US20200031530A1 - Container preform with threaded tamper evidence finish - Google Patents

Abstract

A preform for being blow-molded to than a container is provided herein. The preform comprises a finish portion that includes an opening to an interior of the preform and includes a tamper evidence ledge. The tamper evidence ledge cooperates with a tamper-evident ring portion of a cap to indicate that the cap has not been previously loosened after being installed by the manufacturer. A neck portion is disposed adjacent to the tamper evidence ledge. A tapered portion transitions from a diameter of the neck portion to a smaller diameter of a cylindrical portion. The cylindrical portion comprises an elongate member that culminates in an end cap. Threads disposed on the finish portion are configured to threadably receive the cap. A handling valley is disposed between the tamper evidence ledge and the threads. The handling valley enables gripping fingers to engage with and air-convey the container along a manufacturing assembly.

Description

PRIORITY
• This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application, entitled “Container Preform With Threaded Tamper Evidence Finish,” filed Jul. 30, 2018 and having application Ser. No. 62/712,115, the entirety of said application being incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD
• Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of preforms for plastic containers. More specifically, embodiments of the disclosure relate to preforms and plastic bottles blown from such preforms that are suitable for containing beverages.
BACKGROUND
• Plastic containers have been used as a replacement for glass or metal containers in the packaging of beverages for several decades. The most common plastic used in making beverage containers today is polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Containers made of PET are transparent, thin walled, and have the ability to maintain their shape by withstanding the force exerted on the walls of the container by their contents. PET resins are also reasonably priced and easy to process. PET bottles are generally made by a process that includes the blow-molding of plastic preforms which have been made by injection molding of the PET resin.
• Advantages of plastic packaging include lighter weight and decreased breakage as compared to glass, and lower costs overall when taking both production and transportation into account. Although plastic packaging is lighter in weight than glass, there is still great interest in creating the lightest possible plastic packaging so as to maximize the cost savings in both transportation and manufacturing by making and using containers that contain less plastic.
SUMMARY
• Container preforms with threaded tamper evidence finishes in accordance with embodiments of the invention are disclosed. In one embodiment, a preform suitable for being blow-molded to form a container, the preform includes a finish portion including an opening to an interior of the preform and a tamper evidence ledge, a neck portion adjacent to the tamper evidence ledge, a tapered portion configured to transition from a diameter of the neck portion to a smaller diameter of a cylindrical portion including an elongate member that culminates in an end cap, and one or more threads disposed on the finish portion and configured to threadably receive a cap.
• In a further embodiment, a handling valley is disposed between the tamper evidence ledge and the one or more threads, the handing valley extending circumferentially around the finish portion.
• In another embodiment, the handling valley includes a portion of the finish portion that has a wall thickness and a diameter that are substantially similar to the wall thickness and diameter of the neck portion.
• In a still further embodiment, the handling valley and the neck portion enable gripping fingers to engage with and support the container during air-conveying the container along a manufacturing assembly.
• In still another embodiment, the tamper evidence ledge includes a rounded upper portion and a substantially flat lower portion.
• In a yet further embodiment, the rounded upper portion facilitates passing a tamper-evident ring portion of the cap over the tamper evidence ledge during assembly of the cap onto the container, and the flat lower portion is configured to retain the tamper-evident ring positioned below the tamper evidence ledge during loosening of the cap, causing the tamper-evident ring to break loose from the cap.
• In a further embodiment again, the flat lower portion and the tamper-evident ring cooperate to indicate that the cap has not been previously loosened after being installed by the manufacturer.
• In another embodiment again, the tapered portion includes a wall thickness that smoothly transitions from a wall thickness of the neck portion to a greater wall thickness of the cylindrical portion, the wall thickness of the tapered portion and the wall thickness of the cylindrical portion being suitable for being blow-molded into a predetermined shape and size of the container.
