Patent Application
20060065619
The following is generally directed to a molded, plastic container and a method for making the same.
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,795,162, in well-known blow molding processes, bottles or other containers or articles are formed from an extruded parrison between a pair of mating mold halves, whereupon the mold halves separate and the molded article is ejected. In most operations of this nature, flashings or fins of excess plastic material are formed at the parting line where the mold halves are in engagement. The flashing is then removed in a separate operation, either by hand or by machine.
Further illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,773,716 is a process for molding a container having a handle. In the described process, which is merely exemplary of many other types of methods for making containers having handles, the mold halves are again separated to free the container. When the container is removed from the mold, a compressed and bonded area of material, defined by the mold halves, is located between the container body and the handle. The material comprising the compressed and bonded area is then trimmed to form a handle opening. Removal of the material is accomplished through means known in the art such as laser, water jets, or mechanical impact de-flashing. By design, when the flashing is trimmed from the handle opening, a rib is left behind along the inside of the handle as formed by the bonding of adjacent areas of the wall.
When excess flashing is present in the handle grip area, whether by design or merely as a result of the trimming process, the flashing that remains may undesirably intrude into the hand of an individual lifting or holding the container by the handle. Accordingly, a need exists for an improved, molded, plastic container that can be lifted and/or held without an individual experiencing any serious discomfort caused by flashing that may remain on the handle grip area.
In accordance with this need, the following discloses a plastic container and method for making the same wherein the plastic container is designed to locate any residual post trimming flashing in the grip area of a container in a manner such that direct contact between a hand of an individual and the residual flashing is noticeably reduced or eliminated. To reduce the amount of flashing an individual may encounter when lifting or holding the plastic container, the mold halves used in the bottle formation process provide the plastic container with a recess in the area of the parting line where the mold halves are in engagement. By way of example, the forming of such a recess is particularly desirable in the area of the handle interior surface. When the plastic container is then removed from the mold and the flashing trimmed, any residual flashing that may result from the trimming process or left by design will be located generally within a formed recess. The formed recess thus functions to generally hide any flashing since any flashing which is located within a formed recess generally fails to extend beyond the exterior surface of the plastic container where any such flashing would undesirably intrude into the hand of an individual lifting and/or holding the container.
A better understanding of the objects, advantages, features, properties and relationships of the invention will be obtained from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings which set forth illustrative embodiments that are indicative of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.
For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to preferred embodiments shown in the following drawings in which:
With reference to the figures, a molded product and method for making the same is described. In this regard, it is to be appreciated that the molded product may be formed using a blow molding process, which is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. By way of example, a stretch blow molding process is illustrated and described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,733,716 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. It will also be appreciated that the blow molding process may be an extrusion blow molding process. In these exemplary types of blow molding processes, a pair of opposed mold sections are utilized which are closed in mating position. Once the product is formed within the mated molds, the opposed mold sections are opened to eject the molded product. As will be appreciated, the molded product issuing from the mold will typically carry flashings which are located in the area where the mold sections meet.
In the example described herein, the resulting product is a plastic container 10. The plastic container 10 includes a body portion 12 (for holding a quantity of material), a neck portion 14 (which may the threaded for engaging a cap) having an opening leading to the body portion 12 (for inserting and removing the product contents into and from the plastic container), and a handle portion 16 attached to the body portion 12 (for lifting and/or holding the body portion 12). When issued from the mold, the plastic container 10 will typically include a compressed and bonded area of material which can be located in one or several areas of the container depending upon the specific blow molding process that is employed. In the example of
To generally limit the visual appearance and potential for contact with any flashing that may be present after the trimming process has been performed, for example, to remove the material from the opening 18, the mold halves used in the molding process are adapted to provide the plastic container 10 with a recess 20 in the area of the parting line 22 where the mold halves are in engagement. As illustrated in
For use in generally assuring that any flashing that may result from the trimming process will then be located generally within the entirety of a formed recess 20, it is preferred that the depth of the recess 20 is either greater than or approximately equal to the length of any residual flashing. The depth of the recess 20 can also be less than the length of any residual flashing. In such a construction, the depth of the recess 20 will be such that the protrusion of any residual flashing above a plane defined by the outermost or highest surfaces where the recess begins is significantly less that the height of the flashing itself.
By way of further example, in the illustrated embodiment, the recess 20 is provided with a depth of approximately 0.02 inches, allowing for conventional errors in measurement. In this manner, any flashing that remains after a trimming process, which is typically less that 0.02 inches in height, will not extend beyond the outermost surface of the handle (generally indicated as 24) where any such flashing would undesirably intrude into the hand of an individual lifting and/or holding the container. Furthermore, the recess illustrated in
It will also be appreciated by those skill in the art that this approach can be employed in other regions of the molded plastic container 10 besides the handle area where direct contact with or the visual appearance of residual flashing would be considered objectionable. Generally this approach of incorporating a small recess 20 directly on the parting line area would be most beneficial in the regions of the plastic container 10 above the base 15 of the plastic container 10. This could include adapting recesses to address residual flashing along the sides, top, and inside and outside surfaces of the handle area.
While specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. For example, while described in connection with a blow molding process, it will be understood that the principles of the invention may be utilized in connection with any process utilizing a mold during the formation of a plastic container. Accordingly, the particular arrangement disclosed is meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claims and any equivalents thereof.
