U.S. patent application number 13/681185 was filed with the patent office on 2013-04-04 for discharging contents from a container while filling the same with gas.
The applicant listed for this patent is Kyung Il JUNG, Youngtack Shim. Invention is credited to Kyung Il JUNG, Youngtack Shim.
Application Number | 20130082025 13/681185 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47991623 |
Filed Date | 2013-04-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130082025 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
JUNG; Kyung Il ; et
al. |
April 4, 2013 |
DISCHARGING CONTENTS FROM A CONTAINER WHILE FILLING THE SAME WITH
GAS
Abstract
Disclosed is a bottle for containing liquid content including a
body portion, at least part or the entire portion of an upper
portion of which is provided with a plurality of guides which
protrudes inward from an inside surface thereof and is in a spiral
pattern so that the liquid content can be guided towards an opening
of a neck portion of the bottle while spirally revolving inside the
bottle.
Inventors: |
JUNG; Kyung Il;
(Buncheon-shi, KR) ; Shim; Youngtack; (Seoul,
KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
JUNG; Kyung Il
Shim; Youngtack |
Buncheon-shi
Seoul |
|
KR
KR |
|
|
Family ID: |
47991623 |
Appl. No.: |
13/681185 |
Filed: |
November 19, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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13464158 |
May 4, 2012 |
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13681185 |
|
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12741869 |
May 7, 2010 |
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PCT/KR2008/007261 |
Dec 9, 2008 |
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13464158 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
215/382 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 23/04 20130101;
B65D 1/0292 20130101; B65D 1/0223 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
215/382 |
International
Class: |
B65D 1/02 20060101
B65D001/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 5, 2008 |
KR |
10-2008-0123344 |
Claims
1. A method of stably discharging liquid contents out of a bottle
which includes a body portion and a neck portion, wherein said body
portion defines an enclosed interior space and has an inside
surface and wherein said neck portion extends from one end of said
body portion and then terminates at an opening through which said
liquid contents are discharged when said bottle is tilted, said
method comprising the steps of: extending a plurality of guides
along a longitudinal axis of said bottle by protruding inwardly
into said body portion from said inside surface; arranging said
guides in a spiral pattern around said axis; tilting said bottle;
and discharging said liquid contents out of said bottle through
said opening while guiding said liquid contents along said guides
and exerting centrifugal force on said liquid contents, thereby
allowing ambient air to stably flow into said interior of said
bottle through said opening and away from said guides during said
discharging for said stably discharging.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said stably discharging includes
one of the steps of: minimizing abrupt discharging of said liquid
contents out of said bottle; preventing abrupt discharging of said
liquid contents out of said bottle; minimizing gushing of said
liquid contents out of said bottle; and preventing gushing of said
liquid contents out of said bottle.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said stably discharging includes
one of the steps of: facilitating said allowing said air to stably
flow into said interior; and maximizing said allowing said air to
stably flow into said interior.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said extending includes one of
the steps of: starting said extending from another end of said body
portion wherein said another end is opposite to said one end;
starting said extending from about a middle of said body portion;
and starting said extending from a location of body portion, said
location closer to said one end than said another end.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein said terminating includes one of
the steps of: ending said extending on said opening; ending said
extending proximate to said opening; and ending said extending in a
preset distance from said opening.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:
performing said protruding in such a way that cross-sections of at
least some of said guides have asymmetrical shapes each having a
shallow portion and a deep portion; and performing said guiding in
such a way that more amount of said liquid contents are guided by
said deep portion than said shallow portion, thereby enhancing said
stably discharging.
