Collapsible container

Jan. 31, 1967

3,301,293

T. R. SANTELLI

COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER

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ATTORNEYS.

Jan. 31, 1967 γ. R. santelli 3,301,293

COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER

Filed Dec. 16, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2

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ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent Office

3,301,293

Patented Jan. 31, 1967

3,301,293

COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER

Thomas R. Santelli, Sylvania, Ohio, assignor to OwensIllinois Inc., a corporation of Ohio

Filed Dec. 16,1964, Ser. No. 418,689

Claims. (Cl. 150—.5)

This invention relates to collapsible containers and has for one of its objects the provision of an improved container which may be selectively varied in size, such as for shipment or storage purposes.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a collapsible container that may be quickly and conveniently collapsed into a number of different positions in which it will be effectively retained against restoring movement. Included in this object is the provision of such a container that may be easily restored out of collapsed position.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a collapsible container having a flexible bellows-like construction in which adjacent pleats may be interlocked to hold the container in collapsed position.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a container which will achieve the above objects while being susceptible to economical manufacture.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with associated drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a container embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but with the container in a collapsed position;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view of a fragment of the container side wall in normal position;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but with the container side wall shown in a collapsed and interlocked position;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of a modification of the container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 6—6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view of a fragment of the container side wall in normal position.

Referring to the drawings in detail, FIG. 1 illustrates a container generally designated, 10, representing one embodiment of the present invention, which is integrally formed from flexible material such as plastic or a semiplastic. Container 10 is comprised of a pan-like base 12 having a recessed bottom wall 14; a conical top wall 16 merging into a cylindrical threaded neck 18 and a generally cylindrical side wall 20 interconnecting the base and top wall.

In the preferred embodiment, side wall 20 of the container is formed with a bellows-like construction consisting of a series of longitudinally spaced annular pleats 22 each comprising a pair of radially extending walls 24, 26 converging at an annular ridge 28, with overlying wall portions 24, 26 of successive pleats meeting at annular bights 29. It will be apparent that because of this bellows construction, the length of the container may be selectively diminished from the position shown in FIG. 1 by manually compressing the container longitudinally to bring pleats 22 closer together.

In accordance with the present invention, the container is provided with interlocking members for positively holding the container in its collapsed position. In the illustrated embodiment these members include a projecting tongue 30 and a correspondingly shaped groove 32 formed in opposite disposition on each of pleats 22 to be co70 operable with an associated groove and tongue formed on the adjacent pleats respectively.

In the specific embodiment, tongues 30 and grooves 32 are annularly and continuously formed and positioned adjacent ridges 28 of the pleats. Additionally, the crosssection of each tongue 30 in the illustrated embodiment includes a recti-linear portion 34 projecting at an angle of approximately 80° from the plane of pleat wall 26 and an arcuate portion 36 extending between the outer end of rectilinear portion 34 and pleat wall 26. Annular grove 32 is similarly shaped and dimensioned to snugly receive and retain the tongue 36 of an adjacent pleat in the manner shown in FIG. 4.

In use, assuming that a portion of the container contents has been dispensed and it is deisred to correspondingly diminish the size of the container so as to require less storage space or facilitate handling, the container or a portion thereof is merely depressed longitudinally to interlock one or more of the pleats 22 as desired, for example, as shown in FIG. 2. This may be effected conveniently without prepositioning the tongues and grooves since they are aligned longitudinally of the container. In cases where the container is to be refilled, for example, the tongues and grooves of the interlocked pleats may be readily released by manual pressure exerted longitudinally of the container.

Formation and arrangement of the tongues and grooves may be modified from that shown on the FIG. 1 embodiment without departing from the invention, and FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 illustrate one example of such a modification wherein the tongues 40 and grooves 42 are discontinuous or intermittently formed in pleats 44. As shown in FIG. 6, three equally spaced tongues 40 and grooves 42 are provided on each pleat 44 and it will be appreciated that a greater or lesser number of tongues and grooves may be employed within the spirit of the present invention. Likewise, the relative position of the tongues and grooves on each pleat may be reversed as illustrated in FIG. 7 from that shown in FIG. 1.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, other modifications and adaptations of the structure above described will become readily apparent without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.