[go: up one dir, main page]
More Web Proxy on the site http://driver.im/

EP1184287A1 - Collapsible, synthetic resin container - Google Patents

Collapsible, synthetic resin container Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP1184287A1
EP1184287A1 EP00119045A EP00119045A EP1184287A1 EP 1184287 A1 EP1184287 A1 EP 1184287A1 EP 00119045 A EP00119045 A EP 00119045A EP 00119045 A EP00119045 A EP 00119045A EP 1184287 A1 EP1184287 A1 EP 1184287A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
container body
container
synthetic resin
side wall
resin liquid
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP00119045A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Mitsuo Higuchi
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Gohsho Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Gohsho Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Gohsho Co Ltd filed Critical Gohsho Co Ltd
Priority to EP00119045A priority Critical patent/EP1184287A1/en
Publication of EP1184287A1 publication Critical patent/EP1184287A1/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65DCONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D1/00Containers having bodies formed in one piece, e.g. by casting metallic material, by moulding plastics, by blowing vitreous material, by throwing ceramic material, by moulding pulped fibrous material, by deep-drawing operations performed on sheet material
    • B65D1/02Bottles or similar containers with necks or like restricted apertures, designed for pouring contents
    • B65D1/0223Bottles or similar containers with necks or like restricted apertures, designed for pouring contents characterised by shape
    • B65D1/0292Foldable bottles
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65DCONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D2501/00Containers having bodies formed in one piece
    • B65D2501/0009Bottles or similar containers with necks or like restricted apertures designed for pouring contents
    • B65D2501/0018Ribs
    • B65D2501/0027Hollow longitudinal ribs
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65DCONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D2501/00Containers having bodies formed in one piece
    • B65D2501/0009Bottles or similar containers with necks or like restricted apertures designed for pouring contents
    • B65D2501/0018Ribs
    • B65D2501/0036Hollow circonferential ribs

