Non-paneling container

A thermoplastic container capable of being filled and sealed having a yieldable bottom endwall comprising a container having an opening at the upper extremity thereof for receiving a closure, a cylindrical sidewall and a bottom endwall integrally formed with the sidewall at the lower extremity thereof, said bottom endwall being displaceable inwardly, in preference to the sidewall, upon a relative reduction of pressure in the container, said bottom endwall comprising a frustoconical surface extending downwardly and inwardly from said sidewall toward the longitudinal axis of the container at an angle of about 10.degree., a curvilinear base integrally connected with and extending downwardly from said frustoconical surface and providing a base for said container while resting on a supporting surface, said base defined by an outer curved portion having a major radius of curvature and an inner curved portion having a minor radius of curvature, the centers of said radii falling on a common line parallel to the longitudinal axis of the container and radii intersecting one another tangentially, the ratio of said major to minor radii being about 2:1, an annular member extending downwardly and inwardly from said inner curved portion to the axis of the container, said member extending downwardly at an angle of about 6.degree. to the supporting surface, a hinge element interconnecting with said inner curved portion and said annular member, said hinge element defining a hinge radius substantially less than the minor radius, said hinge radius being tangent to the minor radius at a point falling on a horizontal line extending from the center of the minor radius, said hinge radius being about one-third the minor radius, said hinge element being thinner than the sidewall, the wall thickness of the hinge element being about 80 percent or less of the sidewall thickness, the height of said inner curved portion being less than one-half the height of said frustoconical surface, and a central panel connected to said annular member and being slightly above the supporting surface.

A multilayered thermoplastic container capable of being filled and sealed having a flexible bottom endwall comprising a container having an opening at the upper extremity thereof for receiving a closure, a cylindrical sidewall and a bottom endwall integrally formed with the sidewall at the lower extremity thereof, said bottom endwall being displaceable inwardly, in preference to the sidewall, upon a relative reduction of pressure in the container, said bottom endwall comprising a frustoconical surface extending downwardly and inwardly from said sidewall toward the longitudinal axis of the container at an angle of about 10.degree., a curvilinear base integrally connected with and extending downwardly from said frustoconical surface and providing a base for said container while resting on a supporting surface, said base defined by an outer curved portion having a major radius of curvature and an inner curved portion having a minor radius of curvature, the centers of said radii falling on a line parallel to the longitudinal axis of the container and the radii intersecting one another tangentially, the ratio of said major to minor radii being about 2:1, an annular member extending downwardly and inwardly from said inner curved portion to the axis of the container, a hinge element interconnecting with said inner curved portion and said annular member, said hinge element defining a hinge radius substantially less than the minor radius, said hinge radius being tangent to the minor radius at a point falling on a horizontal line extending from the center of the minor radius, said hinge element being thinner than the sidewall by an amount less than about 65 percent thereof, the height of said inner curved portion being less than one-third the height of said frustoconical surface, and a central panel connected to said annular member and being slightly above the supporting surface, the ratio of the diameter of the central panel to the diameter of the container is about 1:3.