WO1996005113A1

WO1996005113A1 - Variable volume bottle with external anti-return lock means

Info

Publication number: WO1996005113A1
Application number: PCT/FR1995/001069
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yves Vatelot
Original assignee: DEMEESTER, Jacques, Honoré, Marius
Priority date: 1994-08-10
Filing date: 1995-08-09
Publication date: 1996-02-22
Also published as: FR2723565A1; ATE173697T1; AU3169095A; DE69506261D1; EP0775071B1; EP0775071A1

Abstract

Bottle (1) with external anti-return lock means and a deformable pleated outer lateral wall (4). The outer anti-return lock means (2) cooperates with peripheral shoulders (8) projecting outwardly from the bottle, from the outermost folding lines (7) of the pleated wall, to hold the bottle in one of a series of inner volume states, enabling the bottle to gradually change its shape from a given volume state to a further reduced volume state, so that the inner volume of the bottle can be adapted to the liquid remaining therein. The invention is especially suitable for fizzy liquids.

Description

SYSTEM OF A BOTTLE WITH VARIABLE VOLUME AND AN EXTERNAL NON-RETURN MEANS

The present invention relates to a system of a bottle, for example plastic, with variable volume, intended to contain a liquid, in particular a carbonated or carbonated drink (hereinafter referred to as carbonated drink) and an anti stop means -external return.

It is often used to contain a liquid food a substantially cylindrical or polygonal plastic bottle having at its upper part a neck through which the liquid can be introduced into the bottle or poured outside of it.

In the case of sparkling or carbonated drinks, the bottles with fixed volume do not allow their gas content to be satisfactorily preserved during their consumption.

Indeed, before the first use of the bottle, that is to say before its first opening, the volume of gas surmounting the liquid contained is reduced to a minimum in the area inside the neck and a pressure balance is established between the gas dissolved in the liquid and the gas surmounting the latter. The initial gas content of the liquid is determined by this pressure balance and can be predetermined in the case of gasification of the liquid.

With each successive use of the bottle, part of the liquid contained is poured outside and the air enters the bottle, replacing the liquid poured outside in equal volume.

After each use, a new pressure balance is established between the volume of gas surmounting the liquid and the gas bubbles dissolved in it. The gas bubbles migrate to the surface of the liquid to balance the pressure inside the bottle. Consequently, with each use, the air which penetrates into the bottle decreases the partial pressure of the gas overcoming the liquid and therefore causes a degasification of the latter.

This physical phenomenon is all the more important as the uses are spaced over time, which generally occurs when so-called "family" bottles are used, namely bottles having a volumetric capacity of 1.5 or 2 liters for example .

This degasification constitutes a major drawback in the consumption of carbonated drinks because the reduction in the gas content of these drinks leads to an alteration in their taste.

Already known from document US-A-4,456,134 in the name of Cooper, a container having an upper opening for filling and pouring carbonated drinks, which opening extends towards the bottom of the container by a flexible central wall and compressible or deformable. This document also proposes an apparatus externally connecting the upper part to the bottom of the container for gradually adjusting and maintaining the internal volume thereof.

This external device at least partially and concentrically encloses the container or is offset from it so as to easily adapt to the different types of existing containers and can be reused in whole or in part on another container, after consumption total of the liquid contained in the original container.

The solution proposed by Cooper has the drawback of the need for the user to always carry with him the external device allowing the bottle to be kept in a reduced volume state, which significantly increases the size of the bottle in the bag of the user for example, not to mention that the user can easily forget to take this device with him.

The present invention therefore aims to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks and to propose a system of a variable volume bottle and of an external non-return stop means making it possible to prevent the contained liquid from becoming stale and which can maintain the bottle in a selectively reduced volume state, even in the presence of very high internal pressure.

