HK1038720B - Plastic bottle designed to receive a handle and equipment for making same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a plastic bottle handle and a bottle equipped to hold the plastic bottle handle.

The invention relates in particular, but not exclusively, to large-format (capacity) bottles or candies to facilitate their grasping.

The bottles are formed by blowing preform, which is itself obtained by injection molding. The bottles are mainly formed of a tubular body extended by a neck at the end of which a stopper is screwed.

The material used is polyethylene terephthalate, referred to hereinafter as PET.

There are currently two types of handles on the market: a single-block injection handle with the preform of the bottle, with the main disadvantages: . high price (cost 7 to 9g of PET). poor transport ergonomics; the PET hinge is rigid, the force of gravity is not in the axis of the bottle. inconvenient handle for over-packing devices (pack, cardboard). - I 'm not .It is relatively expensive (the same order of magnitude as the price of the stopper); the investment of the injection mold is high, the duration of the injection cycle is large (the material path is very long), the surface area of each imprint is large in the mold and requires the use of an injection press whose closing group requires a large force; the productivity is poor, the damping part is high in the price of the handle; the logistical costs of transporting the handle in bulk, before use by the bottling plant, are high given the low loading density.

In order to resolve the problems of the previous art, the applicant went against the received ideas and asked whether it was possible to return an extruded handle on a preform conforming to the injection-moulding ergot.

This technique was never implemented as it was considered incompatible with the preform manufacturing techniques and tools.

The applicant was able to solve all the problems by means of a plastic preform as described in claim 1.

The preform, or the bottle according to the invention described in claim 7, preferably has two diametrically opposed hook-up knobs provided on its neck.

The connections of the coupling nuts are preferably in the plane of a support collar of the preform or bottle.

According to a preferred but not limited shape variant, ergots have a flat, elongated bean shape, with two ends in a circle-like shape.

A bottle-handles assembly according to the invention is described in claim 13.

For the preform casting, a tool as described in claim 15 is used.

The following description, with reference to the following figures, will give a better understanding of the invention: 1: view of a handle according to the invention installed on the neck of a preform,Figure 2: horizontal section of neck of preforms according to the invention showing the shape of the hook-up knobs,Figure 3: view of the top of a bottle according to the invention equipped with a handle according to the invention and an inviolability sleeve wrapping the stopper,Figure 4 : then view in cutting of a preform injection press according to the invention,Figure 5a, 5b, 5c : first view showing the closed mould, then view showing the open in vertical cutting in the case of a conventional press, then view showing the open in vertical cutting in the case of a conventional press.Figure 6a, 6b, 6c: then view of the open mould, then view showing the open in vertical cutting in the case of a second type of vertically opened mould. Figures 1 and 3 show, for example, but not limited to, a conventional extruded strap-type strap handle (1) consisting of a flexible rectangular strap (2) with a hook (3) at each end, each intended to cooperate with a bottle hook (4).

The neck of the bottle (5) or preform (8) has two diametrically opposed hook-holes (4) placed below the screw-stop of a stopper (13).

The characteristics of the ergots lie in their manufacturing method on the one hand and in their shape and dimensions on the other.

They are obtained by injection into the neck of the preform prior to the formation of the bottle by blowing.

Their shape and positioning are designed to avoid any risk of the preforms sticking together.In the later stages of manufacture, for example in the case of a cold cycle, when the preforms are bulked into the containers, they must not in any case be nested together and must be oriented in the untangler/orientator.

These buckets may be indexed in the case of a square or rectangular container.

Preferably, the connections (6) of the spindles (4) to the body of the preform are in the plane of the support collar (7) to avoid collisions and clinging between them or with the radiation protection devices of the collar in the temperature conditioning furnaces.

The spherical, semispherical, flat-section and/or circular expansion of the spherical or semi-spherical spherical hubs (4) may be used to facilitate the rotation of two adjacent spherical hubs without any friction.

In the examples in Figure 2, the ergot (4) has a flat, elongated bean shape, with two rounded ends (4a, 4b) in a circular expansion so that the peripheral surface (A) of an ergot (4) rolls without being caught on a surface (B) of a neighboring collarette.

