Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
H-8135-0-CA
THIN-WALLED CONTAINER AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THEREOF
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure relates, in general, to containers and, more
specifically relates to, a thin-
walled container and methods for manufacturing the thin-walled container.
BACKGROUND
With increase in need for storing edible contents, containers of various
shapes and sizes are
being used by consumers. Among all edible contents, commonly and widely used
are the beverages,
such as coffee and tea. Typically, coffee vending machines are configured to
receive thin-walled
containers, generally known as coffee capsules, which include coffee powder or
roasted coffee beans.
The thin-walled containers include a barrier layer in a wall thereof to
prevent entry of moisture or
oxygen therethrough and thereby extend shelf life of contents of the thin-
walled containers. More
often, the barrier layer is exposed to atmosphere and subjected to
degradation. As a result, the contents
of the thin-walled container may be subjected to contamination.
SUMMARY
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for manufacturing
a thin-walled
container is provided. The method includes molding a body having a bottom wall
and a side wall
extending upwardly from the bottom wall. The method further includes
encapsulating a barrier layer
within the bottom wall and the side wall. The barrier layer includes a leading
end and a trailing end.
The method further includes punching the bottom wall to form an opening such
that the trailing end
of the barrier layer lies beyond a periphery of the opening. The method also
includes applying a
membrane to the bottom wall and concealing the opening such that a portion of
the membrane overlaps
with the trailing end of the barrier layer.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a thin-walled container
is provided. The
thin-walled container includes a body having a bottom wall defining an
opening. The body further
includes a side wall integral to the bottom wall and extending upwardly from
the bottom wall. The
body also includes a barrier layer encapsulated within the bottom wall and the
side wall. The barrier
layer includes a leading end and a trailing end, where the trailing end lies
beyond a periphery of the
opening. The thin-walled container also includes a membrane on the bottom wall
configured to
conceal the opening such that a portion of the membrane overlaps with the
trailing end of the barrier
layer.
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According to various aspects of the present disclosure, the method further
includes molding
the body by a hot runner injection molding process. The method further
includes applying the
membrane to the bottom wall via a heat sealing process. The method also
includes controlling timing
and flow rate of injection of molten material for each of the bottom wall, the
side wall, and the barrier
layer and molding the trailing end beyond a boundary predetermined for
punching. The molten
material for molding each of the bottom wall and the side wall includes, for
example, polypropylene,
and that of the barrier layer includes one of, for example, polypropylene,
polyglycolic acid, Verian
and ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH). The side wall includes an end portion
opposite to the bottom
wall. The end portion is adapted to receive a detachable lid.
These and other aspects and features of non-limiting embodiments of the
present disclosure
will now become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the
following description of
specific non-limiting embodiments of the disclosure in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A better understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure (including
alternatives and/or
variations thereof) may be obtained with reference to the detailed description
of the embodiments
along with the following drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a cross-section view of a thin-walled container, according to an
embodiment of the present
disclosure;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged portion 'A' of the thin-walled container of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of a thin-walled container, according to
another embodiment of the
present disclosure; and
FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a method for manufacturing the thin-
walled container of FIG. 1,
according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Reference will now be made in detail to specific embodiments or features,
examples of which
are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, corresponding
or similar reference
numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or
corresponding parts. Moreover,
references to various elements described herein, are made collectively or
individually when there may
be more than one element of the same type. However, such references are merely
exemplary in nature.
It may be noted that any reference to elements in the singular may also be
construed to relate to the
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plural and vice-versa without limiting the scope of the disclosure to the
exact number or type of such
elements unless set forth explicitly in the appended claims. No element, act,
or instruction used herein
should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as
such. Also, as used herein,
the articles "a" and "an" are intended to include one or more items, and may
be used interchangeably
with "one or more". Furthermore, as used herein, the term "set" is intended to
include one or more
items, and may be used interchangeably with "one or more".
Referring to FIG. 1, a cross-section view of a thin-walled container 100 is
illustrated, according
to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an example, the thin-walled
container 100 may be
used as a coffee capsule for storing beverage powder. The thin-walled
container 100 includes a body
102 having a bottom wall 104 defining an opening 106. In an embodiment, the
bottom wall 104 may
be punched to form the opening 106.
The body 102 also includes a side wall 108 integral to the bottom wall 104 and
extending
upwardly from the bottom wall 104. Inner surfaces (not separately numbered) of
the bottom wall 104
and the side wall 108 together define a container space 110 for storing the
beverage powder, such as
coffee powder. In an embodiment, the body 102 may be molded by a hot runner
injection molding
process. Molten material for molding each of the bottom wall 104 and the side
wall 108 may include
polypropylene.
The body 102 also includes a barrier layer 112 encapsulated within the bottom
wall 104 and
the side wall 108. Such encapsulation of the barrier layer 112 may be achieved
by controlling timing
and flow rate of injection of molten material for each of the bottom wall 104,
the side wall 108, and
the barrier layer 112. In addition, due to such controlling of timing and flow
rate of injection of the
molten material, the barrier layer 112 may be molded at a desired location in
the body 102 and for a
desired length along the bottom wall 104 and the side wall 108. For instance,
in some embodiments,
as illustrated in FIG. 1, the barrier layer 112 may be limited to a heel
region 114 defined at a junction
of the bottom wall 104 and the side wall 108. In an example, the molten
material for molding the
barrier layer 112 may include one of a polypropylene, Verian and ethylene
vinyl alcohol (EVOH).
The barrier layer 112 includes a leading end 116 and a trailing end 118. The
phrases 'leading
end' and 'trailing end' are recited only with reference to injection of the
molten material of the barrier
layer 112 into a mold (not shown), and hence should not be considered as
limiting. As illustrated in
FIG. 1, the trailing end 118 of the barrier layer 112 is encapsulated within
the bottom wall 104 and
lies beyond a periphery 120 of the opening 106 formed in the bottom wall 104.
The leading end 116
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of the barrier layer 112 lies in the side wall 108 and at a portion proximal
to the bottom wall 104. The
barrier layer 112 helps prevent entry of contents of atmospheric air, such as
moisture or oxygen, into
the container space 110.
The thin-walled container 100 also includes a label 122 provided on an outer
surface 124 of
the side wall 108. The label 122 may have properties similar to those of the
barrier layer 112,
specifically with respect to preventing entry of moisture or oxygen into the
container space 110. The
label 122 may include texts and/or images to define contents of the thin-
walled container 100. The
label 122 may extend along the side wall 108 towards an end portion 126 of the
side wall 108. The
end portion 126 is located opposite to the bottom wall 104 with respect to an
axis 'Y' of the thin-
walled container 100. In some embodiments, the end portion 126 may include a
flange 128 that
extends outwardly with respect to the axis 'Y'. The end portion 126 may be
adapted to receive a
detachable lid (not shown) or a seal to cover contents of the thin-walled
container 100.
The thin-walled container 100 also includes a membrane 130 on the bottom wall
104. The
membrane 130 conceals the opening 106 formed in the bottom wall 104, such that
a portion of the
membrane 130 overlaps with the trailing end 118 of the barrier layer 112. In
an embodiment, the
membrane 130 may be applied to the bottom wall 104 via a heat sealing process.
The membrane 130
is pierceable so as to be used in a coffee vending machine (not shown).
Piercing the membrane 130
would require less effort compared to piercing the molded bottom wall 104.
Referring to FIG. 2, an enlarged portion 'A' of the thin-walled container 100
of FIG. 1 is
illustrated. The bottom wall 104 is so molded to form a slight concave portion
202, such that the
bottom wall 104 does not lie in contact with a surface on which the thin-
walled container 100 may be
placed. Thickness of the membrane 130 may be predetermined, such that the
membrane 130, when
applied to the bottom wall 104, lies within a length `L' (shown in FIG. 1) of
the thin-walled container
100 and well-within the concave portion 202. With such arrangement, the
membrane 130 also
minimizes contact with the surface on which the thin-walled container 100 may
be placed, and hence
may reduce the chances of getting damaged.
Further, as mentioned earlier, the trailing end 118 of the barrier layer 112
remains encapsulated
within the bottom wall 104. Therefore, the trailing end 118 is not exposed to
atmosphere and hence
shielded from degradation. The label 122 provided on the outer surface 124
also overlaps with the
leading end 116 of the barrier layer 112, thereby preventing entry of
atmospheric air through the side
wall 108 even in an embodiment when the barrier layer 112 is limited to the
heel region 114.
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Referring to FIG. 3, a cross-section view of a thin-walled container 300 is
illustrated, according
to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The thin-walled container 300
includes a bottom
wall 302 and a side wall 304 integral to the bottom wall 302 and extending
upwardly from the bottom
wall 302. The bottom wall 302 defines an opening 306. The thin-walled
container 300 also includes
a barrier layer 308 encapsulated in the bottom wall 302 and the side wall 304.
Unlike the previous
embodiment, the barrier layer 308 extends along a length (not shown) of the
side wall 304. A leading
end 310 of the barrier layer 308 lies proximal to an end portion 312 of the
side wall 304. A trailing
end 314 of the barrier layer 308 lies beyond a periphery 316 of the opening
306. The thin-walled
container 300 also includes a membrane 318 applied to the bottom wall 302 to
conceal the opening
306, where a portion of the membrane 318 overlaps with the trailing end 314 of
the barrier layer 308.
In another embodiment, a label 320 may be provided in addition to such
configuration of the barrier
layer 308 to function as an extra layer for protecting the contents of the
thin-walled container 300
from moisture.
Referring to FIG. 4, a schematic illustration of a method 400 for
manufacturing the thin-walled
container 100 is illustrated, according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure. The method 400
is described in conjunction with FIG. 1 to FIG. 2 of the present disclosure.
At step 402, the method
400 includes molding the body 102 having the bottom wall 104 and the side wall
108 extending
upwardly from the bottom wall 104. In an example, the body 102 may be molded
by the hot runner
injection molding process. The method 400 further includes a step of
encapsulating the barrier layer
112 within the bottom wall 104 and the side wall 108. In an example, the
molten material for molding
each of the bottom wall 104 and the side wall 108 may include polypropylene.
For the purpose of achieving encapsulation of the barrier layer 112, the
method 400 includes
a step of controlling timing and flow rate of injection of the molten material
for each of the bottom
wall 104, the side wall 108, and the barrier layer 112. With such a step of
controlling timing and flow
rate, the barrier layer 112 may be molded at the desired location and for the
desired length. In one
embodiment, the barrier layer 112 may be limited to the heel region 114 (as
shown in FIG. 1). In
another embodiment, the barrier layer 112 may extend along the length (not
shown) of the side wall
108 (as shown in FIG. 3). In an example, the molten material for molding the
barrier layer 112 may
include one of polypropylene, Verian and ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH).
At step 404, the method 400 further includes punching the bottom wall 104 to
form the opening
106. Based on the step of controlling timing and flow rate of injection of the
molten material and
achieved location of the barrier layer 112, the method 400 also includes
predetermining a boundary
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on the bottom wall 104 for punching, such that the trailing end 118 of the
barrier layer 112 lies beyond
the boundary. As such, the trailing end 118 of the barrier layer 112 lies
beyond the periphery 120 of
the opening 106 and remains encapsulated in the bottom wall 104. Therefore,
the barrier layer 112 is
prevented from being exposed to atmosphere.
At step 406, the method 400 includes applying the membrane 130 to the bottom
wall 104 and
concealing the opening 106, such that the portion of the membrane 130 overlaps
with the trailing end
118 of the barrier layer 112. In an embodiment, the step of applying the
membrane 130 may be
performed by the heat sealing process. Further, the method 400 includes step
of providing the label
122 on the outer surface 124 of the side wall 108. Besides functioning as a
layer for providing
information through text and/or image regarding the contents of the thin-
walled container 100, the
label 122 may also reduce or prevent seepage of moisture into the container
space 110 of the thin-
walled container 100. In an alternative embodiment the label may be applied in
the mold prior to step
402 ¨ in-mold labelling.
While aspects of the present disclosure have been particularly shown and
described with
reference to the embodiments above, it will be understood by those skilled in
the art that various
additional embodiments may be contemplated by the modification of the
disclosed machines, systems
and methods without departing from the spirit and scope of what is disclosed.
Such embodiments
should be understood to fall within the scope of the present disclosure as
determined based upon the
claims and any equivalents thereof.
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