JP7794732B2 - An object held by the user, with a shell and a bottle - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates generally to the field of liquid food containers, and in particular to an object comprising a shell and a thin-walled bottle (usually made of plastic) for containing liquid food, such as non-carbonated mineral water. The present invention therefore relates to an object that can be easily handled by consumers.

Prior art containers for liquid foods, in particular thin-walled plastic bottles, are known for transporting and delivering mineral water to consumers who wish to consume high-quality water with preserved flavor and quality. Such plastic containers or bottles are disclosed in references WO201012956A1, WO201093602A2, EP1873067A1 or WO2014101957A1.

In return, the production of these plastic bottles can have an impact on the environment and a recycling sector must also be provided to minimize this impact.

Furthermore, while minimizing the thickness of these bottles may be of economic or ecological interest, it is also necessary to make them easy to handle and to ensure that they do not deform or deform excessively when held by the consumer (typically with a force of 20 Newtons). This is particularly important for small-volume bottles (less than 2 L, preferably less than 1.5 L, and even more preferably 1 L), which are intended to accompany the consumer's movements and therefore need to minimize the risk of deformation (leading to overflow if the consumer squeezes the bottle too hard). References US 20040124192 A1, FR 1114750 A or DE 29915618 U1 describe bottles that are joined to an external structure. However, none of these references offer a practical, low-cost solution to provide the user with an object that is easy to use and handle, especially during the joining or separating phases.

Finally, reference DE202005003527U1 discloses a device for at least partial reinforcement of the handling area of a thin-walled container, comprising a divided body made of a rigid material including a fixing section and capable of sliding over the thin-walled container. Reference USD 357,387S discloses a bottle handle. Reference US 7,909,202 B1 discloses a bottle holder.

One object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the above-mentioned prior art references and, firstly, to propose an object to be held by a user, comprising an external structure and a bottle, which is easy to manufacture and practical, especially for handling purposes (connecting, opening and closing the bottle, separating...) provided for the user.

To that end, a first aspect of the present invention relates to an object held by a user.
an exterior structure arranged to be held by a user;
a thin-walled, sealed bottle made of plastic having a body and a collar defining an interior volume;
the outer structure is a shell in contact with at least a portion of the body of the bottle;
The shell is characterized by an upper collar that forms an open U- or C-shape and is arranged to resiliently interlock with at least a portion of the collar of the bottle.

The object implemented as described above is easy to handle thanks to the elastic interlock of the bottle collar on the shell. Such elastic interlock is also known as a snap fit. However, the shell has a U- or C-shaped open top collar, i.e., it forms an open clamp that can be easily opened to insert or remove the bottle collar, ensuring a moderate amount of effort on the user. However, the rigid shell keeps the bottle securely and robustly attached. This provides an object that is easy to handle and set up (connect and disconnect).

Advantageously, the shell comprises a side wall and a shoulder disposed between the collar and the side wall, the shoulder including a passage opening disposed to provide a passage for the bottle collar, the passage opening opening into a U-shaped or C-shaped opening in the upper collar of the shell. The passage opening allows the bottle collar to be inserted and presented at the height of the opening in the upper collar of the shell, thereby facilitating installation.

Advantageously, the passage opening has a passage dimension greater than the passage dimension of the U-shaped or C-shaped upper collar of the shell.

Advantageously,
The passage dimensions of the passage opening of the shell are strictly larger than the dimensions of the collar of the bottle, e.g., including the flange, and/or the U-shaped or C-shaped passage dimensions of the upper collar of the shell are strictly smaller than the dimensions of the collar of the bottle, e.g., including the flange. The attachment of the collar of the bottle to the passage opening does not require special or meticulous care, and then the collar of the bottle can be simply tilted or pushed into the open upper collar of the shell to achieve elastic interlocking and bonding.

Advantageously, the shell comprises an introduction opening located in the side wall and positioned to allow a user to introduce a bottle into the shell. The introduction opening is typically positioned opposite the access opening so that the bottle can easily pass through the access opening, its collar can be positioned in the access opening, and the rest of the bottle can easily pass through the introduction opening.