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a synthetic resin liquid container for containing drinking water, juice, milk and other liquids.
  • the problem is to collect empty synthetic resin containers since such containers are bulky and thus occupy a lot of space so that transporting these empty containers is like carrying air. Further, the fact that recycling service companies are generally paid based on the weight of garbage they recovered may contribute to their unwillingness for collecting such containers.
  • an object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic resin container that can be sufficiently resistant to intense oscillation during transport while containig liquid therein and can substantially reduce its volume when it is empty and collected as garbage, thereby enabling transporting much larger number of containers at one time.
  • a synthetic resin liquid container which has a body that can substantially reduce its volume when a vertical and/or twisting stress is applied to the body, and a form-retaining means to be used after compression of the container body for keeping it compressed.
  • the container body comprises a relatively hard and thin side wall with accordion-shaped contour formed on its surface, and sequentially reduced radiuses from both the upper and bottom ends toward the middle of the body, for facilitating operation of substantially reducing the volume of container as described above.
  • the container body comprises a plurality of longitudinal grooves on the surface of its side wall, and a star-shaped cross section, for facilitating operation of substantially reducing the volume of container as described above.
  • the container body comprises a relatively hard and thin side wall, and a number of continuous or non-continuous oblique grooves on the side wall, for facilitating operation of substantially reducing the volume of container as described above.
  • the container body comprises a relatively thin side wall and a number of recesses formed thereon, for facilitating operation of substantially reducing the volume of container as described above.
  • the container body further comprises a belt attached to the opening of the container body, and the belt is in turn connected to a cap, for an aid in keeping the container compressed.
  • the opening of the container body can be embedded into the container body by pressing the opening for keeping the container compressed.
  • the container body also comprises a retainer means which is shorter than the height of the body and has a plurality of legs suspended from the neck portion of the body, with each leg having a claw portion at the tip which engages with the rim of the bottom of the container body for retaining the substantially reduced volume of the container body.
  • the container body also has a retainer member provided on the lower portion of the body, the retainer member having a side wall which is shorter than that of the body, extends in upward direction and has, at the circumferential rim of the side wall thereof, a claw that can be engaged with the top of side wall of the container body.
  • Figure 1 shows a liquid container body (1) made of flexible plastic synthetic resin, and a relatively hard opening (2) with reduced radius provided at the top of the body (1).
  • Figure 1 also shows a cap member (3) covering the opening (2).
  • the container body (1) has a surrounding side wall (4) which is provided with an accordion-shaped contour (5) on its surface between the opening (2) and the bottom of the body (1) across the height of the container body (1).
  • the container body (1) may be filled with liquid such as mineral water using any conventional means, and then sealed with a cap member (3) before it is put on a market.
  • liquid such as mineral water
  • a cap member (3) before it is put on a market.
  • Such a filled container body (1) may be transported almost safely even under oscillation since the accordion like contour (5) of the side wall (4) may provide a buffering function.
  • the container body (1) is emptied and compressed into a direction toward the middle of the body (1).
  • the container may be easily compressed due to flexibility and plasticity of the container body (1) as well as the accordion-shaped contour (5) of the side wall (4).
  • the container body (1) may be placed on the ground and then crushed by foot if the container body cannot be squashed easily by hand.
  • the squashed container body (1) may have thus sufficiently reduced volume.
  • the present inventors put conventional green tea bottles (500ml; height 21cm ⁇ radius 7cm ⁇ ) which are commercially available to the test, by compressing the bottles after making their side walls (4) an accordion-shaped contour (5) as that of the present invention.
  • the results showed that all the container bodies (1) tested were compressed to one-fourth of its original height, which was equal to 5 cm or less. These heights were equal to about two-fold (2L) of those of the relatively hard taper portions (11) of respective container bodies (1), the taper portions (11) being provided just below the opening (2) of the container body (1).
  • the container body (1) is capped again with a cap member (3) at the opening (2) to prevent air introduction into the container body (1) after compression, as shown in Figure 9, so that the container body (1) can keep its compressed form.
  • a capping member (3) may often be discarded or lost after detached from the container body (1) and thus cannot be capped with a cap member (3) after compression of the container body (1).
  • FIG. 10 shows a belt (6) which is made of thin, flexible, plastic resin plate, the plate with openings (7) and (8) close to both ends.
  • the cap (3) has a circumferential side wall and a dovetail groove (9) on the periphery of the side wall.
  • One of the above-described openings (7) provided in the belt (6) is fitted into the dovetail groove (9) while the other (8) is fitted into the proximal end of screw portion (10) provided on the outer surface of the opening (2) of the container body (1).
