FOLDABLE BOTTLE FOR BEVERAGES
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a foldable bottle for beverages, and more particularly to a foldable bottle for beverages which can be folded to a minimum size after use, occupying a little space for keeping and facilitating disposal and carriage of waste bottles for beverages .
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Generally, containers or bottles for beverages are made from glass, aluminum, steel or synthetic resin such as PE (polyethylene terephthalate) . Recently, bottles made from PET, which are light in weight and easy to manufacture, have widely been used to keep beverages of great bulk therein.
The said PET bottles are recognized as being non- toxic, transparent, preservative and chemically resistant, and have been extensively used all over the world as a substitute for glass and aluminum-canned beverage containers. Especially, as it was proved that the PET bottles had no problem of endocrine disrupting chemicals such as dioxine, which are also called "environmental
hormones" , use of the PET bottles become more and more increased.
Also, since the PET bottles can be recycled, they were separately collected to be disposed. However, when the PET bottles were collected in a separate place at home such as veranda or terrace after use, they occupied lots of space for keeping before they were transferred to a place to be disposed or recycled.
Also, a lot of space was needed to keep and deliver the PET bottles in a garbage wagon or disposal truck.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a foldable bottle for beverages which can be folded after use and occupies a little space for keeping and transporting, thus curtailing expenses for transportation, while increasing the efficiency of transportation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a foldable bottle for beverages, which enhances the rate of recovery of waste materials and thus increases economical efficiency and prevents environmental pollution.
A further object of the present invention is to
provide a foldable bottle for beverages, which enhances the convenience of consumers and contributes to the protection of natural environment .
In order to achieve the above objects, the foldable bottle for beverages according to the present invention comprises : a body member including a space chamber to be filled with beverage therein and a mouth provided at the top of the space chamber for the input or output of the beverage into or from the space chamber; a lid member coupled with the mouth of the body member to open or close the mouth; and a plurality of folding parts formed at predetermined intervals from an upper part of the body member to its lower part to be alternately folded inwardly and outwardly, wherein a cross section of the upper part of the body member is formed to become gradually narrower than that of the lower part of the body member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this
specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention, wherein:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a foldable bottle for beverages according to the present invention wherein a body member of the bottle is unfolded;
Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the foldable bottle according to the present invention wherein the body member is unfolded and an inserting groove is formed at the bottom of the bottle;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the foldable bottle according to the present invention wherein the bottle is folded;
Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the foldable bottle according to present invention wherein the bottle is folded and a plurality of folding parts are laterally folded inside the body member;
Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention, wherein four foldable bottles are stacked; and
Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention, wherein four foldable bottles are stacked, with a mouth of each of the bottles being inserted into the insertion groove of another bottle
located right above.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Detailed description of the present invention will be provided with reference to the accompanying drawings .
A foldable bottle (1) for beverages according to the present invention comprises: a body member (10) including a space chamber (11) to be filled with beverage therein and a mouth (12) provided at the top of the space chamber (11) for the input or output of the beverage into or from the space chamber (11) ; a lid member (20) coupled with the mouth (12) of the body member (10) to open or close the mouth (12) ; and a plurality of folding parts (13) formed at predetermined intervals from an upper part of the body member (10) to its lower part to be alternately folded inwardly and outwardly, wherein a cross section of the upper part of the body member (10) is formed to become gradually narrower than that of the lower part of the body member (10) .
If all the beverage filled in the space chamber (11) of the body member (10) is taken up, an upper part of the empty bottle, i.e., the lid member (20) or the
mouth (12) can be simply pushed downward with pressure and the folding parts (13) are alternately folded inwardly and outwardly from the upper part to the lower part along the body member (10) . Since the sectional area of the body member (10) becomes larger and larger as it goes down from its upper part to the lower part, the folding parts (13) are alternately folded inside the body member (10) , minimizing the size of the body member (10) . Specifically, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the body member (10) includes the space chamber (11) for keeping beverage therein and the mouth (12) at the top of the space chamber (11) .
The mouth (12) has a continuous spiral protrusion formed in a predetermined height along the external periphery thereof, to be engaged with a spiral groove formed along the internal periphery of the lid member (20) .
The mouth (12) and the lid member (20) can also be coupled in any methods known in the prior art other than the above screw-type coupling method.
The mouth (12) is communicated with the space chamber (11) so that beverage can be filled in or taken out from the space chamber (11) through the mouth (12) .
The body member (10) is composed of synthetic resin PET (polyethylene terephthalate) , which is harmless, transparent, preservative and chemically resistant, causing no harm to the human body, and which is easy to form and discharges no endocrine disrupting chemicals.
The body member (10) is formed in such a shape that the cross section of the body member (10) becomes gradually smaller as it goes from the lower part to its upper part . A plurality of the folding parts (13) are formed along the surface of the body member (10) at predetermined intervals from the upper part of the body member (10) to its lower part, so that they can be alternately folded inwardly and outwardly. Between the two respective neighboring folding parts (13), outward folding lines (14) and inward folding lines (15) are alternately formed, so that the folding parts (13) can be alternately and easily folded.
Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, if all beverage filled in the space chamber (11) of the body member (10) is taken up, the upper part of the empty bottle is pushed downward with pressure.
Then, the folding parts (13) are alternately folded inwardly and outwardly from the upper part to the lower
part along the body member (10) , so that the height and size of the bottle (1) can be minimized.
Due to the tapering shape of the body member (10) , the folding parts (13) can be folded inside the bottom part of the body member (10) , and the folded parts are not protruded beyond the body member (10) , thus minimizing the size of the body member (10) .
Further, as the folding parts (13) of the body member (10) have substantially the same width, the folded body member is flat, and thus a plurality of the body members (10) of the empty bottles (1) can be laminated. By this lamination of the body members (10) of the empty bottles (1) , the space required for keeping them can be minimized and the collection and delivery thereof can be facilitated.
As mentioned above, the body member (10) includes the mouth (12) at the top of the space chamber (11) , and the lid member (20) is provided above the mouth (12) to open and close it . The mouth (12) has a continuous spiral protrusion formed in a predetermined height along the external periphery thereof, and a spiral groove is formed along the internal periphery of the lid member (20) , so that the spiral protrusion can be engaged with the spiral
groove and the mouth (12) and the lid member (20) can arbitrarily be coupled and released.
Further, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, an insertion groove (16) is formed at the bottom part of the body member (10) .
If one empty body member (10) is folded, the mouth (12) is protruded to be higher than the folded parts of the body member (10) in the form of a flat discrete plane. Therefore, if a plurality of the empty body members (10) are intended to be stacked, it would be difficult to safely stack them due to the protruding mouths of the folded body members (10) .
Accordingly, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, four foldable bottles are stacked, by inserting the mouth (12) of each of the bottles (1) into the insertion groove (16) of another bottle (1) located right above.
As described above, according to the present invention, a foldable bottle for beverages is provided which can be folded after use and occupies a little space for keeping and transporting, thus curtailing expenses for transportation, while increasing the efficiency of transportation .
Also, a foldable bottle for beverages according to the present invention enhances the rate of recovery of
waste materials, thus increasing economical efficiency and preventing environmental pollution.
Furthermore, a foldable bottle for beverages according to the present invention enhances the convenience of consumers and contributes to the protection of natural environment.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The present invention covers the modifications and variations thereof provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents .