GB1595227A

GB1595227A - Flexible containers

Info

Publication number: GB1595227A
Application number: GB1072277A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: British Hovercraft Corp Ltd
Current assignee: British Hovercraft Corp Ltd
Priority date: 1978-03-09
Filing date: 1978-03-09
Publication date: 1981-08-12

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO FLEXIBLE CONTAINERS (71) We, BRITISH HOVERCRAFT COR PORATION LIMITED, of Yeovil, in the County of Somerset, a British Company, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- THIS INVENTION relates to flexible containers for use in transporting and storing bulk fluids such as liquids, powders and granular materials.

It is known to transport bulk fluids in flexible containers that are formed as closed bags from fabric coated with an elastomer, the bag being provided with such pipes or other means as are necessary for allowing it to be filled and emptied. A full flexible container may be transported in an I.S.O.

container, or on an open flat bed trailer provided with side and end frameworks for supporting the container. It is also necessary to constrain at least the upper surface of the flexible container against surging of the contents during transportation, this constraint being provided by a harness of webbing straps that are attached to anchor points on the floor of the I.S.O. container or on the flat bed trailer, as the case may be.

The flexible container is positioned within the I.S.O. container, or on the flat bed trailer, prior to filling, and in particular for the case when the flexible container is to be carried within an I.S.O. container it is preferable to fix the harness before the flexible container is filled. It is difficult, however, to ensure that the harness is correctly located when the flexible container is in an unfilled condition.

I.S.O. container utilisation and turnaround techniques usually entail the removal of a flexible container from an I.S.O.

container after it has been emptied at the end of a journey. The flexible container and harness have to be folded and stowed prior to return and/or their next assignment. If the harness is separate from the flexible container additional time is required to fold them individually, and there is also a possibility that the harness may be lost from the flexible container during transportation in the folded condition.

It will be appreciated, therefore, that it is advantageous to attach the harness to the flexible container in order to overcome these disadvantages and difficulties. This can be achieved by attaching simple loops at convenient locations on the outside of the flexible container and passing the straps of the harness under these loops. One disadvantage of this method of attachment is that it may be necessary to locate the harness on the flexible container during manufacture, since it may not be possible to pass the anchorage fittings on the ends of the harness straps under the loops. This is inconvenient because the harness then obstructs manufacture of the container.

A more serious disadvantage, however, is that the ends of the strips of material forming the loops are generally attached to the flexible container by high-frequency welding or cold bonding techniques, and the loops then provide convenient hand holds or attachment points for lifting the container. Even in the empty folded condition the weight of the container is considerable, so that if all of this weight is carried through a single loop there is a danger that the loop will peel off, removing some of the outer coating of the bag in the process, thus resulting in the container having to be withdrawn from service and returned to the factory for repair.

The invention thus provides a flexible container for the storage and transportation of bulk fluids and having on its outer surface means for locating straps of a restraining harness, characterised in that each said locating means is positioned and adapted for releasable engagement with a restraining harness strap and comprises touch and close releasable fastening means adapted to release said harness strap under loads, acting to displace the strap with respect to the container, in excess of a predetermined value.

In one form of the invention each locating means comprises two strips of flexible material having opposed ends attached to the outer surface of the container at positions enabling adjacent ends of the strips to overlap, the touch and close releasable fastening means being attached to overlappable faces of the adjacent strip ends.

The opposed ends of the strips may be attached to the outer surface of the container by suitable means such as highfrequency welding or bonding.

The touch and close releasable fastening means may be of the interlocking strip type, such as that sold under the Registered Trade Mark "VELCRO".

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the acompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a cutaway perspective view of an I.S.O. container housing a bulk fluid flexible container, Figure 2 is a view in plan of means for locating a restraining harness on a flexible container in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, and Figure 3 is a side elevation of the locating means shown in Figure 2.

A flexible container 11 for use in the transportation of bulk fluids is shown in Figure 1 installed within an I.S.O. container 12. The flexible container 11 is manufactured as a closed bag from sheets of reinforced flexible material, generally woven nylon fabric coated with a synthetic rubber or other elastomer which will not subsequently suffer structural or functional degradation by being attacked by the contents of the container. The closed bag is provided with a stack pipe 13 for use in filling and emptying the flexible container, an inspection hatch 14, and one or more vent plugs 15.

The flexible container 11 is installed within the I.S.O. container 12 prior to filling with the bulk fluid that is to be transported.

In order to restrain the top of the flexible container 11 against loads imposed by surging of the fluid during transporation, a restraining harness 16 is positioned over the top of the container 11 and the webbing straps 17 of the harness 16 pass down the sides of the container 11 to attachment with lashing rings 18 on the floor of the I.S.O.

container 12.