  • the cap (3) is permanently fixed to the container body (1) so that it may not be lost after once detached.
  • the container body (1) can be kept compressed by recapping with the cap (3) on the opening of the container body (1) after compression.
  • the compressed body (1) has a height equal to about two-fold (2L) of that of the taper portion (5) (L).
  • the container body (1) may be further compressed into smaller size.
  • the taper portion (11) and opening (2) of the container body (1), and optionally a loosely fitted cap (3) are flipped into the container body (1) when the container body (1) is compressed such that these parts may be accommodated in the container body.
  • neither the taper (11) nor the cap may not contribute to the height of the compressed container body (1) so that the body height may be reduced to the same height as those of taper portion (11) and/or cap (L1), thus greatly reducing the bulk of the container.
  • the container body (1) may be compressed by applying a horizontal force (not a vertical force) in order to substantially reduce the volume of the container body (1).
  • the container body (1) may have a plurality of grooves (12) provided on the outer surface thereof with each groove running into the longitudinal direction and being evenly spaced each other.
  • the container body (1) has a star-shaped cross-section (13) as shown in Figure 3.
  • a number of oblique grooves (14) may be formed on the side wall of the container body for horizontal compression as shown in Figures 4 and 5.
  • the emptied container bodies (1) shown in Figures 2 to 5 could be reduced to a size equal to one-third of their original sizes by compressing of the container body (1) them in such a similar manner as laundry is squeezed to remove moisture.
  • the container body (1) may be capped with a cap (3) after compressed to keep it compressed as described above.
  • a lot of compressed containers (1) can be transported by arranging them in a line with each containers (1) being placed upside down shown in Fig.6.
  • the container body (1) may be compressed by applying both vertical and horizontal forces.
  • the container body (1) has a number of recesses such as oblique grooves (15) formed on the surrounding wall (4) thereof as shown in Figure 7, or a continuous spiral groove (16) on the side wall thereof arranged with each parallel line spaced each other in a oblique but relatively horizontal direction as shown in Figure 8.
  • the groove (16) can be discontinuous.
  • an empty container body (1) may be easily compressed merely by applying a vertical pressure since, due to such configuration, not only vertical force but also another force in turning direction are generated and transmitted to the container body (1) such that synthetic force of the two may easily press the container body down.
  • cover members (17) are shown in Figures 12 and 13, which are fitted on the lower portion of container body (1).
  • cover members (17) are generally manufactured from the same material as the container body (1), and may be sold along with the container body (1) containing liquid therein.
  • the cover member (17) is shaped like a bowl with a claw (18) extruding inwardly at the upper open rim.
  • the empty container body (1) is accommodated in the cover member (17) so that the empty container body (1) can keep its compression form.
  • FIG. 13 One example is shown in Figure 13 in which the container body (1) has an accordion-shaped contour (5) on the side wall (4) thereof.
  • the top protrusion of the accordion contour (5) - i.e., the protrusion (19) of the accordion contour (5) just below the taper portion (11) - will engage with the claw (18) of the cover (17). Accordingly, it is important to make the height or depth of the cover member (17) equal to that of the container body (1) in a maximally compressed state.
  • the top protrusion (19) of the container body (1) may have a larger radius than other protrusions in the same accordion contour as shown in Figure 12.
  • the container body (1) may have an accordion contour with each protrusion therein having successively reduced radiuses toward the middle portion (20) across the container length such that the side wall of the container body (1) may be almost evenly and horizontally folded to be accommodated in the next cover member (17) when the container body (1) is pressed into the cover member (17) as shown in Figure 14, thus enabling easy compressing operation of the container.
  • the cover member (17) may be formed as a tube or another form such that it has a discontinuous side wall with a hole or holes (23) from that of the as shown in Figure 16.
  • the cover member (15) may be one which is fit into the lower portion of the container body (1) as described above, or a retainer (24) generally manufactured from the same material as the container body (1) in any form such as those shown in Figures 16 to 18.
  • the retainer (24) may comprise a disk having a hole (25) at its center in which the opening (2) of the container body (1) can fit, and a plurality of leg members (26) under the disk.
  • the leg members (26) can be bumped into engagement with the side wall of the container body (1), and has a claw member (27) at their ends which is adjusted to fit on the container body (1).
  • the retainer (24) may be put on the market together with the container body (1).
  • the claw members (27) of the retainer (24) are engaged with the bottom surface of the container body (1) thereby enabling the container to keep its compression form.
  • the present invention could provide substantially reduced volume of an after-used container body, resulting in saving garbage storage space, thereby enabling a large amount of after-used containers to be transported at one time. This space-saving contributes to expansion of recycling such containers.
  • the container body of the present invention is provided with a retainer means for keeping its compression form so that once compressed the container may not return to its normal shape.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Ceramic Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Containers Having Bodies Formed In One Piece (AREA)

