MOLD AND STRETCH-BLOW MOLDED POLYESTER BOTTLE

Abstract

A mold for producing a stretch-blow molded polyester bottle from a preform comprises mold parts that can be shifted between an open position and a closed position. The mold comprises: first and second mold shell, within which, in the closed position, a bottle body can be molded; a holding stopper, which can be inserted into a bottle neck; a blow pin having a compressed-air intake for biaxial stretching of the preform; and a bottom part, which closes the two mold shells at the bottom side and is configured to mold the bottle bottom. A base is formed on the bottom part, which base projects into an interior of the mold and has a side wall with an inclination angle (?) of at most 5 degrees with respect to a vertical axis (35) of the mold and is oriented in parallel with the vertical axis.

Claims

1. A molding tool for producing a stretch-blow-molded polyester bottle having a bottle neck, a bottle body, and a bottle bottom from a preform, comprising a first mold shell and a second mold shell configured to mold the bottle body when the first and second mold shells are in a closed position, a holding stopper configured to be inserted into a bottle neck, a blow pin having a compressed-air intake for biaxial stretching of the preform, a bottom part that closes the two mold shells on the bottom side and is configured to mold the bottle bottom, and a base formed on the bottom part that projects into an interior of the mold, the base having a side wall at an inclination angle of at most 5 degrees with respect to a vertical axis of the mold and oriented in parallel with a vertical axis of the mold.

2. The mold according to claim 1, wherein a negative form for an outer part of a standing surface of the bottle bottom is formed at lower ends of the first and second mold shells.

3. The mold according to claim 2, wherein a negative mold for the inner part of the standing surface of the bottle bottom is formed on the base following the side wall.

4. The mold according to claim 1, wherein the base projects beyond the remaining bottom part at a height between 5 and 7 mm.

5. A stretch-blow-molded polyester bottle comprising: a bottle neck, a bottle body adjoining the bottle neck, a bottle bottom having an outer standing surface and an inner indentation delimited by the standing surface, the bottle is produced with a mold, comprising: a first mold shell and a second mold shell configured to mold the bottle body when the first and second mold shells are in a closed position, a holding stopper configured to be inserted into a bottle neck, a blow pin having a compressed-air intake for biaxial stretching of the preform, a bottom part that closes the two mold shells on the bottom side and is configured to mold the bottle bottom, and a base formed on the bottom part that projects into an interior of the mold, the base having a side wall at an inclination angle of at most 5 degrees with respect to a vertical axis of the mold and oriented in parallel with a vertical axis of the mold.

6. The polyester bottle according to claim 5, wherein the inner indentation has a side wall which has a side wall angle (?) relative to the outer standing surface between 60 and 80 degrees.

7. The polyester bottle according to claim 6, wherein polyester material of the inner indentation is forcibly stretched by a steep side wall angle (?) in a direction of an interior of the bottle.

8. The polyester bottle according to claim 7, wherein restoring forces of the polyester material of the indentation are reduced by the steep side wall angle (?).

9. The polyester bottle according to claim 5, wherein the bottle is produced in the mold with a cycle time between 10% to 20% shorter than a cycle time required for an identical bottle but with a conventionally molded bottom.

10. The polyester bottle according to claim 5, wherein the inner indentation has a side wall which has a side wall angle (?) relative to the outer standing surface between 65 and 70 degrees.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Further advantages and features will become apparent from the following description of an embodiment of the invention with reference to the schematic drawings. In the figures, in a representation that is not to scale:

[0018] FIG. 1: shows a sectional view of a mold in an open position along the vertical axis and a polyester bottle produced in the mold, and

[0019] FIG. 2: shows a detailed view of the bottle bottom.

[0020] FIG. 1 shows a mold which is denoted as a whole by reference sign 11. A polyester bottle 13 is stretch-blow-molded in the mold 11. The polyester can be PET, PEF or another bio-based polyester.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] The mold 11 has a first and a second mold shell 15a, 15b, a holding stopper 17, a blow pin (not shown in FIG. 1) and a bottom part 19. The mold shells 15a, 15b and the bottom part 19 can be displaced between an open position and a closed position. In the closed position, a preheated preform is stretched in the axial direction by inserting the blow pin and inflated or radially stretched by introducing compressed air into the blow pin. The polyester bottle 13 is therefore produced in a known manner by the preform being biaxially stretched. After the bottle 13 has been formed, the mold shells 15a, 15b and the bottom part 19 are moved into the open position, and the bottle 13 is ejected from the mold 11.

[0022] The bottle body 21 is formed in the interior 29 between the two closed mold shells 15a, 15b. On the upper side, the bottle body 21 is closed by a bottle neck 23, mostly with an external thread 25. The bottle neck 23 is injection molded during the production of the preform and remains unchanged during stretch blow molding. The holding stopper 17 is inserted into the bottle neck 23.

[0023] The bottle bottom 27, which closes the bottle body 21 on the underside, receives its shape from the bottom part 19. A base 31 projecting into the interior 29 of the mold 11 is formed on the bottom part 19. The base 31 has a side wall 33 which is advantageously parallel to the vertical axis 35 of the mold 11. It is also conceivable that the side wall 33 has a small inclination angle ? of at most 5 degrees relative to the vertical axis 35.

[0024] The standing surface 39 is formed between the side wall 33 and the lower ends 37a, 37b of the mold shells 15a, 15b. The vertical side wall 33 makes it possible for the base 31 to form an indentation 41 with a steep side wall 43 on the bottle bottom 27. The side wall angle ? is advantageously between 65 and 70 degrees, since the tough polyester is somewhat reduced after the angle ? is formed to 90 degrees by the base 31.

[0025] Due to the 90? stretching to the inside, the bottle bottom 27 can no longer bulge outwards even if the bottle 13 is produced with a very short cycle time, which is between 10% to 20% shorter than the cycle time which is required for an identical bottle but with a conventionally shaped bottom. The bottle 13 thereby sits stable since the indentation 41 always lies lower than the standing surface 39. At the same time, excess material is stretched further inward on the bottle bottom 27. Due to the forced stretching caused by the base 31, less material is also present in the region of the bottle bottom 27. This reduced material rapidly cools, whereby the restoring force of the indentation is reduced in addition to the steep side wall angle ?. A base height 45 of 5 to 7 mm is sufficient to create a sufficiently deep indentation 41.

[0026] The outer part 47 of the standing surface 39 is formed at the lower ends of the mold shells 15a, 15b. The negative mold for the inner part 49 of the standing surface 39 of the bottle bottom 27 is formed on the base 31 following the side wall 33.

[0027] The design of the base 31, in particular its vertical side wall 33, means that the indentation 41 does not bulge or move outwards at any time, even with a very short cycle time. The cycle time is typically between 10% to 20% shorter than the cycle time which is required for an identical bottle but with a conventionally molded bottom. As a result, the polyester bottle 13 can be produced in the mold 11 in a very short time and nevertheless sits stable.