The invention relates to preforms made of thermoplastic and used for the production of bottles; it more particularly relates to an improvement to the bottom of these preforms.
Conventionally, the bottom of a preform is hemispherical in appearance and the external central portion of this hemisphere corresponds to the point where material is injected during the manufacture of said preform.
As for the internal central portion of the hemisphere, this is the location which accepts the end of the stretch rod used to stretch the preform in the mold during the stretch-blow molding operation, and it is around this central portion that the biaxial expansion of the thermoplastic material occurs, such that the center of the central hemispherical portion of the preform corresponds to the center of the central portion of the bottom of the molded bottle.
There is a fragile area around this central portion of the bottom of the molded bottle which is a source of defects, particularly in bottles of moderate and high capacity (typically 1 to 5 liters). The bottom of the bottle is the site of fissuring phenomena and the bottle may rupture between the central portion where the material is amorphous and the periphery of this portion which corresponds to its base, where the material is expanded biaxially.
These defects are even more noticeable when bottles having a relatively complex bottom are concerned, such as bottles with a petaloid bottom.
The invention proposes an arrangement of the bottom of the preform which takes into account data related to both the definition of the bottle model that one wishes to obtain and to the definition of this preform, said arrangement providing, after the operation of stretch-blow molding said preform, a transition area on the bottom of the molded bottle which is less subject to fissuring phenomena between the central portion of said bottom of this bottle and the part which constitutes its base.
This preform comprises, centered on a single axis xx′:—a neck,—a cylindrical body, and—an enclosed bottom that is spheroidal in shape, said preform being defined relative to the dimensions of a pre-established bottle model which comprises: a bottom, a body, and a neck, said neck of said bottle model being identical to the neck of said preform,
Still according to the invention, for the external contour of the bottom of the preform, the connection between the envelope of the outside cylindrical body and the envelope of the tapered surface, at point N, is in the form of a curved surface of which the radius RF corresponds to ½×(Ae) and may be of the same order as the radius RE of the spherical cap which forms the external contour of said bottom, said circular curved surface being such that it is tangent to said outside cylindrical envelope and said tapered section and acts to soften the edge at said connection point N.
In a preferred arrangement of the invention, the radius RE of the spherical cap of the external contour of the preform is on the order of 0.53×(Ae).
In another preferred arrangement of the invention, the half-angle M of the tapered portion of the external contour is on the order of 10°.
In another preferred arrangement of the invention, the radius RG of the toroidal area of the external contour of the preform, which extends between the spherical surface and the tapered envelope, is on the order of 0.32×(Ae).
In another preferred arrangement of the invention, the radius RH of the small central spherical cap of the internal contour of the preform is substantially equal to ½×(Ae), meaning to half the outside diameter Ae of its cylindrical body.
In another preferred arrangement of the invention, the radius RL of the toroidal area of the internal contour of the preform, which acts as the connection between the spherical area, which begins at the lower end of the inside cylindrical envelope, and the small central spherical cap, is on the order of 0.8×(K/2).
In another preferred arrangement of the invention, for the radius RI of the circle which is traced by the center Y of the arc of the circle generating the toroidal area acting as the connection between the spherical area, which begins at the lower end of the inside cylindrical envelope, and the central spherical cap, said radius RI has a value on the order of 0.07×(Ae).
In another preferred arrangement of the invention, the construction thickness D of the wall of the bottom of the preform, along its axis xx′, is on the order of 0.41×(C).
In another preferred arrangement of the invention, the thickness C of the preform along its axis xx′ is on the order of 1.02×(B).
The invention is detailed in a sufficiently clear and complete manner in the following description to allow its execution, accompanied by drawings in which:
The bottle model 1, represented in
During the design of the bottle 1 model, several dimensions are defined: its maximum diameter Ab in the body 2, said maximum diameter Ab being generally located in the lower portion of the body 2, above the bottom 3; also defined for this bottle 1 is a dimension referred to as half-length L1, represented in
Half-length L1 extends between the center OB of the bottom and the connection 4 between the neck 5 and the body 2 of the bottle model 1. Dimension L2 at the base 8 extends between the center OB of the bottom of the bottle model 1 and point NB which corresponds to the centroid of the area of the base 8 of said bottle 1; in other words, half-length L2 corresponds to the mean radius of the supporting area of the petaloid bottom 3.
