bottle

Abstract

When the inside of the bottle is depressurized after heat filling, the panel section smoothly returns to its original shape, deforming radially inward to achieve the desired pressure absorption performance. [Solution] The body portion 13 is provided with panel portions 18 and 19 that are recessed radially inward and have a rectangular shape when viewed from the radially outward front view. The outer peripheral surface of the body portion is provided with annular grooves 21a and 21b that extend around the entire circumference of the opening edge of the panel portion. The panel portions and annular grooves are arranged such that, in the front view, two of the four sides defining the rectangular shape extend in the circumferential direction and the remaining two sides extend in the vertical direction. The annular groove comprises a pair of horizontal grooves 22a and 22b, a pair of vertical grooves 23, and four corners 24 that connect the horizontal grooves and vertical grooves to each other. In the annular groove, the four corners are deep grooves 32 with the deepest groove depth, and in the annular groove, at least the central part of the vertical groove is a shallow groove 31 with a shallower groove depth than the deep groove.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a bottle.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1 below, there is known a synthetic resin bottle in which a mouth portion, a shoulder portion, a body portion, and a bottom portion are continuously provided in this order from the top to the bottom along the bottle axial direction, the body portion is provided with a panel portion that is recessed radially inward and has a rectangular shape in front view as seen from the radially outer side, and the panel portion is arranged such that, in the front view, two of the four sides defining the rectangular shape extend in the circumferential direction, and the remaining two sides extend in the up-down direction. In this type of bottle, generally, during so-called hot filling where heated contents are filled, the panel portion bulges and deforms outward in the radial direction; thereafter, as the contents cool with a cap attached to the mouth portion, the pressure inside the bottle decreases, and thereby the panel portion restores and deforms inward in the radial direction.

Prior Art Literature

Patent Literature

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problem to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the conventional bottle described above, if the bottle is designed to increase the bulging deformation of the panel portion during hot filling in order to improve the vacuum absorption performance, the panel portion (particularly the corner portions) becomes difficult to restore and deform even when the pressure inside the bottle decreases after hot filling, which may lead to a risk that the desired vacuum absorption performance cannot be exhibited. This problem is considered to become apparent when the thickness of the bottle is reduced for the purpose of reducing the weight of the bottle, for example.

[0005] The present invention provides a bottle that, when the pressure inside the bottle is reduced after heat filling, allows the panel portion to smoothly return to its original shape and deform radially inward, thereby exhibiting the desired pressure absorption performance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A bottle according to one aspect of the present invention has a mouth, shoulder, body, and bottom arranged in this order from top to bottom along the bottle axis, the body is provided with a panel portion that is recessed radially inward and has a rectangular shape when viewed from the outside radially, an annular groove extending around the entire circumference of the opening edge of the panel portion on the outer circumferential surface of the body, and in the front view, two of the four sides that define the rectangular shape of the panel portion and the annular groove extend in the circumferential direction. The remaining two sides are provided in a direction that extends vertically, and the annular groove comprises a pair of horizontal grooves extending in the circumferential direction and located at both ends in the vertical direction, a pair of vertical grooves extending in the vertical direction and located at both ends in the circumferential direction, and four corners connecting the horizontal grooves and the vertical grooves to each other, wherein the four corners are deep grooves with the deepest groove depth, and at least the central part of the vertical grooves is a shallow groove with a shallower groove depth than the deep grooves.

[0007] Since an annular groove extending around the entire circumference is provided at the opening edge of the panel on the outer surface of the body, it is possible to ensure a large bulge deformation of the panel during heat filling, thereby providing high pressure absorption performance. At the same time, because this part is reinforced by the annular groove, it is possible to suppress the deformation of the panel radially inward to the extent that it becomes irreparable when the pressure inside the bottle is reduced after heat filling. In the annular groove, the four corners are designated as the deepest groove sections, allowing the entire panel to deform radially smoothly in response to the internal pressure of the bottle, thereby enabling stable pressure absorption performance. In the annular groove, at least the central part of the vertical groove, which is closest to the central part of the panel that is most prone to bulging deformation during heat filling, is made into a shallow groove with a shallower groove depth than the deep groove. This makes it possible to suppress large bulging deformation of the panel during heat filling and to prevent stress from concentrating to an extent that makes it impossible to restore the panel at the corners during heat filling. Based on the above, when the inside of the bottle is depressurized after heat filling, the panel portion can be smoothly restored and deformed radially inward, thereby achieving the desired depressurization absorption performance.