7. A method of stably discharging liquid contents out of a bottle
which includes a body portion and a neck portion, said body portion
defining an inside surface, while said neck portion extending from
one end of said body portion and terminating at an opening through
which said liquid contents are discharged, said method comprising
the steps of: extending a plurality of guides along a longitudinal
axis of said bottle by protruding into said body portion from said
inside surface; arranging said guides in a spiral pattern around
said axis; and discharging said liquid contents out of said bottle
through said opening while guiding said liquid contents toward said
opening along said guides and exerting centrifugal force on said
liquid contents, thereby allowing ambient air to stably flow into
said bottle through said opening during said discharging for said
stably discharging.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein said allowing includes the step
of allowing ambient air to flow into said interior of said
bottle.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein said stably discharging includes
one of the steps of: minimizing abrupt discharging of said liquid
contents out of said bottle; preventing abrupt discharging of said
liquid contents out of said bottle; minimizing gushing of said
liquid contents out of said bottle; and preventing gushing of said
liquid contents out of said bottle.
10. The method of claim 7, wherein said stably discharging includes
one of the steps of: facilitating said allowing said air to stably
flow into said interior; and maximizing said allowing said air to
stably flow into said interior.
11. The method of claim 7, wherein said extending includes one of
the steps of: starting said extending from another end of said body
portion wherein said another end is opposite to said one end;
starting said extending from about a middle of said body portion;
and starting said extending from a location of body portion, said
location closer to said one end than said another end.
12. The method of claim 7, wherein said terminating includes one of
the steps of: ending said extending on said opening; ending said
extending proximate to said opening; and ending said extending in a
preset distance from said opening.
13. The method of claim 7, wherein said stably discharging includes
the steps of: discharging said liquid contents along said guides
and closer to said inside surface; and preventing said opening from
being blocked by said liquid contents, thereby creating a path for
said air to stably flow into said bottle.
14. The method of claim 7, wherein said stably discharging includes
the steps of: discharging said liquid contents along said guides in
said spiral pattern; subjecting said liquid contents to a
centrifugal force; and preventing said opening from being blocked
by said liquid contents under said centrifugal force, thereby
creating a path for said air to stably flow into said bottle.
15. The method of claim 7 further comprising the steps of:
performing said protruding in such a way that cross-sections of at
least some of said guides have asymmetrical shapes each having a
shallow portion and a deep portion; and performing said guiding in
such a way that more amount of said liquid contents are guided by
said deep portion than said shallow portion, thereby enhancing said
stably discharging.
16. A method of stably discharging liquid contents out of a bottle
and simultaneously allowing gas to flow into said bottle which
includes a body portion and a neck portion, said body portion
defining an inside surface and said neck portion extending from one
end of said body portion to terminate at an opening for said
discharging and for said allowing, said method comprising the steps
of: forming a plurality of guides by protruding into said body
portion from said inside surface; extending said guides in a spiral
pattern around a longitudinal axis of said bottle; tilting said
bottle for said discharging said liquid contents proximate to said
guides utilizing centrifugal force exerted on said liquid contents;
and allowing said gas to flow into said bottle away from said
guides during said discharging for said stably discharging.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein said gas is ambient air.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein said discharging includes the
step of: subjecting said liquid contents to a centrifugal force
created by said spiral pattern, thereby pushing said liquid
contents closer to said inside surface and minimizing said opening
from being blocked by said liquid contents.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein said flowing includes the step
of: creating a gas path for said gas extending from said opening to
an interior of said bottle and away from said inside surface for
said stably discharging.
20. The method of claim 16 further comprising the steps of:
performing said protruding in such a way that cross-sections of at
least some of said guides have asymmetrical shapes each having a
shallow portion and a deep portion; and performing said guiding in
such a way that more amount of said liquid contents are guided by
said deep portion than said shallow portion, thereby enhancing said
stably discharging.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S.
application Ser. No. 13/464,158, filed on May 4, 2012, which is a
continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/741,869, filed
on May 7, 2010, which is a national stage of PCT/KR2008/007261,
filed Dec. 9, 2008, which claims the benefit of Korean Application
No. 10-2008-0123344, filed Dec. 5, 2008, in the Korean Intellectual
Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein
by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a bottle for containing
liquid contents therein, and more particularly to a bottle which
can stably discharge liquid contents through an opening by making
the contained liquid contents smoothly flow along a plurality of
guides arranged in a spiral pattern.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] At present, beverages, such as water and colas, liquors, or
liquid-type food, are contained in various kinds of containers.
