Collapsible bottle with flow channels

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9919839-B2
Application number	US-201514855012-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 15, 2015
Priority date	Sep 15, 2014
Publication date	Mar 20, 2018
Grant date	Mar 20, 2018

Abstract

A collapsible bottle with a channelway provided in a side wall which, in collapsed conditions of the bottle, the channelway becomes engaged with opposed portions of the side wall and define a flow passageway therethrough toward a discharge opening at one end of the bottle and a closed other end of the bottle.

First claim

I claim:

1. A collapsible bottle having a first end and a second end;
the bottle having an enclosed cavity defined between the first end and the second end and an encircling side wall bridging between the first end and the second end, the side wall including a front wall and a rear wall opposed to the front wall,
a discharge outlet at the first end,
wherein the bottle is collapsible such that when vacuum conditions are applied to the outlet, the bottle collapses with the front wall and the rear wall drawn towards each other and into engagement with each other,
the front wall carrying a channelway,
the channelway defining a flow channel which is open toward the rear wall between the first end and the second end,
wherein during collapse of the bottle when the front wall and the rear wall are drawn into engagement, the rear wall engages the front wall to bridge the flow channel and a flow passageway is defined between the channelway of the front wall and the rear wall permitting fluid flow therethrough between the first end and the second end.

2. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 1 wherein:
the bottle contains a fluid which is drawn from the outlet when the vacuum conditions are applied to the outlet, and the vacuum conditions include a threshold vacuum condition required to draw a substantial portion of the fluid from the outlet,
the channelway maintains the flow channel provided the vacuum conditions do not exceed the threshold vacuum condition.

3. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 2 wherein:
the channelway having a rigidity which resists deflection when the vacuum conditions exist in the cavity.

4. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 2 wherein:
the channelway having a rigidity which resists deflection sufficiently that the flow channel is maintained when the vacuum conditions exist in the cavity not greater than the threshold vacuum condition.

5. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 4 wherein the flow channel extends between the first end and the second end.

6. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 5 wherein the flow passageway extends between the first end and the second end.

7. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 4 wherein:
the channelway is one channelway of a plurality of parallel channelways with each channelway formed between adjacent parallel panels in an array of the parallel panels folded in an accordion-like array.

8. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 4 wherein:
the front wall includes a first end header portion proximate the first end and a second end header portion spaced from the first end header towards the second end,
the channelway and its flow channel ending proximate the first end at a first end formed by the first header portion,
the channelway and its flow channel ending proximate the second end at a second end formed by the second header portion.

9. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 8 wherein each of the first header portion and the second header portion extends towards the rear wall.

10. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 9 wherein the side wall comprises a thin sheet member circumferentially about the cavity.

11. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 4 wherein:
the side wall has an interior surface and an exterior surface;
the channelway comprises a first portion of the front wall extending from the first end toward the second end and a second portion of the front wall extending from the first end toward the second end adjacent the first portion,
the interior surface over the first portion opening into the cavity,
the interior surface over the second portion open into the cavity opposed to the interior surface over the first portion,
the channelway defined between the interior surface over the first portion and the interior surface over the second portion.

12. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 11 wherein:
the first portion is disposed in a first flat plane,
the second portion is disposed in a second flat plane,
the first portion and the second portion join along a common first longitudinal edge with the first flat plane forming an angle of not greater than 120 degrees with the second flat plane.

13. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 12 wherein:
the front wall has a third portion extending from the first end toward the second end adjacent the second portion,
the third portion is disposed in a third flat plane,
the second portion and the third portion join along a common second longitudinal edge with the second flat plane forming an angle of not greater than 120 degrees with the third flat plane.

14. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 13 wherein:
the front wall has a fourth portion extending from the first end toward the second end adjacent the third portion,
the fourth portion is disposed in a fourth flat plane,
the third portion and the fourth portion join along a common third longitudinal edge with the third flat plane forming an angle of not greater than 120 degrees with the fourth flat plane.

15. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 1 wherein the side wall includes a right wall and a left wall,
the rear wall and the front wall are spaced a distance less than distance the right wall and the left wall are spaced,
during collapse of the bottle, a center portion of the right wall being drawn inwardly with the right wall to become folded upon itself and a center portion of the left wall is drawn inwardly with the left wall to become folded upon itself,
in a fully collapsed condition, the center portion of the right wall and the center portion of the left wall are spaced from each other and the rear wall and the front wall are drawn into engagement therebetween,
the channelways being provided in the front wall to extend longitudinally of the front wall where the front wall engages with the rear wall between the center portions.

16. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 15 wherein the discharge opening is disposed about a central axis,
the side wall extending parallel to the central axis,
the discharge opening located closer to the rear wall than the front wall and equidistance between the right wall and the left wall, and
wherein the bottle is manufactured from plastic by a manufacturing process including blow moulding.

17. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 16 wherein each of the right wall and the left wall include fold slots which induce, during collapse of the bottle under vacuum conditions, each of the right wall and the left wall to be drawn inwardly to fold about themselves.

18. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 1 wherein:
the side wall has an interior surface and an exterior surface;
the channelway comprises a first portion of the front wall extending from the first end toward the second end and a second portion of the front wall extending from the first end toward the second end adjacent first portion,
the interior surface over the first portion opening into the cavity,
the interior surface over the second portion open into the cavity opposed to the interior surface over the first portion,
the channelway defined between the interior surface over the first portion and the interior surface over the second portion,
the first portion is disposed in a first plane,
the second portion is disposed in a second plane,
the first portion and the second portion join along a common first longitudinal edge with the first plane forming angle of not greater than 120 degrees with the second plane.

19. A collapsible bottle as claimed in claim 18 w

Assignees

• Op Hygiene Ip Gmbh

Inventors

• Mirbach Ali

Classifications

• B65D1/0292 Primary

  Foldable bottles · CPC title

• B65D1/40

  Details of walls (other container details B65D23/00, B65D25/00) · CPC title

• B65D83/0055

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B65D21/086 Primary

  Collapsible or telescopic containers (B65D1/0292 and B65D21/068 take precedence) · CPC title

• B65D2501/0027

  Hollow longitudinal ribs · CPC title