Patent ID: 8096098

Claim:
A method for conveying a plurality of filled plastic containers, each said plastic container including a body portion and a base portion, the base portion forming a support surface for supporting the container on a substantially flat surface and the base portion having a moveable element arranged at a bottom end thereof, the moveable element being moveable to remove substantially permanently a vacuum in the container, the method comprising: cooling a plurality of hot-filled and capped plastic containers, said cooling creating a vacuum in each of the hot-filled and capped plastic containers, each said vacuum causing a portion of the corresponding plastic container to collapse; conveying the plastic containers while temporarily compensating for respective collapsed portions; and activating, after said conveying, the moveable element of each said plastic container, said activating including moving the moveable element from a first position to a second position to remove substantially permanently a portion of the vacuum, wherein the body portion of each said plastic container includes a first annular portion, a second annular portion, and a smooth sidewall between the two annular portions, wherein the portion of the plastic container to collapse is the smooth sidewall, with substantially no collapsing of the first annular portion and the second annular portion, and wherein said conveying is such that each said plastic container is in contact with a plurality of other said plastic containers, the first and the second annular portions for each said plastic container providing for substantially stable touch points for conveyance of the plastic containers.