AU726038B2

AU726038B2 - Containers and bins

Info

Publication number: AU726038B2
Application number: AU56077/96A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Bertram Alan Lancaster
Original assignee: LEER NEW ZEALAND Ltd VAN
Current assignee: B A LANCASTER Ltd
Priority date: 1995-06-21
Filing date: 1996-06-20
Publication date: 2000-10-26
Anticipated expiration: 2016-06-20
Also published as: NZ272400A; AU5607796A

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE

SPECIFICATION

NAME OF APPLICANT(S): Van Leer New Zealand Limited ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: DAVIES COLLISON CAVE Patent Attorneys 1 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000.

INVENTION

TITLE:

Containers and bins The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:oee *o*o *oooo ooeo oooo oo -la- The present invention relates to containers and/or bins hereafter "container" in particular but not solely for, for example, liquids, particulate substances which exhibit a depth related increase in pressure, or any other material, solid, liquid, or gas which may be under positive or negative pressure relative to that outside the container.

It is known to provide various containers which have structures or fonms to better resist the stresses resulting from the carriage of substances whether liquids or particulate which exhibit a depth related increase in pressure. For example, New Zealand Patent Specification No. 190501 discloses fluid material containers which are reinforced by hoops and flexible webbing. The container has a number of hoop members provided about its external surface.

New Zealand Patent Specification No. 174338 discloses a fluid-tight transport container for flowable materials. The container has a number of interior reinforcing elements. These internal reinforcing elements restrain internal bulges of said container.

It is known to provide other containers having internal bulges therein, for example, New Zealand Patent Specification No. 124411 discloses a container shaped generally as a drum. However, these bulges are provided to enable the drum to interfit with neighbouring containers. There is no restraint on said bulges to better resist stresses which may result from the loading of the container.

0SSS It is an object of at least preferred forms of the present invention to provide a 0 container and/or bin which will, at least in part, better resist the stress resultant from internal pressure, for example, caused by liquid, particulate or other substance which may be contained within said container or bin or which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.

p:\OPERLDH\,6077.96.23.doc30AIOXm -2- In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a container comprising or including a wall defining structure supportable on a support surface or base, said structure having a plurality of panel-like expanses and a transition zone between each adjacent pair of said expanses, said expanses (hereafter "concave expanses") being (when considered from the outside) concave in horizontal section over at least most of the vertical height thereof, and a reinforcing surround in the form of a surrounding wall structure, winding or strapping, (hereafter "surrounding structure") in contact with said transition zones but not see said concave expanses, thereby to resist under loading conditions, said concave expanses 10 becoming convex (when considered from the outside).

0 9*0 In another aspect, there is provided a container having **:container wall defining means on a base, said wall defining means having, when viewed in horizontal cross-section, at least two inwardly directed bulges to increase load bearing characteristics of the container wall; and restraining means about the container wall defining means to substantially maintain said inward bulges of said wall defining means under an acceptable content loading.

see* In another aspect, there is provided a container suitable for liquids and/or particulate materials comprising or including a base member or assembly capable of both stable standing on a horizontal surface and/or being uplifted in the manner of a pallet by an @00 20 appropriately tined vehicle; @0 00container wall defining means supported on said base member and having at least two inwardly directly bulges, when viewed in horizontal section, each the bulges extending at least partly the height of said container wall; and encircling means not in contact with the outer concavity of the bulges surrounding the wall defining means to resist outward deformation of the bulges under in use loading of the container with such liquid(s) and/or material(s).

In another aspect, there is provided a method of manufacturing a container, said container comprising or including a wall defining structure supportable on a support surface or base, said structure 41having a plurality of panel-like expanses and a transition zone between each adjacent pair fsaid expanses, said expanses (hereafter "concave expanses") being (when considered P:\OPER\DH\56077-96.223.dc.3/OM)I -3from the outside) concave in horizontal section over at least most of the vertical height thereof, and a reinforcing surround in the form of a surrounding wall structure, winding or strapping, (hereafter "surrounding structure") in contact with said transition zones but not said concave expanses, thereby to resist under loading conditions, said concave expanses becoming convex (when considered from the outside), said method comprising or including: providing a said wall defining structure, and S. thereafter locating a surrounding structure tightly about said wall defining structure, S 10 so as to be in contact with the transition zones but not said concave expanses.

The invention consists in the foregoing and also envisages constructions of which the following gives examples.

