Abbott Laboratories Corporation

Ralph A Gygax

Jianjun Wang

William T Malone

Billy D Cornelius

Paul A Pezzoli

Thomas D Loughrin

Antonino Araujo, Jr

Joseph Michael Lippian

Thomas W Osip

Henrietta Jonas

The present invention provides an apparatus and method for testing seal strength and integrity of packages and for testing container and lid integrity, during an on-line production processing environment. Air pressure is introduced in a unique way to test the container and/or container seal in an additional step of an otherwise typical processing environment. A computer may be in communication with the testing sensors to control the processing in the event a failure is detected. The present invention provides a way to meet the continuously increasing line speed in form, fill and seal production processes with a unique ability of having complete package integrity testing for any odd shapes and package combinations.

On-line container and seal integrity test system

A retortable plastic container has a bottom wall having resting surface which surrounds a primary recessed portion. The primary recessed portion surrounds a secondary recessed portion. When the bottom wall of the container is viewed head-on the primary recessed portion has an outline which is circular, while the secondary recessed portion has an outline which is non-circular. The secondary recessed portion has major and minor axes which are mutually perpendicular and intersect one another on a longitudinal axis of the container. The distance across the secondary recessed portion along the major axis divided by the distance across the secondary recessed portion along the minor axis is greater than 1 but not greater than 3.

Retortable plastic containers

There is disclosed a body for a retortable plastic container having a sidewall and bottom wall integrally formed as a single piece. The bottom wall has a heel portion and a recessed center portion. The heel has a resting surface and an inside corner. The recessed center portion has an outside corner. The container has an outside surface. The container is made in accordance with equations relating to reforming pressure and low fill equilibrium pressure and may be fabricated utilizing a variety of manufacturing modes since the providing of acceptable container configurations is not based on relative wall thicknesses.

Plastic container

Retortable high panel strength plastic containers have a recessed circular center portion in the bottom wall of the container which facilitates the volumetric changes in the container during a sterilization process. Examples of containers having this feature are disclosed as well as the cross-sectional profile of the recessed circular center portions of the bottom walls of the containers.

Plastic containers capable of surviving sterilization

Clamping device for holding flexible feeding pouch

Growing community of inventors

Westerville, OH, United States of America

Ralph A Gygax