Thin-walled container with sidewall protrusions and reinforced cavities
Disclosed herein are aerodynamic beverage bottles that incorporate fins or protrusions that are molded in to a bottle sidewall, having concavities or valleys between those fins or protrusions that are reinforced to be stiff and otherwise resisting deformation from, for example, pressures generated within the bottle. The sidewall in the region of the fins, protrusions, valleys or concavities may be thinner than other parts of the bottle; fins may be located on one end of a bottle which is thinner than the other end. Such a bottle may have a cylindrical section to which a label may be attached. Such a bottle may be blow-molded. Detailed information on various example embodiments of the inventions are provided in the Detailed Description below, and the inventions are defined by the appended claims.
This Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/059,145 filed on Jun. 5, 2008 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. This Application is a related to U.S. application Ser. No. 11/856,015 entitled Launchable Beverage Container Concepts filed Sep. 15, 2007, which is also incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUNDThe claimed products relate generally to throwable, tossable or launchable beverage bottles and containers, and more particularly to a beverage bottle that incorporate reinforcement to concavities within the bottle sidewall, which concavities may be located between finned structures rendering the bottle stable through flight. In the past it has not been desirable to include concavities within container sidewalls for several reasons. Concavities reduce the volume of the container, which requires a taller or wider container to store the same volume as compared to a cubical or cylindrical container. Concavities also introduce areas that can be deformed, particularly where concavities are susceptible of being reversed, thus protruding from the container sidewall and potentially interfering with surrounding objects and requiring more shelf space. For tossable containers capable of maintaining orientation in flight, fins or protrusions are needed along a substantial length of a bottle, and by the inclusion of such concavities are generally introduced. Furthermore, the introduction of such intrusions may render the sidewall thinner and more susceptible to deformation in the region of fins, protrusions and adjacent concavities. Because the prior bottles are generally cylindrical in shape and generally not having concavities, prior bottles simply incorporated a sidewall with sufficient thickness to provide stiffness, not requiring sidewall reinforcement.
BRIEF SUMMARYDisclosed herein are aerodynamic beverage bottles that incorporate fins or protrusions that are molded in to a bottle sidewall, having concavities or valleys between those fins or protrusions that are reinforced to be stiff and otherwise resisting deformation from, for example, pressures generated within the bottle. The sidewall in the region of the fins, protrusions, valleys or concavities may be thinner than other parts of the bottle; fins may be located on one end of a bottle which is thinner than the other end. Such a bottle may have a cylindrical section to which a label may be attached. Such a bottle may be blow-molded. Detailed information on various example embodiments of the inventions are provided in the Detailed Description below, and the inventions are defined by the appended claims.
Reference will now be made in detail to particular implementations of the various inventions described herein in their various aspects, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and in the detailed description below.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONThe sidewall reinforcement disclosed herein applies to a wide variety of container types, examples of which will now be presented. It will be appreciated from the disclosure below that the container examples shown are capable of acting as a container for beverage and for performing a secondary entertainment function, which may be that the container may be tossed or thrown with certain enhanced performance over beverage containers of the past.
The secondary function, in this example, makes the bottle body 10 and an attached nosecone 11 into a throwable toy. Although an ordinary beverage bottle has certain unintentional aerodynamic properties, one who has ever thrown such a bottle knows that it is predisposed to rotate and tumble through the air and is not well suited to maintain a low-drag orientation. The exemplary bottle body 10 includes fins 12 molded into the sides of body 10 that serve to stabilize the bottle body in flight with a corresponding aerodynamic improvement, if it is thrown in a proper manner. This product may be thrown like a spear for long distance flights, as a dart for short distances, or held from the tail like a horse shoe is commonly thrown. Fins may provide stability in flight, increase aerodynamic performance, and provide visual appeal. Herein it is also contemplated that appropriate channels, flutes and/or rifling may be used to guide flight or add spin to a bottle in flight, however fins are deemed to be especially aesthetically attractive to provide a rocket-like appearance. Referring to
Body 10 and nosecone 11, when attached, form a throwable toy 13. To throw this exemplary toy one grasps the bottle body near the location 14 (or perhaps a little forward toward the nosecone 11) as one would grasp a spear or a football and launches toy 13 nosecone-first. The launching action may be combined with an action providing spin to compensate for any axial imbalances and provide rotational momentum to maintain the toy 13 in the launching orientation. To improve the aerodynamic characteristics of toy 13, bottle body may be weighted heavy in the nose as compared to the end (in this case the bottle bottom). This may be done by forming the walls and the neck of the bottle in the area marked 15 more thickly. Most advantageously, bottle body 10 may be formed through a blow-molding process, which may be controlled to provide added thickness in the area nearest the neck 15.
