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
  • B65D1/0261—Bottom construction
  • B65D1/0276—Bottom construction having a continuous contact surface, e.g. Champagne-type bottom
• • 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

Definitions

• the present invention relates to wide mouth blow molded plastic containers, and more particularly to such containers having opposed chordal vacuum flex panels which are particularly suited for hot-filling and/or retorting viscous products
• a number of hot-fillable blow molded containers are disclosed having panels that flex due to the hot-filling process
• U S Patents to Brown 5, 141, 120, Brown 5, 141, 121, Krishnakumar 5,472, 105, Prevot 5,392,937, and Prevot D 344,457 disclose hot-fillable bottles having panels providing the dual function of affording grippability and vacuum-accommodating flexure
• U S Patent 5,887,739 issued to Graham Packaging Company, L.P , and owned in common with the present application, discloses a blow-molded wide-mouth container having a plurality of vacuum-flex panels spaced apart about its periphery
• U.S Patent D420,593, also owned by Graham discloses a pinch-grip wide mouth container While the patented Graham wide mouth containers afford the advantage of ready scoopability of contents, the flex panels and dome structural intrusions into the container may impede thorough scoopability for certain types of viscous food products Unlike containers having conventional peripheral flex panels that afford wrap-around labeling,
• U S Patent 4,642,968 discloses a cylindrical wide-mouth container having a bottom structure which bulges outwardly to accommodate internal forces developed during retorting. See also U.S. Patents 5,217,737 and 5,234, 126.
• U.S. Patent 5,908, 128 discloses a narrow-neck bottle having a plurality of peripheral flex panels that accommodate internal forces due to pasteurization. The ' 128 patent does not provide ready contents scoopability because it has a narrow neck and is encumbered with a plurality of internal flex panel structural elements that interfere with contents scooping.
• an object of the present invention is to provide novel hot fillable plastic containers which have vacuum absorption panels that flex during hot-filling, capping and cooling; which are resistant to unwanted distortion; and which have a minimum of internal structure that could impede thorough contents scooping.
• Another object of the present invention is to provide wide-mouth, blow- molded jars having flat flex panels that present minimal interference with out-scooping of contents by a consumer and that maximize labelable areas.
• a further object of the invention is to provide a wide-mouth, blow-molded jar structure that can be used in either hot-fill processing or in retort processing.
• Yet another object of the invention is to provide a wide-mouth, blow-molded retortable jar that can be produced by conventional extrusion blow-molding technology- Brief Description of the Drawings
• FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of one embodiment of a container according to the present invention, the opposite side elevational view being a mirror image thereof,
• Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the container shown in Fig. 1
• Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view of the container shown in Fig. 1
• Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the container shown in Fig. 1,
• Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the container shown in Fig. 1;
• Fig. 6 is side elevational view of another embodiment of the present invention,
• Fig. 7 is a front elevational view of the container illustrated in Fig. 6,
• Fig. 8 is a rear elevational view of the container illustrated in Fig. 6,
• Fig. 9 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 6,
• Fig. 10 is a side elevational view of an extrusion blow-molded retortable container, embodying the present invention
• Fig. 11 is a bottom plan view of the container illustrated in Fig. 10, Fig. 12 is an enlarged transverse cross-sectional view taken on line 12-12 of Fig. 11;
• Fig. 13 is a side elevational view of a modified embodiment of the container of
• Fig. 14 is a rear elevational view of a further modified embodiment of the container of Fig. 10
• the present invention provides a blow molded, hot- fillable wide mouth jar J that has a body 10 with a pair of chordal vacuum flex panels 11 with flat outer surfaces situated as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.
• the flex panels 11 are connected by an arcuate front label panel 13 and an arcuate rear label panel 15 of smaller arcuate extent than the front panel 13, so that the panels 11 are asymmetrically disposed, both converging toward the rear of the jar J depicted to the right in Fig. 1
• the flex panels 11 are planar, as manufactured, and flex in response to hot-filling, capping and cooling Each flex panel is identical in construction to the other
