Manufacturing a contoured plastic container with printing thereon
AssigneeLuv n' care, Ltd.
InventorNouri Edward Hakim
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A contoured container such as a training cup for a toddler having a pinched-waist shape includes printing on the outer surface in a highly contoured portion. Before the manufacturing steps wherein a preform is expanded to the desired pinched-waist shape, it is printed using expandable or rubberized ink. This intermediate product of manufacture is then stretch blown to the final shape, and during this step, the ink expands along with the preform to result in a container with printing on the highly-contoured surface.
Claims20
A method of manufacturing a thermoplastic contoured container having decorative ornamentation comprising:
- applying decorative ornamentation on a surface of a preform;
- shaping the preform having the decorative ornamentation thereon into the contoured container including shaping the decorative ornamentation on the preform surface.
A preform for manufacturing a contoured decorative container comprising:
- an open mouth, a neck, a closed bottom, and a substantially smooth region between the mouth and the closed bottom, and
- decorative ornamentation on the substantially smooth region between the mouth and the closed bottom.
A drinking cup comprising:
- a polypropylene container comprising a thermoplastic polymer ink decoration applied on an outer surface of the container wherein the polypropylene and the thermoplastic polymer ink decoration are adhered to each other;
- and wherein the polypropylene and the thermoplastic polymer ink decoration are stretched to a similar degree to form a shaped container having a thermoplastic polymer ink decoration on the outer surface of the shaped container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.