WO2003037728A1

WO2003037728A1 - Plastic bottle

Info

Publication number: WO2003037728A1
Application number: PCT/EP2002/009992
Authority: WO
Inventors: Johann KÜNZ
Original assignee: Alpla-Werke Alwin Lehner Gmbh & Co. Kg
Priority date: 2001-10-29
Filing date: 2002-09-06
Publication date: 2003-05-08

Abstract

The invention relates to a plastic bottle (1) that comprises a bottle base (2), delimited by bottle walls (5, 6), with a cavity (7), which base runs into a pouring opening (4) on a bottle neck (3) and is closed by a bottle bottom (12). In a grip area (10, 11) of the bottle base (2) at least one projection (8, 9) projects from one bottle wall (5, 6) into the cavity (7). Said projection maintains the opposite bottle wall at a predetermined minimum distance when the bottle is compressed.

Description

Plastic bottle

The invention relates to a plastic bottle according to the preamble of claim 1.

The containers made of tinplate or colored sheet, glass or ceramic, which were common in the past, are increasingly being replaced by containers made of plastic. In particular for the packaging of fluid substances, for example of beverages, oil, cleaning utensils, personal care products, cosmetics, etc., mainly plastic containers, in particular plastic bottles, are used. The low weight and the lower costs certainly play a significant role in this substitution. The use of recyclable plastic materials and the overall lower overall energy balance in their manufacture also help to promote the acceptance of plastic bottles by consumers. Plastic bottles are manufactured in mass production, for example in an injection molding process, a stretch blow molding process or in a continuous or discontinuous extrusion blow molding process.

In the home or in commercial use, it often happens that the content of the plastic bottle, for example a washing-up liquid or the like, is to be mixed with another liquid in a certain ratio. In many cases, an exact dosage is not important. It is sufficient if the required amount is added approximately. With the known plastic bottles it is hardly possible to reproducibly apply the contents of the bottle in at least approximately the same amounts. Plastic bottles are known from the prior art, which are additionally equipped with a metering container or cup. For example, a cap of the plastic bottle forms the dosing cup. However, such solutions often result in contamination of the outer surface of the plastic bottle when the cap is put back on the bottle. In addition, the closure caps designed as dosing cups are relatively large in volume. Separate dosing containers are also not a satisfactory solution, since two containers always have to be handled in storage, in sales and finally by the consumer. Usually separate dosing containers are also lost. Plastic bottles are also known which have a molded-on metering container which can be filled with the liquid to be dispensed from the inside of the bottle via a separate metering channel. However, such bottle variants are relatively expensive to manufacture. The liquid is usually dosed into the dosing container by squeezing the plastic bottle together, which is not always easy to do.

Often, liquid to pasty substances that consist of separate components must also be applied. For example, the substances are vinegar / oil, cleaning agents or agents for use in garden maintenance or also in agriculture, which consist of at least two liquid individual components, which must be kept separate from each other and only come into contact with each other when poured out come. Bottle systems are known in which, for example, two separate bottles form a unit. The bottles can, for example, be connected to one another along their longitudinal extent, for example glued together, or can also be arranged in a corresponding holder. Multi-chamber bottles, in particular two-chamber bottles, are usually used, which have two separate chambers for storing the components. The chambers can open into separate pouring necks, which can also be inclined with respect to the axial extension of the bottle body. A common neck with a common pouring opening can also be provided.

To dispense the liquid components to be mixed with one another, the bottle systems or multi-chamber bottles, in particular two-chamber bottles, are pressed together by hand. Because of the smaller contact surface, greater pressure is always exerted on the bottle wall with the thumb than with the other fingers on the wall of the adjacent bottle chamber or bottle. This will the two components applied in a very uneven ratio. This not only leads to a bad mixture of the two components, but ultimately also has the consequence that one bottle chamber or bottle has already been emptied, while in the second bottle chamber there is still a considerable part, often up to half, of the second Component is included. The remaining amount of the second component contained in the second chamber or bottle is usually useless on its own and is therefore disposed of together with the bottle. This is not very economical and is also very unsatisfactory from an ecological perspective.

