GB2055752A - Sack-like container - Google Patents

Abstract

A sack-like container includes at one end 22 a bottom portion formed by gathering together a hose-like blank (10) and an upper portion formed at the other end of the container and having a container-lifting loop (23). The ends of the hose-like blank (10) are directly joined together at 22. Parts (19, 20) of the hose-like blank extend from the gathering location (22), the one (19) within the other (20), towards the upper portion of the container. In the region of the upper portion of the container there is provided an opening (13) through which the inner blank-part (19) extends, in a displaceable fashion, out from the outer blank-part, and outside of which the blank-parts merge to form said lifting loop (23). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A container The present invention relates to a sack-like container of the kind which includes at one end a bottom portion formed by at least partially gathering together a hose-like blank of flexible material at said one end, and an upper portion formed at the other end of the container and having a lifting loop for lifting said container. More specifically, the invention relates to a large sackfortransporting bulk material, such as powderous or granular artificial manures, ground or unground seed, coffee beans, Portland cement etc., in quantities of many hundreds of kilos, e.g. from 1 to 2 tons per container.

Sack-like containers of the above described kind for transporting large quantities of bulk material are known from e.g., US Patent Specifications Nos 3 973 609 and 4 069 852. In these known containers there is used, for lifting said containers, a rope or the like which is so arranged that special connections are required between the container casing and said rope, both at the bottom and at the top of the casing.

To ensure against accidents, the safety factors placed on these connections must be quite considerable. In practice, this limits the weight capacity of such sack-like containers and, if each container is to be used for transporting, e.g., about 1.5 tons, the containers must be made with great precision.

Further it is difficult, or in all events expensive, to highly automatize the manufacture of such containers.

The object of the present invention is to provide a sack-like container of such construction in which the aforementioned disadvantages are at least substantially removed.

To this end it is proposed in accordance with the invention that in a sack-like container of the kind described in the introduction the ends of the hoselike blank are directly joined together, whereat parts of the hose-like blank extend from the gathering location, the one within the other, towards the upper portion of the container, in the region of which upper portion the outer blank-part is provided with an opening through which the inner blank-part extends longitudinally displaceably out from the outer blankpart, and outside of which the blank-parts merge with each other to form the lifting loop. A container so constructed has a minimum of connections which are subjected to loads, since even the lifting eye or loop is formed from the hose-like blank, which facilitates the manufacture of the container.Furthermore, it is readily easy to automatize the manufacture of such containers to a large extent, thereby eliminating the risk of error in manufacture due to the lack of expertise of the manufacturing personnel.

When a lifting device, such as a lifting hook, is inserted in the lifting eye of the containerforthe purpose of lifting said container during a filling operation, or when moving a loaded container, the blank material slides relative to the lifting device in the region of said eye, and when the container is being filled in a lifted position the outer and inner blank parts formed from the hose-like blank slide until the stresses and strains to which the blank is subjected are distributed substantially uniformly, in an advantageous manner, between the outer and the inner blank parts.The container space receiving the goods to be carried by the container can be arranged between the inner and the outer blank parts, although it is preferred to arrange said container space inwardly of the inner blank part, thereby to provide more effective protection for the goods in the container.

Further characteristic features of the invention are disclosed in the following claims.

So that the~ invention will be more readily understood and further features thereof made apparent, a number of embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figures 1 - 5 illustrate schematically the method of construction of a sack-like container according to the invention, the resultant container being shown in vertical projection in Figure 5; Figure 6 is a view, partly in section and partly in vertical projection, of a second embodiment of a container according to the invention; Figures 7, 8 and 9 are views similar to Figure 5, of a third, fourth and fifth embodiment respectively of a container according to the invention; and Figures 10 and 11 are views similar to Figures 1 and 5, respectively, of a blank and a container formed from said blank.

Corresponding or substantially corresponding elements in the Figures have been identified by the same reference numerals.

