Transparent multilayered bottle

IS 2 276 299 T3

DESCRIPTION

Transparent multilayer bottle.

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to transparent or translucent bottles, comprising at least three layers, and in which one layer contains high-density metallocene polyethylene.

Background of the invention

A popular form of laundry detergent is an extra strong laundry liquid. Its popularity is due in part to the convenience of the shape of the product, in particular the ability to easily apply the liquid to stained areas of clothing. The popularity of laundry liquids has created a need for more suitable containers to dispense these products.

Liquid laundry detergents have traditionally been sold in opaque bottles. These bottles have been improved over time to incorporate measuring cups that serve as closures, and accessories that incorporate drain mechanisms and pour spouts. Bottles that are less opaque than those traditionally used have recently been put on the market. Although these bottles are less opaque than those used traditionally, they are still dark.

The use of bottles that have greater clarity, can attract consumers aesthetically attention, since the consumer can see the consistency of the product, the suspended particles if they are present, the phase separation if it is a dual phase composition, or other aspects or properties of the liquid laundry product. Clear bottles can also attract the attention of consumers during use as they also allow the consumer to check how much product is left.

Therefore, it is of increasing interest to develop a transparent bottle that is suitable for containing liquid products such as heavy duty liquid laundry detergent.

Additional Information

Efforts to make bottles or containers that are clearer or more transparent have been described. Many of these efforts have addressed other considerations when using a clear bottle, such as protecting the bottle and its contents from UV radiation which can be detrimental to the bottle and its contents.

Such a container is described in JP 2000 190438.

For example, US 6,159,918 describes a clear bottle comprising a UV absorber to protect the contents. WO 97/26315 (Colgate) describes transparent containers.

Other prior art, such as US Patent No. 5,382,631 to Stehling et al., Is directed to interpolymer blends that may comprise linear polyethylenes prepared by metallocene-type catalyst systems. It is believed that the blends of the invention can be used advantageously in all shaping operations, such as blow molding, injection molding and rotational molding, and that molded articles include single and multi-layer constructions, in the form of bottles. , tanks, etc.

US Patent Document No. 5,376,439 to Hodgson et al., Discloses a polymer composition comprising a mixture of a very low density ethylene polymer and a low to medium density ethylene polymer.

Metallocene catalysts can be used. The invention also provides films prepared from the blend that may have a single layer construction or an ABA laminate construction, wherein layer A comprises the blend of the invention, and layer B or core comprises an olefin layer. different, such as high-density polyethylene.

US Patent Document No. 5,358,792 to Metha et al., Is directed to heat sealable compositions comprising: a) a low melting point polymer, comprising an ethylene-based copolymer having a density from 0.88 g / cm³ up to about 0.915 g / cm³, and b) a propylene-based polymer. The ethylene-based copolymer is produced with a metallocene catalyst.

US Patent Document No. 5,206,075 to A. Hodgson, is directed to a laminar polyolefin film material, having a base film layer that is a blend of an olefin polymer and a very low density ethylene copolymer. The VLDPEs that can be used as a copolymer component of the base layers or sealants of the film of the invention, can be polymerized with the use of metallocene catalyst systems. The films are believed to be very useful for high speed packaging operations.

IS 2 276 299 T3

US Patent Document No. 5,422,172 to Wu, discloses an elastic laminate sheet made of fibrous nonwoven fabric and elastomeric film. The elastomeric film can be made using metallocene catalysts.

US Patent Document No. 5,420,220 to Cheruvu et al., Describes a linear low density ethylene copolymer (LLDPE) film that is said to have excellent optical, processability, and impact resistance properties. The resins are estimated to have a narrower molecular weight distribution.

The patent documents that follow refer to metallocenes: US Patent Nos. 5,419,795 to Wood et al., 5,397,640 to Georgelos et al., 5,397,613 to Georgelos, 5,393,599 to Quantrillé et al., 5,128,091 to Agur et al., 5,021,109 to Petropoulos et al. , 4,874,734 to Kioka et al., 4,747,992 to Sypula et al., And 4,668,834 to Rim et al.

