PREFORM AND MOLD STACK

Abstract

According to the present invention there is provided a preform suitable for subsequent blow molding, and a mold stock for producing the preform. The preform comprises a base having an elliptical inner face with a first flat circular bottom portion, and an elliptical outer face with a second flat circular bottom portion. The first and second flat circular bottom portions each have a center on a vertical center axis of the preform and a radius of equal size. The mold stack comprises a core insert comprising a first cavity defining portion with a gate defining portion, and a gate insert comprising a second cavity defining portion. The gate defining portion has a first elliptical curvature with a first flat circular bottom portion, and the second cavity defining portion has a second elliptical curvature with a second flat circular bottom portion. The first and second flat circular bottom portions each have a center on a vertical axis of the mold stack and a radius of equal size.

Claims

1. A preform suitable for subsequent blow molding, the preform comprising: a neck, a base and a body extending therebetween, the neck, the body and the base each having inner and outer faces defining a wall thickness therebetween, the base having an elliptical inner face with a first flat circular bottom portion, and an elliptical outer face with a second flat circular bottom portion, and the first and second flat circular bottom portions each having a center on a vertical center axis of the preform and a radius R of equal size.

2. The preform according to claim 1, wherein the elliptical inner face of the base extends tangentially from a distal end of an inner face of the body, and the elliptical outer face of the base extends tangentially from a distal end of an outer face of the body, and a first ellipse defining the elliptical inner face and a second ellipse defining the elliptical outer face each have a center spaced from the vertical center axis of the preform by a radius equal to the radius R of the first and second flat circular bottom portions.

3. The preform according to claim 2, wherein the first ellipse defining the elliptical inner face has a first radius IR.sub.1 being parallel to the vertical center axis of the preform and a second radius IR.sub.2 being perpendicular to the vertical center axis of the preform, the first radius IR.sub.1 being greater than both the second radius IR.sub.2 and a radius of a cylindrical inner face of the body, and the second ellipse defining the elliptical outer face has a first radius OR.sub.1 being parallel to the vertical center axis of the preform and a second radius OR.sub.2 being perpendicular to the vertical axis of the preform, the first radius OR.sub.1 being greater than both the second radius OR.sub.2 and a radius of a cylindrical outer face of the body.

4. The preform according to claim 3, wherein the radius R of the first and second flat circular bottom portions is equal to 0.4 times of the radius of the cylindrical outer face of the body.

5. The preform according to claim 1, wherein the body consists of a body main portion, and a transition portion extending from the neck.

6. The preform according to claim 5, wherein the transition portion has a cylindrical outer face with a diameter equal to a diameter of a cylindrical outer face of the body main portion, and a conical inner face with a continuously decreasing diameter, and wherein the inner face of the body main portion extends tangentially from the conical inner face of the transition portion.

7. The preform according to claim 6, wherein the neck has cylindrical inner and outer faces, and the outer and inner faces of the transition portion extend tangentially from the outer and inner faces of the neck.

8. The preform according to claim 1, wherein the neck on its outer face carries a neck finish and a support ledge.

9. A mold stack for injection molding a preform having a neck, a body and a base, the mold stack comprising: a core insert comprising a first cavity defining portion configured to define an inner face of the neck and the body of the preform and, via a gate defining portion thereof, an inner face of the base of the preform, a split mold insert pair configured to define an outer face of the neck of the preform, a cavity insert configured to define an outer face of the body of the preform, and a gate insert comprising a second cavity defining portion configured to define an outer face of the base of the preform; the gate defining portion of the first cavity defining portion of the core insert having a first elliptical curvature with a first flat circular bottom portion, and the second cavity defining portion of the gate insert having a second elliptical curvature with a second flat circular bottom portion, and the first and second flat circular bottom portions each having a center on a vertical center axis of the mold stack and a radius R of equal size.

10. The mold stack according to claim 9, wherein the first elliptical curvature of the gate defining portion of the core insert is tangent with a distal end of the first cavity defining portion of the core insert, and the second elliptical curvature of the second cavity defining portion is tangent with a distal end of an inner surface of the cavity insert defining the outer face of the body of the preform, and wherein a first ellipse defining the first elliptical curvature and a second ellipse defining the second elliptical curvature each have a center spaced from the vertical center axis of the mold stack by a radius equal to the radius R of the first and second flat circular bottom portions.

