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—Rigid or semi-rigid 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 or 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
  • B65D23/00—Details of bottles or jars not otherwise provided for
  • B65D23/08—Coverings or external coatings
  • B65D23/0842—Sheets or tubes applied around the bottle with or without subsequent folding operations
  • B65D23/0878—Shrunk on the bottle

Definitions

• the present invention relates to bottles having labels thereon.
• Liquids are frequently supplied in bottles which can generally be of such materials as glass, ceramics and plastics. These bottles may be labelled by any suitable means, if desired. Labels typically comprise a paper or plastic layer in association with a logo, or information, and which is adhered to or wrapped about the bottle.
• the bottle in the form of a concertina, either for aesthetic reasons, or because it is desired to compress the bottle to eject the liquid.
• Such bottles will typically be made of flexible plastics material.
• the present invention provides a bottle having a bellows portion, at least the bellows portion being made substantially from flexible plastics material, characterised in that at least a part of the bellows portion is shrink-wrapped.
• the shrink-wrap is a label, but a clear or monochrome film may be used, for example to protect the bottle from deformation or scratching.
• label includes reference to such embodiments, unless otherwise indicated.
• the bottle is typically made of one material, although it is possible that just the bellows portion is made of flexible plastic. Especially where the bottle is intended for medical use, it is preferred that the plastic used for the bellows portion is polyethylene, although it is possible to use some grades of polypropylene.
• the preferred polyethylene is Lupolen (TM) 3040. Suitable thicknesses of polyethylene will be apparent to those skilled in the art but, in the event of using a low density polyethylene, such as Lupolen 3040, preferred thicknesses lie in the range of 500-1000 ⁇ m, more preferably 650-850 ⁇ m and especially about 750 ⁇ m.
• the label will typically comprise HPVC, suitable grades of which are well-known to those skilled in the art. Other suitable materials for shrink-wrapping will also be apparent to those skilled in the art, and may equally be used, although HPVC is preferred.
• the PVC to form the label may be decorated with any desired indicia before or after application to the bottle, or may have no indicia at all.
• the first label layer may carry any suitable indicia.
• first label layer may be loosely associated with the bottle, or there may be some adhesive used to help to keep it in place, for example, although, given the lack of substantial amounts of surface area, such adhesion tends to unsatisfactory in the absence of the shrink-wrap.
• the bellows portion of the bottle typically comprises a regular "concertina" shape, so that a bulging area will be associated with a concomitant waist, so that the whole can be resiliently deformed to eject any liquid in the bottle through a suitable aperture.
• the bulges will typically be regular and may be of rounded or angled outline.
• Suitable bottles are known in the art, but will generally be of the blow-fill-seal type having an integral cap associated with the neck, wherein the cap is twisted off prior to use.
• the bottles will be intended for single usage, although there is no reason why such bottles could not be used for multiple usage.
• the label may be removed, prior to usage. This may be effected by cutting, for example, although this may damage the bottle. Accordingly, it is preferred to provide perforations in the label so that a user may tear the label along the perforations. However, it is generally preferred that the label does not need to be removed, so that the label will typically either crumple as the bottle is squeezed, or remain as a tube in which the bottle is compacted. In the latter case, it will be appreciated that at least one end of the label should not be adhered to the bottle, other than by the effects of the shrink-wrapping process, in order to allow disassociation of the bottle from the label.
• bottles of the present invention need not necessarily be bottles, as such, and may be other forms of liquid container, such as vials or ampoules, provided that there is a bellows portion for dispensing liquid.
• any bellows portion is resiliently deformable, so that release of the bellows portion once the liquid has been ejected will tend to result in reformation of the expanded bellows portion, and this may be used to draw any suitable substance, especially liquid, back into the bottle.
• Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
• a bottle with a label on is generally shown at (10).
• the bottle (20) has, associated with it, label (30).
• the bellows portion of the bottle (20) is generally indicated at (40), and comprises a series of bulges (50) and waists (60).
• the label (30) is secured over a number, but not necessarily all, of the bulges (50) by means of shrink-wrapping, so that label (30) is held in place, at least partially, by ends (70, 70') shrinking about shoulders (80, 80').
• the label (30) may also be held in place by a degree of adhesion caused through a minor amount of melting of either the surface of the bottle (20) or the label (30) and, further, may also be held in place by being tightly associated with the bellows portion (40).
• the bottle (20) has a neck (90) and a removable cap (100) which can be removed to expose aperture (110) to dispense liquid from the bottle.
• the liquid in the bottle should be present in sufficient volume such that the label to be shrink-wrapped onto the bottle does not come into contact with any part of the bottle of the level of the liquid therein.
• the volume of the liquid should be such that most, if not all, of the bellows portion is filled when the bottle is upright.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Ceramic Engineering (AREA)
• Details Of Rigid Or Semi-Rigid Containers (AREA)
• Labeling Devices (AREA)
• Packages (AREA)
• Containers Having Bodies Formed In One Piece (AREA)
• Holo Graphy (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=10820683

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (3)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 1997
  • 1997-10-16 GB GBGB9721969.5A patent/GB9721969D0/en not_active Ceased
• 1998
  • 1998-10-16 EP EP98947690A patent/EP1027252B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-10-16 DE DE69805320T patent/DE69805320T2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-10-16 AU AU94527/98A patent/AU9452798A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1998-10-16 WO PCT/GB1998/003112 patent/WO1999020534A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1998-10-16 AT AT98947690T patent/ATE217273T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events