Stretch-blow molded plastic container and stretch-blow-molding method

A stretch-blow-molded plastic container comprising:

• a container body, which is closed with a container base, and with a container neck that adjoins the container body via a container shoulder, which neck has a container opening;
• a support ring visually separating the container body and the container neck and being made in one piece with the container body and the container neck, the support ring being an essentially radially protruding support ring that is circumferential at least in places and that has a support ring bottom that points in the direction of the container base, wherein the container shoulder has a first shoulder section that runs directly adjacent to the support ring bottom and a second shoulder section that is integrally bonded to the first shoulder section, which second shoulder section essentially radially adjoins the support ring, and wherein the second shoulder section extends radially outward from the first shoulder section and merges into the container body, and wherein the first shoulder section and the second shoulder section are manufactured as one piece and together constitute the container shoulder;
• and
• wherein at a transition from the support ring to the second shoulder section, a step is formed at which the second shoulder section extends axially above the support ring.

A stretch-blow-molded method for production of a plastic container from a preform, which has an elongated preform body, one longitudinal end of which is closed with a preform base and which has a preform neck that adjoins its other longitudinal end, the preform body and the preform neck being separated from one another by an essentially radially protruding support ring, which is circumferential at least in places and has a support ring bottom, the support ring visually separating the container body and the container neck, the support ring being made in one piece with the container body and the container neck, and wherein the second shoulder section extends radially outward from the first shoulder section and merges into the container body, and wherein the first shoulder section and the second shoulder section are manufactured as one piece and together constitute the container shoulder, the method comprising:

• inserting the preform into a mold cavity of a blow mold tool in such a way that the support ring is located inside the mold cavity;
• elongating the preform body axially by an elongated mandrel, and axially and radially expanding the preform body by a gas that is injected with overpressure in such a way that a container shoulder of the produced plastic container is formed, which has a first shoulder section, which essentially adjoins the support ring bottom and is bonded integrally with a second shoulder section, which essentially radially adjoins the support ring, wherein the support ring is made from a same material as the preform, the support ring on the container being a remainder of the preform that has already been formed on the preform;
• and
• demolding and removing the finished stretch-blow-molded plastic container from the mold cavity of the blow mold tool.