초록 ▼

A bottle formed of a food-grade plastic material, such as clear polyethylene terephthalate, may include a frustoconical neck portion, a shoulder region, a base region, and a sidewall portion have opposed grip-enhancing surfaces, and elastically deformable pressure panels. A cap for the container may

A bottle formed of a food-grade plastic material, such as clear polyethylene terephthalate, may include a frustoconical neck portion, a shoulder region, a base region, and a sidewall portion have opposed grip-enhancing surfaces, and elastically deformable pressure panels. A cap for the container may include a valve to control product leakage, and may be sized to allow inversion of the bottle. A generally trapezoidal tab of the cap may be moveable between a closed position covering a cap orifice and an open position outside the plane of the cap.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A condiment bottle structured and arranged to provide stability against tipping in both an upright and an inverted position, the condiment bottle comprising: a one-piece container fashioned from synthetic plastic material;an upper end of the container being structured and arranged to receive a ca

1. A condiment bottle structured and arranged to provide stability against tipping in both an upright and an inverted position, the condiment bottle comprising: a one-piece container fashioned from synthetic plastic material;an upper end of the container being structured and arranged to receive a cap;a neck region having a cross-section that enlarges, in both cross-sectional width and cross-sectional thickness, toward a lower end of the container;a shoulder region arranged at a lower end of the neck region and having a cross-sectional width that is greater than a cross-sectional thickness;a bottom region having a cross-sectional width that is greater than a cross-sectional thickness;a sidewall region arranged between the shoulder and bottom regions and having a cross-sectional width that is greater than a cross-sectional thickness; andat least a portion of the sidewall region having: a cross-sectional thickness that is less than the cross-sectional thickness of either the shoulder and bottom regions; anda cross-sectional width that is less than the cross-sectional width of either the shoulder and bottom regions,wherein opposite sides of the sidewall region defining the cross-sectional thickness comprise squeezable panels,wherein each squeezable panel being arranged above a curved edge located above the bottom region, andwherein a cross-sectional area of a middle portion of the sidewall region is less than a cross-sectional area of an upper portion of the sidewall region and more than a cross-sectional area of a lower portion of the sidewall region. 2. The bottle of claim 1, wherein the shoulder and bottom regions are polygonal. 3. The bottle of claim 1, wherein the shoulder and bottom regions each comprises a 12 sided shape. 4. The bottle of claim 1, wherein the portion of the sidewall region comprises an 8 sided shape. 5. The bottle of claim 1, further comprising an outwardly curved rib arranged between the upper end and the neck region, wherein the cross-section of the neck region increases continuously between the outwardly curved rib and the shoulder region. 6. The bottle of claim 1, wherein opposite sides of the sidewall region that define the cross-sectional width are inwardly tapered and comprise gripping ribs. 7. The bottle of claim 1, wherein a bottom portion of the sidewall region that defines the cross-sectional thickness is outwardly tapered and extends to the bottom region. 8. The bottle of claim 1, wherein the lower end of the container comprises a tapered bottom arranged between a lower bearing surface of the container and the bottom region. 9. The bottle of claim 8, wherein the lower bearing surface of the container is at least one of: non-circular; andinwardly curved. 10. The bottle of claim 1, wherein each opposite side of the sidewall region defining the cross-sectional thickness comprises a sidewall panel having upper and lower concave edges and left and right side convex edges. 11. The bottle of claim 1, further comprising an outwardly curved rib arranged between the upper end and the neck region, wherein the neck region comprises: an upper end that extends to the outwardly curved rib;a lower end that extends to the shoulder region; andan inwardly curved portion arranged closer to the shoulder region than to the outwardly curved rib. 12. The bottle of claim 1, wherein the squeezable panels each have a central region that is elastically deformable and crease free during elastic deformation. 13. The bottle of claim 1, wherein at least one of the squeezable panels has a peripheral region and a central region surrounded by the peripheral region, and wherein the central region elastically deforms with less pressure than required to elastically deform the peripheral region. 14. The bottle of claim 1, wherein the shoulder and bottom regions comprise contours that are substantially similar. 15. The bottle of claim 1, further comprising a cap attached to the upper end of the container and having a generally planar exposed surface. 16. The bottle of claim 1, wherein the shoulder region is closer to the upper end of the container than to the lower end of the container. 17. The bottle of claim 1, further comprising an outwardly curved rib arranged between the upper end and the neck region, wherein the outwardly curved rib comprises is toroid in shape. 18. The bottle of claim 1, further comprising gripping surfaces disposed between the shoulder region and the bottom region. 19. The bottle of claim 1, further comprising a cap comprising at least one of: an orifice and a pressure actuated valve covering the orifice to restrict product leakage when the bottle is inverted;an orifice and a generally trapezoidal tab that can move to a closed position where the tab covers the orifice; anda generally trapezoidal tab that can move to an opened position and has a detent operable to hold the tab below a generally planar exposed surface of the cap. 20. The bottle of claim 1, further comprising a cap, wherein the container has a predetermined transverse dimension measured in the direction of a generally planar exposed surface of a cap, the cap has a nominal dimension measured in the direction of the generally planar exposed surface, and the ratio of the cap nominal dimension to the predetermined container transverse dimension lies in the range of about 0.4 to about 1.0. 21. The bottle of claim 1, wherein the container has a height, a major width, and a minor width, wherein a ratio of the major width to the height is in range of about 0.4 to about 0.6, and a ratio of the minor width to the height is in the range of about 0.3 to about 0.36. 