US20100140294A1 - Collapsible lightweight container - Google Patents

Collapsible lightweight container Download PDF

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Publication number
US20100140294A1
US20100140294A1 US12/525,924 US52592408A US2010140294A1 US 20100140294 A1 US20100140294 A1 US 20100140294A1 US 52592408 A US52592408 A US 52592408A US 2010140294 A1 US2010140294 A1 US 2010140294A1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
container
container body
food product
internal volume
dispensing
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
US12/525,924
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English (en)
Inventor
Michel A. L. Bourguignon
Marc Laupie
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Nestec SA
Original Assignee
Nestec SA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Nestec SA filed Critical Nestec SA
Assigned to NESTEC S.A. reassignment NESTEC S.A. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: BOURGUIGNON, MICHEL A. L., LAUPIE, MARC
Publication of US20100140294A1 publication Critical patent/US20100140294A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D1/00—Containers having bodies formed in one piece, e.g. by casting metallic material, by moulding plastics, by blowing vitreous material, by throwing ceramic material, by moulding pulped fibrous material, by deep-drawing operations performed on sheet material
    • B65D1/02—Bottles or similar containers with necks or like restricted apertures, designed for pouring contents
    • B65D1/0223—Bottles or similar containers with necks or like restricted apertures, designed for pouring contents characterised by shape
    • B65D1/0292—Foldable bottles
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D83/00—Containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents
    • B65D83/0094—Containers having an external wall formed as, or with, a diaphragm or the like which is deformed to expel the contents

