JP2023181800A - resin container - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an easily foldable resin container with an easily crushable trunk part.SOLUTION: A resin container 1 includes a mouth part 2, a shoulder part 3, a trunk part 4, and a bottom part 5. The trunk part 4 has a substantially prismatic shape. At least at part of the trunk part 4 is provided with a specific portion 42 which has a shape in which, when two pairs of opposing sides in a cross-sectional surface of the trunk part 4 are extended, a parallelogram shape is formed in which internal angles are not right angles.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a resin container.

2. Description of the Related Art Resin containers are commonly used as containers for filling liquid products such as beverages and distributing or selling them. Resin containers are used in a wide range of applications because they have advantages such as being lightweight compared to other containers, being easy to create any shape according to requirements such as capacity and design, and being transparent making it easy to see the contents. It is used in

BACKGROUND ART When storing, transporting, etc. a used resin container for disposal, reuse, etc., its bulk may become a problem. For example, empty containers such as cans and paper containers can be easily crushed flat after use. However, containers made of resin may be difficult to crush due to the elasticity of the resin.

To address this problem, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-201448 (Patent Document 1) discloses a synthetic resin container having a unique horizontal groove with a partially bulged side wall surface. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-56291 (Patent Document 2) discloses a container provided with vertical ribs and horizontal ribs that serve as starting points for folding operations.

JP2008-201448A Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-56291

However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 only makes it easier to crush the container, and does not consider folding the crushed container. Further, in the technique of Patent Document 2, folding of the shoulder and bottom of the container is considered, but folding of the body, which occupies the largest volume, is not considered. Therefore, the conventional technology has room for improvement in terms of reducing the bulk of the container after use.

Therefore, there is a need for a resin container whose body can be easily crushed and folded.

A resin container according to the present invention is a resin container comprising a mouth, a shoulder, a body, and a bottom, wherein the body has a substantially prismatic shape, and at least a part of the body has the It is characterized in that a specific portion is provided that has a shape that forms a parallelogram whose internal angles are not right angles when two sets of opposing sides in a cross section of the body are extended.

According to this configuration, since the cross section of the specific portion is approximately parallelogram-shaped, it is easier to apply force to close the acute vertices of the parallelogram than with conventional containers with rectangular cross-sections. It is possible to flatten a specific part. Since the specific portion is flat, the container can be easily folded in half in the vertical direction using the specific portion as a starting point. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a resin container whose body is easy to crush and which is easy to fold.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments described below.

In one embodiment of the resin container according to the present invention, the body portion includes, in order from a side connected to the shoulder portion to a side connected to the bottom portion, an upper portion, the specific portion, and Preferably, it is divided into a lower part.

According to this aspect, since the specific portion is located at the vertical center of the body, it is easier to fold the container in half.

In one aspect of the resin container according to the present invention, it is preferable that the specific portion is recessed more inward than the upper portion and the lower portion.

According to this configuration, the specific portion functions as a suitable gripping position when the user grips the container.

As one aspect of the resin container according to the present invention, it is preferable that the resin container has a recess that is recessed further inward from the specific portion.

According to this configuration, when the user grips the container, the user can easily hold the container stably by hooking his/her fingers into the recess.

In one embodiment of the resin container according to the present invention, it is preferable that the specific portion is provided with a horizontal rib extending in the circumferential direction.

According to this configuration, it is easy to achieve both the strength of the container during use and the ease of folding the container after use for the specific portion.

In one aspect of the resin container according to the present invention, it is preferable that the plurality of horizontal ribs are provided in parallel on a pair of opposing surfaces of the specific portion.

According to this configuration, it is easy to further increase the strength of the surface on which the plurality of horizontal ribs are provided in parallel.
In one aspect of the resin container according to the present invention, the body has a lower part that is a part between the specific part and the bottom part, and the part between the two surfaces of the lower part is Preferably, a rib is provided that extends along a border that is connected to a border corresponding to an acute-angled vertex of the parallelogram in the specific portion.