The object of the present invention is therefore to remedy the disadvantages of the plastic bottles of the prior art. A plastic bottle is to be created which enables the dispensing of at least approximately reproducible amounts of the filled content. The invention is also intended to create the prerequisites for uniformly emptying a two-chamber bottle or a two-bottle system with components filled into separate chambers or bottles.

The solution to these problems consists in a plastic bottle with a dosing aid according to the characterizing section of patent claim 1. Preferred embodiment variants and / or further developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent device and method claims.

A plastic bottle according to the invention has a bottle body delimited by bottle walls with a cavity which opens into a pouring opening on a bottle neck and is closed off by a bottle bottom. In a gripping area of the bottle body, at least one protrusion protrudes from a bottle wall into the cavity, which, when pressed together, holds the opposite bottle wall at a predetermined IVI minimum distance. When the bottle is pressed together by hand, the projection protruding from the bottle wall into the cavity prevents the bottle from being pressed together by a predetermined amount. At the same time, the protrusion acts as a metering aid because, when pressed together, the same amount of the contents filled in the plastic bottle is always released to the maximum possible extent. This represents a significant simplification for the consumer, since he can now reproducibly dispense about the same amount of the contents, for example of a detergent, contained in the plastic bottle.

In order to ensure that the plastic bottle is pressed together to approximately the same extent, the length of the projection is dimensioned such that the bottle walls lying opposite one another move by approximately 2 mm to approximately 25 mm when pressed together. The extent to which the bottle walls can be compressed determines the change in volume of the bottle. In this way, the manufacturer can already determine how much of the content contained in the bottle can be dispensed during a dosing process.

In an advantageous variant of the invention, a second projection protrudes into the cavity from the bottle wall opposite the projection. The second projection is arranged approximately at the same axial height of the bottle body as the first projection. By providing two opposing protrusions, the length of each protrusion can be reduced. This simplifies the manufacture of the projections. In addition, with a shorter length, they also have a higher inherent stiffness. The distance between the two projections specifies the extent to which the plastic bottle can be pressed together, and thus also defines the maximum meterable amount of the contents inside the plastic bottle.

The projections protruding into the cavity are preferably formed by indentations or indentations in the bottle walls. The indentations or indentations can be produced very easily in the manufacturing process by appropriately designing the shape of the plastic bottle. The indentations or indentations of the bottle walls are advantageously designed as recessed grips. The recessed handles make handling the bottle easier. At the same time, this also specifies where the bottle body of the plastic bottle is gripped so that it is ensured that the protrusions protruding into the interior fulfill their function as metering aids.

It is particularly advantageous if the recessed grips are adapted to the space requirement of a thumb and / or the adjacent fingers of one hand. This very simple, constructive variant ensures that the plastic bottle is always gripped in the same position. The ergonomically designed recesses make handling the bottle enormously easier and define a natural use position for the user. In this way it can be ensured that the bottle is always gripped in the same way and is always compressed to approximately the same extent in order to dispense the contents.

A variant of the plastic bottle, in which the configuration according to the invention proves to be particularly advantageous, has a cavity which is divided by a partition into two separate chambers. In this two-chamber bottle, the projections protrude from the bottle walls opposite the partition. Equipping the two-chamber bottle with projections protruding into the chambers facilitates the metered discharge of the components contained in the chambers. Since the two-chamber bottle is always compressed to the greatest possible extent limited by the projections, it is ensured that the predetermined amount is always dispensed from both chambers. The distance by which the bottle walls can approach the partition wall when pressed out is predetermined by the projections projecting into the chambers. The two chambers usually have the same volume. Therefore, the dosing volume of the two chambers is given approximately the same. This ensures that the chambers are emptied at the same time. In the case of chambers with different volumes, the lengths of the projections in the individual chambers are coordinated with one another in such a way that the two components relationship to each other. In this case too, it is ensured that the two chambers are emptied simultaneously.