Abstract

A synthetic resin liquid container for containing drinking water, juice, milk and other liquids is provided. The synthetic resin liquid container has a body (1) that can substantially reduce its volume when a vertical and/or twisting stress is supplied to the body (1), and a form-retaining means (26,27) to be used after compression of the container body (1) for keeping it compressed.

Description

    BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention
  • The present invention relates to a synthetic resin liquid container for containing drinking water, juice, milk and other liquids.
  • Description of the Related Art
  • Today, it is said that an ordinary family produces garbage at an average of 800g per day. And the total amount of garbage produced by not only families but also plants and offices all over the world may reach astronomical figures. Therefore, waste disposal is one of the biggest social issues of today. Recently, synthetic resin containers called "mini bottles" have come into wide use and demand for such bottles has dramatically increased. In fact, the amount of waste mini bottles occupies not less than 15% of the above-described total amount of garbage, as the Director General of the Environment Agency reported.
  • Therefore, recycling these synthetic resin containers, which are difficult to incinerate, has been suggested. And now, separate collection of garbage is generally carried out by separating garbage into several categories such as "food garbage", "synthetic resin container" and others.
  • The problem is to collect empty synthetic resin containers since such containers are bulky and thus occupy a lot of space so that transporting these empty containers is like carrying air. Further, the fact that recycling service companies are generally paid based on the weight of garbage they recovered may contribute to their unwillingness for collecting such containers.
  • SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
  • Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic resin container that can be sufficiently resistant to intense oscillation during transport while containig liquid therein and can substantially reduce its volume when it is empty and collected as garbage, thereby enabling transporting much larger number of containers at one time.
  • A synthetic resin liquid container is provided which has a body that can substantially reduce its volume when a vertical and/or twisting stress is applied to the body, and a form-retaining means to be used after compression of the container body for keeping it compressed.
  • In one aspect of the present invention, the container body comprises a relatively hard and thin side wall with accordion-shaped contour formed on its surface, and sequentially reduced radiuses from both the upper and bottom ends toward the middle of the body, for facilitating operation of substantially reducing the volume of container as described above.
  • In another aspect of the present invention, the container body comprises a plurality of longitudinal grooves on the surface of its side wall, and a star-shaped cross section, for facilitating operation of substantially reducing the volume of container as described above.
  • In still another aspect of the present invention, the container body comprises a relatively hard and thin side wall, and a number of continuous or non-continuous oblique grooves on the side wall, for facilitating operation of substantially reducing the volume of container as described above.
  • In still another aspect of the present invention, the container body comprises a relatively thin side wall and a number of recesses formed thereon, for facilitating operation of substantially reducing the volume of container as described above.
  • In still another aspect of the present invention, the container body further comprises a belt attached to the opening of the container body, and the belt is in turn connected to a cap, for an aid in keeping the container compressed.
  • In still another aspect of the present invention, the opening of the container body can be embedded into the container body by pressing the opening for keeping the container compressed.
  • In still another aspect of the present invention, the container body also comprises a retainer means which is shorter than the height of the body and has a plurality of legs suspended from the neck portion of the body, with each leg having a claw portion at the tip which engages with the rim of the bottom of the container body for retaining the substantially reduced volume of the container body.
  • Alternatively, in still another aspect of the present invention, the container body also has a retainer member provided on the lower portion of the body, the retainer member having a side wall which is shorter than that of the body, extends in upward direction and has, at the circumferential rim of the side wall thereof, a claw that can be engaged with the top of side wall of the container body.
  • BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
  • Figure 1 shows a front view of the container body of the present invention according to Example 1.
  • Figure 2 shows a front view of the container body of the present invention according to Example 2.
  • Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the container body cut from Figure 2, line a-a.
  • Figure 4 shows a front view of the container body of the present invention according to Example 2.
  • Figure 5 shows an expanded view of a portion in the dashed line circle shown in Figure 2.
  • Figure 6 shows a front view of the containers with substantially reduced volume which are arranged for space saving according to Example 2.
  • Figure 7 shows a front view of the container body of the present invention according to Example 3.
  • Figure 8 shows a front view of the container body of the present invention according to Example 4.
  • Figure 9 shows a front view of the container in a compressed state which is provided with a means for retaining its substantially reduced volume according to Example 1.