[0008] The deep groove portion may be integrally provided with the upper lateral groove portion located on the upper side of the pair of lateral groove portions, and with the two corner portions connected to both ends of the upper lateral groove portion in the circumferential direction.

[0009] Since the deep groove is integrally provided with the upper lateral groove and the two corners connected to both ends of the upper lateral groove in the circumferential direction, the portion of the body adjacent to the upper end of the panel is reinforced, and it is possible to suppress deformation of the body 13 radially inward to the extent that it becomes irreparable due to pressure on the conveying line. In this case, it is preferable that the deep groove is located at the same vertical position as the upper end of the body. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to one aspect of the present invention, when the inside of the bottle is depressurized after heat filling, the panel portion is smoothly deformed to return to its original shape radially inward, thereby enabling the desired depressurization absorption performance to be achieved. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a side view of a bottle as shown in one embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in Figure 1. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] A bottle according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figure 1, the bottle 1 according to this embodiment is configured such that the mouth portion 11, shoulder portion 12, body portion 13, and bottom portion 14 are arranged in this order from top to bottom along the vertical direction of the bottle axis O. Hereinafter, the direction that intersects the bottle axis O when viewed from above or below will be referred to as the radial direction, and the direction that circles around the bottle axis O when viewed from above or below will be referred to as the circumferential direction.

[0013] Bottle 1 has a single-layer structure and is formed by biaxial stretch blow molding of a preform created by injection molding. The capacity of Bottle 1 is 1500 ml or less, preferably 300 ml to 1000 ml. In the illustrated example, the capacity of Bottle 1 is, for example, about 500 ml and the weight is about 22 g. Bottle 1 is not limited to a single-layer structure; it may also be a laminated structure. The laminated structure may be formed, for example, by blow molding a laminated parison that is double-layered (inside and outside) by extrusion molding.

[0014] A male threaded portion is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the opening 11. The shoulder portion 12 extends radially inward as it moves from below to above. The bottom portion 14 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape, and the peripheral wall of the bottom portion 14 extends radially inward as it goes downward. The peripheral wall of the bottom portion 14 is formed in a curved shape with a projection radially outward.

[0015] Bottle 1 is a rectangular bottle in which the shoulder portion 12 and body portion 13 are alternately connected in the circumferential direction with panel surfaces 15 and corner surfaces 16. In the body portion 13, the panel surfaces 15 are wider in the circumferential direction than the corner surfaces 16. The panel surfaces 15 and corner surfaces 16 are alternately connected in the circumferential direction via partitioned ridges 17. There are four panel surfaces 15 and four corner surfaces 16.

[0016] An upper panel portion (panel portion) 18 that is recessed radially inward and has a rectangular shape in a front view seen from the radially outer side is provided on an upper portion of a body portion 13, and a lower panel portion (panel portion) 19 that is recessed radially inward and has a rectangular shape in a front view seen from the radially outer side is provided on a lower portion of the body portion 13. Note that only either one of the upper panel portion 18 and the lower panel portion 19 may be provided on the body portion 13. The upper panel portion 18 and the lower panel portion 19 may be connected in the vertical direction.

[0017] A circumferential groove 13a that intermittently extends over the entire circumferential length is formed in a vertically central portion of the body portion 13. The circumferential groove 13a has a curved shape recessed radially inward in a vertical cross-sectional view along the vertical direction. In the body portion 13, the upper panel portion 18 is provided in a portion located above the circumferential groove 13a, and the lower panel portion 19 is provided in a portion located below the circumferential groove 13a. The upper panel portion 18 and the lower panel portion 19 are provided on a panel surface portion 15. In each of the upper panel portion 18 and the lower panel portion 19, at least an outer peripheral edge portion extends radially inward toward the vertically central side in a vertical cross-sectional view along the vertical direction, and extends radially inward toward the circumferentially central side in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the vertical direction.

[0018] Each of the upper panel portion 18 and the lower panel portion 19 has a vertically long rectangular shape in the front view. The circumferentially central portion of each of the upper panel portion 18 and the lower panel portion 19 is located at the same position in the circumferential direction. The circumferential dimension of each of the upper panel portion 18 and the lower panel portion 19 is the same as each other. The vertical dimension of the lower panel portion 19 is larger than the vertical dimension of the upper panel portion 18.

[0019] The vertical dimension of each of the upper panel portion 18 and the lower panel portion 19 is larger than the respective vertical gaps between the circumferential groove 13a and each of the upper panel portion 18 and the lower panel portion 19. The vertical dimension of each of the upper panel portion 18 and the lower panel portion 19 is larger than the vertical dimension of a portion of the body portion 13 located below the lower panel portion 19. The circumferential dimension of each of the upper panel portion 18 and the lower panel portion 19 is larger than the respective circumferential gaps between each of the upper panel portion 18 and the lower panel portion 19 and the partition ridge portion 17.