• In a further additional embodiment, the one or more threads are configured to rotatably engage with threads disposed within the cap.
• In another additional embodiment, the one or more threads each extends along a section of the circumference of the finish portion.
• In a still yet further embodiment, the one or more threads are spaced uniformly around the circumference of the finish portion.
• In still yet another embodiment, the one or more threads share an adjacent intervening valley configured to allow passage of a thread disposed in the cap.
• In a still further embodiment again, the finish portion includes a bevel disposed at a beginning of the opening and configured to enter into sliding contact with a sealing flange of the cap.
• In still another embodiment again, the bevel is configured to compress the sealing flange to a predetermined degree so as to form a tight seal suitable to retain pressurized contents within the container.
• A variety of embodiments include preforms suitable for being blow-molded to form a container, the preforms include a finish portion including an opening to an interior of the preform and including a tamper evidence ledge, a body portion including a tapered portion that smoothly transitions from a neck portion to a cylindrical portion and an end cap, the neck portion being adjacent to the tamper evidence ledge, one or more threads disposed on the finish portion and configured to threadably receive a cap, a handling valley disposed between the one or more threads and the tamper evidence ledge, and a bevel disposed at a beginning of the opening and configured to receive a sealing flange of the cap.
• In a yet further embodiment again, the tapered portion includes a smooth transition from a diameter and a wall thickness of the neck portion to a relatively smaller diameter and a greater wall thickness of the cylindrical portion.
• In a further additional embodiment again, the wall thickness of the body portion is suitable for being blow-molded into a desired shape and size of the container.
• In a still yet further additional embodiment, the tamper evidence ledge is configured to cooperate with a tamper-evident ring portion of the cap to indicate that the cap has not been previously loosened after being installed by the manufacturer.
• In yet another additional embodiment again, the handling valley includes a portion of the finish portion that has a wall thickness and a diameter that are substantially similar to the wall thickness and diameter of the neck portion.
• In another further embodiment, the handling valley and the neck portion enable gripping fingers to engage with and support the container during air-conveying the container along a manufacturing assembly.
• In yet another further embodiment, the handling valley provides a separation between the tamper evidence ledge and the one or more threads suitable for receiving a pair of gripping fingers of air conveyor system.
• Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention. Various other embodiments are possible within its scope. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their equivalents.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• The drawings refer to embodiments of the present disclosure in which:
• FIG. 1 illustrates a side plan view of an exemplary embodiment of a preform suitable for being blow-molded to form a container in accordance with the present disclosure;
• FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional slice view of the preform illustrated inFIG. 1, taken along a line2-2, according to the present disclosure;
• FIG. 3 illustrates a close-up cross-sectional view of a finish comprising the preform illustrated inFIG. 1, according to the present disclosure;
• FIG. 4 illustrates a side plan view of an exemplary embodiment of a preform suitable for being blow-molded to form a container in accordance with the present disclosure;
• FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional slice view of the preform illustrated inFIG. 4, taken along a line5-5, according to the present disclosure; and
• FIG. 6 illustrates a close-up cross-sectional view of a finish comprising the preform illustrated inFIG. 4, according to the present disclosure.
• While the present disclosure is subject to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. The invention should be understood to not be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
• In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art that the invention disclosed herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, specific numeric references such as “first preform,” may be made. However, the specific numeric reference should not be interpreted as a literal sequential order but rather interpreted that the “first preform” is different than a “second preform.” Thus, the specific details set forth are merely exemplary. The specific details may be varied from and still be contemplated to be within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The term “coupled” is defined as meaning connected either directly to the component or indirectly to the component through another component. Further, as used herein, the terms “about,” “approximately,” or “substantially” for any numerical values or ranges indicate a suitable dimensional tolerance that allows the part or collection of components to function for its intended purpose as described herein.
