MXPA99009207A - Wide mouth hot fill container - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of forming a wide mouth blow molded thermoplastic container (1) comprising the steps of i) stretch blow molding from a preform (5), an intermediate article defining the container with the mouth being threaded (12) andor flanged, the mouth terminating in an accommodation element (10) having a neck finish (6) that supports the preform (5) in the blow mold (11);ii) heat setting the intermediate article including the entire container (1) while still in the mold (11);and iii) removing the intermediate article of manufacture from the mold (11) and severing the accommodation element (10) to produce the container (1), and an article when made by the method. The method also includes post forming of a rim portion (17, 18, 19) of the container (1) following separation of the container (1) from the accommodation element (10).

Description

WIDE MOUTH FILLER IN HOT FILLER FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates, in general, to new and useful improvements in plastic containers and more particularly to a wide-mouth, polyester container, wherein the entire container is biaxially oriented and can be thermally set from a preform molded by injection by using a stretch blow molding process to provide the necessary force in the package or package of hot ingredients, with the provision of post-forming characteristics of the container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Wide-mouth plastic containers for hot ingredients, in particular containers made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are commercially available. These PET containers are commonly formed from a wide mouth preform by using conventional blow molding techniques. The wide-mouth container formed by such a conventional blow molding process results in a container having a neck of insufficient strength and thickness compared to the rest of the container. This is due to the fact that with conventional blow molding techniques preforms are used which already have threads formed in the preform. In such preforms, if they are to be used substantially in their entirety, as is now customary in the formation of bottles, the diameters of the mouth of the preform must correspond to those of the resulting container and the blow molding of the preform will result in an insufficient biaxial orientation of the container, particularly in the wall of the container body, adjacent to the open mouth. A thermal setting process helps to alleviate shrinkage or shrinkage and distortion, however, the termination of a conventionally blown wide-mouthed container is not exposed to this thermal setting process. It has also been proposed (US Pat. No. 4,576,843) to create a wide-mouthed container by using a preform with a small diameter preform as is customarily used in blow molding bottles where the preform is of a materially shorter length than that of the resulting container. Here an intermediate article of manufacture having a portion in the form of an accommodation element is formed which allows the necessary biaxial orientation of the thermoplastic material throughout the container, the accommodation element is divided or separated from the container and turns it into reusable waste. This technology results in preforms that have a flange portion where the resulting cut is carried out normally. The cutout results in a wide-mouth container biaxially oriented with a flange as its neck portion. This flange is used to join a lid to keep the contents inside the container. The present technology does not provide a wide-mouth container that can be hot filled and that resists shrinkage and distortion at hot fill temperatures greater than 71 ° C (160 ° F). It is an object of this invention to provide a wide-mouthed, blow-molded container from a small-diameter preform (as compared to a parison used in extrusion blow molding), as is customarily used in blow molding. Stretching, of bottles, where the entire container, including the neck finish, is oriented biaxially and thermally set to give thermal stability to the entire container. Another object is to provide a post-forming method of the neck finish characteristics (ie, the post-forming of the container by blow molding) of the container. Another object is to provide a wide-mouth container having a screw thread, formed during the blowing operation.

Another object is to increase the geometrical strength of the container by rippling the edges of the finished container, such that the container is better able to withstand distortion and shrinkage. This acts as a safety flange for drinking from the container and a means for providing an "insert" cover when manufactured without blown threads.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention utilizes the stretch blow molding of a preform to produce a biaxially oriented, thermally set container that can not be produced by blow molding from an extruded parison that does not produce biaxial orientation or thermal setting. According to the invention there is provided a method for forming a biaxially oriented, blow molded, wide-mouthed thermoplastic thermosetting container comprising the steps of: i) stretch blow molding a preform, an intermediate article comprising the container with the mouth of the container ending in an accommodation element having a neck supporting the preform in a mold; ii) removing the intermediate article from the manufacture of the mold and dividing or separating the accommodation element to produce the biaxially oriented container, and iii) subsequently heating the container material adjacent to the open mouth until it can be worked and then postformed, by lamination, the material adjacent to the open mouth to form a wavy perimeter that defines the open mouth. According to the invention there is provided a method for forming a biaxially oriented, blow molded, wide-mouthed thermoplastic thermoset container comprising the steps of: i) stretch blow molding, from a preform, an article intermediate comprising the container with the mouth of the container ending in an accommodation element having the neck supporting the preform in a mold; ii) thermally setting the intermediate article including the entire container in the mold and iii) removing the intermediate article of manufacture from the mold and dividing or separating the accommodation element to produce the thermally set, biaxially oriented vessel. Also, according to the invention there is provided a method for forming a wide-mouthed blow molded thermoplastic container having a screw thread formed adjacent to the mouth, comprising the steps of: i) supporting a preform in a mold of blowing by a neck finish of the preform, the mold has a cavity defining the external shape of the container that includes the threading; ii) without exceeding a temperature of approximately 149 ° C (300 ° F), heat the portion that forms the threading of the cavity to a temperature of about -3.9 ° C (25 ° F) to about 55.5 ° C (100 ° F) ) greater than the temperature of the rest of the cavity; iii) stretching the preform longitudinally using an extendable stretching rod; iv) blowing the preform to form an intermediate article comprising the container, having threads molded by blowing, attached to the neck finish by an accommodation element and v) immediately following the removal of the intermediate article from the mold, dividing the container from the arrangement. Also, according to the invention a container is provided when it is manufactured by the methods of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a sectional view through a preform that is used according to this invention, to form the container of Figure 3; Figure 2 is an elevation view illustrating an intermediate article of manufacture formed from the preform of Figure 1 when using the blow molding techniques according to the invention; Figure 3 is a sectional view of a threaded wide-mouth container that is formed in accordance with the invention; Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a wide-mouthed vessel formed according to the invention, with a corrugated flange defining the mouth; Figure 5 is a schematic sectional view of the mold used in forming the intermediate article of Figure 2; Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating an intermediate article of manufacture, which is formed according to the invention, in which the container mouth comprises a flange; Figure 7 is a sectional view illustrating the container once the accommodation element, shown in Figure 6, is divided; Figures 8a, 8b and 8c are sectional views of one edge of the container with several terminations; Figures 9a, 9b and 9c are sectional views of a corrugation mold used to terminate the rim of the container, illustrating the progressive phases of operation; and Figures 10-13 illustrate various aspects of the post-forming features in a container made from an intermediate article, comprising the container and an accommodation element.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that embodiments of a wide-mouth container formed by blow molding are illustrated. The container 1 (figures 3 and 7) has a cylindrical body 2 and a base 3 of the champagne type modified to withstand internal pressures. The upper part of the body 2 ends in a wide mouth 4 adapted to have attached to it any of many conventional types of closure. The material of the container is preferably PET (polyethylene terephthalate) or other suitable polyester. According to the invention, it is desirable to use a conventional preform configuration such as the preform 5 illustrated in Figure 1. Basically, the preform comprises a neck portion 6 used to support the preform in a mold during a subsequent blow operation, a portion of body 7 in general cylindrical and a portion 8 of the bottom, hemispherical. The preform once blown forms an intermediate article as illustrated in Figure 2. The intermediate article comprises an open neck 6, substantially without changing the preform, to end in a tapered transition portion 9 that increases in diameter up to the diameter of the desired wide-mouth container 1. The neck 6 and the tapered portion 9 will be referred to hereinafter as the accommodation element 10. From the accommodation element 10 there extends a generally cylindrical body 2, which ends in a closed base 3 of any desired shape. However, a base in the form of a bottle of champagne is preferred. The preform is conditioned to the temperature to prepare it for the subsequent blowing operations. Conditioning at the appropriate temperature requires heating of the preform to the point where the improved working ease of the preform is established. Next, the PET is placed in a blow mold 11 supported by the neck 6. An extensible stretching rod is then used to longitudinally stretch the preform and provide a sufficient longitudinal (axial) orientation of the PET. As long as the preform is stretched to the desired longitudinal extension and / or thereafter, the blowing operation begins to create the circumferential orientation. The surface of the PET preform is conditioned to temperature, commonly at a temperature of about 85 ° C (185 ° F) to about 104.4 ° C (220 ° F) for conventional blow molding and about 104.4"C ( 220 ° F) at approximately 121 ° C (250 ° F) if thermal setting is required in the mold.The mold is maintained at a temperature of about 4.4 ° C (40 ° F) to about 12.8 ° C (55 ° F) for conventional blow molding and from approximately 82.2 ° C (180 ° F) to approximately 121 ° C (250 ° F) where thermal setting is required At the end of the blow molding and if appropriate, thermal setting cycle , the container is cooled with cold air to stabilize the blown container before the removal of the blow mold The residence time in the blow mold fluctuates from 3.0 to 4.5 seconds from the beginning of the stretch and blow of the preform until the opening of the mold for the removal of the container sop There is difficulty in forming a blown screw thread 12 and a typically heated mold will not provide satisfactory thread forming during the blowing operation. Accordingly, it is appropriate to include a portion 13 of selectively controlled temperature, from the cavity of the blow mold, to selectively control the temperature in the region in which the threads are to be formed. The selective temperature control is used to increase the temperature of the portions defining the mouth of the cavity from about -3.9 ° C (25 ° F) to about 55.5 ° C (100 ° F) greater than the rest of the cavity 25 as long as it is not greater than 149 ° C (300 ° F). Due to the increased temperature in the threading formation portion 13, of the cavity, the preform becomes less viscous in this area which allows sufficient material to flow during the blowing operations to ensure satisfactory thread formation and biaxial orientation of the material forming the screw threads 12. The stretching and blowing of the preform to form the intermediate article 14 ensures that the wide-mouth container 1 is oriented biaxially in its entirety. Due to the longitudinal stretching and subsequent circumferential stretching, the container obtains a sufficient biaxial orientation to provide the desired structural integrity and strength. The intermediate article is intermediate in the sense that, once removed from the mold, the separation of the compensation element 10 from the intermediate article 14 is required to finally form the wide-mouth container 1 (Figure 3). The resulting wide-mouthed container 1 has a consistent biaxial orientation and a thermal setting performance including the mouth portion 4 with the screw threads 12 formed. In a preferred embodiment, particularly for wide-mouth hot-fill containers, the intermediate article 14 is thermally set in the mold. A non-heat set container is susceptible to shrinkage and distortion when used to store hot food items with filling temperatures greater than 71 ° C (160 ° F). Of critical importance is the ability to thermally set the entire container. In accordance with the present invention, the entire container including the mouth 4 is thermally set. The thermal setting operation occurs when the intermediate article 14 is blown into the mold and is exposed to a temperature from about 82 ° C (180 ° F) to about 121 ° C (250 ° F) for about 3 seconds to about 4.5 seconds. This thermal setting of the intermediate article ensures that all the container that includes the mouth 4 is thermally set. This produces crystallinity and stress relief throughout the wide-mouth container. As a result of thermal blowing and setting operations, the container including the screw threads 12 has increased strength and is less likely to shrink and distort when hot filled with food products. Once the intermediate article 14 is removed from the mold, the accommodation element 10 is separated from the intermediate article 14 to result in the wide-mouth container 1. In the embodiment of Figure 3, the mouth portion 4 comprises screw threads 12 and the container is sealed by means of a screw thread closure after hot filling. First the mouth can be closed by an induction seal of metallic paper. The thermal setting allows adhesion of the induction seal closure to the mouth. Referring now to Figure 7, a wide-mouth hot-fill container 1 has a mouth finish in the form of a flange extending radially outwardly in place of the threads of the first embodiment illustrated in Figure 3. This container is produced from an intermediate article, a portion of which is illustrated in Figure 6, with the accommodation element 10 removed in a cut line 15 to thereby define the outer periphery of the flange. In a manner similar to the first embodiment, the thermal setting of the intermediate article results in the entire finished container being thermally set, to thereby ensure that the flange area is crystallized and relieved of efforts to improve its shrinkage and distortion resistance and to provide improved adhesion for an induction seal closure of the mouth. It will be appreciated that a combination of the blown threads of the first embodiment and a flange can be used as shown in Figure 4. In this connection, the flange would normally be rolled out from the axis of the container. The rim could also be turned inward in both embodiments described herein. As seen in figure 4, the threaded portion of the container has a thickness of about 0.38 mm (0.015 inches) to about 1.52 mm (0.060 inches), preferably about 0.76 mm (0.030 inches), the side wall of the container has a thickness, after the transition of the threaded portion, from about 0.25 mm (0.010 inches) to about 0.51 mm (0.020 inches), preferably about 0.38 mm (0.015 inches), and the portion of the shoulder, between the threaded portion and the mouth, has a thickness of about 0.23 mm (0.009 inches) to about 0.76 mm (0.030 inches), preferably about 0.46 mm (0.018 inches). These changes in the thickness of the container can be obtained by appropriately varying the temperature of the portions of the preform in the preparation for blow molding. In a preferred embodiment, the edge of the mouth 4 is further processed to include ripple of the edge for increased strength. The edge 16 of the wide-mouth container 1 created after the division of the compensation portion 10 of the intermediate container 14 can be subjected to further processing. The further processing includes providing a finish on the edge 16 of the wide-mouth container 1. As shown in Figures 8a, 8b and 8c the finish could comprise an outward laminate 17, an inward laminate 18 or a modified flattened laminate 19. The production of the corrugated finish is a function of time, temperature, pressure and configuration the tools. This is carried out once the temperature allows ease of working for the edge, feeding the edge, at a predetermined speed, to the ripple mold 20 (figures 9a, 9b and 9c) to apply a predetermined pressure in such a way that the flexible edge follows the shape of the mold and continues to form a loop until the desired finish is reached. Various molds can be used to result in numerous finishes. Although edge rippling is not new in plastic cups, it has not previously been used to corrugate the edges of biaxially oriented containers or in biaxially oriented thermal setting containers. Corrugation formation advantageously relaxes the memory of the material in the area of the corrugation as a result of the applied heat that atemporates the material and tends to return to this amorphous and partly crystallized area although not necessarily to the point where the material turns white as a result of the crystallization. In a preferred construction, the container defines a ripple extending radially inwards (see Figure 8b). The laminated flange of Figure 4 can have an outer diameter of approximately 4.95 cm (1.95 inches) and the bottom diameter of the threads is approximately 5.08 cm (2.00 inches). According to further embodiments, the wide mouth 4 of the container 1 can be postformed to provide a desired neck finish and / or shape and / or configurations adjacent to the mouth. It will be appreciated that in these embodiments, also as in the embodiments described above, the horizontal cross section of the container may be circular, with a circular mouth, or may have other cross sections and shapes. Figure 10 illustrates a blow molding container after removal of an accommodation element 10 (shown in broken line) to form a wide-mouth container 1 with a wide mouth 4 defined by a cylindrical flange portion 25 of the body 2 before the post-forming of this flange portion in an outwardly rolled flange as shown in Figure 4. The container 1 is oriented biaxially and preferably is thermally set in its entirety. With reference to Figure 11, the flange portion 25 is supported by a mandrel 26, located inside the mouth, which supports a ripple mold 20. The mandrel 20 prevents the flange portion 25 from shrinking towards the diameter of the preform 5 as the flange portion is heated in preparation for corrugation or other characteristics of the flange. This potential shrinkage is due to the "shape memory" or hysteresis of the plastic (eg PET) from which the container is made. It also tends to present the axial shrinkage and this can be compensated by dimensional control to allow shrinking or axially restricting the container.

