Patent Application
20070045223
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to blow molded containers, and more particularly to grippable containers.
2. Related Art
Grippable containers that are currently available in the art are manufactured by blow molding, often with great difficulty. This is because these containers typically have an edge in the container sidewall where the container is indented for the purposes of creating a recessed region for gripping. These edges are typically at a sharp angle of about 90°, which makes blow molding the area around the edge problematic.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,941 to Semeresky et al. has multiple edges between the sidewall and the grip panel structure. It is difficult to move molten plastic into and around these edges. As a result, the design of grippable containers manufactured by the blow molding process can be both time consuming and tedious, and the position of the grip limited. Thus, there is a need in the art for a grippable plastic container that can be manufactured with relative ease and a grip design that provides more options for positioning.
The present invention is directed to a plastic container having a base, a sidewall, and a body with a grip region. The grip region contains an inner panel surrounded by a joining wall on one side, a panel edge on the opposing side, a ceiling above the inner panel, and a transition panel below the inner panel. The transition panel gently slopes from the inner panel towards the base of the container.
In one embodiment of the invention, the container has two opposing grip regions where the inner panels of each grip region are substantially parallel, and the ceiling is in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the base. The ceiling joins the inner panel at an inner ceiling edge and joins the sidewall at an outer ceiling edge. The ceiling also joins the joining wall at a chamfered corner. The inner panel meets the joining wall at an inner joining edge and the joining wall meets the container sidewall at an outer joining edge.
In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the grip region includes a dart. The grip region can also have ribs and can provide for easy handling of the container. The container can also be stretch blow molded.
Another embodiment of the present invention is directed towards a plastic container comprising a base, sidewall, and a body having a pair of opposing grip regions. Each grip region contains an inner panel in a plane substantially perpendicular to a plane of the base. The inner panel is surrounded by a joining wall on one side, and a panel edge on the opposite side. A ceiling is located above the inner panel, and a transition panel is located below the inner panel. The ceiling and the panel edge each adjoin the container sidewall. A portion of the joining wall is in a substantially vertical plane. The joining wall partially surrounds the inner panel and meets with the sidewall at an outer joining edge. The transitional panel gently slopes from the inner panel towards the base, providing a transition to the sidewall, and the transition panel ends at the sidewall proximal to the base.
In one embodiment of the invention, the transition panel narrows as it approaches the base. The base can comprise a concave annular wall between a standing surface of the base and the sidewall. In another embodiment, the transition panel merges with the annular wall. The grip region can facilitate handling of the container.
A further embodiment is directed to a grip region for a container, the grip region comprising an inner panel, the inner panel surrounded by a joining wall on one side, a panel edge on a side opposite to the joining wall, a ceiling above the inner panel, and a transition panel below the inner panel, wherein the transition panel gently slopes from the inner panel towards a base of the container, the transition panel providing a transition to the sidewall.
The ceiling can join the inner panel at an inner ceiling edge, the sidewall at an outer ceiling edge, and the joining wall at a chamfered corner. The inner panel meets the joining wall at an inner joining edge and the joining wall meets the container sidewall at an outer joining edge. In a further embodiment, the smooth slope of the transition panel facilitates fluidic motion of plastic through the grip region.
Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a method for forming a container including receiving a parison, enclosing the parison with a mold that includes a cavity, and inflating the parison in the mold to form a blow molded container having a grip region. The grip region contains an inner panel surrounded by a joining wall on one side, a panel edge on a side opposite to the joining wall, a ceiling above the inner panel a transition panel below the inner panel. The transition panel gently slopes from the inner panel towards a base of the container, the transition panel providing a transition to the sidewall.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements.
Embodiments of the invention are discussed in detail below. In describing embodiments, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected. While specific exemplary embodiments are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations can be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the invention. All references cited herein are incorporated by reference as if each had been individually incorporated.
The present invention is directed to a grip region for a plastic container. The illustrated embodiments depict the grip region as part of a container, in order to provide the appropriate context in which to discuss the inventive aspects of the present invention.
