Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A container for product with less packaging material.
The present invention relates to the field of the
packaging of flowable products such as liquids or pasty
products , particularly that of containers intended to
contain beverages and more especially mineral-water.
One topic in the packaging area, especially for water is
to reduce the weight of the plastic material used, and
more particularly to reduce the weight of the bottom of
the container. By reducing the weight of the bottom, the
first danger is that said bottom is less resistant
because of the fact that the bottom is really the part of
the container , which is the more submitted to
constraints, due to the contact of said bottom with the
place where it is disposed. There are already some
solutions to that problem, like the container with
petaloid bottom : the FR Patent No. 2772720 concerns such
a container, wherein the bottom is thinner. Although this
patent brings a solution for the bottom, it remains a
container with a too high.amount of plastic material for
the volume of the product filled in said container.
The objective of the present invention is to have a
container for a flowable product with a bottom allowing
said container to stand and which for the same volume
requires less plastic than a standard container while at
the same time having comparable or higher mechanical
properties.
The subject of the present invention is a container
comprising a body formed by walls and a bottom having in
his greater section a dimension d1 and a neck with an
internal diameter d2 , said container being made from a
semi-crystalline PET , the body of said container
comprising at its bottom at least three feet spaced from
each other and being integral with said body, wherein for
the body, the ratio weight of the walls on weight of the
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bottom is comprised between 3 and 4 and wherein the ratio
volume of the body of the container per gram of PET of
the body is comprised between 80 and 120. The volume is
given in ml.
Under bottom in the present description,. we understand
all the part of the body comprising the space of said
body outside the feet, said feet being taken from their
most external position. Under body, we understand the
container without the neck. Concerning the ratio weight.
of the walls on weight of the bottom, for bottles on the
market, like a 150 cl bottle, the ratio is 31.5g:10.5g,
(3), for a 50 cl bottle, the ratio is 12.2:3.3 (3.5) and
finally for a 1 1 bottle, the ratio is 25.70:6.80 (3.78).
Semi-crystalline PET means in the present specification
a PET having a crystallinity comprised between 10 and 60
More preferably, the crystallinity is comprised
between 20 and 40 0.
One specificity of the invention is that the container
has feet at the bottom, which are integral with said
body. The presence of three feet is a good solution, but
for greater volume a presence of 4 or 5 feet is
preferred. The geometry of said feet is not critical.
Preferably, these feet have a spherical geometry.
Concerning the bottom of the container, it has preferably
a non flat form. The bottom has a convex form, like a
semi-spherical form.
It is possible for the container of the invention, either
to have a neck with a small height, like a couple of
millimeters, or to have a neck with a greater height. In
this case, the ratio height of the neck on the height of
the body is comprised between 1:1 and 1:4. This allows
for the consumer a better gripping of said container.
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Preferably, the walls of the body have a thickness of
less than 100 pm. The neck of the container has
preferably a wall thickness comprised between 150 and 250
pm. Each foot of the bottom of the body has a thickness
comprised between 50 and 150 pm.
In the container of the invention, the part of the bottom
between the feet has a greater thickness of that of the
walls, for example around 100-200 pm.
The present invention concerns further a packaging
assembly comprising
- a container comprising a body formed by walls having in
his greater section a dimension dl and a neck with an
internal diameter d2 , said container being made from a
semi-crystalline PET , the body of said container
comprising at its bottom at least three feet spaced from
each other and being integral with said body, wherein for
the body, the ratio weight of the walls on weight of the
bottom is comprised between 3 and 4 and wherein the ratio
volume of the body of the container per gram of PET of.
the body is comprised between 80 and 120,
- a product in the container and
- closing means for closing off or distributing the
product from the neck,
the filled container being substantially incompressible
by hand when filled with the product.
This incompressibility applies for all types of products,
even for a still product. In the present specification,
incompressible means that when squeezed the filled
container only deforms very slightly and then will
recover its original shape. In contrast, a standard
bottle will buckle and deform. It is also possible
according to the invention to have a gasing of the head
space, for example at a relative pressure comprised
between 0.2 and 1.5 bar. Preferably, the head space is
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gassed at a relative pressure comprised between 0.4 and
0.7 bar. The gas used is nitrogen or carbon dioxide.
According to a feature of the invention, the container
comprises on its outside a printing made by pad printing.
The advantage of this solution, is that it suppresses the
need of having a paper stuck around the container.
The volume of the container used according to the
invention can have all type of capacity, comprised
between 5 cl and 20 1 capacity. The container is intended
to contain all type of product, like pasty, liquid, semi-
liquid, granular or powdered product. Under liquid
product,we understand water or a still liquid beverage,
particularly still mineral waters, carbonated water or a
carbonated liquid beverage, particularly sparkling
mineral water. Other;-types of liquid products are also
possible, like chemical products, oil, essence, perfumes,
pharmaceutical products. Under pasty products, we
understand food and non food products, like mayonnaise,
cosmetic compounds and others.
The means of closing are either a cap, or sealed
membrane. The caps can be used for any diameter of
opening of the neck. On the contrary, the sealed
membranes are preferred with smaller diameter of the
neck, for example in the area of 10 mm. In this case,
the container can support high compressions, for example
by the storage and by the transportation. For diameters
of around 10 mm, the-.container can support an internal
pressure of the order of 5 bar. It is also possible to
close the container by sealing or welding the neck,
wherein a cutting object or similar is provided for the
opening.
As a preference, the container has an ovoid or
substantially ovoid overall shape. This natural shape
derived from an egg represents a structure whose
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resistance to vertical and/or transversal loads is
optimized, thus making it possible, for a given volume
and a given amount of material, to achieve mechanical
properties which are equivalent to or even better than
5 the cylindrical or roughly cylindrical shapes customarily
encountered in this domain.
In another embodiment , the container according to the
invention has a three dimensional shape convenient for
gripping, a spherical , substantially spherical or
cylindrical overall shape.
This is because the geometry with symmetry of revolution
is particularly easy and therefore economical to
manufacture and has the advantage of allowing the
container to be filled with products which can emit
gaseous substances, such as carbonated beverages
(sparkling waters, sodas, etc.) in particular, which are
widely consumed worldwide these days. Such a shape is
therefore particularly well suited to these liquids In
that the release of carbon dioxide or other gas has a
tendency to deform the bodies of bottles which do not
have symmetry of revolution, having a negative impact on
their stability, grasp and ease of handling, appearance,
etc.
In a preferred feature of the invention, the ratio d2 on
dl of the container is comprised between 1:3 and 1:10.
According to a preferred embodiment of the packaging
assembly, the ratio weight of the walls on weight of the
bottom is comprised between 3.4 and 3.8. According to a
further preferred feature of the invention, the ratio
volume of the body of the container per gram of PET of
the body is comprised between 90 and 110.
According to another feature, the plastic used to foam
the wall or walls is a semicrystalline plastic with a
slow rate of crystallization, the glass transition
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temperature (T(j) of which is 70 C or higher and the
crystallisation temperature Tc is around 140 C.
A slow rate of crystallization is to be understood as
meaning a rate which makes it possible to have an
amorphous state by quick cooling.
Advantageously, the plastic used to form the wall or
walls is chosen from the group formed by PET
(polyethylene terephthalate) and PEN (polyethylene
naphthalate). It has been noted that the drawing of the
PET has no negative influence on the water barrier
properties of the obtained container and that also a
thickness of around 50 pm and less guarantees a good
safety of the container itself and of the storage.
In order to guarantee both the flexibility needed for the
aforementioned deformation and sufficient mechanical
strength, the container according to the invention is
further characterized in that the thickness of the wall
or walls forming the body of the container is between
30 m and 100 m, preferably between 50 m and 70 gm.
As already mentioned, small thicker areas or portions of
walls may also be provided on the body of the said
container, particularly in close proximity to the neck
and/or the bottom , so as to reinforce these parts
locally. Such reinforcements may in particular be useful
to facilitate the filling of the said containers or to
increase their stability during storage.
As a preference, the container is further characterized
in that the body and the neck of the container are made
as a single piece. This makes it possible to avoid any
join or weld which may constitute a region of greater
weakness.
Indeed, according to another feature, the container
according to the invention is characterized in that, it
has a high resistance to vertical and/or transverse loads
allowing good resistance to transportation. For example,
for a working volume of 5 litres, the amount of PET used
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to produce the said container is about 30 g. for
resistance to a vertical load of about 65 kg. This
represents a significant saving in plastic, the few 5-
litre containers that are currently on the market
requiring an amount of polymer which, for comparable
mechanical strength, is over two times greater than the
amount needed to manufacture a container according to the
present invention. When containers of lower volumes are
used, for example of the order of 33 cl, the quantity of
plastic material is of the order of 3-4 g, in comparison
with a bottle of the same volume, wherein the amount of
plastic is of the order of at least 12 g. This type of
container supports a,vertical loading of more than about
100 kg. That the container supports a vertical or
transverse loading means that the weight given does not
deteriorate the package integrity, that is does not lead
to a risk of breaking said container.
These simple shapes .also allow the container according to
the invention to be used as a refill or recharge for
water coolers, for which a flat bottom is not necessary,
these refills generally being used by inserting the
container, head (neck) downmost, into the accomodation
device of the said water cooler. In addition, this type
of surface geometry also makes it possible to increase
the area of heat exchange between the said container and
the chilling device usually present in the said water
coolers.
According to another. alternative form, the container
according to the invention is characterized in that the
neck is fitted with a closure and/or distribution means
produced in the form of a distribution tap which can be
operated with one hand.
Such distribution taps, which are known per se,
advantageously allow-the distribution of the flowable
product contained in the container to be regulated in a
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particularly convenient way, for example when this
container is stored horizontally on the shelves of a
refrigerator, the other hand holding the container into
which the said flowable product is to be transferred, for
example with a view to consuming it.
Because of its flexible nature, the geometry of the
container can also adapt more readily to that of the
storage place, as opposed to the rigid cans currently
available which need to observe very specified dimensions
in order to be able to be stored in restricted spaces
such as the internal compartments of refrigerators. In
addition, the space-freed as a container according to the
invention is emptied can also be put to use for storing
objects the size or shape of which can vary, which is not
the case with rigid containers in which the volume of
liquid removed is systematically replaced with air. In
this type of container, the volume initially occupied
remains so until the empty container is removed from the
refrigerator.
Another subject of the present invention is the use of
the container by way of large-capacity, at least 5-litre
capacity, container intended to contain water or a still
liquid beverage, particularly still mineral water.
Another subject of the present invention is the use of
the container according to the invention by way of large-
capacity, at least 5-litre capacity, container intended
to contain carbonated water or a carbonated liquid
beverage, particularly sparkling mineral water.
Of course, the containers of the present invention are
not in any way limited to flat or sparkling mineral
waters but can be intended to contain all sorts of
flowable products, edible or inedible liquids of greater
or lesser fluidity such as, for example, fruit juices,
milk-based beverages, etc., and also sauces or condiments
(ketchup, mustard, dressing, etc.) or non-food liquids
(deionized water, cleaning products, detergents, etc.).
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The packaging assembly according to the invention can
also contain a functional component. The functional
component is taken from the group consisting of a fibre,
plant extract, fruit extracts, vitamins and flavors. The
assembly is pasteurised or sterilised at a temperature in
excess of 60 C.