11. The mold stack according to claim 10, wherein the first ellipse defining the first elliptical curvature has a first radius IR.sub.1 being parallel to the vertical center axis of the mold stack and a second radius IR.sub.2 being perpendicular to the vertical center axis of the mold stack, the first radius IR.sub.1 being greater than both the second radius IR.sub.2 and a radius of the first cavity defining portion of the core insert defining at least in part a cylindrical inner face of the body of the preform, and the second ellipse defining the second elliptical curvature has a first radius OR.sub.1 being parallel to the vertical center axis of the mold stack and a second radius OR.sub.2 being perpendicular to the vertical center axis of the mold stack, the first radius OR.sub.1 being greater than both the second radius OR.sub.2 and a radius of an inner surface of the cavity insert defining a cylindrical outer face of the body of the preform.

12. The mold stack according to claim 11, wherein the radius R of the first and second flat circular bottom portions is equal to 0.4 times of the radius of the cavity insert defining the cylindrical outer face of the body of the perform.

13. The mold stack according to claim 9, wherein the first cavity defining portion of the core insert defining the inner face of the neck and the body of the preform, further comprises a transition portion being tangent with a neck defining portion of the first cavity defining portion, and a main portion being tangent with the transition portion of the first cavity defining portion.

14. The mold stack according to claim 13, wherein the transition portion is conical in shape and configured to define a conical inner face with decreasing diameter of a transition portion of the body of the preform, and the main portion is configured to define a cylindrical inner face of a main body portion of the body of the preform.

15. The mold stack according to claim 14, wherein the split mold insert pair in configured to define a cylindrical outer face with a neck finish and a support ledge of the preform neck, and a neck defining portion of the first cavity defining portion of the core insert is configured to define a cylindrical inner face of the preform neck.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] The non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be more fully appreciated by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0032] FIG. 1 depicts a cross-section view of an example of a traditional preform 10 having a hemispherically shaped base;

[0033] FIG. 2 depicts a cross-section view of an embodiment of a preform 100 having a base implement according to the present invention;

[0034] FIG. 3 depicts a cross-section view of a mold stack 200 configured to produce the preform 100 of FIG. 2;

[0035] FIG. 4 depicts a side view of a core insert 202 of the mold stack of FIG. 3;

[0036] FIG. 5 depicts a cross-section view of a gate insert 212 of the mold stack of FIG. 3.

[0037] The drawings serve the purpose of illustration and are not to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE NON-LIMITING EMBODIMENTS

[0038] Reference will now be made to non-limiting embodiments of a preform implement according to the present invention and a mold stack for producing the same. It should be understood that other modifications and equivalents will be evident to those skilled in the art in view of the non-limiting embodiments disclosed herein and those variants should be considered to be within the scope of the present invention.

[0039] Further, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that certain structural and/or operational details of the non-limiting embodiments discussed hereinafter may be modified or amended.

[0040] FIG. 1 depicts an example of a traditional preform 10 which, as stated above, has a closed end, i.e. a base, which is hemispherically shaped. As shown, preform 10 has a neck 12, a body 14 and a base 16 with hemispherically shaped inner and outer faces. Also shown is a gate nub 11 which so to speak is the foot print of the injection molding process.

[0041] In the final bottle produced from such a traditional preform, the wall thickness distribution in the bottle base is not uniform because for the reasons outlined above, unstretched material in amorphous form remains in the gate nub area of the bottle base.

[0042] FIG. 2 depicts a preform 100 implemented according to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention. The preform 100 consists of a neck 112, a base 116 and a body 114 extending between the neck 112 and the base 116. The neck 112, the body 114 and the base 116 each have inner and outer faces defining a respective wall thickness therebetween.

[0043] As shown, the base 116 has an elliptical inner face 118 with a first flat circular bottom portion 120, and an elliptical outer face 122 with a second flat circular bottom portion 124. The first and second flat circular bottom portions 120, 124 each have a center on a vertical center axis X of the preform 100 and a radius R (not shown) of equal size. As it is apparent from FIG. 2, the elliptically shaped inner and outer faces 118, 122 of base 116 provide for a continuous reduction of the wall thickness defined therebetween, and in concert with the first and second flat circular bottom portions 120, 124, they provide in the region of the gate nub 111 a defined area of an evenly reduced bottom wall thickness.

[0044] FIG. 2 further shows that the elliptically shaped inner and outer faces 118, 122 extend tangentially from a cylindrically shaped distal end of the inner and outer faces 126, 128 of the body 114, and that the first and second flat circular bottom portions 120, 124 extend tangentially from the elliptically shaped inner and outer faces 118, 122. The latter tangency is obtained in that a first ellipse defining the elliptical inner face 118 and a second ellipse defining the elliptical outer face 122 each have a center spaced from a vertical center axis X of the preform 100 by a radius which is equal to the radius R of the first and second flat circular bottom portions 120, 124.