Each grip region 108 contains an inner panel 110 such that the horizontal distance between the two indented grip regions DG is less than the (longitudinal) diameter of the base DB (see
Thus the inner panel 110 extends horizontally from the inner panel edge 112 to the inner joining edge 114 and vertically from the inner ceiling edge 116 to the transition panel 118. A portion of the inner panel 110 can also be slightly recessed relative to the rest of the grip region in order to make the panels easy to hold by a user. In the illustrated embodiments the inner panel 110 includes a recessed portion that is approximately circular in shape, but alternate shapes, for example, elliptical, oval, rectangle, triangle, or other polygonal shapes are contemplated. The inner panel 110 can have no shape at all, resulting in a panel that appears rectangular or square in shape.
As depicted in
As best seen in
As pictured in
The outer joining edge 130 meets the outer ceiling edge 126 at a chamfered corner 122. The outer joining edge 130 constitutes the outer periphery of one side of the grip region which continues around the joining wall and down along the container sidewall 104 towards the base 102. The resulting structure of the outer joining edge 130 is an arc-shaped curve that is the outer periphery of one side the indented grip region 108. This curve resembles the outer curve of the human ear, down through the earlobe. The outer joining edge meets the sidewall 104 proximal base 102 at the end or bottom of the curved joining edge 130.
The transition panel 118 of the indented grip region, is a sloped region that is located below the inner panel 110. The transition panel 118 is surrounded by the joining wall 128 on one side, and merges with the sidewall 104 near the base 102. The transition panel 118 is below the indented grip region 108, and in the illustrated embodiment no edge separates the transition panel 118 from the inner panel 110. There is also no edge separating the transition panel 118 from the container sidewall 104. Instead, the transition panel 118 provides a smooth transition that slopes gently from the inner panel 110 to the sidewall 104.
The transition panel 118 slopes gently from the from the inner panel 110 towards the base 102, providing a transition from the inner panel 110 to the sidewall 104 near the base 102. The angle formed by the inner panel 110 and transition panel 118 has a slope θ (shown in
The present invention is further directed to a container having the grip region described above.
As in the illustrated embodiment of
The present container possesses many advantages over the prior art. One feature of the container is that it does not require a handle. The ability to manufacture a larger size bottle, such as a bottle having a wide bottom with a tapered top, without a handle, provides several advantages. First, integral handle manufacture requires the use of additional plastic and generally is a more complex manufacturing process. Handled bottles must usually be extrusion blow molded, as the formation of the handle during the molding process precludes manufacture by stretch blow molding. Thus the present invention is advantageous over the prior art in that it can be manufactured by stretch blow molding.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the grip region is designed to facilitate the stretch blow molding process of a container having the grip region. This is due to the gradual sloping of the transition panel as it approaches the container base. The absence of a sharp ridge or crease in the region below the inner panel towards the bottom of the container facilitates flow of hot plastic through the transition panel to the lower portion of a container embodying the grip region. Thus, the efficiency of manufacture of such a container is increased. An additional advantage is that the gradual sloping of the transition wall allows positioning of the grip region closer to the bottom of the container, without hindering the flow of hot plastic to the base during the blow-molding process. Having the grip region at a lower portion of the container in provides improved control and greater comfort during handling, especially as the container contents are reduced. Again, this is due to the lack of a crease in the region between the inner panel and the bottom of the container.
The elimination of a handle and the existence of the grip portion allows for greater stability during, for example, lifting and pouring contents. This is particularly true with containers that require relatively deep recesses in order to form a grip. More specifically, in large containers, the opposing inner panels must be recessed further into the container in order for the panels to be close enough together to facilitate holding with one hand. The existence of a transition wall and the absence of a crease in the region between the inner panel and the bottom of the container allows for a narrower grip region, meaning that the distance between the two indented grip regions can be reduced without creating any challenges during manufacture. These advantages can be realized with a grip region according to the present invention.
The embodiments illustrated and discussed in this specification are intended only to teach those skilled in the art the best way known to the inventors to make and use the invention. Nothing in this specification should be considered as limiting the scope of the present invention. All examples presented are representative and non-limiting. The above-described embodiments of the invention may be modified or varied, without departing from the invention, as appreciated by those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the claims and their equivalents, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.
