Patent Publication Number: US-2016236824-A1

Title: Assembly for Carrying Bottles and Cans

Description:
PRIORITY DATA 
     The present applications claims priority from U.S. provisional patent 62/116,964 filed on Feb. 17, 2015 by the inventor of the present application and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to bottle and can packs or any other storages packed, and in particular, it concerns adhesive between bottles or cans in order to create packs. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In a world where raw materials are getting scarce and more expansive by the day, and where watching over the environment becomes a big issue. Companies are trying to reduce the use of raw materials to lower costs and to reach environmental laws that are being passed by governments around the world. Until now soft and alcoholic drinks companies would have packed (usually a six pack) there bottles (glass, PET or cans etc.) in cardboard boxes or in a raparound plastic bag surrounding the bottles connected to a handle. In this patent we propose a complete new way of packing bottles, by using a material that has reusable adhesive to hold the bottles together, easy to separate between the bottles when needed, and saves on the raw materials. 
     Note, all materials that have stickiness (adhesive by glue, vacuum or other forces) to hold the bottles together, reusable and the stickiness doesn&#39;t wear off with water or even in dusty or damp conditions, and can be easily freed between the bottles, can be used will be referred as gecko “glue”. 
     Non-limiting exemplary embodiments of exemplary includes an adhesive imitating the geckos foot. The adhesive is made out of carbon nanotubes, it can hold on extremely strong in one direction, and can be easily freed on the other direction. 
     Geckos have the remarkable ability to cling to just about any surface, even something as smooth and slippery as glass. It&#39;s not due to suction, glue or Velcro-like bristles. Instead, geckos toe pads are covered with millions of tiny, flexible hairs. When a gecko plants its foot, the individual hairs come in extremely close contact with the surface is climbing on. That super-closeness makes it possible for atoms and molecules in the hairs to attract their counterpart atoms and molecules in the surface layer. 
     This attraction is called the Van Der Waals force (after the discoverer). The attraction is weak, but its effect is multiplied by the density and sheer number of hairs (or in the glue case the carbon nanotubes) on the gecko&#39;s toe pads. Each hair stalk, or seta, branches into hundreds of smaller, flattened tips called spatulae. The setae are able to shed dirt and to an extent, water, meaning a gecko&#39;s stickiness doesn&#39;t wear off even in dusty or damp conditions. To unstick its feet a gecko curls its toes upward (the other direction), peeling the setae away from the surface. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , inspired from the structure found on gecko feet, an optional embodiment synthesized carbon nanotube-based hierarchical hairy structure. Carbon nanotubes can be synthesized using chemical vapor deposition. Image of scanning electron microscope (SEM) of pillars of carbon nanotubes. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , non-limiting example patterns of pillared size ranging from 50-500 μm. The patterns act as setae and individual carbon nanotubes as spatula. These vertically aligned nanotubes can be transferred onto a polymeric substrate (the geometry would be referred as gecko tape). By optimizing the pattern size and the size and height of carbon nanotubes, very high shear forces can be achieved. For a non-limiting example 50 μm pattern size with 200 μm carbon nanotube length showed four times higher adhesion than natural gecko foot. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention is directed to bottle or can (referable to as container) packs, connected and assembled with reusable stickiness to hold the bottles together and the bottle handle. 
     In addition to the adapted packs noted above, the present invention also includes optional embodiment use of a carbon nanotube “glue” imitating the gecko&#39;s foot, for holding strongly the bottles together, connecting the handle to the bottles. The “glue” imitating the gecko&#39;s foot can hold the bottles extremely strong in one direction while the bottle can be freed easily by turning them to the other direction. As well the gecko “glue” can be reused and it doesn&#39;t wear off even in dusty or damp conditions. 
     As mentioned before our objective is to realize a bottle or can packs without cardboard boxes or in a plastic bag surrounding the bottles. 
     In an exemplary, non-limiting embodiment the “glue” imitating the gecko&#39;s foot can stick the bottles together (6 pack or any other amount) for easy carry. With the gecko “glue” the handle can be connected directly to the bottles. While the gecko “glue” holds the bottles extremely strong in one direction, one can easily turn the bottle to the other direction and free the bottle from the pack. As well the gecko “glue” can be reused and it doesn&#39;t wear off even in dusty or damp conditions. 
     In another optional embodiment, the bottle with the gecko “glue” can be glued to other surfaces as well, such as the dashboard of the car, on the wall, window etc. 