Prior to the post-fog of a corrugated flange (see the steps of Fig. 9a, 9b, 9c) the flange portion 25 is heated to a temperature higher than the glass transition temperature Tg of the plastic (82 ° C (180 ° F)). for PET) within a range for PET, from about 82 ° C (180 ° F) to about 176.7 ° C (350 ° F), preferably about 93 ° C (200 ° F). The mold 20 and the flange portion are then axially moved together to the container to produce a corrugated flange as seen in Figure 4. In the case of a circular mouth 4, the mandrel 26 / mold 20 and the container can to be rotated one in relation to the other to facilitate the formation of the undulation. Waviness of more than 360 ° in cross section can be produced in this way. Next to the formation of the corrugation, the flange portion 25 is cooled and the mandrel 26 / mold 20 is removed to leave the corrugated neck finish of the mouth open 4. The cycle time for corrugation formation is commonly 0.5 to 5. seconds per container. Only the material to be corrugated needs to be heated to the vitreous transition temperature or greater than the same and for this purpose, the mandrel 26 / mold 20 can have a structure as shown in figure 12 in which the mold 20 is heated (for example electrically) and the mandrel 26 is cooled (for example cooled with water) with an insulating layer 27 that separates them. The preheating of the flange portion 25 can be provided by an additional heat source (e.g., a radiant heat source 28). The heating of the flange portion, at a temperature higher than the glass transition temperature Tg, may be sufficient (up to 176.7 ° C (350 ° F) for the PET) to increase the crystallinity of the neck finish, thereby improving the thermal performance, rigidity and endurance of the neck finish. In alternative arrangements, the mold 20 can sequentially heat and cool the flange portion 25 during the formation of the corrugation. Other post-fog operations can also be carried out on the flange portion 25 of the container, either together with the formation of the corrugation or independently thereof. Such an operation is illustrated in Figure 13 in which shape characteristics (for example thread) or geometric shapes are formed in the flange portion 25 by mold features 29. Here, the mold 20 is moved in the direction of the arrow 30 in relation to the mandrel 26 to form a corrugation that the flange portion 25 shrinks to give the characteristics 29 of the mold, by virtue of its "shape memory". The formation of the flange portion by the features 29 of the mold can be assisted by a coupling mold 31 which is moved in the direction of the arrow 32 in relation to the mandrel 26 and / or by the use of additional heat. As appropriate, the coupling mold may be a roll mold that is rotated about the shoulder portion 25. In this manner, internal and / or external threads and other shape features or geometric shapes may be formed in the portion of the flange 25 or indeed, in other portions of the container 1. With the typical blow molding the wide-mouth, hot-fill PET containers according to the invention are thermally stable with hot fillings at a temperature of about 85 ° C (185 ° F) at approximately 93.3 ° C (200 ° F). The post-fog described above can extend this thermal stability to about 121 ° C (250 ° F) by heating the entire container to a temperature higher than the glass transition temperature Tg of the PET while post-fog is carried out to provide by this a thermal setting secondary to that of blow molding.