These half-lengths L1 and L2 of the bottle model 1 are used to delimit the contour of the preform 11,
This preform 11 is represented in
As represented in
Depending on the capacities and shapes of the resulting bottle 1, one may also find a tapering area 14 between the cylindrical body 12 and the connection 4 with the neck 5; in this tapering area 14, the thickness of the wall of the preform 11 varies between said connection 4 and said cylindrical body 12; for the embodiment represented in
Considering the undercut necessary for unmolding the preform 11, the inside cavity 15 of this preform 11 is more pseudo-cylindrical; the thickness of the wall of the body 12 varies, and for the dimensional definition of the preform relative to the bottle model 1, two values of this thickness are used:—the thickness B of the wall at the start of the cylindrical portion of the body 12, and—the thickness J at the start of the internal contour of the bottom 13 of the preform 11. This thickness J is defined in the following manner, relative to B: 0.9×(B)<J<1.2×(B), preferably with J=1.05×(B). As for the thickness B, it is defined by taking into account the desired dimensions and weight of the bottle 1, said weight corresponding to that of the preform 11.
Similarly to the bottle 1 model, the preform 11 is also defined with dimensions measured at the neutral axis of its wall. Thus we find, as represented in
The dimensions of the preform 11 are related to the dimensions of the bottle 1 model. To obtain the preform 11, a reduction ratio is applied to the dimensions of the bottle 1 model, this ratio being chosen from among a range of values which takes into account the capacity (volume) of the bottle 1 and also takes into account the shape of the preform 11 that will allow obtaining said bottle 1.
In effect, the design of a preform 11 must take into account certain constraints related to handling the preforms between the moment they are produced and the moment they are placed on a conveyor for entry into the heating facility and then into the stretch-blow molding machine.
The design of the preforms 11 must allow limiting, and better yet preventing, incidents such as preforms becoming nested inside one another, said incidents arising for example during storage and especially during handling when they are being sorted and transferred from storage to the conveyor for introduction into the heating facility.
Thus the outside diameter Ae of the preform 11, measured at the cylindrical body 12, is proportional to the diameter Ab of the body 2 of the bottle model 1, said diameter Ae being determined by applying a reduction ratio chosen from among values from 3.7 to 4.5, meaning that: 3.7×(Ae)<Ab<4.5×(Ae).
The values of half-lengths L3 and L4 of the preform 11 are related to those of half-lengths L1 and L2 of the bottle model 1. Thus half-length L3 of the preform 11 is determined by applying a reduction ratio which is chosen from among values ranging from 2.8 to 3.5. The value of this half-length L1 is defined in the following manner: 2.8×(L3)<L1<3.5×(L3).
In addition, to obtain a good definition of the preform 11, the ratio LP of the half-lengths of said preform is preferably equal to twice the ratio LB of the half-lengths of the bottle 1 model. Thus LP=L4/L3=2×(LB), where LB=L2/L1.
The bottom 13 of the preform 11 is drawn,
The value of this half-length L4 is determined, as indicated above, from half-lengths L1 and L2 of the bottle 1 model and from the previously determined half-length L3 of the preform 11: L4=(L3)×2(L2/L1). This half-length L4, along the neutral axis of the wall of this bottom 13 of the preform, corresponds to half-length L3 multiplied by two times the ratio between half-length L2 and half-length L1 of the bottle 1 model.
The external geometric contour of the bottom 13 of the preform 11, enlarged in
The external spherical cap 16 is generated by an arc of a circle having its center P located on axis xx′ of the preform, at a distance from point OP which is equal to radius RE, said radius RE being determined based on the outside diameter Ae of the preform 11; it is defined as follows: 0.5×(Ae)<RE<0.7×(Ae), and preferably this radius RE is on the order of 0.53×(Ae).
Still for this outside envelope of the bottom 13, starting from point N, the external contour comprises the tapered surface 17 extending towards the external spherical cap 16, said tapered surface 17 having a top which is located on axis xx′ of the preform 11, beyond point OP, meaning externally to said preform 11. This tapered surface 17 forms a half-angle M at the top which is chosen so that the envelope of said tapered surface 17 is secant to the envelope of the external spherical cap 16 generated by the arc of a circle of radius RE.
The connection between the external spherical cap 16 and the tapered surface 17 consists of a toroidal ring 18 which is generated by an arc of a circle of radius RG; said arc of a circle of radius RG is such that this toroidal ring 18 is tangent to the radius generating said spherical cap 16 and to the generator of said tapered surface 17 such that the surface of this toroidal ring 18 is tangent to said external spherical surface 16 and to said tapered surface 17.
