Patent Application
20050158490
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-color bottle blank or a multi-color container, wherein the first bottle blank portion is integrally combined with the second bottle blank portion exactly and completely to form a multi-color bottle blank having a rigid and stable structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional plastic container is made by a bottle blank. The bottle blank is initially baked and heated. Then, the bottle blank is placed into a die to perform a blowing expansion process, thereby expanding the volume of the bottle blank to form the plastic container having a larger volume. The bottle blank is made by injecting a melted plastic material into a mold cavity of a die. Then, the melted plastic material is cooled rapidly, so that the temperature is smaller than the crystalline temperature of the plastic material, thereby forming the bottle blank.
However, two bottle blanks of different colors are not combined easily. In general, plastic materials of different colors usually have different heat-absorbing and thermal expansion coefficients, so that when two bottle blanks of different colors are combined, the interface of the two bottle blanks has a weakened bonding strength, so that the interface of the two bottle blanks is easily cracked or broken during the blowing expansion process.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a multi-color bottle blank and a multi-color container.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a method for making a multi-color bottle blank.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a method for making a multi-color bottle blank, wherein the second bottle blank portion is formed before the first bottle blank portion is fully cooled, so that the first bottle blank portion is integrally combined with the second bottle blank portion exactly and completely to form a multi-color bottle blank having a rigid and stable structure.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a method for making a multi-color container.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a method for making a multi-color container, wherein the blowing expansion device has an elongated shape and is deeply extended into the multi-color bottle blank, so that when the air is blown outward from the blowing expansion device, the expansion force is applied on the inner face of the multi-color bottle blank evenly, so as to expand the multi-color bottle blank outward stably and completely, thereby forming a multi-color container having a rigid and stable structure.
Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to the drawings and initially to
Referring to
Referring to
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In such a manner, the first bottle blank portion 16 and the second bottle blank portion 42 have different colors. In addition, plastic materials of different colors usually have different heat-absorbing and thermal expansion coefficients. Thus, when the second bottle blank portion 42 is formed before the first bottle blank portion 16 is fully cooled, the first bottle blank portion 16 is combined with the second bottle blank portion 42 exactly to form a multi-color bottle blank having a rigid and stable structure. In addition, the combination face of the first bottle blank portion 16 and the second bottle blank portion 42 will not be broken after the multi-color bottle blank is cooled.
Preferably, the optimum temperature for forming the second bottle blank portion 42 is set at about 200° C. to 270° C. during the injection molding process. In the second step 30, the first bottle blank portion 16 is transferred from the first mold cavity 14 of the first die 12 to the second mold cavity 34 of the second die 32. In practice, it is designed that the first mold cavity 14 and the second mold cavity 34 are made in the same die which includes two male molds and two female molds. Thus, the distance of movement of the first bottle blank portion 16 is reduced, thereby facilitating control of the temperature of the first bottle blank portion 16, and thereby saving time of movement of the first bottle blank portion 16.
Referring to
The first step 50 includes preparing a multi-color bottle blank as shown in
The second step 60 includes baking the multi-color bottle blank at a preset temperature to soften the multi-color bottle blank. Each colored material has a different softening formed temperature. Thus, the baking temperature is determined according to the average value of the heat-absorbing values and softened temperature values of the multiple color materials. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the baking temperature is optimally set at about 150° C. to 170° C. A thermal sensor (not shown) is preferably extended into the multi-color bottle blank to monitor the temperature exactly.
The third step 70 includes placing the softened multi-color bottle blank into a die.
Referring to
The fifth step 90 includes blowing air outward from the blowing expansion device 82 and filling the air into the multi-color bottle blank 84, so that the multi-color bottle blank 84 is expanded with the blowing expansion device 82 simultaneously.
Preferably, the blowing expansion device 82 has a surface formed with a plurality of air vents 86, and the blowing expansion device 82 is deeply extended into the multi-color bottle blank 84, so that when the air is blown outward from the blowing expansion device 82, the expansion force is applied on the inner face of the multi-color bottle blank 84 evenly, so as to expand the multi-color bottle blank 84 outward stably and completely, thereby forming a multi-color container 88 as shown in
In conclusion, the second bottle blank portion 42 is formed before the first bottle blank portion 16 is fully cooled, so that the first bottle blank portion 16 is integrally combined with the second bottle blank portion 42 exactly and completely to form a multi-color bottle blank having a rigid and stable structure. In other words, the temperature control is the primary factor during the forming process.
In addition, the blowing expansion device 82 has an elongated shape and is deeply extended into the multi-color bottle blank 84, so that when the air is blown outward from the blowing expansion device 82, the expansion force is applied on the inner face of the multi-color bottle blank 84 evenly, so as to expand the multi-color bottle blank 84 outward stably and completely, thereby forming a multi-color container 88 having a rigid and stable structure.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the invention.