Claims (34)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the above invention, it is considered as a novelty, and therefore, the content of the following is claimed as property: CLAIMS

1. A method for forming a thermally biaxially oriented, blow molded, wide-mouthed thermoplastic container, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: i) stretch-blow molding from a preform, an intermediate article comprising the container with the mouth of the container ending in an accommodation element having a neck supporting the preform in a mold; ii) removing the intermediate article of manufacture from the mold and dividing or separating the accommodation element to produce the biaxially oriented container and iii) subsequently heating the material of the container, adjacent to the open mouth, until it can be worked and then the post-forming by lamination of the material adjacent to the open mouth to form a wavy perimeter that defines the open mouth.

2. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the thermoplastic is polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and the post-forming is carried out at a temperature from about 82 ° C (180 ° F) to about 176.7 ° C (350 ° F).

3. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the open mouth is defined by the flange portion and this edge is heated and rolled to form the wavy perimeter defining the open mouth and to time the material of the corrugated perimeter.

4. The method of claim 1, characterized in that it comprises the step of forming characteristics of the container during the subsequent handling of the container, adjacent to the mouth of the container.

5. The method of claim 1, characterized in that it further includes the thermal setting of the intermediate article of manufacture that includes the entire container while in the mold.

6. The method of claim 5, characterized in that the thermal setting in the mold is at a temperature from about 82 ° C (180"F) to about 121 ° C (250 ° F) for a residence time in the cavity of about 3 seconds to approximately 4.5 seconds.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the corrugated perimeter is produced by rolling the edge to form a wavy facing front, and either outwardly or inwardly of the open mouth.

8. A wide-mouthed blow molded container, characterized in that it is manufactured by the method of claim 1.

9. The container manufactured by the method of claim 8, characterized in that the rolled edge is annealed by the rolling step to increase the edge crystallinity.

10. The method of claim 1, characterized in that during post-forming, the open mouth is restricted from the undesirable circumferential dimensional changes, by a mandrel located in the open mouth during the heating in preparation for the post-forming and the post-forming steps.

11. The method of claim 10, characterized in that the mandrel defines features so as to allow the shape memory of the heated material in the preparation for post-forming, to change shape according to the shape characteristics.

12. The method of claim 11, characterized in that a coupling mold having mold characteristics consistent with the shape characteristics is provided to complement the shape memory action, to conform the material to the shape characteristics.

13. The method of claim 11, characterized in that the shape characteristics form at least one of the internal threads, external threads, degraded configurations, relief configurations and surface appearance characteristics.

14. The method of claim 5, characterized in that it comprises the step of heating the entire container during post-forming to a temperature higher than the glass transition temperature of the material to produce a secondary thermal setting of the container, thereby increasing the useful operating temperature range of the container.

15. The method of claim 9, characterized in that the material heated in preparation for post-forming is heated sufficiently to crystallize the post-formed material.

16. The method of claim 10, characterized in that it comprises the step of axially restraining the container during the heating in preparation for the post-forming and during the post-forming, in order to restrict the recipient of undesired axial dimensional changes.

17. A method for forming a thermally biaxially oriented, blow molded, wide-mouthed thermoplastic container, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: i) stretch-blow molding, from a preform, an intermediate article comprising the container with the mouth of the container ending in an accommodation element having a neck supporting the preform in a mold; ii) thermally setting the intermediate article including the entire container in the mold and iii) removing the intermediate article of manufacture from the mold and dividing or separating the accommodation element to produce the thermally set, biaxially oriented vessel.