According to this configuration, when performing the operation of crushing the lower part, the ribs function as folds, making it easier to crush the lower part.

In one embodiment of the resin container according to the present invention, the body has an upper portion that is a portion between the specific portion and the shoulder, and the body portion has an upper portion that is a portion between the specific portion and the shoulder, and the body portion has an upper portion that is located between the shoulder portion and the upper portion. Preferably, a rib is provided that extends along the length.

According to this configuration, when performing the operation of crushing the upper part, the ribs function as folds, making it easier to crush the upper part.

In one aspect of the resin container according to the present invention, it is preferable that a rib is provided that extends along a boundary between two surfaces in the specific portion that corresponds to an acute-angled vertex of the parallelogram. .

According to this configuration, when performing an operation of crushing a specific portion, the ribs function as folds, making it easier to crush the specific portion.

In one aspect of the resin container according to the present invention, it is preferable that long sides and short sides of the cross section of the body can be distinguished.

According to this configuration, it is possible to provide a container that is easier to hold than when a container with the same capacity is realized in other shapes.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become clearer from the following description of exemplary and non-limiting embodiments, written with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a bottle according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view of a bottle according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a top view of a bottle according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view (a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 1) of a specific portion of the body of the bottle according to the embodiment. It is a figure showing the procedure of the folding method of the bottle concerning an embodiment. It is a figure showing the procedure of the folding method of the bottle concerning an embodiment. It is a figure showing the procedure of the folding method of the bottle concerning an embodiment.

Embodiments of the resin container according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. An example in which the resin container according to the present invention is applied to a plastic bottle 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as bottle 1) will be described below.

[Overall composition of bottle]
The bottle 1 according to this embodiment is made of polyethylene terephthalate and is a colorless and transparent container. The bottle 1 is obtained by biaxial stretch blow molding using a polyethylene terephthalate preform as a raw material. Note that the material constituting the bottle is not limited to polyethylene terephthalate, and may be, for example, polyethylene or polypropylene. Further, the origin of the material may be petroleum, plant-derived raw material, recycled raw material, etc.

In this embodiment, the capacity of the bottle 1 is 2L. However, the capacity of the bottle 1 is not particularly limited, and may be approximately 200 mL to 2 L, such as 280 mL, 350 mL, and 500 mL, which are commonly available.

Bottle 1 may contain, for example, soft drinks (carbonated drinks, fruit drinks, coffee drinks, tea drinks, mineral water, soy milk, vegetable drinks, sports drinks, cocoa drinks, etc.), alcoholic drinks, milk drinks, and other drinks, soups, etc. It is used for filling liquid products such as liquid foods, liquid seasonings such as sauce and soy sauce, etc.

The bottle 1 according to this embodiment has a mouth portion 2, a shoulder portion 3, a body portion 4, and a bottom portion 5 (FIGS. 1 and 2). In addition, when referring to the vertical direction of the bottle 1 in the following explanation, it refers to the vertical direction based on the posture in which the bottle 1 is installed so that the bottom part 5 is in contact with the ground (the posture illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2). . That is, the upper side of the bottle 1 is the mouth 2 side, and the lower side of the bottle 1 is the bottom 5 side. Furthermore, when referring to the lateral direction (or horizontal direction) of the bottle 1, it refers to the direction perpendicular to the above-mentioned up-down direction (that is, the left-right direction in FIG. 1 or the direction perpendicular to the paper surface). In addition, a pair of opposing surfaces of the bottle 1 each have the same shape.

When the bottle 1 is viewed from above, it has a substantially rectangular shape (FIG. 3). Note that the term "approximately quadrangular shape" is not limited to a quadrilateral shape according to a mathematical definition, but may also be a shape that can be considered to be substantially a quadrilateral with rounding, etc. that can be provided as an industrial product. . More specifically, the quadrilateral is a rectangle, and the side surface of the bottle 1 can be distinguished between the long side surface (FIG. 1) and the short side surface (FIG. 2) of the cross section.

