CA2855240A1

CA2855240A1 - Transport container

Info

Publication number: CA2855240A1
Application number: CA2855240A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Amir Samadijavan; Andreas Porner
Original assignee: PORNER INGENIEURGESELLSCHAFT MBH; Greif Flexibles Trading Holding BV
Current assignee: PORNER INGENIEURGESELLSCHAFT MBH; FPS Flexibles Trading Holding BV
Priority date: 2011-11-22
Filing date: 2012-11-21
Publication date: 2013-05-30
Also published as: EP2782850B1; IN2014KN01292A; AT512240B1; EA201490799A1; AT512240A1; WO2013076138A1; EP2782850A1; EA025697B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a transport container for flowable materials, in particular for bitumen in a heated or cold state, the container body (1) of the transport container having a form shaped substantially like a frustum of a pyramid, comprising a bottom 2), side walls (3), and optionally a top surface (4) having a filling opening (5), the bottom, side walls, and top surface being made of flexible material, and the side walls (3) being reinforced against deformation by stabilizing means in the lower region near the bottom, characterized in that the stabilizing means are designed as stabilizer belts (7), which connect the bottom corner regions (8) to the adjacent side edges (9) in a tension-resistant manner and crossed manner, the fastening points (10) of the stabilizer belts on the side edges (9) lying within the lower two thirds of the entire height of the container body, said lower two thirds being near the bottom.

Description

1 51712 Pe/FUGA
Transport Container The invention pertains to transport containers for free-flowing materials, particularly for bitumen in a heated or cold state, wherein the container body of the transport container essentially has the shape of a truncated pyramid with a bottom, sidewalls and, if applicable, a top surface with fill opening that consist of flexible material, and wherein the sidewalls are reinforced with stabilizing means in the lower region near the bottom so as to prevent deformation.
Transport containers of flexible material are frequently also sold under the name Big Bags or Flexible bulk containers and primarily serve for transporting pourable or free-flowing goods.
The present invention is based on a prior art disclosed, for example, in AT
505 805 Al.
This application concerns the stabilization of the shape of such a flexible transport container after it has been filled with bitumen, wherein this objective was attained by providing the fabric panels that form the sidewalls with stabilizing means in their lower region, and wherein said stabilizing means are inserted or sewn into the fabric panels.
In the figures, the concrete disclosure shows the arrangement of intersecting pleats that are sewn into the material of the sidewalls, wherein the seams end within the fabric panels.
In practical applications, it was already known to provide stabilizing seams in the sidewalls prior to the priority date of the aforementioned application, for example in the form of vertical seams that extended from the bottom edge of the transport bag up to approximately half its height.
Although such seams and sewn pleats in the sidewalls stabilize the shape of the transport bag to a certain degree, they proved to have certain disadvantages in practical applications. On the one hand, the additional seam in the bag wall represents an additional step during the sewing operation that increases the costs. The reinforcing effect depends on the quality of the sewing work and on the quality of the fabric material such that it is not always easy to exactly predict the stabilizing effect of mass-produced items.

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Another disadvantage of seams can be seen in that they tend to burst open such that either the seam is opened and the stabilizing effect is rendered ineffective or, in the worst-case scenario, the transport bag tears open. Seams also are always associated with weakening of the sewn fabric. It is furthermore disadvantageous that such sewn pleats end within the fabric material such that the occasionally substantial tensile forces are introduced into the fabric in any case and overstretch and damage this fabric in certain areas. The strength and dimensional stability achieved with such seams and other bands that are inserted or sewn into the fabric panels ultimately depends on the strength of the fabric material only.
The production of transport containers with a container body that has the shape of a truncated pyramid and with an arrangement of sewn, reinforcing fabric pleats is also known, for example, from DE 84 21154.7 U1. Another transport bag for bitumen with the shape of a truncated pyramid is disclosed in the prior art according to AT

U1. This transport bag also features an arrangement of an inner lining in the form of a plastic film.
The packaging of bitumen into transport containers of flexible material is associated with certain problems. Bitumen is only liquid to semi-liquid at higher temperatures and solidifies into a cool melt at lower temperatures. However, such melts have the characteristic of also not being completely solid at lower temperatures, e.g.
at room temperature. Bitumen behaves like a slowly flowing mass in the cooled state.
This is also one of the reasons why bitumen was until now predominantly filled into dimensionally stable receptacles such as, e.g., conventional bitumen barrels.
However, these have the disadvantage of also having a large volume in the unfilled state, wherein a relatively high transport loss also occurs due to the fact that a large percentage adheres to the inner wall of the barrels when they are emptied.
The main problem of flexible packaging containers can be seen in that the filled bags lose their shape during transport, particularly if bags are stacked on top of one another in containers such that the bags bulge laterally. This can also lead to such bulging transport containers no longer fitting into the containers used for overseas transport.