This radius RG is itself also delimited relative to the outside diameter Ae of the preform 11, according to the following relation: 0.25×(Ae)<RG<0.5×(Ae). Preferably, this radius RG of the toroidal ring 18 of the external contour is on the order of 0.32×(Ae).
The half-angle M at the top of the tapered envelope 17 of the external contour is, for example, between 5° and 20°; preferably, this half-angle M at the top is on the order of 10°.
Still for this external contour of the bottom 13 of the preform 11, the connection between the outside envelope of the cylindrical body 12 and the envelope of the tapered surface 17, at point NP, is in the form of a rounded surface 20 of which the radius RF corresponds to the radius of said cylindrical body 12, meaning to half the diameter Ae of said preform 11, said radius RF possibly also corresponding to the radius RE of the spherical cap 16 which constitutes the extreme external contour of the bottom 13 of the preform 11.
In fact, this circular rounded surface 20 acts as a simple softening of any edge located in the area marked by the point NP where the connection occurs between the outside envelope of the cylindrical body 12 of the preform 11 and the envelope of the tapered surface 17 of the bottom 13.
The definition of the internal contour of the bottom 13 of the preform 11 starts from the end of the pseudo-cylindrical cavity 15, near said bottom 13, to a central point S which is located on axis xx′, at a distance C from point OP, said distance, measured along axis xx′, being further detailed below.
Starting from this point S, the internal contour of the bottom 13 of the preform 11 has a central portion which curves in the shape of a spherical dome 23 centered on axis xx′; this internal spherical dome 23 has a radius RH which is centered on axis xx′ at a point which is on the external side of the preform 11. This radius RH is defined relative to the outside diameter Ae of the preform 11 according to the relation 0.7×(Ae)<RH<1.3×(Ae). Preferably, the radius RH of the spherical dome 23 is about the same as half the outside diameter Ae of the body 12 of the preform 11.
This internal contour of the bottom 13 of the preform 11 comprises, between the envelope of the inside cavity 15 and the dome 23, a spherical surface portion 24 which is generated by an arc of a circle of radius RK, said radius RK being equal to half the inside diameter K of said preform 11. The center V of this arc of a circle of radius RK is located on axis xx′ of the preform 11, and the connection between the spherical surface portion 24 and the envelope of the inside cavity 15 is marked by a point T, the projection of point T onto axis xx′ coinciding with the center V, and the distance Z between this center V and point OP of the bottom 13 of said preform 11 is determined as a function of K, of the thickness C of this bottom 13, and of a dimension D having a value as detailed below.
Thus Z=K/2−C+D, meaning that distance Z corresponds to half the inside diameter K of the preform 11, measured at point T, plus the thickness C of the bottom of this preform, measured on axis xx′, and minus a dimension D which is referred to as the construction thickness, said dimension D being measured on axis xx′ starting from the central point S.
The value of this dimension D is established from the thickness C of the bottom 13 of the preform 11. This dimension D has a value which is determined by the following relation: 0.2×(C)<D<0.6×(C); preferably, this dimension D is on the order of 0.41×(C).
The thickness C of the bottom 13 of the preform 11, measured on axis xx′, is established from the thickness B of the preform 11 measured at the start of the cylindrical portion of the body 12. This thickness C is determined by the relation B<C<1.1×(B); preferably, this thickness C is on the order of 1.02×(B).
As for the thickness B, it is defined by taking into account the desired dimensions and weight of the bottle 1, said weight corresponding to that of the preform 11.
The connection between the spherical dome 23 of radius RH and the spherical surface portion 24 created by the arc of a circle of radius RK, consists of a toroidal annular surface 25, said annular surface 25 being created by an arc of a circle of radius RL which is located within a generating plane rotating about axis xx′, said arc of a circle of radius RL comprising a center Y which is located in said generator plane and on a circle of radius RI, said circle of radius RI being centered on said axis xx′ and being positioned in a plane perpendicular to said axis xx′.
The radius RI has a value which is established from the outside diameter Ae of the preform 11; this value is given by the relation 0.05×(Ae)<RI<0.1×(Ae), and preferably said radius RI, of the circle traced by the center Y of the arc of the circle of radius RL, has a value which is on the order of 0.07×(Ae).
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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11 53209 | Apr 2011 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/FR2012/050596 | 3/22/2012 | WO | 00 | 10/9/2013 |