MXPA99006450A - Plastic container with rear screw nozzle and method and apparatus to manufacture the mi - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a self-draining vessel, molded in one piece having a body portion, an integrally formed collar, which defines a cylindrical opening having a predetermined diameter, the neck is formed in place and extends upwardly from the body portion, a dispensing nozzle formed integrally and in place and at least partially enclosed by the neck, at least a portion of the dispensing nozzle is a cylinder section having an external surface with a smaller diameter than the predetermined diameter, the dispensing nozzle has a circumferential limit of at least 180 °, but less than 360 ° and has opposite edges that define a space at the lower end of the nozzle and a wall with an annular finish, formed integrally surrounding the nozzle in a separate relationship with it, a lining reinforcement that integrally connects the wall with an anu finish With the nozzle and the nozzle with the neck, the reinforcement is formed in place with the annular finishing wall and the dispensing nozzle and cooperates therewith to define a channel for receiving liquids that are drained from the dispensing nozzle, when the container moves from the dispensing nozzle. an inverted dispensing position to a straight position, the trim reinforcement has generally parallel upper and lower wall surfaces sloping down towards the nozzle in the straight position of the container, the reinforcement extends up and out from the end bottom of the nozzle extended upwardly from the reinforcement along an axis generally parallel to the axis of the neck, the reinforcement has an essentially uniform cross-sectional thickness through its radial and circumferential boundary surrounding the nozzle; the opening through which fluids can flow from the canal to the neck and body portion when In the correct container, the container is manufactured by a process wherein at least the portions of the container comprising the neck, the dispensing nozzle, the annular finishing wall, the reinforcement and the space through which the liquids can flow. form and unite in integral form when molding a first mold by injection molding in one operation and the body is formed and then integrally joined with those injection molding portions formed in a first mold by extruding a length of a tube attached to one end thereof to one extending integrally from the finishing portion and the tube is then blown to form the body portion of the container by blow molding in a second mold but in the same molding machine apparatus, where it is carried out injection molding without requiring post-molding operations for the injection model portions formed in the first mol

Description

PLASTIC CONTAINER WITH REAR SCREW NOZZLE AND METHOD AND APPARATUS TO MANUFACTURE THE SAME Field of the Invention This invention relates to plastic containers and more particularly to a plastic container molded in one piece to include a rear pouring nozzle when molded.

Background of the Invention In the distribution of liquid from containers where only a portion of the contents of the container is used at any time as is the case with many products such as liquid detergents and bleaches, the consumer is related to the disorder that occurs due to the drop of the liquid. content of the liquid that descends by the neck the sides of the container while it is complemented and poured. Therefore, when a bottle has a. The upper neck is rotated from its normal upright storage position to an inverted distribution position and then back to its vertical position, some drops of such liquid will invariably flow down on the outside to the neck of the container. Various designs of containers in the prior art have described various characteristics of back-flow nozzle (DBS) to capture such excess fluid and cause it to drain back into the container without dripping down on the neck and sides. Many such DBS designs require a multiplicity of parts which are assembled in a post-mold operation, or require a reshaping operation to reposition the nozzle. The self-draining containers of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,989,757 and 5,114,459 overcome such problems encountered with multi-part self-draining containers by providing a one-piece self-draining container and a method and apparatus for making the same, so that the container can be molded into a single machine while being incorporated. a backflow nozzle feature as an integral part of the container, i.e. as a part of the finish formed during the molding operation of the container. Therefore, the only other element required for a complete package is a removable closure suitable for sealing the container. Such one-piece containers are much more economical to produce than a container that requires multiple pieces because the container is supplemented during molding and therefore no post-molding operations are required. In the various embodiments of one-piece self-draining containers described in the aforementioned * 757 patent, the dispensing spout is equal to or greater in diameter than the container neck, regardless of which of the methods and type of the container. machine is used in the manufacture of the same. One such container of the x757 patent is made by a type of blow molding characterized as injection-extrusion blow molding using a blow molding machine of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,804,654 (hereinafter referred to as the "654 machine") which is of wide use by the assignee of the present invention. When the? 654 machine is thus used to make the container of the? 757 patent, the lower outer surface of the stiffening member or spar extends radially outward from the neck of the container body with narrow protrusions and at right angles to the A-axis of the neck, while the upper inner surface of the reinforcement or stringer is slightly inclined to promote some liquid runoff limited backward to the lowest portion of the recess in the nozzle when the container is returned to its vertical storage position. The self-draining container of US Patent No. 5,114,659 is probably made by a method performed by the x654 machine to produce a self-draining one-piece container. Nevertheless, the container of the patent 659 differs in configuration from that of the patent? 757 in that the pouring nozzle is smaller in diameter than the neck of the container and therefore is better adapted to the wide protrusion type container shown in FIG. Patent 659 and hence it is preferred for many applications. In addition, the '659 patent describes a molding method which provides internal threads with superior thread definition and lack of distortion by causing the thread to extend for at least two full turns, i.e. 720 °, so that at any axial section of the neck wall, there will always be at least two thread segments. This overcomes the problem of the distortion of the thread when it is separated from the containers that have a thread with less than two complete turns that has previously led to the production of containers which, although functionally usable, did not turn out as expected commercially. . This improved removal action, as will be seen from the x659 patent, was effected with a neck of the container of smaller diameter than the integral portion of the upper projecting area of the container body to which the neck is attached, and also, of course, with a pouring nozzle having a diameter smaller than that of the neck of the container. However, in the one-piece, self-draining container of the 659 patent, like that of the container of Figure 3 of the '757 patent, the lower or inner surface of the trim member is radially extended in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the neck, and consequently the upper surface of the spar or reinforcement could only be tilted slightly to promote something by means of this, the recoil of the gravity runoff mentioned above. The inclination of the upper surface of the spar or reinforcement in relation to the lower surface of the spar or reinforcement is limited as a practical matter because an excessive plastic thickness in the spar or reinforcement negatively affects the time of the molding cycle and by consequently the efficiency of the production. Such an asymmetric cross-sectional shape of the reinforcing beam wall also produces some production problems with respect to lateral loading of the tools and alignment of the tools. Due to the above limitations, the wedge formed by the spar or reinforcement at the base of the pouring nozzle is almost flat. Accordingly, with prior art DBS containers made in accordance with the '659 patent for wide-bodied containers, the residue from product spills dispensed from the container tends to remain within the finished area. This remaining residual drained product can lead to a difficult packing for the consumer when pouring or re-applying the closure. Accordingly, there remains a need for many years to improve the configuration of DBS in such one-piece plastic containers to promote better drainage of gravity toward the container without sacrificing the advantages of the method, the apparatus and the definition of the rosc. Improved patent 659 as practiced in the? 654 machines and as applied to a container body with wide projecting portions.