The bottle body shown in
A bottle body, such as that of
Now referring to
Although a nose cone may include threads fitting to the threads of a bottle neck, this nose cone 21 does not. Rather, the interior 18 is shaped to simply slide on neck 15 without interference from any threads or other features formed in the neck. Alternatively, the interior 18 could be made slightly smaller than the threads or other neck features to provide a friction-fit of the nose cone on the bottle. In yet another alternative, the interior of a nose cone may be fashioned to fit over a capped bottle, using either a slip or a friction-fit. Examples of these variations will become clear in the discussion below.
Again, in the tear-drop design the nose-cone fits over the bottle neck 15. In its shipped configuration a cap, not shown, is intended to be located to neck 15 to contain the bottle contents. Nose cone 21 is designed to snap fit over the shoulder of bottle body 19a and may be removed and reattached repeatedly by the end-user. A cavity formed in the nosecone 21 is sufficient to contain the mouth of a capped bottle body 20 when the nosecone is fitted thereby. This product, including bottle body 20, the cap and nosecone 21 may be packaged, shipped, distributed and sold in the fully assembled state shown in
Furthermore in the “spinner” design, fins 42 are angled or twisted with respect to the axis of symmetry. This serves to generate rotation around the axis of the bottle when thrown, providing rotational momentum and stability in flight. The severity of the angle may be gentle to conserve energy for long flight, or more severe to provide amusing motions. Angled or twisted fins may be provided in virtually any throwable bottle design as desired.
In the missile and spinner designs the container space of the bottle resides with substantially equal weight from the bottom of the bottle to the narrowing portion of the bottle neck. This configuration is desirable in those instances where it is more important to maximize container volume. Alternative configurations may also be used. For example, the bottle shape of the tear-drop bottle positions more container volume toward the neck portion. Other configurations are described below which position more container space toward the bottle foot. This can enhance the aerodynamic properties of the bottle/nosecone product, particularly where the product is designed to be tossed or thrown with fluid or other material inside.
The exemplary “bomb” bottle-product 60 shown in
Having fitted the nose cone 62 onto cap 63, the user may then throw the product by gripping the widened portion 64 with his thumb and forefinger located near narrowed portion 66 using a similar motion as to throw a football. This design, however, permits an alternate launching motion; the user may grip the end of the bottle between the fins 65 and, moving his arm in an arc, may provide a centripetal launching force to the product 60 and release the product in the appropriate point of the arc to launch the product in either an upward direction or in a direction substantially above the horizon.
Again, the product 60 is intended to be launchable in a filled condition. Because of this, product 60 has significantly more weight than other products disclosed herein intended to be launched in an unfilled condition. Although added weight permits a product to overcome air drag and fly farther, the product will also strike the ground with greater momentum at the end of its flight. For those products intended to be launched in a filled condition, a nose cone should be selected of an impact-resistant material. The nosecone may also be selected from the set of softer materials to prevent injury or damage to a person or objects impacted by the product. Here, nosecone 61 is formed of a two-part self-skinning foam rubber, similar to that used in the Nerf-type sports balls.
As to other materials that may be used to fashion a nosecone, many may be selected depending on the hardness, resiliency and weight desired. These materials include, but are not limited to, foams, thermoplastics, thermosets and elastomeric materials. Processes to make nosecones, detachable fins and tail sections, and other extra-bottle parts include injection molding, compression molding, casting, foaming and many other processes. The reader will note from the description above that heavier materials in a nosecone and lighter materials in a tail section will generally increase the aerodynamic stability of the assembled, throwable products.
The design and dimensions of the fins may permit modular stacking and grouping of the bottles, which may prove to be advantageous for shipping and packaging. Thus, containers may be configured so that the fin of one container fits into the recess between the fin of another container. For example, the fins 12 of
All of the missile, tear-drop, spinner and bomb examples are provided with fins that are molded in. Providing fins in a bottle body has the advantage that no additional step of manufacture is required; rather the bottle body comes out of a mold substantially finished.
Other features may be included to improve the aerodynamics of a launchable beverage-model product. For example, the body of the bottle may be elongated for added stability, shortened to fit a container or shaped or sized in many ways while maintaining its containing, throwing and flying functions. The throwing balance of the bottle body may be improved by reducing the size of the lower trunk, which may also improve the hand-ergonomics and the aerodynamic properties of the bottle. Additionally, other ergonomic features may be provided such as finger divots or palm contours. The weight and balance of a bottle body may be modified as desired to enhance throwing and flight characteristics.
The appeal of this type of beverage container is that after use these may have entertainment value as a toy, certain of which may fly stably and aerodyamically. Certain of these may have a rocket shape or other shapes such as those disclosed herein, providing entertaining, amusing or competition activity after the consumption of a beverage.
A throwable beverage container may also be pressurized to achieve certain advantages. Those products may incorporate a pump, operable by an end-user by which air pressure may be provided to a beverage bottle. The product depicted in
To consume the contained beverage, the nosecone 162 is removed from the bottle opening, exposing a nozzle 163, as shown in
To launch this product the nosecone 162 is placed on the end opposite the opening of bottle 161, providing a more aerodynamic profile than if the flat bottle bottom were presented as a nose. Bottle 161 is configured to receive nosecone 162 at either end, for example by friction-fit or by a snap feature built into the nosecone and bottle. Nosecone may be fashioned of a hard material such as plastic, or could be made of a softer or elastic material providing for softer impacts and improved grippability onto bottle body 161. The intended procedure includes the filling of bottle 161 partially with water, although that is not strictly required. A mark could be provided on the bottle 161 as a fill line suggesting the optimal level of water, or alternatively it could be left to the consumer/user to experiment. The consumer would then secure the nozzle if necessary.
Next, the pump 164 is positioned over nozzle 163 by inserting the spigot with o-ring onto the nozzle opening until the cuff and launching lugs of the pressurizing cap snaps over the nozzle rim and seats around the base of the nozzle. The user then pressurizes the container by repeatedly depressing the diaphram 171 on the top of the pressurizing cap 169. Once a sufficient pressure is reached, the user would turn the bottle with nosecone 162 pointing up, and with one hand and holding only the pressurizing cap 169 pinches the base cuff. By pinching the cuff at the points 90 degrees from the location of the retention lugs, the cuff will bend from circular to oval. The lugs are on the inside of the cuff at the part of the oval farthest away from each other. As the user pinches the cuff, the lugs on the cuff separate with enough space to slip past the rim of the nozzle, allowing the pressure in the bottle 161 to push off the spigot and launching the product.
Now referring now to
Launchable beverage container with reinforced concavities between fins.
Now referring to
Now referring to
A bottle having a thinner finned region may provide for better stability in flight, as the product may be weighted in the nose. However, because that region is thinner, and because it is not cylindrical, it is also susceptible to collapse under certain circumstances. In one example, the bottle may be transported from varying elevations, or a bottle may pressurize or depressurize through carbonation effects. Another of those cases when a bottle is partially filled and capped, having a substantial air pocket. The fluid in the bottle carries a mass that tends to put pressure on the sidewall in ways that are difficult to predict, as it sloshes and moves around within. A filled bottle, on the other hand, is filled with a substantially non-compressible substance, and uneven pressure is not so much an issue. It may be desired that a throwable bottle maintain its shape whether full of product or liquid or empty. Furthermore, it may be important for a bottle to maintain shape thus also maintaining any aerodynamic properties of the shape, such as a finned section, which may make a bottle more stable in flight.
Referring again to
One solution to this problem is to use a preform having a tapered or stepped wall thickness. Thus the wall in the finned region may be made thicker, through the use of preform that is thicker in the region 73 that becomes the sidewall containing the fins. A region 74 may be made differentially with a thickness appropriate to a cylindrical portion. However, doing so places more weight in the bottom of the bottle, where it may interfere with the flight and balance of the bottle through the air. Indeed, it is preferable in a tossable beverage container that the portion away from the nose or front be as light as possible.
Thus launchable beverage container products can benefit from a thin wall thickness, especially where those products are to be launched empty and where the wall thinness is especially in the finned portion of the container. In some examples, the average wall thickness in the lower two-thirds of the bottle, including the foot, is less than the average wall thickness of the top one-third. Such bottles may be made in various sizes, lengths, widths and volumes; one example includes a convenient bottle volume of 20 to 30 fl. oz., but such bottles could be much larger or smaller.
A first type of structural reinforcement may be seen generally in
Also in
Reflect now on the bottle shown in
Alternatively these reinforcement structures may be carried around the circumference of the bottle, as shown in
The above-described reinforcement structures are arranged with ribbing or ringing structures directed circumferentially with the bottle body, or directed between the fins or protrusions. This kind of reinforcement provides rigidity against the movement of one fin or protrusion against another. That kind may not, however, resist a force applied that would bend the section to bring the top closer to the bottom of the bottle, or rather in a “longitudinal” direction, considering one of the exemplary bottles in an upright orientation and using the language of a sphere.
To provide stiffness in that longitudinal direction, a longitudinal ridge may be included within the concavity or valley. The bottle shown in
Reinforcement structures need not be in a circumferential or a longitudinal direction. For example, reinforcement structures may be arranged in a matrix, web or hash in other directions, as shown in
An exemplary launchable bottle takes the form having stabilizing fins molded into the bottle body at the bottom or base of the bottle, and with a nose cone on the mouth side. That bottle has a volume of approximately 20 fl. oz., a body height of approximately 9 in. and a rough diameter of 2.5 in. The overall weight of the bottle is between 18.5 grams and 21 grams depending on the finish (in the mouth section) used on the preform. The wall thickness at the bottom two-thirds of the total bottle length is perhaps most important for performance; the wall thickness being preferably about 5/1000ths of and inch in these areas give or take 1/1000th of an inch. The bottom or base thickness has generally the same wall thickness in the base as on the sides, with perhaps a 7/1000ths of an inch target. Weight or thickness at the mouth and shoulder sections at the top of the bottle is generally desirable for aerodynamic performance, and so a heavier finish (mouth) is preferred. In the blow-molding process, the heating temperature of the preform and stretch and blow timing are important, and should be adjusted to produce a bottle thickest at the top and with the wall thinning down the bottle, preferably with as close to as possible uniform wall thickness in the base and fin sections. In one example, the front to back weight ratio is 6:1, however this may be varied depending on overall weight, volume, length, diameter and even design features. The shape of the finned section affects the aerodynamic stabilizing performance of a bottle. Generally speaking, more surface area on the fin sides will improve stability, although widening or increasing the radius of the edge of a fin and/or widening the radius of the valley is generally undesirable for the purposes of producing good production molds and efficient fin design.
Now it is to be recognized that the features described above in relation to lauchable, throwable or tossable beverage bottles may be incorporated singly, or any number of these features may be incorporated into a single product, consistent with the principles and purposes disclosed herein. It is therefore to be recognized that the products described herein are merely exemplary and may be modified as taught herein and as will be understood by one of ordinary skill.
Claims
1. A thin-walled bottle having a varying cross-sectional perimeter, said bottle further having a sidewall incorporating a varying shape having concavities resistant to deformation, comprising:
- an enclosure including an opening defining an interior and an exterior;
- a foot providing a resting position for said bottle;
- a sidewall disposed between said opening and said foot;
- a uniform section incorporated to said sidewall being substantially cylindrical;
- a valleyed section incorporated within said sidewall, said valleyed section including a plurality of protrusions, said valleyed section also including a plurality of concavities between said protrusions, said valleyed section having a larger cross-sectional perimeter length with respect to said uniform section;
- reinforcements incorporated to said concavities providing rigidity to said sidewall in the area of said valleyed section, said reinforcements providing stiffness against an internal pressure applied to said concavity whereby said concavity may be maintained, said reinforcements providing shape to said bottle while maintaining the thickness of said sidewall between the reinforced and non-reinforced areas in the regions of said reinforcements.
2. A bottle according to claim 1, further comprising a smooth area within said uniform section to which a label may be affixed.
3. A container according to claim 1, wherein the wall thickness of said bottle body in the region of said uniform section is thicker than the wall thickness of said bottle body in the region of said valleyed section.
4. A container according to claim 1, wherein the average wall thickness of said bottle body in the third furthest from said foot is greater than the average thickness of the other two-thirds.
5. A container according to claim 1, wherein the wall thickness of said bottle body in the region of said valleyed section is six one-thousanths of an inch or less.
6. A container according to claim 1, wherein the perimeter length of said valleyed section is greater than the perimeter length of said uniform section by twenty percent or more.
7. A container according to claim 1, wherein the perimeter length of said valleyed section is greater than the perimeter length of said uniform section by forty percent or more.
8. A container according to claim 1, wherein the perimeter length of said valleyed section is greater than the perimeter length of said label section by fifty percent or more.
9. A container according to claim 1, wherein said concavities have an axis of direction, and wherein said concavities are oriented lengthwise to said bottle.
10. A container according to claim 1, wherein said concavities have an axis of direction, and wherein said concavities are oriented circumferentially to said bottle.
11. A container according to claim 1, wherein said reinforcements are comprised of a mesh of intersecting ribbing.
12. A container having a varying cross-sectional perimeter, said container further having a sidewall incorporating a varying shape having concavities resistant to deformation, comprising:
- an enclosure including an opening defining an interior and an exterior;
- a foot providing a resting position for said container;
- a sidewall disposed between said opening and said foot, said sidewall being formed through a process of blow-molding;
- a label section incorporated to said sidewall configured to accept the affixing of a label;
- a valleyed section incorporated within said sidewall, said valleyed section including a plurality of protrusions, said valleyed section also including a plurality of concavities between said protrusions, said valleyed section having a larger cross-sectional perimeter length with respect to said uniform section;
- reinforcements incorporated to said concavities providing rigidity to said sidewall in the area of said valleyed section, said reinforcements providing stiffness against an internal pressure applied to said concavity whereby said concavity may be maintained, said reinforcements providing shape to said bottle while maintaining the thickness of said sidewall between the reinforced and non-reinforced areas in the regions of said reinforcements.
13. A container according to claim 12, wherein the wall thickness of said bottle body in the region of said label section is thicker than the wall thickness of said bottle body in the region of said valleyed section.
14. A container according to claim 12, wherein the average wall thickness of said bottle body in the third closest to said neck is greater than the average thickness of the other two-thirds.
15. A container according to claim 12, wherein the wall thickness of said bottle body in the region of said valleyed section is six one-thousanths of an inch or less.
16. A container according to claim 12, wherein the perimeter length of said valleyed section is greater than the perimeter length of said label section by twenty percent or more.
17. A container according to claim 12, wherein the perimeter length of said valleyed section is greater than the perimeter length of said label section by forty percent or more.
18. A container according to claim 12, wherein the perimeter length of said valleyed section is greater than the perimeter length of said label section by fifty percent or more.
19. A container according to claim 12, wherein said concavities have an axis of direction, and wherein said concavities are oriented lengthwise to said bottle.
20. A container according to claim 12, wherein said concavities have an axis of direction, and wherein said concavities are oriented circumferentially to said bottle.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 5, 2009
Publication Date: Dec 10, 2009
Inventors: Justin C. Yarro (Provo, UT), Ralph J. Yarro, III (Provo, UT)
Application Number: 12/479,758
International Classification: B65D 1/40 (20060101); B65D 1/42 (20060101);