Reusable wide-mouth container and packaging unit

Abstract

The invention relates to a reusable wide-mouth container (100) made of plastic, in particular for non-liquid, flowable filling materials. The reusable wide-mouth container comprises a container base (101), a container body (102) and a neck (20), wherein the neck (20) has a neck portion (30) terminating in an outlet opening (40) and adjoining a container shoulder (50). The neck portion (30) has an inner wall (31) and an outer wall (32) on which a fastening device (60) for fastening the cap (70) is arranged. The container body (102) has an average wall thickness (W) greater than 0.5 mm, in particular greater than 0.7 mm and less than 1.2 mm. The neck portion has a wall thickness (H) greater than 1.5 mm, wherein the neck portion has a circumferential groove (33) at a transition to the container shoulder (50). The invention also relates to a packaging unit comprising a reusable wide-mouth container (100).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a reusable wide-mouth container made of plastic material, in particular for non-liquid, flowable filling material, and to a packaging unit comprising a reusable wide-mouth container according to the preamble of the independent claim. Background Art

[0002] As the population continues to grow, the world's natural resources are becoming increasingly scarce. At the same time, increased demand is causing the environment to become increasingly polluted by waste. As a result, efforts are being made to recycle or reuse used packaging.

[0003] For the latter purpose, refillable glass containers are used.

[0004] Glass packaging having a metal closure, an anti-corrosion layer for the closure and a soft, elastic sealing compound disposed in the closure is common.

[0005] Glass production is not particularly precise. This results in the fact that the dimensions of individual glass containers, and in particular the dimensions of the container neck and the fixture arranged thereon, have a large tolerance range. These deviations can be significantly greater than 0.5 mm in diameter relative to the sealing surface.

[0006] This makes it necessary to provide a very thick seal made of plastic material so that these tolerances can be absorbed. Typically, soft PVC seals are used for most glass containers.

[0007] Commonly used soft PVC requires plasticizers in order to be able to use the original hard PVC as a sealant. Phthalates are commonly used as plasticizers to give PVC softness and good sealing properties.

[0008] Phthalates such as DEHP are suspected to be particularly harmful to health. Food packaging should under no circumstances release these phthalates into the contents of glass containers such as yoghurt or jam.

[0009] Consumers are generally not aware that the lid must not come into contact with the contents under any circumstances and that incorrect storage of the packaging may pose serious risks.

[0010] In order to reuse the glass containers, they are washed. However, the washing process when washing glass is subject to certain boundary conditions. Glass containers react poorly to temperature changes. Large temperature fluctuations can cause glass containers to burst. Therefore, glass containers can only be heated or cooled in small temperature increments of less than 30°C in the washing line. The same applies to the filling line.

[0011] However, bursting of containers in filling and washing lines is a recurring problem. If a single container bursts, there is a risk that the contents of the entire batch will be contaminated with fragments. Therefore, in such cases, the entire production batch is destroyed for safety reasons. Cleaning the corresponding washing and filling lines results in long downtimes.

[0012] If heating is slow, there is a risk that fungi and bacteria will change into temperature-resistant forms. The sterilizing effect of hot washing is thus reduced. Even when hot filling or during thermal pasteurization of the contents in the package, the reduction of bacteria by heating is not always guaranteed.

[0013] Glass packaging therefore requires very high temperatures in the washing or filling lines. Both the high temperature and the high weight of the glass containers are disadvantageous from an ecological point of view, since a large amount of energy is required to raise the total mass of the glass containers to the high temperature. Furthermore, the high weight also results in increased energy costs, for example for transport from the bottling plant to the retailer, from the retailer to the consumer, and then from the consumer back to the retailer, which in turn returns them to the bottling plant where they are put into the washing process.

[0014] These glass containers are often used for items that are taken out with a spoon, such as yogurt or jam. However, flowable items (such as oatmeal) are also packaged in such containers.

[0015] These containers are wide-mouth containers. They are characterized by the fact that they are "scoopable", ie a teaspoon or a tablespoon can be used to remove the respective product.

[0016] By definition, a wide mouth container has an opening with an internal diameter greater than 40 mm.