18. The method of claim 17, characterized in that the thermoplastic consists of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and the thermal setting is carried out at a temperature from about 82 ° C (180 ° F) to about 121 ° C (250 ° F) for a time from about 3 seconds to about 4.5 seconds.

19. The method of claim 18, characterized in that the open mouth of the container defines an axially extending flange portion and a flange extending radially inwardly or radially outward of the open mouth, which comprises the step of dividing the container of the accommodation element to define the open mouth.

20. The method of claim 19, characterized in that it comprises heating the material of the container, adjacent to the open mouth, until it can be worked, and then laminating the material adjacent to the open mouth to form a wavy perimeter defining the open mouth.

21. The method of claim 20, characterized in that the open mouth is defined by the flange portion and this edge is heated and laminated to form a wavy perimeter defining the open mouth and to time off the material of the corrugated perimeter.

22. The method of claim 17, characterized in that it comprises the step of stretch blow molding, container threads during the stretch blow molding of the intermediate article, to define a threaded region of the container, adjacent to an open mouth thereof, formed by separating the accommodation element.

23. The method of claim 22, characterized in that it includes the step of selectively heating a region that forms the threading of a blow mold cavity, at a temperature that is not more than about 149 ° C (300 ° F) and that is found within a range of about -3.9 ° C (25 ° F) to about 55.5 ° C (100 ° F) greater than the temperature of the remainder of the blow mold cavity, in preparation for blow molding the intermediate article.

24. The method of claim 22, characterized in that it includes the step of heating a cavity of the blow mold used in the stretch blow molding of the intermediate article at a temperature that is not higher than 149 ° C (300 ° F) and within a range of approximately -3.9 ° C (25 ° F) and approximately 55.5 ° C (100 ° F) greater than the temperature of approximately 4.4 ° C (40 ° F) to approximately 12.8 ° C (55 ° F) of a cavity of blow mold in which the threads are not molded and the thermal setting is not carried out.

25. A method for forming a blow molded, wide-mouthed thermoplastic container having a screw thread formed adjacent to the mouth, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: i) supporting a preform in a blow mold by a neck finish of the preform, the mold has a cavity that defines the external shape of the container that includes the threaded; ii) without exceeding a temperature of approximately 149 ° C (300 ° F), heat the portion that forms the threading of the cavity to a temperature of about -3.9 ° C (25 ° F) to about 55.5 ° C (100 ° F) ) greater than the temperature of the rest of the cavity; iii) stretching the preform longitudinally using an extendable stretching rod; iv) blowing the preform to form an intermediate article comprising the container, which has a threading, formed by blow molding, attached to the neck finish by an accommodation element and v) immediately after the removal of the intermediate article from the mold, dividing the container of the accommodation element.

The method according to claim 25, characterized in that it further includes thermally setting the intermediate article of manufacture including the entire container while in the mold at a temperature from about 82 ° C (180 ° F) to about 121 ° C (250 ° F) for a residence time in the cavity of about 3 seconds to about 4.5 seconds.

27. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that it comprises terminating an edge of the thermoplastic container resulting from the division of the accommodation element by heating the edge until it can be worked and then laminating the edge to give a desired corrugated shape.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that the desired shape is produced by rolling the edge to form a wavy facing in or out of the container.

29. The method of claim 28, characterized in that it comprises forming an annular open mouth defining an edge that is then rolled to produce the desired shape.

30. A wide-mouthed blow molded container, characterized in that it is manufactured by the method according to claim 17.

31. A wide-mouthed blow molded container, characterized in that it is manufactured by the method according to claim 25.

32. The container according to claim 31, characterized in that the threaded portion is of a thickness of about 0.38 mm (0.015 inches) to about 1.52 mm (0.060 inches) and the thickness of the side wall portion of the container is of a thickness of approximately 0.25 mm (0.010 inches) to approximately 0.51 mm (0.020 inches).

33. The container according to claim 32, characterized in that it comprises a corrugated edge, wherein the threaded portion and the mouth have a thickness of about 0.23 mm (0.009 inches) to about 0.76 mm (0.030 inches).

34. - The container of claim 31, characterized in that the threaded portion has a thickness of approximately 0.76 mm (0.030 inches), the side wall has a thickness of approximately 0.38 mm (0.015 inches) and the flange has a thickness of approximately 0.46 mm ( 0.018 inches).