• the flex panel 11 is vertically elongate and is defined by two opposing upper and lower U-shaped reinforcing rib structures, 19 and 20, respectively
• Each rib structure is identical to the other and is characterized by a pair of parallel vertical legs 19a which are connected together by an integral peripheral brow web 19b
• the brow web 19b has a wall portion 19' that is angulated with respect to the planar vacuum panel 11 and has a region of maximum intrusion extending centrally into the flex panel and end regions of minimum intrusion adjacent the intersections of the brow web 19b and the legs 19a.
• the region of maximum intrusion of the brow web wall portion 19' intersects the flex panel 11 at an included angle ⁇ of about 120°
• each brow web 19b has a portion, opposite the flex panel, which extends peripherally of the jar inwardly adjacent conventional peripheral label bumpers
• the ends of the rib structure legs 19a terminate in spaced endwise relation adjacent the transverse median M of the flex panel
• the brow web and legs are continuously inwardly concave throughout their entire extents
• the U-shaped reinforcing rib structures 19 cooperate to prevent ovalization of the jar without interfering with the desired movement of the planar flex panels 11 in the course of providing the vacuum absorption function during hot-fill processing
• the legs 19a provide anti-slip bights at the front and rear vertical edges of the flex panels
• the upper portion of the jar J has a conventional dome shape 23 which terminates in a wide mouth threaded finish 25
• the base 27 of the jar preferably has radially extending ribs (not shown) such as customarily used by Graham in connection with other of its hot-fill containers made of PET
• FIG. 6 Another embodiment of the invention which provides enhanced labelability is illustrated in Figs 6 through 9
• This embodiment is similar in most respects to the previously-described embodiment but has certain structural differences in the flex panel region that provide additional advantages More specifically, as best seen in the transverse cross section of Fig.
• the front label panel 113 merges smoothly and continuously into the front vertical margin of each flex panel 111 along an arcuate transition wall 130 having a relatively large radius of curvature, c , on the order of at least about 0 5 inch
• the smooth radiused transition enables a continuous label L, a portion of which is shown in phantom in Fig.6, to be wrapped onto the front label panel 113 and into frontal vertical margins of each flex panel 111
• a single, inwardly-concave, vertical rib 150 is provided along the intersection of the rear panel 115 and the rear of each flex panel 111
• the rib 150 provides vertical strength, and a bight that facilitates anti-slip gripping
• This embodiment provides the advantages of the previously-discussed embodiment, along with a larger label mounting area because the front label can be wrapped into the flex panel grip area, thereby enabling the front label to occupy one- half or more of the periphery of the jar body
• the rear panel may be labelled, or logos may be molded into the rectangular framed panel regions 115a, 115b, 115c.
• the planar flex panels of each disclosed embodiment taper chordally from front to rear at a dihedral angle ⁇ (Fig. 9) of from about 16° to about 32°, a 24° angle being shown in the illustrated embodiment
• the chordal extent of each flex panel preferably corresponds to almost 30 percent of the transverse medial jar body circumference (ie at least about one-half of the diameter of the container) and should be within a range of about 20 to about 40 percent
• the height of each flex panel is about 50 percent greater than the chordal extent
• Each flex panel is preferably smooth, although each may include a mottled surface, or may be embossed with decorations or logos
• the containers illustrated in Figs. 1-9 have a volumetric capacity of 24.5 fluid ounces, and are illustrated at full scale
• each container is manufactured of PET plastic from an injection- molded preform by a process such as disclosed in Graham's copending application S.N 09/126, 170, filed on July 30, 1998, and entitled Wide Mouth Blow Molded Plastic Container, Method of Making Same, and Preform Used Therein, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein
• a wide-mouth container manufactured by this process is disclosed in Graham's U.S Patent 5,887,739, referenced at page 1, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein
• the disclosed container structures can be made by stretch blow-molding from an injection molded preform of any of several well known plastic materials, such as PET, PEN, and the like Such materials have proven particularly suitable for applications involving hot-fill processing wherein contents are charged at temperatures of greater than 190°F before the container is capped and allowed to cool to ambient temperatures
