GB2530286A - Bulk storage bag support frame - Google Patents

Abstract

A frame for a Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container comprising a plurality of vertical and horizontal tubular members, the horizontal members being clamped around the vertical members. The ends of each horizontal member are flattened and looped to conform to the diameter of the vertical tubular members and are capable of pivoting or sliding on the vertical members, which are preferably swaged to retain the clamping means. Preferably the straps of the Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container can be looped over the handles of the clamping means or over hooks or clips at the top of the vertical members.

Description

BULK STORAGE BAG SUPPORT FRAME

This invention relates to a support frame for a flexible bulk bag such as a builder's container for sand, ballast and gravel, for grain storage etc. While flexible bulk bag containers are widely used in the UK and abroad, a recurrent problem is that the flexibility of the bag does not have sufficient resilience to hold itself upright and in the open position while being loaded or emptied. It is clear that it would be desirable for such a bag to be provided with a rigid removable frame to maintain an upright and open position for said flexible bulk bag. There have been numerous patent applications filed for the purpose of providing a support frame for bulk storage bags as revealed by our searches, but none of which anticipates the current invention. Many of the support frames are formed as part of a larger mechanism, e.g WO200214157 ROYE for a refuse collecting tool, and DE201 00219 by BOTHOR for a device for large volume containers while others are smaller stand-alone devices such as US5487551 KENNEDY for a flexible bag mounting and carrying device. A number of examples of prior art, such as US8038107 GOINS reveal frames having a horizontal set of members forming a frame around the top of the upright members, as opposed to the embodiment revealed in the current patent. Similar applications include US2011174812.

AINSWORTH, collapsible frame GB 0919091 of CRAWLEY and yard waste collection system US 2006118203 TAKE and collapsible storage container W02005123508 SABOUNDJIAN. Several proposed frames incorporate bases which can be loaded as a pallet, such as intermediate bulk container W02004096661 THORPE, while others comprise rigid sides such as collapsible flexible container holder GB 0310225 AYERST. However, despite a high number of results our searches do not reveal any prior art which directly anticipates the current invention, which is lightweight and portable.

According to the present invention there is provided a support frame having a plurality of vertical corner members which are interconnected by horizontal side members having connecting means at each end to connect with said vertical members which form the corner supports for the flexible bulk bag. The proposed supporting frame will be portable, easily assembled and folded for transport as described herein. The size of said frame and members may vary according to the size of bag which requires stabilising but will typically be from around 900mm to 1300mm to clear pallets on each side and of a height to suit a standard bulk bag.

Novel means are provided at the top of each vertical support for connecting with the handles of said bulk bag and optional side support bars may be added to the basic configuration.

In a simple embodiment, said support frame will be composed of four vertical tubular members releasably attached into receiving holes formed at the ends of the horizontal tubular members. Said four vertical tubular members will require four horizontal tubular members to be attached at their lower ends to form the basic support frame. One opposing pair of horizontal members will be arranged to attach to the vertical member above the other pair of opposing horizontal members to form a square support frame. In some circumstances the horizontal members may be raised upwards on the vertical members so that the horizontal members are arranged at or near the top of the vertical members. This will form a frame towards the upper ends of the vertical members without a separate frame at the base of the bulk bag support. This may provide greater stability to the frame for certain purposes.

To provide additional stability using the horizontal members at low level, it may also be desired to fit further horizontal members to the vertical members at a higher level. The vertical tubular members may be of any external geometric form, such as circular, square, hexagonal according to the specific purpose and in certain circumstances the verticals may be slightly splayed out to hold bag open, e.g. the upright members may be formed so that they lean outwards from their base portions. Hereinafter the specific examples will be assumed to be circular for clarity.

Said horizontal tubular members are slidably attached to said vertical tubular member by means of a flattened section formed at each end of said horizontal member, which is then formed into a loop and returned towards the horizontal member having a further flattened section at its end, formed into a C shape to limit diagonal movement and negate the need for diagonal bracing of the frame, and clamping means are provided by forming a hole by drilling or punching through both straight sections of said flat portion into which a bolt or similar fitting is inserted and which can be provided with a knob or handle by means of which said loop may be tightened onto the vertical member. Said knobs or handles will typically be arranged on the outer face of the horizontal member and displaced laterally away from the connection with the vertical member so that it does not interfere with the vertical member when the frame is folded for transport. The knobs may also form the securing points for the bag handling straps.

