Containers for consumer liquid products are often blow-molded of a plastic such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Many of these containers are designed to be opened and then reclosed after the consumer uses some of the liquid housed therein; as reclosed, the containers contain at least some atmospheric gas. Inside the resealed container, the contained gas starts at ambient atmospheric pressure. But the gas pressure will change as the temperature changes.
PET and other plastic containers often have a round cross section but this does not have to be the case. As blow-molded from a parison, the sidewalls of the container will expand until they hit the mold sidewall, whereupon they will conform to any shape that the manufacturer desires. In some instances these shapes are noncircular and may, for example, be elongate, have a major and a minor axis, and may have a pair of flat walls. Alternatively these containers may be oval or polyhedral or evoke the forms of humans, animals, plants or other forms.
PET is flexible and, when a container made of it experiences an increase in interior fluid (gas or liquid) pressure beyond a certain point, the plastic sidewall will bulge and deform, and the shape of the container will start altering toward that of a perfect sphere (which will be a circle in cross-section). Where a holder for a noncircular fluid container is provided, and where the sidewalls of the holder substantially conform in shape to the sidewalls of the container, this causes a problem. As the shape of the sidewall changes responsive to an increase in internal pressure, the container will begin to bind against certain noncircular parts of the holder sidewalls. This makes the container difficult or impossible to extract from the holder. This problem becomes evident when the container and its holder are deployed to environments where the ambient temperature has wide variations, such as the out of doors or the interiors of parked vehicles. A need therefore exists for a holder for such containers that will work in a wide range of temperatures and differential pressures.
According to one aspect of the invention, a holder is provided for a container having a flexible container sidewall. The container is of the type that may be hermetically sealed so as to contain a fluid at above ambient atmospheric pressure. The container is noncircular at a first differential fluid pressure of the contained fluid (relative to the ambient atmospheric pressure), and is disposed on a vertical axis. A first container wall portion extends through a first sector relative to the axis from a first end to a second end thereof. While the contained fluid is at the first differential fluid pressure, the first container wall portion is radially inwardly spaced from a first length of arc extending from the first end to the second end. At least one holder sidewall is formed to be substantially in parallel to the axis and to define a container enclosure. The enclosure has an open top adapted to accept the container. A vertically elongate first rib inwardly extends from the holder sidewall inner surface by a first depth, and is adapted to contact an outer surface of the first container wall portion. The first rib is disposed within the first sector. A vertically elongate second rib inwardly extends from the holder sidewall inner surface by a second depth. The second rib is also adapted to contact the outer surface of the first container wall section. The second rib is spaced from the first rib but is still disposed in the first sector. The first and second depths are preselected such that when, under the influence of a second differential fluid pressure of the contained fluid relative to ambient atmospheric pressure that is greater than the first differential fluid pressure, the first container wall portion radially outwardly moves toward the inner surface of the holder sidewall, the outer surface of the first container wall portion does not touch the inner surface of the holder sidewall.
In one embodiment, the container has a second container wall portion that extends through a second sector relative to the axis, from a first end to a second end of the second container wall portion. The second container wall portion, when the contained fluid is at the first differential fluid pressure, is spaced radially inwardly from a second length of arc extending from the first end to the second end of the second container wall portion. The holder further has a vertically elongate third rib which extends from the inner surface of the holder sidewall by a third depth. The third rib is disposed in the second sector and is adapted to contact the second container wall portion. A vertically elongate fourth rib extends from the inner surface of the holder sidewall by a fourth depth. The fourth rib is spaced from the third rib, is disposed in the second sector, and is adapted to contact the second container wall portion. The third and fourth depths are preselected such that when, under the influence of the second differential fluid pressure, the second container wall portion moves radially outwardly and toward the holder sidewall, the second container wall portion still will not touch the inner surface of the holder sidewall.
In a related aspect of the invention, a holder is provided for a container that has a flexible sidewall. A volume of the container is adapted to be hermetically sealed so as to contain a fluid at a pressure above ambient atmospheric pressure. The container is disposed on a vertical axis and has a first container wall portion that extends through a first sector relative to the axis. The first container wall portion is substantially flat when the contained fluid is at a predetermined first differential fluid pressure relative to ambient atmospheric pressure. The holder is formed around the axis and comprises a substantially flat first holder wall. The first holder wall bounds an enclosure of the holder. The enclosure has an open top that is adapted to accept the container. A vertically elongate first rib inwardly extends from the inner surface of the first holder wall by a first depth, is disposed in the first sector and is adapted to contact the first container wall portion. A vertically elongate second rib inwardly extends from the inner surface of the first holder wall by a second depth, is disposed in the first sector, is spaced from the first rib and is also adapted to contact the first container wall portion. The first and second depths are preselected such that when, under the influence of a predetermined second differential fluid pressure (relative to ambient atmospheric pressure) inside the container, the first container wall portion radially outwardly moves toward the inner surface of the first holder wall, the outer surface of the first container wall portion still does not touch the inner surface of the first holder wall.
