CONTAINER COMPRISING A SUPPORT RING

Abstract

The invention relates to a blow-molded container comprising a body and a neck, the neck being provided with an outlet and a blow-molded support ring. The support ring has recesses along its entire height that extends substantially in the longitudinal direction of the neck; said recesses extend from the edge of the support ring in the direction of the neck, across the entire width of the support ring, all the way to the neck.

Claims

1. A blow-molded container, comprising: a body and a neck, the neck having a pour opening and a blow-molded support ring, the support ring having a recess extending from the outer edge of the support ring in a direction of the neck over an entire height of the neck, the support ring extending essentially in a longitudinal direction of an extent of the neck, the recess extending over an entire width of the support ring as far as the neck.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the recess extends over no more than 15% of a circumference of the support ring.

3. The container of claim 1, wherein sides of the recess extending essentially in the longitudinal direction of the extent of the neck are essentially flat in at least partial areas of the sides.

4. The container of claim 3, wherein the support ring has a top side which extends essentially transversely to the direction of longitudinal extent of the neck and the pour opening, and has a bottom side opposite the top side, wherein the sides of the recess are fixedly connected to a bottom side and a top side, and wherein each transition from the bottom side to the sides of the recess and each transition from the top side to the sides of the recess essentially form sharp edged.

5. The container of claim 3, wherein the sides of the recess form an angle with the neck of less than 60°.

6. The container of any one of claim 1, wherein the support ring has a maximum width between approximately 2 and approximately 5 millimeters.

7. The container of claim 1, wherein the support ring has an additional three to seven recesses.

8. The container of claim 7, wherein the recess and the additional three to seven recesses extend no more than 40% of a circumference of the support ring.

9. The container of claim 7, wherein the shape and arrangement of the recess and the additional three to seven recesses allow unmolding of the container out of a two-part blow mold.

10. The container of claim 3, wherein the sides of the recess form an angle with the neck greater than 60°.

11. The container of claim 3, wherein the sides of the recess form an angle with the neck, the neck being an essentially round neck defining a tangential plane drawn on an imaginary line of intersection of each side with the neck, said angle being less than 60°.

12. The container of claim 7, wherein the recess and the additional recesses are arranged at regular intervals along a circumference of the support ring.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0048] The drawings show in a schematic representation:

[0049] FIG. 1 a perspective view of a container;

[0050] FIG. 2 a side view of the container from FIG. 1;

[0051] FIG. 3 a top view of a container from FIG. 1; and

[0052] FIG. 4 a side view of the neck of the container from FIG. 1.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0053] The invention is explained below as an example with reference to the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0054] FIGS. 1 through 4 show a container 11 having a body 13 and a neck 21, wherein only the neck 21 is shown in FIG. 4.

[0055] The container 11, in the form of a bottle in the example shown here, is produced by a blow-molding process, in particular by extrusion blow molding. For example, it may be suitable for holding free-flowing substances, such as liquids or powders, in which case the container 11 also has a pour opening 23 for dispensing its contents to the outside.

[0056] The pour opening 23 is arranged on the neck 21 and can expediently be closed by a cover (not shown). For fastening such a cover on the pour opening 23, the neck 21 may have fastening means, for example, in the form of protrusions and/or depressions, in particular in the form of a thread 25. In this case, the cover could be equipped with the corresponding fastening means, for example, in the form of protrusions and/or depressions, which are designed to cooperate with those on the neck to create a form-fitting connection of the cover on the pour opening 23. The protrusions 25 and/or the depressions on the neck 21 may optionally also be formed by blow molding and/or as hollow bulges in the container wall.

[0057] The neck 21 is connected to the body 13, wherein to increase the capacity of the container 11 or for other reasons (aesthetics, etc.), it may be useful if the body 13 has a different cross section, in particular a larger cross section than the neck 21 (cross section transversely to the central axis 18 of the neck 21 of the container 11 in each case). In this case, the body 13 tapers toward the neck 21, wherein the tapering area of the body 13 is referred to as the shoulder 17. The body 13 may have any shape in principle, but it often has an essentially cylindrical, oval and/or rotationally symmetrical shape.

[0058] The pour opening 23 is expediently arranged opposite the bottom 15 of the container 11, wherein the bottom 15 forms a part of the body 13, which is shaped in such a way that the container 11 can be positioned in a stable manner standing on the bottom 15.

[0059] The neck 21 may have a different shape than the body 13, wherein a cylindrical shape, in particular a circular shape, facilitates the creation of the fastening means for a cover (e.g., thread 25).

[0060] The presence of a so-called support ring 31 is particularly important. The designation “support ring” indicates, on the one hand, that it is usually essentially circular, wherein it is arranged on the neck 21 and connected thereto. It surrounds the neck 21 and extends starting from the neck and moves radially outward. On the other hand, the designation is an indication of the function of the support ring. It facilitates automatic handling of the container 11, for example, the alignment, the transport or the sorting. However, the outer edge of the support ring may also be flattened instead of being circular, for example.

[0061] The container 11 can be transported on the support ring 31, wherein a transport device serving this purpose (as described in the introduction, for example) will usually have two support elements (e.g., rails or belts) arranged and/or running in parallel, contacting the container 11 on two opposing sides on the support ring 31, in particular supporting it. It is therefore desirable for the support ring 31 to have sufficient stability to be able to carry the weight of the container 11, with or without contents.

[0062] Support rings are often designed to be solid and therefore have sufficient stability. However, in the case of blow-molded containers 11, the support ring 31 may also be blow molded, which is provided according to the present invention. In this case, the support ring 31 may be designed as a bulge in the container wall that is hollow on the inside. Such blow-molded support rings have a reduced stability in comparison with solid support rings.

[0063] To increase its stability, the support ring 31 according to the variant illustrated in the figures has a plurality of recesses 41, which extend from the outer edge of the support ring 31 in the direction of the neck 21 (i.e., toward the neck) and thereby subdivide the support ring 31 into segments 33.

[0064] One segment 33 is defined and/or limited by two recesses 41 adjacent to one another on the support ring 31. The segments 33 may each take up the same amount of the circumference of the support ring 31 and/or may be of the same length as in the example shown. However, they may also be of different lengths. The same thing is also true of the recesses 41.

[0065] It is advantageous if the recesses 41 take up, on the average, a smaller amount of the circumference of the support ring 31 or have a smaller length than the segments 33. If the segments 33 are too short, the function of the support ring 31 may be impaired. It is advantageous if, in the case of two parallel tangential planes at the neck 21, both of them always intersect the support ring 31 and/or a segment 33. This ensures that the support ring 31 protrudes beyond the neck 21 on two opposite sides of the neck 21 and thus can cooperate with a transport device, for example.

[0066] The recesses 41 extend over the entire height of the support ring 31, i.e., from the top side 35 to the bottom side 37 of the support ring 31, and thereby reduce the width of the support ring 31 at the site of the recesses 41 (the width of the support ring is defined like that of a circular ring by the difference between the radius of the outer circle (R) and the radius of the inner circle (r), i.e., (R−r), the height of the support ring corresponds to its extent in the direction of the central axis 18, i.e., the axis at a right angle to the plane of the circle through the midpoints of the outer circle and the inner circle; this corresponds to the central axis of the neck 21). Among other things, this allows water to flow off the top side 35 of the support ring 31.

[0067] The recesses 41 may extend over the entire width of the support ring 31, as in the example shown here, i.e., as far as the neck 21. However, this is not absolutely necessary, i.e., the recesses could also extend over only at most 90%, 70% or 60% and/or at least 20%, 30% or 40% of the width of the support ring 31 and the width of the support ring 31 at the locations where the recesses are located, to reduce the aforementioned percentage amounts.

[0068] The sides 43 of the recesses 41 running in the direction of the neck (i.e., toward the neck 21) contribute to the stability of the support ring 31, all the more so, the shallower they are. It is therefore advantageous if the sides 43 run parallel to one another and/or at an angle between 80 and 100° to the top side and/or to the bottom side of the support ring 31 in a direction parallel to the central axis 18 over at least 20%, 30% or 50% of the height of the support ring 31. The sides 43 may be curves over at least 20%, 30% or 50% of the height of the support ring 31 only in directions running parallel to the plane in which the support ring 31 is situated.

[0069] One, two, three, four or more of the recesses 41 described above are provided on the support ring 31, wherein they may be arranged at regular intervals from one another along the circumference of the support ring 31, as is illustrated in the figures. However, this is not absolutely necessary.