Patent ID: 8308007

Claim:
A one-piece plastic container for containing a liquid, said container including a longitudinal axis, said container comprising: an upper portion; a base portion closing off an end of the container; a sidewall portion integrally formed with and extending from the upper portion to the base portion; a plurality of vertical contour ribs molded into said sidewall portion that are vertically disposed along said sidewall portion and along the longitudinal axis of the container, each of said plurality of vertical contour ribs having a cross section taken perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, the cross section changing from a first shape to a second shape in response to cooling of the liquid, the cross section including a first leg and a second leg that extend radially outwardly from an area adjacent the respective vertical contour rib, said first leg and said second leg being joined in the cross section by an outer curved wall that is convexly curved, said first leg and said second leg pivoting relative to each other at said outer curved wall to compress the vertical contour rib in response to said cooling of the liquid; and a plurality of lands, at least one of the plurality of lands including a first end and a second end, the first end directly connected to the first leg of one of the plurality of vertical contour ribs, the second end directly connected to the second leg of another of the plurality of vertical contour ribs, wherein said plurality of vertical contour ribs changing from a first shape to a second shape in response to cooling of the liquid comprises said at least one of the plurality of lands changing from a first arc to a second arc in response to cooling of the liquid, said second arc being smaller than said first arc.