AU662118B2 - Plastics container for liquids - Google Patents

Description

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AUSTRALIA

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2 Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

FOR OFFICE USE Cr i *I I Ie I CE t tI,: rrr Name of Applicants: Address of Applicants: Actual Inventors: Address for Service: TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Rheem Australia Limited ICI Australia Operations Proprietary Limited Brodie Street, Rydalmere NSW 2116 and W EG a 1 Nicholson Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000 2,0 Kenneth Alan MAXWELL and Terence McLEOD 'aT Mr A W Tilley f~he-m Australia Limiteld Soohcorp Hold in Lim ned Bredie-treet- Po o x 6 fRydalmere NSW 2110 2-dQ)rne, NSIn 2.116 Invention title: "PLASTICS CONTA!NER FOR LIQUIDS" Details of associated provisional applications: PK4513 lodged 8 February 1991 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 1 o oo p~ LsO O D

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r I lt~ tI't i IIIr.II I L This invention relates to a plastics container for liquids. Whilst not necessarily a limitation, it particularly applies to blow moulded plastics container of polyethylene or polypropylene intended for carriage of liquids, including dangerous and/or toxic liqt ids.

In one advantageous form it applies to a blow moulded portable plastics container having the usual removable threaded closure at the top end of the container.

Hereinafter this type of plastics container will be referred to as a being "of the type described".

Plastics containers of the type described may have an integrally moulded hollow handle co-terminous with the top end. Plastics containers of the type described have not hitherto been entirely satisfactory particularly when used for the carriage of dangerous toxic liquids. Requirements of such containers are that the 15 contents may be poured from the container minimising the chance of spillage and that the containers are capable of meeting regulatory requirements as regards the integrity of the container when used for the storage or transport of dangerous goods. As regards the avoidance of spillage during pouring, it is highly desirable that containers of the type described have some form of venting arrangement whereby the liquid pours in a smooth controllable stream thus avoiding splashing and the like. Such liquids are often handled in rural environments where many pesticides and weedicides used are packaged in very concentrated form that are highly toxic by inhalation and, in some cases, direct skin absorption.

25 The provision of venting means in such containers has been approached in many ways. Known vented containers in some cases have a second upstanding neck opening on the top end which is closed by a screw cap. During pouring such a screw cap can be removed to enable air to flow into the head space as liquid flows out from the upstanding pouring opening. The disadvantage with this type of opening is that it detracts from the ability of the container to maintain its integrity under certain conditions of transport and handling abuse. For plastics containers of the type described to be approvable for dangerous goods transport, it is necessary that they pass simulated handling abuse tests as a condition of containers of the type and design being permitted use for the specified purpose. Such tests on plastics containers include drop testing when the container and its contents have been temperature conditioned at -18 0 C for at least 24 hours. Under such low -2r t

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I- ii temperature conditions, the containers of the type described must be tested by dropping them from a height, typically 1.2 metres, such as to strike an immovable target surface so that any external portion of the container may contact the target first. It is well known in carrying out such tests that generally closure areas are particularly vulnerable to failure 6 under this type of testing. Known vented containers are generally unsatisfactory in these circumstances because upstanding vented openings or other types of known vented openings are particularly inclined to cause failure of such containers during a low temperature drop test.

The present invention seeks to overcome or ameliorate such disadvantages and provides in one presently preferred form a plastics container of the type described for the carriage of liquids having an enclosed top surface containing a handle co-terminous with said top surface and a closable pouring outlet in said top surface adjacent said handle and further comprising a second opening provided to vent a mobile and variable head space in the oo °o 15 container during pouring out of the liquid from the pouring outlet, said second opening 00 o obeing normally closed by a loosenable closure and wherein said second opening is characterised by being positioned in a region of the top surface away from the pouring ,4 4 outlet and in being disposed entirely inwardly at a recess in said top surface and wherein ,4 o a the second opening is positioned in the handle, the handle being hollow and oo a 20 intercommunicating with the head space.

The handle is thick walled and relatively strong and thus can well tolerate the addition of the recess and second opening without tending to increase susceptibility to low S<temperature brittle failures.

S Preferably, the loosenable closure is provided with a retaining tongue adapted to be inwardly directed when the closure is fitted to the container, said tongue being adapted to impede removal of the closure from the second opening when the closure is in a fully loosened position. Thus the transference of toxic substance from the container to the user 30 is not made more likely by any need to handle the wetted closure during full loosening.

a Also preferably the closure, when tightened in the second opening, is at least substantially contained in said recess.

The invention is further described with reference to a particularly preferred form of it by way of example and illustrated in the accompanying figures in which: -3- ~i j Figure 1 is a cross sectional elevation view of a container according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a loosenable closure for use in conjunction with the second opening of the container according to the invention.