     In another optional embodiment, the handle with the gecko “glue” and handle portion adapted to be held by a user can be used as a handle for other purposes such as carrying a box. The handle can have one or more contact locations with the surfaces of the product. The connection zone of the handle with the adhesive characters can be coated with gecko “glue” and adapted to reversibly grip a surface of a bottle as well as other products making it a multipurpose handle. 
     An additional advantage of the new inventive packs of bottles or cans is by saving raw materials, and by that reducing costs and pollution. This concept is applicable to all types of bottles or cans collected or carried together as a pack or as a group. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES 
         FIG. 1 : pillars of carbon nanotubes mimicking the setae. 
         FIG. 2 : individual carbon nanotubes as the spatula. 
         FIG. 3 : example of a way to connect between the bottles by the gecko “glue”. 
         FIG. 4 : handle with gecko “glue”, multipurpose handle. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The principles and operation of the apparatus and method according to a present embodiment may be better understood with reference to the drawings and the accompanying description. A present invention is an apparatus for connecting between bottles/cans and creating a pack. The apparatus facilitates packing between bottles or cans, using an innovative gecko “glue”. The gecko packs adds the bottle/can with adhesive reusable material that does not leave residue, in order to stick. The bottles with the gecko “glue” can connect to other surfaces as well, due to the adhesive that is located on the bottle. The handle to carry the bottles will be connected by gecko “glue”, the handle can be then used to carry other products. 
     Current research in the field is focused on improving the conventional use of cardboard boxes or in a raparound plastic bag surrounding the bottles. Efforts are being made include lighter and stronger for example by adding metal strips inside the cardboard boxes etc. 
     Refer to  FIG. 1 , non-limiting example of a top view SEM picture of pillars contain out of carbon nanotubes. The pillars act as the setae in order to create adhesive mimicking the gecko&#39;s foot. The pillars size and shape can be adjusted to a specific product in order to get the best adhesive. 
     Refer to  FIG. 2 , non-limiting example of a side view zoom of a pillar a cluster of carbon nanotubes, individual carbon nanotube can be seen. The individual carbon nanotubes act as the spatula in order to create adhesive mimicking the gecko&#39;s foot. The carbon nanotube size and height can be adjusted to a specific product demands. 
     Refer to  FIG. 3 , non-limiting example of an assembly for carrying three bottles packed together with gecko “glue”.  301  a bottle,  302  gecko “glue”,  303  location on the bottle where the gecko “glue” is add, in one side of the gecko “glue” it will be connected to a polymeric substrate that will hold in sealed to the bottle the other side will be able to connect and disconnect to other surfaces by the gecko “glue” adhesive. 
     Refer to  FIG. 4A , non-limiting example of two bottles packed together with gecko “glue” connected to a handle with gecko “glue”, in this example there are 2 contact surfaces coated with gecko “glue” and adapted to reversibly grip a surface of a bottle.  401  location on the bottle where the gecko “glue” handle is connected, the handle has gecko “glue”  302  for connecting to the bottle.  401  location where the handle connects to the bottle the connection zone.  402  wire that goes from one connection zone to the next,  403  holding area adapted to be held by a user. 
     Refer to  FIG. 4B , non-limiting example of a gecko handle. The connection zone (in this example there are 2 connecting zones)  401  is covered by gecko “glue”  302  and connected by wire  402  to the holding area  403  that is adapted to be held by a user and other connection zone  401 . Note that there can be more then 2 connection zones and more wires, depend on the need of the product. 
     Refer to  FIG. 4C , non-limiting example of a gecko handle for different use, connecting to a box/any other product. 
     A gecko pack and gecko handle has been shown to provide improved packaging compared to conventional techniques, and is a preferred implementation. Alternatively, the handle can be used as a multipurpose carry handle. 
     The choices used to assist in the description of this embodiment should not detract from the validity and utility of the invention. It is foreseen that more general choices including, but not limited to materials, different shape size and configuration can be used, depending on the application. 
     The use of simplified calculations to assist in the description of this embodiment should not detract from the utility and basic advantages of the invention. 
     It should be noted that the above-described examples, numbers used, and exemplary calculations are to assist in the description of this embodiment. Inadvertent typographical and mathematical errors should not detract from the utility and basic advantages of the invention. 
     It will be appreciated that the above descriptions are intended only to serve as examples, and that many other embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.