PLASTIC PREFORM AND CONTAINER
A container assembly suitable for holding pressurized content includes a plastic container and a base cup. The plastic container may include a including a rounded base portion, and the base cup may be connected to the container and configured to support the plastic container. In embodiments the plastic container and the base cup are comprised of plastic, and may be comprised of substantially the same recyclable plastic material. In embodiments, the base cup may be thermoformed, and/or the container assembly may be comprised of 80% or more, by weight, of PET.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/376,269, filed Apr. 5, 2019, and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/652,977, filed Apr. 5, 2018, and also claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Ser. No. 62/844,956, filed May 8, 2019, which are all fully incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present invention relates to modified neck portions for plastic preforms and containers, and plastic containers with a modified neck that can retain and dispense pressurized contents (e.g., aerosol compositions).
BACKGROUNDContainers for holding and dispensing pressurized contents are known in the art. Such containers have commonly been formed of metal to help withstand internal pressures associated with the contents. An example of such containers includes those intended to retain and dispense aerosol contents. It has been desirable to provide plastic containers that are suitable for retaining and dispensing pressurized contents, including aerosol compositions. There are advantages and challenges associated with providing plastic containers, including possibly all-plastic containers, that may be suitable for such applications. Advantages of plastic containers can include, inter alia, cost reductions and savings, increased design flexibility, ease of manufacture, and aesthetic features and options. Challenges can, however, include dealing with material characteristics (e.g., material effects under pressures and/or temperature changes) and material distributions and configurations, including those associated with neck portions of such containers.
Among other things, it can be desirable to provide a plastic container with an improved or modified neck that is suitable for holding and dispensing pressurized contents.
SUMMARYAn improved neck for a plastic preform and container that is suitable for holding pressurized contents. The neck includes a ring, an upper segment, a flange, and a lower segment. In embodiments the upper segment is disposed vertically between the ring and the flange and the lower segment is disposed vertically below the flange. In embodiments an inner radial wall segment of the ring of a neck is radially offset outwardly from an inner radial wall segment of the upper segment. In embodiments, the plastic container includes a closure, and may be configured to retain and dispense pressurized contents.
Embodiments of the disclosure will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction with embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined herein and by appended claims.
With reference to
As generally illustrated in
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- RAD1 (radius)—1.8 mm
- DIST (distance)—1.8 mm
- ANG (angle)—20 degrees
Embodiments of necks that are formed in accordance with aspects and teachings of the present disclosure may comprise thermoplastic material(s) such as, without limitation, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polycarbonate, polypropylene, PET-PEN copolymers, and other polymers or thermoplastic material that may be formed into the desired preforms and containers. In embodiments, containers (and their neck portions) may be formed by ISBM processing with extrusion grade PET (or EPET). Extrusion grade PET, or EPET, will generally have a comparatively (relative to non-extrusion grade PET) or sufficiently high intrinsic viscosity (IV, which may involve units of dl/g), and may be solid stated. In embodiments, a high IV will be above “bottle grade” IV of about 0.78-0.85 for carbonated soft drink grade applications) and may be about 0.96 to about 1.2, or higher, and may involve low crystallinity. Generally, EPET will need to have a high enough IV to hold up through the intended processing. With some embodiments, the IV may be about 1.1, and may be higher. With a lower IV, in some cases the container may not perform as well as desired in some testing, such as drop testing. However, if an IV is too high, challenges can be encountered, such as with associated hot bath testing. Consequently, it was found that for some embodiments there is a desirable range (or “sweet spot”) in which the material will perform well for both drop testing and hot bath testing.
Additionally, others in the field have commonly sought to add material thickness to neck portions to provide local reinforcement in the neck, including local reinforcement at or about a flange and/or lower segment of the neck. However, it has been found that with some neck configurations, such as disclosed herein, providing less material thickness associated with the flange and/or lower segment of the neck can provide equivalent or even better strength than reinforced containers with increased thickness that lack other aspects/teachings of the present disclosure.
