Plastic container with flexible base portion
AssigneeMilacron LLC
InventorsPaul M. Swenson, Douglas G. Sabin, Adrienne Murphy Jalbert
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Plastic container (110), including a side wall (120) and a flexible portion (132) of a base (130). The flexible portion of the base deflects when the sealed plastic container experiences a differential pressure. The deflection of the flexible portion of the base acts to change the internal volume of the container and thereby reduce the differential pressure. The container is a retortable container. The container may be injection-molded with inner and outer plastic layers (460,462) and a core layer (464) between the inner and outer plastic layers.
Claims20
A retortable plastic container configured to be sealed, the retortable plastic container comprising:
- a side wall defining an open end of the container;
- and
- a base opposite the open end, the base having
- a flexible portion defining a bottom panel of the container including a central region having a convex shape extending away from the open end of the container, and
- a skirt portion extending away from the open end of the container,
- wherein when the container is sealed at least a part of the central region of the flexible portion is configured
- to deflect in a first direction in response to a positive pressure difference between an interior pressure and an exterior pressure of the sealed container, and
- to deflect in a second direction, which opposes the first direction, in response to a negative pressure difference between the interior pressure and the exterior pressure of the sealed container.
A retortable plastic container configured to be sealed, the plastic container comprising:
- a side wall defining an open end of the container;
- and
- a base opposite the open end, the base having
- a flexible portion defining a bottom panel of the container and including a central region having a convex shape extending away from the open end of the container, and
- a skirt portion extending away from the open end of the container,
- wherein when the container is sealed at least a part of the central region of the flexible portion is configured
- to deflect in a first direction in response to a positive pressure difference between an interior pressure and an exterior pressure of the sealed container, and
- to deflect in a second direction, that opposes the first direction, in response to a negative pressure difference between the interior pressure and the exterior pressure of the sealed container, and
- wherein the flexible portion of the base and the side wall define a sealable portion of the container formed by an inner layer and an outer layer of a first moldable material and an interior core layer of a second moldable material encased within the inner layer and the outer layer.
A retortable plastic container configured to be sealed, the retortable plastic container comprising:
- a side wall defining an open end of the container;
- and
- a base opposite the open end, the base having
- a flexible portion defining a bottom panel of the container including a central region having an as formed convex shape extending away from the open end of the container and a peripheral region having an as formed concave shape connecting the central region and the side wall, and
- a skirt portion extending away from the open end of the container,
- wherein when the container is sealed at least a part of the central region of the flexible portion is configured
- to deflect in a first direction in response to a positive pressure difference between an interior pressure and an exterior pressure of the sealed container, and
- to deflect in a second direction, which opposes the first direction, in response to a negative pressure difference between the interior pressure and the exterior pressure of the sealed container, and
- wherein the flexible portion and the side wall are clear or translucent.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.