Objects of the Invention Accordingly, among the objects of the present invention are to provide a new and novel one-piece self-draining container, which can be molded in a single machine, which does not require assembly operations, which has a gradual inclination of the wall of stripping of the stringer or reinforcement, which promotes better that the product runs out of the finish of the container back to the container, which makes it possible for the reinforcing wall for the draining of the container to be made of a plastic thickness uniform and sufficiently thin so as not to negatively affect the production cycle time. Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved method and apparatus for making a container of the aforementioned character on a machine of the? 654 type widely used, which is economically re-equipped according to the invention with a minimum of component changes and modifications. , that retains the advantages of the method and container of the patent 659, which eliminates the problems faced in the past with the lateral load of the tools and the alignment of the related tools when the stringer or crossbar of the upper and lower surfaces is conformed non-parallel and of uniform thickness, and which makes it possible to manufacture an improved container of the aforementioned character in a fast, reliable and economical manner with the available production equipment.

Brief Description of the Invention In general, and by way of brief description and not by way of limitation, the present invention performs the above objects by providing an improved one-piece self-draining container and an improved method and improved apparatus for forming the same. The container includes a body and a finishing wall extending upwardly from an opening in the body. The finishing wall surrounds a distribution nozzle which extends above the top of the wall. A draining trim stringer is attached to the finish wall and the dispensing nozzle and generally has a truncated cone-shaped contour to form a gutter channel of the drainage trim having a tapered inclined angle in a relatively gradual manner. An opening for drainage or runoff is defined adjacent the gutter channel, preferably in the form of a void or void in the rear part of the nozzle, for draining or draining fluid from the channel into the body of the container. The garrison stringer is preferably constructed and distributed to have generally parallel top and bottom surfaces that slope downward towards the nozzle in the vertical position of the container. The method of the invention for the construction of the improved container is carried out on a conventional, modified d 654 extrusion / injection blow molding machine, which is operated in conventional manner in a normal cycle so that the container is manufactured by a process in which at least the neck, the dispensing nozzle, the annular finishing wall, the garrison stringer, and the void or void for drainage or drainage through which the liquid flows, are formed in a first mold in one operation and the body is formed after this by blow molding, without post-mold reconfiguration operations required for those portions formed in the first mold to provide the configuration of the container as it is molded, final. The conventional? 654 mold machine is modified by the construction the arrangement of the stringer forming portion or reinforcement of the tools of the injection mold cavity to form by molding a generally truncated cone-shaped upper surface on the stringer or reinforcement, and constructing and arranging or distributing the final surface of the head of the extrusion die that closes the cavity of the injection mold to form by molding a generally truncated cone-shaped lower surface on the spar or reinforcement. Preferably, this is effected by lowering the central surface on the end of the mandrel corresponding to the lower end of the central bolt of the injection mold so that these parts are joined in a central embedding zone spaced below the outlet of the annular extruder formed between the upper end of the mandrel and the bushing or bushing that surrounds the mandrel in the extrusion tools. A truncated cone-shaped surface is then formed on the end of the mandrel to encircle the center surface of the recessed mandrel and to taper it upward and radially outward therefrom so as to intersect with the plane of the die exit. of ring extrusion. Similarly, the lower end of the finishing insert sleeve of the injection molding tools are reconfigured in a complementary manner with the truncated cone-shaped surface of the end of the mandrel so that the surfaces of the mold cavity define between they are a cavity of the mold adapted to form the stringer or reinforcement of the lining in such a way that it has a generally truncated cone-shaped contour.

