OBJECT TO BE HELD BY A USER, COMPRISING A SHELL AND A BOTTLE

Abstract

Object to be held by a user, comprising: an external structure arranged to be held by the user, a thin-walled closed bottle made of plastic comprising a body defining an internal volume and a collar,
characterized: in that the external structure is a shell in contact with at least part of the body of the bottle, and in that the shell comprises an upper collar forming an open U or C and arranged to elastically interlock on at least part of the collar of the bottle.

Claims

1. An object to be held by a user, comprising: an external structure arranged to be held by the user, a thin-walled closed bottle made of plastic comprising a body defining an internal volume and a collar, characterized: in that the external structure is a shell in contact with at least part of the body of the bottle, and in that the shell comprises an upper collar forming an open U or C and arranged to elastically interlock on at least part of the collar of the bottle.

2. The object according to claim 1, wherein the shell comprises a side wall and a shoulder arranged between the upper collar and the side wall, wherein the shoulder comprises a passage opening arranged to provide a passage for the collar of the bottle, and wherein the passage opening opens into the opening of the U or C of the upper collar of the shell.

3. The object according to claim 2, wherein the passage opening, arranged to provide a passage for the collar of the bottle, has a passage dimension greater than a passage dimension (D2, D′2) of the U or C of the upper collar of the shell arranged to elastically interlock on at least part of the collar of the bottle.

4. The object according to claim 3, wherein: the passage dimension of the shell passage opening arranged to provide a passage for the collar of the bottle is strictly greater than a dimension of the collar of the bottle, and/or the passage dimension of the U or C of the upper collar of the shell, arranged to elastically interlock on at least part of the collar of the bottle, is strictly smaller than the dimension of the bottle collar.

5. The object according to claim 2, wherein the shell comprises an introduction opening arranged in the side wall and arranged to allow a user to introduce the bottle into the shell.

6. The object according to claim 1, wherein the collar of the bottle comprises a flange.

7. The object according to claim 1, wherein the collar of the bottle comprises a protuberance engaged in the opening of the U or C of the upper collar of the shell, preferably under a flange of the collar of the bottle.

8. The object according to claim 7, wherein: the opening of the U or C of the upper collar of the shell has a first angular dimension relative to an axial direction of the object, the protuberance has a second angular dimension relative to the axial direction of the object, smaller than the first angular dimension.

9. The object according to claim 1, wherein the bottle, seen from outside, has a concave, for example hemispherical, bottom and wherein the shell has a bottom defining at least one planar support portion for laying the object along a vertical position.

10. The object according to claim 9, wherein the shell has an external diameter, and wherein the bottom of the shell comprises at least one planar crown, or support portions distributed along a planar crown, the planar crown having a diameter greater than or equal to 50% of the external diameter.

11. The object according to claim 1, characterized in that the shell comprises at least one gripping handle, forming for example a handle.

12. The object according to claim 1, wherein the bottle has a preferably cylindrical body with a thickness comprised: in a range from 30 μm to 150 μm, and for example in a range from 30 μm to 50 μm or from 50 μm to 70 μm or from 70 μm to 100 μm, or from 100 μm to 125 μm or from 125 μm to 150 μm, and preferably in a range from 100 μm to 125 μm.

13. The object according to claim 12, wherein the bottle has a bottom with a thickness equal by ±20% to the thickness of the body of the bottle, with the exception of a central portion of the bottom comprised in a diameter: less than or equal to 50% of the diameter of the cylindrical part of the body, preferably less than or equal to 35% of the diameter of the cylindrical part of the body, more preferably less than or equal to 20% of the diameter of the cylindrical part of the body.

14. The object according to claim 1, wherein the collar and/or the flange of the bottle has a thickness greater than 150 μm, preferably greater than 200 μm, and more preferably greater than 250 μm.

15. The object according to claim 1, wherein the bottle is formed from polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

16. The object according to claim 1, wherein the bottle has an internal volume: less than or equal to 2 L, preferably less than or equal to 1.5 L, more preferably less than or equal to 1 L, even more preferably less than or equal to 0.8 L.

17. The object according to claim 1, wherein the upper collar of the shell has an upper rim, and wherein the upper rim is formed over more than 180° relative to an axial direction of the object.

