 for a 49 mil chamfered container of the present disclosure, and a 52 mil control An average peak top load (ft-lb) of about 40.1 for the container and about 30.6 for the 55 mil control container was found. Applicant has surprisingly found an 80% increase in top load strength when using the same molding process but changing the container construction from a control container to a chamfered container of the present disclosure. Applicants have also surprisingly found that 49 mil chamfered containers outperform both 52 mil and 55 mil control containers.

  [0070] It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and without diminishing its intended advantages. Accordingly, it is intended that such modifications and variations be covered by the appended claims.

Claims (21)

  A container having at least one chamfer at a location where the side wall meets the bottom wall, the container being substantially the same axial load compression resistant as a similar container having a larger wall thickness without the at least one chamfer. A container having at least four sidewalls and an interior formed by a bottom wall and the sidewall, wherein the chamfer has an angle in the range of about 10 ° to about 60 °.   The container according to claim 1, further comprising a flange portion extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the side wall, wherein the flange portion has a flat upper end surface.   The container of claim 1, further comprising a boundary along an upper end of the container, the boundary having a texture feature.   The container of claim 3, wherein the texture feature improves gripping of the container by a consumer.   The container of claim 3, wherein the texture feature improves the stackability of the container.   The container of claim 1, further comprising a lid.   The container of claim 1, wherein the container comprises a volume in the range of about 1.0 ounces to 10.0 ounces.   The container of claim 1, wherein the container is configured to contain a consumable product selected from the group consisting of a solid, semi-solid, liquid, gel, and combinations thereof.   The container of claim 1, wherein the container is configured to contain a consumable product selected from the group consisting of infant food, infant food, and combinations thereof.   The container of claim 1, wherein the container has a shape selected from the group consisting of a cube, a cuboid, a cylinder, a prism, and combinations thereof. A method for reducing the cost of manufacturing a container,
Forming a container with at least one chamfer at a location where the side wall meets the bottom wall, the container having substantially the same axial direction as a similar container having a larger wall thickness without the at least one chamfer. A method having load-carrying capability and cost is reduced by forming the container from a preform that is thinner than the preform used to form the same container.   The method according to claim 11, further comprising a flange portion extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the side wall, wherein the flange portion has a flat upper end surface.   The method of claim 11, further comprising a boundary along an upper end of the container, wherein the boundary includes a texture feature.   The method of claim 13, wherein the texture feature improves gripping of the container by a consumer.   The method of claim 13, wherein the texture feature improves the stackability of the container.   The method of claim 11, further comprising a lid.   The method of claim 11, wherein the container comprises a volume ranging from about 1.0 ounces to 10.0 ounces.   The method of claim 11, wherein the container is configured to contain a consumable product selected from the group consisting of a solid, a semi-solid, a liquid, a gel, and combinations thereof.   The method of claim 11, wherein the container is configured to contain a consumable product selected from the group consisting of infant food, infant food, and combinations thereof.   The method of claim 11, wherein the container has a shape selected from the group consisting of a cube, a cuboid, a cylinder, a prism, and combinations thereof.   The method of claim 11, wherein reducing the cost for manufacturing the container includes reducing the amount of raw materials required to manufacture the container.

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