To this end, the subject of the present invention is a system of a variable volume bottle intended to contain in particular a liquid with gas content, of the type comprising a deformable pleated external side wall, for example in bellows, and a means external non-return stop to keep the bottle in one of a succession of internal volume states and authorize its progressive deformation from a given state of volume to another state of volume notably more reduced so as to conform the internal volume of the bottle to the volume of liquid remaining in it, characterized in that said non-return stop means cooperates with peripheral edges which project outwards from the bottle from the fold lines the outermost of the pleated wall of the bottle.

In a first embodiment of the invention, the non-return stop means comprises a possibly perforated sleeve at least partially enveloping the pleated wall and comprising a portion radially projecting inwardly to bear against the peripheral flanges which are in a helical configuration, a non-return snap mechanism between the upper or lower external part of the bottle which can possibly be used if the pitch of the pleated wall does not make it possible to ensure the blocking of the bottle in a state alone reduced internal volume. Preferably, the lower and upper parts of the bottle are rigid enough to prevent their deformation during contraction of the bottle.

In another particular embodiment, the non-return stop means comprises a plurality of hooking elements formed on the aforementioned peripheral flanges and capable of hanging on the immediately adjacent flange, for example underlying, to block the bottle in contracted position.

Provision may be made for the above-mentioned hooking elements to be hooks projecting from the abovementioned edges parallel to the axis of the bottle and arranged for example in staggered rows on the various peripheral edges and which may have variable lengths.

In yet another particular embodiment, the non-return stop means is formed of at least one sleeve notched internally and extending partially along the pleated wall of the bottle, so that the notches can s' hang on the aforementioned external peripheral edges when the bottle is compressed.

According to a first variant, a single sleeve is used, one of its ends being integral with the upper or lower part of the bottle or with one of the peripheral edges of the pleated wall.

Of course, the sleeve (s) can be perforated and the notches staggered on its internal surface.

According to another variant, the pleated wall of the bottle consists of at least two portions of different width or diameter, an internally notched sleeve being associated with each of said portions so that during compression of the bottle, said sleeves can fit into each other. Provision may be made for the notches on the upper internal surface of a sleeve to be oriented in the opposite direction to those of its lower internal surface, the junction zone between said upper and lower surfaces serving as a fixed point for hooking the sleeve to a flange. peripheral of the pleated wall, the notches of one of said surfaces being provided only on peripherally spaced portions, preferably regularly, and the corresponding peripheral edges of the pleated wall being formed only on complementary portions of said notched portions, so as to allow the sleeve to slide freely in one direction on the pleated wall and its fixed attachment to a rim thereof by aligning said portions by simple relative rotation of the sleeve and of the pleated wall.

The sleeve extending partially over the height of the bellows, it is possible to provide that the minimum height of the sleeve is equal to that of all the bellows in the maximum folded position.

In general, the non-return stop means also provides a brake function preventing spontaneous contraction of the bottle, due for example to the slope and the elasticity of the hooks, notches or teeth of the mechanism. latching.

The invention will be better understood and other objects, characteristics, details and advantages thereof will appear more clearly during the explanatory description which will follow of several currently preferred embodiments of the invention, given solely by way of illustration. 'illustrative and nonlimiting examples with reference to the appended schematic drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows in elevation and in axial section a bottle according to the system of the invention, according to a first embodiment on the right half-view and according to a variant on the left half-view. Figure 2 is similar to Figure 1, but shows the bottle in the contracted position.

FIG. 3 is a half-view in cross section along line III-III of the left half-view in FIG. 1.

Figure 4 is an elevational view in axial section of another embodiment of the system of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a view in cross section along the line V-V in FIG. 4.

Figures 6 and 7 are half-views in elevation of yet another embodiment of the system of the invention, respectively in the initial and contracted position.

Figures 8 and 9 are partial perspective views of a detail indicated respectively in Figure 6 by arrow VIII and in Figure 7 by arrow IX.

According to the embodiment shown in the right half-views of Figures 1 and 2, the system of the invention comprises a bottle 1 and a non-return stop means 2 externally secured to the bottle.

The bottle 1 has a bottom 3 which is extended by a substantially cylindrical middle part 4 tapering at its upper part towards the neck 5 of the bottle.