Other containers have been illustrated in US Patents Dso. Nos. 353,541 to Rogler et al., Dso. 351,347 to Ring, Dso. 348,612 to Ring, Dso. 332,747 to Darr et al., Dso. 300.005 to Jacobs, Dso. 272,318 to Visser, Dso. 265,797 to Platte, Dso. 192,886 to Kaplan, Dso. 195,697 to Price, Dso. 286,379 to Lyons, Dso. 305,407 of Gonda, Dso. 306,410 to Chambers, Dso. 311,864 to Davis, Dso. 312,964 to Carmine, Dso. 321,624 to Fiore et al., Dso. 326,052 to Beechuk et al., Patent 4,846,359 to Baird et al., Patent 5,232,107 to Krall et al., And Patents 3,385,461 and WO 94/25350 to Mallin.

Although clear or transparent containers may be known in the general packaging art, no additional information above describes a multilayer bottle that has a polyethylene interlayer and is clear or transparent.

Summary of the invention

In a first aspect, the present invention is directed to a bottle made from at least three layers according to claim 1.

In a second aspect, the present invention is directed to a bottle comprising a downwardly extending body, manufactured from at least three layers, according to claim 7.

For the purposes of the invention, the term "inner" layer or "inner" layer means the innermost layer of the multilayer wall of the bottle. The term "outer" layer or "outer" layer means the outermost layer of the multilayer wall of the bottle. The term "intermediate" layer means the layer that lies between the inner or outer layer of the bottle wall.

The present invention is directed to transparent bottles for dispensing liquid household products, such as liquid detergents and liquid fabric softeners. The bottle comprises a multilayer body, in which one layer includes polyethylene and another layer includes polyethylene made with a metallocene catalyst. The bottles of the invention have greater clarity than a traditional bottle made of polyethylene, although they still have properties suitable for use with liquids such as laundry liquids. Preferably, the metallocene polyethylene layer corresponds to the outer and inner layers of the three-layer structure.

The metallocene layer can comprise 100% of the outer and inner layers of the bottles. In other embodiments, the outer and / or inner layer (s) may be of a blend comprising 10-99% by weight metallocene plastomer. Preferably, the other component of the blend is high density polyethylene. Plastomer mixes easily with HDPE.

The metallocene plastomer resin used in the bottle of the invention has a density of between approximately 0.91 g / cm³ and about 0.95 g / cm³, and preferably between about 0.92 g / cm³ and about 0.95 g / cm³, and more preferably, between about 0.93 g / cm³ and about 0.94 g / cm³, and includes all the ranges included in it.

In other embodiments, the multilayer bottle body is combined with other features such as a downwardly extending body, having axially extending side panels fabricated from multiple layers of polymer. The container is preferably in the form of a bottle having a drain fitting. Advantageously, the bottle is lighter than a traditional laundry liquid bottle, but at the same time it is functional as an extra strong liquid detergent dispenser or other dispenser. With the use of metallocene resins according to the invention, the bottle can be significantly lighter or more transparent without adversely affecting other properties.

Metallocene polymers are described in US Pat. Nos. 5,382,631 to Stehling et al., And 5,358,792 to Mehta et al, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

In preferred embodiments, the multilayer resin structure is combined with other features to form a clearer or more transparent bottle, suitable for use as a container for extra strength liquid detergent. Preferably, the bottle is also suitable for other uses, such as containing liquid fabric softeners,

ES 2 276 299 T3 weak liquid detergents (eg manual dishwasher detergents), automatic dishwasher detergents such as gels, chemicals, food products, etc.

It is estimated that the discharge of the product from the container is facilitated by a neck offset from the center. The bottles of the various embodiments of the invention may include an optional handle or other integral gripping means.

The multilayer bottle of the invention is advantageously manufactured with certain resins. In addition to the outer and / or inner layer of metallocene polyethylene, it is preferable that an intermediate layer employs at least 25% recycled resin.