18. The object according to claim 17, wherein the upper rim is comprised in a plane.

19. The object according to claim 1, wherein the shell is formed: from polymer material and optionally comprises a filler material such as fibers or mineral particles, or from a metal such as aluminum.

20. The object according to claim 1, wherein the shell has a thickness: at least greater than twice the thickness of the body of the bottle, or at least greater than 200 μm.

Description

[0057] Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge more clearly upon reading the following detailed description of one embodiment of the invention given by way of non-limiting example and illustrated by the appended drawings, wherein:

[0058] FIG. 1 represents a first perspective view of a shell for an object according to the present invention;

[0059] FIG. 2 represents a second perspective view of the shell of FIG. 1;

[0060] FIG. 3 represents a third perspective view of the shell of FIG. 1;

[0061] FIG. 4 represents a perspective view of a bottle to be coupled with the shell of FIG. 1 to form an object according to the present invention;

[0062] FIG. 5 represents a side view of the bottle of FIG. 4;

[0063] FIG. 6 represents a phase of coupling the bottle of FIG. 4 with the shell of FIG. 1;

[0064] FIG. 7 represents a section of the bottle of FIG. 4 coupled with the shell of FIG. 1;

[0065] FIG. 8 represents a first view of an alternative of the shell of FIG. 1 for an object according to the present invention;

[0066] FIG. 9 represents a second view of the alternative shell of FIG. 8;

[0067] FIG. 10 represents a second view of the alternative shell of FIG. 8 with a sketch of a coupled bottle.

[0068] FIGS. 1 to 3 represent a shell 10 seen from different directions. In general, the shell 10 comprises an upper collar 11, a side wall 15, a bottom 14 and a shoulder 16 arranged between the upper collar 11 and the side wall 15.

[0069] In the represented example, the side wall 15 is cylindrical or substantially cylindrical (that is to say its external surface comprises parallel straight generatrices which follow a base curve, here a circle). The bottom 14 has for its part a lower plate, which allows laying the shell 10 along a vertical position, as will be discussed in FIG. 7.

[0070] Furthermore, the shell 10 comprises a passage opening 12 mainly visible in FIGS. 1 and 3, arranged in the shoulder 16 and an introduction opening 13 mainly visible in FIG. 2.

[0071] Finally, the upper collar 11 is a C-shaped (or U-shaped) open collar, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The upper collar 11 has a passage dimension D2 according to its largest internal diameter and a passage dimension D′2 at its opening. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the opening of the upper collar 11 (of dimension D′2) leads to or opens into the passage opening 12, and it can be noted that the passage dimension D1 of the passage opening 12 is greater than the passage dimensions D2 and D′2 of the upper collar 11. The details will be explained in FIG. 6 below.

[0072] FIGS. 4 and 5 represent a bottle 20 which comprises a collar 21 (or neck), a side wall 24 and a bottom 25. In the represented example, the collar 21 is threaded to receive a cap 26 (visible in FIG. 6), and a flange 22 is provided under the thread, and a protuberance 27 is arranged under the flange 22. The bottle 20 also contains a liquid food (non-carbonated mineral water for example).

[0073] As explained above, the collar 21 is threaded to receive a cap 26, but other closing means can be envisaged (a lid, a hinged cap with elastic interlocking, etc.). FIG. 5 represents an external dimension D3 of the flange 22, and this external dimension D3 is smaller than the passage dimension D1 of the passage opening 12 of the shell 10, but greater than the passage dimension D2 or D′2 of the upper collar 11 of the shell 10.

[0074] Indeed, and as represented in FIGS. 6 and 7, it is provided that the shell 10 and the bottle 20 can be coupled and held together. Particularly, the upper collar 11 of the shell 10 is provided to elastically interlock with the collar 21 of the bottle 20. In the example represented, the upper collar 11 of the shell 10 has dimensions adapted to elastically interlock on the bottle 20, under the flange 22.

[0075] To this end, and as visible in FIGS. 1 and 3, the upper collar 11 of the shell 10 is formed over more than 180° (for example 270°, at ±45°) so as to be able to move away from, receive and retain the collar 21 of the bottle 20, in particular by retaining the flange

[0076] To couple the bottle 20 with the shell 10, and as shown in FIG. 6, it suffices for the user to introduce the bottle 20 through the introduction opening 13 of the shell 10, to thread the collar 21 capped with the cap 26 of the bottle 20 in the passage opening 12 of the shell 10 (because the external dimension D3 of the flange 22 (and of the cap 26) is smaller than the passage dimension D1 of the passage opening 12) and then to tilt the bottle 20 in order to finish threading the bottom 25 into the shell 10 and especially elastically interlocking the collar 21 of the bottle 20 into the upper collar 11 of the shell 10 (because the passage dimension D′2 and D2 of the upper collar 11 is smaller than the dimension of the collar 21 and than the external dimension D3 of the flange 22).

[0077] In detail, the upper collar 11 of the shell has a cylindrical rim of a few millimeters, the bottle 20 comprises the flange 20, and a cylindrical collar portion arranged between the flange 22 and the shoulder of the bottle 20, and the cylindrical rim of the upper collar 11 squeezes the cylindrical collar portion of the bottle 20, while coming into axial abutment with the flange 22, which provides an assembly of the shell 10 and the bottle 20.

[0078] To release the bottle 20 from the shell 10, it suffices to apply a transverse, lateral or skew force on the cap 26 to “unclip” the collar 21 of the bottle 20 out of the upper collar 11 of the shell 10. It is also possible to arrange an orifice in the lower part of the shell 10, opposite the introduction opening 13, to allow the user to push the bottle laterally out of the shell 10, with a finger.

[0079] As shown in FIG. 7, once coupled, the shell 10 and the bottle 20 form an object 30 easy to handle for a user. The bottom 14 of the shell 10 is flat, so that the object 30 has a stable vertical position when it is laid on a work plane. In addition, a return 16 is provided on the lower part of the shell 10 to secure the coupling and the holding of the bottle 20—shell 10 assembly.

[0080] As already mentioned above, the cap 26 is screwed on the bottle 20. To provide a rotational stop of the bottle 20 relative to the shell 10, a protuberance 27 is provided on the bottle 20 to be housed in the opening of the upper collar 11 of the shell 10. Thus, a torque applied on the bottle 20 is transmitted to the shell 10 via the protuberance 27. It is possible to envisage other implementations for such indexing, such as a collar 21 of the bottle 20 with a non-circular section, crenellations at the level of the upper collar 11 which engage in counter-shapes of the flange 22.

[0081] Unrelated to the screwing/unscrewing of the cap 26, it is also possible to take advantage of the angular indexing between bottle 20 and shell 10 provided by the protuberance 27 engaged in the opening of the upper collar 11, to print or affix markings on the bottle 20, so that they are visible after coupling, and face the passage opening 12 or the introduction opening 13, or any other opening of the shell 10.

[0082] These implementations allow proposing a reusable shell 10 that is fairly rigid or at least not too flexible to be held (typically with a 20 Newton force) without significantly deforming, and proposing a very thin disposable bottle 20, and therefore too soft or too flexible to be held (typically with the same 20 Newton force) without deforming. This coupling allows proposing a disposable and recyclable bottle 20 manufactured with little material and yet with correct ergonomics, since the shell 10 is sufficiently rigid and reusable.

[0083] A strap or a wrist strap or textile loop and hook fastener strips (known under the trademark “Velcro”, or called scratch) can also be provided to allow the consumer to transport the object 30 in various activities (sport, hiking, etc.). It is also possible to provide for one or several grips on the shell 10.

[0084] Alternatively to the shell 10 of FIGS. 1 to 3, an implementation of a shell 10A represented in FIGS. 8 to 10 can be represented, and only the distinct elements will be described.

[0085] The shell 10A comprises in particular two side edges 17 and 18 connecting the bottom to the shoulder, as can be seen in FIGS. 8 and 9. Particularly, it is noted in FIG. 9 that the first side edge 17 is bent or curved towards the outside, and the second side edge 18 is rather straight or rectilinear.

[0086] Such an arrangement allows providing an integrated handle once the bottle 20 is coupled to the shell 10A. Indeed, as can be seen in FIG. 10 with an outline of the bottle 20 added in chain-dotted lines, the first side edge 17 is distant from the bottle 20, so that a gripping space between the first side edge 17 and the bottle 20 is offered to the user, and forms a handle P. The second side edge 18 for its part conforms to the bottle 20 and provides a bearing which prevents it from disengaging.