To ensure anti-clogging, the dimensions h1 and h2 shall be carefully chosen for a given neck diameter D, h1 being the maximum height of the ergot relief and h2 its maximum width (see Figure 2).

We choose a report not only I 'm not . $\frac{{\text{h}}_{\text{1}}{\text{+ h}}_{\text{2}}}{\text{D}}$ between 0,6 and 0,14 and preferably close to 0,4.

The following is Figure 4 showing, in vertical cut, an injection press for the moulding of a preform.

This is a conventional type machine with a casting cavity (9) defined between a core (10) for the inner shape of the tube, a two-part collar ring (11a,11b) for the outer shape of the screw thread and collar, and two plates (12a,12b) for the outer shape of the tube.

The opening of the mould for the removal of the preform is carried out following a median vertical joint plan (P1) and following a horizontal joint plan (P2) provided, here at the collar as shown in Figures 4, 5, 6.

To achieve the most economical effect of the invention, the bolts must be provided at the intersection of the two sealing planes P1 and P2.

In addition, existing tools for making ergot cavities (6'4') by removal of material may be modified.

Detailed views (5a,5b,5c and 6a,6b,6c) show the mould opening steps in the two types of presses commonly used.

The following are characteristic properties of the invention: The extruded strap-type handle costs 3 to 4g of polyethylene (possibly recycled polyethylene), the investment required to manufacture it is very low,the loading density is close to the density of the material (90%) logistical costs are 10 to 15 times lower,the ergonomics of transport for the consumer is excellent thanks to the flexibility of the polyethylene,the force of gravity being in the axis of the bottle,the handle does not in any way interfere with the packaging devices (say, cardboard),the strap handle does not interfere with the laying of a sleeve (13) thermo retractable provided that this one is perforated with two holes that do not interfere with the retraction of the sleeve (there are 3 coats of plastic and 1 pack of plastic),the design of the sleeve does not affect the movement of the sleeve,they are not made of plastic,the design is not complicated by the time of injection.

Claims (15)

1. Item preformed from plastic, which comprises a collar (5), said item being intended for producing bottles by blowing and comprising a plurality of attachment lugs (4), which are integral with the preformed item and are shaped with said preformed item during the injection moulding process.
2. Preformed item according to the preceding claim, which item comprises two diametrically opposed attachment lugs (4) provided on its collar (5).
3. Preformed item according to one of claims 1 to 2, in which the connections (6) of the attachment lugs (4) are in the plane of a small support flange (7).
4. Preformed item according to one of claims 1 to 3, in which the lugs have a flat, elongate, bean-shaped configuration, with two rounded ends (4a, 4b) beginning to form a circle.
5. Preformed item according to one of claims 1 to 4, in which the ratio h₁ + h₂/D is between 0.6 and 0.14.
6. Preformed item according to claim 5, in which the ratio is about 0.4.
7. Bottle formed from plastic, of the type produced by blowing a preformed item which is itself produced by injection moulding, said preformed item comprising a plurality of attachment lugs (4), which are integral with the preformed item and are shaped with said preformed item during the injection moulding process.
8. Bottle formed from plastic according to claim 7, which bottle comprises two diametrically opposed attachment lugs (4) provided on its collar (5).
9. Bottle according to claim 8, in which the connections (6) of the attachment lugs (4) are in the plane of a small support flange (7).
10. Bottle according to one of claims 8 to 9, in which the lugs have a flat, elongate, bean-shaped configuration, with two rounded ends (4a, 4b) beginning to form a circle.
11. Bottle according to one of claims 8 to 10, in which the ratio h₁ + h₂/D is between 0.6 and 0.14.
12. Bottle according to one of claims 8 to 11, in which the ratio is about 0.4.
13. Bottle-and-handle assembly, in which the bottle is a bottle according to one of claims 8 to 12, and the handle is a rectangular strap (2) which comprises, at each end, an attachment eyelet (3).
14. Bottle-and-handle assembly according to claim 13, in which the handle is an extruded strap.
15. Equipment for an injection-moulding press for manufacturing preformed plastic bottles according to claim 1, of the type comprising a vertical junction-plane P1 and a horizontal junction-plane P2, and comprising cavities in the form of lugs situated at the intersections of the junction-planes P1 and P2.