EP0749911A1 - Troncated pyramidal nestable container with internal bag - Google Patents

Abstract

The truncated pyramid container consists of an external rigid container (4), a flexible bag (1) which contains liquid products (3), bag valves (2) and a cover (5). Several identical rigid containers can be threaded one in the other when the container does not contain any liquid. It is thus possible to concentrically pile hollow bodies of equivalent volume. It is possible to replace the internal bag after each use, avoiding cleaning of the external rigid container. It is also possible to have the same functions with different base shapes having the shape of regular or irregular polygons.

Description

The transport of fluids and dust, when it is not carried out in bulk by taking advantage of the supporting structures of the means of transport, is carried out using containers of different shapes and volumes. The geometric shapes must tend to meet as much as possible the mechanical requirements of hydrostatic thrust of the fluids contained, by optimizing the quantity of materials used for the construction of the envelope and by meeting requirements for optimizing the space occupied on the means of transport used.

The first requirement is met by cylindrical containers, the second by cubic containers.

The containers, once arrived at their destination and emptied, fulfilled their mission.

In accordance with the European ecological policy for the re-use of used containers, it is recommended to use containers which can be recycled rather than containers which, after having fulfilled their task, in turn become waste.

The problem of transporting empty containers then arises, after being washed, they must be reused to be reintroduced into the logistics circuit.

The cylindrical barrels, which are by far the most used containers, do not make the most of the volume they occupy, have a washing cost which is close to their commercial value, have an empty volume identical to that which they present when they are full.

The cylindrical drums therefore do not meet their objective, which is to be able to be used for several transports.

Cubic containers, although they make a little better use of the space occupied, have the same disadvantages as cylindrical drums.

In order to solve the problem of the optimal exploitation of the volumes in phase of transport of the product and the limitation of the volume in the transport of the empty containers for reuse, we studied and produced removable containers.

These containers, commonly called "collapsible container", usually have a cubic shape with collapsible walls.

The container, thus designed makes the best use of its cubic shape during the transport of the product and, once emptied of its content, it is folded up to arrive at a substantially smaller overall volume.

Once dismantled, the container is sent to the place of reuse.

This type of container, if it is intended for the transport of liquid or dusty products, is provided with an internal bag.

The internal bag is provided with valves, if it is intended to contain liquids.

The valves are welded to the membrane of the bag; so as to guarantee a hydraulic seal.

• la forme géométrique cubique qui exploite au maximum les volumes occupés au cours de la phase de transport et de stockage du produit contenu.
• La possibilité d'abriter un sac flexible qui reste en contact avec le produit, ne jouant qu'un rôle de membrane. Le sac interne est éliminé après usage et remplacé par un nouveau sac, ce qui élimine tous les problèmes posés par lavage du conteneur.
• La possibilité d'être replié pour réduire le volume occupé au cours de la phase de réinsertion dans le circuit logistique en vue d'une réutilisation.
• La diminution de volume est également utile au cours de la phase d'emmagasinage des conteneurs vides.

The main characteristics of this container are:

• the cubic geometric shape which makes the most of the volumes occupied during the transport and storage phase of the product contained.
• The possibility of sheltering a flexible bag which remains in contact with the product, playing only a membrane role. The internal bag is eliminated after use and replaced by a new bag, which eliminates all the problems posed by washing the container.
• The possibility of being folded down to reduce the volume occupied during the reinsertion phase in the logistics circuit for reuse.
• The reduction in volume is also useful during the storage phase of empty containers.

These characteristics are particularly valuable with regard to respect for the environment.

A huge mass of waste generated by the used containers is thus eliminated, thanks to the economical recycling of multipurpose containers.

A fundamental condition is essential, however, which prompts the user to make use of disposable containers rather than multipurpose containers.

This is the financial burden of managing a fleet of collapsible containers.

Collapsible content, notwithstanding the enormous advantages it offers and which has been described above, presents the problem of the complexity of its construction.

To obtain the folding capacity of the rigid walls, they are provided with locks and sharp angles on their internal part.

They require keys and mechanisms which sometimes present a certain complexity.

They require periodic maintenance operations.

They have internal structures that can damage the internal fluid containment membrane, which is usually very thin and vulnerable to tearing.

All these and other problems have been solved by the present invention which is described below.

THIS IS A TRUNCATED PYRAMIDAL CONTAINER, DESCRIBED IN ITS BASIC VERSION:

A rigid external container (4) and a flexible bag (1) constitute the basic version.

The product contained is only in contact with a bag (1) , provided with one or more valves (2) , to be used for filling and emptying. The bag is not integral with the rigid external container (4) , which has a characteristic shape which allows the concentric insertion of several empty external containers.

The insertion of an external container (4) into another is made possible by the conicity of the greater part of the external walls thereof. The valves (2) can be temporarily made integral with the external container (4) by means of mechanical couplings which facilitate the filling and emptying operations. The internal bag, an integral part of the system, will be replaced after use, avoiding washing of the external container (4) , due to ecological requirements for purification of water or residual solvents after washing.

When the external container (4) , after having fulfilled its function, must be reinserted, empty, in the logistics circuit, it must be transported to a new user.

During this transport, the external container (4) makes the best use of its concentric stacking characteristic, by reducing the volumes occupied drastically.

The container (4) can be provided with a cover (5) able to protect the bag against possible damage.

The cover (5) is an excellent support for unstable mechanical couplings with filling valves (2) , in case one wishes to insert the liquid (3) from above.

Claims (3)

A container with a stackable trunk-pyramid shape with an internal bag, consisting of: a rigid external container (4) , a flexible bag (1) which contains the liquid product (3) which it must receive, the valves of the bag (2) , possibly a cover (5) . It is characterized by the possibility of being able to thread several identical rigid containers (4) into each other during the logistics phase in which the container does not contain the liquid (3) , thus obtaining a possibility of concentric stacking of hollow bodies. which is equivalent to a threading ability characteristic. A container having a stackable trunk-pyramid shape with an internal bag as claimed in claim 1.
It is characterized by the possibility of being able to replace the internal bag (2) after each use, thus avoiding the cleaning operations of the external rigid container (4) , this creating obvious environmental advantages. A container having a stackable trunk-pyramid shape with an internal bag as claimed in claim 1.
It is characterized by the possibility of being able to keep its functional characteristics even in the case where the geometric shape of the base takes the form of a regular, irregular polygon, of a closed curve whatever they are, provided that the vertical walls of the external rigid container (2) have an inclination which makes it possible to confer the characteristic cited in claim 1.

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