Assembly comprising a wide-mouth plastic preform or container having a reinforced neck finish and a screwable closure
10793313 · 2020-10-06
Assignee
Inventors
- Sam Van Dijck (Hoogstraten, BE)
- Steve Windelinckx (Zoersel, BE)
- Natalia Matthieu (Antwerp, BE)
- Alain Dessaint (Kampenhout, BE)
- Jan Deckers (Brecht, BE)
Cpc classification
B29C49/08
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B65D1/0246
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B65D1/0207
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29B11/14
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29C2949/0833
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29C49/071
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29C2949/0821
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29C2949/20
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29C2949/083
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29L2031/716
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
International classification
B65D1/02
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
Abstract
A container (1) and a screwable closure (2) comprising a hollow body (11) and a neck finish (10) terminated by a wide-mouth opening (100). Said neck finish comprises a neck support ring (102) and a neck portion (101) extending between the wide-mouth opening (100) and the neck support ring (102). The neck portion (101) comprises an upper portion (1010) and a reinforced lower portion (1011). The inner face (1011 b) of the reinforced lower portion (1011) is transitioning to the inner face (1010b) of the upper portion (1010) along a transition step (1011c) in such a way that said reinforced lower portion (1011) is thicker than the upper portion (1010) at least in a top part of the reinforced lower portion (1011). The neck support ring (102) is below the removable closure (2).
Claims
1. An assembly comprising plastic preform or container and a removable closure that can be screwed onto the plastic preform or container, wherein the plastic preform or container comprises a hollow body and a neck finish terminated by a wide-mouth opening, the neck finish comprising a neck support ring and a neck portion extending between the wide-mouth opening and the neck support ring, wherein the neck portion has a height and is provided with a thread for screwing the removable closure onto the neck portion, and comprises an upper portion and a reinforced lower portion, wherein the upper portion is extending between the wide-mouth opening and the reinforced lower portion, wherein the reinforced lower portion is extending between the upper portion and the neck support ring, wherein an inner face of the reinforced lower portion is transitioning to an inner face of the upper portion along a transition step in such a way that the reinforced lower portion is thicker than the upper portion at least in a top part of the reinforced lower portion, wherein the assembly includes (i) a junction between a top end of the transition step and the inner face of the upper portion that is concave and defines an inward transition radius, and (ii) a junction between a bottom end of the transition step and the inner face of the reinforced lower portion that is convex and defines an outward transition radius, and wherein the removable closure comprises a deformable sealing material, and when the removable closure is screwed onto the neck finish of the preform or container, the neck support ring is disposed below the removable closure and the upper portion of the neck portion is in contact with the deformable sealing material, and a seal is achieved only between the upper portion of the neck portion and the removable closure.
2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the transition step of the plastic preform or container is formed by a flat slanted wall.
3. The assembly claim 1, wherein the height of the neck portion is not more than 15 mm.
4. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the height of the neck portion is less than 13 mm.
5. The assembly of claim 1, wherein an internal diameter of the wide-mouth opening is not less than 40 mm.
6. The assembly of claim 1, wherein an internal diameter of the wide-mouth opening is not less than 50 mm.
7. The assembly of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the lower reinforced portion measured at a bottom end of the transition step is not less than 2.7 mm.
8. The assembly claim 1, wherein a thickness of the lower reinforced portion measured at the bottom end of the transition step is not more than 4 mm.
9. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the thickness of the upper portion measured at a top end of the transition step is not less than 1.9 mm.
10. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the thickness of an upper portion measured at the top end of the transition step is not more than 2.7 mm.
11. The assembly of claim 1, wherein a difference between the thickness of the lower reinforced portion and the thickness of the upper portion is not less than 30% of the thickness of the upper portion.
12. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the height of the upper portion is not more than 3 mm.
13. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the height of the upper portion is not less than 0.4 mm.
14. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the height of the reinforced lower portion is not less than 9 mm.
15. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the height of the reinforced lower portion is not more than 12 mm.
16. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the height of the transition step is between 0.4 mm and 0.8 mm.
17. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the height of the reinforced lower portion is not less than 75% of the height of the neck portion.
18. The assembly claim 1, wherein the height of the reinforced lower portion is not less than 90% of the height of the neck portion.
19. The assembly of claim 1, wherein an angle between the transition step and a longitudinal axis of the preform or container is between 10 and 90.
20. The assembly of claim 1, wherein a ratio of an internal diameter of the wide-mouth opening and the height of the neck portion is not less than 3.
21. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the preform or container is made of a plastic material comprising a homo or copolyester.
22. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the preform or container is made of a plastic material comprising a PET homo or copolymer.
23. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the thread is discontinuous and comprises inclined thread portions.
24. The assembly of claim 23 wherein a gap between the neck support ring and a lower extremity of each of the inclined thread portions is not more than 2.0 mm.
25. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the upper portion comprises a top sealing surface, an outer cylindrical face, and an inner cylindrical face, and wherein the top sealing surface transitions to the outer cylindrical face along a first radius, and the top sealing surface transitions to the inner cylindrical face along a second radius, and wherein the first radius and the second radius are not more than 0.75 mm and not less than 0.2 mm.
26. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the neck finish is an opaque crystallized neck finish.
27. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the container is an injection stretched blow-molded container.
28. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the closure comprises an internal gasket comprising the deformable sealing material.
29. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the closure comprises a metal lid.
30. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the closure can be twisted in one direction into a closed position and can be twisted in a reverse direction into an opened position, and wherein during the twisting of the closure from the opened position into the closed position the closure is forced by to move axially closer to the wide-mouth opening, and wherein during the twisting of the closure from the closed position into the opened position the closure is forced to move axially away from the wide-mouth opening.
31. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the removable closure comprises lugs adapted to cooperate with the thread of the plastic preform or container in such a way that once the closure is fitted onto the neck finish of the plastic preform or container, the closure can be twisted in one direction into a closed position and can be twisted in a reverse direction into an opened position, and wherein during the twisting of the closure from the opened position into the closed position each of the lugs comes into contact and is guided by a lower edge of a thread portion in such a way that the closure is forced by the lugs and thread portions to move axially closer to the wide-mouth opening, and wherein during the twisting of the closure from the closed position into the opened position each of the lugs comes into contact and is guided by an upper edge of a thread portion in such a way that the closure is forced by the lugs and thread portions to move axially away from the wide-mouth opening.
32. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the neck support ring protrudes outwardly beyond an outer face of the reinforced lower portion.
33. The assembly of claim 1, wherein an angle between the transition step and a longitudinal axis of the preform or container is 55.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) Other characteristics of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following detailed description which is made by way of non-exhaustive and non-limiting example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(12) Some preferred embodiments of the invention are discussed in detail below. While specific exemplary embodiments are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purpose only. A person skilled in the art will recognize that other container designs or container dimensions can be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the invention.
(13) Referring now to the drawings,
(14) Within the scope of the invention, the hollow body 11 can have any shape and size.
(15) Within the scope of the invention, the wide-mouth plastic container 1 can be made of any thermoplastic material. Among these thermoplastic materials, polyester resins are however the best candidates.
(16) More especially, polyester resins that are suitable for carrying out the invention are those generally obtained through polycondensation of diols and dicarboxylic acids or esters thereof.
(17) Among the diols suitable for carrying out the invention, one can mention: ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 2,2-dimethylpropanediol, neopentyl glycol, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,2-hexanediol, 1,8-octanediol, 1,10-decanediol, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, 1,5-cyclohexanedimethanol, 1,2-cyclohexanedimethanol, or mixtures thereof.