Brief Description of the Drawings The foregoing as well as other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the best mode currently known by the inventor to manufacture and use the invention, from the appended claims and from the drawings. which are appended, wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a container constructed in accordance with the present invention, with a lid placed above the container; Figure 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 in Figure 1, showing the upper portion of the container of Figure 1 with the lid in place, to thereby provide the self-draining container of the first mode; Figure 3 is a fragmentary view, partially in axial cross-section, central and partly in elevation, of a machine of the type of 654 modified according to the invention to produce the container of the first embodiment, and showing the finishing portion of the container that is injection molded by extrusion according to the method of the invention; Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to that of Figure 3 but with the extrusion tools removed from the injection molding tools and replaced by blow molding halves, Figure 4 shows a portion of the molding mold for blown closed, with the portion of the body of the container blown therein; Figure 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the finishing portion of a second embodiment of a one-piece self-draining container, also constructed in accordance with the invention; and Figure 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view similar to that of Figure 3 and illustrating a further modification to the tools of a type 654 machine according to the invention, to produce the DBS container of the second embodiment of the invention. Figure 5 Detailed Description of the Preferred Modalities Recipient of the First Modality Referring in more detail to the appended drawings, Figures 1 and 2 illustrate a first embodiment of a self-draining container 10 constructed in accordance with the present invention. Although the self-draining container 10 as shown, is a plastic bottle designed specifically for liquids, other self-draining containers which are considered within the scope of the present invention may be constructed of other materials and used to contain liquids, powders or granules. The self-draining container 10 includes a portion 11 of the body, of the type of "broad projecting portions" which ends in an opening 12 through which the contents of the container 10 can be distributed. A distribution portion 14 formed integrally (i.e. , when used herein, the term "integral" means a one-piece construction when molded), commonly called a "finish", extends from and communicates with the body portion 11. The finish 14 includes a circular neck wall 16 which extends angularly around the body opening 12. A dispensing nozzle 18 is located within and is encircled by the wall 16 and includes the upper end pouring edge 20, which extends above an edge 22 of the upper end of the stop 16. According to one of the main features of the present invention, the extern diameter of the nozzle 18 is smaller than the internal diameter of the wall 16, and a garrison 24 for the collection of the drops, inclined gradually, in the form of a wall with cone-shaped reinforcement truncate extends between the wall 16 from an elevation below the upper edge 22 to the edge 26 of the lower end of the nozzle 18 to thereby connect the nozzle to the neck of the container. In the modality of Figures 1 and 2, the conical angle of the reinforcement or stringer 24 is about 30 ° and the stringer or reinforcement 24 is contained circumferentially through the 360 ° and connects the wall 16 to the lower circular edge 26 of the nozzle 18. The reinforcement or stringer 24 together with the wall 16 of the neck and the pouring nozzle 18, they define a gutter channel 28 for drainage or drainage, within which the fluid flowing back down around the nozzle 18 and the interior of the closure 40 can be drained or to drain under the influence of the force of gravity when the container 10 lifted after it has been inverted for pouring. The liquid then flows from the gutter back into the container 10 by the rear hollow insertion of the axially extending nozzle which is defined between the pair of rear edges 3 spaced away from the nozzle 18 (only one edge 3 which is shown in FIG. Figure 2). The reinforcement or extension 24 should extend at least half the way around the finishing wall 16, and preferably all the way around as shown in Figure 2 to prevent by this the flow of the liquid from inside the container. to the cunet channel 28 when the container 10 is partially inverted to a pouring position. The internal surface of the wall 16 is formed therein a thread 32 which, according to the aforementioned patent 659, extends at least two full turns so that any section cut axially through such wall 16 will have separate and distinct portions of the thread 32. As described in the '659 patent, the formation of a container having a nozzle 18 and a surrounding wall 16 with an internal thread 32 of such length, allows the container 10 to be separated from the d injection mold without causing distortion for the thread 32. Referring to both Figures 1 and 2, a lid closure 40 includes an upper part 42 and a dependent side wall 44. A sealing ring 46 extends radially outward from the side wall 44 and a cylindrical skirt 48 depends downwardly of the ring 46. The external threads 49 are formed on an outer surface of the skirt 48 and cooperate with the threads 32 of the finish 14 of the recess. container for coupling to remove the cover 40 threadedly with respect to the container 10. It will be understood that in other embodiments of the invention, the finishing threads 32 can be provided on the outside of the wall 18 to correspond with the threads of the lid located in the interior of the skirt of the lid.