[0017] Usually, a prerequisite is that the opening has a certain size, wherein the corresponding cover has an outer diameter of less than 80 mm, so that it can be grasped with one hand in order to open the container. Summary of the invention

[0018] The object of the present invention is to eliminate one or more disadvantages of the prior art. In particular, a reusable wide-mouth container is created which is lightweight, preferably easy and safe to seal, in particular easy to clean and preferably highly safe from being tampered with.

[0019] This object is achieved by the device defined in the independent claim. Further embodiments result from the dependent claims.

[0020] The reusable wide-mouth container according to the present invention is made of plastic material, and is specifically provided for non-liquid, flowable filling materials (such as coffee powder, cocoa powder) or filling materials (such as cream cheese, yogurt, pudding or pickles). The reusable wide-mouth container comprises a container base, a container body and a neck. The neck has a neck portion that terminates at an outlet opening and abuts against a container shoulder. The neck portion has an inner wall and an outer wall. The fixing device for fixing the lid is arranged on the outer wall. The container body has an average wall thickness greater than 0.5mm, specifically greater than 0.7mm and less than 1.2mm, preferably between 0.9mm and 1.0mm. The neck portion has a wall thickness greater than 1.5mm, specifically greater than 2mm and less than 3mm, preferably between 2.2mm and 2.3mm. The preferred value of the neck portion is particularly advantageous for containers with a capacity of 200ml to 600ml. The neck portion has a circumferential groove at the transition to the container shoulder for providing a deformable connection between the container body and the neck portion, in particular for providing a detachment between the container body and the neck portion.

[0021] Specifically, the reusable wide mouth container has an outlet opening with an inner diameter greater than 40 mm.

[0022] This minimum wall thickness characterizes a reusable container, or rather distinguishes a reusable container from disposable containers known in the prior art.

[0023] This means that, unlike disposable bottles or disposable cans, reusable containers have much thicker walls. This leads to particular problems, namely that when the container body is deformed, for example due to the application of force, not only the container body is deformed, but also the neck. This is especially true for containers with a large opening diameter, i.e. wide-mouth containers. Such deformation leads to leakage between the container and the associated cap. In contrast, the container body of a disposable bottle is thinner-walled and only the container body is deformed, not the thicker-walled neck. However, thin-walled containers are not suitable for repeated use.

[0024] The wall thickness of a disposable container is typically about 2 mm in the neck region and about 0.3 mm in the region of the actual container body.

[0025] As described herein, the reusable wide mouth container has a relatively large wall thickness.

[0026] The circumferential groove prevents deformation of the neck area even in reusable wide-mouth containers.

[0027] The groove is preferably arranged on the outside of the container neck. This allows the above effect to be achieved without affecting the inner wall of the reusable wide-mouth container. Arrangement on the inner wall can cause food to stick to the groove and in some cases rot faster.

[0028] The circumferential groove provides a point of reduced rigidity, which makes it possible to detach the container body and in particular the container shoulder from the neck of the reusable wide-mouth container. Any deformation of the container body or container shoulder is therefore not transmitted to the container neck, or at most only to a small extent.

[0029] Providing a circumferential groove in this area causes deformation to occur in the groove rather than in the neck.

[0030] Therefore, another aspect relates to using a circumferential groove in the container neck to reduce deformation in the neck of a reusable wide mouth container caused by forces acting on the container body, and specifically using the circumferential groove in the container neck to decouple the container neck from the container body.

[0031] The production of reusable wide-mouth containers from plastic material results in a significant reduction in weight compared to production from glass. Since the process conditions for plastic material are much more adjustable and traceable than for glass, plastic material containers can also achieve much higher precision in the neck and in particular in the dimensions of the fixtures and outlet openings arranged thereon. This in turn makes it possible to provide a seal on the container lid that requires less material and therefore releases less harmful substances. Due to the precision of the container neck, fluctuations in the dimensions are significantly smaller, and correspondingly fewer of these fluctuations must be compensated by the seal.

