Method for post-mold attachment of a handle to a strain-oriented plastic container
AssigneeContinental PET Technologies, Inc.
InventorsSuppayan M. Krishnakumar, Wayne N. Collette, David Piccioli
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Abstract
A method for post-mold attachment of a handle to a strain-oriented plastic container body. The method utilizes thermal shrinkage of the oriented container body to engage the handle; for example, a highly-oriented recess is molded in the container body and then shrunk to engage a complimentary-shaped lug on the handle. The method is useful for both hot-fillable and pasteurizable containers, and is particularly useful for making larger-sized containers, wherein the weight of the product and size of the container make handling and pouring difficult.
Claims36
A method for post-mold attachment of a handle to a plastic container, comprising the steps of:
- blow molding a strain-oriented plastic container body with at least one integral handle-attaching recess in a mold, the recess having a higher level of orientation than adjacent portions of the body;
- removing the body from the mold;
- providing a separate handle having a projection and inserting the projection into the recess;
- and
- exposing the container body to an elevated temperature at a time and temperature sufficient to cause thermal shrinkage of the strain-oriented recess into close engagement with the projection in order to secure the handle to the container body.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.