In providing containers that embody aspects or teachings of the present disclosure that are suitable for retaining and dispensing pressurized contents, one or more (even all) of the following may be adjusted or controlled: (i) IV, (ii) wall thickness(es) and profiles, and/or (iii) associated processing. As noted, for applications a suitable IV may be employed. For embodiments, wall thickness(es) and distributions may be tightly controlled. For example and without limitation, various portions or segments of a container may be varied to help handle or address anticipated internal pressure (e.g., such as pressurization associated with aerosol contents). Additionally, with embodiments, associated processing may involve additional cooling, which may provide extra or added crystallization (e.g., boosted through cooling). With embodiments, the amount of crystallization may be increased beyond (e.g., at least 1-2% beyond) what is typically associated with the conventional crystallization of a plastic (e.g., PET) container.
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- DIST1 (distance)—0.55 mm
- DIST2 (distance)—2.26 mm
- RAD2 (radius)—0.2 mm
- RAD4 (radius)—0.2 mm
With reference to
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- D1 (diameter)—30.5 mm
- D2 (dia.)—28.8 mm
- D3 (dia.)—27.26 mm
- D4 (dia.)—25.46 mm
- D5 (dia.)—33.5 mm
- D6 (dia.)—29.32 mm
- H1 (distance)—8.76 mm
With reference to
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- T1 (thickness)—1.62 mm
- T2 (thickness)—0.6 mm
- T3 (thickness)—0.95 mm
- T4 (distance)—0.92 mm
- H2 (distance)—0.4 mm
- H3 (distance)—1.5 mm
- H4 (distance)—2.46 mm
- H5 (distance)—8.76 mm
- H6 (distance)—3.49 mm
- H7 (distance)—1.71 mm
- H8 (distance)—1.18 mm
- Ø1—15°
- Ø2—95°
- R1 (radius)—0.5 mm
- R2 (radius)—0.2 mm
- R3 (radius)—0.2 mm
- R4 (radius)—0.5 mm
- R5 (radius)—0.3 mm
- R6 (radius)—0.3 mm
- R7 (radius)—0.3 mm
- R8 (radius)—0.5 mm
Further, as generally illustrated in
The illustrated embodiment in
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- T5 (thickness)—0.61 mm
- T6 (thickness)—0.92 mm
- T7 (thickness)—0.15 mm
- T8 (thickness)—0.0.1 mm
- H9 (distance)—0.9 mm
- H10 (distance)—3.3 mm
- H11 (distance)—8.76 mm
- H12 (distance)—9.3 mm
- H13 (distance)—1.8 mm
- H14 (distance)—8.36 mm
- D7 (dia.)—26.65 mm
- D8 (dia.)—30.7 mm
- D9 (dia.)—32.51 mm
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- D1 (diameter)—31.6 mm
- D2 (dia.)—28.8 mm
- D3 (dia.)—27.26 mm
- D4 (dia.)—25.42 mm
- D5 (dia.)—33.25 mm
- D6 (dia.)—29.32 mm
- H1 (distance)—8.76 mm
While,
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- DIST1 (distance)—0.55 mm
- DIST2 (distance)—2.26 mm
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- T1 (thickness)—2.17 mm
- T2 (thickness)—0.8 mm
- T3 (thickness)—1.2 mm
- T4 (thickness)—0.91 mm
- H2 (distance)—0.4 mm
- H3 (distance)—1.5 mm
- H4 (distance)—2.46 mm
- H5 (distance)—8.76 mm
- H7 (distance)—1.71 mm
- H8 (distance)—1.18 mm
- Ø2—95°
- Ø3—105°
- R1 (radius)—0.5 mm
- R2 (radius)—0.2 mm
- R3 (radius)—0.2 mm
- R4 (radius)—0.5 mm
- R5 (radius)—0.3 mm
- R6 (radius)—0.3 mm
- R7 (radius)—0.3 mm
- R8 (radius)—0.5 mm
Additionally, in embodiments associated with the disclosure, a plastic container 100 may be formed/configured to have a shape such as generally illustrated in
By way of example, and without limitation, an embodiment of a container 100, such as generally illustrated in
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- D10 (diameter)—32 mm
- D11 (dia.)—33.5 mm
- D12 (dia.)—29.39 mm
- H15 (distance)—195.75 mm
- H16 (distance)—187.73 mm
- H17 (distance)—8.02 mm
- H18 (distance)—5.00 mm
- H19 (distance)—86.46 mm
- H20 (distance)—44.45 mm
- H21 (distance)—46.76 mm
- H22 (distance)—106.76 mm
- H23 (distance)—166.74 mm
However, the present concept is not limited to such a size, shape, and capacity, and such plastic containers may, for example, be configured for containers that have different weights, different overflow volumes, and/or are greater or less than about 425 ml. Plastic containers having a lower portion with a rounded, hemispherical shape (in cross section, such as shown in
Further, a plastic container, such as generally illustrated in
