Patent ID: 6932230

Claim:
A hollow plastic bottle, which comprises: a hollow body of thermoplastic material having a generally cylindrical side wall, an upper end with a dispensing opening therein, and a lower supporting base with an inwardly extending portion; said side wall including a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart, vacuum panels and a plurality of elongated posts positioned between the panels; top and bottom elongated recessed cylindrical bands above and below said vacuum panels; and wherein said bottom elongated band extends continuously around the circumference of said bottle, and wherein said top elongated band includes at least two spaced apart discontinuities comprising raised portions each of which interrupts the continuity of the top band, wherein said discontinuities are each positioned over the central portion of an adjacent vacuum panel and the top band extends over the major portion of said adjacent vacuum panel, and wherein more uniform flexing is provided in the vacuum panels.