For a more complete understanding of the foregoing and of other features and advantages of the invention, reference will be made to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container of the invention, with the closure attached.

Figure 2 is a section along lines 2-2 of Figure 1, except that the container additionally includes corner grooves.

Detailed description of the invention

With particular reference now to the drawings, a bottle according to the invention using an inner and / or outer layer of metallocene polyethylene plastomer will be described with respect to a specific embodiment. In Figures 1 and 2, a container 2 is shown that includes a bottle 6 having an integral handle 8 and a neck 10. Container 2 also includes a drain fitting 14. Attached to the top of the container 2, as seen in Figure 1, is a closure or plug 12. All of the above components are preferably molded from a flexible elastic plastic material. The materials can be selected so that the plastic from which the drain fitting 14 is molded is softer than the materials from which the bottle 6 and closure 12 are formed. Alternatively, the drainage fitting can be made of a material of comparable hardness to that of the material from which the closure is made, for example polypropylene or HDPE.

The drainage fitting has a frusto-conical outer wall portion 16 that is gradually tapered in a downward and inward direction and is received within the neck 10 of bottle 6. The wall portion 16 ends at its upper end in an annular flange 19. Flange 19 is generally flat.

The surface of the flange is turned downward and inward to form the outer wall 24 of a circumferential cavity 26 that surrounds a generally frusto-conical spout 36, positioned eccentrically (off-center), the lower periphery of which forms the inner wall 28 of the circumferential cavity 26. Between the outer wall 24 and the inner wall 28 of the circumferential cavity 26, there is an inclined bottom 30.

The outer surface of wall 16 optionally includes a retaining ring that is spaced from, and is generally concentric with, flange 19. Wall 16 may include a product outlet opening (or drain port), located above from, and separate from, the product drain opening 32. The basic characteristics of the accessory and the closure are shown in Figure 9 of US Patent no. 5,108,009 to Davidson et al., The patent disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. A suitable product drain opening has been illustrated in greater detail in Figure 3 of the Davidson et al.

The spout may include projections to keep accessories separate during stacking. Such projections can also serve to prevent the rotation of the spigots during stacking when combined with lugs (not shown), depending on the accessory, and positioned so as to block radial movement of the stacking projections on the next lower accessory when they are attached. accessories are stacked.

Notch 32 and longitudinal groove 34 provide a passage for residual liquid remaining on spout 36 or closure 12, for drainage into bottle 6, either directly or through downwardly sloping bottom 30 of the cavity 26 circumferential under the force of gravity when the container 2 is in the upright position. The fitting 14 is attached to the finished bottle 68 by friction engagement. The finished bottle 68 includes an annular mouthpiece 70, and a locking rib 72. The finish includes threads 74. The fitting is inserted into the bottle by forcing it through the opening in the mouth of the bottle, and pushing it until the ring flange 19 of the fitting is located on or above the rib 12 immobilization. If flange 19 is above locking rib 72, it is preferably immediately above. In this position, the distal end of the annular flange will be adjacent to mouth 70 of the bottle. Optionally, an attachment retaining ring helps to hold the attachment in position by abutting against the underside of locking rib 72.

If desired, spout 36 may be provided with an anti-drip lip. Also, it may be desirable to provide the spout with a V-shaped pour angle for improved control of product pour.

IS 2 276 299 T3

Drain fitting 14 can be formed from a thermoplastic, such as high density polyethylene. Or it can be made of a polyethylene that is a 50:50 mix of a high density resin and a low density resin. The high density resin can be USI LS 506 or a similar resin. The low density resin can be USI LS 208 or similar. Instead of a resin blend, a low density polyethylene such as USI can be used. 241 or even a harder material such as polypropylene, to form the accessory. Other plastic resins having chemical and physical properties similar to the resins mentioned above can be used for the manufacture of the drain fitting 14.