With embodiments, a base cup 120 may, for example, be comprised of a plastic, which may comprise a recyclable plastic material. For example and without limitation, a base cup may be comprised of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and, for some applications, the base cup may be thermoformed. In embodiments, a plastic container 100 and an associated plastic base cup may both be comprised of the same or substantially similar material—which may be commonly recyclable. In embodiments where the base cup is comprised of PET, the base cup may be marked or designated with an appropriate recyclability symbol. In embodiments, a base cup may, for example and without limitation, have a weight of about 3.0±0.6 grams and/or a capacity of about 9.7 fl. oz. In embodiments, a base cup may have a champagne-type base configuration. In embodiments the base cup may be formed by thermoforming (e.g., thermoformed PET) and, for some applications, the walls of the base cup may be comparatively thinner (less thick) than walls that might be formed by other processing methods, such as injection molding. With the formation of embodiments of the plastic container, base cup, and/or container assembly, the plastic material (e.g., PET) may be biaxially oriented. Embodiments of such containers or preforms, base cups, and/or related assemblies, can, inter alia, demonstrate improved drop impact testing results. Moreover, with containers that are intended to hold contents that are about 220 ml or larger, the inclusion of a base cup can commonly provide significantly superior results to containers that have a unitary freestanding base (without a base cup).
By way of example, and without limitation, an embodiment of a base cup 120, such as generally illustrated in whole or in part in
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- DBC (diameter)—59.01 mm
- H24 (distance)—28.90 mm
- H25 (distance)—3.25 mm
- H26 (distance)—2.5 mm
- H31 (distance)—0.25 mm
- R9 (radius)—29.50 mm
- T11 (thickness)—0.25 mm
- ANG2 (angle)—2°
A base cup 120 may be attached or otherwise connected to a container 100 to form a container assembly. For example and without limitation, an embodiment of a container assembly 140 is generally illustrated in
By way of example, and without limitation, an embodiment of a container assembly 140, such as generally illustrated in whole or in part in
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- D15 (diameter)—32 mm
- D16 (diameter)—33.50 mm
- D17 (diameter)—29.39 mm
- D18 (diameter)—58.29 mm
- H27 (distance)—199.35 mm
- H28 (distance)—191.39 mm
- H29 (distance)—7.96 mm
- H30 (distance)—5.00 mm
With embodiments of a container assembly, such as disclosed above, 80% or more (by weight) of the container assembly may be comprised of PET—with 20% or less of the container assembly comprising other materials. For example, an actuator, an overcap, a valve, a label, and possibly one or more other components may be comprised of a material other than PET. In embodiments, a valve associated with a container assembly may be comprised of plastic (e.g., PET) and may include a metal or a non-plastic (e.g., non-PET) spring.
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and various modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. A container assembly suitable for holding pressurized content, the assembly comprising:
- a plastic container, the container including an upper segment, a support flange, a sidewall portion, and a rounded base portion;
- a plastic base cup, the base cup is connected to the rounded base portion of the container and configured to support the plastic container;
- wherein the plastic container and the plastic base cup are comprised of the same or substantially the same plastic material.
2. The container of claim 1, wherein the plastic material comprises polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
3. The container of claim 1, wherein the plastic container and the plastic base cup are comprised of recyclable plastic material.
4. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the base cup is thermoformed.
5. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the container assembly is comprised of 80% or more, by weight, of PET.
6. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the support flange includes a formation or locator.
7. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the formation or locator has a generally semi-circular shape.
8. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the plastic base cup is formed from a recyclable plastic material and includes a symbol indicating recyclability.
9. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the plastic base cup has a weight of about 3.0±0.6 grams.
10. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the plastic base cup has a capacity of about 9.7 fl. oz.
11. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the plastic container includes a ring and an inner radial wall segment of the ring that is offset outwardly from an inner radial wall segment of the upper segment.
12. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the offset is at least 0.90 mm.
Type: Application
Filed: May 8, 2020
Publication Date: Aug 20, 2020
Inventors: Miguel Vieira (Vilvoorde), Alain Dessaint (Kampenhout), Laurent Degroote (Caestre), Richard C. Darr (Medina, OH)
Application Number: 16/869,949