GB2287236A - A multicompartment ballast bag - Google Patents

Abstract

A bag for weighting down objects such as road signs is divided into two or more compartments, each filled with sand or other ballast. The ballast may be contained within sealed inner bags to prevent the ballast material from becoming saturated. A carrying handle may be stitched, riveted or glued to the bag. The bag may take the form of an endless tube in the form of linked "sausages" filled with ballast. <IMAGE>

Description

GRAVITY BAG This invention relates to a bag which when used in the correct method will ballast down and restrain or stop the movement of objects or materials which may be prone to movement due to external forces such as the wind or water, vibration or passing traffic, taxying aeroplanes etc According to the present invention means is provided to carry out the above, by the design of the bag. The size of the bag varying according to requirements. The bag may be sub-divided and filled with a suitable ballast material, to give it both weight and form. It can be constructed with or without an inner bag which may prevent the ballast material from becoming saturated and therefore subject to freezing during winter.

It may be filled with suitable material using slits which are subsequently sewn or sealed up in another manner. Alternatively a natural construction seam may be used to fill the bag.

The seams in the material may be fixed together using stitching, glueing heat sealing or riveting. The carrying handle may be stitched, riveted or glued to the main body of the bag or alternatively it may be made of a certain length which does not permit it to slip over the bag, i.e. it can be smaller than the circumference of the bag.

An alternative bag would consist of an endless tube which could be in the form of linked sausages filled with ballast. This should be employed where an object might require additional weight for stability for example; road cones which are subject to particularly high over turning loads which may be experienced on motorway works or where additional fittings such as lamps or barriers are placed on the cones.

The conventional method for securing movable objects, or giving extra stability to structures is to place sandbags, iron, steel, concrete or similar weights in suitable positions on the objects.

The gravity or ballast bag is shaped so that its weight is more suitably and reliably applied centrally to a given point of the item to be steadied. It can also be hung from its handle which can be suspended from a hook which may be permanently fixed to the handle or supplied as a separate item.

According to the present invention, a gravity bag comprises a bag constructed of suitable material such as but not restricted to canvas, reinforced PVC or nylon which is sub-divided and then packed with a suitable ballast material such as sand.

Alternatively it can include an inner bag which may be impervious to moisture to prevent the ballast material becoming saturated during wet conditions, leading to freezing in the winter.

The design of the bag is such that it can be rested securely on objects that need to be protected from movement by external forces such as the wind, water, vibration, passing traffic, aeroplane movement on a runway or purely to give stability by providing a fixed mass securely anchored at certain points on a static or moving object or structure.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig 1A shows a first bag according to the present invention before filling with ballast.

Fig 1B shows a second bag according to the present invention.

Figs 2 & 3 show a bag according to the present invention in use; and Fig 4 shows a third bag according to the present invention in use for stabilising a road cone.

The material typically employed in the manufacture of the bag is of a far stronger and more durable material than normally used for sandbags It will not easily tear or rip, nor will the seams be easily parted.

The bag will therefore be more durable than conventional sandbags, the filling material which may be sand is less likely to be spilled out and require cleaning up. Overall, employment of this bag is likely to lead to economies.

When employed for stabilising road signs or other items which are adjacent to roads or runways it will be less likely to cause damage to a vehicle in the event of it hitting such a vehicle or a vehicle hitting it. Unlike solid weights, or sandbags which have frozen solid during freezing winter conditions, this bag will remain soft and flexible with the resulting reduction in danger and ease of handling. Provision may also be made for a weakened seam in the bag allowing the contents to spill out and disperse in the event of a collision.

In the drawings: Item 1 is a cell, Item 2 is a carrying handle, Item 3 is a filling slit, Item 4 is a sausage or continuous bag, and Item 5 is a road cone.

Claims (7)

1. A gravity bag comprising a bag constructed of suitable material such as but not restricted to canvas, re-inforced PVC or nylon, which is sub-divided and packed with a suitable ballast such as sand.

2. A gravity bag according to claim 1, wherein the bag has a carrying handle affixed to it.

3. A gravity bag according to claim 2, wherein the handle is affixed approximately centrally of the bag.

4. A gravity bag according to any of claims 1 to 3, which comprises an outer bag and an inner bag, the latter containing the ballast.

5. A gravity bag according to claim 4, wherein the inner bag is made of a material non-permeable to moisture and is sealed about the ballast.

6. A gravity bag according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the bag is in the form of a torus.

7. Gravity bags as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.