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
  • B65D2501/00—Containers having bodies formed in one piece
  • B65D2501/0009—Bottles or similar containers with necks or like restricted apertures designed for pouring contents
  • B65D2501/0018—Ribs
  • B65D2501/0045—Solid ribs

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a collapsible container for liquids, in particular for carbonated beverages.
• the prior art provides for a high number of arrangements that provide containers for liquids, particularly bottles, that, due to their collapsible structure, allow adapting the container volume to the remaining amount of liquid inside it; as known, such containers, generally designed for carbonated drinkable liquids, provide the advantages of: drastically decreasing the liquid degassing inside the container, keeping the volume of air included between liquid and container plug, practically constant; gradually decreasing the container volume depending on the consumption of liquid inside it, thereby reducing the stocking space of the container; obtaining a container that, at the end of the consumption of liquid inside it, has already progressively collapsed to its minimum volume, being thereby able to be disposed of without requiring further compressing operations.
• a first type of such containers proposed by the prior art provides for a bottle made of plastic material having substantially elastic properties equipped with a side wall comprising a plurality of accordion-type bends on at least one portion of their height formed of tapered and contrary surfaces having the same width. Due to the elastic properties of the bottle material and, above all, due to the symmetrical shape of each bend, this bottle has only a stable balance position coinciding with its completely extended position, this not making it particularly suitable for a frequent use, such as, for example, in case of drinkable liquids.
• WO-A-0044630 discloses a bottle having means for blocking the bending recovery of the accordion-type structure, comprising bends having an upper surface and a lower surface whose width is lower than the adjacent upper surface and having a curved shape with convexity directed towards the adjacent upper surface against which it collapses.
• Object of the present invention is thereby providing a collapsible container for liquids, particularly for carbonated beverages, having an accordion-type structure equipped with at least one longitudinal reinforcing member adapted to increase the torsion and flexure stiffness of the container itself.
• an object of the present invention is providing a collapsible container for liquids equipped with a second, internal accordion-type structure adapted to prevent the liquid from entering the first, external accordion-type structure.
• FIG. 1, 2 and 3 show a side sectional view of a container 1 according to the present invention in various collapsing positions;
• FIG. 4 shows an enlarged view of the part in the dashed box A in FIG. 1;
• FIG. 5 shows an enlarged view of another embodiment of the part in the dashed box A in FIG. 1;
• FIG. 6 shows an enlarged view of still another embodiment of the part in the dashed box in FIG. 1.
• the present invention will be described below as applied to a bottle having a circular section, preferably made of plastic material or anyway a suitably resilient material, but it cannot obviously be excluded that the inventive container can have any other sectional shape.
• a container 1 according to the present invention shaped as a bottle; such container 1 comprises a side wall 2 of which at least a part is equipped with a first accordion-type structure 3 of a known type, a lower portion 5 and an upper portion 7 equipped with a neck at the end of which it is possible to apply a plug 11.
• the first accordion-type structure 2 is " composed of a plurality of first bends 31 bent as a bellows, each one of which is composed of a first upper surface 311 and a first lower surface 313 indifferently having the same width or with the first lower surface 313 having a width that is less than the first upper surface 311.
• both the first upper surface 311 and the first lower surface 313 could have, in their section, a linear or arc-shaped arrangement, as disclosed in the previously-mentioned document WO-A-0044630.
• the container 1 is equipped inside with a second accordion-type structure 4 composed of a plurality of second bends 41 bent as a bellows, each one of which is composed of a second upper surface 411 and a second lower surface 413 having preferably the same width.
• the second upper surface 411 and/or the second lower surface 413 could have in their sections a linear or arc-shaped arrangement.
• Such second bends 41 are arranged next to the first bends 31 in such a way that, when the container 1 collapses, each second upper surface 411 collapses on a related adjacent second lower surface 413, in this way the second collapsed bends 41 being projecting towards the container 1 interior, and the first collapsed bends 31 being projecting towards the container 1 exterior.
• angle ⁇ shown in the Figures between the second upper surface 411 and the second lower surface 413, not collapsed is preferably slightly less than 180° in order not to occupy an excessive volume inside the container 1 when it is not collapsed, though allowing the second bends 41 to be bent inwards when collapsing.
• the container 1 according to the present invention is equipped with at least one longitudinal reinforcing member.
• such longitudinal reinforcing member is preferably at least one rib 13 that longitudinally runs along at least one portion of the container 1, preferably along at least the whole height of the accordion-type structure 3. It is clear that, in order to increase the container 1 efficiency, this latter one can be equipped with a plurality of ribs 13; their number must however be such as not to prevent the correct operation of the accordion-type structure 3.
• the ribs 13 due to costs and mass economy reasons, are of the same material composing side wall 2, accordion-type structure 3, lower portion 5, upper portion 7 and neck 9; it is however obvious that such ribs 13 can also be made, depending on specific needs, of a different material.
• FIG. 5 it is possible to note a sectional view of a preferred embodiment of a bend 31 of the container 1 according to the present invention: in such embodiment, in fact, it is possible to note that the rib 13 longitudinally runs both on the upper surface 311 and on the lower surface 312; moreover, in such embodiment, the rib 13 is external to the bend 31.
• the rib 13 is equipped with suitable weakening points 131 that, when the container 1 collapses, can also possibly break.
• the rib 13 is inside the bend 31; also in this case, as previously described, it is possible to provide that, next to the bending points of the bend 31, the rib 13 is equipped with suitable weakening points 131.
• the longitudinal reinforcing members are realised onto the container 1, by moulding or extrusion, before manufacturing the accordion-type structure 3, and in particular the bends 31.
• the longitudinal reinforcing members could be heat-welded or glued onto the container 1 before- manufacturing the accordion-type structure 3.
• the second- accordion-type structure 4 and/or the longitudinal reinforcing members allow the container 1 to solve the disadvantages of what has been proposed in the prior art.
• the second accordion-type structure 4 in fact, by preventing the liquid from entering the interstices created by the first accordion-type structure 3 from the prior art, solves the previously mentioned problems.
• the same second accordion-type structure 4 contributes to the increase of stiffness and stability of the container 1.
• the longitudinal reinforcing members allow further increasing the stability and stiffness of the container 1 itself, above all along the accordion-type structure 3: in traditional bottles, in fact, when the liquid has to be poured, the plug removal zeroes the pressure exerted onto the bottle walls by liquid and air that are hermetically enclosed therein: consequently, due to its very same nature, the traditional accordion-type structure of the bottle tends to be flexed and distorted under the force exerted by the hand that grasps it and inclines it, making it very difficult for the liquid to comfortably and correctly go out.
• the second " accordion-type structure 4 and/or the longitudinal reinforcing members concur to keep the accordion-type structure 3 sufficiently stable and stiff, thereby allowing, even after having removed the plug 11, a greater stiffness and stability of the container 1, guaranteeing an adequate and easy pouring.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Ceramic Engineering (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Containers Having Bodies Formed In One Piece (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=34932899

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Families Citing this family (2)

Citations (3)

• 2004
  • 2004-11-22 EP EP04425869A patent/EP1659067A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 2005
  • 2005-11-18 WO PCT/EP2005/012347 patent/WO2006053758A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (3)

Non-Patent Citations (2)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events