KR19990007879A - Containers with integral handles, preforms and methods of making the same - Google Patents

Abstract

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a preform for a container made of orientated thermoplastic material and arranged such that the blown container is arranged to include a handle or similar support structure, protruding from the positioning ring and the positioning ring on the expanded portion and integrally molded together and the container The present invention relates to a preform comprising a neck portion comprising a solid stem of the oriented thermoplastic material constituting the handle, and a forming structure having an extended portion below the neck portion. In a preferred embodiment, there are two non-expansion regions just below the positioning ring, the first regions being raised or otherwise distinguished. The ribbed handle is attached to the positioning ring and the non-extended area.

Description

Containers with integral handles, preforms and methods of making the same

There has been a study to combine blowing molded containers similar to integral handles in PET (see, eg, Thompson Applicant and assigned U.S. Patent to TriTech Systems International, Inc.). 4,629,598). The parison in which the bottle with the handle of US Pat. No. 4,629,598 is manufactured is shown in FIG. However, until now, research has been unsuccessful to produce variants of this arrangement made from practical materials. Instead, the best that appears to have been performed in commercial practice is an arrangement in which the blown container at each stage of manufacture after the container itself is manufactured is arranged to allow or pinch the grip on the handle. (Reference Examples: WO82 / 02371 and WO82 / 02370, filed by Thomson).

Injection stretch blowing molding is a method in which the parison is stretched axially and radially to create biaxial orientation.

Biaxial orientation provides increased tensile strength (top rod), lower permeability due to the tight arrangement of molecules, improved droplet impact, transparency, and lightweight container.

Not all thermoplastics can have oriented properties. The main thermoplastics used are polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polypropylene (PP). PET is by far the largest volume material, followed by PVC, PP, and PAN.

Amorphous materials with a wide range of thermoplastics, for example PET, are easier to stretch-blow than are partially crystalline forms such as PP. Close melt and stretching to provide maximum vessel properties are described below:

Material Melt (℃) Stretch (℃)

PET 280 107

PVC 180 120

PAN 210 120

PP 240 160

In essence, there are two types of methods for stretching-blowing molding: 1) a single step in which a preform is made, the bottle is blown on the same machine, and 2) a preform is performed on one machine, and on another machine. Two steps blown later.

Single stage devices can handle PVC, PET, and PP. Once the parison is formed, it is passed through a conditioning apparatus leading to a suitable orientation temperature. Single-stage systems allow a process from raw material to finish product in one machine, but because the equipment cannot be easily changed, the method is optimal for certain applications and low volumes.

The oriented PVC container is most commonly carried out in a single step, exclusion type machine. The parison is extruded in a single or double head unit. Temperature control, stretching, and thread formation are performed in a variety of ways, depending on the design of the machine. Many of the methods currently in use are proprietary.

Many oriented PET containers are made in a single stage device. The preform is first injection molded and then conveyed to a temperature control site, followed by a blow molding operation in which the preform is stretch blown into a bottle and finally conveyed to an outlet.

Using a two-step method, the processing parameters for prefabrication and bottle blowing can be maximized. If the user is performing in a single stage device, the user does not have to match the preliminary design and weight, production rate, and bottle quality. The user can make or purchase a preform. And if he chooses to make a figure, he can do so in one or more places that are suitable for his market. Both high and low yield machines can be purchased. Two stage exclusion machines are generally used to make oriented PP bottles. In a typical manner, while the neck finish is trimmed and removed, the preform can be reextruded, cooled, cut, reheated, and stretched to have a suitable length. The two step method is the cheapest method of making oriented PET containers. The two-step method of enabling injection molding of preforms and then transporting them to the blow molding site allows the company to become a preform producer and sell it to the blow molding producer. Thus, companies wishing to market with oriented PET containers will minimize their capital requirements. Two stage stretch blow molding is also used to make oriented PVC containers. The preliminary design and the final container and its relationship are still the most important factors. In order for the container to properly package the intended product, an appropriate stretching ratio in the axial and circumferential directions must be met.

Material Stretch Non Orientation Temperature (℉)

PET 16/1 195-240 (91-116 ° C)

PVC 7/1 210-240 (99-116 ° C)

PAN 9/1 220-260 (104-127 ℃)

PP 6/1 260-280 (127-138 ° C)

It is an object of the present invention to produce a practical, easily performable injection, stretching blow molding container made from an oriented thermoplastic material which engages a handle formed as part during injection, stretching blow molding operations.

Summary of the Invention

According to one aspect of the invention, a preform for a container made of an oriented thermoplastic material is provided and the blown container produced is arranged to include a handle or similar support structure, the preform being positioned on the expansion portion and the positioning ring. It includes a neck portion comprising a solid stem of oriented thermoplastic material constituting the handle when protruding from and integrally molded together and forming a container, and a forming structure having an extension below this neck portion.

The stem preferably protrudes from the positioning ring and from a temperature transition region located just below the ring.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of forming a container having an integral handle, the method

(a) forming a preform having an locating ring over the swelling portion and a neck portion comprising a solid stem of an oriented thermoplastic material protruding from and integrally molded from the locating ring and the swelling portion below the neck portion, and

(b) performing a blow molding operation on the preform to expand the expanded portion to form the body of the container.

The stem preferably protrudes from the positioning ring and from a temperature transition region located just below the ring.

In a preferred form of the invention, the neck portion and the integral handle are subjected to a crystallization step.

Preferably, the blow molding operation supports the stem while the preform is blown in such a way that at least a portion of the outer surface of the tube expands to enclose at least a lower portion of the stem to form a hermetic grip portion between the outer surface and the solid stem. Steps.

It is desirable for the closed grip portion to pass two or more fingers of an adult hand.

In a particularly preferred form of the invention the stem is formed such that at least part of the stem protruding from the outer surface of the tube has an overall I-shaped cross section. The handle may be curved to provide additional strength.

In a further broad form of the invention a parison for an injection stretch blow molding method is provided, wherein the parison is formed by an injection method comprising two separation points of injection.

The first point of injection is preferably injection of non-regenerated PET or similar thermoplastic material. The second point of injection is preferably to inject a pseudo thermoplastic material comprising at least a portion of PET or recycled material.

The first point of injection is preferably aimed at the formation of a portion of the parison that is stretched during the stretch blowing operation on the parison. The second point of injection is preferably aimed at the formation of a portion of the parison that remains unexpanded or substantially unexpanded in a stretch blowing operation on the parison.

In a further broad form of the invention there is provided a container made from a two-stage injection stretch blow molding process, the container comprising a catchable handle attached to the container at least at the first and second points, wherein It forms a sealed area between the handle and the bottle through which it can pass.

Preferably said first point of the connection comprises an integral connection between the handle and the container and is formed in the first step of the two step operation.

Preferably said second point of connection is formed during the second stage of said two stage operation.

Preferably at the second point of the interconnection the handle is part of the container in which the mechanically connected linkage is formed at the second point of the linkage of the handle to the container such that it is blown during the second step of the second stage operation. And at least partially folded by the aperture.

In a particularly preferred form the aperture comprises one of an upwardly extending hook, a downwardly extending hook, a sphere or a combination of one or more thereof.

The present invention relates to preforms into which containers, such as PET containers, can be blown, and more particularly to containers formed from preforms with preforms and integral handles.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, embodiments of the invention will be described by way of examples:

1 is a side view of a parison of the prior art.

2 is a side view of a parison incorporating features in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a partial elevation view of a blow molded PET container formed from a preform in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a diagram showing a step of forming a parison according to another embodiment of the present invention.

5A is a side view of a preform in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5B is a side view of the container formed from the mold of FIG. 5A.

6 is a side view of the die in an open position for making a preform.

FIG. 7 shows the die of FIG. 6 in a closed position. FIG.

8 is a side view of the die of FIGS. 6 and 7 showing the stem of the preform located therein.

Detailed description of the drawings

A container 10 according to an embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 3. The container includes a neck 11 and an extension 12.

The neck 11 has a threaded portion 13 and a retaining ring 14. The stem 15 has a first portion 15a extending out of the ring and a second portion 15b inclined towards the first portion 15a which is substantially parallel to the direction of the vertical axis of the container 10. It is molded integrally with. In this case, the first portion 15a is in the range slightly larger than 45 ° with respect to the wall 20, and the second portion is in the range of at least about 20 ° with respect to the wall 20.

The special shaped stem 15, when formed as a handle, is selected to be lifted by the fingers of a human hand.

The stem 15 ends at the stem end 16 which generally abuts in the general direction of the closed end of the vessel 16.

In such a case, the stem 15 may be treated with an I- to counteract the unwanted action occurring at the connection 17 or almost the connection of the ring 14 and the stem 15 after the blowing operation on the preform 10. It has a cross section of the form.

These undesired results include stress effects and non-uniform cooling due to non-uniform cooling through the volume of the preform, in particular in cross section.

In this embodiment of the invention, the preform is formed from PET and is made using a heated mold.

In order to make the container 10, a parison or preform 26 (see FIG. 2) according to an embodiment of the invention is placed in a blow molding machine (not shown), whereby the neck ( The neck 11 can be blow molded according to the biaxially oriented blow molding method supported in the mold so that it is not expanded. Initially, the expandable portion of the preform beneath the neck can be mechanically stretched down to the bottom of the mold, after which much of the preform is applied with compressed air, so that the support 18 is formed around the stem end 16. In a process in which the sealed region 19 is formed by blow molding of the container 10, it may be blown outwardly so as to be formed between the wall 20 and the stem 15 of the container 10.

In a particularly preferred form of the invention, the enclosed area 19 is present in a sufficient cross section so that two or more fingers are inserted in its cross section to hold the handle 15 to support the container 10.

Blow molding operations are performed in such a way as to provide bottles or containers with optimum strength by achieving improved barrier properties that reduce the biaxial orientation and oxidation of molecules of the desired PET material.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the neck 11 and the handle 15 can be crystallized by overheating said part of the preform. Crystallization of the handle increases the strength, which aids in the orientation of the preform and reduces the use of materials.

Crystallization of the neck and handle can be performed by flowing hot oil over the neck and handle, applying open flame, and blowing hot air.

The placement of the handle 15 on the ring 14 minimizes interference with the blow molding process applied to the remaining preforms. A single step or two step process may be used.

FIG. 1 shows a conventional preform or parison 21 of US Pat. No. 4,629,598. The prior art concept is to form the handle portion 23 from the positioning ring of the non-expanded portion 22 made up of the parison 21.

With respect to FIG. 2 and to the detailed description of the preferred embodiment, this arrangement of FIG. 1 is in many ways modified according to the invention.

2A, 2B and 2C show the apertures 27 forming part of the stem end 16 in the form of a hook 24a extending downwards, a sphere 24b and a hook 24 extending upwards, respectively. It is.

These parts are usually of a type suitable for mechanically engaging the blown portion of the container 10 suitable for wrapping the aperture 27.

The process by which the second stage blowing of the expandable portion 12 of the parison 26 wraps around the aperture 27 of the stem end 16 is a stretch blowing, biaxial orientation process.

4 illustrates a particular method of making parison 26 according to another embodiment of the present invention. And a second step for the formation of the parison by an injection molding process. In step 1, the first injection mold inlet 28 allows plastic material to be introduced to form the extension 12 of the parison 26 (expanded in the blow molding step for vessel formation, see FIG. 3). .

In a second step of the injection molding process for forming the parison 26, the second injection mold inlet 29 allows plastic material to flow in to form the non-expandable portion 25 of the parison 26.

The second stage injection arrangement allows different plastic materials to be injected through the first injection mold inlet 28 and the second injection mold inlet 29.

In a particularly preferred form, the plastic material injected into the first injection mold inlet 28 is a plastic material that is not reused or substantially recycled while the plastic material injected into the second injection mold inlet 29 is reused or at least partially. It is a plastic material that can be reused.

This arrangement allows the ratio of the recycled plastic material and the non-reused plastic material to be adjusted to be used, thus making the optimum cost in the construction of the parison 26.

In a variant of this arrangement, step 2 may involve manufacturing two walls in the non-expandable portion 25 that include the inner wall 51 and the outer wall 52. The inner wall 51 is made of pure or uncontaminated PET material and acts as an insulating barrier against the wall 52, which may be made of recycled material 52. Such double wall arrangements can then be made by using sliding core arrangements as a variant of the die arrangements described with reference to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 herein.

Of course, the steps of steps 1 and 2 of FIG. 4 may be reversed in order.

A parison and formed container according to a further embodiment of the invention are shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, respectively. Reference numerals in like parts are the same as in the preceding embodiments.

In this embodiment, the parison 21 comprises a positioning ring 14, directly below the ring, a first non-expansion region 30 and a second non-expansion region 31. The first non-expansion region 30 is formed by itself and slightly raised or otherwise distinguished from the expandable portion of the parison 21. The second non-expansion region 31 may not be distinguished from the expandable portion of the parison 21, but in use it will be ensured that the blowing operation does not expand in the second non-expansion region 31 blowing process.

In this case, the stem 15 includes a first rib 32 that is integrally molded and extends from the positioning ring 14. The stem 15 also includes a second rib 33 that is integrally molded and extends from the second non-expansion region 31. The stem 15 is also integrally molded and extends from the first non-expansion region 30 and forms a continuous connection over the entire length of the stem 15 between the first rib 32 and the second rib 33. A rib connector 34 is included.

The parison 36 of FIG. 5A is then blown in the manner described above to form the volume 35 of the vessel 36 shown in FIG. 5B. The neck comprising the stem 15, the ring 14, the first non-expansion region 30 and the second non-expansion region 31 remains unexpanded, while the expandable portion 36 of the parison 36 It is stretched in the biaxial direction to make up most of the volume 35 of the container 37. The stem end 16 comprises a stem according to the above-described embodiment for connecting to the container 37, or alternatively or additionally in addition or in addition to including adhesive application, the chemical bond uses a chemical medium to produce the stem end 16. ) And the wall of the container 37.

In a variation of the embodiment of FIGS. 5A and 5B, the first non-expansion region 30 and the second non-expansion region 31 may form part of a single non-expansion region.

In another variant, a second non-expansion region 31 may be disposed in the conduction transition zone of the vessel so that minimal expansion occurs during the blow molding step.

In another variant, the first non-expansion region 30 and the second non-expansion region 31 may be arranged in a temperature transition zone directly below the positioning ring 14, again with minimal expansion in these regions. This can happen at the time of blowing.

With regard to the last two modifications described, the advantages described are limited by these mold transitions and rib control 34 by the second rib 33 and rib connector 34 as the expansion in the temperature transition zone is limited. By rigidly interconnecting the ring 14 to the ring 14 (or other non-extended zone of the neck 11), it is accepted that the unwanted warping effect caused can be controlled.

Preformed and blown containers to be used may be prepared as follows:

The preform is formed of an oriented thermoplastic material, preferably PET or similar material by injection molding process. Sliding dies are shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, which include a sliding core 40, a sliding block 41, a body 42, a base 43, a push-block 44. ) And split holders (45). FIG. 6 shows the die in an open state, FIG. 7 shows the die in a closed state, and FIG. 8 shows a side view showing that the stem 14 is received.

The finished preforms in the second and preferably separate steps are then fed to the stretch blow mold moulds and first reheated to a suitable transition temperature (called introduction). The non-expandable portion, including the positioning ring 14 and the stem 15, is substantially protected from the reheating process by suitable protection. In most cases, it is believed that there is a temperature transition region within the regions 30, 31 described in connection with FIGS. 5A and 5B.

The reheated preform is then placed in the mold, biaxially stretched, and the expandable portion is blown in at full scale using methods known in the art. During this process the preform can be supported by the neck 14 and also by the stem 15. The stem 15 is not involved in the blowing process even if the stem end 16 can be partially wrapped by the outer wall of the blown container.

The foregoing merely describes some embodiments of the invention and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Embodiments of the present invention are made of an oriented thermoplastic material and can be applied to making a container that includes a handle or that traps the fixture as an integral component of the container.