Method and Blow Molding Machine of the First Modality Referring to Figures 3 and 4, the self-draining container 10 can be produced in one piece within the normal cycle of a blow molding machine of a type known as the? 654 machine mentioned above, as modified in accordance with the invention. . This type of blow molding can be characterized as injection molding / extrusion molding and is used by the assignee of the present invention and others with a machine designated here as the? 654 machine. No reconfiguration operation of the post-mold container is necessary to produce the self-draining finish configuration on this type of machine. A portion of the injection / extrusion tools of a machine of x654 is generally indicated by the reference number 50 in Figures 3 and 4. The details of a machine of 65 654, the mode of operation, and the method practiced by it , are described in the US Patent No. 2,804,654, which is incorporated herein for reference. Additional details of the separation of the container from the injection mold without causing the distortion of the threads 32, can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,659 mentioned above, which is also incorporated herein for reference. In the method used by the x654 machine, as it already exists, as modified in accordance with the invention described herein, the finishing or top neck portion of the container is first injection molded into the tools for injection molding. machine. During the complement of the injection molding pass, the tools of the injection mold are lifted away from the hole of the tools of the head of the injection / extrusion matrix while a length of the plasticized and heated pipe is extruded from the head of the injection mold. matrix. The pipe is integrally connected to the injection molded finish and is therefore lifted up when the pipe is extruded. After the appropriate length of the pipe has been extruded, the halves of the blow mold of the? 654 machine are closed around the pipe and air is introduced through the assembly of the tools for injection molding, to expand the pipe in the mold for closed blowing, to form the remainder (ie the body) of the container. These steps are shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,804,654 mentioned above. The injection step is shown in Figure 3 where the tools of the head of the extrusion die are generally designated by the reference number 50 and include a bushing or bushing 52 and a mandrel 54 which cooperates to define an extrusion orifice annular 56 through which the hot and plasticized material is expelled upwardly into the mold cavity for injection defined by the tools 58 for injection molding of the neck ring assembly and the finish, juxtaposed with the tools 50 of the extrusion matrix. The tools 58 include a ring assembly of the movable shell 60 which is mounted (by means not shown) for downward movement in engagement with the bushings or bushes 52 of the extrusion tools 50 and in exact correspondence with the extrusion orifice 56 during the injection molding step, and for upward movement during the extrusion step, to thereby remove the pipe projecting upwardly away from the hole 56 when it is extruded from the hole. The collar ring assembly 60 includes the collar ring halves 62 and 64 which can be opened and closed radially and which have portions 66 and 68 of the inner wall, respectively, against which the outer surface of the annular wall 16 of the container's finish is molded. The assembly 60 of the neck ring also includes a central pin 70 having a passageway 72 for blowing axially extending therethrough., through which pressurized air can be introduced into the extruded pipe via the blowing passageway 72 after such pipe is enclosed within the cassette halves 74, 76 of the blow mold (Figure 4) to expand by means of of these the tube in the blow mold and form the body 11 of the container 10. The central pin 70 has a head portion 80 of enlarged diameter as its lower end, which is contoured on its outer surface to provide the surface of the cavity of the mold to form the interior surface of the nozzle 18 of the container. The central pin 70 has a pin portion 82 of reduced diameter extending from the head 80 to a radially projecting collar portion 84. A sub-assembly 86 of the insert sleeve of the finish, composed of a portion 88 of the collar and a sleeve 90 removably secured to the underside thereof by the machine pins 92, surrounds the pin 82 of the center pin 70 and defines a recessed area 92 extending from the upper edge 94 of the head 80 of the central pin to the subsurface wedge 96 of the collar 88 of the