PLASTIC CONTAINER WITH REINFORCED PANEL

Abstract

The invention relates to a plastic recipient comprising a panel with at least one radius of curvature greater than 100 mm, where the panel has reinforcing means. The reinforcing means includes a peripheral slot defining a reinforcing contour and a plurality of inner slots arranged inside the reinforcing contour. Each inner slot has two ends, where each end opens out into the peripheral slot, or at least one end opens out into another inner slot.

Description

The domain of the invention is the design and manufacture of recipients made of plastic material obtained by blowing or stretch-blowing in a forming die.

More specifically, the invention relates to a recipient having a substantially rectangular or oval section. This type of plastic recipient usually has at least one wall provided with a “flat” panel, i.e. a panel with a surface usually used to receive a label.

“Flat panel” can mean an actually flat panel, but also a slightly curved or domed panel with one or more radii of curvature such that the panel appears flat (for example one or more radii of curvature equal to or greater than 100 mm).

To ensure that the recipient is sufficiently rigid, it is known to increase the thickness of the material in the walls of the recipient. However, there is a particular trend towards reducing the weight of recipients, and notably reducing the thickness of the walls of the recipient.

Indeed, by reducing the thickness of the walls and therefore the material used, it is possible to reduce the weight of the recipients and to reduce the production cost thereof.

Furthermore, reducing the material and therefore the weight of the recipients is beneficial in environmental terms since less plastic is used and less energy is required to manufacture a recipient. This is notably because the pressure of the air injected to form a recipient can be reduced without adversely affecting the quality of the obtained recipient.

However, reducing the thickness of the walls of the recipients causes problems in terms of the mechanical strength of the recipients. This is notably the case for recipients with a flat panel. In particular, when the recipient is removed from the forming die, the flat panels are deformed, notably by warping.

This phenomenon is particularly pronounced in recipients that have a handle as well as the flat panel, since the presence of the handle increases the stresses in the plastic, notably PET.

At least two solutions have been proposed to prevent the deformation of flat panels.

A first solution involves heating the walls of the die that define the shape of the formed recipient.

Heating the walls of the die, usually between 10° and 65° (and more specifically about 35°) helps to facilitate contact between the plastic and the die.

However, heating the die increases the phenomenon of shrinkage of the plastic following removal from the die.

Thus, if the material fits the walls of the die during molding, said material contracts when the formed recipient is removed from the die. This causes a loss of definition in the details of the recipient, notably structured pattern details including low-radius curves, which are the most difficult curves to obtain. The formed recipient then corresponds in general to the imprint of the die with the exception of certain details that are formed in the die but that disappear from the recipient following removal from the die as a result of shrinkage of the material.

In other words, the fact of heating the die prevents the plastic material, notably PET, from setting against the walls of the die. Following removal from the die, shrinkage then causes the precise forms to disappear from the recipient.

The second solution involves providing the flat panel with reinforcing means. These reinforcing means are conventionally slots formed in the flat panel, said slots usually being parallel with one another and equidistant from one another.

This second solution helps to keep manufacturing costs substantially the same as with conventional manufacturing.

Conversely, such slots need to be somewhat deep to be effective, and as such are visible beneath the labels of the recipients.

Furthermore, these slots are usually positioned such that the panel can only be deformed along a single axis of deformation. Consequently, deformation along another axis of deformation is possible. In general, where the slots are positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the recipient, the deformations occur between the slots. Conversely, where the slots are positioned substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the recipient, the deformations occur at the ends of the slots.

The invention is notably intended to overcome the drawbacks in the prior art.

More specifically, the invention is intended to propose a recipient made of plastic material with a flat panel that is susceptible to limited, or at least controlled, deformation, so as to obviate any loss of quality that could be perceived by a consumer, as well as enabling the recipient to be labeled.

The invention is also intended to provide such a recipient that is simple to manufacture and notably adaptable to a conventional production method.

The invention is also intended to provide such a recipient in which the flat panel has reinforcing means that are invisible or nearly invisible beneath the label.

These objectives and other objectives set out below are achieved by the invention, which relates to a plastic recipient including a panel with at least one radius of curvature greater than 100 mm, the panel having reinforcing means, characterized in that the reinforcing means include:

• • a peripheral slot defining a reinforcing contour,
  • a plurality of inner slots arranged inside the reinforcing contour, each inner slot having two ends, each end opening into the peripheral slot, or another inner slot.

The peripheral slot delimits a reinforced zone of the flat panel. A zone thus delimited concentrates the deformation stresses therein, thereby helping to improve the quality perceived by the consumer.