  • Figure 10 shows a belt which permanently connects the cap and the container body.
  • Figure 11 shows a front view of the container body in a compressed state which is provided with a means for retaining its substantially reduced volume according to Example 5.
  • Figure 12 shows a front view of the container body according to Example 5 in its normal state, which is provided with a means for retaining its substantially reduced volume once the container is compressed.
  • Figure 13 shows a front view of the container body according to Example 5 in its compressed state, which is provided with a means for retaining its substantially reduced volume once the container is compressed.
  • Figure 14 shows a front view of the container body according to Example 6 in its normal state, which is provided with a means for retaining its substantially reduced volume once the container is compressed.
  • Figure 15 shows a front view of the container body according to Example 2 in its compressed state, which is provided with a means for retaining its substantially reduced volume once the container is compressed.
  • Figure 16 shows a front view of the container body according to Example 7 in its compressed state, which is provided with a means for retaining its substantially reduced volume once the container is compressed.
  • Figure 17 shows a front view of retaining means for retaining a container body compressed according to Example 8.
  • Figure 18 shows a front view of the container which has such a configuration that it may have substantially reduced volume when compressed according to Example 8.
  • DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Example 1
  • Figure 1 shows a liquid container body (1) made of flexible plastic synthetic resin, and a relatively hard opening (2) with reduced radius provided at the top of the body (1). Figure 1 also shows a cap member (3) covering the opening (2).
  • The container body (1) has a surrounding side wall (4) which is provided with an accordion-shaped contour (5) on its surface between the opening (2) and the bottom of the body (1) across the height of the container body (1).
  • For use, the container body (1) may be filled with liquid such as mineral water using any conventional means, and then sealed with a cap member (3) before it is put on a market. Such a filled container body (1) may be transported almost safely even under oscillation since the accordion like contour (5) of the side wall (4) may provide a buffering function.
  • Now, the container body (1) is emptied and compressed into a direction toward the middle of the body (1). The container may be easily compressed due to flexibility and plasticity of the container body (1) as well as the accordion-shaped contour (5) of the side wall (4).
  • Alternatively, the container body (1) may be placed on the ground and then crushed by foot if the container body cannot be squashed easily by hand.
  • The squashed container body (1) may have thus sufficiently reduced volume.
  • The present inventors put conventional green tea bottles (500ml; height 21cm×radius 7cmØ) which are commercially available to the test, by compressing the bottles after making their side walls (4) an accordion-shaped contour (5) as that of the present invention. The results showed that all the container bodies (1) tested were compressed to one-fourth of its original height, which was equal to 5 cm or less. These heights were equal to about two-fold (2L) of those of the relatively hard taper portions (11) of respective container bodies (1), the taper portions (11) being provided just below the opening (2) of the container body (1).
  • It should be easily understood that such compressed bottles may be easily transported for, for example, recycling since their size are now one-fourth or smaller than their original size. The problem is whether the container bodies (1) can be kept in a compression form prior and during transportation. Various containers made of different materials were tested for this point though results showed that some were kept compressed for a long period of time, others for several hours, and even others had only very short period of time such as a few minutes and soon to tend to recover their original shapes.
  • Accordingly, the container body (1) is capped again with a cap member (3) at the opening (2) to prevent air introduction into the container body (1) after compression, as shown in Figure 9, so that the container body (1) can keep its compressed form.
  • However, a capping member (3) may often be discarded or lost after detached from the container body (1) and thus cannot be capped with a cap member (3) after compression of the container body (1).
  • Accordingly, improvement in the present invention is to attach the capping member (3) permanently to the container body (1). For example, Figure 10 shows a belt (6) which is made of thin, flexible, plastic resin plate, the plate with openings (7) and (8) close to both ends. The cap (3) has a circumferential side wall and a dovetail groove (9) on the periphery of the side wall. One of the above-described openings (7) provided in the belt (6) is fitted into the dovetail groove (9) while the other (8) is fitted into the proximal end of screw portion (10) provided on the outer surface of the opening (2) of the container body (1).
  • As a result, the cap (3) is permanently fixed to the container body (1) so that it may not be lost after once detached. Thus, the container body (1) can be kept compressed by recapping with the cap (3) on the opening of the container body (1) after compression.
  • As already described above, the compressed body (1) has a height equal to about two-fold (2L) of that of the taper portion (5) (L). In another embodiment, the container body (1) may be further compressed into smaller size.
  • In this example, as shown in Figure 11, the taper portion (11) and opening (2) of the container body (1), and optionally a loosely fitted cap (3) are flipped into the container body (1) when the container body (1) is compressed such that these parts may be accommodated in the container body. As a result, neither the taper (11) nor the cap may not contribute to the height of the compressed container body (1) so that the body height may be reduced to the same height as those of taper portion (11) and/or cap (L1), thus greatly reducing the bulk of the container.
