Segmented PET Bottle for Vending Machine Dispensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current plastic bottles are unsuitable for vending machines as they either fail to dispense high viscosity products like jelly beverages effectively or are too weak for stacking and opening caps, and spout pouch containers have limited operational efficiency and high costs for use in vending machines.
Innovation Solution
A plastic bottle design featuring a flexible main unit with a tubular body section that deforms into a flat shape for dispensing high viscosity products, combined with a rigid portion for structural support, allowing the bottle to stand upright and maintain strength for stacking and cap opening, made from thermoplastic resin using molding techniques like injection stretch blow molding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the bottle is made strong to withstand stacking in vending machines, then stacking strength is improved, but it becomes difficult or impossible to dispense the jelly beverage by squeezing
Solution Approach 1:
The bottle is divided into two distinct structural zones: a rigid portion (neck and shoulder) for stacking strength and a flexible portion (body) for dispensing. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function optimally without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the bottle have different mechanical properties: the neck and shoulder regions are designed with high rigidity for stacking, while the body portion is designed with flexibility for squeezing. This local differentiation of material properties resolves the contradiction between stacking strength and dispensing ease.
2Ease of operation
If the bottle strength is reduced to allow jelly beverage to be dispensed by squeezing, then dispensing ease is improved, but the strength becomes insufficient for stacking in vending machines and opening the cap
Solution Approach 1:
The bottle structure is segmented into rigid and flexible zones, allowing the body to be soft for easy squeezing while the neck and shoulder provide the necessary stacking strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The bottle exhibits local quality variations where the body portion has low rigidity for dispensing while the neck and shoulder have high rigidity for stacking and cap opening, resolving the strength-ease of operation contradiction.
3Ease of operation
If a spout pouch container is used for storing jelly beverage, then dispensing ease is improved, but it cannot withstand horizontal placement in vending machines and requires costly modifications
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the flexible dispensing characteristics of spout pouch containers with the rigid structural support needed for vending machine placement. The hybrid structure combines soft body for squeezing with rigid neck and shoulder for horizontal stacking compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
By applying local quality differentiation, the bottle achieves spout pouch-like flexibility in the body for easy dispensing while maintaining rigid neck and shoulder regions that provide the structural strength needed for horizontal placement in standard vending machines.
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
Enables efficient dispensing of high viscosity products while maintaining structural integrity for stacking and storage, reducing deformation and costs, and allowing horizontal storage in vending machines without modifying existing infrastructure.
Implementation Method 1
The bottle may be made from a thermoplastic resin
Implementation Method 2
the tubular body section of the main unit deforms into a substantially flat shape when an external force is applied in a transverse direction without the rigid portion undergoing plastic deformation
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a plastic bottle suitable for vending from vending machines and for storing food or beverage products having comparatively high viscosities. A bottle is provided with a mouth, a flexible main unit having a tubular body section in fluid communication with the mouth, a base forming a bottom of the main unit and configured to support the bottle to stand upright, and a rigid portion located above the main unit and having greater traverse strength than said main unit. The mouth, main unit, and base define a retention space with a central axis. The rigid portion includes regions facing each other across from the central axis at the most distant position from the central axis. Moreover, the tubular body section of the main unit deforms into a substantially flat shape when an external force is applied in a transverse direction without the rigid portion undergoing plastic deformation.