Advantageously, the bottle collar comprises a flange.

Advantageously, the collar of the bottle is provided with a protrusion, preferably located below the flange, to engage with a U- or C-shaped opening in the upper collar of the shell. Such a protrusion provides a rotation stop that aids in opening and closing the bottle, particularly when the bottle is equipped with a screw-on cap. However, other types of closures are possible, such as lids with elastic interlocks or hinged caps. Such a protrusion may also provide an angular index, which can ensure, for example, that the markings on the bottle face the opening in the shell.

In other words, the bottle includes a means for closing a lid or valve, such as a screw-on or interlocking top. The closing means may further include a tamper-evident inspection means, such as a tamper-evident finish connected to the top by a bridge that breaks on first use. It may also be a lid sealed to a collar so that it is permanently removed on first use. The closing means may, where appropriate, include reversible means that allow the bottle to be reclosed after first use. This is the case, for example, with screw-on and unscrew-on tops. It is stated that the filled bottle is preferably closed by a screw-on or interlocking top and has a tamper-evident finish whose bridge is not broken.

According to one embodiment, the top is arranged to remain attached to the collar of the bottle after opening. For example, the top may include a connection in the form of at least one strip of material and/or hinge between the tamper-evident strip and the body of the cap or a portion of the body of the cap.

Advantageously, the bottle contains a potable liquid that fills at least 80% of the bottle's internal volume, preferably water, preferably non-carbonated water.

Advantageously,
the U-shaped or C-shaped opening in the upper collar of the shell has a first angular dimension relative to an axial direction of the object;
The protrusion has a second angular dimension relative to an axial direction of the object that is less than the first angular dimension. The presence of the protrusion does not interfere with the opening in the upper collar of the shell and does not impair the elastic interlock.

Advantageously, the bottle has a concave, e.g., hemispherical, bottom, and the shell has a bottom defining at least one planar support portion for placing an object in a vertical position. While a planar or flat bottom provides a stable vertical bearing, a thin-walled bottle alone, being soft by definition and having a hemispherical bottom, cannot be held vertically on a work surface.

Advantageously, the shell has an outer diameter and the bottom of the shell is provided with at least one flat crown (i.e., contained in a plane) or support portions distributed along the flat crown (i.e., contained in a plane), the flat crown having a diameter of 50% or more of the outer diameter. Such a crown is also called a flat ring, i.e., contained in a plane that provides a stable bearing.

Advantageously, the shell comprises at least one gripping handle, for example forming a handle. Two grips may be provided for easier handling.

Advantageously, the bottle has a thick, preferably cylindrical body, the thickness of which is:
In the range of 30 μm to 150 μm,
For example, in the range of 30 μm to 50 μm, 50 μm to 70 μm, 70 μm to 100 μm, 100 μm to 125 μm, or 125 μm to 150 μm;
Preferably it is in the range of 100 μm to 125 μm. A bottle of such thickness is not rigid enough to withstand clamping or gripping forces of, for example, 20 Newtons, and locking the (rigid) shell can limit or prevent these deformations. In other words, the bottle is necessarily soft and deformable, especially when it is handled by the user.

Advantageously, the bottle has a base with a thickness equal to ±20% of the thickness of the body of the bottle, except for the central part of the base included in the diameter,
50% or less of the diameter of the cylindrical portion of the body,
Preferably, it is 35% or less of the diameter of the cylindrical portion of the body,
More preferably, it is 20% or less of the diameter of the cylindrical portion of the body.

Advantageously, the collar of the bottle has peripheral projections, such as flanges, with which the upper collar of the shell resiliently interlocks.

Advantageously, the collar and/or peripheral protrusion of the bottle, such as the bottle flange, has a thickness of more than 150 μm, preferably more than 200 μm, more preferably more than 250 μm.

Advantageously, the bottle and/or shell may have at least one cylindrical section. By "wall or cylindrical section" is meant a shell or bottle section whose sides have parallel, straight lines as their generatrix and which follows a closed base curve (defined by the intersection of the sides with a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the bottle). This closed base curve may be circular (circular), elliptical (elliptical or any elliptical shape), or square or rectangular, with rounded corners, if desired.

Such a section of the cylindrical portion can improve grip, limit flexibility, and/or limit the risk of leakage when the bottle is opened.

Advantageously, the bottle is made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

Advantageously, the bottle has an internal volume,
2L or less,
Preferably, it is 1.5 L or less,
More preferably, it is 1 L or less,
Even more preferably, it is 0.8 L or less.

Advantageously, the upper collar of the shell has an upper edge that forms an angle of more than 180° with respect to the axial direction of the object. In other words, more than half of the circumference of the collar of the bottle is received and held by the open upper collar of the shell, providing effective retention.

Advantageously, the upper edge is contained in a plane.

Advantageously, the shell comprises:
formed from a polymeric material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyamide (PA), or polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and may comprise filler materials such as fibers or mineral particles;
Alternatively, it may be made of a metal such as aluminum.

Advantageously, the thickness of the shell is:
The thickness of the body of the bottle is at least twice as thick, or at least 200 μm thick. The shell is therefore more rigid than the bottle.

Advantageously, the shell is positioned so that it deforms less than the bottle during the operation of joining the bottle to the shell. In other words, the shell is rigid and does not deform when manipulated by a user. As a result, such a rigid shell makes it possible to handle thin, soft, deformable bottles that would not be able to be handled by themselves without the demonstrated risk of the shell spilling or dropping from a user's hand.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more clearly apparent on reading the following detailed description of one embodiment of the present invention, given as a non-limiting example and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 represents a first perspective view of a shell of an object according to the invention. FIG. 2 shows a second perspective view of the shell of FIG. FIG. 3 shows a third perspective view of the shell of FIG. FIG. 4 represents a perspective view of a bottle that is combined with the shell of FIG. 1 to form an object according to the invention. FIG. 5 shows a side view of the bottle of FIG. FIG. 6 shows the stage of joining the bottle of FIG. 4 with the shell of FIG. FIG. 7 shows a section of the bottle of FIG. 4 combined with the shell of FIG. FIG. 8 shows a first view of an alternative to the shell of FIG. 1 of an object according to the invention. FIG. 9 shows a second view of the alternative shell of FIG. FIG. 10 shows a second view of the alternative shell of FIG. 8, along with a sketch of the combined bottle.

Figures 1 to 3 show the shell 10 from various perspectives. Generally, the shell 10 comprises an upper collar 11, sidewalls 15, a bottom 14, and a shoulder 16 disposed between the upper collar 11 and the sidewalls 15.

In the example shown, the sidewall 15 is cylindrical or substantially cylindrical (i.e., its outer surface has parallel straight generatrices that follow a basic curve, here a circle). The bottom 14 has a lower plate for its part that allows the shell 10 to be placed in a vertical position, as discussed in FIG. 7.

Furthermore, the shell 10 is provided with a passage opening 12 located on the shoulder 16 and visible primarily in Figures 1 and 3, and an introduction opening 13 visible primarily in Figure 2.

Finally, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, the upper collar 11 is a C-shaped (or U-shaped) open collar. The upper collar 11 has a passage dimension D2 corresponding to its maximum inner diameter and a passage dimension D'2 at its opening. As can be seen in Figure 3, the opening of the upper collar 11 (dimension D'2) leads to or opens into the passage opening 12, and it should be noted that the passage dimension D1 of the passage opening 12 is larger than the passage dimensions D2 and D'2 of the upper collar 11. Further details are provided in Figure 6 below.

Figures 4 and 5 depict a bottle 20 comprising a collar 21 (or neck), a sidewall 24, and a bottom 25. In the example shown, the collar 21 is threaded to receive a cap 26 (visible in Figure 6), with a flange 22 below the threads and a protrusion 27 located below the flange 22. The bottle 20 may also contain a liquid food product (e.g., non-carbonated mineral water).

As explained above, the collar 21 is threaded to receive the cap 26, although other closure means (such as a lid or a hinged cap with a resilient interlock) are envisioned. Figure 5 shows the outer dimension D3 of the flange 22, which is smaller than the passage dimension D1 of the passage opening 12 in the shell 10, but larger than the passage dimension D2 or D'2 of the upper collar 11 in the shell 10.

In fact, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, the shell 10 and bottle 20 can be joined and held together. In particular, the upper collar 11 of the shell 10 is adapted to elastically interlock with the collar 21 of the bottle 20. In the example shown, the upper collar 11 of the shell 10 has dimensions adapted to elastically interlock on the bottle 20 below the flange 22.

For this purpose, as can be seen in Figures 1 and 3, the upper collar 11 of the shell 10 is formed at an angle of more than 180° (e.g., 270°, ±45°) so that it can move away from, receive and hold the collar 21 of the bottle 20, in particular by retaining the flange 22.

To couple the bottle 20 to the shell 10, as shown in FIG. 6, the user simply inserts the bottle 20 through the inlet opening 13 of the shell 10 and threads the collar 21 capped with the cap 26 of the bottle 20 into the passage opening 12 of the shell 10 (since the outer dimension D3 of the flange 22 (and cap 26) is smaller than the passage dimension D1 of the passage opening 12). The bottle 20 is then tilted to finish threading the bottom 25 through the shell 10, specifically elastically interlocking the collar 21 of the bottle 20 with the upper collar 11 of the shell 10 (since the passage dimensions D'2 and D2 of the upper collar 11 are smaller than the dimensions of the collar 21 and the outer dimension D3 of the flange 22).

In particular, the shell's upper collar 11 has a cylindrical rim of a few millimeters, the bottle 20 has a flange 22 and a cylindrical collar portion disposed between the flange 22 and the shoulder of the bottle 20, and the cylindrical rim of the upper collar 11 presses against the cylindrical collar portion of the bottle 20 and is axially adjacent to the flange 22, providing an assembly of the shell 10 and the bottle 20.

To release the bottle 20 from the shell 10, it is sufficient to apply a lateral, sideways, or tilting force to the cap 26 to "unclip" the collar 21 of the bottle 20 from the upper collar 11 of the shell 10. An orifice can also be located on the bottom of the shell 10, opposite the entry opening 13, to allow a user to use their finger to push the bottle laterally out of the shell 10.

As shown in FIG. 7, when joined, the shell 10 and bottle 20 form an object 30 that is easy for a user to handle. The bottom 14 of the shell 10 is flat, so that the object 30 has a stable, vertical position when placed on a work surface. Additionally, a return 16 is provided at the bottom of the shell 10 to secure the joining and retention of the bottle 20 and shell 10 assembly.

As already mentioned above, the cap 26 is screwed onto the bottle 20. To prevent the bottle 20 from rotating relative to the shell 10, a protrusion 27 is provided on the bottle 20 which is received in an opening in the upper collar 11 of the shell 10. Torque applied to the bottle 20 is therefore transmitted to the shell 10 via the protrusion 27. Other implementations for such indexing are possible, such as a collar 21 of the bottle 20 with a non-circular section, a crenellation at the height of the upper collar 11 which engages with the inverse shape of the flange 22, etc.

Regardless of the screw-on/unscrew-on style of the cap 26, it is also possible to print or apply markings to the bottle 20, utilizing the angular index between the bottle 20 and the shell 10 provided by the protrusion 27 that engages with the opening in the upper collar 11 so that the markings are visible after coupling and face the access opening 12 or the introduction opening 13, or any other opening in the shell 10.

These implementations allow for the proposal of a reusable shell 10 that is fairly rigid, or at least too flexible to hold (typically at a force of 20 Newtons) without significant deformation, and a very thin disposable bottle 20 that is therefore too soft or too flexible (typically at the same force of 20 Newtons) to hold without deformation. Because the shell 10 is sufficiently rigid and reusable, this combination allows for the proposal of a disposable and recyclable bottle 20 that uses very little material and is ergonomically manufactured.

A strap or wrist strap or textile loop and hook fastener strip (known by the trademark "VELCRO®" or called scratch) may also be provided to allow the consumer to carry the object 30 during various activities (sports, hiking, etc.). One or more grips may be provided on the shell 10.