(18) Among the dicarboxylic acids suitable for carrying out the invention, one can mention: terephthalic acid, isophthalic acid, orthophthalic acid, 2,5-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid, 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid, 1,3-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid, 2,7-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid, methyl terephthalic acid, 4,4-diphenyldicarboxylic acid, 2,2-diphenyldicarboxylic acid, 4,4-diphenylether dicarboxylic acid, 4,4-diphenylmethanedicarboxylic acid, 4,4-diphenylsulfonedicarboxylic acid, 4,4-diphenylisopropylidene-dicarboxylic acid, sulfo-5-isophthalic acid, oxalic acid, succinic acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid, azelaic acid, dodecanedicarboxylic acid, dimer acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, and all aliphatic diacids, cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid. The dicarboxylic acids can be introduced in the polycondensation medium in an esterified form, for example via methoxy or via ethoxy.
(19) The preferred polyesters for carrying out the invention are polyethylene terephthalate (PET), homo or copolymers thereof, and mixtures thereof.
(20) Although the containers shown in the appended drawings are monolayer containers, the invention is however not limited to monolayer containers but encompass also multilayer containers or containers manufactured from a mixture of materials.
(21) The wide-mouth plastic container 1 of
(22) When this preform P is stretch blow-molded in a mold, the neck finish 10 is used for maintaining the preform in the blowing mold, and is thus not stretched. The body portion below the neck finish 10 is biaxially stretched in an axial direction and in a radial direction in order to form a container body 11 of higher volume.
(23) Within the scope of the invention a one stage process or a two stages process can be used.
(24) The final shape and size of the container will depend of the blow mold that is being used and of the stretch ratios that are practiced.
(25) Preferably, but not necessarily, at least the neck finish 10 of the container 1 or preform P has been crystallized by heating and forms an opaque crystallized neck finish having preferably a crystallinity of at least 25%. This crystallization can also extend slightly below the neck finish 10. For example when non-colored polyester is used, and in particular non-colored PET, the opaque crystallized neck finish 10 is white.
(26) Within the scope of the invention, the wide-mouth container can be intended to be filled with a hot product at a temperature above room temperature (i.e. above 25 C.), such as for example tomato sauce or the like, jelly, jam or preserves. The invention is however not limited to hot-fill wide-mouth containers.
(27) A first example of reinforced neck finish 10 is shown on
(28) The neck portion 101 comprises an upper cylindrical portion 1010 and a reinforced lower portion 1011, which is thicker at least in the top part of the reinforced lower portion than the upper portion 1010. Said cylindrical upper portion 1010 is extending between said wide-mouth opening 100 and said reinforced lower portion 1011, and said reinforced lower portion 1011 is extending from said upper portion 1010 down to the neck support ring 102.
(29) The upper cylindrical portion 1010 is delimited by an outer cylindrical face 1010a and by an inner cylindrical face 1010b, both centered around longitudinal axis 1a. Said upper cylindrical portion 1010 has a substantially constant wall thickness WT.sub.1.
(30) The radius R1 between the top sealing surface 1010c of the upper portion 1010 and outer cylindrical face 1010a, and the radius R2 between the top sealing surface 1010c of the upper portion 1010 and inner cylindrical face 1010b are not more than 0.75 mm, preferably are not more than 0.4 mm, and preferably are not less than 0.2 mm.
(31) The reinforced lower portion 1011 comprises an outer cylindrical face 1011a and an inner cylindrical face 1011b, both centered around longitudinal axis 1a.
(32) More particularly, the neck support ring 102 protrudes outwardly beyond said outer face 1011a of the reinforced lower portion 1011.
(33) The inner face 1011b of the reinforced lower portion 1011 is transitioning to the inner face 1010b of the upper portion 1010 along a transition step 1011c. The junction between the top end of this transition step 1011c and the inner face 1010b of the upper portion 1010 is concave and defines an inward transition radius R. The junction between the bottom end of this transition step 1011c and the inner face 1011b of the reinforced lower portion 1011 is convex and defines an outward transition radius R. In this particular embodiment, the transition step 1011c is formed by a flat slanted wall in the inner face 1011b.
