Adhesively Bonded Multipack Containers with Reinforced Wall Sections

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for producing glued containers, especially from thin-walled lightweight plastic bottles, face challenges such as material inefficiency, weight, and instability when filled with carbonated liquids due to mechanical stresses and complex reinforcement processes.

Innovation Solution

A method involving preform heating and targeted cooling to create containers with reinforced wall sections, allowing for adhesive bonding and forming bundles with reduced material thickness and increased stability, using a device with a cooling zone to adjust the position and thickness of reinforced sections during stretch blow molding.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Weight of moving object

If conventional adhesive bonding methods are used to join thin-walled lightweight plastic bottles, then material consumption and weight are reduced, but the container walls become damaged during separation due to mechanical stresses

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontainer weightVSAvoidcontainer wall stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Weight of moving objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The preform is cooled locally in specific areas before blow molding to create reinforced wall sections with increased material thickness and strength. This allows thin-walled containers to be bonded reliably at specific locations without requiring the entire container wall to be thickened, thus maintaining low weight while ensuring bonding reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The preform is cooled and reinforced before the blow molding and bonding processes. By preparing the reinforced wall section in advance during preform preparation, the container gains the necessary structural strength to withstand bonding stresses and subsequent handling, preventing wall damage during separation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Strength

If the entire preform is cooled to create reinforced wall sections, then bonding strength is improved, but energy consumption and production time increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveadhesive bond strengthVSAvoidcooling energy consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of cooling the entire preform, only specific local areas are cooled to create reinforced wall sections exactly where bonding is required. This localized approach achieves the necessary bond strength while minimizing energy consumption and production time by avoiding unnecessary cooling of the entire preform.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Stability of the object's composition

If complex preform shapes with varying wall thickness are used for reinforcement, then container stability is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontainer stabilityVSAvoidpreform shape complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The preform maintains a simple, uniform shape but acquires localized reinforcement through targeted cooling of specific areas before blow molding. This approach achieves enhanced container stability at bonding locations without requiring complex preform geometries or varying wall thickness throughout the entire structure, thereby simplifying manufacturing.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

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

The method enables the production of lightweight, stable containers with reinforced adhesive points, reducing mechanical stresses and material usage, while maintaining structural integrity, especially when filled with carbonated liquids.

Implementation Method 1

at least one partial area (4) of the heated preform (3) is cooled by means of a cooling gas flow

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectThermal cooling: Cooling

Implementation Method 2

a first container (1a) is produced from the heated preform (3) with a reinforced wall section (2) formed from the cooled portion (4) of the preform (3)

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectThermal expansion: Thermal Expansion

Data Source

PatentEP3468769B1Method and device for producing a multipack and multipack
Publication Date: 2021.06.09 KHS GMBH
  • EP3468769B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3468769B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3468769B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The invention relates to a method for producing a multipack comprising at least two containers, wherein at least one container has a reinforced wall portion, a device for producing such a multipack and also a multipack comprising at least two containers each with a container wall, wherein the two containers are connected to one another by an adhesive joint. In order to provide a simple method and a device for producing an adhesively bonded multipack and also such a multipack, wherein the method makes it possible to produce a multipack from adhesively bonded-together containers in a particularly simple way and the multipack has a particularly low weight and is also particularly durable with respect to the containers being damaged when separating one of the containers from the multipack, it is provided that the method comprises at least the steps of providing a preform for a container, heating the preform and cooling at least a partial region of the preform, producing a first container from the preform, wherein the first container has a reinforced wall portion formed from the cooled partial region of the preform, applying an adhesive for creating at least one adhesive point in the region of the reinforced wall portion of the first container and also forming a multipack by fixing a second container at the at least one adhesive point of the first container.