• Disclosed herein are articles, including preforms and containers, which utilize less plastic in their construction while maintaining the ease of processing and excellent structural properties associated with current commercial designs.
• FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of apreform100 suitable for being blow-molded to form a container, or a plastic bottle, according to the present disclosure. Thepreform100 preferably is made of material approved for contact with food and beverages such as virgin PET and can be of any of a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Thepreform100 shown inFIG. 1 is of the type which will form a 12-16 oz. beverage bottle, but as will be understood by those skilled in the art, other preform configurations may be used depending upon the desired configuration, characteristics and use of the final article. Thepreform100 may be made by injection molding methods, without limitation.
• FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional slice view of thepreform100 illustrated inFIG. 1, taken along a line2-2. Thepreform100 includes afinish portion104 and abody portion108, formed monolithically (i.e., as a single, or unitary, structure). Advantageously, the monolithic arrangement of thepreform100, when blow-molded into a bottle, provides greater dimensional stability and improved physical properties in comparison to a preform constructed of separate neck and body portions that are bonded together.
• Thefinish portion104 begins at anopening112 to an interior of thepreform100 and extends to and includes atamper evidence ledge116. Thefinish portion104 is further characterized by the presence of one ormore threads120 configured to provide a means to fasten a closure, such as a cap, to the bottle produced from thepreform100. As such, the plurality ofthreads120 are configured to rotatably engage with similar threads disposed within the cap to provide a way to seal contents within the bottle. In the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 1, each of the plurality ofthreads120 generally extends along a section of the circumference of thefinish portion104 and approaches thetamper evidence ledge116. Thus, when the threads of a cap are engaged with thethreads120, and the cap is rotated in a clockwise direction, the cap advances toward thetamper evidence ledge116.
• As best shown inFIG. 1, each of the one ormore threads120 begins at athread start124 and extends along an angular section of thefinish portion104. Thethread start124 is configured to guide thethread120 into a space, orvalley128, between adjacent threads of the cap so as to threadably engage the cap with thefinish portion104. Further, thethreads120 generally are disposed adjacently to one another and are spaced uniformly around the circumference of thefinish portion104. In some embodiments, wherein threethreads120 are disposed around thefinish portion104, the thread starts124 ofadjacent threads120 are spaced at substantially 120-degree intervals around the perimeter of thefinish portion104. As will be appreciated, however, more or less than threethreads120 may be incorporated into thefinish portion104 without deviating beyond the scope of the present disclosure.
• Thebody portion108 includes aneck portion132 that extends to a taperedportion136 of thebody portion108. The taperedportion136 comprises a smooth transition from a diameter of theneck portion132 to a relatively smaller diameter of acylindrical portion140 of thepreform100. Thecylindrical portion140 is a generally elongate member that culminates in anend cap144. In some embodiments thebody portion108 may be generally cylindrical, and theend cap144 may be conical or frustoconical and may also be hemispherical, and the very terminus of theend cap144 may be flattened or rounded.
• As best shown inFIG. 2, a wall thickness of thecylindrical portion140 is substantially uniform throughout thecylindrical portion140 and theend cap144. A wall thickness of the taperedportion136, however, generally decreases from the wall thickness of thecylindrical portion140 to a relatively thinner wall thickness of theneck portion132. As will be appreciated, the wall thickness of thecylindrical portion140 is relatively greater than the wall thickness of theneck portion132 so as to provide a wall thickness at the desired dimensions of a finished product after thepreform100 is blow-molded into the shape and size of a bottle. As such, the wall thickness throughout most of thebody portion108 will depend upon the overall size of thepreform100 and the wall thickness and overall size of the resulting container.
