Plastic container configured for case-less shipping

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9352873-B2
Application number	US-85590210-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 13, 2010
Priority date	Dec 4, 2009
Publication date	May 31, 2016
Grant date	May 31, 2016

Abstract

A plastic container configured for case-less shipping includes a base portion, a sidewall portion, and a neck portion. The base portion is configured to support the container on a surface and includes a substantially planar surface contact portion. The sidewall portion extends upwardly from the base portion and includes a shoulder, an integrally molded handle having a handle opening, and a horizontally-extending collapsible formation. The neck portion extends upwardly from the shoulder of the sidewall portion and includes a dispensing opening, a neck finish, and an uppermost vertical portion. In an embodiment, the handle includes a handle portion that extends vertically from the sidewall portion to an extent that is at or about the same vertical height as the uppermost vertical portion of the neck portion, and a portion of the sidewall portion is permitted to deform in response to a top load force.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A plastic container configured for case-less shipping, the container comprising:
a base portion configured to support the container on a surface, the base portion including a substantially planar surface contact portion;
a sidewall portion extending upwardly from the base portion, the sidewall portion including a shoulder, a generally hollow handle integrally blow molded with the container and having a handle opening, and a horizontally-extending collapsible formation; and
a neck portion, the neck portion extending upwardly from the shoulder of the sidewall portion, the neck portion including a dispensing opening, a neck finish, and an uppermost vertical portion, and the dispensing opening is substantially centered on a central vertical axis of the container such that, in a top plan view, the dispensing opening is substantially positioned at the center of the top plan view;
wherein the handle includes a handle portion that extends vertically from the sidewall portion to an extent that is at or about the same vertical height as the uppermost vertical portion of the neck portion in order to support a portion of another container in a stacked configuration and bear at least some of a top load force created by the weight of the other container; a portion of the sidewall portion is permitted to deform in response to the top load force;
wherein the horizontally-extending collapsible formation is configured to deform in part without exceeding the plastic deformation of the container to reduce deformation of the container in response to the top load force.

2. The container of claim 1 , wherein the horizontally-extending collapsible formation extends across a side of the container.

3. The container of claim 1 , wherein the horizontally-extending collapsible formation extends continuously around the periphery of the container.

4. The container of claim 1 , wherein the sidewall includes edges that separate panel portions, and the horizontally-extending collapsible formation is narrower in the vertical direction near the edges than through an intermediate portion of the separated panel portions.

5. The container of claim 1 , wherein the horizontally-extending collapsible formation comprises a collapsible rib.

6. The container of claim 1 , wherein the horizontally-extending collapsible formation is configured to deform in response to top-loading of the container.

7. The container of claim 1 , wherein the shoulder extends to the neck portion at an angle.

8. The container of claim 7 , wherein, with the exception of the portion of the shoulder that is associated with the handle, the angle of the shoulder is substantially the same around the circumference of the sidewall portion.

9. The container of claim 7 , wherein the angle is from about 30° to about 40°.

10. The container of claim 7 , wherein the angle is about 40°±5°.

11. The container of claim 1 , wherein the shoulder includes a plurality of reinforcement formations.

12. The container of claim 1 , wherein the shoulder includes a plurality of radially extending ribs.

13. The container of claim 1 , wherein the handle opening extends vertically in a direction generally parallel with a longitudinal axis of the container, the handle opening defining a finger-receiving area.

14. The container of claim 1 , wherein the handle is provided in the upper one-half of the container.

15. The container of claim 1 , wherein the outer radial extent of the handle does not extend radially beyond the outer radial extent of the sidewall of the container.

16. The container of claim 1 , wherein the neck finish includes a drip lip.

17. The container of claim 1 , wherein the base portion includes a transverse formation.

18. The container of claim 1 , wherein the base portion includes at least two transverse formations that intersect one another.

19. The container of claim 1 , wherein the base portion includes at least two transverse formations, the at least two transverse formations being substantially perpendicular to each other.

20. The container of claim 1 , wherein the sidewall portion further includes a plurality of horizontal ribs that extend substantially across the container.

21. The container of claim 1 , wherein the container is essentially square.

22. The container of claim 1 , wherein the dispensing opening is directly centered on the central vertical axis of the container.

23. The container of claim 1 , wherein the horizontally-extending collapsible formation is configured to allow the container, when the container is filled, to reach a hydrostatic equilibrium without exceeding the plastic deformation of the container.

24. A method for case-less stacking of plastic containers, comprising:
providing a first level of plastic containers, each container having a base portion including a substantially planar surface contact portion; a sidewall portion extending upwardly from the base portion, the sidewall portion including a shoulder, an integrally molded handle having a handle opening, and a horizontally-extending collapsible formation; and a neck portion extending upwardly from the shoulder of the sidewall portion, the neck portion including a dispensing opening, a neck finish, and an uppermost vertical portion, wherein the dispensing opening is substantially centered on a central vertical axis of the container such that, in a top plan view, the dispensing opening is substantially positioned at the center of the top plan view; wherein the handle is generally hollow and is blow molded, and the handle includes a handle portion that extends vertically from the sidewall portion to an extent that is at or about the same vertical height as the uppermost vertical portion of the neck portion; wherein the horizontally-extending collapsible formation is configured to deform in part without exceeding the plastic deformation of the container to reduce deformation of the container in response to the top load force;
providing a tier sheet upon the first level of plastic containers;
providing a second level of plastic containers upon the tier sheet, wherein the weight of the second level of plastic containers creates the top load force on the first level of plastic containers,
permitting the horizontally-extending collapsible formation of the first level of plastic containers to deform in response to the top load force until the top load force is at least partially countered by an internal hydrostatic force associated with one or more of the first level of plastic containers.

Assignees

• Dorn James Christopher
• Plastipak Packaging Inc

Inventors

• Dorn James Christopher

Classifications

• B65D2501/0081

  Bottles of non-circular cross-section · CPC title

• B65D2501/0036

  Hollow circonferential ribs · CPC title

• B65D23/10

  Handles · CPC title

• B65D21/0209

  stackable or joined together one-upon-the-other in the upright or upside-down position (B65D21/0234, B65D21/0235 take precedence) · CPC title

• B65D1/0223 Primary

  characterised by shape · CPC title