Claims
- 1. A hot-fillable plastic container comprising:a top portion including a shoulder and grip portion that is depressed about 2-10 mm into the top portion; and a bottom portion integrally formed with the top portion, the bottom portion including a plurality of vacuum panels that accommodate internal forces tending to collapse the vacuum panels inwardly due to filling of the container with a liquid at an elevated temperature and subsequent cooling of the liquid, wherein the grip portion in the top portion defines an auxiliary vacuum panel that accommodates for any portion of the internal forces not accommodated by the vacuum panels in the bottom portion.
- 2. The hot-fillable container according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of lateral ribs positioned within each of the vacuum panels provided in the bottom portion.
- 3. The hot-fillable container according to claim 1, further comprising at least one lateral rib provided on the top portion and laterally adjacent the auxiliary vacuum panel.
- 4. The hot-fillable container according to claim 1, wherein a deformation capability of the auxiliary vacuum panel is less than a deformation capability of each of the vacuum panels in the bottom portion of the container.
- 5. The hot-fillable container according to claim 1, wherein the container is substantially rectangular and defines two longer sides and two shorter sides, each of the longer sides having one said auxiliary vacuum panel, and each of the shorter sides including at least one lateral rib provided on the top portion and laterally adjacent each said auxiliary vacuum panel.
- 6. The hot-fillable container according to claim 1, further comprising a waist portion that extends into the top portion, the grip portion and the auxiliary vacuum panel being provided laterally adjacent the waist portion.
- 7. The hot-fillable container according to claim 6, further comprising at least one lateral rib provided in the waist portion.
- 8. The hot-fillable container according to claim 1, wherein the grip portion is adjacent a center of gravity of the container.
- 9. The hot-fillable container according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary vacuum panel defines an integral logo portion having a logo.
- 10. The hot-fillable container according to claim 9, wherein the logo includes an anti-slip surface.
- 11. The hot-fillable container according to claim 9, wherein the logo portion has a height that is about one-quarter to about one-half of a height of the top portion and a width that is about 50-90% of a width of the top portion.
- 12. A plastic container, comprising a body portion having a top portion and a bottom portion, the top portion including a grip portion that has a height, width and depth that are dimensioned and structured to provide a good hand-fit for a variety of hand sizes, wherein the bottom portion includes a wrap-around label and the grip portion defines a logo portion adapted to receive an auxiliary label.
- 13. The container according to claim 12, wherein the height of the grip portion is about 25-50% of a height of the top portion, the width of the grip portion is about 50-90% of a width of the top portion, and the depth of the grip portion is about 2-10 mm.
- 14. The container according to claim 12, wherein the grip portion has at least one of an oval shape, a circular shape, a rectangular shape and a diamond shape.
- 15. The container according to claim 12, wherein the grip portion defines an anti-slip surface.
- 16. The container according to claim 15, wherein the anti-slip surface includes at least one of embossments and raised portions.
- 17. The container according to claim 16, wherein a center of gravity of the container falls within a region where the top and bottom portions meet, and the grip portion and the region have at least one overlapping area.
- 18. A plastic container, comprising a body portion having a top portion and a bottom portion, the top portion including a grip portion that has a height, width and and depth that are dimensioned and structured to provide a good hand-fit for a variety of hand sizes, wherein the height of the grip portion is about 33% of the height of the top portion, the width of the grip portion is about 60-80% of the width of the top portion, and the depth is about 5 mm.
- 19. The container according to claim 18, wherein the width is about 70% of the width of the top portion.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/262,641, filed Jan. 22, 2001, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
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Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
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|
60/262641 |
Jan 2001 |
US |