INJECTION-MOLDED PREFORM FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A PLASTICS CONTAINER IN A BLOW-MOLDING PROCESS, PLASTICS CONTAINER PRODUCED THEREFROM, AND PRODUCTION METHOD FOR THE PREFORM AND/OR THE PLASTICS CONTAINER

• US 20180229417A1
• Filed: 04/11/2018
• Published: 08/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alpla Werke Alwin Lehner GmbH & Company KG (Alpla Privatstiftung)
• Original Assignee: Alpla Werke Alwin Lehner GmbH & Company KG (Alpla Privatstiftung)
• Inventors: Muller, Florian, Unterlechner, Oliver
• Granted Patent: US 11,504,896 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 11/08 Injection moulding
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 11/14 characterised by structure or composition
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2049/023 using inherent heat of the preform, i.e. 1 step blow moulding
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2949/0715 the preform having one end closed
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2949/0791 Handle
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2949/0792 Closure
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2949/08 Preforms made of several individual parts, e.g. by welding or gluing parts together
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2949/0801 Finish neck ring
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2949/0817 of the body
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2949/0822 of the neck
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2949/0835 of the body
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2949/26 at body portion
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2949/28 at bottom portion
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2949/3008 at neck portion
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 45/1684 Injecting parison-like articles B29C45/1625, B29C45/1643 and B29C45/1646 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/0005 characterised by the material
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/06 Injection blow-moulding
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/071 Preforms or parisons characterised by their configuration, e.g. geometry, dimensions or physical properties
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/08 Biaxial stretching during blow-moulding
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2995/0026 Transparent
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/7158 : Bottles
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 1/0207 : characterised by material, e.g. composition, physical features
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2543/00083 : oval
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2543/00296 : Plastic
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 43/162 : the container, the lid and the hinge being made of one piece B65D43/161 takes precedence

Abstract

An injection-molded preform is disclosed for production of a plastic container by a blow-molding method with an elongated, tube-like body, which is closed on its one longitudinal end and has a neck section that is provided with a pour opening on its other longitudinal end, which neck section includes an injection molded connection to an injection molded closure part, wherein the closure part includes: a flip-top closure and an annular section with an inner wall, which inner wall rests directly on an outer surface of the neck section and completely encloses an annular area of the outer surface of the neck section.

Claims

1. An injection-molded preform for production of a blow-molded plastic container, the preform comprising:

an elongated, tube-like body, which is closed on one longitudinal end and which has a neck section that is provided with a pour opening on another longitudinal end, which neck section includes an injection molded connection to an injection molded closure part, wherein the closure part includes;

a flip-top closure and an annular section with an inner wall, which inner wall rests directly on an outer surface of the neck section and completely encloses an annular area of the outer surface of the neck section.

2. The preform according to claim 1, wherein the closure part in an attachment area is connected in a positive manner to the enclosed annular area of the outer surface of the neck section.

3. The preform according to claim 1, wherein the closure part in an attachment area is connected by friction to the enclosed annular area of the outer surface of the neck section.

4. The preform according to claim 1, wherein the closure part in an attachment area is connected integrally by at least partial melting of the closure part'"'"'s inner wall that rests on the outer surface of the neck section, to the annular area of the outer surface of the neck section.

5. The preform according to claim 1, wherein at least 90% of the closure part is a plastic selected from the group that consists of polyolefins, polypropylene or polyethylene, polyamide, PET, PEF, and rubberlike substances, including TPE.

6. The preform according to claim 1, wherein at least 90% of the preform body with neck section is a plastic selected from the group that consists of PET, PET-G, HDPE, PP, PE, PS, PVC, PEN, PA, copolymers of the cited plastics, bioplastics such as, for example, PLA or PEF, filled plastics and/or mixtures of the above-mentioned plastics, mixtures of PP and PE.

7. The preform according to claim 1, wherein the closure part and the preform consist of plastic materials that are different from one another.

8. The preform according to claim 1, wherein the closure part and the preform body with neck section have colors that are different from one another at least in places.

9. The preform according to claim 1, wherein the closure part and/or the preform body with neck section are transparent at least in places.

10. The preform according to claim 1, wherein the section of the closure part that completely encloses the annular area of the outer surface of the neck section has a height that is measured in an axial extension direction of the preform, which is at least 1 mm.

11. The preform according to claim 1, wherein the preform body with neck section has an axial length, which is 2 mm to 500 mm.

12. The preform according to claim 1, wherein the pour opening in the neck section has a diameter that is 3 mm to 180 mm.

13. The preform according to claim 1, wherein the inner wall of the closure part that rests on the outer surface has an inner contour, which is different from an outer contour of the closure part.

14. The preform according to claim 1, wherein the closure part comprises:

a cuff that surrounds the neck section and that is fastened in one piece to the flip-top closure via a hinge.

15. The preform according to claim 14, wherein the closure part comprises:

a collecting volume that is enclosed by an annular boundary wall, which extends axially from a top side of the cuff, and the neck section of the preform projects axially over a top of the cuff, whereby the annular boundary wall and the neck section end at approximately a same height, and recesses are made in the neck section, at approximately the height of the cuff, which recesses form a connection between the collecting volume and an interior of the preform body.

16. The preform according to claim 15, wherein the cuff and the flip-top closure that is fastened in one piece via a hinge have a cross-section that is round, oval or polygonal.

17. The preform according to claim 1, wherein the closure part comprises:

a cuff that surrounds the neck section, which cuff has an essentially cylindrical extension with an inner surface and an outer surface that projects over the neck section and from which projects a handle part, which extends in the direction of the preform bottom.

18. The preform according to claim 1, wherein the closure part is shaped as a cuff that encloses the neck section, which cuff has an essentially cylindrical extension that projects over the neck section, which extension has an inner surface or an outer surface, and with a pour extension that is injection molded to be integral with the preform, which extension projects over the neck section of the preform and is provided with an axial slot, which extends up to a top side of the cuff, whereby the pour extension has an opening diameter that corresponds essentially to a diameter of the pour opening in the neck section.

19. The preform according to claim 1, which is configured as a two-component or multi-component injection-molded preform.

20. A plastic container produced from a blow-molded preform according to claim 1.

21. The plastic container according to claim 20, comprising:

an interior with a capacity of 5 ml to 3,000 ml.

22. The plastic container according to claim 21, which is configured as an injection-blow-molded container or as a blow-molded container.

23. The plastic container according to claim 22, which is configured from a preform that is an axially extended, blow-molded preform.

24. A method for manufacturing, via a same machine unit, a preform with a closure part, the method comprising:

(i) injection molding of a closure part with a flip-top closure in an open position in a first injection mold;

(ii) optional cooling of the closure part;

(iii) injection molding a preform with preform body and neck section with a pour opening in the closure part in a second injection mold such that an inner wall of an annular section of the closure part rests directly on an outer surface of the neck section of the preform;

(iv) cooling of the preform with attached closure part; and

(v) demolding of the preform with attached closure part from the second injection mold.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the flip-top closure in the open position is molded-on in one piece onto a cuff via a hinge.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein movement of the flip-top closure into a position closes a pour opening of the preform.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein movement of the flip-top closure into a closing position is done in the machine unit.

28. The method according to claim 24, comprising:

blow molding or stretch blow molding the plastic container in a machine unit in which the preform was manufactured.