• a container structure disclosed in Figs. 10-14 which is similar to the container of Figs. 1-5 but with certain modifications, has been found capable of withstanding the rigors of retort processing at temperatures up to 260 °F under super- baric pressure conditions
• Such structure is capable of being manufactured of single or multiple layer materials by economical extrusion blow-molding processes, as well known in the art
• an extruded parison having a six (6) layer wall structure of either virgin PP or HDPE, compatible regrind, adhesive, EVOH, adhesive, and virgin PP or HDPE is blow-molded into a 32 fluid ounce container structure (illustrated at approximately twice full scale in Fig.
• the resulting extrusion blow-molded container is product-opaque, provides acceptable shelf-life for a contained viscous product, such as sauce, is economical to manufacture; and is retortable
• retortable as used herein, is intended to mean that a filled and capped container is capable of being heated to temperatures up to 260 °F at pressures up to 45 psi and cooled to ambient temperatures without undergoing distortion that would be commercially-unacceptable to the ultimate consumer
• retortability is facilitated by an improved base construction which cooperates with the pair of flex panels to prevent the base from undergoing excessive outward deflection, ie deflection below the container standing ring To this end, as best seen in Fig.
• a base 227 of the illustrated cross- sectional configuration has an annular peripheral standing ring 227a that provides upright support for the container when placed on a flat horizontal surface S
• the base 227 has an outer upwardly and radially-inwardly extending annular wall portion 227b that tapers at an angle of 10° from the horizontal surface S
• the wall portion 227b merges with an inner upwardly and radially-inwardly extending wall portion 227c that forms an angle of 45 ° with respect to a horizontal plane parallel to the horizontal plane of the support surface S
• the outer and inner wall portions 227b and 227c are connected by an inwardly concave wall portion having a radius of curvature R,
• the inner wall portion 227c merges with an inwardly convex wall portion 227d having a radius of curvature R 2 which is larger than radius R j
• the convex wall portion 227d slants downwardly toward a central circular wall portion 227e coaxial with the container central axis
• ajar of the configuration illustrated in Figs. 10-12 which is like the jar of Figs. 1-6, but which has continuous peripheral outwardly concave reinforcing rings 230 and 231, respectively located above and below the upper and lower brows 219 and 220, respectively
• the jar was extrusion blow-molded of a polypropylene multi-layer wall composition noted, supra, and had the base configuration of Fig.
• the extrusion blow-molded retortable jar shown in Fig. 10 may have a flex panel frame structure such as shown in Fig 13 With such frame structure, the upper and lower U-shaped reinforcing ribs 319 and 320 have shorter legs 319a, 320a separated from aligned vertically elongate ribs 319'
• a jar may be provided with a single vertically-elongate arcuate rear panel 415, as shown in Fig. 14
• the rear panel 415 is particularly suited for extrusion blow-molded retortable jars
• the rear arcuate panel 415 can be molded with decorative artwork and logos

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Ceramic Engineering (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Containers Having Bodies Formed In One Piece (AREA)
• Blow-Moulding Or Thermoforming Of Plastics Or The Like (AREA)
• Food Preservation Except Freezing, Refrigeration, And Drying (AREA)
• Medical Preparation Storing Or Oral Administration Devices (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (5)

Related Child Applications (1)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=26820399

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (10)

Families Citing this family (29)

Family Cites Families (12)

• 2000
  • 2000-02-29 PL PL00343727A patent/PL343727A1/xx not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2000-02-29 WO PCT/US2000/005118 patent/WO2000051895A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2000-02-29 TR TR2000/03196T patent/TR200003196T1/xx unknown
  • 2000-02-29 BR BR0005187-0A patent/BR0005187A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2000-02-29 AU AU38614/00A patent/AU3861400A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-02-29 CA CA002328620A patent/CA2328620C/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2000-02-29 DE DE60013211T patent/DE60013211T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2000-02-29 EP EP00917678A patent/EP1075424B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2000-02-29 AT AT00917678T patent/ATE274452T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2000-02-29 ES ES00917678T patent/ES2226808T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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