In one embodiment, the container has a second container wall portion that extends through a second sector relative to the axis. The second container wall portion is substantially flat at the first differential fluid pressure. The holder further has a substantially flat second holder wall formed substantially in parallel to the axis and which bounds the enclosure. The second holder wall has an inner surface. A vertically elongate third rib, disposed in the second sector, inwardly extends from the inner surface of the second holder wall by a third depth, and is adapted to contact an outer surface of the second container wall portion. A vertically elongate fourth rib, disposed in the second sector and to be spaced from the third rib, inwardly extends from the inner surface of the second holder wall by a fourth depth and is likewise adapted to contact the second container wall portion. The third and fourth depths are preselected such that when, under the influence of the second differential fluid pressure, the second container wall portion radially outwardly moves toward the inner surface of the second holder wall, the outer surface of the second container wall portion still does not touch the inner surface of the second holder wall.
In another related aspect of the invention, a holder is provided for a container having a flexible sidewall. A volume of the container is adapted to be hermetically sealed so as to contain a fluid at above ambient atmospheric pressure. The container is disposed on a vertical axis and is elongate in horizontal cross section. The container has a major axis orthogonal to the vertical axis. The container has a first container wall portion which extends through a first sector relative to the vertical axis. The first container wall portion is spaced from the major axis. The first container wall portion assumes a first configuration when the contained fluid is at a first differential fluid pressure relative to ambient atmospheric pressure. The holder is formed around the vertical axis and includes a first holder wall that is formed substantially in parallel to the vertical axis and to be spaced from the major axis. The first holder wall bounds an enclosure that has an open top adapted to accept the container. A vertically elongate first rib extends from the inner surface of the first holder wall by a first depth, is disposed in the first sector, and is adapted to contact an outer surface of the first container wall portion. A vertically elongate second rib extends from the inner surface of the first holder wall by a second depth, is disposed in the first sector and spaced from the first rib, and is likewise adapted to contact the outer surface of the first container wall portion. The first and second depths are preselected such that when, under the influence of a predetermined second differential fluid pressure relative to ambient atmospheric pressure that is greater than the first differential fluid pressure, the first container wall portion assumes a second configuration in which at least portions thereof are radially outwardly displaced from the first configuration, the outer surface of the first container wall portion still does not touch the inner surface of the first holder wall.
In one embodiment, the container has a second container wall portion that extends through a second sector relative to the axis. The second container wall portion is spaced from the major axis and from the first container wall portion, and assumes a third configuration when the contained fluid is at the first differential fluid pressure. The holder has a second holder wall with an inner surface. A vertically elongate third rib inwardly extends from the inner surface of the second holder wall by a third depth, is disposed in the second sector and is adapted to contact an outer surface of the second container wall portion. A vertically elongate fourth rib inwardly extends from the inner surface of the second holder wall by a fourth depth, is disposed in the second sector so as to be spaced from the third rib, and is likewise adapted to contact the outer surface of the second container wall portion. The third and fourth depths are preselected such that when, under the influence of the second differential fluid pressure, the second container wall portion assumes a fourth configuration in which at least portions thereof are radially outwardly spaced from the third configuration, the outer surface of the second container wall portion still does not touch the inner surface of the second container wall.
The holder of the invention thus permits a fluid container, particularly an empty or partially empty fluid container, to be easily extracted from the holder through a range of temperatures, as might occur inside the interior of a vehicle or outside. The ribs act to prevent the binding of the container wall to the holder wall within this temperature range, while providing enough frictional force to lightly grip the container, preventing it from falling or bouncing out of the holder. The holder has application to hermetically sealable containers with flexible sidewalls of any noncircular shape.