sub-assembly 86 of the finishing insert. The sleeve 90 has an inner surface recess 100 which defines the mold cavity, of a configuration to cooperate with the configuration of the outer surface of the central pin 80 to form by molding the upper end 20 and the external surface of the mold. nozzle 18. The lower outer portion of the sleeve 9 forms by molding the inner surface of the wall 16 has a threaded recess 102 in which the thread 32 is molded. As in the 659 patent, the length of the threaded recess 102 is such that it provides at least two full turns (i.e., 720 °) so that in any axial section of the wall 16, there will always be at least two threaded segments, regardless of wherever it is, take the end-to-end axial section of the complete 360 ° circumferential extension of the wall 16. It will be noted that the upper end of the sleeve assembly 86 comprises the collar 88 of the cap slidably surrounding the pin 82 of the pin. central and can be moved relative thereto between the end stops or detents provided by the projecting wedges 94, 95 of the sub-mounting of the central pin. According to another main characteristic of the method and apparatus of the present invention, the lower end surface 104 of the sleeve 90 is modified so that it is configured as a truncated cone at the conically converging angle downwardly to define by this the surface of the Injection mold cavity for shaping the truncated cone-shaped upper surface 106 of the garrison reinforcement 24 (Figure 2). In addition, the upper surface of the extrusion mandrel 54 is modified to be configured to form a circular, flat, central recessed surface 108 which abuts the flat or matching flat circular lower end face 110 of the head 80 of the central pin. , as shown in Figure 3, when the tools 50 of the head of the extrusion / injection die are operatively coupled with the tools 60 of the neck ring of the injection tools 58 to effect the injection molding operation. The recessed end surface 108 of the mandrel is surrounded by a surface 112 of the truncated, annular cone-shaped mandrel that is configured to define the surface of the molding cavity that both forms the subsurface 114 of the reinforcement or stringer 24 (FIG. 5) as the integral bottom edge 26 of the nozzle 18. This occurs during the closing of the mold when the head 50 of the extrusion die is oriented to complement the mold cavity by injection in cooperation with the sleeve 90 and the surface of the mold. cavity of the outer mold of the head 80 of the central pin, and with the head 80 in abutting contact with its face 110 of the head which sits snugly on the surface 108 of the mandrel. During the complement of the step of injection molding of Figure 3, the injection mold is raised from the orifice 56 of the head 50 of the extrusion / injection die 50 while a length of the hot plasticized tubing is being extruded through the extrusion orifice 56. This tubing is integrally connected to the Injection molded finish shaped as shown in Figure 3 and therefore removed or lifted up when the pipe is extruded. After the appropriate length of the pipe has been extruded, and referring to Figure 4, the halves 74, 76 of the blow mold close around the pipe and then the air is introduced through the mold assembly for injection by means of of passage 72, to expand the pipe in the closed mold to form the remainder of the container, as described in greater detail in US Pat. No. 2,804,654 mentioned above. Following blowing of the portion 11 of the body, the container 10, the nozzle 18, the reinforcement 24 of the lining and the wall 16 of the finish can be removed from the assembly 60 of the neck ring. This is normally done after the halves 74, 76 of the blow mold in which the portion 11 of the body s molded have been opened. Such removal is effected by the sequence of steps described in conjunction with Figures 11 to 13 of the aforementioned patent 659, which is incorporated herein for reference and is not repeated. However, it should be noted that the present invention, in spite of the modification of the central pin and chuck tools of the? 654 machine to form the truncated cone-shaped reinforcing wall 24, still retains the advantage of making It is possible to separate the threads 32 from the finish with minimal distortion. This separation process is believed to also be improved by retaining the configuration with wide protrusions of the container body 11 in conjunction with the container finish in combination with the smaller diameter nozzle 18, in contrast to the narrow neck bodies and the largest diameter nozzles of the US Patent No. 4,989,757 mentioned above.

Self-curing Container of One Piece of the Second Modality Figure 5 illustrates a one-piece self-draining container 10 'of the second embodiment of the invention, in which the elements that are identical with those of the container 10 are given similar numerical references, and those elements of similar function are given reference numbers enhanced with a virgulilla suffix, and their description is not repeated. As will be seen by comparing Figures 2 and 5, the container 10 'of the second embodiment differs only with respect to the configuration of the wall 24' of the lining reinforcement. The reinforcing wall 24 'is tapered down at an inclination so that its lower region is centered over the nozzle opening at the edges 30' of the hole diametrically opposite the pouring edge 20 of the nozzle 18 '. In essence, the conical axis of the wall 24 'is inclined in a manner not parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the body 11 or wall 16 of the neck by approximately 10 °, and consequently the lower edge 26' of the nozzle 18 'is inclined to similarly as shown in Figure 5 for this change to correspond to the configuration of the reinforcement 24 'of the lining. This reconfiguration of the embodiment of Figure 5 further promotes gravity-induced drainage or drainage of the product, causing the area of the lining 24 'to lead to the opening 30 of the rear nozzle recess of the lower region of the gutter of the drainage or drainage lining when the nozzle is in its normal vertical position.

Method and Apparatus of the Second Modality Figure 6 shows a second embodiment of the extrusion tools and the injection tools of the neck collar of the machine of 65 654 as modified according to the invention, to produce the container 10 'of Figure 5. It will be observed that identical elements to those previously described are given similar reference numbers and their description is not repeated, and elements with a similar but modified function are given similar reference numbers enhanced by a virgulilla suffix. It will be noted that the only changes necessary to obtain the revised embodiment of Figure 5 is to modify the configuration of the upper end face of the mandrel 54 'and similarly the corresponding lower surface of the finishing insert sleeve 104'. The head 80 'of the lower end of the core 70' of the mold will fit into a recess in the upper surface of the tip 54 'of the mandrel. The surface 104 'of the lower finishing insert sleeve and the upper mandrel tip surface 112' have cassette slopes to maintain a substantially uniform void to allow a thickness of consistent material on the reinforcement or spar 24 '. The opposite faces 108, 110 'of the mandrel 54' and the head 80 'are horizontal instead of angled, which eliminates any loading problems that might otherwise occur in the tools. From the foregoing description and the Figures of the drawings as referenced therein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the improved, one-piece, self-draining container of the invention, and the improved method and apparatus for manufacturing the same according to the invention, widely satisfy the objects mentioned above provide many advantages over the prior art. The pouring nozzle 18, 18 'is integrally connected to the container, that is, made in one piece with the container as it was molded, and is integrally attached to the neck of the surrounding container by a wedge or reinforcement of the lining that collects the substance that it drips, which is tapered or angled downwardly to a gradual angle from beginning to end of its circumference, whereby it provides a channel or gutter contour for improved runoff which promotes the flow of the drained substance from the product towards the nozzle for pouring reduced diameter to promote the gravity-induced flow of the liquid back into the vessel. The advantages of an integrally molded nozzle are still retained, as are the advantages of the improved thread definition of the Patent U.S. No. 5,114,659 mentioned above. Accordingly, the problem in the? 659 patent of the product remaining within the finishing area because the wedge formed in the base of the nozzle is almost flat, is overcome because of the improved ability of the product to drain again. towards the recipient due to the greatly increased inclination angle of the truncated cone-shaped configuration of the stiffener 24 or 24 'wedged towards the nozzle and surroundingly up to the opening 30 of the hollow in the rear part of the nozzle. In addition, this improved drainage ditch configuration of the improved container is obtained using the existing 654 type blow molding machines with only minor modifications thereto. As illustrated in Figures 3 and 6, only the upper face of the mandrel 54 needs to be machined and polished to the recessed configuration of either Figure 3 or Figure 6. Similarly, the head 80 or 80 'of the assembly of central pin 70 or 70 'needs to be replaced with an axially elongated head, the sleeve 90 or 90' of the finish insert, modified by extending the sleeve axially, and contouring the lower surface 104 or 104 'of the sleeve to correspond to the contour of the surface 112 or 112 'of the tip of the mandrel. All the remaining components of the machine remain unchanged, and the cycle of operation of the machine is not affected. Despite the improved configuration of the wall 24 or 24 'of the reinforcement, the thickness of the cross section of the reinforcement wall remains uniform and relatively thin so as not to affect the cycle time of the machine. Accordingly, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many revisions and changes can be made to the various elements of the preferred embodiments of the self-draining container and its method and apparatus of manufacture as described above, including numerous modifications to the configuration and of the form, without departing from the principles of the invention and the scope of the following claims. It is noted that in relation to this date the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention is that which is clear from the present description of the invention. Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following

Claims (16)

1. In an improved, one-piece molded self-draining container having: a body portion; an integrally formed collar defining a cylindrical opening having a predetermined diameter, the neck formed in situ with and extending upwards from the body portion, a distribution nozzle formed integrally and in situ and at least partially enclosed by the neck, less a portion of the dispensing nozzle is of a cylinder section having an outer surface with a smaller diameter than the predetermined diameter, the dispensing nozzle has a circumferential extension of at least 180 ° but less than 360 ° having opposite edges which define a hole at the lower end of the nozzle, and an integrally formed annular finishing wall surrounding the nozzle in a spaced relationship therewith; a reinforcement of the lining that connects the annular finishing wall and the nozzle to the neck, the reinforcement is formed in situ with the annular wall and the dispensing nozzle and cooperates to define a channel to receive the liquids that run off from the nozzle of distribution when the container is moved from an inverted distribution position to a vertical position; the gap provides an opening through which liquids can flow from the channel to the neck and the body portion when the container is vertical, the container is manufactured by a process in which at least the neck, the dispensing nozzle , the annular finishing wall, the reinforcement and the hollow through which the liquids flow, are formed in a prime mold in one operation and the body is then formed by blow molding without requiring post-molding operations for those portions formed in the first mold; characterized in that the reinforcement of the lining is constructed and arranged or distributed so as to have upper and lower wall surfaces generally parallel inclined downwardly to the nozzle in the vertical position of the container.

2. A self-draining container according to claim 1, characterized in that those portions formed in the first mold are injection molded, a preform capable of flowing is formed integrally therewith afterwards extruding a length of the pipe and pipe after this it is blown to conform the body portion.

3. A self-draining container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the reinforcement extends outwards and upwards from the lower end of the nozzle, the nozzle extends upwards from the reinforcement along an axis parallel to the axis of the neck. .

4. A self-draining container according to claim 3, characterized in that the reinforcement has a substantially uniform cross-sectional thickness throughout its circumferential and radial extent surrounding the nozzle.

5. A self-draining container according to claim 4, characterized in that the reinforcement has a truncated cone-shaped configuration with a conical angle of approximately 30 °.

6. A self-draining container according to claim 5, characterized in that the axis of the reinforcement is oriented generally parallel to the axis of the nozzle.

7. A container autoescurribie according to claim 5, characterized in that the axis of the reinforcement is oriented to tilt away from the axis of the nozzle in a direction divergent upwards and inclined towards the hollow of the nozzle.

8. In the improved process of forming a one-piece self-draining plastic container described in any preceding claim comprising the steps of: (a) providing a cavity in an injection mold that defines (i) a portion forming the nozzle, (ii) a portion forming the cylindrical wall having an external surface and an internal surface including a projection forming the thread extending around the internal surface of the portion forming the cylindrical wall during at least two full turns, (iii) a portion forming the reinforcement, which interconnects the portion forming the nozzle and the portion that forms the cylindrical wall, each of the portions that open towards the exterior of the mold; (b) imparting a relative movement between the head of the extrusion die, operative to extrude the plastic material heated and plasticized, and the injection mold to couple by means of 10 this the injection mold and the head of the matrix to close the cavity; (c) injecting the plastic material from the head of the matrix into the cavity to fill the cavity to form a pouring nozzle, the The cylindrical wall and the integral reinforcement interconnect the nozzle and the cylindrical wall with an integral thread with and that extends around the internal surface of the cylindrical wall; 20 (d) imparting a relative movement between the head of the die and the injection mold while the plastic material is extruded in the form of tubing from the head of the die, the tubing has a diameter almost equal to the diameter of the die. 25 cylindrical wall; (e) closing the mold halves around the extruded pipe; (f) expanding the pipe to form a self-draining plastic container having a closed bottom and integral pouring nozzle, reinforcing the cylindrical wall: (g) opening the mold halves and moving the pouring nozzle, the cylindrical wall and the integral reinforcement axially in relation to the portion forming the nozzle and the portion forming the cylindrical wall to separate the pouring nozzle, the cylindrical wall and the reinforcement from the cavity the thread from the projection forming the thread; the improvement in combination with the preceding process is characterized in that it comprises the additional steps of: (h) constructing and arranging or distributing in step (a) the portion that forms the reinforcement of the mold cavity for injection, to shape by mold a upper surface generally in the form of a truncated cone on the reinforcement, and (i) constructing and arranging or distributing in step (b) the end surface of the matrix head that closes the cavity to form a generally shaped lower surface of truncated cone on the reinforcement.

9. The process according to claim 8 wherein the thread extends at least two turns around the inner surface of the cylindrical wall, and characterized in that in step (g) the thread is stretched when it is removed from the projection that It forms the thread in such a way that the final thread is not distorted.

10. The process according to claim 9, characterized in that the steps (h) and (i) are performed in such a way that the upper and lower reinforcing surfaces are generally parallel to each other so that the reinforcement has a thickness of the cross section generally uniform.

11. The process according to claim 10, characterized in that the pipe has a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the cylindrical wall.