One preferred form of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which; Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a form of container or bin (hereafter container) according to a preferred form of the present invention, said container having a base member of assembly being capable of being uplifted from at least one direction pA\OPJLt\DH\6O77-96.2ldC3f0A) This page is intentionally blank.

see0 00 000 0 000 0 in the manner of a pallet by an appropriate vehicle, said container shown in Figure 1 minus any retaining or encircling means; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a container similar to that illustrated in Figure 1, said container shown in Figure 2 with a further encompassing wall structure forming said retaining means; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a container according to another form of the present invention, said container being in the form of a drum; Figure 4 is another form of the present invention in the form of a drum having retaining or encircling bands thereon; Figure 5 is another drum form of the present invention having indented portions therein, these functioning as bands or retaining means; Figure 6 is a perspective view of yet another drum form of the present invention, said form having a base member or assembly thereon, said base member providing a degree of encircling or retaining of said side wall and also providing means whereby said drum can be lifted by appropriate machinery; Figure 7 is another drum form of the present invention, said form having an encircling band thereon, said encircling band having handles therein; Figure 8 sees another drum form of the present invention having bands thereon; Figure 9 is a plan view of another form of the present invention said form 20 having somewhat sharper inward bulges; Figure 10 shows a plan view of yet another form of the present invention, said form having fewer ie. three inward bulges in the forms of the present invention illustrated previously; Figure 11 shows another form of the present invention, said form having a greater number (in this case five) inward bulges than those forms of the present invention illustrated previously; Figure 12 shows yet another preferred form of the present invention, this form providing a container 1 having corner reinforcement elements 100 thereon, these corner reinforcing elements may consist of extrusions or additional layers of material; Figure 13 shows yet another preferred form of the present invention having restraining means in the form of external non-encircling members 101, these members may comprise a piece of material which has a substantially complementary curvature to that of the container 1, said members 101 providing restraint by substantially preventing the outward bulge of said inward bulge of said container; Figure 14 shows a cross section of yet another preferred form of the present invention, this form having restraining means 102 present external of said inward bulges of said container 1, said restraining means 102 may comprise additional layers or plies of material thereby resisting the outward bulge of said inward bulge; Figure 15 shows yet another preferred form of the present invention, this form having an inward bulge 103 when considered both in horizontal and vertical cross section, the inward bulge 103 may be curved or may be somewhat sharper; Figure 16 shows yet another preferred form of the present invention, this preferred form of the present invention having inward bulges which are somewhat angular when considered in cross section, for example, in the form of the invention shown, the interior of the bulge 104 is flat as are the inward directed portions of the bulge 105; Figure 17 shows yet another preferred form of the present invention similar to that of Figure 16, the form of the present invention shown in Figure 17 is somewhat more curved than the form as shown in Figure 16 in that the transition between the zones 104 and 105 is curved; 20 Figure 18 shows a perspective view of yet another preferred form of the present ~invention, this form of the present invention comprising a trough, said trough having inward directed bulges in its base 106 and side walls 107, in other forms of this invention the end walls may also have internal bulges therein; Figure 19 shows a cross section of one form of construction of the present invention, in this form the container 1 is constructed from a number of side wall panels .i in the examples shown 4, the side wall panels 110 have end portions 111 which, when constructed, overlap and provide for the manufacture of said container 1 by, for example, rivetting, welding or other fastening means; Figure 20 shows yet another preferred form of the present invention in which the corners 112 are flattened or somewhat "cut off', the corners 112 may facilitate manufacture by providing a portion which can be welded; Figure 21 shows the cross sectional view of the construction of a container 1 similar to the container as shown in Figure 20, in this form the overlap in the corners 112 can be clearly seen, this form of the present invention may provide additional strength due to the overlap of the corners 112 and the construction thereof can be seen; Figure 22 shows a cross sectional view of yet another form of the present invention similar to those shown in Figures 20 and 21, in this form of the present invention the corners 112 comprise additional insert portions 113, this form of the present invention may be constructed from the corner portions 113 and side wall portions and may be bolted, welded or otherwise fastened together; Figure 23 shows a perspective view of a container according to another preferred form of the present invention, this figure shows some constructional details in that the overlap 115 can be seen to be rivetted, bolted or otherwise fastened together; Figure 24 is a diagrammatic view of one form of construction of the present invention in which a layer of material, for example, paper is layered on a former so as to produce a container according to at least a preferred form of the present invention, as shown in the figures, a former 120 is provided, said former being capable of rotation, a ply of material, for example, paper 121 is applied to the former, for example, under the pressure of a pinch roller 22, the former is then rotated so as to produce layers of the material 21, as shown in the figures, a suitable adhesive 123 may 20 be applied to the material 121 so as to facilitate the construction of the container, also shown in the figures are guide rollers 124, these guide rollers may also provide for the correct tensioning of the material 121 as it is wound around the container 120; Figure 25 shows a diagrammatic view of one form of construction of at least preferred forms of the present invention similar to that as shown in Figure 24 with the S 25 former 120 rotated 450 so as to show further material 121 drawn on to the former 120; Figure 26 shows a diagrammatic view of a form of construction of at least preferred forms of the present invention similar to that shown in Figures 24 and 25, in the form of the invention as shown in Figures 26, the former 120 is rotated in the opposite direction from the former in the Figures 24 and 25; and Figure 27 shows the construction method as illustrated in Figure 26 with the former 120 rotated somewhat further to show the building up of the layer of material 121, Figures 24, 25, 26 and 27 also show the use of a take up region 130 to facilitate the tensioning of the material 121.

