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US 6,669,040 B2Granted
Container capable of maintaining its compressed state in a longitudinal direction and compression method thereof
AssigneeGohsho Company, Limited
InventorMitsuo Higuchi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A container body of which length in the longitudinal direction or a part thereof is formed into horizontal accordion shape except the tap portion, wherein a force in one direction acts on a piece of folds constituting the accordion shape and/or a part of inner periphery, while a force in the opposite direction acts on the outer periphery thereof, when a force from a substantially right-angle direction thereof is applied to the accordion-shaped portion of said container body, thereby a compressed state in a longitudinal direction is maintained.
Claims9
A container capable of maintaining a compressed state in a longitudinal direction comprising a container body of which whole length in a longitudinal direction or a part thereof is formed into an accordion with folds except a tap portion, said accordion including:
- a convex portion having an inside periphery connected with the tap portion and an outside periphery;
- a upper group of plate members increasing gradually in length downwards as measured on a cross-sectional plane taken along a longitudinal axis of the container, each upper-group plate member, except a last upper-group plate member having an inside periphery connected with an inside periphery of an upper-group plate member by a fold therebetween, and each upper-group plate member, except a first upper-group plate member, having an outside periphery connected with an outside periphery of an upper-group plate member by a fold therebetween, the first upper-group plate member having an outside periphery connected with the outside periphery of the convex portion;
- and
- a lower group of plate members maintaining a same length as measured on the cross-sectional plane, each lower-group plate member, except a first lower-group plate member, having an inside periphery connected with an inside periphery of an lower-group plate member by a fold therebetween, and each lower-group plate member, except a last lower-group plate member, having an outside periphery connected with an outside periphery of an lower-group plate member by a fold therebetween, the first lower-group plate member having an inside periphery connected with an inside periphery of the last upper-group plate member, each lower-group plate member is longer than each upper-group plate member, and
- said folds are so formed that a force along the longitudinal direction applied to the tap portion of said container body reaches a balance between a downward force on inside peripheries of the convex portion and the upper-group plate members and a upward force on inside peripheries of the lower-group plate members such that the inside peripheries of the convex portion and the upper-group plate members are collapsed downward and the inside peripheries of the lower-group plate members are raised upward, and a balance between a upward force on outside peripheries of the upper-group plate members and a downward force on outside peripheries of the lower-group plate members such that the outside peripheries of the convex portion and the upper-group plate members are raised upward and the outside peripheries of the lower-group plate members are collapsed downward.
2 more elements
A container capable of maintaining a compressed state in a longitudinal direction, comprising:
- a container body provided with a tap portion projecting upward, and
- an accordion with plate members connected by folds formed on the whole or a part of a wall of the container body in a longitudinal direction except the tap portion, said plate members gradually increasing, then decreasing, then increasing again in length downwards, as measured on a respective cross-sectional plane taken along a longitudinal axis of the container so as to form a upper curved portion connection with a lower hourglass shaped body.
A compression method for compressing a container capable of maintaining a compressed state in a longitudinal direction comprising:
- providing a container body of which whole length in the longitudinal direction or a part thereof is formed into horizontal accordion with folds except the tap portion, said accordion including:
- a convex portion having an inside periphery connected with the tap portion and an outside periphery;
- a upper group of plate members increasing gradually in length downwards as measured on a cross-sectional plane taken along a longitudinal axis of the container, each upper-group plate member, except a last upper-group plate member, having an inside periphery connected with an inside periphery of an upper-group plate member by a fold therebetween, and each upper-group plate member, except a first upper-group plate member, having an outside periphery connected with an outside periphery of an upper-group plate member by a fold therebetween, the first upper-group plate member having an outside periphery connected with the outside periphery of the convex portion;
- and a lower group of plate members maintaining a same length as measured on the cross-sectional plane, each lower-group plate member, except a first lower-group plate member, having an inside periphery connected with an inside periphery of an lower-group plate member by a fold therebetween, and each lower-group plate member, except a last lower-group plate member, having an outside periphery connected with an outside periphery of an lower-group elate member by a fold therebetween, the first lower-group plate member having an inside periphery connected with an inside periphery of the last upper-group plate member, each lower-group plate member is longer than each upper-group plate member;
- and
- applying a force along the longitudinal direction to the tap portion of said container body so as to reach a balance between a downward force on inside peripheries of the convex portion and the upper-group plate members and a upward force on inside peripheries of the lower-group plate members such that the inside peripheries of the convex portion and the upper-group plate members are collapsed downward and the inside peripheries of the lower-group plate members are raised upward, and a balance between a upward force on outside peripheries of the upper-group plate members and a downward force on outside peripheries of the lower-group plate members such that the outside peripheries of the convex portion and the upper-group plate members are raised upward and the outside peripheries of the lower-group plate members are collapsed downward.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.