In a variant of the two-chamber bottle, a further projection projects into the interior of the respective chamber from at least one side, preferably from both sides. The projections are arranged approximately at the same axial height as the projections which protrude from the opposite bottle walls. The length of the projections projecting from the bottle walls can be reduced by the additional projections on the partition. The projections on the bottle walls are in turn advantageously produced by indentations or indentations of the bottle walls. The indentations or indentations preferably form recessed grips which ensure that the two-chamber bottle is gripped in the correct position.

In a further variant of a plastic bottle designed according to the invention, a preferably integrally molded dosing container is provided on the bottle body and is connected to the cavity having one or two chambers. The projections protruding from the bottle walls into the cavity or into the chambers facilitate the dispensing of the bottle contents into the dosing container. With two-component liquids, the individual components can be introduced into the dosing container much more precisely.

The design of the plastic bottle according to the invention can also be used in two-bottle systems which comprise two separate bottles which are connected to one another, for example glued or welded, along their axial extent. The separate bottles can also be held together by a special holder. In this case too, the projections protruding into the bottle cavities serve as a metering aid and ensure that the two plastic bottles are emptied at the same time. As a result, no residues of a component remain in the flax. This is advantageous from an economic and also an ecological point of view. The plastic bottles designed according to the invention can be produced by all known manufacturing processes. However, mass production of the plastic bottles in a blow molding process is particularly preferred.

Further advantages result from the following description of exemplary embodiments of the invention with reference to the schematic drawings. In a representation that is not to scale:

1 shows a side view of a first exemplary embodiment of a plastic bottle according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the plastic bottle from FIG. 1 according to section line II-II;

FIG. 3 shows the plastic bottle from FIG. 1 in a view rotated by 90 °;

4 shows a side view of a second exemplary embodiment of a plastic bottle according to the invention;

FIG. 5 shows a sectional illustration of the plastic bottle from FIG. 4 according to section line V-V; and

6 shows the plastic bottle from FIG. 4 in a view rotated by 90 °.

The exemplary embodiment of a plastic bottle according to the invention shown in FIGS. 1-3 bears the reference number 1 overall. The plastic bottle 1 has a bottle body 2 which has a cavity 7 delimited by bottle walls 5, 6. A bottle base 12 forms a base for the plastic bottle 1 and closes off the cavity 7 at the bottom. The bottle body 2 goes to form a Shoulder into a bottle neck 3, which has a pouring opening 4. As can be seen in particular from the sectional view in FIG. 3, the bottle walls 5, 6 are provided with indents 10, 11 at opposite sections. These continue into the cavity 7 and form approximately peg-like projections 8, 9. The projections 8, 9 are at a distance x from one another which is approximately 2 mm to approximately 25 mm. The projections 8, 9 limit the extent to which the plastic bottle 1 can be compressed and form a dosing aid when administering a liquid to pasty medium which has been filled into the cavity and which, for example, a detergent, a fabric softener, or also a foodstuff, for example ketchup or the like can be.

The second exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 4-6 is provided overall with the reference symbol 21. It in turn has a bottle body 22 with a bottle bottom 32. A bottle neck 23 with a pouring opening 24 connects to the bottle body 22. The bottle walls 25, 26 of the bottle body 22 and the bottle bottom 32 delimit a cavity 27. The bottle walls 25, 26 are provided with indentations 30, 31 at opposite sections, which are designed as recessed grips in the present exemplary embodiment. The recessed grip 31 in the bottle wall 26 is designed to be less wide than the recessed grip 30 in the opposite bottle wall 25. The smaller recessed grip 31 begins approximately at the same axial height as the opposite recessed grip 30, but extends less far in the axial direction. This takes into account the contexts of the user's hand. The smaller recessed grip 31 is designed to accommodate the thumb of the user, while the larger recessed grip 30 has space for the other fingers lying next to one another. Due to the different design of the recessed handles, the plastic bottle 21 has an ergonomically designed handle area, and the bottle is clearly in use for the user. The indentations 30, 31 of the bottle walls 25, 26 form in the interior of the bottle 21 projections 28, 29 which protrude from the bottle walls 25, 26 into the cavity 27. The projections 28, 29 are of relatively large area and have an essentially lenticular shape. The apices of the projections 28, 29 are at a distance x from one another, which in turn is approximately 2 mm to approximately 25 mm. The distance x specifies the maximum distance by which the opposite one is when the plastic bottle 21 is compressed Bottle walls 25, 26 can be approximated. The resulting maximum change in volume of the cavity results in the metered amount that can be dispensed when the plastic bottle 21 is compressed.