Further aspects of the invention and their advantages can be discerned in the following detailed description as read in conjunction with the drawings of exemplary embodiments, in which like characters denote like parts and in which:
A first embodiment of a holder 100 according to the invention is shown in
The holder top 110 is open, and is adapted to receive a fluid container 116, which slides or is pushed down into the enclosure defined by the sidewalls (including left sidewall 102, diagonal left front sidewall 104 and front sidewall 106) of the holder 110. The enclosure defined by the sidewalls of the holder 100 has a substantially uniform cross section, although, because of wall taper, the cross sectional area will decrease slightly as one proceeds from the top 110 to the bottom 108. Holder 100 has particular application to containers 116 that are noncircular in cross section, which have flexible sidewalls and whose volume may be resealed after a consumer uses some of the contents, as by cap 118. In the illustrated embodiments, the container 116 is blow-molded using polyethylene terephthalate (PET) but other plastics could be used. In the illustrated embodiment, the container 116 has a front panel 120 with indicia on it (such as the name of the product). The front holder sidewall 106 therefore has a cutout 122 so that these indicia may be visible to the user. A top margin 124 of the cutout 122 therefore is lower than top 110. For purposes of aesthetics and moldability, the configuration of the sidewalls making up the holder 110 conforms to the external shape of the container 116, although this could be arranged to be otherwise. The composition and sidewall thickness of the holder is chosen such that holder 100 will be more rigid than the material making up container 116. One such material is ABS plastic.
The container 116 may contain any of a number of consumer fluids, one of which could be a hand sanitizer gel. After a consumer uses some of the contents of the container 116, the consumer may hermetically reclose the container using cap 118, which may for example be a hinged snap cap as shown, a screw cap or a pump mechanism. After use of some of the contents, the sealed volume of the container will hold gas at ambient atmospheric pressure: the emptier the container gets, the more gas will be contained. While a liquid will exhibit some thermal expansion, generally it is much less than what a gas will exhibit. According to Boyle's gas law, as the temperature of the gas increases, the pressure of the gas will increase linearly with it.
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Outer surface 800 of container wall portion 802, in the configuration shown in
Wall portions 802 and 806 are spaced from each other by intervening wall portions 808, 810, 812, 814, 816 and 818. Wall portions 802 and 806 are considerably longer than any of wall portions 808-818 and the problem of deformation caused by differential pressure will be most pronounced along the wall portions 802 and 806.
Similarly, the second container wall portion 806 subtends an angle θ between a first end 1606 of second wall portion 806 and a second end 1608 of the second wall portion 806. Angle θ defines a second sector which, in the illustrated embodiment, is angularly spaced from sector κ. A circular segment or arc 1610 extends between ends 1606 and 1608. The external surface 804 of the second wall portion 806 will always be radially inwardly displaced from the circular segment 1610. The ribs 310 and 312 are disposed within sector θ, and, in the illustrated embodiment, are positioned to be near respective first and second wall portion ends 1606 and 1608.
It has been discovered that, in the illustrated embodiment, ribs similar to ribs 310, 312, 402 and 404 do not have to be provided for the shorter sidewalls. In general, a plurality of such spaced-apart ribs are provided only along the longer of the container walls, as deformation or bulging will be most prominent at these places.
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The present invention has application to containers, and holders therefor, having other noncircular shapes, particularly those shapes incorporating long wall portions (such as wall portions 802, 806) that substantially depart from a circular cross section. In such containers, ribs, such as ribs 310, 312, 402, 404 are provided on the interior surface of the holder, so as to contact such long wall portions, and space such walls off of the holder walls both when they are in a first configuration at a first, relatively low differential pressure, and when they are in a second configuration at a second, relatively high differential pressure. In the second configuration, at least portions of the long walls (which in other embodiments may take an irregular shape) are displaced radially outwardly from the positions they assume while in the first configuration. One such class of containers have a triangular or square cross-sectional form.
The wall or walls making up the held container may be somewhat elastic as well as flexible. In this instance, the container will radially expand as the pressure of its contained fluid increases. The ribs according to the invention also provide some protection against this cause of the container walls binding against the holder sidewalls.
A top view of this second embodiment is shown in
A third embodiment is shown in
An axial sectional view of holder 1106 is shown in
In the embodiments shown in
In summary, holders are provided for noncircular fluid containers having flexible sidewalls. Ribs are provided to stand off the outer surface of the container within a range of differential pressures, so that the container may be inserted into and extracted from the holder at different ambient temperatures and/or atmospheric pressures.
While illustrated embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated in the appended drawings, the present invention is not limited thereto but only by the scope and spirit of the appended claims.