[0087] Thus, once the bottle 20 is coupled to the shell 10A, the user can easily grasp the object thus formed, via the first side edge 17. Such an implementation is a low-cost implementation and nevertheless offers a reliable coupling between the shell 10A and the bottle 20.

[0088] The bottle 20 is formed from a thin-walled thermoplastic material. The material is preferably a polyester such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poly-trimethylene terephthalate (PTT), polyethylene furanoate (PEF) or poly-trimethylene furanoate (PTF). It is preferably shaped by an Injection Blow Molding process, for example an Injection Stretch Blow Molding process. In these processes, a solid preform is manufactured by injection of the material into a mold and then by cooling, the preform is then heated in order to soften it, optionally stretched longitudinally using a rod, then stretched axially and longitudinally by blow molding in a mold in the shape of the bottle.

[0089] These polyester materials and methods are known to those skilled in the art. Their combination allows obtaining thin, light walls with good mechanical resistance and good sealing or other barrier properties. These properties are due to the orientation of the macromolecular chains at least partially inducing crystallization. In addition to saving material, these polyesters have the advantage of being easily recyclable. The recovery, sorting and regeneration sectors are organized. The regeneration can be a mechanical recycling involving melting and shaping, for example into granules prior to new plastics processing operations such as the injection blow molding or chemical recycling involving depolymerization, recovery of monomers or precursors, then a new polymerization.

[0090] The implementation and the use of the thin-walled bottles of the invention consequently presents a very advantageous environmental record, in addition to good practicality, in particular in relation to the implementation of non-activatable and thicker conventional PET bottles.

[0091] The thin wall is preferably such that the body of the bottle has a thickness within a range from 30 μm to 150 μm, for example in a range from 30 μm to 50 μm or from 50 μm to 70 μm or from 70 μm to 100 μm, or from 100 μm to 125 μm or from 125 μm to 150 μm, preferably in a range from 100 μm to 125 μm. The thickness mentioned is the thickness at least at one point of the body, preferably the average thickness over a portion representing at least 50% in length or in surface of the body, preferably at least 80%, preferably the average thickness over the whole body. The bottom of the bottle can be slightly thicker than the body, for example up to 50% thicker than the body, for example up to 20% thicker. The bottom can also have a cup typically corresponding to the bottom of the preform and at its injection point.

[0092] The thickness can be adjusted by adapting, for a target bottle volume, the characteristics of the preform, in particular its shape and the thickness of its walls, as well as the stretching characteristics. It is mentioned that the thickness of the preform walls, the geometry of the preform such as its length, its diameter and its bottom shape determine, together with the collar that may form a bottle neck, the weight. The unfilled, unclosed bottle and/or the preform generally have an identical weight. Subsequently, the weights given refer either to the bottle weights or to the preform weights. For a 75 cl bottle, it is advantageously possible to implement preforms from 8 to 13 g. The overall stretching rate can for example be comprised between 12.0 and 27.0, preferably between 15.0 and 20.0. The axial stretching rate (typically the ratio between the height of the bottle and the length of the stretchable part of the preform, typically the distance under the collar) can for example be comprised between 3.0 and 4.5. The radial stretching rate (typically ratio between the diameter of the bottle and the diameter of the stretchable part of the preform) can for example be comprised between 4.0 and 6.0. It is mentioned that the overall stretching rate is generally equal to the product of the axial stretching rate and of the radial stretching rate.

[0093] Good results are for example obtained with the characteristics below:

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Preform type Preform with an unstretched collar with a screw pitch and a flange Preform weight 12.8 g Collar weight 3.68 g Bottle type Cylindrical-shaped bottle with circular section and concave or flat bottom Bottle diameter 71.5 mm Bottle height 238.5 mm Bottle volume 75 cl Overall stretching rate 17.96 Radial stretching rate 4.35 Axial stretching rate 4.13 Thickness at the level of 110 μm the body Blow molding preform 100° C temperature Blow molding pressure 30 Bars

[0094] It will be understood that various modifications and/or improvements obvious to those skilled in the art can be made to the different embodiments of the invention described in the present description without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims.