US 4,610,366 AGranted

Round juice bottle formed from a flexible material

AssigneeOwens-Illinois, Inc.

InventorsAnn E. Estes, Donald J. Staczek

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Abstract

A distortion-resistant, round, multi-layer plastic bottle for the packaging of at least 48 fl. oz. of an oxygen-sensitive, hot-fill product such as tomato juice or a citrus juice, the material used in the construction of the bottle including a layer of an oxygen barrier material, the bottle having a generally cylindrical main body portion, such main body portion having a vertical series of horizontal corrugations, such corrugations being capable of partially collapsing in the vertical direction to accommodate the contraction of the product due to cooling after filling and capping, to thereby keep the round main body portion of the bottle, which receives a cylindrical or part cylindrical double-ended or cylindrical endless label, from distorting inwardly in an hourglass shape due to the cooling of the product.

Claims30

Dependent claims

A bottle that is adapted to be filled with a liquid product that is at an elevated temperature, said bottle being formed from a flexible material that includes at least a structural layer of a polymeric material with a softening temperature that permits said structural layer to retain sufficient strength to keep said bottle from collapsing when said structural layer becomes heated as a result of the filling of said bottle with said liquid product when said product is at said elevated temperature, said bottle comprising, in combination:

an open top through which said bottle is adapted to be filled with said liquid product added to a closed bottom;
and
a body portion having a central axis, said central axis extending generally vertically when said bottle is in an upright position, said bottom of said bottle being adapted to be supported on a horizontal surface when said bottle, is in said upright position, said body portion being generally circular in a plane extended transversely of said central axis of said bottle said body portion having corrugation means extending around said body portion, said corrugation means being adapted to at least partially collapse in a direction extending parallel to said central axis of said bottle after the filling of said bottle with said liquid product at said elevated temperature and the capping of said bottle while said product is still at an elevated temperature to accommodate the cooling of said liquid product after the filling and capping of said bottle, and to thereby substantially prevent deflection of said body portion of said bottle in a plane extending transversely of said central axis of said bottle due to the cooling of said liquid product.

A package comprising, in combination:

a bottle, said bottle being formed from a flexible material that includes a structural layer of a polymeric material with a softening temperature that permits said structural layer to retain sufficient strength to keep said bottle from collapsing when said structural layer becomes heated as a result of the filling of said bottle with a liquid product at an elevated temperature, said bottle comprising:
an open top through which said bottle is adapted to be filled with said liquid product, said open top being adapted to be closed by a closure to close and seal said bottle;
a closed bottom;
and
a body portion having a central axis extending generally vertically when said bottle is in an upright position, said bottom of said bottle being adapted to be supported on a horizontal surface when said bottle is in said upright position, said body portion being generally circular in a plane extending transversely of said central axis of said bottle, said body portion having corrugation means extending around said body portion;
a liquid product contained in said bottle, said liquid product having been filled into said bottle while said liquid product is at an elevated temperature;
and
a closure affixed to said open top of said bottle, said closure closing and sealing said bottle after being affixed to said bottle, said closure being affixed to said open top of said bottle while said liquid product is at an elevated temperature, said liquid product being adapted to cool to a temperature lower than said elevated temperature at which said closure is affixed to said open top of said bottle, the cooling of said liquid product at least partially collapsing said corrugation means in a direction extending parallel to said central axis to accommodate the cooling of said liquid product to thereby substantially prevent deflection of said body portion of said bottle in a plane extending transversely of said central axis of said bottle due to the cooling of said liquid product.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.