Collapsible bottle

Abstract

A collapsible bottle is particularly useful as a beverage bottle such as a water bottle or soda bottle which can be collapsed after its contents are emptied in order to reduce its volume whereby the collapsed bottles take up less space in trash receptacles, recycling bins and so forth. Diagonal and typically spiraling grooves are formed in the bottle to facilitate its collapse. Visual indicators on the bottle are intended to suggest to the user the need to collapse the bottle. These visual indicators may include arrows. Fingertip indentations or other grip surfaces are typically provided for rotating the bottle to facilitate its collapse.

1 . A collapsible plastic bottle comprising:
 a plastic bottom wall;   a plastic annular sidewall which has a top and a bottom, which circumscribes a vertical axis, which is connected at its bottom to the bottom wall and extends upwardly therefrom, and which has expanded and collapsed positions;   an interior chamber defined by the bottom wall and sidewall;   a top entrance opening of the interior chamber defined by the top of the sidewall;   a plurality of diagonal grooves formed in the sidewall each having an upper end and a lower end; wherein the grooves facilitate movement of the sidewall from the expanded position to the collapsed position in response to a first manual force applied to the sidewall in a first rotational direction about the vertical axis to cause relative rotation between the top and bottom of the sidewall; and   a visual indicator on the bottle suggestive of a need to apply the first manual rotational force.   
   
   
       2 . The bottle of  claim 1  wherein the visual indicator comprises a first arrow which is adjacent one of the top and bottom of the sidewall and which points in the first rotational direction. 
   
   
       3 . The bottle of  claim 2  wherein the visual indicator comprises a second arrow on the sidewall which is adjacent the other of the top and bottom of the sidewall and points in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction. 
   
   
       4 . The bottle of  claim 1  wherein the visual indicator comprises a set of circumferentially spaced fingertip indentations which are formed in the sidewall and sized to receive therein a fingertip. 
   
   
       5 . The bottle of  claim 4  wherein the fingertip indentations are disposed above the upper ends of the grooves. 
   
   
       6 . The bottle of  claim 4  wherein each groove has an elongated direction and a first width measured perpendicular to the elongated direction; and each fingertip indentation has a second width measured horizontally which is greater than the first width. 
   
   
       7 . The bottle of  claim 4  wherein each groove has an elongated direction and a first width measured perpendicular to the elongated direction; and each fingertip indentation has a height which is greater than the first width. 
   
   
       8 . The bottle of  claim 4  wherein each fingertip indentation has circumferentially spaced leading and trailing edges; each fingertip indentation is bounded by a leading surface which extends from adjacent the leading edge toward the trailing edge and against which the first manual force is to be applied; each fingertip indentation has a trailing surface which extends from adjacent the trailing edge toward the leading surface; and each leading surface extends radially inwardly adjacent the leading edge at a sharper angle than does the trailing surface adjacent the trailing edge. 
   
   
       9 . The bottle of  claim 4  wherein each fingertip indentation has a leading half and a trailing half which is different from the leading half. 
   
   
       10 . The bottle of  claim 1  wherein the visual indicator comprises a set of circumferentially spaced radially extending concavely curved fingertip grip surfaces on the sidewall. 
   
   
       11 . The bottle of  claim 10  wherein the sidewall adjacent its top comprises a shoulder section which tapers downwardly and outwardly; and the fingertip grip surfaces are disposed on the shoulder section. 
   
   
       12 . The bottle of  claim 11  wherein the sidewall adjacent its top comprises a neck section adapted for releasably attaching thereto a cap; and wherein the shoulder section tapers downwardly and outwardly from the neck section. 
   
   
       13 . The bottle of  claim 12  wherein the neck section comprises a threaded portion adapted for threadably engaging the cap. 
   
   
       14 . The bottle of  claim 1  wherein the visual indicator is disposed above the upper ends of the grooves. 
   
   
       15 . The bottle of  claim 1  wherein the sidewall adjacent its top comprises a shoulder section which tapers downwardly and outwardly; and the visual indicator is disposed on the shoulder section. 
   
   
       16 . The bottle of  claim 1  wherein the sidewall has a circular outer surface; and the visual indicator comprises a ridge projecting radially outwardly from the circular outer surface. 
   
   
       17 . The bottle of  claim 16  wherein the ridge is substantially V-shaped. 
   
   
       18 . The bottle of  claim 1  further comprising a label connected to the sidewall and covering a portion of the grooves. 
   
   
       19 . The bottle of  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of permanent irregular creases formed in the sidewall in response to movement of the sidewall from the expanded position to the collapsed position. 
   
   
       20 . The bottle of  claim 1  further comprising a cap which is removably attached to the sidewall and forms an airtight and watertight seal therewith between the interior chamber and atmosphere external to the bottle.