Definitions

  • the present invention concerns a collapsible lightweight container, in particular a container suitable for packing and dispensing non flowable food products.
  • non-flowable products it is meant products which do not flow, or hardly flow under their own weight.
  • dairy semi-liquid or pasty products for instance yogurts with or without fruit pieces and the like. It should be however understood that the present invention applies to all non flowable food products.
  • collapsible containers exist, they are most of the time directed to large volumes, and therefore not applicable in the case of small food portions.
  • collapsible containers their internal volume cannot be sufficiently reduced by collapsing the container body, so as to allow forcing the remaining of a small food portion out of the container.
  • the present invention provides a container suitable for packing and dispensing a non flowable viscous food product, said container comprising a collapsible container body and a container neck with a dispensing opening, said container body having an internal volume V1 when said body is in fully compressed configuration and an internal volume V2 when said body is in a fully expanded configuration, characterized in that said container is manufactured by injection-blowing process out of a thermoplastic material chosen from the list comprising: polyethyleneterephtalate (PET), polyethylenenaphtalate (PEN), polyethyleneterephtalateglycol (PETG), polypropylene (PP), or a combination thereof, said body walls have a thickness not higher than 100 ⁇ m, and the ratio V1/V2 is lower than, or equal to, 0.05.
  • a thermoplastic material chosen from the list comprising: polyethyleneterephtalate (PET), polyethylenenaphtalate (PEN), polyethyleneterephtalateglycol (PETG), polypropylene (
  • the applicant found that, in particular, by reducing importantly the thickness of the container body walls, it is possible to achieve a very high reduction of the internal volume.
  • said container body comprises two halves, the lower half being so flexible and shaped as to be foldable upwards into the upper half, in order to collapse entirely said container body.
  • the said lower half of the container body comprises at least one helical groove and/or at least one helical ridge extending at least once around the whole circumference of said container body.
  • said container body comprises a plurality of flexible bellows that allow collapsing of the container body along an axis that is substantially coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the container.
  • Said non flowable food product can have a viscosity index of 1000 to 50000 centipoises, preferably 3000 to 35000 centipoises, measured by the Brookfield measurement method.
  • the said non flowable food product is a chilled, a frozen or shelf-stable dairy product, or an ice-cream, soft ice cream, or culinary food product.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic profile view of a first embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic profile view of a second embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the container shown in FIG. 2 ;
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic profile, partially cut, view of the container shown in FIG. 2 , said container being in a collapsed configuration.
  • the present invention concerns a container 1 suitable for packing and dispensing a non flowable viscous dairy product like a yogurt with fruit pieces, which has a viscosity index of about 10000 to 35000 centipoises.
  • the container 1 comprises a collapsible container body 2 and a container neck 3 with a dispensing opening 4 .
  • the whole container is manufactured by blowing in a mould an injected preform that is made out of polyethyleneterephtalate (PET).
  • PET polyethyleneterephtalate
  • the container 1 can be set in a first configuration wherein the said container body 2 is fully expanded and has an internal volume V2.
  • the container body 2 can be collapsed.
  • the container body 2 In the fully collapsed configuration shown in FIG. 4 , the container body 2 has an internal volume V1.
  • the container walls have a thickness not higher than 100 ⁇ m, so that the whole container has a particularly low weight.
  • the ratio of the internal volumes of the container body between the fully collapsed and fully expanded configuration, V1/V2, is about 0.03.
  • such a very low collapsing ratio is obtained by a special configuration of the container body which has a shape such that it can entirely fold from its bottom upwards into its upper parts.
  • the whole container body profile has a generally frusto-conical shape and a series of bellows 5 with concentric cross-sections from the bottom—smallest cross-sections—to the top—largest cross sections—, so that each bellow of said body can fold exactly into the upper bellow.
  • FIG. 2 that illustrates a second embodiment of the invention
  • the lower half of the container body 2 has symmetrically the same cross section—up to the functional play—than the upper half, so that said lower half can be turned outside in, to exactly fit the upper half of said container body, as illustrated in FIG. 4 .
  • the lower half of the container body comprises one helical ridge 6 extending all around the whole circumference of said container body from the flat bottom part 7 of the container body 2 , up to the top part 8 of the lower half of said container body, as shown in FIG. 3 .
  • the said container body comprises two halves, the lower half being so flexible as to be foldable upwards into the upper half, in order to collapse entirely said container body.
  • the said container is meant to be formed, then filled in its fully expanded configuration, and then closed, for instance by means of a screw cap that is screwed onto the neck.
  • the consumer unscrews the cap to open the container, and then consume the contents by pressure on the container, collapsing the container body by applying a small pressure onto the container top and lower ends, so that the internal volume of the container body that is left is just sufficient to contain the rest of the product. Then the container can be closed again until the next use.
  • the consumer can use the collapsing effect to reduce as a minimum the internal volume of the container body and therefore force the viscous product remaining inside the container out. Due to the minimal volume inside the body when the container is fully collapsed, the consumer can be sure that almost the entire amount of product as labelled is dispensed and consumable. Basically, one can consider that the internal volume of the container that cannot be collapsed, corresponds to the volume of the neck. This maximises the appearance of the container and indicates to the amount of product remaining in the container to the consumer.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Ceramic Engineering (AREA)
  • Containers Having Bodies Formed In One Piece (AREA)
  • Packages (AREA)
  • Packging For Living Organisms, Food Or Medicinal Products That Are Sensitive To Environmental Conditiond (AREA)
  • Containers And Packaging Bodies Having A Special Means To Remove Contents (AREA)
  • Lighting Device Outwards From Vehicle And Optical Signal (AREA)
  • Vehicle Step Arrangements And Article Storage (AREA)
  • Tubes (AREA)
US12/525,924 2007-02-06 2008-01-31 Collapsible lightweight container Abandoned US20100140294A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP07101790.9 2007-02-06
EP07101790A EP1955954B1 (en) 2007-02-06 2007-02-06 A collapsible lightweight container
PCT/EP2008/051165 WO2008095849A1 (en) 2007-02-06 2008-01-31 A collapsible lightweight container

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20100140294A1 true US20100140294A1 (en) 2010-06-10

Family

ID=38169396

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US12/525,924 Abandoned US20100140294A1 (en) 2007-02-06 2008-01-31 Collapsible lightweight container

Country Status (10)

Country Link
US (1) US20100140294A1 (pt)
EP (2) EP1955954B1 (pt)
AT (1) ATE462655T1 (pt)
AU (1) AU2008213001B2 (pt)
BR (1) BRPI0807129A2 (pt)
DE (1) DE602007005595D1 (pt)
ES (1) ES2341298T3 (pt)
MX (1) MX2009008112A (pt)
PT (1) PT1955954E (pt)
WO (1) WO2008095849A1 (pt)

