Method and apparatus for making a light weight container
An improved lightweight container incorporates a thinner wall structure in an essentially octagonal container having a bottom member, a plurality of sidewalls, a spout, an upwardly converging neck member coupling the sidewalls of the spout, a handle molded into the container and a radiused transiting section between the sidewalls and the spout which eliminates weakened corner sections and improves overall strength to weight ratios.
1. A blow-molded container comprising:
a bottom member;
a plurality of sidewalls including a first pair of opposing parallel sidewalls having a first width, a second pair of opposing parallel sidewalls having the first width, a third pair of opposing parallel sidewalls having a second width and a fourth pair of opposing parallel sidewalls having a third width;
a spout for receiving a closure cap;
a handle section proximate to the spout;
a sidewall upper limit defined by one or more sidewalls from the plurality of sidewalls; and
a curved transition that is formed between the sidewall upper limit and the spout, wherein the curved transition defines a curvature that extends continuously from the sidewall upper limit to the spout to provide a smooth transition between the sidewall upper limit and the spout.
2. The container of claim 1 further comprising said container having a weight of less than about 55 grams for a one gallon container.
3. The container of claim 1 further comprising said container having substantially uniform wall thickness.
4. The container of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of ribs molded into said curved transition.
5. The container of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of ribs molded into said bottom member.
6. The container of claim 1 further comprising a recess formed in said bottom member to facilitate stacking of the container with respect to an additional container.
7. The container of claim 1 further comprising a shape which fits in a standard dairy crate.
8. A blow-molded container comprising:
a bottom member;
a plurality of long sidewalls, each long sidewall of the plurality of long sidewalls being substantially planar, the plurality of long sidewalls including a first pair of opposing parallel sidewalls that is spaced apart by a first dimension, and a second pair of opposing parallel sidewalls that is spaced apart by the first dimension;
a plurality of short sidewalls, each short sidewall of the plurality of short sidewalls being substantially planar, the plurality of short sidewalls including a third pair of opposing parallel short sidewalls spaced apart by a second dimension that is different than the first dimension and a fourth pair of opposing parallel short sidewalls spaced apart by a third dimension that is different than the first dimension and the second dimension;
a spout for receiving a closure cap;
a handle section proximate to the spout;
a sidewall upper limit defined by one or more long sidewalls from the plurality of long sidewalls and one or more short sidewalls from the plurality of short sidewalls; and
a curved transition that is formed between the sidewall upper limit and the spout, wherein the curved transition defines a curvature that extends continuously from the sidewall upper limit to the spout to provide a smooth transition between the sidewall upper limit and the spout.
9. The blow-molded container of claim 8 wherein the handle section is adjacent to one of the short sidewalls from the third pair of opposing parallel short sidewalls.
10. The blow-molded container of claim 1 , wherein the first width is larger than the second width and the second width is larger than the third width.
11. The blow-molded container of claim 10 wherein the handle section is adjacent to one of the sidewalls from the third pair of opposing parallel sidewalls.
12. The blow-molded container of claim 10 , wherein the curved transition is adjacent to one of the sidewalls from the first pair of opposing parallel sidewalls, one of the sidewalls from the second pair of pair of opposing parallel sidewalls, and one of the sidewalls from the fourth pair of opposing parallel sidewalls.
13. The blow-molded container of claim 10 , wherein the first pair of opposing parallel sidewalls are spaced by a first distance, the second pair of opposing parallel sidewalls are spaced by the first distance, the third pair of opposing parallel sidewalls are spaced by a second distance, and the fourth pair of opposing parallel sidewalls are spaced by a third distance.
14. The blow-molded container of claim 1 , wherein the first pair of opposing parallel sidewalls are spaced by a first distance, the second pair of opposing parallel sidewalls are spaced by the first distance, the third pair of opposing parallel sidewalls are spaced by a second distance, and the fourth pair of opposing parallel sidewalls are spaced by a third distance.
15. A blow-molded container comprising:
a bottom member;
a plurality of sidewalls including a first pair of opposing parallel sidewalls having a first width, a second pair of opposing parallel sidewalls having the first width, a third pair of opposing parallel sidewalls having a second width and a fourth pair of opposing parallel sidewalls having a third width;
a spout portion configured for engagement with a closure cap;
a handle section proximate to the spout portion; and
a curved transition that is formed between one or more sidewalls from the plurality of sidewalls and the spout, wherein the curved transition defines a curvature that extends from the one or more sidewalls from the plurality of sidewalls to the spout to provide a smooth transition between the one or more sidewalls from the plurality of sidewalls and the spout.
16. The blow-molded container of claim 15 , wherein the first width is larger than the second width and the second width is larger than the third width.
17. The blow-molded container of claim 16 wherein the handle section is adjacent to one of the sidewalls from the third pair of opposing parallel sidewalls.
18. The blow-molded container of claim 16 , wherein the curved transition is adjacent to one of the sidewalls from the first pair of opposing parallel sidewalls, one of the sidewalls from the second pair of pair of opposing parallel sidewalls, and one of the sidewalls from the fourth pair of opposing parallel sidewalls.
19. The blow-molded container of claim 16 , wherein the first pair of opposing parallel sidewalls are spaced by a first distance, the second pair of opposing parallel sidewalls are spaced by the first distance, the third pair of opposing parallel sidewalls are spaced by a second distance, and the fourth pair of opposing parallel sidewalls are spaced by a third distance.
20. The blow-molded container of claim 15 , wherein the first pair of opposing parallel sidewalls are spaced by a first distance, the second pair of opposing parallel sidewalls are spaced by the first distance, the third pair of opposing parallel sidewalls are spaced by a second distance, and the fourth pair of opposing parallel sidewalls are spaced by a third distance.