Finally, another subject of the present invention is a
method for manufacturing a body of a container according
to the invention, characterized in that the said body is
obtained by stretch blow forming of a PET preform with
high stretch index in comparison with the classical
stretching of a preform. The blow forming can be also a
blow molding. Compared with the blowing of plastic
15, bottles, wherein the blowing pressure is comprised
between 30 and 40 bar, according to the process of the
invention, it is sufficient to blow at a pressure of
around 2 times less. This reduces the cost of the process
and also of the machine which is used. Concerning the
stretch index, it is depending of the volume of the final
container. For example , in the case of a container
having a volume of less than 100cl, the stretch index is
between 100 and 300 cm. In the case of a container having
a volume of 500 to 1000 cl, the stretch index is
comprised between 500 and 700 cm. In the case of
container having volume of 2000 cl or more , the stretch
index is around and more than 1000 cm.
The stretch index is defined as follows
Stretch index=internal volume of the stretched container* X 1
internal volume of the preform before stretching* f
f = internal surface of the container* (cm 1)
internal volume of the stretched container*
* with the exclusion of the neck
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Because of the substantial incompressibility of the
filled container of the invention, there is no need to
have reinforcing structures. The consequence is that it
is possible to have simple shapes, which have the
advantage of providing transparency and purity. This is
particularly important for the consumer in the case of a
container for drinking water. Another advantage of this
container is that it can be emptied without air coming in
and this reduces the risk of contamination or odours
1S entering the product that may cause taste changes or
degradation.
The measure of the:-..crystallinity is made on a density
column from Lloyd-Davenport, according to following
procedure. The column is filled with a salted solution
(calcium nitrate) having a density gradient. The column
is calibrated with balls having known density between
1.335 and 1.455. Then small pieces of the container of
the invention are immerged in the column and after a.
certain time, they stay at a certain height of the column
corresponding to a certain density-The measures are made
at 23 C.The following correspondance table with p, of
1.455 gives the cristallinity
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:3x15
kt.1 1&3
* $: 22-1 33
3 5 27 417
x.345 33 {P4
1, 45 3&9 ci
1,:IS 44A f66
15.0
-4435 55. -83.3
-1145 - - 914
1.4 '722
x;475 d7.2
1 495.5:
Other features and advantages of the invention will
become apparent from the description which follows, given
5 by way of example and with reference to the appended
drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a lateral perspective view of the container
according to the invention,
Fig. 2 is another perspective view of the container of
the invention, seen from the bottom and
Fig. 3 is a graph comparing the invention with the state
of the art.
In the embodiment described and depicted on figures 1 and
2, the container for a flowable product, particularly for
a beverage and , in particular, for mineral water,
essentially consists of a body 1, formed by walls 2 and a
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bottom 3 and a neck 4. The body is made of a semi-
.crystalline PET. The neck presents a screw 5 for
receiving a cap (not shown). The bottom 3 presents three
feet 6 integral with the body. The volume of the
container is of 1000 ml. In this specific example the
ratio weight of the walls on weight of the bottom is of
3.5 and the ratio volume of the body of the container per
gram of PET is of 100. This means that for the volume of
1000 ml, there is 10 g of PET for the body (neck
-excluded). The thickness of the walls is around 70 m.
The neck has a height which is minimised and said neck
.has a wall thickness of around 200 m. In the area 7 of
the feet, that means around the middle of said feet, the
wall thickness is around 150 m. The feet have a semi-
spherical shape. Concerning now the limits of the wall
and bottom for calculating the ratio weight of the.walls
on weight of the bottom, it is outside and inside of the
circle 8 of figure 2.
Concerning now the graph of figure 3, the x axis
represents the volume of the container in ml and the y
axis represents the ratio volume of the container in ml
per g of the plastic material of said container. The
graph 1 shows a bottle used on the market for sparkling
water. The graph 2 shows a bottle used on the market for
still water and the graph 3 shows a container according
to the invention. This graph shows very clearly one of
the specificity of the invention, which is that less
plastic material is needed for conditioning the same
volume of product. Taking an example of the graph :
according to the invention 1 g of plastic material is
needed for 100 ml of product, whereas for products now on
the market 1 g of plastic material is needed for only
around 40 to 60 ml of product. That means that according
to the invention, the need of plastic material is divided
by 2.