(34) The thickness WT.sub.2 of said reinforced lower portion 1011, measured between the two outer and inner cylindrical faces 1011a and 1011b, is greater than the thickness WT.sub.1 of said upper portion 1010. Said thickness WT.sub.2 is equal to the thickness of said reinforced lower portion 1011 measured at the bottom end of the transition step 1011c, and said thickness WT.sub.1 is equal to the thickness of said reinforced lower portion 1011 measured at the top end of the transition step 1011c.
(35) On the appended figures, the height of the neck portion 101 (above the neck support ring 102) is referred H. The height of the upper neck portion 1010 is referred H.sub.1. The height of the reinforced lower neck portion 1011 is referred H.sub.2; the height of the reinforced lower portion 1011 in the region of the transition step 1011c is referred H.sub.20; the height of the reinforced lower portion 1011 below the transition step 1011c is referred H.sub.21. The inner diameter of the neck portion 1011 is referred D.sub.IN2. The angle defined by the transition step 1011c with the longitudinal axis 1a is referred .
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(37) More especially, the lid comprises an internal gasket 20 or the like, made of deformable material such as rubber or the like, that is in contact with the upper neck portion 1010 in such a way to make a tight seal between the lid 2 an said upper neck portion 1010 on the whole periphery of the wide-mouth opening 100. The upper neck portion 1010 is dimensioned in such a way to obtain such a peripheral sealing zone between the neck finish 10 and a standard lid 2 available on the market.
(38) According to the invention, the reinforced lower neck portion 1011 enables to obtain a neck finish portion 101, above the neck support ring 102, that can be closed by standard lid 2, that can have a small height H, and that is advantageously less deformable than a comparative neck finish of same height H but having, preferably, a constant smaller wall thickness WT.sub.1 over its whole height H.
(39) In reference to
(40) More especially, in reference to
(41) More especially, in references to
(42) During the twisting of the lid 2 from the opened position into the closed position, each of said lugs 21 (
(43) During the twisting of the lid 2 from the closed position into the opened position, each of said lugs 21 (
(44) The invention is however not limited to the use a closure constituted by a lid 2 comprising such lugs 21, but encompasses any removable closure or cap that can be screwed onto a neck finish, and particular any closure or cap comprising for example a thread adapted to cooperated with a thread on the neck finish. Within the scope of the invention, the thread of the neck finish can be a discontinuous thread or continuous thread.
(45) In reference to
(46) Other example of neck finishes 10 and 10 are shown on
(47) In the variant of
(48) In the variant of
(49) The table below gives some examples of main dimensions for neck finishes 10, 10 and 10 made of PET.
(50) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE Example of dimensions Neck finish Dimensions Neck finish 10 Neck finish 10 10 D.sub.OUT 58.9 mm 58.9 mm 58.9 mm D.sub.IN1 54.49 mm 54.49 mm 54.49 mm D.sub.IN2 52.48 mm 52.48 mm 52.97 H (H.sub.1 + H.sub.2) 13.5 mm 11.4 mm 11.4 mm H1 2 mm 2 mm 0.6 mm H.sub.2(H.sub.20 + H.sub.21) 11.5 mm 9.4 mm 10.8 mm H.sub.20 0.71 mm 0.54 mm 0.54 mm H.sub.21 10.79 mm 8.86 mm 10.26 mm 55 55 55 WT.sub.1 [(D.sub.OUT D.sub.IN1)/2] 2.205 mm 2.205 mm 2.205 mm WT.sub.2[(D.sub.OUT D.sub.IN2)/2] 3.21 mm 3.21 mm 2.965 mm R1 0.75 mm 0.4 mm 0.4 mm R2 0.75 mm 0.4 mm 0.4 mm R 0.2 mm 0.2 mm 0.2 mm R 0.2 mm 0.2 mm 0.2 mm
(51) These dimensions are however not a limitation of the scope of the invention, and one skilled in the art can easily practice other dimensions within the scope of the invention.