Examples of such liquid containers are paper bottles, PET bottles,
glass bottles, and metal bottles (aluminum cans).
[0006] Of these containers, the PET bottle is the most popular
liquid container thanks to its many advantages, such as that it can
contain contents for a relatively long time, i.e. contents in the
PET bottle barely decay after a long time of storage because gas
transmittance of the PET bottle is very low compared with other
kinds of containers, it hardly breaks when it is dropped in a state
in which it is filled with contents, it does not produce broken
pieces even when it is ruptured, and it is convenient to carry and
keep the PET bottle because the PET bottle is lighter than a glass
bottle.
[0007] The known PET bottle having the above advantages is
generally composed of a neck portion which has an opening at an end
and threads on an outer surface thereof for sealing when the neck
portion is combined with a cover, and a body portion extending from
the neck portion and containing contents therein. The body portion
may be of various sizes and forms according to the type of
contents.
[0008] There are ways of discharging the contents of the PET
bottle. For example, when a user tilts the PET bottle to pour the
contents into a vessel, such as a cup, or to directly drink the
contents from the PET bottle, the contents are discharged from the
PET bottle.
[0009] In such a case, there is a possibility that the contents
contained in the body portion of the PET bottle are not smoothly
discharged but are abruptly discharged at excessive pressure, so
that the contents are likely to gush out of the PET bottle and to
splatter on a user's clothes or the surrounding area. In
particular, when the user directly drinks the contents from the
bottle, the user may choke or his or her clothes or body may get
splashed.
[0010] Further, since the bottles have large volumes even when they
are empty, it is difficult to deal with the empty bottles or it is
required to install additional equipment in households to reduce
the volume of the empty bottles.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] In order to accomplish the above and other advantages there
is provided, in one exemplary aspect of the invention a bottle for
containing liquid contents including a body portion, at least part
or the entire portion of an upper portion of which is provided with
a plurality of guides which protrudes inwardly from an inside
surface of the body portion in a spiral pattern so that the liquid
contents can be guided toward an opening of a neck portion of the
bottle while spirally revolving inside the bottle.
[0012] In another exemplary aspect of the invention, the entire
body portion of the bottle is provided with the plurality of guides
which protrudes inwardly from the inside surface of the bottle in a
spiral pattern. In another exemplary aspect of the invention, a
section of each of the plurality of guides has a shape of the
letter `C` or a reversed letter `C` when each guide is cut across
its width, and a curvature of each guide be uniform over a portion
of its length or change in a manner such that a curve of a leading
portion is relatively gentle and a curve of aback portion is
relatively tight.
[0013] In another exemplary aspect of the invention, the plurality
of guide lines have four or eight lines of spiral patterns. In
another exemplary aspect of the invention, the bottle can be a
paper bottle, a PET bottle, a metal bottle, or a glass bottle. In
another exemplary aspect of the invention, each of the plurality of
guides takes a form in which a width of a lower portion is larger
than that of an upper portion. In another exemplary aspect of the
invention, each of the plurality of guides has a uniform width at
the upper portion and the lower portion.
[0014] As described above, according to another exemplary aspect of
the invention, the bottle is provided with a plurality of guides
having a spiral pattern winding around the body portion of the
bottle so that liquid contents in the bottle can be stably guided
toward and discharged through the opening of the bottle while
spirally revolving inside the bottle. Since the abrupt gushing of
the liquid content is prevented, it is possible to safely pour and
drive the liquid contents from the bottle and to prevent
splattering of the liquid contents attributable to the abrupt
discharge of the liquid contents from occurring.
[0015] In the case in which the bottle is used to contain a
beverage, such as water, cola, or juice, since the flow of the
beverage is moderate, it is possible to prevent accidents such as
the user choking. In the case in which the bottle is a PET bottle,
it is possible to reduce the volume of the empty bottle by applying
external force to the empty bottle after the contents have been
emptied so that the bottle is twisted as the plurality of guides is
compressed. Accordingly, it is easy to dispose and recover the
empty bottles.