Of course, the middle part 4 of the bottle can be of any shape, for example with a substantially elliptical or polygonal section or any other suitable shape.

The upper part of the bottle 1 is advantageously thinned at 6 so that at the end of reduction of the volume of the bottle, the space remaining in the bottle is minimal. Indeed, at the end of reduction of the volume of the bottle, the lower end of the thinned part 6 comes in the vicinity of the bottom 3 of the bottle so that the free space remaining in it is confined inside the thinned part 6.

According to the invention, the middle part 4 of the bottle is deformable in the axial direction of the bottle 1, namely in the direction of its height H and has a pleated wall, for example in the manner of an accordion or a bellow.

Peripheral flanges 8 project radially or perpendicular to the axis H at the outermost fold lines 7 of the pleated wall 4.

The pleated wall 4 of the right half-view of FIG. 1 consists of a succession of frustoconical crowns 4a with alternately reverse conicity and of rectilinear section in an axial plane of the bottle, two adjacent frustoconical crowns 4a being joined by their large base or their respective small base.

The accordion wall 4 of the bottle 1 here has an alternation of circular fold lines of smaller diameter 9 and larger diameter 7 which are spaced from each other in the height direction H of the bottle by the abovementioned crowns 4a.

When the bottle 1 is crushed, the accordion wall 4 folds in the direction of the axis H of the bottle 1, without causing excessive deformation in the crowns 4a.

The bottle 1 is generally made of rigid plastic, the middle part 4 may be of semi-rigid material or have a thickness such that the wall can be folded. The bottom 3 of the bottle is separated from this pleated wall 4 by a lower rigid cylindrical tubular part 4b.

The bottle illustrated in the left half-view of FIGS. 1 and 2 differs from that of the right half-view in that it is staged in two portions 4 and 104 of different diameter or width, the lower portion 104 of the bottle being wider than the upper portion 4 thereof.

The pleated wall of the bottle 1 is here for example shared equally between its upper and lower portions, each portion comprising for example six bellows.

The pleated wall of the lower portion 104 is homothetically identical to that of the upper portion.

A larger tapered crown 10 connects the small base of the last bellows 4a of the upper portion to the large base of the first bellows 104a of the lower portion 104.

The function of this stepped surface of the bottle will be explained later.

The non-return stop means 2 illustrated in the right half-views of FIGS. 1 and 2, consists of an internally notched and possibly perforated sleeve 11 which partially surrounds the pleated wall 4 of the bottle 1.

The sleeve 11 is secured for example at its upper end 11a to the upper part 6 of the bottle 1, while its lower end slides freely along the pleated wall 4 in the direction of a reduction in the volume of the bottle. Indeed, the notches or teeth 11b provided on the internal surface of the sleeve 11 have a slope oriented upwards for the passage of a peripheral rim 8 and a flat part serving as a stopper and intended to come into abutment against the 'one of these edges to retain the bottle in the contracted position.

Of course, one could fix the sleeve 11 at its lower end, its upper end then sliding along the pleated wall 4 of the bottle.

The notches 11b can be formed peripherally on the internal surface of the sleeve 11 or in the form of a plurality of teeth scattered over its entire internal surface.

We see in the right half-views of Figures 1 and 2 that the sleeve 11 forms a double wall structure stiffening the bottle and preventing its bending.

In addition, when the bottle 1 is closed, the internal gas pressure compresses the external peripheral rims 8 against the internal notched surface of the sleeve 11, which further improves the retention of the bottle in its contracted position.

In the variant illustrated in the left half-views of Figures 1 and 2, the non-return stop means 2 consists of a first internally notched sleeve 12 which cooperates with the upper portion 4 of the bottle and a second internally notched sleeve 13 which cooperates with the lower portion 104.

The difference d between the radius of the lower portion 104 and the radius of the upper portion 4, is substantially equal to or greater than the thickness of the first notched sleeve 12 so that it can fit inside the second notched sleeve 13 during contraction of the bottle. It can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 that the notches 12a of the upper half of the first sleeve 12 are oriented downwards while the notches 12b of the lower half of the latter are oriented upwards, so that the area of junction 12c between said upper and lower halves serve as a fixed point for hooking the sleeve 12 on an external peripheral rim 8 of the pleated wall.

