WO1993019990A1

WO1993019990A1 - Plastic container with reinforced neck

Info

Publication number: WO1993019990A1
Application number: PCT/GB1993/000738
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ian Pearce
Original assignee: Labplas (Uk) Ltd.
Priority date: 1992-04-07
Filing date: 1993-04-07
Publication date: 1993-10-14
Also published as: GB9207589D0; AU3900393A

Abstract

The invention concerns providing a bottle (1) or other type of container with a reinforcing member which reinforces the neck (2) of the container and which is made from recycled plastics material. Preferably the container main body is moulded from P.E.T. whilst the reinforcing member is injection moulded. The reinforcing member can carry a handle and can be secured to the neck of the container by ultra-sonic welding.

Description

PLASTIC CONTAINER WITH REINFORCED NECK

The present invention concerns bottles and in particular bottles which are manufactured from a thermoplastics material by a blow-moulding process. Very large numbers of bottles are manufactured in this manner with the soft drinks industry being a substantial user. Because of the large num bers involved there is severe pressure on achieving minimu m production costs. There is also growing pressure that for ecological purposes as m uch as possible of all articles sold should use recycled materials.

However where articles such as bottles are to contain consum able products then those parts of the bottle which are in contact with the consumable contents, be it a beverage or a powder ,it is advisable that they be made fro pristine or virgin, and not recycled, material.

With larger bottles it is also desirable that they should have a handle and this, in certain plastics materials, is difficult to provide simply and econo mically where the m ain body of the bottle is manufactured by a blow moulding process. Furthermore where a handle is provided it is found that a very substantial part of the weight of the final bottle is found to be in the neck region of the bottle, where the handle is supported, and in the handle itself.

Accordingly the present invention has for an object the provision of a bottle the main body portion of which is made fro m pristine, non-recycled material yet the bulk of which in terms of weight is made fro m m uch cheaper re-cycled material.

Accordingly the present invention comprises a container having a main body portion moulded fro m a thermoplastics material, this main body portion having a neck through which any contents of the m ain body portion can be poured, and wherein this neck has a reinforcing member made fro m a material which does not come into contact with the contents of the bottle.

(1) Preferrably the reinforcing member comprises an outer tubu lar section which is engaged over the neck.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention the reinforcing member carries a handle. Preferrably the main body portion is blow moulded from P.E.T. and the liner is injection mouled from recycled material.

In order that the present invention m ay be more readily understood an em bodiment thereof will now be described by way of example and with reference to the acco mpanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of the main body part of a bottle according to the present invention;

Figures 2, 3 and 4 are respective plan and side views of a handle portion which is to be attached to the main body of Figure 1.

Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings this shows the main body 1 of a bottle, this main body having been blow moulded fro m a thermoplastics material known as P.T.E.. This material has great strength and a very clear transluscent appearance. The actual blow moulding the handle itself, process is very well known and essentially consists of introducing a heated former into an appropriately shaped mould, stretching the former so that it touches the base of the mould and then pressurising the interior of the former so that it takes up the internal shape of the mould. The shaped former is then ejected and allowed to cool. Normally the bottle has a neck formed with a screw thread by means of which a sealer cap can be attached. However in the present e mbodiment there is no such screw thread for reasons which will become apparent. Because of the strength of P.T.E. and the fact that this part of the bottle is made fro m virgin, high quality atrial, the actual weight of this body portion can be kept very low. As can be seen in Figure 1 the body 1 has a plain neck 2 and a recess 3 which is intended to cooperate with a handle which is to be attached in a separate operation.

(2) This handle is shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings. Fro m these drawings it can be seen that it comprises a collar 4 having ratchet teeth 5 adapted to cooperate with a sealer cap (not shown) in the usual manner to provide a ta mper proof seal. A handle 6 extends cantilever fashion from the lower edge of this collar 4 and when attached to the body 1 cooperates with the recess 3 to provide a space through which a person picking up the bottle can pass their fingers. The collar 4 forms the lower part of a tubular section 7 carrying an integral screw thread 8 by means of which a cap can be secured to the assembled bottle. The internal dia eter of tubular section 7 is such that it is a close fit over the neck 2 of the main bottle body 1 and acts as a reinforcing liner. Because this neck 2 extends the whole length of the tubular section 7 the contents of the bottle body 1 never come into contact with the handle portion either during storage of the bottle contents or when they are being poured. As a result of this it will be appreciated that whilst the bottle body 1 has to be manufactured fro m pristine material the handle portion shown in Figures 2,3 and 4 can be m ade from re-cycled material which is aproximately one third cheaper. When it is realised that the weight of the handle portion is high in relation to that of the body portion it can be seen that worthwhile savings can be achieved as well as the provision of an ecologically sound product. The handle can be press moulded in a single operation.

Once the main body 1 and the handle have been manufactured the handle can be attached to the body 1 by the simple steps of placing the tubular section 7 over the bottle kneck 2 and securing it in place with the handle correctly in register with the recessed portion 3. There are several ways in which this attachment can be made but at present the preferred manner is to attach the recycled handle portion to the bottle kneck 2 by ultrasonic welding. This avoids the problem of conta mination caused by

(3) the presence of adhesives.

From the foregoing description it will be appreciated that the present invention affords a simple, economical and reliable solution to the problem of providing a proper handle on a mass produced thermoplastics bottle as well as enabling a substantial part of the bottle to be made from recycled material.

Whilst in the present embodiment the main body portion has been described as being blow moulded from P.E.T. it will be realised that other materials could be used in the manufacture of the ain body and that other moulding processes also could be employed. The important feature is that the neck part of the bottle incorporates a strengthening outer liner which does not come into contact with the contents of the bottle so that this additional portion can be manufactured from recycled material. The invention is particularly advantageous if this additional strengthening portion incorporates a handle.

(4)

Claims

C LAIMS

1. A container having a main body portion moulded from a thermoplastics material, this main body portion having a neck through which any contents of the container can be poured, and wherein this neck has a reinforcing member made fro m a material which does not come into contact with the neck.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1 wherein the reinforcing member comprises an outer tubular section which is engaged over the neck.

3. A container as claimed in either of the preceding claims wherein the reinforcing mem ber carries a handle.

4. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding clai ms wherein the main body portion is blow moulded fro m P.E.T.

5. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the reinforcing member is injection moulded fro m re-cycled material.

6. A container as claimed in claim 5 wherein the reinforcing member is made from re-cycled ther oplastics material.

7. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the reinforcing me ber is secured to the neck of the container by ultra-sonic welding.

(5)

8. A method of manufacturing a container comprising the steps of moulding the main body of the container from pristine thermoplastics material so that the main body has a neck portion through which the contents can be introduced into and poured from the container, forming a reinforcing member for the neck portion, and securing the reinforcing member to the neck portion, the reinforcing mem ber being so located that the contents of the container will not come into contact with it.

9. A method as claimed in clai 8 wherein the reinforcing member is moulded fro re-cycled thermoplastics material.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein the reinforcing member is welded to the neck portion by ultra-sonic welding.

(6)