These ioops, hereinafter referred to as the clamping means are arranged to form a sliding fit over the tubular vertical member so, say, for a 19mm -32mm tube said hole will be slightly in excess of the diameter of the tube and to ensure firm location clamping means as herein described will be tightened onto the tubular vertical member. The clamping means may also be formed from separate members attached at the ends of the horizontal member and formed from metal, plastic, rubber or other suitable material to achieve the same result. At the top of each vertical member may be formed a hook to receive the strap or handle attached to the bulk bag. Said hook may be in the form of an S-shape having a smaller end and a larger end, and optionally fitted with elastic means. Alternatively, a carabiner or snap hook can be attached so that when received by the carabiner, the strap or handle of the bulk bag will be securely held in place. The clips, hooks or carabiners can be made of any suitable material, and may be moulded or formed to provide the pivotal arrangement through which the strap of the bulk bag may be attached to the top of the vertical arm. With regard to the tubular material used for the frame, in practice it has been found that 19 mm diameter steel tubing with a wall thickness above 0.8 mm is sufficient to bear the loads involved, although other shapes and materials will also work equally well in practice. However, no limitation is hereby placed on the size or type of material to be used in an ideal embodiment.

Another means of forming the clips or loops for attaching the straps of the bulk bag is that small gauge steel wire is formed into a U-shaped or rectangular clip or loop and received into holes spaced axially across the vertical member at 45° so that it rests on the inside of the support frame, having its distal ends inserted into said receiving holes to form a pivot. Said U-shaped or rectangular clip or loop can equally be formed from one length of wire having distal ends on one of the shorter of its 4 sides to connect with holes provided diametrically opposite each other at the upper end of the vertical support members to which one can attach the handles or straps of the bulk bag. This arrangement allows the handling straps of the typical bulk bag to be inserted underneath and through said clip and thus over the end of the supporting vertical member. The simplicity of this arrangement clearly has great benefits for the user by being so simple and quick to use while at the same time providing a perfectly stable means of supporting the flexible bulk bag.

As described earlier, for certain purposes it may be required to provide further stability in the form of one or a plurality of horizontal bars equipped with ends having holes therein to conform to the vertical members of the support. Said bars will of necessity have the same point centre distance between these locating holes as the holes in the horizontal members of the frame at the base of the bulk bag support.

Said bars may also be made of steel tubing equipped with end pieces as described earlier, although other known means may equally be employed. Said bars may be fitted below or above the attachment means provided for the bulk bag handles as necessary, and if more than two of said stabilising bars are utilised then it will be understood that opposing pairs of stabilising bars will be mounted at different heights upon the vertical members of the support to avoid interference. In the case of fixed installations the frame will not require folding up into a smaller footprint and thus maximum rigidity will be desired. This may be achieved by using a square or rectangular section for the uprights and the ensuing clamping will not allow the horizontal members to rotate horizontally around the upright. Frames may also be built up in such a way as to have either extended sizes or multiple units in one installation.

At the bottom end of each vertical member it may not be necessary to provide knobs or handles for adjustment, but rather known means such as a nut and bolt which can be pre-tensioned to form a rotatable connection with the vertical member.

This will remove the need for adjustment handles or knobs to tighten and release the clamping means. Instead said clamping means will rotate at a predetermined torque.

The lower end of each vertical member may then be swaged or expanded so that the loop thus formed is not able to slide off the end of the vertical member. However, in order to fold down for transport it will be necessary for at least one slidably connected horizontal member to be loosened from the base of one of the vertical members so that the loosened horizontal member may be pivoted into alignment with its adjacent horizontal member, after which the adjacent horizontal member may be pivoted against a third horizontal member and, lastly, the fourth horizontal member may be pivoted so that the whole support frame has been folded into a relatively flat configuration. Any additional horizontal members will also fold in the same way, or may be removed or pivoted as described above. In order to facilitate this folding procedure it may be necessary to have one or more corner vertical members whose ends have not been swaged or expanded.

In use, the bulk bag support frame will be positioned around a bulk bag in such a way that the horizontal members at the base of the frame surround said bulk bag while the straps or handles provided on the bulk bag are attached to the top of the vertical members. In this way the bulk bag will be maintained in an upright and open position for easy loading or unloading. Any additional horizontal side members may be raised or lowered to provide further support where required, and can be lowered to the base of the vertical members to allow easier access to said bulk bag.

Lowering of, e.g. one horizontal member will allow the support for the bag to descend thus holding the bag open at a lower level for ease of access. If used for filling the bulk bag, the upper horizontal members can be removed thus allowing unrestricted access to the bag from one side, e.g. for removal of the bulk bag.

The method of using the invention substantially follows the following procedure: If purchased as a kit, assemble the vertical and horizontal members at the base of the vertical members; With the clamping means loose, arrange into a frame to suit the specific bulk bag; Tighten the clamping means at each corner; If required, attach the upper slidable members; Arrange around, or insert the flexible bulk bag; Attach the handling straps of the bulk bag to the handles of the horizontal members or other means attached at or near the top of the vertical members; a Fill or empty the bulk bag as required while adjusting the height of the fittings to which the bulk bag straps are attached to facilitate easy access; Remove the frame, bag or both items; Release the pivotable arm at its loose end and rotate in line with its adjacent horizontal member; Release the other clamping means to allow folding; Fold down the frame and remove for transport and storage.

In the following drawings it is not intended to exclude features from another Figure from each specific embodiment but rather to provide a basis for their combination in specific applications.

While the invention has been disclosed in its preferred form, it is to be understood that the specific embodiment thereof, as described and illustrated herein, is not to be considered in a limited sense, as there may be other forms or modifications of the invention which should also be construed to come within the scope of the appended claims.

Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows the essential features of the invention; Figure 2 shows a horizontal frame member adapted to form the clamping means; Figure 3 shows the invention in a partly folded state; Figure 4 shows the frame and vertical members with the addition of two pairs of slidable stabilising arms, and supporting a bulk bag; Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows the bulk bag support frame 1 composed of a plurality of vertical members 2 interconnected by upper horizontal members 3 and lower horizontal members 4 which connect at their ends to the vertical members 2 using clamping means 8. The figure shows three of the vertical members 2 featuring a swaged lower end 5, and one vertical member 2 featuring an unswaged end 6 which as shown allows the movable lower horizontal member 7 to disconnect and to pivot around the adjacent vertical member 2 at the lower end of said vertical member 2. This will allow the invention to fold into a relatively small flat configuration for transport. The clamping means 8 features a screw adjuster 9 attached to a handle 10 and is shown at all junctions, although in practice the upper and lower horizontal members 3 and 4 may not need adjustment, and so the screw adjuster 9 in this case would be replaced with a simple nut and bolt or other known means. Optional hooks 19 or other known means may be added if desired to locate the straps of the bulk bag 16 (not shown, see Figure 4).

Figure 2 shows a horizontal frame member 11 which is representative of all horizontal members, having a flattened section 15 formed into a clamping means 8 equipped with a hole 16 throughout both portions of the flattened section 15 through which is fitted and adjustment screw 13, usually in the form of a bolt, and a handle is provided to tighten the clamping means 8 upon the outer surface of vertical member 2. This allows easy assembly and disassembly of frame 1 and also raising and lowering of the optional horizontal members 11 to support the bulk bag at the ideal height.

Figure 3 shows the frame 1 in a partly folded state, featuring vertical members 2 attached to lower horizontal members 4, upper horizontal members 3 and rotatable horizontal member 7 by using clamping means 8 at each junction. A plurality of swaged ends 5 are shown together with one unswaged end 6 at the lower end of vertical members 2. The metal of the vertical member 2 is expanded outward to form the swaged end 5 in order to retain the clamping means S at the base of the vertical member 2. The one untreated vertical member 2 will have an unswaged end 6 to allow disconnection and pivoting of rotatable horizontal member 7 which permits said horizontal member 7 to lie substantially flat in line with the rest of the support frame 1 when its vertical members 2 are folded together to gather up the support frame 1 for transport and storage.

Figure 4 shows the bulk bag 16 in place within the bulk bag support frame 1 of Figure 1 connected and supported at its corners by straps 18 to handles 10 on the clamping means 8 attached to the vertical members 2, above upper slidable members 11. One of the upper slidable members 11 is here is shown in a lowered position, thus to demonstrate how the invention facilitates easy loading and unloading of the bulk bag 16. Known means such as clamps, hooks or carabiners and elastic may also be utilised separately or in conjunction to locate said straps 18 at the upper end of vertical members 2.