• FIG. 3 illustrates a close-up cross-sectional view of thefinish portion104 comprising thepreform100 illustrated inFIG. 1, according to the present disclosure. Thefinish portion104 shown inFIG. 3 can be understood to wrap around the entirety of the preform circumference. In many embodiments, the cross section of thefinish portion104 will vary in regards to the placement of the plurality ofthreads120, but will remain constant for the remainder of elements. As described hereinabove, thefinish portion104 includes one ormore threads120 extending along sections of the circumference of thefinish portion104 and approaching thetamper evidence ledge116. Thethreads120 generally extend outward from thefinish portion104 such that avalley128 is disposed between adjacent threads. The cross-sectional profile of thethreads120 is configured such that the threads advantageously engage with similar threads disposed within the cap for sealing contents within the container formed by blow-molding thepreform100. As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, thevalley128 is configured to allow passage of a thread disposed in the cap to pass betweenadjacent threads120 during tightening of the cap onto thefinish portion104.
• With continuing reference toFIG. 3, thefinish portion104 includes abevel148 disposed at the beginning of theopening112. Thebevel148 is typically configured to enter into sliding contact with a sealing flange of a suitable cap so as to prevent contents from leaking out of the container formed from thepreform100. In some embodiments, thebevel148 may compress the sealing flange to a predetermined degree, thereby forming a tight seal suitable to retain pressurized contents within the container.
• As further shown inFIG. 3, thetamper evidence ledge116 comprises a roundedupper portion152 and a substantially flatlower portion156. As will be appreciated, the roundedupper portion152 facilitates passing a tamper-evident ring portion of the cap over thetamper evidence ledge116 during assembly of the cap onto the container. The flatlower portion156 is configured to retain the tamper-evident ring positioned below thetamper evidence ledge116 during loosening of the cap. For example, when the cap is initially installed onto the container by a manufacturer, the tamper-evident ring can easily pass over thetamper evidence ledge116 due to the roundedupper portion152. When an end-user later loosens the cap, the flatlower portion156 generally retains the tamper-evident ring below thetamper evidence ledge116, often causing the tamper-evident ring to break loose from the cap. Thus, the flatlower portion156 of thetamper evidence ledge116 and the tamper-evident ring of the cap can cooperate to indicate to the end-user that the cap has not been previously loosened after being installed by the manufacturer. It should be understood, however, that thetamper evidence ledge116 is not limited to being coupled with tamper-evident rings, as described above, but rather thetamper evidence ledge116 may be configured to operate with any variety of devices for potentially indicating whether or not the container has been previously opened.
• Disposed between thetamper evidence ledge116 and thethreads120 is ahandling valley160 that extends circumferentially around thefinish portion104. Further, thehandling valley160 comprises a portion of thefinish104 that has a wall thickness and a diameter that are substantially similar to the wall thickness and diameter of theneck portion132, below thetamper evidence ledge116. As such, thehandling valley160 and theneck portion132 advantageously enable gripping fingers or other suitable engagement methods to engage with and support the container during air-conveying the container along a manufacturing assembly. For example, a first pair of gripping fingers can extend into thehandling valley160 to support the container at a first station of a manufacturing line. Then, upon being conveyed to a second station, a second pair of gripping fingers can extend around theneck portion132, below thetamper evidence ledge116, while the first pair of gripping fingers are removed from thehandling valley160. Similarly, upon arriving at a third station, a third pair of gripping fingers can engage with thehandling valley160 while the second pair of gripping fingers are removed from theneck portion132. Thus, the container can be transported along the manufacturing line by alternatingly engaging gripping fingers with thehandling valley160 and theneck portion132. The method of passing off preforms via an alternating method described above is advantageous as a preform may be exposed to numerous processes within numerous machines during the process of forming a final bottle shape. This allows the manufacturer to have more flexibility when designing and implementing various manufacturing methods and setups.
• As will be appreciated, thehandling valley160 provides a separation between thetamper evidence ledge116 and thethreads120 suitable for receiving the pair of gripping fingers, as described above. In general, the separation must be large enough to allow the gripping fingers to easily pass between thetamper evidence ledge116 and thethreads120. As such, any of various separations, greater than the width of the gripping fingers, may be disposed between thetamper evidence ledge116 and thethreads120, without limitation and without deviating beyond the scope of the present disclosure. By way of example and not limitation, the gripping fingers may be designed to have a height similar to the height of the tamper evidence ledge116 (measured between the points where the roundedupper portion152 and the flatlower portion156 meet the finish body). As can be understood, the manufacturing of gripping fingers with smaller overall heights can allow for a reduction in the size of thehandling valley160 and thus the overall amount of plastic required in thepreform100.