It is convenient to locate and attach the harness 16 on the flexible container 11 before installing it in the I.S.O. container 12. Attachment of the harness 16 is facilitated by providing at suitable locations on the outer surface of the flexible container 11, a plurality of locating means such as is shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Each locating means comprises two strips of flexible material 20 and 21, having their opposed ends 22 and 23, respectively, attached by suitable means, for example, high-frequency welding, to the outer surface of the container 11. The opposed ends 22 and 23, respectively, are so spaced that the adjacent ends 24 and 25, respectively, of the strips 20 and 21 are in overlapping relationship. The overlapping faces of the strips 20 and 21 are provided with strips of a touch and close releasable fastening means 26, such as that sold under the Registered Trade Mark "VELCRO". A webbing strap 17 of the restraining harness 16 is located on the flexible container 11, and the overlapping ends of the strips 20 and 21 are passed over the webbing strap 17 and pressed together in order to secure the touch and close releasable fastening means 26, thus forming a loop over the strap 17.

Should it be necessary to remove the harness from the container the overlapping ends of the strips 20 and 21 can be peeled to break the loop and release the strap 17.

If a load is applied to the container 11 through the ends 22 and 23 of the strips 20 and 21, such as is the case if the container is lifted by using the loop formed when the strips are closed together as a hand hold or lifting point, then the releasable fastening means 26 will separate, thus relieving the load that is being applied.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A flexible container for the storage and transportation of bulk fluids and having on its outer surface means for locating straps of a restraining harness, characterised in that each said locating means is positioned and adapted for releasable engagement with a restraining harness strap and comprises touch and close releasable fastening means adapted to release said harness strap under loads, acting to displace the strap with respect to the container, in excess of a predetermined value.

2. A flexible container as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said locating means comprises two strips of flexible material having opposed ends attached to the outer surface of the container at positions enabling adjacent ends to overlap, the touch and close releasable fastening means being attached to overlappable faces of the adjacent strip ends.

3. A flexible container as claimed in

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. material having opposed ends attached to the outer surface of the container at positions enabling adjacent ends of the strips to overlap, the touch and close releasable fastening means being attached to overlappable faces of the adjacent strip ends. The opposed ends of the strips may be attached to the outer surface of the container by suitable means such as highfrequency welding or bonding. The touch and close releasable fastening means may be of the interlocking strip type, such as that sold under the Registered Trade Mark "VELCRO". An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the acompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a cutaway perspective view of an I.S.O. container housing a bulk fluid flexible container, Figure 2 is a view in plan of means for locating a restraining harness on a flexible container in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, and Figure 3 is a side elevation of the locating means shown in Figure 2. A flexible container 11 for use in the transportation of bulk fluids is shown in Figure 1 installed within an I.S.O. container 12. The flexible container 11 is manufactured as a closed bag from sheets of reinforced flexible material, generally woven nylon fabric coated with a synthetic rubber or other elastomer which will not subsequently suffer structural or functional degradation by being attacked by the contents of the container. The closed bag is provided with a stack pipe 13 for use in filling and emptying the flexible container, an inspection hatch 14, and one or more vent plugs 15. The flexible container 11 is installed within the I.S.O. container 12 prior to filling with the bulk fluid that is to be transported. In order to restrain the top of the flexible container 11 against loads imposed by surging of the fluid during transporation, a restraining harness 16 is positioned over the top of the container 11 and the webbing straps 17 of the harness 16 pass down the sides of the container 11 to attachment with lashing rings 18 on the floor of the I.S.O. container 12. It is convenient to locate and attach the harness 16 on the flexible container 11 before installing it in the I.S.O. container 12. Attachment of the harness 16 is facilitated by providing at suitable locations on the outer surface of the flexible container 11, a plurality of locating means such as is shown in Figures 2 and 3. Each locating means comprises two strips of flexible material 20 and 21, having their opposed ends 22 and 23, respectively, attached by suitable means, for example, high-frequency welding, to the outer surface of the container 11. The opposed ends 22 and 23, respectively, are so spaced that the adjacent ends 24 and 25, respectively, of the strips 20 and 21 are in overlapping relationship. The overlapping faces of the strips 20 and 21 are provided with strips of a touch and close releasable fastening means 26, such as that sold under the Registered Trade Mark "VELCRO". A webbing strap 17 of the restraining harness 16 is located on the flexible container 11, and the overlapping ends of the strips 20 and 21 are passed over the webbing strap 17 and pressed together in order to secure the touch and close releasable fastening means 26, thus forming a loop over the strap 17. Should it be necessary to remove the harness from the container the overlapping ends of the strips 20 and 21 can be peeled to break the loop and release the strap 17. If a load is applied to the container 11 through the ends 22 and 23 of the strips 20 and 21, such as is the case if the container is lifted by using the loop formed when the strips are closed together as a hand hold or lifting point, then the releasable fastening means 26 will separate, thus relieving the load that is being applied. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A flexible container for the storage and transportation of bulk fluids and having on its outer surface means for locating straps of a restraining harness, characterised in that each said locating means is positioned and adapted for releasable engagement with a restraining harness strap and comprises touch and close releasable fastening means adapted to release said harness strap under loads, acting to displace the strap with respect to the container, in excess of a predetermined value.

3. A flexible container as claimed in

claim 2, wherein the strips are attached to the outer surface of the container by highfrequency welding or bonding.

4. A flexible container as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the touch and close releasable fastening means is of the interlocking strip type.

5. A flexible container having on its outer surface restraining harness straplocating means substantially as described with reference to and as shown in Figures 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.