Claims (30)

Blown containers made and made of an oriented thermoplastic material are preforms for containers arranged to include handles or similar support structures, which protrude from the positioning rings and positioning rings on the extended portion and are integrally molded together to form the containers. A preform comprising a neck portion comprising a solid stem of the oriented thermoplastic material constituting the handle, and a forming structure having an extension under the neck portion. A method of forming a container having an integral handle, (a) forming a preform having an locating ring over the swelling portion and a neck portion comprising a solid stem of oriented thermoplastic material protruding from and integrally molded from the locating ring and the swelling portion below the neck portion, and (b) performing a blow molding operation on the preform to expand the expanded portion to form the body of the container. 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the neck portion and the integral handle undergo a crystallization step. 3. The stem of claim 2, wherein the blow molding operation supports the stem while blowing the preform in such a way that it extends some or all of the outer surface of the tube to enclose at least the bottom of the stem to form a closed grip portion between the outer surface and the solid stem. Making a step; The method of claim 4 wherein the closed grip portion passes two or more fingers of an adult hand. The method of claim 2, wherein the stem is formed such that some or all of the stem protruding from the outer surface of the tube has an overall I-shaped cross section. A parison for an injection stretch blow molding process, the parison being formed by an injection method comprising two separate injection points. 8. The parison of claim 7, wherein the first injection point injects non-regenerated PET or similar thermoplastic material. 9. The parison of claim 7 or 8, wherein the second injection point injects a pseudo thermoplastic material comprising some or all of the PET or recycled material. 9. The parison of claim 7 or 8, wherein the first injection point forms a portion of the parison that is stretched during the stretch blowing operation on the parison. 10. The parison of claim 9, wherein the second injection point remains unexpanded or substantially unexpanded in the stretch blowing operation on the parison. A container manufactured from a two-step injection stretch blow molding process, comprising: a grip between a handle and a bottle through which a finger of a human hand can pass, including a grippable handle attached to the container at at least first and second points A container forming an area. 13. A container according to claim 12, wherein the first point of the connection comprises an integral connection between the handle and the container and is formed in the first step of the two step operation. 14. The container of claim 13, wherein said second point of connection is formed during a second stage of said two stage operation. 15. The mechanically interconnected connection of claim 14, wherein at the second point of the interconnection the handle comprises a spherical portion that is partially or wholly folded by a portion of the container blown during the second stage of the second stage operation. Is formed at the second point of the connection portion of the handle to the container. 16. The container of claim 15, wherein the spherical portion comprises an upwardly extending hook, a downwardly extending hook, a sphere, or a combination of one or more thereof. The container according to claim 12, wherein an adhesive is used to assist the connection at said second point of the interconnect. The preform of claim 1, further comprising a positioning ring with a first non-expansion area and a second non-expansion area immediately below. 19. The preform of claim 18, wherein the first non-expansion region is formed to be somewhat raised or otherwise distinguished from the extended portion of the parison. 20. The preform of claim 18 or 19, wherein the second non-expansion region is not distinguished from the extended portion of the parison. 21. The preform according to claim 18, wherein the stem comprises a first rib integrally molded with the positioning ring and extending from the ring. The preform of claim 21, further comprising a second rib integrally molded with the second non-expansion region and extending from the region. 23. The rib connector of claim 22, wherein the rib connector is formed integrally with the first non-expansion region and extends from the region to form a continuous connection between the first rib and the second rib over the length of the stem. An additional form included. The preform according to any one of claims 18 to 23, wherein the second non-expansion region forms a temperature transition region portion. 25. The preform of any one of claims 18 to 24, wherein the first non-expansion region forms a temperature transition region portion. 26. The preform according to claim 24 or 25, wherein the deformation of the temperature transition zone occurs during the stretch blow molding process. 27. The preform according to any one of claims 18 to 26, wherein the preform produced by a two-step injection molding process forms a preform in which the material is injected at different locations on the die to consist of one or more materials. 29. The preform of claim 27 wherein the inner and outer walls of the preform are formed during one or two steps of the two-step method and the inner wall is made from a material different from the outer wall. 29. A container blow-stretched from the preform of any one of claims 18 to 28. 29. A stretch blow molded container made from PET material and stretched from the preform of any one of claims 18-28.