Graham Packaging Company, L.p.

Continental Pet Technologies, Inc.

Owens-brockway Plastic Products Inc.

Graham Packaging Pet Technologies Inc.

Eric B Ungrady

Larry M Taylor

Sheldon E Yourist

Justin A Howell

Benton A Lewis

Richard R Johnston

Michael P Wurster

Sunil S Shah

Douglas Struble

A preform for use in blow molding a plastic container is disclosed herein. The preform has an open end and closed end, and a body adapted to form a body of the container when the container is blow molded. The preform further includes a finish having a top surface, an inner wall having circumferentially-spaced thin segments alternating with thick segments, and an outer wall wherein the thin segments exist entirely in the finish and extend towards the open end of the body of the preform. The thick segments do not extend to the top surface.

Lightweight preform and method of manufacture

Container

A hot-fill container of one-piece plastic construction includes a base, a neck finish and a cylindrical body connecting the base to the neck finish. The cylindrical body has an upper portion adjacent to the neck finish and a lower portion adjacent to the base. The upper portion of the cylindrical body includes a label panel for securing a label to the container. The lower portion of the container body includes a series of circumferentially spaced ribs, and a series of vacuum panels connected between the ribs. Each of the vacuum panels has an outwardly convex central portion and an outwardly concave intermediate portion that connects the central portion to the ribs. In differing embodiments of the invention, the ribs are either parallel to or at an angle to the central axis of the container. Indicia, such as a logo, may be molded into the central portion of each vacuum panel, which strengthens the central portion of each vacuum panel and resists inversion of each central portion to a concave configuration under hot-fill vacuum within the container.

Hot-fill plastic container and method of manufacture

Package

Growing community of inventors

Maumee, OH, United States of America

Eric B Ungrady