  • Example 2
  • In alternative embodiment, the container body (1) may be compressed by applying a horizontal force (not a vertical force) in order to substantially reduce the volume of the container body (1).
  • Particularly, as shown in Figure 2, the container body (1) may have a plurality of grooves (12) provided on the outer surface thereof with each groove running into the longitudinal direction and being evenly spaced each other. The container body (1) has a star-shaped cross-section (13) as shown in Figure 3.
  • Alternatively, a number of oblique grooves (14) may be formed on the side wall of the container body for horizontal compression as shown in Figures 4 and 5.
  • In summary, the emptied container bodies (1) shown in Figures 2 to 5 could be reduced to a size equal to one-third of their original sizes by compressing of the container body (1) them in such a similar manner as laundry is squeezed to remove moisture.
  • The container body (1) may be capped with a cap (3) after compressed to keep it compressed as described above. A lot of compressed containers (1) can be transported by arranging them in a line with each containers (1) being placed upside down shown in Fig.6.
  • Example 3
  • In another embodiment, the container body (1) may be compressed by applying both vertical and horizontal forces.
  • Particularly, the container body (1) has a number of recesses such as oblique grooves (15) formed on the surrounding wall (4) thereof as shown in Figure 7, or a continuous spiral groove (16) on the side wall thereof arranged with each parallel line spaced each other in a oblique but relatively horizontal direction as shown in Figure 8. Of course, in the case of the container body (1) in Figure 8 the groove (16) can be discontinuous.
  • Thus, an empty container body (1) may be easily compressed merely by applying a vertical pressure since, due to such configuration, not only vertical force but also another force in turning direction are generated and transmitted to the container body (1) such that synthetic force of the two may easily press the container body down.
  • Example 4
  • Various other examples of means for keeping the container body (1) in a compressed form may be contemplated. For example, cover members (17) are shown in Figures 12 and 13, which are fitted on the lower portion of container body (1).
  • These cover members (17) are generally manufactured from the same material as the container body (1), and may be sold along with the container body (1) containing liquid therein. The cover member (17) is shaped like a bowl with a claw (18) extruding inwardly at the upper open rim.
  • Thus, once compressed in vertical direction the empty container body (1) is accommodated in the cover member (17) so that the empty container body (1) can keep its compression form.
  • One example is shown in Figure 13 in which the container body (1) has an accordion-shaped contour (5) on the side wall (4) thereof. In this example, the top protrusion of the accordion contour (5) - i.e., the protrusion (19) of the accordion contour (5) just below the taper portion (11) - will engage with the claw (18) of the cover (17). Accordingly, it is important to make the height or depth of the cover member (17) equal to that of the container body (1) in a maximally compressed state.
  • Preferably, the top protrusion (19) of the container body (1) may have a larger radius than other protrusions in the same accordion contour as shown in Figure 12.
  • In this case, the container body (1) may have an accordion contour with each protrusion therein having successively reduced radiuses toward the middle portion (20) across the container length such that the side wall of the container body (1) may be almost evenly and horizontally folded to be accommodated in the next cover member (17) when the container body (1) is pressed into the cover member (17) as shown in Figure 14, thus enabling easy compressing operation of the container. The cover member (17) may be formed as a tube or another form such that it has a discontinuous side wall with a hole or holes (23) from that of the as shown in Figure 16.
  • Example 5
  • The cover member (15) may be one which is fit into the lower portion of the container body (1) as described above, or a retainer (24) generally manufactured from the same material as the container body (1) in any form such as those shown in Figures 16 to 18.
  • For example, the retainer (24) may comprise a disk having a hole (25) at its center in which the opening (2) of the container body (1) can fit, and a plurality of leg members (26) under the disk. The leg members (26) can be bumped into engagement with the side wall of the container body (1), and has a claw member (27) at their ends which is adjusted to fit on the container body (1).
  • Typically the retainer (24) may be put on the market together with the container body (1). When emptied container body (1) is compressed, the claw members (27) of the retainer (24) are engaged with the bottom surface of the container body (1) thereby enabling the container to keep its compression form.
  • In summary, the present invention could provide substantially reduced volume of an after-used container body, resulting in saving garbage storage space, thereby enabling a large amount of after-used containers to be transported at one time. This space-saving contributes to expansion of recycling such containers.
  • Further, the container body of the present invention is provided with a retainer means for keeping its compression form so that once compressed the container may not return to its normal shape.
  • The above examples are provided to illustrate the invention but not limit its scope. Other variations of the invention will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art and are encompassed by the appended claims.

Claims (10)

  1. A synthetic resin liquid container comprising:
    a container body having an opening, a side wall which is made of a flexible and relatively hard plastic synthetic resin, and
    a form that facilitates operation of substantially reducing the volume of the container body by applying a vertical and/or
    twisting force;
    a cap member for covering the opening; and
    a retainer means for keeping the reduced volume of the container body.
  2. The synthetic resin liquid container according to claim 1 wherein said container body comprises a relatively hard and thin side wall with accordion-shaped contour formed on its surface for facilitating operation of substantially reducing the volume of container body.
  3. The synthetic resin liquid container according to claim 2 wherein said container body comprises sequentially reduced radiuses from both the upper and bottom ends toward the middle of the body.
  4. The synthetic resin liquid container according to claim 1 wherein said container body comprises a relatively hard thin side wall, a plurality of longitudinal grooves formed thereon, and a star-shaped cross section, for facilitating operation of substantially reducing the volume of container.
  5. The synthetic resin liquid container according to claim 1 wherein said container body comprises a relatively hard and thin side wall, and a number of continuous or non-continuous oblique grooves formed thereon, for facilitating operation of substantially reducing the volume of container.
  6. The synthetic resin liquid container according to claim 1 wherein said container body comprises a relatively thin side wall and a number of recesses formed thereon, for facilitating operation of substantially reducing the volume of container.
  7. The synthetic resin liquid container according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein said container body further comprises a belt attached to the opening of the container body, and the belt is in turn connected to a cap, for an aid in keeping the container compressed.
  8. The synthetic resin liquid container according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein said opening of the container body can be embedded into the container body by pressing the opening for keeping the container compressed, for an aid in keeping the container compressed.
  9. The synthetic resin liquid container according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein said container body further comprises a retainer means which is shorter than the height of the body and has a plurality of legs suspended from the neck portion of the body, each leg having a claw portion at the tip which engages with the rim of the bottom of the container body for retaining the substantially reduced volume of the container body.
  10. The synthetic resin liquid container according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein said container body further comprises a retainer means provided on the lower portion of the body, the retainer member having a side wall which is shorter than that of the body, extends in upward direction and has, at the circumferential rim of the side wall thereof, a claw that can be engaged with the top of said side wall of the container body.
EP00119045A 2000-09-02 2000-09-02 Collapsible, synthetic resin container Withdrawn EP1184287A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP00119045A EP1184287A1 (en) 2000-09-02 2000-09-02 Collapsible, synthetic resin container

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP00119045A EP1184287A1 (en) 2000-09-02 2000-09-02 Collapsible, synthetic resin container

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1184287A1 true EP1184287A1 (en) 2002-03-06

Family

ID=8169735

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP00119045A Withdrawn EP1184287A1 (en) 2000-09-02 2000-09-02 Collapsible, synthetic resin container

Country Status (1)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1184287A1 (en)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE10324893A1 (en) * 2003-05-30 2004-12-16 Kempa, Josef Plastic bottle has peripheral ribs with concave upper surfaces which fit against convex lower surfaces on ribs above when bottle is compressed, barb on rod attached to base interlocking with hooked section in neck
GB2434137A (en) * 2006-01-13 2007-07-18 Howe Homes Ltd Collapsible container suitable for liquids, gels and pastes

Citations (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB966896A (en) * 1960-10-14 1964-08-19 Carol Parker Improvements in or relating to bottles
FR1567740A (en) * 1967-06-07 1969-05-16
US4865211A (en) * 1988-03-04 1989-09-12 Hollingsworth Elmont E Collapsible article
WO1990008698A1 (en) * 1989-02-03 1990-08-09 Georg Osbakk Compressible bottle
WO1993009031A1 (en) * 1991-11-01 1993-05-13 Hawkins, Michael, Howard Collapsible container
EP0599421A1 (en) * 1992-11-24 1994-06-01 Giacomo Beniacar Foldable bottle with fastening element
EP0666222A1 (en) * 1994-02-03 1995-08-09 The Procter & Gamble Company Air tight containers, able to be reversibly and gradually pressurized, and assembly thereof
EP0719710A2 (en) * 1994-12-29 1996-07-03 ZELLER PLASTIK GmbH Fastening element for a foldable bottle
EP0733557A1 (en) * 1994-10-11 1996-09-25 MAZDA, Masayosi Bellows-shape container
US5711445A (en) * 1991-11-12 1998-01-27 Robbins, Iii; Edward S. Collapsible urine container
DE19649787A1 (en) * 1996-12-02 1998-06-04 Andrej Simko Ecological packaging with variable volume