Cited By (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20100219189A1 (en) * 2007-08-28 2010-09-02 Prontopharma-Europe S.R.L. Retractable and flexible plastic container for liquids
US20100270260A1 (en) * 2008-12-05 2010-10-28 Kyung Il Jung Bottle
US20130181004A1 (en) * 2008-12-05 2013-07-18 Kyung Il Jung Glass bottle for containing liquid
US20150360923A1 (en) * 2013-02-05 2015-12-17 F.R.I.D.A. S.R.L. Liquid container for beverage dispensers and beverage dispenser comprising said container
US9296508B2 (en) 2012-12-13 2016-03-29 Gojo Industries, Inc. Collapsible containers and refill units
US20160090215A1 (en) * 2014-09-25 2016-03-31 Krones Ag Compressible plastic container with base cup
USD777520S1 (en) 2015-06-18 2017-01-31 Hydaway, LLC Beverage container
USD779886S1 (en) 2015-12-08 2017-02-28 Hydaway, LLC Beverage container
USD867606S1 (en) 2018-06-08 2019-11-19 Collapseandgo, LLC Collapsible liquid container
USD898301S1 (en) * 2018-05-15 2020-10-06 Meili Peng Feeder for birds
JP2020196500A (ja) * 2019-05-31 2020-12-10 株式会社吉野工業所 合成樹脂製容器、及び合成樹脂製容器の製造方法
US11535415B2 (en) 2021-03-16 2022-12-27 Berlin Packaging, Llc Compressible and expandable bottle
USD998472S1 (en) 2021-03-17 2023-09-12 Berlin Packaging, Llc Expandable bottle
DE102022119140A1 (de) 2022-07-29 2024-02-01 Nussbaum Matzingen Ag Kartusche

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8267271B2 (en) 2009-06-09 2012-09-18 Faris Enterprises LLC Collapsible cup
ITBO20130297A1 (it) * 2013-06-13 2014-12-14 F R I D A S R L Contenitore di liquidi ad uso alimentare per distributori di bevande e distributore di bevande comprendente detto contenitore
EP3201094B1 (en) * 2014-10-02 2018-09-05 S.I.P.A. Società Industrializzazione Progettazione e Automazione S.p.A. Collapsible plastic bottle for water dispensers
JP2018538204A (ja) * 2015-11-20 2018-12-27 ネステク ソシエテ アノニム 部分的に圧潰可能な流体注出容器
US10765126B2 (en) 2016-09-20 2020-09-08 Societe Des Produits Nestle S.A. Container, device and system

Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2899110A (en) * 1959-08-11 Parker
US3471058A (en) * 1966-10-06 1969-10-07 Peter A Latham Collapsible dispensing container
US3483908A (en) * 1968-01-08 1969-12-16 Monsanto Co Container having discharging means
US3833154A (en) * 1972-09-27 1974-09-03 Stem Dev Corp Collapsible dispensing container
US3873003A (en) * 1970-07-06 1975-03-25 Mayer & Co Inc O Dome-bottomed container
US3946903A (en) * 1971-07-30 1976-03-30 Carol Parker Collapsible, spirally fluted container
US5384138A (en) * 1990-08-31 1995-01-24 Edward S. Robbins, III Collapsible containers
US6736285B2 (en) * 2002-02-01 2004-05-18 Theo A. Stewart-Stand Collapsible drinking and storage receptacle
WO2006005615A1 (en) * 2004-07-14 2006-01-19 Nestec S.A. One piece squeezable container

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1996011145A1 (fr) * 1994-10-11 1996-04-18 Masayosi Mazda Recipient en accordeon
DE19500006A1 (de) * 1995-01-01 1996-07-04 Gerd Hoermansdoerfer Pastenspender
EP1650133A1 (en) 2004-10-19 2006-04-26 Nestec S.A. Squeezable assembly for pasty products

