Abstract:
A blown bottle constructed from synthetic resinous material is configured to facilitate the complete evacuation of viscous food product from the bottle using a conventional butter knife.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to blow-molded bottles of the type used for containing viscous food products such as peanut butter and the like. In particular, it relates to a bottle having a shape that is particularly conducive to complete evacuation of the product from the bottle by the ultimate consumer when using a typical butter knife or other utensil. 
       BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY 
       [0002]    Conventional blow-molded bottles made from synthetic resinous materials such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and used to contain viscous food products such as peanut butter are provided with straight or inclined sidewalls in the body portion of the bottle below the shoulder portion. Typically, the ultimate consumer will use a butter knife with a radiused knife edge to periodically remove servings of the product from the bottle. As the contents are depleted, the consumer usually scrapes along the interior sidewall of the bottle in an effort to remove all of the product, but in many instances it is difficult or virtually impossible to achieve complete product evacuation because of the mismatch between the bottle configuration and the knife. As a consequence, the consumer may become frustrated and even angry, perhaps to such an extent that he rejects the product brand or at least diminishes his enthusiasm for the product. 
         [0003]    Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to provide a blown bottle having a unique configuration that renders the bottle particularly suitable for containing viscous food products, such as peanut butter, and which is especially conducive to complete or nearly complete product evacuation using a conventional butter knife. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]      FIG. 1  is a side elevational view of a blown bottle constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention; 
           [0005]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view thereof; 
           [0006]      FIG. 3  is a bottom plan view thereof; 
           [0007]      FIG. 4  is a schematic illustration of the bottle of  FIGS. 1-3  for the purpose of illustrating the relationship of the various diametrical and curvature features of the bottle to one another; 
           [0008]      FIG. 5  is a schematic illustration of the bottle of  FIGS. 1-3  showing exemplary dimensions for various features of the bottle; 
           [0009]      FIG. 6  is a schematic representation of a typical butter knife used by a consumer in evacuating the contents of the bottle; 
           [0010]      FIG. 7  is a schematic view of a second embodiment of a bottle constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 8  is a schematic illustration of a third embodiment of a bottle constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 9  is a schematic illustration of a fourth embodiment of a bottle constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 10  is a schematic illustration of a fifth embodiment of a bottle constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    The present invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms. While the drawings illustrate and the specification describes certain preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that such disclosure is by way of example only. There is no intent to limit the principles of the present invention to the particular disclosed embodiments. 
         [0015]    Referring initially to  FIGS. 1-3 , bottle  10  in accordance with one embodiment of the invention broadly comprises an uppermost, annular seal surface  12  for sealing against a closure cap or the like (not shown), an annular neck finish  14  immediately below seal surface  12  (in the particular disclosed embodiment, neck finish  14  includes external threads  14   a  for use in securing the closure cap to the bottle), a lowermost base surface  16  spaced below neck finish  14  and forming the bottom of bottle  10 , and an annular sidewall  18  extending between neck finish  14  and bottom surface  16 . Sidewall  18  includes a radially outwardly disposed, convexly arcuate shoulder portion  20  immediately below neck finish  14 , a radially inwardly disposed, concave pinch portion  22  immediately below shoulder portion  20 , and a radially outwardly disposed, convex body portion  24  immediately below pinch portion  22  and above bottom surface  16 . 
         [0016]    Preferably, bottle  10  is blow-molded and is constructed from a suitable synthetic resinous material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). In the particular embodiment of  FIGS. 1-3 , shoulder portion  20  is outwardly convexly arcuate in a continuous manner from the intersection with neck finish  14  to the tangent point with pinch portion  22 . Likewise, pinch portion  22  is continuously concavely arcuate from its tangent point with shoulder portion  20  to its tangent point with body portion  24 . Body portion  24  is preferably continuously convexly arcuate from its tangent point with pinch point  22  to its intersection with bottom surface  16 . However, as will be seen in the discussion of alternative embodiments below, it is also possible to have any one or more of shoulder portion  20 , pinch portion  22 , and body portion  24  configured so as to be other than continuously arcuate. 
         [0017]    In accordance with the present invention, the maximum diameter of shoulder portion  20  is greater than the minimum diameter of pinch portion  22  and less than or equal to the major diameter of body portion  24 . Furthermore, as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the axial distance B between shoulder portion  20  at its maximum diameter and the pinch portion  22  at its minimum diameter is greater than or equal to 2.5 A, where A is a value determined by the equation: 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             A 
             = 
             
               
                 maximum 
                  
                 
                     
                 
                  
                 shoulder 
                  
                 
                     
                 
                  
                 diameter 
                  
                 
                     
                 
                  
                 minus 
                  
                 
                     
                 
                  
                 minimum 
                  
                 
                     
                 
                  
                 pitch 
                  
                 
                     
                 
                  
                 diameter 
               
               2 
             
           
         
       
     