The invention has been explained using the example of a plastic bottle with only a single cavity. It goes without saying that bottles with a cavity divided by a partition into two chambers can also be equipped with the projections according to the invention. To illustrate this embodiment variant, one must imagine in the sectional representations between the projections protruding from the bottle walls that a partition runs approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal extension of the projections. In this case, the distance between the projections and the partition limits the extent to which the two chambers of the plastic bottle can be compressed. It can also be provided that further projections protrude from the partition wall, which are opposite the projections from the bottle walls. In this case, the projections protruding from the bottle walls can be made shorter. The bottle neck does not have to extend axially of the bottle body, as in the exemplary embodiments shown. It can also be arranged inclined at a certain angle.

In a further embodiment variant, not shown, a dosing container can also be integrally formed or otherwise attached to the bottle body and is connected to a cavity of the plastic bottle having one or two chambers. Protrusions protruding from the bottle walls into the cavity or the chambers are again provided as a metering aid for a plastic bottle of this type. The projections are arranged in the grip area of the bottle body, as in the exemplary embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-6.

It is also possible for two plastic bottles equipped with projections to be connected to one another along their longitudinal extent, for example glued or welded together. There is also the possibility of arranging two plastic bottles designed according to the invention in a holder, which securely connects the two bottles to one another and allows common handling. Such one Two ash systems can be used, for example, for the administration of vinegar and oil. The protrusions in the plastic bottles again serve as a metering aid.

Claims

claims

1. Plastic bottle with a bottle body (2, 22) bounded by bottle walls (5, 6; 25, 26) with a cavity (7; 27) which opens into a pouring opening (4; 24) on a bottle neck (3; 23) and is closed off by a bottle base (12; 32), characterized in that at least in one gripping area (10, 11; 30, 31) of the bottle body (2; 22) from a bottle wall (5, 6; 25, 26) a projection (8, 9; 28, 29) protrudes into the cavity (7; 27), which holds the opposite bottle wall at a predetermined minimum distance when pressed together.

2. Plastic bottle according to claim 1, characterized in that the length of the projection is dimensioned such that when the bottle body (2; 22) is pressed together, the opposing bottle walls (5, 6; 25, 26) by a distance (x) of approximately 2 mm to about 25 mm are movable towards each other.

3. Plastic bottle according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that each of two opposite bottle walls (5, 6; 25, 26) projects a projection (8, 9; 28, 29) into the cavity (7; 27) and the Projections (8, 9; 28, 29) lie opposite one another and are arranged approximately at the same axial height of the bottle body (2; 22).

4. Plastic bottle according to one of claims 1-3, characterized in that each projection (8, 9; 28, 29) inside the bottle body (2; 22) through an indentation (30, 31) or recess (10, 11 ) the bottle wall (5, 6; 25, 26) is formed.

5. Plastic bottle according to claim 4, characterized in that each indentation (30, 31) is designed as a recessed grip.

6. Plastic bottle according to claim 5, characterized in that the recessed grips (30, 31) are adapted to the space required by a thumb and / or the adjacent fingers of one hand.

7. Plastic bottle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cavity has two chambers separated by a partition and the projections protrude from the bottle walls opposite the partition.

8. Plastic bottle according to claim 7, characterized in that from at least one side, preferably from both sides, the partition protrudes a further projection into the interior of the respective chamber, which is arranged approximately at the same axial height as the projections, which protrude from the opposite bottle walls.

9. Plastic bottle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bottle body has a preferably integrally molded dosing container which is connected to the cavity having one or two chambers.

10. Two-bottle system comprising two separate bottles, which are connected to one another along their axial extent, for example glued or welded, or are held together by a special holder, characterized in that each bottle according to one of claims 1 - 6 is flared.

1. Plastic bottle or two-bottle system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each bottle is manufactured in a blow molding process.