Patent Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2899110A (en) * 1959-08-11 Parker
US3471058A (en) * 1966-10-06 1969-10-07 Peter A Latham Collapsible dispensing container
US3483908A (en) * 1968-01-08 1969-12-16 Monsanto Co Container having discharging means
US3873003A (en) * 1970-07-06 1975-03-25 Mayer & Co Inc O Dome-bottomed container
US3946903A (en) * 1971-07-30 1976-03-30 Carol Parker Collapsible, spirally fluted container
US3833154A (en) * 1972-09-27 1974-09-03 Stem Dev Corp Collapsible dispensing container
US5384138A (en) * 1990-08-31 1995-01-24 Edward S. Robbins, III Collapsible containers
US6736285B2 (en) * 2002-02-01 2004-05-18 Theo A. Stewart-Stand Collapsible drinking and storage receptacle
WO2006005615A1 (en) * 2004-07-14 2006-01-19 Nestec S.A. One piece squeezable container

Non-Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
Machine Translation of DE19500006 A1 to Hoermansdoerfer, published July 4, 1996 *
Webster's New World Dictionary, 3rd College Edition, 1998 Simon & Schuster. pg.626 *

Cited By (19)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20100219189A1 (en) * 2007-08-28 2010-09-02 Prontopharma-Europe S.R.L. Retractable and flexible plastic container for liquids
US11498717B2 (en) 2008-12-05 2022-11-15 Kyung Hwa Kim Glass bottle for containing liquid
US20100270260A1 (en) * 2008-12-05 2010-10-28 Kyung Il Jung Bottle
US20130181004A1 (en) * 2008-12-05 2013-07-18 Kyung Il Jung Glass bottle for containing liquid
US8714385B2 (en) * 2008-12-05 2014-05-06 Kyung Il Jung Glass bottle for containing liquid
US9296508B2 (en) 2012-12-13 2016-03-29 Gojo Industries, Inc. Collapsible containers and refill units
US20150360923A1 (en) * 2013-02-05 2015-12-17 F.R.I.D.A. S.R.L. Liquid container for beverage dispensers and beverage dispenser comprising said container
US9840405B2 (en) * 2013-02-05 2017-12-12 F.R.I.D.A. S.R.L. Liquid container for beverage dispensers and beverage dispenser comprising said container
US20160090215A1 (en) * 2014-09-25 2016-03-31 Krones Ag Compressible plastic container with base cup
US9845178B2 (en) * 2014-09-25 2017-12-19 Krones Ag Compressible plastic container with base cup
USD777520S1 (en) 2015-06-18 2017-01-31 Hydaway, LLC Beverage container
USD779886S1 (en) 2015-12-08 2017-02-28 Hydaway, LLC Beverage container
USD898301S1 (en) * 2018-05-15 2020-10-06 Meili Peng Feeder for birds
USD867606S1 (en) 2018-06-08 2019-11-19 Collapseandgo, LLC Collapsible liquid container
JP2020196500A (ja) * 2019-05-31 2020-12-10 株式会社吉野工業所 合成樹脂製容器、及び合成樹脂製容器の製造方法
JP7224732B2 (ja) 2019-05-31 2023-02-20 株式会社吉野工業所 合成樹脂製容器、及び合成樹脂製容器の製造方法
US11535415B2 (en) 2021-03-16 2022-12-27 Berlin Packaging, Llc Compressible and expandable bottle
USD998472S1 (en) 2021-03-17 2023-09-12 Berlin Packaging, Llc Expandable bottle
DE102022119140A1 (de) 2022-07-29 2024-02-01 Nussbaum Matzingen Ag Kartusche

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2008095849A1 (en) 2008-08-14
EP1955954A1 (en) 2008-08-13
ATE462655T1 (de) 2010-04-15
AU2008213001A1 (en) 2008-08-14
DE602007005595D1 (de) 2010-05-12
EP1955954B1 (en) 2010-03-31
BRPI0807129A2 (pt) 2014-04-15
PT1955954E (pt) 2010-05-31
EP2109568A1 (en) 2009-10-21
MX2009008112A (es) 2009-08-12
ES2341298T3 (es) 2010-06-17
AU2008213001B2 (en) 2013-05-30

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: NESTEC S.A.,SWITZERLAND

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:BOURGUIGNON, MICHEL A. L.;LAUPIE, MARC;SIGNING DATES FROM 20090804 TO 20090807;REEL/FRAME:024075/0579

STCB Information on status: application discontinuation

Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION