Plastic baby bottles, other blow molded articles, and processes for their manufacture
AssigneeEastman Chemical Company
InventorsThomas Joseph Pecorini, Spencer Allen Gilliam, Alan Keith Phillips
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Abstract
The invention is generally directed to baby bottles and other articles produced by blow molding from polymeric materials having glass transition temperatures ranging from 100° C. to 130° C., as well as to processes for producing them. These articles can be exposed to boiling water and can be produced by using a suitable combination of a stretch ratio of less than 3 and a preform temperature at least 20° C. greater than the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the polymeric material.
Claims80
A process for making a baby bottle comprising blow molding a preform made from a polymeric material,
- wherein the preform temperature at the time of inflation is at least 20° C. above the Tg temperature of the polymeric material;
- wherein the stretch ratio of the baby bottle with respect to the preform is 2.7× or less;
- wherein the Tg of the polymeric material is from 100° C. to 130° C.;
- and
- wherein the baby bottle displays shrinkage of 5% or less after immersion in boiling water for one hour.
A process for making a baby bottle comprising blow molding a preform made from a polyester composition,
- wherein the preform temperature at the time of inflation is at least 20° C. above the Tg temperature of the polyester composition;
- wherein the stretch ratio of the baby bottle with respect to the preform is from 1.2× to 2.5×;
- wherein the Tg of the polyester composition is from 105° C. to 125° C.;
- wherein the baby bottle displays shrinkage of 5% or less after immersion in boiling water for one hour;
- wherein the polyester composition comprises:
- (I) at least one polyester, which comprises
- (a) a dicarboxylic acid component comprising:
- i) 70 to 100 mole % of terephthalic acid residues;
- ii) 0 to 30 mole % of aromatic dicarboxylic acid residues having up to 20 carbon atoms;
- and
- iii) 0 to 10 mole % of aliphatic dicarboxylic acid residues having up to 16 carbon atoms;
- and
- (b) a glycol component comprising:
- i) 30 to 40 mole % of 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol residues;
- and
- ii) 60 to 70 mole % of 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues,
- wherein the total mole % of the dicarboxylic acid component is 100 mole %, and the total mole % of the glycol component is 100 mole %;
- wherein the inherent viscosity of the polyester is from 0.55 to 0.80 dL/g as determined in 60/40 (wt/wt) phenol/tetrachloroethane at a concentration of 0.5 g/100 ml at 25° C.
A blow molding process comprising:
- blow molding a preform into a bottle, wherein the stretch ratio (SR) of said bottle with respect to said preform is 3.0 or less, wherein said preform is formed of a polymeric material having a glass transition temperature (Tg) from 100 to 130° C., wherein the preform temperature at the time of inflation is greater than a calculated preform temperature (CPT) determined by the following equation:
- CPT=(45.44)(SR)−(3.36)(Tg)+454.
A blow molding process comprising:
- blow molding a preform into a bottle, wherein said preform is formed of a polymeric material having a glass transition temperature (Tg) from 100 to 130° C., wherein the preform temperature (PT) at the time of inflation is at least 20° C. above the Tg of said polymeric material, wherein the stretch ratio of said bottle with respect to said preform is less than a calculated stretch ratio (CSR) determined by the following equation:
- CSR=(0.022)(PT)+(0.074)(Tg)−10.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.