Preferably, the container of the invention provides the spout and drainage area with the shape of the accessory described above, separately from the body of the bottle. In the preferred embodiment that has been described, the accessory fits into the finished container such that a frictional engagement is obtained between the outer wall of the accessory and a locking rib on the inside of the finished container. An accessory can be provided in other ways, for example it can be applied by rotary rub welding or by hot melt adhesive or by the EMABOND system. An internally threaded finish can be combined with an externally threaded closure.

The EMABOND system uses a thermoplastic gasket impregnated with metallic particles. When the gasket is in position (between a sealing area rib of the fitting and the inner lip of the bottle neck), a sealing unit presses down with an electromagnetic force, on the fitting, and heats the metal particles, thereby melting the plastic gasket, and the compression welds the two components together with a hermetic seal.

Although the accessory can normally be a separate piece, it can also be integrally formed on the bottle. A threaded collar could then be rotationally rub welded to the outside of the bottle, to mate with the threads of the closure.

It has also been contemplated that some of the embodiments may be in the form of refill bottles containing a smooth threaded cap and without any spout, but capable of receiving a transferable spout and a self-draining closure.

The closure 12 has a closed end 38 at its top, which fuses at its circumference with a downwardly extending inner circumferential wall 46, which has a surface on which gripping teeth 42 are integrally molded so inclined. that exhibit friction relative to the hand when the closure 12 is turned counterclockwise to loosen it that is greater than when it is turned clockwise to tighten it. Alternatively, other gripping means may be employed, such as vertical ribs.

Complementary fastening means in the form of threads have been provided in the closure 12 and in the neck 10 of the bottle 6, in the joint area. The closure 12 has internal threads 50 that complement the external threads 74 of the finished bottle 68.

As closure 12 is screwed onto neck 10 of bottle 6, the inner wrap, if present, engages mouth 70 of bottle 6, thereby sealing the bottle to prevent the contents of the container from escaping. When the inner wrap is omitted, the top of the channel is sealed against the mouth 70 of the bottle. The presence of the accessory flange below the top of the finished bottle allows the closure (or the inner wrap of the closure) to form a seal at a point on the top of the finished bottle. If the fitting flange were to extend over the top of the fitting, there would be two areas for product to escape through the seal, above and below the fitting flange.

As is evident from Figure 2, except for the spout, the fitting 14 is contained entirely within the bottle 6. The entire outer wall 16 is located below the mouth 70 of this bottle. .

Although the accessory has been described herein as having a single product outlet opening, a plurality of openings can be used.

The closure may be formed of a harder material than that used in the drain fitting 14. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the plastic material from which closure 12 is molded is a homopolymer polypropylene such as that sold by Phillips Petroleum Company under the designation Phillips HLV 120-01, or it can be a polypropylene copolymer.

The bottle 6 can also be formed of a material that is harder than the material used in the drain fitting 14. Alternatively, the fitting can be formed of a harder material, as when the fitting is made of polypropylene.

In accordance with certain embodiments of the invention, the bottle 6 is made with multiple polymeric layers, including an outer and / or an inner layer that includes metallocene polyethylene.

IS 2 276 299 T3

The outer and / or inner layer (s) may consist of a blend such as metallocene polyethylene and high density polyethylene (HDPE), such as one at about 25% / 75% by weight.

Polyethylene polymers with which polyethylene polymers can be blended include: Paxon AC 45004 (density 0.945); Chevron 9503 (density 0.946); Chevron 9346 (density 0.9455) (resin for pipes); Phillips D252 (Marlex) LLDPE (25% LLDPE / 75% HDPE) (density 0.923; melt index 0.25); the resin is referred to as "linear, low-density polyethylene" in the data sheet.

The outer, middle or inner layer (s) may be pigmented or unpigmented. It is further preferred that the intermediate layer is made of a high density polyethylene. This will help make the container more resistant to the pressure of the top load. Examples of materials that may be used include Paxon AU55-003, a medium molecular weight distribution high density polyethylene copolymer, available from Paxon Polymer Company of Baton Rouge, La, and Paxon AC45-004, a can polyethylene copolymer. density available from Paxon Polymer Company. Any of the aforementioned can advantageously be used together with a percentage, namely 25%, of recycled resin, that is, a post-consumer recycled resin (PCR) such as a piece of high-density polyethylene bottle.

According to the invention, the bottle comprises panels that have a multilayer structure that includes: i) an outer layer comprising a metallocene polyethylene material, ii) an intermediate layer comprising a minimum of 25% recycled resin, re - ground in the manufacturing process, plus some virgin resin, and iii) an inner layer comprising a metallocene polyethylene material; It is especially preferred that the features of the individual or combined embodiments of the invention are present in a bottle manufactured from a multilayer structure that includes: i) a virgin inner layer including metallocene polyethylene, ii) an intermediate layer comprising a minimum 25% recycled resin, and iii) a virgin resin outer layer that includes metallocene polyethylene material. The recycled resin is preferably HDPE homopolymer from used milk or water bottles, and possibly from used detergent bottles of roughly the same color.

The preferred thickness ranges in a multilayer material should be 10-20% exterior, 10-80% intermediate, and 10-20% interior. A useful layer arrangement (percentage of thicknesses) is expected to be 10% for the outer layer, 80% for the middle layer and 10% for the inner layer. Additional preferred resins useful in blends for the outer layer include polyethylene 9402 from Chevron (20%) and polyethylene 9503 from Chevron (20%).

Preferred additional resins for middle layer (70%): Virgin Chevron 9402 PCR polyethylene homopolymer (uses recycled PE).

Additional preferred resins useful for inner layer blends include polyethylene Chevron 9301 (10%).

While three-layer structures (outer 5-30% / intermediate 60-90% / inner 5-30% layers, in particular outer 10-20% / intermediate 70-80% / inner 10-20% layers) will generally be the preferred, four-layer or other multi-layer structures can also be used. While it is generally preferred that the inner and / or outer layer (s) be virgin (i.e., non-recycled resin), the inner and / or outer layer (s) Exterior may include some recycled resin. When the inner and / or outer layer (s) include recycled resin, a candidate may be blends containing LLDPE from recycled pallet wrapping film. Other good candidates include LLDPE and LLDPE / HDPE blends, metallocene polyethylene (MPE) (eg Exact from Exxon), and MPE / HDPE blends. In general it will be preferred that the intermediate layer includes at least 25% PCR. A foamed HDPE interlayer can also be used.

The use of a neck or finish that is offset from the center is believed to facilitate the pouring of the product from the container. To determine if a neck finish is off-center for the purposes of the invention, the distance from one side to the other of the length of the bottle is measured, measured at the point of maximum length, that is, the maximum horizontal dimension when the container is supported on its base. The center point of that distance between one side and the other is then determined. The next stage is to find out where the center point of the finished container falls, that is, the center of the mouth of the bottle, along the line drawn from one side of the container to the other by its longest dimension. The percent displacement is calculated by subtracting the positional distance between the center point of the finished container and the center of the container length by its widest point, and dividing that result by the length of the bottle by its widest point.

An example of calculating the percentage of displacement is as follows. If the container has its maximum length at the bottom, and the maximum length of the bottom is 16 cm, and a vertical line drawn through the center of the finished bottle intersects the longitudinal line at 10.6 cm, the calculation is as Next: 10.6 minus 8 (the midpoint of the length) divided by 16. The result is 16.25%. For the purposes of the invention, a finished neck is considered to be off-center if the percentage of displacement is greater than 3%. Preferred offsets are between 3% and 20%. Especially preferred is a percentage of 5% - 20%.

Bottles made in accordance with the present invention have at least 10% transmittance of light through a 1mm thick sample at a wavelength of 410-800 nanometers, in which the composition is

ES 2 276 299 T3 substantially free of dyes. For the purposes of the invention, as long as the wavelength in the visible light range has a transmittance greater than 10%, it is considered to be transparent. Preferably, bottles according to the present invention will have at least 15%, and more preferably 20%, and more preferably 25% transmittance of light through a 1 mm thick sample at wavelength 410-800 nanometers. For the purposes of the invention, as long as a wavelength in the visible light spectrum has a transmittance greater than a stated quantity x, it is considered to have a transmittance of at least that quantity x in the visible light spectrum. Transmittance can be easily measured by placing a sample of known thickness of the material to be tested (1 mm in the case of the samples measured here) in the path of the light beam of a UV-VIS Spectrophotometer such as the UV-VIS Spectrophotometer. Hewlett-Packard 8451A Diode Array.