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The problem of dimensional stability may become even more severe if low temperatures cause the typically used material such as polypropylene or polyethylene to lose its strength.
The present invention is based on the objective of developing packaging containers of the initially cited type that are self-stabilizing while they are filled with liquid bitumen or similar free-flowing materials and also remain free-standing without losing the desired shape after the product has been deposited and, in particular, the bitumen has solidified. The container should also maintain its strength at low ambient temperatures.
The objective of the invention especially can be seen in eliminating the initially described disadvantages and in realizing the means for stabilizing the shape of the container body in such a way that the occurring tensile forces are adequately absorbed on all sides and the transport container is also prevented from bursting open in the harsh practical applications of the transport industry. In addition, stabilizing means of this type must be very inexpensive because the costs of non-returnable containers like the transport containers in question are eminently important in the transport industry.
Another objective consists of relieving the fabric of the sidewalls from the tensile forces, wherein it should also be possible to achieve a prestress of the stabilizing means.
The above-defined objective is attained with the present invention, in particular, in that the stabilizing means are realized in the form of stabilizing belts that respectively connect the bottom corner regions to the adjacent lateral edges in an intersecting and tension-proof fashion, wherein the fastening points of the stabilizing belts on the lateral edges lie within the lower two-thirds of the overall height of the container body near the bottom.
Other advantageous characteristics of the invention are disclosed in the claims and the following description, as well as the drawings.
The invention is elucidated in an exemplary fashion below with reference to the drawings.
Figure 1 shows an oblique view of the inventive transport container.

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Figure 2 shows the transport container with removed outer wall and without inner lining.
Figure 3 shows an element of the inner lining prior to the insertion into the transport container.
Figure 4 shows a horizontal section through the transport container.
Figure 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a finished transport container prior to the filling process. The container body 1 comprises a bottom 2 - that is concealed in Figure 1 - four sidewalls 3 and an upper termination in the form of the top surface 4 with a fill opening 5. All of these two-dimensional structures largely consists of one or more webs of a fabric material that is sufficiently strong for absorbing the high forces, but still allows the smallest pack size possible. Bags of this type can carry loads in excess of 1.000 kg.
The lateral edges 9 are sewn together with lateral edge seams 14. The bottom edges 19 are also formed by a seam that serves for sewing the respective sidewalls to the corresponding edges of the bottom. The top surface edge 20, on which the top surface 4 is connected to the upper edge of the sidewalls 3, extends on the upper end of the container body 1. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the top surface edge 20 is reinforced with a sewn-in belt 21. Edge belts 15 are sewn in along the lateral edges 9, wherein two adjacent edge belts 15 respectively form a lifting strap 16 on the upper end.
The container body has the shape of a truncated pyramid such that the surface area of the bottom 2 is larger than the surface area of the top surface 4.
According to the invention, the container body is stabilized with stabilizing means in the lower region near the bottom. These stabilizing means 6 are realized in the form of stabilizing belts 7 that respectively extend from the bottom corner regions 8 to fastening points 10 along the lateral edges 9 in a free-hanging fashion, i.e. without intermediate fastening on or to the corresponding sidewall. This ensures that the significant forces acting from inside during the filling of the transport container are transmitted to the reinforced regions of the container body by the stabilizing means in the form of the fastening belts without damaging the fabric. The fastening points 10 are preferably sewn 51712 Pe/FUGA
on in the lower two-thirds of the height of the container body such that bulging of the transport container is largely prevented.
The stabilizing belts 7 are preferably sewn into the bag with a prestress, i.e., the belts are slightly shorter than the free length between a bottom corner region 8 and the corresponding fastening point 10. When the transport container is filled, however, the generally rigid stabilizing belts are slightly stretched such that the container body can assume the illustrated shape of a truncated pyramid. This shape is optimally maintained due to the tensile stress of the stabilizing belts.
Figure 1 also shows the filler neck 22 on the upper edge of the container body, wherein this filler neck protrudes upward through the top surface 4 and serves for filling the container with the respective product. The filler neck can be closed with a hasp 25.
The transport container furthermore features conventional information means, e.g. a slip 23 with identification means such as barcodes, and a document pocket 24.
In a preferred embodiment, the container body respectively comprises two layers, namely an inner fabric 12 and an outer fabric 11, at least on the sidewalls and on the bottom. In the drawing in Figure 2, the outer fabric of the sidewalls is removed such that the inner fabric 12 of the sidewalls is visible. This figure also shows the stabilizing belts 7 that respectively connect a bottom corner region 8 to a fastening point 10 of the adjacent lateral edge and thusly absorb the tensile forces of the respective product. At the intersecting points 13, the retention forces of both intersecting belts cooperate such that the highest retention force occurs at this location. The intersecting points 13 preferably lie in the region, in which the most intense bulging of the transport container would occur.
Although the illustrated two-layer structure is preferred, the scope of the present invention also includes embodiments with only a single-layer structure, in which the sidewalls and/or the bottom therefore consist of only one fabric layer. The intersecting stabilizing belts 7 may in this case be arranged either on the outside of the body or inside.

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Figure 3 shows a film blank for realizing the preferably provided inner lining 17, wherein this inner lining is produced when for such blanks are placed into the bag as an inner layer. The inner lining is closed on the bottom and fastened with the aid of fastening straps 18 that are sewn into the lateral edges 9. In other respects, the inner lining 17 is freely suspended in the container. In Figure 1, the upwardly extending filler neck 22 protrudes from the top surface 4.
Figure 4 shows a schematic horizontal section through a transport container according to Figure 1.
In this exemplary embodiment, each of the four sidewalls 3 comprises two fabric layers, namely the outer fabric 11 and the inner fabric 12. Intersecting stabilizing belts 7 are arranged between these fabric layers and intersect in the intersecting points 13.
The lateral edge seams 14 are situated on the lateral edges 9 such that all fabric layers 11, 12 and the ends of the stabilizing belts 7, as well as the fastening straps 18 of the inner lining 17, are solidly connected to one another, wherein the edge belts 15 are additionally sewn in. The belts and fabric layers may be sewn together in the lateral seam by means of an overlock seam 26 and a safety seam 27 as illustrated in Figure 4.
In the bottom corner regions, it is preferred to utilize a chain-stitch seam, wherein the bottom edge seam along the bottom edges 19 may also be realized in the form of a chain-stitch seam.
It goes without saying that the inner lining should consist of a very thin film, the softening point of which lies slightly higher than the filling temperature of the bitumen.
On the other hand, it should be possible to liquefy or soften the inner lining, which is usually removed from the bag together with the cold bitumen during unloading, when the bitumen is reheated such that the inner lining can either be easily removed or incorporated into the bitumen. A temperature of 108 C may be an advantageous filling temperature for the bitumen. The softening point of the film therefore needs to lie above these 108 C, for example between 110 and 120 C.
The fabrics of the outer transport container preferably consist of polyethylene or polypropylene and their softening point is significantly higher, e.g., between 190 and 7 51712 Pe/FUGA
220 C. The fabrics are preferably coated with PE or PP such that the fabric is strengthened.
The drawings do not show the arrangement of the warp and the weft of the fabric webs.
They usually lie such that the warp extends vertically from the bottom edge to the top edge and the weft extends normal thereto and parallel to the bottom edge.
Since it is a well-known fact that any fabric has its greatest elasticity in the direction extending diagonally to the warp and the weft, the tensile forces are absorbed by the intersecting stabilizing belts that also extend diagonally and introduced into the lateral edge seams and the bottom corner regions. The fabrics may consist of plain woven fabrics or circular woven fabrics.
The stabilizing belts should be as strong as possible, but still be sewable.
It is preferred to utilize multifilament belts, in which the multifilaments extend in the longitudinal direction of the belts.
Typical weights per unit area for the wall material are 70 to 150 g/m2 for the inner fabric and up to 250 g/m2 for the stressed portions of the outer fabric. For example, the outer fabric on the bottom may have a higher grammage than that of the sidewalls.
The bottom, the sidewalls and the top surfaces may be formed of separate blanks that are connected to one another on the edges. The portion of the container body formed by the outer fabric may also be connected to the inner fabric on the top surface edges only.
The preceding description of the stabilizing belts extending between the fastening points in a free-hanging fashion referred to the sidewalls means that they are not held at any point of the inner or outer sidewall fabric such that they transmit a tensile load. In the stressed state, the tensile forces are only introduced into the lateral edge seams and the bottom corner regions of the container body.
The lower fastening point of the stabilizing belts lies in the bottom corner regions 8. This fastening point does not have to be exactly the corner, at which the bottom edge 19 and the respective lateral edge meet. The bottom corner region also extends into the close vicinity of the edges. For example, the lower fastening point is located in the lateral edge 9 approximately 3 to 10 cm, preferably about 5 cm, above the bottom corner. It is 8 51712 Pe/FI/GA
important that the high tensile forces of the stabilizing belts are introduced into the strong edge seams.
With respect to the advantageously utilized belts, i.e. the stabilizing belts and also the edge belts with the lifting straps, it should furthermore be noted that the strength of the transport container can be significantly improved and adapted to the ambient conditions by selecting the material accordingly. Depending on the climatic conditions, very low temperatures below -30 C, at which other popular materials such as polypropylene become brittle, may also occur such that the transport bag would no longer have a sufficient load carrying capacity.
In this case, the inventive solution may consist of utilizing belts with larger dimensions for the transport container or of providing belts made of materials that are more resistant to cold temperatures such as, e.g., metallic woven fabrics, steel wires, polyamide fibres, natural fibres, etc.

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List of Reference Symbols:
1. Container body 2. Bottom 3. Sidewall 4. Top surface 5. Fill opening 6. Stabilizing means 7. Stabilizing belt 8. Bottom corner region 9. Lateral edge 10. Fastening point 11. Outer fabric 12. Inner fabric 13. Intersecting points 14. Lateral edge seam 15. Edge belt 16. Lifting strap 17. Inner lining 18. Fastening straps 19. Bottom edge 20. Top surface edge 21. Belts 22. Filler neck 23. Barcode 24. Document pocket 25. Hasp 26. Overlock seam 27. Safety seam

Claims

1. A transport container for free-flowing materials, particularly for bitumen in a heated or cold state, wherein the container body (1) of the transport container essentially has the shape of a truncated pyramid with a bottom (2), sidewalls (3) and, if applicable, a top surface (4) with fill opening (5) that consist of flexible material, wherein the sidewalls (3) are reinforced with stabilizing means in the lower region near the bottom so as to prevent deformation, and wherein the stabilizing means are realized in the form of stabilizing belts (7) that respectively connect the bottom corner regions (8) to the adjacent lateral edges (9) in an intersecting fashion, characterized in that the stabilizing belts (7) are arranged between the fastening points (10) in a free-hanging fashion referred to the sidewalls (3) and in a tension-proof fashion with prestress, and in that the fastening points (10) of the stabilizing belts on the lateral edges (9) lie within the lower two-thirds of the overall height of the container body near the bottom.

2. The transport container according to Claim 1, characterized in that the lateral edges (9) are reinforced with edge belts (15), and in that two adjacent edge belts (15) are respectively connected to one another and form a lifting strap (16).

3. The transport container according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the lateral edges (9) are sewn to the belts and the fabric layers by means of an overlock seam (26) and a safety seam (27).

4. The transport container according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that at least the sidewalls (3) and preferably also the bottom (2) consist of an outer fabric (11) and an inner fabric (12), and in that the stabilizing belts (7) are arranged between these fabric layers.

5. The transport container according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the transport container features an inner lining (17) that consists of a plastic film and is connected to the lateral edge seams (14) by means of fastening straps (18).

6. The transport container according to Claim 5, characterized in that the fastening straps (18) are arranged and fastened approximately in the centre of the lateral edge seams (14).

7. The transport container according to one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the container body (1) is sewn on the bottom edges (19) and the lateral edges (9), as well as on the top surface edges (20), if applicable

8. The transport container according to one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the bottom (2), the sidewalls (3) and, if applicable, the top surface (4) are formed of separate blanks.

9. The transport container according to one of Claims 4 to 8, characterized in that the outer fabric (11) is more wear-resistant and/or has a higher weight per unit area than the inner fabric (12).

10. The transport container according to one of Claims 4 to 9, characterized in that the portion of the container body formed by the outer fabric is connected to the inner fabric on the top surface edges (20) only.

11. The transport container according to one of Claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the stabilizing belts (7) are non-stretchable in the longitudinal direction.

12. The transport container according to one of Claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the stabilizing belts (7) feature polyfilaments in the longitudinal direction.

13. The transport container according to one of Claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the sidewalls (3) consist of a plane woven fabric, particularly of polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP), that is coated with PE or PP.

14. The transport container according to one of Claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the sidewalls (3) consist of a round woven fabric, particularly of polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP), that is coated with PE or PP.