Patent Citations (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB966896A (en) * 1960-10-14 1964-08-19 Carol Parker Improvements in or relating to bottles
FR1567740A (en) * 1967-06-07 1969-05-16
US4865211A (en) * 1988-03-04 1989-09-12 Hollingsworth Elmont E Collapsible article
WO1990008698A1 (en) * 1989-02-03 1990-08-09 Georg Osbakk Compressible bottle
WO1993009031A1 (en) * 1991-11-01 1993-05-13 Hawkins, Michael, Howard Collapsible container
US5711445A (en) * 1991-11-12 1998-01-27 Robbins, Iii; Edward S. Collapsible urine container
EP0599421A1 (en) * 1992-11-24 1994-06-01 Giacomo Beniacar Foldable bottle with fastening element
EP0666222A1 (en) * 1994-02-03 1995-08-09 The Procter & Gamble Company Air tight containers, able to be reversibly and gradually pressurized, and assembly thereof
EP0733557A1 (en) * 1994-10-11 1996-09-25 MAZDA, Masayosi Bellows-shape container
EP0719710A2 (en) * 1994-12-29 1996-07-03 ZELLER PLASTIK GmbH Fastening element for a foldable bottle
DE19649787A1 (en) * 1996-12-02 1998-06-04 Andrej Simko Ecological packaging with variable volume

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE10324893A1 (en) * 2003-05-30 2004-12-16 Kempa, Josef Plastic bottle has peripheral ribs with concave upper surfaces which fit against convex lower surfaces on ribs above when bottle is compressed, barb on rod attached to base interlocking with hooked section in neck
GB2434137A (en) * 2006-01-13 2007-07-18 Howe Homes Ltd Collapsible container suitable for liquids, gels and pastes

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US6662964B2 (en) Synthetic resin liquid container
US6669040B2 (en) Container capable of maintaining its compressed state in a longitudinal direction and compression method thereof
US4790361A (en) Collapsible carbonated beverage container
US7108151B2 (en) Container capable of keeping a lengthwise contracted state and contraction method thereof
US6382439B1 (en) Bottle connector
US20030141310A1 (en) Metal container capable of retaining a state of being reduced in a longitudinal direction and reduction method thereof
US20030006240A1 (en) Synthetic resin liquid container
EP1184287A1 (en) Collapsible, synthetic resin container
US20020023931A1 (en) Synthetic resin liquid container
WO2000043276A1 (en) Collapsible fluid containers
EP1354802A2 (en) Foldable plastic bottle
JP3106059U (en) A plastic bottle that can keep its length reduced
TWI280932B (en) Manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus for vertically extended or retractable PET bottle
AU7607001A (en) Synthetic resin liquid container
KR20210060082A (en) Unpowered Disposable Cup Separator
JP2002068156A (en) Liquid container made from synthetic resin
KR200264767Y1 (en) A receptacle for using pump
EP1508522A1 (en) Collapsible bottle and collapsing method
KR100700036B1 (en) Plastic bottle
AU738438B2 (en) Collapsible drink bottles
KR200241870Y1 (en) Liquid containing bottle capable of easy volume reduction
JP4151826B2 (en) A container that can maintain a reduced length.
JP2007197042A (en) Vertically contracting pet bottle
JP2004352275A (en) Container capable of retaining its longitudinal contraction and its reduction method
WO2019171247A1 (en) Waste compactor apparatus

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC NL PT SE

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): DE ES FR GB IT SE

AX Request for extension of the european patent

Free format text: AL;LT;LV;MK;RO;SI

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 20020816

AKX Designation fees paid

Free format text: DE ES FR GB IT SE

17Q First examination report despatched

Effective date: 20030204

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION IS DEEMED TO BE WITHDRAWN

18D Application deemed to be withdrawn

Effective date: 20090331