12. An apparatus for forming a one-piece self-draining plastic container according to any of claims 1-7, characterized in that it comprises: (a) means for molding tools, to form an injection cavity including: (i) a portion of the longitudinally extending nozzle cavity, (ii) a portion of the reinforcement cavity communicating with and extending radially outward from the portion of the nozzle cavity; and (iii) a portion of the wall cavity surrounding the portion of the nozzle cavity communicating with the portion of the reinforcement cavity; (b) tool means of the extrusion die having a central mandrel terminating at one end and a bushing or bush surrounding the mandrel in a spaced relationship to define an annular outlet, the end of the mandrel and the outlet of the hub or bushing that rests generally on the same plane; (c) the means of the mold tools include a ring assembly of the neck having an inner central pin terminating at one end, a sleeve surrounding the central pin and cooperating therewith to define the cavity that conforms to the desired configuration of the nozzle, the sleeve has one end and a pair of halves of the neck ring that can be split, movable between the open and closed position and when closed, cooperate with the sleeve to define the cavity that conforms to the desired configuration of the annular wall, the portion of the sleeve cooperates with the halves of the 10 can be split, to form a cavity for the annular wall having a threaded recess extending at least two full turns around the sleeve to form an internal thread on the annular wall, the The annular wall has a cross-sectional size and a shape generally conforming to that of the annular outlet of the extrusions; the apparatus is operative so that the neck ring assembly is movable in 20 coupling with the extrusion die in such a way that the halves of the neck close and contact the hub or bushing, the end of the central pin contacts the end of the central mandrel and at least a portion of the end 25 of the sleeve is spaced from the end of the central mandrel to thereby close the mold cavity to force the hot and plasticized thermoplastic material through the annular outlet of the extrusion die and into the cavities defined by the mounting of the die. neck ring and within the space between the end of the sleeve and the end of the central mandrel; and such that the neck ring assembly is movable away from the extrusion die while continuing to force the heated thermoplastic material and plastified therethrough to form a tubular preform substantially the same size as and which depends on the wall annular in such a way that the tubular preform is expandable in a blow mold to form the portion of the body; and thereafter the apparatus is further operative in such a way that the collar ring halves are at least partially opened, the central bolt is at least partially extracted from the nozzle and, thereafter, the annular wall including the internal thread is separated from the sleeve: characterized in that a recessed central surface is placed on the end of the mandrel and a central pin surface defining the central pin end adapted to make butt contact on the closure of the mold in a central top contact area spaced below the plane, and a surface that defines the mold cavity with a generally truncated cone-shaped shape on the end of the mandrel that surrounds the central surface of the mandrel and extends upwards and radially from the same to the mandrel. an intersection with the plane in the output of the annular extrusion die, and because the end of the sleeve is configured for To provide a surface defining the cavity of the mold generally complementary to the truncated cone-shaped surface of the end of the mandrel so that the reinforced mold formed therebetween has a generally truncated cone-shaped contour.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, characterized in that the surfaces defining the cavity of the mold on the end of the mandrel and the end of the sleeve are generally spaced uniformly throughout its extension in the closed condition of the means of the tools of so that the reinforced mold formed therebetween has a substantially uniform cross-sectional thickness throughout its radial and circumferential extension surrounding the nozzle.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that the inclined surfaces defining the mold cavity of the upper end of the mandrel and the end of the sleeve, have a conical angle of approximately 30 °.

15. The apparatus according to claim 12, characterized in that the inclined surfaces defining the cavity of the mold of the end of the mandrel and the end of the sleeve comprise surfaces of revolution having respective axes extending generally parallel to the direction of travel of the opening of the mold and closure of the mold of the extrusion and molding tool means, and the recessed central surface of the end of the mandrel and the casing surface of the end of the core bolt each are generally flat and extend generally perpendicular to the axes of the inclined surfaces for the formation of the reinforcement on the end of the mandrel and the end of the sleeve.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, characterized in that the inclined surfaces forming the reinforced mold of the end of the mandrel and the end of the sleeve are constructed in such a way that their respective axes extend generally parallel to each other and are inclined relative to each other. direction of travel of the tool means at an acute angle and in a diametrically opposite direction from an end termination of the pouring edge of the container nozzle. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a one-piece self-draining container (10) and to a method and apparatus for forming the same. The container includes a body (11) and a finishing wall (16) extending upwardly from an opening in the body (12). The finishing wall surrounds a distribution nozzle (18) which extends up the top of the wall. A truncated cone-shaped reinforcement (24, 24 ') joins the finishing wall and the resulting nozzle to form a gutter channel (28) of the lining for drainage drainage, which has a tapered angle inclined relatively gradually. An opening (30) for draining or draining is defined adjacent the channel for draining or draining the fluid from the channel (28) to the body (11) of the container. A removable tap (40) has a dependent skirt (44, 48) with an external thread (49) which corresponds to an internal thread (32) on the container wall (16) for threaded coupling by means of this and closing the container (10). The method is effected on the type of the extrusion-injection blow molding machine as generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,804,654 as modified according to the invention to form the reinforcement wall (24, 24 ') in situ with a truncated cone-shaped configuration of a uniform cross-sectional thickness.