Sample 1 and Comparative Sample A are bottle samples having a wall thickness of 1 mm. Each sample has a three-layer configuration. The composition of Sample 1 and Comparative Sample A is indicated in the Table below:

<td></td><td>Sample 1</td><td>Sample A Comparative</td>

<td>Outer layer</td><td>polyethylene¹ metallocene</td><td>HDPE³ Virgin</td>

<td>Middle layer</td><td>25% CRP²</td><td>25% CRP²</td>

<td></td><td>50% re-ground⁴ (of the total)</td><td>50% re-ground⁴</td>

<td></td><td>25% HDPE³ Virgin</td><td>25% HDPE³ Virgin</td>

<td>Inner layer</td><td>polyethylene¹ metallocene</td><td>HDPE³ Virgin</td>

<td colspan="3">¹ Metallocene polyethylene is Finacene BM359 SG, from Atofina² Grade 1 PCR homopolymer from KR Plastics³ Paxon AM55-003⁴ Re-grinding is a mixture of other ingredients from the respective sample</td>

In each of said Comparative Sample 1 and Sample A, the outer and inner layers have a thickness of 10% of the total wall thickness. The intermediate layer has a thickness of 80% of the total thickness of the wall.

Light transmittance in the visible fringe (approximately 410-800 nanometers) was measured for both Sample 1 and Comparative Sample A.

<td colspan="3">% transmittance / mm</td>

<td>Wavelength (nm)</td><td>Sample 1</td><td>Sample A Comparative</td>

<td> 400</td><td> 1,45</td><td> 0,15</td>

<td> 500</td><td> 5,78</td><td> 0,67</td>

<td> 600</td><td> 11,65</td><td> 1,43</td>

<td> 700</td><td> 18,50</td><td> 2,45</td>

<td> 800</td><td> 24,19</td><td> 3,35</td>

<td> 820</td><td> 25,40</td><td> 3,60</td>

Surprisingly, the sample 1 tri-layer bottle, having inner and outer layers comprising metallocene polyethylene, was found to be significantly lighter than the comparative Sample A tri-layer bottle having inner and outer layers comprising virgin HDPE.

Alternatively, the transparency of the composition can be measured such that they have an absorbance at the wavelength of visible light (about 410 to 800 nm) of less than 15 A / cm.

The examples that follow are intended to better illustrate the invention, and are not intended to limit the invention in any way.

IS 2 276 299 T3

All percentages, unless otherwise indicated, are provided as percentages by weight.

All numerical ranges in this description and in the claims are intended to be modified by the term approximately.

Finally, where the term comprising is used in the description or in the claims, it is not intended to exclude any other term, step or feature that has not been specifically mentioned.

Advantageously, the bottle of the invention can be made on a rotary machine, that is, a high speed production blow molding apparatus, or on a Uniloy stamper or other reciprocating machine. A "rotary" machine rotates and tightens around a continuously extruded preform. The bottles are ejected after their formation.

It will be apparent that the pouring accessory and container of the invention can be used for liquid laundry detergents and for other detergents, fabric softeners, and many other types of household and other liquid products.

As used herein, the term "handle" refers to a structure for holding the bottle, in which there is a "hole" through which the human hand can extend. A gripping means consists of a pair of depressions that facilitate the holding of the bottle by the human hand, but which does not include any "hole".

It will of course be understood that the specific forms of the invention described and illustrated herein are intended to be representative only, since certain changes may be made therein without departing from the clear teachings of the description. Accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims that follow for the determination of the full scope of the invention.