[0016] It is an advantage of some of the above exemplary aspects of
the invention that a bottle is provided with a body portion
provided with a plurality of guides arranged in a spiral pattern so
that liquid contents can be smoothly and stably discharged through
an opening of the bottle, while spirally revolving inside the
bottle.
[0017] It is another advantage of some of the above exemplary
aspects of the invention to provide a bottle which can prevent
liquid contents from gushing out of the bottle so that a user can
safely pour or drink the liquid contents, and it is possible to
prevent contamination attributable to a violent gushing of the
liquid contents from occurring.
[0018] It is a further advantage of some of the above exemplary
aspects of the invention to provide a bottle provided with a body
portion which can be easily twisted by external force when all of
the contents have been emptied, so that the volume of the bottle is
reduced to the maximum.
[0019] Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will
be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part,
will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice
of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention
will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the
following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings of which:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a bottle according
to one exemplary aspect of the invention;
[0022] FIGS. 2A and 2B are sectional views taken along line II-II
of FIG. 1;
[0023] FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a bottle according
to another exemplary aspect of the invention;
[0024] FIGS. 4A and 4B are sectional views taken along line IV-IV
of FIG. 3;
[0025] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a bottle according
to a further exemplary aspect of the invention;
[0026] FIG. 6 is a perspective view and a section-enlarged view for
explaining a curvature of a guide of the bottle; and
[0027] FIG. 7 is a comparative view illustrating a procedure of
disposing of the bottle according to various exemplary aspects of
the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0028] Reference will now be made in detail to the present
embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference
numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are
described below in order to explain the present invention by
referring to the figures.
[0029] As described above, when the user tilts a prior art bottle,
the liquid contents are discharged out of the prior art bottle and
gas (such as, e.g., ambient air) flows into such a bottle in order
to fill a gap created by the discharged liquid contents. When the
user slightly tilts the prior art bottle, the liquid contents tend
to not block the opening of the bottle and gas flows into the
bottle smoothly and stably. In contrary, when the user tilts the
prior art bottle more and pours the liquid contents out of the
prior art bottle more, the liquid contents tend to block the
opening of the bottle and, as a result, the gas cannot easily flow
into the bottle. As more liquid contents are discharged, the
pressure inside the prior art bottle keeps decreasing. And as the
pressure inside the prior art bottle decreases down to an excessive
pressure, the gas gushes into the bottle due to the excessive
pressure, thereby causing the liquid contents to be unstably and
not smoothly discharged out of the bottle and resulting in abrupt
gushing of the liquid contents.
[0030] Accordingly, various bottles of various exemplary aspects
and embodiments of this invention are designed to stably and
smoothly discharge liquid contents out of the bottles, thereby
preventing such abrupt gushing of the liquid contents out of the
bottle.
[0031] To this end, various bottles of the present invention are
provided with multiple spiral guides on their inside surfaces and
allow the liquid contents to be discharged along such guides and
adjacent to the inside surface due to centrifugal force generated
by spiral flow of the liquid contents along the spiral guides in
order to prevent the liquid contents from blocking the opening. In
other words, such guides can facilitate the gas to stably and
smoothly flow into the interior of the bottle and to stably and
smoothly fill the empty space left behind by the discharged liquid
contents. Accordingly, such guides can prevent such abrupt gushing
of the liquid contents.
[0032] Reference will now be made in greater detail to exemplary
aspects of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the
accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference
numerals will be used throughout the drawings and the description
to refer to the same or like parts.
[0033] Hereinafter, exemplary aspects of the invention will be
described with reference to the accompanying drawings through which
like elements are referenced by like numbers. In describing the
invention, details on the structure or function of related arts are
omitted if they may obscure the subject of the invention.
[0034] Terms in the description are defined considering functions
of elements of the invention, so that the terms must be construed
with reference to the contents of the present specification as a
whole because such terms can be differently defined according to
the intents of people skilled in their arts or customs.
[0035] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a bottle according
to one exemplary aspect of the invention. FIGS. 2A and 2B are
sectional views illustrating a section of the bottle taken along
line II-II of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a
bottle according to another exemplary aspect of the invention, and
FIGS. 4A and 4B are sectional views illustrating a section of the
bottle taken along line IV-IV.
[0036] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the bottle of the exemplary
aspects of the invention includes a neck portion 110 and a body
portion 120. The neck portion 110 has an opening 111 and a thread
112 to be combined with a cover 113 in a screwed manner.
Alternatively, the neck portion may be combined with the cover 113
in manners different from the screwed manner for ensuring sealing
of the bottle. For example, the cover 113 can be attached to or
detached from the neck portion 110. The body portion 120 extends
from the neck portion 110 and contains liquid contents therein.
[0037] The bottle 100 having the above-mentioned structure can
contain a beverage, such as water or cola, a liquor, a saline
solution, or a liquid-type food, and may be made of various
materials.
[0038] The bottle 100 may be a paper bottle, a PET bottle, a metal
bottle, or a glass bottle. According to the aspect of the
invention, the bottle 100 may be a polyethylene terephthalate resin
(PET) bottle.
[0039] As shown in the exemplary aspects of the invention in FIGS.
1 to 3, the body portion 120 takes a form in which a plurality of
guides 121 is provided in a spiral pattern and protrude inwardly
from the inside surface of the entire or part of an upper portion
of the body portion 120 which is on the upper side of the middle of
the body portion 120 in a length direction so that the liquid
contents proceed toward the opening 111 of the neck portion 110
while spirally revolving inside the bottle 100 and are then
discharged out of the bottle 100. With such a structure, the outer
surface of the body portion 120 with the plurality of guides 121 is
depressed in the form corresponding to the plurality of guides
121.
[0040] As the plurality of guides 121 is provided to the upper
portion of the body portion 120 in the spiral pattern, the body
portion 120 is wavelike in appearance. Further, a sectional view of
the body portion 120 shows that each of the plurality of guides 121
has the shape of a letter `C` or a reversed letter `C.` When the
section of the body portion 120 is viewed in the direction in which
the contents proceed, the curvature of a leading portion is
relatively loose but the curvature of the back portion is
relatively tight. Alternatively, the body portion may take a form
in which the curvature is maintained constant.
[0041] When the liquid flows in the above-mentioned manner, the
curvature of a portion with which the liquid makes earlier contact
must be relatively loose and the curvature of a portion to which
the liquid contacts later must be relatively tight. The portion
having the relatively tight curvature hinders the flow of the
liquid primarily and then the portion having the relatively loose
curvature makes the flow of the liquid slower. The border between
the portion with the relatively tight curvature and the portion
with the relatively loose curvature takes a streamlined shape so
that the friction with the liquid is reduced. In the case in which
the curvature is constant at every portion, it is also possible to
attain the same advantage of controlling the speed of flow of the
liquid in the above-mentioned manner.
[0042] In another exemplary aspect of the invention, the plurality
of guides 121 take a form composed of four or eight spiral lines,
but the form is not limited thereto. That is, the form may be
composed of other than eight spiral lines. Further, the widths of
the plurality of guides 121 are narrower at a relatively upper area
and broader at a relatively lower area.
[0043] In another exemplary aspect of the invention, the widths of
the plurality of guides 121 gradually decrease toward the upper
area and increase toward the lower area, but do not change from a
midpoint to the bottom of the body portion in length. Alternatively
and in another exemplary aspect of the invention, the widths of the
guides 121 may be uniform over their lengths.
[0044] The exemplary aspect of FIG. 1 shows the PET bottle 10
having the above-described structure. In FIG. 1, the widths of the
plurality of guides 121 in a spiral pattern are uniform over their
lengths. FIGS. 2A and 2B are plan views of the upper part of the
body portion of the PET bottle 100, which are taken along II-II of
FIG. 1 and viewed from the bottom side. FIG. 2A shows the case in
which the number of guides of the plurality of guides 121 is eight,
and FIG. 2B shows the case in which the number of guides of the
plurality of guides 121 is four.
