Deformable Container Hoop Rings for Stable Conveyance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hot-filled and capped plastic bottles experience temporary deformation due to vacuums created during cooling, leading to unstable support points during conveyance, which affects the speed, efficiency, and reliability of handling and transportation.
Innovation Solution
The use of annular portions to confine temporary deformation to a smooth sidewall portion, providing stable touch points during conveyance, and a moveable element that can be activated to remove or reduce the vacuum, thereby stabilizing the containers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If plastic bottles are hot-filled and cooled to create vacuum for preservation, then preservation quality is improved, but temporary deformation occurs causing unstable support points during conveyance
Solution Approach 1:
The bottle body is divided into functional zones: a smooth sidewall portion that deforms under vacuum and annular portions that maintain structural stability. This segmentation allows different regions to serve different purposes - the smooth portion absorbs vacuum-induced deformation while the annular portions provide stable contact points for conveyance systems
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the bottle are given different structural properties. The smooth sidewall portion is designed to be more compliant and accommodate deformation, while the annular portions are designed with higher structural rigidity to maintain stable support points. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between allowing vacuum formation and maintaining conveyance stability
2Reliability
If vacuum is created in the bottle during cooling, then product preservation is improved, but temporary deformation affects handling efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The unstable deformed portion is effectively 'taken out' from the load-bearing function by directing deformation to occur only in the smooth sidewall portion. The annular portions are extracted from the deforming region and dedicated solely to providing stable support points, separating the vacuum containment function from the conveyance stability function
Solution Approach 2:
The smooth sidewall portion acts as an intermediary that absorbs the vacuum-induced stress and deformation, protecting the annular portions from distortion. This intermediary zone allows the vacuum to be maintained for preservation while preventing deformation from affecting the handling efficiency of the bottle
3Stability of the object's composition
If annular portions are added to provide stable touch points, then conveyance stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The annular portions serve multiple functions simultaneously: they provide structural reinforcement, create stable contact points for conveyance, and define the boundaries of the smooth sidewall portion. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, offsetting the increased structural complexity with functional consolidation
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than making the entire bottle wall rigid to prevent deformation, the design applies annular portions only at specific locations where stable support points are needed. This partial application of structural reinforcement provides the necessary conveyance stability without unnecessarily complicating the entire bottle structure
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 solution ensures stable and reliable conveyance and handling of containers by maintaining stable touch points and reducing temporary deformations caused by vacuums, improving the efficiency and reliability of the handling process.
Implementation Method 1
creating a vacuum in each of the hot-filled and capped plastic bottles by cooling
Data Source
AI summary
Method and system for handling a plurality of hot-filled and capped containers having temporary deformations or distortions caused by vacuums induced in the containers. For each container, temporary deformations are confined or directed to a particular portion of the container. Annular hoop rings can be provided to confine the temporary deformations to a smooth sidewall portion of the container between the annular hoop rings. Alternatively, one or more supplemental vacuum panels can be provided to confine or direct the temporary deformation thereto. The annular hoop rings and the one or more supplemental vacuum panels can provide for substantially stable touch points for the container. The containers are conveyed with temporary deformations such that substantially stable contact points of each container are in contact with corresponding substantially stable contact points of other containers. After the conveying, a moveable element in a bottom end of each container is activated substantially permanently to remove the vacuum in the container.