• FIGS. 4-6 illustrate an exemplary embodiment of apreform180 suitable for being blow-molded to form a container, or a plastic bottle, in accordance with the present disclosure. Similar to thepreforms100 described inFIGS. 1-3, thepreform180 comprises afinish portion184 and abody portion188 that are typically monolithically formed. In this embodiment, thefinish portion184 can begin at anopening192 to an interior of thepreform180 and extends to aneck portion196 of thebody portion188. Theneck portion196 extends to a taperedportion200 comprising a smooth transition from a diameter of theneck portion196 to a relatively smaller diameter of acylindrical portion204 of thepreform180. In many embodiments, thecylindrical portion204 is a generally elongate member that extends to anend cap208.
• As best shown inFIG. 5, a wall thickness of thecylindrical portion204 is substantially uniform throughout the cylindrical portion and theend cap208. A wall thickness of the taperedportion196, however, generally decreases from the wall thickness of thecylindrical portion204 to a relatively thinner wall thickness of theneck portion196. As discussed herein, the wall thickness of thecylindrical portion204 is relatively greater than the wall thickness of theneck portion196 so as to provide a wall thickness at the desired dimensions of a finished product after being blow-molded into the shape and size of a bottle or container.
• Thefinish portion184 begins at theopening192 to the interior of thepreform180 and extends to and includes atamper evidence ledge212. Thefinish portion184 includes one ormore threads216 configured to rotatably engage with similar threads disposed within a closure or cap to provide a way to seal contents within the bottle. As shown inFIG. 4, thethreads216 extend along sections of the circumference of thefinish portion184 and approach thetamper evidence ledge212, such that when the threads of the cap are engaged with thethreads216, and the cap is rotated clockwise, the cap advances toward thetamper evidence ledge212.
• Similar to thethreads120, discussed with respect toFIG. 1, each of thethreads216 begins at a thread start220 and extends along an angular section of thefinish portion184. The thread start220 is configured to guide thethread216 into a space between adjacent threads of the cap so as to threadably engage the cap with thefinish portion184. Further, thethreads216 generally are disposed adjacently to one another and are spaced uniformly around the circumference of thefinish portion184. It should be understood that any number ofthreads216 may be incorporated into thefinish portion184 without deviating beyond the scope of the present disclosure.
• As mentioned hereinabove, thebody portion188 includes theneck portion196 extending to the taperedportion200 of thebody portion188. The taperedportion200 smoothly transitions from a diameter of theneck portion196 to a relatively smaller diameter of thecylindrical portion204 of thepreform180. Thecylindrical portion204 is a generally elongate member that culminates in theend cap208. In some embodiments thebody portion188 may be generally cylindrical, and theend cap208 may be conical or frustoconical and may also be hemispherical, and the very terminus of theend cap208 may be flattened or rounded.
• With reference toFIG. 5, a wall thickness of thecylindrical portion204 can be substantially uniform throughout thecylindrical portion204 and theend cap208 in many embodiments. A wall thickness of the taperedportion200 typically decreases from the wall thickness of thecylindrical portion204 to a relatively thinner wall thickness of theneck portion196. As such, the wall thickness of thecylindrical portion204 is relatively greater than the wall thickness of theneck portion196 so as to provide a wall thickness at the desired dimensions of a finished product after thepreform180 is blow-molded into the shape and size of a bottle. To this end, the wall thickness throughout most of thebody portion188 depends upon the overall size of thepreform180, as well as the desired wall thickness and overall size of the resulting container.
• Turning, now, toFIG. 6, a close-up cross-sectional view of thefinish portion184 comprising thepreform180 is shown. Thefinish portion184 can often be substantially similar to thefinish portion104, described with respect toFIG. 3. Thefinish portion184 includes one ormore threads216 extending along sections of the circumference of thefinish portion184 and approaching thetamper evidence ledge212. Thethreads216 generally extend outward from thefinish portion184 such that avalley224 can be disposed between adjacent threads when the cross section contains multiple threads. As will be appreciated, thevalley224 allows passage of a thread disposed in the cap to pass betweenadjacent threads216 during tightening of the cap onto thefinish portion184.
