Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CONTAINER FOR BEVERAGES AND METHOD FOR FILLING OF SUCH
CONTAINER
The present invention refers to a container for
beverages and a method for filling such container.
Containers currently used for the sale of beverages
such as water, wine and other alcoholic and non-
alcoholic beverages are mainly composed of cans, glass
bottles and/or plastic bottles.
In particular, as far as wine is concerned, unlike the
ancient Greeks who kept wine in earthenware amphorae,
the Romans were the first to use wooden barrels and
glass bottles, thus introducing over two thousand years
ago, the initial concepts of wine vintage and aging.
Today, these terms have lost a great deal of their
original meaning because large-scale markets demand new
ideas and forms that are more versatile, lighter in
weight, more attractive in appearance and more
economical.
Said forms should also be far more practical to use,
and should be lighter in weight when empty, in order to
be advantageous for handling and transport costs.
Containers used for water and other non-alcoholic
beverages are normally made from plastic; the plastic
used is generally a type of polymer, known by the term
PET ("polyethyleneterephtalate") whose main
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characteristic is the fact that it is perfectly
transparent and able to resist mechanical stress of
liquids containing pressurised gas.
PET belongs to the molecular category of polyesters, in
other words, polymers that are initially extruded in
the form of a fibre, widely used in the Seventies for
manufacturing clothing of all types ranging from shirts
to socks and stockings and padded jackets, etc.
PET can be used alone or associated and blended in
suitable percentages with other similar and compatible
polymers such as PEN ("polyethylene-naphthenate"), PETG
("polyethylene terephtalate glycol") and other similar
products.
In this context, the present invention intends
proposing a totally innovative product that can be
manufactured with the aforesaid PET and/or PET/PEN
and/or blends, similar and or various derivatives.
In particular, the object of the present invention is
to realise a container for beverages having the
characteristics of a recipient in the characteristic
glass form, hermetically closed at the top and ready
for use.
Another object of the invention is to realise a
container for beverages that avoids the use of both a
bottle and a glass and that permit the user to consume
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only the required amount of beverage at the moment it
is needed.
Another object of the present invention is to realise a
container for beverages that permits the user to drink
directly from the container without having to gulp or
swallow, but on the contrary, that permits the user to
drink the contents in the same manner as when using a
traditional glass tumbler.
A further object of the present invention is to realise
a container for beverages that is extremely light in
weight, transparent, airtight, biodegradable, impact-
resistant, and whose contents remain absolutely
uncontaminated.
These and other objects are achieved with a container
for beverages according to the appended claim 1, as
well as a filling method for the aforesaid container,
according to claim 11.
Advantageously, the invention consists in a container
for beverages such as mineral water, naturally
fermented wine, fruit juices, alcoholic and non-
alcoholic beverages, gaseous or non-gaseous beverages,
which is produced by a blow-molding technique, closed
with a hermetic cap, produced by thermoplastic
injection and applied to the top of the container.
The cap is completely hermetic, and for this reason it
is possible to realise containers for sparkling and
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bubbling wines, the so-called "spumante", which already
at room temperature can reach high internal pressure
that varies between 1.5 - 2 bar to 3 - 3.5 bar.
The container according to the invention preferably
foresees two types of preferable contents (in absence
of the liquid to be drunk), i.e. 100 cc and 187.5 cc.
A container having the aforesaid characteristics is
conceived to be realised using blow-molding techniques
and can be constructed in a single piece, or in two
pieces in the case where the stem is designed for
separate production and application.
The container is realised in a plastic material, and
preferably in PET, because of its specific hard-
wearing, light-weight, perfectly transparent, and air-
tight characteristics as well as its high level of
chemical inertia towards other food products, and the
fact that it can be totally recycled; PET can be
transformed using a number of different techniques such
as blow-molding, injection or extrusion.
Furthermore, the wide diameter of the opening, larger
than that of normal bottles on the market, whether this
refers to 1 litre, half-litre or quarter-litre capacity
bottles, as well as single portion content, gives the
container according to the invention, unique and
practical characteristics never proposed before.
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For example, it is easy to imagine the use of said
containers in restaurants or canteens; in both
contexts, the container permits the elimination of the
glass tumblers, and provides an extra function, as well
as a considerable economical saving since it eliminates
the purchase, and management (washing, drying and
replacement of broken tumblers) of glass tumblers.
A container according to the invention results as being
very important for other daily uses, both in bars and
at home, since it permits the user to drink a portion
of water, wine or some other gaseous or natural,
alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage which is perfectly
fresh exactly as when it is served from a freshly
bottle.
Finally the container for beverages described in the
present invention offers a wide range of advantages
such as:
- extremely light weight;
- excellent biodegradability (when burnt it produces
only water and carbon dioxide);
- perfect hygienic protection of the area in contact
with the mouth;
- excellent transparency;
- mechanical suitability for containing water, wine and
other gaseous beverages with high internal pressure;
- air-tightness;
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- very good impact resistance;
- contents are absolutely uncontaminated;
- ergonomic opening and closing operation.