Figures 1 - 4 illustrate steps in the manufacture of a container 24 illustrated in FigureS. The container 24 is formed from a hose-like blank 10, which is shown laid flat in Figure 1 and which comprises, for example, a circular or tubular woven polypropene fabric. Arranged on both sides of the centre 11 of the blank are openings 12, 13, one opening, 12, being in the bottom layer of the blank in Figure 1, and the other opening, 13, in the top layer. In the illustrated embodiment, the openings 12,13 have the form of axially extending slots, so as not to weaken the blank 10 unduly. The mutually opposite ends of the blank are referenced 14 and 15.

An inner sack 16 comprising a flexible, liquid-proof material and being open at one end 17, is inserted into the tubular blank 10 through its end 14, as shown in Figure 2. The end of the inner sack 16 located furthest in the blank 10 is provided with a filling valve 18, which has the form of a hose and which is closed in other respcts. The valve 18 may be an integral part of the sack 16 and may have been formed by drawing out part of the wall of said sack in a manner such as to form a sleeve-like pocket, by plastic deformation of the sack wall. The bottom part or outer end of the pocket can then be removed or slit, to form the outer opening of the filling valve 18.

in Figure 2 the centre region 11 of the blank 10 has been gathered together, and the valve 18 has been pulled through the opening 12, so that the outer part of the valve is located externally of the blank 10.

A part 19 of the blank 10 located above the centre line 11 of said blank in Figures 1 and 2, and the inner sack 16 inserted in said part 19 have been shown in Figure 3 to be gathered transversally and inserted through the opening 13 in a part 20 of the blank 10, located beneath the centre 11 of the blank 10. The blank-part 19 with the inner sack 16 lying therein is moved from the position shown in Figure 3, further in through the opening 13 until the ends 14 and 17 are placed opposite each other and opposite the end 15 ofthe blank 10.

As shown in Figure 4, the blank-parts 19,20 and the inner sack 16 are then gathered at the parts thereof nearest the ends 14, 15 and 17, around an insert 21 having a circumferential groove therein, and held around said insert by a gathering means 22 in the form of e.g. a rope or clamp. In this way there is formed a sack-like container 24 having a bottom portion formed by gathering the hose-like blank by means of the gathering means 22, and a substantially U-shaped lifting loop or eye 23 formed from the blank 10, at the upper portion of the container.When the illustrated container is lifted, by means of a lifting hook (not shown) inserted in the lifting loop, the inner sack 16 is substantially completely relieved of stresses and strains, said stresses and strains being substantially uniformly distributed between the out er and the inner blank-parts 20 and 19 respectively, through the two parts of the U-shaped loop or eye 23.

Figure 5 illustrates the container, generally identified at 24, produced in accordance with Figures 1 to 4, in a filled condition. Thus, the container 24 exhibits a bottom part 25 formed by gathering the blank 10 at 22, whereat the ends 14, 15 of the hose-like blank 10 are directly joined together at the gathering location 22. The blank-parts 19 and 20 extend, one within the other, from the gathering location towards the upper part 26 of the container 24, in the region of which upper part the inner blank-part 19 extends out through the opening 13 of the blank-part 20, said inner blank-part 19 being axially displaceable in said opening. Outside the opening 13, the blank-parts 19 and 20 merge with each other to form the lifting loop 23.Subsequent to filling the container space of the container 24 with goods through the valve 18, the valve is closed; the container space is enclosed by both the inner sack 16 and the double layers of blank 10 formed by the blank-parts 19 and 20. The valve 18 can be closed by means of a conventional closing member, and when closed can be re-inserted into the container, through the opening 12, to lie protected within the inner containerlayerformed bythe blank-part 19.

Depending on the manner in which the container is filled, it is possible that the inner sack will contain air, which may cause rupturing of said inner sack 16 when stacking filled containers 24 on top of one another. Consequently, the container 24 - as with each of the containers described hereinfter - should be provided with an air vent, when the material defining the container space is impervious to liquids and air. One such air vent arrangement can be provided by forming the filling valve 18 in a manner such that air can flow out therethrough without the risk of water leaking into the container space, when the goods contained in said space would be damaged by contact with moisture.One such venting possibility can be provided by using a long, hose-like valve which is not sealed, but directed substantially towards the bottom portion of the container and simply laid flat between or within the container layers formed by the blank-parts 19, 20, or externally of the outer container layer 20, in which posisiton the valve can be fixed by gluing for example.

Alternatively, the tubular valve can be formed by joining together two rectangular layers of plastics material placed one upon the other, along the edges thereof extending in the longitudinal direction of the valve, of which layers one is so stretched in the longitudinal direction of the valve, or of which layers at least one is so stretched in the transverse direction of the valve, that the valve can be closed by the action of heat. When heat is applied to the valve, the stretched material returns to its original size, while rolling up the tubular valve in its long or cross direction, such thatthe valve will preventwater entering the container space while allowing air to escape therefrom.For the purpose of rendering said layer selective with respect to heat absorption, the stretched layer may contain carbon black or some other heat absorbing substance or pigment, whereat the heat applied to close said valve can, to advantage, be short-wave infrared radiation, e.g. radiation having a wave length of about X = 1.2 um.

In order to prevent the inner sack 16 from falling out of the container 24 when the container is emptied through the bottom thereof, the inner sack 16 is joined, suitably in the region of or below its centre, to the inner surface of the blank-part 19, for example by means of an adhesive, as indicated at 27 in Figure 4.

In Figure 6 there is illustrated a container, generally shown at 28, which has been formed from a hose-like container blank. In this embodiment, the bottom part 25 of the container 28 has been formed by only partially gathering the blank at a location between its ends, by means of an annular gathering device 22, so as to leave an opening 29 through which the bottom of the inner sack 16 can be reached. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the bottom of the inner sack 16 is closed and is intended to be slit open when the container is to be emptied.

When emptying the container through its bottom, the emptying opening is restricted by the gathering device 22, which may be made adjustable so that said opening 29 can be made larger and, optionally, also smaller. The blank-parts 19,20 extend from the gathering location 22 up towards the upper part of the container 28, where the blank-part 19 extends out through the opening 13 formed in the blank-part 20. The ends of the hose-like blank are directly joined together at 30, in the region where the lifting loop 23 is formed by the hose-like blank. An opening 31, additional to opening 12, is formed in the blank, to provide access to the valve 18.

The sack-like container 32 illustrated in Figure 7 differs from the container 24 shown in Figure 5, by the fact that the sack 16 is arranged outside of the inner blank-part 19. Formed in the inner blank-part 19 is a filling opening 33 which, after filling the container, is covered by an upper part 34 of the sack 16. This part 34 is held gathered in a position covering the opening 33, in the region of the lifting loop or eye 23, by means of a gathering device 35.

Figures 8 and 9 illustrate sack-like containers 36 and 37 respectively, which lack inner sacks corresponding to the previously described inner sack 16.

Instead, it is assumed that the hose-like container blank comprises a liquid-tight material. Further, it is assumed that the sacks 36, 37 are, in other respects, formed by the method described with reference to Figure 7. To prevent water from entering the container space through the filling opening 33 and entering in between the two blank-parts through the opening 13, each of the sacks 36, 37 includes a respective protective cover or hood 38 and 39 made of a liquid-proof material and optionally having additions which absorb or reflect radiation, e.g. UV-radiation, harmful to the hose-like starting blank (10 in Figure 1). As will readily be understood, protective hoods 38 or 39 may also be used in other embodiments of the sack-like container according to the invention.

The protective hood 38 illustrated in Figure 8 is joined to the remainder of the container by means of holes 40 formed substantially diametrically opposite one another therein, whereat the edges of the holes are welded together at 41, so as to form a passage through which the lifting loop or eye 23 extends, optionally displaceably. When lifting the container 36, a lifting hook (not shown) is passed through said holes 40, whereat the described hood construction permits the stresses and strains to be distributed over the container. When filling the container 36, the lower edge 42 of the hood 38 is lifted, until the filling opening 33 is accessible.

The protective hood 39 illustrated in Figure 9 can be removed from the remainder of the container.

The hood includes a lower, hose-like part 43 which surrounds the part of the container in which the goods are held, and an upper, narrower hose-like part 44, which surrounds the lifting loop 23. The part 44 is of considerable length, and is softly flexible so that it adopts by itself a position in which it prevents water entering the regions of openings 13 and 33. To permit access to the lifting loop 23, said part can be gathered axially, thereby rendering it unnecessary to remove the hood 39 when lifting the container 37 by means of a lifting device inserted in the loop or eye 23.

Figure 10 illustrates a hose-like starting blank 45 laid in a flat position, for forming the sack-like container 46 illustrated in Figure 11. The blank 45 comprises woven fabric which is plastic-coated on at least the inner surface thereof, thereby making the blank waterproof. As previously described with reference to the blank 10, the blank 45 has open ends 14,15, and openings 12,13. The container 46 is formed from the blank 45 in essentially the same manner as that described with reference to Figures 1 to 5, although no inner sack is used. Instead a valve 18 is arranged directly on the blank, the inner end of said valve 18 being welded to the inside of the blank 45, around the opening 12. The valve 18 is arranged to be closed in an air and water tight fashion, after filling the container 46. To permit venting of the container space, there is provided an air-vent in the form of a slit 47 and a rectangular flexible piece 48 of liquid-tight material covering said slit 47 on the outside of the blank. The piece of material 48 is joined to the blank 45 along sides 49, 50 and 51, to form a pocket which is open along side 52 and which, after forming the container 46 from the blank 45, is placed between the blank-parts 19, 20. The blank is also provided at 53 with perforations through which any water which might leakthrough the opening 13 of the container 46 can escape.

The described and illustrated embodiments are not limitive of the invention, but can be modified within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (11)

1. A sack-like container (24; 28; 32; 36; 37; 46) which includes at one end a bottom portion (25) formed by at least partially gathering together a hose-like blank (10) of flexible material at said one end, and an upper portion formed at the other end of the container and having a lifting loop (23) for lifting said container, characterized in that the ends (14, 15) of the hose-like blank (10; 45) are directly joined together, whereat parts (19, 20) of the hose-like blank extend from the gathering location (22), the one (19) within the other (20), towards the upper portion (26) of the container, in the region of which upper portion the outer blank-part (20) is provided with an opening (13) througb which the inner blank-part (19) extends longitudinally displaceably, out from the outer blank-part, and outside of which the blank parts merge with each other to form said lifting loop (23).

2. A container according to claim 1, characterized in that the two ends (14, 15) of the blank are joined together at said gathering location (22).

3. A container according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it is provided with an inner sack (16) which is made of a flexible material and located inwardly of at least the outer blank-part (20) and which has a filling means (18) which is accessible through at least one further opening (12,31) in the hose-like blank (10; 45).

4. A container according to any one of claims 1 3, characterized in that the opening or openings (13, 12,31) is or are in the form of axially extending slits in the hose-like blank (10; 45).

5. A container according to any one of claims 1 4, characterized in that the goods-containing space thereof is located inwardly of the inner blank-part (19).

6. A container according to any one of claims 1 5, characterized in that the hose-like blank (10; 45) comprises a liquid-proof or tightly woven material; and in that perforations (53) are provided at least in the outer blank-part (20), between the firstmentioned opening (13) and said gathering location (22), for preventing water collecting inwardly of said blank-part.

7. A container according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that the inner sack (16) is joined to the surrounding blank-part (19) at a distance above said bottom part (25) of the container.

8. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it has means (18; 47-52) for venting the goods-containing space of the container of air.

9. A container according to claim 8, characterized in that said air-venting means (18) forms, at the same time, a filling valve for the container.

10. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it includes a protective hood (38; 39) comprising a liquid-proof material and covering at least the upper part (26) of the container while permitting access to the lifting loop (23), said hood preferably being arranged to obstruct UV radiation.

11. A container as claimed in claim 1 and sub stantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.