[0045] From FIG. 2 one will further appreciate that base 116 has an elongate shape. In order to obtain such a configuration of the base, the radius of the first ellipse defining the elliptical inner face 118 of the base 116 has a first radius IR.sub.1 (not shown) which is in parallel with the vertical center axis X of the preform 100, and a second radius IR.sub.2 (not shown) which is perpendicular to the vertical center axis X. The first radius IR.sub.1 is such selected that it is greater than both the second radius IR.sub.2 and a radius defining a cylindrical inner face 126 of the body 114, which radius, in the depicted embodiment, defines the cylindrical inner face of a main portion 130 of the body 114 of the preform 100. Similarly, the second ellipse defining the elliptical outer face 122 of the base 116 has a first radius OR.sub.1 (not shown) which is in parallel with the center axis X of the preform 100, and a second radius OR.sub.2 (not shown) which is perpendicular to the center axis X, wherein the first radius OR.sub.1 is such selected that it is greater than both the second radius OR.sub.2 and a radius defining a cylindrical outer face 128 of the body 114, which radius, in the depicted embodiment, defines the cylindrical outer face of the main portion 130 of the body 114 of the preform 100.

[0046] In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the aforesaid main portion 130 of body 114 has cylindrical inner and outer faces 126, 128 and is associated with a transition portion 132 which extends from the neck 112 and forms a shoulder area in the final bottle. As shown, the transition portion 132 has a cylindrical outer face 134 having a diameter equal to both a diameter of a cylindrical outer face of the neck 112 and a diameter of the cylindrical outer face 128 of the body main portion 130. The inner face 136 of the transition portion has a first part without a draft and a second part that has a conical shape with a continuously decreasing diameter, and a diameter at a distal end of the conical inner face 136 is such selected that the inner face 126 of the body main portion 130 extends tangentially therefrom.

[0047] The outer face of the neck 112 carries a neck finish 138 which in the depicted embodiment is configured to threadably receive a closure cap of the final bottle, and a support ledge 140, i.e. a circular ring, for handling the preform during blow molding and the final bottle during the filling stages.

[0048] In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the transition portion of the body has an inverse design. Accordingly, the transition portion has a cylindrical inner face with a diameter equal to a diameter of the cylindrical inner face of the body main portion, and a conical outer face with a continuously increasing diameter, wherein the cylindrical outer face of the body main portion extends tangentially from the conical outer face of the transition portion, and the inner and outer faces of the transition portion extend tangentially from cylindrical inner and outer faces of the neck.

[0049] In a further alternative embodiment (not shown), the inner and outer faces of the transition portion each are conical with a continuously decreasing diameter, and extend tangentially from cylindrical inner and outer faces of the neck, and the inner and outer cylindrical faces of the body main portion extend tangentially from the inner and outer faces of the transition portion.

[0050] In a yet further embodiment (not shown), the inner and outer faces of the body main portion each are conical and taper towards the base, such that a uniform wall thickness of the body main portion is defined therebetween. The inner and outer faces of the transition portion each are conical with a continuously decreasing diameter, wherein the conical inner and outer faces of the transition portion extend tangentially from cylindrical inner and outer faces of the neck, and the conical inner and outer faces of the body main portion extend tangentially from the conical inner and outer faces of the transition portion.

[0051] With reference to FIG. 3, there is depicted a mold stack 200 configured to produce the preform 100 shown in FIG. 2. The mold stack comprises a core insert 202, a split mold insert pair 208, a cavity insert 210 and a gate insert 212.

[0052] With continued reference to FIG. 3 and with reference to FIG. 4, the core insert 202 comprises a first cavity defining portion 204 including a gate defining portion 206 and, for attachment to a core plate (not shown), an attachment portion 201. The first cavity defining portion is configured to define an inner face of the neck and the body of the preform 100, and the gate defining portion 204 is configured to define an inner face of the base thereof.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 3, the split mold insert pair 208 is configured to define an outer face of the preform neck, and the cavity insert 210 is configured to define an outer face of the body of the preform 100.

[0054] With continued reference to FIG. 3 and with reference to FIG. 5, the gate insert 212 is of generally two-part construction having a first portion 211 and a second portion 213. The first portion 211 generally lines a region 215 surrounding a nozzle tip (not shown) and, in case of a valve gated nozzle, forms a gate land area 217. The second portion 213 forms a second cavity defining portion 214 adjacent the nozzle tip and is configured to define the outer face of the preform base. Further, the second portion 213 forms a passage 219 for the flow of a resin into a mold cavity 209 defined, in concert, by the first cavity defining portion of the core insert 202, the split mold insert pair 208, the cavity insert 210 and the second cavity defining portion 214 of the second portion 213 of the gate insert 212.

