A plastic container is provided that includes a hollow body portion including a lower supporting base portion; a sidewall portion extending upwardly from the base portion; and a neck portion extending upwardly from the sidewall portion. The neck portion includes a support flange having an upper and lower surface, a tamper-evident formation, and a dispensing opening at the top of the neck portion. In embodiments, a closure may be provided to form an assembly. In embodiments, the container is comprised of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a volume of the container is at least 500 ml, and/or the weight of the neck portion is 2.3 grams or less. A preform and method for making a container are also disclosed.

A plastic container includes a hollow body portion including a lower supporting base portion; a sidewall portion extending upwardly from the base portion; and a neck portion extending upwardly from the sidewall portion. The neck portion includes a support flange having an upper and lower surface, at least one thread, and a dispensing opening at the top of the neck portion. In embodiments, a closure may be provided to form an assembly. A preform and method for making a container are also disclosed.

A method for heating a preform that is rotationally symmetric about its longitudinal axis, has a standard thread, and is made of a thermoplastic material. During heating, the preform is temperature conditioned to be formed into a container having a non-circular cross-section transverse to a longitudinal axis of the container by blow-molding. The preform is provided with a temperature profile along a circumference of the preform such that areas of the preform are differentially heated in a radial direction of the circumference of the preform. The standard thread of the preform is aligned in a predefined target position before the areas of the preform are differentially heated. The preform is rotated into alignment. An alignment element engages in the standard thread of the preform and thereby prevents further rotation of the preform as soon as the alignment element comes in contact with a predetermined contact surface in the standard thread.

A preform has a flange that protrudes outward at a neck, and is supplied in an inverted state. A preform handling device includes a star wheel that is configured so that the preform is supplied to each of a plurality of depressions that are formed in an outer circumferential part of a wheel, and pushes the preform to rotationally transfer the preform from an upstream region to a downstream region, an end face guide member that is provided in the upstream region so as to be situated under the preform and that support and guide an open end face of the preform, and a pair of flange guide members that are provided in the downstream region and that support and guide a lower side of the flange of the preform.

A plastic container is provided that includes a lower supporting base portion; a sidewall portion extending upwardly from the base portion; a neck portion extending upwardly from the sidewall portion; and a closure. The neck portion includes a support flange having an upper and lower surface, threads, a tamper-evident formation, and a dispensing opening at the top of the neck portion. In an embodiment, the weight of the neck portion is 3.0 grams or less; and the vertical distance from the top of the dispensing opening to the lower surface of the support flange, including the threads and the tamper-evident formation, is 0.580 inches or less. A preform and method for making a container are also disclosed.

The invention relates to a multi-component injection molding method for producing a sleeve-shaped preform as well as to a perform which has at least two layers, said method comprising at least two process steps including at least two cavities and at least one injection mold core that can be used for both cavities, and wherein during the first process step, the first layer which has at least one first and at least one second area extending partially in the circumferential direction of the preform, is injected onto the injection mold core within the first cavity, with the second area having a substantially lower layer thickness than the first area, and during the second process step, the second layer is deposited on the first layer which is located on the injection mold core in the second cavity in such a way that only the second area of the first layer is completely covered by the second layer, or during the first process step, the first area of the first layer is deposited partially on the injection mold core within the first cavity, with the remaining areas being covered by the second layer during a second process step within a second cavity.

A preform configured to be blow-molded into a plastic bottle includes a neck section defining an opening, the neck section including a threaded portion configured to engage a closure, and a neck ring, a transition section having a first end positioned adjacent to the neck ring and a second end opposite the first end, a cylindrical body section extending from the second end of the transition section to a base, and a longitudinal axis extending from the opening through the base. The neck section, transition section, and the body section define a hollow channel positioned between the opening and the base. The transition section defines a tapered sidewall relative to the longitudinal axis, the tapered sidewall decreases a cross-sectional diameter of the hollow channel. The tapered sidewall of the transition section contains 20% to 30% of a total weight of the preform.

An injection molding device including a middle flow channel which forms an intermediate layer of a preform which is subject to biaxial stretch blow molding. The middle flow channel s segmented into a predetermined number of flow sub-channels by vertical blocking rib piece(s). Side wall's upstream portions of the vertical blocking rib piece are formed as angled surfaces whose distance from each other decreases from the downstream side to the upstream side, and/or, an end portion of the vertical blocking rib piece that is located on the downstream side is tucked in at least one of the inner flow channel and the outer flow channel.

A plastic preform is provided that includes a closed bottom portion; a lower portion extending upwardly from the bottom portion; and a neck portion extending upwardly from the lower portion. The neck portion includes a support flange having an upper and lower surface, threads, a tamper-evident formation, and a dispensing opening at the top of the neck portion. In an embodiment, the weight of the neck portion is 3.0 grams or less; and the vertical distance from the top of the dispensing opening to the lower surface of the support flange, including the threads and the tamper-evident formation, is 0.580 inches or less. A container and method for making a container are also disclosed.

A plastic container is provided that includes a lower supporting base portion; a sidewall portion extending upwardly from the base portion; a neck portion extending upwardly from the sidewall portion; and a closure. The neck portion includes a support flange having an upper and lower surface, threads, a tamper-evident formation, and a dispensing opening at the top of the neck portion. In an embodiment, the weight of the neck portion is 3.0 grams or less; and the vertical distance from the top of the dispensing opening to the lower surface of the support flange, including the threads and the tamper-evident formation, is 0.580 inches or less. A preform and method for making a container are also disclosed.