Most storage facilities have flat walls (eg. stores, cardboard boxes, cupboards, container and the like) and to improve the stored volume ratio, the contents should also be in containers with flat sides. Such containers tend to bulge unless suitably reinforced (which can have effects of reducing volume ratio and increasing costs). The container is a means of improving the structural properties of flat sides containers and thus produce an alternative optimisation of storage volume ratio versus container cost versus transportation costs. Containers of other geometric shapes often reduce stored volume ratio.

Various container construction configurations or preferred forms of the invention are possible as follows:- Containers without reinforced sides, Figures 1 and 3, the internal pressures are contained by the combined strength of the concave surface and the intersection of adjacent sides. The resulting stresses and deflections for any given size and shape of container are controlled by the specific type of wall material(s) selected and the thickness employed. Deflection in the concave sides must never be large enough to form a flat or convex surface otherwise the arch properties will be lost. When compared to a similarly constructed flat sided container, the container will require a 20 thinner section of material.

Containers with reinforcing(s) to reduce wall material thickness or permit an increase the radius of concave surface (ie. to increase volume of pack by having slightly flatter sides). There are two important principles involved in reinforcing and they may be applied in the following ways:- So 25 Reinforcement to restrict movement of corners. For the container there are two methods. Firstly, to locally stiffen the intersection themselves (eg. as in Figure 12). Secondly, by connecting adjacent intersections using tension member(s) ie. to form a bow across each concave side (as in Figures 2 and 4); Reinforcement to restrict movement of the concave walls. For the container there are two methods in at least preferred forms of the invention. Firstly in a preferred form of the invention, to add stiffening around the concave curvature, as in Figure 13. Secondly in another preferred form of the invention, to add stiffening parallel the curvature axis as in Figure 14.

Reinforcement by a combination of the above, ie. tension member(s) to connect the corners and localised stiffening of the concave walls as in Figures 5 and 8.

Construction of containers with flat walls can be expensive with respect to materials required to achieve the required degree of structural strength. Flat sided containers are generally quite weak against static and/or dynamic loads. When internal loads are applied, bulging may occur in the walls, and this may increase loads, to ultimately cause excessive stresses and perhaps structural failure. When edge loads are applied (such as under stacking situations), buckling tends to occur at lower loads (than say cylindrical containers), which may increase bulge in the sides. Control of these deflections and stresses is by either increasing wall thickness thus increasing costs. Containers with or without reinforced sides helps control this by improved structure properties thus improving costs of any comparable construction type.

As shown in the figures, preferred forms of the present invention provide a container which will, at least in part, better resist the stress resultant from said container having a liquid, particulate or other substance exhibiting such as those 7: exhibiting a depth related increase in pressure therein or those under. These containers may find use for the transport of liquids, particulate substances such as grains or 20 similar products such as gases (whether under positive or negative pressure) and may find particular use in the transport of such very viscus liquids as butter, fat etc.

As shown in the figures, the container 1 consists of wall defining means 3. Said S wall defining means 3 having, when viewed in horizontal cross-section, at least two inwardly directed bulges 10, for example, in the form of arcs. The wall defining S. 25 means 3 therefore also has corner regions 11. In preferred forms of the invention as illustrated, these corner regions 11 are somewhat sharper than the inwardly directed bulges In preferred forms of the invention there is provided a base member substantially occluding a lower portion of said wall defining means 3. In a form of the invention as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the base member 2 may be in the form of a pallet having apertures 4 to enable the complete unit, that is, base member and container to be lifted or moved by a, for example, forklift.

Other forms of base members are as shown in Figures 3 to 8 wherein the base member may comprise a suitably sized and shaped member inserted into and occluding said wall defining means 3.

It is possible for the wall defining means 3 and a base member 2 to be formed out of a single piece of material, for example, a sheet of steel or plastics material. In this form of the invention the container 1 may be drawn or moulded.