[0020] In the present embodiment, annular grooves 21a and 21b extending over the entire circumference are provided at opening peripheral edges of the upper panel portion 18 and the lower panel portion 19, respectively, on the outer peripheral surface of the body portion 13. The upper panel portion 18, the lower panel portion 19, and the annular grooves 21a and 21b are provided in an orientation in which, in the front view, two of the four sides defining the aforementioned rectangular shape extend in the circumferential direction, and the remaining two sides extend in the vertical direction.

[0021] Each of the annular grooves 21a and 21b includes a pair of lateral groove portions 22a and 22b that extend in the circumferential direction and are located at both ends in the vertical direction, a pair of longitudinal groove portions 23 that extend in the vertical direction and are located at both ends in the circumferential direction, and four corner portions 24 that connect the lateral groove portions 22a, 22b and the longitudinal groove portions 23 to each other.

[0022] The four corner portions 24 serve as deep groove portions 32 having the greatest groove depth in each of the annular grooves 21a and 21b. The deep groove portions 32 are integrally provided on the upper lateral groove portion 22a located on the upper side of the pair of lateral groove portions 22a and 22b, and the two corner portions 24 connected to both circumferential ends of the upper lateral groove portion 22a, and are also integrally provided on the lower lateral groove portion 22b located on the lower side of the pair of lateral groove portions 22a and 22b, and the two corner portions 24 connected to both circumferential ends of the lower lateral groove portion 22b. That is, a pair of upper and lower deep groove portions 32 are provided in each of the annular grooves 21a and 21b. Of the pair of upper and lower deep grooves 32, the circumferential ends of the upper deep groove 32 are located at the upper end of the vertical groove 23, and the circumferential ends of the lower deep groove 32 are located at the lower end of the vertical groove 23.

[0023] In each of the annular grooves 21a and 21b, at least the central part of the vertical groove 23 is a shallow groove 31 with a groove depth shallower than the deep groove 32. The shallow groove section 31 is provided over the entire length of the longitudinal groove section 23, excluding both ends in the vertical direction. The shallow groove section 31 is connected to the deep groove section 32. In the annular grooves 21a and 21b, the shallow groove section 31 and the deep groove section 32 are provided alternately around the entire circumference. The shallow groove section 31 and the deep groove section 32 may be separated from each other.

[0024] The lower lateral groove portion 22b of the annular groove (hereinafter referred to as the upper annular groove) 21a provided on the outer peripheral surface of the body portion 13 at the opening periphery of the upper panel portion 18, and the upper lateral groove portion 22a of the annular groove (hereinafter referred to as the lower annular groove) 21b provided on the outer peripheral surface of the body portion 13 at the opening periphery of the lower panel portion 19, extend straight in the circumferential direction in the front view. The lower lateral groove portion 22b of the lower annular groove 21b also extends straight in the circumferential direction in the front view.

[0025] The upper transverse groove portion 22a of the upper annular groove 21a exhibits a curved shape that protrudes upward in the front view. Here, of the body portion 13, the upper end extends radially inward from bottom to top, while the portion located below the upper end extends straight vertically to form the maximum outer diameter portion of the bottle 1. The upper lateral groove portion 22a of the upper annular groove 21a and the upper end portion of the maximum outer diameter of the bottle 1 are at the same vertical position as each other. The upper lateral groove 22a of the upper annular groove 21a may extend straight in the circumferential direction in the front view. The upper lateral groove 22a of the upper annular groove 21a may be located at the same vertical position as the upper end of the body portion 13.

[0026] As shown in Figure 2, the deep groove 32 provided in the upper annular groove 21a is formed in a multi-stage manner, where the groove depth becomes shallower towards the center of the upper panel 18 when viewed in cross-section along the groove width direction. The groove depth of the deep groove portion 32 provided in the upper annular groove 21a may be the same along the entire length in the groove width direction.

[0027] The groove depth of the shallow groove section 31 is the same along its entire length in the groove width direction. Furthermore, the shallow groove portion 31 provided in the upper annular groove 21a may be formed in a multi-stage manner, where the groove depth becomes shallower or deeper towards the center of the upper panel portion 18 when viewed in cross-section along the groove width direction, and the shallow groove portion 31 provided in the lower annular groove 21b may also be formed in a multi-stage manner, where the groove depth becomes shallower or deeper towards the center of the lower panel portion 19 when viewed in cross-section along the groove width direction.

[0028] As described above, in the bottle 1 according to this embodiment, annular grooves 21a and 21b extending around the entire circumference are provided at the opening edges of the upper panel portion 18 and the lower panel portion 19 on the outer circumferential surface of the body portion 13. This ensures a large bulge deformation of the upper panel portion 18 and the lower panel portion 19 during heat filling, thereby providing high pressure absorption performance. At the same time, since these portions are reinforced by the annular grooves 21a and 21b, when the pressure inside the bottle 1 is reduced after heat filling, it is possible to suppress deformation of the upper panel portion 18 and the lower panel portion 19 radially inward to the extent that they become irreparable.

[0029] Since the four corners 24 are the deepest grooves 32 in each of the annular grooves 21a and 21b, it is possible to smoothly deform the entire upper panel 18 and lower panel 19 radially in response to the internal pressure of the bottle, thereby enabling stable pressure absorption performance.

[0030] In each of the annular grooves 21a and 21b, at least the central part in the vertical direction of the vertical groove 23, which is closest to the central part of the upper panel 18 and lower panel 19 that is most prone to bulging deformation during heat filling, is made into a shallow groove 31 with a groove depth shallower than the deep groove 32. This makes it possible to suppress the large bulging deformation of the upper panel 18 and lower panel 19 during heat filling, and to suppress the concentration of stress at each corner of the upper panel 18 and lower panel 19 to an extent that makes it impossible to restore.

[0031] Based on the above, when the inside of bottle 1 is depressurized after heat filling, the upper panel portion 18 and the lower panel portion 19 are smoothly restored and deformed radially inward, thereby achieving the desired depressurization absorption performance.

[0032] Since the deep groove 32 is integrally provided with the upper transverse groove 22a and the two corners 24 connected to both circumferential ends of the upper transverse groove 22a, the portion of the body 13 adjacent to the upper end of the upper panel 18 is reinforced, and it is possible to suppress deformation of the body 13 radially inward to the extent that it becomes irreparable due to pressure on the conveying line.

[0033] Furthermore, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0034] For example, although a rectangular bottle was shown in the above embodiment, a round bottle with a circular cross-section may also be used. It is not necessary to form a circumferential groove 13a in the body portion 13. The deep grooves 32 are provided only at the corners 24 and do not need to be provided at the horizontal grooves 22a, 22b, or the vertical grooves 23. The groove depths of the circumferential central portions of the horizontal grooves 22a and 22b, and the vertical central portion of the vertical groove 23, may be made the same as those of the other.

[0035] The synthetic resin material forming bottle 1 may be, for example, polyester such as polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene naphthalate, or polyolefin such as polyethylene and polypropylene, or ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH). Among these, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) are examples of polyethylene.

[0036] Furthermore, without departing from the spirit of the present invention, the components in the above embodiments may be replaced with well-known components as appropriate, and the above embodiments and modifications may be combined as appropriate. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0037] 1 bottle 11 Mouth 12 Shoulder 13 Torso 14 Bottom 18 Upper panel section (panel section) 19 Lower panel section (panel section) 21a, 21b Annular groove 22a, 22b Horizontal groove section 22a Upper transverse groove 23. Longitudinal groove section 24 corners 31 Shallow groove section 32 Deep groove part O Bottle shaft

Claims

1. The mouth, shoulder, body, and bottom are arranged in this order from top to bottom along the bottle axis. The body portion is provided with a panel portion that is recessed radially inward and has a rectangular shape when viewed from the radially outward front view. An annular groove extending around the entire circumference is provided at the opening edge of the panel portion on the outer circumferential surface of the body portion. The panel portion and the annular groove are arranged such that, in the front view, two of the four sides defining the rectangular shape extend in the circumferential direction, and the remaining two sides extend in the vertical direction. The aforementioned annular groove is A pair of transverse grooves extending in the circumferential direction and located at both ends in the vertical direction, A pair of vertical grooves extending in the vertical direction and located at both ends in the circumferential direction, It comprises four corners that connect the aforementioned horizontal grooves and the aforementioned vertical grooves, In the aforementioned annular groove, the four corner portions are designated as the deepest groove portions, A bottle in which at least the central part of the vertical groove is a shallow groove with a shallower groove depth than the deep groove.

2. The bottle according to claim 1, wherein the deep groove portion is integrally provided with the upper lateral groove portion located on the upper side of the pair of lateral groove portions, and with the two corner portions connected to both ends of the upper lateral groove portion in the circumferential direction.

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