The plastics container (10) has an enclosed top end above the horizontal dotted line the intersection of which at (12) and (14) on the vertical walls lie on a dividing plane defining the junction between the vertical walls of the container and its top end. Located in the top end is an upstanding spout (18) which may have an external screw thread to receive an internally screw threaded cap (19) shown in exploded view above the upstanding neck. The top end of ihe container also includes an integrally moulded handle (20) which has a hollow portion (22) and which extends co-terminously with the top end of the container from a point near St t 15 the pouring spout (18) to a point on the top end remote from the pouring spout.

The handle (20) may blend smoothly at its outer surface opposite the pouring spout with the vertical wall of the container. The hollow portion (22) of the handle is in fluid communication with the interior space of the container. When the container contains liquid the unfilled space above the liquid level is referred to as the head space. During pouring the head space moves relative to the top of the container and its volume increases as liquid is poured out of the spout. The top Lit surface of the container is designated by the dotted line (26-28) in Figure 1 as being in two regions, the first, to the right of the line (26-28) being referred to as the region away from the pouring outlet. The portion above the line (16) and to the left of the line (26-28) is referred to as being near the pouring outlet. A 4CC( recessed opening (24) is formed in a portion of the handle away from the pouring spout and comprises a recess a threaded portion and an opening (32) leading •ti ito the interior hollow space (22) of the handle. Alternatively, the opening (24) referred to as either the second opening or the vent opening, may be located in another portion of the region away from the pouring outlet, although the position in the hollow handle is particularly suitable. The pouring opening is formed entirely recessed, as illustrated, below the surface of the container in which it is formed.

With reference to Figure 2, a closure is illustrated suitable for closing in a leak-tight manner the opening (24) illustrated in Figure 1. The closure consists of a head portion (42) which may have a slot (44) to facilitate loosening -4m In and tightening and also comprises a threaded portion adapted to mate with the thread in the recessed opening Further, the closure has an O-ring (48) fitted in an O-ring groove provided for the purpose in the stem (50) at the end distant from the end containing the head (42) to terminate in an enlarged end The stem (50) may comprise a second enlargement The closure (40) is adapted to be insertable in opening (24) of the container and to be fully tightenable with the aid of a screwdriver or the like inserted in the slot (44) to make a liquid-tight closure when sealed in the opening Wheii is desired to pour liquid from the pouring spout the closure (40) is preferably first loosened in the opening (24) to assist venting the head space of the container so that liquid emitting from opening (18) departs the container in a smooth controlled liquid stream, not inclined to splashing in an uncontrolled fashion as it would if air gulps back into the container through opening (18) to occupy the head space previously occupied by the liquid. To assist the smooth inflow of air through opening (32) when closure (40) is loosened, the enlargements (52) and (54) are adapted to frictionally engage with the internal threads of the opening (24) so enabling a clear path for air to enter through the opening alongside the stem which accordingly is a small cross-section in relation to the opening The stem is thin in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Fig.2.

So long as the liquid level is below the second opening which is normally the case when liquid is poured from such containers, then air can freely flow in through the opening (24) enabling steady, non-pulsating outflow of liquid.

Because the head portion (42) of the closure is at least substantially housed in the recess (30) when the closure is tightened it is not prone to contribute to failure in a low temperature drop impact situation.

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Claims (3)

1. 2. A container as claimed in claim 1 in which said loosenable closure is provided with a retaining tongue adapted to be inwardly directed when said closure is fitted to the container, said tongue being adapted to impede removal of the closure from the second opening when said closure is in a fully loosened position.
2. 3. A container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said closure, when tightened in the second opening, is at least substantially contained in said recess.
3. 4. A plastics container having a second opening substantially as described with reference to the accompanying Figure 1. DATED: /i-J III SOUTHCORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD ICI AUSTRALIA OPERATIONS PROPRIETARY LIMITED. 051038 i S ABSTRACT. A plastics container (10) for carriage of liquids, having one opening (18) in the top end for filling and pouring and a second opening (30) for venting the headspace of the container while pouring liquid from it, enabling a steady non-pulsating outflow of the liquid, the second opening being located in the top end fully recessed in an inward direction with respect to the outer surface of the top end. o The second opening is fitted with a loosenable closure (40) that, in its tightened 1 00 Io position, does not protrude out of the recess beyond the outer surface of the top 0*0 end. The fully recessed venting opening and non-protruding closure can increase .oo00000 o o the filled and sealed container's integrity in the face of the drop impacts, particularly at temperatures below 00C. The loosenable plug preferably includes retainers (52, 54) to keep it in the required position during pouring. Soao 00 0 0 o 0 I I