(52) In particular, but not necessarily, the assembly of the invention can be advantageously characterized by the following additional and optional characteristics, said additional and optional characteristics being taken alone or in combination: The transition step of the plastic preform or container is formed by a flat slanted wall. The height H of the neck portion 101 is not more than 15 mm. The height H of the neck portion 101 is less than 13 mm. The internal diameter D.sub.IN1 of the wide-mouth opening 100 is not less than 40 mm. The internal diameter D.sub.IN1 of the wide-mouth opening 100 is not less than 50 mm. The thickness WT.sub.2 of the lower reinforced portion 1011 measured at the bottom end of the transition step 1011c is not less than 2.7 mm. The thickness WT.sub.2 of the lower reinforced portion 1011 measured at the bottom end of the transition step 1011c is not more than 4 mm. The thickness WT.sub.1 of the upper portion 1010 measured at the top end of the transition step 1011c is not less than 1.9 mm. The thickness WT.sub.1 of the upper portion 1010 measured at the top end of the transition step 1011c is not more than 2.7 mm. The difference between the thickness WT.sub.2 of the lower reinforced portion 1011 and the thickness WT.sub.1 of the upper portion 1010 is not less than 30% of the thickness WT.sub.1 of the upper portion 1010. The height H.sub.1 of the upper portion (1010) is not more than 3 mm. The height H.sub.1 of the upper portion 1010 is not less than 0.4 mm. The height H.sub.2 of the reinforced lower portion is not less than 9 mm. The height H.sub.2 of the reinforced lower portion is not more than 12 mm. The height H.sub.20 of the transition step 1011c is between 0.4 mm and 0.8 mm. The height H.sub.2 of the reinforced lower portion 1011 is not less than 75% of the height H of the neck portion 101. The height H.sub.2 of the reinforced lower portion 1011 is not less than 90% of the height H of the neck portion 101. The angle between the transition step 1011c and the longitudinal axis 1a of the preform or container is between 10 and 90, and is preferably around 55. The ratio D.sub.IN1/H of the internal diameter D.sub.IN1 of the wide-mouth opening 100 and the height H of the neck portion 101 is not less than 3, and preferably not less than 4. The preform P or container 1 is made of a plastic material comprising a homo or copolyester. The preform P or container 1 is made of a plastic material comprising a PET homo or copolymer. The thread is discontinuous and comprises inclined thread portions 12a. The gap e.sub.1 between the neck support ring 102 and the lower extremity of each of said inclined thread portions 12a is not more than 2.0 mm. The upper portion comprises a top sealing surface, an outer cylindrical face, and an inner cylindrical face; the top sealing surface is transitioning to the outer cylindrical face along a first radius R1, and the top sealing surface is transitioning to the inner cylindrical face along a second radius R2; the first radius R1 and the second radius R2 are not more than 0.75 mm and not less than 0.2 mm, and preferably are not more than 0.4 mm. The neck finish is an opaque crystallized neck finish. The container is an injection stretched blow-molded container. The closure comprises an internal gasket 20 comprising said deformable sealing material. The closure comprises a metal lid 2. The closure can be twisted in one direction (C) into a closed position and can be twisted in the reverse direction (O) into an opened position; during the twisting of the closure from the opened position into the closed position, the closure (2) is forced by to move axially closer to the wide-mouth opening 100; during the twisting of the closure from the closed position into the opened position the closure is forced to move axially away from the wide-mouth opening 100. The removable closure 2 comprises lugs 21)adapted to cooperate with the thread 12 of the plastic preform or container in such a way that once the closure 2 is fitted onto the neck finish of the plastic the preform or container, the closure can be twisted in one direction (C) into a closed position and can be twisted in the reverse direction (O) into an opened position; during the twisting of the closure from the opened position into the closed position each of said the lugs 21 comes into contact and is guided by the lower edge of a thread portion 12a in such a way that the closure is forced by the lugs 21 and thread portions 12a to move axially closer to the wide-mouth opening 100; during the twisting of the closure from the closed position into the opened position each of said the lugs 21 comes into contact and is guided by the upper edge of a thread portion 12a in such a way that the closure is forced by the lugs 21 and thread portions 12a to move axially away from the wide-mouth opening 100.