Method of making a plastic package

Claim 1

A method of producing a package having a bottle substantially solely securely attached to a bottle supporting base with a heat shrunk label, said method comprising: (a) extruding a tube of plastic, stretching said tube both radially and longitudinally to biaxially orient the tube, the extent of stretch and the degree of orientation being greater longitudinally than radially, forming a decorated sleeve blank from the tube, fabricating the blank into a tubular sleeve label in which that portion of the original stretched tube which was stretched longitudinally extends circumferentially of the tubular sleeve label, (b) loosely positioning an uprightly unstable bottle having a vertical axis and a continuously arcuate bottom on a bottle supporting base having a flat support bottom, (c) encircling externally exposed peripheral surfaces only of said bottle and base including the peripheral line of juncture therebetween within the heat shrinkable pre-decorated tubular sleeve label, said sleeve label having a high heat shrinkage in the circumferential direction of said label and a low heat shrinkage in the axial direction of said label, (d) securely and integrally attaching said base to said loosely positioned bottle with said sleeve label by heating said sleeve label for a time and at a temperature sufficient to peripherally shrink said sleeve label into snug, encircling engagement with said external peripheral surfaces and insufficient to axially shrink the label beyond the confines of said base so as to produce said package, said heating being insufficient to cause any substantial deformation of said bottle, while effecting minimal distortion of said tubular sleeve label axially of said bottle, so that the package is supported on a horizontal surface by the uncovered base support bottom depending beneath said label.

Claim 2

A method of producing a package having a bottle substantially solely securely attached to a bottle supporting base with a heat shrunk label, said method comprising: (a) extruding a tube of plastic, stretching said tube both radially and longitudinally to biaxially orient the tube, the extent of stretch and the degree of orientation being greater longitudinally than radially, forming a decorated sleeve blank from the tube, fabricating the blank into a tubular sleeve label in which that portion of the original stretched tube which was stretched longitudinally extends circumferentially of the tubular sleeve label, (b) loosely positioning an uprightly unstable bottle having a vertical axis and a continuously arcuate bottom on a bottle supporting base having a flat support bottom, (c) encircling externally exposed peripheral surfaces only of said bottle and base including the peripheral line of juncture therebetween within the heat shrinkable pre-decorated tubular sleeve label, said sleeve label having a high heat shrinkage in the circumferential direction of said label and a low heat shrinkage in the axial direction of said label, (d) securely and integrally attaching said base to said loosely positioned bottle with said sleeve label by heating said sleeve label for a time and at a temperature sufficient to peripherally shrink said sleeve label into snug, encircling engagement with said external peripheral surfaces and insufficient to axially shrink the label beyond the confines of said base so as to produce said package, said heating being insufficient to cause any substantial deformation of said bottle, while effecting minimal distortion of said tubular sleeve label axially of said bottle, so that the package is supported on a horizontal surface by the uncovered base support bottom depending beneath said label.