BEVERAGE CONTAINER

Abstract

A plastic beverage container includes a body, a closure, and a dry granular consumable. The body has a closed base portion and an open top end. The closure includes a top member, a bottom member, a pull tab, and an adhesive. The adhesive is disposed between a perimeter of each of the top and bottom members of the closure to form a sealed pouch container having a pull tab with a perforation. The top and bottom members are formed from one of a metal foil and polymer film. The dry granular consumable is disposed in the sealed pouch container. The adhesive is also disposed between the perimeter of the closure and a sealing surface of the top end of the body to form a liquid-tight seal between the closure and the top end of the body.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/333,524 filed May 9, 2016. The disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to blown plastic containers, and more specifically to plastic containers for packaging beverages.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute prior art.

Plastic containers have been used to package liquids intended for various purposes including, for example, consumable beverages and cleaning detergents among other common applications.

While current plastic containers useful for their intended purpose, there is room in the art for an improved plastic container that provides a consumer with an improved experience, improved efficiency, and enhances environmental stewardship.

SUMMARY

A plastic beverage container having a sealable closure is provided. The plastic beverage container includes a body, a closure, and a consumable. The body has a closed base portion and an open top end. The closure has a top member and a bottom member. Each perimeter of the top and bottom members of the closure are sealed together to form a sealed pouch container in which the consumable is disposed. The closure is disposed on the open top end of the body.

In one example of the present invention, a first adhesive is disposed between the perimeter of each of the top member and bottom members of the closure.

In another example of the present invention, a second adhesive disposed between the perimeter of the closure and the open top end of the body.

In yet another example of the present invention, the consumable is granular.

In yet another example of the present invention, the perimeter of the closure is the same diameter of the open top end of the body.

In yet another example of the present invention, the closure includes a pull tab extending beyond the perimeter of the open top end of the body.

In yet another example of the present invention, the pull tab of the closure includes a perforation.

In yet another example of the present invention, the body is formed from one of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), High density polyethylene (HDPE), and polypropylene (PP).

In yet another example of the present invention, the top and bottom members of the closure are formed from one of a metal foil and a polymer film.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary plastic beverage container according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an expanded perspective view of an exemplary plastic beverage container according to the principles of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 3 is a top view of a sealing closure of an exemplary plastic beverage container according to the principles of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.

With reference to FIGS. 1-3, a plastic beverage container 10 is illustrated and will now be described. The plastic beverage container 10 includes a body portion 12 and a sealable closure 14. More specifically, the body portion 12 includes a bottom end 16, a middle potion 18, a sealed top end 20, and a hollow interior 22. The diameter of the body portion 12 widens gradually from the bottom end 16 up to the sealed top end 20. The side of the body portion 12 may also include a large radius to present a shape for an improved grip for the user. However, any shape may be considered for the body portion 12 without departing from the scope of the invention. Additionally, the body portion 12 of the plastic beverage container and hold from as little as 0.5 oz. to as much as 3.5 oz. of liquid without departing from the scope of the invention.

The sealed top end 20 is open to allow communication between the hollow interior 22 and the atmosphere. The sealed top end 20 includes a flat sealing surface 24 having a minimum width W. The top end 20 may also include features for retaining a rigid cap (not show) for protecting the contents of the plastic beverage 10 container during packaging the handling and for potential label placement.

The beverage container 10 can be manufactured from a polymer, including, without limitation, one of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), or others, without departing from the scope of the invention. Regarding manufacturing of the beverage container 10, any one of a number of methods, such as injection blow molding, injection stretch blow molding (ISBM), extrusion blow molding (EBM), form-fill-seal, or others, can be used.

The closure 14 includes a top member 26 and a bottom member 28. The top and bottom members 26, 28 are relatively flat and flexible members shaped such that the perimeter 30 of the top and bottom members 26, 28 overlays the sealing surface 24 of the sealing end 20 of the body portion 12. The perimeter 30 of each of the top and bottom members 26, 28 are sealed to each other forming a hollow interior or pocket 32. For example, an adhesive may be used to seal the top member 26 to the bottom member 28. The hollow pocket 32 of the closure 14 is a container 34 in which can be disposed any one of a variety of consumables 36. For example, salt, sugar, or dissolvable supplements can be disposed in the container 34 of the closure 14 and can be mixed or otherwise consumed with the liquid contained in the body portion 12 of the beverage container 10. However, other consumables 36 can be disposed in the container 34 of the closure 14 without departing from the scope of the invention. Additionally, the top and bottom members 26, 28 of the closure 14 can be formed from a recyclable metal foil, a polymer material, or both.

The closure 14 also includes a peel-off tab 38 for gentle unsealing of the closure 14 from the body portion 12. The peal-off tab 38 extends from the perimeter 30 of the closure 14 so that the user can grip the bottom side of the peal-off tab 38 and slowly pull the tab 38 to unseal the perimeter 30 of the closure 14 from the sealing surface 24 of the body portion 12. The peal-off tab 38 may include a tear notch or perforation 40 to provide a starting point to tear open the hollow interior 32 of the closure 14 thus releasing the contents 36 of the container 34 of the closure 14 for consumption.

The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A plastic beverage container, the plastic beverage container including:

a body having a closed base portion and an open top end;

a closure having a top member and a bottom member, and wherein a perimeter of each of the top and bottom members of the closure are sealed together to form a sealed pouch container;

a consumable disposed in the sealed pouch container; and

wherein the closure is disposed on the open top end of the body.

2. The plastic beverage container of claim 1 further including a first adhesive disposed between the perimeter of each of the top member and bottom members of the closure.

3. The plastic beverage container of claim 1 further including a second adhesive disposed between the perimeter of the closure and the open top end of the body.

4. The plastic beverage container of claim 1 wherein the consumable is granular.

5. The plastic beverage container of claim 1 wherein the perimeter of the closure is the same diameter of the open top end of the body.

6. The plastic beverage container of claim 1 wherein the closure includes a pull tab extending beyond the perimeter of the open top end of the body.

7. The plastic beverage container of claim 6 wherein the pull tab of the closure includes a perforation.

8. The plastic beverage container of claim 1 wherein the body is formed from one of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), High density polyethylene (HDPE), and polypropylene (PP).

9. The plastic beverage container of claim 1 wherein the top and bottom members of the closure are formed from one of a metal foil and a polymer film.

10. A plastic beverage container, the plastic beverage container including:

a body having a closed base portion and an open top end;

a closure having a top member and a bottom member, and wherein a perimeter of each of the top and bottom members of the closure are sealed together to form a sealed pouch container;

a consumable disposed in the sealed pouch container; and

an first adhesive disposed between the perimeter of the closure and a sealing surface of the top end of the body to form a seal between the closure and the top end of the body.

11. The plastic beverage container of claim 10 further including a second adhesive disposed between the perimeter of each of the top member and bottom members of the closure.

12. The plastic beverage container of claim 11 wherein the consumable is one of a portion of salt and a portion of sugar.

13. The plastic beverage container of claim 12 wherein the perimeter of the closure is the same diameter of the open top end of the body.

14. The plastic beverage container of claim 13 wherein the closure includes a pull tab extending beyond the perimeter of the open top end of the body.

15. The plastic beverage container of claim 14 wherein the pull tab of the closure includes a perforation.

16. The plastic beverage container of claim 15 wherein the body is formed from one of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), High density polyethylene (HDPE), and polypropylene (PP).

17. The plastic beverage container of claim 16 wherein the top and bottom members of the closure are formed from one of a metal foil and a polymer film.

18. A plastic beverage container, the plastic beverage container including:

a body having a closed base portion and an open top end;

a closure having a top member, a bottom member, a pull tab, and a first adhesive, and wherein the first adhesive is disposed between a perimeter of each of the top and bottom members of the closure to form a sealed pouch container, the pull tab includes a perforation and extends beyond a perimeter of the top end of the body, and the top and bottom members are formed from one of a metal foil and polymer film;

a dry granular consumable disposed in the sealed pouch container; and

a second adhesive disposed between the perimeter of the closure and a sealing surface of the top end of the body to form a seal between the closure and the top end of the body.

19. The plastic beverage container of claim 18 wherein the consumable is one of a portion of salt and a portion of sugar.

20. The plastic beverage container of claim 18 wherein the body is formed from one of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), High density polyethylene (HDPE), and polypropylene (PP).