A bottle having a hanging tool

Abstract: A bottle comprises a detachably provided hanging tool (3). The hanging tool (3) comprises a flat and long connection portion extending sideways from the neck portion (2) and having a length shorter than an outer diameter of the bottom of the bottle, and a separately molded wide annular handle portion (4). The connection portion is provided at its intermediate portion with a narrow portion (30) crossing the connection portion transversely to reduce a thickness thereof, thereby making the connection portion vertically bendable at the narrow portion (30), a free end of the connection portion and the handle portion (4) are formed at their predetermined locations with joint portions (31,41) comprising a pair of engagement means, and the handle portion (4) is detachably attached to the connection portion. Thereby an injection mold for molding a preform can be simple in structure and does not need to be enlarged.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a stretch blow molded bottle having a hanging tool provided on the neck portion thereof. 2. Background Art It is known for example from JP 3 268 907 A to injection mold a preform having a handle which is integrally formed and extends longitudinally and downwardly from a side surface positioned below a threaded portion of the neck of the preform and to stretch blow mold the preform into a bottle which has a thin body wall from the distal end of the neck to the bottom so as to obtain a bottle integrally having a handle. This longitudinal handle is thick so as to secure a certain strength. If the resin used as material for molding the bottle is polyethylene terephthalate, although it has a certain hardness as no further process is provided after the injection molding, it lacks impact strength. This might cause a damage of the handle portion when the bottle filled with contents accidentally falls down to the ground from a shelf and the like. As disclosed in EP-A-0 775 639 (prior art outer Article 54(3) EPC) and as shown in Fig.4, there has been provided a bottle which is integrally provided at a portion lower than the neck portion 12 of the bottle body 11 with a flat bendable hanging tool 13 which is wide in its transverse direction. The hanging tool 13 of this bottle 1 is bendable at a narrow portion 30 of the hanging tool 13, and one can carry the bottle by hanging a finger into an annular finger engaging tab 13a. Further, since the hanging tool 13 is formed flat and thin, it requires less amount of resin material than a conventional handle, and if the hanging tool is bent at the narrow portion, the hanging tool can restore. Therefore, it is unnecessary to provide a space for the hanging tool 13 when the bottle is packed in a box. However, in the above described bottle having a bendable hanging tool, the hanging tool 13 is integrally formed at the time of injection molding of the preform 10 as shown in Fig.5, and it is required to have a sufficient width of the finger hanging portion so that one can easily hold the bottle. Therefore, there is a problem that the injection mold for molding the preform 10 with the bendable hanging tool 13 becomes large. That is, in the injection mold, a flat cavity for the hanging tool is formed between parting surfaces of a mold A for molding the neck portion and a mold B for molding the body and the bottom, and molten resin is injected and charged from the neck portion, thereby injection molding the entire preform. However, in order to mold a sufficiently wide finger hanging portion of the hanging tool, it is necessary to design the injection mold such that the flat cavity for the hanging tool projects outward from the neck portion of the preform, and such a design complicates and enlarges the injection mold. The present invention has been accomplished to solve the above described problems, and it is an object of the invention to provide a bottle having a hanging tool which can be produced efficiently while suppressing the injection mold for a preform from being enlarged; this is achieved by separately molding a bendable flat connection portion which is integrally formed with a neck portion of the preform and a handle portion which is detachably attached to the connection portion and is separately molded, thereby forming the hanging tool to be provided on the neck portion of the bottle. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a bottle having a hanging tool, the hanging tool being formed on a side of the bottle lower than a threaded portion of a neck portion thereof at the time of injection molding of a preform, a portion of the bottle from the distal end of the neck portion lower than the hanging tool to the bottom of the bottle being formed thin-walled by stretch blow molding, wherein the hanging tool comprises a flat and elongated connection portion projecting sideways from the neck portion and having a length such that it does not extend radially over the outer diameter of the bottle, and a separately molded wide annular handle portion, the connection portion being provided at its intermediate portion with a narrow portion crossing the connection portion transversely to reduce the thickness thereof, thereby making the connection portion vertically bendable at the narrow portion, the free end of the connection portion and the handle portion being formed at predetermined locations with joint portions comprising a pair of engagement means to attach the handle portion detachably to the connection portion. The bottle is made of thermoplastic resin including, for example, polyester resin such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, and polypropylene. In the case of a bottle made of polypropylene as molding resin, flexibility of the hanging tool is increased due to the property of polypropylene. In the case of a bottle made of polyethylene terephthalate, even if the connection portion remains as it is injection molded, the free end thereof exhibits flexibility due to molecular orientation of the narrow portion. Therefore, bending strength and impact strength of the connection portion are increased so that the connection portion can hardly break even if it is thin. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig.1 is a plan view for explaining a bottle having a hanging tool according to the present invention; Fig.2 is a side view of the bottle as in Fig. 1; Fig.3 is a side view showing a state where the bottle having the hanging tool is hung down; Fig.4 is a plan view of a conventional bottle having a hanging tool; and Fig.5 is a side view of a preform of the conventional bottle having the hanging tool. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Figs.1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention. In Fig.1, reference numeral 1 designates a bottle made of polyethylene terephthalate having an as-injection molded neck portion 2, and a portion of the bottle from the distal end of the neck portion 2 through a body portion and to a bottom portion is made thin-walled by stretch blow molding. The neck portion 2 is formed with a thread or screw (not shown), and a support ring is formed at a portion of the neck portion 2 below the thread, for example. The support ring is integrally formed at one side thereof with a connection portion 3. A separately molded annular handle portion 4 is jointed to a free end of the connection portion 3, so as to form a bottle having a hanging tool. The connection portion 3 is formed into a flat and elongated shape and projects sideways with such a length that it does not extend over the outer diameter of the bottle. The thickness of the connection portion 3 is reduced at a narrow portion 30 formed in the widthwise direction so that the free end of the connection portion 3 is bendable vertically. The narrow portion 30 has a certain strength and flexibility due to molecular orientation of the resin generated at the time of the injection molding. The thickness of the narrow portion is preferably 0.7 mm or less, more preferably 0.5 mm or less, and most preferably 0.3 mm or less. The handle portion 4 comprises an annular finger engaging tab 4a which is wider than the connection portion 3. The finger hanging portion 4a is formed with a finger tip insertion hole. The periphery of the finger tip insertion hole is reinforced by projection edges projecting up and down so as to reduce the pressure on inserted fingers. A pair of jointing portions are formed into by the free end of the connection portion 3 and the handle portion such that the handle portion 4 can be detachably attached to the connection portion 3. The jointing portions shown in the drawings include a snowman-shaped hole 31 formed in the free end of the connection portion 3, and a flanged engagement projection 41 formed at a predetermined portion of the handle portion 4. In this case, the diameter of a small diameter portion 31a of the snowman-shaped hole 31 and the diameter of the shaft of the engagement projection 41 are formed substantially equal to each other. Therefore, by inserting the engagement projection 41 into the large diameter portion 31b of the snowman-shaped hole 31 and then sliding the entire handle portion 4 toward the small diameter portion 31a, the connection portion 3 and the handle portion 4 are detachably attached. More specifically, the engagement projection 41 is fitted into the small diameter portion 31a of the snowman-shaped hole 31, thereby sandwiching the connection portion 3 between the body of the handle portion 4 and the flange portion of the engagement projection 41, and therefore, the handle portion 4 will not drop off from the connection portion 3. In the jointing portions, the connection portion and the handle portion require a pair of detachable engagement means, and such constructions are selected at the time of design. Further, by forming such a jointing portion so that the handle portion is made detachable, it is possible to form the handle portion into arbitrary shape, and the width of the finger hanging portion or the entire shape of the handle portion can widely be varied. Therefore, as shown in Fig.3, one can carry the bottle 1 by hanging a finger into the finger hanging portion 4a of the handle portion 4, and can pour contents in the bottle by holding the handle portion 4 by one hand while supporting the bottom of the bottle with the other hand. Further, the entire hanging tool is flat and thin, it requires less amount of resin material than a conventional handle, and because the connection portion is so short that it does not project over the outer diameter of the bottle, it is unnecessary to secure a space for the hanging tool when the bottle is packed in a box. As described above, according to the present invention, it is unnecessary to provide a cavity for the handle portion in the injection mold for the preform so that the mold can be simple in structure, and needs not to be enlarged. Further, since the handle portion is separately molded, it is possible to widen the degree of freedom of the finger hanging portion which is required to be formed into a shape so that it can be easily held and therefore, there is provided a bottle which is easy to handle. While the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that the present invention is not limited thereto, and that various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claim.

Claims: A bottle (1) having a hanging tool (3, 4), said hanging tool (3, 4) being formed on a side of said bottle (1) lower than a threaded portion of a neck portion (2) thereof at the time of injection molding of a preform, a portion of said bottle (1) from the distal end of said neck portion (2) lower than said hanging tool (3, 4) to the bottom of the bottle being formed thin-walled by stretch blow molding, wherein said hanging tool (3, 4) comprises a flat and elongated connection portion (3) projecting sideways from said neck portion (2) and having a length such that it does not extend radially over the outer diameter of the bottle, and a separately molded wide annular handle portion (4), said connection portion (3) being provided at its intermediate portion with a narrow portion (30) crossing said connection portion (3) transversely to reduce the thickness thereof, thereby making said connection portion (3) vertically bendable at said narrow portion (30), the free end of said connection portion and said handle portion being formed at predetermined locations with joint portions (31, 41) comprising a pair of engagement means so as to attach said handle portion (4) detachably to said connection portion (3).

Inventors: YAMAGUCHI HISAO, YAMAGUCHI, HISAO
Applicants: A K TECH LAB INC, A.K. TECHNICAL LABORATORY, INC.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: B65D23
IPC codes: B29C49, B65D23