The inner slots make the zone surrounded by the peripheral slot more rigid, thereby making the entire flat panel more rigid.

Furthermore, the fact that the inner slots open out into the peripheral slot or into another inner slot also enables the flat panel to help retain the shape of the recipient (i.e. the flat panel helps to prevent the overall deformation of the recipient).

According to a first advantageous embodiment, the peripheral slot defines a closed reinforcing contour.

The closed contour provides an additional guarantee in terms of resistance to deformation of the flat panel.

Furthermore, the closed contour delimits a labeling zone, i.e. a zone reserved for sticking the label about the reinforcing means.

According to another advantageous embodiment, the peripheral slot defines an open reinforcing contour.

An open reinforcing contour also provides the flat panel with good rigidity. Short openings in the contour are nonetheless preferred to long openings, which increase the risk of deformation of the flat panel.

Consequently, the discontinuity of the peripheral slot enables the recipient to be deformed deliberately to remove the product contained therein.

Advantageously, the inner slots are arranged to form a lattice pattern.

The lattice pattern helps to make the flat panel more rigid along several axes. The lattices help to increase the quality of the recipient as perceived by the consumer. Furthermore, if the label is removed or comes unstuck, the lattice pattern gives the recipient a pleasing esthetic effect.

In this case, the inner slots are advantageously rectilinear.

The straightness of the inner slots increases the perceived quality of the recipient and notably the rigidity of the flat panel.

In a variant, the inner slots are curvilinear.

Such inner slots thus retain stiffening properties, while providing decoration, notably if the label is removed and the reinforcing means are revealed, or in recipients with specific shapes such as rounded shapes.

Preferably, the inner slots include:

• • a first series of slots that are parallel with one another and oriented in a first direction at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the recipient,
  • a second series of slots that are parallel with one another and oriented in a second direction at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the recipient.

Such an arrangement of the inner slots helps to form the lattice pattern. Furthermore, such an arrangement of the inner slots forms a regular mesh, i.e. the surfaces between the inner slots are substantially identical.

According to a preferred embodiment, the depth of the peripheral slot is between 0.3 mm and 1.5 mm.

This depth range helps to provide the peripheral slot with good stiffening properties without becoming visible beneath the label.

For the same reasons, it is preferable for the depth of each inner slot to be between 0.3 mm and 1.5 mm.

Advantageously, the ratio PRP/PRI between the reinforcing means is between 0.8 and 2.4, where:

• • PRP: depth of the peripheral slot,
  • PRI: depth of the inner slots.

This ratio between the depths of the inner slots and the peripheral slot helps to provide good uniformity and stiffening, and notably helps to prevent the peripheral slot or the inner slots from being too flexible in relation to one another. This prevents the phenomenon of combined rigidity and flexibility, which could adversely affect the quality of the recipient as perceived by the consumer.

Preferably, the width of the peripheral slot is between 100% and 300% of the depth thereof, and preferably 200% of the depth thereof, and/or the width of each inner slot is between 100% and 300% of the depth thereof, and preferably 200% of the depth thereof.

Such a correlation between the depth and width of the slots helps to provide rigid outer and inner slots. This improves the rigidity of the flat panel and reduces the deformation thereof.

Advantageously, the lattice pattern defines a plurality of full surfaces, each of which is delimited by four inner slots, each full surface having an area of between 150 mm² and 1000 mm².

An area of the full surfaces of between 150 mm² and 1000 mm² provides a tight mesh that is not too rigid

Preferably, the ratio between the areas of two adjoining full surfaces is between 0.5 and 1.5.

This enables a certain uniformity of the stiffening of the flat panel, while enabling manufacturing tolerances that can mean that the areas of the flat surfaces different.

Preferably, the plastic recipient includes a label covering the panel, the reinforcing means extending over a surface covering between 55% and 90% of the surface of the label.

Thus, the reinforcing means are entirely hidden beneath the label.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become more clearly apparent on reading the description of a preferred embodiment, given below by way of non-limiting example, and the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a plastic recipient according to the invention, in which the recipient has a panel including reinforcing means,

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of reinforcing means according to a first embodiment,

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of reinforcing means according to a second embodiment,

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of reinforcing means according to a third embodiment,

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-section view of the reinforcing means according to a first embodiment,

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-section view of the reinforcing means according to a second embodiment,

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-section view of the reinforcing means according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 1 shows a recipient 1 made of plastic material according to the invention.

The recipient 1 comprises a neck 11, a bottom 12 and a body 13 joining the bottom 12 and the neck 11.