[0032] It is precisely the high wall thickness that allows plastics material containers to be used multiple times. The high wall thickness results in the fact that plastics material containers are more resistant to alkali metals and stress cracks only appear later. Stress cracks occur in particular where stress is applied and / or deformations occur and / or microcracks are present. The washing liquid can penetrate these weak points and swell them until the container fails. In particular, in the case of polyesters, the foam attacks the ester bonds and saponifies them, wherein this saponification occurs very intensively in molecules that are under tension, which leads to a rapid widening of the stress cracks.

[0033] By decoupling the neck from the rest of the reusable wide mouth container using a circumferential groove, deformations and therefore stresses in the neck region may be reduced, which results in a longer service life of the container, in particular the neck and the fixing device arranged thereon.

[0034] The breakaway also makes it possible to reduce the amount of material used.The high precision of the neck of the reusable wide-mouth container, which is maintained even when the container body is deformed, results from the fact that the corresponding seal has to cover smaller tolerances and can be made correspondingly smaller.

[0035] This also results in the fact that the neck of the reusable wide mouth container can be manufactured with smaller dimensions, i.e. thinner walls, than the neck of the reusable wide mouth container of the prior art. This is due to the reduced forces input into the neck during deformation.

[0036] The circumferential groove may have a wall thickness of less than 1.2 mm and greater than 0.5 mm. Preferably, the wall thickness is less than 0.7 mm and greater than 0.5 mm. Alternatively, the wall thickness may be less than 1.2 mm and greater than 0.8 mm. These wall thicknesses, which are smaller than the adjacent wall thicknesses, make it possible to decouple force flows or deformations occurring in the region of the container body or the container shoulder from the container neck. The groove can serve as a kind of joint. A wall thickness of 0.8 mm to 1.2 mm ensures that the neck is sufficiently stable during filling.

[0037] The container base may have a wall thickness greater than 1 mm and less than 3 mm. Because the container base is usually not well stretched, bending stresses occur which usually cause the base to deform outwards. By appropriately choosing the wall thickness, these stresses can be better distributed.

[0038] The groove may have a width greater than 1 mm, preferably greater than 1.8 mm, in particular greater than 2.1 mm and less than 3 mm. A minimum width of 1 mm ensures that the container neck is fully separated from the container body. A maximum width ensures that the reusable wide-mouth container does not become unstable.

[0039] The width of the groove is the dimension of the groove in the axial direction of the reusable wide mouth container (ie, in the direction of the longitudinal axis). The longitudinal axis is usually defined by the connection between the base of the container and its outlet opening. For a circular container, this coincides with the axis of rotation.

[0040] The width of the groove is particularly important. The wider the groove, the greater the deformation it can absorb, because it can deform over a longer distance.

[0041] As described above, in this configuration, the wall thickness of the container neck can be reduced. This means that the wall thickness is closer to the wall thickness of the container body. This basically means that if a force is applied to the container body, the container neck will deform significantly more. This relationship can be offset by arranging circumferential grooves. This makes it possible to avoid or at least reduce deformation of the container neck to a large extent even when the wall thickness of the container neck and the container body are similar. Such an effect is particularly evident when the wall thickness ratio between the container body and the container neck is 1.25:3. This includes all combinations of the values ​​described here. The wall thickness ratio is preferably 2.2 to 2.6.

[0042] The support ring can be arranged between the groove and the container shoulder. The support ring makes it possible to grip the reusable wide-mouth container during production. In addition, it is provided with an element that increases rigidity, and part of the forces acting on the container shoulder or the container body can be absorbed in the support ring, which already leads to a reduction in deformations in the support ring. The arrangement can also be reversed. The groove is then arranged between the support ring and the container shoulder; the support ring is therefore arranged above the groove. This forms a reinforcement in the container neck, which is therefore less sensitive to deformations.

[0043] The fixing means for fixing the cap can be designed as a multi-thread. The number of threads is at least six, preferably more than six. Due to this large number of threads, when closing the reusable wide-mouth container, the force applied by the cap to the container neck can be distributed on a large number of individual points. Therefore, the application of force is more uniform, and any deformation also occurs more uniformly and is reduced.

[0044] Preferably, it is a prerequisite that the force is applied to all thread turns rather than over the entire surface of the respective flank of the thread.

[0045] Preferably, there are less than twelve threads, in particular between eight and ten.

[0046] For example, in the case of a container neck having only two threads, all the force required to seal the container is applied at only two points. In this example, the points are typically diametrically opposed to each other, and the container neck is effectively pulled upward at these two points when closed, and the container neck is correspondingly deformed and / or stressed, which in combination with the foam causes cracks.

[0047] By using six or more threads, this effect can be prevented or at least reduced to the extent that deformation no longer plays a significant role. If the deformation is smaller, the sealing compound required in the cover can also be reduced, because only significantly smaller tolerances need to be compensated.

[0048] However, alternatively, the fixing device for fixing the lid can also be designed as a single thread. The single thread makes it possible to apply force over the entire length of the thread. The single thread also requires a single thread on the counterpart (i.e., the lid). This is preferably designed to be more than 360° around, and accordingly, the force for sealing and closing can be evenly applied over the entire circumference of the opening of the reusable wide-mouth container.

[0049] A sealing surface having a support surface for a seal may be arranged at the outlet opening of the reusable wide mouth container.The support surface may have a width greater than 1.5 mm and less than 4 mm, in particular less than 3 mm.

[0050] Because reusable wide-mouth container is made of plastic material, it is usually inevitable that damage occurs in the region of the outlet opening. Specifically, damage can occur when using the reusable wide-mouth container, for example, when inserting a spoon, fork or knife to take out the product.

[0051] However, it is of utmost importance that the minimum width of the support surface ensures that damage does not extend across the entire width of the support surface and that sealing is therefore still ensured.

[0052] The maximum width prevents excessive accumulation of tolerances, for example due to deformations or occurring during production.For example, a certain angular deviation may lead to excessive differences relative to other dimensions, such as height, depending on the length of the path over which it occurs.

[0053] On the other hand, it is related to a packaging unit, which includes a reusable wide-mouth container, which includes a container base, a container body and a neck, wherein the neck has a neck portion that ends at an outlet opening and abuts against a container shoulder. Specifically, the container includes a reusable wide-mouth container as described herein. The packaging unit also includes a lid for closing the reusable wide-mouth container. A seal is arranged in the lid, wherein the seal has a sealing surface with a width greater than 1.5 mm.

[0054] The width of the sealing surface ensures reliable sealing even after any injury or damage to the counterpart.

[0055] A prerequisite may be that the seal engages or can engage along at least one region of the inner wall and / or outer wall of the neck portion so that the seal at least partially encapsulates the edge of the outlet opening. Typically, there is a corresponding sealing surface with a support surface on the edge of the outlet opening. By extending the seal along the inner wall and / or outer wall accordingly, the sealing surface can be encapsulated and the sealing effect is supplemented by the axial component. In other words, the seal also partially extends in the axial direction.

[0056] Preferably, the sealing element can extend in the axial direction by 0.8 mm to 2.5 mm and accordingly cover the inner wall and / or the outer wall over this length, thereby improving the sealing effect.

[0057] On the one hand, the encapsulation improves the sealing function. If the upper sealing surface or the supporting surface is damaged, the axial part continues to ensure the sealing effect. On the other hand, the encapsulation stabilizes the container mouth because the outlet opening is on the container neck. If the applied force would deform the mouth of the container, the encapsulation will keep the container in its sealed circular shape.

[0058] This effect is additional and enhances the sealing effect when using a reusable wide mouth container as described herein.This has a breakaway effect caused by the circumferential groove, which reduces the force applied to the container neck.

[0059] The cap may have an engagement means for engaging a multi-start thread with six or more threads. Thus, the engagement means may apply forces to be applied at multiple points on the reusable wide-mouth container and thus break up force peaks. Thus, deformation in the force application area is reduced.

[0060] A prerequisite may be that the engagement means is designed as a thread that is complementary to the multi-thread. Due to the complementary design, the force can be applied not only at individual points, but also over the entire length of the corresponding threaded portion. Thus, the application of force is additionally homogenized.

[0061] The seal may comprise, in particular consist of, a soft flexible material. The material may be selected from a list of foamed plastic materials, elastomers, petroleum-based plastic materials or bio-based plastic materials. In particular, thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) or ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) may be used.