• With continuing reference toFIG. 6, thefinish portion184 can often include abevel228 disposed at the beginning of theopening192. Thebevel228 is configured to enter into sliding contact with a sealing flange of a suitable cap so as to prevent contents from leaking out of the container formed from thepreform180. As mentioned herein, thebevel228 may, in some embodiments, compress the sealing flange to a predetermined degree, thereby forming a tight seal suitable to retain pressurized contents within the container.
• Thetamper evidence ledge212 shown inFIG. 6 can be substantially similar to thetamper evidence ledge116 discussed in connection withFIG. 3. Thetamper evidence ledge212 comprises a roundedupper portion232 and a substantially flatlower portion236. The roundedupper portion232 allows a tamper-evident ring portion of a cap to easily pass over thetamper evidence ledge212 during assembly of the cap onto the container. The flatlower portion236 retains the tamper-evident ring positioned below thetamper evidence ledge212 during loosening of the cap, causing the tamper-evident ring to break loose from the cap. In this way, the flatlower portion236 of thetamper evidence ledge212 and the tamper-evident ring of the cap may cooperate in such a way as to indicate to the end-user that the cap has not been previously loosened after being installed by the manufacturer. As discussed hereinabove, however, thetamper evidence ledge212 is not limited to being coupled with tamper-evident rings, but rather thetamper evidence ledge212 may be configured to operate with any of various devices for indicating whether or not the container has been previously opened.
• With continuing reference toFIG. 6, ahandling valley240 is disposed between thetamper evidence ledge212 and thethreads216. Thehandling valley240 extends circumferentially around thefinish portion184 and is configured to receive a pair of gripping fingers to engage with and support the container during air-conveying the container along a manufacturing assembly. Accordingly, the handingvalley240 provides a separation between thetamper evidence ledge212 and thethreads216 that is suitable for receiving the pair of gripping fingers, as described herein. It is contemplated that thefinish portion184 may be implemented with any of various separations between thetamper evidence ledge212 and thethreads216, without limitation, so long as the separation is greater than the width of the gripping fingers.
• Moreover, thehandling valley240 can comprise a portion of thefinish184 that has a wall thickness and a diameter that are substantially similar to the wall thickness and diameter of theneck portion196. As such, thehandling valley240 and theneck portion196 enable the gripping fingers to advantageously engage with and support the container during air-conveying the container along the manufacturing assembly. Similar to thehandling valley160, described in connection toFIG. 3, thehandling valley240 enables the container to be transported along the manufacturing line by alternatingly engaging the gripping fingers with thehandling valley240 and theneck portion196.
• The articles and various embodiments described herein may be made from any suitable thermoplastic material, such as polyesters including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyolefins, including polypropylene and polyethylene, polycarbonate, polyamides, including nylons (e.g. Nylon 6, Nylon 66, MXD6), polystyrenes, epoxies, acrylics, copolymers, blends, grafted polymers, and/or modified polymers (monomers or portion thereof having another group as a side group, e.g. olefin-modified polyesters). These materials may be used alone or in conjunction with each other. More specific material examples include, but are not limited to, ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (“EVOH”), ethylene vinyl acetate (“EVA”), ethylene acrylic acid (“EAA”), linear low density polyethylene (“LLDPE”),polyethylene 2,6- and 1,5-naphthalate (“PEN”), polyethylene terephthalate glycol (“PETG”), poly(cyclohexylenedimethylene terephthalate), polystryrene, cycloolefin, copolymer, poly-4-methylpentene-1, poly(methyl methacrylate), acrylonitrile, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidine chloride, styrene acrylonitrile, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, polyacetal, polybutylene terephthalate, ionomer, polysulfone, polytetra-fluoroethylene, polytetramethylene 1,2-dioxybenzoate and copolymers of ethylene terephthalate and ethylene isophthalate. In certain embodiments preferred materials may be virgin, pre-consumer, post-consumer, regrind, recycled, and/or combinations thereof.
• In some embodiments, polypropylene also refers to clarified polypropylene. As used herein, the term “clarified polypropylene” is a broad term and is used in accordance with its ordinary meaning and may include, without limitation, a polypropylene that includes nucleation inhibitors and/or clarifying additives. Clarified polypropylene is a generally transparent material as compared to the homopolymer or block copolymer of polypropylene. The inclusion of nucleation inhibitors helps prevent and/or reduce crystallinity, which contributes to the haziness of polypropylene, within the polypropylene. Alternatively, nucleation inhibitors may be added to polypropylene.
• As used herein, “PET” includes, but is not limited to, modified PET as well as PET blended with other materials. One example of a modified PET is IP A-modified PET, which refers to PET in which the IP A content is preferably more than about 2% by weight, including about 2-10% IP A by weight, also including about 5-10% IP A by weight. In another modified PET, an additional comonomer, cylohexane dimethanol (“CHDM”) is added in significant amounts (e.g. approximately 40% by weight or more) to the PET mixture during manufacture of the resin.
• Additives may be included in articles herein to provide functional properties to the resulting containers. Such additives include those providing enhanced gas barrier, UV protection, scuff resistance, impact resistance and/or chemical resistance. Preferred additives may be prepared by methods known to those of skill in the art. For example, the additives may be mixed directly with a particular material, or they may be dissolved/dispersed separately and then added to a particular material. Additives may be present in an amount up to about 40% of the material, also including up to about 30%, 20%, 10%, 5%, 2% and 1% by weight of the material. In some embodiments, additives may be present in an amount less than or equal to 1% by weight, such ranges of materials including, but not limited to, about 0.01% to about 1%, about 0.01% to about 0.1%, and about 0.1% to about 1% by weight.
• Another possible additive is microparticulate clay or graphene based materials. These materials comprise tiny, micron or sub-micron size (diameter), particles of materials which enhance the barrier and/or mechanical properties of a material by creating a more tortuous path for migrating gas molecules, such as oxygen or carbon dioxide, to take as they permeate a material and/or providing added stiffness. In some embodiments, nanoparticulate material is present in amounts ranging from 0.05 to 1% by weight, including 0.1%, 0.5% by weight and ranges encompassing these amounts. In some embodiments, nanoparticles comprise monmorillonite that may be modified with a ternary or quaternary ammonium salt. In some embodiments, such particles comprise organoclays as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,780,376, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference and forms part of the disclosure of this application. Other suitable organic and inorganic microparticulate clay based or nano-sized products may also be used. Both man-made and natural products are also suitable.
• In some embodiments, the UV protection properties of the material may be enhanced by the addition of one or more additives. In one embodiment, the UV protection material used provides UV protection up to about 350 nm or less, preferably about 370 nm or less, more preferably about 400 nm or less. The UV protection material may be used as an additive with layers providing additional functionality or applied separately as a single layer. In some embodiments, additives providing enhanced UV protection are present in the material from about 0.05 to 20% by weight, but also including about 0.1%, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 5%, 10%, and 15% by weight, and ranges encompassing these amounts. In some embodiments, the UV protection material is added in a form that is compatible with the other materials. In some embodiments, a preferred UV protection material comprises a polymer grafted or modified with a UV absorber that is added as a concentrate. Other preferred UV protection materials include, but are not limited to, benzotriazoles, phenothiazines, and azaphenothiazines. UV protection materials may be added during the melt phase process prior to use, such as prior to injection molding or extrusion.
• While the invention has been described in terms of particular variations and illustrative figures, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the variations or figures described. In addition, where methods and steps described above indicate certain events occurring in certain order, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the ordering of certain steps may be modified and that such modifications are in accordance with the variations of the invention. Additionally, certain of the steps may be performed concurrently in a parallel process when possible, as well as performed sequentially as described above. To the extent there are variations of the invention, which are within the spirit of the disclosure or equivalent to the inventions found in the claims, it is the intent that this patent will cover those variations as well. Therefore, the present disclosure is to be understood as not limited by the specific embodiments described herein, but only by scope of the appended claims.