The height of each half of the first sleeve 12 is calculated so as to retain, for example, a bellows in the initial position and up to three bellows in the final contracted position.

The second notched sleeve 13 has notches 13a oriented downwards on its upper three quarters, and notches 13b oriented upwards on its lower quarter, the junction zone 13c between the notches 13a and 13b serving as a fixed point of attachment on an external peripheral rim 108.

The first sleeve 12 has on its external surface a tooth 12d radially projecting and intended to come into engagement with the notches 13a of the second sleeve 13 when it fits on the first sleeve 12.

Of course, one could provide several sleeve sizes fitting into each other on a bottle with several staggered stages.

To allow easy mounting of the sleeves 12 and 13 on the bottle 1, as is better visible in FIG. 3, the notches 13b are provided only on peripherally spaced portions and the corresponding peripheral flange 108 is formed only on complementary portions of said notched portions 13b, so as to allow the sleeve 13 to slide freely upwards on the pleated wall 104 of the bottle and its fixed attachment to a rim 108 thereof aligning the notched portions 13b with the rim portions peripheral 108 by simple relative rotation of the sleeve 13 and the pleated wall 104.

It could be provided in the same way that the notches 12a of the first sleeve 12 are formed only on peripherally spaced portions and that the corresponding peripheral flanges 8 are also formed on complementary portions.

The bottle 1 here forms a triple wall structure in its position shown in the left half-view of FIG. 2.

We will now describe a second embodiment of the system of the invention with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

The bottle 1 here has a pleated wall 204, the radially external 207 and internal fold lines 209 of which are helical, a rim 208 projecting axially from the external fold line 207 outwards to cooperate with the stop means. anti-return.

The rim 208 may be continuous, discontinuous, or even be in the form of a succession of studs.

It is also possible to provide bosses 210 projecting externally from the internal helical folding line 209 to stiffen the bellows before they are crushed, these bosses disappearing during compression of the bottle and passage of the sleeve for example.

The non-return stop means 2 consists of a sleeve 14 which may be perforated and which at least partially envelops the pleated wall 204.

The lower end 14a of the sleeve 14 projects radially inwardly to come to bear under the aforementioned helical flanges 208. It can alternatively be provided that the wall is folded in an accordion fashion, but that the aforementioned peripheral flanges consisting for example of a series of studs define a helical ramp for guiding the contraction.

A latching mechanism is formed between the upper part 6 of the bottle and the upper end of the sleeve 14, for example with teeth 15 on the external periphery of the bottle and a corresponding flexible tongue 14b on the internal wall of the sleeve for allow the sleeve to rotate freely in one direction and prevent it from rotating in the opposite direction indicated by the arrow F in FIG. 5.

The sleeve 14 acts here as a nut in which the turns 204a of the pleated wall 204 are housed during the contraction of the bottle.

The aforementioned sleeves 11 to 14 also serve as a means of guiding the contraction of the bottle.

FIGS. 6 to 9 show yet another embodiment of the system of the invention, in which the pleated wall 304 of the bottle 1 comprises a succession of fold lines 307 of the same diameter and spaced from one another in the axial direction H of the bottle by annular bands 304a curved towards the inside of the latter.

External peripheral flanges 308 radially project from the pleated wall 304 from the fold lines 307.

The non-return stop means 2 here consists of elements forming for example hooks 16 which extend substantially parallel to the axis H of the bottle from the aforementioned external peripheral rims 308. These hooks 16 can be staggered on the various aforementioned peripheral edges and can have variable lengths.

These hooks 16 have of course their beak 16a oriented towards the inside of the bottle to hang on the adjacent peripheral edges, for example underlying.

It is also possible to engage all the peripheral flanges 308 with at least one hook 16 during initial packaging to avoid elongation of the bottle under the effect of internal pressure.

In general, the different pleated wall shapes shown in the drawings can be associated with the different non-return stop means previously indicated.

We will now briefly describe the operation of the system of the invention.

When a user opens the bottle 1 for the first time, for example by unscrewing a cap (not shown) and pours part of the liquid contained in this bottle 1 outside, before closing the bottle, the user compresses it by deforming the pleated wall until the level of liquid remaining in the bottle 1 reaches the neck 5.

Simultaneously with the contraction of the pleated wall, the non-return stop means 2 engages on the various external peripheral edges so as to retain the bottle in its contracted position.

The user then closes the bottle 1 which is ready for later consumption of its remaining content. Of course, the bottle and its various non-return stop means can come from one material and be made from a single plastic material.

The bottle 1 can be produced by injection into a mold of a preform which is subsequently blown to form the bottle.

One can also provide external plastic straps connecting the neck 5 of the bottle to its bottom 3 during its initial packaging, to avoid any disgorgement of the liquid when it is first opened.

Although the invention has been described in connection with several particular embodiments, it is obvious that it is in no way limited thereto and that it includes all the technical equivalents of the means described.

Claims

claims

1. System of a variable volume bottle (1) intended to contain in particular a liquid with gas content, of the type comprising a deformable pleated external side wall (4, 104, 204, 304), and a means of external non-return stop (2) to keep the bottle in one of a succession of internal volume states and to allow its progressive deformation from a given volume state to another notably more reduced volume state so as to conforming the internal volume of the bottle to the volume of liquid remaining therein, characterized in that said non-return stop means (2) cooperates with peripheral rims (8, 108, 208, 308) which project towards the outside of the bottle (1), from the outermost fold lines (7, 107, 207, 307) of the pleated wall of the bottle.

2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the non-return stop means (2) is formed of at least one internally notched sleeve (11, 12, 13) which partially extends along the wall pleated (4, 104) of the bottle (1), so that the notches (11b, 12a, 12b, 13a, 13b) can catch on the aforementioned external peripheral rims (8, 108) during the compression of the bottle (1).

3. System according to claim 2, characterized in that a single sleeve (11) is used, one (lia) of its ends being integral with the upper (6) or lower (4b) part of the bottle (1 ) or one of the peripheral edges (8) of the pleated wall (4).

4. System according to claim 2, characterized in that the pleated wall of the bottle (1) consists of at least two portions (4, 104) of different width or diameter, an internally notched sleeve (12, 13) being associated with each of said portions, so that during compression of the bottle, said sleeves can fit one into the other.

5. System according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the notches (12a, 13a) on the upper internal surface of the sleeve (s) (12, 13) are oriented in the opposite direction to those (12b, 13b) on its lower internal surface, the junction zone (12c, 13c) between said upper and lower surfaces serving as a fixed point for hooking the sleeve onto a peripheral flange (8,

108) of the pleated wall (4, 104), and in that the notches

(12a, 13b) of one of said surfaces are provided only on peripherally spaced portions, the corresponding peripheral edges (8, 108) of the pleated wall being formed only on complementary portions of said notched portions, so as to allow free sliding of the sleeve in one direction on the pleated wall and its fixed hooking on a rim thereof by aligning said portions by simple relative rotation of the sleeve and the pleated wall.

6. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the non-return stop means (2) comprises an optionally perforated sleeve (14) at least partially enveloping the pleated wall (204) and comprising a radially projecting part (14a) inward to bear against the peripheral edges (208) which are in a helical configuration.

7. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the non-return stop means comprises a plurality of hooking elements (16) formed on the aforementioned peripheral flanges (308) and capable of catching on the flanges immediately. adjacent, for example underlying, to lock the bottle in the contracted position.

8. System according to claim 7, characterized in that the above-mentioned hooking elements are hooks (16) projecting from the peripheral edges (308) parallel to the axis (H) of the bottle.

9. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the non-return stop means (2) provides a brake function preventing spontaneous contraction of the bottle.