The neck 11 has a rim 111 acting as interface between the inside of the recipient 1 and the outside. The neck 11 also has retaining means 112 (such as a thread) designed to cooperate with plugging means (such as a screw cap), not shown in FIG. 1.

Finally, the neck 11 has a flange 113 that is designed to enable the neck 11 to be gripped when leaving a manufacturing unit of the recipient 1. This flange 113 is present on the preform used to obtain the recipient 1 and is also used to handle the preform before manufacture of the recipient.

The bottom 12 has a resting plane 121 on which the recipient 1 is designed to rest, for example on a table.

The body 13 has a substantially parallelepipedic section with two long sides and two short sides, the long sides and the short sides facing one another in pairs.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the recipient 1. The visible face in FIG. 1 shows a panel 14 notably designed to be covered by a label 15.

The panel 14 has a radius of curvature greater than 100 mm.

Furthermore, the body 13 has a handle 131 that is designed to help a user to grip the recipient 1.

A flat recipient according to the prior art, often referred to as a flat bottle on account of the geometry thereof and notably the parallelepipedic section thereof, can have certain esthetic defects, notably warping on the panel thereof.

In order to prevent such warping and to ensure a good overall appearance, the recipient 1 according to the invention has reinforcing means 16 for the panel 14.

Preferably, the ratio between the surface covered by the reinforcing means 16 and the total surface area of the panel 14 is between 55% and 90%.

As shown in FIG. 1, the reinforcing means cover approximately 75% of the surface area of the label 15.

In general and as shown in the figures, the reinforcing means 16 comprise a peripheral slot 160 defining a substantially rectangular reinforcing contour and a plurality of inner slots 161, 162. By convention, in the remainder of the description, the side of the rectangular shape defined by the peripheral slot 161 that is visible at the top of this shape in the figures is referred to as the “top side”, the side visible on the bottom of this shape in the figures is referred to as the “bottom side”, the side visible on the left of this shape in the figures is referred to as the “left-hand side”, and the side visible on the right of this shape in the figures is referred to as the “right-hand side”.

More specifically and as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the peripheral slot 160 is continuous and defines a rectangular closed contour with rounded corners.

In a variant and as shown in FIG. 4, the peripheral slot 160 is discontinuous and defines an open contour.

Furthermore, the reinforcing means 16 include a plurality of inner slots 161, 162 that are arranged in two series inside the peripheral slot 160 and that can be formed in various different ways, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4.

According to a first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the inner slots 161, 162 are arranged to form a lattice pattern defining a plurality of full surfaces 17 and truncated surfaces 18, i.e. surfaces cut off by the peripheral slot 160.

Preferably, each full surface 17 has a surface area of between 150 mm² and 1000 mm², and the area ratio between two adjoining full surfaces 17 is between 0.5 and 1.5.

More specifically, the inner slots 161, 162 are all rectilinear and arranged as follows:

• • a first series S1 of inner slots 161 that are parallel with one another and extend in a first direction A,
  • a second series S2 of inner slots 162 that are parallel with one another and extend in a second direction B perpendicular to the first direction A.

Preferably, the first direction A is at an angle to the longitudinal axis X of the recipient. The second direction B is perpendicular to the first direction A such as to also be at an angle to the longitudinal axis X of the recipient, albeit in a different direction. In other words, the inner slots 161 of the first series S1 are perpendicular to the inner slots 162 of the second series S2.

Preferably, the first direction A is at an angle of approximately 45° to the longitudinal axis X of the recipient such that the second direction B is at a similar angle.

According to a second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the inner slots 161, 162 of each series are formed using curved lines. In other words and unlike the first embodiment, the inner slots 161, 162 are not rectilinear.

More specifically, the reinforcing means 16 according to this second embodiment comprise a first series S3 of inner slots 161 that are parallel with one another and a second series S4 of inner slots 162 that are parallel with one another, the first series S3 and the second series S4 being arranged at substantially 90° to one another.

According to a third embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the inner slots 161, 162 of the reinforcing means 16 comprise a first series S5 of inner slots 161 that are parallel with one another and a second series S6 of inner slots 162 that are also parallel with one another and perpendicular to the inner slots of the first series.

Unlike in the first embodiment, the inner slots 162 of the second series S6 are staggered on either side of an inner slot 161 of the first series S5.

In other words and as shown schematically in FIG. 3, each of the inner slots 161 of the first series S5 links two sides of the contour formed by the peripheral slot 160. These sides may be two opposing sides or two adjacent sides. Some of the inner slots 162 of the second series S6 are arranged between two inner slots 161 of the first series S5, and others are arranged between one inner slot 161 of the first series S5 and one or other of the sides.

Thus, the following arrangement is shown in FIG. 3, purely by way of example:

• • a first inner slot 161 of the first series is shown with the two ends 161a and 161b thereof opening out respectively into the top side and the left-hand side of the contour formed by the peripheral slot 160,
  • a second inner slot 161 of the first series is shown with the two ends 161a and 161b thereof opening out respectively into the right-hand side and the bottom side of the contour formed by the peripheral slot 160,
  • some of the inner slots 162 of the second series S6 are arranged between two inner slots 161 of the first series S5, and others are arranged between one inner slot 161 of the first series S5 and one side (or a corner of the contour).

It should be noted at this point that in an actual implementation of the third embodiment, the first series S5 would have a considerably larger number of inner slots 161 than the two inner slots 161 shown in FIG. 3. Similarly, an actual implementation would involve many more inner slots 162 in the second series S6 than those shown in the figure.

It should also be noted that, instead of opening out into two adjacent sides of the contour, an inner slot 161 of the first series S5 could:

• • be arranged on a diagonal of the contour and open out into two opposing corners or,
  • have one of the ends 161a or 161b thereof open out into a corner of the contour and the other end 161a or 161b open out into one of the sides opposite this corner. Furthermore, or in addition to the foregoing, one or more inner slots 161 of the first series S5 could open out into two opposing sides of the contour, while one or more other inner slots could open out into adjacent sides.

According to a fourth embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the peripheral slot 160 has a contour opened in several places (corner(s) and/or side(s)) and the reinforcing means 16 form a lattice pattern similar to the pattern in FIG. 1. At least two additional inner slots 164 are arranged substantially along the longitudinal axis X of the recipient 1, as shown in FIG. 1, and oriented from bottom to top in consideration of the normal position of a recipient placed on the base thereof. In this example, just two have been added.

The set of inner slots in this fourth embodiment thus form different surfaces, including at least:

• • a triangular surface 171 delimited either by a portion of the peripheral slot 160 and portions of two inner slots, specifically two of the inner slots 161, 162 or 164, or by portions of three inner slots 161, 162, 164,
  • a quadrilateral surface 172 delimited either by a portion of the peripheral slot 160 and portions of three inner slots 161, 162, 164, or by portions of two inner slots 161 and two inner slots 162,
  • a pentagonal surface 173 delimited either by a portion of the peripheral slot 160 and four portions of inner slots 161, 162, 164, or by five portions of inner slots 161, 162, 164,
  • a hexagonal surface 174 delimited either by the peripheral slot 160 and five portions of inner slots 161, 162, 164, or by six portions of inner slots 162.

With reference to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, the depth PRI of each inner slot 161, 162, 164 is between 0.3 mm and 1.5 mm. Advantageously, the depth PRI of each inner slot 161, 162, 164 is 0.5 mm.

Similarly, the depth PRP of the peripheral slot 160 is between 0.3 mm and 1.5 mm. Advantageously, the depth PRP of the peripheral slot 161, 162, 164 is 0.8 mm.

According to one aspect of the invention, the reinforcing means 16 define a ratio between the depth PRP of the peripheral slot 160 and the depth PRI of the inner slots 161, 162, 164 of between 0.8 and 2.4.

Preferably, the ratio PRP/PRI of the depth PRP of the peripheral slot divided by the depth PRI of the inner slots 161, 162, 164 is 1.6.

Advantageously, the width of each inner slot 161, 162, 164 is between 100% and 300% of the depth PRI thereof, and preferably 200% of the depth PRI thereof.

Similarly, the width of the peripheral slot 160 is between 100% and 300% of the depth PRP thereof, and preferably 200% of the depth PRP thereof.

According to a first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the depth PRI of the inner slots 161, 162, 164 is less than the depth PRP of the peripheral slot 160.

According to a second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, the depth PRI of the inner slots 161, 162, 164 is equal to the depth PRP of the peripheral slot 160.

Finally, according to a third embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, the depth PRI of the inner slots 161, 162, 164 is greater than the depth PRP of the peripheral slot 160. However, in this third embodiment, each of the inner slots 161, 162, 164 has a sloping portion 165 at each of the ends thereof that opens out into the peripheral slot 160, enabling the depth PRI of said end opening out into the peripheral slot 160 to be equal to the depth PRP of the peripheral slot 160. The sloping portions 165 thus obviate all molding issues.

The reinforcing means 16 help to create a stiffening structure that prevents the panel 14 from becoming deformed when taken out of the mold, i.e. when the material used to make the recipient 1 is close to the glass transition temperature at which said material deforms easily.

Furthermore, although not the primary objective, once the recipient 1 has been cooled, filled and plugged, the reinforcing means 16 can help to provide the plastic recipient 1 with an aesthetically pleasing shape.

In the absence of reinforcing means 16, the recipient 1, and notably the panel 14, can warp and make the recipient 1 unsightly.

The reinforcing means 16 are notably designed to be covered by a label 15, notably showing the characteristics and/or the brand of the product contained in the recipient 1. However, the reinforcing means 16 can also be positioned in a zone of the recipient 1 that has a panel not covered by a label 15.

Advantageously, the dimensions of the reinforcing means 16 are less than the dimensions of the label 15 and are more specifically between 0.5 mm and 1 mm less than the dimensions of the label, which corresponds for example to a coverage of approximately 90% of the surface of the label 15.

Although FIGS. 1 to 4 show embodiments in which the peripheral slot 160 is substantially rectangular, all other shapes (for example ovoid, round or indeterminate), can be used to form the open or closed contour of the reinforcing means.

Similarly, the reinforcing means 16 can be incorporated into a recipient 1 with no handle 131.

Furthermore, the recipient 1 according to the invention can also have a second peripheral slot (not shown in the figures) surrounding the first peripheral slot 160.

Finally, some of the inner slots 161, 162, 164 can be rectilinear while others are curved.

The plastic recipient 1 according to the invention provides the advantage of enhanced reinforcement of the panel 14 compared to the prior art.

Indeed, the presence of the peripheral slot 160 and of the inner slots 161, 162, 164 opening out into the peripheral slot 160 or into another inner slot 161, 162, 164 helps to stiffen the panel 14, notably to prevent the panel from warping when removed from the mold.

Furthermore, the depths PRP, PRI of the peripheral the internal slots 160, 161, 162, 164 are selected so as not to be visible when the label 15 is glued to the recipient 1.

Claims

1. A recipient (1) made of plastic material comprising a panel (14) with at least one radius of curvature greater than 100 mm, the panel (14) having reinforcing means (16), wherein the reinforcing means (16) include: a peripheral slot (160) defining a reinforcing contour, anda plurality of inner slots (161; 162) arranged inside the reinforcing contour, each inner slot (161; 162) having two ends (161a; 161b; 162a; 162b), each end opening into the peripheral slot (160), or at least one end (162a; 162b) opening out into another inner slot (161).

2. The plastic recipient (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a peripheral slot (160) defines a closed reinforcing contour.

3. The plastic recipient (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the peripheral slot (160) defines an open reinforcing contour.

4. The plastic recipient (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner slots (161; 162) are arranged to form a lattice pattern.

5. The plastic recipient (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner slots (161; 162) are rectilinear.

6. The plastic recipient (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner slots (161; 162) are curvilinear.

7. The plastic recipient (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner slots (161; 162) include: a first series (S1) of inner slots (161) that are parallel with one another and oriented in a first direction (A) at an angle to a longitudinal axis (X) of the recipient (1), and/ora second series (S2) of inner slots (162) that are parallel with one another and oriented in a second direction (B) also at an angle to a longitudinal axis (X) of the recipient (1).

8. The plastic recipient (1) as claimed in claim 7, further comprising at least two additional inner slots (164) extending substantially along the longitudinal axis (X) of the recipient (1).

9. The plastic recipient (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the depth (PRP) of the peripheral slot (160) is between 0.3 mm and 1.5 mm.

10. The plastic recipient (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the depth (PRI) of each inner slot (161; 162) is between 0.3 mm and 1.5 mm.

11. The plastic recipient (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ratio (PRP/PRI) of the reinforcing means (16) is between 0.8 and 2.4, where: (PRP): depth of the peripheral slot (160), and/or(PRI): depth of the inner slots (161; 162).

12. The plastic recipient (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the width of the peripheral slot (160) is between 100% and 300% of the depth (PRP) thereof, and preferably 200% of the depth (PRP) thereof.

13. The plastic recipient (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the width of each inner slot (161; 162; 164) is between 100% and 300% of the depth (PRI) thereof, and preferably 200% of the depth (PRI) thereof.

14. The plastic recipient (1) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the lattice pattern defines a plurality of full surfaces (17), each of which is delimited by four inner-slot portions (161; 162), each full surface (17) having an area of between 150 mm2 and 1000 mm2.

15. The plastic recipient (1) as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that the ratio between the areas of two adjoining full surfaces (17) is between 0.5 and 1.5.

16. The plastic recipient (1) as claimed in further comprising a label (15) covering the panel (14), the reinforcing means (16) extending over a surface covering between 55% and 90% of the surface of the label (15).