         [0000]    Distance B is always measured from a point on shoulder portion  20  at its maximum diameter that is farthest from the bottom extremity of neck finish  14  to a point on pinch portion  22  at its minimum diameter that is closest to the bottom extremity of neck finish  14 . 
         [0018]    The minimum pinch diameter at pinch portion  22  is equal to or greater than the maximum diameter of sealing surface  12  and, preferably, is within the range of 1.00 to 1.10 times the maximum diameter of sealing surface  12 . The overall height of bottle  10  from sealing surface  12  to bottom surface  16  is within the range of 1.5 to 2.0 times the maximum diameter of sealing surface  12 . Preferably, the overall height is within the range of 1.00 to 1.75 times the major diameter of bottle  10  in body portion  24 . 
         [0019]    Sidewall  18  has a radius of curvature in body portion  24  that is within the range of 1.70 to 2.38 times the maximum diameter of sealing surface  12 . The swing point of the radius of curvature of body portion  24 , designated by the numeral  26  in  FIG. 4 , is located between the level of sealing surface  12  and bottom surface  16 . Preferably, swing point  26  is spaced downwardly from the level of sealing surface  12  by a distance that is in the range of 0.60 to 0.70 times the overall height of bottle  10 . 
         [0020]      FIG. 5  illustrates one set of exemplary dimensions for a bottle that incorporates the relationships as set forth above. In this exemplary product, the overall height of the bottle is 4.9521 inches, the sealing surface diameter is 2.6240 inches, the diameter of shoulder portion  20  is 2.7766 inches, the diameter of pinch portion  22  is 2.7216 inches, and the major diameter in body portion  24  is 3.3043 inches. The radius of curvature of shoulder portion  20  is 0.4739 inches, the radius of curvature of pinch portion  22  is 1.5120 inches, and the radius of curvature of the body portion  24  is 6.000 inches. Swing point  26  is located 3.070 inches down from the sealing surface  12  and 4.3478 inches laterally from the central axis of bottle  10 . The value for A is 0.0275 inches, and the value for the axial distance B between shoulder portion  20  at its maximum diameter and pinch portion  22  at its minimum diameter is 0.3293 inches. In bottle  10 , B is therefore considerably greater than 2.5 times A. Other dimensional values are also set forth in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0021]      FIG. 6  shows a typical butter knife  28  that a consumer might use in the process of evacuating product from bottle  10 . Butter knife  28  has a handle  30  and a blade  32  projecting forwardly from handle  30 . Blade  32  has an arcuate knife edge  34  at one radius of curvature, and an arcuate tip  36  at a sharper radius of curvature. Although knives are conventionally provided in a myriad of different shapes and sizes and with different radii of curvature for the knife edge  34 , a radius of curvature of 6.00 inches for knife edge  34  appears to be an average value. The bottle  10  of the present invention is well suited for evacuation using a knife having an edge  34  with a radius of curvature of approximately 6.00 inches, although such dimension is not critical to the present invention. 
       ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0022]      FIG. 7  illustrates a second embodiment of the invention and comprises a bottle  110  that is identical to the bottle  10 , except in the shoulder portion. In bottle  110  shoulder portion  120  has a flat stretch  120   a  disposed at the maximum diameter of shoulder portion  120 . The purpose of illustrating bottle  110  with flat stretch  120   a  is to make it clear that a bottle in accordance with the present invention does not necessarily have to have a shoulder portion that is continuously arcuate in an axial direction in order to be within the scope of the present invention. It may assume a variety of configurations; however, in every instance it will have a maximum diameter. 
         [0023]    It will be seen that in the bottle  110 , B is measured from a lower point on the shoulder portion  120  than in bottle  10  in accordance with the criteria that B is always measured from a point on the shoulder portion at its maximum diameter that is farthest from the neck finish to a point on the pinch portion at its minimum diameter that is closest to the neck finish. In this embodiment, of course, the neck finish of bottle  110  is denoted by the numeral  114 , and the pinch portion is denoted by numeral  122 . 
         [0024]      FIG. 8  illustrates a third embodiment of the present invention comprising a bottle  210  wherein the shoulder portion  220  is continuously arcuate, but body portion  224  has a flat stretch  224   a  at the maximum diameter of body portion  224 . Thus, bottle  210  illustrates that a bottle need not have a continuously arcuate body portion in order to fall within the scope of the present invention but may instead have a variety of configurations. In each instance, however, it will have a major diameter. 
         [0025]      FIG. 9  illustrates a fourth embodiment of the present invention comprising a bottle  310  wherein shoulder portion  320  and body portion  324  are continuously axially arcuate but pinch portion  322  has a flat stretch  322   a . Obviously, even with flat stretch  322   a , pinch portion  322  still has a minimum diameter. In the illustrated embodiment, distance B is measured from a higher point on pinch portion  322  than with respect to pinch portions  22 ,  122 , and  222  in the other embodiments because B is always measured from the point on the pinch portion at its minimum diameter that is closest to the neck finish ( 314 ). 
         [0026]      FIG. 10  illustrates a fifth embodiment of the present invention comprising a bottle  410  having a flat stretch  420   a  in the shoulder portion  420 , a flat stretch  422   a  in pinch portion  422 , and a flat stretch  424   a  in body portion  424 . Regardless, shoulder portion  420  still has a maximum diameter, pinch portion  422  still has a minimum diameter, and body portion  424  still has a major diameter. In this particular embodiment, distance B is measured between a lower point on shoulder portion  420  and a higher point on pinch portion  422  than in some of the previous embodiments in accordance with the requirement that distance B is always measured from a point on the shoulder portion at its maximum diameter that is farthest from the neck finish to a point on the pinch portion at its minimum diameter that is closest to the neck finish ( 414 ). Thus, bottle  410  illustrates that a bottle having a flat stretch or other configuration in the shoulder, pinch and body portions can still fall within the scope of the present invention. 
         [0027]    Obviously, bottles having various combinations of non-continuously axially arcuate shoulder, pinch and body portions may still fall within the scope of the present invention. Moreover, the inventors hereby state their intent to rely on the Doctrine of Equivalents to determine and assess the reasonably fair scope of their invention as pertains to any apparatus not materially departing from but outside the literal scope of the invention as set out in the following claims.