Present surrounding the wall defining means in preferred forms of the invention is a restraining means 5. As shown in Figure 2 this restraining means 5 may comprise a second wall substantially surrounding said wall defining means 3. The restraining means 5 provides for the substantial retainment of said inward bulge 10 of said wall defining means. In other forms of the invention, for example, as illustrated in Figures 6, 7 and 8, the restraining means 5 may comprise a band which is somewhat narrower than the full height of the wall defining means 3.

A variety of top closures for said container 1 are possible. The top closure may comprise a simple member substantially occluding the top portion of said wall defining means 3. The top closure 30 may be welded in place in those forms of the invention manufactured from a weldable material, for example, steel.

20 In preferred forms of the invention the top closure 30 has an aperture therethrough. The aperture may be closed by closure means 20. For example, closure means 20 may comprise a simple screw cap or bung.

Also present in forms of the invention are handles comprising apertures such as 21. These apertures may provide for the easy handling of said liquid containers 1.

o* A variety of shapes and configurations of said liquid containers 1 are envisaged.

For example, as shown in Figure 9 the container 1 has inward bulges 10 which are somewhat sharper than the arcs as illustrated in the forms of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 8. The corners 11 are also sharper than those of the previously shown inventions.

-11- As shown in Figure 10 the liquid container may have fewer inward bulges, for example, 3 as illustrated in Figure 10 or more, for example, 5 as illustrated in Figure 11.

The preferred forms of the present invention provide a container 1 which may be constructed of a variety of materials. For example, the container may be constructed by welding sheet materials, for example, steel, preferably mild steel. Some preferred forms of the invention which may be suitable for construction by this method are shown in Figures 3 to 22. In other forms of the invention the container 1 may be constructed by the winding of a ply of material 121 so as to form a spirally wound laminated container 1. Containers suitable to be constructed by this method are, at least in preferred forms of the present invention, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, preferred forms of construction involving the lamination of a ply of material 121 are as illustrated in Figures 24 to 27 in which the ply of material 121 is wound around a former 120. The ply of material 121 is preferably held in place by the use of a suitable adhesive material. The ply of material 121 is preferably a paper material however it is envisaged that other sheet material may prove suitable, for example, a plastics material.

It is believed that other construction techniques may prove suitable for at least preferred forms of the present invention, for example, moulding in a plastics material.

The present invention provides, at least in its preferred form, a container 1 which will, at least in part, better resist the stress resultant from said liquid, particulate or other eg. gaseous substance. This container 1 may find a variety of uses and applications which will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates. For example, the transport and/or storage of liquid such as oils, gases etc., particulate substances such as grains or plastic granules and viscous liquids such as fats or butter. When used for the transport and/or storage of viscous liquids, a heating element may be provided so as to enable the viscous liquid, for examiple, milk fat to be heated thus facilitating its removal.

Those skilled in the art to which the invention relates will realise that, at least preferred forms of the present invention provide a bin, trough, container and/or a P:\OPERDH\56077-96.223.do.C301O)l -12method of construction of a bin, container or trough which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.

Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that that prior art forms part of the 10 common general knowledge in Australia.

0* o 0o 00 5 0 0 .11-- •0•00

Claims

1. A container comprising or including a wall defining structure supportable on a support surface or base, said structure having a plurality of panel-like expanses and a transition zone between each adjacent pair of said expanses, said expanses (hereafter "concave expanses") being (when considered from the outside) concave in horizontal section over at least most of the vertical height thereof, and a reinforcing surround in the form of a surrounding wall structure, winding or 09* strapping, (hereafter "surrounding structure") in contact with said transition zones but not said concave expanses, thereby to resist under loading conditions, said concave expanses :10 becoming convex (when considered from the outside).

2. A container of claim I which includes a base on which said wall defining structure is located.

3. A container as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said wall defining structure is of laminated paper and is formed by adhesive lamination of the paper from a reel or reels 15 about a former, said paper having been rolled into a contiguous adhesive relationship with earlier wound paper about said former.

4. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said transition zones are arcuate in horizontal cross-section and are convex (when considered from the outside) with the convexivity being of a radius substantially at least five times smaller than 20 a radius or generally approximated radius of the concave expanses. A structure of any one of the preceding claims having spacing means interposed between said surrounding structure and each said concave expanse. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein at least a bottom of said wall defining structure is locked or fixed to a pallet, upliftable by a forklift.

7. A container as claimed in claim 6, wherein said pallet at least partially contributes maintaining the concave form of the concave expanses of said wall defining structure. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said container further P:\OPER\D\6077-96.223.d.-30/08IO -14- includes a top member or assembly substantially occluding an upper portion of said side wall member.

9. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein there are four concave expanses in said wall defining structure of said container and the transition zones are arranged substantially in a square configuration in horizontal cross-section. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein said container includes therein a lining or inner liquid containing bag.

11. A container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said wall defining structure comprises a continuous spirally wound lamination of material. 10 12. A container as claimed in claim 11 wherein said material is paper or a laminate of paper.

13. A container having container wall defining means on a base, said wall defining means having, when viewed in horizontal cross-section, at least two inwardly directed bulges to increase load bearing characteristics of the container wall; and restraining means about the container wall defining means to substantially maintain said inward bulges of said wall defining means under an acceptable content loading. S 14. A container as claimed in claim 13 wherein said container further includes a top S" member or assembly substantially occluding an upper portion of said container.

15. A container as claimed in claim 13 or 15 wherein said base at least partially contributes to maintaining said inward bulges of said wall.

16. A container as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 15 wherein there are four inward bulges in said container each of a different wall expanse separated by transition zones and the transition zones are arranged substantially in a square configuration in horizontal cross- section. A container as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 16 wherein said container P:\OPERDH\WD77-96.223.do30AM)U/O) includes therein a lining or inner liquid containing bag.

18. A container as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 17 wherein said wall defining means comprises a continuous spirally wound lamination of material.

19. A container as claimed in claim 18 wherein said material is paper or a laminate of paper.

020. A container as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 17 wherein said wall defining •0 0 *means is of steel. S0

21. A container suitable for liquids and/or particulate materials comprising or including :o0• a base member or assembly capable of both stable standing on a horizontal surface and/or 10 being uplifted in the manner of a pallet by an appropriately tined vehicle; container wall defining means supported on said base member and having at least two inwardly directly bulges, when viewed in horizontal section, each the bulges extending at least partly the height of said container wall; and encircling means not in contact with the outer concavity of the bulges surrounding the wall defining means to resist outward deformation of the bulges under in use loading of the container with such liquid(s) and/or material(s).

22. A container as claimed in claim 21 wherein said container further includes a top member or assembly substantially occluding an upper portion of said container wall. 0••0 S-23. A container as claimed in claim 21 or 22 wherein said base member or assembly at least partially contributes to maintaining said inward bulges of said wall defining means.

24. A container as claimed in any one of claims 21 to 23 wherein there are four inward bulges in said container and said container is substantially, with the exception of said inward bulges, square in horizontal cross-section. A container as claimed in any one of claims 21 to 24 wherein said container includes therein a lining or inner liquid container bag. A container as claimed in any one of claims 21 to 25 wherein said container wall P:\OPER\DH\5607-96.223.doc-3fl)MO -16- defining means comprises a continuous spirally wound lamination of material.

27. A container as claimed in claim 26 wherein said material is paper or a laminate of paper.

28. A container as claimed in any one of claims 21 to 25 wherein said container wall defining means is of steel.

29. A method of manufacturing a container, said container comprising or including a wall defining structure supportable on a support surface or base, said structure •having a plurality of panel-like expanses and a transition zone between each adjacent pair of said expanses, said expanses (hereafter "concave expanses") being (when considered 10 from the outside) concave in horizontal section over at least most of the vertical height thereof, and *S a reinforcing surround in the form of a surrounding wall structure, winding or strapping, (hereafter "surrounding structure") in contact with said transition zones but not a said concave expanses, thereby to resist under loading conditions, said concave expanses 15 becoming convex (when considered from the outside), said method comprising or including: 400:: providing a said wall defining structure, and thereafter locating a surrounding structure tightly about said wall defining structure, so as to be in contact with the transition zones but not said concave expanses. a 20 30. A method as claimed in claim 29 said providing of said wall defining structure is by adhesive lamination of paper from a reel or reels about a former for the shape, said paper having been rolled into a contiguous adhesive relationship with earlier wound paper about the former.

31. A method as claimed in claim 29 or 30, further including forming a base to said container by locking or fixing the bottom of said wall defining structure to the top of a pallet upliftable by a forklift.

32. A container substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying figures. p:\OER\DH\567-96.23.do30A)&(ll -17-

33. A method of manufacturing a container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying figures.

34. A container formed by a method of any one of claims 29 to 31 and 33. The use to convey liquid(s) or particulate material(s) of a container of any one of claims 1 to 28, 32 or 34. DATED this 29th day of August, 2000 Van Leer New Zealand Limited By DAVIES COLLISON CAVE Patent Attorneys for the applicant 0* *0 0 a. 06 0 0 0@ a a 00 0 0000 00 oo* 0 0o 00 0 *fee 11 i-