Hot-fillable container and method for bottling a beverage

Abstract

An improved hot-fill bottle is provided having smooth sides and no heat panels or vacuum panels. The bottle is produced from a plastic pre-form having a mass, PF mass , calculated as a function of the desired volume of the bottle, in litres, according to the following function: 97 g/l<PF mass <135 g/l More preferably, PF mass , is calculated as follows: 109 g/l<PF mass <118 g/l The improved bottle is used in an improved method for hot-filling a beverage container.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A hot-fillable beverage container, comprising: 
 (a) a circular base portion;    (b) a shoulder portion;    (c) a neck portion extending upwardly from said shoulder portion; and    (d) a cylindrical body portion extending between said base portion and said shoulder portion, said cylindrical body portion having a circular transverse cross-section along its entire length, and lacking distinct panels formed thereon;    wherein said container is constructed from a pre-form of plastic material having a mass, PF mass , as a function of the desired volume of the bottle, in litres, calculated according to the following function:    97 g/l<PF mass <135 g/l   
     
     
         2 . A hot-fillable beverage container, comprising: 
 (e) a circular base portion;    (f) a shoulder portion;    (g) a neck portion extending upwardly from said shoulder portion; and    (h) a cylindrical body portion extending between said base portion and said shoulder portion, said cylindrical body portion having a circular transverse cross-section along its entire length, and lacking distinct panels formed thereon;    wherein said container is constructed from a pre-form of plastic material having a mass, PF mass , as a function of the desired volume of the bottle, in litres, calculated according to the following function:    109 g/l<PF mass <118 g/l   
     
     
         3 . The hot-fillable bottle as claimed in  claim 2  wherein said plastic material is polyethylene terephthalate.  
     
     
         4 . The hot-fillable bottle as claimed in  claim 2  wherein said plastic material is a combination of polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene naphthalate.  
     
     
         5 . The hot-fillable bottle as claimed in  claim 2  further comprising a dimple formed in said base portion and extending into the interior of said bottle, said dimple having a plurality of indicia surrounding its edge, indicating one or more compass points, thereby allowing the bottle to be used as a compass in combination with a thin length of metal.  
     
     
         6 . The hot-fillable bottle as claimed in  claim 2  wherein said neck portion has threads, and wherein said bottle further comprises a cap having a lower portion having threads for threading said cap onto said neck portion of said bottle, and an upper portion defining a hole therethrough for removably attaching said bottle to an attachment location.  
     
     
         7 . In a known method for hot-filling a bottle, the method comprising the steps of filling a bottle with a heated beverage, capping the bottle, and allowing the bottle and its contents to cool, an improvement comprising providing a bottle having the characteristics of that bottle claimed in  claim 1 .  
     
     
         8 . In a known method for producing a hot-fillable bottle, the method comprising the steps of providing a pre-form of PET material and injecting a gas into the pre-form, thereby expanding it within a mould to a desired size and shape, an improvement wherein the PET pre-form has a mass, PF mass , calculated as a function of the desired volume of the bottle, in litres, according to the following function:  
       109 g/l<PF mass <118 g/l.