The mouth part 2 is an opening through which the liquid product filled inside is taken out and taken out, and an external threaded part for screwing a cap (not shown) is provided on its outer surface. The shoulder portion 3 is a portion where the bottle 1 gradually expands from the mouth portion 2 toward the body portion 4. Note that the position in the height direction where the bottle 1 gradually expands downward from the mouth portion 2 and expands to the maximum is defined as the boundary between the shoulder portion 3 and the body portion 4. The bottom part 5 is a part that becomes a ground surface when the bottle 1 is placed on a surface such as a desk, and the bottle 1 gradually expands from the bottom part 5 toward the body part 4. Note that the position in the height direction at which the bottle 1 gradually expands upward from the ground contact surface and expands to the maximum is defined as the boundary between the bottom portion 5 and the body portion 4. The structure and function of the mouth part 2, shoulder part 3, and bottom part 5 are similar to those of the mouth part, shoulder part, and bottom part of a known plastic bottle, respectively, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[Body composition]
The torso 4 has an upper part 41, a specific part 42, and a lower part 43 in order from the side connected to the shoulder part 3 (upper side) to the side connected to the bottom part 5 (lower side). It is classified.

(1) Upper part 41
The upper portion 41 is a portion of the torso 4 above the specific portion 42, that is, a portion between the specific portion 42 and the shoulder portion 3. The upper portion 41 is provided with a first horizontal rib 61 extending along the boundary between the shoulder portion 3 and the upper portion 41, and a plurality (five in this embodiment) of second horizontal ribs 62 ( Figures 1 and 2). The first horizontal rib 61 is provided on each of the long side (FIG. 1) and short side (FIG. 2) sides of the cross section (all four sides) with a length that falls within the range of each side. These are concave ribs (ribs that protrude inward from the surface of the bottle 1; the same applies hereinafter). The depth of the first horizontal rib 61 is uniform. Note that the depth of the concave rib refers to the depth at which the rib protrudes into the inside of the bottle 1, and the same applies to other concave ribs described below.

The second horizontal rib 62 is a concave rib provided along the entire circumference of the upper portion 41 in the horizontal direction. The second horizontal rib 62 has a wavy shape in which deep portions and shallow portions are alternately provided. More specifically, deep portions are provided at portions corresponding to the sides of the cross section, and shallow portions are provided at portions corresponding to the vertices of the cross section.

Note that the cross-sectional shape of the upper portion 41 is substantially the same as the top view of the bottle 1 (FIG. 3).

(2) Specific part 42
The specific portion 42 is formed as a portion recessed further inside the bottle 1 than the upper portion 41 and the lower portion 43 (FIGS. 1 and 2). A cross section of the specific portion 42 is shown in FIG. Two sets of opposite sides 44, 45 can be recognized in the cross section, one set of sides 44 corresponds to the long side surface (Fig. 1), and the other set of sides 45 corresponds to the short side side. corresponds to the plane (Fig. 2). By extending these two sets of opposing sides 44, 45, a parallelogram P is formed. This parallelogram P has an apex P1 with an acute interior angle and a vertex P2 with an obtuse interior angle, so the interior angles of the parallelogram P are not right angles. That is, parallelogram P is not a rectangle.

A first vertical rib 71 is provided along the boundary between the long side surface (FIG. 1) and the short side surface (FIG. 2) of the specific portion 42. More specifically, the first vertical ribs 71 are provided at two boundaries corresponding to the acute angle vertices P1 of the parallelogram P among the boundaries between the long side surface and the short side surface. In addition, in this embodiment, the first vertical rib 71 is a convex rib provided in a manner to protrude to the outside of the bottle 1.

The specific portion 42 has a recess 42b that is recessed further inward from the main portion 42a of the specific portion 42. The recess 42b is provided at the center in the left-right direction of the long side surface of the cross section (FIG. 1). Furthermore, a cross-shaped rib 46 is provided at the center of the recess 42b. The rib 46 consists of two concave ribs that are perpendicular to each other.

The main portion 42a of the specific portion 42 is provided with a third horizontal rib 63 that extends in the circumferential direction starting from the first vertical rib 71. The third horizontal rib 63 is a concave rib, and its depth is uniform. A third horizontal rib 63 extends from the first vertical rib 71 to the side of the pair of long side surfaces (FIG. 1) of the cross section to the side of the recess 42b. Three third horizontal ribs 63 extend from the first vertical rib 71 to the pair of surfaces (FIG. 2) on the short side of the cross section (this is an example of a pair of opposing surfaces). . Of the three third horizontal ribs 63 at the top, middle and bottom provided on the short side surface, the middle one is provided with a length that fits within the range of the short side surface, and the upper and lower rows The two extend to the adjacent long side surfaces and reach the vicinity of the recess 42b. Further, the two third horizontal ribs 63 at the upper and lower stages respectively bend toward the middle stage on the long side surfaces and merge near the recess 42b.

Note that the fact that the third horizontal ribs 63 are provided on both sides in the circumferential direction with the first vertical rib 71 as a starting point is understood to mean that the first vertical rib 71 is provided in a manner that crosses the third horizontal rib 63. You can also do that.

The specific portion 42 functions as a suitable gripping position when the user grips the bottle 1. First, since the specific portion 42 is formed as a part recessed inside the bottle 1 than the upper portion 41 and the lower portion 43, even a user with relatively small hands can easily move the specific portion 42. Easy to grasp. Second, when the user grasps the specific portion 42, the user can hook his/her fingers into the recess 42b, making it easier to hold the bottle 1 stably.

The sizes of the interior angles of the acute and obtuse vertices of the parallelogram P are not limited as long as the parallelogram P is a parallelogram. In other words, using an angle θ larger than 0°, the internal angle of the apex of an acute angle is expressed as 90°−θ, and the internal angle of the apex of an obtuse angle is expressed as 90°+θ. In this embodiment, θ is 5°, that is, the interior angle of vertex P1 is 85°, and the interior angle of vertex P2 is 95°. As in this example, it is preferable that θ is 1° or more and 30° or less. The fact that the cross-sectional shape of the specific portion 32 is a parallelogram P has the effect of making it easier to crush the specific portion P (described later), but this effect is particularly likely to occur when θ is 1° or more. Further, when θ is 30° or less, the function of the specific portion 42 as a gripping position for the bottle 1 is less likely to be impaired. θ is more preferably 3° or more, and even more preferably 4° or more. Further, θ is more preferably 10° or less, and even more preferably 6° or less.

(3) Lower part 43
The lower portion 43 is a portion of the trunk 4 below the specific portion 42, that is, a portion between the specific portion 42 and the bottom portion 5. The lower portion 43 is provided with, in order from the top, a wavy rib 64, a spring rib 65, and a plurality of (two in this embodiment) fourth lateral ribs 66. All of these ribs are concave ribs. Also, along the two boundaries located below the first vertical rib 71 among the boundaries between the long side surface (FIG. 1) and the short side surface (FIG. 2) of the cross section of the lower portion 43. A second longitudinal rib 72 is provided that extends. The second vertical rib 72 is a convex rib provided across the wavy rib 64 and the fourth horizontal rib 66. Note that the cross-sectional shape of the lower portion 43 is substantially the same as the top view of the bottle 1 (FIG. 3).

The wavy rib 64 is a rib provided in a shape whose vertical position changes continuously along the circumferential direction of the lower portion 43. The spring rib 65 has a groove portion 65a provided over the entire circumference of the lower portion 43, and small recesses 65b formed one each on the upper and lower sides of the groove portion 65a over the entire circumference of the lower portion 43. Note that the entire spring rib 65 including the groove portion 65a and the small recess 65b can be regarded as one rib.

The fourth horizontal rib 66 is provided along the entire circumference of the lower portion 43 in the horizontal direction. However, as described above, the second vertical rib 72 crosses the fourth horizontal rib 66. The depth of the fourth horizontal rib 66 is uniform except where the second vertical rib 72 crosses.

[How to fold the bottle]
In the bottle 1 according to the present embodiment, by providing each of the above-mentioned components, a container that is easier to fold than conventional plastic bottles is realized. By folding the used bottle 1, the volume of the used bottle 1 when storing, transporting, etc. for disposal, reuse, etc. can be reduced. Below, a method of folding the bottle 1 will be explained.

First, an operation is performed to crush the specific portion 42 (FIG. 5). Specifically, each of the two surfaces on the long side of the cross section is moved alternately toward the vertex P1 (acute angle) of the parallelogram P of the cross section. When this operation is performed, the specific portion 42 is deformed (collapsed) so that the interior angle of the vertex P1 of the parallelogram P becomes smaller and the interior angle of the vertex P2 approaches 180°.

In this embodiment, since the cross section of the specific portion 42 has a parallelogram shape, when a force is applied to close the apex P1 having an acute internal angle, the specific portion 42 easily deforms according to the force. Therefore, the specific portion 42 can be crushed more easily and more flatly than in conventional plastic bottles having a rectangular cross section. Further, since the first vertical rib 71 is provided in a manner to protrude outward from the bottle 1, the movability of the apex P1 portion, which is deformed so that the inner angle thereof becomes smaller, is increased. Thus, the fact that the first vertical rib 71 functions as a crease also contributes to facilitating the above deformation.

Second, the bottle 1 is folded in two at the crushed specific portion 42 (FIG. 6). At this time, the upper part 41 and the lower part 43 come into contact with each other. Thereafter, an operation is performed to crush the upper part 41 and the lower part 43 together. At this time, the second vertical ribs 72 function as folds similarly to the first vertical ribs 71, making it easy to collapse the lower portion 43.

Third, an operation is performed to fix the relative positions of the shoulder portion 3 and the bottom portion 5. By bending the specific portion 42 vertically and crushing the upper portion 41 and the lower portion 43, the shoulder portion 3 and the bottom portion 5 are placed close to each other. By fixing the position, the state in which the volume occupied by the bottle 1 is reduced is fixed (FIG. 7). Specifically, the shoulder portion 3 and the bottom portion 5 may be engaged with each other.

In this embodiment, the cross section of the specific portion 42 is made into a parallelogram shape so that the shape after being crushed is flat, so that the specific portion 42 is easier to bend up and down than in conventional plastic bottles. By folding the bottle 1 in this way, the volume occupied by the bottle 1 can be reduced.

[Other embodiments]
Finally, other embodiments of the resin container according to the present invention will be described. Note that the configurations disclosed in each of the embodiments below can be applied in combination with the configurations disclosed in other embodiments as long as no contradiction occurs.

In the embodiment described above, the configuration in which the body portion 4 is divided into an upper portion 41, a specific portion 42, and a lower portion 43 has been described as an example. However, in the resin container according to the present invention, the number of sections in the body is not limited as long as the specific portion is provided in the body. For example, the entire region of the torso may be provided as the specific portion. Further, the torso may be divided into two regions including the specific portion. That is, the trunk may be divided into an upper portion and a specific portion, or may be divided into a specific portion and a lower portion.

In the above embodiment, the specific portion 42 is formed as a portion recessed inside the bottle 1 rather than the upper portion 41 and the lower portion 43, and the specific portion 42 has the recessed portion 42b. However, in the resin container according to the present invention, the structure of the specific portion is limited as long as the structure is such that when two pairs of opposing sides in the cross section of the specific portion are extended, a parallelogram is formed whose internal angles are not right angles. Not done.

In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the first vertical rib 71 and the third horizontal rib 63 are provided in the specific portion 42 has been described as an example. However, in the resin container according to the present invention, the presence or absence and arrangement of ribs in specific parts are arbitrary. Therefore, one or both of these ribs may not be provided. Further, ribs other than these ribs may be provided.

In the above embodiment, the bottle 1 has a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view, and the side surface of the bottle 1 is configured to be able to distinguish between a long side surface (FIG. 1) and a short side surface (FIG. 2) of the cross section. was explained as an example. However, the resin container according to the present invention may have a substantially square shape in a plan view, and may have a shape in which the long side surface and the short side surface of the cross section cannot be distinguished. In this case, the parallelogram formed by extending two sets of opposing sides in the cross section of the specific portion is a rhombus, and the condition that the interior angles are not right angles is also satisfied in this case. In this case, although it is not possible to distinguish between the long side surface and the short side surface, one of the two pairs of opposing surfaces is used as the long side surface in the above embodiment (FIG. 1). By setting the other pair to the shorter side surfaces (FIG. 2), the present invention can be carried out in the same manner as in the above embodiment.

In addition, when comparing a shape in which the long side and short side of the cross section of the container can be distinguished (approximately rectangular in cross section) and a shape in which this cannot be distinguished (approximately square in cross section), When comparing the two on the assumption that the capacitance is the same, the former has the characteristic that the width of the short side surface can be made smaller. This feature is advantageous in that in a container with a relatively large capacity (for example, 1.5 L or more), the width of the short side surface is suppressed to a limit that can easily fit in the user's hand, making it possible to provide a container that is easy to hold.

In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the second vertical rib 72 is provided on the lower portion 43 has been described as an example. However, in the resin container according to the present invention, the presence or absence and arrangement of ribs in the lower portion are arbitrary.

In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the first horizontal rib 61 extending along the boundary between the shoulder portion 3 and the upper portion 41 is provided has been described as an example. However, in the resin container according to the present invention, the presence or absence and arrangement of ribs in the upper portion 41 are arbitrary.

Regarding other configurations, it should be understood that the embodiments disclosed in this specification are illustrative in all respects, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereby. Those skilled in the art will easily understand that modifications can be made as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, other embodiments that are modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention are naturally included within the scope of the present invention.

The present invention can be used, for example, as a container for filling liquid products.

1 : Plastic bottle 2 : Mouth part 3 : Shoulder part 4 : Body part 41 : Upper part 42 : Specific part 42a : Main part of the specific part 42b : Recessed part 43 : Lower part 44 : Side (long side)
45: Side (short side)
46: Rib 5: Bottom 61: First horizontal rib 62: Second horizontal rib 63: Third horizontal rib 64: Wavy rib 65: Spring rib 65a: Groove portion 65b: Small recess 66: Fourth horizontal rib 71: First vertical Rib 72: Second vertical rib P: Parallelogram P1: Vertex (acute angle)
P2: Vertex (obtuse angle)

Claims (10)

A resin container comprising a mouth, a shoulder, a body, and a bottom,
The body has a substantially prismatic shape,
A resin container, wherein at least a part of the body is provided with a specific portion having a shape that forms a parallelogram whose internal angles are not right angles when two sets of opposing sides in a cross section of the body are extended. . The torso is divided into an upper part, the specific part, and a lower part in the order from the side connected to the shoulder part to the side connected to the bottom part. Resin container. The resin container according to claim 2, wherein the specific portion is recessed inward from the upper portion and the lower portion. The resin container according to claim 3, further comprising a recessed portion recessed inward from the specific portion. The resin container according to claim 4, wherein the specific portion is provided with a horizontal rib extending in the circumferential direction. The resin container according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of the horizontal ribs are provided in parallel on a pair of opposing surfaces of the specific portion. The body portion has a lower portion that is a portion between the specific portion and the bottom portion,
2. A rib according to claim 1, further comprising a rib extending along a boundary between two surfaces in the lower portion that is connected to a boundary corresponding to an acute vertex of the parallelogram in the specific portion. resin container. The torso has an upper portion that is a portion between the specific portion and the shoulder,
The resin container according to claim 1, further comprising a rib extending along a boundary between the shoulder portion and the upper portion. The resin container according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a rib is provided that extends along a boundary between two surfaces in the specific portion that corresponds to an acute-angled vertex of the parallelogram. . The resin container according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a long side and a short side are distinguishable in a cross section of the body.

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