Claims (21)

What is claimed is:

1. A preform suitable for being blow-molded to form a container, the preform comprising:

a finish portion including an opening to an interior of the preform and including a tamper evidence ledge;

a neck portion adjacent to the tamper evidence ledge;

a tapered portion configured to transition from a diameter of the neck portion to a smaller diameter of a cylindrical portion comprising an elongate member that culminates in an end cap; and

one or more threads disposed on the finish portion and configured to threadably receive a cap.

2. The preform ofclaim 1, wherein a handling valley disposed between the tamper evidence ledge and the one or more threads, the handing valley extending circumferentially around the finish portion.

3. The preform ofclaim 2, wherein the handling valley comprises a portion of the finish portion that has a wall thickness and a diameter that are substantially similar to the wall thickness and diameter of the neck portion.

4. The preform ofclaim 3, wherein the handling valley and the neck portion enable gripping fingers to engage with and support the container during air-conveying the container along a manufacturing assembly.

5. The preform ofclaim 1, wherein the tamper evidence ledge comprises a rounded upper portion and a substantially flat lower portion.

6. The preform ofclaim 5, wherein the rounded upper portion facilitates passing a tamper-evident ring portion of the cap over the tamper evidence ledge during assembly of the cap onto the container, and wherein the flat lower portion is configured to retain the tamper-evident ring positioned below the tamper evidence ledge during loosening of the cap, causing the tamper-evident ring to break loose from the cap.

7. The preform ofclaim 6, wherein the flat lower portion and the tamper-evident ring cooperate to indicate that the cap has not been previously loosened after being installed by the manufacturer.

8. The preform ofclaim 1, wherein the tapered portion comprises a wall thickness that smoothly transitions from a wall thickness of the neck portion to a greater wall thickness of the cylindrical portion, the wall thickness of the tapered portion and the wall thickness of the cylindrical portion being suitable for being blow-molded into a predetermined shape and size of the container.

9. The preform ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more threads are configured to rotatably engage with threads disposed within the cap.

10. The preform ofclaim 9, wherein the one or more threads each extends along a section of the circumference of the finish portion.

11. The preform ofclaim 9, wherein the one or more threads are spaced uniformly around the circumference of the finish portion.

12. The preform ofclaim 11, wherein the one or more threads share an adjacent intervening valley configured to allow passage of a thread disposed in the cap.

13. The preform ofclaim 1, wherein the finish portion comprises a bevel disposed at a beginning of the opening and configured to enter into sliding contact with a sealing flange of the cap.

14. The preform ofclaim 13, wherein the bevel is configured to compress the sealing flange to a predetermined degree so as to form a tight seal suitable to retain pressurized contents within the container.

15. A preform suitable for being blow-molded to form a container, the preform comprising:

a finish portion comprising an opening to an interior of the preform and including a tamper evidence ledge;

a body portion comprising a tapered portion that smoothly transitions from a neck portion to a cylindrical portion and an end cap, the neck portion being adjacent to the tamper evidence ledge;

one or more threads disposed on the finish portion and configured to threadably receive a cap;

a handling valley disposed between the one or more threads and the tamper evidence ledge; and

a bevel disposed at a beginning of the opening and configured to receive a sealing flange of the cap.

16. The preform ofclaim 15, wherein the tapered portion comprises a smooth transition from a diameter and a wall thickness of the neck portion to a relatively smaller diameter and a greater wall thickness of the cylindrical portion.

17. The preform ofclaim 16, wherein the wall thickness of the body portion is suitable for being blow-molded into a desired shape and size of the container.

18. The preform ofclaim 15, wherein the tamper evidence ledge is configured to cooperate with a tamper-evident ring portion of the cap to indicate that the cap has not been previously loosened after being installed by the manufacturer.

19. The preform ofclaim 15, wherein the handling valley comprises a portion of the finish portion that has a wall thickness and a diameter that are substantially similar to the wall thickness and diameter of the neck portion.

20. The preform ofclaim 15, wherein the handling valley and the neck portion enable gripping fingers to engage with and support the container during air-conveying the container along a manufacturing assembly.

21. The preform ofclaim 15, wherein the handling valley provides a separation between the tamper evidence ledge and the one or more threads suitable for receiving a pair of gripping fingers of air conveyor system.

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