[0045] The exemplary aspect of FIG. 3 shows the PET bottle 100
having a form in which the widths of the plurality of guides 121
decrease toward the upper end but are gradually increased toward
the middle point of the bottle from which the widths are uniform.
FIGS. 4A and 4B are plan views taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3 and
viewed from the bottom side of the PET bottle 100. FIG. 4A shows
the case in which the number of guides of the plurality of guides
121 is eight and FIG. 4B shows the case in which the number of
guides of the plurality of guides 121 is four.
[0046] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a PET bottle
according to another aspect of the invention. As shown in FIG. 5,
the PET bottle 100 according to this aspect of the invention
basically is similar in form and function to the PET bottle shown
through FIGS. 1 to 4B. Accordingly, repetitive description will be
omitted and only the differences therebetween will be
described.
[0047] As shown in FIG. 5, the entire body portion 120 of the PET
bottle 100 has a plurality of guides 121 protruding inward from the
inside surface of the body and making a spiral pattern.
Accordingly, the entire body portion 120 is wavelike in appearance.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view and a section-enlarged view
illustrating the PET bottle 100 and for explaining the curvature of
the guides 121 provided to the PET bottle 100.
[0048] In another exemplary aspect of the invention and as shown in
FIG. 6, when tilting and pouring the liquid contents, for example
cola, in the PET bottle 100, the liquid contents revolve along the
plurality of guides 121 inside the PET bottle 100 and therefore the
liquid contents are discharged with uniform flow through the
opening 111. As shown in FIG. 6, a curvature of a portion (b) of
each guide 121 which is on the leading side of a midpoint (c) in
the direction of the liquid contents flowing out is tighter than a
curvature of a portion (a) which is on the back side of the center
(c). That is, the portion (a) has a gentle curve and the portion
(b) has a tight curve. As a result, this form prevents the liquid
from being abruptly discharged. FIG. 7 is a comparative view for
illustrating a procedure of disposing of the PET bottle according
to the aspect of the invention.
[0049] In order to more efficiently prevent such abrupt gushing,
the guides of various aspects of the present invention are
preferably provided in a spiral pattern along a longitudinal axis
of the bottles. As a result, the liquid contents tend to be pushed
onto such guides due to centrifugal force while being discharged
out of the bottle. Therefore, such spiral guides can preferentially
guide the liquid contents closer to the inside surface while
maintaining the opening open or unblocked by the liquid contents,
thereby facilitating the creation of air paths for the ambient air
during discharge.
[0050] In another exemplary aspect of the invention, some of the
plurality of guides may be arranged to have asymmetrical shapes or
cross-sections. In particular, each of such asymmetrical guides may
be arranged to form a shallow portion and a deep portion. As a
result, the deep portion may guide more liquid contents than the
shallow portion. Accordingly, by arranging the asymmetrical guides
in such a way that the liquid contents driven by the centrifugal
force are preferentially guided by such deep portions of the
guides, more liquid contents are discharged closer to the inside
surface and away from a center of the longitudinal axis of the
bottles while maintaining the opening open or unblocked by the
liquid contents, thereby further facilitating the creation of air
paths for the ambient air during discharge.
[0051] In another exemplary aspect of the invention, the PET bottle
100 is crushed and distorted by twisting and compressing along the
plurality of guides 121 formed in the body portion 120 of the PET
bottle 100. When a compressing force is applied to the PET bottle
100, the middle point or a border between the large-curvature
portion and the small-curvature portion of each guide 121 having
the letter "C" shape or the reversed letter "C" shape is folded
over a portion of the length of the spiral pattern, so it is
possible to reduce the volume of empty bottles. For this reason, it
is possible to make recovering empty bottles easier.
[0052] Although a few embodiments of the present invention have
been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled
in the art that changes may be made in this embodiment without
departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the
scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *