Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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WO 2007/045648 PCT/EP2006/067492
A VERY LIGHT WEIGHT BEVERAGE CONTAINER
Cyrille (NMN) DURAND
The present invention relates to a very light weight container for beverages.
Very light containers for beverages are known in the art that are made for
example of a semi-cristalline polyethylene terephtalate (PET) for good
transparency
and processability properties. Such containers are typically blown from an
injected
preform.
Such very-light containers can have a wall thickness, at least in the middle-
height region of the container body, inferior or equal to 100 m. Such
containers have
been developped to be manufactured with a substantially lower amount of
plastic
material compared to containers of similar contents volume made out of
"classic"
processes. These light weight containers are therefore cheaper to produce, and
are
also particularly environment-friendly.
Such prior art very-light weight containers, described for example in
International Patent Application WO 03/033361 Al or WO 2005/047120 Al, are
known
to be of generally ovoid or spherical shape which provides for good ratio
volume /
weight.
However, such containers comprise several drawbacks: they are difficult to
label, they are difficult to store and to pile in pallets for transportation.
More importantly, due to the generally ovoid shape, the sides of body of
such containers are very flexible and a risk exists that once the container is
open, the
contents splashes outside when the consumer grabs the sides of said container.
If the
contents is a milk-based product, such splashing can be particularly
inconvenient for
the consumer.
Therefore, a need exists for a very light weight container which solves the
above-mentioned disadvantages.
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The present invention addresses the problems set out above with a
container for a liquid or viscous product, comprising a substantially ovoid or
spherical
container body having a diameter Dl, and a neck having a diameter D2, said
neck
comprising a dispensing opening and means for allowing closing means to be
attached
thereto, Dl being greater than D2, said container being made out of semi-
cristalline
PET, the walls of said container body having a thickness inferior or equal to
100 m at
least in the middle-height region of said container.
According to the present invention, said container is characterized in that
the container body comprises at least two flatten or embossed surfaces.
By "flatten or embossed" it is meant that the surfaces are either completely
flat, or slightly convex or concave.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the container body
comprises at least two opposite flat, substantially vertical, surfaces, and a
flat,
substantially horizontal, and forming a bottom side.
In a preferred embodiment, the neck is located on the surface
symmetrically opposite to the bottom surface.
In an even more preferred embodiment of the invention, the neck is located
shifted relative to the vertical axis of the container.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the container body
comprises four flat, substantially vertical, surfaces that are opposite to one
another by
pairs.
Also preferably, said vertical surfaces are disks.
Adjacent flat vertical surfaces are preferably in contact which one another
at least in one point, and/or the vertical flat surfaces are preferably in
contact with said
bottom flat side.
In a preferred embodiment, the vertical and horizontal flat surfaces have
equal area.
Advantageously, the ratio of D1/D2 is comprised between 1.2 to 15,
preferably 2 to 5.
Also preferably, the bottom flat side comprises reinforcing ribs and / or
grooves.
The content product can be selected from the group consisting of water-
based or milk-based products.
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Finally, the container according to the present invention has preferably a
weight inferior or equal to 5g, preferably 3g, and a total contents volume of
at least 25
cl.
The closing means of the container can be a peelable membrane sealed on
the top end of the neck, or a screw cap with threads that cooperate with
corresponding
threads of the neck.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described
in, and will be apparent from, the description of the presently preferred
embodiments
which are set out below with reference to the drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective bottom view of a container according to the
invention ;
Figure 2 is a perspective top view similar to figure 1;
Figure 3 is a bottom view of of a container of the invention
Figure 4 is a side view of the same container;
Figure 5 is a top view of the same container.
As shown in figure 1, the very-light weight container 1 according to the
invention comprises a substantially spherical container body 2 having a
diameter Dl.
It further comprises a neck 3 having a diameter D2, said neck 3 comprising
a dispensing opening 4 and means 5 for allowing closing means 6 to be attached
thereto.
As shown in figure 2, the means 5 comprise a flat horizontal flange at the
top portion of the neck 3. This flange 5 is adapted for receiving a peelable
closing
membrane (not represented in the drawing).
As can be seen in figures 1 and 2, the diameter Dl of the container body 2
is greater than the diameter D2 of the neck 3. The ratio of D1/D2 is about 4.
The container is made out of semi-cristalline PET. The walls of the
container body have a thickness inferior or equal to 100 m at least in the
middle-
height region 7 of said container. This container 1 is made by blowing a PET
preform,
that is itself made by an injection forming process.
According to the present invention, and as shown in figures 1 and 2, the
generally spherical container body 2 further comprises four opposite flat,
disk-shaped,
substantially vertical surfaces 8 that are opposite to one another by pairs.
It further
comprises a flat, substantially horizontal, surface 9 located opposite the
neck 3 and
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forming a bottom side. The bottom flat side 9 comprises reinforcing grooves 10
to
improve its rigidity, shown in figures 1 and 3.
As shown in figures 3, 4, 5, adjacent flat vertical surfaces 8 are preferably
in contact with one another along a contact line 11. Said vertical flat
surfaces are also
in contact with said bottom flat side at contact lines 12. The vertical 8 and
horizontal 9
flat surfaces have equal area.
The content product can be selected from the group consisting of water-
based or milk-based products.
Finally, the container according to the present invention has a weight of 2.9
g, and a total contents volume of 25 cl.
A splash test was conducted to compare the rigidity of the side walls of the
container according to the present invention, and a similar container having
an ovoid
shape.
This test consisted in applying a transversal load to the handling zone of
the bottle (filled but not closed), and then measuring the increase in liquid
level. All
measured containers had the same content volume.
For a contents volume of 25 cl, and a same transversal load, the measured
level increase average results were as follows:
- 48 mm for a classic ovoid bottle ;
- 35 mm for the container according to the invention.
These results illustrate how the flat surfaces in the container of the
invention improve the resistance to transversal load, like the pressure that
is applied by
the hands of a consumer who grabs the said container.
Moreover, it was found that PET water containers let water pass through
their walls. Such a water loss usually leads to more flexibility of the
container walls as
time passes. In the case of the present invention, the water loss remains the
same as
for a convention PET light weight container, however, the reinforcement of the
transversal rigidity with flat surfaces compensates this increase in
flexibility, which is
obviously very convenient for the consumer, and further helps avoiding
splashes when
the container is open.
One of the advantages achieved by the present invention is that it also
allows for easy labelling on standard labelling equipment, due to the flatness
of the at
least one side of the container body.
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It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the
presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those
skilled in
the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the
spirit
and scope of the present invention and without diminishing its attendant
advantages. It
is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the
appended
claims.
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