These and other advantages will be made more apparent
from the following description of a preferred,
exemplifying, but non-limiting embodiment of the
container for beverages, which is the subject of the
present invention, and of appended drawings wherein:
- figures 1 - 4 show a series of sequential steps of
the production process for containers for beverages
according to the present invention;
- figure 5 shows a first embodiment of the container
for beverages according to the invention;
- figure 6 shows an opening mode of the container for
beverages shown in figure 5 according to the present
invention;
- figure 7 shows a variant of the embodiment of the
container for beverages shown in figure 5 according to
the present invention;
- figure 8 shows a motorised rotating installation
layout for filling the containers for beverages shown
in figures 5 and 7 according to the present invention.
With particular reference to the figures 1 - 4 which
show a schematic layout of the production process of a
body having a hollow interior (as in the case of the
beverage container according to the invention) using
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the blow-molding technique, it can be seen that the
initial step of the blow-molding process (Figure 1)
consists in the preliminary manufacturing, by means of
thermoplastic injection cycle inside the mold 2,
employing a dryer 10, a hopper 11, and an injection
screw 12, of the initial parison 1 referred to in
technical language as preformed item.
Figure 2 illustrates the insertion by means of a blow-
molding action of the preformed item 1 into the mold 2,
wherein, suitable temperatures and high pressure gas
inputs swell the preformed item 1, pushing it strongly
against the walls 13 of the mold 2, so that it assumes
the form of the internal mold shape.
Figure 3 shows the two main parts that make up the
preformed item 1: the neck 3, rigid and threaded, not
destined for blow-molding, and the cylindrical body 4
destined for blow-molding.
The neck 3 is the part of the preformed item 1 which is
not subject to any transformation during the blow-
molding process, and on which is then applied the screw
top cap 5 for closure.
The cap 5 is produced separately by means of a
thermoplastic injection cycle, and is a fundamental
part of the container or recipient 6 according to the
invention, since it must ensure the perfect sealing of
the container over a long period of time, also and
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above all when said recipient 6 contains a gas (carbon
dioxide), as in the case of effervescent mineral
waters, sparkling or "bubbly" wines or fizzy drinks.
To perform this function, the cap 5 can be produced in
any form and material, and its opening and closing
system can also be differed (with pull-off strip, with
rotating seal-break action, with screw-opening action,
etc.) in such a way to comply with the type of product
contained in the container 6.
Figure 4 shows the last step of the production cycle
for blow-molding, wherein the blow mold 2 is opened and
the finished container 6 is extracted.
Figure 5 shows in particular, a container for beverages
6 according to the present invention, in a "three-part"
configuration, composed of a stem 21, a blow-molded
central body or cup 22, and a cap 23.
At the base of the cup 22 are the means 24 for
attachment to the stem 21, while at the top, are the
base 27 for the rest of the cap 23, the interference
lines 25, realised to maintain the locking ring 29 of
the cap 23 in position during the opening step of the
cap 23, so that the cap can separate through the
rupture of the rupture line 28, and the threading 26
useful for the screwing of cap 23.
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Figure 6 refers to the "three-part" configuration
(figure 5) of container 6 according to the invention,
and shows a preferred opening mode for container 6.
In particular, cap 23 includes a locking ring 30, which
remains in position on container 6 during the opening
action of cap 23, and an upper body 31 that can be
separated along the dotted rupture line 32.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, the opening
36 of the container 6 also presents a fairly large
diameter (equal to or over 36 mm) and is realised in a
manner so that the distance between the opening and the
threading 26 is equal to or larger than 0.5 cm, so that
the mouth of the final user is not irritated by the
threading 26 while drinking.
Figure 7 shows the beverage container 6 according to
the invention in a "two-part" configuration, having a
body 33, realised using the blow-molding technique,
representing the cup 22 and a stem 21, and a cap 23
complete with the locking ring 30 and rupture join 32.
In this case as well, the opening 36 has a fairly wide
diameter (equal to or larger than 36 mm) and is
realised so that the distance between the opening and
the threading 26 is equal to or larger than 0.5 cm, so
that the mouth of the final user is not irritated by
said threading 26 while drinking.
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Figure 8 shows a motorised rotating installation for
loading empty containers 6, which travel according to a
circular path inside a chamber 39, comprising the
washing and sterilising section 14, the filling section
34, and the sealing section 35.
The chamber 39 is filled with sterile air obtained
through the filtration of atmospheric air blown by the
fans 15 through diffusion filters 37, which, being
equipped with cells having a diameter of 0.2 microns,
are able to block even the smallest bacteria which have
a diameter of 0.45 microns.
In order to guarantee the constant sterility of the
environment, it is foreseen to introduce air at
controlled pressure superior to that of the external
atmospheric pressure.
Upon cycle completion the containers 6 are filled with
the required product and sealed hermetically with the
caps 23.
This description provides a clear explanation of the
characteristics of the container for beverages and the
process for filling said container, subject of the
present invention, just as all the advantages to be
gained are also made apparent.