[0062] The reusable wide mouth container can be made of PET copolymer, wherein the PET copolymer has a copolymer content of 0.5% to 10%. Preferred copolymers are diethylene glycol, isophthalic acid, CHDM, furandicarboxylic acid or NDC. Alternative additives are cyclohexanedimethanol CHDM or naphthalene dicarboxylic acid NDC.

[0063] The reusable wide-mouth container is preferably a container which is manufactured in a stretch blow molding process from a preform produced using an injection molding process.

[0064] The neck of the preform is not stretched, but the remaining area of ​​the preform is stretched axially and radially.

[0065] The circumferential groove is preferably located in an unstretched area of ​​the reusable wide mouth container. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0066] The present invention is explained below with reference to the schematic diagram. In the accompanying drawings:

[0067] Figure 1 A reusable wide mouth container is shown;

[0068] Figure 2 Shown according to Figure 1 The neck of a reusable wide-mouth container;

[0069] Figure 3 An alternative neck is shown;

[0070] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4B Different covers are shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0071] Figure 1A reusable wide mouth container 100 is shown. The reusable wide mouth container comprises a container base 101, a container body 102 and an adjacent container shoulder 50. A neck 20 is adjacent to the container shoulder 50. The neck 20 comprises a neck portion 30 on which a fixing device 60 is arranged. The neck portion 30 has an inner wall 31 and an outer wall 32 (see Figure 3 ). The fixing device 60 is arranged on the outer wall 32. The fixing device 60 is provided to fix the cover 70 (see FIG. 4). The neck portion 30 ends in an outlet opening 40. The inner diameter of the outlet opening 40 is in the present case greater than 40 mm and therefore corresponds to the configuration of a wide-mouth container.

[0072] Figure 2 Shown according to Figure 1 The neck 20 of the reusable wide-mouth container 100. It can be seen that the fixing device 60 for fixing the lid is arranged on the outer wall 32 of the neck portion 30. The fixing device 60 is designed as a multi-thread, wherein in the present case, the thread comprises six thread turns.

[0073] The neck portion 30 is a portion of the neck 20 that abuts the container shoulder 50. The groove 33 is arranged between the neck portion 30 and the container shoulder 50. The groove 33 has a reduced wall thickness relative to the neck portion 30. The groove 33 abuts the support ring 34, which in turn abuts the container shoulder 50. In other words, in accordance with Figure 2 In the embodiment of the present invention, the neck 20 includes a neck portion 30, a groove 33 and a support ring 34. Figure 2 As shown, the transitions between the neck portion 30, the groove 33, the support ring 34 and the container shoulder 50 are each formed with a radius. These radii are between 0.2 mm and 0.8 mm. The neck portion 30 ends in an outlet opening 40. The sealing surface is arranged at the outlet opening. The sealing surface has a support surface 41 with a width greater than 1.5 mm (see also Figure 3 ). In the present case, the support surface 41 is arranged substantially horizontally in its intended use and has an overall annular configuration.

[0074] Figure 3 An alternative embodiment of the neck 20' is shown, which is similar to the embodiment according to Figure 2 The neck 20 ' also has a neck portion 30 with an inner wall 31 and an outer wall 32. A fastening device 60 ' is arranged on the outer wall 32 for attaching the cap. In the present case, the fastening device 60 ' is designed as a single thread. The neck portion 30 ends on the one hand with an outlet opening 40 and on the other hand with a circumferential groove 33. The sealing surface with the support surface 41 is similar to that according to Figure 2 Design of implementation plan.

[0075] The support ring 34' is arranged below the groove 33, that is, between the groove 33 and the container shoulder 50. ... Figure 2 Due to the shrinkage of the container neck 50, the support ring 34' still provides a sufficiently large surface to allow the handling of a reusable wide-mouth container. It goes without saying that in all embodiments, the fixing devices 60 and 60' and the support rings 34 and 34' can be freely combined with each other.

