Graham Packaging Company, L.p.

Lawrence Korpanty

John E Denner

Kevin D Himes

David B Clements

Gregory Duane Taylor

Robert D Stoolmaker

Thomas J Atkinson

A plastic container and closure, and system and method of making the same. Container can include a solid bottom end, an outer sidewall extending from solid bottom end, a shoulder portion extending from outer sidewall, and neck portion extending from shoulder portion, forming an open end of container. Solid bottom end includes a circumferential heel portion having a plurality of radially asymmetrical projections and recesses disposed on an outer periphery of the heel portion, the plurality being configured to increase heel portion rigidity while maintaining substantially uniform material thickness. Shoulder portion forms an angle with a plane perpendicular to the container central axis. At an angle of 50&#xb0; a desirable failure mode may be achieved where the yield strength of the shoulder portion is balanced against that of the heel portion and the outer sidewall to maximize the top load strength of the container.

Plastic container with reinforced base and closure and system and method of making same

A stackable container assembly that is particularly suited for packaging heavy bulk products such as paint includes a container having a main body and a removable lid having an upstanding rim portion that has an upper surface. The container has a flexible bottom portion that has a lower surface that includes at least one support surface for supporting the container assembly on an underlying horizontal surface. The lower surface further includes at least one projection that is disposed radially inwardly from the support surface. The flexible bottom portion is advantageously configured so that the projection will flex radially downwardly and outwardly into a position that is adjacent to an upstanding rim portion of an underlying container assembly when the container assembly is stacked on top of another container assembly. This ensures accurate registration and positioning of the container assemblies during stacking.

Stackable flexible container assembly

An apparatus for producing a parison having a plurality of resin layers and at least one resin layer of varying thickness is disclosed. The parison is used to form containers in a blow mold machine. An extruder is in communication with a flow head to form the parison. The apparatus includes a valve block having a duct providing communication between a second extruder and the flow head. Flow of resin from the second extruder directly to the flow head is controlled by a valve in the valve block. An accumulator cylinder and piston are also in communication with the duct and control the resin pressure within the duct. Opening and closing the valve and stroking the piston sends resin from the second extruder to the flow head and forms a resin layer having a varying thickness on the parison. A method of forming a varying layer is also disclosed.

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York, PA, United States of America

Lawrence Korpanty