Instead of the shell 10 of Figures 1 to 3, the implementation of shell 10A shown in Figures 8 to 10 can be depicted, and only the separate elements will be described.

The shell 10A, as seen in Figures 8 and 9, in particular has two side edges 17 and 18 connecting the bottom to the shoulder. Note in particular in Figure 9 that the first side edge 17 is curved or curved outward, while the second side edge 18 is fairly straight or linear.

Such an arrangement allows the bottle 20 to provide an integrated handle when it is joined to the shell 10A. Indeed, as can be seen in FIG. 10, where the outline of the bottle 20 is added in dashed lines, the first side edge 17 is spaced apart from the bottle 20, providing the user with a gripping space between the first side edge 17 and the bottle 20, forming the handle P. That portion of the second side edge 18 conforms to the bottle 20 and provides a bearing that prevents it from coming loose.

Thus, once the bottle 20 is coupled to the shell 10A, a user can easily grasp the object thus formed via the first side edge 17. Such an implementation is a low-cost implementation, but nevertheless provides a secure coupling between the shell 10A and the bottle 20.

The bottle 20 is formed from a thin-walled thermoplastic material. The material is preferably a polyester such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), polyethylene furanoate (PEF), or polytrimethylene furanoate (PTF). It is preferably formed by an injection blow molding process, for example, an injection stretch blow molding process. In these processes, the material is injected into a mold and then cooled to produce a solid preform, which is then heated to soften and optionally stretched longitudinally using a rod to form the bottle.

These polyester materials and methods are known to those skilled in the art. Their combination allows for thin, light walls to be obtained with good mechanical resistance and good sealing or other barrier properties. These properties are at least partly due to the orientation of the polymer chains, which induces crystallization. These polyesters have the advantage of not only saving material but also being easy to recycle. Recovery, sorting and recycling sectors are organized. Recycling can be mechanical, involving melting and molding, or chemical, involving depolymerization, recovery of monomers or precursors and new polymerization, before a new plastic processing operation, such as injection blow molding.

As a result, the implementation and use of the thin-walled bottles of the present invention offer excellent practicality as well as a highly favorable environmental record, especially relative to the implementation of non-activatable, thicker conventional PET bottles.

Thin walls are preferably such that the body of the bottle has a thickness in the range of 30 μm to 150 μm, for example, 30 μm to 50 μm, 50 μm to 70 μm, 70 μm to 100 μm, or 100 μm to 125 μm, 125 μm to 150 μm, preferably 100 μm to 125 μm. The thickness referred to is the thickness at at least one point on the body, preferably the average thickness over a portion representing at least 50% of the length or surface of the body, preferably at least 80%, preferably the average thickness over the entire body. The bottom of the bottle can be slightly thicker than the body, for example, up to 50% thicker than the body, for example, up to 20% thicker. The bottom can also have a cup, typically corresponding to the bottom of the preform and its injection point.

The thickness can be adjusted to the target bottle capacity by adapting the preform's characteristics, particularly its shape and wall thickness, as well as its stretch characteristics. It has been stated that the preform's wall thickness, length, diameter, and bottom shape, along with the collar that may form a bottleneck, determine the weight. Unfilled, unclosed bottles and/or preforms generally have the same weight. The weights given below refer to either the weight of the bottle or the weight of the preform. For a 75 cl bottle, it is advantageous to implement preforms weighing 8 to 13 g. The overall stretch rate can be, for example, between 12.0 and 27.0, preferably between 15.0 and 20.0. The axial stretch rate (typically the ratio between the bottle height and the length of the stretchable portion of the preform, typically the distance below the collar) can be, for example, between 3.0 and 4.5. The radial stretch rate (typically the ratio between the bottle diameter and the diameter of the stretchable portion of the preform) can be, for example, between 4.0 and 6.0. The overall stretch rate is generally stated to be equal to the product of the axial and radial stretch rates.

For example, the following features give good results:

It will be understood that various modifications and/or improvements apparent to those skilled in the art may be made to the different embodiments of the invention described herein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (20)

An object (30) held by a user,
an outer structure arranged to be held by the user;
a thin-walled, sealed bottle (20) made of plastic having a body and a collar (21) defining an interior volume;
the outer structure being a shell (10) in contact with at least a portion of the body of the bottle (20);
The shell (10) forms an open U- or C-shape and includes an upper collar (11) arranged to resiliently interlock with at least a portion of the collar (21) of the bottle (20);
The collar (21) of the bottle (20) has a protrusion (27) that is positioned in the U-shaped or C-shaped opening of the upper collar (11) of the shell (10);
The object (30) is characterized in that the bottle (20) has a body with a thickness, the thickness being in the range of 30 μm to 150 μm. The object (30) of claim 1, wherein the shell (10) has a side wall (15) and a shoulder (16) arranged between the upper collar (11) and the side wall (15), the shoulder (16) having a passage opening (12) arranged to provide a passage to the collar (21) of the bottle (20), the passage opening (12) opening into the U-shaped or C-shaped opening of the upper collar (11) of the shell (10). The object (30) of claim 2, wherein the passage opening (12) arranged to provide a passage to the collar (21) of the bottle (20) has a passage dimension (D1) greater than the passage dimensions (D2, D'2) of the U-shape or C-shape of the upper collar (11) of the shell (10) arranged to elastically interlock with at least a portion of the collar (21) of the bottle (20). the passage dimension (D1) of the passage opening (12) of the shell (10) arranged to provide a passage to the collar (21) of the bottle (20) is strictly greater than the dimension (D3) of the collar (21) of the bottle (20); and/or
4. The object (30) of claim 3, wherein the passage dimension (D2, D'2) of the U- or C-shape of the upper collar (11) of the shell (10), which is arranged to elastically interlock with at least a portion of the collar (21) of the bottle (20), is strictly smaller than the dimension (D3) of the collar (21) of the bottle (20). An object (30) according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the shell (10) has an introduction opening (13) arranged in the side wall (15) to allow a user to introduce the bottle (20) into the shell (10). An object (30) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the collar (21) of the bottle (20) comprises a flange (22). The object (30) described in claim 6, wherein the protrusion (27) is positioned below the flange (22) of the collar (21) of the bottle (20). the U-shaped or C-shaped opening in the upper collar (11) of the shell (10) has a first angular dimension relative to an axial direction of the object (30);
8. The object (30) of claim 7, wherein the protrusion (27) has a second angular dimension relative to the axial direction of the object (30) that is smaller than the first angular dimension. An object (30) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the bottle (20) viewed from the outside has a concave bottom (25), and the shell (10) has a bottom (14) defining at least one flat support portion for placing the object (30) in a vertical position. 10. The object (30) of claim 9, wherein the shell (10) has an outer diameter, and the bottom (14) of the shell (10) comprises at least one planar annular portion , the planar annular portion having a diameter that is 50% or greater than the outer diameter. An object (30) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the shell (10) has at least one gripping handle. The body includes:
The object (30) of any of the preceding claims, having a thickness in the range of 30 μm to 50 μm, 50 μm to 70 μm, 70 μm to 100 μm, 100 μm to 125 μm, or 125 μm to 150 μm. the body has a cylindrical portion, the bottle (20) having a bottom (25) with a thickness equal to ±20% of the thickness of the body of the bottle (20), except for the central portion of the bottom (25) included in the diameter;
13. The object (30) of claim 12, which is no more than 50% of the diameter of the cylindrical portion of the body. An object (30) according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the collar (21) of the bottle (20) has a thickness of more than 150 μm. An object (30) according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the bottle (20) is made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The bottle (20) has an internal volume;
The object (30) according to any one of claims 1 to 15, which is 2L or less. An object (30) according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the upper collar (11) of the shell (10) has an upper edge, the upper edge being formed at an angle of more than 180° relative to the axial direction of the object (30). The object (30) of claim 17, wherein the upper edge is contained in a plane. The shell (10)
An object (30) according to any one of the preceding claims, made from a polymeric material or made from a metal. The thickness of the shell (10) is
The object (30) according to any of the preceding claims, having a thickness of at least twice the thickness of the body of the bottle (20), or at least 200 μm.