[0055] As shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the gate defining portion 206 of the first cavity defining portion 204 of core insert 202 has a first elliptical curvature 216 with a first flat circular bottom portion 218, and the second cavity defining portion 214 of the gate insert 212 has a second elliptical curvature 220 with a second flat circular bottom portion 222. The first and second flat circular bottom portions 218, 222 each have a center on a vertical center axis X of the mold stack 200, and a radius R (not shown) of equal size. Accordinglyand as shown in FIG. 3 , it is provided that by way of the first and second elliptical curvatures 216, 220 correspondingly elliptically shaped inner and outer faces of the preform base 114 define a wall thickness therebetween that is continuously reduced. Further, the first and second elliptical curvatures 216, 220 provide in concert with the first and second flat circular bottom portions 218, 222 that in the region of the preform's gate nub, there is an areadefined by correspondingly shaped first and second flat circular bottom portions of the preform baseof an evenly reduced bottom wall thickness.

[0056] From FIGS. 3 and 4 one will appreciate that the first elliptical curvature 216 of the first cavity defining portion 204 of the core insert 202 is tangent with a distal end thereof and, with reference to FIG. 3, that the second elliptical curvature of the second cavity defining portion 214 of the gate insert 212 is tangent with a distal end of an inner face of the cavity insert 210 defining the outer face of the preform body. Further, one will appreciate from FIG. 3 that the first and second flat circular bottom portions 218, 222 are tangent with the first and second elliptical curvatures 216, 220. These tangencies are obtained in that a first ellipse defining the first elliptical curvature 216 and a second ellipse defining the second elliptical curvature 220 each have a center spaced from a vertical center axis X of the mold stack 200 by a radius which is equal to the radius R of the first and second flat circular bottom portions 218, 222.

[0057] The preform base defined by the gate defining portion 206 of the first cavity defining portion 204 of the core insert 202 and the second cavity defining portion 214 of the gate insert 212, has an elongate shape as shown in FIG. 3. This elongate shape is obtained in that the first ellipse defining the first elliptical curvature 216 of the gate defining portion 206 has a first radius IR.sub.1 (not shown) which is in parallel with the vertical axis X of the mold stack 200, and a second radius IR.sub.2 (not shown) which is perpendicular to the vertical axis X, with the first radius IR.sub.1 being greater than both the first radius IR.sub.1 and a radius of the first cavity defining portion 204 of the core insert 202 configured to define a cylindrical inner face of the preform body; and in that the second ellipse defining the second elliptical curvature 220 of the second cavity defining portion 214 of the gate insert 212 has a first radius OR.sub.1 (not shown) which is in parallel with the vertical center axis of the mold stack 200, and a second radius OR.sub.2 (not shown) which is perpendicular to the vertical center axis X of the mold stack 200, with the first radius OR.sub.1 being greater than both the second radius OR.sub.2 and a radius of an inner surface of the cavity insert 210 configured to define a cylindrical outer face of the preform body.

[0058] In the embodiment of the mold stack 200 depicted in FIG. 3, the first cavity defining portion 204 of the core insert 202 configured to define the inner face of the preform neck and the preform body, further comprises a transition portion 224 configured to define a corresponding transition portion of the inner face of the preform body, and a main portion 228 configured to define a corresponding main portion of the inner face of the preform body. In the embodiment shown, the transition portion 224, is conical and has a diameter which, in reference to the cylindrical main portion 228, decreases. As one will appreciate from FIGS. 3 and 4, a proximal end of the transition portion 224 is tangent with the neck defining portion 226 of the first cavity defining portion 204 of the core insert 202, and a distal end of the transition portion 224 is tangent with a proximal end of the main portion 228 of the first cavity defining portion 204.

[0059] In the shown embodiment, the neck defining portion 226 of the first cavity defining portion 204 of the core insert 202 is configured to define a cylindrical inner face of the preform neck, and the split mold insert pair 208 is configured to define a cylindrical outer face of the preform neck as well as a neck finish and a support ledge thereof.

[0060] It is noted that the foregoing has outlined some of more pertinent non-limiting embodiments. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that embodiments to the disclosed non-limiting embodiments can be elected without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. As such, the described non-limiting embodiments ought to be considered to be merely illustrative of some of the mere prominent features and applications.