Plastipak Packaging, Inc.

Craig A Larson

William A Slat

Richard C Darr

Gary M Ferguson

Gary I Voss

James G Kulp

Duane Lach

Richard L Dunlap

William C Young

An extrusion blow molded container is provided comprising a closed base, a body portion extending from the closed base having a surface finish that is substantially free of striations, and an open neck portion extending from the body portion. In an embodiment, the container is comprised of polyethylene terephthalate (PET); the base portion includes a support portion and a substantially elevated portion having a center and a major diameter; and the center is disposed an elevated distance above said surface that is less than about 0.05 the major diameter. A method and apparatus for extrusion blow molding an article is also disclosed.

Extrusion blow molded container, apparatus and method

Apparatus for extrusion blow molding a container

Blow molding apparatus having raised pinches and compression lands

Bottle body portion

A plastic blow molded bottle (10) includes a pair of vertically extending hand grips (32) depressed inwardly at a rib reinforced shoulder (22) and at a body portion (16) of the bottle. Each hand grip (32) has a plurality of horizontally extending reinforcing ribs (34) that have curved shapes and are spaced vertically from each other.

Plastic blow molded bottle having hand grips

A container closure locking assembly (40) includes a plastic container (42) having a body portion (54) for holding the contents, a lower closed end (56) for supporting the container (42), and an upper dispensing end (58). The upper dispensing end (58) includes a neck (60) and a round dispensing spout (64) having a central axis (A). The dispensing spout (64) extends upwardly from the neck (60) and further includes an external closure thread (68), a retaining flange (70), and a rotational positioning formation (72). A plastic lock ring (44) molded separately from the container (42) extends around and is supported by the neck (60) of the upper dispensing end (58) of the container (42) below the external closure threads (68) of the dispensing spout (64). The lock ring (44) includes retainers (82 and 84) to secure the lock ring (44) to the container (42) and at least one external lock (98) having a lock surface (100) and an unlocking actuator (102) for moving the lock surface (100) radially inward with manual movement. The lock ring (44) also includes a rotational positioning formation (96) to rotatively position the lock ring (44) about the central axis (A) of the dispensing spout (64). A closure (46) having an internal thread (110) is threaded onto the external thread (68) of the dispensing spout (64) of the container (42) to secure the closure (46) and close the container (42). The closure (46) has at least one internal lock (112) designed to engage the outer curved ramp surface (100) of the external lock (98) of the lock ring (44) to prevent unthreading rotation of the closure (46) from the dispensing spout (64). The lock surface (116) of the internal lock (112) of the closure (46) may be disengaged from the lock surface (100) of the external lock (98) of the lock ring (44) by inward manual movement of unlocking actuators (102).

Container closure locking assembly

An in-mold label dispenser (22) for a blow molding machine is disclosed as including a dispensing head (56) mounted for rectilinear movement along a first axis A between a label magazine (48) and an open mold (28) and having a label carrier (58) mounted on the dispensing head for rectilinear movement between retracted and extended positions along a second axis B transverse to the first axis A. Rectilinear movement of the dispensing head (56) along the first axis A and coordinated extending and retracting rectilinear movement of the label carrier (58) along axis B transfers a label (50) from the magazine (48) to the mold (28) in preparation for the blow molding operation. The label dispenser (22) has particular utility when provided with a pair of the label carriers (58) to simultaneously transfer a pair of labels (50) to the open mold (28) within the confined space limitations involved. A drive linkage (66) is driven by a first gear unit (72) to reciprocally move the dispensing head (56), while a second gear unit (106) rotatably drives elongated supports (92) which mount the dispensing head (56) for its rectilinear movement and drive cams (108) that move the label carriers (58). Both the first and second gear units (72,106) are driven by a common input (156) to coordinate the movement of the dispensing head (56) with the movement of the label carriers (58).

In-mold label dispenser for blow molding machine

A plastic blow-molded container (20) for liquids is disclosed as having particular utility for dispensing water and includes a body portion (22) with pairs of longer and shorter side walls (24, 26). At least one rib and preferably a pair of upper and lower ribs (30, 32) extend completely around the body portion along each of its side walls. The ribs project farther inward along the longer pair of side walls (24) than along the shorter pair of side walls (26). A generally flat bottom wall closes the bottom end of the body portion (22) and a top closure (40) closes the top end of the body portion. The top closure (40) includes an upper handle (42) and a spout (44) that projects upwardly in a vertical direction perpendicular to the bottom wall. A unitary valve (46) is mounted on the spout (44) and movable from a closed position to an open position to permit liquid dispensing when the container is supported sideways on one of its side walls. The ribs (30, 32) have a construction that provides the container with high strength. Spout (44) and handle (42) are positioned on the top closure in a manner that permits easy filling without leakage when stored while still permitting the dispensing with the container supported on one of the shorter side walls (26).

Plastic blow-molded container having dispensing valve

Liquid container

Plastic bottle

An in-mold label dispenser (10) is disclosed for supplying labels to a multiple cavity blow molding machine (12) for an in-mold labeling process. Label dispenser (10) includes a dispensing head (24) mounted for movement between a withdrawn position free of the mold and an inserted position between mold sections in an open position of the mold. A plurality of label carriers (26) are mounted on the dispensing head (24) for movement between retracted and extended positions in order to receive labels (32) from magazines (28) and supply the labels to the mold. A drive mechanism (30) moves the dispensing head (24) and the label carriers (26) for the in-mold label dispensing. Preferably, the dispensing head (24) is mounted on a support (34) and is moved in a hesitating manner to receive labels. The dispensing head support (34) is preferably mounted on a frame (38) in a manner that conserves floor space and the frame is also mounted in order to permit access to the associated blow molding machine. A linkage assembly (64) mounts the label carriers (26) on the dispensing head (24). The drive mechanism (30) preferably includes an actuator (98) that drives the linkage assembly (64) and a rack and gear drive (118) that drives the dispensing head.

Growing community of inventors

Howell, MI, United States of America

Craig A Larson