[0076] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C Cross-sections of covers 70 with different sealing designs are shown. Figure 4A A seal 71 is shown which is designed so that it completely covers the support surface 41 (see Figure 3 ) and slightly overlaps the support surface at the sides. Figure 4B The seal 71' is more obvious. The seal 71' is substantially U-shaped. In other words, the seal 71' overlaps the inner wall 31 and the outer wall 32 within a certain distance range (see Figure 3 ), so that the neck portion 30 is surrounded and sealed from three sides in the area of ​​the support surface 41. Figure 4C An alternative embodiment of a seal 71" is shown in which the seal extends significantly further beyond the outer wall 32 at its periphery. In particular, at the transition of the outer wall 32 to the support surface 41 of the neck portion 30, this embodiment is significantly less susceptible to cracks or damage or destruction.

Claims

1. A reusable wide-mouth container (100) made of plastic material, in particular for non-liquid, flowable filling materials, comprising a container base (101), a container body (102) and a neck (20), wherein the neck (20) has a neck portion (30) terminating in an outlet opening (40) and adjoining a container shoulder (50), wherein the neck portion (30) has an inner wall (31) and an outer wall (32), wherein a fixing device (60) for fixing a lid (70) is arranged on the outer wall (32), characterized in that The container body (102) has an average wall thickness (W) greater than 0.5 mm, specifically greater than 0.7 mm and less than 1.2 mm, and the neck portion has a wall thickness (H) greater than 1.5 mm, specifically greater than 2 mm and less than 3 mm, wherein the neck portion has a circumferential groove (33) at the transition to the container shoulder (50) for providing a deformable connection between the container body and the neck portion.

2. The reusable wide-mouth container (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The circumferential groove (33) has a wall thickness of less than 1.2 mm and greater than 0.5 mm.

3. The reusable wide-mouth container (100) according to claim 2, characterized in that: The circumferential groove (33) has a wall thickness of less than 0.7 mm and greater than 0.5 mm.

4. The reusable wide-mouth container (100) according to claim 2, characterized in that: The circumferential groove (33) has a wall thickness less than 1.2 mm and greater than 0.8 mm.

5. The reusable wide-mouth container (100) according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The container base (101) has a wall thickness (B) greater than 1 mm and less than 3 mm.

6. The reusable wide-mouth container (100) according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that: The groove (33) has a width greater than 1 mm and less than 3 mm.

7. The reusable wide-mouth container (100) according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that: A support ring (34) is arranged between the groove (33) and the container shoulder.

8. The reusable wide-mouth container (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The fixing device (60) for fixing the cover (70) is designed as a multi-threaded thread, wherein the number of thread turns is greater than 6.

9. The reusable wide-mouth container (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The fixing device (60) for fixing the cover (70) is designed as a single thread.

10. The reusable wide-mouth container (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: A sealing surface having a support surface (41) for a seal is arranged on the outlet opening (40), characterized in that the support surface (41) has a width greater than 1.5 mm and less than 4 mm, in particular less than 3 mm.

11. A packaging unit (200), comprising a reusable wide-mouth container (100) and a lid (70), wherein the wide-mouth container comprises a container base (101), a container body (102) and a neck (20), wherein the neck (20) has a neck portion (30) terminating at an outlet opening (40) and adjacent to a container shoulder (50), specifically a reusable wide-mouth container (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 10; the lid is used to close the reusable wide-mouth container (100), characterized in that, A seal (71) is arranged in the cover (70), wherein the seal (71) has a sealing surface with a width greater than 1.5 mm.

12. The packaging unit (200) according to claim 11, characterized in that: The seal (71) is engaged or can be engaged along at least one region of the inner wall (31) and / or the outer wall (32) of the neck portion (30).

13. The packaging unit (200) according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The cap (70) has an engagement device (72) for engaging a multi-start thread having six or more thread turns.

14. The packaging unit (200) according to claim 13, characterized in that: The engagement means (72) is a thread designed to be complementary to the multi-start thread.

15. The packaging unit (200) according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that: The seal (71) comprises, in particular consists of, a soft, flexible material, wherein the material is selected from the list of foamed plastic materials, elastomers, petroleum-based plastic materials or bio-based plastic materials, in particular thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) or ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM).

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