Lightweight Container Neck Design for Top Load Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
The reduction in bottle wall thickness to minimize packaging material usage has resulted in bottles with insufficient top load resistance, leading to deformation or damage during closure operations, necessitating additional stabilization measures, while there is a need for further reduction in thermoplastic material usage while maintaining injection-blowing manufacturing processes and ensuring tamper-evident and liquid-proof properties.
Innovation Solution
A container design with a neck height ratio of h ≤ (d / 3) and a flange external diameter within the range (1.3 x d) ≤ D ≤ (1.5 x d), allowing for reduced material usage while maintaining top load resistance and incorporating a tamper-evident closure system with a detachable ring, enabling efficient transportation and closure operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If bottle wall thickness is reduced to save packaging material, then material usage decreases, but top load resistance becomes insufficient causing deformation or damage during closure operations
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from relying solely on vertical wall thickness for strength to utilizing the horizontal flange dimension for load bearing. The flange extends radially outward to provide a stable base that resists deformation during closure operations, effectively moving the strength solution from the vertical dimension to the horizontal dimension.
Solution Approach 2:
The neck structure is segmented into distinct functional zones: the container opening, the screw thread portion, and the flange. This segmentation allows each zone to be optimized independently - thin walls in the container body for material savings, while the flange provides the necessary structural support for top load resistance.
2Loss of substance
If neck height is reduced to save material, then closure material usage decreases, but sufficient space for screw threads and tamper-evident features may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the neck structure, specifically the ratio of neck height to opening diameter (h ≤ d/3). This parameter optimization allows sufficient space for screw threads and tamper-evident features while minimizing material usage. The flange diameter is also optimized (1.3d ≤ D ≤ 1.5d) to provide adequate support within the constrained height.
3Device complexity
If combined tamper-evident and transportation flanges are used, then device complexity reduces, but material savings may be insufficient and top load resistance remains compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The flange is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously: it provides a transportation interface for carrying the bottle on manufacturing lines, serves as an attachment point for the tamper-evident ring, and acts as a load-bearing structure to prevent neck deformation during closure operations. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate structures while maintaining strength.
4Loss of substance
If closure height is reduced to match low neck height, then material usage decreases significantly, but tamper-evident and liquid-proof properties may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The tamper-evident ring is pre-attached to the lower edge of the closure skirt in a controlled manufacturing process. This preliminary attachment ensures proper positioning and functionality while allowing the use of a shorter closure. The ring's detachment mechanism is pre-configured to provide clear tamper evidence upon first removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The closure design concentrates material where needed - the skirt is shorter to save material, but the sealing interface and tamper-evident ring attachment area maintain sufficient thickness and strength. The liquid-proof sealing function is preserved at the critical interface between closure and bottle opening, while non-critical areas use less material.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design achieves significant plastic material savings while maintaining adequate top load resistance and tamper-evident features, ensuring the bottle's integrity during closure and transportation, as demonstrated by meeting ASTM and DIN standards for top load resistance.
Implementation Method 1
a container made out of an injected preform that is heated and blown in a mould
Implementation Method 2
the preform that is heated and blown in a mould to produce the bottle
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The present invention concerns a package (1) comprising: (i) a container (2) with a body (3) and a neck (4), comprising a container opening (5) with an opening diameter (d), a screw thread (6), and a flange (7) extending outwardly and having a flange diameter (D), and (ii) a removable closure (8) adapted to be unscrewed from the screw threads of the said container, said closure comprising a top (9), a skirt (10) and a tamper-evident ring (11) attached to the lower edge of the skirt and is adapted to catch the flange of the container's neck when said closure is first screwed onto the neck, said ring being detachable from the skirt upon first removal of the closure from said neck, said container having a top load resistance inferior or equal to 30 daN, characterized in that: the height h between the neck top edge and the lower part of the flange is such that h = (d/3).