22. The bottle of claim 1, wherein the height does not exceed about 10 inches. 23. The bottle of claim 1, wherein the container comprises at least one of: polyethylene terephthalate;blow-molded food-grade plastic material;a substantially transparent material. 24. The bottle of claim 1, wherein the bottle is structured and arranged to be inverted and contains one of: a condiment;ketchup; andan internal volume of at least 40 fluid ounces. 25. A container structured and arranged to provide stability against tipping in both an upright and an inverted position, the container comprising: a one-piece container body fashioned from synthetic plastic material;an upper end of the body being structured and arranged to receive a cap;a neck region having a cross-section that enlarges toward a lower end of the container body;the neck region, when viewed from a side defining a width of the container, comprising: an upper portion that enlarges in cross-section toward the lower end by a first increasing amount;a lower portion that enlarges in cross-section toward the lower end by a second increasing amount; andthe second increasing amount being greater than the first increasing amount;a shoulder region having a non-circular cross-section and a cross-sectional width that is greater than a cross-sectional thickness;the shoulder region is closer to the upper end of the container body than to the lower end of the container body;a bottom region having a non-circular cross-section and a cross-sectional width that is greater than a cross-sectional thickness;a sidewall region arranged between the shoulder and bottom regions and having a cross-sectional width that is greater than a cross-sectional thickness;opposite sides of the sidewall region defining the cross-sectional width being inwardly tapered toward a bottom of the container; andat least a portion of the sidewall region having: a cross-sectional thickness that is less than the cross-sectional thickness of either the shoulder and bottom regions; anda cross-sectional width that is less than the cross-sectional width of either the shoulder and bottom regions,wherein opposite sides of the sidewall region defining the cross-sectional thickness comprise symmetrical squeezable panels,wherein each squeezable panel is located between: an upper concave edge located below the shoulder region; anda lower concave edge located above the bottom region, andwherein, when the container is filled and in the upright position, a center of gravity of the container lies in a bottom half. 26. The container of claim 25, wherein at least one of the squeezable panels has a peripheral region and a central region surrounded by the peripheral region, and wherein the central region elastically deforms with less pressure than required to elastically deform the peripheral region. 27. The container of claim 25, further comprising a cap, wherein the container body has a predetermined transverse dimension measured in the direction of a generally planar exposed surface of the cap, the cap has a nominal dimension measured in the direction of the generally planar exposed surface, and the ratio of the cap nominal dimension to the predetermined transverse dimension lies in the range of about 0.4 to about 1.0. 28. The container of claim 25, wherein the container body has a height, a major width, and a minor width, wherein a ratio of the major width to the height is in range of about 0.4 to about 0.6, and a ratio of the minor width to the height is in the range of about 0.3 to about 0.36, and the height does not exceed about 10 inches. 29. The container of claim 25, further comprising an outwardly curved rib arranged between the upper end and the neck region, and wherein the container body comprises at least one of: polyethylene terephthalate;blow-molded food-grade plastic material;a substantially transparent material. 30. A container capable of being stably supported on a same surface in both an upright and an inverted position, the container comprising: a one-piece container body fashioned from synthetic plastic material;an upper end of the container body being structured and arranged to receive a cap;a cap having an upper surface capable of stably supporting the container when the cap is installed and the container is inverted and when the container is partially emptied and inverted;a neck region having a cross-section that enlarges continuously toward a lower end of the container body;a shoulder region having a non-circular cross-section and a cross-sectional width that is greater than a cross-sectional thickness;a bottom region having a non-circular cross-section and a cross-sectional width that is greater than a cross-sectional thickness;a sidewall region arranged between the shoulder and bottom regions and having a cross-sectional width that is greater than a cross-sectional thickness; andat least a portion of the sidewall region having: a cross-sectional thickness that is less than the cross-sectional thickness of either the shoulder and bottom regions; anda cross-sectional width that is less than the cross-sectional width of either the shoulder and bottom regions,wherein opposite sides of the sidewall region defining the cross-sectional thickness comprise squeezable panels,wherein the shoulder and bottom regions comprise contours that are substantially similar, andwherein the container is structured and arranged such that, when in a filled configuration, a stability of the container is enhanced in both the upright and inverted positions and the stability of the container is also enhanced as the container empties. 31. The container claim 30, further comprising at least one of: the squeezable panels are symmetrical and are defined by substantially straight walls; andan outwardly curved rib arranged between the upper end and the neck region. 32. The container claim 30, further comprising an outwardly curved rib arranged between the upper end and the neck region, wherein a distance between an upper edge of each squeezable panel and an uppermost surface of the container is greater than a distance between a lower edge of each squeezable panel and a lowerrmost surface of the container. 33. The container claim 30, wherein: a cross-sectional area of a lower portion of the sidewall region is less than a cross-sectional area of an upper portion of the sidewall region; anda cross-sectional area of a middle portion of the sidewall region is less than the cross-sectional area of the upper portion of the sidewall region and more than the cross-sectional area of the lower portion of the sidewall region.